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Based on studies of images obtained from LANDSAT-1 and 2, several seemingly active movement zones have been delineated in a section of the eastern Alps and are being reported in the present paper for the first time. These zones, trending W—E to NW—SE, cut across all earlier Alpine boundaries and contacts and on either side along their length, are marked with drag effects, indicating their post-Alpine neotectonic nature. Their relation with the present-day central European stress field, as determined from fault-plane studies and in-situ stress measurements, has been sought. In conjunction with the evidence from neighbouring areas, a dextral shear tendency of the present-day Mediterranean is indicated. Further, a number of extensive lineaments have been observed in the Alpine section. Statistically, there are three major lineation sets trending N45°, N15°, N345°. They appear to have developed cogenetically as a result of shear and tensile failures due to a stress field with maximum principal stress oriented averagely at N15°. This direction of the maximum principal stress, deduced from the above lineation analysis of the eastern Alps, is in striking conformity with the one believed to have been in existence for the development of the Rhinegraben (N20°). It appears that the Rhinegraben and the Alpide belt have evolved cogenetically and concurrently under the same dominant stress field (P1 = N—NNE, P2 = vertical and P3 = E—ESE) and hence the two geotectonic features are really not antagonistic and mutually incompatible as usually believed on the grounds that one involves tension (taphrogenesis — Rhinegraben) and the other compression (orogenesis — Alpide belt) but are different manifestations of the same stress field. Besides, some additional light has been thrown on the possible controls of development of the Giudicaria Line and cause of predominance of NE—SW trending sinistral faults.

Snowmelt may substantially contribute to the overall discharge of a river and hence is the importance of estimating snowmelt runoff. The River Beas, in the northwestern part of India, was chosen to study the relation between snow-cover area and snowmelt runoff. Snow-cover area was mapped from the LANDSAT images for a number of years in various subcatchments. The river discharge, excess over the baseflow, in days of non-concurrent rain-precipitation, was computed which could be attributed to snowmelt alone. The snow-cover area and the subsequent snowmelt runoff in various subcatchments are found to be well correlated. It is interpreted that there have been years of uniformly heavier and lighter snowfall all over the basin and the snowmelt discharges have consequently systematically varied. For a particular subcatchment, the relationship between snow-cover area and snowmelt runoff seems to be independent of geographic factors like solar illumination, catchment orientation and relative location. On the other hand, it appears to depend on geomorphical factors such as size of the subcatchment, permanent snow-cover area, average altitude, lithology and stream order. Hence, it is considered that, for each type of geomorphical subcatchment, a different empirical relation should exist between snow-cover area and snowmelt runoff.

Further development of an experimental model for evaluating fertility in cryptorchidism led to studies of unilateral cryptorchidism, endocrinological cryptorchidism, and the effects of treatment. The results demonstrate that rats with unilateral mechanical cryptorchidism have a significant diminution in the ability to impregnate females (impregnation rate, 45%) when compared with sham-operated controls (84%) and rats undergoing unilateral orchiectomy (88%). In addition, we demonstrated that lower doses of estradiol caused cryptorchidism and resulted in infertility of approximately the same degree as higher doses (impregnation rates, 18% and 0%, respectively), but avoided obvious side effects. Treatment of estradiol-induced cryptorchidism with human chorionic gonadotropin resulted in testicular descent, but did not significantly improve the ability to bear offspring (10% with hCG vs. 0% without). Surgical orchiopexy after surgically induced mechanical cryptorchidism resulted in improved fertility (30% vs. 0%); however, the improvement was still significantly less than the control rate. In summary, this experimental model demonstrates the effects of various aspects of cryptorchidism and its treatment on fertility and can easily be adapted to evaluate important clinical problems.

Monitoring of water bodies from satellite platforms has been a subject of much interest from the operational point of view. However, computing lake surface area for estimating water volumes would have limited applicability in areas of high topographic relief. Therefore, a method is offered, involving marking of land-water contact from satellite data along low-gradient channels. The applicability of the method has been tested on the Ramganga dam reservoir (Himalayas, India) using Landsat MSS CCT's, field spectro-radiometric measurements and theodolite surveys. It is considered that the technique can be utilized in areas of known topography for real-time remote monitoring of fluctuations in reservoir volume.

Repetitive coverages of Landsat MSS images over Bhakra Dam Reservoir (Sutlej River, India,) have been analyzed and processed on an optical-analogue processing device for feature enhancement. A lineament-tectonic map of the area has been prepared and a number of north-south trending post-Siwalik geological faults have been deciphered on the images, which can be related to the northwards drift of the Indian plate. Temporal variations in the lake reservoir area have been mapped from the images, the accuracy of which can be improved through digital processing. A method for volumetric estimation of stored water from the Landsat data has been suggested which can be applied in known topographic conditions. It is further shown that heavy silt-yielding zones in the reservoir can be identified on the basis of multiple converging evidences. The importance of remote sensing in water resources management has been emphasized.

Fracture of the surgical neck of humerus in young patients is a relatively rare injury. We reviewed the available material on the topic and identified puckering at the shoulder in high-energy fracture of the surgical neck as a finding which has been reported infrequently but signifies a need for open reduction. We present a review of the literature on the subject and our similar experience in two young males who had puckering and ecchymosis at the shoulder.

This study was aimed at assessment of sleep schedule, pre-sleep behavior, co-sleeping and parent’s perception of sleep of school going children. Method Four schools each, from urban and rural area were included. Sleep patterns were assessed using the validated Hindi version of Childhood-Sleep-Habit-Questionnaire. Comparison was made between urban and rural group and between boys and girls. Interaction of gender, domicile and school-type was examined on the sleep patterns. Results This study included 831 school children with mean age of 8.9 years. Nearly half of the subjects were boys in this study. Urban children outnumbered those from rural area. Total sleep time on weekdays was 8.3 h that increased to 9.5 h on weekends. Rural children spent more time in sleep than urban children on weekdays and weekends. A higher proportion of urban children felt sleepy during the day. Television watching before bedtime was more common in urban settings. Room sharing was more common among rural children. Nearly 65% rural parents as compared to 77.5% urban parents reported that their child was sleeping sufficient enough. Gender did not affect sleep-schedule and parent’s perception regarding their child’s sleep. Interaction between gender, domicile and school-type did not have any significant effect on sleep patterns. Conclusion Television watching before bedtime was more common among urban school children and they had shorter total sleep time. They had signs of sleep deprivation. Room sharing was more common among rural children. Despite longer sleep time, parents of rural children felt the need for more sleep.

Modifications were made in an experimental model in the rat to make it more analogous to human cryptorchidism and more useful in evaluating treatment. The age of experimental bilateral cryptorchidism was changed from 3 days to 11 days. Neither group was able to father offspring. The age at orchiopexy also was modified from the range of 21 to 28 days to exactly 21 days. The ability to father offspring improved significantly (72 versus 30 per cent) and it was not significantly different from previously reported sham operated rats (84 per cent). The current experimental model demonstrates that early surgical treatment can restore fertility to mechanically cryptorchid animals. The model can be used to evaluate the effects of varying types and timing of treatment.

Purpose To measure the femoral tunnel length created through a far medial portal and determine its correlation with body height, limb length, and thigh length in 404 Indian patients undergoing anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) reconstruction. Methods 364 male and 40 female Indian patients aged 18 to 51 (mean, 26.8) years underwent ACL reconstruction by a single surgeon using the hamstrings tendon autograft. Their body height, limb length, and thigh length were measured by a single assessor, as was the femoral tunnel length. Results The mean femoral tunnel length was 34.5 mm. It was Conclusion The femoral tunnel length positively correlated with body height, limb length, and thigh length in 404 Indian patients.

We thank Drs. Tfelt-Hansen and Ashina [1] for their interest in our article [2]. They have raised a valid point, namely that measurement units should be similar in the scientific literature. We assume that different units mentioned in previous studies were provided by the respective manufacturer of the kit, and we followed the same custom. However, in the interest of uniformity in the literature, as indicated by Drs. Tfelt-Hansen and Ashina, we provide revised results here (Table 1). A concern was raised regarding the higher inter-ictal concentration of plasma CGRP in the cubital blood than reported in previous studies [3–7]. The available literature provides conflicting results regarding plasma CGRP concentration in migraineurs, both ictal as well as inter-ictal, and even when the blood was collected from different areas (external jugular/internal jugular and cubital) [2–9]. Hence, no conclusion can be reached regarding the baseline concentration of CGRP in plasma. The higher concentration reported in the present study than in previous studies can be explained by a number of methodological factors. First, the CGRP has a very short half life, barely 7 min, hence we made sure that plasma samples were frozen to -70 C within 5 min of drawing the blood [10, 11]. In a number of studies the sample was centrifuged for 15 min [6, 8, 12]. This could have resulted in lower levels. Secondly, it must be remembered that peptides are unstable molecules and they need to be preserved at -70 C. At least in one study samples were stored at –20 C until analysis, and this could have affected the results [13]. Moreover, the plasma level of CGRP follows a circadian pattern and shows troughs and peaks, but at different times according to different studies [14, 15]. We had drawn blood samples between 9 a.m. and 12 noon, when CGRP concentration is highest [14]. Furthermore, sampling methods and anticoagulants may affect the quantitative analysis with some peptides [16]. These factors could have affected the results of previous studies as they used different anticoagulants, e.g. heparin or aprotinin [6, 8, 13]. We used EDTA tubes to collect the blood on the manufacturer’s recommendation. Lastly, the measurement of CGRP is influenced by a number of factors present in the plasma that may cross-react with it (Peninsula Lab Inc., LLC), hence we used the extraction-free kit. This further reduces the chances of error. The sensitivity of the ELISA kit used in this study was 21 pmol/l and the range was 0–6596 pmol/l (Peninsula Lab Inc., LLC) with intra-assay variation of less than 5%. Thus, the results of these kinds of studies warrant further studies in this area with better methodologies, until conclusive evidence is yielded. R. Gupta (&) Sleep and Headache Care, 1061 Kissan Marg, Barkat Nagar, Rajasthan, Jaipur 302015, India e-mail: guptaravi_2003@yahoo.co.in

DOI = 10.3126/hjs.v5i7.1323 Himalayan Journal of Sciences Vol.5(7) (Special Issue) 2008 p.142

Background mRNA-Seq technology has revolutionized the field of transcriptomics for identification and quantification of gene transcripts not only at gene level but also at isoform level. Estimating the expression levels of transcript isoforms from mRNA-Seq data is a challenging problem due to the presence of constitutive exons. Results We propose a novel algorithm (IsoformEx) that employs weighted non-negative least squares estimation method to estimate the expression levels of transcript isoforms. Validations based on in silico simulation of mRNA-Seq and qRT-PCR experiments with real mRNA-Seq data showed that IsoformEx could accurately estimate transcript expression levels. In comparisons with published methods, the transcript expression levels estimated by IsoformEx showed higher correlation with known transcript expression levels from simulated mRNA-Seq data, and higher agreement with qRT-PCR measurements of specific transcripts for real mRNA-Seq data. Conclusions IsoformEx is a fast and accurate algorithm to estimate transcript expression levels and gene expression levels, which takes into account short exons and alternative exons with a weighting scheme. The software is available at http://bioinformatics.wistar.upenn.edu/isoformex.