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Despite being potentially remediable, central nervous system tuberculosis continues to be a major cause of morbidity and mortality in developing countries. Intracranial tuberculoma is one of the many presentations of CNS tuberculosis that can occur as solitary or multiple lesions. When tuberculomas are solitary and extremely large, they may cause increased intracranial pressure, compressive focal neurological deficits, or epileptic seizures mimicking a malignant lesion. Even using magnetic resonance imaging and spectrography, giant tuberculoma and brain tumors could be mistaken for one another, which warrants consideration of an infectious etiology as a diagnostic differential for prompt diagnosis and appropriate treatment plan. This case study demonstrates a 22-year-old woman who presented with headache, nausea and vomiting ,blurring of vision , weakness of the right side of the body, and features of frontal lobe syndrome with no particular clinical features of TB, and underwent craniotomy who had a preoperative diagnosis of brain tumor. Histopathology later revealed it to be a tuberculoma. J Shaheed Suhrawardy Med Coll 2021; 13(2): 177-182

Epileptic seizure is a chronic neurological disorder which affects millions of people all over the globe. It can be treated in a better way if the symptoms are detected at an early stage. In this study, we have demonstrated and evaluated the classification performances of different machine learning classifiers for the detection of epileptic seizures from electroencephalography (EEG) signals. For this, we have first applied principal component analysis (PCA) on EEG signals to obtain much reduced-length PCA vectors. These vectors are then applied to decision tree (DT), k-nearest neighbor (KNN), Naïve Bayes (NB), support vector machine (SVM) and artificial neural network (ANN) classifiers for the detection of epileptic seizures. The effects of length of PCA vectors on the performances of these classifiers have also been analyzed rigorously for 2-class, 3-class and 5-class classification of EEG signals. Besides such PCA-based classifiers, we have also proposed and evaluated the performances of a customized convolutional neural network (CNN) to directly extract features from the EEG signals as well as to perform classification tasks. The results showed that CNN outperforms PCA-based machine learning classifiers. For 2-class classification cases, CNN attains classification accuracies in the range from 99.50% to 100%, whereas 98.48% and 96.32% accuracies are obtained with CNN for 3-class and 5-class classification cases. The results signify that the proposed CNN classifier can be considered as a highly-efficient scheme for the reliable detection of epileptic seizures from EEG signals. Bangladesh Journal of Medical Physics Vol.15 No.1 2022 P 28-42

The potential for plant-origin essential oils to modulate rumen functions for reducing bio-hydrogenation of fatty acids and methane production has been a significant area of research in recent times. This study investigated the effects supplementation of garlic (Allium sativum) essential oils have on in vitro bio-hydrogenation of fatty acids, methanogenesis and fermentation characteristics of total mixed ration in buffalo with the aim of enhancing conjugated linoleic acid (CLA) content in animal products as well as reducing environmental pollution. Allium sativum (AS) essential oils were examined at four levels [0 (Control), 33.33 µL (AS-1), 83.33 µL (AS-2) and 166.66 µL (AS-3) per litre of buffered rumen fluid] in a radio-frequency based automatic gas production system (ANKOM-RF). Two bottles per treatment per run over two incubation runs were undertaken to gain representative results. Oats hay and concentrate mixture (1:1) was used as a substrate (500 ± 5 mg) and incubated with 60 mL of buffered rumen fluid in 250 mL ANKOM bottles fitted with automatic an gas recording system at 39 °C for 24 h, following standard in vitro gas production protocols. The results demonstrated a reduction (p < 0.01) in lipid bio-hydrogenation, measured by lowered saturated fatty acids and enhanced unsaturated fatty acids on the supplementation of AS essential oils, irrespective of the dose levels. Moreover, the increased (p < 0.01) production of trans vaccenic (trans C18:1) acid (TVA) following graded dose supplementations of the AS essential oils increased the production of conjugated linoleic acids (CLA) in animal products. Although, reduced methane production (p < 0.01) was evidenced, the decrease in total gas production and feed digestibility (TDDM) demonstrated the strong antimicrobial properties of AS at all dose levels. The study reveals that the Allium sativam (Garlic) essential oils have the potential to be an agent for the reduction of the rumen biohydrogenation of fatty acids and methanogenesis. However, in vivo examination is necessary to validate the findings and confirm its suitability for use as an additive to enhance nutraceutical and organoleptic properties in animal products.

The intra-seasonal fluctuations of Indian summer monsoon rainfall (ISMR) are mainly controlled by northward propagating Monsoon Intra-seasonal Oscillation (MISO) and eastward propagating Madden Julian Oscillation (MJO). In the current study, we examine the relationship between the intra-seasonal fluctuations (active and break spells) of ISMR with the phase propagation and amplitude of MISO and MJO. We notice that active spells generally occur during MISO phase 2–5 (MJO phase 3–6), and break spells mainly occur during MISO phase 6–8 (MJO phase 6–8 and 1). The association of active/break spells with MISO phases is more prominent than with MJO phases. We show the phase composite of unfiltered and regression based reconstructed rainfall for eight MISO and MJO phases, and the same is consistent with the earlier findings. We notice that the reconstructed field shows a systematic and well-organised northward propagation compared to the unfiltered field. Phase composite also indicates that there is a lead-lag relationship between MISO and MJO phases. MISO phase composite shows more robust northward propagation than the MJO phase composite. MISO reconstructed rainfall explained more percentage variance than MJO reconstructed rainfall with reference to 20–90 days filtered rainfall. It is found that long active (> 7 days) predominantly occurs when either MISO or MJO, or both of them are active, and the associated signal is somewhere in between phase 2–5. A long break occurs when either one or both of them are feeble, or even though associated signals are strong, they are primarily located in phases 1, 6, 7 and 8.

Thujone is a natural or manmade ketone monoterpenoid, fragment substance which is most famous for its use in absinthe spirit. It is found in various plants which are used as medicines, foods, hard drinks, and for various purposes in our daily life. The plants that contain thujone are wormwood, clary, tansy, sage, some junipers, oregano, thuja, cypress, mentha, lavender, etc. So it is likely to use thujone-containing plants for food and medicine can be harmful to our body. It has been reported that long-term use of these plants may leads to diseases like stomach aches, seizures, renal failure, hallucination, rhabdomyolysis, paralysis and even death. In current review we have discussed different toxic effects of thujone and have tried to search the plausible solutions by which we can minimize or remove the thujone from daily used plant products. References Emmert, J., Sartor, G., Sporer, F., & Gummersbach, J. (2004). Determination of alpha-/beta-thujone and related terpenes in absinthe using solid phase extraction and gas chromatography. DEUTSCHE LEBENSMITTELRUNDSCHAU, 352-356. Wróblewska-Kurdyk, A., Gniłka, R., Dancewicz, K., Grudniewska, A., Wawrzeńczyk, C., & Gabryś, B. (2019). β-thujone and its derivatives modify the probing behavior of the peach potato aphid. Molecules, 24(10), 1847. Akkol, E. K., İlhan, M., Demirel, M. A., Keleş, H., Tümen, I., & Süntar, İ. (2015). Thuja occidentalis L. and its active compound, α-thujone: Promising effects in the treatment of polycystic ovary syndrome without inducing osteoporosis. Journal of ethnopharmacology, 168, 25-30. Judzentiene, A., Budiene, J., Gircyte, R., Masotti, V., & Laffont-Schwob, I. (2012). Toxic Activity and Chemical Composition of Lithuanian Wormwood (Artemisia absinthium L.) Essential Oils. Records of Natural Products, 6(2). Pappas, R., & Sheppard-Hanger, S. (2000). Artemisia arborescens-essential oil of the Pacific Northwest: a high-chamazulene, low-thujone essential oil with potential skin-care applications. Aromather. J, 10, 30-33. Halicioglu, O., Astarcioglu, G., Yaprak, I., & Aydinlioglu, H. (2011). Toxicity of Salvia officinalis in a newborn and a child: an alarming report. Pediatric neurology, 45(4), 259-260. Rivera, E. M., Cid, M. P., Zunino, P., Baiardi, G., & Salvatierra, N. A. (2014). Central α-and β-thujone: similar anxiogenic-like effects and differential modulation on GABAA receptors in neonatal chicks. Brain research, 1555, 28-35. Höld, K. M., Sirisoma, N. S., & Casida, J. E. (2001). Detoxification of α-and β-Thujones (the active ingredients of absinthe): site specificity and species differences in cytochrome P450 oxidation in vitro and in vivo. Chemical research in toxicology, 14(5), 589-595. Albert-Puleo, M. (1978). Mythobotany, pharmacology, and chemistry of thujone-containing plants and derivatives. Economic Botany, 32(1), 65-74. Radulović, N. S., Genčić, M. S., Stojanović, N. M., Randjelović, P. J., Stojanović-Radić, Z. Z., & Stojiljković, N. I. (2017). Toxic essential oils. Part V: Behaviour modulating and toxic properties of thujones and thujone-containing essential oils of Salvia officinalis L., Artemisia absinthium L., Thuja occidentalis L. and Tanacetum vulgare L. Food and Chemical Toxicology, 105, 355-369. Lachenmeier, D. W., Nathan-Maister, D., Breaux, T. A., & Kuballa, T. (2009). Long-term stability of thujone, fenchone, and pinocamphone in vintage preban absinthe. Journal of agricultural and food chemistry, 57(7), 2782-2785.......

In the seamless forecast paradigm, it is hypothesized that the reduction in initial error in the dynamical model forecast would help to reduce forecast error in the extended range lead time up to 2–3 weeks. This hypothesis is tested in a version of an operational extended range forecast model based on National Centre for Environmental Prediction (US) Climate Forecast System version 2. Forecast skills are assessed to understand the role of initial errors on the prediction skill for Madden-Julian Oscillation (MJO). Retrospective forecasts are categorized in two groups. One group defines the lowest initial day’s error and the other with the highest initial day’s errors. Then, the error growth for these two categories is analyzed for the strong MJO events during May to September. The initial errors of MJO forecast are categorized and defined using the multivariate MJO index introduced by Wheeler and Hendon (Mon Wea Rev 132(8):1917–1932, 2004). The probability distribution of bivariate root mean square error (BVRMSE) and error growth evolution is used as metrics. The results showed that the initial error does not show any significant difference in the amplitude after a lead time of 7–10 days, and the error growth remains the same for both sets of runs. It is also found that the errors originate from the events with the initial phase in the western Pacific and the Indian Ocean. The study advocates the importance of better representation of MJO phases over the ocean in the model to improve the MJO prediction rather than simply focusing on improving the initial conditions.

The biases due to model physics in simulating the Indian summer monsoon are investigated to construct a multi-physics forecast strategy for sub-seasonal prediction. A 15-year hindcast from May to September (model is initialized six times every month) is produced with Climate Forecast System version 2 (CFSv2) using four physics combinations. These physics schemes include simplified Arakawa Shubert (SAS) and revised Arakawa Shubert (NSAS) convection parameterization coupled with Zhao and Carr (ZC) and Ferrier (FER) microphysics. The spatial and temporal characteristics of predicted monsoon climatology and its biases are evaluated using observation and reanalysis datasets. All physics schemes could predict rainfall distribution but have biases in predicted spatial rainfall maxima, and low-level circulation resulted from erroneous diabatic heating. Stronger deep convection in NSAS increased rainfall over the Indian landmass and caused excessive precipitation over oceanic regions. The inclusion of critical mixed-phase microphysical processes tends to reduce high cloud fraction in FER. It is illustrated that such constraining refinements due to one or more modified aspects of these physics schemes can be utilized to create a multi-physics prediction scenario. The multi-physics ensemble’s mean showcases the considerable skill and controlled error-growth up to 20-day lead time compared to each physics combination for the monsoon zone. The study anticipates that the multi-physics approach could exploit individual physical schemes’ strengths to yield better sub-seasonal forecasts.

Background: Spinal hamartoma is an extremely rare lesion for symptomatic spinal cord compression in adult population. Without any association of spinal dysraphism and neurofibromatosis, only 3 cases have been reported in the literature. Case description: A 40-year-old man presented with lumbago femorica for 6 months. Gradually the symptoms worsened and he developed features of Cauda equina syndrome. Magnetic Resonence Imagimg demonstrated a heterogeneously hyperintense intradural extramedullary mass in both T1 and T2WI, involving conus medullaris and cauda equina, opposite to L1. Patient underwent near total resection of lesion through posterior midline approach. Histopathological features were consistent with hamartoma. Patient neurologically improved and follow up MRI at 6 months showed static small nodular tumor residue. Conclusion: To the best of our knowledge, current report is the fourth case of spinal hamartoma in adult male, without any association of spinal dysraphism and neurofibromatosis .This may be the first reported case from Bangladesh.

The economy and livelihood of the State of West Bengal in India are mainly dependent on agriculture. Rice is one of the major crops of this state, and it contributes a significant proportion to the rice production of India. The present study deals with the prediction of Kharif rice over Gangetic West Bengal using forecast products from IITM-IMD extended range prediction (ERP) system. It is a multi-model ensemble prediction system that comprises 16 different ensemble members obtained from the Climate Forecast System (CFSv2) and the stand-alone atmospheric component of CFSv2 (i.e., GFSv2). The performance of ERP rainfall forecast has been assessed over a relatively larger domain covering Indian landmass before its utilization in crop yield prediction. Satisfactory skills, e.g., higher correlation and lower normalized root mean squared error (nRMSE), have been found in ERP rainfall forecast during the first 3 weeks for most of the initial conditions (ICs). Next, bias-corrected ERP weekly forecast data of incoming solar radiation, rainfall, and maximum and minimum temperatures have been incorporated into a process-based crop model (CERES-rice) available in the Decision Support System for Agro-technology Transfer (DSSAT). ERP-driven crop model has performed better to reproduce inter-annual variability of observed rice yield compared to yield simulated using crop model driven by climatology alone. Also, the ERP-driven model has been able to capture the below- and above-normal yield categories relatively better than the climatology-driven model. Hence, the incorporation of ERP in crop models may provide value-added prediction, which will be helpful for the stakeholders and decision-makers.

The performance of operational extended range forecast (ERF) issued by IMD is evaluated for the southwest monsoon 2019, which is one of the excess monsoon years. The delayed onset of monsoon over southern tip of India, sluggish progress northward and delayed withdrawal of monsoon from Northwest India are very well captured in the ERF with two to three weeks lead time. The revival of monsoon towards the end of June & first week of July, weak phase during 2nd/3rd weeks of July, transition into active phase of monsoon during last week of July & first half of August and very active monsoon conditions in September are also very well captured in the ERF. Quantitatively, over the country as a whole and over the four homogeneous regions of India the ERF provided useful guidance with the country as a whole, the central India and the monsoon zone of India indicating more promising results with the correlation coefficient (CC) between observed and forecast rainfall is significant up to three weeks. Over the Northwest India and South Peninsula, it shows useful skill up to two weeks. Northeast India shows significant skill up to one week only followed by weaker CC in week 2 and again increases in week 3. During the 2019 monsoon season the transition of monsoon from above normal to below normal in July month is well captured in the ERF in smaller spatial scales of meteorological subdivision level forecasts, which is being used widely for agrometeorological advisory purposes up to two weeks.

BACKGROUND Several feed additives have been used in recent past to reduce enteric methane production in ruminants. But most of them also inhibit feed digestibility and rumen fermentation, thereby lowering animal performance. Phytogenic feed additives are gaining importance owing to their safety in regard to human health issues. The present study examined the effect of dietary supplementation of phytogenic feed additive containing a blend of poplar (Populus deltoides) and eucalyptus (Eucalyptus citriodora) leaves on feed utilization, milk production, methane emissions and health status of Murrah buffaloes (Bubalus bubalis). RESULTS The daily milk yield, 6% fat corrected milk yield, and fat-protein corrected milk yield were increased (P

Tea (Camellia sinensis) being the most consumed beverage worldwide. The safety evaluation of tea needs to be monitored during pregnancy, prenatal as well as postnatal developmental period beside its beneficial roles toward health and disease. Black Tea extract (BTE) may have an impact on thyroid hormone physiology and reproductive health during pregnancy. The objective of present study was to evaluate the role of BTE on thyroid physiology of pregnant rat during prenatal and postnatal period. Among three experimental groups, Group 1 was the control pregnant female rats respectively treated orally with saline, Group 2 and Group 3 were pregnant female rats treated with 50 mg and 100 mg BTE/kg body weight/day, p.o. respectively throughout prenatal and postnatal periods. All three groups of rats were provided balance diet and drinking water ad libitum. Animals were examined through their T3, T4, TSH, E2 and P4 hormone assay and histology of thyroid, ovary and uterus. All data were expressed as mean ± standard deviation with significance between the controls and the treated groups (n = 6). Experimental data were subjected to the ANOVA and Tukey test; P

Among the other diseases, malaria and diarrhoea have a large disease burden in India, especially among children. Changes in rainfall and temperature patterns likely play a major role in the increased incidence of these diseases across geographical locations. This study proposes a method for probabilistic forecasting of the disease incidences in extended range time scale (2–3 weeks in advance) over India based on an unsupervised pattern recognition technique that uses meteorological parameters as inputs and which can be applied to any geographical location over India. To verify the robustness of this newly developed early warning system, detailed analysis has been made in the incidence of malaria and diarrhoea over two districts of the State of Maharashtra. It is found that the increased probabilities of high (less) rainfall, high (low) minimum temperature and low (moderate) maximum temperature are more (less) conducive for both diseases over these locations, but have different thresholds. With the categorical probabilistic forecasts of disease incidences, this early health warning system is found to be a useful tool with reasonable skill to provide the climate-health outlook about possible disease incidence at least 2 weeks in advance for any location or grid over India.

The active-break cycle of monsoons is the most important phenomenon of the Indian summer monsoon, and its prediction in real time will help to review the ongoing monsoon conditions for providing outlooks to farmers and disaster managers. The monsoon seasons of 2017 and 2018 during July–August witnessed many active-break-active transitions, with long dry spells. The recently implemented Climate Forecast System version 2 coupled model-based ensemble prediction system at the India Meteorological Department was used to observe the performance of a real-time extended-range forecast (ERF) of active-break-active cycles of the monsoon at different spatial scales during 2017 and 2018. The results indicated that the operational ERF has good fidelity in predicting the active-break-active transitions of the monsoon during 2017 and 2018 based on large-scale indices including the monsoon intraseasonal oscillation and low-level circulation. Quantitatively, the forecast of all India and central India rainfall during the active, break and transition phases of the monsoon are very well captured with a lead time of 2–3 weeks. In particular, the long dry spell during first 3 weeks of August and the active last week of August 2017 associated with very heavy rainfall over western coastal states of India were very well captured, whereas the active phase over the southern peninsula during 10–16 August 2018 was slightly underestimated. At smaller spatial scales, the ERFs for 36 meteorological (met)-subdivisions of India for 2–3 weeks could provide useful guidance to farmers during different monsoon phases. Thus, the skilful real-time ERF of the monsoon is very useful to user communities.

Eastward propagating Madden–Julian Oscillation (MJO) is a dominant mode of the intraseasonal variability and hence a potential source of intraseasonal predictability. Therefore, advancing MJO prediction using state-of-the-art dynamical model is of utmost importance for improving intraseasonal prediction. The prediction skill and predictability of MJO are assessed using 44 members ensemble hindcast (16 years data; 2001–2016) of CFSv2 based extended range prediction (ERP) system of IITM as well as 10 member ensemble hindcast (16 years data; 2001–2016) of ECMWF S2S dataset. The MJO is diagnosed using a newly developed Extended Empirical Orthogonal Function (EEOF) analysis. Near equatorial (15° S–15° N) model anomaly fields are projected onto the leading pair of observed eigen modes. The leading pair of observed eigen modes are obtained based on the EEOF analysis of the combined field of zonal wind at 200 hPa (U200), zonal wind at 850 hPa (U850) and velocity potential at 200 hPa (chi200). Model forecasted principal components (PCs) are quantitatively compared with observed PCs using bivariate correlation coefficient and root mean square error (RMSE). We find that MJO could be predicted up to around 22 days (around 31 days) for IITM ERP system (ECMWF S2S dataset) as measured by anomaly correlation coefficient remains larger than 0.5 and RMSE remains lower than 1.4. This prediction skill is quite low compared to potential predictability, which is estimated as more than 40 days both for IITM-ERP and ECMWF system. MJO prediction skill varies with initial MJO phase, particularly at the longer lead. This variation is more significant for the ECMWF system. Model (both for IITM-ERP and ECMWF) predicted amplitude drops at a faster rate and phase propagation speed for almost all initial phase is slower and amplitude is weaker compared to the observation. It could be concluded that even the state-of-the-art models [IITM-ERP (basically NCEP CFSv2) and ECMWF] are also not free from systematic errors/biases. Hence, there is an enormous space for improving MJO prediction skill by reducing these errors/biases in the dynamical model and error in the initial condition.

Ruminant livestock production processes are the major sources of methane production in agriculture sector triggering global environmental pollution. Above 90% of world buffalo population present in Asian countries, India ranks first and contributes significantly to the environmental pollution by enteric methane emissions. In this study, we examined the effect of dietary composite feed additive supplementation on ruminal methane production, nutrient utilization, milk production and immune status of buffaloes (Bubalus bubalis). Eighteen lactating Murrah (Bubalus bubalis) buffaloes at early stage of lactation were divided into two groups of nine animals and fed a composite feed additive [consisted of (%, w/w) dried and ground leaves of Cordia dichotoma and Holoptelea integrifolia, 31.4 each; garlic oil, 0.6; sodium nitrate, 3.1; magnesium sulphate, 8.4; mustard oil, 12.6 and cottonseed oil, 12.5] which contained an ideal combinations of methane inhibitors, alternate hydrogen sinks and rumen stimulating agents to treatment (CFA) group animals along with basal feed of chaffed green sorghum (Sorghum bicolor) fodder, chaffed wheat straw and concentrate mixture for maintenance and milk production. The results showed a decrease (44.6%) in methane concentration in exhaled air of CFA group buffaloes with increase (p

Glioblastoma (GBM) is characterized by poor therapeutic response and overall survival. It is the most aggressive form of primary brain tumor with a tendency to invade surrounding healthy brain tissues, rendering them largely incurable. In this study, small-interference RNA was used to knock down the expression of protein kinase C PKC-ι. The reduced PKC-ι expression impaired the phosphorylation of LIM kinase 1/2 (LIMK), which is a critical step in cofilin recycling and actin polymerization. Additionally, there was a down-regulation of matrix metalloprotease-9 expression in LN-229 and U87G cells, which coincided with decreased invasion. Therefore, PKC-ι regulates both cytoskeleton rearrangement and cell adhesion, which contributed to cell migration. Silencing of PKC-ι also dampened Transforming growth factor-β (TGF-β)-activated kinase 1 (Tak1) level. TAK1 is an essential component in genotoxic stresses-induced NF-κB-activation and mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK)-pathways in GBM. TAK1, when activated, forms a complex with TAB1-3 (Tak1 binding proteins). Our data reveal, reduced Tak1 level after silencing PKC-ι interferes with complex formation and reduces NF-κB-activation. Diminished PKC-ι level also reduces activation of Tak1/JNK axis. This deactivation exerts an anti-oncogenic effect on glioblastoma via suppression of Akt1, c-Myc, and STAT3. This implies PKC-ι may have a crucial role in the activation of Tak1. Reduced migration and invasion in glioblastoma cells upon inhibition of PKC-ι was further confirmed by Scratch assay and Boyden assay. These results indicate that PKC-ι is involved in the control of glioblastoma cell migration and invasion. PKC-ι is a central component of multiple converging and bifurcating pathways and is a potential therapeutic target against GBM survival and infiltration. Citation Format: Khandker Mohammad Khalid, Wishrawana S. Ratnayake, Avijit Dey, Nuzhat N. Oishee, Mahfuza Marzan, Mildred Acevedo-Duncan. Reduced level of protein kinase C iota renders human glioblastoma less invasive and induces apoptosis via modulating Tak1/NF-κB pathway. [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the American Association for Cancer Research Annual Meeting 2023; Part 1 (Regular and Invited Abstracts); 2023 Apr 14-19; Orlando, FL. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2023;83(7_Suppl):Abstract nr 5025.

Introduction There is some evidence that homeopathic treatment has been used successfully in previous epidemics, and currently some countries are testing homeoprophylaxis for the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic. There is a strong tradition of homeopathic treatment in India: therefore, we decided to compare three different homeopathic medicines against placebo in prevention of COVID-19 infections. Methods In this double-blind, cluster-randomized, placebo-controlled, four parallel arms, community-based, clinical trial, a 20,000-person sample of the population residing in Ward Number 57 of the Tangra area, Kolkata, was randomized in a 1:1:1:1 ratio of clusters to receive one of three homeopathic medicines (Bryonia alba 30cH, Gelsemium sempervirens 30cH, Phosphorus 30cH) or identical-looking placebo, for 3 (children) or 6 (adults) days. All the participants, who were aged 5 to 75 years, received ascorbic acid (vitamin C) tablets of 500 mg, once per day for 6 days. In addition, instructions on healthy diet and general hygienic measures, including hand washing, social distancing and proper use of mask and gloves, were given to all the participants. Results No new confirmed COVID-19 cases were diagnosed in the target population during the follow-up timeframe of 1 month—December 20, 2020 to January 19, 2021—thus making the trial inconclusive. The Phosphorus group had the least exposure to COVID-19 compared with the other groups. In comparison with placebo, the occurrence of unconfirmed COVID-19 cases was significantly less in the Phosphorus group (week 1: odds ratio [OR], 0.1; 95% confidence interval [CI], 0.06 to 0.16; week 2: OR, 0.004; 95% CI, 0.0002 to 0.06; week 3: OR, 0.007; 95% CI, 0.0004 to 0.11; week 4: OR, 0.009; 95% CI, 0.0006 to 0.14), but not in the Bryonia or Gelsemium groups. Conclusion Overall, the trial was inconclusive. The possible effect exerted by Phosphorus necessitates further investigation. Trial registration: CTRI/2020/11/029265.

COVID-19 has become an alarming pandemic for our earth. Worldwide, healthcare workers including neurosurgeons are facing challenges in prioritizing neurosurgical patients. Here we have tried to draw attention to the effective management of patients with limited resources. Prioritizing surgical cases in emergencies, overseeing triage framework for neurosurgeries, rebuilding of the inpatient service, should be of utmost priority. Neurosurgeons should point in the amendment as far as a good life for everybody, while still prioritizing equity in the distribution of services.

In spite of the summer monsoon’s importance in determining the life and economy of an agriculture-dependent country like India, committed efforts toward improving its prediction and simulation have been limited. Hence, a focused mission mode program Monsoon Mission (MM) was founded in 2012 to spur progress in this direction. This article explains the efforts made by the Earth System Science Organization (ESSO), Ministry of Earth Sciences (MoES), Government of India, in implementing MM to develop a dynamical prediction framework to improve monsoon prediction. Climate Forecast System, version 2 (CFSv2), and the Met Office Unified Model (UM) were chosen as the base models. The efforts in this program have resulted in 1) unparalleled skill of 0.63 for seasonal prediction of the Indian monsoon (for the period 1981–2010) in a high-resolution (∼38 km) seasonal prediction system, relative to present-generation seasonal prediction models; 2) extended-range predictions by a CFS-based grand multimodel ensemble (MME) prediction system; and 3) a gain of 2-day lead time from very high-resolution (12.5 km) Global Forecast System (GFS)-based short-range predictions up to 10 days. These prediction skills are on par with other global leading weather and climate centers, and are better in some areas. Several developmental activities like coupled data assimilation, changes in convective parameterization, cloud microphysics schemes, and parameterization of land surface processes (including snow and sea ice) led to the improvements such as reducing the strong model biases in the Indian summer monsoon simulation and elsewhere in the tropics.

Heat waves over India occur during the months of March-June. This study aims at the real-time monitoring and prediction of heat waves using a multi-model dynamical ensemble prediction system developed at Indian Institute of Tropical Meteorology, India. For this, a criterion has been proposed based on the observed daily gridded maximum temperature (Tmax) datasets, which can be used for real-time prediction as well. A heat wave day is identified when either (1) Tmax (a)≥ its climatological 95th percentile (calculated from daily values during March-June and for 1981–2010), (b) >36 °C, and (c) its departure from normal is >3.5 °C, Or, (2) when the Tmax >44 °C. Three heat wave prone regions, namely, northwest, southeast and northwest-southeast regions are recognized and heat wave spells of minimum consecutive six days are identified objectively for each region during 1981–2018. It is noticed that the prediction system has reasonable skill in predicting the heat waves over heat wave prone regions of India. Forecast verification of heat wave spells during 2003–2018 reveals that the prediction system has great potential in providing overall indication about the onset, duration and demise of the forthcoming heat wave spell with sufficient lead time albeit with some spatio-temporal error.

The present study was conducted to examine the plant bioactive compounds individually and in association for modulation of rumen fermentation in buffalo (Bubalus bubalis) with the aim to develop phytogenic feed additive for enteric methane mitigation from ruminants. The extracts of Sapindus mukorossi (SMF) fruits (aqueous and ethanolic) as a source of saponins, Ficus bengalensis (FBL) leaves (aqueous and acetonic) as a source of tannins and Eucalyptus globulus oils (ECO) as a source of essential oils were prepared and evaluated individually and in association for their effect on feed fermentation and methanogenesis by four separate in vitro experiments. Each experiment was conducted as a completely randomized design using a control and various treatment groups with different concentrations of plant bioactive compounds and their blends. Rumen fluid inoculum was collected from four rumen fistulated Murrah (B. bubalis) buffalo steers. The in vitro incubations were carried out for a period of 24 h with five replicates for each treatment. For SMF and FBL extracts, a concentration of 0, 0.5, 1.0, 2.0 and 4.0 mL were tested, whereas, ECO was tested at the levels of 0, 20, 40, 80 and 120 µL per 40 mL buffered rumen fluid with 0.4 g of oats hay as substrate. Both aqueous or ethanol extracts of SMF, acetonic extract of FBL, and ECO showed linear decrease (p

The performance of operational extended range forecast (ERF) issued by IMD is evaluated for the southwest monsoon 2020. The early onset of monsoon over the Bay of Bengal and the normal onset of monsoon over Kerala with slightly rapid progress northward are very well captured in the ERF with two to three weeks lead time. The ERF also captured very well the transitions from normal to weaker phase of monsoon in July, the active phase of monsoon in entire August was well anticipated in ERF with a lead time of 3 weeks. The active monsoon condition in the second half of September associated with delayed withdrawal from northwest India was also reasonably well captured in the ERF. Quantitatively, the ERF shows significant skill up to three weeks on all India levels. The spatial distribution of met-subdivision level mean forecast skill of predicting above normal, normal and below normal categories in terms of correct (forecast and observed category matching) and partially correct (forecast and observed category out by one category) for the 36 subdivisions during the entire monsoon season of 2020 is found to be 89%, 83%, 80% and 78% for week 1 to week 4 forecasts respectively. The wrong forecasts (forecast and observed category out by two categories) are found to be between 11% in week 1 to 22% in week 4 forecast. Thus, the met-subdivision level forecast shows useful skill and is being used operationally for agrometeorological advisory services of IMD.

The focus on the bioactive effects of plants concerns mainly ruminal microflora for the modulation of rumen fermentation with very little emphasis placed on their consequences on health parameters, including antioxidative and immune stimulating effects. The aim of the present study was to examine the effects of supplementing phytogenic feed additives composed of a mixture of eucalyptus (

In an endeavor to design better forecasting tools for real-time prediction, the present work highlights the strength of the multi-model multi-physics ensemble over its operational predecessor version. The exiting operational extended range prediction system (ERPv1) combines the coupled, and its bias-corrected sea-surface temperature forced atmospheric model running at two resolutions with perturbed initial condition ensemble. This system had accomplished important goals on the sub-seasonal scale skillful forecast; however, the skill of the system is limited only up to 2 weeks. The next version of this ERP system is seamless in resolution and based on a multi-physics multi-model ensemble (MPMME). Similar to the earlier version, this system includes coupled climate forecast system version 2 (CFSv2) and atmospheric global forecast system forced with real-time bias-corrected sea-surface temperature from CFSv2. In the newer version, model integrations are performed six times in a month for real-time prediction, selecting the combination of convective and microphysics parameterization schemes. Additionally, more than 15 years hindcast are also generated for these initial conditions. The preliminary results from this system demonstrate appreciable improvements over its predecessor in predicting the large-scale low variability signal and weekly mean rainfall up to 3 weeks lead. The subdivision-wise skill analysis shows that MPMME performs better, especially in the northwest and central parts of India.

The Indian Institute of Tropical Meteorology (IITM) has generated seasonal and extended range hindcast products for 1981-2008 and 2003-2016 respectively using the IITM-Climate Forecast System (IITM-CFS) coupled model at various resolutions and configurations. Notably, our observational analysis suggests that for the 1981-2008 period, the tropical Indo-Pacific drivers, namely, the canonical El Niño-Southern Oscillation (ENSO), ENSO Modoki, and Indian Ocean Dipole (IOD) are significantly associated with the observed Kharif rice production (KRP) of various rice-growing Indian states. In this paper, using the available hindcasts, we evaluate whether these state-of-the-art retrospective forecasts capture the relationship of the KRP of multiple states with the local rainfall as well as the tropical Indo-Pacific drivers, namely, the canonical ENSO, ENSO Modoki and the IOD. Using techniques of anomaly correlation, partial correlation, and pattern correlation, we surmise that the IITM-CFS successfully simulate the observed association of the tropical Indo-Pacific drivers with the local rainfall of many states during the summer monsoon. Significantly, the observed relationship of the local KRP with various climate drivers is predicted well for several Indian states such as United Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Odisha, and Bihar. The basis seems to be the model's ability to capture the teleconnections from the tropical Indo-Pacific drivers such as the IOD, canonical and Modoki ENSOs to the local climate, and consequently, the Kharif rice production.

Enteric methane production contributes significantly to the greenhouse gas emission globally. Although, buffaloes are integral part of livestock production in Asian countries, contributing milk, meat and draft power, the contribution of enteric methane to environmental pollution attracts attention. The present study investigated the efficacy of garlic (Allium sativum) oil in reducing enteric methane production from buffaloes (Bubalus bubalis) by in vitro rumen fermentation. Garlic oil (GOL) was tested at four concentrations [0 (Control), 33.33 µl (GOL-1), 83.33 µl (GOL-2) and 166.66 µl (GOL-3) per litre of buffered rumen fluid] in 100-ml graduated glass syringes and incubated at 39℃ for 24 h for in vitro rumen fermentation study. Supplementation of GOL-1 increased (p p > 0.05) with control and GOL-2. Graded doses of garlic oil inclusions reduced (p p > 0.05) by GOL-1, but these tended to decrease in GOL-2 with marked reduction (p p 3–N concentration in fermentation fluid in the presence of garlic oil, irrespective of concentration, suggests reduced deamination by inhibiting rumen proteolytic bacterial population. The activities of ruminal fibrolytic enzymes (CMCase, xylanase, β-glucosidase, acetyl esterase) were not affected by lower dose (GOL-1) of garlic oil; however, reduction (p

Background: Crop residues play a central role in ruminant’s diet in developing countries. Due to low in nutritional quality, there is limitation in ruminant production through feeding of these residues. Therefore, production of quality crop residues through plant breeding programme without conceding grain yield is of prime importance. The present experiment envisaged the feeding value of stovers from three different novel sorghum (Sorghum bicolor L.) cultivars by in vitro fermentation pattern, gas production, microbial abundance and ruminal enzyme production in buffalo. Methods: Stovers from three different genotypes of sorghum cultivars viz. normal sorghum (CSV-27), brown midrib (bmr) sorghum (SPV-2018) and sweet sorghum (CSH 22SS) were analyzed for proximate principles and fibre fractions. Each stover sample was incubated (200 ± 5 mg) with 30 ml buffered rumen fluid in 100 ml calibrated glass syringes at 39ºC for 24 h following in vitro gas production system using rumen liquor from Murrah buffaloes. The gas production in each syringe was recorded during incubation at 4, 8, 12, 18 and 24 h intervals. Incubations were terminated at 24 h and methane concentration in the head space gas from syringes incubated with each stover sample was analyzed. Supernatant of each syringe contents was analyzed for volatile fatty acids (VFA) estimation. Truly degradable dry matter (TDDM) was determined and microbial biomass production (MBP) and portioning factor (PF) was calculated. Ruminal fibrolytic enzyme production and microbial abundance in each syringe content was estimated. Result: The stover of bmr sorghum showed highest organic matter, followed by normal sorghum and lowest in sweet sorghum. The neural detergent fibre (NDF) ranges between 69.22 to 74.65%, with highest in bmr sorghum and lowest in sweet sorghum. The stover sample of bmr sorghum contained lowest (P less than 0.05) acid detergent fibre (ADF) among the three cultivars examined, which resulted with highest (P less than 0.05) hemicellulose (37.72%) content. Lowest acid detergent lignin (ADL) was found in stovers of bmr cultivar (1.27%) and highest in sweet sorghum (8.36%). The fermentation pattern of bmr sorghum stovers exhibited higher (P less than 0.05) total gas production, dry matter degradability, VFA production, ruminal enzymes (CMCase, xylanase, acetyl esterase) and abundance of total ruminal bacterial population than normal and sweet sorghum stovers. Therefore, this study establishes the enhanced feeding value of stovers from bmr sorghum cultivar compared to normal and sweet sorghum cultivars for ruminant production.