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The population assemblage of Drosophilidae in the four districts of North Western Ghats was analysed. A total of 13,604 individuals comprising 17 species collected from 8 localities during the period of 2021–22 across various seasons. The study highlights the dominance of three species (Drosophila bipectinata Duda, D. malerkotliana Parshad & Paika and D. eugracilis Bock & Wheeler) belonging to ananassae and eugracilis subgroups. Overall collection data revealed the highest species richness and diversity for Dharwad and UK interior forests, whereas the maximum abundance and the highest evenness were observed in UK coastal and Belagavi forests respectively. The species rank-abundance curve revealed Dharwad forest had higher species richness and comparatively stable species assemblage. Drosophila eugracilis was the dominant species in localities of Dharwad and Belagavi forests, whereas D. bipectinata was the dominant species in both coastal and interior localities of UK forests. Rare faction curves plotted across the different seasons for all the forest localities revealed population assemblage and species richness of all forests across different seasons. Morisita index of similarities showed similarities for populations across localities and seasons. Nonparametric independent sample Kruskal-Wallis test was done to test distribution of abundance of individual species across spatial and temporal groups. The study reveals variation of population assemblage across the forests of Dharwad, Belagavi, and Uttara Kannada (coastal and interior) and dominance of D. bipectinata, D. malerkotliana and D. eugracilis.

People's lived experiences of distress are complex, personal, and vary widely across cultures. So, too, do the terms and expressions people use to describe distress. This variation presents an engaging challenge for those doing intercultural work in transcultural psychiatry, global mental health, and psychological anthropology. This article details the findings of a study of common distress terminology among 63 Kannada-speaking Hindu women living in Mysuru, the second largest city in the state of Karnataka, South India. Very little existing scholarship focuses on cultural adaptation for speakers of Dravidian languages like Kannada; this study aims to fill this gap and support greater representation of this linguistic family in research on mental health, idioms of distress, and distress terminology. Between 2018 and 2019, we conducted a 3-phase study consisting of interviews, data reduction, and focus group discussions. The goal was to produce a non-exhaustive list of common Kannada distress terms that could be used in future research and practice to translate and culturally adapt mental health symptom scales or other global mental health tools., (© 2024. The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer Science+Business Media, LLC, part of Springer Nature.)

Tobacco farm laborers are primarily women and children working for very low wages. The aim of this study was to explore occupational and reproductive health challenges faced by women tobacco farm laborers in Mysore District, India. We conducted interviews and six focus group discussions among 41 women tobacco farm laborers. Codes and themes were generated based on deductive and inductive approaches using the socioecological model. Participants reported symptoms of green tobacco sickness including headaches, back pain, gastric problems, weakness, and allergies during menstruation, pre-natal, and post-natal periods. Participants had poor awareness about the health effects of tobacco farming, and there were gender inequalities in wages and the use of personal protective equipment. Participants received support from family and community health workers during their pregnancy and post-natal period. Women reported wanting maternity benefits from the tobacco board, as well as monetary support and nutritional supplements. There is a need for health education about the environmental dangers of tobacco among farm laborers, and more supportive policies for women farmworkers during pregnancy and post-natal periods.