Search

Green tea, the commonly consumed beverage, is gaining increased attention in promoting overall health. In specific, green tea is considered a healthful beverage due to the biological activity of its polyphenols namely catechins. The main green tea polyphenols are catechins: (±)-catechin C, (-)-epicatechin EC, (+)-gallocatechin GC, (-)-epigallocatechin EGC, (-)-epicatechin gallate ECG, and (-)-epigallocatechin gallate EGCG. Among the polyphenols Epigallocatechin 3 gallate and Epicatechin 3 Gallate are the most predominant catechins. There are also human studies on using green tea catechins to treat chronic diseases such as obesity, type II diabetes, and cardiovascular risk factors. Long-term consumption of tea catechins could be beneficial against high-fat diet-induced obesity and type II diabetes and could reduce the risk of coronary disease. Several epidemiological studies have proved that green tea also has some general health benefitting properties like anti-obesitive agent, anti-oxidant, anti-aging, anti-diabetic, anti-hyperlipidemic, anti-hypertension, anti-cancer, anti-bacterial, anti-viral, anti-inflammatory, anti-parkinson's effects, anti-alzheimer's effects, anti-arthritic, anticollagenase, and antimutagenic etc. The properties of these catechins proved to be helpful in the treatment of chronic diseases like obesity, aging, diabetes, cardiovascular disease, hyperlipidemic, hypertension, cancer, microbial, parkinson's, alzheimer's, arthritis, and periodontal disease. There are numerous studies in humans, animal models, and cell lines which provide the concepts for underlying functional mechanisms of green tea catechins and their biological actions and to suggest potential health benefits from the consumption of tea, including prevention of cancer and heart diseases. The review highlights also the potentials of green tea, its health benefits in terms of their properties. The present review concentrates on the effects of green tea on different chronic disease and general health. Keywords: Green tea, Polyphenols, Epidemiological, Catechins, Animal models

Background: The single umbilical artery (SUA) is linked to congenital abnormalities in almost every organ system, however published findings have been inconsistent. Although It has been proposed that inherited and long-term environmental factors do play a role, there is a need for further investigations on the same. The goal is to look into the possibility of a link between a single umbilical artery (SUA) in the incidence of chromosomal anomalies in the second trimester of pregnancy and their collective occurrence. Methods: The exclusion of any one of the two umbilical artery and a present umbilical vein was considered as a single umbilical artery for the purpose of this research. A single umbilical artery was established by gross or histologic investigation of the placenta, neonatal evaluation, or autopsy. As a direct consequence, a newborn who did not have a single umbilical artery documented in these records was presumed to have an umbilical cord consisting of three vessels. Results: SUA was identified in 0.46 percent of our population (4241/918 933). SUA risk factors included pregestational diabetes in the mother, consistently high blood pressure, prior Cesarean delivery. Some other factors include smoking, epilepsy, and conception via assisted reproductive technology. SUA was associated with gastrointestinal atresia or stenosis in the neonate, esophageal and anorectal atresia or stenosis followed renal agenesis. SUA was linked to an elevated risk of congenital cardiac abnormalities by up to 7–8 times. There was a link between microcephaly, congenital hydrocephalus. There was a link established between other congenital brain and spinal cord anomalies as well. SUA displayed a lesser relationship with hernia associated with the diaphragm, limb reduction defect. It also showed a smaller relation to cleft lip or cleft palate. The risks of trisomy 13 and 21 were both increased, while the risk of trisomy 18 was maximum. Fetuses diagnosed with SUA, whether or not accompanied with a deformity, had two times the higher potential possibility of SUA in a future pregnancy. Conclusion: Single Umbilical Artery is closely linked to gastrointestinal atresia or stenosis, implying the same developmental processes. The higher likelihood of reappearance of Single Umbilical Artery implies that inheritable and/or long-term environmental variables play a role. SUA was shown to have high correlations with trisomies 13 and 18.

Anemia is major health problem world-wide especially in developing countries. Globally 1.62 billion persons are affected. It has grave consequences on human health. The present study evaluates the severity and morphology of anemia in various age groups in rural population. : 1): To study degree and severity of anemia in study population; 2): To study distribution of anemia in various age groups; 3): To study morphological spectrum of anemia in study population. s: The study includes 792 patients having low concentration of hemoglobin for their age & sex. The other hematological parameters and morphology were analyzed. : In our study, females constituted 72.6% (575/792) of study population and male constituted 27.4% (217/792) of population. Pediatric patients (up to 15 years of age) constituted 10% of study population. Out of 792 anemic patients, 439 (55.4%) were having moderate anemia, 228 (28.7%) were having mild anemia & 125 (15.78%) were having severe anemia. Out of 792 anemic patients, 384 (48.4%) were having microcytic hypochromic anemia, 296 (37.37%) were having normocytic normochromic anemia, 84 (10.6%) were having macrocytic anemia and 3.5% were having hemolytic anemia. Out of 792 anemic patients, 439 (55.4%) were having moderate anemia, 228 (28.7%) were having mild anemia & 125 (15.78%) were having severe anemia. In our study anemia was more common in females as compared to males constituting majority of study population which is in concordance with other studies also. Moderate anemia was more common in study population as well as in various sub-groups being in concordance with other studies too. Morphologically microcytic hypochromic anemia was the most common type of anemia especially in adult females. Pregnant females were found to have normocytic normochromic anemia predominantly. Most of the cases of hemolytic anemia was found in children Anemia is the most hematological abnormality found in daily practice, though found in all age groups but quite higher in females. The main objective for diagnosing anemia is to make clinician aware so that they can take measures to prevent and control anemia.

A field experiment was conducted at Crop Research Centre, G.B. Pant University of Agriculture and Technology, Pantnagar, during kharif 2019 to study the effect of integrated use of organic manures and chemical fertilizers under STCR approach on physico-chemical, biological properties of soil and yield of maize crop in a Mollisol. The experiment comprised of 9 treatments replicated thrice. The treatment details were Control (no fertilizers), RDF, STCR (inorganic mode), STCR INM mode, 75% STCR dose of N (inorganic mode) + Green manure, 50% STCR dose of N (inorganic mode) + Green Manure, 75% RDN + Green Manure, 50% RDN + Green Manure and FYM + Green Manure + Intercropping with urd. The lowest yield and soil properties were observed under control. The highest water holding capacity (63.20%), available N (183.98 kg ha-1), available P (28.94 kg ha-1), microbial biomass carbon (335.35 µg/g soil) and urease enzyme activity (30.06 µg urea/g soil/h) was observed under T4 (STCR INM mode). The highest organic carbon (0.99%), available K (200.85 kg ha-1) and dehydrogenase activity (223.60 µgTPF/gsoil/day) was observed under T5 (75% STCR dose of N (inorganic mode) + Green manure). The highest maize yield was observed under T4 (STCR INM mode). Therefore, the present investigation clearly reveals the significance of balanced and efficient utilization of resources under STCR approach on soil and crop productivity of maize crop.

Water is a very important part of life circle, due to which life flourishes in Earth. In today’s scenario water scarcity is becoming the major problem so there is an urgent need to conserve it. In order to manage the scare water resources efficiently estimation of runoff in a watershed is very important factor. In India the availability of accurate runoff information is rare where most of the watersheds are ungauged, which poses a serious challenge for hydrologists. Number of mathematical models is available to quantify runoff. Soil Conservation Services-Curve Number method (SCS-CN) is used for computing the runoff depth based on the rainfall depth.In the present study SCS-CN method has been applied to estimate the runoff depth in Maniari watershed in Lormi block of Mungeli District Chhattisgarh state. This method is based on one parameter i.e. curve number which is basically a coefficient that is used to estimate runoff due to rainfall. layers has been prepared namely base map, soil map, land use map and other maps of the study area using GIS and remote sensing data. Based on the rainfall data of the study area, daily runoff depth has been estimated. Integration of GIS with the SCS-CN method is used for estimating runoff from the un-gauged watersheds for better watershed management and conservation purposes.

In this study, a comparative analysis of three satellite precipitation products including the Tropical Rainfall Measuring Mission (TRMM-3B43 V7), the Precipitation Estimation from Remotely Sensed I...

Anogeissus pendula Edgew. is commonly used in the conventional Indian medicinal system and is reported to contain phenolic compounds which have antioxidant and antimicrobial potential. The goal of our study is to look at the antioxidant function and antibacterial activity of A. pendula leaf and stem extracts. The total phenolic content (TPC), total flavonoid content (TFC) and total tannin content (TTC) were determined using a spectrophotometric technique (TTC). In vitro techniques such as 1, 1-diphenyl-2-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH), hydrogen peroxide radical scavenging tests (H2O2) and Ferric reducing antioxidant power (FRAP) assay were used in the study. The disc diffusion technique was used to assess antibacterial activity and the minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) was investigated against four bacterial strains. The TTC of leaf and stem methanol extract was considerably higher which ranged from 15.07 ± 0.506 to 38.77 ± 1.253 mg gallic acid equivalent (GAE) /g in leaves and 19.83 ± 0.084 to 28.56 ± 0.437 mg GAE/g in the stem. The content of flavonoid in the leaf and stem methanol extract varied from 12.53 ± 0.603 to 37.28 ± 0.466 mg rutin equivalent (RE) /g in leaves and 10.01 ± 0.177 to 37.28 ± 0.466 mg RE/g in stems. Hydroalcoholic extract of leaf and stem showed the highest tannin content and ranged from 23.73 ± 0.091 to 34.08 ± 0.261 mg tannic acid equivalent (TAE) /g. In order of efficacy (IC50) of the plant extracts, the effective inhibitor was the methanol extract of leaf and stem in the DPPH and H2O2 assay. FRAP value was higher in the hydroalcoholic extract of both leaf and stem. Antimicrobial activity tests revealed that all extracts limit the development of diverse microbial strains such as Escherichia coli, Bacillus subtilis, Pseudomonas putida and Streptococcus aureus with a mean zone of inhibition ranging from 0 to 15.67 mm. The MIC of A. pendula leaf and stem solvent extracts against bacterial strains ranged from 0.195 to 50 mg/ml. The findings revealed that A. pendula has a variety of phytochemicals with substantial antioxidant and antibacterial properties, confirming its usage in traditional medicine.

The current study highlights the use of binary logistic regression for land-use land-cover (LULC) classification. The moderate-resolution Sentinel-2 multispectral data was used for LULC map generation for the post-monsoon season. The main focus of this study is to present a simple and precise approach for image classification using binary logistic regression (BLR) technique. The study was carried out in cropland, fallow land, forest and water body dominated subtropical region of India located in the eastern coastal region. The cropland and fallow lands are mostly dependent on the monsoon and reciprocal land covers. A large number of training and testing data points were collected viewing the image in a standard false-color composite. ArcGIS, Microsoft Office Excel and R software were used for classification. In addition to BLR, the training and testing data points were also used to perform the classification with ‘random forest’ classifier in R. We observed higher classification accuracy for spectrally pure classes and pixels and lower for closely associated mix-pixels. Lower user’s and producer’s accuracies (

The geospatial technology is an emerging technique to study real earth geographic information using Geographical Information System (GIS), Remote Sensing (RS) and other ground information from various devices and instruments. In this chapter, various geospatial process-based techniques segregated into two different categories, i.e., conventional and advanced, are provided for agricultural water management. The descriptions of several approaches are provided to understand the role of geospatial technology in agricultural water management. Most of the approaches are based on remote sensing and GIS in correspondence with statistical learning techniques that can be possibly used for agricultural water management.

A real-time and accurate estimation of soil moisture content is a key factor for irrigation water management. For conventional and precision irrigation system, an irrigation demand tool is required that is economical, easy-to-use, has large-scale coverage, provides the users useful information on irrigation requirement and can be accessible on smartphone or wireless sensor platform. Owing to this, the current study aims to develop a user-friendly mobile app for monitoring and visualising irrigation water demand in terms of soil moisture deficit (or SMD). Irrigation Scheduler App is designed by using the Android Studio 3.1.4 software and Java RE 1.8.0 version. The database file of Irrigation Scheduler App contains ground measured soil moisture content and other soil physical properties such as field capacity and texture. Any android phone having code Kitkat, Lolipop, Marshmallow and Nougat support this mobile application. Future efforts will focus on expansion of this study area and updation of the application.

Drought hazard mapping and its trend analysis has become indispensable due to the aggravated impact of drought in the era of climate change. Sparse observational networks with minimal maintenance limit the spatio-temporal coverage of precipitation data, which has been a major constraint in the effective drought monitoring. In this study, high-resolution satellite-derived Climate Hazards Group Infrared Precipitation with Station (CHIRPS) data has been used for computation of Standardized Precipitation Index (SPI). The study was carried out in Bundelkhand region of Uttar Pradesh, India, known for its substantial drought occurrences with poor drought management plans and lack of effective preparedness. Very limited studies have been carried out in assessing the spatio-temporal drought in this region. This study aims to identify district-wide drought and its trend characterization from 1981 to 2018. The run theory was applied for quantitative drought assessment; whereas, the Mann-Kendall (MK) test was performed for trend analysis at seasonal and annual time steps. Results indicated an average of nine severe drought events in all the districts in the last 38 years, and the most intense drought was recorded for the Jalaun district (1983–1985). A significant decreasing trend is observed for the SPI1 (at 95% confidence level) during the post-monsoon season, with the magnitude varying from −0.16 to −0.33 mm/month. This indicates the increasing severity of meteorological drought in the area. Moreover, a non-significant falling trend for short-term drought (SPI1 and SPI3) annually and short- and medium-term drought (SPI1, SPI3, and SPI6) in winter months have been also observed for all the districts. The output of the current study would be utilized in better understanding of the drought condition through elaborate trend analysis of the SPI pattern and thus helps the policy makers to devise a drought management plan to handle the water crisis, food security, and in turn the betterment of the inhabitants.

Water resource management is of paramount importance for sustainable agricultural and socioeconomic development. Agriculture is also one of the prominent factors responsible for the deterioration in the water quality mostly due to poor water management practices and lack of proper knowledge about soil-plant-atmosphere relationship. As such, optimally designed techniques and careful selection of irrigation system can ensure high efficiency and uniform distribution of applied water. Advanced planning and proper management of water could lead us towards sustainable agricultural development with optimal crop production even under physical, environmental, financial and technological restrictions. Therefore, to discuss some of the irrigation-through-computer approaches as a tool for better agricultural water management in this report, we present a detailed description of some of these advanced techniques including decision support systems such as Hydra, Hydrus, DSSAT, CropSyst and MOPECO and irrigation practices such as drip, sprinkler and mulching systems.

The soil moisture level effectively estimates the extremity of irrigation demand, and thus acts as a significant indicator of irrigation water management. In recent time due to increase in population, demand for freshwater in all competing sectors is being a constraint for irrigation that raises the need to optimise utilisation of irrigation water with its high efficiency. Therefore, an accurate and precise assessment of soil moisture content (SMC) is required for optimal allocation and management of water in agriculture. Owing to this, the current study aims to simulate SMC from water balance–based macro-scale Variable Infiltration Capacity (VIC) hydrological model for various applications in irrigation water management. The current study was carried out in the Bundelkhand region of Uttar Pradesh, India, for a period of 5 years (2010–14). The simulated SMC was validated with ESA Climate Change Initiative soil moisture (CCI-SM) indicated high R2 value ranging from 0.73 to 0.90 and low RMSE value ranging from 0.03 to 0.05 m3m−3. The dataset of simulated and CCI-SM content values was close to the 1:1 scale line for approximately all the periods. Additionally, the Soil Moisture Deficit Index (SMDI), a dryness index, was computed for estimating irrigation demand from VIC-derived SMC for Kharif season (July–October) from 2010 to 2014; this shows more irrigation water demand in 2014 and sowing period of 2010 and 2012.

Change in soil moisture regime is highly relevant for agricultural drought, which can be best analyzed in terms of Soil Moisture Deficit Index (SMDI). A macroscale hydrological model Variable Infiltration Capacity (VIC) was used to simulate the hydro-climatological fluxes including evapotranspiration, runoff, and soil moisture storage to reconstruct the severity and duration of agricultural drought over semi-arid region of India. The simulations in VIC were performed at 0.25° spatial resolution by using a set of meteorological forcing data, soil parameters and Land Use Land Cover (LULC) and vegetation parameters. For calibration and validation, soil parameters obtained from National Bureau of Soil Survey and Land Use Planning (NBSSLUP) and ESA's Climate Change Initiative soil moisture (CCI-SM) data respectively. The analysis of results demonstrates that most of the study regions (> 80 %) especially for central northern part are affected by drought condition. The year 2001, 2002, 2007, 2008 and 2009 was highly affected by agricultural drought. Due to high average and maximum temperature, we observed higher soil evaporation that reduces the surface soil moisture significantly as well as the high topographic variations; coarse soil texture and moderate to high wind speed enhanced the drying upper soil moisture layer that incorporate higher negative SMDI over the study area. These findings can also facilitate the archetype in terms of daily time step data, lengths of the simulation period, various hydro-climatological outputs and use of reasonable hydrological model.

Background: Anogeissus pendula Edgew (Combretacae) is a traditional Indian medicinal plant with antiulcer, anti-inflammatory, anti-hepatoprotective and other pharmacological effects. A. pendula is commonly used by tribal groups to treat gastric disorders, and this may be due to phenolic compounds. Purpose: The aim of this study is to determine the antiulcer activity of Anogeissus pendula in pylorus ligated albino Wistar rats, and the biochemical function in ulcer protection via various biochemical studies. Study Design: The study was conducted on albino Wistar rats using a pylorus ligation ulcer model. Ranitidine (20 mg/kg b.w) and APHAE (200 and 400 mg/kg b.w) were given orally to different groups of rats (n = 6), 1 h before pylorus ligation. The studied parameters were the amount of gastric juice, pH, total and free acidity, and ulcer index. The antioxidant parameters like LPO, GSH, CAT, SOD, and total protein were also studied. Results: At doses of 200 and 400 mg/kg, Anogeissus pendula stem hydroalcoholic extract (APHAE) demonstrated substantial inhibition of gastric lesions. In the pretreated animals, there was a decrease in ulcer index (P < 0.001) and a decrease in gastric volume, free and total acidity (P

Introduction COVID-19 and subsequent country-wide lockdown has impacted smokeless tobacco (SLT) product availability in India. We aimed to examine SLT quitting during COVID-19 lockdown among SLT users who consented to be enrolled in a cessation programme. Methods Between January–March 2020, we screened 227 exclusive SLT users to be enrolled in a randomized-controlled feasibility study on SLT cessation. However, all activities were suspended due to national lockdown in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. To examine the quitting intention and behaviour during COVID-19 lockdown, we re-contacted these individuals telephonically; during September–October 2020. Results Of 227 participants, 87 (38.3%) could not be contacted on phone. We conducted telephonic qualitative interviews and assessed the SLT use status, willingness to quit and participate in the SLT cessation trial among the remaining 140 participants. Among these, 12.1% (17/140) showed no willingness to participate in the study due to migration. Since COVID-19 lockdown, 32.1% (45/140) participants reported quitting SLT due to non-availability, increased cost of products, shifts in community norms and family pressures. Conclusions COVID-19 pandemic presented an opportunity for tobacco cessation as stringent bans and isolation from social circles enabled tobacco cessation. It also triggered improvement in dissemination of public health information at an unprecedented scale, particularly related to the vulnerability of tobacco users to co-morbidities and harm from SARS CoV-2 infection. Implementation of strict bans on sale and consumption of SLT and strengthening of cessation support may lead to sustainable tobacco control. This study provides insight into effective policy strategies to reduce SLT use; which need to be substantiated with adequate cessation support.

Analysis of spatial and temporal changes of long-term precipitation and extreme precipitation distribution at a local scale is very important for the prevention and mitigation of water-related disasters. In the present study, we have analyzed the long-term trend of 116 years (1901–2016) of precipitation and distribution of extreme precipitation index over the Kosi River Basin (KRB), which is one of the frequent flooding rivers of India, using the 0.25° × 0.25° resolution gridded precipitation datasets obtained from the Indian Meteorological Department (IMD), India. The non-parametric Mann–Kendall trend test together with Sen’s slope estimator was employed to determine the trend and the magnitude of the trend of the precipitation time series. The annual and monsoon seasons revealed decreasing trends with Sen’s slope values of −1.88 and −0.408, respectively. For the extreme indices viz. R10 and R20 days, a decreasing trend from the northeastern to the southwest part of the basin can be observed, whereas, in the case of highest one-day precipitation (RX1 day), no clear trend was found. The information provided through this study can be useful for policymakers and may play an important role in flood management, runoff, and understanding related to the hydrological process of the basin. This will contribute to a better understanding of the potential risk of changing rainfall patterns, especially the extreme rainfall events due to climatic variations.

This review focuses on the causes and complications of chronic kidney disease (CKD). The kidneys are major organs boasting various natural functions, chief among them the stable equilibrium of body fluids by eliminating waste. If the symptoms of CKD can be detected early, effective care is possible. CKD is a major area of investigation because it is the ninth most common cause of death in the United States. The incidence of kidney infection can be correlated with kidney malfunction. The main serological markers for renal disease are serum creatinine and creatinine clearance, which are insensitive and nonspecific to recognition of kidney injury. Standard therapy to prevent the progression of CKD includes dietary protein restriction, hypertension control, angiotensin converting enzyme inhibition (ACEi), and angiotensin receptor barricade (ARB). In this review we discuss advances in research on diagnostic biomarkers related to renal diseases and kidney-related injuries.

Introduction: Carcinoma cervix is one of the leading causes of morbidity and mortality. The most effective method of screening is based on Pap smear study. However, Pap smear has relatively low sensitivity and irreducible false negative & false positive rates. In countries like India, it is not always feasible to follow the patient for confirmation by histology. In the present study, we have tried to fill this gap by staining the cervical smears with, epithelial cell markers including CK17 and CEA expressed by dysplastic squamous cells. Materials & Method s: 50 cervical smears reported as precancerous or cancerous were stained with anti CK17 and anti CEA. The patients were followed for histopathology. Results: Out of 20 cases of ASCUS, three were positive both for anti-CK17 and anti-CEA and six were positive for anti-CK17 only. Out of 18 cases of LSIL, nine were positive for both anti-CK17 and anti-CEA and fifteen were positive for anti-CK17 only. Out of eight cases of HSIL, three were positive for both anti-CK17 and anti-CEA and six were positive for anti-CK17 only. Out of 4 cases of SCC, three were positive for both anti-CK17 and anti-CEA and all four were positive for anti-CK17. Conclusion: Positive result in staining was higher in high grade lesions. CK 17 was found to be better marker than CEA. CK17 and CEA can be used as adjunct to Pap smear screening but its high cost may restrict its use in routine.

Remote sensing and GIS techniques are being extensively used since quite some time in watershed related studies as very effective tools in determination of the basin geometry i.e, morphometric analysis or quantitative description of watershed morphologic characteristics. In the present study, an attempt has been made to use the capabilities of GIS (ArcGIS 10.4) to quantify the morphology of the Maniari watershed. The watershed was studied for its size and shape, drainage and relief characteristics to develop a thorough understanding of the watershed for future planning to avert the land degradation. Twenty three morphometric parameters of the Maniari watersheds situated in Lormi block of Mungeli District (Chhattisgarh), have been quantified. They comprise: Stream Order, Stream Length (Lu), Mean stream length (Lsm), Stream Length ratio (RL), Bifurcation ratio (Rb), Mean bifurcation ratio (Rbm), Drainage Density (Dd), Length of overland flow (Lg), Basin length (Lb), Basin perimeter (P), Basin/drainage area (A), Compactness constant (Cc), Stream frequency (Fs), Circulatory ratio (Rc), Elongation ratio (Re), Form Factor (Rf), Watershed shape factor (Ws), Drainage Texture (Rt), Total relief (H), Relief ratio (Rh), Relative relief (Rp) and Ruggedness number (Rn). On the basis of the morphometric studies it was concluded that the hydrologic response of the Maniari watershed is dependent on surface characteristics significantly due to its being a “Fan Shaped” one. The watershed is in active stage of degradation. Its quantification is being done based on the field measurements and recording of soil erosion. The result suggests that the ratio between cumulative stream length and stream order is constant throughout the successive orders of the basin.

In this paper, we have worked on BGP routing protocol properties for unknown bad person detection system technique. Important attention recently has been dedicated to developing secure routing protocols for spontaneous networks, furthermore as form of secure on-demand routing protocols that defend against a spread of gettable attacks on network routing. Throughout this paper, we have got a bent to gift the dashing attack, a spic-and-span attack that finishes up in denial-of-service once used against all previous on-demand spontaneous network routing protocols. We have got worked with BGP, and secure protocols supported them, like Arianne, ARAN, and SBGP, square measure unable to search out routes longer than two hops once subject to this attack. This attack is to boot considerably damaging as some results of it should be performed by a relatively weak bad person.

Metaplastic carcinomas of breast are rare neoplasms. They are highly heterogenous groups of tumors that are characterised by an admixture of adenocarcinoma with dominant areas of spindle cell, squamous, and/or mesenchymal differentiation [1,2] . Other than a lower rate of lymph node metastases, MBC (metaplastic breast carcinoma) display poorer prognostic features relative to IDC. Due to its relative rarity and heterogenous histologic presentation, the pathologic diagnosis of MBC is difficult. We report a case of metaplastic breast carcinoma in whom fine needle aspiration cytology was performed with later histological confirmation.

Soil moisture estimation has paramount importance for hydrological land surface processes and their management. Taking into consideration the importance of its application in monitoring of extreme hydrologic events such as drought and flood, runoff modeling, numerical weather prediction, landslide monitoring, vegetation monitoring, agricultural monitoring, epidemiological prediction, GHG budget, climate studies, groundwater modeling, and so forth, the benefits of the various available data sets for soil moisture are expected to be vast. In this chapter, we explore the various available data sets for soil moisture monitoring and measurements. This chapter is a comprehensive study of all the possible established and emerging facilities that retrieve soil moisture data from in situ (field method) to remote sensing methods.

INTRODUCTION: Metanephric adenomas are rare neoplasm of the kidney with less than 200 cases reported, and though benign, an increase in the familiarity of this pathology may lead to less invasive treatments in the future. We report a case of a metanephric adenoma of right kidney in a 50 year-old female.

The presence of multiple intracystic balls in an ovarian cystic teratoma is an unusual finding. Herein, we present a rarely reported case of cystic teratoma with multiple intracystic balls.

Ectomesenchymal chondromyxoid tumor (ECMT) is a rare, benign tumor of oral cavity. So far fewer than fifty cases have been reported in the literature. It occurs in a wide age range but majority arise in the third to sixth decade. It exclusively arises in anterior tongue presenting as asymptomatic nodular lesion with size typically less than 2 cm. We reported a case of 20 years old male presented with a swelling on anterior part of tongue for one year duration. Following examination a presumptive diagnosis of adenoma/papilloma was made. Histopathology following excision suggested ECMT. The diagnosis was confirmed by immunohistochemistry.

Drought is a recurrent phenomenon in the semiarid regions of India that significantly affects the regional social, economic, and environmental conditions. Drought monitoring and assessment are challenging especially for regions that have sparse or very limited rain gauge observation networks. In this study, a comparative analysis was performed between satellite precipitation products including Tropical Rainfall Measuring Mission (TRMM-3B42), Climate Hazards Group InfraRed Precipitation (CHIRP) and ground-measured Indian Meteorological Department (IMD) precipitation data over the Bundelkhand region of Uttar Pradesh, India to assess the meteorological drought in this region. The district wise study was done to determine the regional differences among these satellite precipitation products and to statistically verify their performance in estimating the degree and spatial pattern over the study area. The Standardized Precipitation Index (SPI) was computed using the open-source DRINC software. The IMD derived SPI was found more correlated with TRMM compared to CHIRP for SPI-1, 3 and 12 with r values 0.74, 0.81 and 0.65 respectively. However, SPI-6 shows low positive and negative and correlation for both TRMM and CHIRP data. The current case study highlights the outperformance of TRMM data that enables real-time drought assessment owing to better accuracy and higher spatiotemporal resolution.