Rare Coinfection of Scrub Typhus and Malaria in Immunocompetent Person

Scrub Typhus, or tsutsugamushi disease is a febrile illness caused by bacteria of the family Rickettsiaceae and named Orientia tsutsugamushi. Recently it has been found to endemic in Subhimalayan region of India.Malaria is highly endemic in rest of India but its prevalence is low in Subhimalayan region because of the altitude. We report a rare case of a patient having coinfection with scrub typhus and malaria

Fish fauna of Tripura

The ichthyofauna collected from the sub Himalayan region of Tripura from 1976 to 1981 reveals the presence of 93 species of fish belong to 26 families and 11 orders. Among these Rasbora elanga (Ham), Lobeo nandina (Ham), Lepidocephaius berdmorei (Ham), Somilepteus gongota (Ham), Glyptothorax cavia (Ham), Glyptothorax telchilta (Ham), Hara hara (Ham) and Apocryptes balo (C and V) have been recorded for the first time. Common names of many fishes and location of collection with, notes on new occurrences are given

Primary Amoebic (Naegleria fowleri) Meningoencephalitis Presenting as Status Epilepticus

Primary amebic meningoencephalitis (PAM) is a rare entity. Usual presenting features are fever, headache and seizures with meningeal signs and this disease carries high mortality rate. We present a case report of PAM presenting as status epilepticus

Fluvial incision and tectonic uplift across the Himalayas of central Nepal

The pattern of fluvial incision across the Himalayas of central Nepal is estimated from the distribution of Holocene and Pleistocene terraces and from the geometry of modern channels along major rivers draining across the range. The terraces provide good constraints on incision rates across the Himalayan frontal folds (Sub-Himalaya or Siwaliks Hills) where rivers are forced to cut down into rising anticlines and have abandoned numerous strath terraces. Farther north and upstream, in the Lesser Himalaya, prominent fill terraces were deposited, probably during the late Pleistocene, and were subsequently incised. The amount of bedrock incision beneath the fill deposits is generally small, suggesting a slow rate of fluvial incision in the Lesser Himalaya. The terrace record is lost in the high range where the rivers are cutting steep gorges. To complement the terrace study, fluvial incision was also estimated from the modern channel geometries using an estimate of the shear stress exerted by the flowing water at the bottom of the channel as a proxy for river incision rate. This approach allows quantification of the effect of variations in channel slope, width, and discharge on the incision rate of a river; the determination of incision rates requires an additional lithological calibration. The two approaches are shown to yield consistent results when applied to the same reach or if incision profiles along nearby parallel reaches are compared. In the Sub-Himalaya, river incision is rapid, with values up to 10–15 mm/yr. It does not exceed a few millimeters per year in the Lesser Himalaya, and rises abruptly at the front of the high range to reach values of ∼4–8 mm/yr within a 50-km-wide zone that coincides with the position of the highest Himalayan peaks. Sediment yield derived from the measurement of suspended load in Himalayan rivers suggests that fluvial incision drives hillslope denudation of the landscape at the scale of the whole range. The observed pattern of erosion is found to closely mimic uplift as predicted by a mechanical model taking into account erosion and slip along the flat-ramp-flat geometry of the Main Himalayan Thrust fault. The morphology of the range reflects a dynamic equilibrium between present-day tectonics and surface processes. The sharp relief together with the high uplift rates in the Higher Himalaya reflects thrusting over the midcrustal ramp rather than the isostatic response to reincision of the Tibetan Plateau driven by late Cenozoic climate change, or late Miocene reactivation of the Main Central Thrust

Space-time variation and regionalization of seasonal and monthly summer monsoon rainfall of the sub-Himalayan region and Gangetic plains of India

The present study analyses space-time variation of the seasonal and monthly monsoon rainfall of the sub-Himalayan region and Gangetic plains of India by using rainfall data of 90 well-distributed stations for a period of 114 yr (1871 to 1984). Principal components (PCs) and varimaxrotated principal components (RPCs) are computed from the interstation similarity matrix. The 4 leading PCs explaining 52 to 61 of the variance respectively for seasonal and monthly rainfall are found to be statistically significant. When rotated by the varimax method these 4 PCs provide 4 distinct areas of homogeneous rainfall variability for both time scales. The most coherent region is located along the central longitude of the study area, with another coherent region over the extreme western parts. The area east of 81° E is divided into 2 coherent zones roughly along the 22° N parallel. It is noted that the regions thus identified will be useful in understanding climate variability and in weather prediction research

Is Rhiver Ghaggar, Saraswati? Geochemical constraints

The identity of the river along which the famous Harappan Civilization developed and the causes of the demise of this culture are topics of considerable debate. Many of the Harappan sites are located along the ephemeral Ghaggar river within the Thar Desert in the northwestern India and adjacent Pakistan. The Ghaggar was also thought to be the mythical river Saraswati, which was described as glacial-fed river. Sr and Nd isotopic composition of the Ghaggar alluvium as well as Thar Desert sediments suggests a Sub-Himalayan sediment source, with no contribution from the glaciated regions. The development of extensive Harappan Civilization all along the Ghaggar suggests a catchment with high monsoon rainfall. It is likely that with the changes in the monsoon scenario after 3500 BC could have gradually dried up the Ghaggar river and resulted in the migration and/or extinction of the Harappan Civilization on this rive

Is river Ghaggar, Saraswati? Geochemical constraints

The identity of the river along which the famous Harappan Civilization developed and the causes of the demise of this culture are topics of considerable debate. Many of the Harappan sites are located along the ephemeral Ghaggar river within the Thar Desert in the northwestern India and adjacent Pakistan. The Ghaggar was also thought to be the mythical river Saraswati, which was described as glacial-fed river. Sr and Nd isotopic composition of the Ghaggar alluvium as well as Thar Desert sediments suggests a Sub-Himalayan sediment source, with no contribution from the glaciated regions. The development of extensive Harappan Civilization all along the Ghaggar suggests a catchment with high monsoon rainfall. It is likely that with the changes in the monsoon scenario after 3500 BC could have gradually dried up the Ghaggar river and resulted in the migration and/or extinction of the Harappan Civilization on this river

Out-of-sequence faulting of the Jwalamukhi Thrust, India

The southernmost thrust of the Himalayan orogenic wedge that separates the foreland from the orogen, the Main Frontal Thrust, is thought to accommodate most of the ongoing crustal shortening in the Sub-Himalaya. Steepened longitudinal river profile segments, terrace offsets, and back-tilted fluvial terraces within the Kangra reentrant of the NW Sub-Himalaya suggest Holocene activity of the Jwalamukhi Thrust (JMT) and other thrust faults that may be associated with strain partitioning along the toe of the Himalayan wedge. To assess the shortening accommodated by the JMT, we combine morphometric terrain analyses with in situ 10Be-based surface-exposure dating of the deformed terraces. Incision into upper Pleistocene sediments within the Kangra Basin created two late Pleistocene terrace levels (T1 and T2). Subsequent early Holocene aggradation shortly before ~10 ka was followed by episodic reincision, which created four cut-and-fill terrace levels, the oldest of which (T3) was formed at 10.1 ± 0.9 ka. A vertical offset of 44 ± 5 m of terrace T3 across the JMT indicates a shortening rate of 5.6 ± 0.8 to 7.5 ± 1.1 mm a−1 over the last ~10 ka. This result suggests that thrusting along the JMT accommodates 40–60% of the total Sub-Himalayan shortening in the Kangra reentrant over the Holocene. We speculate that this out-of-sequence shortening may have been triggered or at least enhanced by late Pleistocene and Holocene erosion of sediments from the Kangra Basin

Current iodine status and progress over the last decade towards elimination of iodine deficiency in Rajkot District, Gujarat

Objective: To find out prevalence of goitre in primary school children; to compare prevalence with previous survey; to determine median urinary iodine concentration; to assess level of iodine in salt samples at household and retail shop level; and to study profile of salt sold at retail shops. Design & Settings: 30 cluster survey study in primary schools of Rajkot district. Subjects: Children studying in 1st to 7th standard. Methods: Total 70 students including five boys and five girls from 1st to 7th standard present in class on the day of visit were selected randomly for Goitre examination, so, total 2100 students were examined in schools. Urine sample was collected from one boy & one girl from each standard in each cluster. From community, 28 students including two boys and two girls from each standard in same age group were examined and also salt samples were tested from their households. From each village, one retail shop was visited and salts were purchased and tested for iodine on the spot with spot kit. Results: Goitre prevalence was found 8.8% among primary school children compare to 5.6% in 1999. As the age increases the Goitre prevalence also increases except in age group of 12 years. Median urinary iodine excretion level was found 110 µg/L. Iodine level >15 ppm was found in 81% salts samples tested at household level. Conclusion: Present study showed mild Goitre prevalence in primary school children in Rajkot district of Gujarat but still iodine content of salt found inadequate at household level