Drought Hazard and Vulnerability Maps for Texas

Natural disasters like droughts have a huge socio-economic impact on society. Despite being an important component of mitigation, the concept of vulnerabil- ity in association with extreme events has not been explored much. This report presents a systematic approach for the assessment of drought hazard and identi - cation of drought vulnerability indicators pertinent to the state of Texas. A novel drought index known as Multivariate Drought Index (MDI) was used to simultane- ously quantify multiple physical forms of drought. A composite risk assessment was then carried out by considering both hazard and vulnerability components. The risk, hazard, and vulnerability components were quanti ed using standardized indices like Drought Hazard Index (DHI), Drought Vulnerability Index (DVI), and Drought Risk Index (DRI). A suitable classi cation scheme was adopted for these indices to group regions into classes ranging from low to high. Mapping of DHI, DVI, and DRI classes led to the generation of risk, hazard and vulnerability maps for Texas. The report emphasizes the importance of including vulnerability of the study area in the event of drought while drafting planning measures. Ultimately, the study aims at bridging the gaps existing in the current drought research, which even though substantial, still fails to address some of the issues, and for developing a comprehensive framework for better understanding of droughts in Texas which will help decision makers to formulate a more e ective adaptation and mitigation strategy in future.United States Geological Survey (USGS) (Grant Number: 2009TX334G)

Hydrological Drought Atlas for the State of Texas For Durations from 3 Months to 36 Months and Return Periods from 5 Years to 100 Years

Maps depicting the spatial variation of hydrological drought severity for Texas are presented in this report. The return periods chosen are 5, 10, 25, 50 and 100 years for drought durations of 3, 6, 9, 12, 18, 24 and 36 months, respectively. The maps were constructed using the drought severity-duration-frequency (S-D-F) relationship derived using a copula-based multivariate probabilistic approach. For purposes of deriving drought properties, monthly stream flow simulations from a large scale land surface model, known as variable infiltration Capacity (VIC) model, were utilized. The stream flow time series obtained was gridded at 1/8th degree resolution over Texas. The marginal distribution most suitable for fitting each of the drought variables was determined after testing commonly used distributions, such as exponential, gamma, log-normal, and Weibull. The marginal distributions of drought severity and duration with the smallest root mean square error (RMSE) value between observed and theoretical probabilities were selected. For modeling the joint distribution of drought characteristics, the following classes of bivariate copulas were considered: Archimedean, extreme value, Plackett and elliptical families. The best performing copula, determined using the RMSE and the Akaike information criterion (AIC), were used to determine the conditional and joint return periods and hence derive the drought SD-F curves. The information obtained from the S-D-F curves was used for the preparation of drought atlas, which depicts the spatial variation of drought severity for specific drought durations and return periods in Texas

Anti diabetic effect of ethanolic extract of leaves of Ocimum sanctum in alloxan induced diabetes in rats

Background: Diabetes mellitus refers to a group of common metabolic disorders that share the phenotype of hyperglycemia resulting from defects of reduced insulin secretion, decreased glucose utilization and increase in glucose production. It is estimated that there are currently 285 million people worldwide and this number is set to increase to 438 million by the year 2030. India has the highest number of patients with known diabetes worldwide, with a prevalence of 11.6%. The aim of the study was to evaluate the anti diabetic activity of ethanolic extract of leaves of plant Ocimum sanctum in alloxan induced diabetes in rats.Methods: The study was conducted on 4 groups of 6 rats each to evaluate the hypoglycaemic effect of ethanolic extract of Ocimum sanctum. Glibenclamide was used as a standard drug and the results were compared in reference to it. Tween 80 was given for both normal and diabetic control groups. The fasting blood sugar levels were recorded on 1st, 3rd, 5th, 7th, 10th days by glucometer.Results: The results indicate that the test compound ethanolic extract of Ocimum sanctum has significant and sustained oral hypoglycaemic activity, comparable with the hypoglycaemic effect of glibenclamide, a sulfonylurea.Conclusion: The hypoglycaemic potential of the test compound is found to be comparable with that of the standard drug glibenclamide

Monitoring of antimicrobial usage among adult bovines in dairy herds of Punjab, India: A quantitative analysis of pattern and frequency

The present study aimed to evaluate the antimicrobial usage (AMU) pattern in dairy herds of Punjab, India. The on-farm quantification of AMU in adult bovine animals by the manual collection of empty drug containers (“bin method”) along with the records of the treatment was carried out in 38 dairy farms involving 1010 adult bovines for 1 year from July 2020 to June 2021. The farm owners were asked to record the antibiotic treatments as well as to deposit empty antibiotic packaging/vials into the provided bins placed at the farms. A total of 14 different antibiotic agents in 265 commercial antibiotic products were administered to the dairy herds during the study. A total of 179 (67.55%) administered products contained antimicrobials of “critical importance” as per the World Health Organization (WHO). Mastitis (54.72%), followed by the treatment of fever (19.62%), reproductive problems (15.47%), and diarrhea (3.40%) accounted for the majority of drugs administered in the herds during the study period. The most commonly used antibiotics were enrofloxacin (89.47% herds; 21.51% products), followed by ceftriaxone (50% herds; 12.83% products), amoxicillin (50% herds; 12.83% products), oxytetracycline (55.26% herds; 11.70% products), and procaine penicillin (47.37% herds; 12.83% products). The highest quantity of AMU [in terms of antimicrobial drug use rate (ADUR)] was observed for ceftiofur, followed by ceftriaxone, procaine benzyl penicillin ceftizoxime, enrofloxacin, cefoperazone, amoxicillin and ampicillin. A total of 125 (47.17%) products contained “highest priority critically important antimicrobials” (HPCIA) and 54 (20.37%) products contained “high priority critically important antimicrobials”. In terms of overall number of animal daily doses (nADD), the highest priority critically important antimicrobials (HPCIA) of the WHO such as third-generation cephalosporins and quinolones, respectively accounted for 44.64 and 22.35% of the total antibiotic use in the herds. The bin method offers an alternative to monitoring AMU as a more accessible approach for recording the actual consumption of antimicrobials. The present study, to the best of our knowledge, is the first of its kind to provide an overview of the qualitative and quantitative estimate of AMU among adult bovines from India

Extent of knowledge and attitudes on plagiarism among undergraduate medical students in South India - a multicentre, cross-sectional study to determine the need for incorporating research ethics in medical undergraduate curriculum

BACKGROUND: Undergraduate medical students in India participate in various research activities However, plagiarism is rampant, and we hypothesize that it is the lack of knowledge on how to avoid plagiarism. This study’s objective was to measure the extent of knowledge and attitudes towards plagiarism among undergraduate medical students in India. METHODS: It was a multicentre, cross-sectional study conducted over a two-year period (January 2018 – December 2019). Undergraduate medical students were given a pre-tested semi-structured questionnaire which contained: (a) Demographic details; (b) A quiz developed by Indiana University, USA to assess knowledge; and (c) Attitudes towards Plagiarism (ATP) questionnaire. RESULTS: Eleven medical colleges (n = 4 government medical colleges [GMCs] and n = 7 private medical colleges [PMCs]) participated. A total of N = 4183 students consented. The mean (SD) knowledge score was 4.54 (1.78) out of 10. The factors (adjusted odds ratio [aOR]; 95% Confidence interval [CI]; p value) that emerged as significant predictors of poor knowledge score were early years of medical education (0.110; 0.063, 0.156; < 0.001) and being enrolled in a GMC (0.348; 0.233, 0.463; < 0.001).The overall mean (SD) scores of the three attitude components namely permissive, critical and submissive norms were 37.56 (5.25), 20.35 (4.20) and 31.20 (4.28) respectively, corresponding to the moderate category. CONCLUSION: The overall knowledge score was poor. A vast majority of study participants fell in the moderate category of attitude score. These findings warrant the need for incorporating formal training in the medical education curriculum

Global, regional, and national burden of disorders affecting the nervous system, 1990–2021: a systematic analysis for the Global Burden of Disease Study 2021

BackgroundDisorders affecting the nervous system are diverse and include neurodevelopmental disorders, late-life neurodegeneration, and newly emergent conditions, such as cognitive impairment following COVID-19. Previous publications from the Global Burden of Disease, Injuries, and Risk Factor Study estimated the burden of 15 neurological conditions in 2015 and 2016, but these analyses did not include neurodevelopmental disorders, as defined by the International Classification of Diseases (ICD)-11, or a subset of cases of congenital, neonatal, and infectious conditions that cause neurological damage. Here, we estimate nervous system health loss caused by 37 unique conditions and their associated risk factors globally, regionally, and nationally from 1990 to 2021.MethodsWe estimated mortality, prevalence, years lived with disability (YLDs), years of life lost (YLLs), and disability-adjusted life-years (DALYs), with corresponding 95% uncertainty intervals (UIs), by age and sex in 204 countries and territories, from 1990 to 2021. We included morbidity and deaths due to neurological conditions, for which health loss is directly due to damage to the CNS or peripheral nervous system. We also isolated neurological health loss from conditions for which nervous system morbidity is a consequence, but not the primary feature, including a subset of congenital conditions (ie, chromosomal anomalies and congenital birth defects), neonatal conditions (ie, jaundice, preterm birth, and sepsis), infectious diseases (ie, COVID-19, cystic echinococcosis, malaria, syphilis, and Zika virus disease), and diabetic neuropathy. By conducting a sequela-level analysis of the health outcomes for these conditions, only cases where nervous system damage occurred were included, and YLDs were recalculated to isolate the non-fatal burden directly attributable to nervous system health loss. A comorbidity correction was used to calculate total prevalence of all conditions that affect the nervous system combined.FindingsGlobally, the 37 conditions affecting the nervous system were collectively ranked as the leading group cause of DALYs in 2021 (443 million, 95% UI 378–521), affecting 3·40 billion (3·20–3·62) individuals (43·1%, 40·5–45·9 of the global population); global DALY counts attributed to these conditions increased by 18·2% (8·7–26·7) between 1990 and 2021. Age-standardised rates of deaths per 100 000 people attributed to these conditions decreased from 1990 to 2021 by 33·6% (27·6–38·8), and age-standardised rates of DALYs attributed to these conditions decreased by 27·0% (21·5–32·4). Age-standardised prevalence was almost stable, with a change of 1·5% (0·7–2·4). The ten conditions with the highest age-standardised DALYs in 2021 were stroke, neonatal encephalopathy, migraine, Alzheimer's disease and other dementias, diabetic neuropathy, meningitis, epilepsy, neurological complications due to preterm birth, autism spectrum disorder, and nervous system cancer.InterpretationAs the leading cause of overall disease burden in the world, with increasing global DALY counts, effective prevention, treatment, and rehabilitation strategies for disorders affecting the nervous system are needed

Drought Regionalization of Brazos River Basin Using an Entropy Approach

Assessment and understanding of past climate is an important step for drought mitigation and water resources planning. In this study, streamflow simulation obtained from the variable infiltration capacity (VIC) model was used for drought characterization, and subsequently regionalization was done based on the annual severity level, for the Brazos basin in Texas over a time span of 1949-2000. It is important to study drought characteristics within a regional context. Hence, identification of homogenous drought regions is a prerequisite, so that the drought characteristics can be studied within each of these regions. In this study, the concept of entropy was used for formation of homogenous regions based on drought severity. A standardized version of mutual information known as directional information transfer was used for station grouping. Results obtained were compared with the conventional k-means clustering method. The regions obtained were similar in both cases

A novel reaction of vicinal tricarbonyl compounds with the isocyanide-DMAD zwitterion: formation of highly substituted furan derivatives

The vicinal tricarbonyl system participates in a novel reaction with the zwitterion derived from isocyanide and dimethyl acetylenedicarboxylate to form fully substituted furan derivatives

Drought Hazard and Vulnerability Maps for Texas

Natural disasters like droughts have a huge socio-economic impact on society. Despite being an important component of mitigation, the concept of vulnerabil- ity in association with extreme events has not been explored much. This report presents a systematic approach for the assessment of drought hazard and identi - cation of drought vulnerability indicators pertinent to the state of Texas. A novel drought index known as Multivariate Drought Index (MDI) was used to simultane- ously quantify multiple physical forms of drought. A composite risk assessment was then carried out by considering both hazard and vulnerability components. The risk, hazard, and vulnerability components were quanti ed using standardized indices like Drought Hazard Index (DHI), Drought Vulnerability Index (DVI), and Drought Risk Index (DRI). A suitable classi cation scheme was adopted for these indices to group regions into classes ranging from low to high. Mapping of DHI, DVI, and DRI classes led to the generation of risk, hazard and vulnerability maps for Texas. The report emphasizes the importance of including vulnerability of the study area in the event of drought while drafting planning measures. Ultimately, the study aims at bridging the gaps existing in the current drought research, which even though substantial, still fails to address some of the issues, and for developing a comprehensive framework for better understanding of droughts in Texas which will help decision makers to formulate a more e ective adaptation and mitigation strategy in future.United States Geological Survey (USGS) (Grant Number: 2009TX334G)

A novel three-component reaction of triphenylphosphine, DMAD, and electron-deficient styrenes: facile synthesis of cyclopentenyl phosphoranes

The zwitterion formed from triphenylphosphine and DMAD adds to electron-deficient styrenes to form stable cyclopentenyl phosphoranes. This is the first example of such a zwitterion in which the phosphine is incorporated into the product