The epidemiological and neurological risk factors of Japanese encephalitis virus in the population of Assam, Northeast India

Japanese encephalitis is one of the world's most common public health issues, particularly it is prevalent in the north-eastern Indian states of Assam. This study aimed to find out the risk factors linked to clinical and epidemiological characteristics. A total of 245 cases were found as PCR-positive in Assam. The most common clinical symptoms were fever (87%), seizure (65%), altered sensorium (60%), cold with shivering (74%), vomiting (68%), throat irritation (31%), cough (67%), chest pain (10%), joint pain (18%), mouth ulcer (18%), diarrhea (29%), pain in the abdomen (42.9%), runny nose (64%), redness in eyes (78%), jaundice (25%), and blood in the sputum (25%).   Further, the neurological symptoms included vision problems (66.5%), hearing difficulties (55 %), neck stiffness (62%), limb numbness (65%), dizziness (77%), headaches (75.5%), speaking difficulties (63%), hydrophobia (47%), and abnormal behavior (66%). The epidemiological risk factors included contact with pigs (57%), bats (21%), cattle (32%), and rates (66%). In addition, 24.5% of patients observed the death of animals/birds. The protection measure included window screening, sleeping under a mosquito net, and use of insect repellent while sleeping in open compounds (29%) and floods (63%) are considered important risk factors. JE-positive cases include daily habits like working in agriculture fields (28%), in standing water (16%), swimming in nearby lakes (24%), traveling outside their village (40%), and wearing shirts while working in the field (20%), storing water in open containers in or outside the house (62%). These were the epidemiological factors that affected the abundance of the potential mosquito vectors of the JE infection

Effects of organic nutrient management on aromatic rice (Oryza sativa)-linseed (Linum usitatissimum) sequence

The experiment was conducted during 2019 and 2020 at the Instructional-cum Research (ICR) Farm, Assam Agricultural University, Jorhat, Assam to study the impact of different combinations of organic nutrient sources on aromatic rice (Oryza sativa L.) (rainy-kharif) and their residual effect on linseed (Linum usitatissimum L.) (winter- rabi) crop for developing a double cropping sequence for rice growers of Assam with organic management. The experiment comprised three aromatic rice cultivars, viz. Kola joha, Keteki joha and Chakhao poireiton and five combinations of organic nutrient sources. Out of the organic nutrient sources, application of N @30 kg/ha through vermicompost along with pre-season green manuring of Sesbania bispinosa and root dip treatment of rice seedlings with Azospirillium and phosphorus solubilising bacteria @3.5 kg/ha each (N3) resulted the highest number of panicles/ m2 (216.72 in 2019 and 223.96 in 2020), highest yield of rice (30.26 q/ha in 2019, 32.58 q/ha in 2020 grain yield and 65.99 q/ha in 2019, 68.98 q/ha in 2020 straw yield). The highest seed yield (394.52 kg/ha in 2019, 416.97 kg/ha in 2020) and stover yield (890.09 kg/ha in 2019, 896.63 kg/ha in 2020) of succeeding relay sown linseed were recorded with the N3 treatment. The highest available N (250.10 kg/ha), P2O5 (20.40 kg/ha) and K2O (140.06 kg/ha), organic C (0.65%), soil organic carbon (SOC) stock (13.29 t/ha), soil microbial biomass carbon (SMBC) (183.43 µg/g of soil) in soil were recorded with the N3 treatment after harvest of linseed in 2020. The study affirmed the suitability of rice-linseed cropping sequence for efficient utilization and conservation of resources

A crowdsourced global data set for validating built-up surface layers

Several global high-resolution built-up surface products have emerged over the last five years, taking full advantage of open sources of satellite data such as Landsat and Sentinel. However, these data sets require validation that is independent of the producers of these products. To fill this gap, we designed a validation sample set of 50 K locations using a stratified sampling approach independent of any existing global built-up surface products. We launched a crowdsourcing campaign using Geo-Wiki (https://www.geo-wiki.org/) to visually interpret this sample set for built-up surfaces using very high-resolution satellite images as a source of reference data for labelling the samples, with a minimum of five validations per sample location. Data were collected for 10 m sub-pixels in an 80 × 80 m grid to allow for geo-registration errors as well as the application of different validation modes including exact pixel matching to majority or percentage agreement. The data set presented in this paper is suitable for the validation and inter-comparison of multiple products of built-up areas

Role of CYP2E1 gene polymorphisms association with hepatitis risk in Northeast India

AIM: To investigate hepatitis virus, genetic and environmental factors, and their interactions in predisposing patients to liver diseases in Northeast India

Residue and soil dissipation kinetics of chloroacetanilide herbicides on rice (Oryzae sativa L.) and assessing the impact on soil microbial parameters and enzyme activity

The present investigation determines the persistence of herbicides like butachlor and pretilachlor in Indian soil, and their impact on soil biological properties including microbial biomass carbon (MBC), total microbial population numbers, and enzyme activities. Butachlor was degraded faster in autumn rice soil (t1/2 of 10–13 days) than in winter rice soil (half-life of 16–18 days). The t1/2 of pretilachlor in winter rice was 12–16 days. Regardless of the seasons under cultivation, no pesticide residue was detected in rice at harvest. Herbicides induced an initial decline (0–14th days after application) in MBC (averages of 332.7–478.4 g g−1 dry soil in autumn rice and 299.6–444.3 g g−1 dry soil in winter rice), microbial populations (averages of 6.4 cfu g−1 in autumn rice and 4.6 cfu g−1 in winter rice), and phosphatase (averages of 242.6–269.3 μg p-nitrophenol g−1 dry soil h−1 in autumn rice and 188.2–212.2 μg p-nitrophenol g−1 dry soil h−1 in winter rice). The application of herbicides favored dehydrogenase (averages of 123.1–156.7 g TPF g−1 dry soil in autumn and 126.7–151.1 g TPF g−1 dry soil in winter) and urease activities (averages of 279.0–340.4 g NH4 g−1 soil 2 h−1 in autumn and 226.7–296.5 g NH4 g−1 soil 2 h−1 in winter) in rice soil at 0–14th DAA. The study suggests that applications of butachlor and pretilachlor at the rates of 1000 g ha−1 and 750 g ha−1, respectively, to control the weeds in the transplanted rice fields do not have any negative impact on the harvested rice and associated soil environment

PREVALENCE AND CHARACTERISTICS OF PATIENTS ELIGIBLE FOR CATHETER–BASED RENAL ARTERIAL DENERVATION IN AN ACADEMIC CARDIOLOGY CLINIC

The largest published study of renal denervation (RDN), SYMPLICITY HTN–2, demonstrated significant blood pressure (BP) reduction in eligible patients with resistant hypertension. Given the strict inclusion and exclusion criteria of SYMPLICITY HTN–2, we sought to determine its generalizabilit