Some flow features of the Indian summer monsoon deduced from Nimbus-II radiation data

Radiation data obtained from Nimbus-II MRIR (10-11μ) and HRIR (3.5-4.1μ) radiometer for 14-19 June 1966, over the Indian Ocean are used to study some features of the monsoon circulation during the six-day period. Low values of radiation which are associated with cloudiness show two distinct features from 15-17 June: (i) a very extensive band of approximately 1000 km in width at the equator between 50°-60° E extending towards both hemispheres, and (ii) a synoptic-scale cell covering the equatorial region approx. between 70°-90° E and 0°-10° S. The two cloud systems are separated from each other by a wide region of high radiation indicating clear conditions. Sub-synoptic scale features could be detected in the radiation field (which in turn are related to the cloud field). Northern and Western sections of the Arabian Sea were relatively cloud-free. An attempt is made to relate the cloud fields with computed vertical motion fields. Areas of upward motion seem to coincide well with centers of low radiation (clouds) and those of subsidence with regions of high radiation. Horizontal flow features related to the computed vertical motion fields are discussed in the paper

Optical properties of perovskite alkaline earth titanates : a formulation

In this communication we suggest a formulation of the optical conductivity as a convolution of an energy resolved joint density of states and an energy-frequency labelled transition rate. Our final aim is to develop a scheme based on the augmented space recursion for random systems. In order to gain confidence in our formulation, we apply the formulation to three alkaline earth titanates CaTiO_3, SrTiO_3 and BaTiO_3 and compare our results with available data on optical properties of these systems.Comment: 19 pages, 9 figures, Submitted to Journal of Physics: Condensed Matte

N-{3-[2-(4-Fluoro­phen­oxy)eth­yl]-2,4-dioxo-1,3-diaza­spiro­[4.5]decan-7-yl}-4-methyl­benzamide

In the title compound, C24H26FN3O4, the two aromatic rings form a dihedral angle of 88.81 (15)°. The cyclo­hexane ring adopts a chair conformation and the five-membered ring is essentially planar, with a maximum deviation from planarity of 0.041 (2) Å. The crystal structure displays inter­molecular C—H⋯O and N—H⋯O hydrogen bonds

Using an Uncertainty-Coding Matrix in Bayesian Regression Models for Haplotype-Specific Risk Detection in Family Association Studies

Haplotype association studies based on family genotype data can provide more biological information than single marker association studies. Difficulties arise, however, in the inference of haplotype phase determination and in haplotype transmission/non-transmission status. Incorporation of the uncertainty associated with haplotype inference into regression models requires special care. This task can get even more complicated when the genetic region contains a large number of haplotypes. To avoid the curse of dimensionality, we employ a clustering algorithm based on the evolutionary relationship among haplotypes and retain for regression analysis only the ancestral core haplotypes identified by it. To integrate the three sources of variation, phase ambiguity, transmission status and ancestral uncertainty, we propose an uncertainty-coding matrix which combines these three types of variability simultaneously. Next we evaluate haplotype risk with the use of such a matrix in a Bayesian conditional logistic regression model. Simulation studies and one application, a schizophrenia multiplex family study, are presented and the results are compared with those from other family based analysis tools such as FBAT. Our proposed method (Bayesian regression using uncertainty-coding matrix, BRUCM) is shown to perform better and the implementation in R is freely available

A multicentric evaluation of dipstick test for serodiagnosis of visceral leishmaniasis in India, Nepal, Sri Lanka, Brazil, Ethiopia and Spain

Author Correction: A multicentric evaluation of dipstick test for serodiagnosis of visceral leishmaniasis in India, Nepal, Sri Lanka, Brazil, Ethiopia and Spain PMID: 33574485Visceral leishmaniasis (VL) is one of the leading infectious diseases affecting developing countries. Colloidal gold-based diagnostic tests are rapid tools to detect blood/serum antibodies for VL diagnosis. Lack of uniformity in the performance of these tests in different endemic regions is a hurdle in early disease diagnosis. This study is designed to validate a serum-based dipstick test in eight centres of six countries, India, Nepal, Sri Lanka, Brazil, Ethiopia and Spain with archived and fresh sera from 1003 subjects. The dipstick detects antibodies against Leishmania donovani membrane antigens (LAg). The overall sensitivity and specificity of the test with 95% confidence intervals were found to be 97.10% and 93.44%, respectively. The test showed good sensitivity and specificity in the Indian subcontinent (>95%). In Brazil, Ethiopia, and Spain the sensitivity and specificity of the dipstick test (83.78-100% and 79.06-100%) were better as compared to the earlier reports of the performance of rK39 rapid test in these regions. Interestingly, less cross-reactivity was found with the cutaneous form of the disease in Spain, Brazil, and Sri Lanka demonstrating 91.58% specificity. This dipstick test can therefore be a useful tool for diagnosing VL from other symptomatically similar diseases and against cutaneous form of leishmaniasis.S

Noninvasive Diagnosis of Visceral Leishmaniasis:Development and Evaluation of Two Urine-Based Immunoassays for Detection of Leishmania donovani Infection in India

Visceral leishmaniasis (VL), one of the most prevalent parasitic diseasesin the developing world causes serious health concerns. Post kala-azar dermal leishmaniasis (PKDL) is a skin disease which occurs after treatment as a sequel to VL. Parasitological diagnosis involves invasive tissue aspiration which is tedious and painful. Commercially available immunochromatographic rapid diagnostic test such as rK39-RDT is used for field diagnosis of VL, detects antibodiesin serum samples. Urine sample is however, much easier in collection,storage and handling than serum and would be a better alternative where collection of tissue aspirate or blood is impractical. In this study, we have developed and evaluated the performance of two urine-based diagnostic assays, ELISA and dipstick test, and compared the results with serologicalrK39-RDT. Our study shows the capability of urinebased tests in detecting anti-Leishmania antibodies effectively for both VL and PKDL diagnosis. The ability of dipstick test to demonstrate negative results after six months in 90% of the VL cases after treatment could be useful as a test of clinical cure. Urine-based tests can therefore replace the need for invasive practices and ensure better diagnosi