PREVALENCE OF ACUTE KIDNEY INJURY IN TROPICAL ACUTE FEBRILE ILLNESS AND ITS OUTCOME IN A TERTIARY CARE HOSPITAL: A CROSS-SECTIONAL STUDY.

Background Tropical acute febrile illness (TAFI) accounts for the majority of hospitalizations in our country. It is one of the most frequent causes of acute kidney injury (AKI) leading to very high morbidity and mortality in the Indian sub-continent. This study was conducted to evaluate the prevalence and outcome of AKI associated with TAFI.   Methods  This observational study was carried out on 100 patients of TAFI belonging to the age group of 15-89 years of both genders, admitted in the medicine ward fulfilling the inclusion and exclusion criteria in a tertiary care government teaching hospital in Eastern Odisha, India from June 2021to October 2022. After obtaining informed consent, they were thoroughly evaluated for clinical signs and symptoms along with routine laboratory investigations. Kidney Disease Improving Global Outcomes (KDIGO) criteria were followed for AKI diagnosis and classification. Outcomes in terms of duration of hospital stay, treatment with dialysis, the requirement for intensive care unit (ICU) support, survival, and mortality were analyzed and recorded.  Results Out of 100 patients of TAFI, 58% of patients developed AKI among whom 20 (34.4%) patients required hemodialysis. The majority (77.6%) of AKI patients improved, around 15.5% of patients progressed to chronic kidney disease (CKD) and mortality was seen in about 6.8% of patients Conclusion  The spectrum of TAFI in this present study shows malaria (38%) followed by dengue (27%), scrub typhus (16%), and leptospirosis (12%). The most common etiology of AKI in TAFI is leptospirosis (75%).   Recommendations Recommendations include early diagnosis and management of tropical acute febrile illness (TAFI) and acute kidney injury (AKI), preventive measures targeting common causes, and a multi-disciplinary approach to patient care to reduce morbidity and mortality in tropical regions.  

Mathematical Study on Prey-Predator Dynamics Under Effect of Water Contamination

A significant class of water pollutants emerging as a threat to human and aquaticpopulations is Per-and-polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS). The primary concern linked to PFAS is that they exhibit bioaccumulation potential as their perfluorocarbon moieties do not break down or do so very slowly under natural conditions, which is why PFAS has often been termed “forever chemicals.” These chemicals are disposed off in aquatic bodies via improper disposal methods, and because PFAS are persistent, they accumulate or concentrate in the water environment. Subsequently, these chemicals hamper the aquatic population and further enter the human food chain via direct consumption of affected aquatic species and drinking water. In this study, a mathematical model has been developed to understand the alarming consequences of PFAS on human and aquatic populations and the various challenges being faced due to inadequate treatment and management of these chemicals. The model has been analyzed for stability at the equilibrium points. Numerical simulations have also been carried out to support the analytical findings. The analysis demonstrates that rising PFAS contamination is extremely hazardous to both aquatic and human populations and immediate control methods need to be devised to restrain their increasing levels in water

Mathematical Study on Prey-Predator Dynamics Under Effect of Water Contamination

A significant class of water pollutants emerging as a threat to human and aquatic populations is Per-and-polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS). The primary concern linked to PFAS is that they exhibit bioaccumulation potential as their perfluorocarbon moieties do not break down or do so very slowly under natural conditions, which is why PFAS has often been termed “forever chemicals.” These chemicals are disposed off in aquatic bodies via improper disposal methods, and because PFAS are persistent, they accumulate or concentrate in the water environment. Subsequently, these chemicals hamper the aquatic population and further enter the human food chain via direct consumption of affected aquatic species and drinking water. In this study, a mathematical model has been developed to understand the alarming consequences of PFAS on human and aquatic populations and the various challenges being faced due to inadequate treatment and management of these chemicals. The model has been analyzed for stability at the equilibrium points. Numerical simulations have also been carried out to support the analytical findings. The analysis demonstrates that rising PFAS contamination is extremely hazardous to both aquatic and human populations and immediate control methods need to be devised to restrain their increasing levels in water

Accuracy Assessment, Comparative Performance, and Enhancement of Public Domain Digital Elevation Models (ASTER 30 m, SRTM 30 m, CARTOSAT 30 m, SRTM 90 m, MERIT 90 m, and TanDEM-X 90 m) Using DGPS

Publicly available Digital Elevation Models (DEM) derived from various space-based platforms (Satellite/Space Shuttle Endeavour) have had a tremendous impact on the quantification of landscape characteristics, and the related processes and products. The accuracy of elevation data from six major public domain satellite-derived Digital Elevation Models (a 30 m grid size—ASTER GDEM version 3 (Ast30), SRTM version 3 (Srt30), CartoDEM version V3R1 (Crt30)—and 90 m grid size—SRTM version 4.1 (Srt90), MERIT (MRT90), and TanDEM-X (TDX90)), as well as the improvement in accuracy achieved by applying a correction (linear fit) using Differential Global Positioning System (DGPS) estimates at Ground Control Points (GCPs) is examined in detail. The study area is a hard rock terrain that overall is flat-like with undulating and uneven surfaces (IIT (ISM) Campus and its environs) where the statistical analysis (corrected and uncorrected DEMs), correlation statistics and statistical tests (for elevation and slope), the impact of resampling methods, and the optimum number of GCPs for reduction of error in order to use it in further applications have been presented in detail. As the application of DGPS data at GCPs helps in the substantial reduction of bias by the removal of systematic error, it is recommended that DEMs may be corrected using DGPS before being used in any scientific studies

Accuracy Assessment, Comparative Performance, and Enhancement of Public Domain Digital Elevation Models (ASTER 30 m, SRTM 30 m, CARTOSAT 30 m, SRTM 90 m, MERIT 90 m, and TanDEM-X 90 m) Using DGPS

Publicly available Digital Elevation Models (DEM) derived from various space-based platforms (Satellite/Space Shuttle Endeavour) have had a tremendous impact on the quantification of landscape characteristics, and the related processes and products. The accuracy of elevation data from six major public domain satellite-derived Digital Elevation Models (a 30 m grid size—ASTER GDEM version 3 (Ast30), SRTM version 3 (Srt30), CartoDEM version V3R1 (Crt30)—and 90 m grid size—SRTM version 4.1 (Srt90), MERIT (MRT90), and TanDEM-X (TDX90)), as well as the improvement in accuracy achieved by applying a correction (linear fit) using Differential Global Positioning System (DGPS) estimates at Ground Control Points (GCPs) is examined in detail. The study area is a hard rock terrain that overall is flat-like with undulating and uneven surfaces (IIT (ISM) Campus and its environs) where the statistical analysis (corrected and uncorrected DEMs), correlation statistics and statistical tests (for elevation and slope), the impact of resampling methods, and the optimum number of GCPs for reduction of error in order to use it in further applications have been presented in detail. As the application of DGPS data at GCPs helps in the substantial reduction of bias by the removal of systematic error, it is recommended that DEMs may be corrected using DGPS before being used in any scientific studies

Management of Yellow Vein Mosaic Virus Disease of Okra through Cultural Approaches

Okra (Abelmoschus esculentus L. Moench) cultivation is threatened in the tropics due to the high incidence of okra yellow vein mosaic virus (OYVMV) disease. The experiment was conducted under field conditions to evaluate different dates of sowing and row to row spacing with a susceptible cultivar of okra 'Pusa Sawani' in a split-plot design during kharif 2018. The disease incidence and percent disease index (PDI) of OYVMV of okra were strongly impacted by the date of sowing and row to row spacing of the okra crop. Early (15th June) sown crop with closer row spacing of 30 cm had the lowest terminal disease incidence (49.30%), while late (14th July) sown crop with wider (60 cm) spaced crop had the highest (73.96%). The PDI was also lowest (47.82%) in an early (15th June) sown crop with 30 cm row spacing and greatest (68.19%) in a late (14th July) sown crop with 60 cm row spacing. During the study, it was observed that the early date of sowing with closer row to row spacing was decrease the incidence and severity of OYVMV disease

Effect of Pre-sowing Treatment to Break the Seed Dormancy and Seed Germination of Melia composita under Laboratory Conditions

Melia composita (Burma dek) is one of the multipurpose fast growing tree species applicable for the agri-silviculture system. In northern India, due to its fast growing and short rotation nature it has developed one of chosen tree species by the farmers under agroforestry. Melia composita occurs mostly in tropical moist and dry deciduous forest of Himalayas. The seed have Hard endocarp and therefore quite difficult to germinate. There are different types of seed dormancy and it helps in find out the better pre-sowing treatment to assure early and uniform germination of seeds. This leads to minimize the cost of large scale seedlings production. The present study was conducted at Laboratory of Seed Science and Technology, CCS Haryana Agricultural University during 2019 to evaluate the “Effect of pre-sowing treatments on seed germination of Melia composita”. Five pre-sowing treatments viz., normal water soaking (24, 48 and 72hr), conc. H2SO4 (5, 10 and 15 min.), cow dung slurry (5, 10 and 15 days), boiling water (5, 10 and 15 min.), mechanical scarification + GA3 (100 ppm) (8, 16 and 24hr). In laboratory conditions, maximum germination (64.67 %) and seed viability (74.67%) were recorded in concentrated H2SO4 treatment at 15 minute, whereas maximum root length (7.54 cm), shoot length (16.72 cm), root: shoot ratio and seedling dry weight (0.65g) were recorded in mechanical scarification + GA3 (100 ppm) at 24 hr

Determination of safe limit for arsenic contaminated irrigation water using solubility free ion activity model (FIAM) and Tobit Regression Model

Irrigation water contaminated with arsenic acts as a potent source of contamination to humans through water-soil-crop-food transfer so quantification of safe limit for irrigation water is also critical. A pot experiment was conducted to determine the safe limit for As contaminated irrigation water with two soil types (alluvial and red) using ten levels of contaminated irrigation water (0, 0.25, 0.5, 0.75, 1.0, 1.25, 1.50, 1.75, 2.0, 2.25 mg L−1), applied 5 times in rice (Variety: Sushak Samrat),used as a test crop. The results reveal that the different fractions of arsenic in terms of its profusion followed the order F4 > F2 > F5 > F3 > F1 and F4 > F3 > F2 > F5 > F1 across all the doses of As for alluvial soil and red soil respectively. The safe limit of irrigation water in terms of risk assessment expressed as Hazard Quotient (HQ) was at 0.75 mg L−1 and the solubility FIAM can effectively predict the As content in rice grain in both the soils. The Tobit Regression Model in alluvial soil quantified the safe limit for As in irrigation water from 1.20 to 0.10 mg L−1 for available soil As 0.25–3.0 mg kg−1 and in red soil, the range was from 0.10 to 0.40 mg L−1 for soil As 1.0 to 0.25 mg kg−1 provided that the As content in rice grain is < 0.4 mg kg−1. This proved to be an effective protocol for estimation of safe limits after proper validation and calibration

Immunonano-Lipocarrier-Mediated Liver Sinusoidal Endothelial Cell-Specific RUNX1 Inhibition Impedes Immune Cell Infiltration and Hepatic Inflammation in Murine Model of NASH

Background: Runt-related transcription factor (RUNX1) regulates inflammation in non-alcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH). Methods: We performed in vivo targeted silencing of the RUNX1 gene in liver sinusoidal endothelial cells (LSECs) by using vegfr3 antibody tagged immunonano-lipocarriers encapsulated RUNX1 siRNA (RUNX1 siRNA) in murine models of methionine choline deficient (MCD) diet-induced NASH. MCD mice given nanolipocarriers-encapsulated negative siRNA were vehicle, and mice with standard diet were controls. Results: Liver RUNX1 expression was increased in the LSECs of MCD mice in comparison to controls. RUNX1 protein expression was decreased by 40% in CD31-positive LSECs of RUNX1 siRNA mice in comparison to vehicle, resulting in the downregulation of adhesion molecules, ICAM1 expression, and VCAM1 expression in LSECs. There was a marked decrease in infiltrated T cells and myeloid cells along with reduced inflammatory cytokines in the liver of RUNX1 siRNA mice as compared to that observed in the vehicle. Conclusions: In vivo LSEC-specific silencing of RUNX1 using immunonano-lipocarriers encapsulated siRNA effectively reduces its expression of adhesion molecules, infiltrate on of immune cells in liver, and inflammation in NASH