Spatio-Temporal Rainfall Variability and Rainstorm Analysis over the Goa State, India

Goa, a petite state located on the west coast of the Peninsular India, is bestowed with nine major rivers of which the Mandovi and the Zuari rivers are the major and important rivers from irrigation and hydropower point of view. Spatial and temporal variation of rainfall in these basins has great influence on water resources of the state. In view of this, on the basis of available monthly rainfall data from 1901-2012 and daily rainfall data for the period of 2001-2012 for the stations located in north and south districts of Goa were analysed to review the mean monthly, seasonal and annual rainfall intensity, trends and its spatial distribution; severe rainstorms and their raindepths for different durations. The analysis will be important in water planning projects especially, for irrigation, hydropower and flood control, etc. for the Goa state

Spatial and temporal analysis of rainfall over Jharkhand, India (1901-2000)

After the existence of Jharkhand state in 2000, there is no in-depth study for districts rainfall climatology, its variability and the changing pattern of rainfall using a long period of data is available for the state. About 75% of the agricultural production in Jharkhand is non-irrigated, showing the dependence of the state on monsoon rainfall. In the present study, based on monthly rainfall series of all the 24 districts of Jharkhand for the period 1901-2000 variability of rainfall during monsoon seasons and annual rainfall for Jharkhand state are presented. The study can form very useful information to the agriculture and water sectors of this state. The analysis revealed that during 1901 to 1950 state has showed good rainfall activity than during 1951 to 2000. Variation in rainfall is mostly due to varied and undulating topography almost in all the districts. The maximum abnormality (>100%) in annual and seasonal rainfall was recorded during 1971-80, 1981-90 decades. Comparison of seasonality index for 1901-50, 1951-2000 and for the entire period 1901-2000 showed that SI has increased during 1951-2000. The long term mean annual rainfall based on 100 years data varied from 1136.8 mm over Koderma to 1542.5 mm over Pakur district

Spatial variability of aridity oyer northern India

Spatial variability of aridity over northern India (north of 20°N) is studied by examining variations in the arid area. Area with an objectively determined summer monsoon rainfall (June to September total) of less than 500 mm is identified as arid area. The summer monsoon rainfall of 212 rain-gauges from 212 districts of the region for the period 1871-1984 are used in the analysis. An interesting feature of the arid area series is that it shows decreasing trend from beginning of the present century. The summer monsoon rainfall fluctuations over five subjectively divided zones over northern India are examined to understand the association between rainfall and the arid area variations. The rainfall series for northwest India shows a significant increasing trend and that for northeast India a significant decreasing trend from the beginning of this century. Rainfall fluctuations over the remaining zones can be considered intermediate stages of a systematic spatial change in the rainfall pattern. This suggested that the recent decreasing trend in the arid area is due to a westward shift in the monsoon rainfall activities. From correlation analyses it is inferred that perhaps the recent decreasing trend in the arid area and increasing trend in the monsoon rainfall over northwest India are associated with a warming trend of the northern hemisphere

Rainfall and Groundwater Level Variation in Pune District, India

Rapid industrial development, urbanization and increase in agricultural production have led to freshwater shortages in many parts of the Pune district. The availability of groundwater is extremely uneven, both in space, time and depth which will be the case in future also. The present study concerns the impacts of a change in the rainfall regime on surface and groundwater resources in watersheds of Pune district during 2001 to 2012. This study shows that water level in many villages reachs almost bottom of the observatory well during May e.g. Dive Village in Purandar taluka reachs 32.40 m bgl in May 2004 as against 710 mm of rainfall recorded by the taluka. Categorization of groundwater level reveals that although there is rise in water level during October, even then 50% villages experience semi-critical condition. Therefore, there is an urgent need of planned and optimal development of water resources in this district

Coxiella burnetii Blocks Intracellular Interleukin-17 Signaling in Macrophages

Coxiella burnetii is an obligate intracellular bacterium and the etiological agent of Q fever. Successful host cell infection requires the Coxiella type IVB secretion system (T4BSS), which translocates bacterial effector proteins across the vacuole membrane into the host cytoplasm, where they manipulate a variety of cell processes. To identify host cell targets of Coxiella T4BSS effector proteins, we determined the transcriptome of murine alveolar macrophages infected with a Coxiella T4BSS effector mutant. We identified a set of inflammatory genes that are significantly upregulated in T4BSS mutant-infected cells compared to mock-infected cells or cells infected with wild-type (WT) bacteria, suggesting that Coxiella T4BSS effector proteins downregulate the expression of these genes. In addition, the interleukin-17 (IL-17) signaling pathway was identified as one of the top pathways affected by the bacteria. While previous studies demonstrated that IL-17 plays a protective role against several pathogens, the role of IL-17 during Coxiella infection is unknown. We found that IL-17 kills intracellular Coxiella in a dose-dependent manner, with the T4BSS mutant exhibiting significantly more sensitivity to IL-17 than WT bacteria. In addition, quantitative PCR confirmed the increased expression of IL-17 downstream signaling genes in T4BSS mutant-infected cells compared to WT- or mock-infected cells, including the proinflammatory cytokine genes Il1a, Il1b, and Tnfa, the chemokine genes Cxcl2 and Ccl5, and the antimicrobial protein gene Lcn2 We further confirmed that the Coxiella T4BSS downregulates macrophage CXCL2/macrophage inflammatory protein 2 and CCL5/RANTES protein levels following IL-17 stimulation. Together, these data suggest that Coxiella downregulates IL-17 signaling in a T4BSS-dependent manner in order to escape the macrophage immune response

Relationships between Rainy Days, Mean Daily Intensity, and Seasonal Rainfall over the Koyna Catchment during 1961–2005

There are limitations in using monthly rainfall totals in studies of rainfall climatology as well as in hydrological and agricultural investigations. Variations in rainfall may be considered to result from frequency changes in the daily rainfall of the respective regime. In the present study, daily rainfall data of the stations inside the Koyna catchment has been analysed for the period of 1961–2005 to understand the relationship between the rain and rainy days, mean daily intensity (MDI) and seasonal rainfall over the catchment on monthly as well as seasonal scale. Considering the topographical location of the catchment, analysis of seasonal rainfall data of 8 stations suggests that a linear relationship fits better than the logarithmic relationship in the case of seasonal rainfall versus mean daily intensity. So far as seasonal rainfall versus number of rainy days is considered, the logarithmic relationship is found to be better

A typical recurrence of rheumatic chorea

Syndenhams Chorea in acute rheumatic fever is reported to occur in 20-30% of patients. It is usually late onset, occurring upto 6 months after acute infection but may occasionally be present as presenting symptom of rheumatic fever. It is a self-limiting condition with spontaneous remission lasting from 1 week to 6 months. The risk of recurrence is present in 1st 1-2 years in about 20% of cases. Most of children (two thirds) with rheumatic fever are of school age (5-15 years of age). It is common in India and the incidence has not shown the declining trends seen in the developing countries. We report the clinical findings, investigations and the course of clinical development of a 14-year-old girl, who presented with Rheumatic chorea which recurred 3 years after the initial episode

The Role of Lipid Droplets in Host-pathogen Interactions of Intracellular and Extracellular Bacteria

Context: Lipid droplets (LDs) are cytoplasmic lipid storage organelles that have recently gained importance in host-pathogen interactions. They are surrounded by a phospholipid monolayer and store excess cellular free fatty acids and cholesterol as triacylglycerol (TAG) and cholesterol ester (CE) respectively. LDs are crucial to lipid metabolism and energy homeostasis. Further, their role in membrane trafficking, cell signaling, and inflammation make them a prime target for pathogens. Several bacterial, viral, and protozoal pathogens exploit host- or self-derived LDs to build new infectious progeny and/or modulate inflammation to promote infection. However, the diverse role of LDs in different bacterial pathogens remains elusive and merits in-depth elucidation. Objective: The goal of this review is to summarize the current research describing how certain bacterial pathogens manipulate LDs, and how those LDs affect the survival and infectivity of said bacteria. Methods/Design: We investigated literature from the last ten years involving LD-pathogen interactions for the intracellular pathogens Mycobacterium tuberculosis, Mycobacterium leprae, and Mycobacterium bovis; and the extracellular pathogens Pseudomonas aeruginosa and Vibrio cholera. Results: Mycobacterium spp. use LDs as both a fatty acid reservoir and a source of immune mediators, thus enhancing bacterial growth. Pseudomonas mobilizes LDs to increase its virulence whereas V. cholera uses fatty acids derived from aquatic animals to remodel its membrane phospholipids and provide stability for the bacterium. Conclusion: Because LDs are important metabolic organelles, understanding how pathogens exploit LDs during infection will emphasize the underappreciated role of cellular metabolic processes during bacterial infections. Our review will shed light on the importance of LDs during intracellular and extracellular bacterial infections, exploring a novel aspect of host-pathogen interactions

E-marketing in perspective: a three country comparison of business use of the Internet

Presents an inter-country comparison of the business use of the Internet as part of a competitive marketing strategy. Firstly, examines online marketing strategy, reporting that the professed benefits from Internet use are mostly illusory, particularly for the small business sector. Next, describes a survey of 400 businesses in Australia and New Zealand plus a questionnaire survey of 140 business-to-business marketing organizations in the UK and compares the results in terms of the strategic function, marketing communication function, marketing logistics function and relationship management function. Discovers that there are both similarities and differences in the way the three countries use the Internet. Reports that the major difference is in the strategic use of the Internet to gain competitive advantage, improve cost-effectiveness and relationship management, with Australian and New Zealand firms using the Internet to communicate with local firms and maintain relationships at a local level to support sales made through traditional channels.<br /