Histopathological spectrum of lesions in gastrointestinal endoscopic biopsies in Jawahar Lal Nehru Medical College and associated group of Hospitals, Ajmer, Rajasthan

Background: The gastrointestinal tract which extends from the esophagus to anus is a common site for numerous pathological processes from non-neoplastic, pre-neoplastic, to neoplastic. Gastrointestinal tumors including both benign and malignant tumors are the major cause of morbidity and mortality worldwide. Endoscopy in combination with endoscopic biopsy plays an important role in detecting early cancers and/or high-grade dysplasia and in the diagnosis of upper and lower gastrointestinal tract neoplasms and therefore aids in their early management.Methods: This study was done for 1 year from July 2018 to June 2019 (retrospectively) and over a period of 1 year from July 2019 to June 2020 (prospectively). All endoscopic biopsies samples were received in the department of pathology at J. L. N. Medical College and Associated Group of Hospital, Ajmer, Rajasthan.Results: The mean age of patients were 51.91±18.86 years and highest incidence of gastrointestinal (GI) disease was seen between the age group of 51-60 years. The male: female (M: F) ratio was 1.46: 1. Non neoplastic lesions are more common than neoplastic lesions. Inflammatory lesion was the most commonly observed lesion followed by malignant lesions. The sensitivity of endoscopy is 96.25%, specificity is 68.67%, the positive predictive value is 74.76% and the negative predictive value is 95%. Accuracy for diagnosis by endoscopy is 82.21%.Conclusions: Endoscopic biopsy correlation reflects important advances in understanding the pathophysiology of disease and prognosis and survival rates after staging in the case of carcinomas. It provides diagnostic information and aids in improving patient management

Development and analysis of the Soil Water Infiltration Global database.

In this paper, we present and analyze a novel global database of soil infiltration measurements, the Soil Water Infiltration Global (SWIG) database. In total, 5023 infiltration curves were collected across all continents in the SWIG database. These data were either provided and quality checked by the scientists who performed the experiments or they were digitized from published articles. Data from 54 different countries were included in the database with major contributions from Iran, China, and the USA. In addition to its extensive geographical coverage, the collected infiltration curves cover research from 1976 to late 2017. Basic information on measurement location and method, soil properties, and land use was gathered along with the infiltration data, making the database valuable for the development of pedotransfer functions (PTFs) for estimating soil hydraulic properties, for the evaluation of infiltration measurement methods, and for developing and validating infiltration models. Soil textural information (clay, silt, and sand content) is available for 3842 out of 5023 infiltration measurements (~76%) covering nearly all soil USDA textural classes except for the sandy clay and silt classes. Information on land use is available for 76% of the experimental sites with agricultural land use as the dominant type (~40%). We are convinced that the SWIG database will allow for a better parameterization of the infiltration process in land surface models and for testing infiltration models. All collected data and related soil characteristics are provided online in *.xlsx and *.csv formats for reference, and we add a disclaimer that the database is for public domain use only and can be copied freely by referencing it. Supplementary data are available at https://doi.org/10.1594/PANGAEA.885492 (Rahmati et al., 2018). Data quality assessment is strongly advised prior to any use of this database. Finally, we would like to encourage scientists to extend and update the SWIG database by uploading new data to it

Sustainable Groundwater Management in the Arid Southwestern US: Coachella Valley, California

Sustainable groundwater management requires approaches to assess the influence of climate and management actions on the evolution of groundwater systems. Traditional approaches that apply continuity to assess groundwater sustainability fail to capture the spatial variability of aquifer responses. To address this gap, our study evaluates groundwater elevation data from the Coachella Valley, California, within a groundwater sustainability framework given the adoption of integrative management strategies in the valley. Our study details an innovative approach employing traditional statistical methods to improve understanding of aquifer responses. In this analysis, we evaluate trends at individual groundwater observation wells and regional groundwater behaviors using field significance. Regional elevation trends identified no significant trends during periods of intense groundwater replenishment, active since 1973, despite spatial variability in individual well trends. Our results illustrate the spatially limited effects of groundwater replenishment occur against a setting of long-term groundwater depletion, raising concerns over the definition of sustainable groundwater management in aquifer systems employing integrative management strategies

Development and analysis of the Soil Water Infiltration Global database

In this paper, we present and analyze a novel global database of soil infiltration measurements, the Soil Water Infiltration Global (SWIG) database. In total, 5023 infiltration curves were collected across all continents in the SWIG database. These data were either provided and quality checked by the scientists who performed the experiments or they were digitized from published articles. Data from 54 different countries were included in the database with major contributions from Iran, China, and the USA. In addition to its extensive geographical coverage, the collected infiltration curves cover research from 1976 to late 2017. Basic information on measurement location and method, soil properties, and land use was gathered along with the infiltration data, making the database valuable for the development of pedotransfer functions (PTFs) for estimating soil hydraulic properties, for the evaluation of infiltration measurement methods, and for developing and validating infiltration models. Soil textural information (clay, silt, and sand content) is available for 3842 out of 5023 infiltration measurements ( ∼ 76%) covering nearly all soil USDA textural classes except for the sandy clay and silt classes. Information on land use is available for 76% of the experimental sites with agricultural land use as the dominant type ( ∼ 40%). We are convinced that the SWIG database will allow for a better parameterization of the infiltration process in land surface models and for testing infiltration models. All collected data and related soil characteristics are provided online in *.xlsx and *.csv formats for reference, and we add a disclaimer that the database is for public domain use only and can be copied freely by referencing it. Supplementary data are available at https://doi.org/10.1594/PANGAEA.885492 (Rahmati et al., 2018). Data quality assessment is strongly advised prior to any use of this database. Finally, we would like to encourage scientists to extend and update the SWIG database by uploading new data to it

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Not AvailableIncreasing groundwater contamination across the globe triggered the concept of “aquifer vulnerability”, which has been extensively used worldwide during past three to four decades by researchers and policy makers for protecting groundwater from pollution. However, only a few recent studies have focused on the performance evaluation of two or more vulnerability assessment methods. Some of these studies have resulted in contrasting findings. Given this fact and considering growing threat of groundwater contamination due to increasing human activities across the globe, it is necessary to critically review existing methods, understand current research trends, and identify major challenges associated with the assessment of aquifer vulnerability. Hence, the aim of this study is to present a comprehensive review of the methods and approaches used for the evaluation of aquifer vulnerability for ‘resource’ and ‘source’ protection. First, the concept and types of aquifer vulnerability along with the definitions evolved over the years are presented, and then the methods for assessing aquifer vulnerability are suitably classified and briefly discussed. Second, the concept of vulnerability assessment for ‘source’ protection is highlighted, and the evolution of groundwater vulnerability evaluation methods is presented with an enlightening block diagram. Third, current research trends and critiques on past studies are discussed. Fourth, the major challenges of vulnerability assessment are highlighted and a way forward is suggested. It is concluded that the progress of vulnerability evaluation methods has not kept pace with the advancement of knowledge and tools/techniques. There is an urgent need for developing a scientifically robust and somewhat versatile methodology for the evaluation of ‘intrinsic’ and ‘specific’ groundwater vulnerability for ‘resource’ and ‘source’ protection under varying hydrogeologic and hydro-climatic conditions. It is emphasized that more studies should be devoted to vulnerability assessment for ‘source’ protection using ‘Source-Pathway-Receptor/Target’ approach. Also, spatial decision support systems should be developed using modern tools/techniques including artificial intelligence to improve decision-making process for protecting vital groundwater resources.Not Availabl

Exploring temporal dynamics of spatially-distributed groundwater levels by integrating time series modeling with geographic information system

This study developed a novel framework for integrating time series modeling with geographic information system (GIS). For the first time, procedures of four statistical tests, i.e., t-test of stationarity, cumulative deviation test of homogeneity, autocorrelation technique of persistence, and variance-corrected Mann–Kendall test of trend, are implemented in GIS platform to enable use of raster dataset. Application of developed framework is demonstrated by exploring time series characteristics of pre- and post-monsoon groundwater levels in an Indian arid region. Raster dataset of 22-year (1996–2017) groundwater levels are generated using four best-fit geostatistical models, according to mean absolute error, root mean square error, correlation coefficient and modified index of agreement. Increasing groundwater level trends in central and southern parts are attributed to abrupt change-points in annual rainfall that enhanced groundwater recharge. The developed framework can be adopted in other parts of the world to explore groundwater-level dynamics in spatially-distributed manner