Bay of Bengal Monsoon Experiment (BOBMEX)- a component of the Indian Climate Research Programme (ICRP)

The Indian Climate Research Programme (ICRP) focuses on the study of climate variability and its impact on agriculture. To address the role of the Bay of Bengal in monsoon variability, a process study was organised during July-August 1999, deploying research ships, buoys, INSAT, coastal radar and conventional observational systems to collect information about the coupled ocean-atmosphere system over the warm waters of the Bay of Bengal. The paper gives the background of the ICRP and the organisation and implementation of the Bay of Bengal Monsoon Experiment (BOBMEX) in its field phase

A NEW STABILITY-INDICATING RP-HPLC-PDA METHOD FOR SIMULTANEOUS ESTIMATION OF TRIPLICATE MIXTURE OF RAMIPRIL, ATORVASTATIN AND CLOPIDOGREL IN TABLET DOSAGE FORM

Objective: To develop a novel, accurate, precise and linear reverse phase high performance liquid chromatographic (RP-HPLC) method for simultaneous quantitative estimation of ramipril, atorvastatin and clopidogrel in Atamra-CV tablet and validate as per international conference on harmonization (ICH) guidelines and to perform the force degradation studies using the developed method.Methods: In the present work, the good chromatographic separation was achieved isocratically using a shim-pack HPLC Kromasil 150 mm x 4.6 mm, 5 m. m. And mobile phase consisting of 0.05 M potassium dihydrogen orthophosphate pH 3 adjusted with orthophosphoric acid and acetonitrile in the ratio (52:48), at flow rate 1 ml/min and column temperature (30 °C). The effluents obtained were monitored at 210 nm with the UV-visible detector.Results: The retention time of ramipril, atorvastatin and clopidogrel was found to be 2.893 min, 5.012 min and 6.102 min respectively. The linearity of ramipril, atorvastatin and clopidogrel was found in the range of 25-150 % and the correlation coefficient for ramipril, atorvastatin and clopidogrel were>0.999. The high recovery values (98%-101%) indicate a satisfactory accuracy. The low percent relative standard deviation (% RSD) values in the precision study reveals that the method is precise. The three-drug samples were subjected to stress conditions of acidic and alkaline hydrolysis, oxidation, photolysis and thermal degradation. The proposed method proved to be stability-indicating by resolution of the analytes from their forced-degradation products.Conclusion: The developed method is novel, simple, precise, rapid, accurate and reproducible for simultaneous estimation of ramipril, atorvastatin and clopidogrel tablet dosage form. Hence the proposed method may find practical applications as a quality-control tool in the simultaneous analysis of the three drugs in combined dosage forms in quality-control laboratories. The proposed method was made use of photodiode array (PDA) as a tool for peak identification and purity confirmation

Electron Beam Radiation Modification on Chemical, Thermal and Crystalline Properties of Poly (L-lactic acid)

715-722The paper presents the effect of electron beam (EB) irradiation on poly (L-Lactic acid) (PLLA). The resultant physicochemical properties were investigated using Electron spin resonance spectrometer (ESR), Fourier transform infrared spectrometer (FTIR), Differential scanning calorimetry (DSC), X-ray Diffraction (XRD) and Scanning electron microscopy (SEM). The results suggest that PLLA undergoes random chain scission producing two types of free radicals ~Ċ(CH3)~ (I) and ĊH(CH3)~ (II) at room temperature. Presence of these free radicals has been confirmed by the ESR method and computer simulation studies using easyspin tool. FTIR results depict that the intensity of the absorption band 1745 cm-1 is reduced by 12% for 90 kGy dose. DSC studies indicate that both glass transition temperature (Tg) and melting temperature (Tm) of PLLA decrease following radiation dose. However melting enthalpy (ΔH) and degree of crystallinity (XC) increased initially up to 30 kGy of radiation dose followed by a decrease after 30 kGy. These results confirm the existence of two types of crystalline lamellar are present in PLLA. Measurements of XC by XRD also confirm the same aspect. The surface of PLLA is composed of micro-cracks when exposed to higher radiation doses

BOBMEX: the Bay of Bengal monsoon experiment

The first observational experiment under the Indian Climate Research Programme, called the Bay of Bengal Monsoon Experiment (BOBMEX), was carried out during July-August 1999. BOBMEX was aimed at measurements of important variables of the atmosphere, ocean, and their interface to gain deeper insight into some of the processes that govern the variability of organized convection over the bay. Simultaneous time series observations were carried out in the northern and southern Bay of Bengal from ships and moored buoys. About 80 scientists from 15 different institutions in India collaborated during BOBMEX to make observations in most-hostile conditions of the raging monsoon. In this paper, the objectives and the design of BOBMEX are described and some initial results presented. During the BOBMEX field phase there were several active spells of convection over the bay, separated by weak spells. Observation with high-resolution radiosondes, launched for the first time over the northern bay, showed that the magnitudes of the convective available potential energy (CAPE) and the convective inhibition energy were comparable to those for the atmosphere over the west Pacific warm pool. CAPE decreased by 2-3 kJ kg-1 following convection, and recovered in a time period of 1-2 days. The surface wind speed was generally higher than 8 m s-1. The thermohaline structure as well as its time evolution during the BOBMEX field phase were found to be different in the northern bay than in the southern bay. Over both the regions, the SST decreased during rain events and increased in cloud-free conditions. Over the season as a whole, the upper-layer salinity decreased for the north bay and increased for the south bay. The variation in SST during 1999 was found to be of smaller amplitude than in 1998. Further analysis of the surface fluxes and currents is expected to give insight into the nature of coupling

Rice biofortification: breeding and genomic approaches for genetic enhancement of grain zinc and iron contents

Rice is a highly consumed staple cereal cultivated predominantly in Asian countries, which share 90% of global rice production. Rice is a primary calorie provider for more than 3.5 billion people across the world. Preference and consumption of polished rice have increased manifold, which resulted in the loss of inherent nutrition. The prevalence of micronutrient deficiencies (Zn and Fe) are major human health challenges in the 21st century. Biofortification of staples is a sustainable approach to alleviating malnutrition. Globally, significant progress has been made in rice for enhancing grain Zn, Fe, and protein. To date, 37 biofortified Fe, Zn, Protein and Provitamin A rich rice varieties are available for commercial cultivation (16 from India and 21 from the rest of the world; Fe > 10 mg/kg, Zn > 24 mg/kg, protein > 10% in polished rice as India target while Zn > 28 mg/kg in polished rice as international target). However, understanding the micronutrient genetics, mechanisms of uptake, translocation, and bioavailability are the prime areas that need to be strengthened. The successful development of these lines through integrated-genomic technologies can accelerate deployment and scaling in future breeding programs to address the key challenges of malnutrition and hidden hunger

Observations of trace gases and aerosols over the Indian Ocean during the monsoon transition period

Characteristics of trace gases (O3, CO, CO2, CH4 and N2O) and aerosols (particle size of 2.5 micron) were studied over the Arabian Sea, equatorial Indian Ocean and southwest part of the Bay of Bengal during the monsoon transition period (October-November, 2004). Flow of pollutants is expected from south and southeast Asia during the monsoonal transition period due to the patterns of wind flow which are different from the monsoon period. This is the first detailed report on aerosols and trace gases during the sampled period as the earlier Bay of Bengal Experiment (BOBMEX), Arabian Sea Monsoon Experiment (ARMEX) and Indian Ocean Experiments (INDOEX) were during monsoon seasons. The significant observations during the transition period include: (i) low ozone concentration of the order of 5 ppbv around the equator, (ii) high concentrations of CO2, CH4 and N2O and (iii) variations in PM2.5 of 5-20μg/m3

The global burden of adolescent and young adult cancer in 2019 : a systematic analysis for the Global Burden of Disease Study 2019

Background In estimating the global burden of cancer, adolescents and young adults with cancer are often overlooked, despite being a distinct subgroup with unique epidemiology, clinical care needs, and societal impact. Comprehensive estimates of the global cancer burden in adolescents and young adults (aged 15-39 years) are lacking. To address this gap, we analysed results from the Global Burden of Diseases, Injuries, and Risk Factors Study (GBD) 2019, with a focus on the outcome of disability-adjusted life-years (DALYs), to inform global cancer control measures in adolescents and young adults. Methods Using the GBD 2019 methodology, international mortality data were collected from vital registration systems, verbal autopsies, and population-based cancer registry inputs modelled with mortality-to-incidence ratios (MIRs). Incidence was computed with mortality estimates and corresponding MIRs. Prevalence estimates were calculated using modelled survival and multiplied by disability weights to obtain years lived with disability (YLDs). Years of life lost (YLLs) were calculated as age-specific cancer deaths multiplied by the standard life expectancy at the age of death. The main outcome was DALYs (the sum of YLLs and YLDs). Estimates were presented globally and by Socio-demographic Index (SDI) quintiles (countries ranked and divided into five equal SDI groups), and all estimates were presented with corresponding 95% uncertainty intervals (UIs). For this analysis, we used the age range of 15-39 years to define adolescents and young adults. Findings There were 1.19 million (95% UI 1.11-1.28) incident cancer cases and 396 000 (370 000-425 000) deaths due to cancer among people aged 15-39 years worldwide in 2019. The highest age-standardised incidence rates occurred in high SDI (59.6 [54.5-65.7] per 100 000 person-years) and high-middle SDI countries (53.2 [48.8-57.9] per 100 000 person-years), while the highest age-standardised mortality rates were in low-middle SDI (14.2 [12.9-15.6] per 100 000 person-years) and middle SDI (13.6 [12.6-14.8] per 100 000 person-years) countries. In 2019, adolescent and young adult cancers contributed 23.5 million (21.9-25.2) DALYs to the global burden of disease, of which 2.7% (1.9-3.6) came from YLDs and 97.3% (96.4-98.1) from YLLs. Cancer was the fourth leading cause of death and tenth leading cause of DALYs in adolescents and young adults globally. Interpretation Adolescent and young adult cancers contributed substantially to the overall adolescent and young adult disease burden globally in 2019. These results provide new insights into the distribution and magnitude of the adolescent and young adult cancer burden around the world. With notable differences observed across SDI settings, these estimates can inform global and country-level cancer control efforts. Copyright (C) 2021 The Author(s). Published by Elsevier Ltd.Peer reviewe

Cancer Incidence, Mortality, Years of Life Lost, Years Lived With Disability, and Disability-Adjusted Life Years for 29 Cancer Groups From 2010 to 2019: A Systematic Analysis for the Global Burden of Disease Study 2019.

The Global Burden of Diseases, Injuries, and Risk Factors Study 2019 (GBD 2019) provided systematic estimates of incidence, morbidity, and mortality to inform local and international efforts toward reducing cancer burden. To estimate cancer burden and trends globally for 204 countries and territories and by Sociodemographic Index (SDI) quintiles from 2010 to 2019. The GBD 2019 estimation methods were used to describe cancer incidence, mortality, years lived with disability, years of life lost, and disability-adjusted life years (DALYs) in 2019 and over the past decade. Estimates are also provided by quintiles of the SDI, a composite measure of educational attainment, income per capita, and total fertility rate for those younger than 25 years. Estimates include 95% uncertainty intervals (UIs). In 2019, there were an estimated 23.6 million (95% UI, 22.2-24.9 million) new cancer cases (17.2 million when excluding nonmelanoma skin cancer) and 10.0 million (95% UI, 9.36-10.6 million) cancer deaths globally, with an estimated 250 million (235-264 million) DALYs due to cancer. Since 2010, these represented a 26.3% (95% UI, 20.3%-32.3%) increase in new cases, a 20.9% (95% UI, 14.2%-27.6%) increase in deaths, and a 16.0% (95% UI, 9.3%-22.8%) increase in DALYs. Among 22 groups of diseases and injuries in the GBD 2019 study, cancer was second only to cardiovascular diseases for the number of deaths, years of life lost, and DALYs globally in 2019. Cancer burden differed across SDI quintiles. The proportion of years lived with disability that contributed to DALYs increased with SDI, ranging from 1.4% (1.1%-1.8%) in the low SDI quintile to 5.7% (4.2%-7.1%) in the high SDI quintile. While the high SDI quintile had the highest number of new cases in 2019, the middle SDI quintile had the highest number of cancer deaths and DALYs. From 2010 to 2019, the largest percentage increase in the numbers of cases and deaths occurred in the low and low-middle SDI quintiles. The results of this systematic analysis suggest that the global burden of cancer is substantial and growing, with burden differing by SDI. These results provide comprehensive and comparable estimates that can potentially inform efforts toward equitable cancer control around the world.Funding/Support: The Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation received funding from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and the American Lebanese Syrian Associated Charities. Dr Aljunid acknowledges the Department of Health Policy and Management of Kuwait University and the International Centre for Casemix and Clinical Coding, National University of Malaysia for the approval and support to participate in this research project. Dr Bhaskar acknowledges institutional support from the NSW Ministry of Health and NSW Health Pathology. Dr Bärnighausen was supported by the Alexander von Humboldt Foundation through the Alexander von Humboldt Professor award, which is funded by the German Federal Ministry of Education and Research. Dr Braithwaite acknowledges funding from the National Institutes of Health/ National Cancer Institute. Dr Conde acknowledges financial support from the European Research Council ERC Starting Grant agreement No 848325. Dr Costa acknowledges her grant (SFRH/BHD/110001/2015), received by Portuguese national funds through Fundação para a Ciência e Tecnologia, IP under the Norma Transitória grant DL57/2016/CP1334/CT0006. Dr Ghith acknowledges support from a grant from Novo Nordisk Foundation (NNF16OC0021856). Dr Glasbey is supported by a National Institute of Health Research Doctoral Research Fellowship. Dr Vivek Kumar Gupta acknowledges funding support from National Health and Medical Research Council Australia. Dr Haque thanks Jazan University, Saudi Arabia for providing access to the Saudi Digital Library for this research study. Drs Herteliu, Pana, and Ausloos are partially supported by a grant of the Romanian National Authority for Scientific Research and Innovation, CNDS-UEFISCDI, project number PN-III-P4-ID-PCCF-2016-0084. Dr Hugo received support from the Higher Education Improvement Coordination of the Brazilian Ministry of Education for a sabbatical period at the Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation, between September 2019 and August 2020. Dr Sheikh Mohammed Shariful Islam acknowledges funding by a National Heart Foundation of Australia Fellowship and National Health and Medical Research Council Emerging Leadership Fellowship. Dr Jakovljevic acknowledges support through grant OI 175014 of the Ministry of Education Science and Technological Development of the Republic of Serbia. Dr Katikireddi acknowledges funding from a NHS Research Scotland Senior Clinical Fellowship (SCAF/15/02), the Medical Research Council (MC_UU_00022/2), and the Scottish Government Chief Scientist Office (SPHSU17). Dr Md Nuruzzaman Khan acknowledges the support of Jatiya Kabi Kazi Nazrul Islam University, Bangladesh. Dr Yun Jin Kim was supported by the Research Management Centre, Xiamen University Malaysia (XMUMRF/2020-C6/ITCM/0004). Dr Koulmane Laxminarayana acknowledges institutional support from Manipal Academy of Higher Education. Dr Landires is a member of the Sistema Nacional de Investigación, which is supported by Panama’s Secretaría Nacional de Ciencia, Tecnología e Innovación. Dr Loureiro was supported by national funds through Fundação para a Ciência e Tecnologia under the Scientific Employment Stimulus–Institutional Call (CEECINST/00049/2018). Dr Molokhia is supported by the National Institute for Health Research Biomedical Research Center at Guy’s and St Thomas’ National Health Service Foundation Trust and King’s College London. Dr Moosavi appreciates NIGEB's support. Dr Pati acknowledges support from the SIAN Institute, Association for Biodiversity Conservation & Research. Dr Rakovac acknowledges a grant from the government of the Russian Federation in the context of World Health Organization Noncommunicable Diseases Office. Dr Samy was supported by a fellowship from the Egyptian Fulbright Mission Program. Dr Sheikh acknowledges support from Health Data Research UK. Drs Adithi Shetty and Unnikrishnan acknowledge support given by Kasturba Medical College, Mangalore, Manipal Academy of Higher Education. Dr Pavanchand H. Shetty acknowledges Manipal Academy of Higher Education for their research support. Dr Diego Augusto Santos Silva was financed in part by the Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior - Brasil Finance Code 001 and is supported in part by CNPq (302028/2018-8). Dr Zhu acknowledges the Cancer Prevention and Research Institute of Texas grant RP210042

Intraseasonal variability of the summer monsoon over the North Indian Ocean as revealed by the BOBMEX and ARMEX field programs

During the summer monsoon season over India a range of intraseasonal modulations of the monsoon rains occur due to genesis of weather disturbances over the Bay of Bengal (BOB) and the east Arabian Sea. The amplitudes of the fluctuations in the surface state of the ocean (sea-surface temperature and salinity) and atmosphere are quite large due to these monsoonal modulations on the intraseasonal scale as shown by the data collected during the field programs under Bay of Bengal Monsoon Experiment (BOBMEX) and Arabian Sea Monsoon Experiments (ARMEX). The focus of BOBMEX was to understand the role of ocean-atmospheric processes in organizing convection over the BOB on intra-seasonal scale. ARMEX-I was aimed at understanding the coupled processes in the development of deep convection off the West Coast of India. ARMEX-II was focused on the formation of the mini-warm pool across the southeast Arabian Sea in April-May and its role in the abrupt onset of the monsoon along the Southwest Coast of India and its further progress along the West Coast of India. The paper attempts to integrate the results of the observational studies and brings out an important finding that atmospheric instability is prominently responsible for convective organization whereas the upper ocean parameters regulate the episodes of the intraseasonal oscillations