On breaks of the Indian monsoon

For over a century, the term break has been used for spells in which the rainfall over the Indian monsoon zone is interrupted. The phenomenon of 'break monsoon' is of great interest because long intense breaks are often associated with poor monsoon seasons. Such breaks have distinct circulation characteristics (heat trough type circulation) and have a large impact on rainfed agriculture. Although interruption of the monsoon rainfall is considered to be the most important feature of the break monsoon, traditionally breaks have been identified on the basis of the surface pressure and wind patterns over the Indian region. We have defined breaks (and active spells) on the basis of rainfall over the monsoon zone. The rainfall criteria are chosen so as to ensure a large overlap with the traditional breaks documented by Ramamurthy (1969) and Deet al (1998). We have identified these rainbreaks for 1901-89. We have also identified active spells on the basis of rainfall over the Indian monsoon zone. We have shown that the all-India summer monsoon rainfall is significantly negatively correlated with the number of rainbreak days (correlation coefficient −0.56) and significantly positively correlated with the number of active days (correlation coefficient 0.47). Thus the interannual variation of the all-India summer monsoon rainfall is shown to be related to the number of days of rainbreaks and active spells identified here. There have been several studies of breaks (and also active spells in several cases) identified on the basis of different criteria over regions differing in spatial scales (e.g., Websteret al 1998; Krishnanet al it 2000; Goswami and Mohan 2000; and Annamalai and Slingo 2001). We find that there is considerable overlap between the rainbreaks we have identified and breaks based on the traditional definition. There is some overlap with the breaks identified by Krishnanet al (2000) but little overlap with breaks identified by Websteret al (1998). Further, there are three or four active-break cycles in a season according to Websteret al (1998) which implies a time scale of about 40 days for which Goswami and Mohan (2000), and Annamalai and Slingo (2001) have studied breaks and active minus break fluctuations. On the other hand, neither the traditional breaks (Ramamurthy 1969; and Deet al 1998) nor the rainbreaks occur every year. This suggests that the `breaks' in these studies are weak spells of the intraseasonal variation of the monsoon, which occur every year. We have derived the OLR and circulation patterns associated with rainbreaks and active spells and compared them with the patterns associated with breaks/active minus break spells from these studies. Inspite of differences in the patterns over the Indian region, there is one feature which is seen in the OLR anomaly patterns of breaks identified on the basis of different criteria as well as the rainbreaks identified in this paper viz., a quadrapole over the Asia-west Pacific region arising from anomalies opposite (same) in sign to those over the Indian region occurring over the equatorial Indian Ocean and northern tropical (equatorial) parts of the west Pacific. Thus it appears that this quadrapole is a basic feature of weak spells of the intraseasonal variation over the Asia-west Pacific region. Since the rainbreaks are intense weak spells, this basic feature is also seen in the composite patterns of these breaks. We find that rainbreaks (active spells) are also associated with negative (positive) anomalies over a part of the east Pacic suggesting that the convection over the Indian region is linked to that over the east Pacic not only on the interannual scale (as evinced by the link between the Indian summer monsoon rainfall and ENSO) but on the intraseasonal scale as well

Evaluation of various methods of susceptibility to ofloxacin in strains of Mycobacterium tuberculosis

A comparison of three methods of susceptibility testing was undertaken on 30 susceptible and 25 resistant strains of Mycobacterium tuberculosis to determine an acceptable in vitro definition of resistance of ofloxacin. The strains were tested by the proportion method on Lowenstein Jensen (L-J) and 7H11 media and also by the BACTEC radiometric method. Using a criterion of 1 per cent or more growth at a concentration of 2 mg/1, there was a 100 per cent agreement with the conventional MIC method by the proportion tests on L-J as well as on 7H11 media. The BACTEC radiometric method, at the same concentration, yielded 98 per cent agreement. Thus, any of these methods could be used depending upon the infrastructure available

Mucocutaneous Manifestations in patients receiving Cancer Chemotherapy in Regional Cancer Centre of Tirunelveli Medical College

BACKGROUND: Chemotherapy is a common, widely used treatment for cancer. Cutaneous adverse drug reactions (CADRs) are the most commonly associated adverse effects with chemotherapy next to haematological toxicity. They range from mild reactions to severe fatal reactions. Pattern of adverse cutaneous reactions to chemotherapeutic drugs is changing every year. Hence this study was conducted to study the pattern of adverse drug reactions following cancer chemotherapy. AIM OF THE STUDY: To estimate and describe the mucocutaneous adverse effects of cancer chemotherapeutics agents. MATERIALS AND METHODS: This is an Observational prospective study done during the period from March 2017 to September 2018. RESULTS: Total incidence of CADRs - 35%. Most common malignancy observed was carcinoma breast (46.7%) which was frequently encountered with CADRs, followed by carcinoma of lung (11.4%), ovary and colon (each 8.6%). Most frequently used regimen was Taxanes/Doxorubicin/ Cyclophosphamide and Doxorubicin/ Cyclophosphamide, in breast carcinoma followed by FOLFOX regimen in carcinoma colon. Alopecia was the frequent specific CADRs occurring in 50.9% and seen with Taxanes, Anticancer antiobiotics and Alkylating agents. Second most common cutaneous toxicity was Nail pigmentation (45.2%), followed by acral pigmentation (36.7%) and tongue pigmentation (21.6%) with regimen of Doxorubin, 5 FU and Capecitabine. It was most commonly seen in patients with carcinoma of colon (77.7%) followed by breast carcinoma (52%). Among non specific CADRs, dermatophytosis (6.6%) was most commonly observed followed by herpes zoster (3.7%) and oral candidiasis (2.8%). CONCLUSION: Most frequently used regimen was Taxanes/Doxorubicin/ Cyclophosphamide and Doxorubicin/ Cyclophosphamide, in breast carcinoma followed by FOLFOX regimen in carcinoma colon and they were most commonly associated with CADRs. Among regimen with monoclonal antibodies, CADRs were less reported. Incidence of cutaneous adverse reaction with targeted chemotherapy was proportionately more and severity was also high

On growth and fluctuation of Indian foodgrain production

We have analysed the variation of all-India foodgrain production over the last four decades to assess the typical magnitude of year-to-year fluctuation. This has shown that the magnitude of the variation between the foodgrain production in 1996 and 1997 is by no means unusual for normal monsoon years and such fluctuations should not have a large impact on GDP if the management of the economy allows for this natural fluctuation. Much larger year-to-year changes are expected for years with large anomalies in monsoon rainfall. The problems of sustaining the growth rate in irrigated areas and enhancing that of rainfed areas are addressed. It is suggested that to attain adequate growth rates for sustaining the per capita availability, a genuinely interdisciplinary approach is required with active participation of the farmers in identifying the optimal strategies

Identification & differentiation of Mycobacterium avium & M. intracellulare by PCR- RFLP assay using the groES gene

Background & objectives: We report a new polymerase chain reaction (PCR) – restriction fragment length polymorphism (RFLP) assay using mycobacterial groES as a target to identify Mycobacterium avium and M. intracellulare in clinical samples. Methods: The assay was standardized using M. avium and M. intracellulare standard strains obtained from ATCC and was tested with 45 M. avium-M. intracellulare complex (MAC) clinical isolates (Of which 31 were from HIV+ individuals). The standard and clinical strains were typed with HPLC based mycolic acid fingerprinting. Results: Three polymorphisms (BamHI, BstNI and HgaI) were identified for inter-species differentiation among standard strains; of which, only HgaI was found to be useful in clinical isolates. Of the 45 isolates, 25 were M. avium and 20 were M. intracelluare. MAC isolates, which could not be differentiated by HPLC analysis, were also typed by this method. Interpretation & conclusions: The use of mycobacterial groES as a PCR-RFLP target for M. avium and M. intracellulare is a simple and rapid method that can complement HPLC in their differentiation

Isolation and characterization of extreme halophilic bacterium Salinicoccus sp. JAS4 producing extracellular hydrolytic enzymes

A extreme halophilic bacterium, strain JAS4 was isolated from the Arabal soil of west coast of Karnataka, India. The isolate is Gram positive, strictly aerobic, ferments several carbohydrates and has motile, coccoid shaped cells and non sporing, catalase- and oxidase- positive, that grew in presence of 2-25% (w/v) NaCl and at pH 6.5-11, with optimum growth at 10%(w/v) NaCl, with an optimum growth temperature of 340C, has potential to produce the extracellular enzymes such as Amylase, Protease, Inulinase and Gelatinase, but production of lipase was found to be negative. The phenotypic studies and genotypic analysis by 16S rRNA analysis showed that the bacterium belonged to the genera Salinicoccus of 98% BLAST sequence similarity and it is named as Salinicoccus sp. JAS4 and phylogenetic study was carried out using Mega5 software.  &nbsp

In-silico analysis of PtpA - an antigenic protein of Mycobacterium tuberculosis

PtpA, a low-molecular weight tyrosine phosphatase, is a secreted protein of Mycobacterium tuberculosis (Mtb). Many secretory proteins of Mtb are known to be the prominent targets of host immune response. It plays an important role in host-pathogen interaction and it interferes with the passing of the protein from one endosomal vesicle to the next endosomal vesicle in the infected macrophage. It inhibits host phagolysosomal fusion in the infected macrophages and thus allows the bacteria to survive within macrophages. Analysis of primary and secondary structure of the protein was done by ProtParam and GOR IV respectively. Since the number of negatively charged residues are higher than the positively charged residues, PtpA is an acidic protein. Immunity against Mtb is T-cell mediated Thus an important criterion in seeking protective antigens should be that they induce T-cell- mediated immunity. The characterization of PtpA inducing CD4+ T-cell responses could critically contribute to the development of subunit vaccines for Mtb.  Here we performed computational analysis by using Proped, T-cell epitope prediction program. In-silico antigenicity prediction of PtpA was done using VaxiJen. Owing to the  resistance of this protein to the natural immune response, in-silico antigenicity and T-cell epitope prediction will be helpful to design better subunit vaccines to develop effective acquired immune response to Mtb

Mycobacteremia in tuberculosis patients with HIV infection

Background: Mycobacteremia in HIV positive tuberculosis patients is associated with extra-pulmonary tuberculosis and disseminated tuberculosis. Objective: To study the occurrence of mycobacteremia among HIV-infected patients with tuberculosis (both pulmonary and extra-pulmonary forms) using radiometric BACTEC method. Methods: HIV positive patients admitted to the Government Hospital of Thoracic Medicine with a clinical diagnosis of tuberculosis were screened. HIV serology was reconfirmed using ELISA (two different tests) at Tuberculosis Research Centre. Five ml of venous blood was collected on the day of admission to the ward before start of anti-tuberculosis therapy. Results: Of the 105 patients screened, 85 were were found to be eligible for analysis. Patients were aged between 20-40 years, with a male preponderance (5:1). Pulmonary tuberculosis was the predominant form of tuberculosis (85%), while 15 % had associated extra-pulmonary involvement. Eight-four percent of the patients had CD4 counts of less than 200 cells/mm3, with 42% being below 50 cells/mm3. Four of the 85 patients were blood culture positive; three were identified as M.tuberculosis and one as Mycobacterium phlei. Conclusions: Mycobacteremia was detected in 4% of HIV positive patients with tuberculosis. All of them were immunosuppressed with CD4 counts of <50 cells/m3. More work needs to be done in India to understand the risk factors and outcome of patients with mycobacteremia

Development and validation of a novel method for simultaneous quantification of enzalutamide, darolutamide and their active metabolites in mice dried blood spots using LC-MS/MS: Application to pharmacokinetic study in mice

A simple, sensitive and rapid assay method has been developed and validated for the estimation of enzalutamide, N-desmethylenzalutamide (active metabolite of enzalutamide), darolutamide and ORM-15341 (active metabolite of darolutamide) on mice dried blood spots (DBS) using liquid chromatography coupled to tandem mass spectrometry with electro spray ionization in the positive-ion mode. The method utilizes liquid extraction of enzalutamide, N-desmethylenzalutamide, darolutamide and ORM-15341 from 3 mm punched disks from DBS cards (spiked or study samples). The extracted sample was chromatographed using an isocratic mobile phase (0.2 % formic acid : acetonitrile; 30:70, v/v) on an Atlantis dC18 column. The total run time was 2.5 min. The MS/MS ion transitions monitored were m/z 465 → m/z 209, m/z 451 →  m/z 195, m/z 399 → m/z 178, m/z 397 →  m/z 194 and m/z 481 → m/z 453 for enzalutamide, N-desmethyl­enzalutamide, darolutamide, ORM-15341 and the IS (apalutamide-d3), respectively. Method validation was performed as per regulatory guideline. The assay had a good linearity over the range of 0.93-2000 ng/mL. The intra- and inter-batch accuracy and precision (%RE & RSD) across quality controls met the acceptance criteria for all the analytes. Stability studies showed that all the analytes were stable on DBS cards for one month. This novel method has been applied to analyze the DBS samples of enzalutamide, N-desmethylenzalutamide, darolutamide and ORM-15341 obtained from a pharmacokinetic study in mice