Seminal role of clouds on solar dimming over the Indian monsoon region

In contrast to most of the world where solar dimming has changed over to solar brightening since late eighties, dimming continues unabated over the Indian region. This study investigates new insight into the origin of dimming over India. As the insolation at the surface is controlled by aerosols and clouds, we tried to separate out the two controlling factors by examining clear and cloudy sky days. From 1981-2006, the rate of dimming is found to be twice as large during cloudy conditions (~12 W/m2/decade) compared to that during clear sky conditions (~6 W/m2/decade). The clear sky dimming is attributed to increasing aerosols. While the rate of dimming by clouds is similar during summer and winter monsoon seasons, the increased contribution to dimming by clouds during summer seems to come from increasingly deeper clouds covering increasingly larger area. During winter, dimming in cloudy conditions appears to be due to indirect effect of aerosols

Performance Evaluation of Unscented Kalman Filter for Gaussian and non-Gaussian Tracking Application

State estimation theory is one of the best mathematical approaches to analyze variants in the states of the system or process. The state of the system is defined by a set of variables that provide a complete representation of the internal condition at any given instant of time. Filtering of Random processes is referred to as Estimation, and is a well defined statistical technique. There are two types of state estimation processes, Linear and Nonlinear. Linear estimation of a system can easily be analyzed by using Kalman Filter (KF) but  is optimal only when the model is linear .But  Most of the state estimation problems are nonlinear, thereby limiting the practical applications of the KF and EKF. Unscented Kalman filter and Particle filter are best known for nonlinear estimates. The approach in this paper is to analyze the algorithm for maneuvering target tracking using   bearing only measurements for both Gaussian /Nongaussian distributions where UKF provides better probability of state estimation.  Montecarlo computer simulations are used to analyse the performance .The simulations results showed that UKF provides better performance for Gaussian distributed models compared to the nongaussian models.DOI:http://dx.doi.org/10.11591/ijece.v3i1.32

Monsoon circulation induced variability in total column ozone over India

The intra-seasonal variability of daily total column ozone (TCO) over 12 Indian stations has been studied. Total Ozone Mapping Spectrometer daily data from May to September for five years (1998-2002) have been utilized in the study. The power spectrum analysis of daily TCO data showed three dominant modes of period 3-8 days (synoptic), 10-20 days (quasi biweekly, qbw) and 30-60 days (Madden Julian Oscillation, MJO), similar to that found in the Indian Summer Monsoon Rainfall. Mean spatial distribution of the activities of these intra-seasonal modes in TCO variability over the Indian region has been studied. The spatial distribution of the synoptic mode shows the strongest activity over central India. The qbw mode shows strongest activity over northwest India. The MJO mode shows strongest activity over northern most and southern most parts of India

Neuropsychiatric manifestations in patient with normal pressure hydrocephalus improved with therapeutic lumbar tapping

Normal pressure hydrocephalus is a communicating hydrocephalus without evident obstruction of the normal pathway of CSF flow. Normal-pressure hydrocephalus is a common cause of reversible dementia and it can also present with various psychiatric symptoms. A 76-year old man was brought to psychiatry OPD with history suggestive of decreased need for sleep for 8 days, disinhibited behaviour, increased libido, increased activity and increased talk for 4 days. On examination patient was noticed to be having increased psychomotor activity with increased talk, mood reported to be happy with elated affect, no content or perceptual disturbances were elicited. Cognitive functions were within normal limits. Personal and social judgement was impaired with grade 0 insight. General physical and systematic examinations were within normal limits. MRI reports showed ventricular enlargement suggestive of normal pressure hydrocephalus. Patient underwent diagnostic and therapeutic lumbar tapping. There was significant improvement in patient’s behavioural symptoms following therapeutic lumbar tapping. Therapeutic lumbar tapping in this case of normal pressure hydrocephalus was effective in the management of manic symptoms. Early identification of organic cause in late onset psychiatric disorders is necessary. Prompt intervention of the organic cause was effective in the management of manic symptoms

Metallopharmaceuticals: Synthesis, characterization and bio-active studies

Riboflavin can be described as a biological chelating ligand due to the existence of nitrogen and oxygen atoms on its structure that can act as coordinating sites for metal ion on chelation. Co (II) with Riboflavin have been synthesized and characterized by IR, LC-MS, UV, TG-DTA confirms the coordination of ligand. Complex is screened for Anti-microbial activity and Cytotoxicity

Metallopharmaceuticals: Synthesis, characterization and bio-active studies

325-329Riboflavin can be described as a biological chelating ligand due to the existence of nitrogen and oxygen atoms on its structure that can act as coordinating sites for metal ion on chelation. Co (II) with Riboflavin have been synthesized and characterized by IR, LC-MS, UV, TG-DTA confirms the coordination of ligand. Complex is screened for Anti-microbial activity and Cytotoxicity

Scale interactions near the foothills of Himalayas during CAIPEEX

Scale interactions associated with small scale (<100 km) dynamics might play a crucial role in the distribution of aerosol in the Himalayan foothills region. Turbulence measurements from a horizontal flight path during Cloud Aerosol Interaction and Precipitation Enhancement EXperiment (CAIPEEX) are used to illustrate the scale interactions in the vertically sheared flow below the high-level subtropical westerly jet, which is important in the transport of pollution. Data analysis reveals the three dimensional property of large eddies that scale 10-12 km near the slopes, which could bring pollution from the valley to the Tibetan Plateau through a circulation adhering to the slopes. This circulation has a subsidence region away from the slopes and may also contribute to the buildup of pollution in elevated layers over the Plains. The vertical velocity and temperature spectra from research flight data showed clear indications of (-5/3) slope in the mesoscale range. The isotropic behavior of the velocity spectra was noticed for cloud-free traverses, while this behavior is distorted for cloudy conditions with the enhancement of energy at smaller scales as well as with low frequency gravity wave generation. A high-resolution cloud allowing model simulation over the flight path is used to examine the representation of these dynamical interactions in the numerical model. Based on the analysis of observational data and model inferences, a conceptual understanding of the flow in the region close to the foot hills and its role in the distribution of aerosol and cloud condensation nuclei is presented

The Cloud Aerosol Interaction and Precipitation Enhancement Experiment (CAIPEEX): overview and preliminary results

While the demand for enhancing rainfall through cloud seeding is strong and persistent in the country, considerable uncertainty exists on the success of such an endeavour at a given location. To understand the pathways of aerosol-cloud interaction through which this might be achieved, a national experiment named Cloud Aerosol Interaction and Precipitation Enhancement EXperiment (CAIPEEX) in two phases, was carried out. The rationale of CAIPEEX, the strategy for conducting the experiment, data quality and potential for path-breaking science are described in this article. Pending completion of quality control and calibration of the CAIPEEX phase-II data, here we present some initial results of CAIPEEX phase-I aimed at documenting the prevailing microphysical characteristics of aerosols and clouds and associated environmental conditions over different regions of the country and under different monsoon conditions with the help of an instrumented research aircraft. First-time simultaneous observations of aerosol, cloud condensation nuclei (CCN) and cloud droplet number concentration (CDNC) over the Ganges Valley during monsoon season show very high concentrations (> 1000 cm-3) of CCN at elevated layers. Observations of elevated layers with high aerosol concentration over the Gangetic valley extending up to 6 km and relatively less aerosol concentration in the boundary layer are also documented. We also present evidence of strong cloud- aerosol interaction in the moist environments with an increase in the cloud droplet effective radius. Our observations also show that pollution increases CDNC and the warm rain depth, and delays its initiation. The critical effective radius for warm rain initiation is found to be between 10 and 12 µm in the polluted clouds and it is between 12 and 14 µm in cleaner monsoon clouds

The cloud aerosol interaction and precipitation enhancement experiment (CAIPEEX): Overview and preliminary results

While the demand for enhancing rainfall through cloud seeding is strong and persistent in the country, considerable uncertainty exists on the success of such an endeavour at a given location. To understand the pathways of aerosol-cloud interaction through which this might be achieved, a national experiment named Cloud Aerosol Interaction and Precipitation Enhancement EXperiment (CAIPEEX) in two phases, was carried out. The rationale of CAIPEEX, the strategy for conducting the experiment, data quality and potential for path-breaking science are described in this article. Pending completion of quality control and calibration of the CAIPEEX phase-II data, here we present some initial results of CAIPEEX phase-I aimed at documenting the prevailing microphysical characteristics of aerosols and clouds and associated environmental conditions over different regions of the country and under different monsoon conditions with the help of an instrumented research aircraft. First-time simultaneous observations of aerosol, cloud condensation nuclei (CCN) and cloud droplet number concentration (CDNC) over the Ganges Valley during monsoon season show very high concentrations (> 1000 cm-3) of CCN at elevated layers. Observations of elevated layers with high aerosol concentration over the Gangetic valley extending up to 6 km and relatively less aerosol concentration in the boundary layer are also documented. We also present evidence of strong cloud- aerosol interaction in the moist environments with an increase in the cloud droplet effective radius. Our observations also show that pollution increases CDNC and the warm rain depth, and delays its initiation. The critical effective radius for warm rain initiation is found to be between 10 and 12 μm in the polluted clouds and it is between 12 and 14 μm in cleaner monsoon clouds

Second round statewide sentinel-based population survey for estimation of the burden of active infection and anti-SARS-CoV-2 IgG antibodies in the general population of Karnataka, India, during January-February 2021

Objective Demonstrate the feasibility of using the existing sentinel surveillance infrastructure to conduct the second round of the serial cross-sectional sentinel-based population survey. Assess active infection, seroprevalence, and their evolution in the general population across Karnataka. Identify local variations for locally appropriate actions. Additionally, assess the clinical sensitivity of the testing kit used on account of variability of antibody levels in the population. Methods The cross-sectional study of 41,228 participants across 290 healthcare facilities in all 30 districts of Karnataka was done among three groups of participants (low, moderate, and high-risk). The geographical spread was sufficient to capture local variations. Consenting participants were subjected to real-time reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) testing, and antibody (IgG) testing. Clinical sensitivity was assessed by conducting a longitudinal study among participants identified as COVID-19 positive in the first survey round. Results Overall weighted adjusted seroprevalence of IgG was 15.6% (95% CI: 14.9–16.3), crude IgG prevalence was 15.0% and crude active infection was 0.5%. Statewide infection fatality rate (IFR) was estimated as 0.11%, and COVID-19 burden estimated between 26.1 to 37.7% (at 90% confidence). Further, Cases-to-infections ratio (CIR) varied 3-35 across units and IFR varied 0.04–0.50% across units. Clinical sensitivity of the IgG ELISA test kit was estimated as ≥38.9%. Conclusion We demonstrated the feasibility and simplicity of sentinel-based population survey in measuring variations in subnational and local data, useful for locally appropriate actions in different locations. The sentinel-based population survey thus helped identify districts that needed better testing, reporting, and clinical management. The state was far from attaining natural immunity during the survey and hence must step up vaccination coverage and enforce public health measures to prevent the spread of COVD-19.The Institutional Ethics Committee (IEC) of the Indian Institute of Public Health - Bengaluru campus reviewed and approved the study (vide. IIPHHB/TRCIEC/174/2020) and the subsequent change of protocol to perform the longitudinal study (vide PHFI/IIPH-BLR/076/2020-21). We informed the participants of the purpose of the surveys, how the samples would be taken and requested them to respond to the screening questions. After obtaining informed consent, we noted basic demographic details, exposure history, symptoms observed in the previous month, and clinical history. Participants' test results were shared with them by the concerned healthcare facility.Scopu