Applying faunal indices for palaeoenvironmental reconstructions with benthic foraminifera: a case from a Holocene succession of the Po Delta, Italy.

In the last decades, the depositional history of the Po River coastal plain has been studied using different environmental proxies. In this work we first ever attempt to interpret the palaeoenvironmental evolution of a shallow marine succession from this area (core 205-S9, collected about 10 km south of the modern Po Delta) using several diversity indices, bivariate analysis and Murray’s Ternary Plot. We also tried to find out the potentials and limits of these tools in reconstructing palaeoenvironments. The analysed shallow marine succession was formed in response to the last phases of sea-level rise (ca. 8 kyr BP) and the Holocene regression resulted from the high-stand coastal progradation. In this part of the core, Murray ternary plot and Bivariate plot of Fisher’s alpha index and Shannon-Wiener index show two distinct clusters highlighting high percentage of calcareous porcelaneous forms in the lower part and high percentage of calcareous hyaline taxa in the middle and upper portions. Fischer’s α index and species richness values provide evidence for three intervals: the lower is highly diversified while in the middle the value gets decreases and in the upper the value increases but not as high as lower part. Evenness (E) and Dominance (D) indices show that the lower part is characterised by a homogeneous, highly diversified and evenly distributed fauna. In contrast, the middle part shows a strong dominance of few species with low faunal diversity with some variations in the upper part. The ratio of epifaunal and infaunal species defined oxygenated bottom water condition with low organic matter in the lower part, and high organic matter with relatively low oxygen concentration in the upper part. All these indices clearly discriminate between a lower and a middle-upper portion of the sediment succession. The integration with the distribution of selected species allows to attribute the lower interval to a shallow marine environment with low fluvial influence (transgressive barrier and offshore transition), whereas middle and upper parts record an increase of fluvial influence (prodelta). Therefore, the applied indices can be considered as good proxies for recognition of deltaic conditions and identification of changes in riverine influence within shallow marine deposits. Furthermore, most indices highlight variations in foraminiferal distribution within the prodelta. Combining foraminiferal distribution and indices values, these variations can be attributed to unsteady freshwater influx

Sexually transmitted infections among key populations in India: A protocol for systematic review.

BackgroundSexually transmitted infections (STIs) are one of the leading causes of health, and economic burdens in the developing world, leading to considerable morbidity, mortality, and stigma. The incidence and prevalence of the four curable STIs viz. syphilis, gonorrhoea, chlamydia, and trichomoniasis vary remarkably across different geographical locations. In India, the prevalence of four curable STI among general populations is in between 0 to 3.9 percent. However, it is assumed that STI prevalence is much higher among subpopulations practicing high-risk behaviour. Like men who have sex with men (MSM), transgender (TG), injecting drug users (IDU), and female sex workers (FSW).ObjectivesIn the present circumstances, a systematic review is necessary to integrate the available data from previously published peer-reviewed articles and published reports from several competent authorities to provide the prevalence and geographical distribution of the four curable STIs among the key population of India.MethodsAll available articles will be retrieved from PubMed, Google Scholar, Cochrane database, Scopus, Science Direct, and the Global Health network using the appropriate search terms. The data will be extracted through data extraction form as per PICOS (population, intervention, comparison, outcome, study design) framework. Risk of bias and quality assessment will be performed according to the situation with the help of available conventional protocol.DiscussionThe future systematic review, generated from the present protocol, may provide evidence of the prevalence and geographical distribution of the four curable STIs among the key population of India. We hope that the findings of the future systematic review will strengthen the existing surveillance system in India, to determine the above-mention STIs prevalence among key populations in India. Protocol registration number: International Prospective Register for Systematic Reviews (PROSPERO) number CRD42022346470

Mapping the continuum of mental health care for individuals with acute or chronic mental illness in Udupi District, Karnataka, India: A system map approach

Continuity of care is a fundamental process in healthcare, which can be described as the “orderly, uninterrupted movement of patients among the diverse elements of the service delivery system”. In the context of MH, the continuum of care in India may encompass a range of programs and services aimed at supporting mental health, preventing mental illness, providing early intervention, and promoting mental well-being. Resultantly, we chose to center our field orientation and system mapping task on the continuum of care, in the aim of providing an overview that enhances understanding of the intricacies and functioning of MH services as a patient transitions between different levels of MH care. The 2024 Global Health Symposium allowed the opportunity to observe and assess such services in place in the Udupi District of Karnataka state. This project resulted in the creation of a system map to understand and visualize the different stakeholders, policies, and institutions currently responsible for continuum of mental health care in Udupi from regional, national, and international viewpoints.</p