Characterization and Visualization of Spatial Patterns of Urbanisation and Sprawl through Metrics and Modeling

Characterisation of spatial patterns of urban dynamics of Coimbatore, India is done using temporal remote sensing data of 1989 to 2013 with spatial metrics. Urban morphology at local levels is assessed through density gradients and zonal approach show of higher spatial heterogeneity during late1980’s and early 90’s. Urban expansion picked up at city outskirts and buffer region dominated with large number of urban fragments indicating the sprawl. Urban space has increased from 1.87% (1989) to 21.26 % (2013) with the decline of other land uses particularly vegetation. Higher heterogeneous land use classes during 90’s, give way for a homogeneous landscape (with simple shapes and less edges) indicating the domination of urban category in 2013. Complex landscape with high number of patches and edges in the buffer region indicate of fragmentation due to urban sprawl in the region. Visualisation of urban growth through Fuzzy-AHP-CA model shows that built up area would increase to 32.64% by 2025. The trend points to lack of appropriate regional planning leading to intensification of spatial discontinuity with the unsustainable urban growth

Audit of prescription notes from a tertiary health centre, AIMS, BG Nagar, India: a cross-sectional study

Background: Prescription is a written order from physician to pharmacist which contains name of the drug, its dose and its method of dispensing and advice over consuming it. The frequencies of drug prescription errors are high. Prescription error contributes significantly towards adverse drug events. The present study was undertaken to understand the current prescription writing practices and to detect the common errors in them at a tertiary health care centre situated in BG Nagar, Mandya, Karnataka, India.Methods: A cross sectional study was conducted in Adichunchanagiri Institute of medical Sciences, BG nagar, Mandya, India during April- May 2015. 187 prescriptions were analyzed. Important information regarding the patient, doctor, drug and the general description of the prescription were obtained.Results: All the prescriptions were on the hospital pad. A significant number of the prescriptions were written in illegible (11%) or barely legible (20%) handwriting. The name, age and sex of the patient were not mentioned in majority of the prescriptions. All the prescriptions (100%) failed to demonstrate the presence of address, height and weight of the patient. Brand name of the drugs was mentioned in all the prescriptions with only 8% of them having the generic name. The quantity, dose and medicinal form were found missing in 1.7%, 29.5%, and 2.2% of the prescriptions.Conclusions: The findings of our study show that there is a need for improvement in the quality of prescriptions written by the doctors. The adoption of a computer aided prescribing system would go a long way in achieving this objective.

Ecohydrological Footprint and Climate Trends in Lotic Ecosystems of Central Western Ghats

An ecohydrological assessment of lotic ecosystems would provide insights into understanding the symbiotic interactions of hydrological and ecological processes for sustainable catchment management to ensure water security and achieve sustainable development goals (SDG). Global monitoring reveals changing climate patterns due to the unabated anthropogenic activities altering the ecohydrological behavior of waterscapes and thus affecting the sustenance of natural resources. The current research investigates the ecohydrological footprint using a modified water balance method by accounting for climatic and land-use trends across three river catchments in the northern portion of the Central Western Ghats. Assessment of landscape dynamics using temporal remote sensing data indicates the reduction in forest cover in Mahadayi, Ghataprabha, and Malaprabha river basins with increased anthropogenic activities. Evaluation of climate trends shows rising temperatures over 0.4 °C in the last century with increasing rainfall. The consequence of enhanced rainfall is increased overland flows to the extent of 35–80% in all river basins. Water availability in streams during all seasons is evident in the catchment dominated by native forest cover, while streams are intermittent and seasonal at the transition zone and plains. Analyses of temperature and rainfall in the last century indicate higher spatial variations directly influencing surface and subsurface hydrology. The reduced native forest cover has directly affected the variations in the local temperatures and precipitation patterns. This highlights the need for maintaining the ecological integrity of watersheds with native vegetation cover for sustaining the natural resources (water, etc.) that support the livelihood of farmers with socio-economic benefits

Idiopathic Hypertrophic Pachymeningitis: Does Earlier Treatment Improve Outcome?

Background/goal: Hypertrophic pachymeningitis is a rare chronic inflammatory disorder characterized by marked fibrous thickening of the cerebral and/or spinal dura mater. This condition has largely been reported in adults, but there are very few reports in children. Methods: We describe a 14-year-old boy with idiopathic hypertrophic pachymeningitis, who presented with deteriorating vision on a background of severe headache. We evaluated pediatric cases of hypertrophic pachymeningitis and compared treatments and their relation to outcomes. Results: There are only eleven pediatric cases of hypertrophic pachymeningitis reported in the literature. In the patients treated with steroids either at presentation or subsequent relapses, a good response was reported. In the cases with delayed initiation of steroid treatment, this was often related to an incomplete recovery. In our patient, this delay may have contributed to his poor visual outcome. Conclusions: Early initiation of steroid treatment in children with idiopathic hypertrophic pachymeningitis may improve outcomes

Appraisal of Environmental Health and Ecohydrology of Free-Flowing Aghanashini River, Karnataka, India

Rivers are vital freshwater resources that cater to the needs of society. The burgeoning population and the consequent land-use changes have altered the hydrologic regime with biophysical and chemical integrity changes. This necessitates understanding the land-use dynamics, flow dynamics, hydrologic regime, and water quality of riverine ecosystems. An assessment of the land-use dynamics in the Aghanashini River basin reveals a decline in vegetation cover from 86.06% (1973) to 50.78% (2018). The computation of eco-hydrological indices (EHI) highlights that the sub-watersheds with native vegetation had higher infiltration (and storage) than water loss due to evapotranspiration and meeting the societal demand. The computation of water quality index helped to assess the overall water quality across seasons. The study provides insights into hydrology linkages with the catchment landscape dynamics to the hydrologists and land-use managers. These insights would aid in the prudent management of river basins to address water stress issues through watershed treatment involving afforestation with native species, appropriate cropping, and soil conservation measures

Appraisal of Environmental Health and Ecohydrology of Free-Flowing Aghanashini River, Karnataka, India

Rivers are vital freshwater resources that cater to the needs of society. The burgeoning population and the consequent land-use changes have altered the hydrologic regime with biophysical and chemical integrity changes. This necessitates understanding the land-use dynamics, flow dynamics, hydrologic regime, and water quality of riverine ecosystems. An assessment of the land-use dynamics in the Aghanashini River basin reveals a decline in vegetation cover from 86.06% (1973) to 50.78% (2018). The computation of eco-hydrological indices (EHI) highlights that the sub-watersheds with native vegetation had higher infiltration (and storage) than water loss due to evapotranspiration and meeting the societal demand. The computation of water quality index helped to assess the overall water quality across seasons. The study provides insights into hydrology linkages with the catchment landscape dynamics to the hydrologists and land-use managers. These insights would aid in the prudent management of river basins to address water stress issues through watershed treatment involving afforestation with native species, appropriate cropping, and soil conservation measures