Certain seasonal characteristic features of oceanic heat budget components over the indian seas in relation to the summer monsoon activity over India

The present study has been undertaken to examine the oceanic heat budget components and their variability over the Indian seas in relation to the extreme monsoon activity (flood/drought) over the Indian subcontinent. For this purpose, various components of oceanic heat budget have been analysed for pre-monsoon (March-May), monsoon (June-September), post-monsoon (October-December) and winter (January-February) seasons over India. The data base used in this study consists of mean monthly marine meteorological fields for 30 years (1950-1979), which is a part of the Comprehensive Ocean Atmosphere Data Set (COADS) analysed at 1° latitude by 1° longitude resolution. The mean fields of incoming shortwave radiation flux over the Indian seas in different seasons vary in accordance to the sun's position and cloud cover variations. The latent heat flux undergoes considerable seasonal variations, particularly over the Arabian Sea. There is a dominance of latent heat flux (representing the oceanic heat loss) over shortwave solar flux (representing the oceanic heat gain) during the monsoon season, which results in a zone of net oceanic heat loss over the central Arabian Sea. This feature produces a positive feedback for the maintenance of deep cumulus convection over the Arabian Sea in this season. It is also found that oceanic heat budget components over the Indian seas exhibit significant variability in relation to the extreme monsoon activity leading to flood/drought over India. Based on the above analysis, mean monthly variations of the oceanic heat budget components over three smaller sectors of the Indian seas, namely west equatorial Indian Ocean, Arabian Sea and Bay of Bengal, are also examined. The variations are found to be considerably different between the two extreme categories of the monsoon. It becomes evident from this study that the oceanic sectors of west equatorial Indian Ocean and Bay of Bengal experience a large reduction of net heat flux from April to May prior to a flood monsoon season over India. This suggests that a spectacular increase of latent heat flux and decrease of shortwave flux occurs over these oceanic sectors, leading to a sharp reduction of net heat flux

Prevalence of Metabolic Syndrome among the Patients Attending for Master Health Check-up in Family Medicine Department

Introduction: Metabolic syndrome (MetS) is a cluster of conditions that occur together, increasing risk of heart disease, stroke and type 2 diabetes. The prevalence of MetS is increasing worldwide. The aim of the study is to determine the prevalence of MetS among patients attending for Master Health check-up at Family Medicine outpatient department, to find out common component and see the association of body mass index with MetS. Methods: This cross-sectional observational study was done at family medicine outpatient department over a period of six months. There were total of 854 participants involved in the study and each subject was interviewed, anthropometric measured, biochemical parameter recorded in the Performa. The MetS was diagnosed according to modified National Cholesterol Education Program Adult Treatment Panel III (NCEP-ATP III) criteria. Results: The MetS was diagnosed in 53.9 %( 95% CI:50.56%-57.24%)of the study population on the basis of modified NCEP-ATP III criteria, with prevalence significantly higher among males (58.3%) than in females (48.6%)(P value <0.01). Abdominal obesity (70.7%) was the most common morbidity followed by increased fasting blood sugar (57.1%), high level of triglyceride (45.4%), high blood pressure (45.0%) and low level of high density lipoproteins (41.0%). Prevalence of metabolic syndrome was significantly (p-value=0.000) high among obesity (82.5%) and overweight (67.6%) individuals than those with normal weight (38.7%) and under-weight (7.1%). Conclusion: The metabolic syndrome was seen in more than half of study population, with significantly higher among males than in females. The most common component in both genders was abdominal obesity. Presence of any one component should alert the primary care physician to look for other components so that definitive diagnosis can be made and timely intervention can be started with dietary measures, regular exercises and medical treatment

The global burden of cancer attributable to risk factors, 2010-19 : a systematic analysis for the Global Burden of Disease Study 2019

Background Understanding the magnitude of cancer burden attributable to potentially modifiable risk factors is crucial for development of effective prevention and mitigation strategies. We analysed results from the Global Burden of Diseases, Injuries, and Risk Factors Study (GBD) 2019 to inform cancer control planning efforts globally. Methods The GBD 2019 comparative risk assessment framework was used to estimate cancer burden attributable to behavioural, environmental and occupational, and metabolic risk factors. A total of 82 risk-outcome pairs were included on the basis of the World Cancer Research Fund criteria. Estimated cancer deaths and disability-adjusted life-years (DALYs) in 2019 and change in these measures between 2010 and 2019 are presented. Findings Globally, in 2019, the risk factors included in this analysis accounted for 4.45 million (95% uncertainty interval 4.01-4.94) deaths and 105 million (95.0-116) DALYs for both sexes combined, representing 44.4% (41.3-48.4) of all cancer deaths and 42.0% (39.1-45.6) of all DALYs. There were 2.88 million (2.60-3.18) risk-attributable cancer deaths in males (50.6% [47.8-54.1] of all male cancer deaths) and 1.58 million (1.36-1.84) risk-attributable cancer deaths in females (36.3% [32.5-41.3] of all female cancer deaths). The leading risk factors at the most detailed level globally for risk-attributable cancer deaths and DALYs in 2019 for both sexes combined were smoking, followed by alcohol use and high BMI. Risk-attributable cancer burden varied by world region and Socio-demographic Index (SDI), with smoking, unsafe sex, and alcohol use being the three leading risk factors for risk-attributable cancer DALYs in low SDI locations in 2019, whereas DALYs in high SDI locations mirrored the top three global risk factor rankings. From 2010 to 2019, global risk-attributable cancer deaths increased by 20.4% (12.6-28.4) and DALYs by 16.8% (8.8-25.0), with the greatest percentage increase in metabolic risks (34.7% [27.9-42.8] and 33.3% [25.8-42.0]). Interpretation The leading risk factors contributing to global cancer burden in 2019 were behavioural, whereas metabolic risk factors saw the largest increases between 2010 and 2019. Reducing exposure to these modifiable risk factors would decrease cancer mortality and DALY rates worldwide, and policies should be tailored appropriately to local cancer risk factor burden. Copyright (C) 2022 The Author(s). Published by Elsevier Ltd. This is an Open Access article under the CC BY 4.0 license.Peer reviewe

Global, regional, and national life expectancy, all-cause mortality, and cause-specific mortality for 249 causes of death, 1980-2015 : a systematic analysis for the Global Burden of Disease Study 2015

Background Improving survival and extending the longevity of life for all populations requires timely, robust evidence on local mortality levels and trends. The Global Burden of Disease 2015 Study (GBD 2015) provides a comprehensive assessment of all-cause and cause-specific mortality for 249 causes in 195 countries and territories from 1980 to 2015. These results informed an in-depth investigation of observed and expected mortality patterns based on sociodemographic measures. Methods We estimated all-cause mortality by age, sex, geography, and year using an improved analytical approach originally developed for GBD 2013 and GBD 2010. Improvements included refinements to the estimation of child and adult mortality and corresponding uncertainty, parameter selection for under-5 mortality synthesis by spatiotemporal Gaussian process regression, and sibling history data processing. We also expanded the database of vital registration, survey, and census data to 14 294 geography-year datapoints. For GBD 2015, eight causes, including Ebola virus disease, were added to the previous GBD cause list for mortality. We used six modelling approaches to assess cause-specific mortality, with the Cause of Death Ensemble Model (CODEm) generating estimates for most causes. We used a series of novel analyses to systematically quantify the drivers of trends in mortality across geographies. First, we assessed observed and expected levels and trends of cause-specific mortality as they relate to the Socio-demographic Index (SDI), a summary indicator derived from measures of income per capita, educational attainment, and fertility. Second, we examined factors affecting total mortality patterns through a series of counterfactual scenarios, testing the magnitude by which population growth, population age structures, and epidemiological changes contributed to shifts in mortality. Finally, we attributed changes in life expectancy to changes in cause of death. We documented each step of the GBD 2015 estimation processes, as well as data sources, in accordance with Guidelines for Accurate and Transparent Health Estimates Reporting (GATHER). Findings Globally, life expectancy from birth increased from 61.7 years (95% uncertainty interval 61.4-61.9) in 1980 to 71.8 years (71.5-72.2) in 2015. Several countries in sub-Saharan Africa had very large gains in life expectancy from 2005 to 2015, rebounding from an era of exceedingly high loss of life due to HIV/AIDS. At the same time, many geographies saw life expectancy stagnate or decline, particularly for men and in countries with rising mortality from war or interpersonal violence. From 2005 to 2015, male life expectancy in Syria dropped by 11.3 years (3.7-17.4), to 62.6 years (56.5-70.2). Total deaths increased by 4.1% (2.6-5.6) from 2005 to 2015, rising to 55.8 million (54.9 million to 56.6 million) in 2015, but age-standardised death rates fell by 17.0% (15.8-18.1) during this time, underscoring changes in population growth and shifts in global age structures. The result was similar for non-communicable diseases (NCDs), with total deaths from these causes increasing by 14.1% (12.6-16.0) to 39.8 million (39.2 million to 40.5 million) in 2015, whereas age-standardised rates decreased by 13.1% (11.9-14.3). Globally, this mortality pattern emerged for several NCDs, including several types of cancer, ischaemic heart disease, cirrhosis, and Alzheimer's disease and other dementias. By contrast, both total deaths and age-standardised death rates due to communicable, maternal, neonatal, and nutritional conditions significantly declined from 2005 to 2015, gains largely attributable to decreases in mortality rates due to HIV/AIDS (42.1%, 39.1-44.6), malaria (43.1%, 34.7-51.8), neonatal preterm birth complications (29.8%, 24.8-34.9), and maternal disorders (29.1%, 19.3-37.1). Progress was slower for several causes, such as lower respiratory infections and nutritional deficiencies, whereas deaths increased for others, including dengue and drug use disorders. Age-standardised death rates due to injuries significantly declined from 2005 to 2015, yet interpersonal violence and war claimed increasingly more lives in some regions, particularly in the Middle East. In 2015, rotaviral enteritis (rotavirus) was the leading cause of under-5 deaths due to diarrhoea (146 000 deaths, 118 000-183 000) and pneumococcal pneumonia was the leading cause of under-5 deaths due to lower respiratory infections (393 000 deaths, 228 000-532 000), although pathogen-specific mortality varied by region. Globally, the effects of population growth, ageing, and changes in age-standardised death rates substantially differed by cause. Our analyses on the expected associations between cause-specific mortality and SDI show the regular shifts in cause of death composition and population age structure with rising SDI. Country patterns of premature mortality (measured as years of life lost [YLLs]) and how they differ from the level expected on the basis of SDI alone revealed distinct but highly heterogeneous patterns by region and country or territory. Ischaemic heart disease, stroke, and diabetes were among the leading causes of YLLs in most regions, but in many cases, intraregional results sharply diverged for ratios of observed and expected YLLs based on SDI. Communicable, maternal, neonatal, and nutritional diseases caused the most YLLs throughout sub-Saharan Africa, with observed YLLs far exceeding expected YLLs for countries in which malaria or HIV/AIDS remained the leading causes of early death. Interpretation At the global scale, age-specific mortality has steadily improved over the past 35 years; this pattern of general progress continued in the past decade. Progress has been faster in most countries than expected on the basis of development measured by the SDI. Against this background of progress, some countries have seen falls in life expectancy, and age-standardised death rates for some causes are increasing. Despite progress in reducing age-standardised death rates, population growth and ageing mean that the number of deaths from most non-communicable causes are increasing in most countries, putting increased demands on health systems. Copyright (C) The Author(s). Published by Elsevier Ltd.Peer reviewe

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Determinants of Herpetofaunal Diversity in a Threatened Wetland Ecosystem: A Case Study of the Ramaroshan Wetland Complex, Western Nepal

Wetlands are among the highly threatened ecosystems due to anthropogenic activities. The Ramaroshan Wetland Complex (RWC) of Achham District, Nepal is one of the high-altitude wetlands facing human induced degradation and loss. Herpetofauna are key bio-indicators of environmental health and habitat quality and are useful to assess habitat conditions of such threatened ecosystems. This study quantified the land use and land cover (LULC) change in the RWC and documented the diversity and distribution pattern of herpetofauna. The LULC in the area (13.94 Km2) was analyzed for 1989, 2000, 2010 and 2021 by supervised classification of remote sensing images. Surveys were conducted along 25 transects, each of 200 m in length and environmental variables were recorded for every observation of herpetofauna. The LULC analysis revealed an overall loss of 16% of the total water body between 1989 (0.25 Km2) and 2021 (0.21 Km2). Eleven species of herpetofauna (five amphibians and six reptiles) within five families and two orders (i.e., Anura and Squamata), were recorded with low diversity (H’ = 1.88312) and evenness (E = 0.3642) indices. The herpetofauna had a hump-shaped distribution along the elevation gradient with the highest richness and abundance at 2300 m asl. Amphibian abundance decreased with increasing distance to nearest water sources, whereas reptile abundance increased. Amphibians were more abundant in agricultural field and marsh land, whereas reptile abundance was higher around human settlements. Results indicate that the wetland area in the RWC is declining at an alarming rate and, in turn, might account for the low diversity and abundance of the herpetofauna

Seeing and microthermal measurements near Devasthal top

Results of the seeing measurements carried out near Devasthal top on 43 nights during March to April 1999 are presented. Open air seeing measurements were carried out with a differential image motion monitor (DIMM) using a 38 cm telescope with the mirror about 2 m above the ground. This, in combination with our earlier reported measurements carried out during October to November 1998 on 37 nights show a median seeing of 1."1 and 35% of the time seeing is better than 1."0. A trend in the seeing evolution is noticed with better seeing towards the later part of the night. By analysing the temporal evolution of seeing for seeing fluctuations it is found that the mean ratio of two seeing values separated by a time interval of ?t grows with a time constant of about 17 minutes. To quantify the optical image degradation caused by atmospheric turbulence very near to the ground, microthermal measurements were also simultaneously performed with DIMM observations. Microthermal measurements show that most of the contribution to seeing comes from the 6 - 12 m slab of the atmosphere with a mean value of 0."86. A significant decrease in turbulence over the height of the mast is noticed with a mean value of 0."22 for the 12 - 18 m slab. A seeing of ~ 0."6 can be achieved by locating the telescope at a height of ~ 13 m above the ground