The threat from sea and land. Regional report 2: the Bay of Bengal.

Science.gov (United States)

1994-01-01

This article reports on the environmental threat caused by the Bay of Bengal on the economic situation in Bangladesh and India. More than four-fifths of Bangladesh amount to an extended delta at the confluence of one of the largest river systems in the world, comprising the Ganges, Brahmaputra, and Meghna. In the Brahmaputra watershed, the rate of deforestation caused soil erosion in the Himalayas is five times as much as in the geological past. This sediment loading is often considered to be a prime factor in downstream flooding. Because of this, Bangladesh agriculture products were damaged, which led to economic instability. Furthermore, as a result of the combined impacts of population growth, poverty, no land, and inadequate food supplies, many migrated into the neighboring Indian areas. Moreover, the susceptibility of the Bay of Bengal to cyclones has caused a great number of deaths leaving millions of people homeless. Cyclone episodes are expected to be more frequent as global warming continues. Furthermore, Bangladesh was estimated to be only 5 meters above sea level, which is considered vulnerable to sea level rise. On top of these problems, trouble from the other side of Bangladesh was also predicted with the combined outflow of the Ganges, Brahmaputra, and Meghna leading to more national damage.

Basic studies on the hepatobiliary scintigraphy with 123I-rose bengal

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Narabayashi, Isamu; Ito, Yasuhiko; Otsuka, Nobuaki; Muranaka, Akira; Konno, Katsunobu.

1979-01-01

The purpose of this investigation is to evaluate the values of 123 I-rose bengal. sup(99m)Tc-labels for the hepatobiliary radiopharmaceutical are not fully satisfied because of greater urinary excretion, especially in cases of hyperbilirubinemia. 123 I is a lower gamma ray energy emitter more suitable for imaging and has a short half life with 13 hours. Commercially obtained rose bengal was purified using Sephadex G-25 column on gelfiltration. 123 I-rose bengal was prepared using iodine exchange reaction between nonradioactive rose bengal and Na 123 I. Radiochemical purity of 123 I-rose bengal was examined by paper chromatography. Biological distribution of 123 I-rose bengal in rabbits at 1 hours after intravenous injection indicated that the tracer was cleared from the blood to the liver, thereafter excreted into the small intestine through the common bile duct. Hepatic uptake and excretion of activity has been measured for 60 minutes using a scintillation camera in conjunction with a VTR system. There existed no significant relative to those of 131 I-rose bengal. Serial scintigraphic images showed satisfactorily better images even in a rabbit with complete obstructive jaundice. (author)

Estimation of regional-scale groundwater flow properties in the Bengal Basin of India and Bangladesh

Science.gov (United States)

Michael, H.A.; Voss, C.I.

2009-01-01

Quantitative evaluation of management strategies for long-term supply of safe groundwater for drinking from the Bengal Basin aquifer (India and Bangladesh) requires estimation of the large-scale hydrogeologic properties that control flow. The Basin consists of a stratified, heterogeneous sequence of sediments with aquitards that may separate aquifers locally, but evidence does not support existence of regional confining units. Considered at a large scale, the Basin may be aptly described as a single aquifer with higher horizontal than vertical hydraulic conductivity. Though data are sparse, estimation of regional-scale aquifer properties is possible from three existing data types: hydraulic heads, 14C concentrations, and driller logs. Estimation is carried out with inverse groundwater modeling using measured heads, by model calibration using estimated water ages based on 14C, and by statistical analysis of driller logs. Similar estimates of hydraulic conductivities result from all three data types; a resulting typical value of vertical anisotropy (ratio of horizontal to vertical conductivity) is 104. The vertical anisotropy estimate is supported by simulation of flow through geostatistical fields consistent with driller log data. The high estimated value of vertical anisotropy in hydraulic conductivity indicates that even disconnected aquitards, if numerous, can strongly control the equivalent hydraulic parameters of an aquifer system. ?? US Government 2009.

Controls on groundwater flow in the Bengal Basin of India and Bangladesh: regional modeling analysis

Science.gov (United States)

Michael, Holly A.; Voss, Clifford I.

2009-11-01

Groundwater for domestic and irrigation purposes is produced primarily from shallow parts of the Bengal Basin aquifer system (India and Bangladesh), which contains high concentrations of dissolved arsenic (exceeding worldwide drinking water standards), though deeper groundwater is generally low in arsenic. An essential first step for determining sustainable management of the deep groundwater resource is identification of hydrogeologic controls on flow and quantification of basin-scale groundwater flow patterns. Results from groundwater modeling, in which the Bengal Basin aquifer system is represented as a single aquifer with higher horizontal than vertical hydraulic conductivity, indicate that this anisotropy is the primary hydrogeologic control on the natural flowpath lengths. Despite extremely low hydraulic gradients due to minimal topographic relief, anisotropy implies large-scale (tens to hundreds of kilometers) flow at depth. Other hydrogeologic factors, including lateral and vertical changes in hydraulic conductivity, have minor effects on overall flow patterns. However, because natural hydraulic gradients are low, the impact of pumping on groundwater flow is overwhelming; modeling indicates that pumping has substantially changed the shallow groundwater budget and flowpaths from predevelopment conditions.

Controls on groundwater flow in the Bengal Basin of India and Bangladesh: Regional modeling analysis

Science.gov (United States)

Michael, H.A.; Voss, C.I.

2009-01-01

Groundwater for domestic and irrigation purposes is produced primarily from shallow parts of the Bengal Basin aquifer system (India and Bangladesh), which contains high concentrations of dissolved arsenic (exceeding worldwide drinking water standards), though deeper groundwater is generally low in arsenic. An essential first step for determining sustainable management of the deep groundwater resource is identification of hydrogeologic controls on flow and quantification of basin-scale groundwater flow patterns. Results from groundwater modeling, in which the Bengal Basin aquifer system is represented as a single aquifer with higher horizontal than vertical hydraulic conductivity, indicate that this anisotropy is the primary hydrogeologic control on the natural flowpath lengths. Despite extremely low hydraulic gradients due to minimal topographic relief, anisotropy implies large-scale (tens to hundreds of kilometers) flow at depth. Other hydrogeologic factors, including lateral and vertical changes in hydraulic conductivity, have minor effects on overall flow patterns. However, because natural hydraulic gradients are low, the impact of pumping on groundwater flow is overwhelming; modeling indicates that pumping has substantially changed the shallow groundwater budget and flowpaths from predevelopment conditions. ?? Springer-Verlag 2009.

On watermass mixing ratios and regenerated silicon in the Bay of Bengal

Digital Repository Service at National Institute of Oceanography (India)

Rao, D.P.; Sarma, V.V.; Rao, V.S.; Sudhakar, U.; Gupta, G.V.M.

Regeneration of silicon on mixing in the Bay of Bengal have been computed from six water masses [Bay of Bengal low saline water (BBLS), Bay of Bengal subsurface water (BBSS), northern southeast high salinity water (NSEHS), north Indian intermediate...

Some heat and moisture budgets over Bay of Bengal during MONSOON 17 experiment

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Bhaskar Rao, D.V.

1985-12-01

Heat and moisture budgets have been estimated for the period 13-18 August 1977 over Bay of Bengal using data collected from USSR ships during MONSOON 77 experiment. The divergence, relative vorticity and vertical p-velocity fields are derived. The apparent heat source and moisture sink are obtained for the period. The vertical-time sections of the derived fields are presented and the distributions are compared for undisturbed conditions during the period of study. The results show strong convective motions during the disturbed period indicating the importance of convection in the monsoon depressions. (author)

Undergraduate Collaborative Research: Distribution of Plant Wax Biomarkers in Miocene-age Sediments from the Bengal Fan (IODP Exp 354)

Science.gov (United States)

Cho, P. G.; Vidal, E.; Paek, J. H.; Borsook, A.; Lee, W.; Wu, M. S.; Ponton, C.; Galy, V.; Feakins, S. J.

2017-12-01

Our research aims to understand past climatic variability in the monsoon-influenced Ganges-Brahmaputra catchment as recorded by plant wax molecules exported and sequestered in the sediments of the Bengal Fan. Samples from the late Miocene were selected from cores retrieved by the IODP (International Ocean Discovery Program) Expedition 354 that recently drilled the central Bengal Fan along a transect at 8°N. Fan sedimentation includes sand, silt, and clay mostly derived from the Himalayan range via turbiditic transport within the Bengal fan. Sedimentation is highly episodic in the fan, but a transect of drilled sites provides a record of terrigenous sediment exported and buried over the last 20 million years. A team of researchers at the University of Southern California worked to collectively process 468 samples for compound specific biomarker identification and quantification. The samples derive from Site U1451 and U1455 ranging from 0 to 1097m depth (CSF-A). Total organic carbon ranges from 0.04-0.84%. To date, 300 samples have been solvent-extracted and prepared for plant wax analyses. Long chain n-alkanoic acids and n-alkanes were identified and quantified using GC-MS and GC-FID, respectively. In the samples quantified so far, we find ΣC24-34 n-alkanoic acid concentrations from 0.07-14.16 μg/g of dry sediment and ΣC25-35 n-alkanes from 0.04-4.61 μg/g. Concentrations of C30 n-alkanoic acid range from 0.01-1.92 μg/g of dry sediment and of C33 n-alkane from lipid extract was analyzed at the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution using a GC-TOF-MS. Overall, these extracts are dominated by plant-wax compounds and other diagnostic terrestrial molecules (e.g. plant terpenoids and sterols). The results from this effort contribute to a larger mission to reconstruct vegetation and climate change, over the past 20 million years in the core of the monsoon-influenced region, through compound-specific isotope analyses of the plant waxes extracted from these samples.

Observing storm surges in the Bay of Bengal from satellite altimetry

Digital Repository Service at National Institute of Oceanography (India)

Antony, C.; Testut, L.; Unnikrishnan, A.S.

with the large tidal ranges give rise to extreme sea level in the head bay and surrounding regions. Moreover, low-lying nature of the coast and the dense population in the region make the coasts of the northern Bay of Bengal highly vulnerable to storm surges...-gauge data during the passage of the hurricane Igor that crossed Newfoundland in 2010. For this event, St. John’s tide gauge recorded a maximum surge of 94 cm and Jason-2 (the track located 89 km away from the tide-gauge station) showed positive sea-level...

Storm surge in the Bay of Bengal and Arabian Sea: The problem and its prediction

Digital Repository Service at National Institute of Oceanography (India)

Dube, S.K.; Rao, A.D.; Sinha, P.C.; Murty, T.S.; Bahulayan, N.

to annual economic losses in these countries. Thus, the real time monitoring and warning of storm surge is of great concern for this region. The goal of this paper is to provide an overview of major aspects of the storm surge problem in the Bay of Bengal...

HELMINTHIASIS IN A BENGAL TIGER (PANTHERA TIGRIS TIGRIS - A CASE REPORT

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Shivaji Bhattacharya

2012-12-01

Full Text Available During post mortem examination of a wild male adult Bengal Tiger of Pirkhali of Sundarban Tiger Reserve, West Bengal, India,Toxocara cati and Taenia hydatigena was observed in the stomach and intestine.

Geoid and gravity anomaly data of conjugate regions of Bay of Bengal and Enderby Basin: New constraints on breakup and early spreading history between India and Antarctica

Digital Repository Service at National Institute of Oceanography (India)

Krishna, K.S.; Michael, L.; Bhattacharyya, R.; Majumdar, T.J.

the anomalies. Since the magnetic anomalies in the western Enderby Basin have lower amplitude, Gaina et al. (2007) could not identify the anomalies with confidence and found difficulty to correlate the spreading history with that of the central and eastern... Geoid and gravity anomaly data of conjugate regions of Bay of Bengal and Enderby Basin – new constraints on breakup and early spreading history between India and Antarctica K.S. Krishna*, Laju Michael National Institute of Oceanography, Council...

Relative Sea Level Trends Along the Coast of the Bay of Bengal

Science.gov (United States)

Becker, M.; Calmant, S.; Papa, F.; Delebecque, C.; Islam, A. S.; Shum, C. K.

2016-12-01

In the coastal belt of the Bay of Bengal, the sea level rise is one of a major threat, linked to climate change, which drastically affects the livelihoods of millions of people. A comprehensive understanding of sea level trends and its variability in this region is therefore crucial and should help to anticipate the impacts of climate change and implement adaptation strategies. This region is bordered mostly by Bangladesh, India, Malaysia, Myanmar, and Thailand. Here, we revisit the sea level changes in the Bay of Bengal region from tide gauges and satellite altimetry over the period 1993-2014. The 23 monthly mean tide gauge records, used in this study, are retrieved from PSMSL (15 records) and supplemented with Bangladeshi observations (8 records). We show that, over the satellite altimetry era, the sea level interannual/decadal variability is mainly due to ocean thermal expansion variability driven by IOD/ENSO events and their low frequency modulation. We focus on relative sea level rise at major coastal cities and try to separate the climatic signal (long term trend plus interannual/decadal variability) from local effects, in particular vertical land movements. Results from GPS are analysed where available. When no such data exist, vertical land movements are deduced from the combined use of tide gauge and altimetry data. While the analysis is performed over the whole region, a particular attention is given to the low-lyingBangladesh's coastal area.

Intra-District Disparities in Primary Education: A Case Study of Bankura District, West Bengal

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Krishnendu Maji

2017-03-01

Full Text Available The level of education and its response to different educational opportunities vary from one spatial unit to another depending on various factors like social, economic, cultural, and institutional. It is understood that certain regions acquire relative advancements over others in terms of human resource development and human capital formation. The key purpose of this research is to examine the intra-district disparities in primary education in Bankura District one of the districts of West Bengal. It ranks 11thamong the 19 districts of West Bengal (Human Development Report, 2007.  Overall literacy rate of the district stands at 70.26% but the district scores low in terms of female literacy rates, which is 60.05%,whereas the male literacy rate is 80.05%, which is a huge gender literacy gap of 20%. There are also regional inequalities existing at block level. Kotulpur ranks first with a literacy rate of 78.01% while Saltora occupies the bottom position with literacy rate of just 61.45% (Census of India, 2011. The level of educational development is dependent on several factors—enrolment ratio, dropout and repetition rates, pupil-teacher ratio, habitations covered by educational institutions, space-student ratio, drinking water and sanitation facilities in school, etc. In this context, the present study aims at examining the issues of intra-district disparities in educational attainment with regard to various educational amenities of Bankura district, West Bengal. Ten attributes have been selected to examine the level of development in primary education. It is clear from the study that the level of development in eastern part of the district is relatively better in comparison to other regions. Economic backwardness and physical bottlenecks continue to be major issues in western blocks.

Preponderance of a few diatom species among the highly diverse microphytoplankton assemblages in the Bay of Bengal

Digital Repository Service at National Institute of Oceanography (India)

Paul, J.T.; Ramaiah, N.; Gauns, M.; Fernandes, V.

The microphytoplankton assemblages were studied from water samples collected at eight discrete depths in the top 120 m at five central [open ocean] and four western [shelf/slope region] locations in the Bay of Bengal. The Bay is a low...

AoA Region: South Asian Seas

Digital Repository Service at National Institute of Oceanography (India)

Naqvi, S.W.A.

is an environmental assessment for the entire Bay of Bengal region (BOBP/ REP/67) prepared for the Swedish Centre for Coastal Development and Management of Aquatic Resources by Holmgren (1994) under the Bay of Bengal Programme. This assessment provides information...-based activities (UNEP 2001) includes information on the South Asian Seas region. Under the Environment Management-Capacity Building Project implemented by the Indian Ministry of Environment and Forests with funding support from the World Bank, the Integrated...

Observed changes in ocean acidity and carbon dioxide exchange in the coastal Bay of Bengal - a link to air pollution

Digital Repository Service at National Institute of Oceanography (India)

Sarma, V.V.S.S.; Krishna, M.S.; Paul, Y.S.; Murty, V.S.N.

acidity and carbon dioxide exchange in the coastal Bay of Bengal � a link to air pollution By V. V. S. S. SARMA*, M. S. KRISHNA, Y. S. PAUL and V. S. N. MURTY, CSIR�National Institute of Oceanography, 176 Lawsons Bay Colony, Visakhapatnam, India... atmosphere boundary layer over the Bay of Bengal (mean: 5.7 mg m�3) compared to fluxes in the Arabian Sea (mean: 2.9 mg m�3), indicating that the former receives more pollutants than the latter region during January to April when air flow from land to sea...

BLOOD PROTEIN TRANSFERRIN POLYMOROPHISM IN BLACK BENGAL GOAT

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Rajesh Paul

2017-12-01

Full Text Available The present investigation was carried out with an aim to explore the polymorphism of a blood protein tranferrin using starch gel electrophoresis technique in a total of unrelated 199 Black Bengal goats available in four different districts of West Bengal, India. Banding patterns of transferrin in starch gel revealed six phenovariants TfAA, TfAB, TfBC, TfBB, TfAC and TfCC comprising of three allelomorphs, TfA, TfB and TfC. The genotype frequencies were found to be observed 0.211, 0.347, 0.136, 0.106, 0.136 and 0.065 for six genotypes and the allelic frequencies were 0.452, 0.347 and 0.201 for three alleles, respectively. Result of Chi-square test revealed that the population under study was in Hardy Weinberg Equilibrium. There were polymorphism in Transferrin protein and the presence of differences among the frequencies of the three alleles by categories could be a source of genetic variation in Black Bengal goat.

An Intrathermocline Eddy and a tropical cyclone in the Bay of Bengal

OpenAIRE

Gordon, Arnold L.; Shroyer, Emily; Murty, V. S. N.

2017-01-01

The Bay of Bengal, subjected to monsoonal forcing and tropical cyclones, displays a complex field of ocean eddies. On 5 December 2013 a sub-surface vortex or Intrathermocline Eddy (ITE) composed of water characteristic of the Andaman Sea was observed within the thermocline of the western Bay of Bengal. We propose that the ITE was the product of Tropical Cyclone Lehar interaction on 27 November 2013 with a westward propagating surface eddy from the eastern Bay of Bengal. While Lehar?s interact...

Seasonal variation of sea surface temperature in the Bay of Bengal during 1992 as derived from NOAA-AVHRR SST data

Digital Repository Service at National Institute of Oceanography (India)

Murty, V.S.N.; Subrahmanyam, B.; Rao, L.V.G.; Reddy, G.V.

. The spatial variation of Standard Deviation of SST bias was particularly high (less than 0.7) in the western Bay when compared to other parts of the Bay of Bengal. The monthly maps of AVHRR SST clearly depicted the seasonal cycle of SST showing the well known...

An assessment of TropFlux and NCEP air-sea fluxes on ROMS simulations over the Bay of Bengal region

Science.gov (United States)

Dey, Dipanjan; Sil, Sourav; Jana, Sudip; Pramanik, Saikat; Pandey, P. C.

2017-12-01

This study presents an assessment of the TropFlux and the National Centers for Environmental Prediction (NCEP) reanalysis air-sea fluxes in simulating the surface and subsurface oceanic parameters over the Bay of Bengal (BoB) region during 2002-2014 using the Regional Ocean Modelling System (ROMS). The assessment has been made by comparing the simulated fields with in-situ and satellite observations. The simulated surface and subsurface temperatures in the TropFlux forced experiment (TropFlux-E) show better agreement with the Research Moored Array for African-Asian-Australian Monsoon Analysis (RAMA) and Argo observations than the NCEP forced experiment (NCEP-E). The BoB domain averaged sea surface temperature (SST) simulated in the NCEP-E is consistently cooler than the satellite SST, with a root mean square error (RMSE) of 0.79 °C. Moreover, NCEP-E shows a limitation in simulating the observed seasonal cycle of the SST due to substantial underestimation of the pre-monsoon SST peak. These limitations are mostly due to the lower values of the NCEP net heat flux. The seasonal and interannual variations of SST in the TropFlux-E are better comparable to the observations with correlations and skills more than 0.80 and 0.90 respectively. However, SST is overestimated during summer monsoon periods mainly due to higher net heat flux. The superiority of TropFlux forcing over the NCEP reanalysis can also be seen when simulating the interannual variabilities of the magnitude and vertical extent of Wyrtki jets at two equatorial RAMA buoy locations. The jet is weaker in the NCEP-E relative to the TropFlux-E and observations. The simulated sea surface height anomalies (SSHA) from both the experiments are able to capture the regions of positive and negative SSHA with respect to satellite-derived altimeter data with better performance in the TropFlux-E. The speed of the westward propagating Rossby wave along 18°N in the TropFlux-E is found to be about 4.7 cm/s, which is close to

Production technology of 131I-rose bengal

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Hradilek, P.; Miklik, M.; Kopicka, K.; Kronrad, L.

1983-01-01

A detailed description is presented of the production equipment and production process used for Rose Bengal labelled with 131 I designed for use in nuclear medicine. The apparatus was installed in the semi-hot cell laboratory of the Nuclear Research Institute at Rez. The processed activity is around 20 GBq, the average yield of the ion exchange reaction between non-radioactive Rose Bengal and 131 I-labelled sodium iodide is 90%. The unreacted active sodium iodide is separated and the resulting product is diluted and processed into a drug presentation, sterilized and after random control is distributed in 14 days intervals to medical workplaces. (M.D.)

Who's behind that mask and cape? The Asian leopard cat's Agouti (ASIP) allele likely affects coat colour phenotype in the Bengal cat breed.

Science.gov (United States)

Gershony, L C; Penedo, M C T; Davis, B W; Murphy, W J; Helps, C R; Lyons, L A

2014-12-01

Coat colours and patterns are highly variable in cats and are determined mainly by several genes with Mendelian inheritance. A 2-bp deletion in agouti signalling protein (ASIP) is associated with melanism in domestic cats. Bengal cats are hybrids between domestic cats and Asian leopard cats (Prionailurus bengalensis), and the charcoal coat colouration/pattern in Bengals presents as a possible incomplete melanism. The complete coding region of ASIP was directly sequenced in Asian leopard, domestic and Bengal cats. Twenty-seven variants were identified between domestic and leopard cats and were investigated in Bengals and Savannahs, a hybrid with servals (Leptailurus serval). The leopard cat ASIP haplotype was distinguished from domestic cat by four synonymous and four non-synonymous exonic SNPs, as well as 19 intronic variants, including a 42-bp deletion in intron 4. Fifty-six of 64 reported charcoal cats were compound heterozygotes at ASIP, with leopard cat agouti (A(P) (be) ) and domestic cat non-agouti (a) haplotypes. Twenty-four Bengals had an additional unique haplotype (A2) for exon 2 that was not identified in leopard cats, servals or jungle cats (Felis chaus). The compound heterozygote state suggests the leopard cat allele, in combination with the recessive non-agouti allele, influences Bengal markings, producing a darker, yet not completely melanistic coat. This is the first validation of a leopard cat allele segregating in the Bengal breed and likely affecting their overall pelage phenotype. Genetic testing services need to be aware of the possible segregation of wild felid alleles in all assays performed on hybrid cats. © 2014 The Authors. Animal Genetics published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd on behalf of Stichting International Foundation for Animal Genetics.

Rose Bengal- and Riboflavin-Mediated Photodynamic Therapy to Inhibit Methicillin-Resistant Staphylococcus aureus Keratitis Isolates.

Science.gov (United States)

Halili, Francisco; Arboleda, Alejandro; Durkee, Heather; Taneja, Mukesh; Miller, Darlene; Alawa, Karam A; Aguilar, Mariela C; Amescua, Guillermo; Flynn, Harry W; Parel, Jean-Marie

2016-06-01

To evaluate the in vitro efficacy of rose bengal- and riboflavin-mediated photodynamic therapy for inhibition of methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) isolates. Experimental study. Two different multidrug-resistant, clinical MRSA isolates were grown on nutrient agar, prepared in suspension, and adjusted to concentrations of 1.5 × 10(4) colony-forming units per milliliter. Bacterial suspensions were mixed with rose bengal, riboflavin, or water according to experimental group. Tested in triplicate, groups included: Group I, MRSA control; Group II, MRSA with 0.1% rose bengal; Group III, MRSA with 0.03% rose bengal; and Group IV, MRSA with 0.1% riboflavin. All experimental groups were exposed to 3 lighting conditions: dark, ambient room light for 30 minutes, and 5.4 J/cm(2) with either green light-emitting diode (LED) or ultraviolet-A (UV-A) irradiation. Plates were photographed at 72 hours and custom software measured bacterial growth inhibition. Complete growth inhibition of both MRSA strains was demonstrated (1) for both rose bengal concentrations under ambient and green LED irradiation, and (2) for the 0.1% rose bengal in the dark. The 0.03% rose bengal in dark conditions showed complete inhibition of strain 2 but incomplete inhibition of strain 1. Riboflavin showed almost complete inhibition with UV-A irradiation but demonstrated minimal inhibition for both strains in dark and ambient light conditions. Rose bengal- and riboflavin-mediated photodynamic therapy demonstrated complete growth inhibition in vitro of 2 multidrug-resistant MRSA strains. Rose bengal was also effective in dark and ambient conditions. These results may have implications for in vivo therapy. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Source parameters of the Bay of Bengal earthquake of 21 May 2014 and related seismotectonics of 85°E and 90°E ridges

Science.gov (United States)

Prakash, Rajesh; Prajapati, Sanjay Kumar; Srivastava, Hari Narain

2018-01-01

Source parameters of the Bay of Bengal earthquake of 21 May 2014 have been studied using full waveform inversion. Its source mechanism thus determined the orientation of the strike slip faulting as NW-SE/NE-SW. The occurrence of past earthquakes along the NE-SW nodal plane suggested its preference as the main fault which could result from the transmission of stresses from the Indian plate boundary. High stress drop of this earthquake (216 bar) is attributed to its location in the intraplate region, strike slip faulting and focus in the colder upper mantle. Comparison of the stress drop of deeper focus Hindukush earthquakes with that of the Bay of Bengal earthquake showed a smaller felt radius due to fractured lithosphere in the Himalayas vis-a-vis more efficient propagation of seismic waves in the peninsular region from the source region of this recent earthquake. The seismological evidence presented for the 85°E and 90°E ridges shows the predominance of strike slip faulting with thrusting on both the ridges. Integrating their source mechanism with that of the May 2014 earthquake, it could be inferred that the Bay of Bengal region (excluding Andaman Sumatra subduction zone) is characterised predominantly by strike slip faulting in the region north of latitude 20°N and strike slip with thrusting in the remaining portion.

The last glacial cycle documented on the Lower Bengal Fan - chronological and paleoclimate implications

Science.gov (United States)

Weber, M. E.; Dekens, P.; Reilly, B.; Lantzsch, H.; Selkin, P. A.; Das, S. K.; Williams, T.; Martos, Y. M.; Adhikari, R. R.; Gyawali, B. R.; Jia, G.; Fox, L. R.; Ge, J.; Manoj, M. C.; Savian, J. F.; Meynadier, L.; Spiess, V.; France-Lanord, C.; Klaus, A.

2016-12-01

IODP Expedition 354 set out in February to March 2015 to drill seven sites along an east west oriented core transect of 320 km length at 8°N in the Bengal Fan (France-Lanord et al., 2015). Sediments show complex intercalation of turbiditic and hemipelagic deposits, documenting the interaction of fan evolution and paleoceanographic history. Hemipelagic sequences represent a several meter thick top layer of Late Quaternary sediment. Deposits are either rich in biogenic opal/clay or in carbonate. We studied physical, optical, geochemical, grain-size, and stable isotopic properties of this top layer to establish a time frame, estimate sedimentary properties, and assess the development of the region during the last glacial cycle. For this purpose, we sampled Site U1452C-1H continuously for the uppermost 480 cm in 2-cm increments. Preliminary results indicate the Toba Ash 1 (74 ka) is a distinct time marker in most physical property data sets. Records of wet-bulk density as well as color reflectance b* (the red-green component) and L* (the lightness) show a dominant precession cyclicity. Hence, we are able to provide an insolation-tuned chronology for the last 200 ka (MIS1 - 7). These records agree well with d18O records retrieved from Chinese caves. An independent age model is derived from records of relative paleointensity (RPI), including the assessment of the Laschamp Event ( 40 ka), and on RPI tuning to global templates. We will compare both chronologies and evaluate their chronological and paleoclimatic implications. We will also present preliminary grain-size and paleoceanographic proxy data (sea-surface temperature, sea-surface salinity, and Mg/Ca) as well as color endmember modeling to reconstruct ice volume, marine biological productivity, nutrient supply, and deep-water circulation. The sedimentologic, oceanographic and climatic conditions are linked to changes in monsoonal strength and terrestrial input, which will also be studied using sedimentary proxies

Cationic Phosphorus Dendrimer Enhances Photodynamic Activity of Rose Bengal against Basal Cell Carcinoma Cell Lines.

Science.gov (United States)

Dabrzalska, Monika; Janaszewska, Anna; Zablocka, Maria; Mignani, Serge; Majoral, Jean Pierre; Klajnert-Maculewicz, Barbara

2017-05-01

In the last couple of decades, photodynamic therapy emerged as a useful tool in the treatment of basal cell carcinoma. However, it still meets limitations due to unfavorable properties of photosensitizers such as poor solubility or lack of selectivity. Dendrimers, polymers widely studied in biomedical field, may play a role as photosensitizer carriers and improve the efficacy of photodynamic treatment. Here, we describe the evaluation of an electrostatic complex of cationic phosphorus dendrimer and rose bengal in such aspects as singlet oxygen production, cellular uptake, and phototoxicity against three basal cell carcinoma cell lines. Rose bengal-cationic dendrimer complex in molar ratio 5:1 was compared to free rose bengal. Obtained results showed that the singlet oxygen production in aqueous medium was significantly higher for the complex than for free rose bengal. The cellular uptake of the complex was 2-7-fold higher compared to a free photosensitizer. Importantly, rose bengal, rose bengal-dendrimer complex, and dendrimer itself showed no dark toxicity against all three cell lines. Moreover, we observed that phototoxicity of the complex was remarkably enhanced presumably due to high cellular uptake. On the basis of the obtained results, we conclude that rose bengal-cationic dendrimer complex has a potential in photodynamic treatment of basal cell carcinoma.

Description of temperature dependence of phosphorescence attenuation kinetics of rose Bengal dye at presence of anthracene on the silica heterogeneous surface by the exponential regression method

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Karstina, S.G.; Markova, M.P.

2002-01-01

In the work rose Bengal dye (triplet energy donor) and aromatic hydrocarbon anthracene (triplet energy acceptor) were selected in the capacity of examined substances. The substances were sorption on the SiO 2 porous surface. Measurement have been conducted on the laser device allowing to register of examined composition phosphorescence with time resolution 300 ns at wave length 710 nm. In the result of attenuation kinetic analysis for rose Bengal phosphorescence the empiric formula allowing describing processes of luminescence damping on the heterogeneous surfaces with fractal structure was derived

Natural radionuclides in the Arabian Sea and Bay of Bengal: distribution and evaluation of particle scavenging processes

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Sarin, M.M.; Rengarajan, R.; Somayajulu, B.L.K.

1994-01-01

Vertical and temporal variations in the activities of 234 Th, 210 Po and 210 Pb have been measured, in both dissolved and particulate phases, at several stations in the eastern Arabian Sea and north-central Bay of Bengal. A comparative study allows us to make inferences about the particle associated scavenging processes in these two seas having distinct biogeochemical properties. A common feature of the 234 Th profiles, in the Arabian Sea and Bay of Bengal, is that the dissolved as well as total (dissolved + particulate) activity of 234 Th is deficient in the surface 200 m with respect of its parent, 238 U. This gross deficiency is attributed to the preferential removal of 234 Th by adsorption onto settling particles which account for its net loss from the surface waters. The scavenging rates of dissolved 234 Th are comparable in these two basins. The temporal variations in the 234 Th- 238 U disequilibrium are significantly pronounced both in the Arabian Sea and Bay of Bengal indicating that the scavenging rates are more influenced by the increased abundance of particles rather than their chemical make-up. The Bay of Bengal and the Arabian Sea appear to be the regions of most intense particle moderated scavenging processes in the world oceans. This is evidenced by the gross disequilibria exhibited by the three isotope pairs used in this study. (author). 33 refs., 8 figs., 5 tabs

Fast radioiodination of rose bengal at room temperature

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Verbruggen, R.F.

1987-01-01

Polyhalogenated dyes based on aromatic ring systems such as fluorosceins have been used for the evaluation of hepatobiliary function since 1909. In 1955 rose bengal was radioiodinated and a radiocontrastdye become a radiopharmaceutical. In the present study an improved method, based on the chloramine-T method, has been developed for labelling rose bengal. This method was chosen for its short reaction time, its mild conditions and its high yield. The optimum values of the reaction parameters have been determined, and resulted in a slightly higher yield, within a shorter time and without breakdown products being present

Hydroclimatology of Dual Peak Cholera Incidence in Bengal Region: Inferences from a Spatial Explicit Model

Science.gov (United States)

Bertuzzo, E.; Mari, L.; Righetto, L.; Casagrandi, R.; Gatto, M.; Rodriguez-Iturbe, I.; Rinaldo, A.

2010-12-01

The seasonality of cholera and its relation with environmental drivers are receiving increasing interest and research efforts, yet they remain unsatisfactorily understood. A striking example is the observed annual cycle of cholera incidence in the Bengal region which exhibits two peaks despite the main environmental drivers that have been linked to the disease (air and sea surface temperature, zooplankton density, river discharge) follow a synchronous single-peak annual pattern. A first outbreak, mainly affecting the coastal regions, occurs in spring and it is followed, after a period of low incidence during summer, by a second, usually larger, peak in autumn also involving regions situated farther inland. A hydroclimatological explanation for this unique seasonal cycle has been recently proposed: the low river spring flows favor the intrusion of brackish water (the natural environment of the causative agent of the disease) which, in turn, triggers the first outbreak. The summer rising river discharges have a temporary dilution effect and prompt the repulsion of contaminated water which lowers the disease incidence. However, the monsoon flooding, together with the induced crowding of the population and the failure of the sanitation systems, can possibly facilitate the spatial transmission of the disease and promote the autumn outbreak. We test this hypothesis using a mechanistic, spatially explicit model of cholera epidemic. The framework directly accounts for the role of the river network in transporting and redistributing cholera bacteria among human communities as well as for the annual fluctuation of the river flow. The model is forced with the actual environmental drivers of the region, namely river flow and temperature. Our results show that these two drivers, both having a single peak in the summer, can generate a double peak cholera incidence pattern. Besides temporal patterns, the model is also able to qualitatively reproduce spatial patterns characterized

Magnetic anomalies in Central Bengal fan

Digital Repository Service at National Institute of Oceanography (India)

Rao, T.C.S.; Lakshminarayana, S.; Sarma, K.V.L.N.S.

Total magnetic field anomalies recorded over the Central Bengal Fan are analysed and the depths to the magnetic basement are computed using the analytical signal and the Werner deconvolution methods. To the west and east of 85 degrees E...

Rapid labelling of rose bengal and iothalamate with radioiodine

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Alvarez, J.

1981-01-01

Rapid and simple methods for tagging rose bengal and iothalamate with radioactive iodine are proposed. In both cases, the reaction takes place in a penicillintype vial. In the first method, Chloramine-T, was added to a vial containing rose bengal and radioiodide. Tagging iothalamate requires heating a mixture of iothalamate and radioactive iodine in the autoclave. A high radiochemical yield was obtained in the two procedures. This obviated the need of separating the small amount of free radioiodine present in the final product. (author)

Development and testing of monoclonal antibody-based rapid immunodiagnostic test kits for direct detection of Vibrio cholerae O139 synonym Bengal.

Science.gov (United States)

Hasan, J A; Huq, A; Nair, G B; Garg, S; Mukhopadhyay, A K; Loomis, L; Bernstein, D; Colwell, R R

1995-11-01

We report on the development and testing of two monoclonal antibody-based rapid immunodiagnostic test kits, BengalScreen, a coagglutination test, and Bengal DFA, a direct fluorescent-antibody test, for direct detection of Vibrio cholerae O139 synonym Bengal in clinical and environmental specimens. The BengalScreen test requires less than 5 min to complete and can be used in the field. Bengal DFA, being more sensitive than BengalScreen, requires only one reagent and less than 20 min for detection and enumeration of V. cholerae O139 synonym Bengal. In tests for specificity, all 40 strains of V. cholerae O139 reacted with both test kits, whereas 157 strains of heterologous species examined did not, yielding 100% specificity in this study. A field trial was conducted in with both BengalScreen and Bengal DFA, and the results were compared with those obtained by conventional culture methods. BengalScreen demonstrated a sensitivity of 95%, a specificity of 100%, a positive predictive value of 100%, and a negative predictive value of 94%. Results obtained by Bengal DFA, on the other hand, were 100% sensitive and 100% specific and yielded 100% positive and negative predictive values compared with culture methods. In a second evaluation, 93 stool specimens from Mexico that were negative for V. cholerae O139 by culture were also tested with both the BengalScreen and Bengal DFA kits. None of the 93 specimens were positive for V. cholerae O139 by both tests. A concentration method was optimized for screening of environmental water samples for V. cholerae O139 synonym Bengal with rapid test kits. BengalScreen results were unequivocally positive when water samples contained at least 2.0 x 10(3) CFU/ml, whereas Bengal DFA demonstrated an unequivocally positive reaction when the water sample contained at least 1.5 x 10(2) CFU/ml. When Bengal DFA was compared with conventional culture methods for enumeration of V. cholerae O139 synonym Bengal organisms, no difference was observed.

Primary Schooling in West Bengal

Science.gov (United States)

Sen, Amartya

2010-01-01

With his Nobel Prize award money, Amartya Sen set up the Pratichi Trust which carries out research, advocacy and experimental projects in basic education, primary health care, and women's development in West Bengal and Bangladesh. Professor Sen himself took active interest in this work--helping set the agenda, looking at the evidence from…

Monitoring groundwater storage changes in the highly dynamic Bengal Basin: validation of GRACE measurements

Science.gov (United States)

Shamsudduha, M.; Taylor, R. G.; Longuevergne, L.

2011-12-01

Monitoring of spatio-temporal changes in terrestrial water storage (ΔTWS) provides valuable information regarding the basin-scale dynamics of hydrological systems. Recent satellite measurements of the ΔTWS under the Gravity Recovery and Climate Experiment (GRACE) enable the derivation of groundwater storage changes (ΔGWS) where in situ data are limited. In the well monitored and highly-dynamic Bengal Basin of Bangladesh, we test the ability of GRACE measurements to trace the seasonality and trend in groundwater storage associated with intensive groundwater abstraction for dry-season irrigation and wet-season (monsoonal) recharge. Two different GRACE products (CSR and GRGS) and data processing methods (gridded and spherical harmonics) are also compared. Results show that GRACE derived estimates of recent (2003 to 2007) ΔGWS correlate well (r=0.77 to 0.93, p-value CSR for these estimates. ΔGWS accounts for 44% of the total variation in ΔTWS in the Bengal Basin. Changes in surface water storage (ΔSWS) estimated from a network of 298 river gauging stations and soil moisture storage (ΔSMS) derived from Land Surface Models explain 22% and 33% of ΔTWS respectively. Groundwater depletion estimated from borehole hydrographs (-0.52±0.30 km3/yr) is within the range of satellite-derived estimates (-0.44 to -2.04 km3/yr) that result from uncertainty associated with ΔSMS (CLM, NOAH, VIC) and GRACE data processing techniques. Recent (2003 to 2007) estimates of groundwater depletion are substantially greater than the long-term (1985 to 2007) mean (-0.21±0.03 km3/yr) and are explained primarily by substantial increases in groundwater abstraction for the dry-season irrigation and drinking water supplies over the last two decades.

Oxygen-independent direct deoxyribonucleic acid backbone breakage caused by rose bengal and visible light

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Peak, M J; Peak, J G; Foote, C S; Krinsky, N I

1984-01-01

An oxygen enhancement ratio of 10 for the induction of backbone single-strand breaks (SSBs) in purified deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) by monochromatic 365 nm UV radiation was obtained. Similarly, a dose reduction factor of 10 was observed when the DNA was irradiated in the presence of 0.1 M diazabicyclo(2.2.2)octane (DABCO). To determine whether this breakage of DNA was due to the action of a reactive oxygen species such as singlet oxygen, we used the photosensitizing dye Rose Bengal and visible light as a system for generating singlet oxygen. Treatment of the DNA with Rose Bengal and 545 nm monochromatic light enhanced the rate of induction of SSBs six times, compared with the rate we obtained when the light was used alone. Elimination of oxygen or addition of 0.1 M DABCO during the 545 nm irradiation in the presence of Rose Bengal did not alter the enhancement of SSBs in the DNA caused by Rose Bengal and 545 nm radiation. The induction of SSBs in the DNA caused by irradiation of the DNA by 545 nm light in the presence of Rose Bengal was not enhanced by the use of D/sub 2/O instead of H/sub 2/O as a solvent. The results indicate that Rose Bengal plus visible light can cause biological damage without the intermediacy of reactive oxygen species, i.e. Rose Bengal and visible light can react directly with biological material, in reactions that appear to be type I photosensitized processes, independent of singlet oxygen as an intermediate.

Enhanced particle fluxes in Bay of Bengal inducEd. by injection of freshwater

Digital Repository Service at National Institute of Oceanography (India)

Ittekkot, V.; Nair, R.R.; Honjo, S.; Ramaswamy, V.; Bartsch, M.; Manganini, S.J.; Desai, B.N.

deployed three sediment-trap moorings (two traps in each mooring) in the northern, central and southern parts of the Bay of Bengal, respectively. The Bay of Bengal is suitable for such a study, because some of the world's largest rivers supply pulses...

Assessment of Rose Bengal vs. Riboflavin Photodynamic Therapy for Inhibition of Fungal Keratitis Isolates

Science.gov (United States)

Arboleda, Alejandro; Miller, Darlene; Cabot, Florence; Taneja, Mukesh; Aguilar, Mariela C.; Alawa, Karam; Amescua, Guillermo; Yoo, Sonia H.; Parel, Jean-Marie

2014-01-01

Purpose To compare the in vitro effect of rose bengal and riboflavin as photosensitizing agents for photodynamic therapy (PDT) on fungal isolates that are common causes of fungal keratitis Design Experimental study Methods Three isolates (Fusarium solani, Aspergillus fumigatus, Candida albicans) recovered from patients with confirmed fungal keratitis were used in the experiments. Isolates were grown on Sabouraud-Dextrose agar, swabbed and prepared in suspension, and one milliliter aliquots were inoculated onto test plates in triplicate. Test plates were separated into 5 groups: Group 1 - no treatment, Group 2 - 0.1% rose bengal alone, Group 3 - 518 nm irradiation alone, Group 4 - riboflavin PDT (riboflavin + 375 nm irradiation), and Group 5 - rose bengal PDT (rose bengal + 518 nm irradiation). Irradiation was performed over a circular area using either a green LED array (peak wavelength: 518 nm) or a UV-A LED array (peak wavelength: 375 nm). Test plates were irradiated with an energy density of 5.4 J/cm2. Later, plates were placed in a 30° C incubator and observed for growth. Results Rose bengal-mediated PDT successfully inhibited the growth of all three fungal isolates in the irradiated area. All other groups exhibited unrestricted growth throughout the plate. Conclusions Rose bengal-mediated PDT successfully inhibited the growth of three types of fungi. No other experimental groups, including riboflavin-mediated PDT, had any inhibitory effect on the isolates. The results might be useful for the treatment of patients suffering from corneal infection. PMID:24792103

Reconstructing Sea Surface Conditions in the Bay of Bengal during the Mid-Pleistocene Transition

Science.gov (United States)

Lagos, A. D.; Dekens, P.; Reilly, B. T.; Selkin, P. A.; Meynadier, L.; Savian, J. F.

2017-12-01

During the Mid-Pleistocene Transition (MPT, 0.8-1.2Ma) Earth's glacial cycles transitioned from responding primarily to 41kyr obliquity cycles to responding to 100kyr eccentricity cycles. In the tropics, sea surface temperature (SST) in the eastern tropical Pacific cooled through the MPT, suggesting a strengthening of the equatorial Pacific zonal temperature gradient (Medina-Elizalde & Lea, 2005). The strong SST gradient would have intensified Walker Cell convection during the MPT and built up latent heat in the western Pacific, which could cause cold SST anomalies in the northern Indian Ocean (Liu et al., 2015). Due to a scarcity of records, it is unclear how climate and oceanic conditions evolved in the Indian Ocean during the MPT. A set of recent IODP expeditions, including 353 and 354, cored sediment from the Bay of Bengal. Several sites recovered by expedition 353 will be ideal for reconstructing monsoon intensity through time, while the expedition 354 cores from a longitudinal transect at 8°N are in a region not directly impacted by changes in freshwater input due to direct precipitation or run off. The sites are influenced by the northeastern migration of equatorial Indian Ocean water via the Southwest Monsoon Current, which supplies significant moisture to the monsoon. Expedition 354's southern Bay of Bengal sites are well situated for better understanding the link between the tropical Indian Ocean and the northern Bay of Bengal. We reconstructed sea surface conditions at IODP site 1452 (8°N, 87°E, 3670m water depth) in the distal Bengal Fan. A 3 meter long section of the core has been identified as the MPT using the Bruhnes/Matuyama, Jaramillo, and Cobb Mountain paleomagnetic reversals (France-Lanord et al., 2016). This section of site 1452 was sampled every 2cm ( 2kyr resolution). Approximately 30 G. sacculifer, a surface dwelling planktonic foraminifera, were picked from the 355-425μm size fraction. We measured Mg/Ca and δ18O on splits of the same

Application of individual foraminifera Mg/Ca and δ18O analyses for paleoceanographic reconstructions in the Bay of Bengal and other active depositional environments

Science.gov (United States)

Fritz-Endres, T.; Dekens, P.; Fehrenbacher, J. S.; Spero, H. J.; Stine, A.

2017-12-01

Paleoceanographic research traditionally focuses on regions where sediment deposition is minimally affected by transport. However, sediment fans near tectonically active regions provide an opportunity to link oceanographic climate to terrestrial processes. Sediment cores recovered during IODP Expedition 354 in the Bay of Bengal include hemipelagic sections that record the history of tectonic uplift and the development of the Indian Monsoon through the last 10 Ma. Although these cores provide a unique opportunity to link marine and terrestrial climate, the complex depositional environment requires that the source of foraminifera is carefully considered before using these proxies to reconstruct oceanographic conditions. Foraminifera in Bengal Fan sediments may have been transported via turbidity currents from the northern Bay of Bengal, where the seasonal variability of SST and SSS is larger compared to the southern Bay of Bengal. We measured single Globigerinoides sacculifer Mg/Ca and δ18O from mudline samples of IODP Site U1454 (8.4°N, 85.5°E, 3721 m water depth) near the modern active channel and Site U1449 (8.4°N, 88.7°E, 3653 m water depth) far from channel activity. We compare these sites to single G. sacculifer from the core-top sample of Site 342KL (20.6°N, 90.1°E, 1256 m water depth) located on the continental shelf. Each foraminifera lives 2-4 weeks and the distribution of 60 to 80 data points reflects the seasonal range of SST and SSS at the location where the foraminifera calcified. Measurements in foraminifera from Site U1449 (away from active channel) are statistically different from the site in the northern Bay of Bengal and more consistent with local conditions. Conversely, foraminifera from the site near the active channel reflect a combined signal of local conditions recorded from the site far from channel activity and those recorded from the continental shelf. This suggests a portion of foraminifera from the active channel site have been

Climate induced changes in the circulation and dispersal patterns of the fluvial sources during late Quaternary in the middle Bengal Fan

Digital Repository Service at National Institute of Oceanography (India)

Chauhan, O.S.; Vogelsang, E.

From a transact along 15˚N latitude in the middle Bengal Fan, temporal and spatial variations in the granulometric parameters and clay minerals in 14C dated box cores from the eastern, the central and the western regions were studied to determine...

The extraction behaviour of the Rose Bengal labelled with 131I in the presence of cationic surfactants

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Lengyel, J.; Krtil, J.; Kuban, V.

1989-01-01

The extraction behaviour of the Rose Bengal in the presence of not only Septonex, but also other cationic surfactants (cetyltrimethylammonium bromide, cetylpyridinium bromide) was studied. The extraction constants of the ion associates of the Rose Bengal with cationic surfactants were determined radiometrically with the aid of Rose Bengal labelled with 131 I. (author) 8 refs.; 1 tab

Wind Atlas of Bay of Bengal with Satellite Wind Measurement

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Nadi, Navila Rahman

footstep towards offshore wind energy analysis for this region. Generally, it is difficult to find offshore wind data relative to the wind turbine hub heights, therefore a starting point is necessary to identify the possible wind power density of the region. In such scenario, Synthetic aperture radars (SAR......The objective of this study is to obtain appropriate offshore location in the Bay of Bengal, Bangladesh for further development of wind energy. Through analyzing the previous published works, no offshore wind energy estimation has been found here. That is why, this study can be claimed as the first......) have proven useful. In this study, SAR based dataset- ENVISAT ASAR has been used for Wind Atlas generation. Furthermore, a comparative study has been performed with Global Wind Atlas (GWA) to determine a potential offshore wind farm. Additionally, the annual energy production of that offshore windfarm...

A comparative study of vertical stabilities in the Arabian sea and Bay of Bengal

Digital Repository Service at National Institute of Oceanography (India)

Sastry, J.S.; Rao, D.P.

Stabilities in the upper 300 m in the Arabian Sea and the Bay of Bengal are computed and presented seasonwise. The water column in the Bay of Bengal is more strongly stratified than that in the Arabian Sea. These studies suggest that the vertical...

Morphological features in the Bay of Bengal

Digital Repository Service at National Institute of Oceanography (India)

Sarma, K.V.L.N.S.; Ramana, M.V.; Subrahmanyam, V.; Krishna, K.S.; Ramprasad, T.; Desa, M.

history of the Fan. After India's soft collision with the Eurasian plate, these events may have played a critical role in shaping various morphological features since late Eocene in the Bay of Bengal. The present 12 kHz Echo sounder data collected along...

Total petroleum hydrocarbon in the tissues of some commercially important fishes of the Bay of Bengal.

Science.gov (United States)

Ansari, Zakir A; Desilva, Classy; Badesab, Shahin

2012-11-01

The present study reports the level of total petroleum hydrocarbon (TPH) in 27 commercially important fish, crustaceans and cephalopods from Orissa coast, Bay of Bengal to provide the baseline data for oil contamination in marine biota. The results showed significant differences in the TPH concentration in different species. Of all fish, Carangoides malabaricus showed the maximum TPH level (av. 13.70 μg g(-1)). In cephalopods, Loligo recorded the maximum TPH (av. 14.87 μg g(-1)) while Metapenaeus dobsoni recorded the maximum TPH (av. 13.18 μg g(-1)) among crustaceans. The concentration of TPH recorded in the present study were higher than the reported values from other studies in Bay of Bengal but were comparable with those of other Indian coast and Gulf water. The species recording maximum concentration and giving significant correlation coefficient may be of interest in oil pollution monitoring and can be used as indicator of hydrocarbon pollution in the region. Copyright © 2012 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Evaluation of the sustainability of deep groundwater as an arsenic-safe resource in the Bengal Basin

OpenAIRE

Michael, Holly A.; Voss, Clifford I.

2008-01-01

Tens of millions of people in the Bengal Basin region of Bangladesh and India drink groundwater containing unsafe concentrations of arsenic. This high-arsenic groundwater is produced from shallow (150 m where groundwater arsenic concentrations are nearly uniformly low, and many more wells are needed, however, the sustainability of deep, arsenic-safe groundwater has not been previously assessed. Deeper pumping could induce downward migration of dissolved arsenic, permanently destroying the dee...

Lithogenic fluxes in the Bay of Bengal measured by sediment traps

Digital Repository Service at National Institute of Oceanography (India)

Ramaswamy, V.; VijayKumar, B.; Parthiban, G.; Ittekkot, V.; Nair, R.R.

-Sea Research I, Vol. 44, No. 5, pp. 793410, 1997 0 1997 Elsevier Science Ltd PII: S0967-0637(96)00117-3 All tights reserved. Printed in Great Britain 09674x37/97 917.00+0.00 Lithogenic fluxes in the Bay of Bengal measured by sediment traps V. RAMASWAMY,* B... of amorphous silica in marine sediments. Journal of Sedimentary Petrology, 50, 215-225. Emmel, F. J. and Curray, J. R. (1984) The Bengal submarine fan, northeastern Indian Ocean. Geo-Marine Letters, 3, 119-124. Goldberg, E. D. and Griffin, J. J. (1970...

Waves off Gopalpur, northern Bay of Bengal during cyclone Phailin.

Digital Repository Service at National Institute of Oceanography (India)

Amrutha, M.M.; SanilKumar, V.; Anoop, T.R.; Nair, T.M.B.; Nherakkol, A.; Jeyakumar, C.

, 1073–1083, 2014 www.ann-geophys.net/32/1073/2014/ doi:10.5194/angeo-32-1073-2014 © Author(s) 2014. CC Attribution 3.0 License. Waves off Gopalpur, northern Bay of Bengal during Cyclone Phailin M. M. Amrutha1, V. Sanil Kumar1, T. R. Anoop1, T. M..., 1073–1083, 2014 www.ann-geophys.net/32/1073/2014/ M. M. Amrutha et al.: Waves off Gopalpur, northern Bay of Bengal during Cyclone Phailin 1075 Figure 1. Track of the Cyclone Phailin from 8 October 2013 03:00 UTC to 13 October 2013 06:00 UTC. S(f )= αg 2...

MEASUREMENT OF SURFACE SOLAR UV-B RADIATION AT TROPICAL COASTAL STATION BAKKHALI IN WEST BENGAL, INDIA

OpenAIRE

R. BHATTACHARYA; A. BHOUMICK

2012-01-01

Surface solar ultraviolet irradiance has been measured at Bakkhali (21.8ºN, 87.8ºE), a tropical rural station on the coast of Bay of Bengal, India in West Bengal. The measurements show a remarkable variation in UV-B load exists with a peak value at noon. The blockage of direct UV radiation in mangrove forest of costal site appears low when compared with UV load beneath the multiple trees of Mangifera indica in an inland site of Kalyani (22058' N, 88028' E), West Bengal. Mangrove forests have ...

Forcing mechanisms of the Bay of Bengal circulation

Digital Repository Service at National Institute of Oceanography (India)

Vinayachandran, P.N.; Shetye, S.R.; Sengupta, D.; Gadgil, S.

A state-of-the-art ocean general circulation model, set up for the North Indian Ocean and driven by climatological wind stress simulates most of the observed features of the near-surface circulation of the Bay of Bengal. The prominent features...

Tiger, Bengal and Domestic Cat Embryos Produced by Homospecific and Interspecific Zona-Free Nuclear Transfer.

Science.gov (United States)

Moro, L N; Jarazo, J; Buemo, C; Hiriart, M I; Sestelo, A; Salamone, D F

2015-10-01

The aim of this study was to evaluate three different cloning strategies in the domestic cat (Felis silvestris) and to use the most efficient to generate wild felid embryos by interspecific cloning (iSCNT) using Bengal (a hybrid formed by the cross of Felis silvestris and Prionailurus bengalensis) and tiger (Panthera tigris) donor cells. In experiment 1, zona-free (ZP-free) cloning resulted in higher fusion and expanded blastocyst rates with respect to zona included cloning techniques that involved fusion or injection of the donor cell. In experiment 2, ZP-free iSCNT and embryo aggregation (2X) were assessed. Division velocity and blastocyst rates were increased by embryo aggregation in the three species. Despite fewer tiger embryos than Bengal and cat embryos reached the blastocyst stage, Tiger 2X group increased the percentage of blastocysts with respect to Tiger 1X group (3.2% vs 12.1%, respectively). Moreover, blastocyst cell number was almost duplicated in aggregated embryos with respect to non-aggregated ones within Bengal and tiger groups (278.3 ± 61.9 vs 516.8 ± 103.6 for Bengal 1X and Bengal 2X groups, respectively; 41 vs 220 ± 60 for Tiger 1X and Tiger 2X groups, respectively). OCT4 analysis also revealed that tiger blastocysts had higher proportion of OCT4-positive cells with respect to Bengal blastocysts and cat intracytoplasmic sperm injection blastocysts. In conclusion, ZP-free cloning has improved the quality of cat embryos with respect to the other cloning techniques evaluated and was successfully applied in iSCNT complemented with embryo aggregation. © 2015 Blackwell Verlag GmbH.

An Intrathermocline Eddy and a tropical cyclone in the Bay of Bengal

Science.gov (United States)

Gordon, Arnold L.; Shroyer, Emily; Murty, V. S. N.

2017-04-01

The Bay of Bengal, subjected to monsoonal forcing and tropical cyclones, displays a complex field of ocean eddies. On 5 December 2013 a sub-surface vortex or Intrathermocline Eddy (ITE) composed of water characteristic of the Andaman Sea was observed within the thermocline of the western Bay of Bengal. We propose that the ITE was the product of Tropical Cyclone Lehar interaction on 27 November 2013 with a westward propagating surface eddy from the eastern Bay of Bengal. While Lehar’s interaction with the ocean initially removes heat from the upper layers of the eddy, air-sea flux is limited as the deeper portions of the eddy was subducted into the stratified thermocline, inhibiting further interaction with the atmosphere. The ITE core from 30 to 150 m is thus isolated from local air-sea fluxes by strong stratification at the mixed layer base, and its periphery is stable to shear instability, suggestive of longevity and the ability to carry water far distances with minimal modification.

Magnetic basement in the central Bay of Bengal

Digital Repository Service at National Institute of Oceanography (India)

Sarma, K.V.L.N.S.; Ramana, M.V.; Ramprasad, T.; Desa, M.; Subrahmanyam, V.; Krishna, K.S.; Rao, M.M.M.

Analyses of about 6000 km of processed magnetic data in the central Bay of Bengal using Analytical Signal Processing and Werner Deconvolution techniques revealed that the depth to top of the magnetic basement varies between 5 and 12 km from the sea...

Bay of Bengal Process Studies (BOBPS) Final Report

Digital Repository Service at National Institute of Oceanography (India)

PrasannaKumar, S.; Sardessai, S.; Ramaiah, N.; Bhosle, N.B.; Ramaswamy, V.; Ramesh, R.; Sharada, M.K.; Sarin, M.M.; Sarupria, J.S.; Muraleedharan, U.

E, and 4 were along western boundary - were covered. In all 35 parameters were measured. Several new insights are emerging out of the BOBPS data analysis. We now understand why Bay of Bengal is a biologically low productive basin. This is largely due...

Acid-base, optical and extraction properties of Rose Bengal in the presence of surfactants

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Lengyel, J.; Krtil, J.; Kuban, V.

1989-01-01

Changes in the optical and acid-base characteristics of Rose Bengal in the presence of cationic (Septones - SPX, hexadecyltrimethylammonium bromide - CTMAB and hexadecylpyridinium bromide - CPB), anionic (sodium dodecylsuulfate - SDS) and nonionic (Triton X-100) surfactants in submicellar and micellar concentrations were studied spectrophotometrically. The conditional dissociation constants of Rose Bengal pK ai * depend on the kind and concentration of cationic surfactant. Changes in pK ai * values are described in terms of formation of ion associates of the dye with the surfactant of the composition QHB and Q 2 B. The extraction constants of the ion associates in chloroform were determined radiometrically with the aid of Rose Bengal labelled with 131 I. (author). 4 figs., 3 tabs., 22 refs

Extraction method for the determination of inorganic iodides in Rose Bengal labelled with 131I

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Lengyel, J.; Krtil, J.; Vecernik, J.

1982-01-01

An extraction method for the determination of inorganic iodides in Rose Bengal preparations labelled with 131 I is described. The method is based on the quantitative extraction of Rose Bengal into chloroform from acidic medium while the inorganic iodides remain in the aqueous phase. The method is simple, rapid, and reproducible. (author)

An intrathermocline eddy and a tropical cyclone in the Bay of Bengal

Digital Repository Service at National Institute of Oceanography (India)

Gordon, A.L.; Shroyer, E.; Murty, V.S.N.

RepoRts | 7:46218 | DOI: 10.1038/srep46218 www.nature.com/scientificreports An Intrathermocline Eddy and a tropical cyclone in the Bay of Bengal Arnold L. Gordon1, Emily Shroyer2 & V. S. N. Murty3 The Bay of Bengal, subjected to monsoonal forcing..., India. Correspondence and requests for materials should be addressed to A.L.G. (email: agordon@ldeo.columbia.edu) Received: 17 October 2016 Accepted: 13 March 2017 Published: 12 April 2017 OPEN www.nature.com/scientificreports/ 2Scientific RepoRts | 7...

Late Quaternary sedimentation in eastern Bay of Bengal

Digital Repository Service at National Institute of Oceanography (India)

Chauhan, O.S; Mascarenhas, A; Paropkari, A; Rao, Ch.M.

This study presents variations in various size measures, calcium carbonate, organic carbon, clay mineralogy and major and trace elements in a core (5.40 m long, 2713 m depth) from the eastern Bay of Bengal. On a CM diagram, the sediments of the core...

Geochemistry of ferromanganese micronodules and associated Mn and trace metals diagenesis at high terrigenous depositional site of middle fan region, Bay of Bengal

Digital Repository Service at National Institute of Oceanography (India)

Chauhan, O

The influence of sedimentation on the morphology, growth and geochemistry of the micronodules, and on Mn enrichment in the sediments of the Bay of Bengal has been evaluated. Mn accumulation is 307-219 mg cm u2 kyr u-1 in cores having 20-17 cm kyr u...

Future trends in urbanization and coastal water pollution in the Bay of Bengal: the lived experience

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Zinia, N.J.; Kroeze, C.

2015-01-01

The Bay of Bengal includes coastal seas of several countries, including Bangladesh, India, and Myanmar. We present scenarios for future river export of eutrophying nutrients into the Bay of Bengal, and the role of urbanization therein. We used NEWS (Nutrient Export from WaterSheds) model to analyze

A first note on Japanese encephalitis virus isolation from Culex quinquefasciatus Say in Northern West Bengal.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

V. Thenmozhi

2014-03-01

Full Text Available Japanese encephalitis (JE is endemic in many parts of India including the state of West Bengal. In West Bengal, the first major outbreaks of JE occurred in the districts of Bankura and Burdwan in 1973. The Culex vishnui subgroup of mosquitoes has been implicated as major vectors of JE. However in India, JE virus (JEV has been isolated from 16 species of mosquitoes. During September 2011, JE cases were reported from four districts -Jalpaiguri, Darjeeling, Dinajpur and Cooch Behar of West Bengal (North. Adult mosquitoes were collected, identified, pooled and screened for JEV using antigen capture ELISA. Out of 279 mosquito pools tested, one pool of Cx. pseudovishnui and three pools of Cx. quinquefasciatus were found positive for JEV. The ELISA positive pools were further confirmed as JEV by insect bioassay (Toxo-IFA. Two pools of Cx. quinquefasciatus were confirmed as JEV. This represents the first report of JEV isolation from Cx. quinquefasciatus in West Bengal.

Salt balance and mixing in the Bay of Bengal

Digital Repository Service at National Institute of Oceanography (India)

Varkey, M.J.

Basic fields of temperature salinity, density and currents in the Bay of Bengal are investigated using data archieved at the National Oceanographic Data Centre (NODC) Washington, D.C. and the Indian National Oceanographic Data Centre (INODC...

Study of high-resolution satellite geoid and gravity anomaly data over the Bay of Bengal

Digital Repository Service at National Institute of Oceanography (India)

Majumdar, T. J.; Krishna, K.S.; Chatterjee, S.; Bhattacharya, R.; Michael, L.

research vessels. Solid line shows location of the profile along which interpreted seismic results and var i- ous products of satellite gravity data are shown in Fi gure 4. RESEARCH COMMUNICATIONS CURRENT SCIENCE, VOL. 90, NO. 2 , 25 JANUARY 2006... depth le v els. Location o f the profile is shown with solid line in Figure 3. of the Bay of Bengal can be reasonably co n sidered in mapping the structural features of the region. Thereby the results can be used to study the tectonics...

Past and present status of the Indian Tiger in northern West Bengal, India: an overview

OpenAIRE

J.K. Mallick

2010-01-01

Changes in the distribution range and the estimates of Tiger (Panthera tigris) populations in northern West Bengal from the late 19th century to 2009 were examined in detail. According to a 2004 census there were 70 tigers in the region, while a 2008 estimate put the number at 8-12. The tiger survives only in protected areas of terai and duars extending over about 1000km2 of Buxa, Jaldapara, Neora Valley and Mahananda, the Panighat and Bamanpokhri Ranges of Kurseong Division and the Chilapata...

Nitrous oxide in the western Bay of Bengal

Digital Repository Service at National Institute of Oceanography (India)

Naqvi, S.W.A.; Jayakumar, D; Nair, M.; DileepKumar, M.; George, M.D

Extensive observations on nitrous oxide (N@d2@@O) in the atmosphere and waters of the western Bay of Bengal during March-April 1991 yield surface saturations and atmospheric fluxes ranging from 89.3 to 213.9% (mean 125.2%), and from 0.10 to 10...

Surface layer temperature inversion in the Bay of Bengal

Digital Repository Service at National Institute of Oceanography (India)

Pankajakshan, T.; Gopalakrishna, V.V.; Muraleedharan, P.M.; Reddy, G.V.; Araligidad, N.

Hydrographic and XBT data archived in the Indian Oceanographic Data Centre (IODC) are used to understand the process of temperature inversions occurring in the Bay of Bengal. The following aspects of the inversions are addressed: i) annual...

Surface layer temperature inversion in the Bay of Bengal

Digital Repository Service at National Institute of Oceanography (India)

Pankajakshan, T.; Gopalakrishna, V.V.; Muraleedharan, P.M.; Reddy, G.V.; Araligidad, N.; Shenoy, Shrikant

Surface layer temperature inversion occurring in the Bay of Bengal has been addressed. Hydrographic data archived in the Indian Oceanographic Data Center are used to understand various aspects of the temperature inversion of surface layer in the Bay...

Circulation and geostrophic transport in the Bay of Bengal

Digital Repository Service at National Institute of Oceanography (India)

Rao, D.P.; Murty, V.S.N.

Utilising the hydrographic data collected during the early northeast monsoon of 1983 and southwest monsoon of 1984, the circulation of waters of the Bay of Bengal and the associated volume transport have been studied in the upper 1000 m...

Chronic arsenic toxicity in Bangladesh and West Bengal, India--a review and commentary.

Science.gov (United States)

Rahman, M M; Chowdhury, U K; Mukherjee, S C; Mondal, B K; Paul, K; Lodh, D; Biswas, B K; Chanda, C R; Basu, G K; Saha, K C; Roy, S; Das, R; Palit, S K; Quamruzzaman, Q; Chakraborti, D

2001-01-01

Fifty districts of Bangladesh and 9 districts in West Bengal, India have arsenic levels in groundwater above the World Health Organization's maximum permissible limit of 50 microg/L. The area and population of 50 districts of Bangladesh and 9 districts in West Bengal are 118,849 km2 and 104.9 million and 38,865 km2 and 42.7 million, respectively. Our current data show arsenic levels above 50 microg/ L in 2000 villages, 178 police stations of 50 affected districts in Bangladesh and 2600 villages, 74 police stations/blocks of 9 affected districts in West Bengal. We have so far analyzed 34,000 and 101,934 hand tube-well water samples from Bangladesh and West Bengal respectively by FI-HG-AAS of which 56% and 52%, respectively, contained arsenic above 10 microg/L and 37% and 25% arsenic above 50 microg/L. In our preliminary study 18,000 persons in Bangladesh and 86,000 persons in West Bengal were clinically examined in arsenic-affected districts. Of them, 3695 (20.6% including 6.11% children) in Bangladesh and 8500 (9.8% including 1.7% children) in West Bengal had arsenical dermatological features. Symptoms of chronic arsenic toxicity developed insidiously after 6 months to 2 years or more of exposure. The time of onset depends on the concentration of arsenic in the drinking water, volume of intake, and the health and nutritional status of individuals. Major dermatological signs are diffuse or spotted melanosis, leucomelanosis, and keratosis. Chronic arsenicosis is a multisystem disorder. Apart from generalized weakness, appetite and weight loss, and anemia, our patients had symptoms relating to involvement of the lungs, gastrointestinal system, liver, spleen, genitourinary system, hemopoietic system, eyes, nervous system, and cardiovascular system. We found evidence of arsenic neuropathy in 37.3% (154 of 413 cases) in one group and 86.8% (33 of 38 cases) in another. Most of these cases had mild and predominantly sensory neuropathy. Central nervous system involvement

Origins of Eddy Kinetic Energy in the Bay of Bengal

Science.gov (United States)

Chen, Gengxin; Li, Yuanlong; Xie, Qiang; Wang, Dongxiao

2018-03-01

By analyzing satellite observational data and ocean general circulation model experiments, this study investigates the key processes that determine the spatial distribution and seasonality of intraseasonal eddy kinetic energy (EKE) within the Bay of Bengal (BOB). It is revealed that a complicated mechanism involving both local and remote wind forcing and ocean internal instability is responsible for the generation and modulation of EKE in this region. High-level EKE mainly resides in four regions: east of Sri Lanka (Region 1), the western BOB (Region 2), northwest of Sumatra (Region 3), and the coastal rim of the BOB (Region 4). The high EKE levels in Regions 1 and 2 are predominantly produced by ocean internal instability, which contributes 90% and 79%, respectively. Prominent seasonality is also observed in these two regions, with higher EKE levels in boreal spring and fall due to enhanced instability of the East Indian Coast Current and the Southwest Monsoon Current, respectively. In contrast, ocean internal instability contributes 49% and 52% of the total EKE in Regions 3 and 4, respectively, whereas the atmospheric forcing of intraseasonal oscillations (ISOs) also plays an important role. ISOs produce EKE mainly through wind stress, involving both the remote effect of equatorial winds and the local effect of monsoonal winds. Equatorial-origin wave signals significantly enhance the EKE levels in Regions 3 and 4, in the form of reflected Rossby waves and coastal Kelvin waves, respectively. The local wind forcing effect through Ekman pumping also has a significant contribution in Regions 3 and 4 (24% and 22%, respectively).

Simultaneous /sup 99m/Tc-p-butyl-IDA and 131I-rose bengal scintigraphy in neonatal jaundice

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Collier, B.D.; Treves, S.; Davis, M.A.; Heyman, S.; Subramanian, G.; McAfee, J.G.

1980-01-01

Eight neonates with jaundice were studied simultaneously with /sup 99m/Tc-p-butyl-IDA and 131 I-rose bengal. Due to physical decay, /sup 99m/Tc-p-butyl-IDA failed to demonstrate delayed excretion through the patent extrahepatic biliary tract in 3 of 5 patients with concomitant hepatitis; 131 I-rose bengal showed small-bowel activity in all 5. Neither agent demonstrated small-bowel activity in 3 neonates with extrahepatic biliary atresia. Based on this clinical trial, 131 I-rose bengal remains the radiopharmaceutical of choice for distinguishing between hepatitis and biliary atresia in these patients

DDT residues in sediments from the Bay of Bengal

Digital Repository Service at National Institute of Oceanography (India)

Sarkar, A.; SenGupta, R.

in the sediments from the Bay of Bengal. Peterson grab and hydrographic winch was used to collect the sediment samples. Each sample was extracted and cleaned. Residues were detected by electron capture gas chromatography. A range variation in the concentration...

DETECTION OF CLASSICAL SWINE FEVER VIRUS BY RT-PCR IN WEST BENGAL, INDIA

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Sumit Chowdhury

2016-12-01

Full Text Available Classical swine fever is a deadly disease of swine, caused by a RNA virus. The present study has identified presence of the classical swine fever virus (CSFV in pigs of West Bengal by one step reverse transcriptase PCR (RT-PCR performed using 5’ NTR specific primers. Internal organs from clinically affected pigs were examined from three districts of West Bengal. RT-PCT has identified presence of CSFV in all the tissues examined confirming presence of CSFV in different parts of the state.

Intensification of Aila (May 2009) due to a warm core eddy in the north Bay of Bengal

Digital Repository Service at National Institute of Oceanography (India)

Sadhuram, Y.; Maneesha, K.; Murty, T.V.R.

A very severe cyclonic storm "Aila" hit West Bengal on 26 May 2009. The storm intensified when it encountered with a warm core (SST = 31 degrees C) anti-cyclonic eddy (ACE4) in the north Bay of Bengal. The storm intensity increased by 43 percent due...

Numerical simulation of mesoscale surface pressure features with trailing stratiform squall lines using WRF -ARW model over Gangetic West Bengal region

Science.gov (United States)

Dawn, Soma; Satyanarayana, A. N. V.

2018-01-01

In the present study, an attempt has been made to investigate the simulation of mesoscale surface pressure patterns like pre-squall mesolow, mesohigh and wake low associated with leading convective line-trailing stratiform (TS) squall lines over Gangetic West Bengal (GWB). For this purpose, a two way interactive triple nested domain with high resolution WRF model having2 km grid length in the innermost domain is used. The model simulated results are compared with the available in-situ observations obtained as a part of Severe Thunderstorm: Observations and Regional Modeling (STORM) programme, reflectivity products of Doppler Weather Radar (DWR) Kolkata and TRMM rainfall. Three TS squall lines (15 May 2009, 5 May 2010 and 7 May 2010) are chosen during pre-monsoon thunderstorm season for this study. The model simulated results of diurnal variation of temperature, relative humidity, wind speed and direction at the station Kharagpur in GWB region reveal a sudden fall in temperature, increase in the amount of relative humidity and sudden rise in wind speed during the arrival of the storms. Such results are well comparable with the observations though there are some leading or lagging of time in respect of actual occurrences of such events. The study indicates that the model is able to predict the occurrences of three typical surface pressure features namely: pre-squall mesolow, meso high and wake low. The predicted surface parameters like accumulated rainfall, maximum reflectivity and vertical profiles (temperature, relative humidity and winds) are well accorded with the observations. The convective and stratiform precipitation region of the TS squall lines are well represented by the model. A strong downdraft is observed to be a contributory factor for formation of mesohigh in the convective region of the squall line. Wake low is observed to reside in the stratiform rain region and the descending dry air at this place has triggered the wake low through adiabatic

Primary production in the Bay of Bengal during August 1977

Digital Repository Service at National Institute of Oceanography (India)

Devassy, V.P.; Bhattathiri, P.M.A.; Radhakrishna, K.

Primary production, chlorophyll @ia@@, phaeophytin, phytoplankton and particulate organic carbon (POC) were studied at 14 stations in the Bay of Bengal during August 1977. Column primary production, chlorophyll @ia@@, and phaeopigments varied from 0...

Local Sustainable Energy Assessment of Uttarakhand and West Bengal

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Andersen, Jan; Lund, Søren

The publication reports a sustainable energy assessment at the local project site of the HighARCS project in Nainital, Uttarakhand and Buxa, West Bengal, India. The assessment has been made as a contribution to the elaboration of biodiversity conservation and livelihoods improvement action plans...

Rose bengal-sensitized nanocrystalline ceria photoanode for dye ...

Indian Academy of Sciences (India)

The bandgap of 2.93 eV is calculated using UV–visible ... Keywords. Wide bandgap; dye-sensitized solar cells; CeO2; rose bengal dye. 1. ... and renewable energy, its high-cost production and installa- tion excludes direct commercial use. It is an urgent require- .... surface leads to oxygen vacancies and defects, whose influ-.

Source of marine turbidites on the Andaman-Nicobar Islands: Nicobar Fan, Bengal Fan or paleo-Irrawaddy?

Science.gov (United States)

Carter, A.

2017-12-01

Marine turbidites from an axially fed submarine fan are intermittently exposed across the entire chain of the Andaman-Nicobar Islands. Known as the Andaman Flysch (AF) and loosely assigned to the Paleogene, it has been proposed that these rocks are sourced from the Himalaya and thus provide a unique window into early stages of orogenesis. Where the turbidites came from has been subject to debate; they are either Bengal Fan or forearc deposits cut off from the Bengal Fan and possibly sourced from the Irrawaddy delta. Following recent IODP drilling in the eastern Indian Ocean (Expeditions 354 and 362) it is now possible resolve this by comparing the provenance of AF turbidites with the Bengal and Nicobar Fans. The Andaman Flysch can be traced as detached outcrops all along the western side of the main islands of Andaman over a strike length of more than 200 km. Exposures along the east coast are confined to South Andaman Island. Petrographic and geochemical data show a common continental crust signal with minor contributions from arc material. But, there are also differences whereby west coast sandstones show significantly higher quartz content and less feldspars and rock fragments. Staurolite is also present in all samples from the western side, but is absent from east coast samples. Both detrital zircon U-Pb and Bulk rock Nd data record the presence of arc material likely from Myanmar. Detrital zircon data from the Nicobar Fan match the Andaman turbidites and indicate sources from the Greater and Tethyan Himalaya mixed with sediment from the Burmese arc. Transfer of Irrawaddy derived sediment to the Nicobar Fan is ruled out as sediment transfer across the fore-arc to the west was restricted by the then exposed Yadana and M8 highs in the north and the Sewell and Alcock Rises to the south. Sediment isopachs of the Martaban back arc basin, the main north-south-oriented depocentre in the Andaman Sea related to the development of the Thanlwin -Irrawaddy delta system

Canonical sound speed profile for the central Bay of Bengal

Digital Repository Service at National Institute of Oceanography (India)

Murty, T.V.R.; PrasannaKumar, S.; Somayajulu, Y.K.; Sastry, J.S.; De Figueiredo, R.J.P.

Following Munk's canonical theory, an algorithm has been presented for computing sound channel parameters in the western and southern Bay of Bengal. The estimated canonical sound speed profile using these parameters has been compared with computed...

Spatial Association of Wetlands over Physical Variants in Barind Tract of West Bengal, India.

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Rajeb Tarani Das

2016-07-01

Full Text Available Abstract: Barind tract of west Bengal is an uplifted old alluvial plain area where only <1 percent area is covered by wetland. Present paper concentrates on general understanding of wetland association with different geographical settings like geological, geomorphological lithological structure and altitudinal gradations. Detail investigation reveals that geological and morphological structure do not have deep influence on wetland formation and their distribution in particular favourable sub-region. But altitudinal control on wetland is noticeable. An irregular distribution of wetland is found throughout the region because of multi parametric influence on it. In recent decades wetlands in barind tract has been undergoing into rapid loss. Continuous encroachment of agricultural field and newly built-up area to wetland are considered as main causes of wetland loss in barind tract.

Variability of resistance in Black Bengal goats naturally infected with Haemonchus contortus.

Science.gov (United States)

Kumar, Ratnesh; Ranjan, Sanjeev; Vishnu, P Guru; Negi, Mamta; Senapati, P K; Charita, V Gnani

2015-03-01

A total 290 Black Bengal goats (6 buck, 109 doe and 175 kids born from 11 sires) were studied to evaluate the variability of resistance in Black Bengal goats naturally infected with Haemonchus contortus. The variability of resistance in Black Bengal goat was studied for both genetic and non-genetic factors like village, sex, age dam, sire, dam resistance group and offspring resistance group. Male kids have slightly higher resistance than female kids although it was not significant. Resistance of kids was increased as age increases and kid population showed significantly different resistance status among the offspring resistant groups. The doe population showed significantly different LEPG as per the resistance group in all the collections. The present study found that the resistance of kids under sire were varied significantly and observed that the kids under sire 1, 6-8 were significantly more resistant than the kids of the sire 2, 5 and 11 in 3rd collection and it is also noticed that maternal genetic effect has a very little impact on resistance of kids. Males (buck) were most resistant and the kids were least resistant and the resistance of dam was in between the male and kids population.

Extraction of Rose Bengal into chloroform

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Lengyel, J.; Vecernik, J.; Krtil, J.

1982-01-01

The paper describes the extraction of Rose Bengal (RB)into chloroform. A radiometric method with the aid of 131 Ilabelled RB was used. The efficiency of the extraction in dependence on pH and RB concentration was studied. For the interpretation of the extraction data the values of pK 1 and pK 2 of RB were determined spectrophotometrical-ly and potentiometrically. A mechanism for the RB extraction into chloroform on the basis of IR measurements is proposed. (author)

River inputs and organic matter fluxes in the northern Bay of Bengal: Fatty acids

Digital Repository Service at National Institute of Oceanography (India)

Reemtsma, T.; Ittekkot, V.; Bartsch, M.; Nair, R.R

) 55-71 55 Elsevier Science Publishers B.V., Amsterdam \\[RA\\] River inputs and organic matter fluxes in the northern Bay of Bengal: fatty acids T. Reemtsma a, V. Ittekkot a, M. Bartsch a and R.R. Nair b alnstitut fiir Biogeochemie und Meereschemie..., R.R., 1993. River inputs and organic matter fluxes in the northern Bay of Bengal: fatty acids. Chem. Geol., 103: 55-71. Total particulate matter flux and organic carbon and fatty acid fluxes associated with settling particles collected during...

Preparation of Labelled I131 Rose-Bengal

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Mayani, Mbutyabo; Chabouri, Galaal.

1978-01-01

Rose bengal purified on a Sephadex G-25 column has been labelled with iodine-131. The exchange reaction has been undertaken in an ether - alcohol medium. The influence of different factors (iodine concentration, Psup(h), purity and chemical form of the substratum, reaction rate) on the labelling yield has been studied. Radiochemical yield of 90% have been obtained in some conditions instead of the normal 80% reported in the literature

A radiometric method for the determination of cationic detergents with the aid of Rose Bengal labelled with 131I

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Lengyel, J.; Krtil, J.; Vecernik, J.

1983-01-01

A novel radiometric method for the determination of cationic detergents represented by carbetoxypentadecyltrimethylammonium bromide (Septonex) is described. The method is based on the extraction of an ion associate Septonex-Rose Bengal from an alkaline medium into chloroform. Rose Bengal labelled with 131 I ( 131 I-RB) was used as a radioreagent. The 131 I activity in the extract is proportional to the cationic detergent concentration in the solution to be analyzed. The optimum conditions for the determination of Septonex were found and the composition of the extractable complexes Rose Bengal-Septonex was determined. (author)

Physical oceanography of the Bay of Bengal and Andaman Sea

Digital Repository Service at National Institute of Oceanography (India)

Varkey, M.J.; Murty, V.S.N.; Suryanarayana, A.

Physical oceanography of the Bay of Bengal and Andaman Sea is reviewed for the first time. All available information for over 50 years is consolidated in this review. To begin with, information on peripheral or related aspects of climate...

Measurement of inhomogeneous activity distribution in paper chromatography using 131I-labelled rose bengal

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Strietzel, M.

1976-01-01

The inhomogeneous activity distribution of 131 I-labelled rose bengal after paper chromatographic separation has been evaluated. Superposing autoradiograms obtained by different exposure times on the original strip, the fraction boundaries are transferred to the latter and cut out. The cuttings are measured in an automatic sample changer under constant geometrical conditions. The methodical error ranges from 5 to 10 per cent. This method was used to test the stability of 131 I-labelled rose bengal over a period of 4 to 5 half-lives

High yielding rice mutants for West Bengal

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Debnath, A.R.; Sen, S.

1980-01-01

Four high yielding mutants with specific genetic corrections of the simply inherited characters were developed from IR-8 through X-irradiation. Recurrent selections of the promising isolates were made under diverse agro-climatic conditions in Winter and Summer seasons of West Bengal. The isolates CNM 6 and CNM 25 belonging to early maturity group and CNM 20 and CNM 31, to mid-early maturity group were finally selected at X 5 generation on the basis of their resistance qualities, maturity period and grain yield. They were evaluated upto X 10 qeneration at multi-locations as Pre-release and Minikit Varieties at State level. They were also placed at the National Screening Nursery (NSN) for screening against multiple diseases and pests at the National level. CNM 6 is reported to be promising in IRTP nurseries. It is reported that CNM 25 (IET 5646) ranked 2nd on the basis of average grain yield, CNM 20 (IET 5937) and CNM 31 (IET 5936) were resistant to diseases and with yield comparable to Jaya. These four productive mutants of superior types are widely accepted. CNM 6 is recommended for cultivation in Bankura and Birbhum districts and CNM 25 and CNM 31 in the different agro-climatic zones of West Bengal. (author)

Influence of environmental settings on the prevalence of Trichodesmium spp. in the Bay of Bengal

Digital Repository Service at National Institute of Oceanography (India)

Hegde, S.; Anil, A.C.; Patil, J.S.; Mitbavkar, S.; Venkat, K.; Gopalakrishna, V.V.

) Influence of physical pro- cesses and freshwater discharge on the seasonality of phytoplankton regime in the Bay of Bengal. Cont Shelf Res 20:313–330 Gordon AL (2001) Interocean exchange. In: Sidler G, Church J, Gould J (eds) Ocean circulation and climate...: acanil@nio.org Influence of environmental settings on the prevalence of Trichodesmium spp. in the Bay of Bengal Sahana Hegde, Arga Chandrashekar Anil*, Jagadish S. Patil, Smita Mitbavkar, Venkat Krishnamurthy, Vissa V. Gopalakrishna National Institute...

Upwelling features near Sri Lanka in the Bay of Bengal

Digital Repository Service at National Institute of Oceanography (India)

ShreeRam, P.; Rao, L.V.G.

, the southwest monsoon in summer and the northeast monsoon in winter. The wind stress associated with these winds cause mass drift of oceanic waters leading to upwelling and downwelling. The upwelling features in the Bay of Bengal with a special mention about...

Wind-driven coastal upwelling along the western boundary of the Bay of Bengal during the southwest monsoon

Digital Repository Service at National Institute of Oceanography (India)

Shetye, S.R.; Shenoi, S.S.C.; Gouveia, A.D.; Michael, G.S.; Sundar, D.; Nampoothiri, G.

The western boundary regions of the world's oceans generally show the influence of remote forcing by the presence of a western boundary current. On the continental shelf off Florida, U.S.A., influence of the Gulf Stream is felt at locations as shallow as 75... upwelling on the Bay of Bengal 1403 ee" ~t 32 i i* Fig. 6. bo" , e.5, , , to" Salinity (ppt) at the surface. Dots indicate station locations. using available climatologies. The charts for 10-day mean ship-drift averaged over 1 ° x 1 ° given...

Particulate carbohydrate in the euphotic zone of the Bay of Bengal

Digital Repository Service at National Institute of Oceanography (India)

Bhosle, N; De; Shirodkar, P.V.; Reddy, C.V.G.

Particulate matter collected from the Bay of Bengal was analysed for carbohydrate and chlorophyll a. The distribution of chlorophyll a was different from that of carbohydrate. Chlorophyll a increased from north to south, whereas carbohydrate levels...

Biochemical composition and caloric potential of zooplankton from Bay of Bengal

Digital Repository Service at National Institute of Oceanography (India)

Sreepada, R.A.; Rivonker, C.U.; Parulekar, A.H.

Proximate composition and variations in protein, lipid, carbohydrate, ash and organic carbon in zooplankton from 42 stations in the Bay of Bengal are reported. Average percentages of moisture, protein, lipid, carbohydrate, ash and carbon were 85...

Is the biological productivity in the Bay of Bengal light limited?

Digital Repository Service at National Institute of Oceanography (India)

PrasannaKumar, S.; Narvekar, J.; Nuncio, M.; Kumar, A.; Ramaiah, N.; Sardessai, S.; Gauns, M.; Fernandes, V.; Paul, J.

Recent measurements of chlorophyll, primary productivity (PP) and nutrients along the central Bay of Bengal (BOB) during summer, fall and spring intermonsoons showed that the northern bay becomes less productive compared to the south in summer...

Climatic and anthropogenic factors changing spawning pattern and production zone of Hilsa fishery in the Bay of Bengal

OpenAIRE

M. Shohidullah Miah

2015-01-01

Hilsa (Tenualosa ilisha Hamilton) as a single species accounts 12% for more than half of the total marine catches. About 2% of the entire population of the country is directly or indirectly engaged with Hilsa fishing. Hilsa has a wide geographical distribution in Asia from the Persian Gulf to the South China Sea. Particularly large stocks are found in Upper Bay of Bengal (BoB) region sustained by the large river systems. The global Hilsa catch is reported 75% from Bangladesh water, 15% from M...

Seasonal and Intraseasonal Variability of Mesoscale Convective Systems over the South Asian Monsoon Region

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Virts, Katrina S.; Houze, Robert A.

2016-12-01

Seasonal and intraseasonal differences in mesoscale convective systems (MCSs) over South Asia are examined using A-Train satellites, a ground-based lightning network, and reanalysis fields. Pre-monsoon (April-May) MCSs occur primarily over Bangladesh and the eastern Bay of Bengal. During the monsoon (June-September), small MCSs occur over the Meghalaya Plateau and northeast Himalayan notch, while large and connected MCSs are most widespread over the Bay of Bengal. Monsoon MCSs produce less lightning and exhibit more extensive stratiform and anvil reflectivity structures in CloudSat observations than do pre-monsoon MCSs. During the monsoon season, Bay of Bengal and Meghalaya Plateau MCSs vary with the 30-60 day northward-propagating intraseasonal oscillation, while northeast Himalayan notch MCSs are associated with weak large-scale anomalies but locally enhanced CAPE. During intraseasonal active periods, a zone of enhanced large and connected MCSs, precipitation, and lightning extends from the northeastern Arabian Sea southeast over India and the Bay of Bengal, flanked by suppressed anomalies. Spatial variability is observed within this enhancement zone: lightning is most enhanced where MCSs are less enhanced, and vice versa. Reanalysis composites indicate that Bay of Bengal MCSs are associated with monsoon depressions, which are frequent during active monsoon periods, while Meghalaya Plateau MCSs are most frequent at the end of break periods, as anomalous southwesterly winds strengthen moist advection toward the terrain. Over both regions, MCSs exhibit more extensive stratiform and anvil regions and less lightning when the large-scale environment is moister, and vice versa.

Effect of carbon tetrachloride and Liv-52 on the clearance rate of 131I-Rose bengal in rat liver

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Dhawan, D.; Goel, A.; Karkara, K.

1991-01-01

131 I-Rose bengal clearance test has been immensely used for the clinical assessment of functional hepatic abnormalities. It has been observed that external collimated scintillation probe employing 131 I-Rose bengal is a rapid and less erroneous way of assessing polygonal cell function in liver. The present study demonstrates the protection of liver by Liv-52 from the deleterious effects of carbon tetrachloride (CCl 4 ) by determining the biological half-life of 131 I-Rose bengal in male albino rats. An increase in the biological half-life of the radio-iodinated dye was observed following CCl 4 intoxication which was reversed by Liv-52 treatment. (author). 15 refs., 2 tabs

Internal structure of the 85°E ridge, Bay of Bengal: Evidence for multiphase volcanism

Digital Repository Service at National Institute of Oceanography (India)

Ismaiel, M.; Krishna, K.S.; Srinivas, K.; Mishra, J.; Saha, D.

fragments 3 of Elan Bank and part of the present Kerguelen Plateau (Talwani et al., 2016). As a result, age of the oceanic floor in the Western Basin of the Bay of Bengal is older than the other parts. In southeastern quarter of the Bay of Bengal... interpreted as carbonate bank (Gopala Rao et al., 1997; Karuppuswamy, 2013), therefore, we too conjecture the lens shaped reflection free zone identified on our profiles as a carbonate bank, and this may have formed when the defunct volcanic structure...

Marine magnetic studies in the northern Bay of Bengal, preliminary results

Digital Repository Service at National Institute of Oceanography (India)

Ramana, M.V.; Subrahmanyam, V.; Krishna, K.S.; Chaubey, A.K.; Sarma, K.V.L.N.S.; Murty, G.P.S.; Murty, P.S.N.; Rao, D.G.; Mittal, G.S.; Drolia, R.K.

The bathymetric and total magnetic intensity data collected along six E-W tracks were analysed and presented as stacked anomaly profiles. A first order basement configuration model was generated across the Bay of Bengal. The model studies indicate...

Instantaneous radioiodination of rose bengal at room temperature and a cold-kit therefor. [DOE patent application

Science.gov (United States)

O'Brien, H. Jr.; Hupf, H.B.; Wanek, P.M.

The disclosure relates to the radioiodination of rose bengal at room temperature and a cold-kit therefor. A purified rose bengal tablet is stirred into acidified ethanol at or near room temperature, until a suspension forms. Reductant-free /sup 125/I/sup -/ is added and the resulting mixture stands until the exchange label reaction occurs at room temperature. A solution of sterile isotonic phosphate buffer and sodium hydroxide is added and the final resulting mixture is sterilized by filtration.

Diet of Bengal Tigers (Panthera tigris tigris in Chitwan National Park, Nepal

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Bhandari Shivish

2017-10-01

Full Text Available We studied the diet of the Bengal tigers (Panthera tigris tigris in Chitwan National Park, Nepal, by identifying 109 prey items from 85 tiger scats. Tigers in this region fed upon eight different mammal species. Chital (Axis axis was the major prey with a frequency of 45% of the Tigers’ diet. The occurrence of other prey species included sambar (Cervus unicolor, 23%, wild pig (Sus scrofa, 15%, hog deer (Axis porcinus, 9%, barking deer (Muntiacus muntjak, 4%, and gaur (Bos gaurus, 2%. Tigers also hunted livestock, but this prey comprised a small component of the relative biomass (buffalo 5% and cow 2%. Our study suggests that the tiger depends mostly upon wild prey for its subsistence in the Chitwan National Park, but will also sporadically hunt livestock.

Filamentous fungal population and species diversity from the continental slope of Bay of Bengal, India

Science.gov (United States)

Das, Surajit; Lyla, Parameswari Somasundharan; Khan, Syed Ajmal

2009-03-01

Filamentous fungal diversity from the sediments of the continental slope of Bay of Bengal was studied. Sediment samples were collected during two voyages in 2004 and 2005. Filamentous fungal population from both the cruises showed a range of 5.17-59.51 CFU/g and 3.47-29.68 CFU/g, respectively. Totally 16 fungal genera were recorded from both the cruises. Aspergillus was found to be the dominant genus and the overall percentage occurrence was as follows: Deuteromycotina 74%, Ascomycotina 17%, Basidiomycotina 4% and non-sporulating 5%. Diversity indices were calculated and during both the cruises species richness ( d) varied from 0.912 to 3.622 and 1.443 to 4.588; evenness ( J') varied from 0.9183 to 1.000 and 0.8322 to 1.000 and Shannon-Wiener index ( H' log 2) varied from 0.9183 to 1.000 and 1.000 to 3.690. The higher diversity was found in Divipoint transect (northern Bay of Bengal). 95% confidence interval and ellipse showed that the stations were well lying within the funnel. Cluster analysis and MDS grouped the northern transects which showed higher diversity. BVSTEP resulted in isolation of 23 species which were most influential in the marine filamentous fungal diversity of the continental slope of Bay of Bengal. Thus, a lower population range and higher diversity of marine filamentous marine fungi in the sediments of the continental slope of Bay of Bengal was recorded.

Detection of Bay of Bengal eddies from TOPEX and insitu observations

Digital Repository Service at National Institute of Oceanography (India)

Ali, M.M.; Sharma, R.; Gopalakrishna, V.V.

Oceanic eddies are characterised by gradients in the sea surface height (SSH) and temperature both at the surface and the subsurface. However, since the Bay of Bengal waters are more stratified, the gradients in SST may not develop though...

Numerical model for wind-driven circulation in the Bay of Bengal

Digital Repository Service at National Institute of Oceanography (India)

Bahulayan, N.; Varadachari, V.V.R.

Wind-driven circulation in the Bay of Bengal, generated by a southwest wind of constant speed (10 m.sec -1) and direction (225 degrees TN), is presented. A non-linear hydrodynamic model is used for the simulation of circulation. Numerical...

A first note on Japanese encephalitis virus isolation from Culex quinquefasciatus Say in Northern West Bengal.

OpenAIRE

V. Thenmozhi; T. Mariappan; R. Krishnamoorthy; R. Krishnamoorthi; T. Balaji; B. K. Tyagi; V. Thenmozhi

2014-01-01

Japanese encephalitis (JE) is endemic in many parts of India including the state of West Bengal. In West Bengal, the first major outbreaks of JE occurred in the districts of Bankura and Burdwan in 1973. The Culex vishnui subgroup of mosquitoes has been implicated as major vectors of JE. However in India, JE virus (JEV) has been isolated from 16 species of mosquitoes. During September 2011, JE cases were reported from four districts -Jalpaiguri, Darjeeling, Dinajpur and Cooch Behar of West Ben...

Incidence of Japanese Encephalitis among Acute Encephalitis Syndrome Cases in West Bengal, India

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Bhaswati Bandyopadhyay

2013-01-01

Full Text Available Background and Objectives. Japanese encephalitis (JE is the most important cause of acute and epidemic viral encephalitis. Every year sporadic JE cases are reported from the various districts of West Bengal, indicating its endemicity in this state. JE vaccination programme has been undertaken by the State Health Department of West Bengal. This study was aimed at seeing the present scenario of JE among acute encephalitis syndrome (AES cases in West Bengal. Materials and Methods. Blood and/or CSF samples were referred from suspected AES cases to the referral virology laboratory of the Calcutta School of Tropical Medicine from different hospitals of Kolkata. IgM antibody capture ELISA was performed on the CSF and serum samples by JE virus MAC ELISA kit supplied by the National Institute of Virology, Pune. Results. The present study reveals that 22.76% and 5% of the AES cases were positive for JE IgM in 2011 and 2012, respectively. JE is mainly prevalent in children and adolescents below 20 years of age with no gender predilection. Although the percentages of JE positive cases were high in 2011, it sharply decreased thereafter possibly due to better awareness programs, due to mass vaccination, or simply due to natural epidemiological niche periodicity due to herd immunity.

Lithosphere structure and upper mantle characteristics below the Bay of Bengal

Digital Repository Service at National Institute of Oceanography (India)

Rao, G.S.; Radhakrishna, M.; Sreejith, K.M.; Krishna, K.S.; Bull, J.M.

The oceanic lithosphere in the Bay of Bengal (BOB) formed 80-120 Ma following the breakup of eastern Gondwanaland. Since its formation, it has been affected by the emplacement of two long N-S trending linear aseismic ridges (85°E and Ninetyeast...

Petroleum hydrocarbon concentrations in eight mollusc species along Tamilnadu coast, Bay of Bengal, India.

Science.gov (United States)

Veerasingam, S; Venkatachalapathy, R; Sudhakar, S; Raja, P; Rajeswari, V

2011-01-01

Eight mollusc species and sediment samples collected from three different stations along Tamilnadu coast, Bay of Bengal, India were analysed for the levels of petroleum hydrocarbons to elucidate the status of the petroleum residues in mollusc meant for human consumption. The concentrations of petroleum hydrocarbons in sediments along Tamilnadu coast varied from 5.04-25.5 microg/g dw (dry weight). High concentration of petroleum hydrocarbons in the sediment of Uppanar estuary (25.5 +/- 1.45 microg/g dw) was perhaps land and marine based anthropogenic sources of this region. The petroleum hydrocarbon residues in eight mollusc species collected from Uppanar, Vellar and Coleroon estuaries varied between 2.44-6.04 microg/g ww (wet weight). Although the concentration of petroleum hydrocarbons in sediment of the Uppanar region was markedly higher than the background, the petroleum hydrocarbon residues in mollusc collected from Uppanar estuary did not suggest bioaccumulation. The results signified that industrial growth has affected the aquatic environments and regular monitoring will help to adopt stringent pollution control measures for better management of the aquatic region.

New technique using [125I]labeled rose bengal for the quantification in blood samples of pipecuronium bromide, a muscle relaxant drug

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Schopfer, C.; Benakis, A.; Pittet, J.-F.; Tassonyi, E.

1991-01-01

A new technique involving the use of [ 125 I]labeled rose bengal for the quantification of pipecuronium bromide (a muscle relaxant drug) is presented. This technique, which is based on the ability of rose bengal to react with pipecuronium and then form a complex which can be extracted into an organic solvent, involves two steps: the purification and labeling of rose bengal with 125 I, and the quantification of pipecuronium. The specific activity of the compound (106 μCi/mg) allows for the quantification of pipecuronium in biological samples at concentrations as low as 5 ng/ml. (author)

Iodate in inshore and offshore waters of Central Bay of Bengal

Digital Repository Service at National Institute of Oceanography (India)

Sarma, V.V.

Biological stripping of iodate in the surface waters is noticed in the inshore and offshore waters of Bay of Bengal. A good correlation is observed between iodate and phosphate and nitrate and the molar ratios determined being NO3: PO4: IO3 = 88...

Paleoceanographic history of the Lower Bengal Fan during the last glacial cycle - IODP Expedition 354

Science.gov (United States)

Dekens, P. S.; Weber, M. E.; Lantzsch, H.; Das, S. K.; Williams, T.; Adhikari, R. R.; Jia, G.; Fox, L. R.; Ge, J.; Manoj, M. C.; Savian, J. F.; Reilly, B. T.; Selkin, P. A.; Meynadier, L.; Spiess, V.; France-Lanord, C.; Sharma, B.

2015-12-01

IODP Expedition 354 drilled a ~320 km long transect of seven sites on the Lower Bengal Fan at 8o N in the Northern Indian Ocean. The sediments cores recovered record a complex relationship between turbiditic and hemipelagic environments. This variability offers a unique opportunity to link our understanding of tectonic and terrestrial processes with climate and oceanography. With the exception the westernmost Site U1454, all sites show a several meter thick, hemipelagic top layer, usually representing Late Quaternary sediment. We present physical, geochemical and stable isotopic properties of this interval to establish a time frame and assess the paleoceanographic development of the region during the last glacial cycle. We sampled Site U1452C-1H continuously for the uppermost 480 cm of hemipelagic sediment in 2-cm increments. Preliminary results indicate the Toba Ash 1 (0.74 ka) is a distinct time marker in all physical properties. Furthermore, wet-bulk density as well as color reflectance b* (the red-green component) and L* (the lightness) show a dominant precession cyclicity. Hence, we are able to provide an insolation-tuned chronology for the last 200 ka (MIS1 - 7) as a preliminary age model. These records agree well with d18O records retrieved from Chinese caves. We will present a preliminary paleoceanographic proxy data to reconstruct sea-surface temperature (SST), sea-surface salinity (SSS), ice volume, marine biological productivity, nutrient supply, and deep-water circulation. These oceanographic and climate conditions are linked to changes in monsoonal strength and terrestrial input using sedimentary proxies to reconstruct chemical weathering and sediment sources and transport time. This work addresses one of the primary cruise objectives - linking monsoon variability, regional and global climate, and Bay of Bengal sediment deposition.

Evaluation of regional fracture properties for groundwater ...

Indian Academy of Sciences (India)

lia district, West Bengal (India) were studied to find out the spatial pattern and consistency of such fracture ... Fracture networks have the potentiality to ... Regional scale groundwater development is important in ..... tory well sites, spatial distribution of hydrologi- ... in hard rocks: A case study from Sunnfjord, Western. Norway ...

Change in the intensity of low-salinity water inflow from the Bay of Bengal into the Eastern Arabian Sea from the Last Glacial Maximum to the Holocene: Implications for monsoon variations

Digital Repository Service at National Institute of Oceanography (India)

Mahesh, B.S.; Banakar, V.K.

A 100–400 km wide region of the coastal Eastern Arabian Sea (EAS), off the west-coast of India, is characterized by a low-salinity tongue formed by the inflow of low-salinity surface water from the Bay of Bengal (BoB). This low-salinity tongue...

Estimates of vertical velocities and eddy coefficients in the Bay of Bengal

Digital Repository Service at National Institute of Oceanography (India)

Varkey, M.J.; Sastry, J.S.

Vertical velocities and eddy coefficients in the intermediate depths of the Bay of Bengal are calculated from mean hydrographic data for 300 miles-squares. The linear current density (sigma- O) versus log-depth plots show steady balance between...

Distribution of calanoid copepods in the Arabian sea and Bay of Bengal

Digital Repository Service at National Institute of Oceanography (India)

Stephen, R.

The distribution of calanoid copepods from the northern Arabian Sea and Bay of Bengal is discussed in relation to thermocline. The inshore offshore zonation of a neritic, shelf an oceanic communities was traced based on the species composition...

Deriving local demand for stumpage from estimates of regional supply and demand.

Science.gov (United States)

Kent P. Connaughton; Gerard A. Majerus; David H. Jackson

1989-01-01

The local (Forest-level or local-area) demand for stumpage can be derived from estimates of regional supply and demand. The derivation of local demand is justified when the local timber economy is similar to the regional timber economy; a simple regression of local on nonlocal prices can be used as an empirical test of similarity between local and regional economies....

Lateral variation in crustal and mantle structure in Bay of Bengal based on surface wave data

Science.gov (United States)

Kumar, Amit; Mukhopadhyay, Sagarika; Kumar, Naresh; Baidya, P. R.

2018-01-01

Surface waves generated by earthquakes that occurred near Sumatra, Andaman-Nicobar Island chain and Sunda arc are used to estimate crustal and upper mantle S wave velocity structure of Bay of Bengal. Records of these seismic events at various stations located along the eastern coast of India and a few stations in the north eastern part of India are selected for such analysis. These stations lie within regional distance of the selected earthquakes. The selected events are shallow focused with magnitude greater than 5.5. Data of 65, 37, 36, 53 and 36 events recorded at Shillong, Bokaro, Visakhapatnam, Chennai and Trivandrum stations respectively are used for this purpose. The ray paths from the earthquake source to the recording stations cover different parts of the Bay of Bengal. Multiple Filtering Technique (MFT) is applied to compute the group velocities of surface waves from the available data. The dispersion curves thus obtained for this data set are within the period range of 15-120 s. Joint inversion of Rayleigh and Love wave group velocity is carried out to obtain the subsurface information in terms of variation of S wave velocity with depth. The estimated S wave velocity at a given depth and layer thickness can be considered to be an average value for the entire path covered by the corresponding ray paths. However, we observe variation in the value of S wave velocity and layer thickness from data recorded at different stations, indicating lateral variation in these two parameters. Thick deposition of sediments is observed along the paths followed by surface waves to Shillong and Bokaro stations. Sediment thickness keeps on decreasing as the surface wave paths move further south. Based on velocity variation the sedimentary layer is further divided in to three parts; on top lay unconsolidated sediment, underlain by consolidated sediment. Below this lies a layer which we consider as meta-sediments. The thickness and velocity of these layers decrease from north

Mesozooplankton production, grazing and respiration in the Bay of Bengal: Implications for net heterotrophy

Science.gov (United States)

Fernandes, Veronica; Ramaiah, N.

2016-03-01

Mesozooplankton samples were collected from the mixed layer along a central (along 88°E) and a western transect in the Bay of Bengal during four seasons covered between 2001 and 2006 in order to investigate spatio-temporal variability in their biomass. At these stations, grazing and respiration rates were measured from live zooplankton hauled in from the surface during December 2005. Akin to the mesozooplankton "paradox" in the central and eastern Arabian Sea, biomass in the mixed layer was more or less invariant in the central and western Bay of Bengal, even as the chl a showed marginal temporal variation. By empirical equation, the mesozooplankton production rate calculated to be 70-246 mg C m- 2 d- 1 is on par with the Arabian Sea. Contrary to the conventional belief, mesozooplankton grazing impact was up to 83% on primary production (PP). Low PP coupled with very high zooplankton production (70% of PP) along with abundant bacterial production (50% of the PP; Ramaiah et al., 2009) is likely to render the Bay of Bengal net heterotrophic, especially during the spring intermonsoon. Greater estimates of fecal pellet-carbon egestion by mesozooplankton compared to the average particulate organic carbon flux in sediment traps, implies that much of the matter is recycled by heterotrophic communities in the mixed layer facilitating nutrient regeneration for phytoplankton growth. We also calculated that over a third of the primary production is channelized for basin-wide zooplankton respiration that accounts for 52 Mt C annually. In the current scenario of global warming, if low (primary) productive warm pools like the Bay of Bengal continue to be net heterotrophic, negative implications like enhanced emission of CO2 to the atmosphere, increased particulate flux to the deeper waters and greater utilization of dissolved oxygen resulting in expansion of the existing oxygen minimum zone are imminent.

High new production in the Bay of Bengal: Possible causes and implications

Digital Repository Service at National Institute of Oceanography (India)

Kumar, S.; Ramesh, R.; Sardessai, S.; Sheshshayee, M.S.

The first measurements of new production (sup(15) N tracer technique), the component of primary production that sustains on extraneous nutrient inputs to the euphotic zone, in the Bay of Bengal is reported. Experiments done in two different seasons...

Study of the Genetic Diversity of the Ornamental Fish Badis badis (Hamilton-Buchanan, 1822 in the Terai Region of Sub-Himalayan West Bengal, India

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Tanmay Mukhopadhyay

2014-01-01

Full Text Available Dwarf chameleon fish or Badis badis, a lesser known ornamental freshwater fish, has recently been included in the Indian threatened category of fish list. There are insufficient studies with regard to the assessment of genetic background of this ichthyofauna, especially in the western sub-Himalayan region of West Bengal, India, popularly known as the Terai. The present study is the first attempt to investigate the present status of the genetic background of this species in the Mahananda and Balason rivers, major streams of this region. Twenty-one selective RAPD primers generated 53 and 60 polymorphic fragments in the Mahananda and Balason populations, respectively. The proportion of polymorphic loci, Nei’s genetic diversity (H, and Shannon’s index (H′ were 0.4416, 0.1654±0.2023, and 0.2450±0.2907, respectively, in Mahananda river population and were 0.5041, 0.1983±0.2126, and 0.2901±0.3037, respectively, in Balason river population. Inbreeding coefficient and degree of gene differentiation were also calculated. The H and H′ were found to be 0.1601±0.1944 and 0.2363±0.2782, respectively, in overall Mahananda-Balason river system. Our study revealed considerable lack of genetic variation among the individuals of Badis badis. The genetic data obtained from the present study lend support to the view that there is a scope of stock improvement for this ichthyofauna.

Sound speed structure in the Arabian Sea and the Bay of Bengal

Digital Repository Service at National Institute of Oceanography (India)

PrasannaKumar, S.; Navelkar, G.S.; Murty, T.V.R.; Somayajulu, Y.K.; Murty, C.S.

Sound speed computed from annual mean temperature and salinity data of Levitus reveals that spatial variation in the Arabian Sea is greater than that in the Bay of Bengal. Maximum spatial variation of sound speed in the Arabian Sea noticed between...

Sound field computations in the Bay of Bengal using parabolic equation method

Digital Repository Service at National Institute of Oceanography (India)

Navelkar, G.S.; Somayajulu, Y.K.; Murty, C.S.

Effect of the cold core eddy in the Bay of Bengal on acoustic propagation was analysed by parabolic equation (PE) method. Source depth, frequency and propagation range considered respectively for the two numerical experiments are 150 m, 400 Hz, 650...

The Political Economy of English Education in Muslim Bengal: 1871-1912.

Science.gov (United States)

Rahim, Aminur

1992-01-01

Examines explanations for lack of progress by Muslims in English education in East Bengal, colonial British India (now Bangladesh). Argues that urban-based, elitist English education failed to provide opportunities to rural Muslim farmers, and that, after the British formulated educational policies meeting Muslim needs, that community responded…

Mixed layer variability and chlorophyll a biomass in the Bay of Bengal.

Digital Repository Service at National Institute of Oceanography (India)

Narvekar, J.; PrasannaKumar, S.

, the chlorophyll biomass decreases rapidly due to reduction in sunlight by suspended sediment. In the south, advection of high salinity waters from the Arabian Sea and westward propagating Rossby waves from the eastern Bay of Bengal led to the formation of deep...

Particle fluxes in the Bay of Bengal measurEd. by sediment traps

Digital Repository Service at National Institute of Oceanography (India)

Ramaswamy, V.; Parthiban, G.

Particle fluxes were measured between October, 1987 and March, 1988 using six automated time series sediment traps at three locations in the northern, central and southern Bay of Bengal. Particle fluxes varied between 16.8 and 345 mg m/2 day/1...

Synchronization of Well Log Data and Geophysical Data with Remote Sensing Technique to Develop the Hydrocarbon System of Bengal Basin

Science.gov (United States)

Kesh, S.; Samadder, P. K.

2012-12-01

Remote sensing along with more conventional exploration techniques such as geophysics and reconnaissance field mapping can help to establish regional geologic relationships, to extract major structural features and to pinpoint anomalous patterns. Many well have been drilled in Bengal basin still no commercially viable reserves have been discovered. Geophysical well logging is used in virtually every oil well. It is the primary means by which we characterize the subsurface in search of hydrocarbons. Oil and gas exploration activities for large areas require ground gravity surveys to facilitate detailed geological interpretations for subsurface features integrating geological cross-sections with the sub-surface structural trends leads to the identification of prospect areas. Remote sensing, geological and geophysical data integration provide accurate geometric shapes of the basins. Bengal basin has a sedimentary fill of 10-15 km, is the northernmost of the east coast basins of India In the first phase Remote sensing satellite sensors help in identifying surface anomaly which indicates the presence of hydrocarbon reservoirs providing regional geological settings of petroleferous basins. It provides accurate and visual data for directly determining geometric shapes of basin. It assists in the selection of exploration regions by defining the existence of sedimentary basin. Remote sensing methods can generate a wealth of information useful in determining the value of exploratory prospecting. In the second phase Well Log data provide relative subsurface information for oil and gas exploration. Remote sensing data are merged with other available information such as Aeromagnetic, gravity, geochemical surveys and 2D seismic surveys. The result of this phase is to estimate the outcome of oil discovery probabilities for locating oil prospects

Influence of El Niño and Indian Ocean Dipole on sea level variability in the Bay of Bengal

Science.gov (United States)

Sreenivas, P.; Gnanaseelan, C.; Prasad, K. V. S. R.

2012-01-01

Zonally oscillating seasonal equatorial winds generate pairs of upwelling and downwelling Kelvin waves in the Equatorial Indian Ocean, which then advance in to the coastal Bay of Bengal. The first (second) equatorial upwelling Kelvin wave has its origin in the western (eastern) basin, whereas the downwelling Kelvin waves originate in the central basin. The observed interannual variability of these Kelvin waves is highly governed by the associated zonal wind changes in the central and eastern equatorial Indian Ocean during the anomalous years. The second downwelling (upwelling) Kelvin wave is absent (weak) during El Niño (La Niña) years, whereas the second upwelling Kelvin wave strengthened during El Niño years both in the equatorial Indian Ocean and Bay of Bengal. The large scale off equatorial Rossby waves occasionally feedback the equatorial Kelvin waves, which then strengthen the Bay of Bengal coastal Kelvin waves. The coastal Kelvin waves and the associated radiated Rossby waves from east play a dominant role in the mesoscale eddy generation in Bay of Bengal. The analysis of cyclogenesis characteristics in the bay over the past 65 years revealed that the active (suppressed) phases of cyclogenesis are coinciding with the downwelling (upwelling) planetary waves which influence the cyclone heat potential by altering the thermocline depth.

Acoustic propagation within a surface duct in the western Bay of Bengal

Digital Repository Service at National Institute of Oceanography (India)

PrasannaKumar, S.; Navelkar, G.S.; Murty, T.V.R.; Murty, C.S.

Sound speed structure forms a surface duct in the upper 50 m layer in the western Bay of Bengal during late July. A range-dependent acoustic ray computation shows that some rays emanating from a source within the upper 30 m, get trapped within...

Environmental gamma radiation measurements over the Bay of Bengal around Kalpakkam and in Chennai Harbor

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Surya Prakash, G.; Baskaran, R.; Venkatraman, B.; Rajagopal, V.; Mohanty, Ajit Kumar

2012-01-01

DAE site Kalpakkam, encompassing several operating nuclear facilitates is enclosed in a strip of land between the Bay of Bengal on the east and Buckingham Canal on the west. Approximately about 50% of the Emergency Prone Zone (EPZ) area around the plant lies in the Bay of Bengal. The radiation levels around Kalpakkam nuclear complex is monitored by Environmental Survey Laboratory (ESL) at Kalpakkam. The survey has been carried out up to 16 km in the land areas. Though radioactivity levels in the seawater and the food produce derived from the sea are monitored and reported by ESL, data on the ambient radiation levels over the sea has not been reported. The paper describes the campaign based ambient gamma radiation level measurements done during the past few years. The radiation level measurements done at selected locations varied between 8 and 115 nGyh -1 (0.8 and 11.5 μRh -1 ) during the first campaign and 14 and 170 nGyh -1 (1.4 and 17 μRh -1 ) during the second campaign. The average dose rate observed from both the campaigns was 62 nGyh 1 (6.2 μRh -1 ). During the campaign period we are looked in to any interference from the 41 Ar released from the MAPS reactor also. The third campaign at the Chennai harbor (∼ 60 km north of Kalpakkam) the observed radiation levels were between 15 nGyh -1 (1.5 μRh -1 ) and 12.2 nGyh -1 (12.2 μRh -1 ). This paper discussed the details of the techniques and the measurement

Distribution of some biochemical compounds in the sediments of the Bay of Bengal

Digital Repository Service at National Institute of Oceanography (India)

Bhosle, N.B.; Dhople, V.M.

Surficial sediment samples collected from the continental shelf and slope of the Bay of Bengal were studied for the distribution of organic carbon and its constituent fractions such as carbohydrates, proteins, amino acids and lipids. Organic carbon...

Derivation of a regional active-optical reflectance sensor corn algorithm

Science.gov (United States)

Active-optical reflectance sensor (AORS) algorithms developed for in-season corn (Zea mays L.) N management have traditionally been derived using sub-regional scale information. However, studies have shown these previously developed AORS algorithms are not consistently accurate when used on a region...

Seasonal cycle of physical forcing and biological response in the Bay of Bengal

Digital Repository Service at National Institute of Oceanography (India)

PrasannaKumar, S.; Nuncio, M.; Narvekar, J.; Ramaiah, N.; Sardessai, S.; Gauns, M.; Fernandes, V.; Paul, J.T.; Jyothibabu, R.; Jayaraj, K.A.

supported an efficient nutrient supply by cold core eddies. It resulted in the highest mean column integrated chlorophyll as well as primary productivity. Perennially low surface chlorophyll in the Bay of Bengal was largely controlled by the physical...

The effects of PPR on the reproductive health of Black Bengal goats and the possible role played by oxidative stress.

Science.gov (United States)

Kumar, Pankaj; Dey, Amitava; Kumar, Abhay; Ray, Pradeep Kumar; Chandran, Poolangulam Chinnakkan; Kumari, Rashmi Rekha; Kumar, Manish

2018-03-28

Outbreaks of Peste des petits ruminants (PPR) viral disease in Black Bengal goats were investigated from the middle Indo-Gangetic Plains of India. Clinical profile of PPR-affected flocks was recorded from four different outbreak sites of the region. The PPR outbreak was diagnosed serologically using commercially available sandwich ELISA kit. Relatively, low mortality rate (mean 26.75%) for PPR outbreak was recorded due to the endemic status of the disease. To understand the role of oxidative stress in PPR virus pathogenesis, various oxidant and antioxidant parameters in goats infected with PPR were estimated and compared with the uninfected/healthy goats of the same flock. The measured high level of pro-oxidant malondialdehyde (MDA) obtained from lipid peroxidation along with lower levels of anti-oxidants viz. superoxide dismutase (SOD), glutathione peroxidase (GPx) and catalase (CAT) in PPR-affected Black Bengal goats suggests oxidative stress as one of the mechanism of pathogenesis of PPR virus. In addition, the correlation of oxidative stress due to PPR and the resulting reproductive disorders in the female goats were evaluated. The abortion in pregnant does observed during PPR outbreak was proportional to debility and oxidative stress manifested during PPR infection. The reproductive performance of recovered female goats in the period of 18 months of monitoring was significantly compromised in terms of kidding and twinning frequency. The mortality rate in kids born from PPR-recovered goats was significantly higher compared to those from health goats in the first 9 months post-recovery. From the present study, it may be concluded that together with the PPR virus, infection in goats and the resulting oxidative stress play a vital role for abortion and reduced post-reproductive performance in Black Bengal female goat.

Auto-correlation analysis of wave heights in the Bay of Bengal

Indian Academy of Sciences (India)

Time series observations of significant wave heights in the Bay of Bengal were subjected to auto- correlation analysis to determine temporal variability scale. The analysis indicates an exponen- tial fall of auto-correlation in the first few hours with a decorrelation time scale of about six hours. A similar figure was found earlier ...

Surface layer conditions of the atmosphere over western Bay of Bengal during Monex

Digital Repository Service at National Institute of Oceanography (India)

Anto, A.F.; Rao, L.V.G.; Somayajulu, Y.K.

Based on surface meteorological data and wave data collected from 2 stations in the western Bay of Bengal in July 1979, surface layer (SL) conditions of the atmosphere for different situations of surface circulations and the associated sea surface...

Thermodynamic structure of the marine atmosphere over the region ...

Indian Academy of Sciences (India)

R. Narasimhan (Krishtel eMaging) 1461 1996 Oct 15 13:05:22

course of observations the ship moved from an open ... Marine boundary layer; thermodynamic structure; saturation point; Bay of Bengal Monsoon Experiment; .... when the low-pressure area is close to the ship the pressure is low and as the system moves away, the .... over oceanic regions to characterize the differences.

Curstal evolution and sedimentation history of the Bay of Bengal since the cretaceous

Digital Repository Service at National Institute of Oceanography (India)

Rao, D.G.; Krishna, K.S.; Sar, D.

on three latitudinal profiles) in the Bay of Bengal. The trend of the fracture zones, the locations of the magnetic chron 34, and the Cretaceous Magnetic Quiet Zone suggest that Greater India separated from Antarctica after a period of transform motion...

Trace metal dynamics in zooplankton from the Bay of Bengal during summer monsoon

Digital Repository Service at National Institute of Oceanography (India)

Rejomon, G.; DineshKumar, P.K.; Nair, M.; Muraleedharan, K.R.

Trace metal (Fe, Co, Ni, Cu, Zn, Cd, and Pb) concentrations in zooplankton from the mixed layer were investigated at 8 coastal and 20 offshore stations in the western Bay of Bengal during the summer monsoon of 2003. The ecotoxicological importance...

The Sex Education Debates: Teaching "Life Style" in West Bengal, India

Science.gov (United States)

Chakravarti, Paromita

2011-01-01

This paper examines the recent controversies surrounding the decision to introduce sex education in secondary schools in India to combat the rapid spread of HIV and AIDS in the country. While 11 Indian states have banned it, the Left-ruled state of West Bengal has designed a teachers' manual to impart sex education. However, a close analysis of…

Groundwater System of Sundarbans (Basanti), West Bengal, India

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Kopmann, Moritz; Binning, Philip John; Bregnhøj, Henrik

2018-01-01

In Basanti, a rural block in the Sundarbans, West Bengal, the water availability is vital for its inhabitants. Groundwater levels are decreasing, and a proper understanding of key factors influencing the water resource is required. In the following, a social review of Basanti is given followed...... by a geologic and hydrostratigraphic analysis. The main hydrologic flows, a water balance, and the trend of salinity in the groundwater are presented. Finally, available long- and short-term drawdown data of South 24 Parganas and Basanti to determine groundwater level and annual recharge trends. The assessment...

Seasonal wave characteristics of the Arabian Sea and the Bay of Bengal

Digital Repository Service at National Institute of Oceanography (India)

Vijayarajan, P.K.; Varkey, M.J.; Joseph, M.X.

of charts. The maxima of the average heights in both the Arabian Sea and the Bay of Bengal (3.2 m and 3.1 m) have been observed during the monsoon season even though the number of cyclone and depression days were maximum in May and November, respectively...

Diversity of killer cell immunoglobulin-like receptor genes in the Bengali population of northern West Bengal, India.

Science.gov (United States)

Guha, P; Bhattacharjee, S; Chaudhuri, T K

2014-12-01

The Indian Subcontinent exhibits extensive diversity in its culture, religion, ethnicity and linguistic heritage, which symbolizes extensive genetic variations within the populations. The highly polymorphic Killer cell Immunoglobulin-like Receptor (KIR) family plays an important role in tracing genetic differentiation in human population. In this study, we aimed to analyse the KIR gene polymorphism in the Bengali population of northern West Bengal, India. To our knowledge, this is the first report on the KIR gene polymorphism in the Bengalis of West Bengal, India. Herein, we have studied the distribution of 14 KIR genes (KIR3DL1-3DL3, KIR2DL1-2DL5, KIR2DS1-2DS5 AND KIR3DS1) and two pseudogenes (KIR3DP1 and 2DP1) in the Bengalis. Apart from the framework genes (KIR2DL4, 3DL2, 3DL3 and 3DP1), which are present in all the individuals, the gene frequencies of other KIR genes varied between 0.34 and 0.88. Moreover, upon comparing the KIR polymorphism of the Bengalis with the available published data of other world populations, it has been found that the Indo-European-speaking Bengalis from the region share both Dravidian and Indo-Aryan gene pool with considerable influences of mongoloid and European descents. Furthermore, evidences from previously published data on human leucocyte antigen and Y-chromosome haplogroup diversity support the view. Our results will help to understand the genetic background of the Bengali population, in illustrating the population migration events in the eastern and north-eastern part of India, in explaining the extensive genetic admixture amongst the different linguistic groups of the region and also in KIR-related disease researches. © 2014 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

Distinct repeat motifs at the C-terminal region of CagA of Helicobacter pylori strains isolated from diseased patients and asymptomatic individuals in West Bengal, India

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Chattopadhyay Santanu

2012-05-01

Full Text Available Abstract Background Infection with Helicobacter pylori strains that express CagA is associated with gastritis, peptic ulcer disease, and gastric adenocarcinoma. The biological function of CagA depends on tyrosine phosphorylation by a cellular kinase. The phosphate acceptor tyrosine moiety is present within the EPIYA motif at the C-terminal region of the protein. This region is highly polymorphic due to variations in the number of EPIYA motifs and the polymorphism found in spacer regions among EPIYA motifs. The aim of this study was to analyze the polymorphism at the C-terminal end of CagA and to evaluate its association with the clinical status of the host in West Bengal, India. Results Seventy-seven H. pylori strains isolated from patients with various clinical statuses were used to characterize the C-ternimal polymorphic region of CagA. Our analysis showed that there is no correlation between the previously described CagA types and various disease outcomes in Indian context. Further analyses of different CagA structures revealed that the repeat units in the spacer sequences within the EPIYA motifs are actually more discrete than the previously proposed models of CagA variants. Conclusion Our analyses suggest that EPIYA motifs as well as the spacer sequence units are present as distinct insertions and deletions, which possibly have arisen from extensive recombination events. Moreover, we have identified several new CagA types, which could not be typed by the existing systems and therefore, we have proposed a new typing system. We hypothesize that a cagA gene encoding higher number EPIYA motifs may perhaps have arisen from cagA genes that encode lesser EPIYA motifs by acquisition of DNA segments through recombination events.

Seven year satellite observations of the mean structures and variabilities in the regional aerosol distribution over the oceanic areas around the Indian subcontinent

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S. K. Nair

2005-09-01

Full Text Available Aerosol distribution over the oceanic regions around the Indian subcontinent and its seasonal and interannual variabilities are studied using the aerosol optical depth (AOD derived from NOAA-14 and NOAA-16 AVHRR data for the period of November 1995–December 2003. The air-mass types over this region during the Asian summer monsoon season (June–September are significantly different from those during the Asian dry season (November–April. Hence, the aerosol loading and its properties over these oceanic regions are also distinctly different in these two periods. During the Asian dry season, the Arabian Sea and Bay of Bengal are dominated by the transport of aerosols from Northern Hemispheric landmasses, mainly the Indian subcontinent, Southeast Asia and Arabia. This aerosol transport is rather weak in the early part of the dry season (November–January compared to that in the later period (February–April. Large-scale transport of mineral dust from Arabia and the production of sea-salt aerosols, due to high surface wind speeds, contribute to the high aerosol loading over the Arabian Sea region during the summer monsoon season. As a result, the monthly mean AOD over the Arabian Sea shows a clear annual cycle with the highest values occurring in July. The AOD over the Bay of Bengal and the Southern Hemisphere Indian Ocean also displays an annual cycle with maxima during March and October, respectively. The amplitude of the annual variation is the largest in coastal Arabia and the least in the Southern Hemisphere Indian Ocean. The interannual variability in AOD is the largest over the Southeast Arabian Sea (seasonal mean AOD varies from 0.19 to 0.42 and the northern Bay of Bengal (seasonal mean AOD varies from 0.24 to 0.39 during the February–April period and is the least over the Southern Hemisphere Indian Ocean. This study also investigates the altitude regions and pathways of dominant aerosol transport by combining the AOD distribution with

Drifting and meandering of Olive Ridley Sea turtles in the Bay of Bengal: Role of oceanic Rossby waves

Digital Repository Service at National Institute of Oceanography (India)

Ram, P.S.; Rao, S.A.; Sadhuram, Y.

in the direction of geostrophic currents. It is found that the locations of these thermal fronts in the Bay of Bengal are primarily determined by the Oceanic Rossby waves and local Ekman pumping. Key Words: Bay of Bengal, Circulation, Cyclonic and Anti... drawn with black dots shows the meandering path of the rest of the three turtles. Locations of the turtles at different times are also shown as white stars. A strong anti-cyclonic gyre (warm core eddy) centered at 17º N with SSHD above 30 cm...

Cosmic ray air showers in the knee energy region

Indian Academy of Sciences (India)

The cosmic ray extensive air showers in the knee energy region have been studied by the North Bengal University array. The differential size spectra at different atmospheric depths show a systematic shift of the knee towards smaller shower size with the increase in atmospheric depth. The measured values of spectral ...

Primary completion rates across socio-religious communities in West Bengal

OpenAIRE

Husain, Zakir; Chatterjee, Amrita

2009-01-01

Primary completion rates of Muslims in West Bengal are substantially lower than that of upper caste communities as well as backward castes, scheduled castes and tribes. Further, analysis of age-specific pcr indicates that differences in pcr between Muslims and other communities may have actually increased in recent years. An econometric analysis reveals that age, gender, household size and expenditure levels, education and gender of decision-maker, etc, are importan...

Surface layer temperature inversion in the Bay of Bengal: Main characteristics and related mechanisms

Digital Repository Service at National Institute of Oceanography (India)

Pankajakshan, T.; Suresh, I.; Gautham, S.; PrasannaKumar, S.; Lengaigne, M.; Rao, R.R.; Neetu, S.; Hegde, A.

Surface layer temperature inversion (SLTI), a warm layer sandwiched between surface and subsurface colder waters, has been reported to frequently occur in conjunction with barrier layers in the Bay of Bengal (BoB), with potentially commensurable...

Lessons Learned From Developing a Sustainable Arsenic-Safe Water Program in West Bengal, India Over a Period of Eight Years

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Smith, M. M.; Liaw, J.; Hira, A.; Guha, P.; Pal, S. S.; Hore, T.; Smith, A. H.

2010-12-01

Arsenic is a carcinogen, and causes many cancers and noncancer diseases. Recent findings have shown that exposure to arsenic in drinking water as a child or before birth can cause illness and death even as an adult. In the West Bengal region of India, more than six million people are drinking crystal clear but arsenic-contaminated water from tubewells. Project Well, a non-profit organization based in California, has provided safe drinking water to villages in West Bengal since 2001 through modern modified dugwells, currently numbering 163. Along the way, Project Well has faced the challenge of persuading people to stop consuming good-tasting, arsenic-laced water and instead drink chlorinated water, which is safe but may have the smell of chlorine. Additionally, West Bengal receives abundant annual rainfall, and hence it is difficult to convince people to pay for treated water. From its inception, the Project Well program was set up with a tracking system to assess the efficacy of the modern dugwells, which has helped identify where technical improvements were needed. Continuous interaction with community-based user groups has also helped overcome many constraints and make the program sustainable. Project Well monitoring records from August 2010 show that out of 163 modern dugwells, 48 percent were being used, providing water for 2948 villagers; 23 percent were closed; 6 percent were dry (11 districts of West Bengal were in a drought); 6 percent required maintenance; and 7 percent were not used. Arsenic concentrations in the modern dugwells were measured every year during peak season when the water table was low and the median arsenic concentration of operational dugwells over the eight years between 2002 and 2010 was 15 ppb (the permissible limit in India is 50 ppb). Each year, about 6 to 10 percent of the dugwells have arsenic levels above 50 ppb during the summer season, when the water level is low. Bacterial counts, i.e., total coliform and fecal coliform, are

Diagnostic Significance of the Blood Disappearance Rate of 131I-Rose Bengal and of 198Au colloid in Hepatobiliary Diseases

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Chun, Young Kyoon; Hahn, Shim Suk; Koh, Chang Soon

1971-01-01

The liver function test was performed by means of two radioisotope tracer techniques in 20 normal subjects and in 63 patients with hepatobiliary diseases. The blood disappearance rates of 131 I-rose bengal and of 198 Au colloid were determined by external counting method. The hepatocellular function and the hepatic blood flow were estimated from the observed data and the results were compared with those of the conventional liver function tests. The results obtained were as follows: 1. The mean blood disappearance half time of 131 I-rose bengal was 6.6±0.63 minutes in normal control, 17.7±6.93 in cirrhosis of the liver, 16.6±4. 80 in acute hepatitis, and 14 7±3.46 in obstructive jaundice. It was markedly prolonged in the hepatobiliary diseases as compared with the normal control, but there was no significant difference among the hepatobiliary diseases. 2.The mean blood disappearance half time of 198 Au colloid was 4. 0±0. 66 minutes in normal control, 9.8±3.42 in cirrhosis of the liver, 4.4±0.82 in acute hepatitis, and 5.0±1.42 in obstructive jaundice. The difference between cirrhosis of the liver and normal control was statistically significant. However, there was no definite difference among acute hepatitis, obstructive jaundice, and normal control. The mean blood disappearance rate constant (K value) was 0.177±0.028/minute in normal control, In cirrhosis of the liver, it was markedly decreased which was suggestive of the reduced hepatic blood flow. 3. The ratio of 131 I-rose bengal blood disappearance half time to 198 Au colloid disappearance half time was 1.68±0.20 in normal control, 1.82±0.31 in cirrhosis of the liver, 3.80±0.82 in acute hepatitis, and 3.01±0.54 in obstructive jaundice. The ratios in acute hepatitis and obstructive jaundice were remarkably higher than those in normal control and cirrhosis of the liver. 4. There was a significant correlation between the blood disappearance half time of 131 I-rose bengal and that of 198 Au colloid in

Vulnerability of deep groundwater in the Bengal Aquifer System to contamination by arsenic

Science.gov (United States)

Burgess, W.G.; Hoque, M.A.; Michael, H.A.; Voss, C.I.; Breit, G.N.; Ahmed, K.M.

2010-01-01

Shallow groundwater, the primary water source in the Bengal Basin, contains up to 100 times the World Health Organization (WHO) drinking-water guideline of 10g l 1 arsenic (As), threatening the health of 70 million people. Groundwater from a depth greater than 150m, which almost uniformly meets the WHO guideline, has become the preferred alternative source. The vulnerability of deep wells to contamination by As is governed by the geometry of induced groundwater flow paths and the geochemical conditions encountered between the shallow and deep regions of the aquifer. Stratification of flow separates deep groundwater from shallow sources of As in some areas. Oxidized sediments also protect deep groundwater through the ability of ferric oxyhydroxides to adsorb As. Basin-scale groundwater flow modelling suggests that, over large regions, deep hand-pumped wells for domestic supply may be secure against As invasion for hundreds of years. By contrast, widespread deep irrigation pumping might effectively eliminate deep groundwater as an As-free resource within decades. Finer-scale models, incorporating spatial heterogeneity, are needed to investigate the security of deep municipal abstraction at specific urban locations. ?? 2010 Macmillan Publishers Limited. All rights reserved.

Design of Rose Bengal/FTO optical thin film system as a novel nonlinear media for infrared blocking windows

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S.M. El-Bashir

Full Text Available Rose Bengal (RB is a new organic semiconductor with the highly stable layer, was deposited on highly cleaned conductive glass substrate known as (FTO glass with different thickness in the range from 80 to 292 nm. XRD showed an entirely amorphous structure of the studied film thicknesses. The observed peaks are the indexed peaks for FTO layer. Spectrophotometric data as transmittance, reflectance, and absorbance were used for the analysis the optical constant of RB/FTO optical thin film system. Refractive index was calculated using Fresnel’s equation with the aid of reflectance and absorption index. The dielectric constant, dielectric loss and dissipation factor were discussed and analyzed according to the applied optical theories. Nonlinear parameters such as third order nonlinear optical susceptibility and the nonlinear refractive index were calculated based on the linear refractive index of the applications of this material in nonlinear media. The results showed that Rose Bengal is a proving material for wide scale optoelectronic applications such as infrared blocking windows. Keywords: Rose Bengal, Dielectric parameters, Linear/nonlinear optics, Dye/FTO, IR blocking windows

Phytoplankton size structure in the southern Bay of Bengal modified by the Summer Monsoon Current and associated eddies: Implications on the vertical biogenic flux..

Digital Repository Service at National Institute of Oceanography (India)

Jyothibabu, R; Vinayachandran, P. N.; Madhu, N.V.; Robin, R; Karman, C.; Jagadeesan, L.; Anjusha, A.

. Mar. Syst., vol.143; 2015; 98–119 Phytoplankton Size Structure in the Southern Bay of Bengal Modified by the Summer Monsoon Current and Associated Eddies: Implications on the Vertical Biogenic Flux R. Jyothibabu1*, P. N. Vinayachandran2, N. V.... Madhu1, R.S. Robin3, C. Karnan1, L. Jagadeesan1, A. Anjusha1 1CSIR – National Institute of Oceanography, Regional Centre, Kochi, India 2Centre for Atmospheric and Ocean Sciences, Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore, India 3Integrated Coastal...

Increasing trend of Japanese encephalitis cases in West Bengal, India - a threat to paediatric population

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Debjani Taraphdar

2012-10-01

Full Text Available Objective: To detect the Japanese encephalitis virus (JEV as the etiologic agent from the acute encephalitis syndrome (AES cases mainly amongst the children and young adults from vaccinated and non-vaccinated districts of West Bengal. Methods: For the detection of JEV, a total of 828 sera were referred from vaccinated and non vaccinated districts of West Bengal during 2005-2011. Japanese encephalitis (JE positive cases were confirmed by ELISA and RT-PCR method. Results: Out of 828 cases, 245 samples were positive by ELISA method and 46 samples were positive by RT-PCR method. Out of 291 total positive cases, 162 (55.6% were below 20 years of age. Initially in 2005, JE cases were highest amongst the children and young adults (0-20 years. After vaccination, although the JE cases declined gradually in the vaccinated districts, but again from 2010, JE cases from the said age group showed an increasing trend from those districts. JE cases were also reported from other endemic zones of this state, which were still non-vaccinated. Conclusions: In West Bengal, JE cases are still predominated among children and young adults till the year 2011. Mass scale vaccination programme and investigation on the circulating strains are essentially required to find out the reasons of increasing tendency of JE cases in this state.

Hydroclimatic drivers, Water-borne Diseases, and Population Vulnerability in Bengal Delta

Science.gov (United States)

Akanda, A. S.; Jutla, A. S.

2012-04-01

Water-borne diarrheal disease outbreaks in the Bengal Delta region, such as cholera, rotavirus, and dysentery, show distinct seasonal peaks and spatial signatures in their origin and progression. However, the mechanisms behind these seasonal phenomena, especially the role of regional climatic and hydrologic processes behind the disease outbreaks, are not fully understood. Overall diarrheal disease prevalence and the population vulnerability to transmission mechanisms thus remain severely underestimated. Recent findings suggest that diarrheal incidence in the spring is strongly associated with scarcity of freshwater flow volumes, while the abundance of water in monsoon show strong positive correlation with autumn diarrheal burden. The role of large-scale ocean-atmospheric processes that tend to modulate meteorological, hydrological, and environmental conditions over large regions and the effects on the ecological states conducive to the vectors and triggers of diarrheal outbreaks over large geographic regions are not well understood. We take a large scale approach to conduct detailed diagnostic analyses of a range of climate, hydrological, and ecosystem variables to investigate their links to outbreaks, occurrence, and transmission of the most prevalent water-borne diarrheal diseases. We employ satellite remote sensing data products to track coastal ecosystems and plankton processes related to cholera outbreaks. In addition, we investigate the effect of large scale hydroclimatic extremes (e.g., droughts and floods, El Nino) to identify how diarrheal transmission and epidemic outbreaks are most likely to respond to shifts in climatic, hydrologic, and ecological changes over coming decades. We argue that controlling diarrheal disease burden will require an integrated predictive surveillance approach - a combination of prediction and prevention - with recent advances in climate-based predictive capabilities and demonstrated successes in primary and tertiary prevention

An experimental study of radiative fluxes in the south Bay of Bengal

Indian Academy of Sciences (India)

Time series measurements of radiative fluxes were made onboard INS Sagardhwani (SD) in the south Bay of Bengal near DS3 (13°N and 87°E) during the BOBMEX field experiment. An inter- comparison experiment conducted at DS3 showed that the radiative fluxes measured by Kipp and Zonen, Albedo meter and net ...

Evidences of climatic variations during Late Pleistocene- Holocene in the eastern Bay of Bengal

Digital Repository Service at National Institute of Oceanography (India)

Chauhan, O.S; Borole, D.V.; Gujar, A; Mascarenhas, A; Mislankar, P.G.; Rao, Ch.M.

Based upon the variations of clay minerals, sediment texture, heavy mineral assemblage and sup(230)Th excess in the Late Pleistocene sediments of a hemipelagic core from the eastern Bay of Bengal (2713 m water depth), 35 cm and 73-78 cm levels...

Diurnal variability of surface fluxes at an oceanic station in the Bay of Bengal

Digital Repository Service at National Institute of Oceanography (India)

Sarma, Y.V.B.; Rao, D.P.

Diurnal variability of the surface fluxes and ocean heat content was studied using the time-series data on marine surface meteorological parameters and upper ocean temperature collected at an oceanic station in the Bay of Bengal during 1st to 8th...

Enhanced abundance of tintinnids under elevated CO2 level from coastal Bay of Bengal

Digital Repository Service at National Institute of Oceanography (India)

Biswas, H.; Gadi, S.D.; Venkataramana, V.; Bharathi, M.D.; Priyan, R.K.; Manjari, D.T.; DileepKumar, M.

of marine plankton to increasing CO2 concentrations. Natural water samples from the coastal Bay of Bengal were incubated under the ambient condition and high CO2 levels (703-711 latm) for 5 days in May and June 2010. A significant negative correlation...

Determinants of Rural Industrial Entrepreneurship of Farmers in West Bengal : A Structural Equations Approach

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Folmer, Henk; Dutta, Subrata; Oud, Han

2010-01-01

This article presents a structural equations model of rural industrial entrepreneurship (RIE) among farmers in the Bardhaman district, West Bengal, India. It identifies the determinants of RIE but also analyzes impacts of RIE on its endogenous determinants. Age, education, marital status, number of

Determinants of rural industrial entrepreneurship of farmers in West Bengal: A structural equations approach

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Folmer, H.; Dutta, S.; Oud, J.H.L.

2010-01-01

This article presents a structural equations model of rural industrial entrepreneurship (RIE) among farmers in the Bardhaman district, West Bengal, India. It identifies the determinants of RIE but also analyzes impacts of RIE on its endogenous determinants. Age, education, marital status, number of

STATE OF FAUNAL STATUS WITH SPECIAL REFERENCE TO BENGAL TIGER (Panthera tigris tigris IN SUNDARBAN DELTA

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Shivaji Bhattacharya

2011-07-01

Full Text Available The mangrove ecology of Sundarban delta is one of the global biodiversity hotspots. The ecology harbours the Bengal Tiger (Panthera tigris tigris besides other. The species is highly threatened as per Red Data Book. The ecology has suffered huge degradation over the years by many known and unknown forces of varying magnitude. Though various efforts are being made to conserve the ecology but yet the degradation could not be checked up to expectation. The effect of degradation is clearly reflected through the status of Panthera tigris tigris in its natural habitat. Hence the different aspects of faunal status with special reference to Bengal Tiger in Sundarban ecology during about last two decades has been searched and discussed briefly.

Meso-scale atmospheric events promote phytoplankton blooms in the coastal Bay of Bengal

Digital Repository Service at National Institute of Oceanography (India)

Maneesha, K.; Sarma, V.V.S.S.; Reddy, N.P.C.; Sadhuram, Y.; Murty, T.V.R.; Sarma, V.V.; DileepKumar, M.

mixing does not cool SST in the post monsoon north Bay of Bengal; Atmos. Sci. Letts. 9 1–6. Senjyu T and Watanabe T 1999 A sudden temperature decrease along the Sanin coast induced by a typhoon; Umi to Sora 75 1–8 (in Japanese with English abstract...

Influence of traditional agricultural practices on mobilization of arsenic from sediments to groundwater in Bengal delta.

Science.gov (United States)

Farooq, S H; Chandrasekharam, D; Berner, Z; Norra, S; Stüben, D

2010-11-01

In the wake of the idea that surface derived dissolved organic carbon (DOC) plays an important role in the mobilization of arsenic (As) from sediments to groundwater and may provide a vital tool in understanding the mechanism of As contamination (mobilization/fixation) in Bengal delta; a study has been carried out. Agricultural fields that mainly cultivate rice (paddy fields) leave significantly large quantities of organic matter/organic carbon on the surface of Bengal delta which during monsoon starts decomposing and produces DOC. The DOC thus produced percolates down with rain water and mobilizes As from the sediments. Investigations on sediment samples collected from a paddy field clearly indicate that As coming on to the surface along with the irrigation water accumulates itself in the top few meters of sediment profile. The column experiments carried out on a 9 m deep sediment profile demonstrates that DOC has a strong potential to mobilize As from the paddy fields and the water recharging the aquifer through such agricultural fields contain As well above the WHO limit thus contaminating the shallow groundwater. Experiment also demonstrates that decay of organic matter induces reducing condition in the sediments. Progressively increasing reducing conditions not only prevent the adsorption of As on mineral surfaces but also cause mobilization of previously sorbed arsenic. There seems to be a cyclic pattern where As from deeper levels comes to the surface with irrigational water, accumulates itself in the sediments, and ultimately moves down to the shallow groundwater. The extensive and continual exploitation of intermediate/deep groundwater accelerates this cyclic process and helps in the movement of shallow contaminated groundwater to the deeper levels. Copyright © 2010 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Studies on the planktonic Decapoda and Stomatopoda (Crustacea) from the western Bay of Bengal

Digital Repository Service at National Institute of Oceanography (India)

Paulinose, V.T.; Nair, V.R.; Goswami, S.C.

Abundance and distribution of decapods and stomatopods were studied, based on 90 samples collected from the western Bay of Bengal (Lat. 09 degrees 58' and 20 degrees 50'N and long. 80 degrees 00'E) between 24 August and 2 October, 1976. The decapod...

First report of Seuratascaris numidica Seurat, 1917 (Nematoda: Ascarididae) and other helminths from amphibians of West Bengal, India.

Science.gov (United States)

Sou, Sujan K; Bursey, Charles R

2017-03-01

Studies on nematode parasites from anuran hosts from Eastern India, particularly West Bengal, are rare. To our knowledge, there is a report of larvae of Monhysterides sp. (a fish parasite) from cysts within the body cavity and musculature of Duttaphrynus melanostictus, Hoplobatrachus tigerinus and Euphlyctis hexadactylus as well as descriptions of Aplectana duttaphryni from D. melanostictus , Aplectana dubrajpuri from H. tigerinus , Cosmocerca microhylae from Microhyla rubra and Rhabdias bulbicauda from D. melanostictus . Here, we report mature individuals of typical anuran parasites, Diplodiscus amphichrus and Seuratascaris numidica , from H. tigerinus and larvae of Acuariidae (a bird parasite) from Fejervarya limnocharis collected in Kulti, West Bengal.

A simple method to forecast the frequency of depressions and cyclones over Bay of Bengal during summer monsoon season

Science.gov (United States)

Sadhuram, Y.; Maneesha, K.; Suneeta, P.

2018-04-01

In this study, an attempt has been made to develop a simple multiple regression model to forecast the total number of depressions and cyclones (TNDC) over Bay of Bengal during summer monsoon (June-September) season using the data for the period, 1995-2016. Four potential predictors (zonal wind speed at 850 hPa in May and April SST in the North Australia-Indonesia region, 05°S-15°S; 120°E-160°E; March NINO 3.4 SST and geopotential height at 200 hPa in the region, 0°N-10°N; 80°E-100°E) have been identified to forecast TNDC. A remarkably high multiple correlation coefficient of 0.92 has been observed with the TNDC which explains 85% variability. The methodology has been tested for the recent 5 years (2012-2016) and found a good agreement between the observed and forecast values of TNDC except in 2015 in which the observed and predicted TNDC were 2 and 0, respectively. It is interesting to see high and significant correlations between the above predictors and the genesis potential parameter (GPP) during summer monsoon season. This GPP depends on the relative vorticity at 850 hPa, mid troposphere relative humidity, thermal instability between 850 and 500 hPa, and vertical wind shear between 200 and 850 hPa. It is inferred that the above predictors are influencing the environmental conditions over Bay of Bengal which, in turn, influencing the genesis of cyclones during summer monsoon season. The impact of ENSO (El-Nino-Southern Oscillation) and La-Nina in TNDC is examined and found that the vertical wind shear and relative vorticity are high and the GPP was almost double in ENSO compared with that in La-Nina which favoured high (low) TNDC under ENSO (La-Nina).

A brief study on the imprints of seismo tectonic activities in the crust of central and southern Bay of Bengal

Digital Repository Service at National Institute of Oceanography (India)

Sarma, K.V.L.N.S.; Subrahmanyam, A; Subrahmanyam, V.; Murty, G.P.S.; Rao, K.M.

.Previousresults indicate that IT Imprintsof seismo tectonicactivities inthe crustof pans of Bay of Bengal --~ . i' . " " "'. ,. Fig.S. Sarellirederil'ed gral'iry allomaly data of Hm' of BellRalsho'A'i1ll!the imprillls of cru.\\.talstructure alld glm'in' lows (After Salld.... - April 2007. Vol. XXVIII '\\10.1& 2 pp 55 to 62 A BRIEF STUDY ON IMPRINTS OF SEISMO TECTONIC ,\\CTIVITIES IN THE CRUST OF CENTRAL AND SOUTHERN BAY OF BENGAL K.V.L.N.S.Sarma,A.S. Subrahmanyam, V.Subrahmanyam, G.P.S. Murty and K. Mohana Rao Nationallll...

Financial Inclusion in India: A case-study of West Bengal

OpenAIRE

Chattopadhyay, Sadhan Kumar

2011-01-01

The study observes that although there has been an improvement in outreach activity in the banking sector, the achievement in respect of financial inclusion is not significant in West Bengal. An index of financial inclusion (IFI) has been developed in the study using data on three dimensions of financial inclusion. It is revealed from the index that Kolkata district leads with the highest value of IFI, while rest of the districts show a very low level of financial inclusion. This implies that...

Diagnostic Significance of the Blood Disappearance Rate of {sup 131}I-Rose Bengal and of {sup 198}Au colloid in Hepatobiliary Diseases

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Chun, Young Kyoon; Hahn, Shim Suk; Koh, Chang Soon [Seoul National University College of Medicine, Seoul (Korea, Republic of)

1971-09-15

The liver function test was performed by means of two radioisotope tracer techniques in 20 normal subjects and in 63 patients with hepatobiliary diseases. The blood disappearance rates of {sup 131}I-rose bengal and of {sup 198}Au colloid were determined by external counting method. The hepatocellular function and the hepatic blood flow were estimated from the observed data and the results were compared with those of the conventional liver function tests. The results obtained were as follows: 1. The mean blood disappearance half time of {sup 131}I-rose bengal was 6.6+-0.63 minutes in normal control, 17.7+-6.93 in cirrhosis of the liver, 16.6+-4. 80 in acute hepatitis, and 14 7+-3.46 in obstructive jaundice. It was markedly prolonged in the hepatobiliary diseases as compared with the normal control, but there was no significant difference among the hepatobiliary diseases. 2.The mean blood disappearance half time of {sup 198}Au colloid was 4. 0+-0. 66 minutes in normal control, 9.8+-3.42 in cirrhosis of the liver, 4.4+-0.82 in acute hepatitis, and 5.0+-1.42 in obstructive jaundice. The difference between cirrhosis of the liver and normal control was statistically significant. However, there was no definite difference among acute hepatitis, obstructive jaundice, and normal control. The mean blood disappearance rate constant (K value) was 0.177+-0.028/minute in normal control, In cirrhosis of the liver, it was markedly decreased which was suggestive of the reduced hepatic blood flow. 3. The ratio of {sup 131}I-rose bengal blood disappearance half time to {sup 198}Au colloid disappearance half time was 1.68+-0.20 in normal control, 1.82+-0.31 in cirrhosis of the liver, 3.80+-0.82 in acute hepatitis, and 3.01+-0.54 in obstructive jaundice. The ratios in acute hepatitis and obstructive jaundice were remarkably higher than those in normal control and cirrhosis of the liver. 4. There was a significant correlation between the blood disappearance half time of {sup 131}I

Chronic natural arsenic exposure affecting histoarchitecture of gonads in Black Bengal goats (Capra aegagrushircus

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Md. Abdul Wares

2015-06-01

Full Text Available Arsenic is a major water pollutant that may cause serious health hazard (e.g., infertility in human and animal. We evaluated the changes in histoarchitecture of testes and ovaries of adult Black Bengal goats (n=10 reared in arsenic affected areas in Bangladesh. Grossly, we found insignificant variations among the testes and ovaries, but histological evaluation revealed an extensive alteration in morphology of both testes and ovaries in the arsenic affected goats. In testes, the thickening of tunica albugenia and trabeculae, widening of intertubular space between seminiferous tubules, and narrowing in diameter of seminiferous tubules were observed. In ovaries of arsenic affected goats, significant decrease in number of primary follicles and antral follicles were observed. The diameters of secondary and antral follicles were significantly reduced. The granulosa layer of antral follicles showed marked thickening. The findings indicate that chronic arsenic exposure alters the histoarchitecture of both male and female gonads in Black Bengal goat, and thereby may affect their reproductive performance.

Chemical absorption of acoustic energy due to an eddy in the western Bay of Bengal

Digital Repository Service at National Institute of Oceanography (India)

PrasannaKumar, S.; Navelkar, G.S.; Murty, T.V.R.; Somayajulu, Y.K.; Murty, C.S.

Acoustic energy losses due to chemical absorption, within the western Bay of Bengal, in the presence of a subsurface meso-scale cold core eddy has been analysed. These estimates, for two different frequencies - 400 Hz and 10 kHz, find applications...

Trace metal concentrations in zooplankton from the eastern Arabian Sea and western Bay of Bengal

Digital Repository Service at National Institute of Oceanography (India)

Rejomon, G.; Balachandran, K.K.; Nair, M.; Joseph, T.; DineshKumar, P.K.; Achuthankutty, C.T.; Nair, K.K.C.; Pillai, N.G.K.

Trace metal contents in zooplankton samples were estimated as a part of the Marine Research-Living Resource program at 24 stations in the Bay of Bengal (November, 2002) and 29 stations in the Arabian Sea (September-October, 2003) during the Cruises...

Seasonal cyclogenesis and the role of near-surface stratified layer in the Bay of Bengal

Digital Repository Service at National Institute of Oceanography (India)

Murty, V.S.N.; Sarma, M.S.S.; Tilvi, V.

The role of the near-surface stratified layer developed due to the spread of low salinity waters under the influence of freshwater influx on the cyclogenesis over the Bay of Bengal is addressed. The seasonal variation of the Effective Oceanic Layer...

Transportation scenario of Black Bengal goats in Gabtoli and Sirajganj markets of Bangladesh

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Mohammed Nazmus sakib

2016-03-01

Conclusion: From this study it is concluded that Black Bengal goats became physically unfit during long time transportation although majority of the farmers took proper management practices. Therefore, changes in behavioral responses might be alleviated through creating awareness to animal raiser as well transporter. [J Adv Vet Anim Res 2016; 3(1.000: 38-44

Modeling Salinity Exchanges Between the Equatorial Indian Ocean and the Bay of Bengal

Science.gov (United States)

2016-06-01

parameters such as shortwave and long- wave radiation, specific humidity, and air temperature were taken from TropFlux data ( Praveen Kumar et  al...Bengal. Journal of Geophysical Research 120:3,315–3,329, http://dx.doi.org/10.1002/2014JC010340. Praveen Kumar, B., J. Vialard, M. Lengaigne, V.S. Murty

Mammals of Kalimpong Hills, Darjeeling District, West Bengal, India

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J.K. Mallick

2012-10-01

Full Text Available Neora Valley National Park (NVNP in the Kalimpong Hills, Darjeeling District, having a wide range of altitudinal variations (183-3,200 m and climatic conditions and forming an ecological trijunction with Sikkim and Bhutan, is the last virgin wilderness in West Bengal. It is a global hotspot for the unique ecosystem, where tropical, sub-tropical, temperate and sub-temperate forests represent a wealth of biodiversity including many threatened and rare mammals. It is the prime habitat of Ailurus fulgens (estimated population 28-32, Neofelis nebulosa (population unassessed, Ursus thibetanus (18, Bos gaurus (81, Hemitragus jemlahicus (32, Naemorhedus goral (73, Capricornis sumatraensis (89, Rusa unicolor (286, Muntiacus vaginalis (590 and Sus scrofa (615. Discovery of Panthera tigris (20 in 1998 prompted the forest department to include NVNP as a sensitive wildlife zone. Many authors recorded the mammalian diversity in Darjeeling District since the mid-nineteenth century, but most of them referred to the Darjeeling Hills. The documentations on Kalimpong Hills are scarce because of the dense canopy, thick undergrowth and inaccessible terrain, particularly in the pristine forests of Neora Valley. Consequently, a comprehensive compendium of the mammals in this region was not prepared. A study was undertaken in 2008-2009 with a view to bridging this knowledge-gap and presenting an updated account of the mammalian species in this new short-listed World Heritage Site and surrounding forests of the Kalimpong Hills based on literature review, questionnaire survey, direct sighting and indirect evidences. During June-October 1916, N.A. Baptista recorded 29 mammalian species (22 genera out of 563 specimens collected, from the region. The present study registered 99 species (68 genera after 94 years.

Lithological and mineralogical changes observed in a core from the western Bay of Bengal

Digital Repository Service at National Institute of Oceanography (India)

Reddy, N.P.C.; Rao, K.M.; Putra, S.V.S; Rao, Ch.M.

Lithological and mineralogical studies were carried out on sediments from a 650 cm long core from the north western Bay of Bengal at a depth of 2700 m. These studies demarcate a boundary at 380 cm designated as unit 1 from 0-380 cm and unit 2 from...

Sighting of Elymnias panthera (Lepidoptera: Nymphalidae: Satyrinae in West Bengal, eastern India

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A.B. Roy

2010-01-01

Full Text Available The Tawny Palmfly butterfly, Elymnias panthera (Lepidoptera: Nymphalidae: Satyrinae, is a Malayan species that is also known from the Nicobar Islands. Here we report sighting of E. panthera from the Bethuadahari Wildlife Sanctuary in West Bengal, eastern India. This is the first sighting of the species from mainland India, and is a possible range extension of the species into northeastern India.

Circulation and distribution of some hydrographical properties during the late winter in the Bay of Bengal

Digital Repository Service at National Institute of Oceanography (India)

Rao, D.P.; Sastry, J.S.

Charts showing dynamic topography, mass distribution, temperature, salinity, dissolved oxygen and inorganic phosphate in the upper layers of the Bay of Bengal for the late winter period were analysed and presented. The near surface circulation has...

Colorectal Cancer: A Study of Risk Factors in a Tertiary Care Hospital of North Bengal

OpenAIRE

Bhattacharya, Sumanta; Bhattacharya, Saikat; Basu, Rivu; Bera, Pranati; Halder, Aniket

2014-01-01

Aim: Age, sex, living place (urban or rural), smoking, alcohol consumption, dietary pattern, obesity are considered as risk factors for Colorectal cancer. Our study was done to evaluate the association between these risk factors and colorectal cancer in the population of North Bengal.

The movement and implications of the Ganges-Bramhaputra runoff on entering the Bay of Bengal

Digital Repository Service at National Institute of Oceanography (India)

Shetye, S.R.

The Ganges-Brahmaputra rivers discharge annually approximately 10 sup(2) m sup(3) of freshwater into the Bay of Bengal at its northern end. We propose that the spread of this water, accompaniEd. by mixing with the ambient waters, occurs in three...

Distribution and seasonal abundance of carangid larvae in the Arabian sea and Bay of Bengal

Digital Repository Service at National Institute of Oceanography (India)

Peter, K.J.; Balachandran, T.

Carangid larvae were recorded from 8.8% of the International Indian Ocean Expedition (IIOE) stations in the Arabian Sea and 13.2% in the Bay of Bengal. Their total contribution was 1.1% of the total larvae collected. The highest number of larvae...

Dynamic Study on the Hepatobiliary Diseases with Combination of 131I-Rose bengal and 198Au-Colloid Scintiphotography

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Rhee, Yong Kok

1971-01-01

The radioactive 131 I-Rose bengal serial scintiphotography was performed in 62 patients with the hepatobiliary diseases and in 20 normal subjects. This approach permitted visualization of the hepatic uptake of 131 I-Rose bengal from the circulation and its excretion into the biliary trees and the intestines. In some of these patients, gallbladder function was examined, using eggs as a gallbladder constrictor. The time of maximum hepatic uptake was well correlated to the conventional biochemical liver function tests. In addition to 131 I-Rose bengal scintiphotography, 198 Au-colloid scintiphotography was also performed to make comparison of these two tests. The results obtained were as follows: 1) In normal subjects, the maximum hepatic uptake of 131 I-Rose bengal occurred at 23±2.9 minutes, the initial hepatic excretion at 34±5.1 minutes, the visualization of the gallbladder at 29±5.7 minutes and the intestinal visualization at 54±25.8 minutes. The radioactivity in the gallbladder decreased to 10.7±5.0% one hour after the ingestion of eggs. 2) In the patients with cirrhosis of the liver, there was a delayed and decreased hepatic uptake. The maximum hepatic uptake occurred at 43±12.9 minutes. The differences in the results of uptake between the cirrhotic and the normal group were statistically significant. The initial hepatic excretion occurred at 60±18.5 minutes and had tendency of delaying compared with the normal controls. The gallbladder was visualized in 13 of 16 cases (81%) and its visualization occurred at 49±14.6 minutes with a tendency to be delayed compared with the normal controls. The intestinal visualization occurred at 63±15.8 minutes and its delaying tendency was somewhat more prominent. 3) In patients with hepatitis, the maximum hepatic uptake occurred at 59±21.4 minutes and was significantly delayed. The initial hepatic excretion occurred at 82±34.3 minutes and the results revealed a delaying tendency. The gallbladder was visualized in 15

Sanctified madness: the God-intoxicated saints of Bengal.

Science.gov (United States)

Morinis, A

1985-01-01

The saintly madman is a familiar character in South Asia. To outer appearances he is no different from a lunatic, but the mad saint comes to be revered because his idiocy is popularly believed to arise from a different cause than ordinary madness. The common psychopath neglects social conventions because his consciousness is dimmed by incapacity; the saintly madman also breaches convention, but does so because his heightened consciousness has liberated him from the bonds of convention that entrap ordinary people. In the terms of Hinduism, he has tasted the divine nectar of God-realization and has returned to the human realm intoxicated by the experience. In this paper two popular God intoxicated saints of Bengal are discussed. The question is posed whether 'God intoxication' can be considered a culture-bound syndrome of Bengal. The concept of 'culture bound syndrome' is found to be too narrow to encompass the most significant issues to arise from reflection on the characteristics of the God intoxicated. These larger issues have to do with the relationship between cultural practices and models and mental states (whether deviant, as implied by the term 'syndrome' although deviance does not always carry the negative connotation implicit in 'syndrome', or normal). It is suggested that all cultures culture a limited range of mental states and thus the questions posed by the notion of culture bound syndromes are subsumed by larger questions about the relationship of all mind-states to the socio-cultural environment which conditions them. The conclusion is that God intoxication is indeed a uniquely Bengali mental condition, with variants throughout South Asia and kinship to other mystical states, but that the concept of 'syndrome' is not useful.

Energy and generating mechanism of a subsurface, cold core eddy in the Bay of Bengal

Digital Repository Service at National Institute of Oceanography (India)

PrasannaKumar, S.; Babu, M.T.; Rao, D.P.

Computation of available potential energy (APE) of a recently observed cold core, subsurface eddy (centered at 17 degrees 40'N and 85 degrees 19'E) in the Bay of Bengal revealed that the energy maxima associated with the eddy was of the order of 1...

Uso de tratamento hidrotérmico e ácido clorídrico na qualidade de lichia 'Bengal' Use of hydrothermal and acid treatment in the quality of litchi 'Bengal'

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Ellen Toews Doll Hojo

2011-06-01

Full Text Available Um dos maiores problemas na pós-colheita da lichia é o escurecimento do pericarpo, cuja cor vermelha se torna totalmente escurecida em 48 horas, sob 25 ºC. Tecnologias que possam controlar o escurecimento do pericarpo são valiosas, e é o foco principal da pesquisa na área de pós-colheita. O objetivo deste trabalho foi avaliar a vida útil de lichias 'Bengal', armazenadas a 20 ºC e 82 %UR após o tratamento hidrotérmico e/ou imersão em solução de HCl. O delineamento experimental foi o inteiramente casualizado, em esquema fatorial 4 x 7, com 3 repetições, onde o primeiro fator correspondeu aos tratamentos: testemunha; imersão em HCl a 1%, por 6 minutos; tratamento hidrotérmico, com imersão em água a 52 ºC por 1 minuto, seguido de resfriamento em água a 10 ºC, por 6 minutos; e tratamento hidrotérmico, seguido de resfriamento em HCl a 1%, a 10 ºC, por 6 minutos. O segundo fator foram os períodos de armazenamento: 0; 1; 2; 3;6; 9 e 12 dias. A combinação entre tratamento hidrotérmico (52 ºC por 1 minuto e resfriamento em HCl a 1% permite conservar a coloração das lichias 'Bengal' por até dois dias. Mesmo assim há escurecimento em 25% da superfície.One of the biggest problems in postharvest litchi pericarp browning is, the color red becomes totally dark in 48 hours at 25 º C. Technologies that can control the browning of the pericarp are valuable, and is the main focus of research in post-harvest. The aim of this study was to evaluate the shelf life of lychee 'Bengal', stored at 20 ° C and 82% RH after the hydrothermal treatment and/or immersion in HCl solution. The experimental design was completely randomized in a 4 x 7, with three replications, where the first factor was the treatment: control, immersion in HCl 1%, for 6 minutes; hydrothermal treatment, soaking in water at 52 ° C for 1 minutes, followed by immersion in water at 10 º C for 6 minutes, and hydrothermal treatment and subsequent cooling in 1% HCl, 10

Dissolved petroleum hydrocarbons along the oil tanker route in the southern Bay of Bengal

Digital Repository Service at National Institute of Oceanography (India)

Topgi, R; Noronha, R; Fondekar, S.P.; SenGupta, R

Concentrations of dissolved petroleum hydrocarbons during 3 cruises (Nos. 51, 66 and 68) of R V Gaveshani, along the oil tanker route, in the southern Bay of Bengal at 0, 10 and 20 m were 19.95 + or - 3.38, 16.78 + or - 2.53 and 13.45 + or - 2.17 mu...

Allogenic and Autogenic Signals in the Detrital Zircon U-Pb Record of the Deep-Sea Bengal Fan

Science.gov (United States)

Blum, M. D.; Rogers, K. G.; Gleason, J. D.; Najman, Y.

2017-12-01

The Himalayan-sourced Ganges-Brahmaputra river system and the deep-sea Bengal Fan represent Earth's largest sediment-dispersal system. This presentation summarizes a new detrital zircon U-Pb (DZ) provenance record from the Bengal Fan from cores collected during IODP Expedition 354, with coring sites located 1350 km downdip from the shelf margin. Each of our 15 samples were collected from medium- to fine-grained turbidite sand and, based on shipboard biostratigraphic analyses, our samples are late Miocene to late Pleistocene in age. Each sample was analyzed by LA-ICPMS at the Arizona Laserchron facility, with an average of n=270 concordant U-Pb ages per sample. Our goals are to use these data to evaluate the influence of allogenic controls vs. autogenic processes on signal propagation from source-to-sink. At the first order, large-scale sediment transfer to the Bengal Fan clearly records the strong tectonic and climatic forcing associated with the Himalayas and Ganges-Brahmaputra system: after up to 2500 km of river transport, and 1350 km of transport in turbidity currents, the DZ record faithfully represents Himalayan source terrains. The sand-rich turbidite part of the record is nevertheless biased towards glacial periods when rivers extended across the shelf in response to climate-forced sea-level fall, and discharged directly to slope canyons. However, only part of the Bengal Fan DZ record represents either the Ganges or the Brahmaputra, with most samples representing varying degrees of mixing of sediments from the two systems: this mixing, or the lack thereof, represents the signal of autogenic avulsions on the delta plain that result in the two river systems delivering sediment separately to the shelf margin, or together as they do today. Within the allogenic framework established by tectonic processes, the climatic system, and global climate-forced sea-level change, the DZ U-Pb record of sediment mixing or the lack thereof provides a fingerprint of autogenic

The tectonic origin of the Bay of Bengal and Bangladesh

Digital Repository Service at National Institute of Oceanography (India)

Talwani, M.; Desa, M.; Ismaiel, M.; Krishna, K.S.

direction for the Indian plate.  4. The 85°E Ridge was initially evolved as a fracture zone, and subsequently associated with volcanism.   5. The oceanic crust of the Western Basin of the Bay of Bengal is older than the crust of the Eastern Basin and Bangla... it a northern extension of the 86°E fracture zone, while Sar et al. [2009] suggested it could have a continental origin. Gibbons et al. [2013] inferred that the 85°E Ridge and the Kerguelen Fracture Zone formed as conjugate flanks of a 'leaky...

Geo-environmental changes and agricultural land development in Bengal Delta

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Miyamoto, Shinji; Uchida, Haruo; Ando, Kazuo; Salim, Muhammad

2010-01-01

We analyzed changes in the relationship between geo-environment and agricultural land development around the central Jamuna (Brahmaputra) River, central Bangladesh. Based on sedimentary facies analysis and AMS radiocarbon dating, some conclusions are as follows: (1) Natural levees along the Jamuna River formed until ca. 12 to 11 k cal yrs BP; (2) Homesteads (bari-bhiti) were repaired by public works (mati-kata) following some flood events; (3) Paddy fields and homesteads were created since ca. 1.3 k cal yrs BP around central Bangladesh (central Bengal Delta). (author)

Visible lights induced polymerization reactions: interactions between rose bengal and iron aren complex

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Burget, D.; Grotzinger, C.; Jacques, P.; Fouassier, J.P.

1999-01-01

The present paper is devoted to an investigation of the interactions between Rose Bengal (RB) and an Iron aren (Irg(+)) complex that are usable in visible light induced polymerization reactions. Steady state and flash photolysis experiments were performed in order to elucidate the nature of the intermediates formed after light excitation. A complete scheme of evolution of the excited states is discussed

Lack of seasonality in phytoplankton standing stock (chlorophyll a) and production in the western Bay of Bengal

Digital Repository Service at National Institute of Oceanography (India)

Madhu, N.V.; Jyothibabu, R.; Maheswaran, P.A.; Gerson, V.J.; Gopalakrishnan, T.C.; Nair, K.K.C.

The investigations in the western Bay of Bengal (BoB) during summer, winter and spring intermonsoon periods evidenced lack of pronounced seasonal variation in phytoplankton standing stock (chlorophyll a) and primary production. The supply...

Gold-198 and rose bengal marked with iodine-131 in the diagnostic of hepatic vesicular affections; L'or{sup 198} et le rose bengale marque a l'iode{sup 131} dans le diagnostic des affections hepatovesiculaires

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Manambelona Razafimalaza, J [Commissariat a l' Energie Atomique, Saclay (France). Centre d' Etudes Nucleaires

1961-06-15

Colloidal gold-198 makes it possible to obtain clear images of hepatic parenchyma; the examination can be repeated from different angles thus demonstrating the presence of pathologically inert regions, whether they be hydatic cysts, abscesses or neoplasia. The study of the disappearance curve for the colloid, together with a measurement of the blood volume, makes it possible also to calculate the hepatic flow. Using Rose Bengal marked with iodine-131, it is possible to obtain images of the liver and of the bile ducts, and to follow the elimination of the dye in the intestines. The simultaneous recording of the disappearance curves for the blood and of the appearance of the dye in the intestines constitutes an useful working test which is particularly sensible for evaluating the permeability of the bile ducts and, to a certain degree, the site of an obstruction. (author) [French] L'or colloidal-198 permet d'obtenir avec nettete des images du parenchyme hepatique; l'examen peut etre repete sous plusieurs incidences mettant ainsi en evidence les zones muettes pathologiques, qu'il s'agisse de kystes hydatiques, d'abces ou de neoplasies. L'etude de la courbe d'epuration du colloide completee par une mesure du volume sanguin offre en outre la possibilite de calculer le debit hepatique. A l'aide du rose bengale marque a l'iode-131, il est possible d'obtenir des images du foie et de la vesicule biliaire, et de suivre l'elimination intestinale du colorant. L'enregistrement simultane des courbes d'epuration sanguine et d'apparition intestinale constitue une epreuve fonctionnelle particulierement sensible pour apprecier la permeabilite des voies biliaires et dans une certaine mesure le site d'une obstruction. (auteur)

Inter- and intra-annual variations in the population of Tripos from the Bay of Bengal

Digital Repository Service at National Institute of Oceanography (India)

Chitari, R.R.; Anil, A.C.; Kulkarni, V.V.; Narale, D.D.; Patil, J.S.

-K transect. In the C-P transect high numbers of T. furca can be attributed to mesoscale eddies, whereas in the P-K transect, it can be attributed to riverine discharge. The results point that, Tripos persists throughout the year in the Bay of Bengal and tend...

Long-chain alkaenone unsaturation index as sea surface temperature proxy in southwest Bay of Bengal

Digital Repository Service at National Institute of Oceanography (India)

Sarma, N.S.; Pasha, S.K.G.; SriRamKrishna, M.; Shirodkar, P.V.; Yadava, M.G.; Rao, K.M.

As a proxy of the sea surface temperature (SST), C sub(37) long-chain alkenones (LCAs) preserved in sediments of the southwestern Bay of Bengal and dating back to the last glacial period, were identified in SIM GC-EI MS spectra run at m/z 530...

Changing sedimentary environment during the late Quaternary: Sedimentological and isotopic evidence from the distal Bengal Fan

Digital Repository Service at National Institute of Oceanography (India)

Kessarkar, P.M.; Rao, V.P.; Ahmad, S.M.; Patil, S.K.; AnilKumar, A.; AnilBabu, G.; Chakraborty, S.; SounderRajan, R

The sediments recovered from two gravity cores of the lower and distal Bengal Fan were investigated for sedimentological properties and Sr -Nd isotopes.Each core exhibits two distinct units, the lower unit 2 and upper unit 1 sediments. The unit 2...

A modeling study of the processes of surface salinity seasonal cycle in the Bay of Bengal.

Digital Repository Service at National Institute of Oceanography (India)

Akhil, V.P.; Durand, F.; Lengaigne, M.; Vialard, J.; Keerthi, M.G.; Gopalakrishna, V.V.; Deltel, C.; Papa, F.; Montegut, C.deB.

of Science, Bangalore, India, 5LOS, IFREMER, Plouzan�e, France Abstract In response to the Indian Monsoon freshwater forcing, the Bay of Bengal exhibits a very strong seasonal cycle in sea surface salinity (SSS), especially near the mouths of the Ganges...

Transformation of Agricultural Land for Urbanisation, Infrastructural Development and Question of Future Food Security: Cases from Parts of Hugli District, West Bengal

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Giyasuddin Siddique

2017-11-01

Full Text Available Developing countries of the world encounter urbanisation and infrastructural development in or around the fertile tracts and the absence of any landuse plan for desired land use change has led to conversion of farmlands, which is detrimental to future food security and environmental quality. Hugli district is traditionally well known as one of the most prosperous agricultural regions of West Bengal but the district is experiencing rapid urban extension and infrastructural development towards productive agricultural land since 1991. This has caused decline in the amount of agricultural production which may be treated as an indicator of increasing threat to the long run sustainable livelihood security of the people of the whole of West Bengal. This article critically explores the transformation of agricultural (farm land because of growing rate of urbanisation and infrastructural development, which in turn poses the question of threat to food (in security. Although, this is a growing problem across the universe, this article probes the future food security questions of Hugli district, West Bengal by examining the impact of the highly intertwined indicators of urbanisation and infrastructural development on agricultural (farm land use and its effect on food security. Regression analysis, Spearman’s Ranking Correlation Coefficient, Remote Sensing technologies, Markov Chain Model, Projection of future population growth and yield rate are employed to understand the depth of the problem. The result not only shows a direct negative correlation between urban extension and agricultural areal contraction but also the supervised classification of satellite imageries shows that there is rapid change of rural land use from 1996-2016. There is no match between future population growth and future yield rate of crops and the Markov Chain Model further predicts that the cropland will decrease from 62.77% to 42.90% and the built up area will increase from 31

Role of biology in the air–sea carbon flux in the Bay of Bengal

Indian Academy of Sciences (India)

Abstract. A physical-biological-chemical model (PBCM)is used for investigating the seasonal cycle of air –sea carbon flux and for assessing the effect of the biological processes on seasonal time scale in the Arabian Sea (AS)and Bay of Bengal (BoB),where the surface waters are subjected to contrasting physical conditions.

Spectral Wave Characteristics in the Nearshore Waters of Northwestern Bay of Bengal

Science.gov (United States)

Anjali Nair, M.; Sanil Kumar, V.; Amrutha, M. M.

2018-03-01

The spectral wave characteristics in the nearshore waters of northwestern Bay of Bengal are presented based on the buoy-measured data from February 2013 to December 2015 off Gopalpur at 15-m water depth. The mean seasonal significant wave height and mean wave period indicate that the occurrence of higher wave heights and wave periods is during the southwest monsoon period (June-September). 74% of the sea surface height variance in a year is a result of waves from 138 to 228° and 16% are from 48 to 138°. Strong inter-annual variability is observed in the monthly average wave parameters due to the occurrence of tropical cyclones. Due to the influence of the tropical cyclone Phailin, maximum significant wave height of 6.7 m is observed on 12 October 2013 and that due to tropical cyclone Hudhud whose track is 250 southwest of the study location is 5.84 m on 12 October 2014. Analysis revealed that a single tropical cyclone influenced the annual maximum significant wave height and not the annual average value which is almost same ( 1 m) in 2014 and 2015. The waves in the northwestern Bay of Bengal are influenced by the southwest and northeast monsoons, southern ocean swells and cyclones.

The Significance Of Experience Of West Bengal For Poverty Alleviation In Bangladesh

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A. A. Nemova

2017-01-01

Full Text Available The article analyzes socio-economic problems and ways of eliminating poverty in Bangladesh. The focal point of the research is poverty among rural population which is the most vulnerable one. The author’s assumption is that the main reason for rural poverty is historical inequality of land property distribution in Bangladesh. The existing measures of poverty alleviation in Bangladesh (micro crediting among others have made the country a role model for development. However, due to the limited potential of micro crediting a broader program of socio-economic reforms is required for any country striving to provide inclusive development. Using comparative-historical method the article compares the experience of Bangladesh and Indian state of West Bengal in implementing agricultural reforms aimed at improving life of the poor. West Bengal under the CPM rule is considered as a state with strong government whereas Bangladesh is considered as a state with weak government but rather strong non-governmental actors (NGOs. The article makes a conclusion that a weak institutional power of Bangladesh is one of the main reasons why agricultural reforms have not been adopted in this country and that poverty elimination there requires structural reforms to redistribute land property and to guarantee rural population legal and economic equality.

Molecular analysis of microbial community in arsenic-rich groundwater of Kolsor, West Bengal.

Science.gov (United States)

Sarkar, Angana; Paul, Dhiraj; Kazy, Sufia K; Sar, Pinaki

2016-01-01

Bacterial community composition within the highly arsenic (As) contaminated groundwater from Kolsur, West Bengal was analyzed over a period of 3 years using 16S rRNA gene clone library and Denaturing Gradient Gel Electrophoresis (DGGE). Molecular phylogenetic study revealed abundance of α-Proteobacteria (56%) and Firmicutes (29%) along with members of β-Proteobacteria, Verrucomicrobia and Sphingobacteria as relatively minor groups. Along with consistent physicochemical environment, a stable microbial community structure comprising of bacterial genera Agrobacterium-Rhizobium, Ochrobactrum, Pseudomonas, Anoxybacillus and Penibacillus was recorded over the three years study period. Presence of cytosolic arsenate reductase (arsC) gene was observed within the microbial community. Phylogenetic analyses revealed that all the arsC sequences were closely related to the same gene from γ-proteobacterial members while the community was consisted of mainly α-proteobacterial groups. Such phylogenetic incongruence between 16S rRNA and arsC genes possibly indicated horizontal gene transfer (HGT) of the ars genes within the groundwater community. Overall, the study reported a nearly stable geomicrobial environment and genetic determinant related to As homeostasis gene, and provided a better insight on biogeochemistry of As contaminated aquifer of West Bengal.

Hydroclimatic influences on seasonal and spatial cholera transmission cycles: Implications for public health intervention in the Bengal Delta

Science.gov (United States)

Akanda, Ali Shafqat; Jutla, Antarpreet S.; Alam, Munirul; de Magny, Guillaume Constantin; Siddique, A. Kasem; Sack, R. Bradley; Huq, Anwar; Colwell, Rita R.; Islam, Shafiqul

2011-03-01

Cholera remains a major public health threat in many developing countries around the world. The striking seasonality and annual recurrence of this infectious disease in endemic areas remain of considerable interest to scientists and public health workers. Despite major advances in the ecological and microbiological understanding of Vibrio cholerae, the causative agent of the disease, the role of underlying large-scale hydroclimatic processes in propagating the disease for different seasons and spatial locations is not well understood. Here we show that the cholera outbreaks in the Bengal Delta region are propagated from the coastal to the inland areas and from spring to fall by two distinctly different transmission cycles, premonsoon and postmonsoon, influenced by coastal and terrestrial hydroclimatic processes, respectively. A coupled analysis of the regional hydroclimate and cholera incidence reveals a strong association of the space-time variability of incidence peaks with seasonal processes and extreme climatic events. We explain how the asymmetric seasonal hydroclimatology affects regional cholera dynamics by providing a coastal growth environment for bacteria in spring, while propagating the disease to fall by monsoon flooding. Our findings may serve as the basis for "climate-informed" early warnings and for prompting effective means for intervention and preempting epidemic cholera outbreaks in vulnerable regions.

Ichthyofaunal Diversity and Water Quality in the Kangsabati Reservoir, West Bengal, India

OpenAIRE

Amalesh Bera; Manojit Bhattacharya; Bidhan Chandra Patra; Utpal Kumar Sar

2014-01-01

The ichthyofauna in relation to water quality was studied on monthly basis from March, 2010 to February, 2011 in the Kangsabati Reservoir, West Bengal. The study revealed that physicochemical parameters of Kangsabati Reservoir were congenial for 39 fish species of commercial importance, belonging to 7 orders, 15 families, and 26 genera. The Cypriniformes were dominant with 17 species, followed by Siluriformes and Perciformes, with 7 species each, Channiformes with 3 species, Osteoglossifor...

Computer-aided pathophysiological analysis of 131I rose bengal hepatogram

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Matsumoto, Akira

1976-01-01

The author analysed 131 I-rose bengal (R.B.) hepatograms over the liver region using digital simulation technique to determine the hepatobiliary functions separately and to compare the rate constants obtained from the kinetic model and the results obtained from conventional liver function tests. A total of 112 cases were observed including various liver and gallbladder diseases and 8 normal subjects. Fasting patients were given intravenous injections of 300 μCi of 131 I-R.B. Hepatic uptake and excretion of radioactivity were measured for 120 minutes using a gamma camera. Two regions, one over the right lobe and the other over the gallbladder, were studied. The author applied a 3 compartment analysis to the 131 I-R.B. hepatogram. Measured 131 I-R.B. hepatogram was printed out on a line printer with curve pattern indices. Assumed rate constants and relative volume indices were placed on punch cards. Computer-aided simulation curves were printed on a line printer with curve pattern indices. The measured hepatogram and the simulated hepatogram were compared. The blood flow index (K 21 ), the hepatocellular function index (K 32 ) and the intrahepatic biliary excretion index (K 03 ) were obtained with the schematic presentation of the curves. Rate constants from the kinetic model correlated well with conventional liver function tests. In normal liver and hepatobiliary diseases, there were high statistical correlations between K 21 and Ksub(L) 131 I-R.B. Retention (%), between K 32 and Cholinesterase, and between K 03 and Alkaliphosphatase. However, there was a low statistical correlation between the results of the simulation study and the results of liver function tests in the cases of obstructive jaundice and intrahepatic cholestasis. (Evans, J.)

Gold-198 and rose bengal marked with iodine-131 in the diagnostic of hepatic vesicular affections

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Manambelona Razafimalaza, J.

1961-06-01

Colloidal gold-198 makes it possible to obtain clear images of hepatic parenchyma; the examination can be repeated from different angles thus demonstrating the presence of pathologically inert regions, whether they be hydatic cysts, abscesses or neoplasia. The study of the disappearance curve for the colloid, together with a measurement of the blood volume, makes it possible also to calculate the hepatic flow. Using Rose Bengal marked with iodine-131, it is possible to obtain images of the liver and of the bile ducts, and to follow the elimination of the dye in the intestines. The simultaneous recording of the disappearance curves for the blood and of the appearance of the dye in the intestines constitutes an useful working test which is particularly sensible for evaluating the permeability of the bile ducts and, to a certain degree, the site of an obstruction. (author) [fr

Reconstructing the sedimentation history of the Bengal Delta Plain by means of geochemical and stable isotopic data

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Neidhardt, Harald; Biswas, Ashis; Freikowski, Dominik; Majumder, Santanu; Chatterjee, Debashis; Berner, Zsolt A.

2013-01-01

The purpose of this study is to examine the sedimentation history of the central floodplain area of the Bengal Delta Plain in West Bengal, India. Sediments from two boreholes were analyzed regarding lithology, geochemistry and the stable isotopic composition of embedded organic matter. Different lithofacies were distinguished that reflect frequent changes in the prevailing sedimentary depositional environment of the study area. The lowest facies comprises poorly sorted fluvial sediments composed of fine gravel to clay pointing at high transport energy and intense relocation processes. This facies is considered to belong to an early Holocene lowstand systems tract that followed the last glacial maximum. Fine to medium sands above it mark a gradual change towards a transgressive systems tract. Upwards increasing proportions of silt and the stable isotopic composition of embedded organic matter both indicate a gradual change from fluvial channel infill sediments towards more estuarine and marine influenced deposits. Youngest sediments are composed of clayey and silty overbank deposits of the Hooghly River that have formed a vast low-relief delta-floodplain. Close to the surface, small concretions of secondary Mn-oxides and Fe-(oxyhydr)oxides occur and mark the fluctuation range of the unsaturated zone. These concretions are accompanied by relatively high contents of trace elements such as Zn, Ni, Cu, and As. To sum up, the outcomes of this study provide new insights into the complex sedimentation history of the barely investigated central floodplain area of West Bengal

Upper ocean variability in the Bay of Bengal during the tropical cyclones Nargis and Laila

Digital Repository Service at National Institute of Oceanography (India)

Maneesha, K.; Murty, V.S.N.; Ravichandran, M.; Lee, T.; Yu, W.; McPhaden, M.J.

-monsoon north Bay of Bengal, Atmos. Sci. Let. Doi:10.1002/asl.162. Shay, L.K., G.J.Goni and P.G. Black (2000) , Effects of warm oceanic features on hurricane opal, Mon.Wea.Rev., 128, 1366-1383 Subrahmanyam, B., V.S.N. Murty, Ryan J. Sharp and James J...

Some cogent observations on amoebic hepatopathies using radioactive rose bengal

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Sharma, B N; Jha, B K

1975-08-01

Amoebic hepatopathies in this paper refers to three clinical syndromes described as hepatic amoebiasis, liver abscess and amoebic hepatitis. Forty-six patients with clinical symptomatology suggestive of amoebic hepatopathy were investigated with /sup 131/I rose bengal. Size, shape, position and parenchymal functions of their livers were estimated by assessing rose bengal blood clearance rate and scanning procedures. It was observed that there was true hepatomegaly and hepatic dysfunction in cases of hepatic abscess but not in amoebic hepatitis patients. Furthermore, hepatic abscess cases always had a ''cold'' area in their liver scans even at very early stage. On the other hand, amoebic hepatitis patients had normal size, shape and function of the liver--which was further confirmed by liver biopsy in five of them. These livers were palpable because of their low anatomical position (Ptosis). All the cases of hepatic abscess (except two) were treated by antiamoebic drugs without resorting to aspiration and serial scans showed complete resolution. Hence it is seen that aspiration in managing these cases (irrespective of the size) in early stages is not indicated at all. Thirty per cent of these patients developed jaundice and again size of the abscess was not critical. Surprisingly, amoebic hepatitis cases also showed improvement to oral anti-amoebic drugs. Liver, if at all involved in these cases, was due to chronic bowel disorders and treatment of bowel gives them symptomatic relief. However, no direct evidence could be brought out to prove existence of amoebic hepatitis by these techniques.

N2 production rates limited by nitrite availability in the Bay of Bengal oxygen minimum zone

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Bristow, Laura A.; Callbeck, C. M.; Larsen, M

2017-01-01

with isotopically labelled nitrogen compounds and analyse geochemical signatures of these processes in the water column. We find that the Bay of Bengal supports denitrifier and anammox microbial populations, mediating low, but significant N loss. Yet, unlike other oxygen minimum zones, our measurements using...

The Tsunami Geology of the Bay of Bengal Shores and the Predecessors of the 2004 Indian Ocean Event

Science.gov (United States)

Rajendran, C.; Rajendran, K.; Seshachalam, S.; Andrade, V.

2010-12-01

The 2004 Aceh-Andaman earthquake exceeded the known Indian Ocean precedents by its 1,300-km long fault rupture and the height and reach of its tsunami. Literature of the ancient Chola dynasty (AD 9-11 centuries) of south India and the archeological excavations allude to a sea flood that crippled the historic port at Kaveripattinam, a trading hub for Southeast Asia. Here, we combine a variety of data from the rupture zone as well as the distant shores to build a tsunami history of the Bay of Bengal. A compelling set of geological proxies of possible tsunami inundation include boulder beds of Car Nicobar Island in the south and the East Island in the northernmost Andaman, a subsided fossil mangrove forest near Port Blair and a washover sedimentation identified in the Kaveripattinam coast of Tamil Nadu, south India. We have developed an extensive chronology for these geological proxies, and we analyze them in conjunction with the historical information culled from different sources for major sea surges along the Bay of Bengal shores. The age data and the depositional characteristics of these geological proxies suggest four major tsunamis in the last 2000 years in the Bay of Bengal, including the 1881 Car Nicobar tsunami. Among these, the evidence for the event of 800-1200 cal yr BP is fairly well represented on both sides of the Bay of Bengal shores. Thus, we surmise that the 800-1000-year old tsunami mimics the transoceanic reach of the 2004 Indian Ocean and the age constraints also agree with the sea surge during the Chola period. We also obtained clues for a possible medieval tsunami from the islands occurred probably a few hundred years after the Chola tsunami, but its size cannot constrained, nor its source. The convergence of ages and the multiplicity of sites would suggest at least one full size predecessor of the 2004 event 1000-800 years ago.

The effect of semi-permanent eddies on the distribution of mesozooplankton in the central Bay of Bengal

Digital Repository Service at National Institute of Oceanography (India)

Fernandes, V.

Five locations in the central Bay of Bengal (BoB) along a longitudinal transect at 88E were sampled during the Fall Intermonsoon, 2002 for mesozooplankton biomass, abundance, groups and copepod species composition. Stations at 9N and 18N had...

Deposition of chromium in aquatic ecosystem from effluents of handloom textile industries in Ranaghat–Fulia region of West Bengal, India

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Tanmay Sanyal

2015-11-01

Full Text Available Accumulation of chromium (Cr was determined in water, sediment, aquatic plants, invertebrates and fish in aquatic ecosystems receiving effluents from handloom textile industries in Ranaghat–Fulia region of West Bengal in India. Cr was determined in the samples by atomic absorption spectrophotometer and data were analyzed functionally by Genetic Algorithm to determine trend of depositions of Cr in the sediment and water. Area plot curve was used to represent accumulation of Cr in biota. The results indicate that the aquatic ecosystems receiving the effluents from handloom textile factories are heavily contaminated by Cr. The contamination is hardly reflected in the concentration of Cr in water, but sediment exhibits seasonal fluctuation in deposition of Cr, concentration reaching to as high as 451.0 μg g−1 during the peak production period. There is a clear trend of gradual increase in the deposition of Cr in the sediment. Aquatic weed, insect and mollusk specimens collected from both closed water bodies (S1 & S2 and riverine resources (S3 & S4 showed high rate of accumulation of Cr. Maximum concentration of Cr was detected in roots of aquatic weeds (877.5 μg g−1. Fish specimens collected from the polluted sites (S3 & S4 of river Churni showed moderate to high concentration of Cr in different tissues. Maximum concentration was detected in the liver of Glossogobius giuris (679.7 μg g−1 during monsoon followed by gill of Mystus bleekeri (190.0 μg g−1 and gut of G. giuris (123.7 μg g−1 during summer. Eutropiichthys vacha showed moderately high concentration of Cr in different tissues (65–99 μg g−1 while Puntius sarana showed relatively low concentration of Cr (below detection limit to 18.0 μg g−1 in different tissues except in gill (64.4 μg g−1.

Dynamic Study on the Hepatobiliary Diseases with Combination of {sup 131}I-Rose bengal and {sup 198}Au-Colloid Scintiphotography

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Rhee, Yong Kok [Seoul National University College of Medicine, Seoul (Korea, Republic of)

1971-03-15

The radioactive {sup 131}I-Rose bengal serial scintiphotography was performed in 62 patients with the hepatobiliary diseases and in 20 normal subjects. This approach permitted visualization of the hepatic uptake of {sup 131}I-Rose bengal from the circulation and its excretion into the biliary trees and the intestines. In some of these patients, gallbladder function was examined, using eggs as a gallbladder constrictor. The time of maximum hepatic uptake was well correlated to the conventional biochemical liver function tests. In addition to {sup 131}I-Rose bengal scintiphotography, {sup 198}Au-colloid scintiphotography was also performed to make comparison of these two tests. The results obtained were as follows: 1) In normal subjects, the maximum hepatic uptake of {sup 131}I-Rose bengal occurred at 23+-2.9 minutes, the initial hepatic excretion at 34+-5.1 minutes, the visualization of the gallbladder at 29+-5.7 minutes and the intestinal visualization at 54+-25.8 minutes. The radioactivity in the gallbladder decreased to 10.7+-5.0% one hour after the ingestion of eggs. 2) In the patients with cirrhosis of the liver, there was a delayed and decreased hepatic uptake. The maximum hepatic uptake occurred at 43+-12.9 minutes. The differences in the results of uptake between the cirrhotic and the normal group were statistically significant. The initial hepatic excretion occurred at 60+-18.5 minutes and had tendency of delaying compared with the normal controls. The gallbladder was visualized in 13 of 16 cases (81%) and its visualization occurred at 49+-14.6 minutes with a tendency to be delayed compared with the normal controls. The intestinal visualization occurred at 63+-15.8 minutes and its delaying tendency was somewhat more prominent. 3) In patients with hepatitis, the maximum hepatic uptake occurred at 59+-21.4 minutes and was significantly delayed. The initial hepatic excretion occurred at 82+-34.3 minutes and the results revealed a delaying tendency. The

Observations of barrier layer formation in the Bay of Bengal during summer monsoon

Digital Repository Service at National Institute of Oceanography (India)

Vinayachandran, P.N.; Murty, V.S.N.; RameshBabu, V.

monsoon, J. Geophys. Res., 107(C12), 8018, doi:10.1029/2001JC000831, 2002. 1. Introduction [2] Several monsoon lows and depressions, that contrib- ute substantially to the summer monsoon rainfall of the Indian subcontinent, form over the Bay of Bengal... August–September, 1990,Murtyetal.[1996]foundthatthemixedlayerbasedon a temperature criterion is deeper than that using density. The regionwithrelativelyfreshwaterwithhighSSTappearstobe an excellent breeding ground for the formation of monsoon depressions...

Sedimentology and arsenic pollution in the Bengal Basin: insight into arsenic occurrence and subsurface geology.

Science.gov (United States)

Hills, Andrew; McArthur, John

2014-05-01

The Bengal delta system is a geologically recent feature overlying a deeply incised palaeo-surface formed during the Last Glacial Maximum. This surface is a series of terraces and valleys created by river incision (Goodbred & Kuehl 2003). The terraces were weathered, forming a thin, indurated laterite deposit (Goodbred & Kuehl 2000) at depths greater than 50 m. McArthur et al. (2008) define this as a palaeosol and have identified it at depths greater than 30 m though out Bangladesh and West Bengal. It has been observed that arsenic concentrations at these sites are lower than the rest of the delta. It has been assumed that the surface morphology at sites where there is a palaeosol are similar and can therefore be characterised by remote sensing, in the form of Google Earth images. Sites were selected in Bangladesh and West Bengal, from work by McArthur et al. (2011); Hoque et al. (2012), where groundwater chemistry and sedimentology data are available making it possible to determine if the subsurface is a palaeo-channel or palaeo-interfluve. Arsenic concentration data have been inputted into Google Earth and the palaeo-channels marked where the arsenic concentration is greater than 10 µg/L, and palaeo-interfluves where arsenic concentration is less than 10 µg/L. The surface morphologies in these domains have been examined for similarities, and it was shown that avulsion scars and abandoned river channels are found where arsenic concentrations are greater than 10 µg/L. Conversely the surrounding areas that are devoid of channel scars have arsenic concentrations less than 10 µg/L. Using the correlation between avulsion features being representative of palaeo-channels and high arsenic concentrations, sites were selected that had a similar surface morphology to the type localities. A comparison of these images and arsenic concentrations showed that the postulate is valid for over 80 percent of cases. Where this is not valid, this could indicate that the subsurface

Placental passage of rose bengal 131I, its accumulation in the fetus and its distribution in the organs of the female mice

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Sudarwati, S.; Sutasurya, L.A.

1977-01-01

Female mice of various gestation periods were injected intraperitoneally with 0.25-0.5O ml of rose bengal 131 I with the activity between 225-250 μCi. A group was administered with Lugol's solution one day before treatment. Accumulation of radio-rose bengal in the fetuses started at the eleventh day and great increase occured at the seventeenth day of gestation till birth. Acculmulations in both fetal and female mice's thyroids could be prevented by administering Lugol's solution before treatment, and the second target of the labelled compound after the thyroid gland was liver. (author)

Doomed to drown? Sediment dynamics in the human-controlled floodplains of the active Bengal Delta

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Kimberly G. Rogers

2017-11-01

Full Text Available The Ganges-Brahmaputra-Meghna (Bengal Delta in Bangladesh has been described as a delta in peril of catastrophic coastal flooding because sediment deposition on delta plain surfaces is insufficient to offset rates of subsidence and sea level rise. Widespread armoring of the delta by coastal embankments meant to protect crops from flooding has limited natural floodplain deposition, and in the tidally dominated delta, dikes lead to rapid compaction and lowered land surface levels. This renders the deltaic floodplains susceptible to flooding by sea level rise and storm surges capable of breaching poorly maintained embankments. However, natural physical processes are spatially variable across the delta front and therefore the impact of dikes on sediment dispersal and morphology should reflect these variations. We present the first ever reported sedimentation rates from the densely populated and human-controlled floodplains of the central lower Bengal Delta. We combine direct sedimentation measurements and short-lived radionuclides to show that transport processes and lateral sedimentation are highly variable across the delta. Overall aggradation rates average 2.3 ± 9 cm y–1, which is more than double the estimated average rate of local sea level rise; 83% of sampled sites contained sediment tagged with detectable 7 Be, indicating flood-pulse sourced sediments are widely delivered to the delta plain, including embanked areas. A numerical model is then used to demonstrate lateral accretion patterns arising from 50 years of sedimentation delivered through smaller order channels. Dominant modes of transport are reflected in the sediment routing and aggradation across the lower delta plain, though embankments are major controls on sediment dynamics throughout the delta. This challenges the assumption that the Bengal Delta is doomed to drown; rather it signifies that effective preparation for climate change requires consideration of how infrastructure

Shore protection for the coast of Mousuni Island in West Bengal, India

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

V Sundar

2016-08-01

Full Text Available The Mousuni Island in West Bengal, India is wide-open to Bay of Bengal. This island by virtue of its location is exposed to river flow as well as wave action. It is thus subjected to severe erosion along its south-western coastal stretch and also significantly affecting agriculture due to seawater inundation. This is due to the lower level of bund crest elevation combined with high water levels during coastal flooding. The most suitable method to arrest the shore erosion and salt water intrusion is to divert the flow gradually toward the deeper section of the channel. To meet this requirement, after carrying out a comprehensive profiling of the existing bund, bank connected series of spurs with locally available construction materials and unskilled labor are proposed. In order to design these spurs, the magnitude and direction of sediment movement along the stretch is estimated. The layout of protection measures is proposed based on a detailed analysis of site conditions and the environmental conditions. The tranquility inside the proposed coastal protecting structure is substantiated with a two-dimensional horizontal flow model. Furthermore, the behavior of the shorelines has been studied numerically with the proposed coastal protection measure. The detailed analysis of the results from the numerical model and the protection measure are discussed in this article.

Upper ocean stratification and circulation in the northern Bay of Bengal during southwest monsoon of 1991

Digital Repository Service at National Institute of Oceanography (India)

Gopalakrishna, V.V.; Murty, V.S.N.; Sengupta, D.; Shenoy, Shrikant; Araligidad, N.

and the role of near-surface stratified layer in the Bay of Bengal. Proceedings of PORSEC 2000, Vol. I, pp. 453–457. Pond, S., Pickard, G.L., 1983. Introductory Dynamic Oceano- graphy, Pergamon Press, New York, 241pp. Sengupta,D.,Senan,R.,Goswamy,B.N.,2001...

The development of mental hospitals in West Bengal: A brief history and changing trends.

Science.gov (United States)

Bhattacharyya, Ranjan

2018-02-01

The communication between G. S Bose and Sigmund Freud is a well-documented fact, and philosophical blend of rich cultural experiences is unique to modification of traditional psychoanalysis in the context of development of psychiatry in West Bengal. The Calcutta lunatic asylum was established at Bhowanipore, and first general hospital psychiatric unit was formed at R. G. Kar Medical College, Calcutta. Prof. Ajita Chakraborty was a pioneer to describe her struggling days in the early career and shared her views with experiences in her autobiography. The volume and quality of research work, especially in the field of epidemiology led by Dr. D. N. Nandi is worth mentioning. A jail had been converted to mental hospital which is the largest in terms of bed strength ( n = 350) at Berhampore, Murshidabad district where Kazi Nazrul Islam and Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose had spent some period as prisoner during British rules. Bankura was the first district in West Bengal to start District Mental Health program. The various nongovernmental organizations are working together in public-private partnership model or indigenous ways in tandem over years for the betterment of mental health services both at institutional and community level.

Metering of agricultural power supply in West Bengal, India: Who gains and who loses?

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Mukherji, A.; Das, B.; Majumdar, N.; Nayak, N.C.; Sethi, R.R.; Sharma, B.R.

2009-01-01

As a part of the ongoing power sector reforms in India, the state of West Bengal is in the process of metering agricultural electricity supply. This paper presents a first cut assessment of this initiative. Results suggest that the majority of the pump owners benefit from the reforms in two ways: first by having to pay a lower electricity bill for same usage and second through increased profit margins by selling water. This is because in response to the changed incentive structure, water prices rose sharply by 30-50% immediately after metering. In contrast, water buyers have lost out by having to pay higher water charges and face adverse terms of contract. Impact of metering on operation of groundwater markets and volume of groundwater extracted is less clear; they may expand, contract or remain unchanged, though water use efficiency is likely to go up. At current tariff rates, the electricity utilities are likely to earn less revenue than before. These findings are context specific and hold good for West Bengal where high flat tariff had fostered competitive groundwater markets and hence cannot be generalised for other Indian states.

The energy-irrigation nexus and its impact on groundwater markets in eastern Indo-Gangetic basin: Evidence from West Bengal, India

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Mukherji, Aditi

2007-01-01

South Asia in general and India in particular is heavily dependent on groundwater for supporting its largely agrarian population. Informal pump irrigation services markets have played an important role in providing access to irrigation to millions of small and marginal farmers and had positive equity, efficiency and sustainable impacts in water-abundant regions such as West Bengal. Quite predictably, in such pump lift-based economy, fortunes of energy and irrigation sectors are closely entwined. This has often been called the 'energy-irrigation' nexus. There are two major sources of energy for pumping groundwater, viz. electricity and diesel. Most of the current discourse in the field has looked only at the 'electricity-irrigation' nexus to the exclusion of the 'diesel-irrigation nexus'. This paper looks at both these aspects. In doing so, it makes two propositions. First, high flat-rate electricity tariff encourages development of water markets whereby the water buyers-who are mostly small and marginal farmers-benefit through access to irrigation. Second, low rate of rural electrification has forced majority of farmers to depend on diesel for groundwater pumping and the steep increase in diesel prices over the last few years has resulted in economic scarcity of groundwater. This in turn has had serious negative impacts on crop production and farm incomes. Using primary field data from West Bengal, India, this paper makes a case for rapid rural electrification and continuation of high flat-rate tariff, which would in turn support developed groundwater markets and provide access to irrigation to the poor and marginal farmers

Marked bengal pink. A dynamic test using marking doses; its value in jaundice diagnosis; Rose bengale marque. Epreuve dynamique a doses tracantes; sa valeur dans le diagnostic des icteres

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Kellershohn, C; Desgrez, A [Commissariat a l' Energie Atomique, Service Frederic Joliot, Service de Biologie, Saclay (France).Centre d' Etudes Nucleaires; Caroli, J [Hopital Saint Antoine, 75 - Paris (France); Delaloye, B [Lausanne (Switzerland)

1961-07-01

The authors do a historic calling back of the differential study of jaundices thanks to the semi logarithmic gradients of expurgation of bromine sulphone-phthalein and thanks to the time of appearance of this material in the bile collected by duodenal tubing. They sum up likewise the foreign works which lead to take the place of this test, the outside count at the level of the head, the liver, and the abdomen after intravenous injection of a running dose of marked Rose Bengal. They specify the technical conditions of this test and report an experience which corroborate its value, its accuracy and the interest of its using in the different types of jaundices (hepatitis and obstructive types). (author) [French] Les auteurs font un rappel historique de l'etude differentielle des icteres grace aux pentes semi-logarithmiques d'epuration de la bromesulfonephtaleine et grace au temps d'apparition de cette substance dans la bile recueillie par tubage duodenal. Ils resument egalement les travaux etrangers qui tendent a substituer a cette epreuve le comptage externe au niveau de la tete, du foie et de l'abdomen, apres injection intraveineuse d'une dose tracante de rose bengale marque. Ils precisent les conditions techniques de cette epreuve et rapportent une experience qui confirme sa valeur, son exactitude et l'interet de son utilisation dans les differentes categories d'icteres par hepatite et par obstruction. (auteur)

Circulations in the Bay of Bengal and the Arabian Sea with Reference to Safe Disposal of Radioactive Wastes Near the Indian Coasts; Les Circulations dans les Eaux du Golfe du Bengale et de la Mer d'Oman et l'Elimination sans Danger des Dechets Radioactifs pres des Cotes Indiennes; 0426 0418 0420 0414 ; Circulaciones en el Golfo de Bengala e en el Mar Arabico con Relacion a la Evacuacion sin Riesgos de Desechos Radiactivos Frente al Litoral Indio

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Rama Sastry, A. A. [Meteorological Office, Poona 5 (India)

1960-07-01

The author briefly reviews the general knowledge of oceanographic conditions in the Bay of Bengal and the Arabian Sea. On the basis of studies made for some years by the numerous oceanographic stations which operate along the coasts of India, the author studies such oceanographic conditions from the point of view of the safe disposal of radioactive wastes and, using data collected by various expeditions in the Indian Ocean, he studies the physical oceanography of the region north of the equator. Early knowledge of the oceanography of the Bay of Bengal and the Arabian Sea is briefly reviewed. In the light of the numerous oceanographic stations occupied along the coasts of India, in recent years, oceanographic conditions with reference to safe disposal of radioactive wastes into the sea are discussed. Also utilizing the data collected by different expeditions to the Indian Ocean, the physical oceanography of the region north of the equator has been studied. In the upper 200 m there are at least three different water masses both in the Bay of Bengal and the Arabian Sea. Because of very great dilution in the Bay of Bengal, the surface waters could be further sub-classified. From horizontal distributions of various oceanographic parameters, circulation at different levels along the Indian Coasts is given for the upper 150 m and the same is inferred down to 500 m from the vertical sections. The level of no motion seems to be well above the 500 m depth level and fluctuates both in space and time. Mixing of water is deduced from the T-S relations. The seasons of occurrence of upwelling and sinking along the coasts and the region affected are given. Intensity of up we I ling along the coast is more pronounced and during that period a complete overturning of water over the continental shelf takes place. In deeper levels, water masses in the order of their abundance are the Indian equatorial water, Antarctic intermediate water together with Red Sea water and a slight

A simple chemical free arsenic removal method for community water supply - A case study from West Bengal, India

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Sen Gupta, B.; Chatterjee, S.; Rott, U.; Kauffman, H.; Bandopadhyay, A.; DeGroot, W.; Nag, N.K.; Carbonell-Barrachina, A.A.; Mukherjee, S.

2009-01-01

This report describes a simple chemical free method that was successfully used by a team of European and Indian scientists ( (www.qub.ac.uk/tipot)) to remove arsenic (As) from groundwater in a village in West Bengal, India. Six such plants are now in operation and are being used to supply water to the local population ( (www.insituarsenic.org)). The study was conducted in Kasimpore, a village in North 24 Parganas District, approximately 25 km from Kolkata. In all cases, total As in treated water was less than the WHO guideline value of 10 μg L -1 . The plant produces no sludge and the operation cost is 1.0 US$ per day for producing 2000 L of potable water. - This work presents the chemical free arsenic removal method from groundwater and its successful implementation in West Bengal for community water supply.

Concentration-modulated absorption spectroscopy and the triplet state: Photoinduced absorption/bleaching in erythrosin B, rose bengal and eosin y

Science.gov (United States)

Jones, W. Jeremy; Grofcsik, Andras; Kubinyi, Miklos; Thomas, Daniel

2006-07-01

The pump and probe method concentration-modulated absorption spectroscopy has been applied for studying the triplet characteristics of dyes erythrosin B, rose bengal and eosin y in ethanol solutions. Using the 514.5 and 488 nm lines of an argon ion laser for pump and probe beams, respectively, photoinduced bleaching for erythrosin B and eosin y and photoinduced absorption for rose bengal have been observed. The theory developed for describing the interactions of dye molecules of strong triplet forming ability with continuous wave pump and probe beams of Gaussian beam profiles has been tested by analysing the probe power gain or loss at different positions along the optical path of the focused collinear beams. From the gain-modulation frequency curves triplet absorption cross sections and the lifetimes of the triplet states have been determined.

Petroleum hydrocarbon concentrations in marine sediments along Chennai Coast, Bay of Bengal, India.

Science.gov (United States)

Venkatachalapathy, R; Veerasingam, S; Ramkumar, T

2010-10-01

The spatial and temporal distribution of petroleum hydrocarbons (PHC) in marine sediments along the Chennai coast, Bay of Bengal was quantified by Ultra-Violet Fluorescence (UVF) Spectroscopy. The concentration of PHC in surface sediments varied from 1.88 to 39.76 ppm. The highest values obtained in the northern part of the study area, where shipping activities and land-based waste waters disposed into sea through the rivers like Kuvam and Adayar. The Adayar (7.26-16.83 ppm) and Kuvam (5.5-39.72 ppm) cores reveal a clear horizon of increase in PHC above 50 and 35 cm respectively. PHC values showed a decreasing pattern with depth in all sediment cores suggesting the excess anthropogenic loading occurring in the recent past. The present study revealed that the PHC values of Chennai coastal sediments are lower than the values reported from selected costal areas including the sediment of the Mumbai coast (7.6-42.8 ppm), Arabian Sea. The results will be useful for pollution monitoring program along the coastal region and also to check the level of petroleum hydrocarbons in marine sediments.

Air Pollution over North-West Bay of Bengal in the Early Post-Monsoon Season Based on NASA MERRAero Data

Science.gov (United States)

Kishcha, Pavel; DaSilva, Arlindo M.; Starobinets, Boris; Alpert, Pinhas

2013-01-01

The MERRA Aerosol Reanalysis (MERRAero) has been recently developed at NASA's Global Modeling Assimilation Office (GMAO). This reanalysis is based on a version of the GEOS-5 model radiatively coupled with GOCART aerosols, and it includes assimilation of bias-corrected Aerosol Optical Thickness (AOT) from the MODIS sensor on both Terra and Aqua satellites. Our main finding is that, in October, in the absence of aerosol sources in north-west Bay of Bengal (BoB), MERRAero showed increasing AOT trends over north-west BoB exceeding those over the east of the Ganges basin. The Ganges basin is characterized by significant population growth accompanied by developing industry, agriculture, and increasing transportation: this has resulted in declining air quality. MERRAero data for the period 2002-2009 was used to study AOT trends over north-west Bay of Bengal (BoB) in the early post-monsoon season. This season is characterized by aerosol transport from the Ganges basin to north-west BoB by prevailing winds; and still significant rainfall of over 150 mmmonth. Different aerosol components showed strong increasing AOT trends over north-west BoB. The following factors contributed to the increasing AOT trend over the area in question in October: an increasing number of days when prevailing winds blew from land to sea, resulting in a drier environment and an increase in air pollution over north-west BoB; wind convergence was observed over north-west BoB causing the accumulation of aerosol particles over that region, when prevailing winds blew from land to sea. MERRAero aerosol reanalysis can be used on a global scale.

Past 20,000-year history of Himalayan aridity: Evidence from oxygen isotope records in the Bay of Bengal

Digital Repository Service at National Institute of Oceanography (India)

Chauhan, O.S.

Late Quaternary climate history of the Himalayas is inferred from sea surface salinity (SSS) changes determined from the oxygen isotope in planktonic foraminifers, in a turbidity-free, 14C-dated core from the Bay of Bengal. The heaviest d18O...

Cathodic protection of mild steel and copper in deep waters of the Arabian Sea and Bay of Bengal

Digital Repository Service at National Institute of Oceanography (India)

Sawant, S.S.; Venkat, K.; Wagh, A.B.

Performance of cathodic protection system to mild steel and copper in deep (> 1000 m) oceanic waters of the Arabian Sea and Bay of Bengal has been assessed using aluminium and mild steel sacrificial anodes. The corrosion rates of unprotected metals...

Spatial variations of DMS, DMSP and phytoplankton in the Bay of Bengal during the summer monsoon 2001

Digital Repository Service at National Institute of Oceanography (India)

Shenoy, D.M.; Paul, J.T.; Gauns, M.; Ramaiah, N.; DileepKumar, M.

in the radiation balance of the earth. During the summer monsoon of 2001 measurements were made for DMS and DMSPt (total DMSP) together with related biological parameters in the Bay of Bengal. Both DMS and DMSPt were restricted to the upper 40 m of the water column...

Influence des transformations minéralogiques sur la mobilité de l'arsenic dans les milieux anoxiques - Application au cas des eaux souterraines du delta du Bengale

OpenAIRE

Burnol , André

2009-01-01

Natural wide-scale poisoning is today affecting the populations that rely on drinking water from aquifers of the Bengal delta. The aim of this thesis is therefore to obtain a better understanding of arsenic mobility within these aquifers by describing, based on the study site at Chakdaha in West Bengal (India), interactions between the mineralogical transformations and the microbial processes. The interactions between iron-reducing or sulfate-reducing bacteria and As-doped ferrihydrite were s...

Globalisation and the Cultural Politics of Educational Change: The Controversy over Teaching of English in West Bengal

Science.gov (United States)

Scrase, Timothy J.

2002-09-01

(Globalisation and the Cultural Politics of Educational Change: The Controversy over the Teaching of English in West Bengal) - This article deals with the articulation of educational policy, cultural politics, and social class in the era of globalization. It analyses the policy of the Government of West Bengal to remove the teaching of English from the primary school syllabus in the state in the early 1980s and its subsequent reintroduction from the beginning of the school year in 2000. The author argues that English is a crucial component of the middle classes' cultural capital and is essential to their future employment success, especially in a globalising work environment. This is supported by interviews conducted during 1998/1999 with middle-class Bengalis. For governments of postcolonial, developing societies, this dispute highlights an essential dichotomy between, on the one hand, the ideal of broad-based educational policies and, on the other hand, the need to prepare children for employment at home and abroad in the context of globalisation.

Eicosapentaenoic and docosahexaenoic acids enriched polyunsaturated fatty acids from the coastal marine fish of Bay of Bengal and their therapeutic value.

Science.gov (United States)

Bera, Rabindranath; Dhara, Tushar K; Bhadra, Ranjan; Majumder, Gopal C; Sen, Parimal C

2010-12-01

Eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA)/docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) enriched polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFA) significantly present in marine fish oil emerge as preventive agents for combating many health problems specially in chronic or metabolic disorders. The fish in the coastal area of Bay of Bengal has remained unexplored with respect to EPA/DHA enriched PUFA content in its oils, although it may be a potential source in harnessing the health benefit. In this study, seven varieties of the coastal fish were analysed for the content of EPA/DHA. The one locally known as lotte, (Harpadon nehereus) though has low content of total lipids, was found to have high EPA/DHA in its oil. The phospholipids rich fraction was extracted from the total fish oil. The EPA/DHA enriched PUFA was isolated to investigate the potential use for health benefits. EPA/DHA is found to act as protective agent against mercury poisoning studied in cell culture as well as in animal mode. It is found to be highly preventive in diabetes. The lotte is available in the coastal area of Bay of Bengal adjoining West Bengal, India in large scale and it is the first report showing EPA/DHA enriched PUFA in these fish oil that can be availed to harness in important health benefits.

Single nucleotide polymorphisms typing of Mycobacterium leprae reveals focal transmission of leprosy in high endemic regions of India.

Science.gov (United States)

Lavania, M; Jadhav, R S; Turankar, R P; Chaitanya, V S; Singh, M; Sengupta, U

2013-11-01

Earlier studies indicate that genotyping of Mycobaterium leprae based on single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) is useful for analysis of the global spread of leprosy. In the present study, we investigated the diversity of M. leprae at eight SNP loci using 180 clinical isolates obtained from patients with leprosy residing mainly in Delhi and Purulia (West Bengal) regions. It was observed that the frequency of SNP type 1 and subtype D was most predominant in the Indian population. Further, the SNP type 2 subtype E was noted only from East Delhi region and SNP type 2 subtype G was noted only from the nearby areas of Hoogly district of West Bengal. These results indicate the occurrence of focal transmission of M. leprae infection and demonstrate that analysis by SNP typing has great potential to help researchers in understanding the transmission of M. leprae infection in the community. © 2013 The Authors Clinical Microbiology and Infection © 2013 European Society of Clinical Microbiology and Infectious Diseases.

Dynamical significance of tides over the Bay of Bengal

Science.gov (United States)

Bhagawati, Chirantan; Pandey, Suchita; Dandapat, Sumit; Chakraborty, Arun

2018-06-01

Tides play a significant role in the ocean surface circulations and vertical mixing thereby influencing the Sea Surface Temperatures (SST) as well. This, in turn, plays an important role in the global circulation when used as a lower boundary condition in a global atmospheric general circulation model. Therefore in the present study, the dynamics of tides over the Bay of Bengal (BoB) is investigated through numerical simulations using a high resolution (1/12°) Regional Ocean Modeling System (ROMS). Based on statistical analysis it is observed that incorporation of explicit tidal forcing improves the model performance in simulating the basin averaged monthly surface circulation features by 64% compared to the simulation without tides. The model simulates also Mixed Layer Depth (MLD) and SST realistically. The energy exchange between tidal oscillations and eddies leads to redistribution of surface kinetic energy density with a net decrease of 0.012 J m-3 in the western Bay and a net increase of 0.007 J m-3 in the eastern Bay. The tidal forcing also affects the potential energy anomaly and vertical mixing thereby leading to a fall in monthly MLD over the BoB. The mixing due to tides leads to a subsequent reduction in monthly SST and a corresponding reduction in surface heat exchange. These results from the numerical simulation using ROMS reveal that tides have a significant influence over the air-sea heat exchange which is the most important parameter for prediction of Tropical Cyclone frequency and its future variability over the BoB.

Differential response of winter cooling on biological production in the northeastern Arabian Sea and northwestern Bay of Bengal

Digital Repository Service at National Institute of Oceanography (India)

Jyothibabu, R.; Maheswaran, P.A; Madhu, N.V.; Asharaf, T.T.M.; Gerson, V.J.; Haridas, P.; Venugopal, P.; Revichandran, C.; Nair, K.K.C.; Gopalakrishnan, T.C.

The northern parts of the twin seas bordering the Indian subcontinent, the Arabian Sea (AS) and Bay of Bengal (BOB), were studied during the winter monsoon. Higher biological production was observed in the AS (chlorophyll a 47.5 mg m sup(-2...

Salinity maxima associated with some sub-surface water masses in the upper layers of the Bay of Bengal

Digital Repository Service at National Institute of Oceanography (India)

Varadachari, V.V.R.; Murty, C.S.; Reddy, C.V.G.

The distribution of some sub-surface water masses in the western bay of Bengal during the south-west monsoon period is presented. Based on the salinity maxima and sigma t values the existence of waters of Persian Gulf and Red Sea origin could...

Hydrographical features of the southern and central Bay of Bengal during the transition period between winter and summer

Digital Repository Service at National Institute of Oceanography (India)

Rao, L.V.G.; Jayaraman, R.

During Feb.-Mar. 1963, INS KISTNA has carried out its 6th and 7th oceanographic cruises in the southern and central parts of Bay of Bengal under the Indian Programme of IIOE. With the physical oceanographic data collected in these cruises...

Numerical modelling of groundwater flow to understand the impacts of pumping on arsenic migration in the aquifer of North Bengal Plain

Science.gov (United States)

Sikdar, P. K.; Chakraborty, Surajit

2017-03-01

In this paper, numerical simulations of regional-scale groundwater flow of North Bengal Plain have been carried out with special emphasis on the arsenic (As)-rich alluvium filled gap between the Rajmahal hills on the west and the Garo hills on the east. The proposed concern of this modelling arose from development that has led to large water table declines in the urban area of English Bazar block, Malda district, West Bengal and possible transport of As in the near future from the adjacent As-polluted aquifer. Groundwater occurs under unconfined condition in a thick zone of saturation within the Quaternary alluvial sediments. Modelling indicates that current pumping has significantly changed the groundwater flowpaths from pre-development condition. At the present pumping rate, the pumping wells of the urban area may remain uncontaminated till the next 25 yrs, considering only pure advection of water but some water from the As-polluted zone may enter wells by 50 yrs. But geochemical and other processes such as adsorption, precipitation, redox reaction and microbial activity may significantly retard the predicted rate by advective transport. In the rural areas, majority of the water pumped from the aquifer is for irrigation, which is continuously re-applied on the surface. The near-vertical nature of the flowpaths indicates that, where As is present or released at shallow depths, it will continue to occur in pumping wells. Modelling also indicates that placing all the pumping wells at depths below 100 m may not provide As-free water permanently.

Detection of emerging antibiotic resistance in bacteria isolated from subclinical mastitis in cattle in West Bengal

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Arnab Das

2017-05-01

Full Text Available Aim: The aim of this work was to detect antibiotic resistance in Gram-negative bacteria isolated from subclinical mastitis in cattle in West Bengal. Materials and Methods: The milk samples were collected from the cattle suffering with subclinical mastitis in West Bengal. The milk samples were inoculated into the nutrient broth and incubated at 37°C. On the next day, the growth was transferred into nutrient agar and MacConkey agar. All the pure cultures obtained from nutrient agar slant were subjected to Gram-staining and standard biochemical tests. All the bacterial isolates were tested in vitro for their sensitivity to different antibiotics commonly used in veterinary practices. All Gram-negative isolates including positive control were subjected to polymerase chain reaction (PCR for detection of blaCTX-M, blaTEM, blaSHV, blaVIM, tetA, tetB, tetC, and tetM genes considered for extended-spectrum β-lactamase (ESBL, metallo-β-lactamase, and tetracycline resistance. Results: In total, 50 Gram-negative organisms (Escherichia coli, Proteus, Pseudomonas, Klebsiella, and Enterobacter were isolated from milk samples of subclinical mastitis infected cattle. Among these Gram-negative isolates, 48% (24/50 were found either ESBL producing or tetracycline resistant. Out of total 50 Gram-negative isolates, blaCTX-M was detected in 18 (36% isolates, and 6 (12% harbored blaTEM genes in PCR. None of the isolates carried blaSHV genes. Further, in this study, 5 (10% isolates harbored tet(A gene, and 8 (16% isolates carried tet(B gene. No tet(C gene was detected from the isolates. Conclusion: This study showed emerging trend of antibiotic-resistant Gram-negative bacteria associated with subclinical mastitis in cattle in West Bengal, India.

Anicteric dilatation of the biliary tree demonstrated by ultrasound 131I rose bengal liver scan and PTC

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kapoor, R.; Saha, M.M.; Gupta, A.K.

1991-01-01

An uncommon case of gross dilatation of biliary tract, without clinical or biochemical evidence of jaundice, is presented. Dilatation of bile ducts was initially demonstrated on ultrasound and it was subsequently confirmed by 131 I rose bengal liver can, PTC and at surgery. (author). 6 refs., 3 figs

Characterization of aqueous rose bengal dye solution for the measurement of low doses of gamma radiation

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Hasan Mahmood Khan; Khan, A.A.

2010-01-01

Aqueous solution of rose bengal dye has been studied spectrophotometrically as a gamma-ray dosimeter for the measurement of low doses of radiation. The useful dose range was found to be from 50 to 1000 Gy when the measurements were made at 549 nm. The effects of temperature and light conditions on the stability of response during post-irradiation storage were also investigated. When stored in dark at room temperature, the dosimetric solutions showed a stable response up to 22 days. The storage of irradiated solutions in diffused sunlight showed a stable response only up to 6 days. When exposed to direct sunlight, very prominent and fast bleaching of dye solution occurred. At low storage temperature (ca. 11 deg C), dosimetric response was found to be stable up to 22 days while at higher temperature (ca. 30 deg C), the response of dosimetric solution was stable only up to 6 days. The rose bengal aqueous solution showed promising characteristics as a low dose radiation dosimeter when stored at lower temperatures (<25 deg C) in dark. (author)

The dynamics of arsenic in four paddy fields in the Bengal delta

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Stroud, Jacqueline L.; Norton, Gareth J.; Islam, M. Rafiqul; Dasgupta, Tapash; White, Rodger P.; Price, Adam H.; Meharg, Andrew A.; McGrath, Steve P.; Zhao Fangjie

2011-01-01

Irrigation with arsenic contaminated groundwater in the Bengal Delta may lead to As accumulation in the soil and rice grain. The dynamics of As concentration and speciation in paddy fields during dry season (boro) rice cultivation were investigated at 4 sites in Bangladesh and West Bengal, India. Three sites which were irrigated with high As groundwater had elevated As concentrations in the soils, showing a significant gradient from the irrigation inlet across the field. Arsenic concentration and speciation in soil pore water varied temporally and spatially; higher As concentrations were associated with an increasing percentage of arsenite, indicating a reductive mobilization. Concentrations of As in rice grain varied by 2-7 fold within individual fields and were poorly related with the soil As concentration. A field site employing alternating flooded-dry irrigation produced the lowest range of grain As concentration, suggesting a lower soil As availability caused by periodic aerobic conditions. - Research highlights: → Irrigation with As-contaminated groundwater resulted in a gradient of As concentration in the soil. → Arsenic concentration in paddy standing water decreased as arsenite was oxidised to arsenate. → Soil pore water As increased with the %arsenite, suggesting reductive mobilisation. → Alternative flooded-dry conditions led to lowest range of As concentration in rice grain. - Spatial variations of arsenic concentrations in paddy soil and waters do not correlate to within-field variations of arsenic concentrations in rice grain.

Marked bengal pink. A dynamic test using marking doses; its value in jaundice diagnosis; Rose bengale marque. Epreuve dynamique a doses tracantes; sa valeur dans le diagnostic des icteres

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Kellershohn, C.; Desgrez, A. [Commissariat a l' Energie Atomique, Service Frederic Joliot, Service de Biologie, Saclay (France).Centre d' Etudes Nucleaires; Caroli, J. [Hopital Saint Antoine, 75 - Paris (France); Delaloye, B. [Lausanne (Switzerland)

1961-07-01

The authors do a historic calling back of the differential study of jaundices thanks to the semi logarithmic gradients of expurgation of bromine sulphone-phthalein and thanks to the time of appearance of this material in the bile collected by duodenal tubing. They sum up likewise the foreign works which lead to take the place of this test, the outside count at the level of the head, the liver, and the abdomen after intravenous injection of a running dose of marked Rose Bengal. They specify the technical conditions of this test and report an experience which corroborate its value, its accuracy and the interest of its using in the different types of jaundices (hepatitis and obstructive types). (author) [French] Les auteurs font un rappel historique de l'etude differentielle des icteres grace aux pentes semi-logarithmiques d'epuration de la bromesulfonephtaleine et grace au temps d'apparition de cette substance dans la bile recueillie par tubage duodenal. Ils resument egalement les travaux etrangers qui tendent a substituer a cette epreuve le comptage externe au niveau de la tete, du foie et de l'abdomen, apres injection intraveineuse d'une dose tracante de rose bengale marque. Ils precisent les conditions techniques de cette epreuve et rapportent une experience qui confirme sa valeur, son exactitude et l'interet de son utilisation dans les differentes categories d'icteres par hepatite et par obstruction. (auteur)

A study on association of smoking and gastric carcinoma in the residents of West Bengal

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Ashis Kumar Saha, Goutam Chatterjee, Subhas Chandra Hazra

2014-07-01

Full Text Available Objectives: The aim of the study is to know the association of tobacco intake in the form of smoking and chewing with gastric carcinoma in West Bengal. Materials and methods: Total 28860 patients (smokers and tobacco chewer 17240, nonsmokers 11620 were interrogated before performing upper gastrointestinal endoscopy. Among the smokers and tobacco chewers, isolated bidi and cigarette smokers were 5067, 9323 and 2850 respectively. Among 542 gastric cancer cases, smokers were 301 (165 cigarette and 136 bidi smokers and tobacco chewers 82 respectively. Then comparisons were done: 1. to know the incidence of smokers and nonsmokers in total number of patients, the influence of bidi and cigarette smoking on gastric carcinoma, 3] Effects of the early starters and number of cigarettes/bidi per day on gastric carcinogenesis. Again, comparisons were done to know influence of bidi and cigarettes on the sites of gastric carcinoma. Results: Bidi smokers, earlier starters of smoking and significantly (P<0.0001 suffered from gastric carcinoma. Heavy drinkers were mostly affected (P<0.0001. Conclusions: Bidi smokers, young heavy smokers were mostly affected. So there were strong associations between bidi smoking and gastric carcinoma in the residents of West Bengal.

Serum Chemistry Variables of Bengal Tigers (Panthera tigris tigris Kept in Various Forms of Captivity

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

U. Farooq*, S. Sajjad1, M. Anwar1 and B.N. Khan2

2012-05-01

Full Text Available There is a dearth of published literature regarding the effect of captivity on serum chemistry variables of tigers kept in the zoos and wildlife sanctuaries. The present study was hence conducted to determine and compare serum chemistry values in tigers of Bengal origin (Panthera tigris tigris kept in captivity at Lahore zoo (LZ (n=4 and in semi natural environment of Lahore Wildlife Park (LWP (n=6, Pakistan. The tigers kept at LZ had significantly (P<0.05 higher mean concentrations of Cl- (108.6±0.57 versus 105.6±0.49 mmol/l and a significantly lower creatinine (1.78±0.06 versus 3.04±0.35mg/dl and AST values (41.66±0.77 versus 54.88±4.22 U/l than tigers kept at LWP. No other significant differences in serum chemistry were observed for both forms of captivity. Results would be useful for the evaluation of physiological and pathological alterations in wild and captive tiger individuals and populations not only in Pakistan but also for other countries harboring the Bengal tigers.

Post-tsunami oceanographic conditions in southern Arabian Sea and Bay of Bengal

Digital Repository Service at National Institute of Oceanography (India)

AnilKumar, N.; Sarma, Y.V.B.; Babu, K.N.; Sudhakar, M.; Pandey, P.C.

m depth. This high - salinity water mass was earlier ident i fied as Arabian Sea High Salinity Water mass ( ASHSW), which forms in the northern Arabian Sea du r- ing winter 12 . A pool of low - s a linity waters occupies the upper 50 m around... of t he Bay of Bengal du r ing the southwest monsoon season flows southward along the coast by the coastal currents during winter period 9 . The relatively high s a line waters (33.7 psu) are seen north of Nagapattinam, separating two low - salinity...

Traditional Practicing with Arsenic Rich Water in Fish Industries Leads to Health Hazards in West Bengal and North-Eastern States of India

Science.gov (United States)

Kashyap, C. A.

2014-12-01

The supply of good quality food is main necessity for economic and social health of urban and rural population throughout the globe. This study comes to know the severity of As in the west Bengal and north-eastern states of the India. Over the 75% large population of India lives in villages and associated with farming and its related work. West Bengal is the densest populated area of India, fish and rice is the staple food as well as in north-eastern states. For the fulfil demand of fish large population the area are used fisheries as the business. Arsenic contamination in ground water is major growing threat to worldwide drinking water resources. High As contamination in water have been reported in many parts of the world Chandrasekharam et al., 2001; Smedley and Kinniburgh, 2002; Farooq et al., 2010). In context to West Bengal and north-east states of India arsenic is main problem in the food chain. These areas are very rich in arsenic many fold higher concentrations of Arsenic than their respective WHO permissible limits have been reported in the water. Over the 36 million people in Bengal delta are at risk due to drinking of As contaminated water (Nordstrom, 2002). The highest concentration of arsenic (535 μg/L Chandrashekhar et al. 2012) was registered from Ngangkha Lawai Mamang Leikai area of Bishnupur district which is fifty fold of the WHO limit for arsenic and tenfold of Indian permissible limit. With the continuous traditional practicing (As rich water pond) and untreated arsenic rich water in fish industries leads to health hazards. A sustainable development in aquaculture should comprise of various fields including environmental, social, cultural and economic aspects. A scientific study has to be needed for the overcome on this problem and rain harvested water may be used for reduce the arsenic problems in fisheries.

Diversity, metabolic properties and arsenic mobilization potential of indigenous bacteria in arsenic contaminated groundwater of West Bengal, India.

Science.gov (United States)

Paul, Dhiraj; Kazy, Sufia K; Gupta, Ashok K; Pal, Taraknath; Sar, Pinaki

2015-01-01

Arsenic (As) mobilization in alluvial aquifers is caused by a complex interplay of hydro-geo-microbiological activities. Nevertheless, diversity and biogeochemical significance of indigenous bacteria in Bengal Delta Plain are not well documented. We have deciphered bacterial community compositions and metabolic properties in As contaminated groundwater of West Bengal to define their role in As mobilization. Groundwater samples showed characteristic high As, low organic carbon and reducing property. Culture-independent and -dependent analyses revealed presence of diverse, yet near consistent community composition mostly represented by genera Pseudomonas, Flavobacterium, Brevundimonas, Polaromonas, Rhodococcus, Methyloversatilis and Methylotenera. Along with As-resistance and -reductase activities, abilities to metabolize a wide range carbon substrates including long chain and polyaromatic hydrocarbons and HCO3, As3+ as electron donor and As5+/Fe3+ as terminal electron acceptor during anaerobic growth were frequently observed within the cultivable bacteria. Genes encoding cytosolic As5+ reductase (arsC) and As3+ efflux/transporter [arsB and acr3(2)] were found to be more abundant than the dissimilatory As5+ reductase gene arrA. The observed metabolic characteristics showed a good agreement with the same derived from phylogenetic lineages of constituent populations. Selected bacterial strains incubated anaerobically over 300 days using natural orange sand of Pleistocene aquifer showed release of soluble As mostly as As3+ along with several other elements (Al, Fe, Mn, K, etc.). Together with the production of oxalic acid within the biotic microcosms, change in sediment composition and mineralogy indicated dissolution of orange sand coupled with As/Fe reduction. Presence of arsC gene, As5+ reductase activity and oxalic acid production by the bacteria were found to be closely related to their ability to mobilize sediment bound As. Overall observations suggest that

Sediment pathways and emergence of Himalayan source material in the Bay of Bengal

Digital Repository Service at National Institute of Oceanography (India)

Krishna, K.S.; Ismaiel, M.; Srinivas, K.; Gopala Rao, D.; Mishra, J.; Saha, D.

. R., Emmel, F. J. and Moore, D. G., The Bengal Fan: geometry, stratigraphy, history and processes. Mar. Petrol. Geol., 2003, 19, 1191–1223. 26. Bull, J. M. and Scrutton, R. A., Seismic reflection images of intraplate deformation, central Indian... information on the linkage among Himalayan tectonics, Asian climate and erosional history of the Himalaya. There is a general belief that the sediment dis- charge from the Himalaya to the BoB had begun around the Eocene (~40 Ma)9...

Determination of inorganic radioiodine in 131I- Rose Bengal and 131I- bromosulphthalein

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Toledo e Souza, I.T. de; Pereira, N.P.S. de; Silva, C.P.G. da.

1985-01-01

A rapid miniaturized chromatographic system was developed for fast determination of the proportion of inorganic radioactive iodide from radiopharmaceuticals 131 I-Rose Bengal and 131 I-Bromosulphthalein. Using 33% W/V aqueous solution of ammonium sulphate pH 7,5 as a solvent Rf values for radiopharmaceuticals, iodide, iodate to Rf 0,0 0,5 0,9 respectively. The chromatographic quality control procedures are easy to use, rapid and can be incorporated in a routine quality control program. (Author) [pt

Monitoring groundwater storage changes in the highly seasonal humid tropics: Validation of GRACE measurements in the Bengal Basin

Science.gov (United States)

Shamsudduha, M.; Taylor, R. G.; Longuevergne, L.

2012-02-01

Satellite monitoring of changes in terrestrial water storage provides invaluable information regarding the basin-scale dynamics of hydrological systems where ground-based records are limited. In the Bengal Basin of Bangladesh, we test the ability of satellite measurements under the Gravity Recovery and Climate Experiment (GRACE) to trace both the seasonality and trend in groundwater storage associated with intensive groundwater abstraction for dry-season irrigation and wet-season (monsoonal) recharge. We show that GRACE (CSR, GRGS) datasets of recent (2003 to 2007) groundwater storage changes (ΔGWS) correlate well (r = 0.77 to 0.93, p value CSR. Changes in surface water storage estimated from a network of 298 river gauging stations and soil-moisture derived from Land Surface Models explain 22% and 33% of ΔTWS, respectively. Groundwater depletion estimated from borehole hydrographs (-0.52 ± 0.30 km3 yr-1) is within the range of satellite-derived estimates (-0.44 to -2.04 km3 yr-1) that result from uncertainty associated with the simulation of soil moisture (CLM, NOAH, VIC) and GRACE signal-processing techniques. Recent (2003 to 2007) estimates of groundwater depletion are substantially greater than long-term (1985 to 2007) mean (-0.21 ± 0.03 km3 yr-1) and are explained primarily by substantial increases in groundwater abstraction for the dry-season irrigation and public water supplies over the last two decades.

Hydrocarbons in the Bay of Bengal and Central Indian Basin bottom sediments: Indicators of geochemical processes in the lithosphere

Digital Repository Service at National Institute of Oceanography (India)

Chernova, T.G.; Paropkari, A.L.; Pikovskii, Yu.I.; Alekseeva, T.A.

A study on the bulk distributions and molecular structures of n-alkanes and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAH) in organic matter of the sediments from the Bay of Bengal and the Eastern and Central Indian Basins was underdaken. The former two...

Simulation of barotropic wind-driven circulation in tbe Bay of Bengal and Andaman Sea during premonsoon and postmonsoon seasons

Digital Repository Service at National Institute of Oceanography (India)

Unnikrishnan, A.S.; Bahulayan, N.

Two-dimensional vertically integrated model has been used to simulate depth-mean wind-driven circulation during premonsoon and postmonsoon seasons in the upper layers of the Bay of Bengal and Andaman Sea. The model is integrated for 365 d, forcEd...

Analysis of multi-channel seismic reflection and magnetic data along 13 degrees N latitude across the Bay of Bengal

Digital Repository Service at National Institute of Oceanography (India)

Rao, D.G.; Bhattacharya, G.C.; Ramana, M.V.; Subrahmanyam, V.; Ramprasad, T.; Krishna, K.S.; Chaubey, A.K.; Murty, G.P.S.; Srinivas, K.; Desa, M.; Reddy, S.I.; Ashalata, B.; Subrahmanyam, C.; Mital, G.S.; Drolia, R.K.; rai, S.N.; Ghosh, S.K.; Singh, R.N.; Majumdar, M.

Analysis of the multi-channel seismic reflection, magnetic and bathymetric data collected along a transect, 1110 km long parallel to 13 degrees N lat. across the Bay of Bengal was made. The transect is from the continental shelf off Madras...

I-131 rose bengal excretion test is not dead

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Antico, V.F.; Denhartog, P.; Ash, J.M.; Gilday, D.L.; Houle, S.

1985-01-01

One hundred and thirty I-131 Rose Bengal Excretion Studies (RBI) were performed on 84 patients over nine years. In 90% (56/60) of cases with biliary atresia, the 72-hour RBI was less than or equal to 7%. In only 12.5% (3/24) of cases with neonatal hepatitis was the 72-hour RBI less than or equal to 7%. The accuracy of the test was 91% with a specificity of 88%. Thirty patients later were studied following a Kasai procedure. The RBI test reliably predicted the patency of the anastomosis. The authors conclude that the 72-hour RBI is a reliable test in the diagnosis of biliary atresia and in the documentation of biliary patency following surgery, provided adequate care is taken in stool collection and measurement

Development of a site specific dynamical tropical cyclone and other extreme weather early warning system for Kalpakkam

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ramakrishna, S.S.V.S.; Bhaskar Rao, D.V.; Venkata Srinivas, C.; Venkatesan, R.; Srivastav, Rupa

2014-01-01

The project was to study the tropical cyclones over Bay of Bengal for the south east coast region in the neighbourhood of Kalpakkam, with the main objectives of developing a methodology for providing early warning of developing storms for Kalpakkam site region based on numerical methods. The main objectives of the project are to develop a numerical modeling system for the forecasting of cyclonic storms that form in the Bay of Bengal and cross the east coast of Kalpakkam. the model performance with respect to the intensity (extreme winds), rainfall and the movement of the storm will be assessed for a number of past cyclonic storms in the region and simulations will focus on the identification of proper model configuration in terms of horizontal/vertical resolutions and physics parameterizations for deriving best predictions and to implement the same for operations forecasting for the Kalpakkam site in Tamil Nadu

Towards Ladyland: Rokeya Sakhawat Hossain and the Movement for Women's Education in Bengal, "c." 1900-"c." 1932

Science.gov (United States)

Bagchi, Barnita

2009-01-01

This paper analyses the work of Rokeya Sakhawat Hossain (1880-1932), urban Bengali Muslim educator and writer, placing her in the wider context of women organising themselves in associations to create social change through education for women, in the province of undivided Bengal in colonial India, from "c." 1900 to "c." 1932. A…

Writing Indigenous women's lives in the Bay of Bengal: cultures of empire in the Andaman Islands, 1789-1906.

Science.gov (United States)

Anderson, Clare

2011-01-01

This article explores the lives of two Andamanese women, both of whom the British called “Tospy.” The first part of the article takes an indigenous and gendered perspective on early British colonization of the Andamans in the 1860s, and through the experiences of a woman called Topsy stresses the sexual violence that underpinned colonial settlement as well as the British reliance on women as cultural interlocutors. Second, the article discusses colonial naming practices, and the employment of Andamanese women and men as nursemaids and household servants during the 1890s–1910s. Using an extraordinary murder case in which a woman known as Topsy-ayah was a central witness, it argues that both reveal something of the enduring associations and legacies of slavery, as well as the cultural influence of the Atlantic in the Bay of Bengal. In sum, these women's lives present a kaleidoscope view of colonization, gender, networks of Empire, labor, and domesticity in the Bay of Bengal.

New Spectrophotometric and Conductometric Methods for Macrolide Antibiotics Determination in Pure and Pharmaceutical Dosage Forms Using Rose Bengal

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Rania A. Sayed

2013-01-01

Full Text Available Two Simple, accurate, precise, and rapid spectrophotometric and conductometric methods were developed for the estimation of erythromycin thiocyanate (I, clarithromycin (II, and azithromycin dihydrate (III in both pure and pharmaceutical dosage forms. The spectrophotometric procedure depends on the reaction of rose bengal and copper with the cited drugs to form stable ternary complexes which are extractable with methylene chloride, and the absorbances were measured at 558, 557, and 560 nm for (I, (II, and (III, respectively. The conductometric method depends on the formation of an ion-pair complex between the studied drug and rose bengal. For the spectrophotometric method, Beer's law was obeyed. The correlation coefficient ( for the studied drugs was found to be 0.9999. The molar absorptivity (, Sandell’s sensitivity, limit of detection (LOD, and limit of quantification (LOQ were also calculated. The proposed methods were successfully applied for the determination of certain pharmaceutical dosage forms containing the studied drugs

Computer-aided pathophysiological analysis of /sup 131/I rose bengal hepatogram

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Matsumoto, A [Kobe Univ. (Japan). School of Medicine

1976-06-01

The author analysed /sup 131/I-rose bengal (R.B.) hepatograms over the liver region using digital simulation technique to determine the hepatobiliary functions separately and to compare the rate constants obtained from the kinetic model and the results obtained from conventional liver function tests. A total of 112 cases were observed including various liver and gallbladder diseases and 8 normal subjects. Fasting patients were given intravenous injections of 300 ..mu..Ci of /sup 131/I-R.B. Hepatic uptake and excretion of radioactivity were measured for 120 minutes using a gamma camera. Two regions, one over the right lobe and the other over the gallbladder, were studied. The author applied a 3 compartment analysis to the /sup 131/I-R.B. hepatogram. Measured /sup 131/I-R.B. hepatogram was printed out on a line printer with curve pattern indices. Assumed rate constants and relative volume indices were placed on punch cards. Computer-aided simulation curves were printed on a line printer with curve pattern indices. The measured hepatogram and the simulated hepatogram were compared. The blood flow index (K/sub 21/), the hepatocellular function index (K/sub 32/) and the intrahepatic biliary excretion index (K/sub 03/) were obtained with the schematic presentation of the curves. Rate constants from the kinetic model correlated well with conventional liver function tests. In normal liver and hepatobiliary diseases, there were high statistical correlations between K/sub 21/ and Ksub(L) /sup 131/I-R.B. Retention (%), between K/sub 32/ and Cholinesterase, and between K/sub 03/ and Alkaliphosphatase. However, there was a low statistical correlation between the results of the simulation study and the results of liver function tests in the cases of obstructive jaundice and intrahepatic cholestasis.

Wind effect on salt transport variability in the Bay of Bengal

Science.gov (United States)

Sandeep, K. K.; Pant, V.

2017-12-01

The Bay of Bengal (BoB) exhibits large spatial variability in sea surface salinity (SSS) pattern caused by its unique hydrological, meteorological and oceanographical characteristics. This SSS variability is largely controlled by the seasonally reversing monsoon winds and the associated currents. Further, the BoB receives substantial freshwater inputs through excess precipitation over evaporation and river discharge. Rivers like Ganges, Brahmaputra, Mahanadi, Krishna, Godavari, and Irawwady discharge annually a freshwater volume in range between 1.5 x 1012 and 1.83 x 1013 m3 into the bay. A major volume of this freshwater input to the bay occurs during the southwest monsoon (June-September) period. In the present study, a relative role of winds in the SSS variability in the bay is investigated by using an eddy-resolving three dimensional Regional Ocean Modeling System (ROMS) numerical model. The model is configured with realistic bathymetry, coastline of study region and forced with daily climatology of atmospheric variables. River discharges from the major rivers are distributed in the model grid points representing their respective geographic locations. Salt transport estimate from the model simulation for realistic case are compared with the standard reference datasets. Further, different experiments were carried out with idealized surface wind forcing representing the normal, low, high, and very high wind speed conditions in the bay while retaining the realistic daily varying directions for all the cases. The experimental simulations exhibit distinct dispersal patterns of the freshwater plume and SSS in different experiments in response to the idealized winds. Comparison of the meridional and zonal surface salt transport estimated for each experiment showed strong seasonality with varying magnitude in the bay with a maximum spatial and temporal variability in the western and northern parts of the BoB.

The fauna of brackish ponds at Port Canning, Lower Bengal Part 1 - Introduction and Preliminary Account of the Fauna

Digital Repository Service at National Institute of Oceanography (India)

Annandale, N.

A general survey the fauna of brackishwater ponds at Port Canning, Lower Bengal, India, was carried out The Port Canning is situated on the Matla river having numerous creeks which runup into the delta of the Ganges about sixty miles from the open...

Study of the KIR gene profiles and analysis of the phylogenetic relationships of Rajbanshi population of West Bengal, India.

Science.gov (United States)

Guha, Pokhraj; Bhattacharjee, Soumen; Nayak, Chittaranjan; Chaudhuri, Tapas Kumar

2013-05-01

The natural killer (NK) cells have distinct receptors called killer cell immunoglobulin-like receptors (KIR) which are responsible for regulating NK cell responses to infections and malignancy. The extensive variations in the number and type of KIR genes can be used as a tool to understand the differentiation of populations and also for tracing genetic background. In this study, we have aimed to analyze the KIR gene polymorphism in the Rajbanshi population of West Bengal, India. To our knowledge this is the first report on the KIR gene polymorphism in the Rajbanshis, a population widely distributed in the Terai and Dooars region of West Bengal, India. Herein, we have studied the gene distribution of 14 KIR genes (KIR3DL1-3DL3, KIR 2DL1-2DL5, 2DS1-2DS5 and 3DS1) and two pseudogenes (KIR3DP1 and 2DP1). The gene frequencies and genotypic frequencies were calculated, based on which statistical analyses were performed. The presence of a considerable number of genotypic profiles suggests substantial diversity in the KIR gene pool of the Rajbanshis in the region studied. Apart from the framework genes (KIR2DL4, 3DL2, 3DL3 and 3DP1) present in all the individuals, the gene frequencies of other KIR genes varied between 0.84 and 0.15. Moreover the KIR polymorphisms of the Rajbanshis were also compared with that of available published data of the populations of other ethnicities. Though the Rajbanshi population showed a tendency to cluster with other Indian population based on KIR gene frequencies, the influence of Tibeto-Burman Lineage on their KIR genotypic profiles cannot be overlooked. Furthermore, evidences from previously published data on Y chromosome haplogroup diversity study on Rajbanshis support the view. Our results will not only help to understand the genetic background of the Rajbanshi population, but also in tracing the population migration events in the North-Eastern part of India and in illustrating the extensive genetic admixture amongst the different

Preliminary objective regionalization of the Mediterranean basin derived from surface-wave tomography

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L. Pujades

1997-06-01

Full Text Available An objective regionalization of the Mediterranean basin is derived from a tomographic study based on the fundamental mode of Rayleigh waves. The database is formed by seismic wavetrains recorded at very-broadband stations belonging to MedNet and other cooperative stations, located in the Mediterranean area. The data treatment consists of application of spectral filtering techniques aimed to determine path-averaged group velocities, computation of local group velocity maps for some periods and classification of the studied area in several homogeneous regions according to Principal Component Analysis (PCA and Average Linkage (AL algorithms. Finally, the group velocity dispersion curves representing each homogeneous region are compared and possible correlation between these regions and seismotectonic and structural characteristics are discussed.

Modeling the effect of Rose Bengal on growth and decay patterns of Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Escherichia coli and Staphylococcus aureus

Science.gov (United States)

Al-Akhras, M.-Ali H.; Shorman, Mohammad Al; Masadeh, Majed M.; Aljarrah, Khaled; Ababneh, Zaid

2018-02-01

Most infections caused by (Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Escherichia coli and Staphylococcus aureus) are hospital and community acquired infections in patients. Bacterial growths incorporated with photosensitizing material (Rose Bengal) with and without light were investigated. The results demonstrated that the viable counts are increasing in absence of light (in dark) for all samples incorporated with Rose Bengal. Variation in growth phases were noticed as expected, but there is no significant change in decay phases. Convenient and adequate mathematical modeling is in very good agreement with the experimental results and showed to be a very good approach of characterization the growth behaviors of the bacteria. Bandwidths are independent of bacteria group (gram-positive or gram-negative) but it seems totally dependent on the oxygen requirements; an anaerobic bacterium takes broader bandwidths than aerobic bacteria. This concludes that the growth and lethal rates of anaerobic are much greater than aerobic.

Distribution of clay minerals in marine sediments off Chennai, Bay of Bengal, India: Indicators of sediment sources and transport processes .

Digital Repository Service at National Institute of Oceanography (India)

Veerasingam, S.; Venkatachalapathy, R.; Ramkumar, T.

Clay mineralogy, texture size and statistical analyses were carried out on surface sediments from the continental shelf of Chennai, Bay of Bengal, India. The purpose of this study is to characterize the clay mineral distribution and its relation...

Trichodesmium blooms and warm-core ocean surface features in the Arabian Sea and the Bay of Bengal.

Science.gov (United States)

Jyothibabu, R; Karnan, C; Jagadeesan, L; Arunpandi, N; Pandiarajan, R S; Muraleedharan, K R; Balachandran, K K

2017-08-15

Trichodesmium is a bloom-forming, diazotrophic, non-heterocystous cyanobacteria widely distributed in the warmer oceans, and their bloom is considered a 'biological indication' of stratification and nitrogen limitation in the ocean surface layer. In the first part of this paper, based on the retrospective analyses of the ocean surface mesoscale features associated with 59 Trichodesmium bloom incidences recorded in the past, 32 from the Arabian Sea and the Bay of Bengal, and 27 from the rest of the world, we have showed that warm-core features have an inducing effect on bloom formation. In the second part, we have considered the environmental preferences of Trichodesmium bloom based on laboratory and field studies across the globe, and proposed a view about how warm-core features could provide an inducing pre-requisite condition for the bloom formation in the Arabian Sea and the Bay of Bengal. Proposed that the subsurface waters of warm-core features maintain more likely chances for the conducive nutrient and light conditions required for the triggering of the blooms. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Measurement of duodenogastric reflux: standardization of a new technique using Rose Bengal 131I

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Pires, P.W.A.; Camargo, E.E.; Mittelstaedt, W.E.M.; Speranzini, M.B.; Oliveira, M.R. de

1988-01-01

A nasogastric tube was introduced under radioscopic control into the stomach of 20 normal persons. After fixing the tube, Rose Bengal I 131 was injected intravenously. The individuals were then subdivided in two groups: a and B. group A: gastric fluid samples were aspirated for two hours in the ten cases in this group. Group B: A standard liquid diet was introduced via the nasogastric tube. Samples were also collected for two hours. (M.A.C.) [pt

Thermohaline structure and circulation in the upper layers of the southern Bay of Bengal during BOBMEX-Pilot (October-November 1998)

Digital Repository Service at National Institute of Oceanography (India)

RameshBabu, V.; Murty, V.S.N.; Rao, L.V.G.; Prabhu, C.V.; Tilvi, V.

Hydrographic data collected on board ORV Sagar Kanya in the southern Bay of Bengal during the BOBMEX-Pilot programme (October -- November 1998) have been used to describe the thermohaline structure and circulation in the upper 200m water column...

Why is mean sea level along the Indian coast higher in the Bay of Bengal than in the Arabian Sea?

Digital Repository Service at National Institute of Oceanography (India)

Shankar, D.; Shetye, S.R.

Levelling observations conducted during the Great Trigonometrical Survey of India (1858-1909) and subsequent observations showed that mean sea level along the coast of India is higher in the Bay of Bengal than in the Arabian Sea, the difference...

Investigation of XBT and XCTD biases in the Arabian Sea and the Bay of Bengal with implications for climate studies

Digital Repository Service at National Institute of Oceanography (India)

Boyer, T.; Gopalakrishna, V.V.; Reseghetti, F.; Naik, A.; Suneel, V.; Ravichandran, M.; Ali, N.P.M.; Rafeeq, M.M.M.; Chico, R.A.

XCTD, basin-specific FREs are possible for the Bay of Bengal, but not for the Arabian Sea. The XCTD FRE velocity coefficients are significantly higher than the XCTD manufacturers’ FRE coefficient or those from previous tests, possibly resulting from...

Acoustic propagations in the presence of a subsurface cold core eddy in the Bay of Bengal - A case study

Digital Repository Service at National Institute of Oceanography (India)

PrasannaKumar, S.; Navelkar, G.S.; Murty, T.V.R.; Murty, C.S.

Acoustic characteristics of a cold core eddy, observed in the Bay of Bengal during southwest monsoon period is studied using CTD data along the western boundary. The presence of eddy brings about a reduction in the ambient sound speEd. by 10 m.s sup...

Thermal response of upper layers of Bay of Bengal to forcing of a severe cyclonic storm: A case study

Digital Repository Service at National Institute of Oceanography (India)

Gopalakrishna, V.V.; Murty, V.S.N.; Sarma, M.S.S.; Sastry, J.S.

Upper ocean response to forcing of a severe cyclonic storm during May 1990 in the western Bay of Bengal was studied using the XBT data sets collected (4 d after passage of storm) under Indian TOGA programme. A maximum lowering in the sea surface...

Geochemical characterization of the Krishna–Godavari and Mahanadi offshore basin (Bay of Bengal) sediments: A comparative study of provenance

Digital Repository Service at National Institute of Oceanography (India)

Mazumdar, A.; Kocherla, M.; Carvalho, M.A.; Peketi, A.; Joshi, R.K.; Mahalaxmi, P.; Joao, H.M.; Jisha, R.

and further extends offshore into the Bay of Bengal (Fig. 1).  It is a passive pericratonic basin covering an area of 260,000 km2 with water depth exceeding 3000 m (including deep offshore) (Singh, 2008). The Mahanadi offshore area represents a pull...

Dissecting the Structure-Function Relationship of a Fungicidal Peptide Derived from the Constant Region of Human Immunoglobulins

OpenAIRE

Ciociola, Tecla; Pertinhez, Thelma A.; Giovati, Laura; Sperindè, Martina; Magliani, Walter; Ferrari, Elena; Gatti, Rita; D'Adda, Tiziana; Spisni, Alberto; Conti, Stefania; Polonelli, Luciano

2016-01-01

Synthetic peptides encompassing sequences related to the complementarity-determining regions of antibodies or derived from their constant region (Fc peptides) were proven to exert differential antimicrobial, antiviral, antitumor, and/or immunomodulatory activities in vitro and/or in vivo, regardless of the specificity and isotype of the parental antibody. Alanine substitution derivatives of these peptides exhibited unaltered, increased, or decreased candidacidal activities in vitro. The bioac...

Is Ramadan Fasting Cardio-protective? A Study in a Village of West Bengal

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Aparajita Dasgupta

2017-06-01

Full Text Available Background: Islam is the second largest religion of the World (23% and Muslims are the second largest majority of Indian Republic (14.3%. Ramadan is the ninth and holiest month(Hijra of the 12-month Islamic calendar during which Muslims fast from dawn to dusk each day maintaining certain rules (consuming food/drink once, avoiding smoking and sexual activity, as well as impure thoughts, words and immoral behavior. It is observed by Muslims as a month of fasting to commemorate the first revelation of the Qur'an to Muhammad. Aims & Objectives: To evaluate the effect of Ramadan on cardio-metabolic profile among adult Muslims residing in rural West Bengal. Methods and Materials: The present study was a longitudinal community based study done among 43 Muslims residing in a village of West Bengal during 6thJune to 7th July 2016. Cardio-metabolic profile (physical activity, diet, BMI, blood pressure, blood lipids and glucose were assessed before, during and after Ramadan. Results: There was a significant reduction in VLDL and TG level while significant elevation in HDL level along with the reduction in Framingham risk score after fasting. All the anthropometric measurements along with blood pressure reduced significantly after Ramadan with significant reduction in intake of all micro-nutrients during Ramadan. However physical activity also reduced significantly during Ramadan. Conclusion: Our study had found no detrimental effects of Ramadan fasting on the contrary has an overall beneficial effect on cardiovascular profile was observed.

Distribution of ozone and its precursors over Bay of Bengal during winter 2009: role of meteorology

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L. M. David

2011-09-01

Full Text Available Measurements of ozone and NO2 were carried out in the marine environment of the Bay of Bengal (BoB during the winter months, December 2008–January 2009, as part of the second Integrated Campaign for Aerosols, gases and Radiation Budget conducted under the Geosphere Biosphere Programme of the Indian Space Research Organization. The ozone mixing ratio was found to be high in the head and the southeast BoB with a mean value of 61 ± 7 ppb and 53 ± 6 ppb, respectively. The mixing ratios of NO2 and CO were also relatively high in these regions. The spatial patterns were examined in the light of airflow patterns, air mass back trajectories and other meteorological conditions and satellite retrieved maps of tropospheric ozone, NO2, CO, and fire count in and around the region. The distribution of these gases was strongly associated with the transport from the adjoining land mass. The anthropogenic activities and forest fires/biomass burning over the Indo Gangetic Plains and other East Asian regions contribute to ozone and its precursors over the BoB. Similarity in the spatial pattern suggests that their source regions could be more or less the same. Most of the diurnal patterns showed decrease of the ozone mixing ratio during noon/afternoon followed by a nighttime increase and a morning high. Over this oceanic region, photochemical production of ozone involving NO2 was not very active. Water vapour played a major role in controlling the variation of ozone. An attempt is made to simulate ozone level over the north and south BoB using the photochemical box model (NCAR-MM. The present observed features were compared with those measured during the earlier cruises conducted in different seasons.

Rose Bengal Photothrombosis by Confocal Optical Imaging In Vivo: A Model of Single Vessel Stroke.

Science.gov (United States)

Talley Watts, Lora; Zheng, Wei; Garling, R Justin; Frohlich, Victoria C; Lechleiter, James Donald

2015-06-23

In vivo imaging techniques have increased in utilization due to recent advances in imaging dyes and optical technologies, allowing for the ability to image cellular events in an intact animal. Additionally, the ability to induce physiological disease states such as stroke in vivo increases its utility. The technique described herein allows for physiological assessment of cellular responses within the CNS following a stroke and can be adapted for other pathological conditions being studied. The technique presented uses laser excitation of the photosensitive dye Rose Bengal in vivo to induce a focal ischemic event in a single blood vessel. The video protocol demonstrates the preparation of a thin-skulled cranial window over the somatosensory cortex in a mouse for the induction of a Rose Bengal photothrombotic event keeping injury to the underlying dura matter and brain at a minimum. Surgical preparation is initially performed under a dissecting microscope with a custom-made surgical/imaging platform, which is then transferred to a confocal microscope equipped with an inverted objective adaptor. Representative images acquired utilizing this protocol are presented as well as time-lapse sequences of stroke induction. This technique is powerful in that the same area can be imaged repeatedly on subsequent days facilitating longitudinal in vivo studies of pathological processes following stroke.

Coupling between suboxic condition in sediments of the western Bay of Bengal and southwest monsoon intensification: A geochemical study

Digital Repository Service at National Institute of Oceanography (India)

Pattan, J.N; Mir, I.A.; Parthiban, G.; Karapurkar, S.G.; Matta, V.M.; Naidu, P.D.; Naqvi, S.W.A.

Reconstruction of paleo-redox conditions in a radiocarbon (14C) dated sediment core (SK-218/1), covering the past 45 ka (thousand calendar years), collected from the western Bay of Bengal (Lat: 14 degrees 02′N; Long: 82 degrees 00′E) at a water...

Present scenario of hemoglobinopathies in West Bengal, India: An analysis of a large population

OpenAIRE

Prakas Kumar Mandal; Suman Kumar Maji; Tuphan Kanti Dolai

2014-01-01

Background: To find out the prevalence of hemoglobinopathies by screening large population in West Bengal from Eastern India. Materials and Methods: A total of 50,487 subjects are screened for hemoglobinopathies from June 2010 to August 2013. A 2.5 ml of venous blood samples were collected in the tri-potassium EDTA vacuum container from each subject and tested with automated blood cell counter (Sysmex KX21) for red cell indices. Diagnosis of hemoglobinopathies was done by VARIANT TM (Bio-Rad ...

Clinical management of maggot wounds in Bengal Tigers (Panthera tigris tigris

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Anup Kumar Talukder

2017-03-01

Full Text Available Objecitve: Maggot wound is common in domestic and pet animals but report on maggot wound treatment in wildlife species is scanty. The study reported here the surgical and conservative management of maggot wounds including anesthetic protocol and postoperative care in two Bengal tigers (Panthera tigris tigris. Materials and methods: One female and one male tiger were presented with maggot wounds for treatment at the Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujib Safari Park, Gazipur, Bangladesh. Tigers were anesthetized with combined injection of xylazine (dosed at 1.0 mg/kg bwt, IM and ketamine hydrochloride (dosed at 3.5 mg/kg bwt, IM. Superficial maggots were removed from wounds using sterile tissue forceps. Gauze soaked in oil of turpentine was allowed to remain in each wound pocket for 5 min for the removal of deep-seated maggots. Finally, wounds were dressed with tincture iodine to clean out the dead tissue debris and to induce inflammation for rapid healing. A single subcutaneous injection of ivermectin (dosed at 200 µg/kg bwt, IM was given in each tiger. In addition, long acting oxytetracycline (dosed at 10 mg/kg bwt, IM on 48 h interval for six days, chlorpheniramine maleate (dosed at 1 mg/kg bwt, IM once daily for three days, and ascorbic acid (dosed at 250 mg/tiger, IM once daily for seven days were administered in both tigers. Results: The tigers were recovered successfully without any complications in two weeks following treatment. Conclusion: Surgical management using oil of turpentine and tincture iodine along with parenteral administration of ivermectin, long acting oxytetracycline and chlorpheniramine maleate are effective for successful management of maggot wounds in Bengal tigers. [J Adv Vet Anim Res 2017; 4(1.000: 104-109

Corrosion of metals and alloys in the coastal and deep waters of the Arabian Sea and the Bay of Bengal

Digital Repository Service at National Institute of Oceanography (India)

Sawant, S.S.; Venkat, K.; Wagh, A.B.

Corrosion rate of mild steel (MS), stainless steel (SS), copper, brass and cupro-nickel has been determinEd. by exposing metallic coupons in coastal and oceanic waters of the Arabian Sea and Bay of Bengal. Amongst the metals and alloys under study...

Intrusion of the Bay of Bengal water into the Arabian Sea during winter monsoon and associated chemical and biological response

Digital Repository Service at National Institute of Oceanography (India)

PrasannaKumar, S.; Narvekar, J.; Kumar, A.; Shaji, C.; Anand, P.; Sabu, P.; Rijomon, G.; Josia, J.; Jayaraj, K.A.; Radhika, A.; Nair, K.K.C.

off. The hydrological imbalance thus created on an annual scale will have to be balanced by the inter-basin exchange. In winter this happens through the intrusion of Bay of Bengal waters into the Arabian Sea, when the southward flowing East India...

Hydrography and biogeochemistry of the north western Bay of Bengal and the north eastern Arabian Sea during winter monsoon

Digital Repository Service at National Institute of Oceanography (India)

Balachandran, K.K.; Laluraj, C.M.; Jyothibabu, R.; Madhu, N.V.; Muraleedharan, K.R.; Vijay, J.G.; Maheswaran, P.A.; Ashraf, T.T.M.; Nair, K.K.C.; Achuthankutty, C.T.

in the Arabian Sea is driven by net heat loss from the ocean, whereas the Bay of Bengal does not contribute to such large heat loss to the atmosphere. It appears that the subduction of high saline Arabian Sea water mass is the mechanism behind the formation of a...

Seasonal variability of Internal tide energetics in the western Bay of Bengal

Science.gov (United States)

Mohanty, S.; Rao, A. D.

2017-12-01

The Internal Waves (IWs) are generated by the flow of barotropic tide over the rapidly varying and steep topographic features like continental shelf slope, seamounts, etc. These waves are an important phenomena in the ocean due to their influence on the density structure and energy transfer into the region. Such waves are also important in submarine acoustics, underwater navigation, offshore structures, ocean mixing and biogeochemical processes, etc. over the shelf-slope region. The seasonal variability of internal tides in the western Bay of Bengal is examined by using three-dimensional MITgcm model. The numerical simulations are performed for different periods covering August-September, 2013; November-December, 2013 and March-April, 2014 representing monsoon, post-monsoon and pre-monsoon seasons respectively during which high temporal resolution observed data sets are available. The model is initially validated through the spectral estimate of density and the baroclinic velocities. From the estimate, it is found that its peak is associated with the semi-diurnal frequency at all the depths in both observations and model simulations for November-December and March-April. However in August, the estimate is found to be maximum near the inertial frequency at all available depths. EOF analysis suggests that about 70-80% of the total variance comes from Mode-1 semi-diurnal internal tide in both observations as well as in the model simulations. The phase speed, group speed and wavelength are found to be maximum for post-monsoon season compared to other two seasons. To understand the generation and propagation of internal tides over this region, barotropic-to-baroclinic M2 tidal energy conversion and energy flux are examined. The barotropic-to-baroclinic conversion occurs intensively along the shelf-slope regions and propagate towards the coast. The model simulated energy dissipation rate infers that its maximum occurs at the generation sites and hence the local mixing

PARTIAL PURIFICATION AND IMMUNE-BIOCHEMICAL CHARACTERIZATION OF ROYAL BENGAL TIGER ( PANTHERA TIGRIS TIGRIS SERUM IMMUNOGLOBULIN G

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Ekantika Mandal

2013-12-01

Full Text Available In the present study Immunoglobulin G was purified from serum of Royal Bengal Tiger by gel filtration chromatography on Sephacryl S-200. SDS-PAGE analysis showed the molecular weight of purified tiger IgG was 170.52 kDa. The purified Immunoglobulin has been found to be immunereactive by DID test and Western Blot analysis when treated against hyperimmune sera which was raised in rabbit.

Impact of period and timescale of FDDA analysis nudging on the numerical simulation of tropical cyclones in the Bay of Bengal

KAUST Repository

Viswanadhapalli, Yesubabu; Srinivas, C. V.; Ramakrishna, S. S V S; Hari Prasad, K. B R R

2014-01-01

In this study, the impact of four-dimensional data assimilation (FDDA) analysis nudging is examined on the prediction of tropical cyclones (TC) in the Bay of Bengal to determine the optimum period and timescale of nudging. Six TCs (SIDR: November 13

Sources and sinks of CO2 in the west coast of Bay of Bengal

Digital Repository Service at National Institute of Oceanography (India)

Sarma, V.V.S.S.; Krishna, M.S.; Rao, V.D.; Viswanadham, R.; Kumar, N.A.; Kumari, T.R.; Gawade, L.; Ghatkar, S.; Tari, A.

inthewestcoastof BayofBengal By V. V. S. S. SARMA 1 *, M. S. KRISHNA 1 ,V.D.RAO 1 , R. VISWANADHAM 1 , N. A. KUMAR 1 ,T.R.KUMARI 2 , L. GAWADE 1 ,S.GHATKAR 1 ANDA.TARI 1 1 NationalInstituteofOceanography,CouncilofScientificandIndustrialResearch(CSIR),176Lawsons... Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial 3.0 Unported License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/3.0/), permitting all non-commercial use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided...

Is Ramadan Fasting Cardio-protective? A Study in a Village of West Bengal

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Aparajita Dasgupta

2017-06-01

Full Text Available Background: Islam is the second largest religion of the World (23% and Muslims are the second largest majority of Indian Republic (14.3%. Ramadan is the ninth and holiest month(Hijra of the 12-month Islamic calendar during which Muslims fast from dawn to dusk each day maintaining certain rules (consuming food/drink once, avoiding smoking and sexual activity, as well as impure thoughts, words and immoral behavior. It is observed by Muslims as a month of fasting to commemorate the first revelation of the Qur'an to Muhammad. Aims & Objectives: To evaluate the effect of Ramadan on cardio-metabolic profile among adult Muslims residing in rural West Bengal. Methods and Materials: The present study was a longitudinal community based study done among 43 Muslims residing in a village of West Bengal during 6thJune to 7th July 2016. Cardio-metabolic profile (physical activity, diet, BMI, blood pressure, blood lipids and glucose were assessed before, during and after Ramadan. Results: There was a significant reduction in VLDL and TG level while significant elevation in HDL level along with the reduction in Framingham risk score after fasting. All the anthropometric measurements along with blood pressure reduced significantly after Ramadan with significant reduction in intake of all micro-nutrients during Ramadan. However physical activity also reduced significantly during Ramadan. Conclusion: Our study had found no detrimental effects of Ramadan fasting on the contrary has an overall beneficial effect on cardiovascular profile was observed.

Menstruation and menstrual hygiene among adolescent girls of West Bengal, India: A school based comparative study

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Adrija Datta

2012-11-01

Full Text Available Background: Adolescents are often less informed, less experienced, and less comfortable accessing reproductive health information and services than adults. In many developing countries, a culture of silence surrounds the topic of menstruation and related issues; as a result many young girls lack appropriate and sufficient information regarding menstrual hygiene. This may result in incorrect and unhealthy behaviour during their menstrual period. Objectives: To assess and compare knowledge, belief, ideas, source of knowledge and practice of menstrual hygiene between school-going adolescents in an urban and a rural school of West Bengal, India. Methods: Cross-sectional, descriptive study was conducted among adolescent female students of Howrah district of West Bengal, India in the year 2011. Data was collected by pre-designed, pre-tested semi-structured self administered questionnaire. Results: The mean age at menarche was 12.1 years among urban and 12.2 years among the rural participants. More than 80% participants had some restrictions imposed during menstruation. Significantly higher number of urban girls had pre-menarchal knowledge on menstruation and used sanitary napkins. Conclusions: Menstrual hygiene is a vital aspect of health education for adolescent girls. For improvement of menstrual hygiene, sanitary napkins should be made universally available and affordable.

Menstruation and menstrual hygiene among adolescent girls of West Bengal, India: A school based comparative study

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Adrija Datta

2012-01-01

Full Text Available Background: Adolescents are often less informed, less experienced, and less comfortable accessing reproductive health information and services than adults. In many developing countries, a culture of silence surrounds the topic of menstruation and related issues; as a result many young girls lack appropriate and sufficient information regarding menstrual hygiene. This may result in incorrect and unhealthy behaviour during their menstrual period. Objectives: To assess and compare knowledge, belief, ideas, source of knowledge and practice of menstrual hygiene between school-going adolescents in an urban and a rural school of West Bengal, India. Methods: Cross-sectional, descriptive study was conducted among adolescent female students of Howrah district of West Bengal, India in the year 2011. Data was collected by pre-designed, pre-tested semi-structured self administered questionnaire. Results: The mean age at menarche was 12.1 years among urban and 12.2 years among the rural participants. More than 80% participants had some restrictions imposed during menstruation. Significantly higher number of urban girls had pre-menarchal knowledge on menstruation and used sanitary napkins. Conclusions: Menstrual hygiene is a vital aspect of health education for adolescent girls. For improvement of menstrual hygiene, sanitary napkins should be made universally available and affordable.

Examination of aerosol distributions and radiative effects over the Bay of Bengal and the Arabian Sea region during ICARB using satellite data and a general circulation model

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R. Cherian

2012-02-01

Full Text Available In this paper we analyse aerosol loading and its direct radiative effects over the Bay of Bengal (BoB and Arabian Sea (AS regions for the Integrated Campaign on Aerosols, gases and Radiation Budget (ICARB undertaken during 2006, using satellite data from the MODerate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS on board the Terra and Aqua satellites, the Aerosol Index from the Ozone Monitoring Instrument (OMI on board the Aura satellite, and the European-Community Hamburg (ECHAM5.5 general circulation model extended by Hamburg Aerosol Module (HAM. By statistically comparing with large-scale satellite data sets, we firstly show that the aerosol properties measured during the ship-based ICARB campaign and simulated by the model are representative for the BoB and AS regions and the pre-monsoon season. In a second step, the modelled aerosol distributions were evaluated by a comparison with the measurements from the ship-based sunphotometer, and the satellite retrievals during ICARB. It is found that the model broadly reproduces the observed spatial and temporal variability in aerosol optical depth (AOD over BoB and AS regions. However, AOD was systematically underestimated during high-pollution episodes, especially in the BoB leg. We show that this underprediction of AOD is mostly because of the deficiencies in the coarse mode, where the model shows that dust is the dominant component. The analysis of dust AOD along with the OMI Aerosol Index indicate that missing dust transport that results from too low dust emission fluxes over the Thar Desert region in the model caused this deficiency. Thirdly, we analysed the spatio-temporal variability of AOD comparing the ship-based observations to the large-scale satellite observations and simulations. It was found that most of the variability along the track was from geographical patterns, with a minor influence by single events. Aerosol fields were homogeneous enough to yield a good statistical agreement

Seasonal and spatial distribution of particulate organic matter in the Bay of Bengal

Digital Repository Service at National Institute of Oceanography (India)

Fernandes, L.; Bhosle, N.B.; Matondkar, S.G.P.; Bhushan, R.

spatial differences were observed for the offshore stations in SPIM (Table 1). 3.4. POC and % POC In the Bay of Bengal, the surface POC concentrations ranged from 4.3 to 11.1 µMC, 3.1 to 10.9 µMC, and 4.3 to 9.0 µMC in the SWM, FIM, and SPIM.... This is NIO contribution no. 4435. 10 References Bale, A., Morris, A., 1998. Organic carbon in suspended particulate material in the North Sea: effect of mixing resuspended and background particles. Cont. Shelf Res. 18, 1333 –1345. Bates, N. R., Dennis, A...

HAEMATOLOGICAL IMPACT OF NATURALLY OCCURING TICK BORNE HAEMOPARASITIC INFECTIONS IN CATTLE OF WEST BENGAL, INDIA

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Apurba Debbarma

2017-12-01

Full Text Available Haemoparasites reduces productivity and may lead to high mortality among animals. The present study was carried out to evaluate the heamotological change in cattle of different districts in West Bengal, India affected with naturally occurring tick- borne haemoparasitic diseases (TBHD. A total of 310 cattle blood samples were screened for the presence of haemoparasites from July, 2015 to June, 2016. The blood samples were examined for haemoparasites by making thin blood smear and staining with Giemsa’s stain. The result showed that108 (34.84% cattle were found positive with TBHD, out of which 22.9% were Theileria sp, 5.8% were Babesia sp., 11.93% Anaplasma sp., and 5.8% were having mixed infection, respectively. The positive samples were subjected to estimations of haematological parameters i. e. Haemoglobin concentration (Hb, packed cell volume (PCV, total erythrocyte count (TEC and Total leucocytes count (TLC using standard protocol. The haematological analysis showed statistically a significant (p<0.01 decreased levels of Hb, PCV, TEC and TLC in infected groups of cattle compared to infection free group cattle. This is probably the first systematic report in West Bengal, India. The result showed the haemoparasites have a negative impact on haematological parameters. This study may be useful in disease epidemiological map preparation, parasitic control policy preparation of the study areas.

On the circulation in the Bay of Bengal during northern spring inter-monsoon (March-April 1987)

Digital Repository Service at National Institute of Oceanography (India)

Babu, M.T.; Sarma, Y.V.B.; Murty, V.S.N.; Vethamony, P.

) indicated an anticyclonic circulation with a northeastward flow in the western bay duringMarch–April ( La Fond and La Fond 1968; Duing, 1970; Wyrtki, 1971). The temperature field obtained from satellite- based advanced very high resolution radiometer (AVHRR.... Pergamon. New York, pp. 451–475. Duing,W.,1970.Themonsoonregimeofcurrentsin theIndian Ocean. University Press of Hawaii, Honolulu, USA, 68pp. Eigenheer,A.,Quadfasel,D.,2000.SeasonalvariabilityoftheBay of Bengal circulation inferred from TOPEX...

Vertically aligned ZnO nanowire arrays in Rose Bengal-based dye-sensitized solar cells

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Pradhan, Basudev; Batabyal, Sudip K.; Pal, Amlan J. [Indian Association for the Cultivation of Science, Department of Solid State Physics, Kolkata 700032 (India)

2007-05-23

We fabricate dye-sensitized solar cells (DSSC) using vertically oriented, high density, and crystalline array of ZnO nanowires, which can be a suitable alternative to titanium dioxide nanoparticle films. The vertical nanowires provide fast routes or channels for electron transport to the substrate electrode. As an alternative to conventional ruthenium complex, we introduce Rose Bengal dye, which acts as a photosensitizer in the dye-sensitized solar cells. The dye energetically matches the ZnO with usual KI-I{sub 2} redox couple for dye-sensitized solar cell applications. (author)

Visible-light photoredox catalyzed synthesis of pyrroloisoquinolines via organocatalytic oxidation/[3 + 2] cycloaddition/oxidative aromatization reaction cascade with Rose Bengal

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Carlos Vila

2014-05-01

Full Text Available Pyrrolo[2,1-a]isoquinoline alkaloids have been prepared via a visible light photoredox catalyzed oxidation/[3 + 2] cycloaddition/oxidative aromatization cascade using Rose Bengal as an organo-photocatalyst. A variety of pyrroloisoquinolines have been obtained in good yields under mild and metal-free reaction conditions.

Two new gonad-infecting species of Philometra (Nematoda: Philometridae) parasitic in Lutjanus spp. (Osteichthyes: Lutjanidae) in the Bay of Bengal, India

Czech Academy of Sciences Publication Activity Database

Moravec, František; Manoharan, J.

2014-01-01

Roč. 113, č. 9 (2014), s. 3299-3307 ISSN 0932-0113 R&D Projects: GA ČR GBP505/12/G112 Institutional support: RVO:60077344 Keywords : Bay of Bengal * Lutjanus * parasite * Philometra Subject RIV: EG - Zoology Impact factor: 2.098, year: 2014

Corneal Crosslinking With Rose Bengal and Green Light: Efficacy and Safety Evaluation.

Science.gov (United States)

Zhu, Hong; Alt, Clemens; Webb, Robert H; Melki, Samir; Kochevar, Irene E

2016-09-01

To evaluate crosslinking of cornea in vivo using green light activation of Rose Bengal (RGX) and assess potential damaging effects of the green light on retina and iris. Corneas of Dutch belted rabbits were de-epithelialized, then stained with Rose Bengal and exposed to green light, or not further treated. Corneal stiffness was measured by uniaxial tensiometry. Re-epithelialization was assessed by fluorescein fluorescence. Keratocytes were counted on hematoxylin and eosin (H&E)-stained sections, and iris cell damage was assessed by lactate dehydrogenase staining. Thermal effects on the blood-retinal barrier (BRB) were assessed by fluorescein angiography and those on photoreceptors, retinal pigment epithelium (RPE), and choriocapillaris by light microscopy and transmission electron microscopy. RGX (10-min irradiation; 150 J/cm) increased corneal stiffness 1.9-fold on day 1 (1.25 ± 0.21 vs. 2.38 ± 0.59 N/mm; P = 0.036) and 2.8-fold compared with controls on day 28 (1.70 ± 0.74 vs. 4.95 ± 1.86 N/mm; P = 0.003). Keratocytes decreased only in the anterior stroma on day 1 (24.0 ± 3.0 vs. 3.67 ± 4.73, P = 0.003) and recovered by day 28 (37.7 ± 8.9 vs. 34.5 ± 2.4, P = 0.51). Iris cells were not thermally damaged. No evidence of BRB breakdown was detected on days 1 or 28. Retina from RGX-treated eyes seemed normal with RPE cells showing intact nuclei shielded apically by melanosomes, morphologically intact photoreceptor outer segments, normal outer nuclear layer thickness, and choriocapillaris containing intact erythrocytes. The substantial corneal stiffening produced by RGX together with the lack of significant effects on keratocytes and no evidence for retina or iris damage suggest that RGX-initiated corneal crosslinking may be a safe, rapid, and effective treatment.

The comparison of physical properties derived from gas and dust in a massive star-forming region

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Battersby, Cara; Bally, John; Ginsburg, Adam; Darling, Jeremy [Center for Astrophysics and Space Astronomy, University of Colorado, UCB 389, Boulder, CO 80309 (United States); Dunham, Miranda [Department of Astronomy, Yale University, New Haven, CT 06520 (United States); Longmore, Steve [Astrophysics Research Institute, Liverpool John Moores University, Twelve Quays House, Egerton Wharf, Birkenhead CH41 1LD (United Kingdom)

2014-05-10

We explore the relationship between gas and dust in a massive star-forming region by comparing the physical properties derived from each. We compare the temperatures and column densities in a massive star-forming Infrared Dark Cloud (G32.02+0.05), which shows a range of evolutionary states, from quiescent to active. The gas properties were derived using radiative transfer modeling of the (1,1), (2,2), and (4,4) transitions of NH{sub 3} on the Karl G. Jansky Very Large Array, while the dust temperatures and column densities were calculated using cirrus-subtracted, modified blackbody fits to Herschel data. We compare the derived column densities to calculate an NH{sub 3} abundance, χ{sub NH{sub 3}} = 4.6 × 10{sup –8}. In the coldest star-forming region, we find that the measured dust temperatures are lower than the measured gas temperatures (mean and standard deviations T {sub dust,} {sub avg} ∼ 11.6 ± 0.2 K versus T {sub gas,} {sub avg} ∼ 15.2 ± 1.5 K), which may indicate that the gas and dust are not well-coupled in the youngest regions (∼0.5 Myr) or that these observations probe a regime where the dust and/or gas temperature measurements are unreliable. Finally, we calculate millimeter fluxes based on the temperatures and column densities derived from NH{sub 3}, which suggest that millimeter dust continuum observations of massive star-forming regions, such as the Bolocam Galactic Plane Survey or ATLASGAL, can probe hot cores, cold cores, and the dense gas lanes from which they form, and are generally not dominated by the hottest core.

The comparison of physical properties derived from gas and dust in a massive star-forming region

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Battersby, Cara; Bally, John; Ginsburg, Adam; Darling, Jeremy; Dunham, Miranda; Longmore, Steve

2014-01-01

We explore the relationship between gas and dust in a massive star-forming region by comparing the physical properties derived from each. We compare the temperatures and column densities in a massive star-forming Infrared Dark Cloud (G32.02+0.05), which shows a range of evolutionary states, from quiescent to active. The gas properties were derived using radiative transfer modeling of the (1,1), (2,2), and (4,4) transitions of NH 3 on the Karl G. Jansky Very Large Array, while the dust temperatures and column densities were calculated using cirrus-subtracted, modified blackbody fits to Herschel data. We compare the derived column densities to calculate an NH 3 abundance, χ NH 3 = 4.6 × 10 –8 . In the coldest star-forming region, we find that the measured dust temperatures are lower than the measured gas temperatures (mean and standard deviations T dust, avg ∼ 11.6 ± 0.2 K versus T gas, avg ∼ 15.2 ± 1.5 K), which may indicate that the gas and dust are not well-coupled in the youngest regions (∼0.5 Myr) or that these observations probe a regime where the dust and/or gas temperature measurements are unreliable. Finally, we calculate millimeter fluxes based on the temperatures and column densities derived from NH 3 , which suggest that millimeter dust continuum observations of massive star-forming regions, such as the Bolocam Galactic Plane Survey or ATLASGAL, can probe hot cores, cold cores, and the dense gas lanes from which they form, and are generally not dominated by the hottest core.

Petroleum hydrocarbon concentrations in ten commercial fish species along Tamilnadu coast, Bay of Bengal, India.

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Veerasingam, S; Venkatachalapathy, R; Raja, P; Sudhakar, S; Rajeswari, V; Asanulla, R Mohamed; Mohan, R; Sutharsan, P

2011-05-01

The aim of the present study was to evaluate the distribution of petroleum hydrocarbons in ten commercial fish species and water samples in three estuaries along Tamilnadu coast, Bay of Bengal, India. Fish and water samples collected from Tamilnadu coast, India, were extracted and analyzed for petroleum hydrocarbons by ultraviolet fluorescence (UVF) spectroscopy. The petroleum hydrocarbon concentration (PHC) in coastal waters and fish species varied between 2.28 and 14.02 μg/l and 0.52 and 2.05 μg/g, respectively. The highest PHC concentration was obtained in Uppanar estuarine waters (14.02 ± 0.83) and the lowest was observed in Vellar estuarine waters (2.28 ± 0.25). Among the ten fish species, Sardinella longiceps have high PHC concentration from all the locations. This study suggests that S. longiceps can be used as a good biological indicator for petroleum hydrocarbon pollution in water. The concentration of petroleum hydrocarbons in coastal waters along Tamilnadu coast is markedly higher than that in the background, but there is no evidence for its increase in fish of this region. From a public health point, petroleum hydrocarbon residue levels in all fish samples analyzed in this study are considerably lower than the hazardous levels. At present, as Tamilnadu coastal area is in a rapid development stage of new harbour, chemical industries, power plants, oil exploration and other large-scale industries, further assessment of petroleum hydrocarbons and the various hydrodynamic conditions acting in the region are to be studied in detail and continuous pollution monitoring studies should be conducted for improving the aquatic environment. The results will also be useful for pollution monitoring program along the coastal region and also to check the levels of petroleum hydrocarbons.

Assessment of seasonal and year-to-year surface salinity signals retrieved from SMOS and Aquarius missions in the Bay of Bengal

Digital Repository Service at National Institute of Oceanography (India)

Akhil, V.P.; Lengaigne, M.; Durand, F.; Vialard, J.; Chaitanya, A.V.S.; Keerthi, M.G.; Gopalakrishna, V.V.; Boutin, J.; de Boyer, M.C.

, Sorbonne Universités (UPMC, Univ Paris 06)-CNRS-IRD-MNHN, Paris, France; dNIO, Goa, India; eLOS, IFREMER, Plouzané, France ABSTRACT The Bay of Bengal (BoB) exhibits a wide range of sea surface salinity (SSS), with very fresh water induced by heavy monsoonal...

Effect of vertical stability and circulation on the depth of the chlorophyll maximum in the Bay of Bengal during May-June, 1996

Digital Repository Service at National Institute of Oceanography (India)

Murty, V.S.N.; Gupta, G.V.M.; Sarma, V.V.; Rao, B.P.; Jyothi, D.; Shastri, P.N.M.; Supraveena, Y.

A two-gyre circulation system consisting of an anticyclonic gyre (ACG) in the northwestern Bay of Bengal and a cyclonic gyre (CG) west of the Andaman Islands is shown by the hydrographic data collected during May-June, prior to the southwest monsoon...

Hydrochemistry of the Bay of Bengal: Possible reasons for a different water-column cycling of carbon and nitrogen from the Arabian Sea

Digital Repository Service at National Institute of Oceanography (India)

Rao, C.K.; Naqvi, S.W.A.; DileepKumar, M.; Varaprasad, S.J.D.; Jayakumar, D.A.; George, M.D.; Singbal, S.Y.S.

of the Arabian Sea, firmly indicating that the Bay of Bengal is not an active denitrification site. The absence of denitrification in the Bay appears to be incompatible with a slower renewal of intermediate waters and a higher sinking flux of particulate organic...

Bengal Bay clone ST772-MRSA-V outbreak: conserved clone causes investigation challenges.

Science.gov (United States)

Blomfeldt, A; Larssen, K W; Moghen, A; Haugum, K; Steen, T W; Jørgensen, S B; Aamot, H V

2017-03-01

The Bengal Bay clone, ST772-MRSA-V, associated with multi-drug resistance, Panton-Valentine leukocidin (PVL) and skin and soft tissue infections, is emerging worldwide. In Norway, a country with low prevalence of meticillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA), increased occurrence of ST772-MRSA-V has also caused hospital outbreaks. The conserved nature of this clone challenged the outbreak investigations. To evaluate the usefulness of S. aureus protein A (spa) typing, multiple-locus variable number tandem repeat fingerprinting/analysis (MLVF/MLVA) and pulsed-field gel electrophoresis (PFGE) when investigating outbreaks with a conserved MRSA clone. A panel of 25 MRSA isolates collected in 2004-2014, consisting of six hospital outbreak isolates and 19 sporadic isolates, were analysed using spa typing, polymerase chain reaction detection of genes encoding PVL, MLVF/MLVA and PFGE. All isolates were ST772-MRSA-V-t657 and resistant to erythromycin, gentamicin and norfloxacin, and 88% were PVL positive. PFGE could not discriminate between the isolates (≥85% similarity). MLVF resolved five types [Simpson's index of diversity (SID)=0.56], MLVA resolved six types (SID=0.66), and both methods separated the hospital isolates into two defined outbreaks. MLVF/MLVA could not discriminate all epidemiologically unlinked cases and identical genotypes originated from a timespan of 10 years. MLVA was regarded as most suitable due to its higher discriminatory power and ability to provide unambiguous profiles. However, the Bengal Bay clone may require higher resolution methods for exact demarcation of outbreaks due to low diversity among isolates. Copyright © 2016 The Healthcare Infection Society. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Study of Sea Surface Temperatures changes due to tropical cyclone fanoos in the southwest Bay of Bengal using satellite and argo observations

Science.gov (United States)

Krishna Kailasam, Muni

Sea surface temperature (SST) plays an important role in the studies of global climate system and as a boundary condition for operational numerical forecasts. Estimation of SST has tra-ditionally been performed with satellite based sensors operating in the infrared (IR) portion of the electromagnetic spectrum, where the ocean emissivity is close to unity. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) satellite series, the GOES Imagers on the Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellites, the Along Track Scanning Radiometer (ATSR) on the European Remote Sensing satellites and the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) on the NASA EOS platform are successful examples of IR sen-sors currently used for operational SST retrievals. Significant progress in SST retrieval from remote sensing data came with the introduction of a new low-frequency channel (10.7 GHz) on microwave (MW) sensors. The anthropogenic effects over a period of time resulted in increase of infrared absorbers such as greenhouse gases and absorbing aerosol would produce increase of both daytime maximum and nighttime minimum temperatures. In contrast, the increases of visible reflectors such as sulfate aerosols and low cloud amount would result in a decrease of the daytime maximum temperature. Solar radiation, wind stress and vertical mixing are known to be the three major factors impacting the SST seasonal variations. In the present study, impact of absorbing aerosols on the sea surface temperature (SST) over Bay of Bengal (BoB) region was investigated. Increased aerosol loading over BoB was observed due to advection of aerosols from continental region consisting of absorbing particles primarily from dust and biomass burning. This increased loading over BoB resulted in reduction of surface reaching solar radiation. Tropical Rainfall Measuring Mission (TRMM) Microwave Imager (TMI) de-rived SST over BoB showed negative correlation with OMI-Aerosol Index (AI) (R = 0.87) and

Assessment of groundwater quality in Kashipur Block, Purulia district, West Bengal

Science.gov (United States)

Kundu, Anindita; Nag, S. K.

2018-03-01

Hydrogeochemical investigation of groundwater resources of Kashipur Block, Purulia district, West Bengal has been carried out to assess the water quality for domestic and irrigation uses. Twenty groundwater samples were collected and analyzed for pH, electrical conductivity, total dissolved solids, hardness, major anions (CO3 2-, HCO3 -, Cl-, SO4 2-, F-) and cations (Ca2+, Mg2+, Fe2+, Na+, K+). Study results reveal that the groundwater of the area is mostly acidic in nature. The trend amongst average ionic concentrations of cations and anions is Mg2+ > Ca2+ > Na+ > Fe2+ > K+ and Cl- > HCO3 - > CO3 2- > SO4 2- > F- respectively during the post monsoon whereas the trend for cations and anions are Mg2+ > Ca2+> Na+ > K+ > Fe and Cl- > HCO3 - > SO4 2- > F- > CO3 - in pre monsoon session, respectively. To explore the ionic toxicity of the study area, the derived parameters like sodium adsorption ratio, soluble sodium percentage, residual sodium carbonate, magnesium adsorption ratio, Kelly's ratio and permeability index were calculated. The hydro geochemical data suggest that weathering of rock forming minerals along with secondary contributions from agricultural and anthropogenic sources are mainly controlling the groundwater composition of Kashipur Block, Purulia District. According to piper diagram, water samples of most of the area of the block are fresh water and in some areas sulphate rich throughout the year. All samples are distributed to central rock dominance category. Groundwater chemistry of this block is mainly controlled by the interaction existing between the litho units and the percolating water into the subsurface domain. However, the groundwater quality and suitability of this study area can be termed as good to moderate with a few exceptions which have been encountered on a local scale.

Past and present status of the Indian Tiger in northern West Bengal, India: an overview

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J.K. Mallick

2010-03-01

Full Text Available Changes in the distribution range and the estimates of Tiger (Panthera tigris populations in northern West Bengal from the late 19th century to 2009 were examined in detail. According to a 2004 census there were 70 tigers in the region, while a 2008 estimate put the number at 8-12. The tiger survives only in protected areas of terai and duars extending over about 1000km2 of Buxa, Jaldapara, Neora Valley and Mahananda, the Panighat and Bamanpokhri Ranges of Kurseong Division and the Chilapata and Kodalbusty Ranges under Wildlife-III Division. Tigers became extinct in Chapramari Sanctuary about a decade back; Gorumara sightings were recorded up to the 1980s. The species has already lost about 1000km2 of its historic range in the territorial forest divisions of Darjeeling, Jalpaiguri, Cooch Behar, Dinajpur and Malda Districts. The State Forest Department has undertaken efforts involving regular monitoring, protection measures and habitat improvements and tigers are now being sighted in areas where they were absent for years. Resident tigers appear to be expanding their ranges to new areas, sometimes at higher altitudes as in Neora Valley National Park and Buxa Tiger Reserve crossing into Bhutan and Sikkim.

Chemistry of uranium, thorium, and radium isotopes in the Ganga-Brahmaputra river system: Weathering processes and fluxes to the Bay of Bengal

Science.gov (United States)

Sarin, M. M.; Krishnaswami, S.; somayajulu, B. L. K.; Moore, W. S.

1990-05-01

The most comprehensive data set on uranium, thorium, and radium isotopes in the Ganga-Brahmaputra, one of the major river systems of the world, is reported here. The dissolved 238U concentration in these river waters ranges between 0.44 and 8.32 μ/1, and it exhibits a positive correlation with major cations (Na + K + Mg + Ca). The 238U /∑Cations ratio in waters is very similar to that measured in the suspended sediments, indicating congruent weathering of uranium and major cations. The regional variations observed in the [ 234U /238U ] activity ratio are consistent with the lithology of the drainage basins. The lowland tributaries (Chambal, Betwa, Ken, and Son), draining through the igneous and metamorphic rocks of the Deccan Traps and the Vindhyan-Bundelkhand Plateau, have [ 234U /238U ] ratio in the range 1.16 to 1.84. This range is significantly higher than the near equilibrium ratio (~1.05) observed in the highland rivers which drain through sedimentary terrains. The dissolved 226Ra concentration ranges between 0.03 and 0.22 dpm/1. The striking feature of the radium isotopes data is the distinct difference in the 228Ra and 226Ra abundances between the highland and lowland rivers. The lowland waters are enriched in 228Ra while the highland waters contain more 226Ra. This difference mainly results from the differences in their weathering regimes. The discharge-weighted mean concentration of dissolved 238U in the Ganga (at Patna) and in the Brahmaputra (at Goalpara) are 1.81 and 0.63 μ/1, respectively. The Ganga-Brahmaputra river system constitutes the major source of dissolved uranium to the Bay of Bengal. These rivers transport annually about 1000 tons of uranium to their estuaries, about 10% of the estimated global supply of dissolved uranium to the oceans via rivers. The transport of uranium by these rivers far exceeds that of the Amazon, although their water discharge is only about 20% of that of the Amazon. The high intensity of weathering of uranium in

Compound-Specific Radiocarbon Dating Reveals the Age Distribution of Plant-Wax Biomarkers Exported to the Bengal Fan

Science.gov (United States)

Galy, V.; French, K. L.; Hein, C. J.; Haghipour, N.; Wacker, L.; Kudrass, H.; Eglinton, T. I.

2017-12-01

The stable isotope composition of leaf-wax compounds preserved in lacustrine and marine sediments has been widely used to reconstruct terrestrial paleo-environments. However, the timescales of plant-wax storage in continental reservoirs before riverine export are not well known, representing a key uncertainty in paleo-environment studies. We couple numerical models with bulk and leaf-wax fatty acid organic 13C and 14C signatures hosted in a high-deposition-rate sediment core from the Bengal shelf canyon in order to estimate storage timescales within the Ganges-Brahmaputra catchment area. The fatty acid 14C record reveals a muted nuclear weapons bomb spike, requiring that the Ganges-Brahmaputra river system exports a mixture of young and old (pre-aged) leaf-wax compounds. According to numerical simulations, 79-83% of the leaf-wax fatty acids in this core are sourced from continental reservoirs that store organic carbon on an average of 1000-1200 calendar years, while the remainder has an average age of 15 years. These results demonstrate that a majority of the leaf-wax compounds produced in the Ganges-Brahmaputra river basin was stored in soils, floodplains, and wetlands prior to its export to the Bengal Fan. We will discuss the implications of these findings for plant-wax based paleoenvironmental records.

CCN concentrations and BC warming influenced by maritime ship emitted aerosol plumes over southern Bay of Bengal.

Science.gov (United States)

Ramana, M V; Devi, Archana

2016-08-02

Significant quantities of carbon soot aerosols are emitted into pristine parts of the atmosphere by marine shipping. Soot impacts the radiative balance of the Earth-atmosphere system by absorbing solar-terrestrial radiation and modifies the microphysical properties of clouds. Here we examined the impact of black carbon (BC) on net warming during monsoon season over southern Bay-of-Bengal, using surface and satellite measurements of aerosol plumes from shipping. Shipping plumes had enhanced the BC concentrations by a factor of four around the shipping lane and exerted a strong positive influence on net warming. Compiling all the data, we show that BC atmospheric heating rates for relatively-clean and polluted-shipping corridor locations to be 0.06 and 0.16 K/day respectively within the surface layer. Emissions from maritime ships had directly heated the lower troposphere by two-and-half times and created a gradient of around 0.1 K/day on either side of the shipping corridor. Furthermore, we show that ship emitted aerosol plumes were responsible for increase in the concentration of cloud condensation nuclei (CCN) by an order of magnitude that of clean air. The effects seen here may have significant impact on the monsoonal activity over Bay-of-Bengal and implications for climate change mitigation strategies.

Desenvolvimento do fruto da lichieira (Litchi chinensis Sonn. 'Bengal' Fruit development in 'Bengal' litchi (Litchi chinensis Sonn.

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Luiz Carlos Chamhum Salomão

2006-04-01

Full Text Available Estudou-se o desenvolvimento do fruto da lichieira (Litchi chinensis Sonn. 'Bengal'. Realizaram-se amostragens semanais, com início aos 35 dias após a antese e término no início da senescência dos frutos. A partir do 77º dia após a antese, os frutos foram decompostos em pericarpo, semente e arilo. A antese ocorreu na primeira semana de setembro. Foram ajustados modelos sigmoidais simples para acúmulo de matéria seca, comprimento e diâmetro. Para o acúmulo de matéria seca, uma fase inicial, de crescimento lento, prolongou-se até o 63º dia após a antese e coincidiu com um período de intensa queda natural de frutos. Do 63º ao 98º dia após a antese, houve uma fase de rápido acúmulo de matéria seca. Até o 77º dia, pericarpo e semente foram os principais responsáveis pelo acúmulo de matéria seca. Oitenta e oito por cento do comprimento e 65% do diâmetro máximos foram atingidos nesse período. Do 84º ao 98º dia após a antese, o desenvolvimento do fruto foi determinado basicamente pelo arilo. As dimensões e a matéria seca do fruto estabilizaram-se a partir do 98º dia após a antese. O ponto de colheita comercial dos frutos, caracterizado pela coloração avermelhada do pericarpo, ocorreu a partir do 112º dia após a antese. Verificou-se um quadro senescente nos frutos a partir do 119º dia após a antese.It was studied the fruit development in 'Bengal' litchi (Litchi chinensis Sonn.. The samples were taken weekly 35 days after anthesis until the beginning of fruit senescence. From the 77th day after anthesis, fruits were decomposed in pericarp, aril and seed. Anthesis occurred in the first week of September. The fruit dry matter, length and diameter followed a single-sigmoid pattern. For dry matter accumulation, an initial phase, of slow growth, ended the 63rd day after anthesis and was coincident with a period of intense fruit drop. The next phase occurred from the 63rd to the 98th day and showed a rapid dry matter

Effect of temperature variation on hormonal concentration at various gestation stages in black Bengal goat

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Binod Kumar

2015-09-01

Full Text Available Aim: The present study was conducted to evaluate the effect of risingtemperature on the metabolic as well as the reproductive performance of the black Bengal goat. Materials and Methods: A total 27 numbers of non-pregnant black Bengal goats of the same parity comprised the experimental animals. The selected goats were randomly assigned to 3 groups of 9 each, maintaining uniformity in body weight (average 14-18 kg. Goats in Group-I were kept between the temperature ranges of 35-40°C, in Group-II between 20°Cand 27°C, and Group-III were kept under loose housing system and serve as a control. Goats in all the groups were bred naturally. Blood was collected prior to feeding in the morning on the day 1 (estrus, 20, 45, 90, and 135, expected day of parturition and also 2 days after parturition from goats of all the three groups. Results: It was observed that the level of plasma estrogen decreased (p˂0.05 up to day 45 of gestation, then after increased up to 135 days of gestation and was maximum on expected day of parturition which was significantly (p˂0.05 higher than all the values. Plasma progesterone level increased from day 20 and was the highest on day 90 and then decreased significantly (p˂0.05 on expected date of parturition. The luteinizing hormone value decreased significantly (p˂0.05 on expected day of parturition and day 2 after parturition in all the groups. Follicle stimulating hormone concentration showed a significant (p˂0.05 decrease from day 1 to 2 days after parturition in all the groups. The plasma triiodothyronine (T3 level did not vary between and within the treatment groups at any stage of the experiment. The plasma thyroxine (T4 level varied significantly (p˂0.01 within and (p˂0.05 between groups at all stages of reproduction. A significant (p<0.05 variation in plasma cortisol concentration in all the groups increased significantly until the day of parturition and dropped significantly (p<0.01 in 2 days after

Regional perfusion and oxygenation of tumors upon methylxanthine derivative administration

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kelleher, Debra K.; Thews, Oliver; Vaupel, Peter

1998-01-01

Purpose: The use of methylxanthine derivatives has been postulated as a means of increasing tumor perfusion and thus ameliorating tumor hypoxia. The aim of this study was to quantify and compare the effects of three methylxanthine derivatives: pentoxifylline (PX), torbafylline (TB), and HWA 138 (HW) on tumor perfusion and oxygenation. Methods and Materials: Anesthetized Sprague Dawley rats with DS-sarcomas implanted subcutaneously onto the hind foot dorsum were used in this study. Mean arterial blood pressure (MABP) was measured throughout experiments. Regional red blood cell (RBC) flux was monitored using a multichannel laser Doppler device and tumor oxygenation on a more global level was assessed polarographically using an O 2 -sensitive catheter electrode. The methylxanthine derivatives were administered as a single dose intraperitoneally (for PX 50 mg/kg; for TB and HW 75 mg/kg). Results: Following drug administration, initial decreases in MABP down to 75% of baseline values were observed for all three substances. PX, HW, and TB caused initial transient reductions in mean RBC flux followed by gradual increases to values of 137 ± 27 %, 139 ± 14 %, and 122 ± 14 % respectively at t = 60 min. Following a small initial decrease upon drug administration, O 2 partial pressure (pO 2 ) rose to 160 ± 31 %, 153 ± 34 %, and 121 ± 11 % for PX, HW, and TB, respectively at t = 60 min. At the end of the observation period (t = 90 min), increases in RBC flux and pO 2 were still evident. When individual tumors were considered, a variety of patterns (including opposing effects) for changes in RBC flux were seen, not necessarily reflected in the mean values. Thus, while the methylxanthine derivatives caused an increased average tumor perfusion, there is evidence suggesting that a redistribution of tumor blood flow occurs which may amplify preexisting heterogeneity. Conclusions: Substantial improvements in tumor oxygenation and perfusion were observed after administration of

Simulations of Cyclone Sidr in the Bay of Bengal with a High-Resolution Model: Sensitivity to Large-Scale Boundary Forcing

Science.gov (United States)

Kumar, Anil; Done, James; Dudhia, Jimy; Niyogi, Dev

2011-01-01

The predictability of Cyclone Sidr in the Bay of Bengal was explored in terms of track and intensity using the Advanced Research Hurricane Weather Research Forecast (AHW) model. This constitutes the first application of the AHW over an area that lies outside the region of the North Atlantic for which this model was developed and tested. Several experiments were conducted to understand the possible contributing factors that affected Sidr s intensity and track simulation by varying the initial start time and domain size. Results show that Sidr s track was strongly controlled by the synoptic flow at the 500-hPa level, seen especially due to the strong mid-latitude westerly over north-central India. A 96-h forecast produced westerly winds over north-central India at the 500-hPa level that were notably weaker; this likely caused the modeled cyclone track to drift from the observed actual track. Reducing the model domain size reduced model error in the synoptic-scale winds at 500 hPa and produced an improved cyclone track. Specifically, the cyclone track appeared to be sensitive to the upstream synoptic flow, and was, therefore, sensitive to the location of the western boundary of the domain. However, cyclone intensity remained largely unaffected by this synoptic wind error at the 500-hPa level. Comparison of the high resolution, moving nested domain with a single coarser resolution domain showed little difference in tracks, but resulted in significantly different intensities. Experiments on the domain size with regard to the total precipitation simulated by the model showed that precipitation patterns and 10-m surface winds were also different. This was mainly due to the mid-latitude westerly flow across the west side of the model domain. The analysis also suggested that the total precipitation pattern and track was unchanged when the domain was extended toward the east, north, and south. Furthermore, this highlights our conclusion that Sidr was influenced from the west

Relationship between summer monsoon rainfall and cyclogenesis over Bay of Bengal during post-monsoon (October-December) season

Digital Repository Service at National Institute of Oceanography (India)

Sadhuram, Y; Maneesha, K.

peak monsoon (October–November) season and concluded that the frequency of cyclones is modulated by negative and positive IOD rather than El-Nino and La-Nina. In this study, the relationship between southwest monsoon rainfall (June–September) and TNDC... Relationship between summer monsoon rainfall and cyclogenesis over Bay of Bengal during post-monsoon (October–December) season Y Sadhuram∗ and K Maneesha CSIR–National Institute of Oceanography, 176, Lawsons Bay Colony, Visakhapatnam 530 017, India...

Variations of the Indian summer monsoon over the Mio-Pliocene recorded in the Bengal Fan (IODP Exp354): implications for the evolution of the terrestrial biosphere.

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Galy, Valier; Feakins, Sarah; Karkabi, Elias; Ponton, Camilo; Galy, Albert; France-Lanord, Christian

2017-04-01

A pressing challenge in climate research is understanding the temporal evolution of the Indian monsoon system; its response to global and regional climatic controls (including warming); as well as implications in terms of vegetation (C4 expansion), erosion of the Himalaya and carbon sequestration in the Bengal Fan. Studies on climate dynamics have recently offered new insights into the mechanistic controls on the monsoon: the tectonic boundary of the Himalaya is implicated as the major control on Indian summer monsoon dynamics today. Since this region has been uplifted since at least the late Oligocene, it is possible to test the response of monsoon precipitation to global and regional climate change, and also understand feedbacks on the climate system via carbon sequestration in the Bengal Fan. The evidence for monsoon intensity changes across the Miocene and Pliocene is currently incomplete given temporal uncertainty and diagenesis in terrestrial records; biases in the records reconstructed from the distal fan; and conflicting evidence from wind speed and aridity metrics for a stronger or weaker monsoon. Our alternative approach is therefore to study the basin-wide hydrological changes recorded in a multi-proxy, multi-site study of the marine sediments of the Bengal Fan recovered during IODP expedition 354. In turbiditic sediments of Himalayan origin, the late Miocene C4 expansion was found in all three long records recovered during expedition 354 (i.e. at sites U1451, U1450 and U1455, from East to West) based on stable carbon isotope composition of terrestrial leaf-wax compounds. Cores from sites U1455 (a reoccupation of DSDP Leg 22 Site 218) provide the highest resolution record of the C4 transition, which appears to occur abruptly within a relatively continuous series of turbiditic sequences. Bio- and magneto-stratigraphic dating of these records by members of Expedition 354 science party is underway and will provide the best stratigraphic constraint of the C4

Life cycle of eddies along the western boundary of the Bay of Bengal and their implications

Digital Repository Service at National Institute of Oceanography (India)

Nuncio, M.; PrasannaKumar, S.

., Antonov, J.I., 2002. World Ocean Atlas 2001: Objective Analysis, Data statistics and Figures, CD-ROM documentation, National Oceanographic Data center, Silver Spring, MD, 17pp Gopalan, A.K.S., GopalaKrishna, V.V. , Ali, M.M., Sharma, R., 2000.... Sci. 22, 12-16. Pond, S., G.L. Pickard, 1978. Introductory dynamic oceanography, Pergamon Press, Oxford, UK., 241pp. Potemra, J.T., M.E. Luther, J.J. O'brien, 1991. The seasonal circulation of the upper ocean in the Bay of Bengal, J...

Objective mapping of observed sub-surface mesoscale cold core eddy in the Bay of Bengal by stochastic inverse technique with tomographically simulated travel times

Digital Repository Service at National Institute of Oceanography (India)

Murty, T.V.R.; Rao, M.M.M.; Sadhuram, Y.; Sridevi, B.; Maneesha, K.; SujithKumar, S.; Prasanna, P.L.; Murthy, K.S.R.

of Bengal during south-west monsoon season and explore possibility to reconstruct the acoustic profile of the eddy by Stochastic Inverse Technique. A simulation experiment on forward and inverse problems for observed sound velocity perturbation field has...

Microbial Assessment of Chevon of Black Bengal Goat

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S Parvin

2017-12-01

Full Text Available This study was conducted to assess the microbial load of Black Bengal goat meat during handling and selling in different markets of Mymensingh, Bangladesh. Total 27 samples were collected from three different places of the city, including KR market, Seshmore and Mesua Bazar. These samples were subjected to determine Total Viable Count (TVC, Total Coliform Count (TCC and Yeast Mold Count (YMC by using standard protocols. In raw meat, mean value of TVC were highest in Seshmore market (5.24±0.42 log cfu/g at 0 hour but having no significant differences with other two places. In case of TCC and YMC highest count were in meat of Mesua Bazar. In case of TCC, difference were observed (P<0.05 among the markets. At 5 hours all the bacterial counts were increased having significant differences with the initial count and in most of the cases the bacterial count crossed the acceptable limit. This was may be due to the unhygienic practices of butchers. Consumers were not conscious. Suggestion has been given to improve the knowledge on hygiene among the meat producers to reduce microbial load.

Prospecting Russula senecis: a delicacy among the tribes of West Bengal

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Somanjana Khatua

2015-03-01

Full Text Available Russula senecis, a worldwide distributed mushroom, is exclusively popular among the tribal communities of West Bengal for food purposes. The present study focuses on its reliable taxonomic identification through macro- and micro-morphological features, DNA barcoding, confirmation of its systematic placement by phylogenetic analyses, myco-chemicals and functional activities. For the first time, the complete Internal Transcribed Spacer region of R. senecis has been sequenced and its taxonomic position within subsection Foetentinae under series Ingratae of the subgen. Ingratula is confirmed through phylogenetic analysis. For exploration of its medicinal properties, dried basidiocarps were subjected for preparation of a heat stable phenol rich extract (RusePre using water and ethanol as solvent system. The antioxidant activity was evaluated through hydroxyl radical scavenging (EC50 5 µg/ml, chelating ability of ferrous ion (EC50 0.158 mg/ml, DPPH radical scavenging (EC50 1.34 mg/ml, reducing power (EC50 2.495 mg/ml and total antioxidant activity methods (13.44 µg ascorbic acid equivalent/mg of extract. RusePre exhibited antimicrobial potentiality against Listeria monocytogenes, Bacillus subtilis, Pseudomonas aeruginosa and Staphylococcus aureus. Furthermore, different parameters were tested to investigate its chemical composition, which revealed the presence of appreciable quantity of phenolic compounds, along with carotenoids and ascorbic acid. HPLC-UV fingerprint indicated the probable existence of at least 13 phenolics, of which 10 were identified (pyrogallol > kaempferol > quercetin > chlorogenic acid > ferulic acid, cinnamic acid > vanillic acid > salicylic acid > p-coumaric acid > gallic acid. Result from the present work suggests that the fraction, RusePre, may open novel prospect as a functional ingredient in antioxidant supplements and in drugs to treat infectious disease.

Variations of trace gases over the Bay of Bengal during the summer monsoon

Science.gov (United States)

Girach, I. A.; Ojha, Narendra; Nair, Prabha R.; Tiwari, Yogesh K.; Kumar, K. Ravi

2018-02-01

In situ measurements of near-surface ozone (O3), carbon monoxide (CO), and methane (CH4) were carried out over the Bay of Bengal (BoB) as a part of the Continental Tropical Convergence Zone (CTCZ) campaign during the summer monsoon season of 2009. O3, CO and CH4 mixing ratios varied in the ranges of 8-54 ppbv, 50-200 ppbv and 1.57-2.15 ppmv, respectively during 16 July-17 August 2009. The spatial distribution of mean tropospheric O3 from satellite retrievals is found to be similar to that in surface O3 observations, with higher levels over coastal and northern BoB as compared to central BoB. The comparison of in situ measurements with the Monitoring Atmospheric Composition & Climate (MACC) global reanalysis shows that MACC simulations reproduce the observations with small mean biases of 1.6 ppbv, -2.6 ppbv and 0.07 ppmv for O3, CO and CH4, respectively. The analysis of diurnal variation of O3 based on observations and the simulations from Weather Research and Forecasting coupled with Chemistry (WRF-Chem) at a stationary point over the BoB did not show a net photochemical build up during daytime. Satellite retrievals show limitations in capturing CH4 variations as measured by in situ sample analysis highlighting the need of more shipborne in situ measurements of trace gases over this region during monsoon.

Bacterioplankton abundance and production in Indian Ocean Regions

Digital Repository Service at National Institute of Oceanography (India)

Ramaiah, N.; Fernandes, V.; Rodrigues, V.V.; Paul, J.T.; Gauns, M.

) console. Although eu- photic depth varied widely in these locations, from as shallow as ~25 m in the bay to as deep as 150 m in the EIO, to be consistant with the JGOFS protocols followed widely, eight discrete depths (viz surface, 10, 20, 40, 60, 80... standing stocks calculated using 11 fg C per bacterial cell. Data from discrete sam- pling depths averaged from different stations in CAS, central Ara- bian Sea; EAS, eastern Arabian Sea; WB, western Bay of Bengal; CB, central Bay of Bengal; EIO...

Corneal Resistance to Keratolysis After Collagen Crosslinking With Rose Bengal and Green Light.

Science.gov (United States)

Fadlallah, Ali; Zhu, Hong; Arafat, Samer; Kochevar, Irene; Melki, Samir; Ciolino, Joseph B

2016-12-01

The purpose of this study was to evaluate the resistance to degradation by collagenase A of corneas that have been crosslinked with Rose Bengal and green light (RGX). The ex vivo crosslinking procedure was performed on enucleated rabbit corneas. Corneas were deepithelialized after applying 30% alcohol. Corneas were stained with Rose Bengal (RB, 0.1%) for 2 minutes and then exposed to green light (532 nm) at 0.25 W/cm2 for times to deliver doses of 50, 100, 150, or 200 J/cm2 (n = 5 per group). Five corneas were pretreated with riboflavin solution (0.1% riboflavin) for 15 minutes and irradiated with ultraviolet A (UVA) light (370 nm, 3 mW/cm2) for 30 minutes. Five corneas underwent only de-epithelialization and were otherwise untreated. Five corneas were stained with RB without light exposure. The central corneas of each group was removed with a 8.5-mm trephine and incubated at 37°C in 0.3% collagenase A solution. Time to dissolution of each cornea was compared across treatments. Corneas treated with RGX were treated with light fluences of 50, 100, 150, and 200 J/cm2; these corneas dissolved completely at 8.3 ± 1.2, 11.1 ± 1.4, 12.4 ± 1.7, and 15.7 ± 1.8 hours, respectively. Corneas treated by riboflavin and UVA light dissolved at 15.7 ± 1.7 hours, and nontreated corneas dissolved at 6.1 ± 1.3 hours. Corneas treated with only RB (no green light) dissolved at 9.3 ± 1.7 hours. Compared with the untreated corneas, all of the RB groups and the riboflavin-UVA-treated group of corneas degraded statistically significantly slower than untreated corneas (P < 0.05). Crosslinking with RGX increased corneal resistance to digestion by collagenase comparable to that produced by riboflavin and UVA treatment.

Tropical cyclones in the Bay of Bengal and extreme sea-level projections along the east coast of India in a future climate scenario

Digital Repository Service at National Institute of Oceanography (India)

Unnikrishnan, A.S.; RameshKumar, M.R.; Sindhu, B.

(2071– 2100), A2. The analysis showed an increase in the frequency of cyclones in the Bay of Bengal during the late monsoon (August and September) in the A2 scenario compared to the baseline scenario. Extreme sea-level projections along the east coast...

Human Impacts On The Bengal Delta's Response To Rapid Climate And Sea-Level Changes: Who Threatens Whom? (Invited)

Science.gov (United States)

Goodbred, S. L.

2009-12-01

The densely populated country of Bangladesh is often cited as being severely threatened by predicted changes in climate and accelerated sea-level rise. Justification for this grave assessment is founded in part on the low-lying nation's frequent inundation by river floods and storm surges, which affect millions of people annually. Indeed, nearly 50% of the delta system lies natural environment it speaks more to a healthful future than decline. Here I present field-based observations of sediment dispersal in the modern Bengal delta, which demonstrate how the system may remain relatively stable over the next century. However, this potentially acceptable outcome becomes increasingly unlikely if human interferences are considered. For example, short-term strategies to mitigate flooding would likely involve artificial leveeing of the river and the diking of coastal lowlands, both of which would limit sedimentation and diminish relative elevation of the delta surface. Threats upstream of the delta also include river damming to address demands for hydroelectric power and water resources in India, with a resulting decline in sediment discharge to the coast. Ultimately, it may be the impacts of such direct human-modification to the Bengal delta and river systems that outpace - in time and severity - those resulting from climate and sea-level changes alone.

Extremely large anthropogenic-aerosol contribution to total aerosol load over the Bay of Bengal during winter season

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D. G. Kaskaoutis

2011-07-01

Full Text Available Ship-borne observations of spectral aerosol optical depth (AOD have been carried out over the entire Bay of Bengal (BoB as part of the W-ICARB cruise campaign during the period 27 December 2008–30 January 2009. The results reveal a pronounced temporal and spatial variability in the optical characteristics of aerosols mainly due to anthropogenic emissions and their dispersion controlled by local meteorology. The highest aerosol amount, with mean AOD₅₀₀>0.4, being even above 1.0 on specific days, is found close to the coastal regions in the western and northern parts of BoB. In these regions the Ångström exponent is also found to be high (~1.2–1.25 indicating transport of strong anthropogenic emissions from continental regions, while very high AOD₅₀₀ (0.39±0.07 and α_380–870 values (1.27±0.09 are found over the eastern BoB. Except from the large α_380–870 values, an indication of strong fine-mode dominance is also observed from the AOD curvature, which is negative in the vast majority of the cases, suggesting dominance of an anthropogenic-pollution aerosol type. On the other hand, clean maritime conditions are rather rare over the region, while the aerosol types are further examined through a classification scheme based on the relationship between α and dα. It was found that even for the same α values the fine-mode dominance is larger for higher AODs showing the strong continental influence over the marine environment of BoB. Furthermore, there is also an evidence of aerosol-size growth under more turbid conditions indicative of coagulation and/or humidification over specific BoB regions. The results obtained using OPAC model show significant fraction of soot aerosols (~6 %–8 % over the eastern and northwestern BoB, while coarse-mode sea salt particles are found to dominate in the southern parts of BoB.

Assessment of alpha activity of building materials commonly used in West Bengal, India

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Ghosh, Dipak [School of Studies in Environmental Radiation and Archaeological Sciences, Jadavpur University, Kolkata 700 032 (India); Nuclear and Particle Physics Research Centre, Department of Physics, Jadavpur University, Kolkata 700 032 (India)], E-mail: dipakghosh_in@yahoo.com; Deb, Argha; Bera, Sukumar; Sengupta, Rosalima; Patra, Kanchan Kumar [School of Studies in Environmental Radiation and Archaeological Sciences, Jadavpur University, Kolkata 700 032 (India); Nuclear and Particle Physics Research Centre, Department of Physics, Jadavpur University, Kolkata 700 032 (India)

2008-02-15

This paper, reports for the first time, an extensive study of alpha activity of all widely used building materials (plaster of Paris, stone chips, marble, white cement, mosaic stone, limestone, sand, granite, cement brick, asbestos, red brick, cement tile, ceramic tile and ceramics) in West Bengal, India. The alpha activities have been measured using Solid State Nuclear Track Detector (SSNTD), a very sensitive detector for alpha particles. The samples were collected from local markets of Kolkata. The measured average alpha activities ranged from 22.7 {+-} 2.5 to 590.6 {+-} 16.8 Bq kg{sup -1}. The alpha activity of ceramic tiles was highest and provides additional data to estimate the effect of environmental radiation exposure on human health.

Human and cattle population changes in deltaic West Bengal, India between 1977-1987

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Odend' hal, S.

1988-03-01

In 1967-1970, 3.81 km/sup 2/ of a densely populated deltaic area of Hooghly district in West Bengal, India was intensively studied. This same area was resurveyed in 1977 and 1987. From 1977-1987, the human population has increased 10.1%, while the number of households has increased 25%. The total number of children below 10 years of age has diminished. The cattle have increased 26.5%. The number of working-age male cattle has dropped significantly with reliance, primarily on hand tractor power for field cultivation. The number of female cattle has increased substantially. Artificial insemination and the use of temperate breeds of bulls have had an obvious impact. Improvements in the general environment were observed.

Nomophobic behaviors among smartphone using medical and engineering students in two colleges of West Bengal.

Science.gov (United States)

Dasgupta, Pallabi; Bhattacherjee, Sharmistha; Dasgupta, Samir; Roy, Jayanta Kumar; Mukherjee, Abhijit; Biswas, Romy

2017-01-01

Growing smartphone usage among global and Indian college students has resulted in considerable issues of "nomophobia" (NMP) or feelings of discomfort or anxiety experienced by individuals whenever unable to use their smartphones. This significantly impacts their health, work, and study. The objective of this study is to find out the prevalence of NMP among smartphone using medical and engineering undergraduates of West Bengal and to compare the nomophobic behaviors, its predictors, and smartphone usage among them. A cross-sectional study was conducted among 303 medical and 305 engineering undergraduates in West Bengal using a validated NMP questionnaire consisting of four factors. Comparison of means of individual questions and factor scores was done. Nomophobic clusters among the two groups were identified using two-stage cluster analysis. Binary logistic regression was used for comparison of predictors of NMP. Engineering students showed a higher proportion of nomophobics (44.6%) than medical students (42.6%). Significant higher means was observed among engineering students for the factor "giving upconvenience" and individual variables like "scared due to running out of battery," "nervous due to disconnection from online identity," "uncomfortable when unable stay up-to-date with social media" and "anxious when unable to check E-mails." A Higher proportion of nomophobics among both groups were females, those owning smartphone beyond 2 years, having monthly mobile bill above Rs. 200 and spending over 4 h daily on smartphone. NMP has emerged as a significant cause of concern among both the groups. Standardized measures for identification and appropriate psychobehavioral therapy for those seeking help might alleviate the problem.

Evaluation of some selected herbs on arsenic-affected cattle in Nadia District, West Bengal, India.

Science.gov (United States)

Hazarika, Jantu M; Sarkar, Prasanta K; Chattopadhyay, Abichal; Mandal, Tapan K; Sarkar, Samar

2015-04-01

Arsenic poisoning due to contaminated subsoil water is one of the most alarming environment hazards in West Bengal, India. Cattle are also affected by arsenic due to ingestion of arsenic contaminated water, paddy straw, crops and vegetables. Thirty milch cattle having arsenic content in the range of 3.5 to 4.5 mg/kg in hair were chosen for this experiment from cattle of five respective villages in Nadia District, West Bengal, India. The cattle were divided into three groups containing 10 animals each. Group I cattle were treated with turmeric powder (Curcuma longa) 20 g/day orally for 60 days. Group II cattle were treated with turmeric powder (10 g/day) and Amaranthus spinosus powder (10 g/day) orally for 60 days. Group III cattle were treated with turmeric powder (10 g/day) and Eclipta alba powder (10 g/day) orally for 60 days. Ten apparently healthy milch cows with no history of exposure to arsenic were selected and kept as control group (group IV). Arsenic content in hair, faeces, urine and milk; different biochemical and haematological parameters and DNA fragmentation percentage assay were carried out before commencement of the treatment, after 30 days and after 60 days of treatment. The test drugs were found significantly (p < 0.05) effective to eliminate arsenic from the body and lead to significant improvement in different biochemistry, pathology and DNA fragmentation assay. These drugs also give protection from possible damage caused by arsenic exposure.

Environmentally-related seasonal variation in symbiotic associations of heterotrophic dinoflagellates with cyanobacteria in the western Bay of Bengal

Digital Repository Service at National Institute of Oceanography (India)

Jyothibabu, R.; Madhu, N.V.; Maheswaran, P.A.; Devi, C.R.A.; Balasubramanian, T.; Nair, K.K.C.; Achuthankutty, C.T.

significance in oligotrophic environments where high oxygen tension is normally antagonistic to nitrogenase activity. During the summer and winter monsoon periods, the low occurrence of symbiotic associations may be due to two reasons: (a) the presence... temperature, centrifuged and the absorbance of the supernatant was measured using spectrophotometer (Strickland and Parsons, 1972). 3. Results and Discussion In the western Bay of Bengal, low surface salinity along with high solar radiation play an important...

Prevalence of sorbitol non-fermenting Shiga toxin-producing Escherichia coli in Black Bengal goats on smallholdings.

Science.gov (United States)

Das Gupta, M; Das, A; Islam, M Z; Biswas, P K

2016-09-01

A cross-sectional survey was carried out in Bangladesh with the sampling of 514 Black Bengal goats on smallholdings to determine the presence of sorbitol non-fermenting (SNF) Shiga toxin-producing E. coli (STEC). Swab samples collected from the recto-anal junction were plated onto cefixime and potassium tellurite added sorbitol MacConkey (CT-SMAC) agar, a selective medium for STEC O157 serogroup, where this serogroup and other SNF STEC produce colourless colonies. The SNF E. coli (SNF EC) isolates obtained from the survey were investigated by PCR for the presence of Shiga toxin-producing genes, stx1 and stx2, and two other virulence genes, eae and hlyA that code for adherence factor (intimin protein) and pore-forming cytolysin, respectively. The SNF EC isolates were also assessed for the presence of the rfbO157 gene to verify their identity to O157 serogroup. The results revealed that the proportions of goats carrying SNF EC isolates and stx1 and stx2 genes were 6·2% (32/514) [95% confidence interval (CI) 4·4-8·7)], 1·2% (95% CI 0·5-2·6) and 1·2% (95% CI 0·5-2·6), respectively. All the SNF STEC tested negative for rfbO157, hlyA and eae genes. The risk for transmission of STEC from Black Bengal goats to humans is low.

On the accuracy of the simple ocean data assimilation analysis for estimating heat Budgets of the Near-Surface Arabian Sea and Bay of Bengal

Digital Repository Service at National Institute of Oceanography (India)

Shenoi, S.S.C.; Shankar, D.; Shetye, S.R.

The accuracy of data from the Simple Ocean Data Assimilation (SODA) model for estimating the heat budget of the upper ocean is tested in the Arabian Sea and the Bay of Bengal. SODA is able to reproduce the changes in heat content when...

Tectonics of the Bay of Bengal: New insights from satellite-gravity and ship-borne geophysical data

Digital Repository Service at National Institute of Oceanography (India)

Subrahmanyam, C.; Thakur, N.K.; Rao, T.G.; Khanna, R.; Ramana, M.V.; Subrahmanyam, V.

running the length of the Bengal fan and completely buried under the fan sediments (Fig. 1). One view projects the ridge as a hotspot trace on the ocean floor, con- necting it through the Afanasy-Nikitin seamount in the central Indian Ocean, to either... of 15ºN, with a NE–SW trend in the north and a N–S trend in the south, casts some doubt on the total pull- apart nature of the entire ECMI. Inferences based on examination of bathymetry contours from the con- jugate margins of the Coromandel coast...

Variability in ozone and its precursor gases over the Bay of Bengal during post-monsoon

Science.gov (United States)

Mallik, Chinmay; Lal, Shyam; Venkataramani, Sethuram; Naja, Manish; Ojha, Narendra

2013-04-01

O3 and precursor gases were measured during a ship campaign over the Bay of Bengal (BoB) during 28 October -17 November, 2010. The measurements revealed the large spatial heterogeneity in trace gas levels over the BoB during post-monsoon months. The heterogeneity was attributed to unique transport patterns over north and south BoB during this period. Four distinct types of air-masses influenced by heavy pollution from nearby source regions (49% time over North-West Myanmar, East Bangladesh and North-East India), mixed type (25% time over Myanmar, Thailand and Vietnam and 75% time over East BoB), affected by long-range transport of pollutants (59% time over continental South Myanmar, Vietnam and Hong-Kong region of China) and pristine marine (99% time over oceanic regions) were identified. Among these, the continental air masses were fresher compared to marine air masses. High O3 and CO levels were observed in air masses coming from South-East Asia. O3, C4H10 and alkenes were highest in air masses arriving from eastern IGP, Bangladesh, Myanmar via the North BoB. The C2H2 to CO slope of 0.004 and C3H8 to CO slope of 0.003 indicated predominance of biofuel/biomass burning in air masses from South-East Asia. The i-C4H10 to n- C4H10 value of 0.62 indicated contributions of urban/industrial sources in air masses arriving from Bangladesh, India and North-West Myanmar. 'Potential Source Contribution Function' analysis indicated fire impacted South of Myanmar and Thailand regions as potential contributors to high CO levels above 260 ppbv measured on 14 November. Observed enhancements in surface CO during 2-3 November were attributed to the faster transport of continental pollutants associated with cyclonic winds. The O3 e-fold time of 2.3 days indicated the higher rate of O3 destruction over the BoB due to higher precursor levels. Principle component analysis indicated that transport from continental source regions played a major role in determining the chemical composition

Record of the Cretaceous magnetic quiet zone in the distal Bengal fan and its significance in understanding the evolutionary history of the northeastern Indian Ocean

Digital Repository Service at National Institute of Oceanography (India)

Ramana, M.V.; Subrahmanyam, V.; Sarma, K.V.L.N.S.; Desa, M.; Rao, M.M.M.; Subrahmanyam, C.

was collected during the International Indian Ocean Expedition Programme and subsequent expeditions to unravel the evolutionary history of Indian Ocean, not much was known about the age and nature of the ocean floor of the Bengal Fan but for few speculations...

Construction of a Full-Length Enriched cDNA Library and Preliminary Analysis of Expressed Sequence Tags from Bengal Tiger Panthera tigris tigris

Science.gov (United States)

Liu, Changqing; Liu, Dan; Guo, Yu; Lu, Taofeng; Li, Xiangchen; Zhang, Minghai; Ma, Jianzhang; Ma, Yuehui; Guan, Weijun

2013-01-01

In this study, a full-length enriched cDNA library was successfully constructed from Bengal tiger, Panthera tigris tigris, the most well-known wild Animal. Total RNA was extracted from cultured Bengal tiger fibroblasts in vitro. The titers of primary and amplified libraries were 1.28 × 106 pfu/mL and 1.56 × 109 pfu/mL respectively. The percentage of recombinants from unamplified library was 90.2% and average length of exogenous inserts was 0.98 kb. A total of 212 individual ESTs with sizes ranging from 356 to 1108 bps were then analyzed. The BLASTX score revealed that 48.1% of the sequences were classified as a strong match, 45.3% as nominal and 6.6% as a weak match. Among the ESTs with known putative function, 26.4% ESTs were found to be related to all kinds of metabolisms, 19.3% ESTs to information storage and processing, 11.3% ESTs to posttranslational modification, protein turnover, chaperones, 11.3% ESTs to transport, 9.9% ESTs to signal transducer/cell communication, 9.0% ESTs to structure protein, 3.8% ESTs to cell cycle, and only 6.6% ESTs classified as novel genes. By EST sequencing, a full-length gene coding ferritin was identified and characterized. The recombinant plasmid pET32a-TAT-Ferritin was constructed, coded for the TAT-Ferritin fusion protein with two 6× His-tags in N and C-terminal. After BCA assay, the concentration of soluble Trx-TAT-Ferritin recombinant protein was 2.32 ± 0.12 mg/mL. These results demonstrated that the reliability and representativeness of the cDNA library attained to the requirements of a standard cDNA library. This library provided a useful platform for the functional genome and transcriptome research of Bengal tigers. PMID:23708105

Construction of a Full-Length Enriched cDNA Library and Preliminary Analysis of Expressed Sequence Tags from Bengal Tiger Panthera tigris tigris

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Changqing Liu

2013-05-01

Full Text Available In this study, a full-length enriched cDNA library was successfully constructed from Bengal tiger, Panthera tigris tigris, the most well-known wild Animal. Total RNA was extracted from cultured Bengal tiger fibroblasts in vitro. The titers of primary and amplified libraries were 1.28 × 106 pfu/mL and 1.56 × 109 pfu/mL respectively. The percentage of recombinants from unamplified library was 90.2% and average length of exogenous inserts was 0.98 kb. A total of 212 individual ESTs with sizes ranging from 356 to 1108 bps were then analyzed. The BLASTX score revealed that 48.1% of the sequences were classified as a strong match, 45.3% as nominal and 6.6% as a weak match. Among the ESTs with known putative function, 26.4% ESTs were found to be related to all kinds of metabolisms, 19.3% ESTs to information storage and processing, 11.3% ESTs to posttranslational modification, protein turnover, chaperones, 11.3% ESTs to transport, 9.9% ESTs to signal transducer/cell communication, 9.0% ESTs to structure protein, 3.8% ESTs to cell cycle, and only 6.6% ESTs classified as novel genes. By EST sequencing, a full-length gene coding ferritin was identified and characterized. The recombinant plasmid pET32a-TAT-Ferritin was constructed, coded for the TAT-Ferritin fusion protein with two 6× His-tags in N and C-terminal. After BCA assay, the concentration of soluble Trx-TAT-Ferritin recombinant protein was 2.32 ± 0.12 mg/mL. These results demonstrated that the reliability and representativeness of the cDNA library attained to the requirements of a standard cDNA library. This library provided a useful platform for the functional genome and transcriptome research of Bengal tigers.

Assessment of alpha activity of building materials commonly used in West Bengal, India

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ghosh, Dipak; Deb, Argha; Bera, Sukumar; Sengupta, Rosalima; Patra, Kanchan Kumar

2008-01-01

This paper, reports for the first time, an extensive study of alpha activity of all widely used building materials (plaster of Paris, stone chips, marble, white cement, mosaic stone, limestone, sand, granite, cement brick, asbestos, red brick, cement tile, ceramic tile and ceramics) in West Bengal, India. The alpha activities have been measured using Solid State Nuclear Track Detector (SSNTD), a very sensitive detector for alpha particles. The samples were collected from local markets of Kolkata. The measured average alpha activities ranged from 22.7 ± 2.5 to 590.6 ± 16.8 Bq kg -1 . The alpha activity of ceramic tiles was highest and provides additional data to estimate the effect of environmental radiation exposure on human health

The 21 May 2014 Mw 5.9 Bay of Bengal earthquake: macroseismic data suggest a high‐stress‐drop event

Science.gov (United States)

Martin, Stacey; Hough, Susan E.

2015-01-01

A modest but noteworthy Mw 5.9 earthquake occurred in the Bay of Bengal beneath the central Bengal fan at 21:51 Indian Standard Time (16:21 UTC) on 21 May 2014. Centered over 300 km from the eastern coastline of India (Fig. 1), it caused modest damage by virtue of its location and magnitude. However, shaking was very widely felt in parts of eastern India where earthquakes are uncommon. Media outlets reported as many as four fatalities. Although most deaths were blamed on heart attacks, the death of one woman was attributed by different sources to either a roof collapse or a stampede (see Table S1, available in the electronic supplement to this article). Across the state of Odisha, as many as 250 people were injured (see Table S1), most after jumping from balconies or terraces. Light damage was reported from a number of towns on coastal deltaic sediments, including collapsed walls and damage to pukka and thatched dwellings. Shaking was felt well inland into east‐central India and was perceptible in multistoried buildings as far as Chennai, Delhi, and Jaipur at distances of ≈1600  km (Table 1).

African catfish Clarias gariepinus farming practices in North and South 24 Parganas districts of West Bengal, India

OpenAIRE

Thangapalam Jawahar Abraham; Prakash Kumar Mallick; Pradipta Paul

2018-01-01

Clarias gariepinus is widely cultured due to its tolerance to environmental extremes, high production and good feed conversion rate. This communication describes the farming practices of C. gariepinus in North and South 24 Parganas districts of West Bengal. Clarias gariepinus is cultured in ponds of 0.1–0.75 ha, where fingerlings were stocked at a density of 860–1150 cubic meter–1. The current practices of seed transportation were stressful to fish as the majority of the farmers noticed 5–10%...

Definition of the continent-ocean boundary of India and the surrounding oceanic regions from Magsat data

Science.gov (United States)

Singh, B. P.; Rajaram, Mita; Bapat, V. J.

1991-06-01

Magsat studies over the Indian region and adjoining areas show that the continental-oceanic contrasts appear more distinctly in the equivalent magnetization solution than in the anomaly maps. The vertical component ( Z) is found to be more useful for the equatorial regions. It is also noted that, in general, the continental crust has a higher magnetization than the oceanic crust. Further, the continental crust seems to extend into the Arabian Sea across a part of the west coast. A similar continuation is seen in the northern part of the Bay of Bengal. The west coast result is corroborated using land and marine Bouguer gravity anomalies.

Sub-surface Biogeochemical Characteristics and Its Effect on Arsenic Cycling in the Holocene Gray Sand Aquifers of the Lower Bengal Basin

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Devanita Ghosh

2017-12-01

Full Text Available High arsenic (As content in the fertile delta plains of West Bengal has been widely reported since the 1990s. The shallow gray sand aquifers (GSA deposited during the Holocene, are more commonly used as potable water sources, but they have high As levels. The release of As into groundwater is influenced by indigenous microbial communities metabolizing different organic carbon sources present in the GSA sediments. After pre-screening the groundwater for assessing their microbial phylogenetic diversity, two 50-m deep boreholes were drilled in the GSAs, and 19 sediment samples were recovered from each core. In each of these samples, grain-size distribution, sequential extraction, and quantification of trace metals and total extractable lipids were analyzed. The aquifer sediments consisted of medium to fine micaceous sand with clay lenses in between them; a thick clay layer occurred on top of both boreholes. Arsenic concentration in these sediments varied from 1.80 to 41.0 mg/kg and was mostly associated with the oxide and silicate-rich crystalline minerals. Arsenic showed a significant correlation with Fe in all fractions, suggesting the presence of Fe-(oxy-hydroxides bound As minerals. The diagnostic lipid biomarkers showed presence of compounds derived from higher plants (epicuticular waxes and microbial inputs. The biomarkers were abundant in clay and silt-rich layers. The samples indicated preferential preservation of n-alkanes over other functional compounds (e.g., alcohols and fatty acids, that are more reactive, and hence subject to further degradation. Sediments recovered from the borehole indicated the presence of Eustigmatophytes and vascular plant waxes that are mostly surface-derived. The sedimentary lipids also indicated the presence of complex petroleum-derived hydrocarbons. These compounds provide organic substrates, and support the preferential survival of specific microbial communities in these sediments.

Origin of surface and columnar Indian Ocean Experiment (INDOEX) aerosols using source- and region-tagged emissions transport in a general circulation model

Science.gov (United States)

Verma, S.; Venkataraman, C.; Boucher, O.

2008-12-01

We study the relative influence of aerosols emitted from different sectors and geographical regions on aerosol loading in south Asia. Sectors contributing aerosol emissions include biofuel and fossil fuel combustion, open biomass burning, and natural sources. Geographical regions include India (the Indo-Gangetic plain, central India, south India, and northwest India), southeast Asia, east Asia, Africa-west Asia, and the rest of the world. Simulations of the Indian Ocean Experiment (INDOEX), from January to March 1999, are made in the general circulation model of Laboratoire de Météorologie Dynamique (LMD-ZT GCM) with emissions tagged by sector and geographical region. Anthropogenic emissions dominate (54-88%) the predicted aerosol optical depth (AOD) over all the receptor regions. Among the anthropogenic sectors, fossil fuel combustion has the largest overall influence on aerosol loading, primarily sulfate, with emissions from India (50-80%) and rest of the world significantly influencing surface concentrations and AOD. Biofuel combustion has a significant influence on both the surface and columnar black carbon (BC) in particular over the Indian subcontinent and Bay of Bengal with emissions largely from the Indian region (60-80%). Open biomass burning emissions influence organic matter (OM) significantly, and arise largely from Africa-west Asia. The emissions from Africa-west Asia affect the carbonaceous aerosols AOD in all receptor regions, with their largest influence (AOD-BC: 60%; and AOD-OM: 70%) over the Arabian Sea. Among Indian regions, the Indo-Gangetic Plain is the largest contributor to anthropogenic surface mass concentrations and AOD over the Bay of Bengal and India. Dust aerosols are contributed mainly through the long-range transport from Africa-west Asia over the receptor regions. Overall, the model estimates significant intercontinental incursion of aerosol, for example, BC, OM, and dust from Africa-west Asia and sulfate from distant regions (rest

Electron Microscopic, Genetic and Protein Expression Analyses of Helicobacter acinonychis Strains from a Bengal Tiger

Science.gov (United States)

Tegtmeyer, Nicole; Rivas Traverso, Francisco; Rohde, Manfred; Oyarzabal, Omar A.; Lehn, Norbert; Schneider-Brachert, Wulf; Ferrero, Richard L.; Fox, James G.; Berg, Douglas E.; Backert, Steffen

2013-01-01

Colonization by Helicobacter species is commonly noted in many mammals. These infections often remain unrecognized, but can cause severe health complications or more subtle host immune perturbations. The aim of this study was to isolate and characterize putative novel Helicobacter spp. from Bengal tigers in Thailand. Morphological investigation (Gram-staining and electron microscopy) and genetic studies (16SrRNA, 23SrRNA, flagellin, urease and prophage gene analyses, RAPD DNA fingerprinting and restriction fragment polymorphisms) as well as Western blotting were used to characterize the isolated Helicobacters. Electron microscopy revealed spiral-shaped bacteria, which varied in length (2.5–6 µm) and contained up to four monopolar sheathed flagella. The 16SrRNA, 23SrRNA, sequencing and protein expression analyses identified novel H. acinonychis isolates closely related to H. pylori. These Asian isolates are genetically very similar to H. acinonychis strains of other big cats (cheetahs, lions, lion-tiger hybrid and other tigers) from North America and Europe, which is remarkable in the context of the great genetic diversity among worldwide H. pylori strains. We also found by immunoblotting that the Bengal tiger isolates express UreaseA/B, flagellin, BabA adhesin, neutrophil-activating protein NapA, HtrA protease, γ-glutamyl-transpeptidase GGT, Slt lytic transglycosylase and two DNA transfer relaxase orthologs that were known from H. pylori, but not the cag pathogenicity island, nor CagA, VacA, SabA, DupA or OipA proteins. These results give fresh insights into H. acinonychis genetics and the expression of potential pathogenicity-associated factors and their possible pathophysiological relevance in related gastric infections. PMID:23940723

Electron microscopic, genetic and protein expression analyses of Helicobacter acinonychis strains from a Bengal tiger.

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Nicole Tegtmeyer

Full Text Available Colonization by Helicobacter species is commonly noted in many mammals. These infections often remain unrecognized, but can cause severe health complications or more subtle host immune perturbations. The aim of this study was to isolate and characterize putative novel Helicobacter spp. from Bengal tigers in Thailand. Morphological investigation (Gram-staining and electron microscopy and genetic studies (16SrRNA, 23SrRNA, flagellin, urease and prophage gene analyses, RAPD DNA fingerprinting and restriction fragment polymorphisms as well as Western blotting were used to characterize the isolated Helicobacters. Electron microscopy revealed spiral-shaped bacteria, which varied in length (2.5-6 µm and contained up to four monopolar sheathed flagella. The 16SrRNA, 23SrRNA, sequencing and protein expression analyses identified novel H. acinonychis isolates closely related to H. pylori. These Asian isolates are genetically very similar to H. acinonychis strains of other big cats (cheetahs, lions, lion-tiger hybrid and other tigers from North America and Europe, which is remarkable in the context of the great genetic diversity among worldwide H. pylori strains. We also found by immunoblotting that the Bengal tiger isolates express UreaseA/B, flagellin, BabA adhesin, neutrophil-activating protein NapA, HtrA protease, γ-glutamyl-transpeptidase GGT, Slt lytic transglycosylase and two DNA transfer relaxase orthologs that were known from H. pylori, but not the cag pathogenicity island, nor CagA, VacA, SabA, DupA or OipA proteins. These results give fresh insights into H. acinonychis genetics and the expression of potential pathogenicity-associated factors and their possible pathophysiological relevance in related gastric infections.

Electron microscopic, genetic and protein expression analyses of Helicobacter acinonychis strains from a Bengal tiger.

Science.gov (United States)

Tegtmeyer, Nicole; Rivas Traverso, Francisco; Rohde, Manfred; Oyarzabal, Omar A; Lehn, Norbert; Schneider-Brachert, Wulf; Ferrero, Richard L; Fox, James G; Berg, Douglas E; Backert, Steffen

2013-01-01

Colonization by Helicobacter species is commonly noted in many mammals. These infections often remain unrecognized, but can cause severe health complications or more subtle host immune perturbations. The aim of this study was to isolate and characterize putative novel Helicobacter spp. from Bengal tigers in Thailand. Morphological investigation (Gram-staining and electron microscopy) and genetic studies (16SrRNA, 23SrRNA, flagellin, urease and prophage gene analyses, RAPD DNA fingerprinting and restriction fragment polymorphisms) as well as Western blotting were used to characterize the isolated Helicobacters. Electron microscopy revealed spiral-shaped bacteria, which varied in length (2.5-6 µm) and contained up to four monopolar sheathed flagella. The 16SrRNA, 23SrRNA, sequencing and protein expression analyses identified novel H. acinonychis isolates closely related to H. pylori. These Asian isolates are genetically very similar to H. acinonychis strains of other big cats (cheetahs, lions, lion-tiger hybrid and other tigers) from North America and Europe, which is remarkable in the context of the great genetic diversity among worldwide H. pylori strains. We also found by immunoblotting that the Bengal tiger isolates express UreaseA/B, flagellin, BabA adhesin, neutrophil-activating protein NapA, HtrA protease, γ-glutamyl-transpeptidase GGT, Slt lytic transglycosylase and two DNA transfer relaxase orthologs that were known from H. pylori, but not the cag pathogenicity island, nor CagA, VacA, SabA, DupA or OipA proteins. These results give fresh insights into H. acinonychis genetics and the expression of potential pathogenicity-associated factors and their possible pathophysiological relevance in related gastric infections.

Marked bengal pink. A dynamic test using marking doses; its value in jaundice diagnosis

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kellershohn, C.; Desgrez, A.; Delaloye, B.

1961-01-01

The authors do a historic calling back of the differential study of jaundices thanks to the semi logarithmic gradients of expurgation of bromine sulphone-phthalein and thanks to the time of appearance of this material in the bile collected by duodenal tubing. They sum up likewise the foreign works which lead to take the place of this test, the outside count at the level of the head, the liver, and the abdomen after intravenous injection of a running dose of marked Rose Bengal. They specify the technical conditions of this test and report an experience which corroborate its value, its accuracy and the interest of its using in the different types of jaundices (hepatitis and obstructive types). (author) [fr

Radiotracer technique to quantify change in filtration velocity as a measure of dilution effect by artificial recharge in an arsenic infested aquifer at Ashoknagar, Habra - II block, 24 Paragana district, West Bengal

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kulkarni, U.P.; Sharma, Suman

2004-01-01

Radioisotopes are frequently employed as tracers for various applications in industry, agricultural, medicine and hydrology. In hydrology, radiotracers are commonly applied to investigate several hydrological parameters of aquifers such as hydraulic conductivity, groundwater velocity and direction of flow etc. They impart valuable insight into the understanding of the hydrological systems. Application of radioisotopes in determination of groundwater flow velocity is now a well established technique. In this paper, groundwater filtration velocity was determined in an arsenic infested alluvium aquifer at Ashoknagar, Habra, West Bengal for determining the dilution effect due to arsenic free water. In some parts of West Bengal, generally shallow aquifers up to 80 m deep are contaminated due to geogenic arsenic. Researchers have different views about origin and mobility of arsenic in the groundwaters of West Bengal. For the removal of Arsenic from the groundwater various methods have been suggested and implemented such as ion-exchange, co-precipitation, adsorption, membrane separation and dilution etc. Dilution of the Arsenic concentration by artificial recharge of arsenic free water from the constructed pits in the contaminated aquifer is one such simple method. Efficacy of this method was studied by measuring filtration velocity in the contaminated aquifer at the Ashoknagar, Habra - II Block, North 24 Paragana district, West Bengal. Radioactive 82 Br in the form of aqueous ammonium bromide was used as a tracer to measure filtration velocity of the groundwater. Point dilution technique in a single well was applied. Filtration velocity provided relevant information about the arsenic dilution in the groundwater by the artificial recharge and its value will be used as a model parameter. (author)

Three Years’ Experience of Management of Different Types of Rhinosporidiosis in Rural Part of Western West Bengal

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Debdulal Chakraborty

2015-12-01

Full Text Available Introduction: The incidence of different types of rhinosporidiosis is very high in the rural western part of West Bengal.  The treatment of choice is surgical excision and cauterization of the base. The recurrence rate is very high. Aims and objectives: The objectives of this study were to assess the distribution of rhinosporidiosis according to age, sex, presenting features, site of origin, recurrence rate and compare them with literature; and describe the surgical technique to reduce recurrence of the disease. Materials and methods: This prospective case study was done in the department of Otorhinolaryngology in a tertiary care hospital in the western part of West Bengal from April 2012 to March 2015. Wide local excision of rhinosporidiosis along with electrocautery of the base was done. We took the help of endoscope and microscope whenever needed. Regular follow up with endoscope was done in postoperative period. Results: Out of total 112 patients 62 were male and 50 were female. Commonest age group affected was 2nd decade. There was no recurrence in patients undergoing operation for the first time. Recurrence was noted in nasopharynx of 3 patients undergoing revision surgery. Conclusion: Complete removal of rhinosporidiosis from the base is the basic criterion to reduce recurrence. It is possible by using meticulous technique along with the guidance of endoscope or microscope whenever needed. Regular postoperative follow up with endoscope is must to detect and treat early recurrence.

Impact of extension interventions in improving livelihood of dairy farmers of Nadia district of West Bengal, India.

Science.gov (United States)

Garai, Suman; Garai, Sanchita; Maiti, Sanjit; Meena, B S; Ghosh, M K; Bhakat, Champak; Dutta, T K

2017-03-01

Livestock is a one of the major sources of livelihood for most of the small and marginal farmers in India, particularly for rural households who live in below poverty line. Extension interventions have long been seen as a key element for enabling farmers to obtain information and technologies that can improve their livelihoods. It is also recognized that extension is an important factor in promoting dairy development. Ex-post-facto cause to effect research design was applied in this study to trace out the impact of extension interventions in improving knowledge, attitude, adoption towards scientific dairy farming practices and improvement in milk production of dairy animal and income from dairying which will be resulted into improved livelihood of rural poor in Nadia district of West Bengal, India. Therefore, 60 dairy farmers of experimental villages who were considered as beneficiaries and 60 dairy farmers of control villages who were considered as non-beneficiaries were selected as sample for the study. It was found that beneficiaries had significantly higher score in all the five components of livelihood improvement with its all sub components, i.e., knowledge, attitude, adoption of scientific dairy farming practices, milk production per household per day and monthly income from dairying except disease control, and marketing component of adoption. Hence, it may be concluded that extension interventions had a significant impact on improving livelihood of rural dairy farmers in Nadia district of West Bengal, India.

Systematic notes on Asian birds. 51. Dates of avian names introduced in early volumes of the Journal of the Asiatic Society of Bengal

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Dickinson, E.C.; Pittie, A.

2006-01-01

The Journal of the Asiatic Society of Bengal contains many new names of birds and other animals but accurate dating of the new names is difficult. The Society wanted it to contain a monthly meteorological report and in many, if not most, years deliberately issued the journal early in the month after

Removal of arsenic from ground water samples collected from West Bengal, India

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ajith, Nicy; Swain, K.K.; Dalvi, Aditi A.; Verma, R.

2015-01-01

Arsenic contamination in ground water is one of the major concerns in many parts of the world including Bangladesh and India. Considering the high toxicity of arsenic, World Health Organization (WHO) has set a provisional guideline value of 10 μg L -1 for arsenic in drinking water. Several methods have been adopted for the removal of arsenic from drinking water. Most of the methods fail to remove As(III), the most toxic form of arsenic. An extra oxidative treatment step is essential for effective removal of total arsenic. Manganese dioxide (MnO 2 ) oxidizes As(III) to As(V). Removal of arsenic from water using manganese dioxide has been reported. During this work, removal of arsenic from ground water samples collected from arsenic contaminated area of West Bengal, India were carried out using MnO 2

Hydrographic features of the gas hydrate studies survey area of cruise AASGH4 in the Bay of Bengal

Digital Repository Service at National Institute of Oceanography (India)

Charyulu, R; Fernandes, W.A.; Gawde, S.; Almeida, A.M.

/2006 Technical Report on ?Hydrographic features of the gas hydrate studies survey area of cruise AASGH4 in the Bay of Bengal? R.J.K. Charyulu, William Fernandes, Sandeep Gawde and A.M. Almeida National Institute of Oceanography, (C.S.I.R.) Dona Paula.... Methodology for CTD data collection i) The CTD System: The CTD (conductivity, Temperature, Depth) system used in the gas hydrates study onboard AA ?Siderenko? for water column hydrographic data collection consists of C,T,D primary sensors...

Submesoscale features and their interaction with fronts and internal tides in a high-resolution coupled atmosphere-ocean-wave model of the Bay of Bengal

Science.gov (United States)

Jensen, Tommy G.; Shulman, Igor; Wijesekera, Hemantha W.; Anderson, Stephanie; Ladner, Sherwin

2018-03-01

Large freshwater fluxes into the Bay of Bengal by rainfall and river discharges result in strong salinity fronts in the bay. In this study, a high-resolution coupled atmosphere-ocean-wave model with comprehensive physics is used to model the weather, ocean circulation, and wave field in the Bay of Bengal. Our objective is to explore the submesoscale activity that occurs in a realistic coupled model that resolves mesoscales and allows part of the submesoscale field. Horizontal resolution in the atmosphere varies from 2 to 6 km and is 13 km for surface waves, while the ocean model is submesoscale permitting with resolutions as high as 1.5 km and a vertical resolution of 0.5 m in the upper 10 m. In this paper, three different cases of oceanic submesoscale features are discussed. In the first case, heavy rainfall and intense downdrafts produced by atmospheric convection are found to force submesoscale currents, temperature, and salinity anomalies in the oceanic mixed layer and impact the mesoscale flow. In a second case, strong solitary-like waves are generated by semidiurnal tides in the Andaman Sea and interact with mesoscale flows and fronts and affect submesoscale features generated along fronts. A third source of submesoscale variability is found further north in the Bay of Bengal where river outflows help maintain strong salinity gradients throughout the year. For that case, a comparison with satellite observations of sea surface height anomalies, sea surface temperature, and chlorophyll shows that the model captures the observed mesoscale eddy features of the flow field, but in addition, submesoscale upwelling and downwelling patterns associated with ageostrophic secondary circulations along density fronts are also captured by the model.

Shakespeare, Macbeth and the Hindu Nationalism of Nineteenth-Century Bengal

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Sarkar Abhishek

2016-06-01

Full Text Available The essay examines a Bengali adaptation of Macbeth, namely Rudrapal Natak (published 1874 by Haralal Ray, juxtaposing it with differently accented commentaries on the play arising from the English-educated elites of 19th Bengal, and relating the play to the complex phenomenon of Hindu nationalism. This play remarkably translocates the mythos and ethos of Shakespeare’s original onto a Hindu field of signifiers, reformulating Shakespeare’s Witches as bhairavis (female hermits of a Tantric cult who indulge unchallenged in ghastly rituals. It also tries to associate the gratuitous violence of the play with the fanciful yearning for a martial ideal of nation-building that formed a strand of the Hindu revivalist imaginary. If the depiction of the Witch-figures in Rudrapal undercuts the evocation of a monolithic and urbane Hindu sensibility that would be consistent with colonial modernity, the celebration of their violence may be read as an effort to emphasize the inclusivity (as well as autonomy of the Hindu tradition and to defy the homogenizing expectations of Western enlightenment

9 CFR 94.20 - Gelatin derived from horses or swine, or from ruminants that have not been in any region where...

Science.gov (United States)

2010-01-01

... 9 Animals and Animal Products 1 2010-01-01 2010-01-01 false Gelatin derived from horses or swine... § 94.20 Gelatin derived from horses or swine, or from ruminants that have not been in any region where bovine spongiform encephalopathy exists. Gelatin derived from horses or swine, or from ruminants that...

RF cavity design exploiting a new derivative-free trust region optimization approach

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Abdel-Karim S.O. Hassan

2015-11-01

Full Text Available In this article, a novel derivative-free (DF surrogate-based trust region optimization approach is proposed. In the proposed approach, quadratic surrogate models are constructed and successively updated. The generated surrogate model is then optimized instead of the underlined objective function over trust regions. Truncated conjugate gradients are employed to find the optimal point within each trust region. The approach constructs the initial quadratic surrogate model using few data points of order O(n, where n is the number of design variables. The proposed approach adopts weighted least squares fitting for updating the surrogate model instead of interpolation which is commonly used in DF optimization. This makes the approach more suitable for stochastic optimization and for functions subject to numerical error. The weights are assigned to give more emphasis to points close to the current center point. The accuracy and efficiency of the proposed approach are demonstrated by applying it to a set of classical bench-mark test problems. It is also employed to find the optimal design of RF cavity linear accelerator with a comparison analysis with a recent optimization technique.

Regional Ecological Corridors - MLCCS derived 2008

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Minnesota Department of Natural Resources — Identification of potential ecological corridors between the MLCCS derived ecological patches (ear_eco08py3). This was generated using cost / distance analysis,...

Population and prey of the Bengal Tiger Panthera tigris tigris (Linnaeus, 1758 (Carnivora: Felidae in the Sundarbans, Bangladesh

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M.M.H. Khan

2012-02-01

Full Text Available The results from intensive small scale surveys are often difficult to extrapolate to wider spatial scales, yet an understanding at such scales is critical for assessing the minimum densities and populations of rare and wide ranging species. In this paper, the minimum size of population and minimum density estimates of Bengal Tigers Panthera tigris tigris and its prey were conducted from 2005 to 2007 using camera traps for 90 days and using distance sampling surveys for over 200 days, respectively. The results were extrapolated from the core study area in Katka-Kochikhali, southeastern Sundarbans, to five additional sites using indices of abundance. With the use of 10 camera-traps at 15 trap-points, field data provided a total of 829 photos, including seven photos of five individual tigers. A total of 5.0 (SE = 0.98 tigers (adults and sub-adults are thus estimated in the core area with an estimated density of 4.8 tigers/100km2. Distance sampling surveys conducted on large mammalian prey species obtained an overall density estimate of 27.9 individuals/km2 and a biomass density of 1,037kg/km2. Indices of abundance were obtained by using tiger track sighting rates (number of tracks/km of riverbank and the sighting rates of the prey species (number of prey/km of riverbank in the core area and in five additional sites across the region. The densities of tiger tracks and sighting rates of prey were strongly correlated suggesting a wide scale relationship between predator and prey in the region. By combining the estimates of absolute density with indices of abundance, an average of 3.7 tigers/100km2 across the region is estimated, which given an area of 5,770km2, predicts a minimum of approximately 200 tigers in the Bangladesh Sundarbans.

Phosphorus dendrimers and photodynamic therapy. Spectroscopic studies on two dendrimer-photosensitizer complexes: Cationic phosphorus dendrimer with rose bengal and anionic phosphorus dendrimer with methylene blue.

Science.gov (United States)

Dabrzalska, Monika; Zablocka, Maria; Mignani, Serge; Majoral, Jean Pierre; Klajnert-Maculewicz, Barbara

2015-08-15

Dendrimers due to their unique architecture may play an important role in drug delivery systems including chemotherapy, gene therapy and recently, photodynamic therapy as well. We investigated two dendrimer-photosensitizer systems in context of potential use of these systems in photodynamic therapy. The mixtures of an anionic phosphorus dendrimer of the second generation and methylene blue were studied by UV-vis spectroscopy while that of a cationic phosphorus dendrimer (third generation) and rose bengal were investigated by spectrofluorimetric methods. Spectroscopic analysis of these two systems revealed the formation of dendrimer-photosensitizer complexes via electrostatic interactions as well as π stacking. The stoichiometry of the rose bengal-cationic dendrimer complex was estimated to be 7:1 and 9:1 for the methylene blue-anionic dendrimer complex. The results suggest that these polyanionic or polycationic phosphorus dendrimers can be promising candidates as carriers in photodynamic therapy. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Milk marketing under cooperative and non-cooperative marketing channels: Evidence from west Bengal

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Sarker Debnarayan

2010-01-01

Full Text Available The present study is an attempt to empirically investigate the price spread, marketing costs, marketing margins, marketing efficiency, and profit efficiency among market middlemen under cooperative and non-cooperative marketing channels in the domestic trade market of liquid milk in West Bengal. One of the important findings of this study is that, although the inter-market (and intramarket price variation for liquid milk under the cooperative marketing agency in not far from uniformity, and all marketing agencies under cooperative channels receive much lower abnormal profit per unit of milk as compared with non-cooperative channels, the former fails to provide much economic benefit, either to the producer or to the consumer, because of the burden of much higher fixed cost per unit of liquid milk.

Role of upper ocean parameters in the genesis, intensification and tracks of cyclones over the Bay of Bengal

Digital Repository Service at National Institute of Oceanography (India)

Maneesha, K.; Sadhuram, Y.; Prasad, K.V.S.R.

of high heat potential (>90 kj/cm2) in the western Gulf of Mexico (Goni et al. 2003, 2009; Shay et al. 2000). Further, Hurricanes Igor (tropical Atlantic) and Celia (Eastern North Pacific), Typhoon Megi (Western North Pacific) and Cyclone Phet (Arabian Sea... 2009/10 in the Gulf of Mexico and the southwestern Pacific Ocean, while there was an increase in the western Pacific Ocean, Arabian Sea and Bay of Bengal. All the above studies emphasize the importance of the UOHC in the genesis and intensification...

Simulation of barotropic wind-driven circulation in the upper layers of Bay of Bengal and Andaman Sea during the southwest and northeast monsoon seasons using observed winds

Digital Repository Service at National Institute of Oceanography (India)

Bahulayan, N.; Unnikrishnan, A.S.

A two-dimensional, nonlinear, vertically integrated model was used to simulate depth-mean wind-driven circulation in the upper Ekman layers of the Bay of Bengal and Andaman Sea. The model resolution was one third of a degree in the latitude...

Variability in productivity controlled by haline stratification over 300ky in the Bay of Bengal.

Science.gov (United States)

Da Silva, R.; Mazumdar, A.; Peketi, A.; Joshi, R.; Shaji, A.; Naik, B. G.; Carvalho, M.; Molleti, S.

2017-12-01

The unique hydrographic setting of the Bay of Bengal (BoB) makes it an ideal tropical marine system to study the influence of regional and global forcings on productivity and [CO2aq] through the late quaternary. Enormous fresh water flux into the BoB and consequent haline stratification significantly weakens the convective mixing and wind driven processes which are commonly responsible for transport of nutrients to the euphotic zone driving primary productivity. Here, we present a high resolution organic carbon-Calcium carbonate burial flux and δ13CTOC records for the last 300 ky. A giant Calypso piston corer was used on board ORV Marion Dufresne (MD-161) for the retrieval of the sediment core MD161-19 (core length: 39 m) off Mahanadi Basin (Lat.:18º59.1020"; Long.:85º41.1669") in western BoB at a water depth of 1480m. The results show significant productivity variation at marine isotope sub-stages and millennial timescales. Colder sub-stages and stadials (Dansgard-Oeschger cycle) show boost in productivity which may be attributed to thinning of low salinity water cap, thereby facilitating efficient nutrient transport across the euphotic zone by the combination of wind driven processes (entrainment and upwelling), convective mixing and cold core eddies. Our long term high resolution data indicates a possibility of marked changes in productivity/ biogeochemistry of BOB in the future due to global warming, in turn affecting coastal economy.

An outbreak of Koro among 19 workers in a jute mill in south Bengal

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Suddhendu Chakraborty

2011-01-01

Full Text Available Koro is a culture-bound syndrome that is characterized by the belief of retraction of genitals into the abdomen. It was initially reported in Asian countries, as having a usual acute and brief course. Two case clusters have been described in this article. Both occurred in the same jute mill in southern West Bengal among the workers. The case clusters depict unique socioeconomic factors and interesting health-seeking behavior toward koro. All the cases had a self-limiting course and reasonably good outcome. The case cluster yet again confirms that koro is not as rare as it is thought of and social and economic factors continue to play an important role in the etiology of the disease.

Studies on thyroid activity at sexual maturity in the male and female Bengal goats

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Varshney, V.P.; Pande, J.K.; Sanwal, P.C.

1980-01-01

Thyroid activity at sexual maturity in the male and female Black Bengal goats was investigated. No change could be recorded at the attainment of sexual maturity in either of the sexes. The cyclic female goats also failed to reflect any change in the thyroid activity during any phase of the oestrous cycle. Again the male goats also failed to reflect any differences in the thyroid activity from the females, either during their immature, or during their mature life. The observations presented thus reflect that the thyroid activity in goats is not influenced by the attainments of sexual maturity or by the sex, in this species. The thyroid gland activity was assessed by using the in vitro technique of triiodothyronine- 125 I uptake by resin. (author)

Ornamental fish goldfish,Carassius auratusand related parasites in three districts of West Bengal, India

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Mukti Chanda

2011-01-01

Full Text Available The lucrative business of ornamental fish culture in West Bengal (Mainly in three districts-Howrah, North and South 24 Parganas are facing loses due to the invasion of different ecto- and endo-parasites. The present study shows that the ornamental fish (Goldfish - Carassius auratus are mainly affected with ecto-parasites like Ichthyophthirius sp., Dactylogyrus sp., Gyrodactylus sp., Argulus sp. and endo-parasites like Procamallanus sp. and Cucullanus sp. The intensity of infection is high in case of Ichthyophthirius sp. and the intensity of the infection is high in summer months when the temperature is high or moderately high. In cooler months the intensity of the infection is lower as because the parasites are unable to breed or scarcity of food particles.

Δ14C level of annual plants and fossil fuel derived CO2 distribution across different regions of China

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Xi, X.T.; Ding, X.F.; Fu, D.P.; Zhou, L.P.; Liu, K.X.

2013-01-01

The 14 C level in annual plants is a sensitive tracer for monitoring fossil fuel derived CO 2 in the atmosphere. Corn leave samples were selected from different regions of China, including high mountains in the Tibetan Plateau, grassland in Inner Mongolia, and inland and coastal cities during the summer of 2010. The 14 C/ 12 C ratio of the samples was measured with the NEC compact AMS system at the Institute of Heavy Ion Physics, Peking University. The fossil fuel derived CO 2 was estimated by comparing the measured Δ 14 C values of corn leave samples to background atmospheric Δ 14 C level. The influences of topography, meteorological conditions and carbon cycling processes on the fossil fuel derived CO 2 concentration are considered when interpreting the data. Our results show a clear association of the low Δ 14 C values with regions where human activities are intensive.

Escherichia coli Attenuation by Fe Electrocoagulation in Synthetic Bengal Groundwater: Effect of pH and Natural Organic Matter.

Science.gov (United States)

Delaire, Caroline; van Genuchten, Case M; Nelson, Kara L; Amrose, Susan E; Gadgil, Ashok J

2015-08-18

Technologies addressing both arsenic and microbial contamination of Bengal groundwater are needed. Fe electrocoagulation (Fe-EC), a simple process relying on the dissolution of an Fe(0) anode to produce Fe(III) precipitates, has been shown to efficiently remove arsenic from groundwater at low cost. We investigated Escherichia coli (E. coli) attenuation by Fe-EC in synthetic Bengal groundwater as a function of Fe dosage rate, total Fe dosed, pH, and presence of natural organic matter (NOM). A 2.5 mM Fe dosage simultaneously achieved over 4-log E. coli attenuation and arsenic removal from 450 to below 10 μg/L. E. coli reduction was significantly enhanced at pH 6.6 compared to pH 7.5, which we linked to the decreased rate of Fe(II) oxidation at lower pH. 3 mg/L-C of NOM (Suwanee River fulvic acid) did not significantly affect E. coli attenuation. Live-dead staining and comparisons of Fe-EC with chemical coagulation controls showed that the primary mechanism of E. coli attenuation is physical removal with Fe(III) precipitates, with inactivation likely contributing as well at lower pH. Transmission electron microscopy showed that EC precipitates adhere to and bridge individual E. coli cells, resulting in large bacteria-Fe aggregates that can be removed by gravitational settling. Our results point to the promising ability of Fe-EC to treat arsenic and bacterial contamination simultaneously at low cost.

Cultural context and impact of alcohol use in the Sundarban Delta, West Bengal, India.

Science.gov (United States)

Chowdhury, Arabinda N; Ramakrishna, Jayashree; Chakraborty, Ajoy K; Weiss, Mitchell G

2006-08-01

Hazardous alcohol consumption is a worldwide problem with many locally distinctive features across cultures, but studies to guide policy in developing countries are notably lacking. This community study aimed to clarify local patterns of alcohol use in six villages of West Bengal, India. It considered the variety of local alcoholic preparations, who consumed them, when, and where. It sought to determine how social changes in the region influence changing patterns of acceptable and problem use of alcohol. Ethnographic methods included participant observation and focus group discussions. The qualitative data analysis of field notes and transcripts included a review of full texts and a computer-assisted analysis of thematically coded segments with reference to a structured agenda. We found that drinking is an integral feature of the cultural landscape. Locally brewed rice beer (handia), palm wine (tadi), distilled country liquor (chullu), and so-called Indian-made foreign liquor (IMFL) are consumed in these villages. Each is identified with particular segments of society and settings in these communities. Reported effects of problem drinking included social disturbances, family discord, and domestic violence. Increasing problem alcohol use was attributed by villagers to social changes resulting from development, which were otherwise valued, such as improved transportation and communications. In a field dominated by Western and urban studies, this research clarifies features of alcohol availability, use, and acceptance in a neglected rural area of India. It illustrates the limitations of western clinical models of dependence and the importance of clarifying sociocultural conditions that define locally acceptable and problem use.

Amino acid biogeochemistry and bacterial contribution to sediment organic matter along the western margin of the Bay of Bengal

Digital Repository Service at National Institute of Oceanography (India)

Fernandes, L; Garg, A.; Borole, D.V.

.7 to 50.0 % of TN of the sediments of BOB. Keywords: Sediment, THAA, D-amino acids, Bacteria, Degradation, Peptidoglycan, Bay of Bengal *Corresponding author. Tel.: +91 832 245537 Fax: +91 832 2450602 E-mail address: loretaferns@gmail.com (L...) was used. D- and L-enantiomers of aspartic acid, glutamic acid, serine and alanine were separated and determined in the sample by high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC, Shimadzu model 1) using fluorescence detector (Ex: 330 nm, Em: 445 nm) after...

Respiration rates in subsurface waters of the northern Indian Ocean: Evidence for low decomposition rates of organic matter within the water column in the Bay of Bengal

Digital Repository Service at National Institute of Oceanography (India)

Naqvi, S.W.A.; Shailaja, M.S.; DileepKumar, M.; Sengupta, R.

measured in the Arabian Sea. Lower respiratin rates in the Bay of Bengal are corroborated by the much weaker north-south gradients in oxygen and total carbon dioxide. These are, however, in conflict with the higher sinking fluxes of organic carbon measured...

Unsafe Disposal of Child Faeces: A Community-based Study in a Rural Block in West Bengal, India

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Preeti PS

2016-09-01

Full Text Available Objectives A clean India is the responsibility of all Indians. One of the objectives of the Swachh Bharat Abhiyan (Clean India Initiative is to bring about behavioural changes regarding healthy sanitation practices. While large-scale programs in India have increased latrine coverage, they have to some extent failed to bring behavioural changes ensuring optimal latrine use, including the safe disposal of child faeces, which is a significant source of exposure to faecal pathogens. Hence, this study was done to explore child faeces disposal practices in rural West Bengal and to elicit the determinants of unhygienic faeces disposal. Methods Data collection was done using an interview method among the mothers of 502 under-5 children, following a pre-designed, semi-structured schedule during house-to-house visits in a set of villages in the Hooghly district of West Bengal. Results The prevalence of unsafe disposal of child faeces was 72.4%, and maternal education, per capita income, and water source were found to be significantly associated with unsafe child faeces disposal. Conclusions This study draws attention to the unsafe disposal of child faeces in this area of India and raises questions about the efficiency of sanitation campaigns in rural India that focus on expanding coverage rather than emphasizing behavioural changes, which are crucial to ensure the safe disposal of child faeces. Thus, it is urgently necessary to strengthen efforts focusing on behavioural changes regarding the safe disposal of child faeces in order to minimise adverse health outcomes.

Uso de tratamento hidrotérmico e ácido clorídrico na qualidade de lichia 'Bengal'

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Ellen Toews Doll Hojo

2011-06-01

Full Text Available Um dos maiores problemas na pós-colheita da lichia é o escurecimento do pericarpo, cuja cor vermelha se torna totalmente escurecida em 48 horas, sob 25 ºC. Tecnologias que possam controlar o escurecimento do pericarpo são valiosas, e é o foco principal da pesquisa na área de pós-colheita. O objetivo deste trabalho foi avaliar a vida útil de lichias 'Bengal', armazenadas a 20 ºC e 82 %UR após o tratamento hidrotérmico e/ou imersão em solução de HCl. O delineamento experimental foi o inteiramente casualizado, em esquema fatorial 4 x 7, com 3 repetições, onde o primeiro fator correspondeu aos tratamentos: testemunha; imersão em HCl a 1%, por 6 minutos; tratamento hidrotérmico, com imersão em água a 52 ºC por 1 minuto, seguido de resfriamento em água a 10 ºC, por 6 minutos; e tratamento hidrotérmico, seguido de resfriamento em HCl a 1%, a 10 ºC, por 6 minutos. O segundo fator foram os períodos de armazenamento: 0; 1; 2; 3;6; 9 e 12 dias. A combinação entre tratamento hidrotérmico (52 ºC por 1 minuto e resfriamento em HCl a 1% permite conservar a coloração das lichias 'Bengal' por até dois dias. Mesmo assim há escurecimento em 25% da superfície.

Screening and Isolation of Associated Bioactive Microorganisms from Fasciospongia cavernosa from of Visakhapatnam Coast, Bay of Bengal

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P. Shamsher Kumar

2012-01-01

Full Text Available Nature, especially the marine environment, provides the most effective drugs used in human therapy. Among the metazoans, the marine sponges produce the most potent and highly selective bioactive secondary metabolites. These animals (or their associated symbiotic microorganisms synthesize secondary metabolites whose activity and selectivity has developed during their long evolutionary history. During the course of exploitation of these resources two marine sponges, Fasciospongia cavernosa doc var.brown (dark brown Fasciospongia cavernosa doc var.yellow (yellow collected from the visakhapatnam coast of Bay of Bengal were investigated in order to assess the potential of these microorganisms for the production of antimicrobial compounds. The aqueous and organic extracts of both the sponges showed broad spectrum antibiotic activity. In this study a total of 178 microorganisms were isolated from different parts of two sponges and most of them from middle part of the sponge. The isolates were investigated in order to assess the potential of these microorganisms for the production of antimicrobial compounds. Testing for antimicrobial activities were performed against Gram-positive (Staphylococcus aureus, Bacillus subtilis, Bacillus cereus Gram-negative bacteria (Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Escherichia coli, Proteus vulgaris, fungi (Candida albicans, Aspergillus niger and 10 pathogenic organisms. Resulting mean diameter of inhibition zones revealed isolates B4 & B6 were the most potent of all the isolates. The present study has revealed the presence of high numbers of diverse culturable microorganisms associated with the marine sponges from Visakhapatnam Coast of Bay of Bengal as well as their potential to produce bioactive metabolites.

Effect of Monsoon on spatio-temporal variation of groundwater chemistry and stable isotopic signatures: insights for concomitant arsenic mobilization in West Bengal, India

Science.gov (United States)

Majumder, S.; Datta, S.; Nath, B.; Neidhardt, H.; Roman-Ross, G.; Berner, Z.; Hidalgo, M.; Chatterjee, D.; Sarkar, S.

2017-12-01

Large-scale groundwater abstraction was hypothesized to be one of the important factors controlling release and distribution of arsenic (As) in aquifers of Bengal Basin. In this study, we studied the groundwater/surface water geochemistry of two different geomorphic domains within the Chakdaha Block, West Bengal, to identify potential influences of groundwater withdrawal on the hydrochemical evolution of the aquifer. This has been done as a function of different water inputs (monsoon rain, irrigation and downward percolation from surface water impoundments) to the groundwater system and associated As mobilization. A low-land flood plain (with relatively more reducing aquifer) and a natural levee (less reducing aquifer) have been chosen for this purpose. The stable isotopic signatures of oxygen (δ18O) and hydrogen (δ2H) falls sub-parallel to the Global Meteoric Water Line (GMWL), with precipitation and subsequent evaporation seems to be the major controlling factor on the water isotopic composition. This shows a contribution of evaporation influenced water, derived from various surface water bodies, pointing at large-scale groundwater withdrawal helping drawdown of the evaporated surface water. In case of flood plain wells, the stable isotope composition and the Cl/Br molar ratio in local groundwater have revealed vertical recharge within the flood plain area to be the major recharge process, especially during the post-monsoon season. However, both evaporation and vertical mixing are visibly controlling the groundwater recharge in the natural levee area. A possible inflow of organic carbon to the aquifer during the monsoonal recharge process is noticeable, with an increase in dissolved organic carbon (DOC) concentration from 1.33 to 6.29 mg/L on passing from pre- to post-monsoon season. Concomitant increase in AsT, Fe(II) and HCO3- during the post monsoon season, being more pronounced in the flood plain samples, indicates a possible initial episode of reductive

Magic Moments of Struggle: Women's Memory of the Naxalbari Movement in West Bengal, India (1967-75)

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Roy, Mallarika Sinha

2009-01-01

This paper focuses on women's memories of participation in the Naxalbari movement in West Bengal. These memories, sourced from women's oral histories and published memoirs, capture not only women's visions of emancipation and camaraderie but their everyday struggles, experiences of fear...... and violence and patriarchal domination within the movement as well. As these memories are refracted by the women's diverse socio-economic and cultural locations, the paper makes an effort to distinguish the multiple meanings of the ‘magic moments of struggle' in the lives of peasant/working-class women, from...... those of middle-class women from smaller towns and upper middle-class metropolitan women....

Uso de tratamento hidrotérmico e ácido clorídrico na qualidade de lichia 'Bengal'

OpenAIRE

Ellen Toews Doll Hojo; José Fernando Durigan; Ronaldo Hissayuki Hojo; Juliana Rodrigues Donadon; Ramilo Nogueira Martins

2011-01-01

Um dos maiores problemas na pós-colheita da lichia é o escurecimento do pericarpo, cuja cor vermelha se torna totalmente escurecida em 48 horas, sob 25 ºC. Tecnologias que possam controlar o escurecimento do pericarpo são valiosas, e é o foco principal da pesquisa na área de pós-colheita. O objetivo deste trabalho foi avaliar a vida útil de lichias 'Bengal', armazenadas a 20 ºC e 82 %UR após o tratamento hidrotérmico e/ou imersão em solução de HCl. O delineamento experimental foi o inteiramen...

Anaesthetic management of two Bengal tiger (Panthera tigris tigris cubs for fracture repair

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Gareth E. Zeiler

2013-11-01

Full Text Available This case series describes the anaesthetic management of two sibling Bengal tiger (Panthera tigris tigris cubs that were found to have spontaneous femur fractures due to severe nutritional secondary hyperparathyroidism. Both cubs received a combination of medetomidine (25 µg/kg and ketamine (4 mg/kg intramuscularly and were maintained with isoflurane in oxygen. An epidural injection of morphine (0.1 mg/kg and ropivacaine (1.6 mg/kg was administered to both tigers, which allowed a low end-tidal isoflurane concentration to be maintained throughout the femur fracture reduction operations. Both cubs experienced profound bradycardia and hypotension during general anaesthesia, and were unresponsive to anticholinergic treatment. Possible causes for these cardiovascular complications included: drug pharmacodynamics (medetomidine, morphine, isoflurane, decreased sympathetic tone due to the epidural (ropivacaine and hypothermia. These possible causes are discussed in detail.

Revisiting Cholera-Climate Teleconnections in the Native Homeland: ENSO and other Extremes through the Regional Hydroclimatic Drivers

Science.gov (United States)

Akanda, A. S.; Jutla, A.; Huq, A.; Colwell, R. R.

2014-12-01

Cholera is a global disease, with significantly large outbreaks occurring since the 1990s, notably in Sub-Saharan Africa and South Asia and recently in Haiti, in the Caribbean. Critical knowledge gaps remain in the understanding of the annual recurrence in endemic areas and the nature of epidemic outbreaks, especially those that follow extreme hydroclimatic events. Teleconnections with large-scale climate phenomena affecting regional scale hydroclimatic drivers of cholera dynamics remain largely unexplained. For centuries, the Bengal delta region has been strongly influenced by the asymmetric availability of water in the rivers Ganges and the Brahmaputra. As these two major rivers are known to have strong contrasting affects on local cholera dynamics in the region, we argue that the role of El Nino-Southern Oscillation (ENSO), Indian Ocean Dipole (IOD), or other phenomena needs to be interpreted in the context of the seasonal role of individual rivers and subsequent impact on local environmental processes, not as a teleconnection having a remote and unified effect. We present a modified hypothesis that the influences of large-scale climate phenomena such as ENSO and IOD on Bengal cholera can be explicitly identified and incorporated through regional scale hydroclimatic drivers. Here, we provide an analytical review of the literature addressing cholera and climate linkages and present hypotheses, based on recent evidence, and quantification on the role of regional scale hydroclimatic drivers of cholera. We argue that the seasonal changes in precipitation and temperature, and resulting river discharge in the GBM basin region during ENSO and IOD events have a dominant combined effect on the endemic persistence and the epidemic vulnerability to cholera outbreaks in spring and fall seasons, respectively, that is stronger than the effect of localized hydrological and socio-economic sensitivities in Bangladesh. In addition, systematic identification of underlying seasonal

Pro-region engineering for improved yeast display and secretion of brain derived neurotrophic factor.

Science.gov (United States)

Burns, Michael L; Malott, Thomas M; Metcalf, Kevin J; Puguh, Arthya; Chan, Jonah R; Shusta, Eric V

2016-03-01

Brain derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) is a promising therapeutic candidate for a variety of neurological diseases. However, it is difficult to produce as a recombinant protein. In its native mammalian context, BDNF is first produced as a pro-protein with subsequent proteolytic removal of the pro-region to yield mature BDNF protein. Therefore, in an attempt to improve yeast as a host for heterologous BDNF production, the BDNF pro-region was first evaluated for its effects on BDNF surface display and secretion. Addition of the wild-type pro-region to yeast BDNF production constructs improved BDNF folding both as a surface-displayed and secreted protein in terms of binding its natural receptors TrkB and p75, but titers remained low. Looking to further enhance the chaperone-like functions provided by the pro-region, two rounds of directed evolution were performed, yielding mutated pro-regions that further improved the display and secretion properties of BDNF. Subsequent optimization of the protease recognition site was used to control whether the produced protein was in pro- or mature BDNF forms. Taken together, we have demonstrated an effective strategy for improving BDNF compatibility with yeast protein engineering and secretion platforms. Copyright © 2015 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.

PRODUCTIVITY OF MAIZE (ZEA MAYS) BASED INTERCROPPING SYSTEM DURING KHARIF SEASON UNDER RED AND LATERITIC TRACT OF WEST BENGAL

OpenAIRE

M K MANDAL; M BANERJEE; H BANERJEE; A ALIPATRA; G C MALIK

2014-01-01

A FIELD EXPERIMENT WAS CARRIED OUT DURING KHARIF SEASON OF 2010 AND 2011 AT SRINIKETAN RESEARCH FARM, VISVA BHARTI, WEST BENGAL. THE GRAIN YILED AND STOVER YIELD OF MAIZE WERE SIGNIFICANTLY HIGHER IN CASE OF PURE STAND OF MAIZE THAN EITHER OF ITS INTERCROPPING SYSTEMS WITH LEGUMES, WHILE THE COB YILED WAS HIGHEST IN THE MAIZE WITH SOYBEAN (1:2) INTERCROPPING SYSTEM AND IT WAS STATISTICALLY AT PAR WITH THE YIELD OBTAINED IN SOLE MAIZE. THE GRAIN YIELD OF LEGUMES WAS HIGHEST IN MAIZE WITH GROUN...

Netting the malaria menace: Distribution and utilization of long-lasting insecticidal net in a malaria endemic area in Bankura, West Bengal

OpenAIRE

D K Mukhopadhyay; S S Basu; D Roy; N Das; F Akbar; GN Sarkar

2016-01-01

Background & objectives: Long-lasting insecticidal net (LLIN) is considered to be a highly effective intervention against malaria under National Vector Borne Disease Control Programme in India. A cross-sectional study was undertaken to assess the coverage and utilization of LLIN and the factors related thereto. Methods: A survey of 1300 households was carried out in Ranibandh block of Bankura district in West Bengal, India, using lot quality assurance sampling (LQAS) method. Coverage/util...

Flow Injection Photosensitized Chemiluminescence of Luminol with Cu(II-Rose Bengal: Mechanistic Approach and Vitamin A and C Determination

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Muhammad Asgher

2014-01-01

Full Text Available Rose Bengal photosensitized flow injection chemiluminescence method is reported using luminol-Cu(II for the determination of vitamins A and C in pharmaceutical formulations. The reaction is based on the enhancement effect of analyte in the production of anion radicals of Rose Bengal (RB•− which rapidly interact with dissolved oxygen and generate superoxide anions radicals (O2•− and hydrogen peroxide (H2O2. Highly reactive hydroxyl radicals (•OH were produced via dismutation of H2O2 by catalyst (Cu2+. The generated superoxide anions radicals and hydroxyl radicals thus oxidize luminol in alkaline medium to generate strong chemiluminescence. The limit of detection (3s of the blank, n=6 of vitamins A and C and RB was found to be 0.008, 0.005, and 0.05 μg mL−1, respectively. The sample throughput of 70 h−1 for vitamins A and C and 30 h−1 for RB was found. Calibration curve was linear in the range of 0.05–15, 0.01–20, and 0.1–50 μg mL−1 for vitamins A and C and RB, respectively, with relative standard deviations (RSDs; n=3 in the range 1.6–3.6%. The method was successfully applied to pharmaceutical formulations and the results obtained were in good agreement with the labeled values.

IASI-derived NH3 enhancement ratios relative to CO for the tropical biomass burning regions

Science.gov (United States)

Whitburn, Simon; Van Damme, Martin; Clarisse, Lieven; Hurtmans, Daniel; Clerbaux, Cathy; Coheur, Pierre-François

2017-10-01

Vegetation fires are a major source of ammonia (NH3) in the atmosphere. Their emissions are mainly estimated using bottom-up approaches that rely on uncertain emission factors. In this study, we derive new biome-specific NH3 enhancement ratios relative to carbon monoxide (CO), ERNH3 / CO (directly related to the emission factors), from the measurements of the IASI sounder onboard the Metop-A satellite. This is achieved for large tropical regions and for an 8-year period (2008-2015). We find substantial differences in the ERNH3 / CO ratios between the biomes studied, with calculated values ranging from 7 × 10-3 to 23 × 10-3. For evergreen broadleaf forest these are typically 50-75 % higher than for woody savanna and savanna biomes. This variability is attributed to differences in fuel types and size and is in line with previous studies. The analysis of the spatial and temporal distribution of the ERNH3 / CO ratio also reveals a (sometimes large) within-biome variability. On a regional level, woody savanna shows, for example, a mean ERNH3 / CO ratio for the region of Africa south of the Equator that is 40-75 % lower than in the other five regions studied, probably reflecting regional differences in fuel type and burning conditions. The same variability is also observed on a yearly basis, with a peak in the ERNH3 / CO ratio observed for the year 2010 for all biomes. These results highlight the need for the development of dynamic emission factors that take into better account local variations in fuel type and fire conditions. We also compare the IASI-derived ERNH3 / CO ratio with values reported in the literature, usually calculated from ground-based or airborne measurements. We find general good agreement in the referenced ERNH3 / CO ratio except for cropland, for which the ERNH3 / CO ratio shows an underestimation of about 2-2.5 times.

Reconstructing Oceanographic Conditions From the Holocene to the Last Glacial Maximum in the Bay of Bengal

Science.gov (United States)

Miller, J.; Dekens, P. S.; Weber, M. E.; Spiess, V.; France-Lanord, C.

2015-12-01

The International Ocean Discovery Program (IODP) Expedition 354 drilled 7 sites in the Bay of Bengal, providing a unique opportunity to improve our understanding of the link between glacial cycles, tropical oceanographic changes, and monsoon strength. Deep-sea sediment cores of the Bengal Fan fluctuate between sand, hemipelagic and terrestrial sediment layers. All but one of the sites (U1454) contain a layer of calcareous clay in the uppermost part of the core that is late Pleistocene in age. During Expedition 354 site U1452C was sampled at high resolution (every 2cm) by a broad group of collaborators with the goal of reconstructing monsoon strength and oceanographic conditions using a variety of proxies. The top 480 cm of site U1452C (8ºN, 87ºE, 3671m water depth) contains primarily nannofossil rich calcareous clay. The relatively high abundance of foraminifera will allow us to generate a high resolution record of sea surface temperature (SST) and sea surface salinity (SSS) using standard foraminifera proxies. We will present oxygen isotopes (δ18O) and Mg/Ca data of mixed layer planktonic foraminifera from the top 70cm of the core, representing the Holocene to the last glacial maximum. δ18O of planktonic foraminifera records global ice volume and local SST and SSS, while Mg/Ca of foraminifera is a proxy for SST. The paired Mg/Ca and δ18O measurements on the same samples of foraminifera, together with published estimates with global ocean δ18O, can be used to reconstruct both SST and local δ18O of seawater, which is a function of the evaporation/precipitation balance. In future work, the local SSS and SST during the LGM will be paired with terrestrial and other oceanic proxies to increase our understanding of how global climate is connected to monsoon strength.

Seasonal variation of the flux of living coccolithophore communities in the Bay of Bengal and their implication on hydrography

Digital Repository Service at National Institute of Oceanography (India)

Mergulhao, L

). The systematics of coccoliths in relation to the palaeontological record. In: B.M. Funnell and W.R. Riedel (eds.), The Micropalaeontology of the Oceans. Cambridge Univ. Press, Cambridge, pp. 611-624. Bloesch, J. and N.M. Burns (1980). A critical review... (to 25°S, 100°E). Inst. of Oceanogr., Wormely, England, U.K. IOS Tech. Rep., 187, 36 charts, 8 pp. De Souza, S.N., S.W.A Naqvi and C.V.G Reddy (1981). Distribution of nutrients in the western Bay of Bengal. Indian J. Mar. Sci., 10, 327...

PREVALENCE OF BOVINE HERPES VIRUS - 1 IN ORGANIZED FARMS OF WEST BENGAL, INDIA

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Sumit Chowdhury

2016-06-01

Full Text Available Infectious Bovine Rhinotracheitis, caused by Bovine Herpesvirus-1 (BoHV-1 maintains latency in trigeminal nerve ganglia of bovine. The sero-positive bull infected with BoHV-1 secretes the virus through semen intermittently, when the immune system is compromised. Sera from bulls housed at different bull stations were analyzed using gE protein specific IDEXX Kit, which showed 78.69% positivity. Each batch of semen from sero-positive bull was investigated further for presence of virus in semen by Real Time-PCR technique for validation of presence of virus in the frozen semen doses using gB specific primers and probe, which showed 0.968 % semen batches positive. This study showed that despite high sero prevalence in bull, the semen excretes very negligible amount of the virus indicating the subtypes circulating in farms of West Bengal, India is assumed to be respiratory type.

Effectiveness of training on infant feeding practices among community influencers in a rural area of west Bengal.

Science.gov (United States)

Haldar, A; Ray, S; Biswas, R; Biswas, B; Mukherjee, D

2001-01-01

Total 34 Influencers were trained in a subcentre area of South 24-parganas district of West Bengal. Knowledge was imparted to community influencers on infant feeding practices through lecture, group discussion, question-answer session and hand-on-training by trained health workers. Pre-assessment was done before initiation of training. Repeat training was conducted at frequent intervals within a period of 3 months. Mean score of knowledge of influencers during pre-training assessment was 13.3 and improved thereafter-following training to 20.8 (1st assessment), 20.6 (2nd assessment), 23.7 (3rd assessment) and 25.2 (final-assessment). Repeat training had also desired impact.

Impact of atmospheric and physical forcings on biogeochemical cycling of dissolved oxygen and nutrients in the coastal Bay of Bengal

Digital Repository Service at National Institute of Oceanography (India)

Sarma, V.V.S.S.; Sridevi, B.; Maneesha, K.; Sridevi, T.; Naidu, S.A.; Prasad, V.R.; Venkataramana, V.; Acharya, T.; Bharati, M.D.; Subbaiah, C.V.; Kiran, B.S.; Reddy, N.P.C.; Sarma, V.V.; Sadhuram, Y.; Murty, T.V.R.

with depletion of nutrients, especially nitrate. The nitrate concentrations were close to the threshold level to control the 11 phytoplankton biomass in the control bottle (Justic et al., 1995). The nitrate concentrations decreased rapidly from 0.98 to 0.11 μ.... R. Nair, S. Honjo, V. Ramaswamy, M. Bartsch, S. Manginini, and B. N. Desai, (1991). Enhanced particle fluxes in Bay of Bengal induced by injection of fresh water, Nature, 351, 385– 387, 1991. Justić D,, N.N. Rabalais, R.E. Turner, and Q. Dortch...

Summary of current radiation dose estimates to humans from 123I, 124I, 126I, 130I, and 131I as sodium rose bengal

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Anon.

1975-01-01

Estimated absorbed doses to human gall bladder, gastrointestinal tract, liver, ovaries, bone marrow, and testes from 123 I, 124 I, 126 I, 130 I, and 131 I after a single intravenous administration as sodium rose bengal are summarized. The greatest uncertainty in these dose estimates is due to the variability in time for the movement of radioiodine through the biliary tract, gall bladder, and gastrointestinal tract

Evaluation of registered visually disabled individuals in a district of West Bengal, India

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Ghosh Sambuddha

2008-01-01

Full Text Available Objective: To identify the sociodemographic characteristics, degree and cause of visual disability among certified visually disabled individuals in a rural district of West Bengal, India and to identify possible lacunae, if any, in the existing certification system. Materials and Methods: A cross-sectional study by secondary data analysis of medical records of 155 visually disabled individuals and their 310 eyes. Demographical features, diagnosis, percentage of visual disability and work activity status of each individual were analyzed. Results: One hundred and thirty one (84.52% individuals had 100% disability. The number of males was significantly higher than that of females. Fifty eight (37.42% individuals were below 21 years of age. Phthisis bulbi was the most common cause followed by microphthalmos. Further, 81.29% patients had the same lesion bilaterally. Conclusion: Patients with higher grades of disability have attended certification boards. A large number of disabled individuals comprised children and young adults. Male gender bias demands concern.

Role of competing ions in the mobilization of arsenic in groundwater of Bengal Basin: insight from surface complexation modeling.

Science.gov (United States)

Biswas, Ashis; Gustafsson, Jon Petter; Neidhardt, Harald; Halder, Dipti; Kundu, Amit K; Chatterjee, Debashis; Berner, Zsolt; Bhattacharya, Prosun

2014-05-15

This study assesses the role of competing ions in the mobilization of arsenic (As) by surface complexation modeling of the temporal variability of As in groundwater. The potential use of two different surface complexation models (SCMs), developed for ferrihydrite and goethite, has been explored to account for the temporal variation of As(III) and As(V) concentration, monitored in shallow groundwater of Bengal Basin over a period of 20 months. The SCM for ferrihydrite appears as the better predictor of the observed variation in both As(III) and As(V) concentrations in the study sites. It is estimated that among the competing ions, PO4(3-) is the major competitor of As(III) and As(V) adsorption onto Fe oxyhydroxide, and the competition ability decreases in the order PO4(3-) ≫ Fe(II) > H4SiO4 = HCO3(-). It is further revealed that a small change in pH can also have a significant effect on the mobility of As(III) and As(V) in the aquifers. A decrease in pH increases the concentration of As(III), whereas it decreases the As(V) concentration and vice versa. The present study suggests that the reductive dissolution of Fe oxyhydroxide alone cannot explain the observed high As concentration in groundwater of the Bengal Basin. This study supports the view that the reductive dissolution of Fe oxyhydroxide followed by competitive sorption reactions with the aquifer sediment is the processes responsible for As enrichment in groundwater. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Earth Observation and Geospatial techniques for Soil Salinity and Land Capability Assessment over Sundarban Bay of Bengal Coast, India

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Das Sumanta

2016-12-01

Full Text Available To guarantee food security and job creation of small scale farmers to commercial farmers, unproductive farms in the South 24 PGS, West Bengal need land reform program to be restructured and evaluated for agricultural productivity. This study established a potential role of remote sensing and GIS for identification and mapping of salinity zone and spatial planning of agricultural land over the Basanti and Gosaba Islands(808.314sq. km of South 24 PGS. District of West Bengal. The primary data i.e. soil pH, Electrical Conductivity (EC and Sodium Absorption ratio (SAR were obtained from soil samples of various GCP (Ground Control Points locations collected at 50 mts. intervals by handheld GPS from 0–100 cm depths. The secondary information is acquired from the remotely sensed satellite data (LANDSAT ETM+ in different time scale and digital elevation model. The collected field samples were tested in the laboratory and were validated with Remote Sensing based digital indices analysisover the temporal satellite data to assess the potential changes due to over salinization. Soil physical properties such as texture, structure, depth and drainage condition is stored as attributes in a geographical soil database and linked with the soil map units. The thematic maps are integrated with climatic and terrain conditions of the area to produce land capability maps for paddy. Finally, The weighted overlay analysis was performed to assign theweights according to the importance of parameters taken into account for salineareaidentification and mapping to segregate higher, moderate, lower salinity zonesover the study area.

Drug utilization study from a government sponsored pharmacy in a tertiary care teaching hospital of rural West Bengal: A cross-sectional study

OpenAIRE

Tanmoy Gangopadhyay; Ananya Mandal; Sonai Mandal; Bishan Basu; Tamoghna Maiti; Abhijit Das; Soumitra Mandal; Sekhar Mandal

2016-01-01

Context: Newly started government sponsored pharmacies providing discounts have been available to the public at the medical college hospitals in West Bengal. Aims: The present study was undertaken to evaluate the drug prescribing trends from the prescriptions at such a pharmacy at a tertiary care hospital. Methods: The study was a prospective cross-sectional study that spanned for a period of 1-month from 1 to 31 August 2015. Prescriptions were reviewed and analyzed using the World Health Org...

Mean surface fields of heat budget components over the warm pool in the Bay of Bengal during post-monsoon season

Digital Repository Service at National Institute of Oceanography (India)

Sadhuram, Y.; Rao, D.P.; Rao, B.P.

Andaman Islands and in the MT area there is an association between SST and Q n . But, off Sri Lanka warmer waters were noticed eventhough Q n was negative. This gives a clue that the role of advection plays a dominant role in the maintenance of SST.... Maintenance of warmwaters could be due to the transport of heat from North to South during post-monsoon season. Individual contributions from advection and air-sea fluxes towards SST would throw better light on the formation of warm pool in Bay of Bengal...

Heavy sediment influx during early Holocene: Inference from clay mineral studies in a core from the western Bay of Bengal

Digital Repository Service at National Institute of Oceanography (India)

Reddy, N.P.C.; Rao, K.M.

is attributed to heavy sediment influx du r- ing Mid Termination (MT) (12,500 ? 10,000 years BP), due to i n creased precipitation and run - off resulting from high inte n sity monsoonal regime. C LAY minerals are a powerful source for the interpret a... to address to the prov e nance of the sediments in a sediment core from the western Bengal Fan. In this paper, we report clay mi n eralogy and provide an explanation for the heavy sed i ment deposition du r ing the Holocene. A sediment core of 650...

Quality of life among menopausal women: A community-based study in a rural area of West Bengal.

Science.gov (United States)

Karmakar, Nabarun; Majumdar, Somak; Dasgupta, Aparajita; Das, Sulagna

2017-01-01

During menopausal transition, there is a lot of fluctuation in the hormone levels making the peri and postmenopausal women susceptible to various mental and physical disorders. There is considerably lack of awareness about the effects of the menopausal symptoms in women in India. Studies on issues relating to menopause, especially among rural women, are also lacking. With this background, the current study was carried out in a rural area of West Bengal with the objective to assess the quality of life (QOL) of peri-menopausal women. The study was carried out among 100 peri and postmenopausal women (40-60 years) in Dearah village of West Bengal which is the rural field practice area of All India Institute of Hygiene and Public Health during February-March 2014. The questionnaire used as study tool had two parts - Part 1: Sociodemographic characteristics. Part 2: About QOL due to menopausal symptoms based on four domains (vasomotor, psychosocial, physical, and sexual) using the 29-item Menopause-Specific Quality of Life Questionnaire. Occurrence of vasomotor symptoms was average with 60% of them reporting hot flushes and 47% sweating. Most prevalent psychosocial symptoms reported were feeling of anxiety and nervousness (94%) and overall depression (88%). Physical symptoms were quite varying in occurrence with some symptoms such as feeling tired or worn out, decrease in physical strength and lack of energy occurring in 93% of the women to only 5% suffering from growth of facial hair. Overall sexual changes were reported among 49% who reported of avoiding intimacy with a partner and 26% complained of vaginal dryness. The results support that menopause causes both physical and psychiatric problems. Education, creating awareness and providing suitable intervention to improve their QOL are important which should be imparted to menopausal women at both individual and community level.

The regulation of growth and metabolism of kidney stem cell with regional specificity using extracellular matrix derived from kidney

OpenAIRE

O’Neill, John D.; Freytes, Donald O.; Anandappa, Annabelle; Oliver, Juan A.; Vunjak-Novakovic, Gordana

2013-01-01

Native extracellular matrix (ECM) that is secreted and maintained by resident cells is of great interest for cell culture and cell delivery. We hypothesized that specialized bioengineered niches for stem cells can be established using ECM-derived scaffolding materials. Kidney was selected as a model system because of the high regional diversification of renal tissue matrix. By preparing the ECM from three specialized regions of the kidney (cortex, medulla, and papilla; whole kidney, heart, an...

Composition, diversity and foraging guilds of avifauna in a suburban area of southern West Bengal, India

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Mukhopadhyay Shiladitya

2017-12-01

Full Text Available Avian communities are very good indicators of any ecosystem. Despite the alarming consequences of rapid urbanization, studies of avian diversity in the human-dominated landscapes of India are very few. Therefore, we studied the avian assemblage of Bongaon in southern West Bengal, India, a suburban area whose avifauna has thus far remained undocumented. Bird surveys were carried out from June 2015 to May 2016, following the fixed-radius (25 m point count method together with opportunistic observations. We recorded 119 avian species belonging to 53 families. Ardeidae was the most diverse avian family in the study area (RDi value = 5.882. Among the recorded avifauna, 89 species were resident, 26 species were winter visitors, three species were summer visitors, and one species was a passage migrant. Species richness of the resident and passage migrant species did not vary seasonally, while the winter and summer visitors displayed significant seasonal variation. In this suburban area, the species richness of feeding guilds varied significantly. Most birds were insectivorous (41.2%, followed by carnivorous (24.4%, omnivorous (18.5%, granivorous (7.6%, frugivorous (3.4%, nectarivorous (3.4% and herbivorous species (1.7%. Maximum species richness was recorded in November and minimum species richness in July. Black-headed Ibis Threskiornis melanocephalus and Alexandrine Parakeet Psittacula eupatria are two near-threatened species found in this region. Interestingly, six species having a globally declining trend are still very common in the study area. Long-term studies are required to monitor any change in the avian communities of this suburban landscape resulting from urbanization.

Optimization of Mineral Separator for Recovery of Total Heavy Minerals of Bay of Bengal using Central Composite Design

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Routray, Sunita; Swain, Ranjita; Rao, Raghupatruni Bhima

2017-04-01

The present study is aimed at investigating the optimization of a mineral separator for processing of beach sand minerals of Bay of Bengal along Ganjam-Rushikulya coast. The central composite design matrix and response surface methodology were applied in designing the experiments to evaluate the interactive effects of the three most important operating variables, such as feed quantity, wash water rate and Shake amplitude of the deck. The predicted values were found to be in good agreement with the experimental values (R2 = 0.97 for grade and 0.98 for recovery). To understand the impact of each variable, three dimensional (3D) plots were also developed for the estimated responses.

Tobacco abuse among school going adolescents in a rural area of West Bengal, India.

Science.gov (United States)

Mukherjee, Anindya; Sinha, Abhik; Taraphdar, Pranita; Basu, Gandhari; Chakrabarty, Debadatta

2012-01-01

Adolescents are vulnerable targets of tobacco industry with all consequences of usage. Studies reveal that tobacco abuse is rising in this age group in India. A cross sectional survey was carried out in two coeducational high schools of Anandanagar village of Singur block, Hooghly district, West Bengal among 276 students of VIII-IX standard to study the knowledge and abuse of tobacco and to find out influencing socio-demographic factors. Knowledge score was higher in females, students from nuclear families, and those with literate parents. Low prevalence of tobacco intake was obtained among the students, with 9.8% reported having ever used smokeless tobacco and 4.3% ever smoked. Tobacco intake was higher among those with a history of parental tobacco intake. Continued information education and communication (IEC) activities should be conducted by the school authorities, with involvement of nongovernment organizations (NGOs) and parents for primary prevention.

{Delta}{sup 14}C level of annual plants and fossil fuel derived CO{sub 2} distribution across different regions of China

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Xi, X.T.; Ding, X.F.; Fu, D.P. [State Key Laboratory of Nuclear Physics and Technology and Institute of Heavy Ion Physics, School of Physics, Peking University, Beijing 100871 (China); Zhou, L.P. [Laboratory for Earth Surface Processes, Department of Geography, Peking University, Beijing 100871 (China); Liu, K.X., E-mail: kxliu@pku.edu.cn [State Key Laboratory of Nuclear Physics and Technology and Institute of Heavy Ion Physics, School of Physics, Peking University, Beijing 100871 (China)

2013-01-15

The {sup 14}C level in annual plants is a sensitive tracer for monitoring fossil fuel derived CO{sub 2} in the atmosphere. Corn leave samples were selected from different regions of China, including high mountains in the Tibetan Plateau, grassland in Inner Mongolia, and inland and coastal cities during the summer of 2010. The {sup 14}C/{sup 12}C ratio of the samples was measured with the NEC compact AMS system at the Institute of Heavy Ion Physics, Peking University. The fossil fuel derived CO{sub 2} was estimated by comparing the measured {Delta}{sup 14}C values of corn leave samples to background atmospheric {Delta}{sup 14}C level. The influences of topography, meteorological conditions and carbon cycling processes on the fossil fuel derived CO{sub 2} concentration are considered when interpreting the data. Our results show a clear association of the low {Delta}{sup 14}C values with regions where human activities are intensive.

Expedition 354 on the Bengal fan: a Neogene record of Himalayan erosion

Science.gov (United States)

France-Lanord, C.; Spiess, V.; Schwenk, T.; Klaus, A.; Galy, A.

2017-12-01

Drilling in the Bengal fan generated a comprehensive record of Himalayan erosion over the Neogene and Quaternary. It documents the interplay between Himalayan tectonic and the monsoon. The fan is predominantly composed of detrital turbiditic sediments originating from Himalayan rivers, and transported through the delta and shelf canyon, supplying turbidity currents loaded with a wide spectrum of grain sizes. Turbiditic deposition makes that record at a given site is discontinuous which was the reason for an E-W transect approach. Exp. 354 drilled seven sites along a 320 km E-W transect at 8°N allowing the restitution of an almost complete record of Himalayan erosion at the scale of the Neogene. In spite of the transect's extension, a long absence of deposition was observed between 0.6 to 1.2 Ma indicating that turbiditic depocenter was derived more to the West for ca. 600 kyr. Turbidites have clear Himalayan origin with close mineralogical and isotopic analogy with those of the modern Ganga-Brahmaputra river sediments. Geochemistry shows relatively stable compositions throughout the Neogene and Quaternary and reveal a very weak regime of chemical weathering with no significant variation through time. Concentrations in mobile elements such as Na and K relative to Al are significantly higher than in modern sediments suggesting that weathering is amplified in the modern time. Low weathering of the sediments at 8°N indicates that erosion was dominated by physical processes and that transport is rapid enough to prevent evolution of particles in the floodplain. In the modern Himalaya, low weathering is achieved primarily by landslides and rapid transfer through the floodplain, i.e. limited recycling of sediment deposited in the floodplain. Both processes are favoured by the seasonality and the intensity of the monsoon. Although relatively stable, source tracers such as Sr-Nd isotopic compositions, and detrital carbonate compositions show organised variations with time

Characterization of degenerative changes in the temporomandibular joint of the bengal tiger (Panthera tigris tigris) and siberian tiger (Panthera tigris altaica).

Science.gov (United States)

Murphy, M K; Arzi, B; Vapniarsky-Arzi, N; Athanasiou, K A

2013-11-01

The articulation of the temporomandibular joint (TMJ) is composed of the temporal bone dorsally, the mandibular condyle ventrally and a fibrous articular disc. The TMJ disc plays an essential role in distributing load between the two articular surfaces. Degeneration of the disc in the presence of joint pathology has been shown in man; however, TMJ pathology has not been documented previously in tigers (Panthera tigris). The mandibular condyle and TMJ disc of a Bengal tiger (P. tigris tigris) and a Siberian tiger (P. tigris altaica) were evaluated grossly and the TMJ disc was characterized biochemically and mechanically. Characterization of the TMJ disc verified region- and direction-dependent biochemical and mechanical properties, reflective of the functional demands on the joint. Degenerative joint disease was observed in both cases and this was more severe in the Siberian tiger. Simultaneous evaluation of joint pathology, biochemical composition and mechanical properties of the TMJ disc revealed a loss in functional properties (tensile anisotropy) of the disc as joint pathology advanced from moderate to severe. TMJ degeneration may compromise the ability of the animal to eat and thrive and may be a factor contributing to the endangered status of these species. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Topographic soil wetness index derived from combined Alaska-British Columbia datasets for the Gulf of Alaska region

Science.gov (United States)

D'Amore, D. V.; Biles, F. E.

2016-12-01

The flow of water is often highlighted as a priority in land management planning and assessments related to climate change. Improved measurement and modeling of soil moisture is required to develop predictive estimates for plant distributions, soil moisture, and snowpack, which all play important roles in ecosystem planning in the face of climate change. Drainage indexes are commonly derived from GIS tools with digital elevation models. Soil moisture classes derived from these tools are useful digital proxies for ecosystem functions associated with the concentration of water on the landscape. We developed a spatially explicit topographically derived soil wetness index (TWI) across the perhumid coastal temperate rainforest (PCTR) of Alaska and British Columbia. Developing applicable drainage indexes in complex terrain and across broad areas required careful application of the appropriate DEM, caution with artifacts in GIS covers and mapping realistic zones of wetlands with the indicator. The large spatial extent of the model has facilitated the mapping of forest habitat and the development of water table depth mapping in the region. A key element of the TWI is the merging of elevation datasets across the US-Canada border where major rivers transect the international boundary. The unified TWI allows for seemless mapping across the international border and unified ecological applications. A python program combined with the unified DEM allows end users to quickly apply the TWI to all areas of the PCTR. This common platform can facilitate model comparison and improvements to local soil moisture conditions, generation of streamflow, and ecological site conditions. In this presentation we highlight the application of the TWI for mapping risk factors related to forest decline and the development of a regional water table depth map. Improved soil moisture maps are critical for deriving spatial models of changes in soil moisture for both plant growth and streamflow across

Arsenic Removal from Groundwater by Solar Driven Inline-Electrolytic Induced Co-Precipitation and Filtration—A Long Term Field Test Conducted in West Bengal

OpenAIRE

Otter, Philipp; Malakar, Pradyut; Jana, Bana Bihari; Grischek, Thomas; Benz, Florian; Goldmaier, Alexander; Feistel, Ulrike; Jana, Joydev; Lahiri, Susmita; Alvarez, Juan Antonio

2017-01-01

Arsenic contamination in drinking water resources is of major concern in the Ganga delta plains of West Bengal in India and Bangladesh. Here, several laboratory and field studies on arsenic removal from drinking water resources were conducted in the past and the application of strong-oxidant-induced co-precipitation of arsenic on iron hydroxides is still considered as the most promising mechanism. This paper suggests an autonomous, solar driven arsenic removal setting and presents the finding...

Satellite-derived geoid for the estimation of lithospheric cooling and ...

Indian Academy of Sciences (India)

The northern Indian Ocean consists of older Bay of Bengal (BOB) oceanic .... Andaman & Nicobar Islands m ... The long wavelength classical geoid anomaly over the northern Indian Ocean with the largest geoid anomaly low ... and 'Snm' are the mass distribution functions. ..... in the Pacific Plate that caused the long wave-.

Effectiveness of first-aid training on school students in Singur Block of Hooghly District, West Bengal.

Science.gov (United States)

Bandyopadhyay, Lina; Manjula, M; Paul, Bobby; Dasgupta, Aparajita

2017-01-01

First aid is the helping behavior and initial care provided for an acute illness or injury. Students have the potential for changing the health scenario of the society if properly groomed and educated. The objective of the study is to evaluate the effectiveness of educational intervention on the first aid among middle school students of a rural school in West Bengal. A total of 230, 6 th and 7 th standard students were given a self-administered questionnaire for assessing their baseline knowledge about management of common injuries followed by educational intervention with a systematically devised teaching module during February to March 2016. Post intervention evaluation of their knowledge acquisition was done after 2 weeks with same questionnaire. The baseline knowledge on the management of selected injuries was found to be insufficient among the study subjects. Paired t -test was performed to compare the pre- and post-test scores of knowledge and attitude of the students about first aid, and there was a significant change in knowledge from pretest score (mean = 1.50, standard deviation [SD] =0.47) to posttest score (mean = 6.53, SD = 1.30). To quantify the effectiveness of health education, effect size (Cohen's d) was derived. For knowledge score, Cohen's d was 5.14 with large effect size indicating highly effective impact of the training program. Significant change was also noticed regarding attitude regarding first aid as evident from increase in pretest score (mean = 1.19, SD = 0.96) to posttest score (mean = 3.17, SD = 1.03); Cohen's d was 1.88 with medium effect size. Inculcating first-aid training in the school curriculum can be a fruitful investment in ensuring proper and timely management of illnesses and injuries not only for the school children but also for the community at large.

Effectiveness of first-aid training on school students in Singur Block of Hooghly District, West Bengal

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Lina Bandyopadhyay

2017-01-01

Full Text Available Objective: First aid is the helping behavior and initial care provided for an acute illness or injury. Students have the potential for changing the health scenario of the society if properly groomed and educated. The objective of the study is to evaluate the effectiveness of educational intervention on the first aid among middle school students of a rural school in West Bengal. Materials and Methods: A total of 230, 6th and 7th standard students were given a self-administered questionnaire for assessing their baseline knowledge about management of common injuries followed by educational intervention with a systematically devised teaching module during February to March 2016. Post intervention evaluation of their knowledge acquisition was done after 2 weeks with same questionnaire. Results: The baseline knowledge on the management of selected injuries was found to be insufficient among the study subjects. Paired t-test was performed to compare the pre- and post-test scores of knowledge and attitude of the students about first aid, and there was a significant change in knowledge from pretest score (mean = 1.50, standard deviation [SD] =0.47 to posttest score (mean = 6.53, SD = 1.30. To quantify the effectiveness of health education, effect size (Cohen's d was derived. For knowledge score, Cohen's d was 5.14 with large effect size indicating highly effective impact of the training program. Significant change was also noticed regarding attitude regarding first aid as evident from increase in pretest score (mean = 1.19, SD = 0.96 to posttest score (mean = 3.17, SD = 1.03; Cohen's d was 1.88 with medium effect size. Conclusion: Inculcating first-aid training in the school curriculum can be a fruitful investment in ensuring proper and timely management of illnesses and injuries not only for the school children but also for the community at large.

Arsenic Groundwater Contamination in Bengal: a Coupled Geochemical and Geophysical Study

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Charlet, L.; Ansari, A. A.; Dietrich, M.; Latscha, A.; LeBeux, A.; Chatterjee, D.; Mallik, S. B.

2001-05-01

Arsenic contamination in drinking water is a problem of great concern in Ganges delta region, and could be one of the largest natural calamity in the world. In the present study, a contamination plume located in the Lalpur area (Chakdaha Block, Nadia District, West Bengal, India) was studied. A coupled geochemical and geophysical approach was employed to understand the mechanism of arsenic mobilisation from the sediments to groundwater, as a first step towards a global explanation of the phenomenon for other contaminated areas in the Ganges delta. The groundwater As concentration, in the 10 km x 10 km studied area, ranges from 10 to 500 ppb. In situ chemical speciation of arsenic was carried out and various geochemical parameters were measured in representative contaminated wells to interpret the mobilization mechanism in terms of redox kinetics. Through geophysical investigations, subsurface lithology, sediment depositional and geomorphological characteristics were determined and correlated with the arsenic contamination processes. From a geomorphological viewpoint, the contaminated area is located in an abandoned paleochannel of the Hooghly river, interpreted as the active site of deposition of fine sediments which were preserved as clay pockets at certain depths. These clay pockets are rich in organic matter, which may be the driving force for redox potential change and thus, may have driven the mobilisation of arsenic in groundwater. The clay pockets rich in organic matter presumably represent the major reservoir where arsenic is sitting and getting released due to redox mechanism. They are sampled at present. A piezometric depression cone characterized by a radial groundwater flow is located underneath the highly populated Lalpur area. The arsenic plume appears to migrate from the Hooghly river towards the cone of depression following the water flowpath, and this shall be verified in forthcoming field campaigns. As (III) constitutes 42 % of the total As

Diagenesis and reservoir quality of Bhuban sandstones (Neogene), Titas Gas Field, Bengal Basin, Bangladesh

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Aminul Islam, M.

2009-06-01

This study deals with the diagenesis and reservoir quality of sandstones of the Bhuban Formation located at the Titas Gas Field of Bengal Basin. Petrographic study including XRD, CL, SEM and BSE image analysis and quantitative determination of reservoir properties were carried out for this study. The sandstones are fine to medium-grained, moderately well to well sorted subfeldspathic arenites with subordinate feldspathic and lithic arenites. The diagenetic processes include clay infiltration, compaction and cementation (quartz overgrowth, chlorite, kaolinite, calcite and minor amount of pyrite, dolomite and K-feldspar overgrowth). Quartz is the dominant pore occluding cement and generally occurred as small euhedral crystals, locally as large pyramidal crystals in the primary pores. Pressure solution derived from grain contact is the main contributor of quartz overgrowths. Chlorite occurs as pore-lining and pore filling cement. In some cases, chlorite helps to retain porosity by preventing quartz overgrowth. In some restricted depth interval, pore-occlusion by calcite cement is very much intense. Kaolinite locally developed as vermiform and accelerated the minor porosity loss due to pore-occlusion. Kaolinite/chlorite enhances ineffective microporosity. Kaolinite is a by-product of feldspar leaching in the presence of acidic fluid produced during the maturation of organic matter in the adjacent Miocene or deeper Oligocene source rocks. The relation between diagenesis and reservoir quality is as follows: the initial porosity was decreased by compaction and cementation and then increased by leaching of the metastable grains and dissolution of cement. Good quality reservoir rocks were deposited in fluvial environment and hence quality of reservoir rocks is also environment selective. Porosity and permeability data exhibit good inverse correlation with cement. However, some data points indicate multiple controls on permeability. Reservoir quality is thus controlled by

Seroprevalence of brucellosis in workers of slaughter houses in the municipalities of Tolima (Colombia

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Diego Fernando Morales Ortegón

2004-06-01

Full Text Available Human brucelosis is usually detected onpersonnel whom keep permanent closer cattle contact or frequently ingestion of inadequatecattle derivated processed products.Methods: A cross-sectional study was designedto determinate the seroprevalence of Brucellainfection in workers of slaughterhouses of theTolima region (Colombia. A group of 186workers were evaluated by using serological testlike rose bengal test, complement fixation testand Elisa.Results: An aproximated 4% prevalence ofBrucella antibodies were detected in the examinatedpopulation. Showy correlation betweenseropositive and hygienic work conditions werefounded.Conclusions: Slaugtherhouses workers have anelevated risk infection due to Unfavorable workhygienical conditions.

Prediction and error growth in the daily forecast of precipitation from the NCEP CFSv2 over the subdivisions of Indian subcontinent

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Pandey, Dhruva Kumar; Rai, Shailendra; Sahai, A. K.; Abhilash, S.; Shahi, N. K.

2016-02-01

This study investigates the forecast skill and predictability of various indices of south Asian monsoon as well as the subdivisions of the Indian subcontinent during JJAS season for the time domain of 2001-2013 using NCEP CFSv2 output. It has been observed that the daily mean climatology of precipitation over the land points of India is underestimated in the model forecast as compared to observation. The monthly model bias of precipitation shows the dry bias over the land points of India and also over the Bay of Bengal, whereas the Himalayan and Arabian Sea regions show the wet bias. We have divided the Indian landmass into five subdivisions namely central India, southern India, Western Ghat, northeast and southern Bay of Bengal regions based on the spatial variation of observed mean precipitation in JJAS season. The underestimation over the land points of India during mature phase was originated from the central India, southern Bay of Bengal, southern India and Western Ghat regions. The error growth in June forecast is slower as compared to July forecast in all the regions. The predictability error also grows slowly in June forecast as compared to July forecast in most of the regions. The doubling time of predictability error was estimated to be in the range of 3-5 days for all the regions. Southern India and Western Ghats are more predictable in the July forecast as compared to June forecast, whereas IMR, northeast, central India and southern Bay of Bengal regions have the opposite nature.

Siliguri: A Geopolitical Manoeuvre Corridor in the Eastern Himalayan Region for China and India

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Hasan Yaser Malik

2015-12-01

Full Text Available Siliguri Corridor being part of Indian West Bengal is a diplomatic manoeuvre place located between Nepal, Bhutan, Bangladesh, India’s Seven Sister States and Chumbi Hills in the Eastern Himalayan Region. Being located at the crossroads and centrally situated between all the neighbouring countries the landlocked Siliguri has an especially economic and political value for the regional countries. The corridor being in close proximity to China and India’s Seven Sister States has added to the diplomatic mosaic of the Eastern Himalayan Region. The region consists of beautiful landscape, mountains and rivers which not only add to topographical diversity but also demographic mixture. Despite its geopolitical significance the area could not advance for not only being a northeastern border region but also for being a gateway to the Seven Sister States. Peripheral development of Siliguri Corridor is one of the reasons for illegal practices like smuggling and terrorism. In year 2002 Nepal, Bhutan and Bangladesh discussed a proposal to form a free trade corridor to simplify the goods transportation through Siliguri Corridor but no such pact could be concluded that would have avoided the activities like smuggling and terrorism mainly through economic and diplomatic ventures.

Trophic diversity, size and biomass spectrum of Bay of Bengal nematodes: A study case on depth and latitudinal patterns

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Ansari, Kapuli Gani Mohamed Thameemul; Lyla, Somasundharanair; Khan, Syed Ajmal; Bhadury, Punyasloke

2017-09-01

Depth and latitudinal patterns of nematode functional attributes were investigated from 35 stations of Bay of Bengal (BoB) continental shelf. We aim to address whether depth and latitudinal variations can modify nematode community structure and their functional attributes (trophic diversity, size and biomass spectra). Global trend of depth and latitudinal related variations have also been noticed from BoB shelf in terms of nematode abundance and species richness, albeit heterogeneity patterns were encountered in functional attributes. Index of trophic diversity values revealed higher trophic diversity across the BoB shelf and suggested variety of food resource availability. However, downstream analysis of trophic status showed depth and latitude specific patterns but not reflected in terms of size and biomass spectrum. The peaks at different positions clearly visualized heterogeneity in distribution patterns for both size and biomass spectrum and also there was evidence of availability of diversified food resources. Nematode biomass spectra (NBS) constructed for nematode communities showed shift in peak biomass values towards lower to moderate size classes particularly in shallower depth but did not get reflected in latitudes. However, Chennai and Parangipettai transects demonstrated shift in peak biomass values towards higher biomass classes explaining the representation of higher nematode abundance. Our findings concluded that depth and latitudes are physical variables; they may not directly affect nematode community structure and functional attributes but they might influence the other factors such as food availability, sediment deposition and settlement rate. Our observations suggest that the local factors (seasonal character) of phytodetrital food flux can be very important for shaping the nematode community structure and success of nematode functional heterogeneity patterns across the Bay of Bengal shelf.

Attribution of aerosol radiative forcing over India during the winter monsoon to emissions from source categories and geographical regions

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Verma, S.; Venkataraman, C.; Boucher, O.

2011-08-01

We examine the aerosol radiative effects due to aerosols emitted from different emission sectors (anthropogenic and natural) and originating from different geographical regions within and outside India during the northeast (NE) Indian winter monsoon (January-March). These studies are carried out through aerosol transport simulations in the general circulation (GCM) model of the Laboratoire de Météorologie Dynamique (LMD). The model estimates of aerosol single scattering albedo (SSA) show lower values (0.86-0.92) over the region north to 10°N comprising of the Indian subcontinent, Bay of Bengal, and parts of the Arabian Sea compared to the region south to 10°N where the estimated SSA values lie in the range 0.94-0.98. The model estimated SSA is consistent with the SSA values inferred through measurements on various platforms. Aerosols of anthropogenic origin reduce the incoming solar radiation at the surface by a factor of 10-20 times the reduction due to natural aerosols. At the top-of-atmosphere (TOA), aerosols from biofuel use cause positive forcing compared to the negative forcing from fossil fuel and natural sources in correspondence with the distribution of SSA which is estimated to be the lowest (0.7-0.78) from biofuel combustion emissions. Aerosols originating from India and Africa-west Asia lead to the reduction in surface radiation (-3 to -8 W m -2) by 40-60% of the total reduction in surface radiation due to all aerosols over the Indian subcontinent and adjoining ocean. Aerosols originating from India and Africa-west Asia also lead to positive radiative effects at TOA over the Arabian Sea, central India (CNI), with the highest positive radiative effects over the Bay of Bengal and cause either negative or positive effects over the Indo-Gangetic plain (IGP).

Creatinine, diet, micronutrients, and arsenic methylation in West Bengal, India.

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Basu, Arin; Mitra, Soma; Chung, Joyce; Guha Mazumder, D N; Ghosh, Nilima; Kalman, David; von Ehrenstein, Ondine S; Steinmaus, Craig; Liaw, Jane; Smith, Allan H

2011-09-01

Ingested inorganic arsenic (InAs) is methylated to monomethylated (MMA) and dimethylated metabolites (DMA). Methylation may have an important role in arsenic toxicity, because the monomethylated trivalent metabolite [MMA(III)] is highly toxic. We assessed the relationship of creatinine and nutrition--using dietary intake and blood concentrations of micronutrients--with arsenic metabolism, as reflected in the proportions of InAS, MMA, and DMA in urine, in the first study that incorporated both dietary and micronutrient data. We studied methylation patterns and nutritional factors in 405 persons who were selected from a cross-sectional survey of 7,638 people in an arsenic-exposed population in West Bengal, India. We assessed associations of urine creatinine and nutritional factors (19 dietary intake variables and 16 blood micronutrients) with arsenic metabolites in urine. Urinary creatinine had the strongest relationship with overall arsenic methylation to DMA. Those with the highest urinary creatinine concentrations had 7.2% more arsenic as DMA compared with those with low creatinine (p creatinine concentration was the strongest biological marker of arsenic methylation efficiency, and therefore should not be used to adjust for urine concentration in arsenic studies. The new finding that animal fat intake has a positive relationship with MMA% warrants further assessment in other studies. Increased MMA% was also associated, to a lesser extent, with low serum selenium and folate.

Literacy Rates and its Impact on Birth Rates in Nadia District, West Bengal, India

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Mahadeb Ghosh

2016-11-01

Full Text Available Equality in socio-economic component is essential for human development and social change. Educational inequality reduces economic growth and women's empowerment on the one hand and increases birth rate on the other. In population studies, it has been established that educational level is collinearly related with demographic behaviour. This study aims to investigate inequalities in literacy rates and its impact on birth rates in Nowpara-I Gram Panchayat (GP located in the Krishnagar II C.D. Block, Nadia District of West Bengal using a household survey conducted in 356 households among women aged 49 and above in triangulation with secondary data. The aim of this study is to explore the causes of the spatial inequalities in education and its effect on spatial variations in birth rates. The key finding suggest that in Nowpara-I, negative relationships exist between female education and birth rate because education has a positive impact on empowerment, late marriage, use of contraceptives and family size.

A Study on Problems of Hijras in West Bengal Based on Neutrosophic Cognitive Maps

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Kalyan Mondal

2014-09-01

Full Text Available This paper deals with the problems faced by Hijras in West Bengal in order to find its solutions using neutrosophic cognitive maps. Florentin Smarandache and Vasantha Kandasamy studied neutrosophic cognitive map which is an extension of fuzzy cognitive map by incorporating indeterminacy. Hijras is considered as neither man nor woman in biological point of view. They are in special gender identity (third gender in Indian society. In their daily life, they have to face many of problems in social aspects. Some of the problems namely, absence of social security, education problem, bad habits, health problem, stigma and discrimination, access to information and service problem, violence, Hijra community issues, and sexual behavior problem are considered in this study. Based on the expert’s opinion and the notion of indeterminacy, we formulate neutrosophic cognitive map. Then we studied the effect of two instantaneous state vectors separately on connection matrix E and neutrosophic adjacency matrix N(E.

U- and Th-series nuclides in settling particles: implications to sediment transport through surface waters and interior ocean

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Sarin, M.M.

2012-01-01

The Bay of Bengal is a unique ocean basin receiving large quantities of fresh water and sediment supply from several rivers draining the Indian subcontinent. The annual flux of suspended sediments discharged into the Bay of Bengal is one billion tons, about one-tenth of the global sediment discharge into the ocean. The water and sediment discharge to the Bay, show significant seasonal variation, with maximum transport coinciding with the SW-monsoon (July-September). Earlier studies on the distribution of clay minerals in sediments have led to the suggestion that the sediments of the western Bengal Fan are mainly derived from the Peninsular rivers, whereas rest of the Fan sediments is influenced by the Himalayan rivers. Settling fluxes of particulate matter through the water column of the Bay of Bengal show seasonal trends resulting from monsoon enhanced sediment supply via rivers and biological processes in the water column. It is, thus, important to understand the influence of the seasonally varying particle fluxes on the solute-particle interactions and chemical scavenging processes in the surface and deep waters of the Bay of Bengal. In this context, measurements of U- and Th-series nuclides in the settling particles are most relevant. The radionuclide fluxes ( 230 Th, 228 Th and 210 Pb) in the settling particles provide insight into the role of their removal by vertical particle flux and/or lateral transport (removal at the ocean boundaries). A study carried out in the Northern Bay of Bengal documents that the authigenic flux of 230 Th, as measured in sediment trap samples from deep waters, is balanced by its production in the overhead water column. The sediment mass flux, Al and 228 Th fluxes are similar in the settling particles through shallow and deep waters, suggesting predominant removal by vertical particle flux in the North Bay of Bengal. In the Central Bay, particulate mass, Al and 228 Th fluxes are higher in the trap material from deep waters relative

Probable psychiatric disorder in a rural community of West Bengal, India.

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Barik, Anamitra; Sarkhel, Sujit; Basu, Saugata; Chowdhury, Abhijit; Rai, Rajesh Kumar

2017-12-01

India faces multiple challenges to mitigate a high burden of psychiatric disorders. The risk of developing psychiatric disorder among the rural Indian population is poorly investigated. This study aims to understand the factors associated with probable psychiatric disorder (PPD) among a select rural Indian population. Data from the Birbhum population project of the society for health and demographic surveillance, West Bengal, India, were utilized. Cross-sectional data covering a sample of 31,135 respondents (male 15,384 and female 15,751) aged ≥ 16 years were used. The General Health Questionnaire-28 was administered and the responses were computed into three categories: psychological case, psychological caseness, and normal. Bivariate and multivariate ordered logit regression analyses were applied to attain the study objective. Of the total population, 26% of respondents were identified with PPD. People aged ≥ 60 years, females, divorced/separated/widowed individuals, the unemployed and people with no formal education, individuals from the poorest economic group, and people with a history of selling or mortgaging assets towards their healthcare expenditure had a higher prevalence of psychiatric case within their respective group. A high burden of PPD was estimated in the select rural community. While designing an intervention for measuring and addressing psychiatric disorders, the socioeconomic gradient of PPD could be helpful.

Aerosol radiative effects over BIMSTEC regions

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Kumar, Sumit; Kar, S. C.; Mupparthy, Raghavendra S.

Aerosols can have variety of shapes, composition, sizes and other properties that influence their optical characteristics and thus the radiative impact. The visible impact of aerosol is the formation of haze, a layer of particles from vehicular, industrial emissions and biomass burning. The characterization of these fine particles is important for regulators and researchers because of their potential impact on human health, their ability to travel thousands of kilometers crossing international borders, and their influence on climate forcing and global warming. The Bay of Bengal Initiative for Multi-Sectoral Technical and Economic Cooperation (BIMSTEC) with Member Countries Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Myanmar, Nepal, Sri Lanka and Thailand has emerged as an important regional group for technical and economic Cooperation. Continuing the quest for a deeper understanding of BIMSTEC countries weather and climate, in this paper we focused on aerosols and their direct radiative effects. Because of various contrasts like geophysical, agricultural practices, heterogeneous land/ocean surface, population etc these regions present an excellent natural laboratory for studying aerosol-meteorology interactions in tropical to sub-tropical environments. We exploited data available on multiple platforms (such as MISR, MODIS etc) and models (OPAC, SBDART etc) to compute the results. Ten regions were selected with different surface characteristics, also having considerable differences in the long-term trends and seasonal distribution of aerosols. In a preliminary analysis pertaining to pre-monsoon (March-April-May) of 2013, AOD _{555nm} is found to be maximum over Bangladesh (>0.52) and minimum over Bhutan (0.22), whereas other regions have intermediate values. Concurrent to these variability of AOD we found a strong reduction in incoming flux at surface of all the regions (> -25 Wm (-2) ), except Bhutan and Sri Lanka (< -18Wm (-2) ). The top of the atmosphere (TOA) forcing values are

Shear wave anisotropy in the Eastern Himalaya, Burmese arc and adjoining regions

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Mangalampally, R. K.; Saikia, D.; Singh, A.; Roy, S.; Panuganti, S. R.; Lyngdoh, A. C.

2017-12-01

This study presents new results of 231 shear wave splitting and 395 "Null" measurements at 58 broadband seismic stations installed in the hitherto less investigated eastern Himalaya, Burmese arc and adjoining regions. The analysis reveals complex patterns of anisotropy, with significant variations in delay times. The fast polarisation directions (FPD) at stations within the Himalaya, Burmese Arc and the foredeep are coherent, parallel to the strike of the orogens. Measurements within the eastern and central Arunachal Himalaya are predominantly "Null''. However, in the western and central parts, these are relatively small, centered at 0.7s. The FPDs follow the trends of major tectonic features like the Main Boundary Thrust and the Main Central Thrust in the central segment of Arunachal Himalaya. In the Burmese arc region, the delay times show a large variability (0.4-2.1s). The Assam foredeep exhibits splitting delays in the range 0.5 to 1.2 s, with the FPDs trending nearly EW to NE. The FPDs parallel to the strike of the mountain belts can be best explained in terms of a coherently deformed lithospheric mantle under the compressional effects ensuing from the collision between India and Asia. Null measurements in regions like the Siang window may be due to a complex anisotropic pattern due to Indian plate interaction with Eurasia and Burma plates, causing different layers of anisotropic fabric with completely different orientations. Another possibility is the coincidence of source polarisation direction with the fast axis, since most of the waveforms analysed are from a narrow back azimuthal range of 100-125°. E-W oriented FPDs may coincide with the backazimuth of the source, resulting in smaller delays. Null measurements in eastern Himalaya may reflect cancellation of anisotropy caused by APM related flow (NE) and compressional effects of the Himalaya (EW). In the Bengal Basin, the Nulls could be due to two different mechanisms, namely, frozen anisotropic fabric

The Chennai extreme rainfall event in 2015: The Bay of Bengal connection

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Boyaj, Alugula; Ashok, Karumuri; Ghosh, Subimal; Devanand, Anjana; Dandu, Govardhan

2018-04-01

Southeast India experienced a heavy rainfall during 30 Nov-2 Dec 2015. Particularly, the Chennai city, the fourth major metropolitan city in India with a population of 5 million, experienced extreme flooding and causalities. Using various observed/reanalysed datasets, we find that the concurrent southern Bay of Bengal (BoB) sea surface temperatures (SST) were anomalously warm. Our analysis shows that BoB sea surface temperature anomalies (SSTA) are indeed positively, and significantly, correlated with the northeastern Indian monsoonal rainfall during this season. Our sensitivity experiments carried out with the Weather Research and Forecasting (WRF) model at 25 km resolution suggest that, while the strong concurrent El Niño conditions contributed to about 21.5% of the intensity of the extreme Chennai rainfall through its signals in the local SST mentioned above, the warming trend in BoB SST also contributed equally to the extremity of the event. Further, the El Niño southern oscillation (ENSO) impacts on the intensity of the synoptic events in the BoB during the northeast monsoon are manifested largely through the local SST in the BoB as compared through its signature in the atmospheric circulations over the BoB.

Hydrological differentiation and spatial distribution of high altitude wetlands in a semi-arid Andean region derived from satellite data

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Otto, M.; Scherer, D.; Richters, J.

2011-05-01

High Altitude Wetlands of the Andes (HAWA) belong to a unique type of wetland within the semi-arid high Andean region. Knowledge about HAWA has been derived mainly from studies at single sites within different parts of the Andes at only small time scales. On the one hand, HAWA depend on water provided by glacier streams, snow melt or precipitation. On the other hand, they are suspected to influence hydrology through water retention and vegetation growth altering stream flow velocity. We derived HAWA land cover from satellite data at regional scale and analysed changes in connection with precipitation over the last decade. Perennial and temporal HAWA subtypes can be distinguished by seasonal changes of photosynthetically active vegetation (PAV) indicating the perennial or temporal availability of water during the year. HAWA have been delineated within a region of 12 800 km2 situated in the Northwest of Lake Titicaca. The multi-temporal classification method used Normalized Differenced Vegetation Index (NDVI) and Normalized Differenced Infrared Index (NDII) data derived from two Landsat ETM+ scenes at the end of austral winter (September 2000) and at the end of austral summer (May 2001). The mapping result indicates an unexpected high abundance of HAWA covering about 800 km2 of the study region (6 %). Annual HAWA mapping was computed using NDVI 16-day composites of Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS). Analyses on the relation between HAWA and precipitation was based on monthly precipitation data of the Tropical Rain Measurement Mission (TRMM 3B43) and MODIS Eight Day Maximum Snow Extent data (MOD10A2) from 2000 to 2010. We found HAWA subtype specific dependencies on precipitation conditions. A strong relation exists between perennial HAWA and snow fall (r2: 0.82) in dry austral winter months (June to August) and between temporal HAWA and precipitation (r2: 0.75) during austral summer (March to May). Annual changes in spatial extend of perennial HAWA

Green-fuel-mediated synthesis of self-assembled NiO nano-sticks for dual applications—photocatalytic activity on Rose Bengal dye and antimicrobial action on bacterial strains

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Iyyappa Rajan, P.; Vijaya, J. Judith; Jesudoss, S. K.; Kaviyarasu, K.; Kennedy, L. John; Jothiramalingam, R.; Al-Lohedan, Hamad A.; Vaali-Mohammed, Mansoor-Ali

2017-08-01

With aim of promoting the employability of green fuels in the synthesis of nano-scaled materials with new kinds of morphologies for multiple applications, successful synthesis of self-assembled NiO nano-sticks was achieved through a 100% green-fuel-mediated hot-plate combustion reaction. The synthesized NiO nano-sticks show excellent photocatalytic activity on Rose Bengal dye and superior antibacterial potential towards both Gram-positive and Gram-negative bacteria.

Faecal cortisol metabolites in Bengal (Panthera tigris tigris) and Sumatran tigers (Panthera tigris sumatrae).

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Narayan, Edward J; Parnell, Tempe; Clark, Giles; Martin-Vegue, Patrick; Mucci, Al; Hero, Jean-Marc

2013-12-01

The tiger (Panthera tigris) faces a great risk of extinction as its wild numbers have plummeted due to poaching and habitat destruction so ex-situ conservation programs are becoming ever more necessary. Reliable non-invasive biomarkers of the stress hormone (cortisol) are necessary for assessing the health and welfare of tigers in captivity. To our knowledge, non-invasive stress endocrinology methods have not been tested as widely in tigers. The first aim of this study was to describe and validate a faecal cortisol metabolite enzyme-immmunoassay (FCM EIA) for two tiger sub-species, the Bengal tiger (Panthera tigris tigris) and the Sumatran tiger (Panthera tigris sumatrae). Individual tigers (n=22) were studied in two large Zoos in Queensland, Australia (Dreamworld Theme Park and Australia Zoo). Fresh faecal samples (Zoos over a study period of 21 days. Biological validation was conducted separately by collecting feces 5 days before and 5 days after blood was taken from four male and five female tigers. Results showed that mean FCM levels increased by 138% and 285% in the male and female tigers within 1 day after bloods were taken, returning to baseline in 5 days. Laboratory validations of the FCM EIA were done using an extraction efficiency test and parallelism. Results showed >89% recovery of the cortisol standard that was added to tiger faecal extract. We also obtained parallel displacement of the serially diluted cortisol standard against serially diluted tiger faecal extract. Our second aim was to determine whether the FCM levels were significantly different between tiger sub-species and sex. Results showed no significant difference in mean FCM levels between the Bengal and Sumatran tiger sub-species. Mean levels of FCMs were significantly higher in females than in male tigers. Those male and female tigers with reported health issues during the study period expressed higher FCM levels than the reportedly healthy tigers. Interestingly, those tigers that took

Temperature and salinity profile data collected from CTD casts by the National Institute of Oceanography (NIO), India, in the Bay of Bengal and Indian Ocean from October 01, 1983 to August 05, 1996 (NODC Accession 0055417)

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National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce — Physical data were collected from CTD casts from the Bay of Bengal and Indian Ocean. Data were collected from October 1983 to August 1996. Data were collected and...

Adherence to anti-retroviral therapy & factors associated with it: A community based cross-sectional study from West Bengal, India

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Sobha Pahari

2015-01-01

Full Text Available Background & objectives: Failure to adhere to anti-retroviral therapy (ART can lead to a range of unfavourable consequences impacting upon people living with HIV (PLH and society. It is, therefore, paramount that ART adherence is measured in a reliable manner and factors associated with adherence are identified. Lack of such data from West Bengal necessitated undertaking the current study. Methods: Participants were included during August-October, 2011 from three Drop-In-Centres (DICs from the three districts of West Bengal, India. ART-adherence was calculated by using formula based on pill-count and records collected from ART-card in possession of each of the 128 consenting adult PLH. Information on self-reported adherence, socio-demography, and adherence influencing issues was also collected through interviewer-administered questionnaire. Results: Of the 128 PLH, 99 (77% and 93 (73% PLH had ≥90 per cent and ≥95 per cent adherence, respectively to ART. Conversely, subjective reporting captured much higher proportion of PLH as ′well adherent′; a finding having implications for ongoing ART programme. Factors, independently associated with poor adherence (<90%, were ′7 th to 12 th month period of ART intake′ (adjusted OR=9.5; 90% CI 1.9 - 47.3; p0 =0.02 and ′non-disclosure of HIV status to family members′ (adjusted OR=4; 90% CI 1.3 - 13; P=0.05. Results at 95 per cent adherence cut-off were similar. Interpretation & conclusions: Enabling environment, which would encourage people to disclose their HIV status and in turn seek adherence partners from families and beyond and ongoing adherence-counselling appear to be important issues in the programme. Relevance of these study findings in wider context is conceivable.

Hydrogeochemical contrast between brown and grey sand aquifers in shallow depth of Bengal Basin: consequences for sustainable drinking water supply.

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Biswas, Ashis; Nath, Bibhash; Bhattacharya, Prosun; Halder, Dipti; Kundu, Amit K; Mandal, Ujjal; Mukherjee, Abhijit; Chatterjee, Debashis; Mörth, Carl-Magnus; Jacks, Gunnar

2012-08-01

Delineation of safe aquifer(s) that can be targeted by cheap drilling technology for tubewell (TW) installation becomes highly imperative to ensure access to safe and sustainable drinking water sources for the arsenic (As) affected population in Bengal Basin. This study investigates the potentiality of brown sand aquifers (BSA) as a safe drinking water source by characterizing its hydrogeochemical contrast to grey sand aquifers (GSA) within shallow depth (water guidelines, which warrants rigorous assessment of attendant health risk for Mn prior to considering mass scale exploitation of the BSA for possible sustainable drinking water supply. Copyright © 2012 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Antimelanoma CTL recognizes peptides derived from an ORF transcribed from the antisense strand of the 3′ untranslated region of TRIT1

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Rolf K Swoboda

2014-01-01

Full Text Available Noncoding regions of the genome play an important role in tumorigenesis of cancer. Using expression cloning, we have identified a cytotoxic T lymphocyte (CTL–defined antigen that recognizes a protein sequence derived from an open reading frame transcribed from the reverse strand in the 3′ untranslated region of tRNA isopentenyltransferase 1 (TRIT1. A peptide derived from this open reading frame (ORF sequence and predicted to bind to HLA-B57, sensitized HLA-B57+ tumor cells to lysis by CTL793. The peptide also induced a CTL response in peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMC of patient 793 and in two other melanoma patients. The CTL lysed peptide-pulsed HLA-B57+ target cells and melanoma cells with endogenous antigen expression. The recognition of this antigen is not limited to HLA-B57-restricted CTLs. An HLA-A2 peptide derived from the ORF was able to induce CTLs in PBMC of 2 HLA-A2+ patients. This study describes for the first time a CTL-defined melanoma antigen that is derived from an ORF on the reverse strand of the putative tumor suppressor gene TRIT1. This antigen has potential use as a vaccine or its ability to induce CTLs in vitro could be used as a predictive biomarker.

Physiological responses of coastal phytoplankton (Visakhapatnam, SW Bay of Bengal, India) to experimental copper addition.

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Biswas, Haimanti; Bandyopadhyay, Debasmita

2017-10-01

Trace amount of copper (Cu) is essential for many physiological processes; however, it can be potentially toxic at elevated levels. The impact of variable Cu concentrations on a coastal phytoplankton community was investigated along a coastal transect in SW Bay of Bengal. A small increase in Cu supply enhanced the concentrations of particulate organic carbon, particulate organic nitrogen, biogenic silica, total pigment, phytoplankton cell and total bacterial count. At elevated Cu levels all these parameters were adversely affected. δ 13 C POM and δ 15 N POC reflected a visible signature of both beneficial and toxic impacts of Cu supply. Skeletonema costatum, the dominant diatom species, showed higher tolerance to increasing Cu levels relative to Chaetoceros sp. Cyanobacteria showed greater sensitivity to copper than diatoms. The magnitude of Cu toxicity on the phytoplankton communities was inversely related to the distance from the coast. Co-enrichment of iron alleviated Cu toxicity to phytoplankton. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Weekly observations on dispersal and sink pathways of the terrigenous flux of the Ganga-Brahmaputra in the Bay of Bengal during NE monsoon

Digital Repository Service at National Institute of Oceanography (India)

Chauhan, O.S.; Rajawat, A.S.; Pradhan, Y.; Suneethi, J.; Nayak, S.R.

stream_size 30362 stream_content_type text/plain stream_name Deep_Sea_Res_II_52_2018.pdf.txt stream_source_info Deep_Sea_Res_II_52_2018.pdf.txt Content-Encoding UTF-8 Content-Type text/plain; charset=UTF-8 Deep...-Sea Research II 52 (2005) 2018–2030 flux into the northern Bay of Bengal during the NE monsoon. From the spatial extent of the plumes of TSM ARTICLE IN PRESS www.elsevier.com/locate/dsr2 0967-0645/$-see front matter r 2005 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved. doi...

Review of the genus Signoretia (Hemiptera: Cicadellidae: Signoretiinae) of the Oriental region with description of nine new species.

Science.gov (United States)

Viraktamath, C A

2016-11-17

Species of Signoretia Stål from the Oriental region are reviewed and types of five species described by Baker, two species described by Distant and one species described by Schmidt are illustrated. A checklist of 20 species of the genus from the Oriental region including 9 new species is given. The new species described and illustrated are Signoretia dulitensis sp. nov. (Malaysia: Mt Dulit), S. lunglei sp. nov. (India: Mizoram), S. mishmiensis sp. nov. (Myanmar: Mishmi Hills), S. quoinensis sp. nov. (Malaysia: Quoin Hill), S. rubra sp. nov. (Thailand: Chiang Mai), S. sahyadrica sp. nov. (India: Kerala), S. similaris sp. nov. (Vietnam: Fyan), S. sinuata sp. nov. (India: West Bengal) and S. takiyae sp. nov. (India: Andaman Is.). Both S. aureola Distant and S. maculata Baker are redescribed and illustrated. Lectotypes are designated for S. greeni Distant and S. aureola Distant.

p Ka determinations of xanthene derivates in aqueous solutions by multivariate analysis applied to UV-Vis spectrophotometric data

Science.gov (United States)

Batistela, Vagner Roberto; Pellosi, Diogo Silva; de Souza, Franciane Dutra; da Costa, Willian Ferreira; de Oliveira Santin, Silvana Maria; de Souza, Vagner Roberto; Caetano, Wilker; de Oliveira, Hueder Paulo Moisés; Scarminio, Ieda Spacino; Hioka, Noboru

2011-09-01

Xanthenes form to an important class of dyes which are widely used. Most of them present three acid-base groups: two phenolic sites and one carboxylic site. Therefore, the p Ka determination and the attribution of each group to the corresponding p Ka value is a very important feature. Attempts to obtain reliable p Ka through the potentiometry titration and the electronic absorption spectrophotometry using the first and second orders derivative failed. Due to the close p Ka values allied to strong UV-Vis spectral overlap, multivariate analysis, a powerful chemometric method, is applied in this work. The determination was performed for eosin Y, erythrosin B, and bengal rose B, and also for other synthesized derivatives such as 2-(3,6-dihydroxy-9-acridinyl) benzoic acid, 2,4,5,7-tetranitrofluorescein, eosin methyl ester, and erythrosin methyl ester in water. These last two compounds (esters) permitted to attribute the p Ka of the phenolic group, which is not easily recognizable for some investigated dyes. Besides the p Ka determination, the chemometry allowed for estimating the electronic spectrum of some prevalent protolytic species and the substituents effects evaluation.

Hydrological differentiation and spatial distribution of high altitude wetlands in a semi-arid Andean region derived from satellite data

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M. Otto

2011-05-01

Full Text Available High Altitude Wetlands of the Andes (HAWA belong to a unique type of wetland within the semi-arid high Andean region. Knowledge about HAWA has been derived mainly from studies at single sites within different parts of the Andes at only small time scales. On the one hand, HAWA depend on water provided by glacier streams, snow melt or precipitation. On the other hand, they are suspected to influence hydrology through water retention and vegetation growth altering stream flow velocity. We derived HAWA land cover from satellite data at regional scale and analysed changes in connection with precipitation over the last decade. Perennial and temporal HAWA subtypes can be distinguished by seasonal changes of photosynthetically active vegetation (PAV indicating the perennial or temporal availability of water during the year. HAWA have been delineated within a region of 12 800 km² situated in the Northwest of Lake Titicaca. The multi-temporal classification method used Normalized Differenced Vegetation Index (NDVI and Normalized Differenced Infrared Index (NDII data derived from two Landsat ETM+ scenes at the end of austral winter (September 2000 and at the end of austral summer (May 2001. The mapping result indicates an unexpected high abundance of HAWA covering about 800 km² of the study region (6 %. Annual HAWA mapping was computed using NDVI 16-day composites of Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS. Analyses on the relation between HAWA and precipitation was based on monthly precipitation data of the Tropical Rain Measurement Mission (TRMM 3B43 and MODIS Eight Day Maximum Snow Extent data (MOD10A2 from 2000 to 2010. We found HAWA subtype specific dependencies on precipitation conditions. A strong relation exists between perennial HAWA and snow fall (r²: 0.82 in dry austral winter months (June to August and between temporal HAWA and precipitation (r²: 0.75 during austral summer

Ash layer at ∼ 8 Ma in ODP site 758 from the Bay of Bengal: evidence from Sr, Nd isotopic compositions and rare earth elements

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Padmakumari, V.M.; Ahmad, S.M.

2004-01-01

Strontium and neodymium isotopic compositions are widely used to delineate the provenance of sedimentary formations. These isotopes have characteristic signatures for crust and mantle material and therefore can distinguish between volcanic and other rock types. 87 Sr/ 86 Sr. ε Nd (0) and rare earth elements REE of clay sediments from ODP site 758 in the Bay of Bengal is reported here. Our results clearly show that Sr and Nd isotopes can identify thin ash layers that otherwise may not easily be recognized

Quantification of human polyomavirus JC virus load in urine and blood samples of healthy tribal populations of North-Eastern part of West Bengal, India.

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Chattaraj, S; Bera, N K; Dutta, C; Bhattacharjee, S

2015-01-01

Human polyomavirus JC (JCV) is a widespread human virus with profound pathogenic potential. A study was undertaken to quantify JCV load in urine and peripheral blood samples of immunocompetent, apparently healthy tribal individuals of North-Eastern part of West Bengal, India for the first time. One hundred and thirteen samples of urine or blood were collected from different tribal groups of this region. For the quantitative estimation of the viral load in each sample, real-time polymerase chain reaction method using the SYBR Green dye was employed. The viral load estimated was found in the range between 3.5 × 102 and 2.12 × 106 copies/ml of samples having a mean and median viral copy numbers of 8.67 × 105 and 9.19 × 105 copies/ml of sample respectively. The mean viral DNA load in urine samples of the studied immunocompetent population was found to be higher than that found in a study conducted in the USA, but lower than similar groups of Italy and healthy adult women in the USA. However when compared with median values of viral DNA loads in urine samples of immunocompetent human subjects of Kuwait, Portugal, and Switzerland the observed viral DNA load was found to be substantially higher.

Impact of integrated child development scheme on child malnutrition in West Bengal, India.

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Dutta, Arijita; Ghosh, Smritikana

2017-10-01

With child malnutrition detected as a persistent problem in most of the developing countries, public policy has been directed towards offering community-based supplementary feeding provision and nutritional information to caregivers. India, being no exception, has initiated these programs as early as 1970s under integrated child development scheme. Using propensity score matching technique on primary data of 390 households in two districts of West Bengal, an Eastern state in India, the study finds that impact of being included in the program and receiving supplementary feeding is insignificant on child stunting measures, though the program can break the intractable barriers of child stunting only when the child successfully receives not only just the supplementary feeding but also his caregiver collects crucial information on nutritional awareness and growth trajectory of the child. Availability of regular eggs in the feeding diet too can reduce protein-related undernutrition. Focusing on just feeding means low depth of other services offered under integrated child development scheme, including pre-school education, nutritional awareness, and hygiene behavior; thus repealing a part of the apparent food-secure population who puts far more importance on the latter services. © 2016 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

Satellite derived trends in NO2 over the major global hotspot regions during the past decade and their inter-comparison

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ghude, Sachin D.; Van der A, R.J.; Beig, G.; Fadnavis, S.; Polade, S.D.

2009-01-01

We assessed satellite derived tropospheric NO 2 distribution on a global scale and identified the major NO 2 hotspot regions. Combined GOME and SCIAMACHY measurements for the period 1996-2006 have been used to compute the trends over these regions. Our analysis shows that tropospheric NO 2 column amounts have increased over the newly and rapidly developing regions like China (11 ± 2.6%/year), south Asia (1.76 ± 1.1%/year), Middle East (2.3 ± 1%/year) and South Africa (2.4 ± 2.2%/year). Tropospheric NO 2 column amounts show some decrease over the eastern US (-2 ± 1.5%/year) and Europe (0.9 ± 2.1%/year). We found that although tropospheric NO 2 column amounts decreased over the major developed regions in the past decade, the present tropospheric NO 2 column amounts over these regions are still significantly higher than those observed over newly and rapidly developing regions (except China). Tropospheric NO 2 column amounts show some decrease over South America and Central Africa, which are major biomass burning regions in the Southern Hemisphere. - Trends in tropospheric column NO 2 over newly developing regions.

Regionally Significant Ecological Areas - MLCCS derived 2008

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Minnesota Department of Natural Resources — This is an analysis of regionally significant Terrestrial and Wetland Ecological Areas in the seven county metropolitan area. Individual forest, grassland and...

VISUAL OUTCOME OF OCULAR INJURY IN PAEDIATRIC POPULATION PRESENTING AT TERTIARY EYE CARE CENTRE IN WEST BENGAL

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Somnath Das

2017-07-01

Full Text Available BACKGROUND Ocular trauma is an important worldwide cause of visual morbidity. It includes a spectrum of simple ocular surface foreign bodies, minute corneal abrasions to devastating perforating injuries causing blindness. Children are particularly susceptible to ocular trauma. Identification of the cause of injuries among children may help in determining the most effective measures to prevent visual loss. The purpose of this study is to analyse visual status at the time of presentation and to find the time gap between the occurrence of trauma and presentation, intervention and visual outcome in paediatric ocular trauma at Regional Institute of Ophthalmology, Kolkata, West Bengal. MATERIALS AND METHODS A total of 100 children (age 0-14 yrs. who attended outpatient department and emergency of Regional Institute of Ophthalmology and got admitted were included in the study. Detailed history regarding mode of injury, type of injury, time of injury and time elapsed to attend the hospital from the onset of injury noted. Recording of visual acuity and detailed clinical examination done. Appropriate medical and surgical treatment given as per the standard protocol after assessing the type of injury. Visual outcome assessed by doing follow up at presentation at 1 month and 6 month after injury. RESULTS Our study showed that 37% of the children who presented to us had visual acuity between 2/60 and Perception of light (PL positive. 7% had vision between 6/6 and 6/12. PL was denied in 5% patients. Majority (44% of the children who suffered ocular trauma presented to our hospital between 25-48 hrs. of injury. 88 out 100 patients who were hospitalised were operated within the first 24 hours. At one month after injury, 28% had visual acuity between 6/60 and 3/60 and six months after injury, 25% had visual acuity between 6/18 and 6/36. CONCLUSION Close supervision at home, school and playground, public awareness and education regarding the hazardous nature of

Spatial distribution of fallout 137Cs in the coastal marine environment of India

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Jha, S.K.; Gothankar, S.S.; Sartandel, S.; Pote, M.B.; Hemalatha, P.; Rajan, M.P.; Vidyasagar, D.; Indumati, S.P.; Shrivastava, R.; Puranik, V.D.

2012-01-01

The data on the fallout 137 Cs in the coastal marine environment assume significance in view of massive expansion of nuclear power plants in the Asia-Pacific region and to fulfill the benchmark study required to evaluate the possible impact of the Fukushima radioactive releases in the Asia-Pacific region. Measurements of 137 Cs in sea water, along with salinity and temperature, were carried out at 30 locations covering the coastal area of the Arabian Sea and the Bay of Bengal. For the present study the Indian coastal area is divided in three different regions. The 137 Cs concentration in sea water of the entire Indian coastal region varies from 0.30 to 1.25 Bq m −3 . The data obtained in the present study was compared with the North Indian Ocean data and it was observed that there is a 33% decrease in the Arabian Sea (region I), 50% in the high rainfall coastal area (region II) and 24% in the Bay of Bengal (region III). - Highlights: ► Benchmark value of 137 Cs in coastal environment of Arabian Sea and Bay of Bengal. ► International reference source of 137 Cs in coastal marine environment of India. ► In-situ pre-concentration technique for measurement of 137 Cs. ► Comparison of 137 Cs Indian coastal data with ASPAMARD.

Evidence for the existence of Persian Gulf Water and Red Sea Water in the Bay of Bengal

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Jain, Vineet; Shankar, D.; Vinayachandran, P. N.; Kankonkar, A.; Chatterjee, Abhisek; Amol, P.; Almeida, A. M.; Michael, G. S.; Mukherjee, A.; Chatterjee, Meenakshi; Fernandes, R.; Luis, R.; Kamble, Amol; Hegde, A. K.; Chatterjee, Siddhartha; Das, Umasankar; Neema, C. P.

2017-05-01

The high-salinity water masses that originate in the North Indian Ocean are Arabian Sea High-Salinity Water (ASHSW), Persian Gulf Water (PGW), and Red Sea Water (RSW). Among them, only ASHSW has been shown to exist in the Bay of Bengal. We use CTD data from recent cruises to show that PGW and RSW also exist in the bay. The presence of RSW is marked by a deviation of the salinity vertical profile from a fitted curve at depths ranging from 500 to 1000 m; this deviation, though small (of the order of 0.005 psu and therefore comparable to the CTD accuracy of 0.003 psu), is an order of magnitude larger than the 0.0003 psu fluctuations associated with the background turbulence or instrument noise in this depth regime, allowing us to infer the existence of RSW throughout the bay. PGW is marked by the presence of a salinity maximum at 200-450 m; in the southwestern bay, PGW can be distinguished from the salinity maximum due to ASHSW because of the intervening Arabian Sea Salinity Minimum. This salinity minimum and the maximum associated with ASHSW disappear east and north of the south-central bay (85°E, 8°N) owing to mixing between the fresher surface waters that are native to the bay (Bay of Bengal Water or BBW) with the high-salinity ASHSW. Hence, ASHSW is not seen as a distinct water mass in the northern and eastern bay and the maximum salinity over most of the bay is associated with PGW. The surface water over most of the bay is therefore a mixture of ASHSW and the low-salinity BBW. As a corollary, we can also infer that the weak oxygen peak seen within the oxygen-minimum zone in the bay at a depth of 250-400 m is associated with PGW. The hydrographic data also show that these three high-salinity water masses are advected into the bay by the Summer Monsoon Current, which is seen to be a deep current extending to 1000 m. These deep currents extend into the northern bay as well, providing a mechanism for spreading ASHSW, PGW, and RSW throughout the bay.

Temperature and salinity profile data collected from XBT, CTD, MBT and Bottle casts from multiple platforms by the National Institute of Oceanography (NIO), India, in the Bay of Bengal from August 28, 1976 to January 07, 2009 (NODC Accession 0055418)

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National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce — Physical data were collected from Bottle, MBT, XBT, and CTD casts from the Andaman and Burma Seas, Bay of Bengal, Malacca Straits, and the Indian Ocean. Data were...

Developmental toxicity in flounder embryos exposed to crude oils derived from different geographical regions.

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Jung, Jee-Hyun; Lee, Eun-Hee; Choi, Kwang-Min; Yim, Un Hyuk; Ha, Sung Yong; An, Joon Geon; Kim, Moonkoo

2017-06-01

Crude oils from distinct geographical regions have distinct chemical compositions, and, as a result, their toxicity may be different. However, developmental toxicity of crude oils derived from different geographical regions has not been extensively characterized. In this study, flounder embryos were separately exposed to effluents contaminated by three crude oils including: Basrah Light (BLO), Pyrenees (PCO), and Sakhalin Vityaz (SVO), in addition to a processed fuel oil (MFO-380), to measure developmental toxicity and for gene expressions. Each oil possessed a distinct chemical composition. Edema defect was highest in embryos exposed to PCO and MFO-380 that both have a greater fraction of three-ring PAHs (33% and 22%, respectively) compared to BLO and SVO. Observed caudal fin defects were higher in embryos exposed to SVO and MFO-380, which are both dominated by naphthalenes (81% and 52%, respectively). CYP1A gene expressions were also highest in embryos exposed to SVO and MFO-380. Higher incidence of cardiotoxicity and lower nkx 2.5 expression were detected in embryos exposed to PCO. Unique gene expression profiles were observed in embryos exposed to crude oils with distinct compositions. This study demonstrates that crude oils of different geographical origins with different compositional characteristics induce developmental toxicity to different degrees. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Possibility of regional fuel cycle centres in the context of Bangladesh

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Innas, A.M.; Ahsan, M.; Husain, S.R.; Chowdhury, R.K.; Rahman, A.

1977-01-01

The region consisting of Afghanistan, Pakistan, India, Ceylon, Bangladesh, Burma, Malaysia, Thailand, Singapore and Indonesia is considered for a model study on the possibility of establishing regional fuel cycle centres. Nuclear power generation capacity for this region is estimated and projected through 2000 A.D. and accordingly the demands for various nuclear fuel cycle services are determined. Preliminary calculations show that for the region conversion and fuel fabrication plants may be economically feasible before 1990 whereas reprocessing plants may become feasible only after 1990. The possibility of enrichment plant is even more uncertain. Ore, enrichment and fabrication in future may constitute more than 95-98% of the total fuel cycle cost. For fuel cycle economy, therefore, regional cooperation should be emphasized for these services. Reprocessing has to be considered because of the valuable fissile materials present in the spent fuel. Assuming that regional fuel cycle centre/centres may be established in Bangladesh, the study considered the local advantages and disadvantages of such an effort. Though no major problem could be identified in the case of conversion and fabrication plants, considerable difficulty is anticipated from a large reprocessing plant because of waste management and disposal problems. Bangladesh does not appear to have any suitable waste disposal site in view of the present technology. However, if the long term leaching problemns of solidified wastes are resolved then wastes may be dumped in the sea-canyon in the Bay of Bengal (called the ''Swatch of no ground'') or in the deep underground caverns

Role of microRNAs in senescence and its contribution to peripheral neuropathy in the arsenic exposed population of West Bengal, India.

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Chatterjee, Debmita; Bandyopadhyay, Apurba; Sarma, Nilendu; Basu, Santanu; Roychowdhury, Tarit; Roy, Sib Sankar; Giri, Ashok K

2018-02-01

Arsenic induced senescence (AIS) has been identified in the population of West Bengal, India very recently. Also there is a high incidence of arsenic induced peripheral neuropathy (PN) throughout India. However, the epigenetic regulation of AIS and its contribution in arsenic induced PN remains unexplored. We recruited seventy two arsenic exposed and forty unexposed individuals from West Bengal to evaluate the role of senescence associated miRNAs (SA-miRs) in AIS and their involvement if any, in PN. The downstream molecules of the miRNA associated with the disease outcome, was also checked by immuoblotting. In vitro studies were conducted with HEK 293 cells and sodium arsenite exposure. Our results show that all the SA-miRs were upregulated in comparison to unexposed controls. miR-29a was the most significantly altered, highest expression being in the arsenic exposed group with PN, suggesting its association with the occurrence of PN. We looked for the expression of peripheral myelin protein 22 (PMP22), a specific target of miR-29a associated with myelination and found that both in vitro and in vivo results showed over-expression of the protein. Since this was quite contrary to miRNA regulation, we checked for intermediate players β-catenin and GSK-3β upon arsenic exposure which affects PMP22 expression. We found that β-catenin was upregulated in vitro and was also highest in the arsenic exposed group with PN while GSK-3β followed the reverse pattern. Our findings suggest that arsenic exposure alters the expression of SA-miRs and the mir-29a/beta catenin/PMP22 axis might be responsible for arsenic induced PN. Copyright © 2017. Published by Elsevier Ltd.

Workflow with pitfalls to derive a regional airborne magnetic compilation

Science.gov (United States)

Brönner, Marco; Baykiev, Eldar; Ebbing, Jörg

2017-04-01

Today, large scale magnetic maps are usually a patchwork of different airborne surveys from different size, different resolution and different years. Airborne magnetic acquisition is a fast and economic method to map and gain geological and tectonic information for large areas, onshore and offshore. Depending on the aim of a survey, acquisition parameters like altitude and profile distance are usually adjusted to match the purpose of investigation. The subsequent data processing commonly follows a standardized workflow comprising core-field subtraction and line leveling to yield a coherent crustal field magnetic grid for a survey area. The resulting data makes it possible to correlate with geological and tectonic features in the subsurface, which is of importance for e.g. oil and mineral exploration. Crustal scale magnetic interpretation and modeling demand regional compilation of magnetic data and the merger of adjacent magnetic surveys. These studies not only focus on shallower sources, reflected by short to intermediate magnetic wavelength anomalies, but also have a particular interest in the long wavelength deriving from deep seated sources. However, whilst the workflow to produce such a merger is supported by quite a few powerful routines, the resulting compilation contains several pitfalls and limitations, which were discussed before, but still are very little recognized. The maximum wavelength that can be resolved of each individual survey is directly related to the survey size and consequently a merger will contribute erroneous long-wavelength components in the magnetic data compilation. To minimize this problem and to homogenous the longer wavelengths, a first order approach is the combination of airborne and satellite magnetic data commonly combined with the compilation from airborne data, which is sufficient only under particular preconditions. A more advanced approach considers the gap in frequencies between airborne and satellite data, which motivated

"Mosque Architecture” Or Architecture of Mosque: A New Notions of Bengal During the Muslim Rule

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Sumaiya Ahmed

2016-06-01

Full Text Available The mosque constitutes one of the most highly developed forms of religious architecture. With the rapid expansion of the Muslim community through conquests as well as missionary activities, it became necessary to set aside an enclosed area in cities or large towns for the purpose of established communal worship. Mosque architecture in the Muslim period exposes clearly its sacred identity, even it is continuously remarked, but in secular architecture, the ideas are not spiritually motivated in a cosmic sense. Definitely a structural idea and use of materials as well as its functional and aesthetic use play a role in determining what is expressed by it. The development of understanding of functional and aesthetic use of materials and technique with effective manner is depending on assimilated technologies. Integrated process of standard materials, skilled labor, innovative idea and socioeconomic as well as geographical factors may regard to constructing any magnificent architecture. The present study is an attempt to analyse and develop the structure, structural decoration and use of materials and design of the mosques during the Muslim period in Bengal.

Two algal species of Volvox L. with their taxonomy and ecology from West Bengal, India

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Nilu Halder

2016-08-01

Full Text Available The present paper was communicated with the taxonomic description and ecology of two species of the genus Volvox L. viz. Volvox aureus Ehr. and Volvox globator L. under the order Volvocales of class Chlorophyceae. They are freshwater and planktonic phycoflora. The colony of former species was comparatively smaller (340 µm than the later (480 µm whereas, somatic cells were found slightly larger in the former species in comparison to later species. Both were colonial, multicellular, greenish and formed dots like appearances in the water bodies and, exhibited phototactic movements. These two species were being reported first time from Hooghly of West Bengal, India. The ecological study showed that they preferred to grow in alkaline water (pH 7.3-7.5 with slight high organic nutrient contents (NO3 -N: PO4 3- ratios: 0.25-0.35: 0.30-0.32 mg/l. This study also revealed that higher total alkalinity values (174.0-184.0 mg/l were favorable for their developments and their maximum growth noticed in summer in aquatic ecosystems.

Diarrhoeal Health Risks Attributable to Water-Borne-Pathogens in Arsenic-Mitigated Drinking Water in West Bengal are Largely Independent of the Microbiological Quality of the Supplied Water

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Debapriya Mondal

2014-04-01

Full Text Available There is a growing discussion about the possibility of arsenic mitigation measures in Bengal and similar areas leading to undesirable substitution of water-borne-pathogen attributable risks pathogens for risks attributable to arsenic, in part because of uncertainties in relative pathogen concentrations in supplied and end-use water. We try to resolve this discussion, by assessing the relative contributions of water supply and end-user practices to water-borne-pathogen-attributable risks for arsenic mitigation options in a groundwater arsenic impacted area of West Bengal. Paired supplied arsenic-mitigated water and end-use drinking water samples from 102 households were collected and analyzed for arsenic and thermally tolerant coliforms [TTC], used as a proxy for microbiological water quality, We then estimated the DALYs related to key sequelae, diarrheal diseases and cancers, arising from water-borne pathogens and arsenic respectively. We found [TTC] in end-use drinking water to depend only weakly on [TTC] in source-water. End-user practices far outweighed the microbiological quality of supplied water in determining diarrheal disease burden. [TTC] in source water was calculated to contribute <1% of total diarrheal disease burden. No substantial demonstrable pathogen-for-arsenic risk substitution attributable to specific arsenic mitigation of supplied waters was observed, illustrating the benefits of arsenic mitigation measures in the area studied.

Physical and chemical oceanographic data collected aboard NOAA Ship RONALD H BROWN during the Joint Air-Sea Monsoon Interaction Experiment (JASMINE) in the Indian Ocean, Bay of Bengal, and the Timor Sea from 1999-04-10 to 1999-06-06 (NODC Accession 0001029)

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National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce — JASMINE is the first comprehensive study of the coupled ocean-atmosphere system in the eastern Indian Ocean and the southern Bay of Bengal. Observations made during...

ETHNOMEDICINAL PLANTS USED BY SOME OF THE TRIBAL COMMUNITIES OF PANCHET SOIL CONSERVATION DIVISION, BANKURA DISTRICT, WEST BENGAL, INDIA

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Debatri Banerjee

2016-06-01

Full Text Available The Indigenous Traditional knowledge (ITK is scientifically and culturally significant. This article focuses on the documentation of ITK of medicinal plants that are used against different diseases by the tribal people of Panchet Soil Conservation Division of Bankura district, West Bengal. A comprehensive survey was carried out between July 2014–January 2016 in 19 different locations of Panchet Soil Conservation Division. Data were obtained through semi–structured questionnaires, participant observation and plant walks with 33 respondents. A total of 12 plants belonging to 11 families were documented for 19 different disorders. Out of 12 plants 10 have been reported as new uses for the first time. It is expected that the documentation of medicinal plant knowledge will further promote bio-prospecting and pharmaceutical research.

OUTBREAK OF HEMORRHAGIC SEPTICEMIA IN FREE RANGE BUFFALO AND CATTLE GRAZING AT RIVERSIDE GRASSLAND IN MURSHIDABAD DISTRICT, WEST BENGAL, INDIA

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Joyjit Mitra

2013-12-01

Full Text Available An outbreak of Haemorrhegic Septicaemia among free ranging buffaloes and cattle reared at the natural grassland at the embankment and surrounding area of Bhagirathi river in 3 blocks of Murshidabad district of West Bengal, India was diagnosed by clinical symptoms, postmortem examination, bacteriological study and biochemical tests. Among 154 affected animals (2.16% of total animals at risk buffalo were 85.71% and cattle were 14.28%. A total of 52 affected animals (33.76% died before starting treatment. Among the dead animals, 86.53% was buffalo and 13.46% was cattle. The ailing animals were successfully treated with antibiotic, analgesic and corticosteroid. The epidemic was finally controlled by vaccination, restriction of animal movement and proper disposal of carcasses.

Case report of jelly fish stinging in Bay of Bengal: A report from Bangladesh

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Mohammad Main Uddin

2016-08-01

Full Text Available Introduction: Jelly fish or jellies are the members of the phylum Cnidaria (Coelenterata, consisting of a gelatinous umbrella-shaped bell and trailing tentacles. Sting contains toxic peptide, pbospholipase A and histamine-liberating factor. Jelly fish stinging in Bangladesh is rare. Yet, from a management point of view, this epizoonozis might gain importance given the ever-growing popularity of seaside fishering and tourism. We are presenting a case of jelly fish contact illness in Cox's Bazar Medical College. Case Report: A 30 year old male patient was stung by a jellyfish while tishering in the Bay of Bengal near Teknaf of Cox's Bazar District on 3rd June' 2013. A couple of minutes later urticaria were formed in the contact area accompanied by a bmniug and sore sensation. Within few minutes be developed severe abdominal pain, bodyache and parestbaesia. Immediate decontmninalion was done by patient himself with sea water though ideally it should be with 5% acetic acid. Routine laboratory investigations show no abnormality except non-significant ST elevation in ECG. The patient was managed conservatively with antihistamine, corticosteroids and antibiotics and recovered completely within four days.

Biomonitoring of Heavy metals using the bivalve molluscs in sunderban mangrove wetland, Northeast Coast of Bay of bengal (india): possible risks to Human health

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Cabral, Henrique; Cardoso, Ines [Departamento de Biologia Animal/Instituto de Oceanografia, Campo Grande, Lisboa (Portugal); Chatterjee, Mousumi; Kumar Bhattacharya, Asok; Aftab Alam, Mohammad [Department of Marine Science, University of Calcutta, Calcutta (India); Kanta Satpathy, Kamala [Indira Gandhi Centre for Atomic Research, Environmental and Industrial Safety Section, Safety Group, Kalpakkam, Tamil Nadu (India); Kumar Sarkar, Santosh

2008-02-15

The suitability of using four bivalve molluscs (Sanguinolaria acuminata, Anadara granosa, Meretrix meretrix, and Pelecyora trigona) in biomonitoring of heavy metals (Cu, Pb, Cd, Zn, and Hg) collected from intertidal regions of the Sunderban mangrove wetland, northeastern part of the Bay of Bengal, were evaluated. Both speciesdependent variability and temporal variations were pronounced. A high degree of organ specificity was evident in the bivalves where gill and mantle exhibited higher metal accumulation due to ion exchange property of the mucous layer covering these organs while shells represent very poor accumulation. Elevated values of Zn and Cu reflect high potential for biomagnification through marine food chain. Metal concentrations in different body size groups of the bivalves do not follow uniform trend. Correlation coefficient between different metal couplings as tested statistically revealed significant coupling for Pb-Zn, Pb-Cu, Zn-Cu, and Hg-Cu. Concentrations of all the metals in specific organs (visceral mass, mantle and gill) of the bivalves exceeded the safe levels according to the international standards for metals compiled by Food and Agricultural Organization of the United Nations and would be of great risk for human consumption. It is concluded that the mussel and clam are suitable biomonitors to employ in programs designed to assess changes in metal pollution in the Sunderban mangrove wetland. (Abstract Copyright [2008], Wiley Periodicals, Inc.)

A quantitative index of regional blood flow in canine myocardium derived noninvasively with N-13 ammonia and dynamic positron emission tomography

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Nienaber, C.A.; Ratib, O.; Gambhir, S.S.; Krivokapich, J.; Huang, S.C.; Phelps, M.E.; Schelbert, H.R. (Univ. of California, Los Angeles School of Medicine (USA))

1991-01-01

To derive a quantitative index of regional myocardial blood flow, the arterial input function of the flow tracer N-13 ammonia and the regional myocardial N-13 activity concentrations were noninvasively determined in 29 experiments in eight dogs. N-13 ammonia was administered intravenously and cross-sectional images were acquired dynamically using an ECAT III positron emission tomograph with an effective in-plane resolution of 13.46 mm full-width half-maximum. Time-activity curves were derived from the serial images by assigning regions of interest to the left ventricular myocardium and left ventricular blood pool. Tracer net extractions were estimated from the myocardial time-activity concentrations at various times after tracer injection and the integral of the arterial input function. Myocardial blood flow was altered by intravenous dipyridamole, morphine, propranolol and partial or complete occlusion of the left anterior descending coronary artery, and ranged from 9 to 860 ml/min per 100 g. Estimates of tracer net extractions were most accurate when determined from the myocardial N-13 activity concentrations at 60 s divided by the integral of the arterial input function to that time. These estimates correlated with regional myocardial blood flows determined independently by the microsphere technique by y = x (1 - 0.64(e-114/x); SEE = 22.9; r = 0.94). First pass extraction fractions of N-13 ammonia determined noninvasively with this approach declined with higher flows in a nonlinear fashion and were similar to those determined invasively by direct intracoronary N-13 ammonia injections. The findings indicate that an accurate index of regional myocardial blood flow can be obtained noninvasively by high temporal sampling of arterial and myocardial tracer activity concentrations with positron emission tomography.

Dissolved inorganic carbon, alkalinity, temperature, salinity and other variables collected from discrete sample and profile observations using CTD, bottle and other instruments from the MELVILLE in the Arabian Sea, Bay of Bengal and others from 1972-07-18 to 1978-04-28 (NODC Accession 0117677)

Data.gov (United States)

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce — NODC Accession 0117677 includes chemical, discrete sample, physical and profile data collected from MELVILLE in the Arabian Sea, Bay of Bengal, Bering Sea, Gulf of...

Dissolved inorganic carbon, alkalinity, temperature, salinity and other variables collected from discrete sample and profile observations using CTD, bottle and other instruments from MELVILLE in the Arabian Sea, Bay of Bengal and others from 1977-12-04 to 1978-04-28 (NCEI Accession 0163183)

Data.gov (United States)

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce — NCEI Accession 0163183 includes chemical, discrete sample, physical and profile data collected from MELVILLE in the Arabian Sea, Bay of Bengal, Gulf of Aden, Indian...

A comparison study of Riboflavin/UV-A and Rose-Bengal/Green light cross-linking of the rabbit corneas using optical coherence elastography

Science.gov (United States)

Li, Jiasong; Singh, Manmohan; Han, Zhaolong; Vantipalli, Srilatha; Liu, Chih-Hao; Wu, Chen; Raghunathan, Raksha; Kazemi, Tina; Twa, Michael D.; Larin, Kirill V.

2016-03-01

The biomechanical properties of the cornea are critical factors which determine its health and subsequent visual acuity. Keratoconus is a structural degeneration of the cornea which can diminish vision quality. Riboflavin/UV-A corneal collagen cross-linking (UV-CXL) is an emerging treatment that increases the stiffness of the cornea and improves its ability to resist further degeneration. While UV-CXL has shown great promise for effective therapy of the keratoconus, there are concerns associated with the UV irradiation, such as keratocyte cytotoxicity. Rose-bengal/green light corneal collagen cross-linking (RGX) has been proposed as an alternative to UV-CXL. Because of the high absorbance of the rose-bengal dye at green wavelengths, the treatment time is significantly shorter than with UV-CXL. Moreover, because green light is used in lieu of UV irradiation, there are no cytotoxic side-effects. In this study, noncontact optical coherence elastography (OCE) was used to compare the outcomes of UV-CXL and RGX treatment in rabbit cornea. Low-amplitude (micrometer scale) elastic waves were induced by a focused air-pulse loading system. The elastic wave propagation was then imaged by a phase-stabilized swept source OCE (PhS-SSOCE) system. The changes in the viscoelasticity of the corneas were quantified by a previously developed modified Rayleigh Lamb frequency model. The depth-resolved micro-scale phase-velocity distribution in the cornea was used to reveal the depth-wise heterogeneity before and after both cross-linking techniques. Our results show that UV-CXL and RGX increased the stiffness of the corneas by ~54% and ~5% while reducing the viscosity by ~42% and ~17%, respectively. The depth-wise phase velocities showed that UV-CXL affected the anterior ~1/3 of the corneas, while RGX only affected the anterior ~1/7 of the corneas.

Climatic and anthropogenic factors changing spawning pattern and production zone of Hilsa fishery in the Bay of Bengal

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

M. Shohidullah Miah

2015-03-01

Full Text Available Hilsa (Tenualosa ilisha Hamilton as a single species accounts 12% for more than half of the total marine catches. About 2% of the entire population of the country is directly or indirectly engaged with Hilsa fishing. Hilsa has a wide geographical distribution in Asia from the Persian Gulf to the South China Sea. Particularly large stocks are found in Upper Bay of Bengal (BoB region sustained by the large river systems. The global Hilsa catch is reported 75% from Bangladesh water, 15% from Myanmar, 5% from India and 5% from other countries such as Thailand and Iran. Hilsa is a highly migratory and anadromous fish with the same migratory and same breeding behavior as that of Atlantic Salmon fish (Salmo sp.. Due to various anthropogenic activities, climate change effect, increased siltation and rising of the river basins, the migratory routes as well as spawning grounds of Hilsa are disturbed, displaced or even destroyed. During last two decades hilsa production from inland water declined about 20%, whereas marine water yield increased about 3 times. Major Hilsa to catch has been gradually shifted from inland to marine water. Hilsa fish ascend for spawning migration from sea into estuaries. It has been found that the major spawning areas have been shifted to the lower estuarine regions of Hatia, Sandwip and Bhola. At the spawning ground of Hilsa, the fishing level F=1.36 yr−1, where in the river Meghna the Fmsy=0.6 yr−1 and exploitation rate E=0.70 is (Emsy>0.5. Oceanographic changes viz. high turbidity increased flooding, more tidal action and changes of salinity etc. have accelerated the change of migration patterns of spawning, growth and its production. Hilsa fecundity ranges from 1.5 to 2.0 million eggs for fish ranging in length from 35 to 50 cm. Hilsa fecundity is declining in different areas due to climate change and the declining fecundity impacting greatly on Hilsa production. Due to shifting of the spawning ground at the lower

Bright new colours: the history and analysis of fluorescein, eosin, erythrosine, rhodamine and some of their derivatives

NARCIS (Netherlands)

de Keijzer, M.; van Bommel, M.R.; Kirby, J.

2017-01-01

This paper discusses the history, chemical constitution, production, dyeing processes and properties of the hydroxyphthaleins. Important dyes of this dye class are fluorescein, the eosins, phloxines, erythrosines, rose bengals and rhodamines. These dyes were used for textile dyeing and as painting

Seasonal variability of coastal water quality in bay of Bengal and Palk Strait, Tamilnadu, Southeast Coast of India

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Viswanathan Srinivasan

2013-10-01

Full Text Available The aim of this work was to study the physicochemical parameters of water quality collected from 12 sampling stations from Topputhurai to Muthupet in Vedaranyam located on the southeast coast of India from January to December 2008. Results showed that the DO and nutrients were the maximum in the Bay of Bengal during the monsoon period. High concentration of the nutrients in summer season was obtained near the Muthupet mangroves compared to the Palk Strait, which showed that this acted as a source of nutrients to the adjacent coastal waters. Low concentrations of the nutrients observed in the monsoon could be attributed to the terrestrial runoff from Muthupet lagoon. The physicochemical characteristics of coastal waters between the Point Calimere and Muthupet could be used as a baseline data for the monitoring, conservation and management of Point Calimere Wildlife and Bird sanctuary, Great Vedaranyam swamp and Muthupet mangrove ecosystem.

A recurrent human papillomavirus integration site at chromosome region 12q14-q15 in SW756 and SK-v cell lines derived from genital tumors

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Sastre-Garau, X.; Couturier, J.; Favre, M.; Orth, G.

1995-01-01

The SW756 cell line, derived from an invasive cancer of the uterine cervix, harbours integrated human papillomavirus (HPV) 18 DNA sequences which have been located in chromosome band 12q13. By in situ hybridization experiments with tritiated and digoxigenin-labelled HPV18 probes on R-banded chromosomes, we now localize the integrated viral sequences in 12q14-q15. Interestingly, we have previously localized integrated HPV16 sequences in the same chromosomal region in SK-v cells, derived from a pre-invasive vulvar neoplasia. The chromosomal region 12q14-q15 could thus correspond to a preferential site for the integration of HPV DNA in genital tumors. (authors). 29 refs., 2 figs

Controlling the Regional Identity of hPSC-Derived Neurons to Uncover Neuronal Subtype Specificity of Neurological Disease Phenotypes

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Kent Imaizumi

2015-12-01

Full Text Available The CNS contains many diverse neuronal subtypes, and most neurological diseases target specific subtypes. However, the mechanism of neuronal subtype specificity of disease phenotypes remains elusive. Although in vitro disease models employing human pluripotent stem cells (PSCs have great potential to clarify the association of neuronal subtypes with disease, it is currently difficult to compare various PSC-derived subtypes. This is due to the limited number of subtypes whose induction is established, and different cultivation protocols for each subtype. Here, we report a culture system to control the regional identity of PSC-derived neurons along the anteroposterior (A-P and dorsoventral (D-V axes. This system was successfully used to obtain various neuronal subtypes based on the same protocol. Furthermore, we reproduced subtype-specific phenotypes of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS and Alzheimer’s disease (AD by comparing the obtained subtypes. Therefore, our culture system provides new opportunities for modeling neurological diseases with PSCs.

Associations between accelerometer-derived physical activity and regional adiposity in young men and women.

Science.gov (United States)

Smith, H A; Storti, K L; Arena, V C; Kriska, A M; Gabriel, K K Pettee; Sutton-Tyrrell, K; Hames, K C; Conroy, M B

2013-06-01

Empirical evidence supports an inverse relationship between physical activity (PA) and adiposity, but studies using detailed measures of both are scarce. The relationship between regional adiposity and accelerometer-derived PA in men and women are described. Cross-sectional analysis included 253 participants from a weight loss study limited to ages 20-45 years and BMI 25-39.9 kg m(-2) . PA data were collected with accelerometers and expressed as total accelerometer counts and average amount of time per day accumulated in different intensity levels [sedentary, light-, and moderate-to-vigorous intensity PA (MVPA)]. Accumulation of time spent above 100 counts was expressed as total active time. Computed tomography (CT) was used to measure abdominal and adipose tissue (AT). Multivariate linear regression analyses were used to assess the relationship between regional adiposity (dependent variable) and the various PA levels (independent variable), and were executed separately for men and women, adjusting for wear time, age, race, education, and BMI. Among males, light activity was inversely associated with total AT (β = -0.19; P = 0.02) as well as visceral AT (VAT) (β = -0.30; P = 0.03). Among females sedentary time was positively associated with VAT (β = 0.11; P = 0.04) and total active time was inversely associated with VAT (β = -0.12; P = 0.04). Findings from this study suggest that PA intensity level may influence regional adiposity differently in men and women. Additional research is needed in larger samples to clarify the difference in these associations by sex, create recommendations for the frequency, duration and intensity of PA needed to target fat deposits, and determine if these recommendations should differ by sex. Copyright © 2013 The Obesity Society.

Potassium iodide potentiates antimicrobial photodynamic inactivation mediated by Rose Bengal: in vitro and in vivo studies

Science.gov (United States)

Wen, Xiang; Zhang, Xiaoshen; Szewczyk, Grzegorz; ElHussien, Ahmed; Huang, Ying-Ying; Sarna, Tadeusz; Hamblin, Michael R.

2018-02-01

Rose Bengal (RB) is a halogenated xanthene dye that has been used to mediate antimicrobial photodynamic inactivation. While highly active against Gram-positive bacteria, RB is largely inactive in killing Gram-negative bacteria. We have discovered that addition of the non-toxic salt potassium iodide (100mM) potentiates green light (540nm)-mediated killing by up to six extra logs with Gramnegative bacteria Escherichia coli and Pseudomonas aeruginosa,Gram-positive methicillin resistant Staphylococcus aureus, and fungal yeast Candida albicans. The mechanism is proposed to be singlet oxygen addition to iodide anion to form peroxyiodide, which decomposes into radicals, finally forms hydrogen peroxide and molecular iodine. The effects of these different bactericidal species can be teased apart by comparing killing in three different scenarios: (1) cells+RB+KI are mixed together then illuminated with green light; (2) cells+RB are centrifuged then KI added then green light; (3) RB+KI+green light then cells added after light. We showed that KI could potentiate RBPDT in a mouse model of skin abrasions infected with bioluminescent P.aeruginosa.

Distribution of trace metals in surface seawater and zooplankton of the Bay of Bengal, off Rushikulya estuary, East Coast of India

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Srichandan, Suchismita; Panigrahy, R.C.; Baliarsingh, S.K.; Srinivasa, Rao B.; Pati, Premalata; Sahu, Biraja K.; Sahu, K.C.

2016-01-01

Concentrations of trace metals such as iron (Fe), copper (Cu), zinc (Zn), cobalt (Co), nickel (Ni), manganese (Mn), lead (Pb), cadmium (Cd), chromium (Cr), arsenic (As), vanadium (V), and selenium (Se) were determined in seawater and zooplankton from the surface waters off Rushikulya estuary, north-western Bay of Bengal. During the study period, the concentration of trace metals in seawater and zooplankton showed significant spatio-temporal variation. Cu and Co levels in seawater mostly remained non-detectable. Other elements were found at higher concentrations and exhibited marked variations. The rank order distribution of trace metals in terms of their average concentration in seawater was observed as Fe > Ni > Mn > Pb > As > Zn > Cr > V > Se > Cd while in zooplankton it was Fe > Mn > Cd > As > Pb > Ni > Cr > Zn > V > Se. The bioaccumulation factor (BAF) of Fe was highest followed by Zn and the lowest value was observed with Ni. Results of correlation analysis discerned positive affinity and good relationship among the majority of the trace metals, both in seawater and zooplankton suggesting their strong affinity and coexistence. - Highlights: • First-hand report on trace metal concentration in zooplankton and seawater covering 2 years from this eco-sensitive region. • In seawater trace metals followed the rank order of Fe > Ni > Mn > Pb > As > Zn > Cr > V > Se > Cd. • In zooplankton the rank order was Fe > Mn > Cd > As > Pb > Ni > Cr > Zn > V > Se. • The bioaccumulation factor of Fe was highest followed by Zn. • Strong affinity, coexistence, and similar source of trace metals in the study area.