Predicting the future land use and land cover changes for Saroor Nagar Watershed, Telangana, India, using open-source GIS.

The dynamics of land use and land cover are profoundly affected by the growth, mobility, and demand of people. Thematic maps of land use and land cover (LULC) help planners account for conservation, concurrent uses, and land-use compressions by providing a reference for analysis, resource management, and prediction. The purpose of this research is to identify the transition of land-use changes in the Saroor Nagar Watershed between 2008 and 2014 using the Modules for Land Use Change Evaluation (MOLUSCE) plugin (MLP-ANN) model and to forecast and establish potential land-use changes for the years 2020 and 2026. To predict how these factors affected LULC from 2008 to 2014, MLP-ANN was trained with maps of DEM, slope, distance from the road, and distance to a waterbody. The projected and accurate LULC maps for 2020 have a Kappa value of 0.70 and a correctness percentage of 81.8%, indicating a high degree of accuracy. Changes in LULC are then predicted for the year 2026 using MLP-ANN, which shows a 17.4% increase in built-up area at the expense of vegetation and barren land. The results contribute to the development of sustainable plans for land use and resource management.

Festivals of Ayurveda: Scope and challenges.

Background: One of the main ingredients to put human societies glued together is celebrating the festivals. Festivals are the markers of scientific achievements and historic milestones. Moreover, celebrating festival ensures the continuation of tradition. The number of festivals celebrating Ayurveda are, however, very few. Festivals bring pomp and glory in lives and are a way of expressing gratitude to the legends for bringing out the deepest meanings of the cosmos. Aim: To revive the lost tradition of Ayurvedic festivals, the study was undertaken. Material and methods: Ayurvedic scriptures and Puranas were carefully reviewed to find festivals associated with Ayurveda. The paper reviews the specific dates and the method of celebration of few festivals associated with Ayurveda such as Dhanvantari Jayanti, Brahma Puja, Shakrotsava, Kaumudi Mahotsava, Madana Trayodashi, Charaka Jayanti, Kubera Mahotsava, Varuna Mahotsava, and Yamadamshtra. Dhanvantari Jayanti as National Ayurveda Day has already gained popularity. Result: Festivals foster national cohesiveness, promote communal harmony, preserve family values, revitalize the economy, and foster cultural and, in this scenario, even medical tourism. However, globalizing these festivals is challenging due to difference in calendars. Conclusion: Celebrating festivals have deep Yogic meaning. It helps to maintain national identity. The yearly seasonal cycles affect the physical and mental health of humans. Hence, there is a need to revive the traditional Ayurvedic festivals.

Seroprevalence, risk factors, and serological cross-reactivity for diagnosis of Toxoplasma gondii and Neospora caninum infections in goats in India.

Toxoplasma gondii and Neospora caninum are genetically related cyst-forming protozoan parasites that cause reproductive failures in ruminants. Given the limited information on the epidemiology of these infections in goats in India, the study aimed to estimate the seroprevalence, assess antibody cross-reactivity for diagnosis, and identify associated risk factors. A total of 695 sera were evaluated for antibodies to T. gondii and N. caninum infections using Modified Agglutination Test (MAT for Toxoplasma)/Neospora agglutination test (NAT), Enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA), and Indirect Fluorescent Antibody Test (IFAT for tachyzoite and bradyzoite stages). The seroprevalence rate of T. gondii and N. caninum infections was 56.9% and 10.9%, respectively. Inter-rater agreement (kappa value - κ) was calculated to assess agreements between various diagnostic assays, using the IFAT as the gold standard (for detecting both infections), the agreements for MAT/NAT (κ = 0.97) and the ELISA (κ = 0.95) were excellent. The acute infection among seropositive goats were determined using serological (IgG avidity test - measures the binding strength between IgG antibodies and parasite antigens) and molecular diagnoses (PCR for repetitive DNA sequences - Toxoplasma B1 gene: 131 bp and Neospora NC5 gene: 328 bp). Among seropositive goats ≥80% had high IgG avidity and <10% of animals had low IgG avidity antibodies for both infections. Most low IgG avidity goats were PCR positive for the TgB1 gene (94.4%) or Nc5 gene (85.7%). In the serological assays, we used different dilutions of test serum to rule out the cross-reactivity owing to similar antigenic makeup between these two parasites. When the serological cross-reactivity was analyzed using invasion assay at a serum titer of ≥200, more than 90% T. gondii positive sera showed host cell invasion of N. caninum and vice versa. Largely, the serological results indicate that cut-off serum dilution of ≥1:200 for ELISA and IFAT and ≥1:25 for MAT/NAT avoids serological cross-reactivity between T. gondii and N. caninum. Further, the Univariate and multivariate analyses showed that adult animals (>2 years), reservoir hosts, and extensive rearing systems are common risk factors for these infections. However, the history of abortion was identified as a significant risk factor for T. gondii infection. This study revealed that T. gondii and N. caninum infections are highly prevalent in this region and the use of an appropriate cut-off serum dilution is necessary to avoid cross-reactivity between these closely related parasites.

Twitter based sentimental analysis of Covid-19 observations.

The emergence of social media has provided people with the opportunity to express their feelings and thoughts about everything and everything in their lives. There is a massive amount of textual stuff available, and approaches are required to make meaningful use of the information provided by isolating and evaluating the different types of text. Sentimental Analysis is a method of obtaining a human being's point of view through mining his or her emotions. The entire world is sharing their thoughts on social media on the Corona Pandemic that is now underway. This research presents an analysis of attitudes in order to determine whether or not people are optimistic in the face of a difficult circumstance. The technique of polarity is employed by the paper in order to determine if an opinion is positive, negative, or nonpartisan [1]. In order to determine the polarity, the following three major keywords are used: "COVID", "Corona virus," and "COVID-19."

Seroprevalence and associated risk factors of Toxoplasma gondii and Neospora caninum infections in cattle in Central India.

Toxoplasma gondii and Neospora caninum are closely related cyst-forming parasites identified as important causes of reproductive failures in ruminants. While these parasites have been reported worldwide, seroprevalence and associated risk factors for cattle infections have not been determined in India. A total of 576 serum samples of cattle were analyzed for antibodies to T. gondii and N. caninum using enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA), modified/Neospora agglutination test (MAT/NAT), and an indirect fluorescent antibody test (IFAT-tachyzoite and bradyzoite). Additionally, general information about cattle, movement of cats and dogs, the menace of rodents, management, and reproductive disorders were assessed to identify the potential risk factors. Overall, 32.9% (190/576) serum samples reacted positively to T. gondii and 24.8% (143/576) to N. caninum. The performance of the diagnostic tests showed excellent agreement between IFAT and ELISA (kappa [κ] = 0.98) and between MAT/NAT and ELISA (κ = 0.97). Combining both infections on avidity test, 94% sera had high-IgG avidity, and 3% had low-IgG avidity antibodies, indicating chronic infection in the majority of the cases. The identified risk factors (p < 0.05) for exposure to T. gondii were: increasing age (Odds Ratio [OR]: 2.02), movement of cat (OR: 4.8) and rodents (OR: 1.57) in the farm; and for N. caninum: increasing age (OR: 1.6), movement of dogs in the farm (OR: 2.07), drinking pond water (OR: 1.64) and abortion (OR: 1.82). These findings revealed that T. gondii and N. caninum infections are widespread in the study area and suggest conducting nationwide epidemiological studies owing to their economic importance.

Seroprevalence and risk factors of Toxoplasma gondii infection among veterinary personnel and abattoir workers in Central India.

Toxoplasmosis, caused by the protozoan parasite Toxoplasma gondii, is an important zoonotic infection. Veterinary personnel and abattoir workers are considered to be at a high risk of T. gondii infection owing to their occupational exposure. However, the association of T. gondii infection with occupational exposure to animals has not been determined in India. Hence, we analysed 139 and 126 blood samples of veterinary personnel and abattoir workers, respectively, for anti-T. gondii antibodies using enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA), modified agglutination test (MAT) and indirect fluorescent antibody test (IFAT). The association of seroprevalence with sociodemographic profiles, work activities and dietary habits was determined in the study population. MAT, ELISA and IFAT results demonstrated nearly 46%, 48% and 47% seropositivity, respectively. MAT (kappa = 0.924) and IFAT (kappa = 0.962) results showed good agreement with ELISA results. Of the ELISA positive samples, 46% was copositive for IgG antibody, 1.5% for IgM antibody and 1.5% for both IgG and IgM antibodies. High IgG avidity was observed only in IgG+ IgM- and IgG+ IgM+ samples and not in IgM+ IgG- samples, indicating chronic T. gondii infection in most of the cases. Furthermore, multivariate analysis revealed that T. gondii seropositivity was associated with age > 30 years (odds ration [OR] = 1.992), cat at home (OR = 1.991), not wearing gloves (OR = 1.886), not wearing safety glasses (OR = 1.985) and contact with soil (OR = 1.695). These findings support the presence of a potentially significant association between T. gondii seropositivity and occupational exposure to animals.

Studies on eggless mayonnaise from rice bran and sesame oils.

Mayonnaise was prepared by replacing refined sunflower oil with physically refined rice bran oil (RBO), filtered sesame oil (SO) and blends of both RBO:SO. Emulsions were formulated using xanthan gum as a replacer for egg. The effect of replacing xanthan gum on varying oil blends (RBO:SO) on the physicochemical properties such as texture (consistency), stability, viscosity, and bioactives (oryzanol and sesamol content) were also studied. Significant differences were observed in the fat content of the emulsions prepared. Xanthan gum based mayonnaise's had 63-65% fat, whereas control sample with egg had 78% fat. The spreadability ranged between 1.2 and 1.6 N and stability of these spreads was found to be better than that of control. Mayonnaise with the desired colour, optimum spreadability and excellent emulsion stability could be prepared using RBO, and blends of RBO:SO. Significant differences were seen in the instrumental consistency and rheological studies among the mayonnaises prepared. The present study focusses on the preparation of a healthy mayonnaise using rice bran and sesame oil and their blends which have beneficial health effects due to the presence of oryzanol and sesamol.

Medical geography in Charaka Samhita.

Charaka Samhita is the oldest and the most authentic treatise on Ayurveda and is the ancient medical science of India. Apart from giving information on medical conditions and their treatment; it also gives valuable information on geographical, social, and economic conditions of India. This article is an attempt to explore geographical conditions of the ancient India, its geographical position in present India and its medical significance.

Group intervention for carers of geriatric patients: experiences from a clinic in India.

Sixty per cent of the global elderly population live in low-and middle-income countries, and this proportion was expected to rise to 70% by 2010 (International Institute of Ageing, 2001; Ferri et al, 2005). The 2001 Indian census found over 70 million people aged 60 years or more (considered senior citizens according to the Indian National Policy on Older Persons). Most of those senior citizens live with younger family members and are dependent on them for financial and social support. Hence, any physiological and psychological changes in the older family members affect the younger supportive members as well.

The complete branchial fistula: A case report.

The incomplete branchial fistula is not an uncommon congenital anomaly of branchial apparatus but a complete one is rare. Here we report a case of complete congenital branchial fistula with an internal opening near the tonsillar fossa.