Variations in isotopic composition of water vapor in the atmosphere is an important indicator of the processes within the hydrological cycle. Isotopic signature of water vapor and precipitation can ...be helpful in partitioning evaporation and transpiration fluxes. It is well known that transpiration from forested regions supplies a significant amount of vapor to the atmosphere in monsoon and post-monsoon seasons. Here, we utilize observations from Tropospheric Emission Spectrometer (TES), Atmospheric Infra-Red Sounder (AIRS) and simulation models to ascertain that transpiration is dominant in the forests of Northeast India (NE) during pre-monsoon season. Our results show an increase in δD of 78.0 ± 7.1‰ and in specific humidity of 3.1 ± 0.2 g kg
during the pre-monsoon months of April-May compared to January-February. In the monsoon months of July-August, δD reduces by 53.0 ± 6.5‰ albeit the specific humidity increases by 3.4 ± 0.2 g kg
. Using joint observations of specific humidity and isotope ratio in lower troposphere, we discern the moisture sources over NE India in pre-monsoon and monsoon seasons and posit the role of transpiration in continental recycling during pre-monsoon season.
Indiscriminate use of chemical fertilizers in the agricultural production systems to keep pace with the food and nutritional demand of the galloping population had an adverse impact on ecosystem ...services and environmental quality. Hence, an alternative mechanism is to be developed to enhance farm production and environmental sustainability. A nanohybrid construct like nanofertilizers (NFs) is an excellent alternative to overcome the negative impact of traditional chemical fertilizers. The NFs provide smart nutrient delivery to the plants and proves their efficacy in terms of crop productivity and environmental sustainability over bulky chemical fertilizers. Plants can absorb NFs by foliage or roots depending upon the application methods and properties of the particles. NFs enhance the biotic and abiotic stresses tolerance in plants. It reduces the production cost and mitigates the environmental footprint. Multitude benefits of the NFs open new vistas towards sustainable agriculture and climate change mitigation. Although supra-optimal doses of NFs have a detrimental effect on crop growth, soil health, and environmental outcomes. The extensive release of NFs into the environment and food chain may pose a risk to human health, hence, need careful assessment. Thus, a thorough review on the role of different NFs and their impact on crop growth, productivity, soil, and environmental quality is required, which would be helpful for the research of sustainable agriculture.
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•Nanofertilizers (NFs) are the best alternative to traditional chemical fertilizers.•Nutrients use efficiency of NFs is higher than the conventional chemical fertilizers.•NFs can increase the tolerance of plants against biotic and abiotic stresses.•Supra optimal dose of NFs had a negative impact on crops, soil, and the environment.
Understanding the network structure of white matter communication pathways is essential for unraveling the mysteries of the brain's function, organization, and evolution. To this end, we derive a ...unique network incorporating 410 anatomical tracing studies of the macaque brain from the Collation of Connectivity data on the Macaque brain (CoCoMac) neuroinformatic database. Our network consists of 383 hierarchically organized regions spanning cortex, thalamus, and basal ganglia; models the presence of 6,602 directed long-distance connections; is three times larger than any previously derived brain network; and contains subnetworks corresponding to classic corticocortical, corticosubcortical, and subcortico-subcortical fiber systems. We found that the empirical degree distribution of the network is consistent with the hypothesis of the maximum entropy exponential distribution and discovered two remarkable bridges between the brain's structure and function via network-theoretical analysis. First, prefrontal cortex contains a disproportionate share of topologically central regions. Second, there exists a tightly integrated core circuit, spanning parts of premotor cortex, prefrontal cortex, temporal lobe, parietal lobe, thalamus, basal ganglia, cingulate cortex, insula, and visual cortex, that includes much of the task-positive and task-negative networks and might play a special role in higher cognition and consciousness.
Rainforests play an important role in hydrological and carbon cycles, both at regional and global scales. They pump large quantities of moisture from the soil to the atmosphere and are major rainfall ...hotspots of the world. Satellite-observed stable water isotope ratios have played an essential role in determining sources of moisture in the atmosphere. Satellites provide information about the processes involving vapour transport in different zones of the world, identifying sources of rainfall and distinguishing moisture transport in monsoonal systems. This paper focuses on major rainforests of the world (Southern Amazon, Congo and Northeast India) to understand the role of continental evapotranspiration in influencing tropospheric water vapour. We have used satellite measurements of
1
H
2
H
16
O/
1
H
2
16
O from Atmospheric InfraRed Sounder (AIRS), evapotranspiration (ET), solar-induced fluorescence (SIF), precipitation (P), atmospheric reanalysis-derived moisture flux convergence (MFC) and wind to discern the role of ET in influencing water vapour isotopes. A global map of the correlation between δ
2
H
v
and ET-P flux indicates that densely vegetated regions in the tropics show the highest positive correlation (r > 0.5). Using mixing models and observations of specific humidity and isotopic ratio over these forested regions, we discern the source of moisture in pre-wet and wet seasons.
Abstract
This letter presents a new thin substrate‐integrated waveguide with twisted integrated–digitated capacitor‐based corrugations that offers a transmission loss < 0.55 dB. The presented ...waveguide operates at TE
10
mode and is used to present a wideband beam‐scanning leaky‐wave antenna with an array of dumbbell‐shaped slots. The antenna is shown to operate at a frequency band of 25–37 GHz and offers a gain > 13 dBi throughout the frequency band. It has a frequency‐dependent beam‐scanning capability of 6 deg/GHz. The proposed antenna being thin is extremely conformal and is suitable for applications in millimetre‐wave off‐body communication.
Homicidal electrocution disguised as an accidental death Meshram, Vikas Premlal; Shekhawat, Raghavendra Singh; Ayyappan, Sathish ...
Journal of forensic sciences,
July 2023, 2023-Jul, 2023-07-00, 20230701, Letnik:
68, Številka:
4
Journal Article
Recenzirano
Deaths due to electrocution are mostly accidental. Homicide by electrocution is rarely reported in the literature. However, the location and pattern of the electrocution wound can raise concern for a ...possible homicidal manner of death. We are reporting an unusual case wherein the dead body of a middle‐aged man was found lying in a suspicious condition on the roadside of desolated area. There were circumferential, grooved electrocution lesions over the left and right second toes with oval electrocution lesions on the medial aspects of both the left and right third toes. There were split lacerations over the right high parietal region, right pinna, and forehead. There was avulsion of the nail of the left thumb. Pressure abrasion was consistent with a ligature mark on the lower part of the left leg. The locations and pattern of these injuries raised the possibility of torture infliction. Death was attributed to electrocution, which was confirmed by histopathology. Autopsy findings and possible inferences were furnished to the police. This case highlights the careful observation of different characterizations and locations of the wounds and deducing inferences about the possible manner of death. This information can be useful to investigating agencies.
Isotopic composition of atmospheric water vapor provides information on transport, mixing and phase change of water in the atmosphere. It provides a useful tool for understanding various aspects of ...the hydrological cycle. SCanning Imaging Absorption Spectrometer for Atmospheric CHartographY (SCIAMACHY) onboard ENVISAT-1 was a spectrometer designed to measure the composition of trace gases in troposphere and stratosphere. It provided global measurements of total columnar HDO and H
2
O concentrations using the spectral window between 2338.5 and 2382.5 nm. Temporal variability of columnar
δ
D was studied over Northeast (NE) India and mean columnar
δ
D for pre-monsoon and monsoon months were correlated with precipitation data obtained from Global System for Mapping of Precipitation (GSMaP). It was observed that
δ
D during the pre-monsoon months of April–May showed good correlation (
r
> 0.7,
p
< 0.05) with total precipitation during June–August for the corresponding year over forested regions of Meghalaya and parts of Assam. Analysis was also carried out to understand the relationship between SCIAMACHY derived gridded monthly
δ
D and Multivariate El-Niño Index (MEI) with zero and one month lag periods. Positive correlation was observed between
δ
D and MEI over parts of Central India, Myanmar and Thailand. Isotope ratio of water vapor provides additional information compared to traditional meteorological observations and holds the potential to improve forecasting models.
Owing to the lack of consistent spatial time series data on actual evapotranspiration (
ET
), very few studies have been conducted on the long-term trend and variability in
ET
at a national scale ...over the Indian subcontinent. The present study uses biome specific
ET
data derived from NOAA satellite’s advanced very high resolution radiometer to investigate the trends and variability in
ET
over India from 1983 to 2006. Trend analysis using the non-parametric Mann–Kendall test showed that the domain average
ET
decreased during the period at a rate of
0.22
mm
year
-
1
. A strong decreasing trend (
m
=
-
1.75
mm
year
-
1
,
F
=
17.41
,
P
0.01) was observed in forest regions. Seasonal analyses indicated a decreasing trend during southwest summer monsoon (
m
=
-
0.320
mm
season
-
1
year
-
1
)
and post-monsoon period (
m
=
-
0.188
mm
season
-
1
year
-
1
)
. In contrast, an increasing trend was observed during northeast winter monsoon (
m
=
0.156
mm
season
-
1
year
-
1
)
and pre-monsoon (
m
=
0.068
mm
season
-
1
year
-
1
)
periods. Despite an overall net decline in the country, a considerable increase (
4
mm
year
-
1
) was observed over arid and semi-arid regions. Grid level correlation with various climatic parameters exhibited a strong positive correlation (
r
>
0.5
) of
ET
with soil moisture and precipitation over semi-arid and arid regions, whereas a negative correlation (
r
-
0.5
) occurred with temperature and insolation in dry regions of western India. The results of this analysis are useful for understanding regional
ET
dynamics and its relationship with various climatic parameters over India. Future studies on the effects of
ET
changes on the hydrological cycle, carbon cycle, and energy partitioning are needed to account for the feedbacks to the climate.
Muscle function is regulated by Ca2+, which mediates excitation-contraction coupling, energy metabolism, adaptation to exercise, and sarcolemmal repair. Several of these actions rely on Ca2+ delivery ...to the mitochondrial matrix via the mitochondrial Ca2+ uniporter, the pore of which is formed by mitochondrial calcium uniporter (MCU). MCU’s gatekeeping and cooperative activation are controlled by MICU1. Loss-of-protein mutation in MICU1 causes a neuromuscular disease. To determine the mechanisms underlying the muscle impairments, we used MICU1 patient cells and skeletal muscle-specific MICU1 knockout mice. Both these models show a lower threshold for MCU-mediated Ca2+ uptake. Lack of MICU1 is associated with impaired mitochondrial Ca2+ uptake during excitation-contraction, aerobic metabolism impairment, muscle weakness, fatigue, and myofiber damage during physical activity. MICU1 deficit compromises mitochondrial Ca2+ uptake during sarcolemmal injury, which causes ineffective repair of the damaged myofibers. Thus, dysregulation of mitochondrial Ca2+ uptake hampers myofiber contractile function, likely through energy metabolism and membrane repair.
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•MICU1 is central to coupling MCU to skeletal muscle excitation and contraction•Muscle-specific lack of MICU1 in mouse recaps skeletal muscle symptoms in patients•Loss of the bioenergetic role of MICU1 contributes to muscle weakness and fatigue•Impaired membrane repair contributes to myofiber damage and high serum CK levels
Debattisti et al. report that skeletal muscle-specific loss of mitochondrial Ca2+ uptake 1 (MICU1) in mouse impairs mitochondrial calcium signaling, energy metabolism, and membrane repair, leading to muscle weakness, fatigue, myofiber damage, and high CK levels, recapitulating the muscle symptoms of MICU1 loss in patients.
•Effective conservation tilling and diversified cropping improves soil C buildup.•Zero tilling had the highest SOC pool (25.24 Mg ha−1 at 0–10 cm depth).•Zero tilling reduced bulk density by 2.2 % at ...0–10 cm soil depth over CT.•Maize-black gram-buckwheat recorded a maximum SOC pool (24.98 Mg ha−1).
Ecological indicators are herculean contrivance for assessing management practices' impacts on environmental changes. Soil organic carbon (SOC) potentially regulates the agricultural sustainability. Unfortunately, the SOC has been widely degraded through unsustainable land uses and agricultural practices. Hence, the efficacy of conservation tilling and diversified cropping were assessed in terms of restoration of SOC and associated soil properties in fixed plots, which are related with farm productivity and other ecosystem services under organic production systems of the Indian Himalayas. Three tillage management were selected as treatments of the study: i) conventional tilling (CT), ii) reduced tilling (RT), and iii) Zero tilling (ZT) applied to four diversified cropping systems CS1- maize–black gram–toria, CS2 maize–black gram–buckwheat, CS3- maize–rajmash–toria and CS4 maize–rajmash–buckwheat. The ZT had the highest SOC content (19.58 g kg−1) as well as the C pool (25.24 Mg ha−1) at a soil depth of 0–10 cm. On the contrary, ZT had the lowest ρb (1.29 Mg m3) and soil penetration resistance (1.32 MPa) at 0–5 cm and 5–10 cm soil depth. Concerning SOC partitioning, regardless of soil depth, it had been evident that more SOC were allocated in the active pool over the passive pool. Out of the diversified cropping systems, the CS2 produced a considerably higher total carbon pool of 24.98, and 23.0 Mg ha−1 at 0–10 cm, and 10–20 cm soil depths, respectively, and active and passive C pools. Hence, abolition of tillage and cultivation of legume embedding cropping systems resulted as a sustainable management system under organic farming for SOC restoration and soil quality improvement in the Himalayan ecosystem. Thus, the study suggested that the cultivation of CS2 under ZT may be promoted for efficient land resource management planning in the study region of the Indian Himalayas.
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