Performance validation of High Mountain Asia 8-meter Digital Elevation Model using ICESat-2 geolocated photons

High Mountain Asia(HMA),recognized as a third pole,needs regular and intense studies as it is susceptible to climate change.An accurate and high-resolution Digital Elevation Model(DEM)for this region enables us to analyze it in a 3D environment and understand its intricate role as the Water Tower of Asia.The science teams of NASA realized an 8-m DEM using satellite stereo imagery for HMA,termed HMA 8-m DEM.In this research,we assessed the vertical accuracy of HMA 8-m DEM using reference elevations from ICESat-2 geolocated photons at three test sites of varied topography and land covers.Inferences were made from statistical quantifiers and elevation profiles.For the world’s highest mountain,Mount Everest,and its surroundings,Root Mean Squared Error(RMSE)and Mean Absolute Error(MAE)resulted in 1.94 m and 1.66 m,respectively;however,a uniform positive bias observed in the elevation profiles indicates the seasonal snow cover change will dent the accurate estimation of the elevation in this sort of test sites.The second test site containing gentle slopes with forest patches has exhibited the Digital Surface Model(DSM)features with RMSE and MAE of 0.58 m and 0.52 m,respectively.The third test site,situated in the Zanda County of the Qinghai-Tibet,is a relatively flat terrain bed,mostly bare earth with sudden river cuts,and has minimal errors with RMSE and MAE of 0.32 m and 0.29 m,respectively,and with a negligible bias.Additionally,in one more test site,the feasibility of detecting the glacial lakes was tested,which resulted in exhibiting a flat surface over the surface of the lakes,indicating the potential of HMA 8-m DEM for deriving the hydrological parameters.The results accrued in this investigation confirm that the HMA 8-m DEM has the best vertical accuracy and should be of high use for analyzing natural hazards and monitoring glacier surfaces.

Chaos and Periodicities in Solar Flare Index from Kandilli Observatory during 1976–2014

The Solar Flare Index is regarded as one of the most important solar indices in the field of solarterrestrial research. It has the maximum effect on Earth of all other solar activity indices and is being considered for describing the short-lived dynamo action inside the Sun. This paper attempts to study the short as well as long-term temporal fluctuations in the chromosphere region of the Sun using the Solar Flare Index. The daily Solar Flare Index for Northern, Southern Hemisphere and Total Disk are considered for a period from January 1976 to December 2014(total 14 245 days) for chaotic as well as periodic analysis.The 0–1 test has been employed to investigate the chaotic behavior associated with the Solar Flare Index.This test revealed that the time series data is non-linear and multi-periodic in nature with deterministic chaotic features. For periodic analysis, the Raleigh Power Spectrum algorithm has been used for identifying the predominant periods within the data along with their confidence score. The well-known fundamental period of 27 days and 11 years along with their harmonics are well affirmed in our investigation with a period of 28 days and 10.77 years. The presence of 14 days and 7 days periods in this investigation states the short-lived action inside the Sun. Our investigation also demonstrates the presence of other mid-range periods including the famous Rieger type period which are very much confirming the results obtained by other authors using various solar activity indicators.

Search for periodicities of the solar irradiance data from the Earth Radiation Budget Satellite (ERBS) using the periodogram method

We have analyzed the solar irradiance data from the Earth Radiation Budget Satellite （ERBS） during the time period from 1984 October 15 to 2003 October 15.By first filtering the data by Simple Exponential Smoothing,we have applied the periodogram method to the processed data in order to search for its time variation.The study exhibits multi-periodicities on these data around 110,118,574 and 740d with very high confidence levels （more than 99%）.These periods are significantly similar to the periods of other solar activities which may suggest that solar irradiance may be associated with other solar activities.

Endosymbiotic pathogen-inhibitory gut bacteria in three Indian Major Carps under polyculture system: A step toward making a probiotics consortium

The gastrointestinal(GI)microbiome in fish plays significant roles in health and disease resistance.This investigation was accomplished to enumerate,characterize and identify the potential probiotic bacteria from three Indian Major Carps(IMCs),viz.,rohu(Labeo rohita),catla(Catla catla)and mrigal(Cirrhinus mrigala)using culture dependent methods.Altogether,105 pathogen-inhibitory bacteria(out of 1216 isolates)were detected from three IMCs by double layer assay.16S rRNA partial gene sequence analyses and BLAST search in the NCBI GenBank unveiled that 94.29%of the pathogen inhibitory bacteria were bacilli(99 strains)and Bacillus licheniformis by far the most common(28%).The primarily selected 27 pathogen-inhibitory strains(cumulative inhibition score≥13)produced extracellular enzymes,while 15 of them produced all the six exo-enzymes studied(amylase,protease,lipase,cellulase,phytase and xylanase).Gut stability of the strains became apparent by their ability to grow in fish mucus and tolerance to diluted bile-juice.Finally,14 strains were noticed asγ-hemolytic and susceptible to the commonly used antibiotics.Further,intra-peritoneal injection withγ-hemolytic strains did not induce any pathological signs or mortalities in fish,and thus were considered as safe.These 14γ-hemolytic isolates were represented by the genus Bacillus(13)and Stenotrophomonas(1),which might form probiotic consortia for prospective use in carp culture.

Medium-term mortality after hip fractures and COVID-19:A prospective multicentre UK study

Purpose:The COVID-19 pandemic has caused 1.4 million deaths globally and is associated with a 3-4 times increase in 30-day mortality after a fragility hip fracture with concurrent COVID-19 infection.Typically,death from COVID-19 infection occurs between 15 and 22 days after the onset of symptoms,but this period can extend up to 8 weeks.This study aimed to assess the impact of concurrent COVID-19 infection on 120-day mortality after a fragility hip fracture.Methods:A multi-centre prospective study across 10 hospitals treating 8%of the annual burden of hip fractures in England between 1st March and 30th April,2020 was performed.Patients whose surgical treatment was payable through the National Health Service Best Practice Tariff mechanism for"fragility hip fractures"were included in the study.Patients'120-day mortality was assessed relative to their perioperative COVID-19 status.Statistical analysis was performed using SPSS version 27.Results:A total of 746 patients were included in this study,of which 87(11.7%)were COVID-19 positive.Mortality rates at 30-and 120-day were significantly higher for COVID-19 positive patients relative to COVID-19 negative patients(p<0.001).However,mortality rates between 31 and 120-day were not significantly different(p=0.107),16.1%and 9.4%respectively for COVID-19 positive and negative patients,odds ratio 1.855(95%CI 0.865-3.978).Conclusion:Hip fracture patients with concurrent COVID-19 infection,provided that they are alive at day-31 after injury,have no significant difference in 120-day mortality.Despite the growing awareness and concern of "long-COVID"and its widespread prevalence,this does not appear to increase mediumterm mortality rates after a hip fracture.

Direct choline administration in semi-intensive pisciculture system: A positive contaminant

Present work evaluated the possible impact of choline on metabolic enzymes of cultured fish species into a semi-intensive pond culture system,reared with Catla catla(catla),Labeo rohita(rahu),Clarias batracus(magur)and Anabas testudineus(climbing perch)for 90 days in two seasons.Choline was added directly into the pond water periodically throughout the experimental tenure.The water quality parameters of each experimental pond were monitored and were analyzed in 15 days interval throughout the experimental tenure in both the seasons.Results were compared with treatment as choline-fed and control as non-choline-fed conditions during breeding(June-Aug.)and dry(Nov.-Jan.)seasons.The metabolic enzymes,viz.,LDH(Lactate dehydrogenase),MDH(Malate dehydrogenase),and G6PDH(Glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase)activities in the muscle,liver,and AchE(Acetylcholine esterase)activity in the brain and muscle revealed maximum significantly(p<0.01),but ALT(Alanine aminotransferase)and AST(Aspartate aminotransferase)activity showed significant(p<0.01)depletion in the muscle and liver in treatment-breeding(TB)condition.The fishes under treatment-dry(TD)condition presented significant(p<0.01)higher elevation in HK(Hexokinase)activity in the muscle and liver.Additionally,the result of principal component analysis(PCA)depicted the positive as well as in some cases a negative correlation among the enzymatic activities both in dry and breeding seasons.So,it can be inferred that choline enrichment in fishes can substantiate the well nutritionally balanced food-flesh for consumption under this farm culture and the choline behaved as a positive contaminant into the pond eco-system under the semi-intensive culture condition.