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Childhood and adolescence require adequate amount of micronutrients for normal growth and development. The primary objective of study was to assess the prevalence of deficiencies of Vitamins (Vitamin A, 25 Hydroxy Vitamin D, Vitamin B12 and Folate) and minerals (Calcium, Zinc, Selenium and Iron), among urban school going children aged 6-11 and 12-16 years in ten cities of India. Secondary objective was to find the association between micronutrient deficiencies with sociodemographic and anthropometric indicators. A multi-center cross-sectional study was conducted across India. Participants in the age groups of 6 to 11 years (group 1) and 12 to 16 years (group 2) were selected from randomly chosen schools from each center. Data on socio economic status, anthropometric measures was collected. Blood samples were collected for biochemical analysis of micronutrients. Point estimates and 95% confidence intervals was used to assess the prevalence of deficiencies. Associations were observed using chi square, student t test and ANOVA test. From April 2019 to February 2020, 2428 participants (1235 in group 1 and 1193 group 2) were recruited from 60 schools across ten cites. The prevalence of calcium and iron deficiency was 59.9% and 49.4% respectively. 25 Hydroxy Vitamin D deficiency was seen in 39.7% and vitamin B12 in 33.4% of subjects. Folate, Selenium and Zinc were deficient in 22.2%, 10.4% and 6.8% of subjects respectively. Vitamin A deficiency least (1.6%). Anemia was prevalent in 17.6% subjects and was more common among females. One or more micronutrient deficiencies are found in almost one half of school going children in urban area. Hence efforts must be made to combat these on priority. CTRI/2019/02/017783.

The astrophysics of the cosmic dawn, when star formation commenced in the first collapsed objects, is predicted to be revealed by spectral and spatial signatures in the cosmic radio background at long wavelengths. The sky-averaged redshifted 21 cm absorption line of neutral hydrogen is a probe of the cosmic dawn. The line profile is determined by the evolving thermal state of the gas, radiation background, Lyman α radiation from stars scattering off cold primordial gas, and relative populations of the hyperfine spin levels in neutral hydrogen atoms. We report a radiometer measurement of the spectrum of the radio sky in the 55–85 MHz band, which shows that the profile found by Bowman et al. in data taken with the Experiment to Detect the Global Epoch of Reionization Signature (EDGES) low-band instrument is not of astrophysical origin; their best-fitting profile is rejected with 95.3% confidence. The profile was interpreted to be a signature of the cosmic dawn; however, its amplitude was substantially higher than that predicted by standard cosmological models. Our non-detection bears out earlier concerns and suggests that the profile found by Bowman et al. is not evidence for new astrophysics or non-standard cosmology. The EDGES team reported a measurement of the redshifted 21 cm absorption line of neutral hydrogen from the cosmic dawn. However, the SARAS 3 measurement of the radio sky spectrum now suggests that the EDGES detection might not have a cosmological source.

Micronutrient deficiency (MD) is associated with deficits in cognitive functioning of children. However, no comprehensive multicentric study has been conducted in India to explore the role of multiple MD in cognition of children and adolescents. The present study aimed to explore association of MD with level of general intelligence and specific cognitive functions, in urban school-going children and adolescents across ten cities of India. Cross-sectional multicentric study, enrolled participants aged 6-16 years. Blood samples were collected for biochemical analysis of calcium, iron, zinc, selenium, folate, vitamin A, D and B12. Colored Progressive Matrices / Standard Progressive Matrices (CPM/SPM), Coding, Digit Span and Arithmetic tests were used for the assessment of cognitive functions of participants. Height and weight measures were collected along with socio-economic status. From April-2019 to February-2020, 2428 participants were recruited from 60 schools. No MD was found in 7.0% (134/1918), any one MD in 23.8% (457/1918) and ≥ 2 MD in 69.2% (1327/1918) participants. In presence of ≥ 2 MD, adjusted odds ratio (OR) for borderline or dull normal in CPM/SPM was 1.63, (95% CI: 1.05-2.52), coding was 1.66 (95% CI: 1.02-2.71), digit span was 1.55 (95% CI: 1.06-2.25) and arithmetic was 1.72 (95% CI: 1.17-2.53), controlling for gender, socioeconomic status and anthropometric indicators. Since ≥ 2 MD were found in more than 2/3rd of participants and was associated with impairment in cognitive function, attempts must be made to ameliorate them on priority in school going children in India. CTRI/2019/02/017783.

Markandeya River basin stretches geographically from 15°56′ to 16°08′ N latitude and 74°37′ to 74°58′ E longitude, positioned in the midst of Belgaum district, in the northern part of Karnataka. Since the quantity and quality of water available for irrigation in India is variable from place to place, groundwater quality in the Markandeya River basin was evaluated for its suitability for drinking and irrigation purposes by collecting 47 open and bore-well samples during the post-monsoon period of 2008. The quality assessment was made by estimating pH, electrical conductivity, total dissolved solids, hardness, and alkalinity besides major cations (Na ⁺ , K ⁺ , Ca² ⁺ , and Mg² ⁺ ) and anions (HCO [graphic removed] , Cl ⁻ , SO [graphic removed] , PO [graphic removed] , F ⁻ , and NO [graphic removed] ). Based on these analyses, irrigation quality parameters like, sodium absorption ratio, %Na, residual sodium carbonate, residual sodium bicarbonate, chlorinity index, soluble sodium percentage, non-carbonate hardness, potential salinity, permeability index, Kelley's ratio, magnesium hazard/ratio, index of base exchange, and exchangeable sodium ratio were calculated. According to Gibbs' ratio, majority of water samples fall in the rock dominance field. The groundwater samples were categorized as normal chloride (95.75%), normal sulfate (95.75%), and normal bicarbonate (61.70%) water types based on Cl, SO₄, and HCO₃ concentrations. Based on the permeability index, majority of the samples belongs to classes 1 and 2, suggesting the suitability of groundwater for irrigation. The negative index of base exchange indicates the existence of chloro-alkaline disequilibrium (indirect base exchange reaction) existing in majority of the samples (68.08%) from the study area.

The present study envisages the importance of graphical representations like Piper trilinear diagram and Chadha’s plot, respectively to determine variation in hydrochemical facies and understand the evolution of hydrochemical processes in the Varahi river basin. The analytical values obtained from the groundwater samples when plotted on Piper’s and Chadha’s plots revealed that the alkaline earth metals (Ca 2+ , Mg 2+ ) are significantly dominant over the alkalis (Na + , K + ), and the strong acidic anions (Cl − , SO 4 2− ) dominant over the weak acidic anions (CO 3 2− , HCO 3 − ). Further, Piper trilinear diagram classified 93.48 % of the samples from the study area under Ca 2+ –Mg 2+ –Cl − –SO 4 2− type and only 6.52 % samples under Ca 2+ –Mg 2+ –HCO 3 − type. Interestingly, Chadha’s plot also demonstrated the dominance of reverse ion exchange water having permanent hardness (viz., Ca–Mg–Cl type) in majority of the samples over recharging water with temporary hardness (i.e., Ca–Mg–HCO 3 type). Thus, evaluation of hydrochemical facies from both the plots highlighted the contribution from the reverse ion exchange processes in controlling geochemistry of groundwater in the study area. Further, PCA analysis yielded four principal components (PC1, PC2, PC3 and PC4) with higher eigen values of 1.0 or more, accounting for 65.55, 10.17, 6.88 and 6.52 % of the total variance, respectively. Consequently, majority of the physico-chemical parameters (87.5 %) loaded under PC1 and PC2 were having strong positive loading (>0.75) and these are mainly responsible for regulating the hydrochemistry of groundwater in the study area.

Solid polymer electrolyte films of poly(vinyl alcohol) (PVA)/polyvinylpyrrolidone (PVP) doped with sodium fluoride (NaF) of different weight ratios (2, 4, 6, 8, and 10 wt%) have been prepared by using solution casting method. These films are characterized by XRD, FTIR, and SEM analysis. The X-ray diffraction (XRD) spectra show a characteristic PVA peak signifying its semi-crystalline nature. As NaF salt is incorporated into the polymer blend, the peak intensity decreases gradually, implying a decrease in the degree of crystallinity of the samples. The FTIR study confirmed the complexation, functional group occurred, and interaction between the different components in the polymer blend electrolyte, which suggests the micro-structural variations, takes place in polymer blended films by addition of NaF salt. The a.c. conductivity was measured at room temperature as well as in the temperature between the range 300 and 343 K. The conductivity was found to depend on NaF concentration which increases with increase in frequency and rise in temperature. The dielectric constant was found to decrease with increase in frequency and increased with temperature increase. The dielectric loss tangent peak was observed to increase in lower frequency range and its intensity is found to decrease with increasing frequency. Optical constants such as absorption coefficient ( α ), bandgap ( E g ), extinction coefficient ( k ), refractive index ( n ), and real & imaginary part of optical dielectric constant were calculated. It was found that these optical constants found to depend on the concentration of NaF in PVA/PVP blend system. Transference number measurement (TNM) was carried out in order to investigate the nature of charge transport mechanism which showed that charge transport in the as-prepared polymer blend films is predominantly due to ions. Electrochemical cells were fabricated for the as-prepared samples and various cell parameters were determined.

The distribution of radon in ground and surface water samples in Sankey Tank and Mallathahalli Lake areas was determined using Durridge RAD-7 analyzer with RAD H2O accessory. The radiation dose received by an individual falling under different age groups (viz., 3 months; 1, 5, 10, 15 years and adult) depending upon their average annual water consumption rate was attempted. The mean radon activity in surface water of Sankey Tank and Mallathahalli Lake was 7.24 ± 1.48 and 11.43 ± 1.11 Bq/L, respectively. The average radon activities ranged from 11.6 ± 1.7 to 381.2 ± 2.0 Bq/L and 1.50 ± 0.83 to 18.9 ± 1.59 Bq/L, respectively, in 12 groundwater samples each around Sankey Tank and Mallathahalli Lake areas. Majority of the measured groundwater samples (viz., 100 % in Sankey Tank area and 75 % in Mallathahalli Lake area) showed mean radon values above the EPA's maximum contaminant level of 11.1 Bq/L and only 66.67 % of samples in Sankey Tank area showed radon above the WHO and EU's reference level of 100 Bq/ L. The overall radiation dose due to radon emanating from water in the study area was increasing with increase in age and water consumption rates, but significantly lower than UNSCEAR and WHO recommended limit of 1 mSv/year except for few groundwater samples in Sankey Tank area (i.e., 0.92, 0.99 and 1.39 mSv/year). The radiation dose rate received by bronchial epithelium via inhalation was very high compared to that by stomach walls via ingestion.

PRATUSH – Probing ReionizATion of the Universe using Signal from Hydrogen – is a proposed cosmology experiment to detect the global red-shifted 21-cm signal from the Cosmic Dawn and Epoch of Reionization (CD/EoR). PRATUSH orbiting the Moon will seek to precisely measure the low-frequency radio sky-spectrum over 40 to 200 MHz. The scientific observations would be made in the radio-quiet region when in the farside of the Moon, and the data would be transmitted back to Earth when in the near-side. PRATUSH was proposed to the Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO) during a call for proposals in the announcement of opportunity for science payloads in 2018. PRATUSH is in the pre-project studies phase. Here we present a mission concept and baseline design of the proposed payload optimized to operate over the Cosmic Dawn signal band of 55 - 110 MHz. Starting with a description of the fundamental design principles followed, we discuss the PRATUSH baseline design and sensitivity. We further enumerate the challenges that are common to most PRATUSH like experiments, which have been proposed to seek a detection of the CD/EoR signal in orbit in the lunar farside. Due to the highly sensitive nature of the measurement, PRATUSH is designed to operate as a solo experiment with a dedicated spacecraft. Our simulations, assuming a mission lifetime of two years, estimate that PRATUSH would have the sensitivity required to detect the CD signal predicted by the standard models with varying degrees of confidence.A concept model of PRATUSH is under development, which is expected to lead to the engineering model followed by flight model subject to mission approval.

The global 21-cm signal from Cosmic Dawn (CD) and the Epoch of Reionization (EoR), at redshifts z∼6−30 , probes the nature of first sources of radiation as well as physics of the Inter-Galactic Medium (IGM). Given that the signal is predicted to be extremely weak, of wide fractional bandwidth, and lies in a frequency range that is dominated by Galactic and Extragalactic foregrounds as well as Radio Frequency Interference, detection of the signal is a daunting task. Critical to the experiment is the manner in which the sky signal is represented through the instrument. It is of utmost importance to design a system whose spectral bandpass and additive spurious signals can be well calibrated and any calibration residual does not mimic the signal. Shaped Antenna measurement of the background RAdio Spectrum (SARAS) is an ongoing experiment that aims to detect the global 21-cm signal. Here we present the design philosophy of the SARAS 2 system and discuss its performance and limitations based on laboratory and field measurements. Laboratory tests with the antenna replaced with a variety of terminations, including a network model for the antenna impedance, show that the gain calibration and modeling of internal additive signals leave no residuals with Fourier amplitudes exceeding 2 mK, or residual Gaussians of 25 MHz width with amplitudes exceeding 2 mK. Thus, even accounting for reflection and radiation efficiency losses in the antenna, the SARAS 2 system is capable of detection of complex 21-cm profiles at the level predicted by currently favoured models for thermal baryon evolution.