Assessment of influencing level of rainfall and physical factors on groundwater level for a semi-arid flat terrain watershed using grid-based geospatial analysis: a case study from Lower Palar Basin, Tamil Nadu, India.

Understanding natural phenomena with the help of modern scientific approaches helps to reach sustainable solutions for current and future water-related problems. In this context, present study aims to assess relative influencing level of physical factors in controlling groundwater level, using a novel grid-based delineation technique, in Lower Palar River Basin, in Kanchipuram and Chengalpattu districts of South India. The influencing factors viz-a-viz: rainfall, soil texture, land use/land cover, terrain slope, geomorphology, lithology, and drainage characteristics were considered for the study. Archived data (2011 to 2020) of monthly rainfall at four rain gauge stations and monthly groundwater level of 22 locations, soil texture, lithology, and geomorphology data were considered for the study. SRTM digital elevation model with 30-m resolution was used for analyzing drainage characteristics and terrain slope. Thematic maps for considered factors were prepared, using common grid delineation method in GIS platform that divided study area into 52 grids, to inter-relate the discrete and continuous parameters with groundwater level. Results indicate that level of influence increases in the order of precipitation followed by lithology, land use/land cover, terrain slope, geomorphology, infiltration number, and soil texture. The study shows groundwater resilience is highly influenced by soil texture and infiltration number compared to other factors considered. It can be concluded that grid-based delineation successfully identifies grids with significant influence of individual factors by comparing with groundwater resilience. Common grid-based delineation method proves to be more effective in assessing groundwater resilience and can be used more efficiently in groundwater studies.

Morphological and molecular approaches revealed a new species of snapping shrimp genus Alpheus Fabricius, 1798 (Decapoda: Caridea: Alpheidae) from Lakshadweep Islands, India.

A new species of the alpheid genus Alpheus Fabricius, 1798, Alpheus sulcipalma sp. nov., is described and illustrated based on the specimens collected from the intertidal zone of Agatti Island, Lakshadweep, India at 0.5-1.0 m depth. This species belongs to the A. edwardsii group by absences of tooth in the orbital hoods and presence of compressed major chela with dorsal and ventral notches. Alpheus sulcipalma sp. nov. is morphologically closely related with A. pacificus Dana, 1852, absence of balaeniceps crests in the minor chela and absences of spine in the merus of major pereiopod of both sexes. However, the new species differs from A. pacificus in presence of strong and broad triangular groove on the dorsolateral and dorsomesial surface of the palm of major chela; length ratio and armature of fingers and palm of minor chela, carpus segments of second and third pereiopods and telson length. The results of phylogenetic analyses using partial sequences of mitochondrial COI gene data compared between A. sulcipalma sp. nov. with congener species which strongly support the description of new species with available limited sequences. The interspecific genetic divergences of the COI gene for A. sulcipalma sp. nov. and A. pacificus were observed higher in ranges (11.1-28.9%).

A new alpheid shrimp, Alpheus mannarensis sp. nov. (Crustacea; Decapoda; Alpheidae) from Gulf of Mannar, Southern India.

A new species of the genus Alpheus Fabricius, 1798, A. mannarensis sp. nov. is described and represented based on the materials collected from the shallow and rocky reefs, Gulf of Mannar (Thoothukudi waters), Southern India. This is the first report of Alpheus species from the Gulf of Mannar region. The new species is assigned to the Alpheus brevirostris group, and is distinguished from other species of this group by the combination of the following features: rostral ridge lower than orbital hood in lateral view and postrostral carina not extended to the middle of the carapace, palm of major chela with a transverse groove near the base of dactylus, the ultimate segment of the third maxilliped slender, fingers of minor chela of male slightly longer than palm, the first carpal segment of second pereiopods shorter than second segment, merus of third pereiopods slender and unarmed, dactylus of third pereiopods slender and subspatulate, and unique colour patterns of longitudinal light lines on the reddish body.

Systematic green synthesis of silver oxide nanoparticles for antimicrobial activity.

In this present research, we succeeded in synthesizing nanostructured silver particles (NS-AgPs) using bio active agent present in the leaf extracts of Cleome gynandra (CG) under green synthesis. While adding silver nitrate (AgNO3) solution in green extracts of CG leaf containing bio compound, the mixture turns from yellow to reddish brown, as a consequence of existence of nanostructured silver particles (NS-AgPs) and later UV instrument is used to obtain the Ultraviolet visible spectroscopy (UV-vis) spectra to confirm existing nanostructured silver particles (NS-AgPs) in aqueous solutions (synthesized sample). To confirm existing functional groups in NS-AgPs, the fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) study is carried throughout this research. The scanning and tunneling of wave like nature of electrons passing through powdered NS-AgPs sample gives Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and Transmission electron microscopy (TEM) images respectively, which are carried out to find out the 2-dimensional size and shape distribution of NS-AgPs. Further dynamic light scattering (DLS) and zeta potential studies are used to confirm the size and good stability of NS-AgPs respectively. It is evident that NS-AgPs exhibits a strong toxic activity against microorganism and to confirm this mechanism the antibacterial (against Escherichia coli and Staphylococcus aureus) study is carried out.

Angiectatic Sinonasal Polyp: A Diagnostic Challenge.

Sinonasal angiectatic polyp is an uncommon condition with features that masquerade various pathologies like hemangioma, angiofibroma, inverted papilloma, malignancy. We report a case of a left-sided vascular nasal mass, which on examination and investigations suggested cavernous hemangioma of the left maxillary sinus, whereas histopathology post-excision revealed angiectatic polyp.

Impact of geology and anthropogenic activities over the water quality with emphasis on fluoride in water scarce Lalitpur district of Bundelkhand region, India.

The Bundelkhand region of India is suffering from acute water scarcity, raising concern over the potability in the region. Therefore, to develop a baseline data set of groundwater quality, sampling was carried out from the 110 existing shallow hand pumps and tube wells covering the Lalitpur district. Groundwater samples were investigated for hydro-geochemical and isotopic signatures (δ18O and δ2H) to understand the driving factors leading to water quality and its contamination in the region. The results of Hierarchical cluster analysis revealed four different clusters according to their water quality. Cluster 1 and 2 water samples have a good quality of water and these samples fall in the vicinity of major or minor drainage networks of the area. Whereas, clusters 3 and 4 are of deteriorated water quality and located far-off from the drainage networks in the study area. The findings from chemical analysis and chemometric method suggest that the groundwater composition is mainly influenced by rock weathering and anthropogenic activities. Fluoride exposure dosage for the infant and children is twice that of adults in the study area, indicating a stronger impact of fluoride concentration in infants and children. The stable isotopic analysis shows that origin of groundwater is local precipitation, with evaporative enrichment in groundwater. The groundwater of cluster 3 and 4 shows evaporative nature along with high EC and Cl concentration. The variation of concentration of ions in the study area prevails along the groundwater flow direction and surface drainage reveals the control of hydrogeological attributes in the groundwater.

Isolated Frontal Sinusitis and Anosmia: A Novel Presentation.

Isolated frontal sinus disease is a rare and highly morbid condition. Although chronic frontal sinusitis has been described in literature, clinically it is quite uncommon in the absence of paranasal sinusitis and rhinitis. Here we examine a case of isolated chronic frontal sinusitis presenting with anosmia-a curious clinical manifestation.

Effects of Prolonged Use of Facemask on Healthcare Workers in Tertiary Care Hospital During COVID-19 Pandemic.

The fundamental aim of this study is to determine the effects of prolonged usage of N95 respirators and surgical facemasks amid health care workers in our institution. Cross-sectional study. SRM medical college hospital, Kattankulathur. A self-constructed questionnaire containing 20 queries regarding the effects of prolonged use of face masks, after being analysed by the experts of our institution were handed over to 250 participants.. All participants wore either surgical masks or N95 respirators for a minimum of 4 h per day. People aged between 20 and 48 years were selected for this study. Study period was from 20/07/2020 to 26/07/2020. Completed questionnaires were sent for statistical analysis. A total of 250 healthcare workers participated in the study, out of which 179 were females. The acquired results were excessive sweating around the mouth accounting to 67.6%, difficulty in breathing on exertion 58.2%, acne 56.0% and itchy nose 52.0%. This study suggests that prolonged use of facemasks induces difficulty in breathing on exertion and excessive sweating around the mouth to the healthcare workers which results in poorer adherence and increased risk of susceptibility to infection.

Urocaridella arabianensis n. sp., a new Palaemonid shrimp (Crustacea, Decapoda, Palaemonidae) from Lakshadweep Islands, India with taxonomic comparison on the genus Urocaridella Borradaile, 1915.

A new species of the genus Urocaridella Borradaile, 1915, Urocaridella arabianensis n. sp. is described and illustrated based on fifty-five specimens collected from the reef regions of Agatti Island, Lakshadweep, Arabian Sea. Urocaridella arabianensis n. sp. is morphologically close to U. pulchella Yokes Galil, 2006, reported from the Mediterranean Sea. However, the present specimen is clearly distinguished with its rostrum length, which is 1.7 to 2.1 times as long as carapace, 10 ventral rostral teeth, carpus of 1st pereopod is 2.5 times long as palm, carpus of 2nd pereopod is 1.8 times as long as palm, presence of a spine in latero-middle of the fourth and fifth abdomens and the sixth abdominal segment is 2.3 times long as the fifth segment. Partial segment of the mitochondrial COI, 16S rRNA and nuclear gene 18S rRNA and H3 indicates that the new species is sister to a clade comprising of U. pulchella, U. antonbruunii and U. degravei. The pair wise genetic distance of COI showed great distance with the closest congeneric species.

Two new records of hippolytoid shrimps, Lysmata hochi Baeza amp; Anker, 2008 (Decapoda: Lysmatidae) and Lysmata amboinensis (de Man, 1888) from Lakshadweep Islands, India with taxonomic notes.

The present study reports the new records of two species of the hippolytid shrimp genus Lysmata Risso, 1816 in the water off Lakshadweep Islands, India from the Arabian Sea, viz. Lysmata hochi Baeza Anker, 2008 and Lysmata amboinensis (De Man, 1888) with more taxonomic information. Moreover, L. hochi is the first distributional report from the Indian Ocean. It is morphologically similar to L. kuekenthali and differences are discussed. Colour pattern and morphological trait of L. amboinensis are very close to L. grabhami which also differs in the presence of anti-penultimate segment of 3rd maxilliped more than 2.0 times as long as penultimate segment and stylocerite does not reaching the distal end of the cornea. These specimens were obtained at a depth of 0.5-2 m from the intertidal region of Agatti Island. Additionally, we estimated pairwise genetic distances for these two species and congeneric species using cytochrome oxidase subunit I gene sequences where interspecific distances ranged from 11-25.8 %.

New record of Thor hainanensis Xu amp; Li, 2014 and taxonomical remarks on Lysmata ternatensis de Man, 1902 (Decapoda: Thoridae amp; Lysmatidae) from the Lakshadweep Islands, India.

The present study reports the new record of Thor hainanensis Xu Li, 2014, on the basis of material from Agatti Islands in the Lakshadweep, India. This species was recently described from Hainan Island, China. Relationship of this species to two closely related species (T. paschalis and T. amboinensis) is discussed in this manuscript. Similarly, the present study also reports the rediscovery of other species, Lysmata ternatensis De Man, 1902 from the Lakshadweep waters with detailed taxonomic description. The present specimens were found to occur in the intertidal region in small crevices and rocks at a depth of 0.5-2.0 m. Genetic analysis using the mitochondrial COI sequences for both the species reveals close agreement for the morphological identification and showed the significant variation from the closely related species.

A new record of deep-sea shrimp Glyphocrangon investigatoris Wood-Mason amp; Alcock, 1891 (Decapoda: Glyphocrangonidae) from the southeastern Arabian Sea.

Here, we report the new record of deep-sea caridean shrimp Glyphocrangon investigatoris Wood-Mason Alcock, 1891 from the Arabian Sea along the Indian coast. The three individual specimens were collected from Sakthikulangara fish landing center (fishing off Kollam 8°56'60.78"N/76°32'34.27"E) obtained from deep-sea bottom trawlers between 200 and 300 m depth along the southwest coast of India in December of 2017 and the voucher specimen was deposited to the Marine Biodiversity Referral Museum at Central Marine Fisheries Research Institute. The species of G. investigatoris is considered as one of the data deficient in distributional range, which was only recorded from northern and southern Bay of Bengal. The intraspecies genetic distance in the COI gene of G. investigatoris retrieved from NCBI revealed 0.6-0.7% while interspecies distance ranged from 5% to 26.5% and 16S was found between 1.1% to 8.1% and the closest genetic distance ranged with G. regalis.

Integrative taxonomy of commercially important deep water penaeoid shrimps from India.

The deep water penaeoid shrimp is an important commercial crustacean resource along the Indian coast. The molecular and morphological information of this group from the Indian coast is scarcely known. In this study, we investigated the identification and phylogenetic relationships of the deep water penaeoid shrimps using three mitochondrial (cytochrome oxidase subunit I (COI), cytochrome b, 16S rRNA) genes, which were compared with 54 morphological characters and further used to evaluate character evolution. Our study revealed remarkable molecular divergence (3.3-33.0%) in nine species from three genera of Solenoceridae, four species from three genera of Penaeidae and one species from Aristeidae using COI. Phylogenetic analysis using maximum likelihood and Bayesian approaches revealed that all species from these families are monophyletic. The present analysis revealed the existence of subgroups in the genus Solenocera suggesting the slow reduction of postrostral carina which corresponds to the increase in distributional depth during the evolutionary process which further indicates the origin of the genus in the continental shelf and extending up to the continental slope. In addition, we generated the DNA barcode database involving these species which can help further to investigate the detailed evolution and biogeography of these valuable crustacean resources.

Periclimenella agattii sp. nov., a new Palaemonid shrimp (Crustacea, Decapoda, Palaemonidae) from Lakshadweep Islands, India.

The recent collection of Palaemonid shrimps from Agatti Island, Lakshadweep, Arabian Sea, have provided further additions to the Indian marine fauna. In the manuscript, a new species, Periclimenella agattii sp. nov. is described and illustrated. The new species is morphologically most similar to P. spinifera among other congeners, but it strongly differs from that species by having upper the antennular flagellum with 14-16 segments, short free ramus with 12-13 segments, lower antennal flagellum thin and bearing 35-37 segments; 4 minute lateral spines on basal segment of 3rd maxilliped; male palm:carpus ratio of second pereopod higher than in female, propodus of 3rd pereopod with 7-8 ventral spines and hepatic spine with groove. Genetic analysis using the mitochondrial COI and 16S rRNA genes sequences proved that, the new species is significantly distinct from the closed related species.

Two new records of deep sea shrimp under the genus Parapontocaris (Crustacea: Decapoda: Crangonidae) from the southwestern coast of India.

This paper reports the occurrence of two species of the crangonid genus Parapontocaris Alcock, 1901 in waters off  Kerala from the southwestern coast of India, viz. P. levigata (Chace 1984) and P. bengalensis (Wood-Mason Alcock 1891). Although P. bengalensis was reported off Bay of Bengal in India, after 121 years this species was now recorded off Kerala, Arabian Sea. Specimens were obtained at a depth of 250-300 m from Kalamuku (9°59'02.91"N /76°14'33.14"E) and Sakthikulangara (8°56'60.78"N /76°32'34.27"E) fish landing centres. Interspecies genetic divergence (COI: 8.8-9.1% 16S DNA: 2.1-6.2 %) was recorded in the present specimen P. bengalensis and NCBI sequences.

On Plesionika persica (Kemp, 1925) and P. reflexa Chace, 1985 (Crustacea: Decapoda: Pandalidae) from India.

The availability of Indian specimens of Plesionika persica (Kemp, 1925) and P. reflexa Chace, 1985 provided more information on the taxonomy around these two species. Moreover, it is the first record of P. persica to India. Although P. taiwanica Chan and Yu, 2000 is superficially rather similar to P. persica, there are many differences between them and probably it is inappropriate to establish a species group for these two species. It is likely that all previous records of P. ensis (A. Milne-Edwards, 1881) from India actually represent P. reflexa Chace, 1985. Nevertheless, the present Indian specimens of P. reflexa have more than 10% COI sequence divergence from the topotypic materials of both P. ensis and P. reflexa, and the epipods at the pereiopods III and IV reduced or absent. This data further highlights the confusing taxonomy in the "P. ensis" group.

New records of Pontocaris affinis affinis (Alcock, 1901) and Pontocaris propensalata Spence Bate, 1888 (Crustacea: Decapoda: Crangonidae) from Quilon bank of Southeastern Arabian Sea.

This paper reports on two crangonid shrimps, Pontocaris affinis affinis and Pontocaris propensalata from Southeastern Arabian Sea. Continuous surveys in the Quilon bank yielded two new records of Pontocaris, which were found on the continental slope at 250-300 m depth. A 4.1% of genetic divergence between the 16S DNA sequences of the two species was noticed.

Record of the deep sea shrimp Pasiphaea alcocki (Wood-Mason Alcock, 1891) (Crustacea: Decapoda: Pasiphaeidae) from the southwestern coast of India.

The present study provides a report on the rare occurrence of the deep sea caridean shrimp Pasiphaea alcocki (Wood-Mason Alcock, 1891) from the southwest coast of India after three decades. Earlier this species was recorded from Indian waters at a depth range between 335 and 1732 m while the present specimens were obtained in the depth range of 200-300m from the commercial bottom trawlers operated off Sakthikulangara fishing harbour (8°56'60.78"N /76°32'34.27"E) off (8°56'60.78"N /76°32'34.27"E), Kerala from the southern region of Arabian Sea, India. The level of interspecies genetic divergence using COI and 16S DNA sequences of Pasiphaea sp from the United States, National Center for Biotechnology Information (NCBI) were observed. The present study reports the record of Pasiphaea alcocki with a morphological description along with DNA barcoding and supplements the existing knowledge on this deep sea shrimp from the southwest coast of India, which is mandatory to understand the role of this species in ecosystem functioning.

First record of deep-sea caridean shrimp Acanthephyra fimbriata Alcock Anderson, 1894 (Crustacea: Decapoda: Acanthephyridae) from southwest coast of India.

The present work reports the new occurrence of deep-sea shrimp Acanthephyra fimbriata Alcock Anderson, 1894 from southwestern Indian waters. The samples were caught in bottom trawls conducted between the depths of 200 and 350 m from two fish landing centers off Kerala along Arabian Sea from the southwest coast of India during 2015. Additionally, a phylogenetic analysis was used to explore the relationships of the genus Acanthephyra based on two genes: mitochondrial cytochrome c oxidase subunit 1 (COI) and 16S DNA (16S) with the present specimen and sequences retrieved from NCBI GenBank. The results revealed intraspecies (COI: 0-3 % 16S: 0-0.3 %) and interspecies divergence (COI: 17.5-20.9 % 16S: 5.2-9.5 %) among A. fimbriata.

New records of Solenocera barunajaya Crosnier, 1994 and Solenocera rathbuni Ramadan, 1938 (Crustacea: Decapoda: Penaeoidea) from the southwest coast of India.

The genus Solenocera Lucas, 1849 consist of 43 species, most with commercial importance and occurring in offshore, deeper waters (Pérez Farfante & Kensley 1997; De Grave & Fransen 2011). Twelve species in the genus Solenocera were reported from India, with a few contributing to the regular fishery (S. crassicornis, S. choprai, and S. hextii), and others seldom captured (S.alfonso, S.alticarinata, S.annectens, S.halli, S.koelbeli, S.melantho, S.pectinata, S.pectinulata and S.waltairensis). Members of the Solenoceridae are identified based on the key taxonomic characters of the genitalia and the cephalothorax. Major taxonomic references on solenocerids include Crosnier (1978, 1989), Perez Farfante (1977), and Dall (1999). Specimens are deposited in the Marine Biodiversity Museum at the Central Marine Fisheries Research Institute, Kerala (CMFRI).