Graffiti Games of Central Maharashtra: New Documentations, Revision and Theory

This study presents three game-playing agents incorporating Vision Transformers (ViTs) into the AlphaZero framework: AlphaViT, AlphaViD (AlphaViT with a transformer decoder), and AlphaVDA (AlphaViD with learnable action embeddings). These agents can play multiple board games with varying sizes using a single shared-weight neural network, thus overcoming AlphaZero’s limitation of fixed board sizes. AlphaViT employs only a transformer encoder, whereas AlphaViD and AlphaVDA incorporate both a transformer encoder and a decoder. In AlphaViD, the decoder processes the output from the encoder, whereas AlphaVDA uses learnable embeddings as decoder input. The additional decoder in AlphaViD and AlphaVDA provides flexibility to adapt to various action spaces and board sizes. Experimental results show that the proposed agents, trained on either individual games or multiple games simultaneously, consistently outperform traditional algorithms, such as Minimax and Monte Carlo Tree Search. They achieve performance close to that of AlphaZero despite relying on a single deep neural network (DNN) with shared weights. In particular, AlphaViT performs well across all evaluated games. Furthermore, fine-tuning the DNN using weights pre-trained on small board games accelerates convergence and improves performance, particularly in Gomoku. Notably, simultaneous training on multiple games yields performance comparable to, or even surpassing, that of single-game training. These results indicate the potential of transformer-based architectures for developing flexible and robust game-playing AI agents that excel in multiple games and dynamic environments.

Lonar Lake is a hypersaline and hyperalkaline soda lake and the only meteorite impact crater in the world situated in basalt rocks. Although culture-dependent studies have been reported, a comprehensive understanding of microbial community composition and structure in Lonar Lake remains elusive. In the present study, microbial community structure associated with Lonar Lake sediment and water samples was investigated using high-throughput sequencing. Microbial diversity analysis revealed the existence of diverse, yet largely consistent communities. Proteobacteria (30%), Actinobacteria (24%), Firmicutes (11%), and Cyanobacteria (5%) predominated in the sequencing survey, whereas Bacteroidetes (1.12%), BD1-5 (0.5%), Nitrospirae (0.41%), and Verrucomicrobia (0.28%) were detected in relatively minor abundances in the Lonar Lake ecosystem. Within the Proteobacteria phylum, the Gammaproteobacteria represented the most abundantly detected class (21–47%) within sediment samples, but only a minor population in the water samples. Proteobacteria and Firmicutes were found at significantly higher abundance (p ≥ 0.05) in sediment samples, whereas members of Actinobacteria, Candidate division TM7 and Cyanobacteria (p ≥ 0.05) were significantly abundant in water samples. Compared to the microbial communities of other hypersaline soda lakes, those of Lonar Lake formed a distinct cluster, suggesting a different microbial community composition and structure. Here we report for the first time, the difference in composition of indigenous microbial communities between the sediment and water samples of Lonar Lake. An improved census of microbial community structure in this Lake ecosystem provides a foundation for exploring microbial biogeochemical cycling and microbial function in hypersaline lake environments.

Microplastic pollution is a worldwide concern affecting all environmental matrices, including pristine lakes. Lentic lakes operate as a sink for microplastics (MPs), which interfere with a biogeochemical cycle and, therefore, deserve immediate attention. We present a comprehensive assessment of MPs contamination in the sediment and surface water of a geo-heritage site, Lonar lake (India). It is the third largest natural saltwater lake and only basaltic crater in the world formed by meteoric impact around 52,000years ago. Mean MPs abundance in lakeshore sediment and surface water was 14.44 particles/kg and 2.66 particles/L, respectively. Small-sized MPs dominate the hypersaline region of the lake. Transparent and green fragments and filaments morphotypes were abundant. Most of the MPs in Lonar lake were secondary in origin. FTIR-ATR analysis revealed 16 types of polymers in the lake, of which polypropylene, polyvinyl chloride, polyethylene, high-density polyethylene, low-density polyethylene, polystyrene, and polyester were the most common. The overall pollution load index (PLI) for Lonar lake sediment and water was 1.39 and 2.58, respectively. Although all sampling stations had significant MPs pollution (PLI > 1), there was noticeable station-specific variability, which could be linked to anthropogenic activities. Irresponsible tourist behavior and religious activities, coupled with poor waste management are the leading causes of MPs contamination in the lake. The current work fills a gap in the investigation of MP pollution in a crater lake formed by a meteorite impact by being the first to provide a precise estimate of the MPs contamination in the Lonar lake.

Lonar Crater Lake (19°58′N, 76°31′E) is a ~52 ka meteorite impact structure developed within the Deccan Traps basaltic province and represents an important natural archive for understanding crater-lake hydrology and geomorphic evolution. This study investigates short-term morphometric and hydrological variations in Lonar Crater Lake during the period 2019–2024, with particular emphasis on the role of rainfall variability and groundwater dynamics. Lake boundaries and morphometric parameters were extracted using high-resolution Google Earth Pro satellite imagery, while rainfall data for 2018 and 2023 were obtained from the Maharashtra Rainfall Monitoring Portal. Standard limnological indices, including Depth Ratio (Rz), Relative Depth (Zr), Shoreline Development Index (DSI), and Index of Basin Permanence (IBP), were calculated following established morphometric methodologies.

SummaryDiatom taxa in India were first documented by Ehrenberg and subsequently many studies have focused on the Western Ghats and Himalayan mountains while other regional environments were rarely explored. In the current study, the freshwater environs of the saline Lonar Crater Lake were investigated and two new Nitzschia species have been described. Nitzschia kociolekii sp. nov. and Nitzschia tripudio sp. nov. were sampled from bird feeding ponds associated with Lonar Lake. The morphological characters of the new species are similar to N. amphibia and N. frustulum but differ in terms of striae pattern, polymorphic areolae development, fibula and stria density. In addition, larger specimens of N. williamsii, a recently described taxon from Bangalore wetlands of Peninsular India, were found in a waterfalls flowing into Lonar Lake. All three taxa are freshwater diatoms and are possibly endemic to Peninsular India.

Prokaryotic Biodiversity of Lonar Meteorite Crater Soda Lake Sediment and Community Dynamics During Microenvironmental pH Homeostasis by Metagenomics

Plants used to treat diabetes in Sri Lankan Siddha Medicine – An ethnopharmacological review of historical and modern sources

An adventurer, soldier and great poet, Luís Vaz de Camões (1524–1580) arrived in India in 1555 and remained there till 1567, with ups and mishaps. The author of the Portuguese national epic poem, Camões recounted in a marvellous poetic form the heroic crossing of Vasco da Gama, who reached the Calicut coasts in 1498, skirting for the very first time the Cabo da Boa Esperança (Cape of Good Hope). The paper focuses on the analysis of some ottavas from the 7th canto of Os Lusíadas, in which the arrival of Portuguese sailors and the first meeting with emissaries from the Zamorin are narrated. These passages, concerning the religious and cultural traditions of Malabar (but Indian in general) and its political organization, will be the starting point for a reflection on Indo-Portuguese relationships, as seen not from a historical source, but from a little-studied literary one.

Lonar Crater lake was created by the impact of a massive meteor during the Pleistocene Epoch. Being a hypersaline and hyperalkaline soda lake, rich microbial diversity is reported earlier. Lonar lake water is used by local people and tribals against skin diseases. These observations prompted us to investigate the therapeutic potential of lake water against skin diseases. In this context, we have conducted pilot study to assess the antipsoriatic and antiangiogenic activity of the salt obtained from lake water using THP1 cell line by MTT assay and antiangiogenic activity by in vivo chicken chorioallantoic membrane (CAM) assay, as there is a close relation between psoriasis and angiogenesis. The results revealed that salt possess remarkable antipsoriatic and antiangiogenic activity.

Construction and Preliminary Screening of Metagenomic Library from Lonar Crater Lake, India

Modern pollen vegetation relationships in a dry deciduous monsoon forest: A case study from Lonar Crater Lake, central India

Molecular analyses of microbial diversity associated with the Lonar soda lake in India: An impact crater in a basalt area

Lonar Crater Lake in the Buddana district of Maharastra state, India is the third largest natural salt water lake in the world. It is mysterious due to its unsolved & unique limnology and ecological biodiversity. It occupies the geographical position of 19°58’ N & 76°31’ E. The crater has a diameter of 1.8 km (rim to rim) with an average depth of 137m while the inside lake diameter is of approximately 1.2 km in average. The Lake surface area changes seasonally. The USGS Landsat dataset of 30m spatial resolution has been used to map the lake surface area seasonally for the years: 2009, 2010, 2011, 2015, 2016 and 2017 respectively. The average slope of the Lonar Crater (assuming frustum of cone) has been calculated as 19°. The results have shown a huge reduction in the lake volume in the summer 2017 resulting in the maximum declination of Lake water level (~11 m). While there is just a little increment in the lake volume in monsoon 2017 resulting in the minimum inclination of Lake water level (< 1m). The rate of removal of water from the lake is observed faster than the rate of filling the lake with water, in the recent years (2015-2017). Such type of study will enhance the potential area of remote sensing technology up to a larger extent. Also the study will help us to understand the behavior of large Lakes/water bodies. Proper and regular monitoring of such water bodies may lead to know their exact conditions in this changing climate in order to save the precious water resources.

Diversity of Plant Functional Types (PFTs) along a sediment core drilled in Lonar Crater Lake, Central India, is analysed, based on previously published pollen data for a total of 115 depth levels and covering the past 9.2 kyr. Our results support concepts of a dominantly humid period persisting until ca. 5 ka, succeeded by a significantly drier phase with weaker monsoon, including various prominent drying pulses. Throughout the Holocene, plant diversity at Lonar was composed of a variable proportion of herbaceous PFTs (ca. 40–60%) and mainly angiosperm woody PFTs. Changes in herbaceous diversity account for a considerable part of the observed PFT data variability. PCA analysis reveals a total of four partly alternating diversity associations (DAs) interpretable in terms of vegetation spanning from drier Savanna and dry deciduous forest to (semi-) evergreen woody vegetation, mainly recorded in older strata. It is shown that the succession of the DAs is largely triggered by climate change inferred from other proxies. Correlation analysis with geochemical data testifies that the diversity signal obtained is largely unaffected by sedimentary processes and detrital inflow, highlighting the potential of this archive to reflect ‘true’ diversity signals, rather than artefacts of sedimentary processes. While warm and humid conditions promoted diversity, drying and weak monsoon tended to cause diversity loss. In contrast, the relative diversity of dry herbs increased during drier periods. Short-term variability in our data is evident in varying diversity percentages of single PFTs and their ratios. Changing ratios of dry on mesic herbs, the relation of shrub and tree diversity, tropical on temperate PFTs, and total plant diversity are likely related to solar cycles. Evidence for recurrent cooling episodes through solar forcing comes from the observed coincidence of Grand Solar Minima and minima in the tropical/temperate PFT ratio.

BackgroundWhen complex health services interventions are implemented in real-world settings, adaptations are inevitable. Adaptations are changes made to an intervention, implementation strategy, or context prior to, during, and after implementation to improve uptake and fit. There is a growing interest in systematically documenting and understanding adaptations including what is changed, why, when, by whom, and with what impact. The rural Transitions Nurse Program (TNP) is a program in the Veterans Health Administration (VHA), designed to safely transition a rural veteran from a tertiary hospital back home. TNP has been implemented in multiple cohorts across 11 sites nationwide over 4 years. In this paper, we describe adaptations in five TNP sites from the first cohort of sites and implications for the scale-up of TNP and discuss lessons learned for the systematic documentation and analysis of adaptations.MethodsWe used the Reach, Effectiveness, Adoption, Implementation, and Maintenance (RE-AIM) expanded version of the original Stirman framework to guide the rapid qualitative matrix analysis of adaptations. Adaptations were documented using multiple approaches: real-time database, semi-structured midpoint and exit interviews with implementors, and member checking with the implementation team. Interviews were recorded and transcribed. To combine multiple sources of adaptations, we used key domains from our framework and organized adaptations by time when the adaptation occurred (pre-, early, mid-, late implementation; sustainment) and categorized them as proactive or reactive.ResultsForty-one unique adaptations were reported during the study period. The most common type of adaptation was changes in target populations (patient enrollment criteria) followed by personnel changes (staff turnover). Most adaptations occurred during the mid-implementation time period and varied in number and type of adaptation. The reasons for this are discussed, and suggestions for future adaptation protocols are included.ConclusionsThis study demonstrates the feasibility of systematically documenting adaptations using multiple methods across time points. Implementors were able to track adaptations in real time across the course of an intervention, which provided timely and actionable feedback to the implementation team overseeing the national roll-out of the program. Longitudinal semi-structured interviews can complement the real-time database and elicit reflective adaptations.