Adjoining Plain Research Articles

Expanding scrub typhus beyond territories with a varied presentation in the holy Himalayas (DPST–AIIMS Rishikesh study)

Background: Scrub typhus, a rickettsial zoonosis, is endemic in Indian sub-continent, but is rare in holy Himalayan region due to natural adverse to both organism and vector. The study sought to describe the clinical profile of scrub typhus in the Himalayan region and adjoining plain lands. Methods and materials: We did a retrospective observational study of the positive cases from July 2018 to June 2019 in a tertiary care center. All possible risk factors, demographic details, clinical presentations, laboratory parameters, treatment, and outcomes were analyzed. Results: A total of 80 cases were analysed. Maximum cases were observed in month of September (post-monsoon). Major symptoms noted were fever, abdominal pain, headache, cough, breathlessness, and myalgia. Atypical presentations included were capillary syndrome and demyelinating polyneuropathy. Eschar detection rate was low. Among organ involvement, hematology system (70%) was most commonly observed followed by liver, kidney, brain, lungs, and heart respectively. Case fatality rate was 6.82%. Himalayan and non-Himalayan cohorts (n = 32 vs 48 respectively) did not show any statistically significant differences in clinical profile, although one could observe that Himalayan cohorts had higher incidences of leukopenia, splenomegaly, and myocarditis, while fever for >7days at admission, hepatomegaly, acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) and requirement of mechanical ventilation, and major organ involvement and resulting admission in high definition unit and mortality were higher in the non-Himalayan cohorts. Uncontrolled diabetes, leucocytosis, liver and lung involvements were found to be predictor of hospital stay of >5days. Leucocytosis, kidney, liver, and brain involvements were found predictor for high dependency unit admission while development of shock was associated with liver, kidney, heart, and lung involvements. Similarly smoking >40 pack-years and presence of leucocytosis, kidney and brain involvements were significantly associated with mortality. Conclusion: The study reveals several atypical presentations and complications differing from the classical description, calling for redefining the clinical profile of scrub typhus. Himalayan cohorts have higher incidences of leukopenia, splenomegaly, and myocarditis compared to sub-Himalayan populations who have more incidence of ARDS. Brain and kidney involvements are found to have a higher incidence compared to other Indian scrub typhus cases. Ongoing study will answer more hidden truths of emerging scrub typhus.

Layers of contingency shroud pervasive ecological divergence in a local radiation of land snails

Received 8 March 2015; revised 5 April 2015; accepted for publication 8 April 2015The predictability of evolution depends on the roles that selection and historical contingency play in determiningits outcomes, but the relative importance of these evolutionary mechanisms has attracted considerable debate.One view is that historical events have such a profound impact on the genetic structure of populations thatpatterns of phenotypic evolution are essentially unpredictable. The opposing view is that selection is so powerfulthat evolutionary change is primarily deterministic, and thus highly predictable. By controlling for the effects ofphylogeny, geographic location and habitat, this study examined the relative roles of contingency anddeterminism in a local radiation of land snails, genus Rhagada, in a continental archipelago. Informed byprevious studies on a single island, which revealed a strong association between low-spired shells and rockyhabitats, 28 population pairs were sampled in directly adjoining rocky and spinifex plain habitats. Whenconsidered in their respective pairs, the effect of habitat was remarkably consistent, with lower-spired shellsobserved in the rocky habitat in 24 of the comparisons. However, when analyzed outside the context of thosepairs, the association was obscured by broad variation in shell shape within habitat types and among lineages.These results reveal the complex nature of a morphological radiation; while the pattern of ecological divergence ishighly predictable at the scale that selection acts, deterministic evolution is largely obscured by phylogenetic andpopulation history. © 2015 The Linnean Society of London, Biological Journal of the Linnean Society, 2015, 00,000–000.

Camels, donkeys and caravan trade: an emerging context from Barāqish, ancient Yathill (Wadi al-Jawf, Yemen)

Abstract Work at Barāqish/Yathill in 2005–06 has produced sequences encompassing the Sabaean (13th-6th centuries BC) and Minaean/Arab (c. 550 BC-AD 1) occupations. Abundant animal remains were retrieved and contexts of use and discard were obtained. Camels and donkeys are studied together as pack animals, the camel being the domestic dromedary. Their zooarchaeological and contextual study at Yathill is justified from this city's location on the famous frankincense caravan route of the 1st millennium BC. An extramural stratigraphic sequence documenting the relationships between the city and the adjoining plain from c. 820 BC to the Islamic era was investigated to the northwest of the Minaean wall. Domestic camels were present by 800 BC, the earliest well-documented occurrence in Yemen; wild dromedary herds were still in the area during the 7th century and perhaps later. The study of the archaeological context links these Sabaean-age camels to campsites possibly formed by non-residents. This pattern greatly...

Redundantly Engineered Track Switching for Enhanced Railway Nodal Capacity

Railway track switching provides necessary flexibility to a rail network. However, the inclusion of switches also introduces single points of failure and restricts system capacity through train control rules. Historically, switching practice has evolved with safety as the ultimate priority with minimal consideration given to how the design, and its associated control systems, detracts from maximum network capacity - primarily as switches have rarely been the limiting factor. Over recent years, capacity has become more critical. As rail systems are improved, the traditional design of track switch and control methodology represent an ever increasing portion of theoretical maximum network capacity which cannot be utilised. Herein, an example of this capacity limit is presented. The proposed HS2 (High-Speed 2) rail link in the United Kingdom, where metro-frequency services are proposed to run on 250mph lines, is pushing the boundaries of what current technology can offer. Some industries have resorted to functional redundancy to provide the fault tolerance necessary in similar mission-critical systems, without sacrificing safety. This paper builds upon earlier published work by evaluating novel track switching concepts incorporating functional redundancy in terms of the potential to boost capacity. Possible changes are discussed, and potential implications of those changes are quantified using a model of a typical HS2 node in Railsys. Maintainability and cost implications are outlined. Results demonstrate that a substantial revision of track switching practice can yield a large percentile increase in the capacity of the junction; in the HS2 case matching the capacity of the adjoining plain line.

Lahars in the Elysium region of Mars

Photogeological studies of the Elysium volcanic province, Mars, show that its sinuous channels are part of a large deposit that was probably emplaced as a series of huge lahars. Some flows extend 1000 km from their sources. The deposits are thought to be lahars on the basis of evidence that they were (1) gravity-driven mass-flow deposits (lobate outlines, steep snouts, smooth medial channels, and rough lateral deposits; deposits narrow and widen in accord with topography, and extend downslope); (2) wet (channeled surfaces, draining features); and (3) associated with volcanism (the deposits and channels extend from a system of fractures which also fed lava flows). Heat associated with magmatism probably melted ground ice below the Elysium volcanoes and formed a muddy slurry that issued out of regional fractures and spread over the adjoining plain. The identification of these lahars adds to the evidence that Mars has a substantial volatile-element endowment.

Edwards Plateau, a Combination Ranching Region

E ODWARDS PLATEAU is one of the most distinctive cultural and physiographic regions of Texas. It is popularly known as the sheep and goat country of Texas, and is the seat of one of the best developed and most prosperous ranching industries in the United States. The underlying limestone rocks (the Edwards and other formations of Comanchean age) resist erosion so that relatively great elevation and scanty stone-littered soil distinguish it from adjoining plain and hill areas on the southeast, east, and north; and the undulating, scrub-tree and thorn-bush summit areas present a marked contrast to the barren, rugged mountain ranges which border the region on the west. The plateau is separated from adjoining parts of the Gulf Coastal Plain on the southeast and east by sheer precipices and dissected areas (Balcones Escarpment) which are so rugged that they are locally designated as mountains. Lower escarpments separate the plateau from adjoining plain and hill land to the north, and the gorge of the Rio Grande is on the southern boundary of the region. Only on the northwest where Edwards Plateau merges with the Great Plains (Llano Estacado) is the boundary transitional in character. Conditions of the natural environment combine to make Edwards Plateau adaptable to a combination ranching industry. The average annual precipitation varies from about 30 inches in the eastern part of the region to 17 or 18 inches west of the Pecos River. This would probably enable the widespread development of dry-farming notwithstanding the rather high insolation and rapid rate of evaporation of the region if other conditions were favorable, but the residual soil cover of the limestone bed rock is so thin and cluttered with stones that all the slope and hill land and most upland districts are permanently non-agricultural. The drought-resistant vegetation is well suited to pastoral utilization since it contains turf forming and bunch grasses, a variety of herbaceous plants which may be designated as weeds, and many kinds of shrubs and small trees-most of which are thorny. Indeed the vegetation is so varied that its thorough utilization necessitates the maintenance of many goats and sheep as well as cattle upon practically every ranch. This plateau has been a pastoral land throughout the period of American occupation, and is now devoted almost exclusively to ranching. After the Indians were expelled (about 1880), sheepmen residing farther east and northeast began to enter the region with their flocks during periods after heavy rains when succulent forage was abundant. The scarcity of flowing streams and other permanent watering places made the range inhospitable to cattle, but sheep throve since they were able to subsist for weeks or even months without access to a water supply other than dew and moisture obtained by feeding upon succulent grasses and weeds. Permanent settlement began about 1890 when wells were bored and equipped with windmills and tanks