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The growing repository of learning resources on the internet provides a ubiquitous opportunity for learning. Worldwide, millions of learners leverage open learning resources (OLRs) to acquire knowledge and skills. Students in academic settings are ardent users of OLRs such as MOOCs and OERs. The purpose of this paper is to identify the factors influencing voluntary acceptance of OLRs by higher education students for complementing learning in the Indian context. The study also proposes a measurement scale for OLRs self-efficacy (OSE). This study extends and validates the innovation diffusion theory (IDT). The integrated research model reflects the effects of relative advantage, compatibility, OSE, subjective norm and facilitating conditions on acceptance of OLRs. Online survey data from 457 technical students in India were used for analysis using structural equation modeling. Results suggest that while relative advantage, compatibility, OSE and the subjective norm significantly impact intention to use OLRs, effect of facilitating conditions is not significant. Compatibility and OSE also significantly impact relative advantage. The proposed measure of OSE has valid psychometric properties. This study has advanced knowledge on the phenomenon of voluntary acceptance of OLRs from the perspective of students in traditional academic settings in a developing country context by extending and validating IDT. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first empirical study to understand the acceptance of OLRs by students in India. This study also provides a measure for OSE. The relative advantage mediating the effect of OSE on intention is confirmed by the results, which is scarcely tested before empirically. The study has practical implications for policy makers and teachers in a developing country to provide a more contextual learning environment to the students. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Models of the diffuse fraction of daily solar radiation (KD) have been developed over India for different seasons (winter, spring/autumn, and summer/monsoon) using the clearness index, also known as atmospheric transmissivity (KT). Measurements of global (RG) and diffuse (RD) solar radiation made at four stations in different climates (Jodhpur--arid, New Delhi--semi-arid, Nagpur--subhumid, and Kolkata--humid) have been used to develop two types of empirical models. The "regional" models cover all climate zones and "local" models are climate specific. On an average, regional models perform better than local models over Indian subtropical regions. An exception is the arid climatic regions where local models exhibits the lowest Akaike's information criterion (AIC) and higher coefficient of determination, R² (0.8-0.9). The applicability of regional models has been tested over an additional set of 16 stations well distributed in India. In winter, the majority of these stations exhibit R² > 0.8. In spring/autumn, R² was highest for Ranchi (R² = 0.92). In summer/monsoon, 14 stations out of 16 have R² > 0.8. The regional models perform well in all the seasons over the stations of India except Shillong. In Shillong for winter, spring/autumn, and summer/monsoon bias (R²) are 0.182 (0.06), 0.048 (0.36), and -0.05 (0.30), respectively. It is concluded that regional models of the KD can be applied for all seasons to the Indian subtropics except in higher latitude and mountain areas where errors are high. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A three-parameter sigmoidal 'local' model (climate-specific) and a 'regional' model (common for all climates) have been developed for measuring the monthly average diffuse solar radiation fraction from atmospheric transmissivity by using large, 21-year datasets (1973-1993) over four stations (Jodhpur, New Delhi, Nagpur and Kolkata). These stations represent the four 'prime' climates (arid, semi-arid, sub-humid and humid) over the Indian sub-tropics. The models have been validated with the longer time-series (10 years) of independent datasets (1994-2003) of 4 'prime' climates as well as datasets from 16 stations using one-year datasets (termed as secondary stations) of the Indian region. The monthly diffuse fraction estimates were also compared with seven globally existing models. The 'regional' model showed more accurate estimates than 'local' models over three (semi-arid, sub-humid and humid) of the four 'prime' climates. However, the different error statistics showed that the 'regional' model outperformed the globally existing models which failed to capture diffuse fraction variability over the Indian sub-tropics. The extendibility of the 'regional' model over 'secondary' stations in India showed an overall good performance with R2: 0.78-0.96 and RMSE: 0.017-0.125, except for two stations. These models are unique for Indian sub-tropics and can undoubtedly be used for predicting future diffuse solar radiation fraction from transmissivity datasets of climate simulations, and also for other meteorological, climatological, solar energy-based applications. Copyright © 2011 Royal Meteorological Society [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article discusses the manuscript copy entitled "Humayun nama" by Mughal Princess Gulbadan (1523-1603) which details the early years of the Mughal dynasty in India under the rule of her father emperor Babur and her half-brother emperor Humayun. Topics considered include women of the Mughal court, kinship of the Islamic rulers and aristocracy of India, and women's early modern travel writing.

The present study investigates the air pollution pattern over India during the COVID-19 lockdown period (24 March–31 May 2020), pre-lockdown (1–23 March 2020) and the same periods from 2019 using Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) Terra aerosol optical depth (AOD) with level 2 (10 km × 10 km) and level 3 (1° × 1° gridded) collection 6.1 Dark Target Deep Blue (DT-DB) aerosol product the Tropospheric Monitoring Instrument (TROPOMI) NO 2 and SO 2 data with a spatial resolution of 7 km × 3.5 km. We also use long-term average (2000–2017) of AOD for March–May to identify existing hotspot regions and to compare the variations observed in 2019 and 2020. The aim of the present work is to identify the pollution hotspot regions in India that existed during the lockdown and understanding the future projection scenarios reported by previous studies in light of the present findings. We have incorporated Menn-Kendall trend analysis to understand the AOD trends over India and percentage change in AOD, NO 2 and SO 2 to identify air pollution pattern changes during the lockdown. The results indicate higher air pollution levels over eastern India over the coal-fired power plants clusters. By considering the earlier projected studies, our results suggest that eastern India will have higher levels of air pollution, making it a new hotspot region for air pollution with highest magnitudes. Image 1 • During the lockdown period, the Indo-Gangetic plain does not appear as a pollution hotspot. • AOD values over eastern, central, and western India were high during the lockdown. • Eastern India emerged as a strong emission source of NO2 and SO2 during lockdown. • The hotspots regions of NO 2 and SO 2 emission in eastern India are related to coal mining and coal-fired power plants. Capsule: The work identifies eastern India as hotspot pollution zone during COVID-19 lockdown. The current results combined with earlier future projections shows eastern India will be the highest pollution region over the Indian region. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Monitoring of surface ozone (O 3) and Nitrogen Oxides (NOx) are vital for understanding the variation and exposure impact of these trace gases over the habitat. The present study analyses the in situ observations of surface O 3 and NOx for January–December 2016, for the first time over three sites of North-Eastern India (Aizwal, Gauhati and Tezpur). The sites are major cities of north-eastern India, located in the foothills of Eastern Himalaya and have no industrial impacts. We have analysed the seasonal variation of O 3 and NOx and found that the site Tezpur, which is in the valley area of Eastern Himalaya, is experiencing higher values of pollutants persisting for a long time compared to the other two stations. The correlation of surface O 3 with the air temperature at all three sites suggested that all the O 3 may not be locally produced, but has the contribution of transported pollution reaching to stations. The study also attempts to discover the existing variability in the surface O 3 and NOx over the study area by employing continuous wavelet analysis. Image 107269 • The study analyses surface Ozone and NOx concentrations over north-east India. • The study utilises one-year in-situ data for the daily and seasonal variational analysis. • The sites are located in the foothills of Himalaya and have no industrial impacts. • The study identifies the role of transported pollution in the foothills of the Himalayan region. Analysis of surface O 3 and NOx concentrations over north-east Indian stations located in the foothills of Himalaya using in-situ data. Result identifies the role of transported pollution. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Hexanucleotide repeat expansion in C9orf72 is defined as a major causative factor for familial amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS). The mutation frequency varies dramatically among populations of different ethnicity; however, in most cases, C9orf72 mutant has been described on a common founder haplotype. We assessed its frequency in a study cohort involving 593 clinically and electrophysiologically defined ALS cases. We also investigated the presence of reported Finnish haplotype among the mutation carriers. The identified common haplotype region was further screened in 192 (carrying 2–6 G4C2 repeats) and 96 (≥7 repeats) control chromosomes. The G4C2 expansion was observed in 3.2% (19/593) of total cases where 9/19 (47.4%) positive cases belonged to the eastern region of India. Haplotype analysis revealed 11 G4C2-Ex carriers shared the common haplotype (haplo-A) background spanning a region of ∼90 kbp (rs895021-rs11789520) including rs3849942 (a well-known global at-risk loci with T allele for G4C2 expansion). The other 3 G4C2-Ex cases had a different haplotype (haplo-B) with core difference from haplo-A at G4C2-Ex flanking 31 kbp region between rs3849942 and rs11789520 SNPs (allele 'C' of rs3849942 which is a nonrisk allele). Out of other five G4C2-cases, four carried the risk allele T of rs3849942 while one harbored the non-risk allele. This study establishes the prevalence of C9orf72 expansion in Indian ALS cases providing further evidence for geographical predilection. The global core risk haplotype predominated C9orf72 expansion–positive ALS cases, yet the existence of a different haplotype suggests a second lineage (haplo B), which may have been derived from the Finnish core haplotype or may imply a unique haplotype among Asians. The association of risk haplotype with normal intermediate C9orf72 alleles reinforced its role in conferring instability to the C9orf72- G4C2 region. We thus present an effective support to interpret future burden of ALS cases in India. • Hexanucleotide repeat (G4C2) expansion in C9orf72 is a major causative factor for familial amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS). • Shamim et al. have described 3.2% G4C2 hexanucleotide expansion–positive Indian ALS cases from screening of larger number of patients (n = 593). • Two lineages of G4C2 expansion–associated haplotypes were observed in Indian ALS subjects. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This review presents data on genetic and functional analysis of some of the HIV-1 genes derived from HIV-1 infected individuals from north India (Delhi, Punjab and Chandigarh). We found evidence of novel B/C recombinants in HIV-1 LTR region showing relatedness to China/Mynmar with 3 copies of NfKb sites; B/C/D mosaic genomes for HIV-1 Vpr and novel B/C Tat. We reported appearance of a complex recombinant form CRF_02AG of HIV-1 envelope sequences which is predominantly found in Central/Western Africa. Also one Indian HIV-1 envelope subtype C sequence suggested exclusive CXCR4 co-receptor usage. This extensive recombination, which is observed in about 10 per cent HIV-1 infected individuals in the Vpr genes, resulted in remarkably altered functions when compared with prototype subtype B Vpr. The Vpu C was found to be more potent in causing apoptosis when compared with Vpu B when analyzed for subG1 DNA content. The functional implications of these changes as well as in other genes of HIV-1 are discussed in detail with possible implications for subtype-specific pathogenesis highlighted. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction: The incidence of Gallbladder Cancer (GBC) is found to be increasing in the rural populations of north-central India. Role of multiple demographic factors, including poor socio-economic conditions, illiteracy and miserable primary healthcare services appear to be significant factors for this increase. Here, we aim to assess the present status of GBC in north-central India and evaluate the role of immunological markers in its management., Methods: A total of 1845 cases of different Gallbladder diseases, including GBC, from rural and urban areas both, registered at CHRI, Gwalior during 2009-2014 and 2018 were included in this study. The demographic and clinical information of the patients were analysed using various statistical tests., Results: Of all the cases (1845) included in this study, 1125 (60.97%) were diagnosed with GBC, of which, 707 (62.84%) were from rural background and 418 (37.15%) from urban settings. Mean age for GBC cases for both male and female was about 53.49 years. Females were more affected, being 70.37%, while male patients were only 29.63%. The pathological investigations showed elevated levels of total bilirubin and liver function enzymes both. The NLR, PLR and MLR were found to be significantly associated with different clinical parameters as well as OS., Conclusion: We infer that the growing trend of GBC, particularly in rural areas, in north-central India is primarily associated with the lack of awareness, inadequate medical support and poor socio-economic conditions. Evaluation of haematological markers may help in the predictive diagnosis/ prognosis and or management of GBC cases in the studied population., (Copyright © 2021. Published by Elsevier Ltd.)

Herbal formulations are getting popularity throughout the world and commercialized extensively for various medicinal properties. WHO has emphasized the need for quality assurance of herbal products, including testing of heavy metals and pesticides residues. 'Dashmoola', a popular herbal formulation, with immunomodulator and febrifugal properties, consists of ten single root drugs. In view of WHO guidelines, single herbal drugs used in 'Dashmoola', were collected from different places of India for testing heavy metals and persistent pesticides residue. Although use of roots in 'Dashmoola' is prescribed in original ayurvedic literature but now many pharmacies use stem in place of roots. Therefore, in the present study both roots and stems were selected for estimation of six heavy metals namely arsenic (As), mercury (Hg), lead (Pb), cadmium (Cd), chromium (Cr) and nickel (Ni). Apart from these, the organochlorine pesticides residue viz. different metabolites of DDT, DDE, isomers of HCH and alpha-endosulfan were checked in total 40 samples of single crude drugs. Heavy metals except Hg, were present in most of the samples. In few samples Pb and Cd concentration were beyond the WHO permissible limits. Although alpha-HCH and gamma-HCH were present in almost all the samples, but other pesticides were not detected in these samples. DDT and DDE were found only in two samples.