Episodic Presentations of Pustular Pyoderma Gangrenosum in PLHIV: A Case Report and Brief Review of Literature.

We report a case of a 54-year-old female diagnosed with HIV and antiretroviral therapy (ART) for the same. Seven years ago, she suffered from fever, cough and weight loss, was diagnosed with pulmonary tuberculosis and also seropositive for HIV. She suffered from Herpes Zoster infection, after which her ART regimen was changed to TLD (tenofovir, lamivudine and dolutegravir).

Surge in the jellyfish population of a tropical monsoonal estuary: A boon or bane to its plankton community dynamics?

Recurrent jellyfish blooms and their impacts on ecosystem deliverables of coastal habitats have become a major ecological concern. In view of this, repercussions of a surge in the jellyfish population on the plankton community were studied in Cochin estuary (CE), the largest tropical estuary along the southwest coast of India. Evaluation of hydrographic attributes and plankton community of the CE during early and late pre-monsoon revealed a marked disparity in its hydrography which favoured an increase in jellyfish abundances during late pre-monsoon, eliciting distinct impacts on the plankton community.

Ecological habitat quality assessment of a tropical estuary using macrobenthic functional characteristics and biotic indices.

Seasonal variation in the macrobenthic functional characteristics, such as trophic structure and secondary production, was studied, along with their structural characteristics such as density, biomass, and community distribution in Cochin estuary (CE), a tropical monsoonal estuary along the Southwest coast of India during 2018-2019. The biotic indices, AMBI (AZTI's Marine Biotic Index) and M-AMBI (Multivariate-AMBI) were used to assess the ecological quality of the study area by using the sensitivity of macrobenthic fauna to disturbances. A distinct temporal variation was evident in the macrobenthic structural characteristics, wherein high density, biomass, and species richness were observed during the post-monsoon.

Microplastics in the environment and in commercially significant fishes of mud banks, an ephemeral ecosystem formed along the southwest coast of India.

Microplastic pollution and the impacts they generate on the marine ecosystem and its biota is a major global concern of recent decades. The present study was conducted to evaluate the spatio-temporal distribution of microplastics in the surface waters, sediments, and their subsequent ingestion by the commercially important fishes of Alappuzha Mud banks, a transient ecosystem formed in the littoral zones of the southwest coast of India exclusively during the Indian summer monsoon. Sampling conducted over three periods, Pre-mud bank (Pre-MB), Mud bank (MB), and Post mud bank (Post-MB) extending over three depths (2 m, 5 m and 18 m), along the semi-circular patch of mudbanks revealed marked spatio-temporal variability in microplastic distribution.

Spatio-temporal variability in macrobenthic communities and trophic structure of a tropical estuary and its adjacent coastal waters.

Spatio-temporal distribution of the macrobenthic community (> 500 μm) and the trophic ecology of polychaetes were studied for a year in the Cochin estuary (CE) and its adjacent coastal waters. A profound influence of the southwest monsoon (SWM) was evident in the CE, a tropical monsoonal estuary, during the present study. The sediment texture and macrobenthic density exhibited a pronounced spatial variation in the estuary, while in the coastal waters temporal changes were more prominent.

Responses of the zooplankton community to peak and waning periods of El Niño 2015-2016 in Kavaratti reef ecosystem, northern Indian Ocean.

The study addressed the impact of the El Niño 2015-2016 on the ecosystem functioning and the subsequent effects on the distribution and community structure of zooplankton in the Kavaratti reef, a prominent coral atoll in the tropical Indian Ocean. The elevated ocean temperature (SST) associated with El Niño resulted in a mass bleaching event affecting > 60% of the live corals of the Kavaratti atoll. The concomitant changes observed in the nutrient concentration, coral health, and phytoplankton of the reef environment during the course of the El Niño led to discernible variations in the zooplankton community with markedly higher abundance and heterogeneity in distribution during the peak period of El Niño compared to its waning phase.

Variability in the phytoplankton community of Kavaratti reef ecosystem (northern Indian Ocean) during peak and waning periods of El Niño 2016.

El Niño, an interannual climate event characterized by elevated oceanic temperature, is a prime threat for coral reef ecosystems worldwide, owing to their thermal threshold sensitivity. Phytoplankton plays a crucial role in the sustenance of reef trophodynamics. The cell size of the phytoplankton forms the "master morphological trait" with implications for growth, resource acquisition, and adaptability to nutrients.

Seasonal dynamics of the copepod community in a tropical monsoonal estuary and the role of sex ratio in their abundance pattern.

Background: As salinity is considered the prime "ecological master factor" governing the zooplankton distribution and abundance in estuaries, a spatio-temporal interactive approach was followed to assess whether the responses of the estuarine copepod community towards the salinity are always direct with a strong positive affinity or whether there exist any complexities in their interrelationship. The study, also for the first time, addressed the role of sex ratio in governing the abundance and the population structure of copepods in the tropical monsoonal estuarine system.

Results: The ecological scenario in the Cochin estuary revealed that irrespective of the season, higher zooplankton abundance occurred in the mesohaline zone (MSZ; salinity 5-18) of the estuary, despite the pronounced spatial shift of the MSZ from the lower reaches of the estuary to upstream locations, in conjunction with the varying seasonal fluvial influx and marine water intrusion.

Plankton food web and its seasonal dynamics in a large monsoonal estuary (Cochin backwaters, India)-significance of mesohaline region.

The paper presents the ecology and dynamics of plankton food web in the Cochin backwaters (CBW), the largest monsoonal estuary along the west coast of India. The data source is a time series measurement carried out in the CBW during the Spring Intermonsoon (March-May) and the Southwest Monsoon (June-September). The plankton food web consisting of autotrophic/heterotrophic picoplankton, autotrophic/heterotrophic nanoplankton, microzooplankton, and mesozooplankton was quantified in relation to the seasonal hydrographical settings in the CBW.