The researchers recruited consecutive children with clinically diagnosed microbial keratitis at the cornea clinic and emergency services between April 2024 and September 2025. Eligibility required a corneal stromal infiltrate with an overlying epithelial defect, with or without hypopyon. The analysis compared children aged 5 years or younger with those older than 5 years and recorded clinical, microbiological, nutritional, treatment and outcome data through three months.

The cohort included 42 children aged 5 years or younger and 44 older than 5 years. The mean age was 5.9 ± 4.8 years, and the reported range extended from 8 days to 14 years. Fifty children were male and 36 female. Thirteen children had bilateral keratitis; all were aged 5 years or younger. Most participants lived in rural areas, 24 of 86 were undernourished, and 28 of 86 were incompletely immunized.

Systemic illness was reported as a predisposing factor in 57.1% of children aged 5 years or younger, compared with 9.1% of those older than 5. Vitamin A deficiency occurred at presentation in 42.9% of the younger group, including 73% of infants in that group. Undernutrition was also more frequent among younger children, reported in 42.9%, whereas corneal injury was the predominant risk factor among children older than 5 years, reported in 81.8%. Bilateral keratitis was more frequent among undernourished and incompletely immunized children than among their respective comparison groups.

Mean symptom duration before presentation, ulcer size and ulcer severity did not differ significantly between the two age groups. Perforation at presentation was numerically more frequent in children older than 5 years, at 31.8% versus 18.2%, but the difference was not statistically significant. Prior use of an antibiotic-corticosteroid combination was significantly more common in the older group. The mean duration of symptoms before presentation was nearly 12 days for the cohort as a whole.

Microbiological evaluation identified an organism in 51.5% of the 99 eyes. Smear and culture results were negative in 48.5%, which the investigators classified as unidentified or sterile. All microbiologically confirmed eyes were smear-positive, while 36.4% of all eyes were culture-positive. Confirmation was higher among children older than 5 years, at 68.2%, than among those aged 5 years or younger, at 38.2%. Fungal keratitis was also significantly more common in the older group. Among confirmed infections, Aspergillus was followed by Fusarium as the most frequently reported fungal organisms, while bacterial isolates were mainly gram-positive cocci, particularly coagulase-negative staphylococci.

Treatment initially consisted of broad-spectrum topical antibiotics, modified according to clinical response and microbiological results. Topical natamycin was added when fungi were identified. Corneal ulcers resolved with medical treatment alone in 59.6% of eyes. Overall, 40 of 99 eyes required surgical intervention: 20 received cyanoacrylate glue with a bandage contact lens or a Tenon’s patch graft, and 20 underwent therapeutic penetrating keratoplasty. In multivariable analysis, larger ulcers and longer keratitis duration were associated with surgery, while severe ulcer grade and longer duration were associated with perforation at presentation.

At three months, corneal opacity was the most common recorded outcome in both age groups. Severe ulcer grade and incomplete immunization were associated with a poor outcome at three months. Anterior staphyloma occurred only among children aged 5 years or younger, while phthisis bulbi and secondary glaucoma occurred in both groups without a statistically significant difference in the overall outcome profile. Quantitative visual acuity could be assessed only in children older than 5 years; among those assessed, mean best-corrected visual acuity improved from 1.49 ± 0.69 LogMAR at presentation to 0.75 ± 0.51 LogMAR at three months.

The findings are limited by the single-center referral setting, which may have enrolled a disproportionately severe and recalcitrant population, and by the three-month follow-up. Visual outcomes could not be compared directly between age groups because quantitative acuity testing was not possible in many younger children. Deprivation amblyopia and longer-term graft survival, scar progression and visual rehabilitation were also not adequately assessed. The study further lacked advanced microbiological methods such as in vivo confocal microscopy, polymerase chain reaction and next-generation sequencing, so organisms missed by conventional smear and culture techniques may have affected the reported microbiological profile.

Subject of Research: Age-related clinical, microbiological and outcome differences in pediatric microbial keratitis in Eastern India

Article Title: Age-related differences in the clinical and microbiological profile of pediatric microbial keratitis in Eastern India

Article References: Kusumesh, R., Panday, N., Arya, L. K., Ahmar, R., Ambasta, A., Kumari, A., Kumari, N., Sinha, B. P., & Mohan, N. (2026). Age-related differences in the clinical and microbiological profile of pediatric microbial keratitis in Eastern India. PLOS One, 21(10), e0359943. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0359943

Image Credits: AI Generated

DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0359943

Keywords: pediatric microbial keratitis, corneal ulcers, age differences, vitamin A deficiency, undernutrition, fungal keratitis, corneal trauma, microbiological culture, therapeutic keratoplasty, Eastern India, Age-related, differences

The numbers tell a striking story of transformation. During the 2010 to 2015 period, winter daytime ozone concentrations in Bhubaneswar reached approximately 75 parts per billion at their peak. In the 2020 to 2024 record, those winter daytime peaks have fallen to around 51 parts per billion, a change that might superficially suggest improvement. But the monsoon season tells a different and more troubling tale. Twenty-four-hour mean ozone concentrations during the monsoon have climbed to roughly 25 parts per billion, up from just 12 to 15 parts per billion a decade earlier. This doubling of the monsoon baseline means that ozone is no longer a seasonal visitor that retreats with the rains; it has become a resident pollutant sustained throughout the year.

Understanding why this shift matters requires a brief dive into ozone chemistry. Surface ozone is not emitted directly by any source. Instead, it is a secondary pollutant, cooked up in the atmosphere through photochemical reactions between nitrogen oxides and volatile organic compounds in the presence of sunlight. The relationship between these precursors and ozone production is famously nonlinear. In what chemists call a VOC-limited regime, ozone production is suppressed by abundant nitrogen oxides, which quench radical chains, so reducing VOCs is the effective control strategy. In a NOx-limited regime, the opposite holds: ozone scales with nitrogen oxide availability, and cutting NOx yields direct ozone benefits. Misdiagnosing the regime can make pollution worse, not better, which is why the Bhubaneswar findings carry real policy weight.

The study’s precursor sensitivity analysis, built on satellite-derived formaldehyde-to-nitrogen-dioxide column ratios, reveals a city whose chemistry changes costume with the seasons. In winter, Bhubaneswar operates in a VOC-limited regime, with about 35 percent of conditions falling into this category. As the pre-monsoon and post-monsoon seasons arrive, the chemistry flips toward NOx limitation, accounting for roughly 34 percent and 29 percent of the respective periods. The monsoon season presents a more ambiguous mixed regime, with about 28 percent of conditions in that category. This seasonal oscillation means that a single, one-size-fits-all emission control strategy would be chemically blind to the city’s actual needs, potentially delivering ozone increases in some seasons while reducing it in others.

The health implications are quantified through the maximum daily 8-hour average, or MDA8, a standard metric for assessing human ozone exposure. The study found frequent exceedances of the 50 parts per billion threshold, particularly during winter and the pre-monsoon season. Chronic exposure at these levels is associated with respiratory inflammation, aggravated asthma, reduced lung function, and increased cardio-respiratory mortality risk, burdens documented extensively in global epidemiological literature. For a city whose population is expanding rapidly alongside its vehicle fleet and industrial base, the persistence of these exceedances across multiple seasons signals a sustained public health challenge rather than an episodic one.

Agriculture emerges as perhaps the most economically consequential casualty. The researchers deployed a battery of established ozone exposure indices, including AOT40, which accumulates hourly ozone above 40 parts per billion during daylight, along with M7, M12, and SUM60 metrics, to estimate crop damage. The results point to substantial yield losses in paddy and rabi crops, with the damage concentrated in the high-ozone seasons. This finding aligns with a growing body of national and regional assessments showing that ozone is among the most damaging air pollutants for Indian agriculture, with prior studies attributing significant reductions in wheat and rice yields across the subcontinent. Bhubaneswar’s surrounding peri-urban farmland, sitting in close proximity to the urban emission core, sits squarely in the exposure zone.

Paradoxically, the study found that despite the moderation of seasonal peaks, the frequency of episodic ozone exceedances and the estimated crop yield losses have both increased over the study period. This counterintuitive outcome underscores a critical lesson in atmospheric science: peak concentrations are a poor proxy for total exposure. A pollutant that spends more hours above harmful thresholds, even at moderate levels, can inflict more cumulative biological damage than one that spikes briefly and then vanishes. The elevated monsoon baseline means that crops, which grow actively through the monsoon kharif season, are now marinating in ozone during their most vulnerable developmental windows.

To contextualize their findings, the researchers compared Bhubaneswar with Delhi using 2024 data from the Central Pollution Control Board. The contrast is instructive. Delhi, the megacity of the Indo-Gangetic Plain, remains largely locked in a VOC-limited regime due to persistent nitrogen oxide saturation from its enormous traffic and industrial emissions. Bhubaneswar, by contrast, cycles between regimes with the seasons. This comparison demonstrates that Indian cities cannot simply copy one another’s air quality playbooks. Delhi’s chemistry demands aggressive VOC control, while Bhubaneswar requires a seasonally adaptive strategy that tightens VOC emissions in winter and shifts toward NOx management during the transitional monsoon periods.

The study’s methodology reflects the modern toolkit of atmospheric monitoring. Continuous in situ measurements were collected at the CSIR-Institute of Minerals and Materials Technology monitoring site, located near National Highway 16, a major transport corridor whose vehicular emissions feed directly into the local photochemical soup. Satellite retrievals from instruments such as OMI and TROPOMI provided the column-level precursor data needed to diagnose chemical regimes, while fire count data from NASA FIRMS helped track biomass burning influences. The work was supported by the Indian Space Research Organisation’s Geosphere-Biosphere Programme, and the authors emphasize that the datasets are available from the corresponding author upon reasonable request.

Looking forward, the researchers argue that eastern India’s urbanizing cities need three things: season- and region-specific emission controls informed by regime diagnostics, enhanced monitoring of volatile organic compounds, which remain poorly characterized across much of the country, and artificial intelligence-driven forecasting systems capable of anticipating ozone episodes before they unfold. As Bhubaneswar continues its transformation into a smart city, the study serves as a reminder that the atmosphere above it is running its own experiments, and that the chemistry of a warming, motorizing, growing urban India will keep shifting beneath our assumptions unless the monitoring and the policy keep pace with it.

Subject of Research: Seasonal surface ozone dynamics, precursor sensitivity, and health and agricultural impacts in Bhubaneswar, India

Article Title: Seasonal dynamics and impacts of surface ozone pollution over Bhubaneswar

Article References: Mishra, M., Mallik, C., Ramasamy, B., & Das, T. (2026). Seasonal dynamics and impacts of surface ozone pollution over Bhubaneswar. Environmental Monitoring and Assessment, 198(11), Article 1172. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10661-026-15989-5

Image Credits: AI Generated

DOI: 10.1007/s10661-026-15989-5

Keywords: surface ozone, Bhubaneswar, air pollution, VOC-limited regime, NOx-limited regime, MDA8, AOT40, crop yield loss, photochemistry, satellite retrievals, seasonal variability, eastern India

The research, led by scientists at the ICFRE-Institute of Forest Productivity in Ranchi, began with an ambitious field campaign spanning four consecutive fruiting seasons between 2021 and 2024. Survey teams crisscrossed four agro-climatic zones, from the Eastern Plateau and Hills through the Lower and Middle Gangetic Plains to the Eastern Himalaya, searching natural forests, forest fringes and farm boundaries for exceptional individuals. Using standard phenotypic selection criteria employed in tree breeding worldwide, they identified 434 Candidate Plus Trees, or CPTs, selecting trees that towered over their neighbors in height, girth and clear bole length while remaining free of pests, diseases and mechanical damage. The resulting collection revealed striking phenotypic variation: tree heights ranged from just 4.6 meters to an impressive 32.67 meters, while girth at breast height spanned from 24.4 centimeters to a remarkable 347.5 centimeters, reflecting a mixture of juvenile and mature individuals across the landscape.

Geography shaped the harvest of selections in revealing ways. The Eastern Plateau and Hills zone, which holds the bulk of the region forest cover, yielded 331 of the 434 candidate trees, while the Eastern Himalayan region contributed 57 and the Lower Gangetic Plain 37. The Middle Gangetic Plain in Bihar, where forest cover stands at only 7.84 percent according to the India State of Forest Report 2021, produced just nine selections, a sobering reminder of how habitat loss narrows the genetic options available to breeders and conservationists. Interestingly, the few trees found in the Middle Gangetic Plain showed comparatively high mean values for both height and girth, which the researchers attribute to the nutrient-rich alluvial soils of the Gangetic floodplain, a hint that environment and genetics interact closely in shaping the species growth performance.

To peer beneath the bark and into the DNA, the team genotyped a representative subsample of 279 candidate trees using twelve polymorphic simple sequence repeat markers, or SSRs, developed through genome skimming at the ICFRE-Institute of Forest Genetics and Tree Breeding in Coimbatore. These codominant microsatellite markers, valued for their high polymorphism and reproducibility, detected 58 alleles across the sampled trees, with three to seven alleles per locus and an average of 4.83. The markers proved highly informative: mean expected gene diversity reached 0.695 and the polymorphism information content averaged 0.643, with eight of the twelve loci exceeding the 0.60 PIC threshold that breeders consider strongly discriminating. These figures confirm that Eastern India harbors substantial hidden genetic variability in White Teak, comparable to the allelic richness reported for other tropical hardwoods such as Dipterocarpus condorensis, Toona ciliata, Grevillea robusta and various Eucalyptus species.

One of the study most intriguing findings, however, was a paradox. Observed heterozygosity averaged just 0.10, far below the expected heterozygosity, signaling a pronounced deficit of heterozygotes and pointing to intense localized inbreeding. The researchers offer several converging explanations. Fragmented landscapes disrupt random mating and force biparental inbreeding, elevating local homozygosity even in naturally outcrossing species. The Wahlund effect, in which genetically structured subpopulations are pooled into a single regional sample, artificially inflates expected diversity relative to observed diversity. The deliberate selection of elite candidate trees may also capture co-ancestral family lines with lower heterozygosity, and null alleles arising from primer-site mutations, a known artifact of SSR genotyping in non-model trees, likely inflated homozygous scorings. The sparse distribution of Gmelina in natural stands, which hinders random mating, may compound all of these effects.

Bayesian clustering analysis using the STRUCTURE software delivered the study headline discovery: the species in Eastern India is organized into two major genetic lineages. Of the 279 genotyped trees, 135 were assigned to lineage one, 108 to lineage two, and 36 were classified as admixed. The lineages map neatly onto geography. Trees from the Eastern Himalayan region overwhelmingly belong to lineage one, while trees from the southern Eastern Plateau and Hills and the Lower Gangetic Plain cluster predominantly in lineage two. Pairwise genetic distances reinforce this picture, with the Eastern Himalaya and Middle Gangetic Plain emerging as the most genetically distinct pair, while the Eastern Plateau and Hills and the Lower Gangetic Plain show the highest genetic similarity. Similar bimodal geographic clustering has been documented in Toona ciliata and Eucalyptus pellita, suggesting that discrete subpopulations tied to distinct geographic origins may be a recurring theme among widely distributed tropical trees.

Analysis of Molecular Variance added crucial nuance to this structure. A striking 92 percent of the total genetic variation resides within populations rather than among them, a pattern typical of outcrossing, long-lived perennial species that maintain high intra-population diversity. Genetic differentiation between populations, measured by the fixation index FST, was a moderate 0.077, and the estimated gene flow of nearly three migrants per generation indicates ongoing genetic exchange across the studied zones. In other words, Eastern India White Teak is weakly but detectably structured: pollen-mediated gene flow has historically homogenized much of the variation, yet two deep lineages persist, each carrying regional genetic identity, including private alleles found only in the Eastern Plateau and Hills and the Eastern Himalayan populations. For breeders, this is precisely the kind of architecture worth exploiting, since crossing genotypes from both lineages could maximize diversity and potentially unlock heterosis, the hybrid vigor that boosts growth and productivity.

The molecular work was only half the mission. To convert discovery into a durable breeding resource, the team established three progeny trial-cum-germplasm banks in Jharkhand, at Chandwa in Latehar, Ukrimari in Khunti and Harhad in Hazaribagh, using seed collected from 83 of the selected candidate trees. Seeds were soaked, de-pulped, scarified and germinated in sand beds before the seedlings were transplanted into randomized block designs with three to five replications. Early measurements after one year already show site-driven differences: mean tree height reached 226.64 centimeters at Harhad but only 89.37 centimeters at Chandwa, with collar diameters ranging accordingly. The researchers caution that the trials are still juvenile and that definitive statistical conclusions must wait for multi-year data, but the distribution of genotypes across the trials mirrors the diversity captured in the broader sampling, confirming their role as a living core collection.

These progeny trials are more than repositories. They constitute the structured pedigrees and phenotypic datasets on which advanced-generation breeding depends, and as they mature they could support genome-wide association studies linking molecular markers to economically critical traits such as growth rate and wood quality. Over the long term, the trials can be converted into seedling seed orchards, supplying genetically improved seed for plantation forestry, agroforestry and farm forestry across the region, while simultaneously serving as the base population for a second cycle of improvement. In a warming and deforested landscape, such ex situ gene banks that conserve common, rare and private alleles alike are increasingly viewed as essential insurance for the adaptive potential of commercially and ecologically important trees.

The broader significance of the study extends beyond a single species. White Teak sequesters carbon on degraded lands, enriches livestock fodder with protein-rich leaves, yields bioactive compounds used in traditional medicine and supports livelihoods from carving workshops to pulp mills, with rotation cycles as short as four to five years for pulpwood and around ten for timber. By documenting where the species genetic wealth lies, and by warning that the heterozygote deficit signals real inbreeding pressure in fragmented stands, the research gives forest managers in Eastern India a scientific compass for conservation decisions. Preserving trees from both genetic lineages, especially the genetically unique Himalayan and plateau populations, will be critical to maintaining the evolutionary flexibility of a species that millions of farmers and foresters depend upon. What began as a survey of 434 exceptional trees may ultimately grow into one of the region most consequential investments in sustainable forestry.

Subject of Research: Genetic diversity and population structure of Gmelina arborea in Eastern India for tree breeding and conservation

Article Title: Genetic diversity, population structure and germplasm assemblage of Gmelina arborea in Eastern India for sustainable breeding and conservation

Article References: Kumar, A., Gowda, M. G. M., Kumar, R. R., Kumari, A., & Pandey, R. K. (2026). Genetic diversity, population structure and germplasm assemblage of Gmelina arborea in Eastern India for sustainable breeding and conservation. Discover Plants, 3(1), Article 438. https://doi.org/10.1007/s44372-026-00920-6

Image Credits: AI Generated

DOI: 10.1007/s44372-026-00920-6

Keywords: Gmelina arborea, White Teak, genetic diversity, SSR markers, population structure, candidate plus trees, progeny trials, tree breeding, Eastern India, conservation, agroforestry, germplasm

The research, conducted by Tapas Ranjan Patra of the Department of Geography at Rajendra University in Balangir, Odisha, began with an unusually rigorous data-cleaning exercise. Groundwater-quality monitoring programs generate enormous multi-parameter datasets, but raw records are riddled with duplicates, inconsistent sampling locations and measurements that fail basic chemical plausibility checks. Starting from the Central Ground Water Board’s monitoring archive covering 2019 to 2023, the study applied geospatial deduplication to remove repeated observations at the same sites and charge-balance screening to discard samples whose major-ion concentrations did not balance electrically. The result was a curated dataset of 1,268 site-level samples, each carrying measurements of electrical conductivity, total dissolved solids, pH, hardness and the major cations and anions that define groundwater chemistry.

With the cleaned dataset in hand, the analysis turned to the central question of whether Odisha’s groundwater behaves as one continuous chemical spectrum or as a small number of distinct regimes. Using Gaussian mixture modeling, a statistical technique that identifies hidden subpopulations within multivariate data, alongside hierarchical cluster analysis and principal component analysis, the study identified two stable hydrochemical regimes separated along a dominant mineralization gradient. The stability of this two-regime structure was assessed with cluster-stability measures, including the adjusted Rand index, and the number of groups was selected using Bayesian and extended Bayesian information criteria rather than arbitrary thresholds. In other words, the split was not imposed by the analyst but emerged from the data itself and proved reproducible under repeated evaluation.

The two regimes differ in a chemically meaningful way. Regime 1 showed consistently higher electrical conductivity, total dissolved solids and major-ion concentrations than Regime 0, indicating a more heavily mineralized groundwater setting. Such mineralization typically reflects longer residence times of water in the subsurface, greater interaction with host rocks, and in some settings the influence of salinity-related processes such as those documented in coastal aquifers of the region. Regime 0, by contrast, represents a less mineralized, more dilute chemical environment. The study interpreted these contrasts through standard hydrochemical tools, including Gibbs diagrams and ion-ratio analysis, to characterize the processes governing each regime’s major-ion signature.

The most consequential finding concerns the two contaminants that matter most for drinking-water safety in the region: nitrate and fluoride. Both are regulated under Bureau of Indian Standards and World Health Organization guidelines because chronic exposure carries serious health consequences. Excessive nitrate, often linked to agricultural runoff, septic leakage and organic waste, is associated with methemoglobinemia in infants and other adverse outcomes, while elevated fluoride, typically geogenic in origin, causes dental and skeletal fluorosis. When the study cross-tabulated guideline exceedances against the two hydrochemical regimes, a clear pattern emerged. Nitrate exceedance rose from 4.45 percent of samples in Regime 0 to 13.81 percent in Regime 1, roughly a threefold increase, while fluoride exceedance climbed from 0.91 percent to 4.86 percent, more than a fivefold jump.

A critical concern in any observational study of this kind is that such contrasts might simply be artifacts of uneven sampling. If the more mineralized regime happened to be sampled more intensively in heavily contaminated districts, the apparent association could reflect geography rather than chemistry. To rule this out, the study employed district-adjusted statistical models, including generalized linear mixed models with district-level fixed effects, which compare samples within the same district and thereby absorb any district-wide confounding. These models confirmed that the elevated exceedance rates in Regime 1 persisted even after accounting for uneven district-level sampling, indicating that the hydrochemical regime itself carries genuine information about contamination risk.

The analysis went a step further by examining how the chemical parameters within each regime relate to one another. Using conditional-dependence network analysis, a method that maps the partial correlations among variables while controlling for all others, the study found that the higher-mineralization regime was more strongly organized by salinity-related hydrochemical structure. In Regime 1, the major ions moved together in a tightly connected network consistent with shared salinization processes, whereas the network structure in the dilute regime was weaker and differently arranged. This regime-specific organization suggests that the two settings are governed by distinct geochemical processes, not merely different points on a single continuum, and that contamination pathways may therefore differ between them.

The practical implications extend well beyond Odisha. Groundwater supplies the majority of rural drinking water in eastern India, and monitoring agencies face chronic constraints on laboratory capacity and field resources. The study’s regime-based framework offers a way to prioritize that effort: samples drawn from high-mineralization settings deserve more frequent nitrate and fluoride testing, while resources in low-mineralization zones can be allocated more sparingly. Because the underlying data are publicly available through the Central Ground Water Board portal, and the analytical approach relies on standard statistical tools, the framework could be replicated in other spatially heterogeneous groundwater systems across India and beyond, where monitoring networks similarly struggle to convert scattered measurements into actionable priorities.

The study also contributes to a broader scientific conversation about how large environmental datasets should be interpreted. Rather than treating each contaminant measurement in isolation, or collapsing entire aquifers into a single water-quality index, the regime-based approach preserves the natural structure of the data and uses that structure to sharpen surveillance. As the author notes, nitrate and fluoride screening burdens are concentrated in specific hydrochemical settings rather than being uniformly distributed across the monitoring network. Recognizing and mapping those settings transforms routine monitoring from a passive record-keeping exercise into a targeted risk-prioritization tool, one that could help public health authorities intervene before contaminated wells reach the families who depend on them.

Subject of Research: Hydrochemical regimes and nitrate–fluoride contamination surveillance in Odisha's groundwater

Article Title: Hydrochemical regimes and nitrate–fluoride surveillance in groundwater of Odisha, Eastern India

Article References: Patra, T. R. (2026). Hydrochemical regimes and nitrate–fluoride surveillance in groundwater of Odisha, Eastern India. Environmental Monitoring and Assessment, 198(10), Article 1064. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10661-026-15901-1

Image Credits: AI Generated

DOI: 10.1007/s10661-026-15901-1

Keywords: groundwater, hydrochemistry, nitrate, fluoride, Odisha, water quality monitoring, Gaussian mixture model, mineralization gradient, drinking-water safety, Central Ground Water Board, surveillance prioritization, eastern India