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Classical swine fever (CSF) is an endemic and major viral infection of Indian swine husbandry, contributing to great economic losses with multiple genotypes associated with vast clinical and subclinical outcomes. Molecular detection and genotyping of CSF virus directly from field samples has great application in disease monitoring and control measures hence this study aimed to isolate and characterize CSFV genotypes circulating in southern states of India. Fifty-seven porcine post-mortem tissues (lymph nodes, spleens, livers, lungs, and kidneys) collected from pigs suspected of systemic infections and sudden death with the history of live attenuated CSF vaccination from different regions of Tamil Nadu were used in this study. An NS5B gene based CSFV specific RT-PCR screening confirmed CSFV positivity in 7% (4/57) of samples with a specific amplicon of 449 bp. Further molecular screening for other viral co-infections such as PCV2, PPV and PRRSV done by specific individual PCR assays to all the samples. Non-involvement of above screened three viral pathogens in all four field samples which showed positivity for CSFV confirming CSFV as primary pathogen. Two RT-PCR positive samples (TNI-4 and CHNL-2) selected randomly and sequenced. Aligned contig sequences of both samples were subjected to BLAST homology search and phylogentic characterization. BLAST study of TNI-4 sequence revealed 99% sequence identity with Indian CSFV sequences of genotype 1 and CHNL-2 showed 98% sequence identity with Indian CSFV sequences of genotype 2. Phylogenetic analysis of the TNI-4 and CHNL-2 sequences obtained in this study along with 38 published CSFV sequences consisting of all 5 new genotypes and 14 sub genotypes through the Maximum Likelihood tree method in MEGA 11 revealed that TNI-4 clustering together with 1.7 sub genotypes and CHNL-2 clustering together with 2.2 sub genotypes. TNI-4 and CHNL-2 partial NS5B gene sequences obtained in this study deposited in the GenBank database under accession numbers of MW822568 and MW822569 respectively. The study is the first to report CSF infections associated with the newer 1.7 sub genotype in Tamil Nadu, southern India. It is possible that vaccination could affect the genetic diversity of the CSFV through recombination and point mutations for immune evasion.

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Background: The dynamicity and mobility of the population in a mass gathering setting pose a challenge to traditional disease surveillance methods and strain the local health services. Velankanni is one of the most sacred Christian pilgrimage places located in Nagapattinam, Tamil Nadu, India. We participated in the Velankanni festival to describe the public health preparedness, surveillance, and response activities carried out during the festival. Methods: This was a cross-sectional study. We reviewed the national and international guidelines and published literature and discussed with the key stakeholders. We developed a checklist to observe public health preparedness activities. We facilitated the staff and monitored the activities by the implementers. We established the syndromic surveillance in the designated locations of the event and used tracker software to capture the data. Emergency medical teams were formed with trained health personnel to respond to medical emergencies. Results: The team monitored all the public health activities. There are 59 primary care public health facilities and nine ambulatory Mobile Medical Units, with 160 medical officers available at the site. Of the 16,169 persons who attended the medical camps, 9863 (61%) were males and 8408 (52%) were aged 15-44. Acute diarrheal disease was the most frequent of the reported syndromes, followed by injuries, acute febrile illness, and animal bites. Conclusions: There was no outbreak of any disease either identified or reported. Our findings suggest that risk assessments should be used, and establishing an Incident Command Center is vital for executing command and control mechanisms during mass gatherings.

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Objective: Identification of large scale structural polymorphisms (Copy number variations) of more than 50 bp between the individuals of a species would help in knowing genetic diversity, phenotypic variability, adaptability to tropical environment and disease resistance. Methods: Read depth-based method implemented in CNVnator was used for calling copy number variant regions on sequenced data obtained from WGS from 15 pooled samples belonging to five draught cattle breeds of Tamil Nadu. Results: A total of 11,605 CNV regions (CNVRs) were observed covering a genome size of 18.63 percent. Among these, 11,459 were restricted to autosomes, consisting of 11,013 deletions, 353 duplications and 93 complex events. These CNVRs were annotated to 4,989 candidate genes. A total of 8,291 numbers of CNVRs were shared among the five cattle breeds as also supported by PCA and STRUCTURE analyses and 1,172 CNVRs were breed-specific. Four out of five selected breed-specific CNVRs were validated using real-time PCR. Genes with CNVRs are related to milk production (BTN1A1, ABCA1 and LAP3), disease resistance (TLR4 and DNAH8), adaptability (SOD1, CAST and SMARCAL1), growth (EGFR, NKAIN3), reproduction (BRWD1 and PDE6D), meat and carcass traits (MAP3K5 and NCAM1) and exterior (ATRN and MITF) traits. Gene enrichment analysis based on the gene list retrieved from the CNVRs disclosed over-represented terms (p<0.01) associated with milk fat production. NETWORK analysis had identified 13 putative candidate genes involved in milk fat percentage, milk fat yield, lactation persistency, milk yield, heat tolerance, calving ease, growth and conformation traits. Conclusion: The genome-wide CNVRs identified in the present study produced genome-wide partial CNV map in indigenous cattle breeds of Tamil Nadu.

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Background and objectives Morphometric parameters such as radial inclination, palmar tilt, radial height, and ulnar variance exhibit considerable variations influenced by geographical, ethnic, racial, and individual factors. These parameters are pivotal in the context of distal radius fractures, distal radius plate design, and kinesiology. Understanding these variations is crucial for surgical precision and predicting complications. Methods This observational, retrospective study, conducted in a single hospital, aimed to determine the morphometric values of the distal end radius, specifically in the South Indian population. We analyzed 300 plain radiographs, encompassing 53.7% males and 46.3% females, with ages ranging from 17 to 89 years (mean age: 41.05 ± 15.8). Radial inclination, radial height, palmar tilt, and ulnar variance were measured on posteroanterior views, while palmar tilt was assessed on lateral wrist X-rays. Results In our study, significant gender-based and side-specific differences were observed. The mean length of the styloid process, palmar tilt, ulnar variance, anteroposterior diameter of the radius, transverse diameter of the radius, oblique width of the radius, and carpal height of the radius exhibited notable variations between males and females. Similarly, significant differences were noted between the right and left sides concerning ulnar variance and teardrop angle. Among males, a significant difference was observed only in the teardrop angle between the right and left sides (59.11 ± 7.25 vs. 62.01 ± 7.97). Conclusion The findings underscore the importance of recognizing local morphometric variations in the South Indian population. This knowledge not only enhances the ability to restore normal alignment post-distal radius fractures but also provides fundamental values for future research endeavors within the local demographic. The study acts as a foundational resource for advancing our understanding of the normal anatomy and variations in the distal radius, facilitating improved clinical outcomes and tailored surgical interventions.

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Background: Mutations affecting transcription, translation, or beta-globin stability, among other stages of beta-globin production, cause beta-thalassemia. Methods: Beta-thalassemia results in a high red blood cell count with a low mean corpuscular volume (60-70fl) and mean corpuscular hemoglobin (19-23pg), and Naked Eye Single Tube Red Cell Osmotic Fragility Test (NESTROFT) is recommended for mass screening of populations. Among tribals in Dharmapuri district, this cross-sectional analysis evaluated the efficacy of RBC and NESTROFT against HPLC, regarded as the gold standard, in a study involving 484 subjects. Results: Findings indicated that out of the 484 samples, 73 tested positive for the beta-thalassemia trait through HPLC. The NESTROFT test demonstrated 87% sensitivity, 98.5% specificity, a positive predictive value of 99.3%, and a negative predictive value of 73.3%. In the multivariate analysis, NESTROFT and hemoglobin showed high significance with P values of 0.003 and 0.000, respectively. Conclusion: NESTROFT's high sensitivity is particularly noteworthy due to the absence of research among the Malayali tribes in the Dharmapuri district. Adoption of this preliminary test shows promise in detecting the disease at the local level, providing important information for early detection, especially considering the sizeable tribal population.

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Dental caries is a major public health concern among other oral diseases in most developing and industrialized countries, particularly in those nations where preventative programs have not yet been developed. Adults and the elderly population in Tamil Nadu also face significant challenges related to dental caries beyond children and adolescents. This systematic review examined the comprehensive epidemiology of dental caries in all age groups in Tamil Nadu. The articles were collected using various electronic databases. From the 4509 initially collected articles, 22 articles were chosen for the current umbrella analysis. The collective dental caries prevalence for Tamil Nadu state, India, from 22 studies with 33,584 study participants was 42.8%, with a 95% confidence interval (CI) of 42.3-43.4%. Among the four regions of Tamil Nadu, Eastern Tamil Nadu showed the highest dental caries prevalence of 82.2%. Thus, the strategies by the government of Tamil Nadu should focus on raising awareness about improving oral hygiene practices, seeking access to timely oral healthcare treatments, and strengthening the oral healthcare infrastructure.

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A methodological approach based on rare earth elements analysis was developed to observe human activities in the stratigraphic sequence of Alagankulam. The site was one of the main ancient ports in south-eastern India and one of the transoceanic connecting points between East and West during the Classical Period. The sampled sediments where collected from vertical profiles, areas with traces of firing activities and filled deposits. Major, minor and trace element concentrations were measured by the means of spectroscopic and spectrometric techniques. Data from multielemental analysis were then cross-referenced together with archaeological evidence to map the variability within the site and its association with the detected anthropic activities. The matching of the interpretation of the archaeological record and the analytical data has allowed a combined mapping of visible and invisible traces of human activities in the site, giving a deeper insight of the Alagankulam occupational history.

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Japanese encephalitis virus (JEV) is a major cause of encephalitis in Southeast Asia. Tamil Nadu, a state located in the southern part of India, contributes substantially to the national burden of human JE cases every year. However, limited information is available on the epidemiology of JE in pig populations of Tamil Nadu. A cross-sectional study was conducted to assess JEV prevalence in pig populations of Tamil Nadu. A total of 710 pigs reared in 118 farms across 10 districts of Tamil Nadu were sampled using multistage cluster random sampling. Serum samples were analyzed for their JEV status using Immunoglobulin M (IgM) and Immunoglobulin G (IgG) Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay (ELISA). At the animal-level, the apparent JEV seroprevalence was 60.4% (95% CI: 56.8% - 64.0%) and the true seroprevalence was 50.1% (95% CI: 47.0% - 53.2%). The herd-level apparent seroprevalence was 94.1% (95% CI: 88.1% - 97.5%) and the true seroprevalence was 93.3% (95% CI: 89.5% - 96.2%). The intensity of JEV circulation was high in all the districts, with seroprevalence ranging between 43% and 100%. Pigs across all age categories were seropositive and a high overall seroprevalence of 95.2% (95% CI: 76.2% - 99.9%) was recorded in pigs older than 12 months. JEV seropositivity was recorded in all the seasons but the prevalence peaked in the monsoon (67.9%, 95% CI: 61.1% - 74.2%) followed by winter (65.1%, 95%CI: 57.4% - 72.2%) and summer (53.3%, 95% CI: 47.8% - 58.8%) seasons. The results indicate that JEV is endemic in pigs populations of the state and a one health approach is essential with collaborative actions from animal and public health authorities to control JE in Tamil Nadu, India.

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Background: Various assessment tools that explore and assess mindfulness are available. Keeping in view both the origin of and the literature surrounding mindfulness assessment tools, this study aimed to evaluate the workability of one widely researched tool, the Five Facet Mindfulness Questionnaire (FFMQ), for establishing cross-cultural generalizability and utility in the Indian context. Methods: We recruited 303 adults over 18 with proficiency in the Tamil language and no history of significant neurological trauma and/or psychiatric history. They completed a version of the 39-item FFMQ, which we had translated into Tamil (FFMQ-T). The psychometric properties of this scale were tested using the Partial-Credit model of Rasch analysis. Results: Iterative Rasch analysis could not resolve consistent misfit of the Observe facet items. Using a subtest approach, a higher-order fit of the FFMQ-T could be achieved after the deletion of additional items from each of the remaining four facets. The resulting final model for the FFMQ-T questionnaire was a four-factor solution with 22 items. Conclusions: This study concluded the usability of the new 22-item FFMQ-T. These results are not dissimilar to the other versions in similar populations, such as the Hindi version of the FFMQ. The ordinal-to-interval conversion tables provided here ensure that the FFMQ-T can be used with enhanced precision and parametric statistics.

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BACKGROUND: Hemoglobin (Hb), a red pigment of red blood cells (RBCs), carries oxygen from the lungs to different organs of the body and transports carbon dioxide back to the lungs. Any fault present in the Hb structure leads to undesirable functional effects of the RBCs, such as sickle cell anemia (SCA), thalassemia, etc. Hemoglobinopathies affect around 7% of people in both developed and developing countries globally. The aim of the present study was to determine the prevalence and carrier frequencies of hemoglobinopathies including SCA, thalassemia, and other abnormal Hb variants among Malayali tribes in the Jawadhu hills of Tiruvannamalai district, Tamil Nadu, India. METHODS: A community-based cross-sectional study was carried out among 443 Malayali tribes inhabiting the Jawadhu hills of Tiruvannamalai district from July 2022 to September 2022. The RBC indices were analyzed using an automated 5-part hematology analyzer (Mindray, BC-5150) and hemoglobin fractions were done using the HPLC system (Bio-Rad, D-10) following standard protocols. FINDINGS: A total of 443 participants were screened, out of whom 14.67% had an abnormal Hb fraction, 83.30% were identified as normal, and 2.03% were borderline. Notably, the study revealed a prevalence of 0.68% for the α-thalassemia trait and 13.99% for the ß-thalassemia trait. INTERPRETATION: Haemoglobinopathies, specifically the ß-thalassemia trait, were most prevalent among the Malayali tribal population of Tamil Nadu residing in the Jawadhu hills of Tiruvannamalai district. Hence, we need special attention for creating awareness, increasing hemoglobinopathies screening programs, and improving the importance of tribal health conditions by the government and non-governmental organizations (NGOs) for the betterment of the ethnic tribes.

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Most palm leaf manuscripts are generally accessible in deteriorated condition, including cracks, discoloration, moisture and humidity, and insects bite. Such a manuscript is considered challenging in the research field. We captured deteriorated Tamil palm leaves around 262 dataset samples are 'Naladiyar(27)',' Tholkappiyam(221)', and' Thirikadugam(14)' which are genned up mortal health, discipline, authoritative text on Tamil grammar. We contribute the high-quality raw dataset with the aid of a Nikon camera, pre-enhance samples by editing software tool, and applied the Otsu threshold to deliver the ground images through binarization as readily accessible content presenting a highly time-consuming task to play a vital role in Machine/Deep/ Transfer learning, AI, and ANN.

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Lumpy skin disease (LSD) caused by LSD virus is a WOAH notifiable, high-impact, transboundary poxviral disease of bovines. The first official report of LSDV in India is from Odisha state during August 2019. Since then, cases have been reported from many states including Tamil Nadu, a Southern state of India. The present study deals with isolation and molecular characterization of LSDV from Tamil Nadu during the period August 2020 to July 2022. LSDV was isolated in embryonated chicken eggs (ECE) and BHK 21 cells and was characterized based on P32, RPO30, and GPCR genes. The phylogenetic analysis revealed that Tamil Nadu isolates from India are closely related to other Indian strains, Kenyan strains and strains from neighboring countries such as Bangladesh, Nepal, and Myanmar confirming the common exotic source for the transboundary spread across borders. The presence of unique signature of amino acid (aa) at specific positions (A11, T12, T34, S99, and P199) in the GPCR sequence confirmed the identity of LSDV. A twelve nucleotide (nt94-105) insertion and corresponding aa (TILS) at 30-33 position was found in GPCR sequence and characteristic amino acid proline at 98 position (P98) in the RPO30 gene sequence of our isolates was similar to strains from Bangladesh, Nepal, and Myanmar. Further, dissimilarity of our isolates from Neethling like vaccine strains confirms the circulation of virulent filed strains responsible for the outbreaks.

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BACKGROUND: An increasing incidence of colorectal cancer (CRC) is being reported in developing countries, including India. Most Indian studies on CRC are retrospective and single-centered. The present study is an attempt to understand the current clinical profile and stage of newly diagnosed CRCs across multiple centers in Tamil Nadu, India. METHODS: A multi-centric observational survey was conducted between September 1, 2021, and August 31, 2022, under the aegis of the Indian Society of Gastroenterology - Tamil Nadu chapter. Patients 18 years of age and older with a recent diagnosis of CRC fulfilling the inclusion criteria were prospectively recruited at the participating centers. Their demographic, clinical, biochemical, endoscopic, histopathologic, radiologic and risk factor details were systematically collected and analyzed. RESULTS: Across 23 centers in Tamil Nadu, 1208 patients were recruited. The male:female ratio was 1.49:1, while mean (SD) age was 57.7 (13.5) years. A majority (81.9%) were Tamils and 78.5% belonged to lower socioeconomic classes. The predominant symptoms were hematochezia (30.2%) and a change in bowel habits (27.5%). The most common locations were the rectum (34.3%) and rectosigmoid (15.1%). Synchronous CRCs were seen in 3.3% and synchronous colorectal polyps in 12.8%. Predisposing factors for CRC were seen in 2%. A past history of any cancer among CRC patients was obtained in 3.1% and a family history of any cancer was found in 7.6%. Patients who were either overweight or obese constituted 46.4% of the study population. At presentation, the predominant stages were stage III (44.7%) and stage IV (20.8%). CONCLUSIONS: A majority of patients with newly diagnosed CRC in Tamil Nadu belonged to the lower socioeconomic classes. About 60% had CRCs located within the reach of the flexible sigmoidoscope. Two-thirds of the patients exceeded stage II disease at presentation. TRIAL REGISTRATION: Not applicable.

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OBJECTIVE: To estimate the prevalence and incidence of TB before and during the COVID-19 pandemic in Tamil Nadu, south India. METHODS: In the present study, the effect of COVID-19 epidemiology on the TB epidemic was assessed by the SEIR (Susceptible-Exposed-Infected-Recovered), a compartmental epidemiological model. The model input parameters on compartments of TB and incidence of COVID-19 were collected from the published literature. Based on the data collected, point prevalence and incidence of TB per 100,000 population is calculated with and without COVID-19. A prediction was conducted up to 2025, trend analysis was performed, and a trend chi-square test and chi-square test of independence were used to test the difference between the prevalence with and without COVID-19. R software 2000 (R 4.0.0) was used for analysis. RESULTS: The TB prevalence without and with COVID-19 decreases from 289 in 2020 to 271 in 2025 and from 289 in 2020 to 269 in 2025, respectively. Similarly, the incidence of TB was decreasing from 144 in 2020 to 135 in 2025 without COVID-19 and 143 in 2020 to 134 in 2025 with COVID-19. Though the TB burden is decreasing over the years, the trend was not statistically significant (p > 0.05). With respect to the district level, the prevalence and incidence of TB with and without COVID-19 is also found to be decreasing over the years. It was also found that the difference in the prevalence and incidence of TB with and without COVID-19 was not statically significant. CONCLUSION: The results of our study shows that there was an annual decline of around 2% from 2020 to 2025 in the trend of the prevalence and incidence of TB with and without COVID-19. Overall, there is a reduction, but it was not significant, and there is no significant effect of COVID-19 on TB in Tamil Nadu.

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Tamil is one of the oldest existing languages, spoken by around 65 million people across India, Sri Lanka and South-East Asia. Countries such as Fiji and South Africa also have a significant population with Tamil ancestry. Tamil is a complex language and has 247 characters. A labelled dataset for Tamil Fingerspelling named TLFS23 has been created for research related to vision-based Fingerspelling translators for the Speech and hearing Impaired. The dataset would open up avenues to develop automated systems as translators and interpreters for effective communication between fingerspelling language users and non- users, using computer vision and deep learning algorithms. One thousand images representing each unique finger flexion motion for every Tamil character was collected overall constituting a large dataset with 248 classes with a total of 2,55,155 images. The images were contributed by 120 individuals from different age groups. The dataset is made publicly available at: https://data.mendeley.com/datasets/39kzs5pxmk/2.

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Background: Schizophrenia affects various spheres of life causing so many difficulties and burden, but the studies focusing on the experience of individuals living with schizophrenia with reference to the Tamil Nadu context are sparse. Material and Methods: A qualitative interview based on a hermeneutic phenomenological approach was conducted with 10 individuals living with Schizophrenia and was recorded. The responses were transcribed and coded. Based on codes, domains and subdomains were identified. Results: Six themes were identified, under which the participant's burden was described. Participants expressed a deep longing for love and care. They were deprived of family's affection. Participants felt economically insecured, which was owing to their unemployment. Participants had many physical complaints including sleep disturbance and fatigue. Participants expressed that they had failing memory, concentration issues, and difficulty in planning. Most of the participants felt isolated by family and kin. They did not participate in much social activities due to the fear of judgment and stigmatization. Conclusion: The experience of individuals living with Schizophrenia revealed that they experienced a series of burdens owing to their illness and its impacts that were categorized into various themes including physical, vocational, cognitive, psychological, personal, and social factors.

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OBJECTIVE: The Oxford Cognitive Screen (OCS) is a screening tool to assess stroke patients for deficits in attention, executive functions, language, praxis, numeric cognition, and memory. In this study, the OCS was culturally and linguistically adapted to Tamil, for use in India (OCS TA), considering the differences between formal and spoken versions of Tamil and consideration of its phonetic complexity. METHOD: We adopted two-parallel form versions of the OCS and generated normative data for them. We recruited 181 healthy controls (Mean = 39.27 years, SD 16.52) (141 completed version A, 40 completed version B, 33 completed version A and B) and compared the data with the original UK normative sample. In addition, 28 native Tamil-speaking patients who had a stroke in the past three years (Mean = 62.76 years, SD 9.14) were assessed. Convergent validity was assessed with subtasks from Addenbrooke's Cognitive Examination III (ACE-III). RESULTS: We found significant differences between the UK normative group and the OCS TA normative group in age and education. Tamil-specific norms were used to adapt the cutoffs for the memory, gesture imitation, and executive function tasks. When domain-specific scores on the ACE-III were compared, OCS TA exhibited strong convergent validity. CONCLUSIONS: The OCS TA has shown the potential to be a useful screening tool for stroke survivors among Tamil speakers with the two-parallel forms demonstrating good equivalence. Further empirical evidence from larger studies is required to establish their psychometric performance and clinical validity.

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Tick-borne diseases are the most common in cattle in the tropical and subtropical regions of India and lead to substantial economic losses to small and marginal farmers. This study aimed to identify the diverse species of ticks infesting cattle in the central part of Tamil Nadu, India, and to assess the prevalence of Theileria annulata infection in various species of ticks through PCR. Out of 123 cross-bred and 105 native breed cattle examined for tick infestation, 40 (18%) and 29 (12.7%) cattle were infested with Ixodid ticks, respectively. The most prevalent tick species identified was Rhipicephalus microplus (n=589), followed by Hyalomma anatolicum (n=532), Hyalomma marginatum (n=145), Haemaphysalis intermedia (n=79), and Rhipicephalus haemophysaloides (n=1) found in the study area. The prevalence and intensity of the tick infestation were found to be higher in cross-bred (71.04%) than native breed cattle (28.96%), and there was no significant difference between the studied breeds (chi-square value =24; df =20; p value =0.24) was observed. However, a significant difference in the H. anatolicum tick infestation was observed between the Cauvery Delta (14.30%) and the North-Western (20%) zones of Tamil Nadu (p<0.05). DNA fragments of 193 bp derived from 18S rRNA gene sequences of T. annulata were amplified using species-specific primers. Of these, 16 out of 37 (43.2%) and 10 out of 39 (29%) pooled samples of H. anatolicum and 4 out of 18 (22.2%) and 1 out of 5 (20%) pooled samples of H. marginatum were found positive for T. annulata from the Cauvery Delta and North-Western zones, respectively. R. microplus, H. intermedia, and R. haemaphysaloides from these regions were negative. These findings confirm that H. anatolicum (52.17%) is the predominant vector for T.annulata rather than H. marginatum (18.84%), and the PCR is a useful method of determining the infection rates in ticks collected from animals carrying low levels of T. annulata piroplasms.

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The spatial distribution of total petroleum hydrocarbons (TPH) were analysed in the seawater and sediment samples collected from 27 locations along the Southeast coast of India. A first-time assessment was carried out on the distribution of TPH in both water and sediments for the entire coastline of Tamil Nadu. The concentration of TPH in seawater showed large spatial variation ranging from below detection level (BDL) to 47.5 µg/L and 0.01 to 53.12 µg/L in the surface and bottom waters, respectively. TPH levels exceeded the regulatory limits specified by FAO, China's Marine Monitoring Standards and the European Community in the seawater samples of Thoothukudi harbour (S2 station). The results showed that seawaters of southern stations were comparatively more polluted with TPH. TPH values in sediment were between 2.33 and 30.07 µg/g, and their levels remained below the Marine Sediment Quality Standard (500 µg/g). The spatial profile of TPH in sediments were contrasting to that observed for seawater. Higher TPH values were observed in sediments of the northern region than southern. TPH contents are strongly correlated with clay (R2 = 0.776; P < 0.001) and silt (R2 = 0.648; P < 0.001); conversely, there is a significant negative correlation between TPH and sand (R2 = 0.753; P < 0.001). ANOVA analysis demonstrated a significant difference (F = 11.75; p < 0.01) between the TPH concentrations of water and sediments. Non-metric multidimensional scaling (nMDS) was performed to determine the similarity among sampling stations that formed five crusted groups. Sediment along the southeast coast can be categorised as slightly polluted with respect to TPH as per the ATSDR standards.

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