Identifying the impact of intensive agriculture practices on groundwater quality using GIS and multi-tracer techniques around Sangamner city, Maharashtra, India

Identifying the impact of intensive agriculture practices on groundwater quality gives an ample idea of associated hydro-chemical facies. This study deciphers the groundwater quality using physico-chemical analysis, multi-tracer and geographical information system (GIS) techniques. To investigate groundwater quality, 25 samples were collected from dug-well in May 2010 and May 2015. Physico-chemical analysis of pH, EC, TDS, Na+, K+, Ca2+, Mg2+, Cl-, HCO3-, SO42-, and NO3- carried out using American Public Health Association and integrated into AqQA and GIS software. The range of analysis increased in 2015, that is, pH (7.9–8.9), EC (910–9710 µS/cm), TDS (582–6214 mg/l), Na+ (34–850 mg/l), K+ (0.6–3.1 mg/l), Ca2+ (89–346 mg/l), Mg2+ (68–2960 mg/l), Cl- (89–1591 mg/l), HCO3- (200–799 mg/l), SO42- (49–210 mg/l) and NO3- (10–90 mg/l). Almost samples of pH, TDS, Mg2+, HCO3- and NO3- were above BIS standards. A present effort is an innovative approach for bids in similar hydro-geological conditions for sustainable groundwater quality management

Detection and delineation of water bodies in hilly region using CartoDEM, SRTM and ASTER GDEM Data

Detection and delineation of Water Body Area (WBA), particularly over inaccessible hilly region is not always possible in view of time, resources and cost issues. An automated procedure for detection and delineation of water bodies in the hilly region was performed using satellite-derived DEMs. CartoDEM, SRTM and ASTER GDEM data with 30, 90 and 30m resolutions, respectively to generate the Elevation Points Features (EPF) in GIS platform. Total 7194906 EPFs were generated using these three DEMs. Contour and slope maps were also prepared to eliminate the outlier EPFs (non-water bodies) with flattered surface logic. Flattened area on DEMs, connected contour at edges of water bodies and 0° to 0.5° slopping area were considered as WBA in the region (2311 Km2) of Western Ghat (India). The nearest neighbor to cubic convolution conversion of DEMs was found useful for detection of boundary of water bodies more precisely. These results were validated from Landsat- 8 satellite images and topographic maps (Survey of India). About 3.09% from CartoDEM, 2.22% area from ASTER GDEM and 2.05% from SRTM DEM were estimated as WBA. CartoDEM data can be suggested for precise detection of smaller water bodies in hilly region. Methodology formulated in this study could be used as a rapid assessment tool for detection of water bodies, especially in the inaccessible region for better water resources management

Design and synthesis of novel thiazolidine-2,4-diones as hypoglycemic agents

Thiazolidinediones are well known for causing reduction in blood glucose levels. A number of thiazolidinediones have been approved for clinical use in diabetes. Present research work is based on the synthesis of thiazolidinedione derivatives that were designed previously using 2D QSAR for antidiabetic activity. Thiazolidine-2,4-diones derivatives having carboxylic ester appendages at N-3 and 5-substituted benzylidene were studied and the syntheses of only four derivatives were performed that were predicted to have promising antidiabetic activities. Their effect on hypoglycemic activity was performed using a sucrose loaded model. Compounds 5a and 5b were found to have prominent activities at 100 mg/kg by oral route administration

Organiser et traiter un corpus hétérogène : conception et réalisation d’une base de données informatique adaptée aux problématiques de l’histoire de l’art

National audienc

Building blocks: A quantitative approach for evaluating coastal vulnerability

Climate change and associated factors such as global and regional sea-level rise; the upsurge in high-intensity flooding events; and coastal erosion are pulse and press disturbances that threaten to increase landslides in coastal regions. Under these circumstances; a rigorous framework is required to evaluate coastal vulnerability in order to plan for future climate change scenarios. A vast majority of coastal vulnerability assessments across the globe are evaluated at the macro level (city scale) but not at the micro level (small town scale); particularly in the United Kingdom (UK). In order to fill this vital research gap; the current study established a coastal vulnerability index termed here as the Micro Town Coastal Vulnerability Index (MTCVI) and then applied it to Barton-on-Sea; which is a small coastal town of the Hampshire region; England; UK. MTCVI was evaluated for Barton-on-Sea coastal vulnerability by integrating both novel and existing parameters. Results suggest that the entire shoreline frontage (2 km) exhibits very high coastal vulnerability and is prone to various coastal hazards such as landslides; erosion; and wave intrusion. This suggests that Barton-on-Sea coastal amenities will require a substantial improvement in shoreline protection measures. In this study; GIS (geographic information system) coastal vulnerability and landslide maps were generated; and these maps can be used by the local authorities; district councils; coastal engineers; and planners to improve and design coastal management strategies under the climate change scenarios. Meanwhile; the methodology used in this study could also be applied to any other suitable location in the world depending on the availability of the data

Building Blocks: A Quantitative Approach for Evaluating Coastal Vulnerability

Climate change and associated factors such as global and regional sea-level rise; the upsurge in high-intensity flooding events; and coastal erosion are pulse and press disturbances that threaten to increase landslides in coastal regions. Under these circumstances; a rigorous framework is required to evaluate coastal vulnerability in order to plan for future climate change scenarios. A vast majority of coastal vulnerability assessments across the globe are evaluated at the macro level (city scale) but not at the micro level (small town scale); particularly in the United Kingdom (UK). In order to fill this vital research gap; the current study established a coastal vulnerability index termed here as the Micro Town Coastal Vulnerability Index (MTCVI) and then applied it to Barton-on-Sea; which is a small coastal town of the Hampshire region; England; UK. MTCVI was evaluated for Barton-on-Sea coastal vulnerability by integrating both novel and existing parameters. Results suggest that the entire shoreline frontage (2 km) exhibits very high coastal vulnerability and is prone to various coastal hazards such as landslides; erosion; and wave intrusion. This suggests that Barton-on-Sea coastal amenities will require a substantial improvement in shoreline protection measures. In this study; GIS (geographic information system) coastal vulnerability and landslide maps were generated; and these maps can be used by the local authorities; district councils; coastal engineers; and planners to improve and design coastal management strategies under the climate change scenarios. Meanwhile; the methodology used in this study could also be applied to any other suitable location in the world depending on the availability of the data

Identification of drought in Dhalai river watershed using MCDM and ANN Models

An innovative approach for drought identification is developed using Multi-Criteria Decision-Making (MCDM) and Artificial Neural Network (ANN) model from surveyed drought parameters data around the Dhalai river watershed in Tripura hinterlands, India. Total eight drought parameters i.e. precipitation, soil moisture, evapotranspiration, vegetation canopy, cropping pattern, temperature, cultivated land, and groundwater level were obtained from experts, literature and cultivators survey. Then, the Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP) and Analytic Network Process (ANP) were used for weighting of parameters and Drought Index Identification (DII). Field data of weighted parameters in the meso scale Dhalai river watershed were collected and used to train the ANN model. The trained ANN model has been tested in the same watershed for its calibration. Results indicate that the Limited Memory - Quasi Newton algorithm was better than the commonly used training method. Based on obtained results from ANN model drought index 0.30 to 0.75 were generated for present study area. Overall analysis revealed that, with appropriate training, the ANN model could be used in the areas where the model is calibrated, or other areas where range of input parameters is similar to the calibrated region.by Sainath Aher, Sambhaji Shinde, Shantamoy Guha and Mrinmoy Majumde