An Investigation of Assessment and Modelling the Water Quality of Rivers Based on Artificial Neural Networks- An Initiative towards the River Ganga

Currently many type of research work is going on for assessing and modelling the water quality of rivers in India and especially in Abroad. There has been a lot of attention towards the use of artificial neural networks (ANNs) for solving scienti?c research, environmental and engineering computing based problems which are highly complex and non-linear in nature only because of their capability to be used for an extensive range of applications like classification, prediction and clustering. It is being increasingly used for prediction and forecasting in various areas like climate, rainfall and water quality. In this paper, we have presented an investigation of existing research work that has been done for assessing and modelling the water quality of various rivers using the technique of artificial neural networks. It was found that the ANN approach turned out to be an efficient approach for water quality modelling and forecasting. All these review work really stirred new researchers to work in this field by introducing new data set, parameters and an optimal approach based on ANNs. We shall take forth this work as an initiative towards the water quality (WQ) modelling of the river Ganga as our future work

Chemical Composition, Anti-inflammatory, Analgesic, Antipyretic, Myorelaxant, Antibacterial and Antifungal activity of Rabdosia rugosus Wall. (Syn. Plectranthus rugosus Wall.)

For the present investigation Rabdosia rugosus Wall. Syn. Plectranthus rugosus Wall.  was collected from Pancheshwar, Uttarakhand on the way to Badrinath. The GC and GC-MS analysis, revealed the presence of more than forty compounds out of which 35 compounds were identified amounting to 97.3% of the total oil. The essential oil of R. rugosus was rich in sesquiterpinoids (~90%) and was poor in monoterpenoids (8.1%). α-bisabolol (41.9%) was the major constituent of the oil and the other identified major compounds were germacrene-D (9.7%), β-caryophyllene (7.6%), dehydroabietane (5.2%), ar-curcumene (5.0), trans-ferruginol (3.3%) α-cadinol (3.2%), τ-muurolol (2.3%),   p-Cymene (3.2%) and  γ-terpinene (2.0%). The  essential  oil  of  Rabdosia rugosus showed insignificant  anti-inflammatory  and  analgesic  activity  but  shows  significant  antipyretic,   myorelaxant and  antimicrobial activity

Chemical composition of rhizome oleoresin and anti-inflammatory, antinociceptive and antipyretic activity of oleoresins of Alpinia allughas Roscoe. from tarai region of Uttarakhand

ABSTRACT          The investigation of volatile constituents of the rhizome oleoresin of Alpinia allughas Roscoe. growing in tarai region of Kumaun hills, Uttarakhand, revealed the presence of 55 terpenoids. The major constituents identified in the rhizome oleoresin were α-eudesmol (21.3%), β-selinene (13.9%), valencene (9.6%), borneol (7.1%), α-humulene (5.3%) and 7-epi-α-selinene (5.2%). Other minor constituents identified were (E)-β-caryophyllene (3.8%), (6 E)-nerolidol (3.5%), (E,E)-farnesol (3.2%), caryophyllene oxide (2.5%), humulene oxide (2.7%), bornyl acetate (1.9%), coranarin- E (1.8%), linalool (1.8%) and α-terpineol (1.6%). The total identified constituents contribute 97.0% of the oleoresin. The rhizomes oleoresins exhibited significant antinociceptive activity with 34.79% inhibition at 50 mg/kg body weight and 43.24% at 100 mg/kg body wt. compare to standard drug ibuprofen (40 mg/kg body wt.), it also showed antipyretic activity in dose dependent manner with temperature reduction 77.57±5.88% at 50 mg/kg body wt. and 98.95±3.95% at 100 mg/kg body wt. after 3 hours. Oleoresin also showed 29.23% inhibition in carrageenin-induced paw edema at 50 mg/kg body wt. and 39.92% inhibition at 100mg/kg body wt. in compare to ibuprofen 40.06% at 40 mg/kg body weight.Keywords Alpinia allughas Roscoe.; Zingiberaceae; α-eudesmol; β-selinene; anti-inflammatory; antinociceptive; antipyretic activity; oleoresins  

Comparative Compositional Analysis and Pesticidal Efficacy of Essential Oils from Leaves of Skimmia Aanquetilia N.P. Taylor and Airy Shaw

The objective of the current study was to re-examine the chemical components of the essential oil (EO) from the aerial parts of Skimmia anquetilia N.P. Taylor & Airy Shaw in two different seasons designated as Skimmia anquetilia rainy season essential oil (SKREO) and Skimmia anquetilia winter season essential oil (SKWEO). The GC-MS analysis of SKREO and SKWEO resulted in the identification of 42 and 48 constituents, comprising of 95.3 % and 95.4 % of the total composition respectively. Both SKREO and SKWEO varied in their chemical composition in terms of quantity viz: linalyl acetate (15.8% - 17.6%), linalool (13.2% - 13.9%), geijerene (11.6% - 11.7%), α-thujene (11.3% - 11.1%), α-terpineol (6.1% - 6.1%), geranyl acetate (5.0% - 5.1%), α-terpinyl acetate (3.3% - 3.1%), myrcene (3.0% - 3.1%), geraniol (2.6% - 1.9%), α-pinene (2.1% - 2.2%), trans-β-ocimene (2.1% - 2.3%), cis-β-ocimene (2.0% - 2.2%) and neryl acetate (2.3% - 2.4%). Besides qualitative differences SKREO and SKWEO, both were studied for their pesticidal activities. The study exhibited potent antifeedant activity against Spodoptera litura and nematicidal activity against Meloidogyne incognita. Based on the present observations, it was found that besides its academic importance, shrub Skimmia anquetilia can be a good source of phytochemicals like linalyl acetate, linalool, geijerene, thujene and can be used for the development of herbal source for antifeedant and nematicidal activity after proper clinical trials

Biological activities and Phytochemical analysis of Zanthoxylum armatum DC. leaves and bark extracts collected from Kumaun region, Uttarakhand, India

The methanolic and chloroform extracts of leaves and bark of Zanthoxylum armatum DC. were evaluated for their phytochemical analysis and biological activities. In phytochemical analysis, fargsin was identified as major constituent in leaves methanolic and leaves chloroform extracts. t-butylamine and benzoxazole, 2-(isobutylamino) were identified as the major constituents in bark methanolic and bark chloroform extracts respectively. Both the extracts exhibited moderate antioxidant activity with IC50 values ranging from 19.42±0.07 to78.01±0.31 µg. These extracts also possess moderate anti-inflammatory activity with IB50 values ranging from 28.53 ± 0.06 to 89.80 ± 0.05 µg. Moderate anti-bacterial activity against E. coli and S. aureus has also been observed in both the extracts. The total flavonoids, orthodihydric phenols and phenolic contents were also quantified in the extracts. Based on these observations, it can be concluded that Zanthoxylum armatum DC. may be used as herbal antioxidant, food preservative, natural anti-inflammatory drug and natural bactericidal, besides generation of data base for judicious exploitation in future

Grounded capacitors single resistance controlled oscillator using single FTFNTA

525-530In this manuscript, grounded capacitor single resistance controlled oscillator using four terminal floating Nullor transconductance amplifier (FTFNTA) is presented. It requires only one FTFNTA, two grounded resistors and two grounded capacitors. Oscillation condition (OC) and oscillation frequency (OF) are solely controlled through resistors. The non-ideal behaviour of the proposed structure has also been analyzed. Sensitivity analysis shows that the proposed structure is insensitive to component variations. The simulation results have been demonstrated and discussed using a SPICE simulation using 180 nm TSMC technologies. Monte Carlo analysis is also analysed for the proposed structure

Grounded capacitors single resistance controlled oscillator using single FTFNTA

In this manuscript, grounded capacitor single resistance controlled oscillator using four terminal floating Nullor transconductance amplifier (FTFNTA) is presented. It requires only one FTFNTA, two grounded resistors and two grounded capacitors. Oscillation condition (OC) and oscillation frequency (OF) are solely controlled through resistors. The non-ideal behaviour of the proposed structure has also been analyzed. Sensitivity analysis shows that the proposed structure is insensitive to component variations. The simulation results have been demonstrated and discussed using a SPICE simulation using 180 nm TSMC technologies. Monte Carlo analysis is also analysed for the proposed structure

Assessment of soil physical health and productivity of Kharkhoda and Gohana blocks of Sonipat district (Haryana), India

In order to assess soil health of Kharkhoda and Gohana blocks of Sonipat district (a part of western Yamuna canal irrigated region), important parameters namely pH, electrical conductivity (EC), texture, bulk density (BD), saturated hydraulic conductivity (HC), soil organic carbon (OC), available water retension capacity (AWRC) and non capillary pores (NCP) were measured by collecting undisturbed soil samples in nearly 66 villages. Soil physical rating index (PI) method was used to compute PI which was an indicator of soil physical health of thatregion. Results revealed that in Gohana and Kharkhoda blocks, nearly 90% area had pH <8.0 and EC>4 dS m-1, which indicated that soils were saline. Prediction maps of soil BD showed that 75% of the total area in 15-30 cm soil layer had BD above >1.6 mg m-3, which indicated the presence of hard pan in subsurface. HC data of subsurface layer also showed that 60% of the area had values<0.5 cm hr-1 which reconfirmed the presence of hard pan. For both surface as well as subsurface soil layers, mostly AWC was >10% which indicated adequate water retention capacity of these soils. However 85% of subsurface had poor soil aeration capacity as indicated NCP range < 10 %. Prediction map of PI for subsurface layer showed that majority of area had PI<0.4 which indicated that expected yield of the crop cannot be more than 70% of the potential yield even under normal or higher levels of fertilizer and water inputs

Phytochemical profile and antioxidant potential of extracts of Callicarpa macrophylla Vahl. from Uttarakhand Himalayan region

The medicinal traits of Callicarpa macrophylla Vahl. have been used in traditional and folklore medicinal system, however, scientific evaluation of such medicinal plants have not been much explored yet. Different solvent extracts of the whole plant of C. macrophylla from the Himalayan region are the key subject of interest to evaluate and exhibit their antioxidant properties concerning its phytochemical composition. The different polarity extracts of C. macrophylla were prepared using the Soxhlet apparatus and both of their GC-MS profile outlined their individual components. The antioxidant activity of both extracts was evaluated for DPPH radical scavenging activity, metal chelating activity, and reducing power activity. Thirty-two compounds were identified in the hexane extract, accounting for 63.56% of the total extract composition with tetratetracontane (9.78%), as the prominent compound. A sum of 26 compounds making up 79.74% of the total methanolic extract composition was identified and the major compound was a diterpenoid, trachylobane (31.87%). The methanolic extract exerted potent antioxidant properties when compared, in vitro, to hexane extract as it showed better IC50 values of DPPH radical scavenging activity (91.97 ± 0.33 µg/ml), metal chelating activity (10.90 ± 1.40 µg/ml) and reducing power activity (56.72 ± 0.67 µg/ml). The antioxidant potential of the methanolic extract was also comparable to standards. Therefore, the methanolic extract exhibited better results as compared to hexane extract and had comparable potential with standards in vitro, if further explored might be utilized as an antioxidant agent in various pharmaceutical and cosmetic industries