FOREST CANOPY DENSITY ASSESSMENT USING HIGH RESOLUTION LISS-4 DATA IN YAMUNANAGAR DISTRICT, HARYANA

Forest plays an important role not only in providing ecological services but also economic goods to human beings. However, with increase in population there is a wide gap between demand and supply of these goods and services. This has lead to reduction in forest cover which needs to be taken care on regular time interval. To manage the existing forest area and also to increase the forest cover Forest Canopy Density (FCD) methodology is the main factor which was given by International Tropical timber Organization (ITTO). High resolution remote sensing LISS-4 data gives us chance to assess the quality of forest in terms of FCD as Rikimaru et al (1999) stated that FCD is one important parameter to assess forest cover quality. High resolution LISS-4 data analysis for FCD was never attempted before. Authors here attempted to assess the FCD utilizing methodology adopted by Rikimaru (1999), Huang (2001), Azizia (2008). The adopted methodology is one of the most efficient and cost effective way to derive the FCD. For this study Resourcesat-2 LISS-4 post monsoon data of year 2017 for Yamunanagar district was used to assess FCD within notified forest boundary. Notified forest boundaries at cadastral level prepared previously by Haryana Space Applications Centre (HARSAC) was used. The degree of forest canopy density is expressed in percentages: i.e. < 10% FCD (scrub land), 10–20% (Open Forest-I), 20–40% (Open Forest-II), 40–60% (Moderate Dense), 60–80% (Medium Dense) and > 80% (Highly Dense). Forest Canopy Density was based on three indices i.e. Advanced Vegetation Index (AVI), Bare Soil Index (BSI) and Canopy Shadow Index (CSI). Accuracy assessment was done based on ground data and comparison with Coterminous Google Earth imagery and it was found that the devised methodology has achieved overall accuracy of 93% with kappa coefficient of 0.9153. The result shows that maximum forest area in Yamunanagar district is in medium dense FCD category which is approximately 23948.08 acres. This study tells us that 24.2% of the total forest area is under scrub land and open forest which should be focussed for activities in working plan to increase the forest cover. This paper highlights the utility of high resolution satellite data for monitoring and management of forest and improvement in its quality. This attempt provided large scale (1 : 10,000) maps to the forest managers to better equip them in planning for afforestation, reforestation and rehabilitation of water logged areas, environment management and their future aspect

Effectiveness of isoniazid preventive therapy on incidence of tuberculosis among HIV-infected adults in programme setting

Background & objectives: As India and other developing countries are scaling up isoniazid preventive therapy (IPT) for people living with HIV (PLHIV) in their national programmes, we studied the feasibility and performance of IPT in terms of treatment adherence, outcome and post-treatment effect when given under programmatic settings. Methods: A multicentre, prospective pilot study was initiated among adults living with HIV on isoniazid 300 mg with pyridoxine 50 mg after ruling out active tuberculosis (TB). Symptom review and counselling were done monthly during IPT and for six-month post-IPT. The TB incidence rate was calculated and risk factors were identified. Results: Among 4528 adults living with HIV who initiated IPT, 4015 (89%) successfully completed IPT. IPT was terminated in 121 adults (3%) due to grade 2 or above adverse events. Twenty five PLHIVs developed TB while on IPT. The incidence of TB while on IPT was 1.17/100 person-years (p-y) [95% confidence interval (CI) 0.8-1.73] as compared to TB incidence of 2.42/100 p-y (95% CI 1.90-3.10) during the pre-IPT period at these centres (P=0.017). The incidence of TB post-IPT was 0.64/100 p-y (95% CI 0.04-1.12). No single factor was significantly associated with the development of TB. Interpretation & conclusions: Under programmatic settings, completion of IPT treatment was high, adverse events minimal with good post-treatment protection. After ruling out TB, IPT should be offered to all PLHIVs, irrespective of their antiretroviral therapy (ART) status. Scaling-up of IPT services including active case finding, periodic counselling on adherence and re-training of ART staff should be prioritized to reduce the TB burden in this community

Effectiveness of symptom screening and incidence of tuberculosis among adults and children living with HIV infection in India.

BACKGROUND WHO recommends the use of a simplified symptom-based algorithm for screening for tuberculosis (TB) among people living with HIV (PLHIV). We assessed the feasibility and effectiveness of this algorithm and determined the prevalence and incidence of TB among PLHIV attending antiretroviral treatment (ART) centres in India. METHODS We did a prospective multicentric implementation research study in four states of India. To rule out TB, we administered the WHO symptom-screen algorithm to all PLHIV every month for 6 months. If they were found to be symptomatic any time during this period, they were referred for investigations for TB. A case of TB diagnosed during the first month of screening was taken as a prevalent case while those detected TB in the subsequent 5 months were considered cases of incident TB. We calculated the incidence rate using the person-years method. Results . Between May 2012 and October 2013, a total of 6099 adults and 1662 children living with HIV were screened for TB at the ART centres of four states. Of the 6099 adult PLHIV, 1815 (30%) had at least one symptom suggestive of TB, of whom only 634 (35%) were referred for investigations of TB. Of those referred, 97 (15%) PLHIV were diagnosed with TB. Overall, the prevalence of undiagnosed TB was 0.84 person-years and in the subsequent period, the incidence of TB was 2.4/100 person-years (95% CI 1.90-3.10). Among 1662 children, 434 (26%) had at least one symptom suggestive of TB. But only 57 (13%) children were referred for investigations of TB and 13 (23%) of them were diagnosed with TB. The prevalence of TB among children was 0.5% and its incidence among them was 2.7/100 person-years (95% CI 1.60-4.30). CONCLUSION Prevalence and incidence of TB is high among PLHIV attending ART centres. This emphasizes the need to strengthen regular screening for symptoms of TB and further referral of those symptomatic for diagnosis of TB

Telomere length and bipolar disorder

Variation in telomere length is heritable and is currently considered a promising biomarker of susceptibility for neuropsychiatric disorders, particularly because of its association with memory function and hippocampal morphology. Here, we investigate telomere length in connection to familial risk and disease expression in bipolar disorder (BD). We used quantitative polymerase chain reactions and a telomere-sequence to single-copy-gene-sequence ratio method to determine telomere length in genomic DNA extracted from buccal smears from 63 patients with BD, 74 first-degree relatives (49 relatives had no lifetime psychopathology and 25 had a non-BD mood disorder) and 80 unrelated healthy individuals. Participants also underwent magnetic resonance imaging to determine hippocampal volumes and cognitive assessment to evaluate episodic memory using the verbal paired associates test. Telomere length was shorter in psychiatrically-well relatives (p=0.007) compared to unrelated healthy participants. Telomere length was also shorter in relatives (regardless of psychiatric status; p<0.01) and patients with BD not on lithium (p=0.02) compared to lithium-treated patients with BD. In the entire sample, telomere length was positively associated with left and right hippocampal volume and with delayed recall. This study provides evidence that shortened telomere length is associated with familial risk for BD. Lithium may have neuroprotective properties that require further investigation using prospective designs

Effect of Calcination Temperature on Surface Morphology and Photocatalytic Activity in TiO2 Thin Film Prepared by Spin Coating Technique

TiO2 thin films were deposited on glass substrate using Sol-Gel derived precursor by Spin Coating technique at different calcination temperatures. Structural identity of the prepared films was con- firmed by powder X-ray diffraction measurements. Morphology of the films was monitored using Atomic force microscopy and it was observed that calcination temperature of 400 °C favored TiO2 nano- fibers. Photocatalytic activity of the films was checked by observing the degradation of herbicide Atrazine in UV region and the percentage of degradation was analyzed by HPLC method. © 2014 BCREC UNDIP. All rights reservedReceived: 21st November 2013; Revised: 18th March 2014; Accepted: 29th June 2014How to Cite: Mothi, K.M., Soumya, G., Sugunan, S. (2014). Effect of Calcination Temperature on Surface Morphology and Photocatalytic Activity in TiO2 Thin Films Prepared by Spin Coating Technique. Bulletin of Chemical Reaction Engineering &amp; Catalysis, 9 (3): 175-181. (doi:10.9767/bcrec.9.3.5733.175-181)Permalink/DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.9767/bcrec.9.3.5733.175-181</p

Paediatric HIV - trends & challenges

With the availability of antiretroviral therapy (ART), HIV infection, which was once considered a progressively fatal illness, has now become a chronic treatable condition in children, as in adults. However, the challenges these children are forced to face are far more daunting. The most significant shortcoming in the response to paediatric HIV remains the woefully inadequate prevention of mother-to-child transmission (PMTCT), allowing a large number of children to be born with HIV in the first place, in spite of it being largely preventable. In the west, mother-to-child transmission has been virtually eliminated; however, in resource-limited settings where >95 per cent of all vertical transmissions take place, still an infected infants continue to be born. There are several barriers to efficient management: delayed infant diagnosis, lack of appropriate paediatric formulations, lack of skilled health personnel, etc. Poorly developed immunity allows greater dissemination throughout various organs. There is an increased frequency of malnutrition and infections that may be more persistent, severe and less responsive to treatment. In addition, these growing children are left with inescapable challenges of facing not only lifelong adherence with complex treatment regimens, but also enormous psychosocial, mental and neuro-cognitive issues. These unique challenges must be recognized and understood in order to provide appropriate holistic management enabling them to become productive citizens of tomorrow. To address these multi-factorial issues, there is an urgent need for a concerted, sustainable and multi-pronged national and global response

Polymorphism and benzene solvent controlled stimuli responsive reversible fluorescence switching in triphenylphosphoniumfluorenylide crystals

Triphenylphosphoniumfluorenylide (TPPFY), a fluorescent fluorene attached molecule, showed polymorphism, benzene solvent induced aggregation enhanced emission (AEE) and external stimuli responsive on–off fluorescence switching.</p