Morphometry and Geomorphological Investigations of the Neugal Watershed, Beas River Basin, Kangra District, Himachal Pradesh Using GIS Tools

An attempt has been made to study the detailed morphometric and geomorphological characteristics of the Neugal Watershed, which is a part of the Beas River Basin, in Kangra district of Himachal Pradesh, India.  For detailed study of this watershed, geographical information system (GIS) was used in the evaluation of slope, linear stream ordering and relief aspects of morphometric parameters and also in presentation of geomorphological subdivisions of the basin. Surface Tools in ArcGIS-10 software and ASTER (DEM) were used in the preparation of watershed boundary, slope-aspect and different thematic maps like drainage density, slope and relief. More than eight morphometric parameter of different aspects have been computed. It is observed that the stream frequency decreases as the stream order increases and the densities of 1st order streams are higher in the northern, southern and south-eastern part of the Neugal watershed area. Based on the relationship between absolute and relative relief in the study area, it can be indicated that the relative relief increases with the increase in the absolute relief and shows active correlation. In Neugal watershed, the slope is controlled by the structure, and the erosional processes which have resulted in varied landform leading to environmental hazards. Keywords: Morphometric parameters, Geomorphological analysis, Neugal watershed, Relief, Environmental hazard

Hydrochemical Characterization, Classification and Evaluation of Groundwater Regime in Sirsa Watershed, Nalagarh Valley, Himachal Pradesh, India.

Nalagarh valley is the southernmost expanse of Himachal Pradesh; belong to the rapid industrial belt of Baddi, Barotiwala and Nalagarh (BBN). The present investigation is to examine the suitability of groundwater quality for drinking purpose and factor prevailing hydrochemistry by collecting 32 groundwater samples during pre and post monsoon. The physical and chemical analyses result shows the parameters like Cl-, HCO3-, SO42-, NO32- are well within desirable limit as per BIS. At some locations the concentration of pH, TH and Mg2+ exceeded the permissible limits and nearly 50% samples of EC, TDS, Ca2+ shows above the desirable limit of BIS which gives us cautions. Classification of hydrochemical facies of groundwater revealed that all the samples belong to the Ca2+-Mg2+-HCO3- water types. Based on the Soltan’s Classification, the groundwater sample are categorized normal chloride, normal sulfate and normal bicarbonate water type. Base-exchange indices and meteoric genesis indices indicates majority of samples belongs to Na+- HCO3- and shallow water percolating type are 93.75% and 90.63% respectively. According to Gibb’s ratio, the entire water sample fall in the rock dominance field for both season. Key words: Water resources, Groundwater Quality, Hydrochemical facies, Base-exchange indices, Gibb’s rati

Monitoring and Assessment of Soil Quality near Kashlog Limestone mine at Darlaghat District Solan, Himachal Pradesh, India

Limestone mining for an area is an economic activity but may lead to degradation of soil quality. Opencast mining operations involved displacement of large amount of overburden/rock mass materials to excavate the limestone for many purposes. In mining areas the soils are affected by various mining operations i.e blasting, drilling and storage of overburden dump materials, clearing of land, construction of ancillary facilities and movement of vehicles.  It is essential to determine the potential of soil in the area and identify the impacts of urbanization, industrialization and mining on soil quality. Present study is carried out to determine the soil characteristics, Impact of mining, industrialization and more importantly from agricultural point of view. Soil samples collected from ten locations were analyzed for physic- chemical characteristics. From the data it is observed that the concentration of total iron in 2 samples were above the permissible limit of 5.77%. Potassium levels were under the category very high whereas the levels of Phosphorus were reported to be in the category of less to medium. Higher potassium content of all the samples may be due to using fertilizers containing potassium. Cacium and magnesium levels are also higher than the prescribed safe limit in few samples. Key Words: Pollution, urbanization, industrialization, mining and fertilizer

Socio-economic impacts of Sorang hydroelectric power project in District Kinnaur, Himachal Pradesh, India.

Electricity is one of the key determinants for economic growth of a nation.  Over the past decade or so, hydropower projects (HEP) around the world have attracted much attention concerning the environmental and social impacts that have arisen from such developments. Construction and operations of dams have always been associated with changes in the physical and biological environment. No doubt electricity generation is the need of the hours for development, but the large projects do involve the submersion of forests and the displacement of people. Socio-economic and cultural impacts arising from project construction and environmental transformations are rooted in the complex interactivity between social and biophysical environments. Human communities are integral components of their environment as well as potential agents for environmental change. Hence environmental changes in settled areas are often profoundly interlinked with subsequent changes that occur within society. The interests of local must be listened to and taken care of during the planning and the policy makers must adopt a model or strategies so that the impacts and effects of such type developmental activities can be minimized and local people who are living in the vicinity as well as who have sacrificed their belongings. To maximize the positive impacts and mitigate the negative environmental, social and economic impacts sustainability of water resources projects is required.  This paper refers the perception of the public with regards to the impact of the Sorang HEP and other development activities and need for sustainable development to maintain balance with the environment of hilly and fragile area. Keywords: Hydropower Projects (HEP), Socio-economic, Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA), Sustainability

Temporal Variation of Surface Water Quality in Urbanized Watershed of Shimla, Himachal Pradesh, India

The Water quality of Ashwani Khad, a drinking water resource for Shimla city was studied to find out it’s suitability for drinking purposes since this stream is receiving treated sewage effluent from a nearby Sewage Treatment Plant. The sewage contaminated water had caused Hepatitis A outbreak in the city few years ago. This for the first time created a hue and cry among the people leading to a constant monitoring of the water quality of Ashwani Khad since this water is directly being used for drinking purposes in the study area. Fifteen water quality parameters were tested for 26 water samples along the stream both in pre and post monsoon seasons in April 2013 and October 2013 respectively. These included pH, EC, TDS, BOD, COD, hardness, alkalinity, nitrates, phosphates, fluoride, sulphates and chlorides. The pH, EC and TDS were evaluated in the field while the other parameters were evaluated in the laboratory. The higher values of few parameters especially the BOD and COD in the water samples indicated that the water is not suitable for drinking purposes and needs certain levels of purification techniques to make it suitable for drinking purposes. The results also revealed that the Sewage Treatment Plant is not working effectively as the effluents were highly contaminated. Keywords: Water, Sewage, Pollution, Shimla, Sewage Treatment Plant, Ashwani Kha

FOXD1-ALDH1A3 signaling is a determinant for the self-renewal and tumorigenicity of mesenchymal glioma stem cells

Glioma stem-like cells (GSC) with tumor-initiating activity orchestrate the cellular hierarchy in glioblastoma and engender therapeutic resistance. Recent work has divided GSC into two subtypes with a mesenchymal (MES) GSC population as the more malignant subtype. In this study, we identify the FOXD1-ALDH1A3 signaling axis as a determinant of the MES GSC phenotype. The transcription factor FOXD1 is expressed predominantly in patient-derived cultures enriched with MES, but not with the proneural GSC subtype. shRNA-mediated attenuation of FOXD1 in MES GSC ablates their clonogenicity in vitro and in vivo. Mechanistically, FOXD1 regulates the transcriptional activity of ALDH1A3, an established functional marker for MES GSC. Indeed, the functional roles of FOXD1 and ALDH1A3 are likely evolutionally conserved, insofar as RNAi-mediated attenuation of their orthologous genes in Drosophila blocks formation of brain tumors engineered in that species. In clinical specimens of high-grade glioma, the levels of expression of both FOXD1 and ALDH1A3 are inversely correlated with patient prognosis. Finally, a novel small-molecule inhibitor of ALDH we developed, termed GA11, displays potent in vivo efficacy when administered systemically in a murine GSC-derived xenograft model of glioblastoma. Collectively, our findings define a FOXD1-ALDH1A3 pathway in controling the clonogenic and tumorigenic potential of MES GSC in glioblastoma tumors

Reducing the environmental impact of surgery on a global scale: systematic review and co-prioritization with healthcare workers in 132 countries

Abstract Background Healthcare cannot achieve net-zero carbon without addressing operating theatres. The aim of this study was to prioritize feasible interventions to reduce the environmental impact of operating theatres. Methods This study adopted a four-phase Delphi consensus co-prioritization methodology. In phase 1, a systematic review of published interventions and global consultation of perioperative healthcare professionals were used to longlist interventions. In phase 2, iterative thematic analysis consolidated comparable interventions into a shortlist. In phase 3, the shortlist was co-prioritized based on patient and clinician views on acceptability, feasibility, and safety. In phase 4, ranked lists of interventions were presented by their relevance to high-income countries and low–middle-income countries. Results In phase 1, 43 interventions were identified, which had low uptake in practice according to 3042 professionals globally. In phase 2, a shortlist of 15 intervention domains was generated. In phase 3, interventions were deemed acceptable for more than 90 per cent of patients except for reducing general anaesthesia (84 per cent) and re-sterilization of ‘single-use’ consumables (86 per cent). In phase 4, the top three shortlisted interventions for high-income countries were: introducing recycling; reducing use of anaesthetic gases; and appropriate clinical waste processing. In phase 4, the top three shortlisted interventions for low–middle-income countries were: introducing reusable surgical devices; reducing use of consumables; and reducing the use of general anaesthesia. Conclusion This is a step toward environmentally sustainable operating environments with actionable interventions applicable to both high– and low–middle–income countries

Data on fluoride contamination in potable water in alluvial plains of district Panipat, Haryana, India

This data set reveals the fluoride concentration level of an alluvial aquifer of Panipat district Haryana India. The whole district of Panipat relies on groundwater for its agricultural, industrial and domestic purposes. Fluoride concentration in the study area varied from 0.5 mg/L to 5.95 mg/L with an average of 1.6 mg/L. 42.9% of the groundwater samples have shown higher fluoride concentration in groundwater than the permissible level prescribed by World Health Organisation and Bureau of Indian Standards. The spatial distribution map of fluoride has interestingly shown contrast between western and eastern parts of the region. Higher fluoride concentration (1.00–5.95 mg/L) in groundwater is witnessed in western half whereas the eastern half had comparatively lower concentration of fluoride ranging from 0.5 mg/L to 3.0 mg/L with maximum area having concentrations up to 1.5 mg/L. Major part 52.23% of Panipat district has shown high fluoride concentration in groundwater than the permissible level. It is further suggested that prolonged intake of groundwater with fluoride concentration higher than the permissible levels may cause dental or skeletal fluorosis in the locals. Keywords: Fluoride, Groundwater, Alluvial aquifer, Fluorosi

A comprehensive water quality index based on analytical hierarchy process

The popular water quality index (WQI) and the recently developed integrated water quality index (IWQI) were used to evaluate the potability of 32 groundwater samples collected from Nalagarh valley, Himachal Pradesh, India. But their analytical results were surprisingly contrasting. While WQI classified 14 of the samples as ‘excellent’ and 17 as ‘good’, IWQI put all of them under ‘unsuitable’ category. This led to the development of a new index, called ‘comprehensive water quality index (CWQI)’, on the basis of analytical hierarchy process (AHP). Unit weights and sub-index values of both relaxable (that have both acceptable and permissible limits) and non-relaxable (that have only one guideline value) parameters were considered in the calculation process. Two segments were calculated: PCWQI (positive CWQI) and NCWQI (negative CWQI) with their scores varying between 0 and 1 and 0 and (−0.840), respectively. Grading of water quality from drinking perspective was done essentially with NCWQI scores, such as ‘excellent’ (when NCWQI = 0), ‘good’ (NCWQI = 0 to −0.21), ‘marginal’ (NCWQI = −0.21 to −0.42), ‘poor’ (NCWQI = −0.42 to −0.63), ‘very poor’ (NCWQI = −0.63 to −0.84) and ‘unacceptable’ (NCWQI = <−0.84). In fact, whenNCWQI = 0, higher the PCWQI, better the water quality. When two water samples had the same NCWQI score, they were graded by their respective PCWQI score. When two water samples had the same magnitudes of PCWQI and NCWQI, they were graded equally. On the basis of this classification, groundwater in majority of the study area was classified under ‘good’ category for drinking purposes in absence of an alternative source of water. Compared to WQI and IWQI, CWQI proved itself to be a robust and comprehensive technique for assessing the groundwater quality. It was hence recommended to be used universally for groundwater quality assessment

Quality characterization and pollution source identification of surface water using multivariate statistical techniques, Nalagarh Valley, Himachal Pradesh, India

Abstract Sirsa River flows through the central part of the Nalagarh valley, belongs to the rapid industrial belt of Baddi, Barotiwala and Nalagarh (BBN). The appraisal of surface water quality to ascertain its utility in such ecologically sensitive areas is need of the hour. The present study envisages the application of multivariate analysis, water utility class and conventional graphical representation to reveal the hidden factor responsible for deterioration of water quality and determine the hydrochemical facies and its evolution processes of water types in Nalagarh valley, India. The quality assessment is made by estimating pH, electrical conductivity (EC), total dissolved solids (TDS), total hardness, major ions (Na+, K+, Ca2+, Mg2+, HCO3 −, Cl−, SO4 2−, NO3 − and PO4 3−), dissolved oxygen (DO), biological oxygen demand (BOD) and total coliform (TC) to determine its suitability for drinking and domestic purposes. The parameters like pH, TDS, TH, Ca2+, HCO3 −, Cl−, SO4 2−, NO3 − are within the desirable limit as per Bureau of Indian Standards (Indian Standard Drinking Water Specification (Second Edition) IS:10500. Indian Standard Institute, New Delhi, pp 1–18, 2012). Mg2+, Na+ and K+ ions for pre monsoon and EC during pre and post monsoon at few sites and approx 40% samples of BOD and TC for both seasons exceeds the permissible limits indicate organic contamination from human activities. Water quality classification for designated use indicates that maximum surface water samples are not suitable for drinking water source without conventional treatment. The result of piper trillinear and Chadha’s diagram classified majority of surface water samples for both seasons fall in the fields of Ca2+–Mg2+–HCO3 − water type indicating temporary hardness. PCA and CA reveal that the surface water chemistry is influenced by natural factors such as weathering of minerals, ion exchange processes and anthropogenic factors. Thus, the present paper illustrates the importance of multivariate techniques for reliable quality characterization of surface water quality to develop effective pollution reduction strategies and maintain a fine balance between the industrialization and ecological integrity