Quantification of Land Transformation Using Remote Sensing and GIS Techniques

Abstract Urbanization is an inevitable part of economic development. Urbanization results in to changes in the landscape, specifically the proliferation of concrete and impervious surfaces, and the displacement of agriculture and forestland. Understanding these interactions between human activities and their consequences in landscape, is especially important in areas of the world that are experiencing rapid change, where the cu mulat ive impacts of development may be realized too late to trigger mitigation measures. The present study of land transformat ion in Srinagar city aims to demonstrate the utility of integrating existing maps with the satellite data and related geographic info rmation to dynamically map urban land transformation characteristics. This study provides a visual portrayal of gro wth and trends of transformat ion and conveys how the progress of modern urbanizat ion results in changes to the landscape. The analysis revealed that there has been a large scale land use/land cover change and transformat ions in Srinagar city during the study period of 30 years . Such change was validated by carrying out the estimat ion of Land Consumption Rate and Land Absorption Coefficient. Moreover, the study also projects the likely changes that might occur till the year 2021. The projections for change by the year suggest that there will be further expansion of the city on the fertile agricultural fields in its fringe area as of 1981-2011 study period. This research wo rk could present the diagnostic approach to the cause and effect relationship in in spatio temporal framework of urban geography

Urbanization and Quality of Urban Environment Using Remote Sensing and GIS Techniques in East Delhi-India

An explosive increase of urban population, practically in all major cities and towns, has the consequent strain on the existing system manifested in an environmental chaos. The phenomena of accelerated urbanisation is the main culprit, wherein besides bringing higher standard of living, it has also brought problems, as growth of dense and unplanned residential areas, environmental pollution, non-availability of services and amenities, solid waste etc. Remote sensing satellite data is suitable for urban land use mapping to get detail and upto-date information for environmental management. Where as GIS helps in developing database system for urban information, which supports decision making process. Development of digital database on all aspects of land use and urban planning is the next crucial task for the future in which remote sensing based information is going to play a major role. In Delhi, rise in population and growth in economic activity has led to environmental degradation. With this view an attempt has been made to study the quality of urban environment in the East district of Delhi, which is experiencing very high urban growth with 98.75 % urban population in 2001. For this study Landsat ASTER (MSS) data of year 2001 (15 m Ground resolution), Guide map of the year 1982 and demographic and environmental data has been used. Eight parameters were selected, which affect the urban environmental quality, namely built-up area, open spaces, household density, occupancy ratio

Land-use change in the 'edgelands' : policies and pressures in London's rural-urban fringe

Green Belt policies have helped to create chaotic landscapes at the rural–urban interfaces of the United Kingdom's largest cities. Their prime functions, to control urban sprawl and preserve an encircling green girdle to separate the urban from the open countryside, have created ‘edgelands’ that have been remarkably dynamic despite relatively strong controls on certain types of development. A detailed case study of one part of London's Metropolitan Green Belt, drawing upon analysis of planning registers, reveals long-term trends in land-use change linked to the development controls operated within the context of the Green Belt and the adjacent built-up area. This paper also outlines the history of the Green Belt policy in the United Kingdom (UK) and discusses recently proposed policy changes that have provoked ongoing debate about this form of control on urban sprawl and its consequences for the land use of Green Belts and the edgelands.

Metabolic Impact on the Hypothalamic Kisspeptin-Kiss1r Signaling Pathway

A large body of data has established the hypothalamic kisspeptin (KP) and its receptor, KISS1R, as major players in the activation of the neuroendocrine reproductive axis at the time of puberty and maintenance of reproductive capacity in the adult. Due to its strategic location, this ligand-receptor pair acts as an integrator of cues from gonadal steroids as well as of circadian and seasonal variation-related information on the reproductive axis. Besides these cues, the activity of the hypothalamic KP signaling is very sensitive to the current metabolic status of the body. In conditions of energy imbalance, either positive or negative, a number of alterations in the hypothalamic KP signaling pathway have been documented in different mammalian models including nonhuman primates and human. Deficiency of metabolic fuels during fasting causes a marked reduction of Kiss1 gene transcript levels in the hypothalamus and, hence, decreases the output of KP-containing neurons. Food intake or exogenous supply of metabolic cues, such as leptin, reverses metabolic insufficiency-related changes in the hypothalamic KP signaling. Likewise, alterations in Kiss1 expression have also been reported in other situations of energy imbalance like diabetes and obesity. Information related to the body’s current metabolic status reaches to KP neurons both directly as well as indirectly via a complex network of other neurons. In this review article, we have provided an updated summary of the available literature on the regulation of the hypothalamic KP-Kiss1r signaling by metabolic cues. In particular, the potential mechanisms of metabolic impact on the hypothalamic KP-Kiss1r signaling, in light of available evidence, are discussed

Peripheral administration of the human kisspeptin-10 and 26RF-amide inhibits plasma testosterone levels in the adult male broiler breeder birds (Gallus domesticus)

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Study of the role of novel RF-amide neuropeptides in affecting growth hormone secretion in a representative non-human primate (Macaca mulatta)

International audienceRF amide peptide family with distinctive terminal -Arg-Phe-NH(2) signature is evolutionarily conserved from invertebrates to mammals. These neuropeptides have been shown to affect diverse functions in invertebrates and vertebrates including influencing pituitary hormone secretion. More recently, two members of this family 26-amino acid and 43-amino acid RF amide peptide (26RFa and 43RFa, respectively) originally isolated from frog have been cloned in rats and humans. Actions of these peptides on hormone secretion have not been studied in primates. In the present study, effect of iv administration of three different doses of human 26RFa and 43RFa on GH secretion was studied in a representative higher primate, the rhesus monkey. As control against these two peptides, normal saline and a scrambled sequence of 26RFa was administered. A set of four intact adult male monkeys received the administration in a random order. Peripheral blood samples were obtained from the chairrestrained but fully conscious animals for a period of 30 min before and 240 min after the administration at 15-min intervals. For quantitative measurement of GH concentration, a human GH chemiluminescent immunometric assay was used. Peripheral administration of 38 and 76 nmol doses of 26RFa significantly (P < 0.05) stimulated GH AUC during a 0-120 min period after injection of 26RFa. In contrast to 26RFa, administration of 43RFa appeared to suppress GH levels during the later stages of the sampling i.e. from 120 to 240 min period. Mean AUC during the period was significantly (P < 0.05) reduced by 76 nmol dose of 43RFa, while 38 nmol dose of 43RFa also had similar effect but lacked full statistical significance (P = 0.058). To our knowledge present study reports for the first time-specific stimulatory effect of 26RFa on the GH secretion and a novel inhibitory and delayed effect of 43RFa on the GH secretion in higher primates. In conclusion, present findings extend evidence for endocrine actions of RF amides in primates and suggest differential effect of these peptides on GH secretion in primates

Palliation of four-wave mixing in optical fibers using improved dsp receiver

A long haul optical communication system (LHOCS) is one of the key resources to fulfill the higher capacity requirements in future communication networks. To launch LHOCS, the system mainly faces high order nonlinear effects. The four-wave mixing (FWM) is one of the major nonlinear effects, which limits the transmission distance. Therefore, in this paper, an advanced duo-binary (DB) modulation scheme-based system is evaluated by employing an improved digital signal processing (IDSP) approach at the receiver side to suppress the FWM effect. In addition, an analytical analysis is also performed for the proposed system. To observe the difference between the IDSP and conventional digital signal processing (DSP), the various performance metrics such as bit error rate (BER), Q-factor, and optical signal-to-noise ratio (OSNR) parameters are evaluated. Variable channel spacing along with polarization mode dispersion (PMD) are analyzed at several ranges of input powers and fiber lengths. The analytical and simulation-based calculations exhibit the effectiveness of the proposed model and hence, FWM effect are compensated to achieve 500 km optical fiber propagation range with a BER below 10−6