Center for Environmental Sciences & Engineering

<p>Shiv Nadar University is a comprehensive, multidisciplinary, research-focused, and student-centric University offering a full range of academic programs at the undergraduate, postgraduate and doctoral level. With state-of-the-art infrastructure, the University comprises of academic wings, sophisticated labs, international standard sports facilities, amphitheaters, auditorium, conference rooms and smart classrooms. The University&rsquo;s goal is to become internationally recognized for the quality of its research and creative endeavors and their applicability to improving quality of life, generating new insights and expanding the boundaries of human knowledge creativity. Committed to excellence in teaching, research and service, the University aims to serve the higher education needs of India and the world beyond.</p>

Shiv Nadar University

World University root node

Future perspectives and challenges in hyperspectral remote sensing

Neuropathic pain is a chronic pain state caused by injury of the nervous system and there are various conditions associated with it such as diabetic neuropathy, postherpetic neuralgia, cancer pain, trigeminal neuralgia, cervical radiculopathy and anticancer and anti-HIV-induced neuropathic pain. The pathophysiological role of voltage-gated T-type calcium channels in neuropathic pain has been well documented. ABT-639 is a peripherally acting, selective T-type calcium channel blocker and it is shown to efficiently reduce nociceptive and neuropathic pain in rats in multiple models. However, three clinical studies exploring the role of single dose or multiple doses of ABT-639 (100 mg) in diabetic neuropathy have not found significant pain-attenuating actions. The present review discusses the unsuccessful clinical trials of peripherally acting ABT-639 in patients with diabetic neuropathy.

Journal of Pharmaceutical Negative Results

Unsuccessful story of ABT-639 in neuropathic pain in different phases of clinical trials

The objective of this research is to identify species, provide spatial distribution of the species and estimate the biomass in the mangrove Forest, Bhitarkanika India. Mangrove ecosystems play an important role in regulating carbon cycling, thus having a significant impact on global environmental change. Extensive studies have been conducted for the estimation of mangrove species identification and biomass estimation. However, estimation at a regional level with species-wise biomass distribution has been insufficiently investigated in the past because either research focuses on the species distribution or biomass assessment. Study shows that good relationship has been achieved between stem volume (field measured data) and Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI) and Enhanced Vegetation Index (EVI) derived from satellite image and further these two indices are employed to estimate the biomass in the study site. Three models- linear, logarithmic and polynomial (second degree) are used to estimate biomass derived from EVI and NDVI. The hyperspectral data (spatial resolution ~ 30 m) is utilised to identify ten mangrove plant species. We have prepared the spatial distribution map of these species using spectral angle mapper. We have also generated mangrove species-wise biomass distribution map of the study site along with areal coverage of each species. The results indicate that the Sonneratia apetala Buch.-Ham. and Cynometra iripa Kostel has the highest biomass among all ten identified species, 643.12 Mg ha−1 and 652.14 Mg ha−1. Our study provided a positive relationship between NDVI, EVI, and the estimated biomass of Bhitarkanika Forest Reserve Odisha India. The study finds a similar results for both NDVI and EVI derived biomass, while linear regression has more significant results than the polynomial (second degree) and logarithmic regression derived biomass. The polynomial is found slightly better than the logarithmic when using the EVI as compared to NDVI derived biomass. The spatial distribution of species-wise biomass map obtained in this study using both, EVI and NDVI could be used to provide useful information for biodiversity assessment along with the sustainable solutions to different problems associated with the mangrove forest biodiversity. Thus, biomass assessment of larger regions can be achieved by utilization of remote sensing based indices as concluded in the present study. © 2019, Springer Nature B.V.

Biodiversity and Conservation

Spatial distribution of mangrove forest species and biomass assessment using field inventory and earth observation hyperspectral data

Aim of the study: The current study was aimed to investigate the neuropathic pain attenuating mechanism of pregabalin using chronic constriction injury (CCI) model in rats. Material and Methods: The sciatic nerve was ligated by placing four loose ligatures around it to induce neuropathic pain. The pain development in terms of cold allodynia, mechanical hyperalgesia and heat hyperalgesia was assessed on the 7th and 14th day after surgery, using acetone drop, pinprick and hot plate tests. On the 14th day after the injury, pain parameters were assessed 30 minutes after administration of pregabalin (30 mg/kg) and sodium nitroprusside (5 mg/kg) in CCI-subjected rats. Results: CCI led to induction of neuropathic pain, which was more prominent on 14th day in comparison to 7th day. A single administration of pregabalin and sodium nitroprusside on 14th day, markedly reduced pain parameters and increased serum nitrite levels. Pretreatment with L-NAME abolished neuropathic pain attenuating effects of pregabalin suggesting that pregabalin may increase the levels of nitric oxide to mitigate neuropathic pain. Pretreatment with naloxone significantly abrogated pain attenuating effects of pregabalin and sodium nitroprusside in CCI-subjected rats suggesting that pregabalin and nitric oxide-mediated analgesic action are mediated through release of endogenous opioids. Moreover, naloxone failed to modulate pregabalin-induced increase in nitric oxide levels suggesting that the opioid system does not control the nitric oxide levels and opioids may be downstream modulators of nitric oxide. Conclusion: Pregabalin may increase the release of nitric oxide, which may increase the release of endogenous opioids to attenuate neuropathic pain in CCI subjected rats.

International Journal of Neuroscience

Investigating the possible pain attenuating mechanisms of pregabalin in chronic constriction injury-induced neuropathic pain in rats

India currently has 5264 large dams in operation and 437 large dams under construction. Many of these dams do not match the emerging hydro-meteorological, hydraulic aspects. Safety of these dams is important to prevent collapse triggered by climate change effects. The increase in inflows to dams due to cloud bursts may cause dam safety concerns due to enhanced hydrodynamic forces. The main focus of this review is to get an insight into the events of cloud burst and GLOF which threaten dam safety. There are 65 completed and 11 under construction dams in India in the category of "Dams of National Importance" of which 22\% of the completed projects are older than 25 years. The review on failure due to cloud burst on few dams nationally and internationally has been done. The behaviour of Tehri Dam and Nathpa Jhakri dam in the past during the Cloud burst and GLOF occurrences and the importance to have a storage capacity for the hydel dams has been discussed along with the discussion on the necessity to increase the spillway capacity of Matatila dam. The scientific tools for conducting incisive case studies are highlighted to develop adaptive measures to deal with the resulting circumstances. © 2019, Central Board of Irrigation and Power. All rights reserved.

Civil Engineering

(SoE) School of Engineering

Water and Energy International

Review of climate change impacts on dam safety and flood mitigation issues in India

An attempt has been made to explore, evaluate and identify the sensitive parameter(s) of Cellular Automata Markov chain modeling to monitor and predict the future land use land cover pattern scenario in a part of Brahmaputra River Basin, India. For this purpose, land use land cover maps derived from satellite images of Landsat MSS image of 1987 and Landsat TM image of 1997 were used to predict future land use land cover of 2007 using Cellular Automata Markov model. Sensitivity analysis has been carried out to identify the land use land cover parameter(s), which have the highest, lowest or intermediate influence on predicted results. The validity of the Cellular Automata Markov process for projecting future land use and cover changes in the study area calculates various Kappa Indices of Agreement (Kstandard) which indicate how well the comparison map agrees and disagrees with the reference map (land use land cover map derived from IRS-P6 LISS III image of 2007). The results shows that the land with or without scrub appeared to be most sensitive parameter as it has highest influences on predicted results of land use land cover of 2007. The second most sensitive parameter was lakes / reservoirs / ponds to predict land use land cover of 2007, followed by river, agricultural crop land, plantation, open land, marshy / swampy, sandy area, aquatic vegetation, built up land, dense forest, degraded forest, waterlogged area and agricultural fallow land. The least sensitive parameter is agricultural fallow land, which has minimum influence on predicted results of land use land cover of 2007. The validation of CA Markov land use land cover prediction results shows Kstandard is 0.7928. © Authors 2019.

Fulltext

International Archives of the Photogrammetry, Remote Sensing and Spatial Information Sciences - ISPRS Archives

Ca markov modeling of land use land cover dynamics and sensitivity analysis to identify sensitive parameter(s)

Neuropathic pain is a complex chronic pain state caused by the dysfunction of somatosensory nervous system and it affects the millions of people worldwide. At present, there are very few medical treatments available for neuropathic pain management and the intolerable side effects of medications may further worsen the symptoms. Despite the presence of profound knowledge that delineates the pathophysiology and mechanisms leading to neuropathic pain, the unmet clinical needs demand more research in this field that would ultimately assist to ameliorate the pain conditions. Efforts are being made globally to explore and understand the basic molecular mechanisms responsible for somatosensory dysfunction in preclinical pain models. The present review highlights some of the novel molecular targets like D-amino acid oxidase, endoplasmic reticulum stress receptors, sigma receptors, hyperpolarization-activated cyclic nucleotide-gated cation channels, histone deacetylase, Wnt/-catenin and Wnt/Ryk, ephrins and Eph receptor tyrosine kinase, Cdh-1 and mitochondrial ATPase that are implicated in the induction of neuropathic pain. Studies conducted on the different animal models and observed results have been summarized with an aim to facilitate the efforts made in the drug discovery. The diligent analysis and exploitation of these targets may help in the identification of some promising therapies that can better manage neuropathic pain and improve the health of patients.

Korean Journal of Physiology and Pharmacology

An integrated review on new targets in the treatment of neuropathic pain

Wetlands are one of the most productive and fragile ecosystems on the Earth's surface. They have been providing essential services (irrigation, groundwater recharge, flood control and drinking water) to the society since the beginning of civilisation. The middle Ghaghara River basin is located in middle Ganga alluvial plain and is mainly drained by Ghaghara, Sarju, Rapti, Burhi Rapti and Kuwano rivers. In this study, Landsat 5 and 8 images of the post-monsoon months of 1989 and 2015 were used to extract the open water bodies of wetlands. Density slicing of the shortwave infrared band and the modified normalised water difference index (MNDWI) were utilised for the extraction of open water bodies. The total area of open water bodies was 472 km2 in 1989, while it reduced to 317 km2 in 2015. Thus, the reduction in open water bodies of wetlands is about 33%. Precipitation and temperature collectively play a major role in nurturing the wetlands. Therefore, in this study, trends in these climate parameters were analysed using non-parametric Mann-Kendall (MK) and Sen's slope methods. A significant increasing trend in annual mean temperature and a decreasing trend in total annual precipitation caused to shrink in open water bodies of the wetlands. Besides this, encroachment of cropland and built-up areas on wetlands denotes anthropogenic reason for the reduction in their areal extent. This study is beneficial to the planners and environmentalists for the restoration of shrinking open water bodies of wetlands in the middle Ghaghara River basin. © Springer Nature Singapore Pte Ltd. 2019.

Water Conservation, Recycling and Reuse: Issues and Challenges

Assessing the impacts of temperature, precipitation and land use change on open water bodies of Middle Ghaghara River Basin

D-amino acid oxidase (DAAO)is an astroglial enzyme abundantly present in the pain sensing regions including brain and spinal cord. There have been studies indicating an upregulation and increased activity of DAAO in different pain models. Furthermore, the upregulation of DAAO also results in the development of morphine tolerance as well as morphine-induced hyperalgesia. Accordingly, the knockdown of DAAO gene or pharmacological inhibition of DAAO reduces pain, reverses tolerance to morphine and hyperalgesia. The pain inducing actions of DAAO are related to augmented production of (hydrogen peroxide)H2O2, pro-inflammatory cytokines and activation of (Transient receptor protein Ankyrin-1)TRPA1 channels. On the other hand, exogenously administrated DAAO has also been shown to attenuate the pain in different pain models. The pain attenuating actions of DAAO enzyme has been linked to extensive metabolism of D-serine, which may not be able to activate NMDA receptor and trigger pain. The current review highlights the pain attenuating and pain inducing role of DAAO in experimental studies.

European Journal of Pharmacology

Dual role of D-amino acid oxidase in experimental pain models

The turbulent flow characteristics in the vicinity of mid-channel bar are studied in this paper. The velocity is measured with the help of the acoustic Doppler velocimetry (ADV). Fractal modelling is done for analysing the fractal nature of bursting events. The conditional Reynolds stress structure was analysed by using the quadrant technique. Decomposition of Reynolds stress help in studying the distribution of stress among the four quadrants. The hole-size concept is utilized for segregating the extreme bursting events from the low intensity events. Variation of quadrants stresses with the hole-size is analysed. The result of hole-size study indicates that the extreme turbulent burst is produced by the mid channel bar. The new parameter inclination ratio is evolved in this research to reflect streambed elevation changes. The results indicate that the high-level turbulence is generated at region near upstream end of mid-channel bar. The presence of mid-channel bar causes the critical changes to the turbulent structure of flow, where high Reynolds stresses are generated at region near upstream region of mid-channel bar. Third order moments are computed for vertical lines in the proximity of mid-channel bar. High value of third order moments for bar condition indicate that the intense turbulent mixing and momentum exchange take place. © 2019, Korean Society of Civil Engineers.