Search

This study focuses on the stone-made temples that were constructed in the Western Himalayas between 700 and 1200 AD in the Gomati River valley to determine the damage caused by historic earthquakes. The destruction and collapse of these monuments are attributed to historic earthquakes that occurred in the Western Himalayas during the years 1338, 1574, and 1747–1830 AD, as well as to armed struggles between two ethnic groups who practice different religions. Structural dislocation such as tilting of temples, rotation and displacement of the pillars, and stone block unit points toward earthquake-induced dislocation. The temples were probably built in arid climatic conditions (700 and 1200 AD) and were reconstructed around 1602 AD as a result of considerable damage held by a high-intensity earthquake. Based on seismo-archaeological indicators, the current research states that these monuments were affected by the devastating earthquakes of 1505 and 1803 AD. Another possibility for this structural catastrophe is the north-westerly tilting of temples because of ground subsidence brought on by intense monsoonal precipitation. Interestingly, the multi-decadal speleothem research in the proximity indicates a drier climate phase from 830 to 1210 AD. The goal of the current research was to assess the active deformation in the Baijnath temple complex of the Western Himalaya (the study area) and to correlate the results with high-resolution multi-decadal scale climatic data. A reliable remote sensing technique for monitoring land subsidence using satellite data called Differential Interferometric Synthetic Aperture Radar (DInSAR) and Persistent Scattered Interferometry (PSI) is utilized to carry out this investigation and analyze the ongoing regional scale co-seismic deformation pattern. The data obtained from PSI were substantiated by the published outcomes of GPS derived strain distribution and peak ground acceleration (PGA). The combined findings of DInSAR and PSI imply that the area is deforming at a pace of +-7.5 mm/y, which is consistent with the GPS velocity inferred from the area. Our findings imply that the Baijnath temple complex experienced significant damage due to the historic earthquakes, highlighting the potential of contemporary geospatial techniques in advancing archaeoseismological investigations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

On April 28 2021, an earthquake of MW 6.4 occurred near Sonitpur, Assam, India. The epicenter was 43 km away from Tezpur, Assam with a focal depth of 34 km. The National Center for Seismology (NCS), Delhi reported the maximum intensity of MMI-V whereas the United States Geological Survey (USGS) reported the maximum intensity of MMI-VII. Preliminary reports suggest a reverse slip component for the earthquake, which occurred close to the previously reported Kopili fault. This fault is the cause of two damaging earthquakes in the past i.e., 1869 Cachar earthquake and the 1943 earthquake. The April 28 2021, Sonitpur earthquake caused widespread liquefaction, building damage, and lateral spreading as far as 90 km from the epicenter. The present study reports preliminary damages and ground effects observed soon after the earthquake along with a comparative analysis with previously reported damages around the area during the historical earthquakes. The farthest reported liquefaction occurred during the earthquake was plotted with other case studies which were well in agreement with the previous literature. The possible reason for the extensive liquefaction and ground cracks is inferred to be due to site amplification within a sedimentary basin. Therefore, the occurrence of the 2021Sonitpur, Assam earthquake emphasizes the seismic hazard scenario for the Brahmaputra Basin and Bengal Basin, which further requires more detailed study in terms of paleoseismology, liquefaction hazard zonation and seismic hazard assessment. In addition, the damages to the buildings highlight the implementation of proper building codes considering the liquefaction hazard zonation map for the study area. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Himalaya, the highest mountain system in the world and house of important biodiversity hotspot, is sensitive to projected warming by climate change. Rhizocarpon geographicum (map lichen), a crustose lichen, grows in high mountain ranges, is a potential indicator species of climate change. In the present study, MaxEnt species distribution modeling algorithm was used to predict the suitable habitat for R. geographicum in current and future climate scenarios. Nineteen bioclimatic variables from WorldClim database, along with elevation, were used to predict the current distribution and three representative concentration pathway (RCP) scenarios by integrating three general circulation models (GCMs) for future distribution of species covering years 2050 and 2070. Furthermore, we performed change analysis to identify the precise difference between the current and future distribution of suitable areas of the species for delineating habitat range expansion (gain), habitat contraction (loss), and stable habitats. The final ensemble model obtained had average test value 0.968, and its predicted ~ 27.5% of the geographical area in the Indian Himalayan Region is presently climatically suitable for the species. The predicted highly suitable area for R. geographicum is observed to be declining in Northwestern Himalaya, and it is shifting towards the higher elevation areas of the Eastern Himalaya. The projected distribution in future under the RCP scenarios (RCP 4.5, 6.0, and 8.5) showed the range expansion towards higher elevations, and it is more pronounced for the extreme future scenarios (RCP 8.5) than for the moderate and intermediate climate scenarios (RCP 4.5 and RCP 6.0). However, assuming that species can migrate to previously unoccupied areas, the model forecasts a habitat loss of 10.86–16.51% for R. geographicum, which is expected due to increase in mean annual temperature by 1.5–3.7 °C. The predictive MaxEnt modeling approach for mapping lichen will contribute significantly to the understanding of the impact of climate change in Himalayan ecosystems with wide implications for drawing suitable conservation plans and to take adaptation and mitigation measures. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Detection and mapping of landslides is one of the most important techniques used for reducing the impact of natural disasters especially in the Himalaya, owing to its high amount of tectonic deformation, seismicity, and unfavorable climatic conditions. Moreover, the northeastern part of the Himalaya, severely affected by landslides every monsoon, is poorly studied. The information on the inventories is inhomogeneous and lacking. In this context, satellite-based earth observation data, which has significantly advanced in the last decade and often serves as a potential source for data collection, monitoring, and damage assessment for disasters in a short time span, has been implemented. Keeping in mind the above framework, this study aims to exploit the potentials of Sentinel-1 synthetic aperture radar (SAR) and Sentinel-2 optical imagery for identifying new landslides in vegetated and hilly areas of the northeastern part of India. In order to assess the potentials of our data and methodology, a landslide event which occurred on 13 August 2016 13:30 h (IST) in North Sikkim, India, triggered due to rainfall has been explored in detail. The landslide also resulted in the formation of a lake, 2.2 km in length and 290 m in width. Difficulty in procurement of cloud-free datasets immediately after the event led us to the use of Sentinel-1 SAR backscatter data, to assess its potential for this purpose. It is observed that the potential of SAR amplitude imagery is limited to different aspects as per the sensor look direction during the mode of acquisition. Furthermore, the present study also incorporates a change detection algorithm to evaluate the performance of the Sudden Landslide Identification Product (SLIP) model to identify new landslides using Sentinel-2 multispectral imagery. Overall, the results exhibit that integrated usage of both optical and SAR amplitude imagery may provide a plethora of information for identification and mapping of new landslides for damage assessment and early warning. All the above results combined together suggest this method for rapid identification of landslides in the Himalayan terrain with special emphasis on the northeastern part of the Himalaya. The automation of this method for future operational usage is also suggested. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Cancer is often associated with chronic inflammation. In order to develop potential anticancer and anti-inflammatory agents a series of 26 diarylidenecyclopentanones (DACPs) Ia–Iv, II, III, and IV were synthesized. Five of the synthesized DACPs are novel (Ih, Ij, Ik, Is, and Iv), derivative Iv was characterized using single-crystal X-ray diffraction study. All the synthesized derivatives were tested for their anti-inflammatory as well as cytotoxicity properties. Compound Is is found to have the highest anti-inflammatory activity (93.67%) by inhibiting PGE2 (prostaglandin E2) production. Three of the DACPs (Io, It, and Iu) were observed to have high cytotoxicity with IC50 value of 8.73 ± 0.06 µM (Io), 12.55 ± 0.31 µM (It), and 11.47 ± 0.15 µM (Iu) against HeLa cells. Further staining and cell cycle analysis was done using these three DACPs to understand their mechanism of action. The G0/G1 phase was observed to be the longest one through which the cells undergo apoptosis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Landslide is one of the devastating natural phenomenon that threatens human life and property. Every year a number of persons lost their lives due to the landslides. Therefore, a better understanding and characterization of landslide is very essential for adopting mitigation strategies to contain the adversities of this natural hazard. Information on landslides from different climatic setup are very essential for better understanding of the influence of weathering, rainfall, or topography on landslide generation. Weathering is one of the important causative factor for landslide generation in the moderate topography or inactive mountainous terrain. The Western Ghats including the Deccan Traps, an inactive mountain range, receives torrential rainfall. Intense rainfall in these areas enhances the weathering processes and fabricates thick soil covers. Mahabaleshwar area, Maharashtra was chosen as a case study, where high elevated part is covered by lateritic layer and each lava flow unit is separated by a thin weathered bed of red bole. The area experiences series of landslides during the summer monsoon months. Mainly two types of landslides have been identified in the area confined with the red bole bed and powdery lateritic soil. The first type of landslides occur at higher elevations (≥1200m) where horizontal beds of permeable laterites underlined by impermeable thick basalt beds. The rain water infiltrates down and spread laterally within the permeable lateritic beds. It finally spouts at lower plateau elevations and triggers mainly debris flows. The other category of landslides occurs where the weathered red bole bed separates two successive lava flows. The percolating water from the secondary porosities (joints and inter connected vugs) comes out from the contact zones of basalt and red bole bed in the form of seepages. It erodes the red bole bed and as a result the overlying masses hang and consequently lead to rock fall. The Chemical Index of Alteration (CIA) of the representative samples from landslide locations indicates significant weathering. The CIA values for the fine lateritic soil are up to 98% whereas for the red bole bed it varies from 77 to 85%. This suggests a high chemical weathering and higher erodibility. The association of active landslide locations with the red bole bed and fine lateritic soil suggests a close relation between weathering and landslide occurrences in the area. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The second paragraph from the subsection, Optical data and pre-processing contained texts from the subsection SAR data and pre-processing and vice versa. 1 HT ht Graph Besides the percentage red reflectance change, normalized multiband drought index (NMDI) is also employed in this study. The sub-section under Satellite datasets and pre-processing section contained two subsections namely, 1) Optical data and pre-processing, and 2) SAR data and pre-processing. [Extracted from the article]

The purpose of the study was to prepare stable liposomally entrapped budesonide (BUD) for a dry powder inhaler (DPI) formulation. BUD liposomes composed of egg phosphatidyl choline and cholesterol were prepared by lipid film hydration technique and sonicated to have the desired size (<5 μm). A rapid method was used for separation of free drug by centrifugation at a lower centrifugal force (G value). Liposomal dispersion was subjected to lyophilization after blending BUD with cryoprotectant in varying bulk and mass ratios, and percent drug remaining entrapped after lyophilization was optimized. Comparative drug retention studies on storage of DPI formulations were carried out in accordance with International Conference on Harmonization guidelines. Critical relative humidity of the formulations was determined and reported as one of the manufacturing controls. Sucrose was found to be the most effective cryoprotectant when present on both sides of the lamellae of liposomes in a bulk strength of 500 mM and mass ratio of lipid:sugar; 1∶10. Blending of sorbolac before lyophilization showed better retention of encapsulated drug (95.59%). The respirable fraction of the product (20.69±1.50%) was comparable with that of the control (26.49±1.52%), suggesting that the liposomal BUD can be successfully delivered throughout the broncho-pulmonary tree. The findings demonstrate that liposome of BUD can be prepared with a high entrapment value, stabilized by lyophilization, and delivered as an aerosolized DPI. The stability studies of lyophilized product suggests a shelf-life of one year when stored under refrigeration (2°C–8°C). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: In this work, we have synthesised and structurally characterized a mononuclear cobalt(III) complex, [Co(2-O-pn)2]Cl.2H2O (1), (2-O-pn = 1,3-diamino-2-propanolate). From the X-ray structure of the cobalt complex, it is revealed that Co(III) ion in 1 adopts an octahedral geometry and crystallizes in the monoclinic system with C2 / c space group. The lattice aqua molecule in combination with chloride ion in 1 forms a water-chloride cluster, (H2O)2⋯(Cl)2 through strong H-bonding interaction mediated via cobalt(III) complex in a unique binding motif. This cobalt(III) complex has been tested as an effective catalytic system towards the oxidative coupling of 2-aminophenol (2-AP) in the MeCN medium. In situ mass spectral analysis confirms that 2-AP forms an adduct with cobalt ion and the course of catalysis proceeds through catalyst-substrate binding followed by oxidative coupling of 2-AP with iminobenzoquinone. This cobalt(III) catalyst affords exclusively aminophenoxazinone species with a significant turnover number, kcat:6.37×102h-1 in the MeCN medium. This cobalt(III) complex is able to screen out the growth of some bacteria and fungi species. Quantum chemical calculations employing density functional theory is used to model structural parameters and spectroscopic behaviour. The theoretical findings corroborate well with the experimental results.GRAPHICAL ABSTRACT: SYNOPSIS A mononuclear cobalt(III) complex exhibits significant catalytic efficacy towards oxidative coupling of 2-aminphenol (2-AP) in MeCN medium and predominantly produces aminophenoxazinone species with a significant turn over number, kcat:6.37×102h-1 in presence of molecular oxygen. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]