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

Roles of the troponin isoforms during indirect flight muscle development in Drosophila

Troponin proteins in cooperative interaction with tropomyosin are responsible for controlling the contraction of the striated muscles in response to changes in the intracellular calcium concentration. Contractility of the muscle is determined by the constituent protein isoforms, and the isoforms can switch over from one form to another depending on physiological demands and pathological conditions. In Drosophila, amajority of themyofibrillar proteins in the Indirect Flight Muscles (IFMs) undergo post-transcriptional and post-translational isoform changes during pupal to adult metamorphosis to meet the high energy and mechanical demands of flight. Using a newly generated Gal4 strain (UH3-Gal4) which is expressed exclusively in the IFMs, during later stages of development, we have looked at the developmental and functional importance of each of the troponin subunits (troponin-I, troponin-T and troponin-C) and their isoforms. We show that all the troponin subunits are required for normal myofibril assembly and flight, except for the troponin-C isoform 1 (TnC1). Moreover, rescue experiments conducted with troponin-I embryonic isoform in the IFMs, where flies were rendered flightless, show developmental and functional differences of TnI isoforms and importance of maintaining the right isoform

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