Priyamvada Sharma

Hydrogeomorphological mapping in assessing ground water by using remote sensing data — A case study in lehra gaga block, sangrur district, Punjab

The paper presents the results of hydrogeomorphological mapping using IRS-IB LISS II data and evaluation of ground water prospects of each hydrogeomorphological unit in the Lehra Gaga block of Sangrur district, Punjab. The major geomorphic units identified in the area are, alluvial plain, sand dunes, palaeo channels and the Ghagar flood plain. The study area being part of alluvial plain has good to excellent ground water prospects. Field observations showed that ground water occurs under both confined and unconfined conditions with water table at shallow depth. The area on either side of the Ghagar river and along the major canals (about 46% of the total geographical area in the block) have good quality of ground water and is suitable for irrigation, whereas the water quality is marginal (sodic) in 52 per cent area of the block..

Analysis of cropping pattern changes in Bathinda district, Punjab

A study was conducted in the Bathinda district of Punjab state for mapping the cropping pattern and crop rotation, monitoring long term changes in cropping pattern by using the satellite based remote sensing data along other spatial and non-spatial collateral data. Multi-date IRS LISS I and IRS WiFS sensor data have been used for this study. Cropping pattern maps and crop rotation maps were generated for the years 1988-89 and 1998-99. The present study has shown the increase of cropping intensity significantly, mainly due to increase in rice area. However, crop diversity has decreased mainly due to decline in the area under the minor crops like pearl millet, gram, rapeseed/ mustard. There is increase in area coverage of cotton-wheat and rice-wheat rotation, at the expense of the minor crops.

Use of GIS and remote sensing for crop diversification — a case study for Punjab state

In this study, an attempt has been made to suggest crop diversification based on soil and weather requirements of different crops. State level spatial databases of various agro-physical parameters such as rainfall, soil texture, physiography and problem soil along with the agricultural area derived from remote sensing data were integrated using GIS. A raster based modelling approach was followed to arrive at suitable zones for practicing different cropping systems. The results showed that the south-western Punjab is suitable for low water requiring crops such as desi cotton, pearl millet, gram etc., where as north-eastern Punjab with high rainfall and excess drainage should practice maize based cropping system. Rice can be substituted by maize and other crops in Central Punjab, where water table is going down fast. Using this approach the area of rice based cropping system can be reduced from present 24.7 lakh ha to 19.6 lakh ha, thereby reducing the degradation of valuable land and water resources.

Nicotine quantity and packaging disclosure in smoked and smokeless tobacco products in India

Objectives: A variety of smoked and smokeless tobacco products with varying nicotine content are accessible in India. Nicotine quantity in tobacco products has direct bearing on tobacco dependence. Our objective was to estimate nicotine content in various types of smoked and smokeless products. Disclosure for essential health warning was also checked. Materials and Methods: Liquid-liquid extraction was used for nicotine extraction and high-performance thin layer chromatography technique was applied for quantification of nicotine in seventy-one smoked and smokeless tobacco products. Results: Significant variation in nicotine content was observed across products. In smoked tobacco, nicotine content varied from 1.01 to 13.0 mg/rod, while in smokeless tobacco products it ranged from 0.8 mg/g to 50.0 mg/g. Moisture content varied from 9% to 21%. Conclusion: This work lists a range of smoked and smokeless tobacco products available in this region. We report a wide variability in nicotine quantity across smoked and smokeless tobacco products. Such variation in nicotine content may have important implications for tobacco cessation interventions and policies

Quantitation of ethyl glucuronide in serum & urine by gas chromatography - mass spectrometry.

Background & objectives: Alcohol misuse has now become a serious public health problem and early intervention is important in minimizing the harm. Biochemical markers of recent and high levels of alcohol consumption can play an important role in providing feedback regarding the health consequences of alcohol misuse. Existing markers are not sensitive to recent consumption and in detecting early relapse. Ethyl glucuronide (EtG), a phase-II metabolite of ethanol is a promising marker of recent alcohol use and can be detected in body fluids. In this study an analytical technique for quantitation of EtG in body fluids using solid-phase extraction (SPE) and gas chromatography (GC) with mass spectrometric detection (MS) was developed and validated. Methods: De-proteinization of serum and urine samples was done with perchloric acid and hydrochloric acid, respectively. Serum samples were passed through phospholipids removal cartridges for further clean up. EtG was isolated using amino propyl solid phase extraction columns. Chromatographic separation was achieved by gas chromatography with mass spectrometry. Results: Limit of detection and limit of quantitation were 50 and 150 ng/ml for urine and 80 and 210 ng/ml for serum, respectively. Signal to noise ratio was 3:1, mean absolute recovery was 80-85 per cent. Significant correlation was obtained between breath alcohol and serum EtG levels (r=0.853) and urine EtG and time since last abuse (r = -0.903) in clinical samples. Interpretation & conclusions: In the absence of other standardized techniques to quantitate EtG in biological samples, this GC-MS method was found to have high throughput and was sensitive and specific.

Validated High-Performance Thin Layer Chromatographic Method for Caffeine Quantification in Beverages and Edibles

Objectives: Caffeine is a commonly consumed beverage throughout the world. It is used for a variety of reasons and its apparent benefits include increased alertness, attention and heightened cognition. In the absence of proper monitoring regulations, hundreds of different brands with variable caffeine content are now being marketed. This work describes a simple high performance thin layer chromatography (HPTLC) method for quantification of caffeine in beverages and confectionaries. Consumer interest, regulatory implications concerning labeling as well as clinical implications are also addressed. Material and Methods: Caffeine was extracted using liquid- liquid extraction with dichloride methane. Samples and standards were applied on silica gel 60 F 254 plates. After chromatography separation, densitometry detection was performed by TLC scanner at 274 nm. Results: The calibration showed a linear regression with a determination coefficient (R 2 ) of 0.9982 in the working range of 10 -80 mg/L. Inter and intra- day precision in terms of %RSD was less than 1%. Recovery at different concentration levels was 95-100%. Limit of detection was 11mg/L while limit of quantification was 42mg/L. Conclusion: Caffeine content in forty four different caffeine containing products varied from 1.1 mg to 138 mg/serving across different products. Declaring caffeine content on product label will be in the interest of consumers and will also help the consumer moderate caffeine intake.

Value of ethyl glucuronide and ethyl sulfate in serum as biomarkers of alcohol consumption

Background: Urinary Ethyl glucuronide (EtG) and Ethyl sulfate (EtS) are established markers of alcohol conumption. Measurement of these markers in serum offers certain advantages. This outpatient department based study evaluated performance of serum Ethyl glucuronide (EtG) and Ethyl sulphate (EtS) as biomarkers of recent alcohol consumption in alcohol dependent subjects. It also evaluated effect of alcohol dose and time since consumption on serum EtG and EtS concentration. Methods: Information regarding alcohol intake was collected using Time line follow back calendar method from 152 subjects. Blood samples were collected to determine serum EtG and EtS concentration. Results: The results revealed that serum EtG (at a threshold of 45 ng/mL) could detect recent moderate to heavy alcohol consumption with 85 percent sensitivity and 89 percent specificity. The results also show that simultaneous measurement of EtS does not increase test accuracy. We found that dose of alcohol and time since alcohol consumption explain 68 and 62 percent variance in serum EtG and EtS levels. Conclusion: EtG testing in blood was found useful as a way to detect recent drinking. This sensitive and specific short-term biomarker provides valuable information about recent alcohol consumption.

Investigating The Role Of One-Carbon Metabolism Pathway In Complicated Alcohol Withdrawal States

Background Complicated withdrawal states in alcohol dependence syndrome (ADS) include alcohol withdrawal seizures (AWS) and delirium tremens (DT) and are associated with significant medical and psychiatric morbidity. Existing evidence suggests that in patients with chronic ADS, the associated deficiency of vitamin B12 and folic acid could lead to hyperhomocysteinemia through the inhibition of methionine synthase (MS) and methylene tetrahydrofolate reductase (MTHFR) enzymes of the one-carbon metabolism pathway. Hyperhomocysteinemia has been found to be associated with complicated alcohol withdrawal especially withdrawal seizures (AWS). The common variant of the MS A2756G gene has been found to be associated with lower plasma homocysteine levels. The homozygote variant of the MTHFR A1298C gene results in partial loss of enzyme activity. Thus, it may be worthwhile to study the above SNPs in patients with complicated alcohol withdrawal states and correlate the findings with plasma homocysteine, vitamin B12 and folate levels. Methods In our study, we aimed to investigate the association of MTR A2756G (responsible for the MS enzyme) and MTHFR A1298C polymorphisms with complicated withdrawal states i.e. AWS and delirium tremens (DT). We also measured levels of plasma homocysteine, vitamin B12 and folate in these patients. The sample consisted of a total of 150 male patients with ADS of which 84 patients had simple withdrawal state (SWS), 30 patients had DT and 36 patients had AWS. Assessments included a general physical examination, biochemistry panel, a complete blood count, assays of plasma homocysteine, vitamin B12 and folate along with genotyping for the MTR A2756G and MTHFR A1298C polymorphisms. Results There was no difference in the mean age at onset of dependence (SWS - 28.2 ± 5.7; DT - 28.2 ± 4.6; AWS - 27.9 ± 5, F = 0.03, p = 0.9). However, there was a significant association between the mean daily units of alcohol consumed and complicated alcohol withdrawal states. (SWS - 13.6 ± 3.7; DT - 19.8 ± 3.9; AWS - 17.1 ± 4.9, F = 27.8, p The study also found no differences in the serum homocysteine levels (SWS – 0.91; DT – 0.91; AWS – 0.88 nmol/ml, t = 0.9, p = 0.6), vitamin B12 levels (SWS – 274; DT – 265; AWS – 230 pg/ml, t = 1.2, p = 0.5), and folate levels (SWS – 99.3; DT – 99.1; AWS – 98.2 pg/ml, t = 2.4, p = 0.1). Although vitamin B12 and folic acid levels fell in the lower end of the normal range, no deficiency states were observed. No association was found between levels of plasma homocysteine, vitamin B12 & folic acid levels and complicated alcohol withdrawal states. No significant differences were found between the groups with respect to haematological and biochemical parameters examined. The two groups did not differ significantly with respect to genotype frequency of the SNPs examined (MTHFR A1298C and MTR A2756G). Discussion Our study finds that it is the quantity of alcohol consumed in a day that is associated with complicated withdrawal states with frequent heavy drinkers more likely to have severe withdrawal. It would be worthwhile to explore this further as no clear genetic risk factors emerged. The study was limited by its sample size, the use of cross-sectional sampling method and the exclusion of female patients from the study. However, it is one of the first studies to examine these SNPs in a south Indian population. The role of the one-carbon metabolism pathway in these states remains an important area of research with numerous possible treatment implications.

Need for Validation of Fagerstrom Test for Nicotine Dependence in Indian Context: Implications for Nicotine Replacement Therapy

Background: Variety of smokeable and chewable tobacco products with diverse nicotine content are used in India. Nicotine quantity in tobacco products has a direct bearing on developing tobacco dependence. The present work used this information to derive scores on the Fagerstrom test for nicotine dependence (FTND). It was used to determine the dosing of nicotine replacement treatment (NRT). Materials and Methods: Nicotine score quantitation was taken from the previous study. This data was applied to FTND to determine the relationship of nicotine content to the potential degree of dependence. Results: Application of nicotine quantitation to FTND in a hypothetical experiment significantly altered the scores from medium to high depending on the brand the used. Conclusion: Application of qunatitation of nicotine content in FTND score has implications for the assessment of tobacco dependence and NRT dose. The study implies validation of FTND using nicotine quantity in the consumed tobacco product as a scorable parameter in the FTND.