The gathered and combined filtrate was evaporated under vacuum with a Büchi Rotary Evaporator. The obtained extract was dissolved in 700 mL of water. The solution was extracted 3 times with 500 mL of water-saturated n-butanol. The mixed n-butanol phase was evaporated under vacuum and then lyophilized. Prior to pharmacological evaluation, the AG extract was analyzed using HPLC [20] and [21]. The HPLC system

was a Waters Alliance 2960 instrument (Milford, MA, USA) with a quaternary pump, an automatic injector, a photodiode array detector (Model 996), and Waters Millennium 32 software for peak identification and integration. The separation was carried out on a Prodigy ODS(2) column (250 mm × 3.2 mm inner learn more diameter) with a guard column (3.0 mm × 4.0 mm inner diameter) BMS 754807 (Phenomenex, Torrance, CA, USA). For HPLC analysis, a 20-μL sample was injected into the column and eluted at room temperature with a constant flow rate of 1.0 mL/min. For the mobile phase, acetonitrile (solvent A) and water (solvent B) were

used. Gradient elution started with 17.5% solvent A and 82.5% solvent B. Elution solvents were then changed to 21% A for 20 min, then to 26% A for 3 min and held for 19 min, at 36% A for 13 min, at 50% A for 9 min, at 95% A for 2 min, and held for 3 min. Lastly, eluting solvents were changed to 17.5% A for 3 min and held for 8 min. The detection wavelength was set at 202 nm. All sample solutions were filtered through a membrane filter (0.2 μm pore size). The content of the constituents were calculated using the standard curves of 13 ginsenosides. The measurement for the content analysis of the AG was performed in triplicate. The experimental protocols were approved by the Institutional Animal Care and Use Committee of the University of Chicago, Chicago, IL, USA. All experiments were carried out in male A/J mice, aged approximately 6 weeks, weighing 18–22 g, obtained from Jackson Laboratories (Bar Harbor, ME, USA). Mice were maintained under enough controlled room temperature,

humidity, and light (12/12 h light/dark cycle) and allowed ad libitum access to standard mouse chow and tap water. The mice were allowed to acclimate to these conditions for at least 7 days prior to inclusion in the experiments. As shown in Fig. 1, animals were separated into three groups (n = 12 per group): control (or negative control), model, and AG groups. All animals initially received a single intraperitoneal injection of AOM (7.5 mg/kg). One week after the AOM injection (set as Day 1), the animals began to receive 2.5% DSS in drinking water for 8 consecutive days. The animals in AG group also received AG extract 0.15 mg/mL in drinking water for up to 90 consecutive days. We calculated that the daily dose of American ginseng was approximately 30 mg/kg. For the acute phase observation, six animals per group were sacrificed on Day 14. The remaining animals were kept in the chronic phase and were sacrificed on Day 90.

The effect of the bedrock through the erodibility of the soils and their high arable potential is a marked contrast with the Arrow valley draining low mountains directly to the west. This catchment on Palaeozoic bedrock has four Holocene terraces produced by a dynamic channel sensitive to climatic shifts (Macklin et al., 2003) and no over-thickened anthropogenic unit.

The Culm Valley drains the Blackdown Hills which are a cuesta with a plateau at 200–250 m asl. and steep narrow valleys with strong spring-lines. The stratigraphy of the Culm Valley also shows a major discontinuity between lower gravels, sands, silty clays and palaochannel fills, and an upper weakly laminated silty-sand unit selleck inhibitor (Fig. 7). However, this upper unit is far less thick varying from under 1 m to 2.5 m at its maximum in the most downstream study reach (Fig. 5). For most of the valley length it is also of relatively constant thickness DAPT chemical structure and uniform in grain size

and with variable sub-horizontal silt-sand laminations blanketing the floodplain and filling many of the palaeochannels. The planform of the entire valley is dominated by multiple channels bifurcating and re-joining at nodes and conforming to an anastomosing or anabranching channel pattern, often associated in Europe with forested floodplains (Gradziński et al., 2000). Again organic sediments could only be obtained from the palaeochannels providing a terminus post quem for the change in sedimentation style. These dates

are given in Table 2 and show that the dates ALOX15 range over nearly 3000 years from c. 1600 BCE to 1400 ACE and that the upper surficial unit was deposited after 800–1400 ACE. In order to date the overbank unit 31 OSL age estimates were made from 22 different locations. The distribution of these dates is consistent with the radiocarbon dates providing an age distribution which takes off at 500–400 BP (c. 1500–1600 ACE) in the High Mediaeval to late Mediaeval period. This period saw an intensification of farming in the Blackdown Hills and although the plateau had been cleared and cultivated in the Bronze Age pollen evidence suggests that hillside woodland and pastoral lower slopes persisted through the Roman period ( Brown et al., in press), as summarised in Fig. 7 and Table 3. This intensification is associated nationally with the establishment and growth or large ecclesiastical estates which in this catchment is represented by the establishment of a Cistercian abbey at Dunkerswell (est. 1201 ACE), an Augustinian abbey at Westleigh, an abbey at Culumbjohn and a nunnery at Canonsleigh. In the religious revival of the 12th and 13th centuries ACE the Church expanded and increased agricultural production as well as its influence over the landscape ( Rippon, 2012).

The mice were given free access to control diet or alcohol Lieber–DeCarli liquid Etoposide chemical structure diet for 4 weeks with or without RGE (250 mg/kg or 500 mg/kg, per os, n = 8) The mice were randomly assigned to the groups specified. The second was a mouse model of chronic–binge EtOH intake. The mice were fed with the control diet for 5 days, and then divided into four groups. The EtOH groups were fed with the Lieber–DeCarli liquid diet containing 5% EtOH for 10 days with or without RGE (250 mg/kg or 500 mg/kg, per os, n = 8). The control groups were pair-fed the

control diet for 10 days. At Day 11, mice in EtOH groups were gavaged a single dose of EtOH (5 g/kg body weight, 20% EtOH), whereas mice in control groups were gavaged isocaloric dextrin maltose. The mice were sacrificed 9 hours after gavage. AML12 cell lines were purchased from ATCC (Manassas, VA, USA). Cells were plated at a density of 3 × 105/well in 60 mm dishes and grown to 70–80% confluency. Cells were maintained in Dulbecco’s Modified Eagle Medium: Nutrient Mixture F-12 containing 10% fetal bovine serum (Hyclone, Logan, UT, USA), 50 units/mL penicillin, 50 μg/mL streptomycin, Luminespib cost 0.005 mg/mL insulin, 0.005 mg/mL transferrin, 5 ng/mL selenium, and 40 ng/mL dexamethasone at 37°C in a humidified atmosphere with 5% CO2. RGE or ginsenosides were dissolved in phosphate-buffered saline (PBS) and added to the cells. The cells were then incubated at

37°C for the indicated time period, and washed twice with ice-cold PBS prior to sample preparation. Plasma alanine aminotransferase (ALT) and aspartate aminotransferase Immune system (AST) were analyzed using Spectrum, an automatic blood chemistry analyzer (Abbott Laboratories, Abbott Park, IL, USA). Samples from the liver

were separated and fixed in 10% neutral buffered formalin. The samples were then embedded in paraffin, sectioned (3–4 μm), and stained with hematoxylin and eosin (H&E) for general histopathological analysis. In addition, the effect of RGE treatment on the 4-HNE and nitrotyrosine immunoreactivity was also observed by immunohistochemical methods. For the analysis of fat accumulation in the liver, 10-μm sections were cut from frozen samples and stained with Oil Red O for 10 min. The slides were rinsed in water and counterstained with Mayer’s hematoxylin, followed by analysis using light microscopy. Lipid droplet formation in hepatocytes was determined by Oil Red O staining. Cells were grown on a six-well plate. After treatment, the cells were fixed 4% formaldehyde in PBS for 1 h and rinsed with 60% isopropanol. Cells were then stained with Oil Red O solution. Hepatic lipid content was measured as described previously [25]. Briefly, lipids from the total liver homogenate were extracted using chloroform/methanol (2:1), evaporated, and dissolved in 5% triton X-100. Triglyceride content was determined using Sigma Diagnostic Triglyceride Reagents (Sigma).

The final disulfide bonding pattern of snakin-1 was represented by CysI-CysIX, CysII-CysVII, CysIII-CysIV, CysV-CysXI, CysVI-CysXII and CysVIII-CysX. This disulfide pattern could be extrapolated to other members of the snakin/GASA family

through sequence alignment (Fig. 1A). After the inclusion of remaining disulfide bonds through MODELLER, the best model showed a DOPE score of −5036.17432. The final model was obtained after energy minimization on SPDBV. The final model shows a minimum and a maximum 1D–3D average score of 0.3 and 0.55 in Verify 3D. In the Ramachandran plot, 72.2% of the residues are in favored regions; 14.8% are in HTS assay additional allowed regions and 11.1% in generously allowed regions; and an overall

G-factor of −0.23. The Z-score on ProSA was −5.85. The three-dimensional model was composed of two long α-helices composed of residues 2SSFCDSKCKLRCSKA16 and 20DRCLKYCGICCEE32 and one short 310-helix composed of 43NKH45, in addition, the structure was stabilized by see more six disulfide bonds ( Fig. 1B). Furthermore, the same structural scaffold could be observed for other members from this family through secondary structure predictions algorithms (data not shown). The snakin-1 final model is available as supplementary file 1. In the molecular dynamics simulation, a large displacement of two C-terminal segments, 37PSGTYGNK44 and 50YRDKKNSKGKS60, was observed. The root mean square deviation (RMSD) stabilization occurs after 30 ns of simulation with a variation of about 4.5 Å (Fig. 2A); removing the two C-terminal segments from RMSD calculation, a variation of about 3.5 Å was observed (Fig. 2A), reinforcing the supposition that the C-terminal segments are mainly responsible for the variation of 4.5 Å Dapagliflozin in the complete structure. The DSSP analyses indicated that the short 310-helix underwent a coil transition (Fig. 2B). However,

the overall structure is maintained, since it is knotted by six disulfide bonds (Fig. 2C). In addition, the root mean square deviation by residue also indicated that the C-terminal segments were responsible for the structural modification (Fig. 2D). The TM-Score with a value of 0.5023 indicated that the initial and final structures share the same fold. The snakin/GASA family has enormous biotechnological potential since it plays a defensive role against several plant pathogens, especially against the pathogens that attack potato, one of the most important crops worldwide [22]. However, the omission of structural information about this family hinders a deeper understanding about the class. The prediction of the disulfide bonding pattern of snakins is an enormous challenge, since there are 66 possible combinations of disulfide bonds.

leucophaeata were collected once a week in August–September 2010, one panel being taken from each depth. M. leucophaeata first appeared on the panels on 23 August 2010, one individual at 5 m  and one at 6 m . During subsequent samplings (30 August, 7 September, 21 September 2010), it was found at depths of 3.5–6.0 m , at least one individual per panel. The maximum abundance was 5 specimens per panel (222 indiv. m−2) at

5.5 m  on 21 September 2010. The mussels varied from 1.4 to 4.9 mm  in length. At first, the mussel was thought to be Dreissena polymorpha (Pallas 1771). But further, more detailed examination, based on the characteristics given in Marelli & Gray (1983) and in MacNeill (1991), revealed a toothlike projection at the anterior end Target Selective Inhibitor Library of the shell ( Figure 1). This apophysis is absent in D. polymorpha BMS-907351 datasheet ( Laine et al. 2006). The degree of shell flattening, coloration and integrity of the periostracum in juvenile specimens, as described in MacNeill (1991), also indicate that the mussels found in the Gulf of Gdańsk were in fact M. leucophaeata ( Figure 2a,b). As M. leucophaeata is tolerant of a broad range of salinity, the conditions for its survival in the Gulf of Gdańsk (southern Baltic) are favourable. The optimal salinity range

for adults is 1.38–12.66 PSU ( MacNeill 1991), while the maximum tolerated salinity is 26.4 PSU. The average salinity at the site where M. leucophaeata was found is about 7 PSU, which is much the same value as in other parts of the Gulf of Gdańsk ( Nowacki 1993). The water temperature at the time of the mussels’ appearance ranged from 13.0 to 24.2°C. M. leucophaeata reproduces once a year, Decitabine nmr spawning between the end of May and September–October in European waters. According to Siddall (1980), abundant settlement of spat in natural populations

takes place two weeks after gamete release, when the temperature reaches 26°C during spatfall. Experiments by Verween et al. (2007) showed that the optimal temperature/salinity conditions for larvae are 22°C and 15 PSU. These authors suggested that M. leucophaeata could tolerate suboptimal temperatures at the upper end of the salinity range and vice versa. The probable time of spat settlement is not known in the case of my findings, as I did not come across any individuals with a shell length < 1 mm . If they were present, they must have been mistakenly identified as Mytilus edulis trossulus juveniles. The highest water temperature noted in the study area was 24.2°C in June. On the basis of size, the mussels I found were first-year specimens. The annual average growth rate of M. leucophaeata, measured in the port of Antwerp (North Sea) varied from about 3 to 6 mm  per year, whereas specimens with shell lengths ≤ 5 mm  grew 23 μm per day during peak growth (May to July) ( Verween et al. 2006b). All the specimens found in the Gulf of Gdańsk had a shell length below 5 mm . According to Siddall (1980), individuals with these dimensions are juveniles.

Most of these mixtures contain

uranium, which may be used as target isotope for initial appraisal of RN exposure. A HBM standard operating procedure of the “working-group on analyses of biological materials” of the Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft is capable of detecting and quantifying 232thorium and 238uranium in blood and urine (http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/book/10.1002/3527600418/topics). This procedure can be used to detect background levels of 238uranium in human specimens of the general population. Since some mineral waters in Germany contain uranium, thorough investigation of HBM influencing factors by the acting physician prior to HBM analysis is advised. With respect find more learn more to the transport of potentially radioactive human specimens, radioactive monitoring of the samples has to be conducted and an official clearance has to be issued by the appropriate authorities. After the clearance the transport of the human specimens has to conducted in line with the recommendations outlined above. In the compendium part 2 HBM analysis methods are evaluated. Basic toxicity data, including biological reference and threshold

values are given for a list of 50 agents, previously identified as relevant in civil protection (Burbiel et al., 2009). The list comprises of 37 substances and substance groups classified as “Toxic Industrial Chemicals” (TIC), 9 substances and 1 substance group classified as warfare agents and 3 biotoxins (Table 1). The profiles include the following items, if applicable, for each chemical substance or substance group: – Name(s) (German, English), UN- and CAS Atezolizumab order number(s) Supplementary information 1 presents a list of the 50 agents with condensed profiles including name(s), CAS-number(s), HBM method(s): parameter, LOD, reference(s). In addition, the HBM data base of the German Federal Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (http://www.baua.de/de/Themen-von-A-Z/Gefahrstoffe/Biomonitoring/Auskunftsystem.html) can be used to identify HBM methods of chemical substances and substance groups not

included in the compendium. A list of high quality standard HBM laboratories interested to support physicians in the collection and analysis of human specimens after a chemical incident was created in cooperation with the G-EQUAS and the “working-group on analyses of biological materials” of the Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft. Currently this network comprises of 13 HBM laboratories; anybody interested to be included in the planned update of the list is encouraged to contact the authors of this article. Supplementary information 2 presents the list of HBM laboratories, each with full address (postal address, phone and fax number), contact person(s), office hours/availability, and analytical focus (organic chemicals/inorganic chemicals/both).

Social exploration is determined as the amount of time spent investigating the juvenile (sniffing, near the juvenile) and is reported as percentage of baseline. Animals were euthanized via CO2 asphyxiation 24 hours after treatment, perfused with sterile ice-cold saline, and then the brain and liver tissues were dissected and flash frozen. All tissue samples were stored at −80°C until further processing for analysis. RNA was isolated using

E.Z.N.A. Total RNA kits according to the manufacturer’s instructions (Omega Biotek, Norcross, Georgia). Synthesis of cDNA was carried out using a high-capacity RT kit (Applied Biosystems, Grand Island, New York) according to the manufacturer’s instructions. Real-time this website quantitative RT-PCR (qPCR) selleck was performed to detect changes in mRNA expression of ARE genes NAD(P)H quinone oxidoreductase (NQO1) (Mm.PT.56a.9609207) and heme oxygenase I (HMOX1) (Mm.PT.56a.9675808), and the transcription factor Nrf2 (Mm.PT.56a.29108649M). The inflammatory cytokine interleukin-1β (IL-1β) (Mm.PT.56a.41616450) was

used as a marker to detect if inflammatory cytokine production was reduced in animals fed the broccoli diet. The glial activation markers glial fibrillary acidic protein (GFAP) (Mm.PT.56a.6609337.q), CD11b (Mm.PT.56a.9189361), major histocompatibility complex II (MHC-II) (Mm.PT.56a.43429730), and CX3CR1 (Mm.PT.56a.17555544) were used to determine whether astrocyte and microglial activation were affected Cyclooxygenase (COX) by dietary intervention. All genes were analyzed using PrimeTime real-time quantitative RT-PCR Assays (Integrated DNA Technologies, Coralville, Iowa) and were compared with the housekeeping control gene GAPDH (Mm.PT.39.a.1)

using the 2−ΔΔCt calculation method as previously described [24]. Data are expressed as fold change versus control diet mice treated with saline. All data were analyzed using Statistical Analysis System (SAS, Cary, North Carolina). Data were subjected to three-way analysis of variance for main effects of age, diet, and LPS, and all 2- and 3-way interactions. Where analysis of variance revealed a significant interaction, post hoc Student t test using Fisher least significant differences was used to determine mean separation. All data are expressed as means ± SEM. Antioxidant response element gene expression is elevated in glial cells treated with SFN, indicating that glia may be sensitive to the protective benefits of SFN [25], [26] and [27]. Because glial cells are also the predominant producers of proinflammatory mediators in brain, we measured expression of several markers of glial reactivity. Glial fibrillary acidic protein was elevated in brain of aged mice (P < .001). Interestingly, broccoli diet lowered expression of GFAP in aged mice (age × diet interaction; P < .05) ( Fig. 1).

We then focused the study selection on 2 powder-based topical hemostatic agents that have been used endoscopically in the GI tract: Ankaferd BloodStopper® (ABS) and TC-325. Of note, microporous polysaccharide hemosphere has been used in Lumacaftor in vitro non-GIB with no clinical data in the literature on GI endoscopic application. Of 112 articles, 86 were on ABS, including 82 published articles in addition to 4 abstracts. Twenty-one articles

on ABS did not have any published abstracts. We also identified 5 published articles on TC-325 with 3 poster presentations. We briefly mention EndoClot for which all pertinent information was obtained through review of the manufacturer’s Web site, and at the time of writing this manuscript, no published peer-reviewed clinical data are available. Table 1 briefly outlines the composition and mechanisms of action of 3 hemostatic compounds of interest. A unique hemostatic agent, ABS is a derivative of a traditional ABT-199 nmr herbal mixture that has been used topically for centuries in Turkey to terminate bleeding resistant to conventional hemostatic measures.10

Currently ABS is available in 3 pharmaceutical forms: ABS ampoules, pads, and sprays.11 In May 2007, Ankaferd Ilac Kozmetik, AS, Turkey, obtained the marketing authorization from TC Ministry of Health, Drug, and Pharmacy General Directorate for all 3 forms within the category of “cosmetics, herbal products not aiming treatment, nutrition support products, nutraceutics and topically applied non-drug products.”12 There is no documented approval on the U.S. Food and Drug Administration Web site.13 However, according to the Ankaferd

Web page, second ABS can be used in various areas, including dental offices, emergency departments, schools, and first aid kits.14 Additional information could not be collected because the manufacturer did not respond to our further queries. A preparation of 100 mL of ABS is composed of a standardized mixture of plants, including 5 mg Thymus vulgaris (dried grass extract), 9 mg Glycyrrhiza glaba (dried leaf extract), 8 mg Vitis vinifera (dried leaf extract), 7 mg Alpinia officinarum (dried leaf extract), and 6 mg Urtica dioica (dried root extract). 15 The mechanism of action involves ABS interaction with the endothelium and blood cells, in addition to its influence on angiogenesis, cellular proliferation, vascular dynamics, 16, 17, 18 and 19 and cell mediators. 20, 21 and 22 Yilmaz et al 23suggested that ABS hemostatic actions could be related to its rapid induction (<1 s) of a protein network in human plasma and serum samples. On electron microscopy, erythrocytes and leukocytes aggregate rapidly in the presence of ABS and further contribute to a scaffold formation. Indeed, in vitro examination suggests ABS stimulates the formation of the encapsulated protein scaffold network, 15 and 21 allowing erythrocyte aggregation that then integrates with the classic coagulation cascade.

Parasite resistance was also observed in assays performed with LAAO from B. atrox, since selleck kinase inhibitor a dose of 32 μmol/L was necessary to kill 41.7 ± 2.4% of trypomastigotes ( Alves Paiva et al., 2011). In conclusion, LmLAAO shows a low toxicity in vivo when compared with other enzymes or toxins from snake venoms, but it might be used as cytotoxic tool toward pathogens or cancer cells, as verified by in vitro toxicity experiments. Additionally this study showed, for the first time, the cytotoxic effects of LAAO on AGS cell line (gastric adenocarcinoma) and MCF-7 cell line (breast adenocarcinoma). Furthermore, our analyses show evolutionary sequence and structural

conservation of LAAOs across snake

species, suggesting the existence of selective pressures in the evolution of this enzyme. Therefore, the biochemical, structural and functional characterizations of LmLAAO, demonstrates that it is a novel LAAO molecule with several important biological functions. The work was supported by Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico (CNPq), Brazil, under Gramts No 479873/2009-7 and No São Paulo (FAPESP), Brazil, under Grant No 2005/54855-0 selleck and Instituto Nacional de Ciência e Tecnologia de Toxinas (INCTTox, Fapesp/CNPq). Model data are available in the PMDB (Protein Model Data Base) under accession number PM0077706 (http://mi.caspur.it/PMDB/user/search.php). The amino acid sequence data are available in the DDBJ/EMBL/GenBank database under the accession number JX171244

(http://www.ebi.ac.uk/ena/data/view/JX171244) and Nucleotide sequence data are available in Phosphoglycerate kinase the DDBJ/EMBL/GenBank databases under the accession number LMUT0069C (http://www.ebi.ac.uk/ena/data/view/JX171244). We are grateful to Dra Elizabeth Abrahams, Departamento de Parasitología, Facultad de Microbiología, Universidad de Costa Rica, for her contribution with some of Trypanosoma strains tested in cytotoxicity experiments. Thanks are also due to Karla de Castro Figueredo Bordon and Aarón Gómez Argüello for technical assistance. The work was supported by Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico (CNPq), Brazil, under Grants No479873/2009-7 and No142711/2007-1 (Ph.D. scholarship), Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo (FAPESP), Brazil, under Grant No2005/54855-0 and Instituto Nacional de Ciência e Tecnologia de Toxinas (INCTTox, Fapesp/CNPq). “
“Physiological pain serves as a warning mechanism that indicates imminent tissue damage. Chronic pain lacks such protective function, since it persists for years without reflecting the severity of a lesion or disease, nor does chronic pain necessarily respond to treatment of the underlying disease cause (McGreevy et al., 2011).

Loss in wetland area results in adverse impact on the key functions (ecosystem goods and services) performed by wetlands (Zedler and Kercher, 2005). Worldwide, the main causes of wetland loss have been: urbanization; land use changes; drainage to agricultural use; infrastructure development; pollution from industrial effluent and agricultural runoff; climate change and variability.

Some of these factors which led to significant alterations in India’s wetland ecosystems have been discussed in the subsequent sub-sections. Between 1951 and 2011, total population in India increased from 0.4 billion to 1.2 billion with an average decadal growth rate of around 22%. During the 90 year period from 1901 to 1991, the number of urban centres doubled while urban population has increased eightfold (Bassi and Kumar, 2012). This magnitude of growth exerted tremendous pressure Dapagliflozin on wetlands and

flood plain areas for meeting water and food demand of growing population. Between 1950–1951 JAK inhibitor and 2008–2009, total cultivated land in India increased from about 129 to 156 m ha. Also, area under non-agricultural uses (commercial or residential use) increased from 9 to 26 m ha (Data Source: Indiastat). In most of the major river basins of India, the increase in area for both agricultural and non-agricultural use was at the cost of conversion Mannose-binding protein-associated serine protease of flood plain areas, primary forests, grasslands and associated freshwater ecosystems to meet demands of growing population (Zhao et al., 2006). For instance, about 34,000 ha of the water spread area of the Kolleru lake (Andhra Pradesh) have been reclaimed for agriculture in recent years (MoEF, n.d.). Further, there was a large scale development of irrigation and water supply infrastructure in the country which altered

the inflows and water spread areas of many water bodies. Till 2007, about 276 major and 1000 medium irrigation projects were completed in India (Central Water Commission, 2010), with an estimated total water storage capacity of about 225 BCM (12% of total water resources potential of India). Though, the large reservoir projects have played a critical role in water supply; flood control; irrigation; and hydroelectric power production, the rapid proliferation of artificial water impounding structures without proper hydrological and economic planning (such as construction of small dams in semi-arid and arid regions where runoff potential is limited) has caused widespread loss and fragmentation of freshwater habitats (Kumar et al., 2008 and Zhao et al., 2006); and reduction in environmental flows (due to over allocation of water mainly for meeting agricultural and industrial water demands).