12 research outputs found
FIGURE 4 in A new species of Sphaerotheca Günther, 1859 (Anura: Dicroglossidae) from the degraded urban ecosystems of Bengaluru, Deccan Plateau, India
No full textFIGURE 4. Sphaerotheca bengaluru sp. nov. holotype in preservative (A) Dorsal view (B) Ventral view.Published as part of Deepak, P., Dinesh, K.P., Ohler, Annemarie, Shanker, Kartik, Channakeshavamurthy, B.H. & Ashadevi, J.S., 2020, A new species of Sphaerotheca Günther, 1859 (Anura: Dicroglossidae) from the degraded urban ecosystems of Bengaluru, Deccan Plateau, India, pp. 423-436 in Zootaxa 4885 (3) on page 429, DOI: 10.11646/zootaxa.4885.3.6, http://zenodo.org/record/429681
Sphaerotheca bengaluru Deepak & Dinesh & Ohler & Shanker & Channakeshavamurthy & Ashadevi 2020, sp. nov.
No full textSphaerotheca bengaluru sp. nov. (Table 1, 2; Figure 1–5) Holotype: ZSI / WRC /A/2284, an adult male (SVL 47.3 mm) collected by Deepak and team on 14th July 2019 from a disturbed semi-urbanized agricultural site around Budumanahalli, (N 13.1876; E 77.5253, 850 msl), Bengaluru, Karnataka. Paratypes: ZSI / WRC /A/2285, an adult male (SVL 50.1 mm) collected by Deepak and team on 19th September 2019 from a disturbed semi urbanized agricultural site around Budumanahalli, (N 13.1973; E 77.5328, 850 msl), Bengaluru, Karnataka. ZSI / WRC /A/2286, an adult female (SVL 55.5 mm) collected by Deepak and team on 18th September 2018 from a disturbed semi urbanized agricultural site around Budumanahalli, (N 13.1937; E 77.5299, 850 msl), Bengaluru, Karnataka. Lineage diagnosis. Sphaerotheca bengaluru sp. nov. can be recognized phylogenetically as a member of the Sphaerotheca clade (Fig. 2), showing a sister relationship to S. pashchima Padhye, Dahanukar, Sulakhe, Dandekar, Limaye & Jamdade, 2017 with which it is allopatric in distribution and has a high level of genetic divergence (4.8 % for the 16S rRNA fragment studied). Morphological diagnosis. In the field Sphaerotheca bengaluru sp. nov. is sympatric with S. breviceps and can be distinguished in having a larger adult male size of SVL 48.9 mm (47.3 mm to 50.7mm), n=5 (vs. smaller adult male size SVL 30.4 mm (27.8 mm to 31.7mm), n=5); lower HL/ SVL ratio of 0.301 to 0.316, n=5 (vs. higher HL/ SVL ratio of 0.329 to 0.392, n=5); lower HW/ SVL ratio of 0.371 to 0.413, n=5 (vs. higher HW / SVL ratio of 0.421 to 0.466, n=5); lower IN/ SVL ratio of 0.060 to 0.078, n=5 (vs. higher IN / SVL ratio of 0.090 to 0.098, n=5); lower NE/ SVL ratio of 0.052 to 0.072, n=5 (vs. higher NE/ SVL ratio of 0.074 to 0.084, n=5); lower SL/ SVL ratio of 0.114 to 0.122, n=5 (vs. higher SL/ SVL ratio of 0.145 to 0.162, n=5); lower IUE / SVL ratio of 0.062 to 0.077, n=5 (vs. higher IUE / SVL ratio of 0.087 to 0.108, n=5); higher TYD / SVL ratio of 0.069 to 0.084, n=5 (vs. lower TYD / SVL ratio of 0.048 to 0.060, n=5); lower TE/ SVL ratio of 0.023 to 0.033, n=5 (vs. higher TE / SVL ratio of 0.041 to 0.058, n=5); lower FLL / SVL ratio of 0.177 to 0.218, n=5 (vs. higher FLL / SVL ratio of 0.219 to 0.274, n=5); lower FL/ SVL ratio of 0.386 to 0.428, n=5 (vs. higher FL / SVL ratio of 0.438 to 0.486, n=5); lower TiL/ SVL ratio of 0.360 to 0.394, n=5 (vs. higher TiL/ SVL ratio of 0.396 to 0.437, n=5); moderate webbing (I 0–1 II 1–1½ III 1–2 IV 2½–1 V) (vs. rudimentary webbing (I 1–2 II 1½–2½ III 2–3½ IV 4–2 V)); dorsum with specific banded colour pattern (vs. without specific banded pattern on the dorsum). Sphaerotheca bengaluru sp. nov. can be distinguished from its probable phylogenetic sister species S. pashchima, in having a relatively larger adult male size of SVL 48.9 mm (47.3 mm to 50.7 mm) n=5 (vs. relatively smaller adult male size SVL 44.5 mm (40.8 mm to 55.7 mm) n=7); lower HL/ SVL ratio of 0.301 to 0.316, n=5 (vs. higher HL/ SVL ratio of 0.317 to 0.353, n=7); lower IN/ SVL ratio of 0.060 to 0.078, n=5 (vs. higher IN / SVL ratio of 0.088 to 0.112, n=7); lower SL/ SVL ratio of 0.114 to 0.122, n=5 (vs. higher SL/ SVL ratio of 0.135 to 0.158, n=7); tympanum about ½ the diameter of eye (vs. tympanum about ¾rd the diameter of eye); lower FLL / SVL ratio of 0.177 to 0.218, n=5 (vs. higher FLL / SVL ratio of 0.223 to 0.289, n=7); lower IMT / SVL ratio of 0.081 to 0.095, n=5 (vs. higher IMT / SVL ratio of 0.099 to 0.108, n=7); moderate webbing (I 0-1 II 1-1½ III 1-2 IV 2½-1 V) (vs. rudimentary webbing (I 1-2 II 1-3 III 2-3½ IV 3½-2 V)); type locality predominantly a disturbed urban habitat around Bengaluru (vs. type locality from Western Ghats and predominant distribution in the mid elevations of Western Ghats to Uttaranchal). Additionally, see the comparison section below for an updated morphological key to the ‘ breviceps group’ (after Dahanukar et al. 2017). Occurrence and habitat. The new species is known from the mid-elevations of semi-urban agricultural lands of Budumanahalli, Arkere grama panchayath of Bengaluru which falls in the Deccan plateau region of India. This species is 700 km (aerial distance) from the type locality of its sister species S. pashchima which is one of the most widespread (from the Western Ghats to the foothills of Himalaya through Rajasthan) species of Sphaerotheca known from South Asia. In the field, Sphaerotheca bengaluru sp. nov. is sympatric with S. breviceps (type locality Tharangambadi, Tamil Nadu, India). Description of holotype ( ZSI/WRC/A/2284 ) (Fig. 3A). A moderate sized burrowing frog (SVL, 47.3 mm) with well built robust and stumpy body; head width more than head length (HW, 18.9 mm; HL, 14.2 mm); snout obtusely rounded (SL, 5.6 mm) sub-equal to eye diameter (EL, 6.4 mm); canthus rostralis bluntly angled, loreal region concave (caved in between the two raised eye balls), inter orbital space concave (IUE, 2.9 mm) less than upper eye lid (UEW, 4.8 mm) but equal to internarial distance (IN, 2.9 mm); distance between the back of eyes twice the distance in front of eyes (IFE, 6.7 mm; IBE, 14.0 mm); nostrils oval, nearer to the tip of snout than to eyes; tympanum distinct, almost half of the eye diameter visible below the sharply angled supratympanic fold (TYD, 3.3 mm) and close to the eye (TE, 1.1 mm); symphysial knob weak; vomerine ridges are closed place, left with 3 and right with 4 spiny tooth; tongue bifid without a papilla. Fore arm robust and short (FLL, 10.3 mm) slightly shorter than the hand (HAL, 11.2 mm); finger short and thin without any dermal fringes, first finger (FL1, 4.8 mm) longer than the second (FL2, 3.1 mm) and subequal to the third finger (TFL, 5.5 mm), tips blunt without any enlarged discs, webbing between fingers absent; subarticular tubercles distinct, rounded and pre-pollex tubercle distinct, supernumerary tubercles absent. Hind limbs short, just touching when folded at right angles to the body and tibio-tarsal articulation reaches the front of shoulders; femur length longer than tibia length (FL, 20.3 mm; TiL, 17.6 mm); foot length twice the length of tarsus (FOL, 20.7 mm; TAL, 8.5 mm), relative toe length I<II<V<III<IV (FTL, 10.7 mm); inner toe minute (ITL, 1.0 mm), webbing moderate (I 0–1 II 1–1½ III 1–2 IV 2½–1 V); inner metatarsal tubercle (IMT, 4.3 mm) distinct and sharp shovel shaped, outer metatarsal tubercle and supernumerary tubercles absent, tarsal tubercle prominent. In preservative, entire dorsum slightly granulated with striped and blotched colour patterns. Head dorsally with a light cream triangle, forming the spear-shaped head of a light cream band extending from tip of snout to vent on mid-dorsum. On the head, on either side of canthus rostralis a cream band from the lower surface of eye to upper lip, a cream band from the back of eye towards the front of forearm through the anterior corner of tympanum and the mouth commissural region. On either side of the body, a cream band from the back of the eye above the supratympanic fold to the region of groin. On the dorsum, dark blackish brown blotches on the light brown background. Both the fore arm and hind limbs barred, front and back of thighs with cream reticulation pattern on dark brown ground. Ventral surface granular, region of throat light brown, belly and under surface of thighs cream white (Fig. 4). In life, entire dorsum dark brown with shades of orange and ornamented blotches with a clear pattern. A triangle, spear head shaped light orange band from tip of snout extending its tail to vent with a dorsolateral streak. On the head, on either side of canthus rostralis an orange cream band from the lower surface of eye to upper lip, an orange cream band from the back of eye towards the front of forearm through the anterior corner of tympanum and the mouth commissural region. On either side of the body, a bright cream orange band from the back of the eye above the supratympanic fold to the region of groin. On the dorsum, dark blackish brown blotches on the light brown background with light cream borders. Both the fore arm and hind limbs barred, front and back of thighs with yellow reticulation pattern on dark brown ground. Eye, diamond shaped pupil black, iris light golden yellow with fine blackish reticulations (Fig. 3A). Secondary sexual characters. Among the amplected pairs, males are smaller than females (Table 1) with light grey external vocal sac on throat (Fig. 4B) and glandular nuptial pad on the inner side of the first finger (Fig. 4B). # holotype; $ paratypes; & other referred specimens Additional information from paratypes, reference collections and variations. Paratypes and reference collections ranging for male SVL from 48.1 mm to 50.7 mm and female SVL from 50.1 mm to 55.5 mm. All the specimens were similar in other morphological characters and colour pattern; morphological data are given in Table 1. Etymology. The specific epithet is derived from the name ‘Bengaluru’, the type locality for the species and the species epithet is treated as a noun in apposition to the generic name. Suggested common name: “Bengaluru burrowing frog”. Distribution and natural history. Sphaerotheca bengaluru sp. nov. is now known only from Budumanahalli village on the outskirts of Bengaluru with S. breviceps as its sympatric congener. During one of our visits in July 2019, only a few female individuals were seen emerging at night and feeding actively; during August 2019, both males and females were seen showing feeding activity at night with stray calls by males during light rain; during September 2019, male and females of Sphaerotheca bengaluru sp. nov. and S. breviceps were seen breeding actively next to temporary mud pools (Fig. 5) during the northeast monsoon showers. Overall observations suggest that populations of both species are very limited around the type locality. Around temporary water bodies, 30 individuals were sighted in five visits. The absence of permanent water bodies and the burrowing nature of the species could explain their rarity around the type locality. The vegetation surrounding the type locality is primarily dominated by agroecosystems mixed with dry deciduous vegetation. Ponds and other water resources are seasonal and the area is under the influence of urban developmental activities. Additional sampling in the Deccan plateau is necessary to understand the range of distribution of the new species. Comparisons. The distinct morphological characters like relative large size, robust body, head wider than long, rounded snout, inter orbital space less than upper eyelid, nostrils close to snout tip, distinct tympanum half of the eye diameter, sharply angled supratympanic fold, first finger longer than the second and sub equal to third finger, tibio-tarsal articulation reaches front of shoulders, moderate webbing, distinct inner metatarsal tubercle more than twice the inner to length and dorsum with a specific colour pattern, makes the identity of Sphaerotheca bengaluru sp. nov. unique from its 10 known congeners. The new species is compared in detail only with the known sympatric species S. breviceps and the probable phylogenetic sister species S. pashchima (see morphological diagnosis section above). Additionally, the new species falls under the morphological ‘ breviceps group’ proposed by Dahanukar et al. (2017) and within the group, the new species can be identified morphologically using the following modified key of the ‘ breviceps group’. * species included in the phylogenetic analysisPublished as part of Deepak, P., Dinesh, K. P., Ohler, Annemarie, Shanker, Kartik, Channakeshavamurthy, B. H. & Ashadevi, J. S., 2020, A new species of Sphaerotheca Günther, 1859 (Anura: Dicroglossidae) from the degraded urban ecosystems of Bengaluru, Deccan Plateau, India, pp. 423-436 in Zootaxa 4885 (3) on pages 425-430, DOI: 10.11646/zootaxa.4885.3.6, http://zenodo.org/record/429681
Sphaerotheca varshaabhu Deepak & Dinesh & Nag & Ohler & Shanker & Prasad & Ashadevi 2024, sp. nov.
No full text<i>Sphaerotheca varshaabhu</i> sp. nov. <p>urn:lsid:zoobank.org:act: C88C6AFA-9889-4E3E-A2CD-816FDA5481FD</p> <p>(Table 1–3 and Figure 6–7)</p> <p> <b>Holotype</b>: ZSI/WRC/A/2571 (Fig. 6,7), an adult male (SVL 35.2 mm) collected by P. Deepak and team on 24 th July, 2020 from the disturbed suburban agro ecosystems of Budumanhalli (N 13.1973; E 77.5328, 850 msl), Bengaluru, Karnataka.</p> <p> <b>Paratypes</b>: ZSI/WRC/A/2572, an adult male (SVL 36.8 mm) collected by P. Deepak and team on 19 th September, 2019 and ZSI/WRC/A/2573, an adult male (SVL 34.0 mm) collected by P. Deepak and team on 24 th July, 2020 location details same as holotype.</p> <p> <b>Lineage separation</b> (Fig. 2): <i>Sphaerotheca varshaabhu</i> <b>sp. nov.</b> can be assigned phylogenetically to the genus <i>Sphaerotheca</i>. The new species is part of a clade of species including <i>S. breviceps</i> and <i>S.</i> cf. <i>breviceps</i> [swani]. The new species has 3.9% uncorrected pairwise genetic distance to <i>S. breviceps</i> and 3.6 % to 4.1 % genetic distance to <i>S.</i> cf. <i>breviceps</i> [swani] for 16S rRNA.</p> <p> <b>Geography</b>: So far, the species is known from a restricted range of distribution in a few pockets around the Bengaluru, Karnataka, India (predominantly Deccan Plateau). Based on our current knowledge of its distribution, <i>Sphaerotheca varshaabhu</i> <b>sp. nov.</b> is geographically separated from its the phylogenetic sister species <i>S. breviceps</i> which is found in the eastern part of southern India (Fig. 11) and <i>S.</i> cf. <i>breviceps</i> [swani], which is distributed from Nepal to Central India.</p> <p> <b>Morphological diagnosis</b>: <i>Sphaerotheca varshaabhu</i> <b>sp. nov.</b> can be identified in the field based on the following combination of morphological characters. A medium-sized burrowing frog (SVL ranging from 33.7 mm to 41.1 mm) with a robust stocky body; head slightly wider than the head length; snout rounded, snout length sub equal to eye diameter; nostrils near to snout tip; tympanum rounded and almost half the diameter of the eye; first finger longer than the second finger; hind limbs short, when adpressed to body tibiotarsal articulation reaching tympanum; webbing moderately (Deepak <i>et al.</i> 2020a) developed (I 0–1 II ½–1 III 1–2 IV 2–1 V); inner metatarsal tubercle shovel-shaped and longer than inner toe; tibiotarsal tubercle present; dorsal surface of the skin glandular with raised glandular tubercles and overall skin colour light chocolate with brown blotched pattern interspersed with raised small orange granules (Fig. 3). In the field, there are no confusing sympatric congeners reported (<i>S. bengaluru</i> is the known sympatric congener which is morphologically distinct in body colour and striped pattern).</p> <p> <b>Description of the holotype</b> (ZSI/WRC/A/2571) (Fig. 6–7)</p> <p>A moderate-sized burrowing frog (SVL 35.2 mm) with a robust, stocky body; with head width slightly wider than head length (HW 14.1 mm; HL 12.0 mm); snout rounded (SL 4.3 mm) and sub equal to eye diameter (EL 5.7 mm); canthus rostralis slightly angled, loreal region concave; inter orbital space (IUE 2.6 mm) sub equal to the upper eyelid (UEW 3.2 mm) and sub-equal to inter narial distance (IN 2.2); distance between the back of eyes twice the distance in front of eyes (IFE 5.9 mm; IBE 11.1 mm); nostrils oval, nearer to the tip of snout than to eyes (NE 2.7 mm); distinct tympanum, almost half of the eye diameter visible below the curved supratympanic fold (TYD 2.6 mm) and close to the eye (TE 1.2 mm); symphysial knob weak; vomerine ridge weak; tongue bifid without a papilla.</p> <p>Forearm stout and shorter (FLL 7.4 mm) compared to the hand (HAL 9.2 mm); fingers short and narrow without dermal fringes, first finger (FL1 3.6 mm) slightly larger than the second finger (FL2 3.0 mm) and shorter than the third finger (TFL 4.5 mm) with blunt tips, without any enlarged discs, webbing absent between fingers; subarticular tubercles distinct, rounded and pre-pollex tubercle distinct, supernumerary tubercles absent.</p> <p>Hind limbs short, falling apart when folded at right angles to the body and tibiotarsal articulation reaches tympanum; femur length (FL 16.6 mm) longer than tibial length (TiL 14.0 mm); foot length (FOL 17.0 mm) twice the size of tarsal length (Tal 7.6 mm), relative toe length I<II<V<III<IV (FTL 9.1 mm); inner toe minute (ITL 0.9 mm), webbing moderately developed (I 0–1 II ½–1 III 1–2 IV 2–1 V); inner metatarsal tubercle (IMT 3.3 mm) distinct and sharp shovel shaped, distinctly longer than inner toe; prominent tarsal tubercle present.</p> <p>The skin on dorsum smooth with regularly set glandular tubercles; flanks with dense glandular tubercles; abdomen and groin granular.</p> <p>Colour in life, light chocolate and brown blotched pattern on dorsal body surface with raised small orange granules (Fig. 6). Fore and hind limbs with distinct dark brown transversal bands. Entire ventral side of the body whitish, except the region of the vocal sacs which is blackish in adult males.</p> <p>...Continued on the next page</p> <p>In preservative (Fig. 7), the entire dorsum is covered with dark blotches outlined by black markings; glandular granules whitish. Forelimb grey and creamish and hindlimb lighter grey than dorsum with dark brown bands. Creamy white bars on the upper lip. Back of supra tympanic fold is creamy white.A small creamy white spot present between the eyes, V-shaped brown marking above the spot, in between the eyes. Inverted V-shaped brown marking on dorsum in the region between forelimbs and a creamy white spot at the intersection of the marking. Tubercles on the flank region are creamy white on a dark brown background. Venter pale creamy white in colour. Vocal sacs black. Ventral side of the limbs and groin light brown.</p> <p> <b>Secondary sexual characters</b>: Males are smaller than females among amplecting pairs. During the breeding season, males have a blackish vocal sac on the throat (Fig. 7A, 7B) and an inconspicuous light brown nuptial pad on the first finger.</p> <p> <b>Variations among paratypes and other referred collections</b>: The morphological data for the paratypes and other referred collections are given in Table 2; males SVL range from 33.7 mm to 36.8 mm; a single female measured SVL 41.1 mm. All the specimens collected are similar to the holotype description in colour pattern.</p> <p> <b>Etymology</b>: The specific epithet is derived from the Sanskrit name ‘Varshaabhu’, (Varshaa, rain; Bhu, taking birth) signifying the breeding activity of the species only during the rains. The species epithet is treated as a noun in opposition to the generic name. Suggested common name: “Varshaa burrowing frog”.</p> <p> <b>Occurrence and natural history</b> (Fig. 8): <i>Sphaerotheca varshaabhu</i> <b>sp. nov.</b>, is currently known from the agro-horticultural regions of Budumanhalli village, Bengaluru. <i>S. bengaluru</i> is the only sympatric congener in its known distribution range. During our anuran surveys in 2019 and 2020, we encountered calling males during the peak northeast monsoon period (October to December). Feeding and breeding activities of both the species of <i>Sphaerotheca</i> were seen during the northeast monsoon and calling males were observed during torrential rains. There are no permanent water bodies around the study area and the species were found to breed in temporary muddy puddles. No activity was observed for the two species between the intermittent showers.</p> <p> <b>Advertisement call</b>: (Fig. 12; Table 5): The advertisement calls of <i>Sphaerotheca varshaabhu</i> <b>sp. nov.</b> (Fig. 12, fourth from top: A&B; Table 5) are long and pulsatile. The call repetition rate is low and inter-call interval is high. The call duration is long. The calls had a mean duration of 823.15 ± 95.21 ms (742–928.60 ms) with a mean pulse rate of 128.16 ± 6.18 pulses/s (119.53–134.24 pulses/s) and mean of 104.75 ± 7.93 pulses per call (98.00–115.00 pulses/call). The call repetition rate was 0.53 ± 0.08 calls/min (0.44–0.58 calls/min). The mean dominant frequency was 3649.88 ± 41.23 Hz (3617.58–3703.71 Hz). We heard the similar advertisement calls from two more calling males of <i>S. varshaabhu</i> <b>sp. nov.</b> in the surroundings. Also, we heard the calls of <i>S. bengaluru</i> occurring in same habitat at same time that <i>S. varshaabhu</i> <b>sp. nov.</b> was calling. <i>S. varshaabhu</i> <b>sp. nov.</b> and <i>S. bengaluru</i> are syntopic. Further observations are needed to confirm partitioning in their calling microhabitat.</p>Published as part of <i>Deepak, P., Dinesh, K. P., Nag, K. S. Chetan, Ohler, Annemarie, Shanker, Kartik, Souza, Princia D, Prasad, Vishal Kumar & Ashadevi, J. S., 2024, Discovery and description of a new species of burrowing frog Sphaerotheca Günther, 1859 (Anura: Dicroglossidae) from the suburban landscapes of Bengaluru, India, pp. 381-410 in Zootaxa 5405 (3)</i> on pages 392-398, DOI: 10.11646/zootaxa.5405.3.3, <a href="http://zenodo.org/record/10603512">http://zenodo.org/record/10603512</a>
Spatio-temporal variations of fluoride in surface and ground water : a case study of the Umgeni Water operational area, KwaZulu-Natal.
No full textThesis (M.Sc.)-University of Natal, Pietermaritzburg, 2002.In September 2000 water fluoridation became mandatory in South Africa. Since then water service providers like Umgeni Water (UW), a bulk water supply authority in the KwaZulu-Natal (KZN) province of South Africa began the process of implementing the legislation. This study was undertaken to establish the spatio-temporal variations of fluoride concentrations in surface and ground waters within the Umgeni Operational Area, to establish whether these waters would require fluoridation or defluoridation to meet a fluoride concentration of 0.70 mglf, and to assess the potential impacts of water fluoridation. Baseline fluoride concentrations of surface and ground water: It was concluded that the fluoride concentration of all sample types (rivers, dams, water works raw and final waters, wastewater influent and effluents, and boreholes), except pollution point sources, is less than O.S; mglR, 50 percent of the time. Some rivers (Mshazi, KwaNyuswa, KwaNgcolosi,·Mshwati and the MgoShongweni) exhibited high fluoride concentrations, while someboreholes also exhibited high fluoride concentrations. Temporal Variations and Seasonality: There are seasonal variations in the fluoride concentrations for surface waters, with higher fluoride concentrations in winter than in summer (64 out of 125 occasions). This low fluoride concentration in summer can be attributed to the dilution effects caused by rainfall runoff. Identification of "Hot Spots": "Hot Spots", sites where the fluoride concentration exceeds 1 mglR are present within the study area, for surface and borehole water. For surface water, the MgoShongweni exhibited fluoride concentrations in excess of 1mglRat least 75% of the time. The KwaNgcolosi and Mshwati exhibited fluoride concentrations In excess of 1mglR at least 25% of the time, while the Mshazi and the KwaNyuswa exhibited fluoride concentrations in excess of 1mglR only 5% of the time. The storm water discharge below AECI had high fluoride concentrations in excess of 1mg/R at least 20% of the time and the concentrations exceeded the fluoride concentration for seawater (1.4 mglf) at least 5% of the time. Of the 286 boreholes sampled, 17 boreholes (6% of all boreholes sampled) had fluoride levels in excess oft mglf . The impacts of long term consumption of water from these boreholes could range from slight mottling of the dental enamel in sensitive individuals (boretioles JD26, C29, H19, CB7, 112/1, 69/5, Thembeni 108 and EC (Thembeni 105, Keats Drift boreholes 1 and 2). Spatial patterns and possible sources of high fluoride concentrations: With respect to spatial patterns, relatively high concentrations of fluoride (300 IJglR to 1000 IJglR) can be found in surface water in the Msunduzi river, the Mgeni river downstream of the Msunduzi confluence and along the coastal belt. No spatial patterns are evident with respect to borehole water. For surface water, high fluoride concentrations in the Mshazi, KwaNyuswa and the KwaNgcolosi streams (inflows to the Inanda dam) appear to be associated with the catchment geology. The ~igh fluoride concentrations in Mshwati and the MgoShongweni are most likely as a result of industrial activities in the respective catchments. For borehole water, high fluoride concentrations may be attributed to catchment geology. Additional fluoride dosaqe ' at water treatment works: Since the fluoride concentrations at the water works were low (mean ranging between 0.5 mglf to 0.38 mglf) , fluoride would need to be added to meet the fluoride standard of 0.7 mgl£ . For most of the water works, the additional fluoride (sodium fluoride) requirement to meet the fluoride standard of 0.7 mgl£, ranged from 1.201 kglMRto 1.555 kg/MR. For the water works, Imfume and Umzinto, the additional fluoride , requirement is 0.768 kg/MR and 0.109 kg/MR respectively. In final water, the fluctuations in fluoride concentrations observed would translate to continuous testing being required to maintain optimal dosing of fluoride. Comparison of influent and effluent fluoride concentrations at wastewater works: There was no evidence of fluoride removal at the Mpophomeni Wastewater Works . There was evidence of 22.4% fluoride removal at the DarvHI Wastewater Works possibly due to the activated sludge treatment process at the wastewater works. Future fluoride levels in surface water that will receive return flows: Once water fluoridation is implemented, the Darvill Wastewater Works would receive fluoridated return flows, and discharge its fluoride rich effluent into the Msunduzi river. The average monthly fluoride road discharged from Darvill Wastewater Works would increase from 0.23 tons to 1.46 tons, an additional 1.23 tons per month on the aquatic environment of the Msunduzi river. The sludge fluoride load, disposed to land, could increase from 4 056 tons/month to 27 863 tons/month, which implies an increase in the fluoride runoff potential from the sludge-lands to the Msunduzi river. Number of people in sensitive groups that could be affected by water fluoridation: A significant number of people in KZN could be sensitive to water fluoridation. This has been estimated to be at least one third of KZN's population that are HIV infected. Recommendations were made and the most important ones are as follows: In the light of the large number of people, one-third the population of KZN, that is HIV positive and therefore could be sensitive to fluoridated water, it is recommended that the South African legislation mandating water fluoridation be withdrawn. Examination of the most recent literature indicated a significant lack of confidence in the best available studies that researched the safety and efficacy of water fluoridation. In the light of this it is recommended that the South African Department of Health re-examine and withdraw its legislation that mandates water fluoridation
Sphaerotheca Gunther 1859
No full textKey to <i>Sphaerotheca</i> species of the ‘ <i>breviceps</i> group’ (modified after Dahanukar <i>et al.</i> 2017) <p>Tibio tarsal tubercle present............................................................................ 1 Tibio tarsal tubercle absent............................................................................. 2</p> <p> 1 Nostrils equidistant from eye and tip of snout; interorbital space broader than upper eyelid; first finger shorter than the second finger; predominant distribution in Sri Lanka...................................................... <i>S. rolandae</i></p> <p> - Nostrils near tip of snout; interorbital space equal to upper eyelid; first finger longer than the second finger; predominant distribution around Chota Nagpur plateau, India...................................................... <i>S. magadha</i></p> <p> 2 First finger longer than the third finger; nostril closer to eye than to snout; predominant distribution in Nepal.... <i>S. maskeyi</i></p> <p>- First finger shorter than the third finger; nostril closer to snout than to eye........................................ 3</p> <p> 3 Adult male size medium to large; tympanum less than half the diameter of the eye; toe webbing rudimentary; predominantly distributed on east coast of India................................................................ <i>S. breviceps</i></p> <p>- Adult male size large; tympanum half or more than half the diameter of the eye; toe webbing less to moderate........... 4</p> <p> 4 Adult male size large; tympanum about ¾rd the diameter of eye; internarial width greater than the shortest distance between eyes; inner metatarsal tubercle more than three times the length of the inner toe; toe webbing less; widespread in distribution from foothills of Himalayas to the northern Western Ghats.......................................... <i>S. pashchima</i></p> <p> - Adult male size large; tympanum half the diameter of the eye; internarial width equal to the shortest distance between eyes; inner metatarsal tubercle less than three times the length of the inner toe; toe webbing moderate................................................................................................ <i>Sphaerotheca bengaluru</i> <b>sp. nov.</b></p>Published as part of <i>Deepak, P., Dinesh, K. P., Ohler, Annemarie, Shanker, Kartik, Channakeshavamurthy, B. H. & Ashadevi, J. S., 2020, A new species of Sphaerotheca Günther, 1859 (Anura: Dicroglossidae) from the degraded urban ecosystems of Bengaluru, Deccan Plateau, India, pp. 423-436 in Zootaxa 4885 (3)</i> on page 431, DOI: 10.11646/zootaxa.4885.3.6, <a href="http://zenodo.org/record/4296815">http://zenodo.org/record/4296815</a>
Optimized cost effective approach for selection of materialized views in data warehousing
No full textA data warehouse efficiently processes a given set of queries by utilizing the multiple materialized views. Owing to the constraint on space and maintenance cost, the materialization of all views is unfeasible. One of the critical decisions involved in the process of designing a data warehouse for optimal efficiency, is the materialized views selection. The primary goal of data warehousing is to select a suitable set of views that minimizes the total cost associated with the materialized views. In this paper, we have presented a framework, an optimized version of our previous work, for the selection of views to materialize, for a given storage space constraints, which intends to achieve the best combination of good query response, low query processing cost and low view maintenance cost. All the cost metrics associated with the materialized views selection that comprise the query execution frequencies, base-relation update frequencies, query access costs, view maintenance costs and the system's storage space constraints are considered by this framework. This framework optimizes the maintenance, storage and query processing cost as it selects the most cost effective views to materialize. Thus, an efficient data warehousing system is the outcome.Facultad de Informátic
Withania somnifera promotes stress resistant activity in Drosophila melanogaster
No full textStress is a state of mental or emotional strain of an individual. In recent years nutritional antioxidants study have gain more attention in minimizing the stress like oxidative stress. The stress resistant ability in an organism can be increased by the supplementation of herbal resources. However, few plant extracts are known to have stress resistant ability and increases the tolerance capacity. Plants containing high antioxidant and other bioactive compounds promote tolerance capacity. An antioxidant rich plant has been proved to decreases the lipid peroxidation. Here, we investigated the potential protective effect of ethanolic extract of Withania somnifera (WS), against Paraquat toxicity on stress tolerance capacity using Drosophila melanogaster. Wild-type fruit flies of Oregon-K strain were fed with standard food media with 1mg/ml and 10 mg/ml of WS. The oxidative stress was induced by exposing the extract supplemented flies to Paraquat (20 mM). The stress tolerance capacity of flies was measured by subjecting to desiccation and oxidative stresses. Further, locomotor activity, lipid peroxidation were also studied along with the quantification of triglycerides, glycogen in WS fed flies under stress conditions. Our result reveals that PQ induced WS fed flies showed greater survivability, better locomotor ability when compared to PQ induced flies.WS fed flies increases about 73.55% of resistance ability under oxidative conditions and increased by 59.15% under desiccation than PQ induced flies. WS was more effective in protecting against Paraquat toxicity. The flies fed with high dose of WS (10mg/ml) showed greater improvement of the tolerance ability when subjected to desiccation and oxidative stresses. Further, the data on biochemical analysis reveals that lipid peroxidation activities were found to be significantly low and the triglyceride as well as glycogen quantities were found to be significantly high in WS fed flies compare to –ve control under both desiccation and oxidative stress conditions. Together, these findings suggest that WS promotes stress resistant ability by modulating metabolism and reducing oxidative damage
