4,120 research outputs found
Parapharyngodon hemidactylii Gupta, Bhaskar & Gupta, 2009, n. sp.
No full textParapharyngodon hemidactylii n. sp. (n= 15 males, n= 20 females) The parasite is a tender white cylindrical worm tapering at both the ends. Prominent annulations visible beginning just behind cephalic extremity and continuing up to the anus. Sexual dimorphism is clearly distinct. Triangular oral opening is surrounded by 3 bilobed lips. Adult male (All measurements are in mm. unless otherwise stated). Cylindrical worm 0.755 (0.47–0.96) long, 0.236 (0.18–0.37) wide at its maximum width (Plate I Fig. 1; Plate III Fig. 1). Cuticle with annulations forming swollen rings in posterior region. Esophageal tube 0.283 (0.20–0.54) long and 0.031 (0.02–0.04) wide. Esophageal bulb 0.079 (0.05–0.11) long and 0.089 (0.07–0.11) wide (Plate I Fig. 2). Nerve ring not clearly distinct. Caudal papillae absent. Spicules 0.049 (0.035–0.085) long and pointed (Plate I Fig. 3). Tail filament 0.065 (0.01–0.09) long, terminal in position and directed posteriorly (Plate I Fig. 4, 5; Plate III Fig. 2). Adult female (All measurements are in mm. unless otherwise stated). Body length 3.47 (2.47–4.05), width 0.405 (0.33–0.51) at maximum width (Plate II Fig. 1, 2; Plate III Fig. 3). Cuticle with annulations approximately 0.032 (0.01–0.055) long and 0.021 (0.015–0.035) in width (Plate II Fig. 1; Plate III Fig. 4). Esophageal tube or corpus 0.55 (0.50–0.64) in length and 0.05 (0.045–0.06) in width and esophageal bulb 0.194 (0.17–0.215) in length and 0.225 (0.21–0.26) in width (Plate II Fig. 2; Plate III Fig. 5). Reproductive structures confined to body cavity between vulva and anus and the developing ova visible in the uterus (Plate III Fig. 6). Nerve ring not clearly distinct. Excretory pore and vulva situated at 1.18 and 1.44 (1.20–1.70) respectively from the anterior end (Plate II Fig. 3; Plate IV Fig. 1). Body with conical termination (Plate II Fig. 5; Plate IV Fig. 2). Tail 0.11 (0.075–0.135) long and 0.063 (0.045–0.10) wide (Plate IV Fig. 3). Eggs oval 0.08 (0.02–0.10) long, 0.041 (0.01–0.06) wide (Plate II Fig. 4, 6; Plate IV Fig. 4) PLATE I Camera lucida diagrams of Thelandros hemidactylii n. sp. Male showing Fig. 1 Anterior most region; Fig. 2 Anterior region; Fig. 3 Spicule; Fig. 4 Posterior region (dorsoventral view); Fig. 5 Posterior region (lateral view). PLATE II Camera lucida diagrams of Thelandros hemidactylii n. sp. Female showing Fig. 1 Anterior most region; Fig. 2 Anterior region with oesophagus and intestine; Fig. 3 Vulva region; Fig. 4 Egg; Fig. 5 Posterior region; Fig. 6 Middle region with eggs. PLATE III Photomicrographs of Thelandros hemidactylii n. sp. (X 400). Male showing Fig. 1 Anterior end; Fig. 2 Posterior end; female Fig. 3 Anterior end showing oesophageal region; Fig. 4 Surface of Thelandros showing cuticular annulations; Fig. 5 Oesophageal bulb and intestinal junction; Fig. 6 Intestinal region showing developing ova. PLATE IV Photomicrographs of Thelandros hemidactylii n. sp. (Fig. 1– 3 X 400). Female showing Fig. 1 Parasite showing vulva region; Fig. 2 Parasite showing posterior end with eggs; Fig. 3 Parasite showing tail region; Fig. 4 Parasite showing eggs (X 1000).Published as part of Gupta, Neelima, Bhaskar, Manju & Gupta, Dileep Kumar, 2009, Gastro-intestinal invasion in Hemidactylus flaviviridis with a new species of Parapharyngodon (Oxyuroidea: Pharyngodonidae), pp. 39-51 in Zootaxa 2165 on pages 40-44, DOI: 10.5281/zenodo.18908
Drivers of Career Success among the Visually Impaired: Improving career inclusivity and sustainability in a career ecosystem
No full textVisual impairment, as a form of disability, remains understudied in the context of employment and careers. Drawing on career ecosystem and career sustainability theories, we explore factors that lead to career success and career sustainability of visually impaired individuals. We collected qualitative data from 66 visually impaired individuals from India who had experienced varying degrees of career attainment. We applied grounded theory to study their deep-seated attitudes and ingrained behaviors that help build successful and sustainable careers. High-career-attainment participants were extremely resilient, able to bounce back after rejection, and willing to adopt certain key psycho-social processes such as non-acceptance of rejection, relatability (forging positive relations with the sighted), family support, enabling self through technology, and influence mindset change, which led them to be ‘masters of circumstance.’ Conversely, the characteristics of low-career-attainment participants included their unquestioning acceptance of fate, higher degrees of skepticism, and obligation to support the family, which led them to become ‘victims of circumstance.’ We contribute to the career ecosystems and career sustainability literature by expanding it to wider populations and crystalizing processes that influence careers. The findings have policy implications for visually impaired individuals as well as for other people with disabilities, as well as for organizations and governments. Individuals should challenge conventional norms, be persistent and improve self-efficacy. Organization should think out of the box in order to win the war for talent by employing hidden talent.</p
Dravidacris Bhaskar et Kasalo 2022, gen. nov.
No full textGenus Dravidacris Bhaskar et Kasalo gen. nov. Etymology The genus Dravidacris is named in honour of the “ Dravidians ” (linguistic group), a term collectively representing the people who live in the southern states of India. The ending –acris is derived from the Greek word ἀκρίς, meaning “grasshopper, locust”, and is of feminine gender. Diagnosis and comparative notes. Dravidacris annamalaica gen. et sp. nov. (Dravidian pygmy hopper)can be distinguished from other Metrodorinae by the following set of characteristics: (i) elongated dorsally flat sword-like fastigium, forward and slightly upward raising flat rostrum, (ii) finely granulose integument, (iii) short medial carina of the vertex, present only in the anterior part of the elongated fastigium, (iv) anterior margin of the pronotum distinctly dentate, (v) fore femora distinctly widened in their middle part, (vi) dorsal distal margins of the fore femora with two distinct tubercles. Dravidacris gen. et sp. nov. stands out from most of the genera of the subfamily Metrodorinae with its unique sword-like head. Within the polyphyletic tribe Cleostratini, it superficially resembles Pseudomitraria from Africa, Rostella Hancock, 1913 from SE Asia, and Indomiriatra from India. The similarity is the result of convergent evolution as there are apparent differences in how the horn develops in those genera. In Pseudomitraria, the horn developed as an extension below the scutellum and above the bifurcation of the frontal costa. In Indomiriatra and Rostella, the horn develops as an extension above the bifurcation of the frontal costa together with raised frontal costa and the medial carina of the fastigium. In Dravidacris gen. et sp. nov., the horn develops as an extension above the bifurcation of the frontal costa together with raised frontal costa. A brief morphological comparison is listed in Table 1. It compares the new species with the horned genera and Bolivaritettix sculptus (Bolívar, 1887), the type species of the genus Bolivaritettix Günther, 1939, hypothesized by Günther (1959) to be related to the African-Indian clade that he believed to include some of the horned genera. The genus Bolivaritettix consists of a large number of species. There has never been a systematic review of it, only reviews for individual countries that regularly describe even more species. As the diagnosis of the genus does not mention many of the characters that we use for comparison and as the identity of the genus is not clear, we compare the horned genera only to the type species (Zha et al. 2015, Storozhenko 2018, Deng et al. 2018). Although there is active research going on in the region, India’s fauna of Tetrigidae is still not taxonomically well-understood (Gupta & Chandra 2017, Bhaskar et al. 2020). We do not provide a detailed examination of all the species present in India because much more research is needed to establish order in the taxa.Published as part of Bhaskar, Dhaneesh, Sankararaman, H. & Kasalo, Niko, 2022, Dravidacris annamalaica gen. et sp. nov. a new pygmy unicorn grasshopper (Orthoptera: Tetrigidae) from South India, pp. 420-432 in Zootaxa 5196 (3) on page 422, DOI: 10.11646/zootaxa.5196.3.6, http://zenodo.org/record/723550
Performance Evaluation of a Subterranean Arsenic Removal (SAR) Community Water Treatment Plant: A Sustainable Long-Term Approach to Removing Arsenic from Drinking Water
No full textSubterranean arsenic removal (SAR) is a low-cost, zero-waste, and ‘easy to operate’ process that can remove arsenic and iron from groundwater without using any adsorption bed. The SAR plant creates an aerobic high Eh bed in the aquifer by recharging oxygenated groundwater, thereby supporting the growth of arsenic and iron oxidizing aerobic bacteria. The arsenic and iron are immobilized in the aquifer sand in the forms of As (V) and Fe(III), respectively. This work reports the key performance data of a SAR plant installed at Ghetugachi village in West Bengal, India under an increased demand three times above the designed production volume. The naturally occurring water has an As concentration of 154 ppb, which was decreased to 13 ppb for 3000 L per day (LPD) water during the period of 2009 to 2015. However, with an increase in demand of up to 10,000 LPD, due to an increase in local consumer population, the As in the SAR treated water increased to 30 ppb. In order to control the As and Fe levels, a novel HAIX-nano Fe resin bead media filter (Lehigh University) was installed in line with the SAR plant thereby reducing the As and Fe in delivery water to 6 ppb and 240 ppb, respectively. This resulted in low filter cost, no filter clogging over the past 6 months, and a lower maintenance cost of both the SAR plant and HAIX media filter. The combined SAR-HAIX plant has been able to maintain a favourable Eh–pH value of the water in order to immobilize the arsenic and iron consistently over the last 6 months of the study. Locally, ~600 people and two schools depend upon the safe water supplied by this plant and the operating cost comes to about $30.00 US dollars a month to produce 10,000 L of safe water per day
Source Apportionment of Heavy Metal(loid)s in the Surface Soils of Cerrito Blanco, Mexico: A Comparative Study of Three Receptor Models (APCS-MLR, PMF and UNMIX Model)
No full textIt is essential for the monitoring and conservation of soil environments to have a comprehensive awareness of the source characteristics including that of heavy metal (loid)s. This study focuses on a semi-arid mining area in Mexico where heavy metal (loid)s originated from past mining and rapid industrialisation activities, which have degraded the soil environment as well as the security of agricultural products. In this study, Cerrito Blanco, which is part of an abandoned mining region in Matehuala, Mexico was identified as the principal source of contaminants. It was also observed that the contributions of the contaminants to the overall pollution could be calculated by using a combination of multivariate statistics and receptor models. The three receptor models such as APCS-MLR, PMF, and UNMIX were used and mutually compared to improve the accuracy and quantitative assessment of source contributions. A total of eleven heavy metal(loid)s were selected for this study, out of which the mean concentrations level of As, Fe, Mn, and Zn exceeded their reference limit values. The spatial distribution mapping revealed the distribution patterns and significant effects on concentrations of heavy metal(loid)s in surface soil. APCS-MLR identified three potential sources with contribution rates of 18.16% (groundwater source), 57.33% (past mining and industrialisation), and 24.51% (natural source) respectively. Two models, namely, PMF and UNMIX were employed to establish the contributions from common pollution sources. The contributions from four common sources (groundwater, past mining and industrialisation, natural source, and human activity) contributed 15.57, 42.86, 36.06, and 5.51% according to the PMF model, but 14.73%, 45%, 31.91%, and 8.36% respectively by the UNMIX model. The results of three receptor models showed that heavy metal(loid)s concentrations were mostly influenced by past mining and industrialisation activities. As a result, the identification of the potential sources of heavy metal(loid)s performed better using the APCS-MLR model than PMF and UNMIX model due to its higher R2 value (0.90–1) and lower P/M error (1–1.15). To achieve more reliable and objective conclusions of source apportionment, it was recommended that multiple receptor models be applied
Visual outcome of ranibizumab therapy for neovascular age related macular degeneration in the black population: a report of five cases
No full textRoopa Vemala, Bhaskar Gupta, Sobha SivaprasadLaser and Retinal Research Unit, King&rsquo;s College Hospital, London SE5 9RS, UKIntroduction: Neovascular age related macular degeneration (AMD) is relatively uncommon in the black population. We report the 12-month outcome of ranibizumab therapy in five black patients with choroidal neovascular membrane (CNV) secondary to AMD.Material and methods: Retrospective analysis of a prospective audit database maintained for all patients on ranibizumab therapy in a retinal specialist unit that caters to a multi-ethnic cohort in London, United Kingdom.Results: At 12 months, all the 5 patients maintained stable vision (loss of less than 15 ETDRS letters). However, none of them gained more than 15 ETDRS letters. All eyes showed early subretinal fibrosis while 2 patients showed extended areas of retinal pigment atrophy.Conclusion: Our case studies indicate that ranibizumab stabilizes the vision in black patients with CNV secondary to AMD but they tend to develop early subretinal fibrosis and retinal pigment atrophy.Keywords: choroidal neovascular membrane, Afro-Caribbean, black
The Contamination of Water and Soil from the Dissolution of As-Bearing Mineral Waste in Matehuala, Mexico
No full textExtremely high concentrations of arsenic (As) in groundwater have been reported in central Mexico related to leachates from metallurgical wastes from an abandoned smelter. At the site, contaminated groundwater has been extensively used for maize cultivation for a long time resulting in very high soil pollution. However, the As-containing minerals’ identity, concentration, and solubility remain unresolved. In the present work, highly contaminated soil samples from the area were studied to determine total As concentrations in shallow (0–5 cm) and deepsoils (5–30 cm) and to identify and characterize As-bearing minerals and their solubility behavior. Results showed that soil samples contained up to 4.2% As and the mineralogy consisted mainly of calcite, gypsum, and quartz. Identified arsenic minerals included pharmacosiderite, bukovskýite, scorodite, beudantite, clinoclase, sodium arsenate, adamite, arsenolite, arsenopyrite, orpiment, and a mixture of calcium arsenates (guerinite, haidingerite and pharmacolite). Additionally, As was adsorbed on ferrihydrite. Soil fractionation analysis showed that up to 74% of total As was present in the most mobile fractions, e.g., soluble, exchangeable, phosphate absorbable, and slightly reducible. Furthermore, As solubility in water accounted for up to 60 mg/L at pH 7, explaining the high pollution observed in groundwater and highlighting the risk to humans and ecosystems. According to saturation indices calculations, As may derive from the dissolution of adamite, arsenolite, pharmacolite, and haidingerite, while clinoclase and ferrihydrite may precipitate, counteracting As solubility and mobilization. The results of this study increase knowledge on the identification and solubility of As-bearing minerals in calcicxerosols and semi-arid climatic conditions where considerable contamination is observed in groundwater from As-containing waste disposal
Data for Gupta et al., "Estimating the Meridional Extent of Adiabatic Mixing in the Stratosphere using Age-of-Air", JGR:Atmospheres,
No full textModel data and post-processed data supporting the creation of the manuscript "Estimating the Meridional Extent of Adiabatic Mixing in the Stratosphere using Age-of-Air" submitted to JGR:Atmospheres in August 2022.
1) The netCDF files created through post-processing of full model data in FORTRAN are shared in the /data/ directory. These file contains the zonal mean circulation statistics based on Gupta et al. (2020), age-of-air transport diagnostics based on Linz et al. (2021), and the novel \Gamma-\Theta circulation streamfunction introduced in this study. The /data/ directory also contains MATLAB .mat data files for the transport diagnostics obtained from WACCM. 150 days of actual GFDL-FV3 model data in the northern hemisphere, between 0.1 hPa-500 hPa pressure levels is also provided to support external computations and validation.
2) The Jupyter notebook used for final computation and figures production is provided in .ipynb, .html and .pdf formats in /code/. All the files referred to in the notebook are stored in the /data/ directory.
Corresponding author : Aman Gupta, [email protected], [email protected], [email protected]
Should routine eye examinations be included in treatment bundles for patients with candidemia?
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