[{"id":203,"title":" Magnification of arsenic poisoning factors along the length of river","sha":"21f71f41a776e5a4b3cafa6da6476c8d","user_id":null,"state":"published","body":"Previous studies have not explored the link between the downstream distance of rivers and increased incidence of arsenic toxicity. We find that in South Asia almost all the sites of arsenic toxicity are close to a river and are furthest from the source of river. The 3 factors that we posit are contributing to this distribution but have not been studied are: 1. deforestation, 2. misguided commercial forestation and 3. runoff and magnification in rivers. Deforestation and misguided commercial forestation of plants that results in reduced biodiversity and soil holding capacity contribute to erosion and leaching of arsenic. Massive commercial forestation in Northern Himalayas and expansion of agriculture in North Indian plains in the last few centuries have drastically altered the previous equilibrium of the system. Runoff in river can influence increased arsenic toxicity in 3 ways: 1. direct runoff of pesticides and other compounds containing arsenic, 2. industrial, agricultural and domestic-use compounds that increase arsenic mobilization and 3. decreased pH that increases arsenic mobilization. In the coming years, we expect additional factors of ground water cycling and other anthropogenic factors to alter this distribution and worsen the situation of arsenic toxicity. \r\n\r\n","created_at":"2015-08-16T11:17:23.393Z","updated_at":"2015-09-03T18:04:26.997Z","zenodo_id":54096,"doi":"http://dx.doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.28094","subject":null,"tags":["arsenic","poisoning","toxicity","river","deforestation","biomagnification","runoff","pesticide","ph","anthropogenic","south asia"],"vote_count":3,"view_count":1,"score":3.1,"deleted":false,"muted":false,"tweeted":true,"attachment_file_name":null,"attachment_content_type":null,"attachment_file_size":null,"attachment_updated_at":null},{"id":205,"title":"Large scale species hybridization as a new tool for brain mapping ","sha":"a6ed57daffad7d0b94e0241f4d58d2de","user_id":null,"state":"published","body":"Cichlid fishes have undergone massive speciation in [recent years] (http://www.nature.com/nrg/journal/v5/n4/full/nrg1316.html). The species number of Cichlid fishes in [African lakes are in hundreds] (http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1046/j.1365-294x.2001.01200.x/abstract;jsessionid=58D9FA770C91788F7EFC99DE6DF65156.f01t01) . The ecological niche and behavioral repertoire of each species can be vastly different, yet due to recent divergence, several retain the ability to produce viable and fertile offspring in forced [settings] (http://www.nature.com/nrg/journal/v5/n4/full/nrg1316.html). While comparative brain anatomy of few cichlids has provided some limited insights into brain evolution, the potential of Cichlids for detailed neuronal mapping has been completely unexplored. We propose a simple scheme for the exploration of macroscopic brain anatomy, neuronal network architecture and single neuron computation using crossing of cichlids with vastly different behavioral responses, for example a bottom feeder and a top carnivore or solitary species and a more social species. The progeny of such scheme of crosses would exhibit certain behavioral traits of one or the other parent or an average and correspondingly have underlying neuronal changes. A large scale systematic crossing, behavioral, genomic, and neuronal mapping of hybrid progenies would enable nuanced brain mapping. This approach can open an entirely new direction of brain mapping, as compared to the single gene mutation approach of neurogenetics. ","created_at":"2015-08-18T10:44:16.471Z","updated_at":"2015-08-19T06:00:40.683Z","zenodo_id":54644,"doi":"http://dx.doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.28319","subject":null,"tags":["african cichlid fishes","species complex","brain mapping","neuronal mapping","neurophysiology","evolution","circuits","hybridization","neurogenetics","crosses","behavior","ecological niche","species","computational neuroscience"],"vote_count":0,"view_count":1,"score":0.1,"deleted":false,"muted":false,"tweeted":true,"attachment_file_name":null,"attachment_content_type":null,"attachment_file_size":null,"attachment_updated_at":null},{"id":206,"title":"A proposal for sequential approach for arsenic removal from top-soil","sha":"839221c4a79ee72d68db5c4209371835","user_id":null,"state":"published","body":"Arsenic contamination of ground water and soil is a vexing problem in several countries, including India. For water treatment there have been several effective, economical and commercially available [methods] (http://www.hindawi.com/journals/tswj/2014/304524/#B161). [Phytoremidiation] (http://www.hindawi.com/journals/ijce/2011/939161/), [microbial remediation] (http://link.springer.com/article/10.1007%2Fs00253-013-4838-5), [genetically modified plants with bacterial genes and hybrid approach of both bacteria and plant accumulating Arsenic] (http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S098194280201375X) have been used for Arsenic removal from soil, with some success in field studies.  We propose a novel hybrid approach of removing iron from soil, which interferes with freely available arsenic, followed by further mobilization of arsenic by increasing soil acidification along with absorption by suitable plants and fungi, followed by removal of arsenic from the biomass. We propose removal of iron by fertilizing soil with iron accumulating bacteria. Following the initial treatment, we would then add detritus to decrease soil pH, along with arsenic accumulating non-edible plants and fungi that produce easily harvestable biomass but cannot be utilized directly by humans. The next step would be solubilization of harvested biomass in a fermenter, which can also be used to produce natural gas. The solubilized slurry can then be treated with several successful approaches for [slurry] (http://www.neptjournal.com/journal-details.php?id=49\u0026q_id=7) and [water treatment] (http://www.hindawi.com/journals/tswj/2014/304524/#B161). We have not proposed combining microbial bioaccumulation and using chemical methods due to cost and feasibility issues. Our sequential approach presents a possibly effective and practical approach of soil arsenic remediation. \r\n","created_at":"2015-08-19T10:53:58.761Z","updated_at":"2015-09-03T17:54:31.683Z","zenodo_id":57553,"doi":"http://dx.doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.29583","subject":null,"tags":["arsenic","poisoning","contamination","soil pollution","bioremidiation","phytoremidiation","microbial remidiation","iron removing bacteria","detritus"],"vote_count":1,"view_count":1,"score":1.1,"deleted":false,"muted":false,"tweeted":false,"attachment_file_name":"Arsenic_removal_proposal_figure.pdf","attachment_content_type":"application/pdf","attachment_file_size":21673,"attachment_updated_at":"2015-08-19T10:56:51.839Z"},{"id":221,"title":"Coincidence of auditory brainstem inputs as a possible substrate for improving sound localisation","sha":"9d5a56d7619677313e1e8c0d284eb45a","user_id":null,"state":"published","body":"Lateral superior olive and medial superior olive are two brainstem nuclei that compare auditory inputs from the two ears to calculate the direction of azimuthal source of sound. While the level and delay processing has been considered individually, there has been evidence of convergence of information from the two nuclei in the low frequency [domain]  (http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/23509001). We posit that the convergence of this information helps with improvement of sound localisation abilities. ","created_at":"2015-09-16T12:18:04.837Z","updated_at":"2015-09-17T06:00:32.116Z","zenodo_id":61195,"doi":"http://dx.doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.31040","subject":null,"tags":["auditory","brainstem","medial superior olive","lateral superior olive","inferior colliculus"],"vote_count":0,"view_count":1,"score":0.1,"deleted":false,"muted":false,"tweeted":false,"attachment_file_name":null,"attachment_content_type":null,"attachment_file_size":null,"attachment_updated_at":null},{"id":222,"title":"Combinatorial therapy for chronic alcoholism","sha":"8ccd9823af84854ce774aca24ef2c1a1","user_id":null,"state":"published","body":"Chronic alcoholism forces the nervous system to be hyper-excitable as a result of homeostatic change that occurs in response to the constant sedative effects of alcohol. We propose a combination therapy targeting inhibitory neurotransmitters such as glycine and gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA), along with ion channels, such as big potassium (BK) to counteract alcohol induced hyperactivity. Such a combinatorial approach can be of merit in various other neurological disorders. \r\n","created_at":"2015-09-16T13:04:32.571Z","updated_at":"2015-09-17T06:00:32.115Z","zenodo_id":61197,"doi":"http://dx.doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.31041","subject":null,"tags":["alcohol","drug discovery","medicine","inhibition","ion-channels"],"vote_count":0,"view_count":1,"score":0.1,"deleted":false,"muted":false,"tweeted":false,"attachment_file_name":null,"attachment_content_type":null,"attachment_file_size":null,"attachment_updated_at":null},{"id":223,"title":"A proposal to search for patterns of genome changes across parasites","sha":"b7bdcee2f1c873432ec2709e937f15ac","user_id":null,"state":"published","body":"Parasites have co-evolved along with their hosts to utilise the host machinery to complete parts of the parasite’s life cycle. Despite potentially large implications for disease biology, common denominators for gene loss and gene gain have not been studied for human and important zoonotic parasites. Given the complete sequencing and good annotation of several parasitic genomes, we posit that identification of such common motifs would now be feasible. We expect different patterns in ectoparasites versus endoparasites, and extracellular versus intracellular parasites. There might be common motifs to genetic gains and losses in the host but we suspect that they would be harder to find than the common denominators in parasites.\r\n","created_at":"2015-09-16T13:19:43.088Z","updated_at":"2015-09-16T19:27:46.015Z","zenodo_id":61199,"doi":"http://dx.doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.31042","subject":null,"tags":["parasite","host","co-evolution","gene-loss","gene-gain"],"vote_count":1,"view_count":1,"score":1.1,"deleted":false,"muted":false,"tweeted":false,"attachment_file_name":null,"attachment_content_type":null,"attachment_file_size":null,"attachment_updated_at":null},{"id":232,"title":"A case for habitat-centric conservation strategy instead of flagship-species approach","sha":"0dbc3ce40ac708aecc6bcd8ab41ef049","user_id":null,"state":"published","body":"Massive conservation projects have relied around single flagship species and the surrounding ecological niche that supports it. Conservation of giant panda, tiger, and bald eagle are examples of such a species-centric or flagship-species strategy for conservation. While such flagship-species approaches have helped conserve other species that are part of the ecological niche, this strategy fails to address holistic problems of habitat conservation across the globe. In habitats with discontinuity of conserved areas or patchiness of species distribution in a contiguous habitat, focus on a single flagship species would end up being detrimental for the conservation of biodiversity. Flagship-species approach can be a sink for expenditure, where more land could be kept aside for conservation, if we were not focussed on a flagship-species. We are proposing a new approach for conservation based on preservation of large contiguous habitats. Our proposal does not preclude monitoring endangered species but we expect the list to be dynamically updated and not focussed on few relatable species that are “cute” by human standards.  This would allow conservation efforts to bear fruits for unnoticed but ecologically more significant microorganisms, flora and non-vertebrate animals, along with vertebrates that are usually the focus of current approaches. \r\n","created_at":"2015-09-17T07:17:08.247Z","updated_at":"2015-09-18T06:00:54.825Z","zenodo_id":61428,"doi":"http://dx.doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.31118","subject":null,"tags":["conservation ecology","microbial ecology","conservation","conservation biology","project tiger","flagship-species","habitat-centric approach"],"vote_count":0,"view_count":1,"score":0.1,"deleted":false,"muted":false,"tweeted":false,"attachment_file_name":null,"attachment_content_type":null,"attachment_file_size":null,"attachment_updated_at":null},{"id":233,"title":"A proposal to increase effectiveness of electric fence","sha":"04837977ef27680106e0144557ff7158","user_id":null,"state":"published","body":"Electric fences have been used more successfully than non-electric fences in comparable settings for a variety of animals. The frequent breaking of electric fences by large mammals such as elephants that can pull a tree down on the fence, or rhinos that can run through fences with impunity, decrease the effectiveness of electric fences. Laying out a depressed region near the fence with the width more than the tallest tree, and filling it with sand would increase the effectiveness of electric fences. This would force the animal to run through sand which would significantly slow down the animal. The sand would also prevent the growth of vegetation that could support tall trees, which could be used to disrupt the fence. The sand clearing would also provide the ability to electrify the fences with solar power, utilising the clearing from foliage presented. ","created_at":"2015-09-17T11:00:27.526Z","updated_at":"2015-09-19T06:01:02.481Z","zenodo_id":61598,"doi":"http://dx.doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.31169","subject":null,"tags":["electric fence","sanctuary","wildlife","fence","reserve"],"vote_count":0,"view_count":1,"score":0.1,"deleted":false,"muted":false,"tweeted":true,"attachment_file_name":null,"attachment_content_type":null,"attachment_file_size":null,"attachment_updated_at":null}]