Ethnomedicinal uses of Sthalavrikshas (temple trees) in Tamil Nadu, southern India

Worship of plants is practiced throughout the world and is well established from pre-historic periods in India. In Tamil Nadu state, India this customary practice follows with religious faiths and culture. One such religious worship is known as Sthalavriksha (sthal: locality, vriksha: tree) in temples. Very few field studies have been conducted on Sthalavriksha practice and its role in social, ecological and environmental impacts of local people. In particular, ethnomedicinal uses on Sthalavrikshas, occurring in the temples of Tamil Nadu have been unexplored. A survey was conducted at 1165 ancient temples of the state and revealed the occurrence of 112 plant species during 2002-2006. At the time of study, several ethnomedicinal uses of 101 Sthalavriksha species were recorded by both direct observations and referred to by devotees, priests and Nattuvaidyas (traditional healers) in the temples

Selective biochemical studies in a freshwater prawn, Macrobrachium nobilli(Crustecea: Palaemodinae)

Calcium and phosphorous contents of abdomen and cheliped muscles of juvenile, male and female Macrobrchium nobilii were determined from field collected samples. In all the three groups calcium concentration was higher in chelipeds while the phosphorous content was more in abdomen muscles than in the chelipeds. However between three groups the calcium content varied significantly both in the abdomen and cheliped muscles (P<O.OOl) while the phosphorous content differed (P<O.OS) only in abdomen muscles

Stochastic Models on Time to Recruitment in a Two Grade Manpower System using Different Policies of Recruitment

In this paper a two grade organization in which depletion of manpower occurs due to its policy decisions is considered. Two mathematical models are constructed employing two different univariate recruitment policies, based on shock model approach. The mean and variance of the time to recruitment are obtained for both the models under different conditions. The analytical results are numerically illustrated and relevant conclusions are presented

Mean and Variance of the Time to Recruitment in a Two Graded Manpower System with Two Thresholds for the Organization

In this paper, a two graded manpower system which is subject to exit of personnel due to the policy decisions taken in the system is considered. There is an associated loss of manpower if a person quits. As the exit of personnel is unpredictable, a new recruitment policy involving two thresholds – one is optional and the other one mandatory is suggested to enable the organization to plan its decision on recruitment. Based on shock model approach, two mathematical models are constructed using a univariate policy of recruitment. The analytical expression for the mean and variance of the time to recruitment are obtained when i) the loss of manpower processes in grades 1& 2 form separately a sequence of independent and identically distributed exponential random variables ii) the inter-decision times are independent and identically distributed exponential random variables and iii) the optional and mandatory thresholds in both the grades follow exponential, exponentiated exponential distribution and the distribution having SCBZ property respectively. The results are numerically illustrated for both the models and relevant conclusions are made. ÂÂ

NMR GHZ

We describe the creation of a Greenberger-Horne-Zeilinger (GHZ) state of the form |000>+|111> (three maximally entangled quantum bits) using Nuclear Magnetic Resonance (NMR). We have successfully carried out the experiment using the proton and carbon spins of trichloroethylene, and confirmed the result using state tomography. We have thus extended the space of entangled quantum states explored systematically to three quantum bits, an essential step for quantum computation.Comment: 4 pages in RevTex, 3 figures, the paper is also avalaible at http://qso.lanl.gov/qc

Preparation of Al2O3 - SiC In-Situ Composite Powder Mixtures by Carbothermal Reduction of Kaolinite

A1,,O3-SiC,, composite powder mixtures were prepared by carbothermal reduction of kaolinite (A],03.2SiO,.2H,O) in argon atmosphere at constant gas pressure of 0.15 MPa. The reactions were carried out with different mole ratios of silica (in the precursor) and carbon (4.5-9.0), with two types of carbon i.e.carbon black (300m2/g)and activated charcoal (1000m2/g) and at different temperatures in the temperature range of 1550-17000C with one hour of soaking to find the progress of the reaction in all the cases. It was observed that the reactions were complete at 17000C. The reactions were carried out with higher soaking time to optimise the process. It was noted that mullite forms as the intermediate phase at lower temperatures which converts progressively later to a mixture of A1,O, and SiC,, composite product at higher temperatures

Comparison of methods for evaluating the suitability of Vertisols for Gossypium hirsutum (Bt cotton) in two contrasting agro-ecological regions

This is the author accepted manuscript. The final version is available from Taylor and Francis (Routledge) via the DOI in this record.Cotton (Gossypium sp.) is a major crop grown under rainfed conditions in Vertisols and associated soils in semi-arid tropical (SAT) regions of Peninsular India. In recent years, cotton productivity has declined due to various biophysical factors including pest and diseases, seasonal water stress soil degradation and poor crop management practices. In this study, we compare two methods for evaluating the suitability of Vertisols for cotton in contrasting two agro-ecological regions viz., sub-humid moist (SHM) region and semi-arid dry(SAD) were characterized. Twelve cotton growing Vertisols (seven from SHM and five from SAD) were evaluated for their suitability for cotton cultivation using soil quality index (SQI) and modified Sys-FAO method. SQIs were calculated using the weighted additive index from transformed scores of selected indicators by principal component analysis. For Sys-FAO method both biophysical and soil characteristics were considered for suitability evaluation. We found that the soils of SHM region were moderately suitable for cotton cultivation with soil moisture as the major limiting factor, whereas the soils of SAD region are marginally suitable due to high exchangeable sodium percentage and poor hydraulic conductivity. From this, it may be concluded that the weighted SQI has better agreement with the cotton yield

THE INFLUENCE OF MOTIVATIONAL BEHAVIOR LEARNING AND EXERCISE OF THE ORGANIZATIONAL COMMITMENT

Motivation to Learning has an important function in organizing commitment organized. Likewise with Displacement Knowledge Exercise also owns role in motivation description learn in influencing worker towards organizational commitment. So that employee continues to maintain their commitment to the organization. Therefore, this nature is very important in producing organization that is high quality and make a transfer towards training knowledge. This study was conducted on labor in the private sector with a total number of respondents of 189 workers. The research used was to identify and analyze the empirical model study with Partial Least square and moderating

Hypoxia and Extracellular Matrix Proteins Influence Angiogenesis and Lymphangiogenesis in Mouse Embryoid Bodies

Regulatory mechanisms for angiogenesis are relatively well established compared to lymphangiogenesis. Few studies have shown that a combination of vascular endothelial growth factor VEGF-A/C with hypoxia or collagen matrix promotes lymphatic structures along with blood vessel development in mouse embryoid bodies (EB). In this study we tested the hypothesis that while hypoxia combined with prolonged VEGF-A/C treatment would induce early lymphangiogenesis in addition to angiogenesis in mouse EBs, under similar conditions specific extracellular matrix (ECM) proteins would promote lymphatic vessel-like structures over angiogenesis. EBs were subjected to four conditions and were maintained under normoxia and hypoxia (21% and 2.6% O2, respectively) with or without VEGF-A/C. Microarray analyses of normoxic and hypoxic EBs, and immunofluorescence data showed very low expression of early lymphatic endothelial cell (LEC) markers, lymphatic vessel endothelial hyaluronan receptor 1 (LYVE1), and prospero-related homeobox 1 (Prox1) at early time points. Double immunofluorescence using MECA-32 and Prox1/LYVE1 demonstrated that combined hypoxia and VEGF-A/C treatment promoted formation of blood vessel-like structures, whereas only Prox1+/LYVE1+ LECs were detected in EBs at E22.5. Furthermore, EBs were grown on laminin or collagen-I coated plates and were subjected to the four treatments as described above. Results revealed that LECs in EBs at E36.5 attached better to collagen-I, resulting in an organized network of lymphatic vessel-like structures as compared to EBs grown on laminin. However, blood vessel-like structures were less favored under these same conditions. Collectively, our data demonstrate that hypoxia combined with growth factors promotes angiogenesis, whereas combination of these conditions with specific ECM proteins favors lymphangiogenesis processes in mouse EBs