Educating local people for nature protection especially with reference to endemic plants in Chitral-Pakistan (a case study)

Chitral having unique geographical conditions thus supporting about 173 endemic plant species. These endemic plants are used for various purposes like medicinal, fuel wood, food etc. Apart from the exploitation climate change and other anthropogenic factors like land clearing, construction works etc. also pose serious threats to these plants. Thus conservation program initiated to aware the community as well as young people. The method used basically formation of “Endemic Plants Clubs” of school students and village conservation committees (VCCs) to assess the information through brochures, posters and meetings. The educational program covered 54 schools and a total of about 5000 students. Similarly 32 VCCs of about 67 villages were also taken on platform. Repeated awareness sessions with students and community supporting with multimedia were approached for whole year. The questionnaire survey was carried out randomly with 191 female and 197 male among community and students to analyze the effect of conservational education sessions. The assessment results indicate length of residence and education is more significant. Moreover detail feedback showed that priorities for approach to use natural resources vary among community and students. Most critical issue is fuel wood consumption along with use as vegetable or medicinal plants and needs to be readdressed in further session with alternative approache

Cynanchum (Apocynaceae: Asclepiadoideae): A pantropical Asclepiadoid genus revisited

Cynanchum constitutes one of the very few Asclepiadoid genera that are distributed both in the Old and the New World. The present study of more than 100 species, based on Bayesian and maximum likelihood analysis of five chloroplast and four nuclear markers, resolves nine clades. No unambiguous morphological characters are associated with any particular Glade or a combination of several clades, so that a wide concept of Cynanchum seems the most appropriate taxonomic solution for the group. For this reason, several hitherto independent genera, Glossonema, Graphistemma, Holostemma, Metalepis, Metaplexis, Odontanthera, Pentarrhinum, Raphistemma and Seshagiria are included in Cynanchum. In addition, Adelostemma and Sichuania are subsumed under Cynanchum for morphological reasons. The necessary new combinations are made, resulting in twelve new species combinations, two new subspecies combinations, and two new names

Microwave-assisted in situ laser dye incorporation into high sensitivity whispering gallery mode microresonators

Optical whispering gallery mode microresonators (WGM-mu Rs) are powerful sensitive components with many analytical applications. Here, spherical WGM-mu Rs have been synthesised in a single-step microwave (MW)-assisted heterophase polymerisation. The microresonators are based on poly(styrene) beads into which the organic lasing dye nile red was incorporated as gain medium in situ during the polymerisation. The particle diameter and diameter distribution of the synthesised particles were tuned in the range of around 200 nm up to 50 mu m by adjusting the concentration between stabiliser poly-(N-vinyl pyrrolidone) (PVP) and monomer styrene, and the solvent composition in the dispersion process. Lower water content enabled the synthesis of spherical particles with large size polydispersity, from which WGM-mu Rs with a variety of diameters were selected. Microspheres with diameters greater than or similar to 3.5 mu < mu W were sufficient to excite WGMs. WGM shifts of beads with diameter between approximate to 5 and 30 mu m measured in air and water show a sensitivity up to 54 nm/RIU for the smallest particles. Dye doped WGM-mu R in the low mu m size range obtained by the MW-assisted polymerisation process with its versatility, low processing times and high yields opens new horizons for the applications of these systems as sensors

Microwave-assisted in situ laser dye incorporation into high sensitivity whispering gallery mode microresonators

Optical whispering gallery mode microresonators (WGM-µRs) are powerful sensitive components with many analytical applications. Here, spherical WGM-µRs have been synthesised in a single-step microwave (MW)-assisted heterophase polymerisation. The microresonators are based on poly(styrene) beads into which the organic lasing dye nile red was incorporated as gain medium in situ during the polymerisation. The particle diameter and diameter distribution of the synthesised particles were tuned in the range of around 200 nm up to 50 µm by adjusting the concentration between stabiliser poly-(N-vinyl pyrrolidone) (PVP) and monomer styrene, and the solvent composition in the dispersion process. Lower water content enabled the synthesis of spherical particles with large size polydispersity, from which WGM-µRs with a variety of diameters were selected. Microspheres with diameters ${\gtrsim}3.5~\mu$m supported WGMs. The WGMs were excited through free space via the fluorescence of the laser dye. Pumping power levels ${\lt}$1 µW were sufficient to excite WGMs. WGM shifts of beads with diameter between ≈5 and 30 µm measured in air and water show a sensitivity up to 54 nm/RIU for the smallest particles. Dye doped WGM-µR in the low µm size range obtained by the MW-assisted polymerisation process with its versatility, low processing times and high yields opens new horizons for the applications of these systems as sensors