Ethnobotany of Palas Valley, Pakistan

This study represents first comprehensive ethnobotanical survey in Palas valley, Pakistan and is also an attempt to sum up the preexisting ethnobotanical information. A total of 139 ethnobotanically important plant species are being reported from the study area belonging to a total of 72 plant families. The most important families in this regard were Rosaceae (20 species), Asteraceae (9 species), Lamiaceae and Polygonaceae (5 species each). Herbs (59 species) were found to be the most used life forms followed by trees (40 species), shrubs (36 species) and Climbers (4 species) in descending order. Most frequently utilized portions of plants include Fruit (43 species), Wood (30 species), Root (24 species), Leaves (21 species), Whole Plant (16 species), Branch (15 species), Bark (8), Seed (8 species) and Flower (5 species). Most of the plants are utilized as medicine for humans (68 species). Only 3 species could be recorded for their use as veterinary medicine (although there may be many more). There were more than 68 plant species, which are utilized as food. The cultivated crop plants were, however, not included in the list. Fruit species included 38 plants and there were 29 plants that were important as food other than fruits. Most of these were found to be utilized as potherbs. A limited storage of the food plants was also noticed. There were 29 fuel species, 2 torchwood species, 28 fodder species and 10 timber species. Agricultural tools and handles were found to be made from 13 different species. Those employed for hedges, fencing and thatching included 7 species. Five species were used as spices, three for tea and 28 species were recorded for miscellaneous i.e., other than those mentioned above. Currently there are 10 major species that are brought to market for sale these include Bunium persicum, Diospyros lotus, Juglans regia, Morchella esculenta, Podophyllum emodi, Saussurea costus, Valeriana sp., Viola sp. Vernonia anthelmentica, and Ziziphus oxyphylla. Market plants especially Valeriana jatamansi, Saussurea costus, Paeonia emodi and Podophyllum emodi are under severe pressure due to ethnobotanical collections. High summer pastures are the focus area for collection of most of the plant species and additionally intense grazing has posed a serious threat to these areas. Awareness program in the area about the importance of the indigenous flora, sustainable plants collection and conservation of important medicinal plants would be desirable. The local community should be actively involved in conservation practices. Rotational grazing and reducing the number of livestock will help reduce pressure on pastures. Cultivation of medicinal plants and other plants of economic importance will create new openings for the uplift of poor locals and will also reduce pressures on wild population. A long-term ethnobotanical programme that may address the issues will be a great demand in future

Microbial dynamics during various activities in residential areas of Lahore, Pakistan

Bioaerosols are ubiquitous in the atmosphere with their levels affected by a variety of environmental factors as well as type of activities being carried out at any specific time. The present study investigated how indoor activities influence bioaerosol concentrations in five residential houses of Lahore. Agar coated petri plates were exposed face upwards for twenty minutes in kitchens and living rooms during activity and non-activity periods. The temperature and relative humidity levels were noted as well. The bioaerosol concentrations in kitchens during the activity time ranged between 1022 to 4481 cfu/m3 and in living rooms from 1179 to 3183 cfu/m3 . Lower values were observed during non-activity periods. A paired-t test revealed a significant difference in bacterial loads during activity and non-activity times in both micro-environments (p = 0.038 in kitchen and p = 0.021 in living room). The predominant species identified were Micrococcus spp., Staphylococcus spp., and Bacillus spp. which are a common constituent of the indoor environment and are known to be opportunistic pathogens as well

A Cyclic Universe With Varying Cosmological Constant in f(R,T)f(R,T) gravity

A new kind of evolution for cyclic models in which the Hubble parameter oscillates and keeps positive has been explored in a specific $f(R,T)$ gravity reconstruction. A singularity-free cyclic universe with negative varying cosmological constant has been obtained which supports the role suggested for negative $\Lambda$ in stopping the eternal acceleration. The cosmological solutions have been obtained for the case of a flat universe, supported by observations. The cosmic pressure grows without singular values, it is positive during the early-time decelerated expansion and negative during the late-time accelerating epoch. The time varying EoS parameter $\omega(t)$ shows a quintom behavior and is restricted to the range $-2.25 \leq \omega(t) \lesssim \frac{1}{3}$. The validity of the classical linear energy conditions and the sound speed causality condition has been studied. The non-conventional mechanism of negative cosmological constant that are expected to address the late-time acceleration has been discussed.Comment: 15 pages, 10 figure

Reconnection of superfluid vortex bundles

Using the vortex filament model and the Gross Pitaevskii nonlinear Schroedinger equation, we show that bundles of quantised vortex lines in helium II are structurally robust and can reconnect with each other maintaining their identity. We discuss vortex stretching in superfluid turbulence and show that, during the bundle reconnection process, Kelvin waves of large amplitude are generated, in agreement with the finding that helicity is produced by nearly singular vortex interactions in classical Euler flows.Comment: 10 pages, 7 figure

Studi Keandalan Motor Induksi Tiga Fasa Main Drive Finish Mill 4.1 PT. Semen Tonasa

Dalam pengoperasian motor induksi 3 fasa diperlukan pengecekan dan pemeriksaan yang disebut maintenance dimaksudkan sebagai tindakan untuk mencegah dan memperbaiki kerusakan yang menjamin tingkat keandalan, dari penelitian penulis menemukan hasil efficiency tingkat keandalan yang memenuhi standarisasi perusahaan dan yang tidak, serta gangguan yang terjadi diantaranya disebabkan oleh bearing rusak, lilitan motor terbakar,serta saluran pendingin / kipas motor tidak berfungsi dan gangguan itu diatasi dengan adanya jadwal perawatan secara mingguan, bulanan, tahunan

Determination Of Aerosol Optical Thickness From Spectral Sky Transmittance.

The objective of this study is to test the feasibility of the proposed technique for retrieving spectral aerosol optical thickness (AOT) from the spectral transmittance measurements. The measurements have been acquired around Penang Island, Malaysia. Ground-based measurements were made with a handheld spectroradiometer. The measured spectral transmittance data were then converted to AOT values 6 spectral bands between 400 and 900 nm. Spectral AOT maps were generated using Kriging interpolation method for the 6 spectral bands. Air quality map was produced using this technique

Remote Sensing Of Turbidity Mapping From Digital Camera Imagery.

A complete set of normal digital camera data and ground-based measurements are used to test an algorithm for retrieval of turbidity distribution in the Prai Estuary, Penang, Malaysia