The assessment of the toxicants in roadside soil on regular basis has become extremely essential with the increase in awareness for the metal toxicity in the environment. The present study investigates the presence of toxic metals along National Highway (N-5), Pakistan. Averages of about 1.3 million per month of automobile vehicles ply on this route. Lead (Pb), zinc (Zn), copper (Cu), nickel (Ni), cadmium (Cd), cobalt (Co), manganese (Mn), mercury (Hg), and iron (Fe) were analyzed by atomic absorption spectrophotometry in roadside soil at the nine selected locations along the highway. Strong Pearson correlations (α = 0.05) were found between Pb and Zn (r(2) = 0.887), Fe and Mn (r(2) = 0.880), Hg and Cd (0.864), Cu and Zn (0.838), and Cu and Pb (0.814). The correlation between the elemental compositions of the main automobile components revealed vehicular traffic as the main non-point source of roadside soil pollution. Extremely high level of mercury, 144.05 mg kg(-1), was found at S5. It was revealed that the unregulated incineration and dumping sites of hazardous waste material along N-5 were also responsible for these contaminations. Multivariate analysis on the obtained data also disclosed the same interpretation. Cluster analysis of the data grouped Pb, Zn, and Cu at 85.23% similarity, whereas, Cd, Hg, and Ni were grouped at 78.75% similarity basis. The findings need swift action against the root cause of soil pollution.

Although particle size and its measurement are intuitively familiar to particle technologists, the concept of point of zero charge (pzc) is less widely understood and applied. This is unfortunate since it is at least as fundamentally important as particle size in determining the behavior of particulate materials, especially those with sizes in the colloidal range below a micrometer. pzc is related to the charge on the surface of the particle and strongly depends on the pH of the material; so it influences a wide range of properties of colloidal materials, such as their stability, interaction with electrolytes, suspension rheology, and ion exchange capacity. The pH dependence of surface charges was quantified for four different adsorbent–aqueous solution interfaces. The points of zero charge were determined for activated charcoal, granite sand, lakhra coal, and ground corn cob materials using three methods: (1) the pH drift method, measuring pH where the adsorbent behaves as a neutral specie; (2) potentiometric titration, measuring the adsorption of H + and OH - on surfaces in solutions of varying ionic strengths; (3) direct assessment of the surface charge via nonspecific ion adsorption as a function of pH. The intrinsic acidity constants for acid and base equilibria, [Formula: see text] and [Formula: see text], were also calculated. Lakhra coal was found to have the lowest pzc value among all other adsorbents studied owing to the presence of a large amount of humus material. The results were used to explain general connections among points of zero charges, cation exchange capacity, and base saturation % of adsorbents.

BACKGROUND: The fruit of date palm is consumed as an ideal high-energy food. It is also used for the treatment of colds, fever, liver and abdominal troubles. Its nutritional composition strongly depends upon variety and ripening stage. A number of varieties are available in Pakistan but little is known about their composition and nutritional characteristics. Inherent moisture, volatile matter, ash, fixed carbon, sugar and mineral metals of seven commercial date varieties (Aseel, Basra, Begun, Janshoor, Mazoee, Rabee and Zaidi) were investigated. The physical and chemical compositions with respect to maturation were also monitored for the Aseel variety. RESULTS:The results showed significant varietal differences in moisture, ash and mineral metal composition when analysis of means was conducted at an alpha level of 0.05. The difference between means was insignificant (P > 0.05) for volatile matter, glucose, fructose and total reducing sugars. All varieties were found to be an excellent source of total reducing sugar (78%), potassium (403-632 mg per 100 g) and calcium (27.41-81.47 mg per 100 g). A gradual increase in total reducing sugar and minerals, especially potassium and copper, was observed with maturation. Variety Aseel was grouped on the basis of maturation using principal component analysis. Local date varieties were separated with 48.63% level of similarity from Iranian variety (29.17%) using Cluster analysis.CONCLUSION: This study provides an overview of the physico-chemical properties of date varieties. The sample varieties showed significant differences except for sugar and volatile matter. Multivariate analysis was found to be an important statistical tool for the separation of samples on the basis of geographical origin and maturations.

Forty five accessions of dhaincha germplasms were collected from different parts of Bangladesh and characterized on the basis of morphological descriptors and biomass production ability. Thirty eight accessions were identified as Sesbania bispinosa, four as S. cannabina and two as unidentified Sesbania spp. One accession as S. rostrata was included for comparison. Both at seedling and maturity stages, wide and significant differences were observed among the accessions of different dhaincha germplasms for their biomass production capability and other morphological descriptors. At the seedling stage, total dry mass (TDM) production varied from 10.2 to 41.6g 30-plants -1 . At the maturity stage, plant height, total number of branches and base diameter of dhaincha germplasms varied from 347.5-474.7cm, 10.4-23.7, and 1.9-4.9cm, respectively. The highest amount (4.10kg 10-plants -1 ) of above-ground TDM was produced in one accession of unidentified Sesbania sp. followed by S. rostrata and one accession of S. cannabina (3.85kg 10-plants -1 ), and the lowest TDM (0.9kg 10-plants -1 ) was measured in two accessions of S. bispinosa. It may be concluded that the biomass production capability of at least two accessions of local Sesbania germplasms were higher/comparable to that of exotic S. rostrata. It will be too early to make a conclusive remark based on only a few dhaincha germplasms. A detailed study with a large number of germplasms collected from whole Bangladesh is obviously needed to reach in a precise conclusion.

The nutritional composition of Ficus carica commonly known as fig is of great interest as it is considered a good source of energy and minerals. Seven samples of fig, cultivated in Pakistan were studied for their physico-chemical properties. All samples had little moisture, less amounts of ash and high volatile matters. Low moisture is favorable in preventing the fermentation of the fruit while high volatiles are responsible for its unique taste. The energy content of the samples ranged between 337.60 -364.70 kcal/100g. The samples were found to be a good source of potassium (3.82-6.11 g/kg), magnesium (0.11-0.20 g/kg), calcium (78.72-132.80 mg/kg) and sodium (5.58-17.69 mg/kg). The mineral and trace contents of the indigenous samples were compared with the samples cultivated in the USA, Turkey and Iran. The samples cultivated in Pakistan were found to have good nutritional values especially higher calorific value and iron content compared to the reported data. The Ca/P ratio in the indigenous variety lies as recommended by nutritionists. This feature made the indigenous variety distinct as the patients suffering from stone formation in kidney may also use it safely. The high potassium in fig is beneficial not only to patients of hypertension but also prevents the bones from rapid thinning by neutralizing the increased urinary calcium loss. Significant correlations were found between iron and potassium, copper and potassium and zinc and copper (p<0.05). The positive correlations are either due to higher uptake of metals by the plant or the excess availability of the metals in the soil. Analysis of means (ANOM) was applied to evaluate the compositional variations between the samples. The study provides an overview of the physico-chemical properties of fig samples indigenous to Pakistan. The results offer useful information not only to consumers who want to buy the best quality fruit, but also to producers interested in increasing the competitiveness of fig cultivation.

No abstract

No abstract

Pollen morphology of 24 of the 33 species of three Bomarea subgenera, Baccata, Sphaerine, and Wichuraea, was examined by light microscopy (LM) and scanning electron microscopy (SEM), or SEM alone. The studied species of Bomarea were stenopalynous, characterized by large, monosulcate monads with reticulate exine sculpture in most species. Opercula-like structures were present on the sulcus in B. huanuco and B. involucrosa. Differences in pollen size, exine thickness, and exine sculpture were observed. The studied taxa were divided into four major groups based on exine ornamentation observed under SEM: microreticulate, reticulate, coarsely rugulate, or finely rugulate-perforate. Pollen characters alone did not appear to correlate clearly with the current subgeneric classification of Bomarea, but they may have some taxonomic utility below the subgeneric level. The most reliable infrageneric classification of Bomarea can be achieved through combined analyses of morphological, palynological, and molecular data from larger samples of specimens of all the species.