Response of Tomato (Lycopersicon esculentum L.) at Varying Levels of Soil Applied Potassium
Pages 198-201
Zia-ul-Hassan, K.A. Kubar, M.A. Chhajro, M.N. Kandhro, G.M. Jamro, K.H. Talpur and N. Talpur
DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.6000/1927-5129.2016.12.29
Published: 28 April 2016

Abstract: The pot study was conducted during autumn 2015 at Department of Soil Science, Sindh Agriculture University, Tandojam Pakistan to assess the effect of soil applied potassium sulphate (K₂SO₄) fertilizer on growth, biomass production and K accumulation of plants of tomato variety Roma. The study was executed in a net-house under natural conditions following completely randomized design. There were six treatments (0, 50, 100, 150, 200 and 250 kg K₂O ha^-1), each repeated thrice. A recommended blanket dose of 150 kg nitrogen and 75 kg phosphorus ha^-1 was also given to the crop. Tomato plants were raised in five kg plastic pots filled with a K-deficient soil (119 mg kg^-1). Results of the study indicated that K nutrition significantly enhanced growth, biomass production and K accumulation of tomato plants. K nutrition augmented different plant height (49%), shoot diameter (103%), fresh biomass (134%), dry biomass (182%), number of leaves (75%) and K concentration (3.1 fold). It is concluded that a dose of 100 kg K₂O ha^-1 was the most optimum for tomato plants at early growth stage. These results need to be verified under field conditions at maturity level of tomatoes.

Population Fluctuation and Damage Potential of Red Flour Beetle on Different Dry Fruits under Laboratory Conditions
Pages 192-197
Lubna Bashir Rajput, Arfan Ahmed Gilal, Aslam Bukero, Fida Hussain Magsi, Muhammad Ishaq Mastoi and Israr Mohi-ud-Din
DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.6000/1927-5129.2016.12.30
Published: 28 April 2016

Abstract: The study was conducted to determine the population fluctuation of red flour beetle Tribolium castaneum on different dry fruits under laboratory conditions from 6^th March 2015 to 24^th July 2015. Four different dry fruits viz; T1 (almonds), T2 (walnuts), T3 (peanuts), T4 (cashew nuts) and T5 (wheat as control) were used in the experiment. The standard weight of 50g of every dry fruit was kept in plastic jars and covered with muslin cloth. Ten pairs of beetles were released in each jar. Observations were recorded at fortnight interval and population of the live beetles was counted. Results of the study showed that the population of red flour beetles gradually increased in all the treatments control with respect to time. The highest overall mean population of T. castaneum was recorded in wheat (61.61±10.02) followed by cashew nuts (52.90±8.26), almonds (50.01±7.81) and walnuts (43.56±5.89). The lowest population of red flour beetles (27.41±8.26) was recorded in peanut. The highest weight loss was recorded in wheat (18.8 %), followed by cashew nuts (15.6%), almonds (14%), walnuts (11.2%) and peanuts (8%) respectively.

Synthesis and Characterization of Zinc Oxide Nanoparticles for Antibacterial Applications
Pages 205-210
S. Naseem Shah, S. Imran Ali, S. Rizwan Ali, M. Naeem, Yasmeen Bibi, S. Rehan Ali, S. Masood Raza, Yousuf Khan and Sikander Khan Sherwani
DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.6000/1927-5129.2016.12.31
Published: 28 April 2016

Abstract: ZnO nanoparticles are synthesized for antibacterial applications by a simple co-precipitation method. X-ray diffraction (XRD) reveals that the synthesized ZnO has hexagonal crystal structure with mean crystallite size of 29 nm. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and Energy dispersive x-ray spectroscopy (EDX) shows pure ZnO with uniform morphology. UV–VIS absorption spectroscopy yield an absorption edge in the range 300-400 nm which corresponds to a band gap energy of 3.50 eV. Antibacterial activity of ZnO nanoparticles is tested against gram positive and gram negative bacteria by using agar-well method. These ZnO nanoparticles are found to be strongly antimicrobial as they effectively prevent the growth of many test microorganisms with a small minimum inhibitory concentrations (MIC) ~ 80 – 280 µg/ml.

Social Media as Assistive Technology for Elderly
Pages 211-222
Sarwat Iqbal, Kamran Ahsan, Muhammad Azhar Hussain and Adnan Nadeem
DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.6000/1927-5129.2016.12.32
Published: 28 April 2016

Abstract: An enormous amount of data is being pooled through the use of social media which is being mined to get benefits in different areas such as healthcare, business, and learning. Providing care to elderly at their home environment is understood as a complex problem and different types of systems are being proposed which can eliminate the presence of caregiver. Social media is acting as the superlative tool to provide elderly a mean of entertainment, communication and information exchange. The data contributed by them can be served to them after converting it into the knowledge. Healthcare professional are interested in the data of elderly so that they can propose solutions to assist them. The organization colleting health data needs the data of elderly activities so they can correlate with other types of activities for their betterment. This work aims to use social media as an assistive technology for elderly which can help them to spend a better life. Different views such as caregiver, healthcare professionals, organization, etc. collecting health data can be benefited through this work. Modern technology such as mobile technology, database, data mining techniques, cloud servers, and user interfaces aiding to make this work possible.

Gain Study of an Edge Emitting Laser for Optical Fiber Communication System
Pages 223-225
Faten Adel Ismael Chaqmaqchee
DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.6000/1927-5129.2016.12.33
Published: 12 May 2016

Abstract: In this work, an optical gain around 1 dB of an edge emitting laser (EEL) has been obtained applying threshold current of 22 mA. The conventional device lased at around 1.3 µm with 0.3 nm stripe width at room temperature. The device was also characterised through output light-voltage-current using current-temperature (I-T) controllers and optical spectrum analyser (OSA). ConventionalEEL isactually a form of semiconductor lasers that propagates the light in a direction along the wafer surface of laser chip and their emitted light is reflected at a cleaved edge. The cleaved facets of the device acts as mirrors, reflecting photons back into the resonator and the stimulated emission occurs within cavity region forgain achievement..