What is a Herbarium?

Herbarium, collection of dried plant specimens mounted on sheets of paper. The plants are usually collected in situ (e.g., where they were growing in nature), identified by experts, pressed, and then carefully mounted to archival paper in such a way that all major morphological characteristics are visible (i.e., both sides of the leaves and the floral structures). The mounted plants are labeled with their proper scientific names, the name of the collector, and, usually, information about where they were collected and how they grew and general observations. The specimens are commonly filed in cases according to families and genera and are available for ready reference.

Herbaria consist of specimens that have been collected over broad geographic ranges and over many years. Multiple samples of individual species collected from different habitats are typically preserved so that variation among individuals can be documented, and related to ecological factors or evolutionary factors. Herbarium and museum collections comprise the basic materials for obtaining information about the world's biodiversity. Herbarium specimens also provide materials for research on variation at the DNA level, genome structure, and gene expression.

Some of the famous Botanical Garden name has been given below-

1.Maymyo: botanical gardens

Botanical gardens in Maymyo, Myanmar.

2.Wollongong Botanical Gardens, Wollongong, New South Wales, Australia.

3.Rio de Janeiro Botanical Garden

4.Longwood Gardens, Kennett Square, Pa.

5.Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, London,

6.Copenhagen University Botanical Garden

The Palm House at the Copenhagen University Botanical Garden, Denmark.

7.Southeast Botanical Garden, Okinawa

8.Berlin-Dahlem Botanical Garden and Botanical Museum

9.The conservatory at the Botanical Garden, Uppsala, Sweden, designed by Louis-Jean Desprez.

See this video for a demonstration of the collection, pressing, and mounting of plant specimens. Take a tour through the largest North American herbarium in this video.

GENERAL KNOWLEDGE QUESTION AND ANSWERS

 GENERAL KNOWLEDGE QUESTION AND ANSWERS

General Awareness is an essential part of all government exams. It’s better to prepare this section daily and revise the same using the factsheet provided.  we will come up with 10 questions and answers, other options of the question have related news to them. So don’t miss reading the solutions.

Q1. In which year August revolution of Indian Freedom Struggle took place?

(a) 1940

(b) 1942

(c) 1945

(d) 1947

Q2. National Handloom Day is observed annually on the 7th of August to honour the handloom weavers. What is the theme of the National Handloom Day?

(a) Handloom only

(b) Handloom, an Indian legacy

(c) Handloom : the best

(d) None of these

Q3. Women officers in the Indian Navy made history when they flew a Dornier 228 on the first-ever all-female autonomous maritime reconnaissance and surveillance mission. In which sea/ ocean ?

(a) Lakshadweep Sea

(b) Indian Ocean

(c) North Arabian Sea

(d) Bay of bengal

Q4. What is the name of the tiniest satellite launc by India?

(a) Kalam

(b) Azaadi Sat

(c) EOS-02

(d) PSLV

 Q5. Which state proposed to  develop one Sanskrit-speaking village in each of its districts?

(a) Goa

(b) Haryana

(c) Uttarakhand

(d) Himachal Pradesh

Q6. Which space agency made the first multispectral maps of Mars?

(a) ISRO

(b) ESA

(c) CNSA

(d) NASA

Q7.Donyi Polo Aiport is under construction in which state?

(a) Sikkim

(b) Assam

(c) Mizoram

(d) Arunachal Pradesh

Q8. Jagdeep dhankar became the vice president of India, He is India’s _____ Vice President?

(a) 10th

(b) 12th

(c) 14th

(d)18th

Q9. Consider the following statements:

1. India has set the target to eliminate Kala-azar from country by 2030.
2. World Health Organisation (WHO)’s target of eliminating the disease by 2023.

Which statements are incorrect?

(a)1

(b)2

(c)1,2

(d) none

Q10. What is the cause of Kalazar disease?

(a) Virus

(b) Parasite

(c) Bacteria

(d) Worm

Ans.1.(b)

August Revolution/ August Kranti? Quit India Movement : 8 August 1942

The 80th anniversary of the August Kranti Din or Quit India Movement, which is considered as one of the important milestones in the history of the freedom struggle of our country, is being observed on 8 August 2022. The slogans “Quit India” and “Do or Die” became battle cries for the freedom fighters during the Quit India movement.

Ans.2.(b)

National Handloom Day is observed annually on the 7th of August to honour the handloom weavers. Handloom is a symbol of our glorious cultural heritage and an important source of livelihood. The day also highlights the contribution of the handloom industry to the socioeconomic development of the country and increased the income of the weavers. 2022 marks the 8th National Handloom Day. This year theme of National Handloom Day 2022 is ”Handloom, an Indian legacy”.

Ans.3(c)

Women officers in the Indian Navy made history when they flew a Dornier 228 on the first-ever all-female autonomous maritime reconnaissance and surveillance mission in the North Arabian Sea. Five officers from the Indian Navy Air Squadron (INAS) 314 stationed at the Naval Air Enclave in Porbandar, Gujarat, completed the mission.

About the Maritime Surveillance Mission over Arabian Sea:

• Lt Cdr Aanchal Sharma, the mission commander, piloted the plane while assisted by Lt Shivangi and Lt Apurva Gite, Lt Pooja Panda, and SLt Pooja Shekhawat, tactical and sensor officers.

 Ans.4.(b)

A tiny satellite launch vehicle will be sent from Sriharikota by the Indian Space Research Organization on 7th August 2022. It is a three-stage vehicle, and each step of propulsion uses solid fuel. The goal of the project is to place an Earth observation satellite called EOS-02 into low earth orbit along with a satellite called “Azaadi SAT.” The satellite will be launched from Sriharikota.

• 750 female students from government schools in remote areas from Kashmir to Kanyakumari created the “Azaadi Satellite.“

Ans.5.(c)

Uttarakhand government has decided to develop one Sanskrit-speaking village in each of the 13 districts in the state.

The “Chief Minister Equal Education Relief, Assistance and Grant (Cheerag)” programme was recently introduced by the administration of Haryana

Ans.6.(d)

NASA made the first multispectral maps of Mars available

The researchers from the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) made the first multispectral maps of Mars’ surface public.

Ans.7.(d)

Arunachal Pradesh has given the name of ‘Donyi Polo Airport’ to its third airport, which is under construction in Itanagar.
It is the only airport in the capital city and third in the state after Pasighat and Tezu airports. In the state’s tribal language, Donyi means Sun and Polo means Moon.

Ans.8.(c)

Jagdeep Dhankhar has won India’s Vice Presidential election 2022, defeating Opposition candidate Margaret Alva.
Dhankhar will be India’s 14th Vice President, taking over from the incumbent Vice President M Venkaiah Naidu. He has served as a Minister of state for Parliamentary Affairs in the Janata Dal government. He became the Governor of West Bengal in July 2019.

Ans.9.(c)

Union Government of India has set the target to eliminate Kala-azar from country by 2023. According to Dr Bharati Pravin Pawar (Minister of State for Health and Family Welfare), out of 633 Kala-azar endemic blocks, 625 blocks have successfully eliminated the kala-azar in 2021. India’s target is way ahead than World Health Organisation (WHO)’s target of eliminating the disease by 2030.

Ans.10.(b)

Kala Azar is also called as Leishmaniasis. It is a neglected tropical disease, by which over 100 countries are affected, including India. The disease is caused due to parasite called Leishmania. This parasite is transmitted via bite of sand flies.

 

New Research Finds That Acupuncture May Help Ward Off Diabetes

A new study from has found that acupuncture therapy may be a useful tool in people with prediabetes.

Acupuncture has been used for thousands of years to treat a variety of illnesses — and now it could also help fight one of the 21^st century’s biggest health challenges.

New research from Edith Cowan University has found acupuncture therapy may be a useful tool in avoiding type 2 diabetes.

The team of scientists investigated dozens of studies covering the effects of acupuncture on more than 3600 people with prediabetes. This is a condition marked by higher-than-normal blood glucose levels without being high enough to be diagnosed as diabetes.

According to the findings, acupuncture therapy significantly improved key markers, such as fasting plasma glucose, two-hour plasma glucose, and glycated hemoglobin. Additionally, acupuncture therapy resulted in a greater decline in the incidence of prediabetes.

Though diabetes is often associated with lifestyle factors, other aspects of life may also have an impact — which is where acupuncture comes in.

“It’s not only about blood sugar levels,”PhD candidate and lead researcher Ms. Min Zhang   said.

“If you experience sleep problems, high blood pressure, a lot of stress, these can contribute too. So, acupuncture can help with these factors and work holistically to help people balance their life.”

Ms. Zhang said it’s important to note acupuncture therapy is more than just using needles — it refers to a big family of acupoint stimulation techniques, such as light and electric pulses, and includes other traditional Chinese medicine therapies such as moxibustion.

“This is important because diabetic people can have issues with their skin, so perhaps it may not always be ideal to be using needles,” she said.

“We need to do more research into acupuncture and diabetes, because we need to find more ways to prevent prediabetes from developing into type 2 diabetes.

“Many people with prediabetes don’t have any symptoms and feel fine, but some people progress into the diabetes period no more than 6 months after their prediabetes diagnosis.

what role is artificial intelligence (AI) going to play in engineering?

 what role is artificial intelligence (AI) going to play in engineering?

Just like with many other industries, artificial intelligence and machine learning are changing engineering. Even though these technologies are now seemingly "everywhere," we shouldn't overlook how truly incredible they are and the remarkable things they enable us to do today and will allow us to do tomorrow. For engineers, artificial intelligence and machine learning might cause the tasks they do to evolve, but it can also help them do things they weren't capable of before.

The field of artificial intelligence (AI) was begun in 1956, but it has been only in the last decade that significant progress has been made to allow the technology to be widely used and experienced by many outside technology circles. Today, artificial intelligence is one of the fastest-growing emerging technologies and describes machines that can perform tasks that previously required human intelligence.

Artificial intelligence that’s used in the engineering sector uses software and hardware components. As machines become more sophisticated, they will be able to support not only smart production lines and complex manufacturing tasks, but will also be able to design and improve tasks over time—with little or no human intervention—through machine learning. Robots have been used by automobile manufacturers on the production line for quite some time and have gone from completing simple engineering tasks to now handling many precision moves required for some of the most intricate parts of the process.

Many of the tasks engineers are responsible for, such as design and simulation, can be enhanced with the support of artificial intelligence tools. Consider how Computer Aided Design (CAD) was once just a supplemental tool to engineering, and today it is a fundamental part of the daily workflow. These tools will help improve the capabilities of engineers and make it possible to explore design and weight-saving options that weren't ever possible before.

Another way artificial intelligence can support engineering tasks is to break down silos between departments and help to effectively manage data to glean insights from it. AI programs can provide automation for low-value tasks freeing up engineers to perform higher-value tasks. By using machine learning to discover patterns in the data, machines will be incredibly important to help with engineering judgment.