Four successive thermite barium releases at an altitude of 965 km over polar cap invariant latitudes 84° to 76° near magnetic midnight were conducted from the orbiting second stage of the vehicle that launched Nimbus 7. This was the first opportunity to observe the behavior of a conventional barium release when conducted at orbital velocity in the near earth magnetic field and to demonstrate that the μ▽B force at orbital velocity would accelerate the Ba+ ions to much greater altitudes for measuring E∥ fields by observing perturbations in the motion of the visible ions. The principal unexpected characteristic in the release dynamics was the high, 1.4 to 2.6 km/s, initial Ba+ expansion velocity relative to an expected velocity of 0.9 km/s. Characteristics of the neutral gas expansion are also discussed. Under the combined influence of μ▽B and E∥ forces the finely striated Ba+ streamers from the 8 kg releases elongated along the field to dimensions >10,000 km and were photographed from California and Hawaii as well as higher latitude sites. Although observed up to one hour after release and to elevation angles >55° from Southern California, triangulations of upper tips were limited to the initial 25 min and altitudes <23,000 km. The average E⊥ convection of the Ba+ flux tubes was very normal for Kp=3 conditions and closely followed model patterns for convection between the pole and the midnight auroral zone. However, over shorter space‐time dimensions the E⊥ field is observed to be irregular; this also is a normal polar cap condition. From the analysis of field aligned motions in terms of the potential changes required in the equation of motion to match the altitude versus time observations: (1) E∥ fields do not appear below 1400 km, (2) between 1500 and 4200 km the changes in energy are typically 20–40 eV with a 71 eV maximum, (3) between 4200 and 15,000 km maximum values are in the range 80–720 eV with the highest values coming from the highest latitude releases, and (4) in the case of one release a 6 keV acceleration appears above 15,800 km. These changes appear as both accelerating (upward E∥) and decelerating (downward E∥) fields with an apparent periodicity of 3 to 4 min and are in phase at all four locations for 3, and possibly 4 or 5, cycles within the limitations imposed by a 1 min resolution and data gaps. This apparent wave characteristic could, under selective error assumptions, result from several impulsive decelerations superimposed on a more general, but variable, accelerating field. This possibility is considered to be less likely than a hydromagnetic wave association. The unique capabilities for measuring very weak fields and for separating temporal and spatial variations may explain the lack of precedent from previous E∥ measurements.
The present investigation is an attempt to study the uses of ethnomedicinal plants in traditional knowledge system among the Assamese community of Dibrugarh District in Assam. All the relevant data were collected during 2017–2019 by following standard ethnobotanical methods through personal interviews as well as through focus group discussions with a total of 193 informants including 62 men and 131 women. The use value (UV) of the medicinal plants and informant consensus factors (FIC) values were determined. In the study 174 ethnomedicinal plant species were documented belonging to 147 genera and 78 families. Except for three species, the 171 species are Angiosperms mostly collected from the wild. Among the 174 species of medicinal plants, 12 species are listed under various categories by IUCN and CITES. All these plants are used to treat various diseases that are grouped under 13 ICPC (International Classification of Primary Care) disease categories, with the highest use value (0.54) recorded in Leucas aspera followed by Paederia scandens with (0.5) use value. This confirms that these plants are important traditional herbs with potent medicinal uses. The highest informant consensus factor with the highest number of species (93) being used for the digestive system (FIC= 0.76%), followed by oral and dentistry (FIC= 0.73%) category. The ethnic communities in the district are rich in traditional knowledge which is evident from the use records and high degree of consensus among the informants.
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