Traditional Chinese materia medica: a retrospect and prospect

For thousands of years, traditional medicine and remedies have been practed and used in the fight against disease in China. They have proved to be valuable and the distillate of vast historical experience based on field-tested human experiments, long-term observations and clinical trials. The Chinese people belive that traditional medicine is consistent with theirown culture. Endowed with a unique theoretical system and provided outstanding clinical results, traditional Chinese medicine continues to play an important role in helping the Chinese nation flourish. The recent study of traditional medicinal plants in Chine has given us confidence that what was recorded in ancient medical literature through empirical observations is indeed still coindicent with the concepts of modern chemistry, pharmacology and medicine. The task of revealing what is valid and efficacious should be retained, and what is mythic and invalid should be discarded in traditional Chinese medicine may require scientific research lasting for several generations. Therfore, multidisciplinary cooperation and international collaboration in this field would be essential. Systematic coordination of work in traditional medicine by word organizations, national governments, private foundations and individual scientists is a requisite as well.

The research on radioprotective agents in Chinese materia medica

A series of studies has been carried out in the field of traditional medicine for searching radio-protective agents. According to the theory of traditional Chinese medicine, may prescriptions were tested with experimental animals. Some of them could raise the survival rate of dogs irradiated with lethal dose of Pi-rays by 30-40%. Some symptoms of radiation sickness could be improved. More than one thousand kinds of Chinese herbs were screened. Some of them have pronounced radioprotectice activities. A series of bioactive components wee isolated from these herbs. The mechanism of radiation protection were studied. Having the capability of hemopoietic system and immune system may be the characteristics of these Chinese herbs.

Substitutos do " novo" mundo para as antigas plantas raras: um estudo de caso dos bálsamos

Convinced that the " true balsam" was lost forever, Conrad Gesner described other substances with similar healing virtues. However, he was not the only one in the 16th to search for other varieties of balsamic oleoresins. The arrival of the Europeans to the Americas allowed the finding of native plants with properties similar to those of the original balsam, including Balsam of Peru, Balsam of Tolu and particularly in the Brazilian area, Balsam of Copaiba. Focusing on the Brazilian context, this paper analyzes two different moments in the transit of the newly found varieties of balsams to the pharmacopeia and materia medica.

Comportamento diferencial de dois cultivares de feijoeiro (Phaseolus vulgaris L.) no acumulo de materia seca, nutrientes, alumínio e eficiência nutricional

Dois cultivares de feijoeiro foram cultivados em amostras de terra de um Oxisol (LR) e de um Alfisol (PVp), sem e com adubo, sujeitas a três níveis de compactação, e confinadas em vasos com capacidade para 3.8 litros. A finalidade foi a de observar o comportamento diferencial de um cultivar considerado tolerante e de outro sensível ao Al e baixo teor de P disponível no solo. Os dados levantados permitiram verificar que o cultivar tolerante apresenta maior desenvolvimento radicular e menor de parte aérea, tendência de acúmulo preferencial de P, K, Mg, Zn e Fe nas raízes e de Ca e Mg na parte aérea, independente do tipo de solo, nível de fertilidade e de compactação. Além disso, apresenta maior sensibilidade à compactação em substrato mais fértil quando é considerado o acúmulo de matéria seca da parte aérea.

Nutrição mineral do Panicum maximum cv. Makueni III: digestibilidade da materia seca

O presente trabalho foi conduzido em área de pasto já formado e rebaixado, situado na Fazenda Canchim (UEPAE de São Carlos-EMBRAPA), São Carlos - SP, em Latossolo Vermelho Amarelo, fase arenosa. Com a finalidade de avaliar o coeficiente de digestibilidade in vitro da matéria seca em função da idade, a partir dos 30 dias após o rebaixamento até aos l80 dias. A área foi adubada com nitrogênio correspondendo à 250 kg de sulfato de amônio por hectare. Em intervalos de 30 dias após o rebaixamento até aos l80 dias, colhiam-se quatro metrosquadrados das plantas ao acaso, sem subdividir em folhas e caules No mate rial coletado foi determinado o coeficiente de digestibilidade invitro sobre vinte e quatro amostras com duas repetições. Os resultados mostram que o coeficiente de digestibilidade da matéria seca é máximo aos 30 dias com 51,9% e decresce aos 180 dias com 29,4%.

Diagnóstico da carência de macronutrientes em tres variedades de Pinus caríbaea I. sintomas visuais e efeitos sobre a produção de materia seca

Com o objetivo de determinar os sintomas visuais de carência e os efeitos da omissão de macronutrientes na produção de matéria seca de mudas de Pinus caribaea var. hondurensis, Pinus caribaea var. bahamensis e Pinus caribaea var. cavibaea, realizou-se um experimento de vasos, em casa de vegetação, em Piracicaba, SP. Foram empregados os tratamentos: completo, com omissão de nitrogênio, com omissão de fósforo, com omissão de potássio, com omissão de cálcio, com omissão de magnésio e com omissão de enxofre. Usou-se sílica lavada como substrato, irrigando-se as plantas duas vezes ao dia com as soluções correspondentes. Após o estabelecimento dos sintomas de carência as plantas foram colhidas, separadas em acículas superiores, acículas inferiores, ramos e raízes, secas a 75 ºC em estufa e pesadas. Descreveram-se os sintomas de carência, sendo que só os de nitrogênio para as três variedades, fósforo e magnésio para Pinus caribaea var. hondurensis e enxofre para Pinus caribaea var. caribaea, foram características. As produções de matéria seca foram reduzidas pelas omissões de nitrogênio, fósforo e enxofre para Pinus caribaea. var. hondurensis, nitrogênio e enxofre para Pinus caribaea. var. caribaea, e nitrogênio para Pinus caribaea var. bahamensis.

On the nesting biology of Pirhosigma Giordani Soika (Hymenoptera, Vespidae, Eumeninae), with special reference to the use of vegetable matter

On the nesting biology of Pirhosigma Giordani Soika (Hymenoptera, Vespidae, Eumeninae), with special reference to the use of vegetable matter. The use of vegetable matter in nest building is not widespread among the Eumeninae, and is reported for the first time for the two species of potter wasps Pirhosigma superficiale and P. limpidum. These wasps make mostly spherical mud nests over which they attach small pieces of unmasticated plant matter. Use of plant fragments in this group of wasps is interpreted as camouflage behavior.

Evaluation of sample preparation methods and optimization of nickel determination in vegetable tissues

Nickel, although essential to plants, may be toxic to plants and animals. It is mainly assimilated by food ingestion. However, information about the average levels of elements (including Ni) in edible vegetables from different regions is still scarce in Brazil. The objectives of this study were to: (a) evaluate and optimize a method for preparation of vegetable tissue samples for Ni determination; (b) optimize the analytical procedures for determination by Flame Atomic Absorption Spectrometry (FAAS) and by Electrothermal Atomic Absorption (ETAAS) in vegetable samples and (c) determine the Ni concentration in vegetables consumed in the cities of Lorena and Taubaté in the Vale do Paraíba, State of São Paulo, Brazil. By means of the analytical technique for determination by ETAAS or FAAS, the results were validated by the test of analyte addition and recovery. The most viable method tested for quantification of this element was HClO4-HNO3 wet digestion. All samples but carrot tissue collected in Lorena contained Ni levels above the permitted by the Brazilian Ministry of Health. The most disturbing results, requiring more detailed studies, were the Ni concentrations measured in carrot samples from Taubaté, where levels were five times higher than permitted by Brazilian regulations.

Quality of surface water related to land use: a case study in a catchment with small farms and intensive vegetable crop production in southern Brazil

Water degradation is strongly related to agricultural activity. The aim of this study was to evaluate the influence of land use and some environmental components on surface water quality in the Campestre catchment, located in Colombo, state of Parana, Brazil. Physical and chemical attributes were analyzed (total nitrogen, ammonium, nitrate, total phosphorus, electrical conductivity, pH, temperature, turbidity, total solids, biological oxygen demand, chemical oxygen demand and dissolved oxygen). Monthly samples of the river water were taken over one year at eight monitoring sites, distributed over three sub-basins. Overall, water quality was worse in the sub-basin with a higher percentage of agriculture, and was also affected by a lower percentage of native forest and permanent preservation area, and a larger drainage area. Water quality was also negatively affected by the presence of agriculture in the riparian zone. In the summer season, probably due to higher rainfall and intensive soil use, a higher concentration of total nitrogen and particulate nitrogen was observed, as well as higher electrical conductivity, pH and turbidity. All attributes, except for total phosphorus, were in compliance with Brazilian Conama Resolution Nº 357/2005 for freshwater class 1. However, it should be noted that these results referred to the base flow and did not represent a discharge condition since most of the water samples were not collected at or near the rainfall event.

Las razas en una lista de encabezamientos de materia en español

Se analizaron en la Lista de encabezamientos de materia para biblioteca (LEMB) los epígrafes referidos a raza, según criterios de otredad, confinamiento, omisión, estructura inadecuada y terminología tendenciosa. Se identificaron 3 epígrafes para caucásicos, 135 para indígenas y 21 para negros. El 75% de los epígrafes para amerindios y el 100% de epígrafes para la raza negra se concentran en las palabras indígena/s, negro/s y negra/s. La omisión de epígrafes y subdivisiones, la incoherencia en las relaciones equivalentes y los términos tendenciosos pueden resultar discriminatorios u ofensivos para aquellos distintos a la raza blanca, por lo que se sugiere revisar esta conocida lista de epígrafes, incluyendo el concepto mismo de raza, con el fin de mejorarla.

Hydrolytic activity of bacterial lipases in amazonian vegetable oils

The data presented describe the development of an enzymatic process in vegetable oils. Six bacterial lipases were tested for their ability to hydrolyze. For each lipase assay, the p-NPP method was applied to obtain maximum enzymatic activities. The lipase from Burkholderia cepacia (lipase B-10) was the most effective in buriti oil, releasing 4840 µmol p-NP mL-1. The lipase from Klebsiella variicola (lipase B-22) was superior in passion fruit oil, releasing 4140 µmol p-NP mL-1 and also in babassu palm oil, releasing 2934 µmol p-NP mL-1. Research into the bioprocessing of oils aims to provide added value for this regional raw material.

MICROWAVE ACTIVATION OF IMMOBILIZED LIPASE FOR TRANSESTERIFICATION OF VEGETABLE OILS

This work investigated the effect of microwave irradiation (MW) on the ethanolysis rate of soybean and sunflower oils catalyzed by supported Novozyme 435 (Candida antarctica). The effects of tert-butanol, water addition and oil:ethanol molar ratio on transesterification were evaluated under conventional heating (CH), and under optimum reaction conditions (with no added water in the system, 10% tert-butanol and 3:1 ethanol-to-oil molar ratio). The reactions were monitored up to 24 h to determine the conditions of initial reaction velocity. The investigated variables under MW (50 W) were: reaction time (5.0-180 min) and mode of reactor operation (fixed power, dynamic and cycles) in the absence and presence of tert-butanol (10% (w/w). The measured response was the reaction conversion in ethyl esters, which was linked to the enzyme catalytic activity. The results indicated that the use of microwave improved the activity at fixed power mode. A positive effect of the association of tert-butanol and MW irradiation on the catalytic activity was observed. The reaction rate improved in the order of approximately 1.5 fold compared to that under CH with soybean oil. Using soybean oil, the enzymatic transesterification under MW for conversion to FAEE (fatty acid ethyl esters) reached >99% in 3h, while with the use of CH the conversions were about 57% under similar conditions.

FAST GC-FID METHOD FOR MONITORING ACIDIC AND BASIC CATALYTIC TRANSESTERIFICATION REACTIONS IN VEGETABLE OILS TO METHYL ESTER BIODIESEL PREPARATION

A fast gas chromatography with a flame ionisation detector (GC-FID) method for the simultaneous analysis of methyl palmitate (C16:0), stearate (C18:0), oleate (C18:1), linoleate (C18:2) and linolenate (C18:3) in biodiesel samples was proposed. The analysis was conducted in a customised ionic-liquid stationary-phase capillary, SLB-IL 111, with a length of 14 m, an internal diameter of 0.10 mm, a film thickness of 0.08 µm and operated isothermally at 160 °C using hydrogen as the carrier gas at a rate of 50 cm s-1 in run time about 3 min. Once methyl myristate (C14:0) is present lower than 0.5% m/m in real samples it was used as an internal standard. The method was successful applied to monitoring basic and acidic catalysis transesterification reactions of vegetable oils such as soybean, canola, corn, sunflower and those used in frying process.

Soil water evaporation under densities of coverage with vegetable residue

This study was conducted at the Agronomic Institute of Paraná (IAPAR) in Londrina, State of Paraná (PR), Brazil (latitude 23º18'S, longitude 51º09'W and average altitude of 585 m). The local climate, according to the classification of Köeppen, is Cfa type, i.e., humid subtropical climate, with rain in all seasons and can occur dry seasons during the winter. It was determined soil evaporation (E) under different coverage densities with residue from the wheat crop. The treatments were installed in weighting lysimeters of 2.66 m² and 1.3 m deep, which allows to determine E by the mass difference with measuring precision of 0.1mm at one hour intervals. Treatments consisted of 0; 2.5; 5 and 10 t ha-1 of wheat crop residues, placed evenly over each lysimeter. In the first cycle (September 22nd to October 20th, 2008), the reduction of E, as compared to a bare soil, was 4; 15 and 24%, while in the second cycle (December 1st to 30th, 2008), the reduction was of 15; 22 and 25%, respectively, for the treatments of 2.5; 5 and 10 t ha-1.

Competencias adquiridas durante a formacao medica e as opinioes e atitudes sobre o aborto

OBJETIVO: Avaliar e comparar o conhecimento, as atitudes e opiniões dos estudantes de Medicina quanto ao aborto no Brasil durante o evoluir do curso. MÉTODOS: Estudo transversal envolvendo 174 estudantes de Medicina. Foi aplicado um questionário cujas variáveis dependentes foram: o grau de informação sobre o aborto, incluindo seus aspectos jurídicos no Brasil, as situações em que concordaria com a ampliação do permissivo legal do aborto, o conhecimento de alguém submetido ao abortamento e o desconforto em realizar o procedimento de forma legal. As variáveis independentes estudadas foram: dados sociodemográficos, religião e situação acadêmica (primeira ou segunda metade do curso). Para análise dos dados foram utilizados os testes do χ2 e exato de Fischer, com nível de significância de 5%. RESULTADOS: Entre os entrevistados, 59,8% foram considerados bem informados acerca do tema. Os estudantes demonstraram conhecimento a respeito das complicações decorrentes do abortamento, sem diferenças com o evoluir do curso. O conhecimento dos aspectos legais do abortamento no Brasil foi demonstrado por 48,9% da amostra, sendo significativamente superior entre os alunos da segunda metade do curso (34,0 e 68,9% respectivamente; p<0,001). A vivência de situações do abortamento clandestino foi significativamente maior entre os alunos da metade final do curso (35,0 e 59,4% respectivamente p<0,001), o mesmo ocorrendo quanto ao conhecimento de alguém que tenha sido submetida ao procedimento de forma ilegal (5,0 e 18,9% respectivamente; p<0,001). A ampliação do permissivo legal do abortamento no Brasil foi concordado por 86,2% da amostra, porém 54,6% dos estudantes relataram que se sentem desconfortáveis em realizar o procedimento mesmo de forma legal, ambos sem significância estatística com o evoluir do curso. CONCLUSÕES: A vivência do abortamento e o conhecimento de seus aspectos jurídicos foram significativamente maiores entre os alunos da segunda metade do curso, não se observando mudanças nas atitudes e opiniões sobre o aborto com as competências durante a formação médica.