La reina mártir : apuntes históricos del siglo XVI

UANL

Chemical and Biochemical Studies on Natural Antioxidants from sesamum Species

In the present study on natural antioxidants, the focus has been kept mainly on oil seeds, especially sesame and its by-products. Sesame, which has been under cultivation in India for centuries is called the 'Queen of oil seed crops' because of the high yield of oil obtained and the nutritional qualities of the seed, oil, and meal. Though India is the largest producer of sesame in the world, research on the various health benefits of sesame has been carried out by Japanese Sesame has an important place in the foods and tradit..ional medicine of India from time immemorial. Foreseeing the potential of sesame and its byproducts as an important antioxidant source and its availability in bulk, the present study was focussed on Sesamum species. There are not many reports on the wild species of Sesamum in India, especially of the Kerala region. Hence, in the present study we also included antioxidants of Sesamurnrnalabaricumdistributed throughout the coastal region.The important characteristics of sesame are attributed to the presence of the umquc compounds lignans. Lignans arc a group of natural products of phenyl propanoid ongm, whieh are widely distributed in nature. They display important physiological functions in plants, in human nutrition and medicine, given their extensive health promotive and curative properties. Much interest has been focussed on their effectiveness as antineoplastic agents and research in this area has revealed several modes of action by which they can regulate the growth of mammalian cells. Sesame is an important source of furofuran lignans, of which sesamin and the rare oxygenated derivative sesamoIin are the most abundant. Others include sesamol and glucosides of lignans. Sesarnin and episesamin are reported to have hypocholesterolemic effect, suppressive effect on chemically induced cancer, alleviation of allergy symptoms etc. Sesamol, sesamolin and the lignan glycosides are reported to inhibit lipid peroxidation. Present investigation on sesame and its byproducts have been carried out to explore the possibility of developing a natural antioxidant extract from available resources to be used as a substitute to synthetic ones in vegetable oils and foods. Preliminary analysis showed that sesame cake, a byproduct could still be utilized as a major source of lignans. Sesame cake, which is now used only as a cattlefeed, can be better utilized in the form of a valuable antioxidant source. The present study explains the development of a feasible process for the extraction of antioxidant compounds from sesame cake. The antioxidant extract so prepared from sesame cake has been tested for vegetable oil protection and is found to be effective at low concentration. In addition, studies also include the antioxidant, radical scavenging, anticancer, mosquitocidal and pesticidal activities of extract and individual compounds.

Biblische, mythische und fremde Frauen

In the texts and illustrations of medieval Mappae mundi, women are represented in three different roles: as biblical or Christian characters (such as Eve in the Garden of Eden, Lot's wife and female saints), as legendary or mythical figures (e.g. the Queen of Sheba, mermaids) and as 'other' creatures with a deviant behaviour from the European norm (e.g. Amazons). The principal goal of this study is to analyse the different strategies that were developed by male European observers to project a filtered image of woman in the selective medium of cartography from the tenth to the fifteenth century.

Esperando Ulisses: o mito de Penélope à luz da comparação diferencial e discursiva

From the many weavers known, the Queen of Ithaca is certainly among the most famous.Over the years,many writers have dedicated themselves to retell the myth of Penelope in their works by their own way. According to Ute Heidmann, the modern writers recurrence to the Greek myths in order to produce their texts is a renewing discursive practice, which gives new writing and relevance to the myth. (2003, p.47). This work deals with a differential and discursive comparative analysis on the myth of Penelope linking it with two short stories from Brazilian authors: Penélope by João do Rio (1919) and Penélope by Dalton Trevisan (1959). In order to do it, we are supported by: the works of Heidmann (2003, 2006, 2008) and Maingueneau (2006). We also concentrate ourselves on the temporal trace presented in both Penelope s myth and in its modern rewriting so that we can identify how each configuration of the classical myth develops into one of the most celebrated acts of this myth: the waiting. In order to so, we seek support on the studies by Paul Ricoeur (2006), Hans Meyerhoff (1976) and Benedito Nunes (1988)

Ultrasonic acoustic emissions in drought-stressed trees - more than signals from cavitation?

Ultrasonic acoustic emission (UAE) in trees is often related to collapsing water columns in the flow path as a result of tensions that are too strong (cavitation). However, in a decibel (dB) range below that associated with cavitation, a close relationship was found between UAE intensities and stem radius changes. • UAE was continuously recorded on the stems of mature field-grown trees of Scots pine (Pinus sylvestris) and pubescent oak (Quercus pubescens) at a dry inner-Alpine site in Switzerland over two seasons. The averaged 20-Hz records were related to microclimatic conditions in air and soil, sap-flow rates and stem-radius fluctuations de-trended for growth (ΔW). • Within a low-dB range (27 ± 1 dB), UAE regularly increased and decreased in a diurnal rhythm in parallel with ΔW on cloudy days and at night. These low-dB emissions were interrupted by UAE abruptly switching between the low-dB range and a high-dB range (36 ± 1 dB) on clear, sunny days, corresponding to the widely supported interpretation of UAE as sound from cavitations. • It is hypothesized that the low-dB signals in drought-stressed trees are caused by respiration and/or cambial growth as these physiological activities are tissue water-content dependent and have been shown to produce courses of CO2 efflux similar to our courses of ΔW and low-dB UAE.