Una planta sin clásicos. La berenjena en la farmacología medieval y renacentista

La berenjena (Solanum melongena L.) es una planta solanácea de múltiples variedades, cuyos ancestros salvajes se sitúan en Indochina y el este de África. Su cultivo fue muy temprano en zonas de China e India. Aun así, no se extendió al Occidente antiguo ni apenas se conoció, de ahí su ausencia en los textos clásicos de botánica y farmacología. Fueron los árabes quienes llevaron el cultivo de la planta por el Norte de África y Al-Andalus, de donde pasó ya a Europa. Los primeros testimonios occidentales de la berenjena aparecen en traducciones latinas de textos árabes, para incorporarse luego a la literatura farmacológica medieval y, más tarde ya, a la del Renacimiento, que empezó a tratar de ella por su posible parecido con una especie de mandrágora. Pese a que se le reconocían algunas virtudes medicinales, siempre se la tuvo bajo sospecha por ser de sabor poco agradable, indigesta y causante de algunas afecciones. Solo los botánicos de finales del Renacimiento describirían la planta y sus variedades con criterios más «científicos» y botánicos, ya sin apenas intereses farmacológicos.

Patronazgo literario en la Inglaterra medieval (ss. VII-XIV) : una visión panorámica

Este artículo ofrece una aproximación panorámica a la práctica del patronazgo literario en Inglaterra desde el s. VII al XIV. Durante el período anglosajón las relaciones de patronazgo fueron principalmente de dos tipos: (1) un poeta o scop que quedaba vinculado a una corte (p. ej. Déor) y (2) un intérprete o gleoman que desarrollaba su actividad no creativa de forma itinerante ante públicos diversos (p. ej. Wídsid). Caso aparte es el del pastor Cadmon, quien por intervención divina se convirtió en poeta bíblico y fue acogido en un monasterio. Tras la conquista normanda se introdujo un modelo de patronazgo aristocrático que favoreció la aparición de la figura del autor (p. ej. Wace) que componía sus obras en anglonormando, mientras el inglés era usado por juglares anónimos para deleite de las clases populares. La literatura en lengua inglesa no asistiría a la aparición de sus primeros autores (p. ej. Chaucer y Gower) hasta el siglo XIV, gracias en parte al patronazgo del rey Ricardo II

Queensland Forest & Timber Industry : an overview

The publication provides a snapshot of the forest and timber industry’s contribution to the Queensland economy and highlights the scope, innovation and features of the state’s forest and timber products that are produced from Queensland’s unique resources.

Erratum to "Optimization of resin extraction from an Australian arid grass 'Triodia pungens' and its preliminary evaluation as an anti-termite timber coating" [Ind. Crops Prod. 59 (2014) 241–247]

The publisher regrets to inform the readers that the image that is appearing for Fig. 8 is incorrect and that the Supplementary material is missing on the published paper. The correct image for Fig. 8 and the Supplementary files are provided below: Fig. 8. (a) Timber blocks covered by invented plastic container bottom open, (b) timber blocks in the field after trial, (c) and (d) comparison between resin-coated blocks without termite damage and control blocks which were severely damaged by termites.

Investigating the use of LiDAR scanning as a method for the measurement of timber distortion features

Measuring the extent to which a piece of structural timber has distorted at a macroscopic scale is fundamental to assessing its viability as a structural component. From the sawmill to the construction site, as structural timber dries, distortion can render it unsuitable for its intended purposes. This rejection of unusable timber is a considerable source of waste to the timber industry and the wider construction sector. As such, ensuring accurate measurement of distortion is a key step in addressing ineffciencies within timber processing. Currently, the FRITS frame method is the established approach used to gain an understanding of timber surface profile. The method, while reliable, is dependent upon relatively few measurements taken across a limited area of the overall surface, with a great deal of interpolation required. Further, the process is unavoidably slow and cumbersome, the immobile scanning equipment limiting where and when measurements can be taken and constricting the process as a whole. This thesis seeks to introduce LiDAR scanning as a new, alternative approach to distortion feature measurement. In its infancy as a measurement technique within timber research, the practicalities of using LiDAR scanning as a measurement method are herein demonstrated, exploiting many of the advantages the technology has over current approaches. LiDAR scanning creates a much more comprehensive image of a timber surface, generating input data multiple magnitudes larger than that of the FRITS frame. Set-up and scanning time for LiDAR is also much quicker and more flexible than existing methods. With LiDAR scanning the measurement process is freed from many of the constraints of the FRITS frame and can be done in almost any environment. For this thesis, surface scans were carried out on seven Sitka spruce samples of dimensions 48.5x102x3000mm using both the FRITS frame and LiDAR scanner. The samples used presented marked levels of distortion and were relatively free from knots. A computational measurement model was created to extract feature measurements from the raw LiDAR data, enabling an assessment of each piece of timber to be carried out in accordance with existing standards. Assessment of distortion features focused primarily on the measurement of twist due to its strong prevalence in spruce and the considerable concern it generates within the construction industry. Additional measurements of surface inclination and bow were also made with each method to further establish LiDAR's credentials as a viable alternative. Overall, feature measurements as generated by the new LiDAR method compared well with those of the established FRITS method. From these investigations recommendations were made to address inadequacies within existing measurement standards, namely their reliance on generalised and interpretative descriptions of distortion. The potential for further uses of LiDAR scanning within timber researches was also discussed.

Um olhar sobre o castelo de Noudar: do castelo medieval à ruína: Proposta de valorização do lugar

O Castelo de Noudar está implantado num íngreme promontório da herdade da Coitadinha, a Noroeste de Barrancos, integrando o atual Parque da Natureza de Noudar. Construído a partir de 1303, foi alvo de diversas transformações ao longo do tempo, para responder às exigências militares de cada época, e chega aos nossos dias num avançado estado de decadência física. A investigação desenvolvida assenta, em grande parte, no desenho: de Noudar a uma escala territorial, como elemento que participa numa rede fortificada complexa; da evolução morfológica e funcional, que nos permite ter noção das várias configurações do castelo ao longo dos séculos; num desenho propositivo que desenvolve uma estratégia para valorização do lugar e do seu património material e imaterial. Hoje é fundamental compreender como as valências do Parque e da fortaleza se podem cruzar? Este trabalho pretende refletir sobre possibilidades de valorização para contrariar a degradação em que a fortaleza se encontra; ABSTRACT: The Noudar Castle is located in a steep promontory in the herdade da Coitadinha, Northeast from Barrancos, part of the Natural Park of Noudar. Its construction began in 1303, and underwent several transformations throughout its existence, adapting to the military advancements thru out the ages. Today, it shows an advanced state of decay. The investigation is focused on the design of Noudar on a territorial scale, taking part in a complex network of fortified systems; its functional and morphological evolution, which allows us to comprehend the configurations of the castle throughout the centuries; and on a proposed design that develops a strategy to enhance and bring value to this place and its material and non-material heritage. Today it's crucial to comprehend how can the values of the Park and fortress intertwine. This thesis reflects on the possibilities of valuing this site, counter acting the decay which has fallen upon it.

Doctrina jurídica y práctica social del matrimonio medieval según Las Partidas

En este trabajo se analizan las ideas sobre el matrimonio en Las Partidas, la más importante manifestación del universo cultural alfonsí, tanto en su expresión jurídica como en su significado social y antropológico. Se inicia con una exposición del modelo matrimonial existente en la corte castellana en tiempos de Fernando III, según se recoge en la Primera Crónica General. A continuación se contempla el matrimonio en su relación con la codificación del parentesco y el desenvolvimiento de la conyugalidad como comportamiento humano, considerados de forma atemporal, para después exponer, en síntesis, la evolución de las teorías sobre el matrimonio durante la Edad Media hasta el siglo XIII. La segunda parte del trabajo estudia la doctrina del matrimonio en Las Partidas agrupada en los siguientes apartados: Celebración del matrimonio. Requisitos para su validez, edad núbil, sexualidad. Uniones “no justas”. Ruptura del matrimonio. Nulidad en razón de parentesco. Impotencia. Divorcio y separación.

Echoes of Greek Tragedy in Medieval Literature: The Case of Oedipus

In approaching this issue, it will be helpful to use two analytically distinct methods, to wit, the diachronic, which allows us to speculate about how the myth reached the hands of Lydgate (Guerin 2005, 183–191); and the synchronic, to clarify the similarities and differences between the two authors. Thus, approaching the subject diachronically, the first pages of this paper will attempt to delineate the main milestones in the long tradition of the myth of Oedipus, beginning from the time of Ancient Rome; and, afterwards, a synchronic analysis will examine various motifs as they have survived, disappeared or been transformed in the medieval poem. The final part will explore the possible reasons for these changes.