Bush medicine in the Exumas and long island,bahamas a field study

Reports from native informants backed with voucher plant specimens were obtained in a 1969–1970 field study on the Bahama islands of Great Exuma, Little Exuma and Long Island. Over 130 plant species of some 60 families are used within this culture for a wide variety of medicinal purposes. Pertinent background material and personal observations during field work indicated that knowledge of “bush medicine” is fading. The information recorded includes common names of each medicinal plant, uses, and preparations. A systematic list cross-referenced with common names is provided.     

THE STRUCTURE OF THE COLLODION MEMBRANE AND ITS ELECTRICAL BEHAVIOR : VIII. QUANTITATIVE STUDIES CONCERNING THE ACIDIC PROPERTIES OF COLLODION AND THEIR CORRELATION WITH MEMBRANE STRUCTURE AND ACTIVITY

1. The electrochemical behavior ("activity") of collodion membranes depends upon acidic, dissociable groups located in the interstices of the membranes. The active groups can be determined by base exchange measurements. High base exchange capacity is always found with preparations of great "electrochemical activity;" medium and low base exchange capacities occur with electrochemically active as well as with inactive preparations. The observed base exchange capacity is determined by two factors: the inherent acidity of the collodion (its mean equivalent weight) and the submicroscopic micellar structure of the collodion. A comparison of the base exchange capacity of various collodion preparations and their inherent acidities therefore allows certain conclusions to be drawn concerning the relative availability of the micellar surfaces in the different preparations. 2. The inherent acidity of various collodion preparations, their "acid number," was determined by electrometric titration. Collodion in the acidic state, i.e. after exchange of all other cations for H⁺ ions, was titrated in an organic solvent mixture with alcoholic KOH using a quinhydrone electrode. Details of the experimental procedure are given in the paper. The acid numbers, expressed in milliliters of 0.01 N KOH per gram dry collodion, vary from 1.0 for a highly purified collodion preparation of very low electrochemical activity to 3.3 for a highly oxidized sample of very high activity. Acid numbers of about 1.5 (corresponding to an equivalent weight of about 67,000) are found both with inactive commercial and with fairly active oxidized preparations. The base exchange capacity of the same preparations in the fibrous state as measured after 48 hours of exchange time varies from 0.0013 ml. 0.01 N NaOH per gm. dry collodion for the most inactive preparation up to 0.26 ml. 0.01 N NaOH per gm. for the most active preparation. Thus the acid numbers over the whole range investigated differ only in the ratio of 1:3.3, whereas the base exchange values differ in the range of 1:200. 3. In the inactive preparation only one in 770 acid groups is available for base exchange, in the most active collodion one group in 13; values between these extremes are found with commercial and alcohol purified oxidized preparations. 4. The high base exchange capacity of the electrochemically active preparations is not so much due to their higher acid number as to their more open structure. This difference in structure is ascribed to the presence of a small fraction of low molecular weight material which inhibits normal formation and arrangement of the micelles. 5. Short time base exchange experiments with fibrous collodion indicate that the number of acid groups available for the typical electrochemical membrane functions may be estimated to be about 50 to 1000 times less numerous than those found in the 48 hour base exchange experiments. It is estimated that in membranes prepared even from the most active collodion not more than one in 500 acid groups may be available for the typical membrane functions; with the less active preparations this ratio is estimated to be as high as one in 1,000,000 or more.     

Improving the diagnostic accuracy of N-terminal B-type natriuretic peptide in human systolic heart failure by plasma profiling using mass spectrometry

We have combined the measurement of N-terminal pro-B type natriuretic peptide (NTproBNP) with plasma peptide profiling to evaluate the effect on sensitivity and specificity of systolic heart failure (SHF) diagnosis. Plasma NTproBNP levels were measured from 100 SHF patients and 100 age/gender matched controls and plasma protein profiles obtained using MALDI-MS. Sixty-seven m/z peaks were significantly different between SHF and normals, and following logistic regression analysis with NTproBNP values, 6 peaks retained independent predictive value. Receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curves for SHF diagnosis had areas of 0.91 for NTproBNP, improving to 0.99 with the model. In a separate validation test set (32 SHF, 20 normals), the model remained highly accurate (ROC area 0.995). An artificial neural network with these 6 peak intensities and NTproBNP produced ROC areas of 0.99 in both training and test sets. The sensitivity and specificity of SHF diagnosis using NTproBNP in training (85, 85%) and test (93, 75%) sets was improved in the model for both training (96, 96%) and test (100, 95%) sets. The accuracy of SHF diagnosis using NTproBNP is improved by the use of a plasma profile of 6 peptide peaks, reducing the uncertainty in the diagnostic gray zone of using NTproBNP alone.     

Can the preservation of historical relicts permit the conservation of endangered plant species? The case of <Emphasis Type="Italic">Silene sennenii</Emphasis> (Caryophyllaceae)

Allozyme electrophoresis was used to measure levels and distribution of genetic diversity in the critically endangered (CR) Silene sennenii (Caryophyllaceae), a narrow endemic plant species found in northeastern Catalonia (Spain). At present, only 5 populations remain, containing no more than 5,000 individuals, which are subjected to several human pressures such as habitat fragmentation and land use changes. Interestingly, the largest population is located in and around a fortress built in the XVIII century, a circumstance which might facilitated its preservation until now. From the 21 satisfactorily interpreted loci, low levels of genetic variation were detected (P = 20.9, A = 1.31 and H _e = 0.071), which may be related to small population size, isolation, and fragmentation of extant populations. Moderate to high levels of inbreeding were also found, probably as consequence of the population’s genetic structuring. The conservation of the population located in the fortress would allow the preservation of all the alleles detected at species level; nevertheless, conservation of other populations, coupled with the inclusion of S. sennenii in the Spanish Catalogue of Endangered Species, would also be desirable in order to ensure the long-term survival of the species.     

Determination of fluoxetine, norfluoxetine and their enantiomers in rat plasma and brain samples by liquid chromatography with fluorescence detection

Fluoxetine (FLX) and norfluoxetine (NFLX) racemic mixtures were determined by reversed-phase liquid chromatography with fluorescence detection (lambda(exc)=227 nm, lambda(em)=305 nm). The calibration curves prepared from drug-free plasma and brain were linear in the range of 5-1000 ng ml(-1) and 100-40,000 ng g(-1) for doped samples, with detection limits of 3.2 and 2.1 ng ml(-1) in plasma and 31.5 and 26.1 ng g(-1) in brain tissue for FLX and NFLX, respectively. Enantiomer determination was carried out through normal phase HPLC-FD (lambda(exc)=224 nm, lambda(em)=336 nm) after precolumn chiral derivatization with R-1-(1-naphthyl)ethyl isocyanate. Standard curves also prepared in a drug-free matrix were linear for each enantiomer over the range of 2-1000 ng ml(-1) and 20-7000 ng g(-1) with detection limits for the four compounds ranging between 0.2 and 0.5 ng ml(-1) in plasma and between 3.0 and 8.2 ng g(-1) in brain tissue. In both methods the analytes were isolated from the biological matrix by a new solid-phase extraction procedure with recovery in plasma and brain over 90 and 87%, respectively. The repeatability of this extraction procedure was satisfactory within-day and between-day with CV<9.1%. This study also offered the opportunity to obtain an assessment of the potential relationships between the concentration of individual enantiomers of FLX and NFLX in plasma and brain tissue after chronic treatment with racemic FLX at a dose intended to mimic the human plasma concentration of FLX in standard clinical conditions, and therefore should make for more reliable extrapolation of neurochemical findings in other species.     

Monocyte chemoattractant protein-1 in obesity and type 2 diabetes. Insulin sensitivity study

Objective: Our goal was to test any association between human plasma circulating levels of monocyte chemoattractant protein‐1 (cMCP‐1) and insulin resistance and to compare monocyte chemoattractant protein‐1 (MCP‐1) adipose tissue gene expression and cMCP‐1 in relation with inflammatory markers. Research Methods and Procedures: cMCP‐1 was measured in n = 116 consecutive control male subjects to whom an insulin sensitivity (S_i) test was performed. Circulating levels of soluble CD14, soluble tumor necrosis factor receptor type 2 (sTNFR2), soluble interleukin‐6 (sIL‐6), and adiponectin also were measured. Subcutaneous adipose tissue samples were obtained from n = 107 non‐diabetic and type 2 diabetic subjects with different degrees of obesity. Real‐time polymerase chain reaction was used to measure gene expression of MCP‐1, CD68, tumor necrosis factor‐α (TNF‐α), and its receptor TNFR2. Results: In the S_i study, no independent effect of cMCP‐1 levels on insulin sensitivity was observed. In the expression study, in non‐diabetic subjects, MCP‐1 mRNA had a positive correlation with BMI (r = 0.407, p = 0.003), TNF‐α mRNA (r = 0.419, p = 0.002), and TNFR2 mRNA (r = 0.410, p = 0.003). In these subjects, cMCP‐1 was found to correlate with waist‐to‐hip ratio (r = 0.322, p = 0.048). In patients with type 2 diabetes, MCP‐1 mRNA was up‐regulated compared with non‐diabetic subjects. TNF‐α mRNA was found to independently contribute to MCP‐1 mRNA expression. In this group, CD68 mRNA was found to correlate with BMI (r = 0.455, p = 0.001). Discussion: cMCP‐1 is not associated with insulin sensitivity in apparently healthy men. TNF‐α is the inflammatory cytokine associated with MCP‐1 expression in subcutaneous adipose tissue.     

The relationship between relative weight and school attendance among elementary schoolchildren

Objective: To determine the relationship between relative weight and school attendance among elementary schoolchildren. Research Methods and Procedures: A total of 1069 fourth to sixth graders from nine elementary schools in the inner city of Philadelphia, PA, were part of an ongoing randomized control trial to assess prevention strategies for obesity. The mean rate of students eligible for free/reduced meals was 82.9 ± 11.5%. Weight was measured in the second semester of the academic year. Absentee data for the entire academic year were recorded by homeroom teachers. Participants were classified into relative weight categories described by the Institute of Medicine: underweight, normal‐weight, overweight, and obese. Results: ANOVA showed that overweight children were absent significantly more than normal‐weight children (12.2 ± 11.7 days vs.10.1 ± 10.5 days) (p < 0.05). Linear regression showed that the obese category remained a significant contributor to the number of days absent even after adjusting for age, race/ethnicity, and gender. Discussion: These data suggest that in addition to the medical and psychosocial consequences of being overweight, heavier children have greater risk for school absenteeism than their normal‐weight peers. As the rate of childhood obesity increases, parallel increases in school absenteeism should be expected.