Ethnobotanical value and conservation of sacred groves of the Kpaa Mende in Sierra Leone

Sacred groves in the Moyamba District of Sierra Leone were assessed for their value to local herbalists and traditional folk medicine practitioners of the Kpaa Mende people. Herbalists (tufablaa) collecting in 23 sacred groves were interviewed regarding their general knowledge of medicinal plants, and their perceptions regarding changes in the occurrence of medicinal plants. Over 75 medicinal plant remedies are currently in use among the Kpaa Mende, with some plants reported here for the first time in terms of their medicinal uses in Sierra Leone. A significant feature of Kpaa Mende ethnobotany is the employment of 2 or more kinds of plants in combination as a remedy for particular afflictions. The discovery of rare and uncommon plants in the groves and their medicinal uses are discussed in terms of the role of the sacred groves in medicinal plant conservation.     

Vasomotor instability preceding tilt-induced syncope: does respiration play a role?

Lipsitz, Lewis A., Raymond Morin, Margaret Gagnon, DanKiely, and Aharon Medina. Vasomotor instability precedingtilt-induced syncope: does respiration play a role? J. Appl. Physiol. 83(2): 383-390, 1997.This studyaimed to determine whether alterations in cardiovascular dynamicsbefore syncope are related to changes in spontaneous respiration.Fifty-two healthy subjects underwent continuous heart rate (HR),arterial blood pressure (BP), and respiratory measurements during10-min periods of spontaneous and paced breathing (0.25 Hz) in thesupine and 60° head-up tilt positions. Data were evaluated by powerspectrum and transfer function analyses. During tilt, 27 subjectsdeveloped syncope or presyncope and 25 remained asymptomatic. Subjectswith tilt-induced syncope had significantly greater increases inlow-frequency (0.04-0.15 Hz) systolic BP, diastolic BP, and HRpower during tilt than the asymptomatic subjects(P  0.01). This difference waspresent during spontaneous but not paced breathing. However, averagetidal volume, respiratory rate, minute ventilation, proportion ofbreaths below 0.15 Hz, and low-frequency respiratory power during tilt did not differ between syncopal and nonsyncopal subjects. Transfer magnitudes between low-frequency respiration and BP, and between BP andinterbeat interval, were also similar between groups. Thus vasomotorinstability before syncope is not related to alterations in respirationor the cardiovagal baroreflex but may reflect oscillating centralsympathetic outflow to the vasculature.

     

The H+/O ratio of proton translocation linked to the oxidation of succinate by mitochondria

In a recent communication Lehninger and co-workers (Costa, L.E., Reynaferje, B., and Lehninger, A.L. (1984) J. Biol. Chem. 259, 4802-4811) reported values approaching 8 for the H+/O ratio of vectorial proton ejection from rat liver mitochondria respiring with succinate. Here we present a rigorous analysis of these measurements which reveals that they may significantly overestimate the true H+/O stoicheiometry.     

D- and L-lactate catabolism to CO2 in rat tissues

The current study was initiated in order to compare the rates of oxidative catabolism of D- and L-lactate in various rat tissues. Uniformly labeled D- or L-[14C]lactate was incubated at 37 degrees C in a closed system with tissue homogenates in Krebs-Ringer phosphate buffer. Evolved 14CO2 was trapped in a center well containing a fluted filter paper saturated with strong base and the radioactivity determined. The ratio of L-lactate to D-lactate oxidation was greatest in brain, followed by kidney, heart, and liver. In liver the rate of oxidation of D-lactate exceeded that of L-lactate, in heart the rates were not significantly different and in the other two tissues L-lactate was oxidized more rapidly than D-lactate. These results indicate that the rate of D-lactate catabolism is considerable and is relatively greater than had been reported previously.     

Blood chemistry of the common marmoset (Callithrix jacchus) maintained in an indoor-outdoor environment: Primate comparisons

Blood chemistry values were collected over a three-year period from at least 10 colony-born and 24 wild-born apparently normal common marmosets. BUN, SGOT, creatinine, calcium, phosphorus, alkaline phosphatase, protein, albumin, cholesterol, triglycerides, uric and glucose values were determined. A statistical comparison of baseline values was made between wild-born, colony-born, male and female marmosets. Also the same comparison was made between common marmosets and cotton-top tamarins, white lipped tamarins and human subjects.     

ACTION DE L'ANHYDRIDE CARBONIQUE ET DE FACTEURS VISUELS SUR LES PERFORMANCES DE PIEGES «MANITOBA» MODIFIES EN MILIEU MONTAGNARD

Résumé Les performances de pièges à Tabanidae de type Manitoba ont été étudiées en milieu montagnard et subalpin. On a testé les influences respectives de la présence ou de l'absence d'une source de CO₂, de la nature de cette source (solide ou gazeuse), de la présence ou de l'absence d'un leurre visuel (sphère noir brillant), de la nature transparente ou opaque de la partie supérieure du piège (hotte conique). Plus de 8.000 Tabanidae et plus de 51.000 Muscidae ont été pris au cours de ces essais totalisant 660 heures-pièges.

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Summary Manitoba traps, traps without decoy or with black canopy, unbaited or baited with dry ice or compressed carbon dioxide, were compared for the numbers of horse flies and muscid flies caught in mountainous mixed wood and pasture land and in subalpine larch forest between 1500 m and 2200 m, in July. More muscid flies were captured in the compressed CO₂ baited traps than in dry ice baited traps. Haematopota pluvialis, Tabanus maculicornis and Tabanus quatuornotatus were more attracted by CO₂ than Tabanus bromius. T. bromius was more attracted by the decoy than other species. The genus Atylotus and T. bromius are more attracted to the black canopy than other species. The visual decoy is more necessary to the efficiency of the trap than the chemical bait. The CO₂ baited Manitoba trap caught the greatest number of horse flies (180 per trap and per hour). The unbaited Manitoba trap was efficient too, but other traps were inefficient. About 8000 horse flies and 51000 muscid flies were caught.

     

Incidence of caries and abscesses in archeological Eskimo skeletal samples from point hope and Kodiak Island,Alaska

The incidence of caries and abscesses in 246 archeologically derived skeletal specimens from the Ipiutak and Tigara levels at Point Hope, Alaska, and 79 specimens excavated from Jones Point, Kodiak Island, Alaska were investigated. All three collections span long periods of time. Only pre-white contact specimens were used. Each specimens was sexed and aged in five year groupings, using standard techniques. Caries and abscesses were recorded by type and degree of severity and correlated with age, sex, and site of origin. All samples displayed very low caries rates and few abscesses per tooth and per individual (both observed frequencies, and frequencies corrected for postmortem loss of teeth). DMF scores were tabulated using both observed and corrected frequencies. Very heavy occlusal wear in all three samples could account for the majority of abscesses and pulp exposures, while the low caries rates are attributable to traditional diets totally devoid of refined sugars, starches, and food additives.