Public Health

According to new research conducted by scientists from the University of Maryland and the Ecole Centrale de Lyon in France, smokers may face another serious health risk from the habit and the tobacco industry may have another serious PR problem on their hands as a result.

A study appearing in the upcoming issue of Environmental Health Perspectives suggests that Cigarettes are "widely contaminated" with bacteria, including some known to cause disease in people. The research team describes the study as the first to show that "cigarettes themselves could be the direct source of exposure to a wide array of potentially pathogenic microbes among smokers and other people exposed to secondhand smoke."

Pharmacognostical studies on Calotropis procera (Ait.) R.Br.
Anita Kumari and Ashwani Kumar

Calotropis procera (Asclepiadaceae) is a wild shrub, which grows upto a height of 1-3 m and its leaves are 10-13 cm wide by 17-19 cm long. Calotropis procera commonly known as Akra is a popular medicinal plant. This plant is very drought resistant and grows throughout the Sahelian countries, notably in Burkina Faso.

Medicinal properties:

Scientific Name Apium graveolens Linn.
Family Apiaceae (Umbelliferae)
Used Part Fruits.
Distribution Area An erect, annual or biennial herb, wild in the foot-hills of north-western Himalayas and the outlying hills of Punjab, Himachal Pradesh and Uttar Pradesh.

Some of these plants of family Fabaceae are as follows :-
1. Acacia catechu Willd. ‘Khair’ (Mimoeaceae) :- The bark decoction is taken in the morning and evening for 3 days in stomachache .
2. Bauhinia vahlli W. and A. ‘Mahul’ (Caesalpiniaceae) :- Root decoction is taken 3 times a day for 4 days in fever.
3. Bauhinia variegata Linn. ‘Kachnar’ (Caesalpiniaceae) :- The bark decoction is administered orally for 15 days twice a day in tubercular glands. The flower powder is used 3 times a day for 10 days in haemorrhage.
4. Butea monosperma O.Kuntze. ‘Palas , Tesu’ (Paplionaceae):- Flowers and seeds are mixed in a decoction and used 2 times a day as wormicide. The bark decoction is used once a day for 1 month as tonic in piles.

Many plant names appear in similes and metaphors in Hindi literature e.g. the red lips of the beloved have been compared with red flowers of kachnar (Bauhinia variegata Linn.) and of the silk cotton tree.
In a Magahi song there is a mention of sandalwood (Santalum album Linn.) tree crying when the king takes Vanaprastha and becomes a Yogi. Aryani, 1965 stated that how beautiful is such personification of the qualities of plants and their parts in the human beings?
Folk proverbs : Things which cannot be remembered or explained easily are learnt, taught and emphasised through proverbs. A person who understands the tricks of the cunnings tell him that Tum dar dar Hum pat pat i.e. I will keep away from you.

Over consumption is a serious issue in the United States. National Institutes of Health statistics show that two-thirds of American adults are overweight, with associated direct economic medical
costs of $78.5 billion each year. About 70 million Americans are attempting to control their food intake.

Fortunately, if you feel like you're in a losing battle with a triple-chocolate cake, a "mental budget" may help, says a new study in the Journal of Consumer Research.

To conduct the research, the authors encouraged some participants to set mental budgets and compared them to people who did not set budgets, and examined their consumption of sweet treats.

AYURVEDIC MEDICINES: SOME POTENTIAL PLANTS FOR MEDICINE FROM INDIA.

Ashwini Kumar
Former Alexander von Humboldt Fellow, Insitut fur Pflanzenernaehrung der Justus Liebig Universitat, Giessen. Germany and Former visiting Professor , Research Institue for Wakan Yaku, Toyama Medical and Pharmaceutical University, Toyama, Japan.
Present address:
Energy Plantation Demonstration project and Biotechnology Center.
Department of Botany, University of Rajasthan
Jaipur,302004 ( Rajasthan) India.

Email : msku4@hotmail.com Phone : 00 91 141 654100
Fax 00 91 141 565905

Abstract:

Butea monosperma Roxb. ex Willd.
Vernacular Names :- Assam : Polah ; Bengal : Kinka ; Bihar : Paras ; Bombay : Khakara ; Central provinces : Pharas ; English : Flame of the forest, Bastard teak ; Gujrat : Pallaso ; Hindi : Palas, Dhak , Tesu ; Punjab: Pahal ; Sanskrit : Raktak pushpaka ; Tamil : Palasu ; Telgu : Kimsukamu.
Family :- Papilionaceae.
Distribution :- It is found in Ceylon and throughout India.

Abrus precatorius Linn.
Vernacular Names :- Assam : Latuwani ; Bengal : Chunhati ; Bombay : Ghungchi ; English : Indian liquorice ; Gujrat : Chanoti ; Hindi : Chirmiti, Rati ; Punjab : Labri Ratak ; Sanskrit : chataki ; Tamil : Adisamiyai ; Telgu : Raktika.
Family :- Papilionaceae.
Distribution :- It is found in Ceylon, Pakistan, throughout the tropical regions and it is found throughout India.

The anti-vaccination zealots have won this round. They had won before the fight really started. You may not have realized it. The victory came silently. No, the anti-vaxxers do not have any of the science on their side, but that hardly seems to matter.

Stated very simplistically, the goal of vaccine advocates is to get as many people as possible vaccinated, when the science supports use of that vaccine. The goal of the anti-vax* movement is to have as few people vaccinated at possible.