Morinda lucida reduces contractility of isolated uterine smooth muscle of pregnant and non-pregnant mice

The present work investigated the effect of Morinda lucida (M. lucida) extract on isolated uterine smooth muscle of pregnant and non-pregnant mice. Pregnant and non-pregnant mice were pretreated with oral stilboesterol (0.1mg/kg body weight) and killed by cervical dislocation. Thin strips of the uterus were cut and mounted in a 20-ml organ bath containing De Jalon solution bubbled with 95%O2-5% CO2 gas mixture. The strips were connected to a force transducer coupled to a Grass 7D Polygraph for the recording of isometric tension. Effects of graded concentrations of oxytocin (OXY; 10-5–10-2 mol/L), acetylcholine (ACh; 10-9-10-5 mol/L) and M. lucida extract (0.015–1.5mg/ml) were recorded. Fresh uterine strips were then incubated with M. lucida extract for 5mins and cumulativeresponse to OXY was repeated. Another set of fresh strips was incubated in L-NAME for 15mins and the cumulative responses to M.lucida extract were repeated. OXY resulted in increased contractileresponses in both pregnant and non-pregnant uterine muscles. M. lucida resulted in relaxation of the uterine smooth muscle in both pregnant and non-pregnant mice at all doses. However, at 1.500mg/ml,M. lucida completely blocked spontaneous uterine contractions. Following incubation with L-NAME, M. lucida extract led to a slightly greater relaxation of the uterine strips. In conclusion, M. lucidareduced contractility of uterine smooth muscle in both pregnant and non-pregnant mice as well as blocking contractile responses to OXY and Ach in uterine smooth muscle of pregnant and nonpregnantmice. There was no significant alteration of M. lucida activity by L-NAME suggesting that the action of the compound on uterine muscle is not associated with impaired nitric oxide synthase

'If You Desire to Enjoy Life, Avoid Unpunctual People': Women, Timetabling and Domestic Advice, 1850–1910

In the second half of the nineteenth century domestic advice manuals applied the language of modern, public time management to the private sphere. This article uses domestic advice and cookery books, including Isabella Beeton's Book of Household Management, to argue that women in the home operated within multiple, overlapping temporalities that incorporated daily, annual, linear and cyclical scales. I examine how seasonal and annual timescales coexisted with the ticking clock of daily time as a framework within which women were instructed to organize their lives in order to conclude that the increasing concern of advice writers with matters of timekeeping and punctuality towards the end of the nineteenth century indicates not the triumph of 'clock time' but rather its failure to overturn other ways of thinking about and using time

Cardiovascular reactivity in healthy subjects with variations in body mass index

Background: Overweight and obesity are on the rise in Africa and might attain epidemic proportion in the near future.Objective: To assess and compare the cardiovascular reactivity to cold pressor test (CPT) in subjects with variations in body mass index (BMI).Methods: Forty- five apparently healthy subjects, aged 18 to 38 years, were divided into normal weight (NW), overweight (OW) and obese (OB) groups based on their BMI. Heart rate (HR), systolic blood pressure (SBP) and diastolic blood pressure (DBP) were determined at rest and after exposure to CPT in all the study groups. The total cholesterol (TC), low density lipoprotein (LDL), high density lipoprotein (HDL) and triglyceride (TG) in relation to the subjects' BMI values were also determined.Results: The basal values of HR, SBP and DBP of the subjects in all the study groups were not statistically significant (p > 0.05). However, the HR, SBP and DBP were significantly increased (p < 0.05) in all the groups after exposure to CPT. The magnitude of the cardiovascular responses differed across the study groups, SBP being significantly less (p < 0.05) in obese group when compared with that of the normal. The TC, LDL, HDL and TG were similar (p>0.05) in all the groups even though these values except HDL, were found to be highest in the obese group.Conclusion: The study has shown cardiovascular autonomic reactivity to CPT in subjects with variations in BMI values and the magnitude of the responses was observed to be less in obese group when compared with that of the normal, signifying cardiac autonomic dysfunction in this group of subjects.Keywords: Cardiovascular Reactivity, Cold Pressor Test, Body Mass Inde

Land valuation in support of responsible land consolidation on Ghana’s rural customary lands

In this paper, we develop a framework for an approach that assigns values to customary rural farmland parcels based on the local people’s view of land value to support land consolidation. In a case study of Nanton, Ghana, key land value factors were identified and weighted by the local community. The weights were integrated into the framework that produced a Land Value Index for each farmland parcel. Though the strength of the approach is found in scenario and sensitivity analyses. However, the prime weakness of this framework is that it is more expensive to use than automatic valuation models

Diversidade da comunidade de plantas invasoras em sistemas agroflorestais com café em Turrialba, Costa Rica Diversity of weed community in agroforestry systems with coffee in Turrialba, Costa Rica

O objetivo deste trabalho foi avaliar a diversidade de plantas invasoras, em sistemas agroflorestais com cafeeiros (Coffea arabica L.) e em cafezal a pleno sol, sob manejo orgânico e convencional. Foram avaliados 20 tratamentos no delineamento de blocos ao acaso, em parcelas subdivididas no tempo, com três repetições. Os tratamentos corresponderam à combinação entre sistemas agroflorestais e quatro níveis de manejo, baseados na intensidade das práticas e aplicação de insumos: alto e médio convencional, médio e baixo orgânico. Em julho de 2002 e setembro de 2005 foi realizado o levantamento de plantas invasoras. Determinaram-se a riqueza, abundância, diversidade e eqüitabilidade. Observou-se redução nos valores médios de riqueza, abundância, diversidade e eqüitabilidade, em que os menores valores foram encontrados no tratamento com manejo alto convencional. Houve redução na freqüência das trepadeiras, ciperáceas e espécies de folhas estreitas (má cobertura), e aumento das espécies de folhas largas (boa cobertura) e gramíneas. Nas duas épocas, os maiores percentuais de pontos com solo descoberto foram encontrados no tratamento alto convencional, e os menores percentuais foram encontrados em todos os tratamentos com manejo médio e baixo orgânico, e em três dos sete tratamentos com manejo médio convencional. Tais resultados demonstram que onde há aplicação freqüente de herbicida, a presença de árvores não evita exposição do solo.<br>The objective of this work was to evaluate the floristic composition of spontaneous species in coffee (Coffea arabica L.) cultivated in full sun and in agroforestry systems, under organic and conventional management. Twenty treatments were evaluated in a randomized complete block design, in a split plot in time, with three replicates. The treatments corresponded to combinations between types of agroforestry systems and four management system levels, based on practice intensity and inputs application: high and medium conventional, medium and low organic management. In July 2002 and September 2005 a spontaneous species survey was carried out. Richness, abundance, diversity and evenness index were determined. Reductions were observed in richness, abundance, diversity, and evenness values, and the smallest ones were found in high conventional treatment. There was reduction in the relative frequency of climbing plants, Cyperaceae, and monocot species (poor cover), and increase in broad-leaf species (good cover) and grasses. In both seasons, the highest percentages of points with bare soil were found in the high conventional treatment, while the lowest percentages were found in all treatments under medium and low organic management, and in three out of the seven treatments under medium conventional management. These results demonstrate that in treatments where herbicides are frequently applied, the presence of trees does not prevent the soil from being exposed