Are identities oral? Understanding ethnobotanical knowledge after Irish independence (1937-1939)

BACKGROUND: The Schools' Folklore Scheme (1937-1939) was implemented at a pivotal time in Irelands' political history. It resulted in a body of ethnological information that is unique in terms of when, why and how it was collected. This material consists of over 700,000 pages of information, including ethnomedicinal and ethnobotanical traditions, reflecting an oral identity that spans generations and that in many cases was not documented in writing until the 1930s. The intention of this study is to highlight the importance of the Schools' Folklore Scheme and to demonstrate an ethnographic approach based on recollections of original participants of the scheme, to further understand the material in the collection and the impact it had on the participants. METHODS: This study involves an analysis of both oral and archival data. Eleven semi-structured interviews with original participants of the scheme were carried out between April and September 2016. Their corresponding schools' archival contributions to the scheme were located, and ethnomedicinal information was analysed and compared with the participants' recollections. RESULTS: The majority of participants' stated the scheme had a positive impact on them. Five participants' recalled collecting ethnomedicinal information, and there was a direct correlation between three of the participants' ethnomedicinal recollections and their entries in the archives. One third of all the ethnomedicinal entries analysed included the use of a plant. There were 191 plant mentions and 64 plant species named. CONCLUSIONS: Contacting the original participants offers a novel approach of analysing this archival material. It provides a unique first-hand account of this historical initiative, an insight into how the scheme was implemented and how it impacted upon the children. The ethnomedicinal and ethnobotanical information provides an understanding of the medicinal practices in Ireland during the 1930s. The plant species that were both orally recalled by participants and documented in the archives are in keeping with key ethnomedicinal systems throughout the world

Testing the photo-sensitive nanocomposite system for potential controlled metallo-drug delivery

Photo-responsive drug release systems are promising for drug delivery applications due to many benefits compared to conventional chemotherapy such as targeted, controlled release of a drug and reduced toxicity to healthy tissues. In this work, we report synthesis of the nanocomposite system based on carrier TiO2 nanoparticles and potential anticancer ruthenium complex, with light controllable release properties. Nanocomposite system showed biological activity and induced the generation of free radicals, which are implied in the efficient cell killing. The drug release tests demonstrated sustained release of the transition metal complex from the surface implying the potency for the controlled drug delivery system. Taking into account photoactivity of the Ru-complex, in the next step we have investigated the influence of green light on the rate of the complex release, and the results showed dependence of the Ru-complex release from the surface of TiO2 nanoparticles on the applied laser energy. Therefore, these characteristics make this nanocomposite system promising for the photo-responsive chemotherapy