Average consanguinity (alpha) of 20 large regional or national samples derived from Roman Catholic Dispensations or state archives shows a strong negative relationship with latitude (r = -0.738; P less than 0.001) which seems best explained by cultural-historical factors. Isolates show no such pattern and are more variable in their inbreeding levels. Two-way analysis of variance shows the sampl...

Chamaemelum nobile (Asteraceae) commonly known as 'Roman chamomile' is a medicinal plant used for numerous diseases in traditional medicine, although its anticancer activity is unknown. The present study was carried out to investigate the anticancer as well as apoptotic activity of ethyl acetate fraction of C. nobile on different cancerous cell lines. The cells were treated with varying concent...

T I he popularity of Derek Humphry 's I book Final Exit, which explains how | to assist in someone's suicide, indicues the need to review, from a number ot" perspectives, issues related to euthanasia. In the December issue of Health Progress, Stephen G. Post analyzed changing American attitudes toward the idea of a "good death" (see "American Culture and Euthanasia," pp. 32-37). In this column ...

Our previous essay to which Robert Pasnau responds in his article ‘Souls and the Beginning of Life’, took issue with several aspects of his original discussion in Thomas Aquinas on Human Nature (hereafter ‘Aquinas’) of human ensoulment and of traditional Roman Catholic teaching on the matter of abortion and the value of human life. Our primary concerns were twofold. First, to provide readers, w...

A 75-year-old Hispanic woman with no significant past medical historywas referred to uswith a 2-month history of very itchy dermatitis involving the eyelids, chin, and the anterior part of the ears. Clinical features suggested an airborne contact dermatitis. However, patch testing with the North American baseline series gave negative results. Further patch tests with fragrances and cosmetic and...

The ethnopharmacology of Madeira and Porto Santo Islands is extremely interesting because of the cultural and biogeographic features of this region, which make it a centre of medicinal plant diversity (richness of endemic flora, geographical isolation in the Atlantic sea, crosscultural influences, and past abundance of local healers). The medicinal flora of Madeira is composed of 259 species. S...

This study was undertaken in order to evaluate the possible anti-hyperglycaemic and body weight reducing activities of the aqueous extract of both Capparis spinosa (CS) and Chamaemelum nobile (CN) (20 mg kg). The results demonstrate clearly that repeated oral administration of both CS and CN aqueous extract evoked a potent anti-hyperglycaemic activity in high fat diet (HFD) obese mice. Postpran...

Chamomile is one of the most ancient medicinal herbs known to mankind. It is a member of Asteraceae/Compositae family and represented by two common varieties viz. German Chamomile (Chamomilla recutita) and Roman Chamomile (Chamaemelum nobile). The dried flowers of chamomile contain many terpenoids and flavonoids contributing to its medicinal properties. Chamomile preparations are commonly used ...