Public interest in substances with marine origin is very recent in comparison to that of terrestrial plants that dates back to our origins as nomadic hunter-gatherers. Our ancestors made the distinction between edible plants some of which they eventually cultivated as humans became sedentary and toxic substances that could serve as remedies once properly prepared and administered during special...

INTRODUCTION The American continent is very rich in psychoactive plants and fungi, and many pre-Columbian Mesoamerican cultures used them for magical, therapeutic and religious purposes. OBJECTIVES The archaeological, ethno-historical and ethnographic evidence of the use of hallucinogenic substances in Mesoamerica is reviewed. RESULTS Hallucinogenic cactus, plants and mushrooms were used to...

To determine the prevalence of human hydatidosis in Bahir Dar and the sex and age distribution and awareness, we used a questionnaire and retrospective analysis covering 5 years of the case reports at public health institutions in Bahir Dartown and the surrounding areas. We interviewed 244 individuals: 150 households, 32 abattoir workers, 30 butchers and 32 health professionals. None of the hou...

The social engagement and self-rated health of retirees were studied for gender differences in a Nigerian setting. The study was based on the hypothesis that gender difference in the level of social engagement entailing particularly, the traditional ceremonies may be reflected in differential self-rated health. The engagement (visitations, traditional ceremonies, religious activities and leisur...

The concept of ceremony is introduced as an extension of the concept of network protocol, with human nodes alongside computer nodes and with communication links that include UI, human-to-human communication and transfers of physical objects that carry data. What is out-of-band to a protocol is in-band to a ceremony, and therefore subject to design and analysis using variants of the same mature ...