Principal Source Research Articles

Oral toxicity of the acetone extract of Coffea arabica var. Oro Azteca leaves in CD-1 mice

The investigation of coffee leaves as a source of bioactive principles represents a relatively unexplored area of research. The study assesses the potential adverse effects of an aqueous acetone extract derived from Coffea arabica var. Oro Azteca leaves. The phenolic composition of the extract was identified and quantified by UPLC-MS/MS, and its acute and repeated-dose effects were evaluated in six-week-old CD-1 mice (n = 11 for acute evaluation and n = 20 female and n = 20 male for repeated-dose evaluation). The extract demonstrated no significant toxicity, maintaining consistent body weight and exhibiting a hepatoprotective effect by reducing ALT levels at a dose of 500 mg/kg. Some hyperactivity was observed at the highest doses, but overall, the extract enhanced the immune response and showed no histological alterations, except for mild inflammation in certain organs. The extract, which contains abundant quinic acid, chlorogenic acid, epicatechin, procyanidin B2, and mangiferin, has been deemed safe for consumption.

Dengan Filsafat Islam Sebagai Alat Menganalisa Secara Kritis Paradigma

The position of philosophy in Islam throughout history has experienced ups and downs of glorification and criticism. It is inevitable that when we discuss the position and even function of philosophy in the Islamic Studies approach, issues surrounding the harmonization of philosophy and religion will become the center of attention. Thus, Islamic education is a paradigm or educational model that is based on the values ​​of Islamic teachings. This education model has integrated its education system with an ideology that is based on the Koran and Sunnah as the main source of Islamic teaching principles.

A model of umbral oscillations inherited from subphotospheric fast-body modes

Recently, complex horizontal patterns of umbral oscillations have been reported, but their physical nature and origin are still not fully understood. Here we show that the two-dimensional patterns of umbral oscillations of slow waves are inherited from the subphotospheric fast-body modes. Using a simple analytic model, we successfully reproduced the temporal evolution of oscillation patterns with a finite number of fast-body modes. In this model, the radial apparent propagation of the pattern is associated with the appropriate combination of the amplitudes in radial modes. We also find that the oscillation patterns are dependent on the oscillation period. This result indicates that there is a cutoff radial mode, which is a unique characteristic of the model of fast-body modes. In principle, both internal and external sources can excite these fast-body modes and produce horizontal patterns of umbral oscillations.

Simbiosis Pengetahuan: Menelusuri Kombinasi Penyembuhan Islami dan Tradisional dalam Naskah Mujarrabat Jawan

There were various manuscripts spread in the archipelago. Some of the manuscripts are the source of history, literature, and religious principle, and some of them are source of medical healing as ancestral heritage. Actually, the using of traditional healing and medicines at the first is a hereditary tradition transmitted orally from one generation to the next generation. However, this traditional healing is still existed. There are some studies studied about Islam, literature, and local custom manuscripts, but studying on traditional healing and medicines manuscripts is very lack. Even though, some of the traditional healing and medicines still existed in the modern life. By using philological approach and historical approach, this research will conduct the traditional healing and medicine which are found in Mujarrabat Jawan. These approaches will cover the description of traditional healing and medicines in the manuscript and show how it practiced in everyday life. This study shows that there are some common diseases that affect people in the archipelago such as fever, toothache and sore eyes (bḗlḗk). This manuscript shows that traditional medicine is carried out in two ways. First, by using traditional ingredients such as shallots to treat burns. Second, by using Holy Qur’an readings taken from same verses in the Qur’an. This healing can be seen in the healing of toothache by reading surah al-An’am.

Air quality, metal(loid) sources identification and environmental assessment using (bio)monitoring in the former mining district of Salsigne (Orbiel valley, France)

The former mining district of Salsigne is situated in the Orbiel valley. Until the 20th century, it was the first gold mine in Europe and the first arsenic mine in the world. Rehabilitation has been performed during the 20 years that followed closure of the mines and factories, which led to the accumulation of storage of several million tons of waste in this valley. Nevertheless, a detailed description of the air quality of this area is still missing. The goal of the present study is to evaluate atmospheric contamination in the valley and identify the potential sources of this contamination.Active monitors (particulate matter samplers) and passive bioindicators (Tillandsia usneoides) were placed in strategic sites including remote areas. Over the year 2022, we assessed the air quality using microscopic and spectroscopic techniques, as well as environmental risk indicators to report the level of contamination.Results indicate that the overall air quality in the valley is good with PM10 levels in accordance with EU standards. Elemental concentrations in the exposed plants were lower than reported in the literature. Among the different sites studied, Nartau and La Combe du Saut, corresponding to waste storage and former mining industry sites, were the most affected. Chronic exposure over 1 year was highlighted for Fe, Ni, Cu, Pb, Sb and As. Pollution Load Index and Enrichment Factors, which provided valuable information to assess the environmental condition of the valley's air, suggested that dust and resuspension of anthropogenic materials were the principle sources for most of the elements. Finally, this study also highlights that using T. usneoides could be a convenient approach for biomonitoring of metal (loid)-rich particles in the atmosphere within a former mining area, for at least one year. These results in turn allow to better understand the effects of chronic exposure on the ecosystem.

Land, Town, Temple: the Aesthetics of the “Lyrical Preludes” in Tamil Talapurāṇams

Abstract Talapurāṇam is one of the most prolific genres of early modern Tamil literature. Unlike its Sanskrit counterpart (sthala\kṣetra-māhātmya) the works of this genre are composed in the form and style of high poetry. One distinctive feature of the genre is the inclusion of descriptive chapters that focus on the land and town eulogized in the texts. These chapters, which I term “lyrical preludes,” were never formalized by traditional poeticians. In this article, I present a preliminary analysis of Tamil talapurāṇams’ lyrical preludes: their sources of inspiration, structural patterns, recurrent themes, and aesthetic principles.

Current Status of Potential Antiviral Drugs Derived from Plant, Marine, and Microbial Sources

Abstract: Natural substances have been the principal source of medications since antiquity. Natural goods are gaining popularity as a source of novel medications. This article investigates a variety of variables like plant, marine, and microbial sources that contribute to the growing interest in natural goods as a source of novel medications. Viruses have remained resistant to treatment and prevention for a longer period than other forms of life. Viral diseases can currently only be treated with a limited number of drugs. Significant research initiatives have been committed to identifying novel antiviral natural compounds to fight viruses that harm people, plants, insects, animals, fungi, and microbes. A recent study of the prevalence and sources of antiviral medications licensed by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has focused on natural products. Out of the estimated 250,000 higher plant species, only 5 to 15 percent have been thoroughly evaluated for the existence of bioactive substances in them, and the ability of the other species has hardly been investigated. This review aims to offer an overview of the crucial role played by natural products in the discovery and development of novel antiviral drugs with potent antiviral activity, including phytochemicals such as carbohydrates, coumarins, flavonoids, chromones, alkaloids, lignans, phenols, tannins, proteins, peptides, antiviral plant extracts, other marine, and microbial sources.

Bark beetle-driven community and biogeochemical impacts in forest ecosystems: a review

Abstract Bark beetles are a principal source of tree mortality in conifer forests, with beetle distribution and beetle-associated tree mortality increasing in frequency and extent. While bark beetles are associated with large-scale outbreaks that affect landscape structure, function, and wood quality, they are also drivers of important ecological processes that modify forest ecosystems. Bark beetle activity may affect biogeochemistry and forest decomposition processes by mediating microbial and detrital communities and by facilitating the turnover of deadwood. The turnover of deadwood in bark beetle-attacked forests has important implications for forest biogeochemical cycling, as dead wood releases CO2 into the atmosphere and carbon, nitrogen, and other nutrients into surrounding soils. However, our understanding of how initial physical, chemical, and biotic changes to bark beetle-attacked trees affect the succession of detrital organisms and decomposition of beetle-generated deadwood remains poor. Furthermore, the relationship between woody decomposition and landscape-level changes in biogeochemical processes in forest ecosystems following bark beetle activity is not well unified. This review article bridges this divide and provides an interdisciplinary perspective on tree mortality, ecological succession, and woody decomposition mediated by bark beetles.

«Слово же есть человек, человек — соборность, соборность — София»: Гностический миф и конструирование автора в «Софии земной и горней» Л. П. Карсавина

«Sophia the earthly and the heavenly» was written by L.P. Karsavin during his transition from medievism to religious philosophy. The text was first published in the third issue of the almanac Sagittarius (1922). It represents a literary hoax: an «unknown» Gnostic treatise with parodic commentary «from the publisher». The basis of the work is an artistic translation of the chapters of the treatise Pistis Sophia with poetic inserts by Karsavin. The study offers an analysis of the structure of the author's self in the context of the Gnostic myth. The thematic connections of the work with the texts of other authors of the almanac, as well as with other «gnostic» texts by Karsavin are traced. The sources of mystification and principles of parody are revealed. The connections of the work with Alexei Remizov's stylisations («Russia in Letters»), S.P. Bobrov's hoax (a continuation of A.S. Pushkin's poem «Judith»), etc. are established. The connection of Karsavin's poetics with the abstruse language of the Futurists (Velimir Khlebnikov), the poetry of Symbolism (Vladimir Soloviev), and Acmeism («gnostic» poetry of Mikhail Kuzmin) is revealed. The Gnostic line in the works of other authors (Belenson, Kuzmin, Hollerbach, Rozanov) of the almanac helps to decipher the idea of «Sophia...» as the wandering of the soul in the aspect of eros mysticism. The latter theme is the leading one in «Noctes Petropolitanae» (1922), where in the image of Adam Kadmon Karsavin proposes the idea of the all-unified man as a symphony. The Sophia myth is continued in On Beginnings (1925). As a result, the structure of the text of «Sophia...» reveals an ensemble of authors, immanent and external to Karsavin's authorial self. All of them are connected in the multitudinous subject-author. Another meta-theme of the almanac is the Word: its creative power (Fyodor Sologub) and its mute impotence (Artur Lurie). In «Sophia...», in the idea of the Word as the Fullness of being and non-being, a synthesis is realised. For the authorial utterance Karsavin turns to the not-word, constructing from it his own-other multi-subjective self. The text of «Sophia...» is thus a laboratory of the author's multi-subject self, where the model of the symphonic personality is experimentally assembled and tested as the leading concept of Karsavin's subsequent doctrine of personality, in his ontology («On the Beginnings») and philosophy of history.

Estimating Climate Change’s Impacts on the Recharge of an Ungauged Tropical Aquifer (Togolese Coastal Sedimentary Basin)

The aquifers of the Togolese coastal sedimentary basin are the principal sources of water for almost half of the country’s population. These aquifers’ features have not been adequately monitored and studied. The resource is threatened by human activities, notably agriculture, industry, and withdrawals for drinking water supplies. This situation is exacerbated by the potential effects of climate change. For this research, a basin-scale study was conducted to estimate current groundwater recharge and its future evolution in response to climate change. A recharge model based on Thornthwaite–Mather balance equations using runoff coefficients characterizing land use was fed with current and future climate data from an optimistic scenario (RCP 4.5) and a pessimistic scenario (RCP 8.4). Despite the associated uncertainties, the soil–water balance model at monthly time steps predicts a recharge of 3 to 455 mm per year from 2020 to 2039, and 40 to 420 mm per year from 2040 to 2059 under the optimistic RCP 4.5 scenario. According to the pessimistic RCP 8.5 scenario, the recharge will range between 16 and 515 mm per year from 2020 to 2049 and from 1 to 467 mm per year between 2040 and 2059. As a result, the basin’s groundwater recharge range, which is currently 47 to 225 mm, will significantly increase. This study provides a scientific basis for the sustainable management of groundwater in the Togolese coastal sedimentary basin. The recharge of the groundwater in the basin will increase regardless of the climate scenario and will support future development in the Togolese coastal sedimentary basin.

REMOTE SENSING OF HEAT POLLUTION SOURCES IN THE LIPETSK URBAN AREA

Positive temperature anomalies called “urban heat islands” (UHI) are formed in cities as a result of progressing urbanization, increasing area and density of buildings, motor transport load and anthropogenic heat emissions. Such UHI reduce the comfort of the urban environment, and affect population health and quality of life. Remote sensing data from the thermal band satellite sensors are widely used to study the UHI intensity and spatial structure. We analyzed Landsat 8 and 9 satellite imageries from 2020 to 2022 representing the Lipetsk urban area in Central Russia. Taking into account the image quality requirements, 5 “winter” and 4 “summer” scenes were selected to examine thermal anomalies. As a result of their processing a map of land surface temperature (LST) excesses over the background values and a map of LST seasonal variations were compiled. The produced maps made it possible to identify 33 principal sources of anthropogenic heat in Lipetsk. 26 of them are located within industrial zones of the left bank side of Lipetsk, including. 23 sources within the territory of the NLMK Group metallurgical combine. LST of the identified heat sources were approximately 4-9°C above the background temperatures in winter and 11-14°C above the background temperatures in summer. The results of the study could become an information-methodical basis for the space monitoring of thermal pollution in Lipetsk.

Minerality in Wine: Textual Analysis of Chablis Premier Cru Tasting Notes

The term minerality is often used to describe high-quality still white wines produced in cooler regions, such as Chablis. What minerality means in sensory terms and what is responsible for its presence is the subject of debate, however. This study explored the concept of minerality by analysing 16,542 Chablis Premier Cru tasting notes entered into CellarTracker between 2003 and 2022 on wines three to seven years old, together with weather, topography, and soil data for the Chablis area. The top three words used to describe Chablis Premier Cru wine were citrus, minerality, and acidity. Mentions of minerality declined between 1999 and 2019 vintages, whereas those of acidity, salinity, floral, orchard fruit, and stone fruit increased. The trends for minerality and salinity were slightly stronger with the year of tasting (2005 to 2022) than vintage. Bigram analysis indicated that consumers were more than 1.5 times as likely to refer to a stony kind of minerality as a saline one and only rarely smoky minerality. Use of the term minerality was correlated with growing season temperature and sunshine hours (negatively with each), as well as vineyard aspect (negatively with percentage vineyard area facing South or South-West), but not with Kimmeridgian soil type. The results imply that soils and geology are not a principal source of minerality in Chablis wine, but growing season warmth and sunshine are relevant to minerality. There is no simple explanation of minerality in Chablis wine; however, the recent decline in the use of this term for Chablis wine may be a consequence of three factors in combination: (i) it has become less fashionable; (ii) consumers are choosing “saline” instead of “mineral” when appropriate, but retaining it for “stony” sensations; and/or (iii) warming from climate change has reduced minerality.

Health assessment of emerging persistent organic pollutants (POPs) in PM2.5 in northern and central Taiwan

Over the last two decades, Taiwan has effectively diminished atmospheric concentrations of polychlorinated dibenzo-p-dioxins/furans (PCDD/Fs) through the adept utilization of advanced technologies and the implementation of air pollution control devices. Despite this success, there exists a dearth of data regarding the levels of other PM2.5-bound organic pollutants and their associated health risks. To address this gap, our study comprehensively investigates the spatial and seasonal variations, potential sources, and health risks of PCDD/Fs, Polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), and Polychlorinated naphthalene (PCNs) in Northern and Central Taiwan. Sampling collections were conducted at three specific locations, including six municipal waste incinerators in Northern Taiwan, as well as a traffic and an industrial site in Central Taiwan. As a result, the highest mean values of PM2.5 (20.3–39.6 μg/m3) were observed at traffic sites, followed by industrial sites (14.4–39.3 μg/m3), and the vicinity of the municipal waste incinerator (12.4–29.4 μg/m3). Additionally, PCDD/Fs and PCBs exhibited discernible seasonal fluctuations, displaying higher concentrations in winter (7.53–11.9 and 0.09–0.12 fg I-TEQWHO/m3) and spring (7.02–13.7 and 0.11-0.16 fg I-TEQWHO/m3) compared to summer and autumn. Conversely, PCNs displayed no significant seasonal variations, with peak values observed in winter (0.05–0.10 fg I-TEQWHO/m3) and spring (0.03–0.08 fg I-TEQWHO/m3). Utilizing a Positive Matrix Factorization (PMF) model, sintering plants emerged as the predominant contributors to PCDD/Fs, constituting 77.9% of emissions. Woodchip boilers (68.3%) and municipal waste incinerators (21.0%) were identified as primary contributors to PCBs, while municipal waste incinerators (64.6%) along with a secondary copper and a copper sludge smelter (22.1%) were the principal sources of PCNs. Moreover, the study specified that individuals aged 19–70 in Northern Taiwan and those under the age of 12 years in Central Taiwan were found to have a significantly higher cancer risk, with values ranging from 9.26 x 10−9-1.12 x 10−7 and from 2.50 x 10−8-2.08 x 10−7respectively.

The Era of Digitalization in Education where do Universities 4.0 Go?

Abstract Digitalization has revolutionized one of the most significant industries in the modern world, which is education. It has proven to be a successful and renowned strategy throughout the entire spectrum of the education industry. It has dissolved the distinction between physical and virtual distance and integrated more scientific methods for instructors to teach pupils. In order to select the most relevant studies in the digitalization field, bibliometric analysis was used, with the principal source of scientific articles selected being the academic platform Scopus. The content of 3836 research articles has been taken into consideration since 2019 and 2023. The search documents related to the “digitalization” issue are in title, abstract, and keywords. In order to highlight the structure of the scientific field, we used a content analysis, inspecting the most common words and the relationships between words. Additionally, a network of co-occurrences was taken into account. The analysis was performed using the WOSviever program. In the next part of the research, the term “digitalization” was examined in more detail. The Scopus search engine uses filters, including the terms “digitalization,” “higher,” and “education,” but is limited to key words. The content of 104 research articles has been taken into consideration since 2019 and 2023. The research results showed that the fields of technology, education, and management provide the theoretical basis for research on the digitalization of higher education. The findings also demonstrate the topic’s interdisciplinary character (as seen by publications published in several fields) and its strong relationship to concepts like online learning, digital transformation, and sustainable development. Based on the literature analysis, it can be concluded that University 4.0 will go to the smart fully digital University (University 5.0), will take care of aspects of sustainable development, and will develop teachers’ soft skills, especially emotional intelligence.

Water Table Estimation in Attaragoda GN Division in Galle, Sri Lanka

The fluctuation of the groundwater table depends on geology, topography, climate and human consumption pattern. Long-term reduction of groundwater table caused by global climatic changes and overexploitation. However, short-term fluctuation is caused by climatic variations such as rainfall patterns and evaporation. Groundwater consumption is increasing at an alarming speed due to the increasement in the population, and it directly affects the reduction of the water table. Attaragoda GN division is considered a rural area in the wet zone of Sri Lanka. Most households utilize groundwater as their principal water source. There is no research conducted to assess the water table in the Attaragoda GN division. A preliminary study tried to determine the water table in Attaragoda GN division, Galle to fill this research gap. As a tropical country, the month of November is considered the second inter-monsoon season in Sri Lanka. Randomly selected 33 groundwater wells were considered as the sample size from 142/A Attaragoda GN division. The study was conducted in November 2021 from 8.00 am to 2.00 pm. Elevation was recorded using ―My elevation mobile app,‖ and the depth of the wells was measured using the measuring rope at the field in November 2021. The water table was calculated using the standard formula for all 33 sampling locations (Z=h–X; Z=depth of water table, X=elevation, h=depth measured in well). Data analysis was done using plotting the water table graph against elevation. Regarding land elevation, the water table fluctuated in the 4 m-20 m range in the Attaragoda GN area due to geographic locations. The lowest water table was recorded at a well in the highland area, and the highest was recorded at a well in the lower land. Based on the results in a plotted graph indicated that the same elevation had different groundwater table levels. Main reasons for this different water table recorded in the same elevation identified as overused groundwater for maintaining a fish farm, watering flower nurseries, and animal husbandry practices. At the same elevation, the well that recorded the low water table caused overexploitation of groundwater than the well which had a higher water table level. Water table levels can change in the same area due to their native geographic features. However, at the same elevation water table might be adjusted according to the consumption pattern of the households. 
 Keywords: Elevation, Geology, Ground water, Water table

Public Sector Employees’ Arrangement and Plans Towards Retirement in Ghana

As a saying goes, if one fails to plan, that individual plans to fail. This well-known saying holds true relative to retirement that formal sector employees experience at a point in their life time. It is also a truism that effective and efficient retirement planning by employees is contingent on the information about retirement they receive. Although myriad of studies have been conducted on retirement experiences of formal sector employees, the specific activities that employees do for their retirement had attracted less research attention. The study aimed to close the gap identified, which is quintessential for the information, education and action of employees, employers, psychologists and counsellors. The study focused on employees of the Ghana Health Service (GHS) and Ghana Education Service (GES) in two municipalities. Stratified and simple random sampling procedures were adopted to select the employees to participate in the study. To garner the requisite data to achieve the study objectives, a questionnaire was designed, pre-tested and used. The data gathered were analysed using descriptive statistical tools. It emerged from the study that the employees’ principal sources of information on retirement are the media, private insurance companies, Social Security and National Insurance Trust (SSNIT), friends and relatives. It also emanated from the study that most of the employees were doing the following for their retirement: investment in shares, bonds, treasury bills and insurance policies; savings and standing orders. Stakeholders of the two services need to do more to help their employees to prepare well for an enhanced livelihood during retirement.

Ground Water Quality Assessment of Different Villages of Kheda District of Gujarat, India

The Kheda district lies in the Cambay basin situated between Saurashtra crater and Aravalli Swell and Deccan Shield in the east. The basin comprises both marine formations, is the principal source of water supply for middle Gujarat region. The quality evaluation for this groundwater is very important tool for sustainable development and decision for water management. A survey work conducted during April-May, 2016 for ground water quality assessment of ‘Kheda district of middle Gujarat. A total of 160 groundwater samples, from shallow, springs, and deep aquifers, were collected, storage and analysed to evaluate its quality suitability for domestic and agriculture purposes. The result of quality of underground wells/tube wells water revealed that the EC values ranged 0.51 to 8.50 with a mean value of 2.04 dS m-1. The waters were alkaline in reaction (pH 7.97). The overall RSC values ranged from -4.80 to 10.50 with a mean value of 2.41 me L-1. The overall mean value of SSP was found 34.34, which varied from 8.00 to 77.26. The SAR values ranged from 0.36 to 29.96 with a mean value of 7.48.

The H-poor nature of incompletely melted planetesimals: The view from acapulcoites and lodranites

The abundance of H in planetary building blocks is of fundamental importance for constraining the evolution of the terrestrial planets. It is commonly assumed that chondrites are the principal sources of Earth’s H; however, recent studies have suggested that primitive achondrites and achondrites may retain a small complement of H. There are few constraints on the H budgets of primitive achondrites, which represent the transition from unmelted to melted planetesimals, but prior work suggests that bulk parent body H contents are several orders of magnitude lower than typical chondritic values. Therefore, to provide further constraints on H retention during the transition from unmelted to melted planetesimals, we have measured the H contents of olivine, orthopyroxene, clinopyroxene, and plagioclase from a suite of acapulcoite-lodranite clan meteorites. Acapulcoite-lodranite clan meteorites represent the “prototypical” primitive achondrite parent body and have bulk major element compositions more akin to the Earth than previously studied primitive achondrites (e.g., the ureilites). We find that the H2O contents of olivine (∼5–12 µg/g H2O), orthopyroxene (∼3–10 µg/g H2O), and clinopyroxene (∼5–8 µg/g H2O) are broadly similar, while plagioclase (∼2.5–5 µg/g H2O) tends to be offset to lower values. Using a simple, single-stage batch-melting model, we calculate a preferred maximum acapulcoite-lodranite parent body H2O content of 38 µg/g, which is similar to other estimates for primitive achondritic and achondritic parent bodies. Furthermore, assuming chondrite-like precursor materials, our data are consistent with efficient loss of H prior to or during the onset of melting of early-formed planetesimals. This requires that Earth’s H-budget was dominated by building blocks that underwent minimal thermal processing.

From Plant to Chemistry: Sources of Antinociceptive Non-Opioid Active Principles for Medicinal Chemistry and Drug Design.

Pain is associated with many health problems and a reduced quality of life and has been a common reason for seeking medical attention. Several therapeutics are available on the market, although side effects, physical dependence, and abuse limit their use. As the process of pain transmission and modulation is regulated by different peripheral and central mechanisms and neurotransmitters, medicinal chemistry continues to study novel ligands and innovative approaches. Among them, natural products are known to be a rich source of lead compounds for drug discovery due to their chemical structural variety and different analgesic mechanisms. Numerous studies suggested that some chemicals from medicinal plants could be alternative options for pain relief and management. Previously, we conducted a literature search aimed at identifying natural products interacting either directly or indirectly with opioid receptors. In this review, instead, we have made an excursus including active ingredients derived from plants whose mechanism of action appears from the literature to be other than the modulation of the opioid system. These substances could, either by themselves or through synthetic and/or semi-synthetic derivatives, be investigated in order to improve their pharmacokinetic characteristics and could represent a valid alternative to the opioid approach to pain therapy. They could also be the basis for the study of new mechanisms of action in the approach to this complex and disabling pathology.

The Evolution of a Disaster

This essay explores how Gregory I (bishop of Rome, 590–604) depicted two Lombard sieges of Rome, traditionally dated to 592 and 593. These events, when they are discussed, are typically presented in a litany of disasters that befell Rome at the end of the sixth century. Plague, famine, flooding, and ultimately the “swords of the Lombards” were the depressing context of Gregory’s pontificate. However, a close examination of Gregory’s letters, the principal source for Rome in this period, reveals that the bishop’s presentation of these Lombard attacks evolved considerably between 591 and 595. Indeed, it was only in response to several controversies with the East, including criticisms by the exarch Romanus and especially the use of the title universalis episcopus (typically translated into English as ecumenical patriarch) by Patriarch John IV of Constantinople (582–95), that Gregory came to recast the Lombard campaigns as disasters for Rome and the causes of great suffering. Rome’s suffering then served as a rhetorical foil against which Gregory contrasted what he saw as the callous neglect of imperial officials and especially John’s prideful asceticism performed in the safety of Constantinople.