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Nile Tamarisk
''Tamarix nilotica'', the Nile tamarisk is a species of shrub or small tree in the tamarisk family. It is found in arid parts of North Africa and the Middle East, particularly areas with high salinity. It forms part of the dune stabilisation process. Description ''Tamarix nilotica'' is a much-branched shrub or small tree up to high. The twigs are slender and are half-clasped by the tiny, narrow, lanceolate leaves, up to long. The inflorescence is a raceme long, with many small white or pink flowers, each with a short pedicel, five sepals, five petals and five stamens. Distribution and habitat ''Tamarix nilotica'' is found in Lebanon, Palestine, Egypt, Sudan, Somalia, Ethiopia and Kenya. In the Nile Valley in Egypt, this tree grows beside the river and the irrigation channels. It can form dense thickets in suitable locations. It is also found as part of a salt-tolerant community in saline depressions in the Western Desert, and on coastal dunes where its deep roots are able to ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Christian Gottfried Ehrenberg
Christian Gottfried Ehrenberg (19 April 1795 – 27 June 1876) was a German naturalist, zoologist, comparative anatomist, geologist, and microscopist. Ehrenberg was an evangelist and was considered to be of the most famous and productive scientists of his time. Early collections The son of a judge, Christian Gottfried Ehrenberg was born in Delitzsch, near Leipzig. He first studied theology at the University of Leipzig, then medicine and natural sciences in Berlin and became a friend of the famous explorer Alexander von Humboldt. In 1818, he completed his doctoral dissertation on fungi, ''Sylvae mycologicae Berolinenses.'' In 1820–1825, on a scientific expedition to the Middle East with his friend Wilhelm Hemprich, he collected thousands of specimens of plants and animals. He investigated parts of Egypt, the Libyan Desert, the Nile valley and the northern coasts of the Red Sea, where he made a special study of the corals. Subsequently, parts of Syria, Arabia and Abyss ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Alhagi Maurorum
''Alhagi maurorum'' is a species of legume commonly known, variously, as camelthorn, camelthorn-bush, Caspian manna, and Persian mannaplant. This shrub is native to the region extending from the Mediterranean to Russia, but has been introduced to many other areas of the world, including Australia, southern Africa, and the western United States. The perennial plant grows from a massive rhizome system which may extend over six feet into the ground. New shoots can appear over 20 feet from the parent plant. Above the ground, the plant rarely reaches four feet in height. It is a heavily branched, gray-green thicket with long spines along the branches. It bears small, bright pink to maroon pea flowers and small legume pods, which are brown or reddish and constricted between the seeds. The seeds are mottled brown beans. Distribution ''Alhagi maurorum'' is indigenous to temperate and tropical Eurasia and the Middle East, in: Afghanistan; Armenia; Azerbaijan; northwest China; Cyprus; no ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Aphrodisiac
An aphrodisiac is a substance that increases sexual desire, sexual attraction, sexual pleasure, or sexual behavior. Substances range from a variety of plants, spices, foods, and synthetic chemicals. Natural aphrodisiacs like cannabis or cocaine are classified into plant-based and non-plant-based substances. There are non-naturally-occurring aphrodisiacs like MDMA and methamphetamine. Aphrodisiacs can be classified by their type of effects (i.e., psychological or physiological). Aphrodisiacs that contain hallucinogenic properties like Bufotenin have psychological effects on a person that can increase sexual desire and sexual pleasure. Aphrodisiacs that contain smooth muscle relaxing properties like yohimbine have physiological effects on a person that can affect hormone levels and increase blood flow. It is possible that the aphrodisiac effect of a substance is due to the placebo effect. Other substances that impede on areas that aphrodisiacs aim to enhance are classified as an ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Inflammation
Inflammation (from la, wikt:en:inflammatio#Latin, inflammatio) is part of the complex biological response of body tissues to harmful stimuli, such as pathogens, damaged cells, or Irritation, irritants, and is a protective response involving immune cells, blood vessels, and molecular mediators. The function of inflammation is to eliminate the initial cause of cell injury, clear out necrotic cells and tissues damaged from the original insult and the inflammatory process, and initiate tissue repair. The five cardinal signs are heat, pain, redness, swelling, and Functio laesa, loss of function (Latin ''calor'', ''dolor'', ''rubor'', ''tumor'', and ''functio laesa''). Inflammation is a generic response, and therefore it is considered as a mechanism of innate immune system, innate immunity, as compared to adaptive immune system, adaptive immunity, which is specific for each pathogen. Too little inflammation could lead to progressive tissue destruction by the harmful stimulus (e.g. b ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Headache
Headache is the symptom of pain in the face, head, or neck. It can occur as a migraine, tension-type headache, or cluster headache. There is an increased risk of depression in those with severe headaches. Headaches can occur as a result of many conditions. There are a number of different classification systems for headaches. The most well-recognized is that of the International Headache Society, which classifies it into more than 150 types of primary and secondary headaches. Causes of headaches may include dehydration; fatigue; sleep deprivation; stress; the effects of medications (overuse) and recreational drugs, including withdrawal; viral infections; loud noises; head injury; rapid ingestion of a very cold food or beverage; and dental or sinus issues (such as sinusitis). Treatment of a headache depends on the underlying cause, but commonly involves pain medication (especially in case of migraine or cluster headache). A headache is one of the most commonly experienced ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Antipyretic
An antipyretic (, from ''anti-'' 'against' and ' 'feverish') is a substance that reduces fever. Antipyretics cause the hypothalamus to override a prostaglandin-induced increase in temperature. The body then works to lower the temperature, which results in a reduction in fever. Most antipyretic medications have other purposes. The most common antipyretics in the US are usually ibuprofen and aspirin, which are nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) used primarily as anti-inflammatories and analgesics (pain relievers), but which also have antipyretic properties; and paracetamol (acetaminophen), an analgesic without anti-inflammatory properties. There is some debate over the appropriate use of such medications, since fever is part of the body's immune response to infection. A study published by the Royal Society claims that fever suppression causes at least 1% more influenza deaths in the United States, or 700 extra deaths per year. Non-pharmacological treatment Bathing or ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Antiseptic
An antiseptic (from Greek ἀντί ''anti'', "against" and σηπτικός ''sēptikos'', "putrefactive") is an antimicrobial substance or compound that is applied to living tissue/skin to reduce the possibility of infection, sepsis, or putrefaction. Antiseptics are generally distinguished from ''antibiotics'' by the latter's ability to safely destroy bacteria within the body, and from ''disinfectants'', which destroy microorganisms found on non-living objects. Antibacterials include antiseptics that have the proven ability to act against bacteria. Microbicides which destroy virus particles are called viricides or antivirals. Antifungals, also known as antimycotics, are pharmaceutical fungicides used to treat and prevent mycosis (fungal infection). Surgery The widespread introduction of antiseptic surgical methods was initiated by the publishing of the paper ''Antiseptic Principle of the Practice of Surgery'' in 1867 by Joseph Lister, which was inspired by Louis Pasteur's ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Traditional Medicine
Traditional medicine (also known as indigenous medicine or folk medicine) comprises medical aspects of traditional knowledge that developed over generations within the folk beliefs of various societies, including indigenous peoples, before the era of modern medicine. The World Health Organization (WHO) defines traditional medicine as "the sum total of the knowledge, skills, and practices based on the theories, beliefs, and experiences indigenous to different cultures, whether explicable or not, used in the maintenance of health as well as in the prevention, diagnosis, improvement or treatment of physical and mental illness". Traditional medicine is often contrasted with scientific medicine. In some Asian and African countries, up to 80% of the population relies on traditional medicine for their primary health care needs. When adopted outside its traditional culture, traditional medicine is often considered a form of alternative medicine. Practices known as traditional medicines ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Nabkha
A nabkha, nebkha or nebka is a type of sand dune. Other terms used include coppice dune and dune hummock or hummocky dune, but these more accurately refer to similar, but different, sand dune types.Langford, R. P. (2000)Nabkha (coppice dune) fields of south-central New Mexico, USA. ''Journal of Arid Environments'' 46(1) 25-41. Authors have also used the terms phytogenic hillock,El-Sheikh, M. A., et al. (2010)Vegetation ecology of phytogenic hillocks (nabkhas) in coastal habitats of Jal Az-Zor National Park, Kuwait: Role of patches and edaphic factors.''Flora'' 205(12) 832-40. bush-mound, shrub-coppice dune, knob dune, dune tumulus, rebdou, nebbe, and takouit.Khalaf, F. I., et al. (1995)Sedimentological and morphological characteristics of some nabkha deposits in the northern coastal plain of Kuwait, Arabia. ''Journal of Arid Environments'' 29(3) 267-92. In simplest terms, a nabkha is a sand dune that forms around vegetation. It is an aeolian landform, a structure built and shape ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Cressa Cretica
''Cressa cretica'' is a species of flowering plant in the morning glory family. It is found in northern and central Africa, southern Europe and western Asia, as well as parts of southeastern Asia and Australia. It has long been used in traditional medicine and research has demonstrated that it has some therapeutic effects. Description ''Cressa cretica'' is a densely branching subshrub growing to a height of about . The leaves are small, stubby, obtuse and clad in silky hairs. The flowers grow in groups in the axils of the upper leaves and are white; the back of the reflexed corolla lobes are hairy near the tip. The fruits are ovoid, pointed capsules, usually containing a single seed. Etymology Cressa: Greek, based on kris or kriti, “from Crete”, a Cretan woman. Distribution and habitat ''Cressa cretica'' is known from the Mediterranean part of Europe, northern and central Africa, the Arabian Peninsula, the Middle East and western Asia as far east as India and Sri Lanka. It ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Zygophyllum Album
''Tetraena alba'' (synonym ''Zygophyllum album'') is a species of plant in the family Zygophyllaceae which is found in arid regions of Africa and the Arabian Peninsula. It is a salt tolerant plant and dominates many of the plant communities in which it grows. Description ''Tetraena alba'' is a low, much-branched shrub. The leaves have paired obovoid, fleshy leaflets which are whitish with mealy pubescence. The small flowers are solitary and grow in the axils of the leaves; they have white, clawed petals. The fruit is a five-lobed, pear-shaped capsule containing elliptical seeds with wart-like projections. Distribution This species is found in Spain, Crete, Northern and Northeast Africa, Mauritania, Western Asia (including southern Cyprus, the Eastern Aegean Islands and the Sinai Peninsula) and the Arabian Peninsula. Ecology ''Tetraena alba'' is a salt-tolerant plant; it does not have glands to secrete the excess salt it takes up, instead it concentrates the salt in its leaves ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Phragmites
''Phragmites'' () is a genus of four species of large perennial reed grasses found in wetlands throughout temperate and tropical regions of the world. Taxonomy The World Checklist of Selected Plant Families, maintained by Kew Garden in London, accepts the following four species: * ''Phragmites australis'' ( Cav.) Trin. ex Steud. – cosmopolitan * ''Phragmites japonicus'' Steud. – Japan, Korea, Ryukyu Islands, Russian Far East * ''Phragmites karka'' ( Retz.) Trin. ex Steud. – tropical Africa, southern Asia, Australia, some Pacific Islands, invasive in New Zealand * ''Phragmites mauritianus'' Kunth – central + southern Africa, Madagascar, Mauritius The cosmopolitan common reed has the generally accepted botanical name ''Phragmites australis''. (Cav.) Trin. ex Steud. About 130 other synonyms have been proposed. Examples include ''Phragmites communis'' Trin., ''Arundo phragmites'' L., and ''Phragmites vulgaris'' (Lam.) Crép. (illegitimate name). Wildlife in reed beds ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
