Ergot
Ergot (Claviceps purpurea Tul.) is a poisonous fungus that is hazardous to animals and humans. It appears to be a small, hard, black, elongated structure that grows on and contaminants grains, which is called scelrotium. The appearance tends to look like mold. When eaten in quantity or small amounts over a period of time it can be highly toxic. Furthermore, it is a major problem for humans in North America but even more severe for animals. Humans are susceptible to being contaminated with this poisonous fungus because ergot can grow on mushrooms, rye, wheat, and barley. These are products that humans ingest everyday. Ergot is the most notorious poison because it includes several species of ascomycete fungi with complex life cycles that parasitize the grains of various cultivated and wild grasses. Therefore, it is necessary to check for ergot contamination, especially if they are home-grown grains.
The epidemic or spreading phase of the ergot fungus occurs at the same time the grasses are in flower. Fungal spores infect the ovaries of the mature flower of the host plant. These develop mycelia (fine threadlike filaments). At this initial infection an excretion of honeydew (moist, sticky secretion) stage, develops and the mycelia continue to grow within the ovaries of the host and become sclerotia (fruiting bodies). A sclerotium appears as a cylindrical, three sided body, slightly curved, hornlike, hard, grooved on one or both sides, dark purple next to black that is 1/3 to 1 1/2 inches long and 1/8 to 1/4 inches wide. There is a very unpleasant aroma (odor), which is somewhat fishy. The developed sclerotia finally falls to the ground to germinate in the summer at once or may wait until after the winter and germinate the ...
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...y resulting in poisoning of animals by plants, in this instance has the opposite effect. It allows pasture grasses to develop an inflorescence and become potentially dangerous (86-87).
REFERENCES
Fuller, Thomas, and Elizabeth McClintock (1986). Poisonous Plants of California. Berkley, LA: University of California Press. p. 15-20.
Kingsbury, John M. (1964a). Poisonous plants of the United Canada States and. Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey: Prentice-Hall, Inc. p. 79-86.
Kingsbury, John M. (1968b). Harvest. New York, Chicago, San Francisco: Holt Rinehart and Winston. P. 34-37.
Morton, Julia F.D.Sc. (1977). Major Medicinal Plants Botany, Culture, and Uses. USA, Springfield: Charles C. Thomas Publisher. P. 4-9.
Szezawinski, Adam PhD, and Nancy J. Turner. (1991). Common Poisonous Plants and Mushrooms of North America. Portland, Oregon: Timber Press. p. 64-66.
Al to Al(OH)4 – (aq). Cut and Measure approximately one gram of aluminum off the side of a soda can. Take a piece of stainless steel scouring pad to remove the coating from both sides of the aluminum. Cut the Aluminum into smaller pieces to increase the surface area so the rate of the chemical reaction can increase and dissolve more quickly. Reweigh the aluminum to determine its exact mass. In a hood, add the aluminum to a 400mL beaker containing 50mLs of KOH potassium hydroxide. Allow the solution to sit until all of the aluminum has dissolved. This process could take up to 20 minutes. You may also need to use a low heat setting on a hot plate. During the reaction, the product will turn a dark grey color. The reaction is complete once all of the aluminum has dissolved and hydrogen gas ceases to evolve. After the aluminum has dissolved use gravity filtration to remove all solids from the solution, collect the solution into a 250 mL Erlenmeyer
Aluminum is a lightweight, silvery metal. The atomic weight of aluminum is 26.9815; the element melts at 660° C (1220° F), boils at 2467° C (4473° F), and has a specific gravity of 2.7. Aluminum is a strongly electropositive metal and extremely reactive. In contact with air, aluminum rapidly becomes covered with a tough, transparent layer of aluminum oxide that resists further corrosive action. For this reason, materials made of aluminum do not tarnish or rust. The metal reduces many other metallic compounds to their base metals. For example, when thermite (a mixture of powdered iron oxide and aluminum) is heated, the aluminum rapidly removes the oxygen from the iron; the heat of the reaction is sufficient to melt the iron. This phenomenon is used in the thermite process for welding iron .
The multiple use of plants used for nourishment, medicinal purposes and practical use were ignored by Lewis and Clark during their monumental trek across the United States. Rather than consider the Native Indian’s use of native plants they persisted on using Dr. Rush’s Thunderbolt pills that probably caused more problems than the condition that inflicted them. Many modern day cultures continue to ignore native remedies and have come to depend on synthetic pharmaceutical drug production. In recent years the wealth of indigenous knowledge has been acknowledged revealing the use of native plants and the importance it had in the survival of indigenous people.. Pharmaceutical companies have utilized the immense knowledge of the indigenous people and their use of natural plants. The application of natural plant species have revealed the main reasons mankind has survived into present day. Following is a few of the plants, their application and their specific purposes.
Hewes, Henry. “ A Plant Grows in Chicago,” in Saturday Review, Vol. XLII, No. 14, April 4, 1959, p. 28.
The book “1984” by George Orwell is a fictional work that was penned as a discourse on Orwell’s views of what it would be like to live in a totalitarianism society. It is my belief that his views were based on his personal life experiences as he witnessed first hand many of the violent crimes perpetuated by those in positions of authority. Often, these crimes against one segment of society were carried out by other members of the same society in the name of political advancement or at other times out of fear for one’s life. Due to his experiences, Orwell began to write of his hatred of political power and the concept of a totalitarianism society. “1984” serves as a warning to readers of how a government can become abusive when seeking total control of it’s population. Furthermore, it showcases in great detail how a society can allow itself to be controlled through a series of psychological abuses and manipulation of historical information.
Moore, Michael. "Mistletoe." Medicinal Plants of the Mountain West. Santa Fe: Museum of New Mexico, 2003. 164-65. Print.
Schumann, Gail L., and Cleora J. D'Arcy. Hungry Planet: Stories of Plant Diseases. St. Paul: American Phytopathological Society, 2012. Print.
In 1843, lantana, a noxious weed from Central America, made its way to Australia as an ornamental shrub. Lantana rapidly infested approximately 4 million hectares. Recently new bio control ideas have come to light, such as using Eriophyoidea, which is a mite. Many mite species are virulent parasites. Seven species of Eriophyoidea are known to associate with the lantana, such as Calacarus lantanae Boczek and Chandrapatya, Diptilomiopus camarae Mohanasundaram, Eriophyes lantanae, Paraphytoptus magdalenae Craemer, Phyllocoptes lantanae Abou-Awad and El-Banhawy, Rhynacus kraussi Keifer, and Shevtchenkella stefneseri Craemer. There are many other types of mites that have been known to attack different linages of lantana. If mites were released into
George Orwell’s 1984 is a novel that explores the effects of totalitarianism. Totalitarianism is one political power ruling over all aspects of daily life. Orwell’s totalitarian government uses Big Brother, the Thought Police, the telescreen and Two-Minutes of Hate to show the control over the people of Oceania and their lack of independence.
This very poisonous plant acquired its name from Theophrastus back in the third century B.C. It has been termed "the Mandragora of Theophrastus." It's English name, Dwaule, is derived from a Dutch word dwaul, meaning to wander or to be delirious.(1) It is a perennial herb, and one of the more important species of the nightshade family. Because it is so poisonous it was given the name Atropos, which is the Greek word for inflexible. Another meaning is that it refers to "one of three Fates who cut the thread of life."(2)
For years Professor Mary Kilbourne Matossian has been testing and believing that the infected rye was caused by ergot (Star-News 1). Historians have found no conspiracies in the group of peasants, which leads them to believe that it was cause by the fungus. Allegedly in France they had a bad crop of rye that year, which was caused by the cold winter and wet spring (Microbes and Society 170). They now believe that them conditions lead to the spread of ergot. The land prevailed that year in NOrthern France where rye bread was the staple of the peasant diet (Feinberg 1), which is why most believe that it is the leading cause of the
Janick. J. (2011). Center for New Crops & Plant Products - Department of Horticulture and
"Chemical Elements.com - Aluminum (Al)." Chemical Elements.com - Aluminum (Al). N.p., n.d. Web. 19 Mar. 2014. .
The novel 1984 by George Orwell presents the readers an image of a totalitarian society that explores a world of control, power, and corruption. The main idea of government control presents itself in the novel by protecting and listening to the people of Oceania. However, Orwell suggests giving too much power to the government is a mistake because eventually the decisions they make will not be about the people anymore but rather themselves. In 1984, the power and corruption the party has is overwhelming for the people. There are no ways around the beliefs of the Party, the party attempts to control and eventually destroy any mental or physical resistance against their beliefs. The agenda for the party is to obtain mind control over its people and force them to adore their leader. The methods the Party uses to achieve its goal are: the use of constant propaganda and surveillance, the rewriting of history, and Room 101.
The outlook to the future is usually one filled with hope. When failures of the past and present problems collide together, the future is often seen as a place of hope. This mindset was no different in Britain during the mid 20th century, especially in the late 1940’s. World War II had finally ended, the days of fighting Nazi Germany was behind everyone but present circumstances were bleak. Britain was still recovering from the effects of World War II and handling the transition of a new socialist democratic government. From the east there loomed Stalin’s Soviet Union with its communism government and Totalitarian ruling mindset. Many were oblivious to the facts surrounding communism and looked hopefully to it. The reason for this was as Mitzi Brunsdale states because of “all kinds of personal and social inadequacies” (139). Many in the west were discouraged with present conditions and looked to Stalinism for hope. Many of the “Western support for Stalin often took the form of neo-religious adulation” (Brunsdale139). On the other hand, George Orwell stood in direct opposition. This resistance against the Totalitarian rule of Stalin was especially expressed in one of his most popular books called 1984, which “brings home to England the experience of countless who suffered in Totalitarian regimes of Eastern Europe” (Meyers 114). George Orwell through his life experiences and through the accounts of others had seen the dangers of Totalitarianism. In 1984, George Orwell exposed three dangerous aspects of Totalitarianism by showing the oppression of the individual's in the story in order to show the true nature of Totalitarianism.