gotham news
By LARRY ROHTER
Published: November 20, 2005
PAQUIÇAMBA, Brazil - Here at the great bend of the mighty Xingu River, the Brazilian government is pushing to construct a dam that could end up being the world's second-largest, generating huge amounts of hydroelectric power. But the main beneficiaries of the project are not likely to be the Indian tribes or other local residents, but instead a government halfway across the world, in China.
To satisfy the appetite of a rapidly growing industrial base, state-owned Chinese companies have begun involving themselves in mining projects in the eastern Amazon, ranging from aluminum and steel to nickel and copper. Processing each of those materials requires large amounts of electricity, and the government of Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, intent on forming what he calls "a strategic alliance" with China, is eager to perform that task.
Meanwhile, the river dwellers whose lives will be disrupted by the dam predict it will cause extensive environmental damage and encourage an influx of poor settlers seeking jobs that will not exist. They also complain that they will not receive the power they have long been demanding of the government and will be forced to move.
"If this thing is built, then Lord help us," said José Carlos Arara, a leader of an Indian settlement perched above the river. "The Chinese are way over there. But we are right here, at the gateway of the dam without water, medical care or electricity, and rather than help us, our government wants to make things worse. If it were up to us, this dam would never be constructed."
Officials in Brasília, however, promise that the project, named Belo Monte after the site where it is to be built, will control the flow of the river so as to minimize its impact on the nine tribal groups that live here. They also say that because Brazil cannot afford not to build the dam, they will pay whatever price is necessary to placate the skeptics here.
"This is an important public works for a country like ours, which needs to take better advantage of its energy potential," Márcio Zimmerman, director of planning and development for the Ministry of Mines and Energy, said in a phone interview. "The north is a region that is in the process of industrialization and development, and hydroelectric power is a long-term source of energy that is cheap and renewable."
In its original form, the Belo Monte project dates to the 1970's, when it was presented as a solution to predicted energy shortages in the southern, industrialized part of Brazil. But environmental, human rights and indigenous groups opposed the plan from the start, in part because of its huge eventual costs, in the billions of dollars. The groups fought it in the courts and in Congress, and by the time the previous government left office in 2002, a court ruling appeared to have shelved Belo Monte for good.
But Mr. da Silva and his leftist Workers' Party came to power promising a battery of social initiatives, including a "Light for Everyone" program meant to bring electricity to poor and remote rural areas like this. Sensing an opportunity, proponents of Belo Monte dusted off the project and persuaded Mr. da Silva to make it a priority.
"There was dereliction in not building hydroelectric projects" in the previous government, Mr. da Silva said recently. "With the projects that are under way, we can permanently guarantee" supplies of energy to consumers "for 5, 6 or even 10 years down the line."
But in partnership with China, Brazil is also committed to large industrial projects in the Amazon that will consume huge amounts of electricity and employ relatively few people. Among them are a pair of large plants that will process bauxite, the raw material used to make aluminum, near Belém, the capital of Pará State in the eastern Amazon.
A Chinese company is planning to build a steel mill in São Luis, at the eastern edge of the Amazon, as part of a venture with a Brazilian company. In a separate project, a Brazilian company is already building another steel mill near Belém to meet the demand that is anticipated from the Chinese and American markets.
The iron ore for those projects comes from Carajas, south of here, which has the world's largest reserves. Copper to supply China and other markets is being extracted from the area, and building a copper smelter nearby is being discussed.
"Everything in the Amazon that is electricity-intensive has a big Chinese component and is getting strong official support, even though the main beneficiary will clearly be China, rather than Brazil," said Mr. Pinto, who wrote the book "Hydroelectric Projects in the Amazon." "Not only are the Chinese going to be investing a minimal amount themselves, but they will also be shifting the resulting pollution problems to the Amazon."
Mr. da Silva's government, mired in a corruption scandal that threatens his chances of being re-elected next year, is so eager to move ahead on the dam that in July it persuaded Congress to authorize the project, ignoring a requirement to confer with communities that would be affected. Opponents are challenging that action in the courts.
"Even though the Brazilian constitution says that we are supposed to be consulted, no one came to talk with us," said Manuel Juruna, the leader of the main community here. "We want them to know that for all of the indigenous peoples of the Xingu, this project can only destroy our traditional way of life by driving away fish, drying up our hunting areas and bringing in its place nothing but hardship and suffering."
In Brazil's industrialized south, little mention has been made of the dam's connection to Mr. da Silva's broader strategy of strengthening economic and political ties with China. That policy is coming under increasing criticism, especially in São Paulo, the nation's business capital, on the grounds that Brazil's national interests are being sacrificed.
Next Article in International (4 of 16) >

gotham news
Indignant Castro claims to feel `better than ever'

CUBA
Indignant Castro claims to feel `better than ever'In an hours-long speech at the University of Havana, Fidel Castro defiantly blasted President Bush, derided the CIA's belief that he has Parkinson's and likened himself to El Cid.BY FRANCES ROBLESfrobles@herald.com
Fidel Castro said he would step down if he became too ill to govern but he insisted he feels ''better than ever,'' a day after The Herald reported that the CIA is convinced he suffers from Parkinson's disease.
In an hours-long speech broadcast live on Thursday night on Cuban state television to commemorate the 60th anniversary of his entering the University of Havana, the 79-year-old blasted President Bush and the CIA for the war in Iraq and the use of secret jails to house terror suspects.
''They've said Parkinson's; what do you think of that?'' Castro told the audience of students and academics. ``I don't care if I get Parkinson's. The pope had Parkinson's, and he spent a bunch of years running all around the world.''
Showing no visible signs of health problems and dressed in his fatigues, Castro said he would not insist on remaining in power if he ever became too sick to lead the country.
''If I don't feel I'm in condition, I'll call the [Communist] Party and tell them I don't feel I'm in condition . . . that please, someone take over the command,'' he said.
But Castro also indicated such a scenario was unlikely to occur soon, saying he exercises regularly ``and don't neglect myself in any way.''
He said those who report his death will be let down.
''Disappointment follows disappointment,'' said Castro, in a speech peppered by occasional slurring and stuttering.
The Herald reported Wednesday that Central Intelligence Agency analysts are so certain Castro has Parkinson's disease that the agency last year began briefing U.S. policy makers. Reports that he suffers from the nonfatal but debilitating illness have swirled for nearly a decade, but this was the first time the CIA was reported to be convinced they are true.
Two longtime government officials familiar with the briefings said the CIA believes Castro was diagnosed around 1998. Both asked for anonymity because of the sensitivity of the issue.
Parkinson's symptoms include tremors, stiffness, difficulty with balance and muffled speech, although it varies according to the patient.
Castro fainted during a speech in a Havana suburb in 2001 and was seen almost collapsing during the inauguration of Argentine President Néstor Kirchner in 2003. He broke his knee and arm when he fell in public last year, and former Ecuadorean President Lucio Gutiérrez wrote in his recent book that he had to prop up a dozing Castro several times while sitting next to him at an international event.
The president of Cuba's national assembly, Ricardo Alarcón, was quoted in the Mexican paper El Sol de México, saying that he doesn't believe the reports came from the CIA.
Castro spoke for more than 4 ½ hours to his alma mater.
''I could be like El Cid Campeador,'' Castro said, referring to the medieval Spanish warrior. ``I would recommend that the [Communist] Party put me on a horse -- like Bush -- winning battles even after death.''

gotham news
Castro has Parkinson's disease, CIA has concluded
Two officials said the CIA is convinced that Cuban leader Fidel Castro suffers from Parkinson's disease. The agency has made a point of alerting U.S. policymakers.BY PABLO BACHELET AND FRANCES ROBLESpbachelet@herald.com
WASHINGTON - The CIA has alerted policymakers over the potential eroding of Fidel Castro's health.
The CIA recently concluded that Cuban leader Fidel Castro suffers from Parkinson's disease and has warned U.S. policymakers to be ready for trouble if the 79-year-old ruler's health erodes over the next few years.
If true, the CIA's assessment of the nonfatal but debilitating condition would mean Castro may be entering a period where doctors say the symptoms grow more evident, medicines are less effective and mental functions start to deteriorate.
Although Castro's brother Raúl, head of the armed forces, has been anointed as his successor, Cuba analysts fear the possibility of a tumultuous period during which an incapacitated Castro refuses to give up power but can no longer project his overpowering personality to Cuba's 11 million people.
''For Fidel to start shaking in a real and substantial way -- in public -- sends quite a powerful message to people around the world,'' said Frank O. Mora, a professor of national security strategy at The National War College.
Rumors that Castro suffers from Parkinson's have been around since the mid-1990s. In 1998, he even jokingly challenged journalists to a pistol duel at 25 paces to show the steadiness of his hands.
But the Central Intelligence Agency began briefing senior members of the State Department and lawmakers about one year ago that its doctors had become convinced that Castro was diagnosed with the disease around 1998, said two longtime government officials familiar with the briefings. Both asked for anonymity because leaking the contents of the classified briefing could violate U.S. laws.
''About one year ago, we started seeing some pretty definitive stuff that he had Parkinson's,'' said one of them.
There has been no independent confirmation of Castro's illness, or any indication of how the CIA came to its conclusion. The State Department and the CIA declined to comment for this story.
But one State Department official said there is already evidence that Castro's abilities are fading noticeably. He is increasingly slurring his words and going off on tangents in public speeches, although he seems to have good days and bad days. Clearly, ''he is not the same person he was five years ago,'' added the official.
Others insist that Castro is fine, however. ''He enjoys excellent health,'' Ricardo Alarcón, president of Cuba's National Assembly, said last month after he was asked about Castro's failure to attend the Ibero-American summit in Spain.
Parkinson's symptoms include tremors, stiffness, difficulty with balance and muffled speech, although its exact manifestations vary according to the victim. High-profile individuals stricken with the disease include the late Pope John Paul II, former U.S. Attorney General Janet Reno, actor Michael J. Fox and boxer Muhammad Ali.
Dr. Carlos Singer, a Parkinson's expert at the University of Miami, said the disease on average cuts short the lifespan of a patient only by one or two years. ''The issue is not as much how long they can live, it is how much do they suffer in the process,'' he said.
The first five to eight years usually are ''manageable with relatively small doses of medication,'' Singer said. After that, symptoms such as stooped postures and difficulties with balance become more evident. And in the advanced stages, about 40 percent of patients develop what one specialist on the disease called ``basically an overall decline in cognitive functions.''
DRUG EASES SYMPTOMS
The main drug to ease the symptoms of the disease is levodopa, which replenishes the brain with the dopamine chemical that is deficient in Parkinson's. Patients can program their activities around the periods when the drug is taking effect, known to doctors as ''on periods.'' But over time, the drug loses its effectiveness.
''As the disease slowly progresses, the medications have to be taken more frequently, at higher doses,'' said Paul Larson, a neurosurgeon and Parkinson's specialist at the University of California, San Francisco. 'But you eventually reach a point where the patient is fluctuating between an `on period' and an 'off period' so frequently that you can't, in essence, keep up with just medications.''
Possible side effects of levodopa are involuntary movements and facial grimaces, as well as visual hallucinations. As both Parkinson's and the drug can cause blood pressure to drop, patients can sometimes faint, Singer said.
FAINTED, NODDED OFF
Castro has displayed some signs of ill health in recent years, though perhaps no worse than other 79-year-olds.
Castro fainted during a speech in a Havana suburb in 2001 and was seen almost collapsing during the inauguration of Argentine President Néstor Kirchner in 2003. A public tumble last year left him with a fractured knee and arm, and former Ecuador President Lucio Gutiérrez wrote in his recent book that he had to prop up a nodding-off Castro several times while sitting next to him at an international event.
Cuba watchers also noted Castro was not shown touring the areas of Havana hit by Hurricane Wilma, something out of character for a man who has personally managed every crisis in Cuba since taking power in early 1959, from the 1961 Bay of Pigs invasion to the Elián González affair in 2000.
For U.S. policymakers, the report that Castro may suffer from Parkinson's has sparked concerns about Cuba's political stability down the road.
''It's going to be harder for Fidel to go out and perform, and he's been performing the guerrilla theater for 50 years,'' said Brian Latell, a retired CIA analyst on Cuba. Latell is the author of After Fidel, a new book about Castro and his brother Raúl, the world's longest-serving defense minister and the sole designated successor of Castro.
LARGER QUESTIONS
Damián Fernández, director of Florida International University's Cuban Research Institute, said the larger questions are how Castro's subordinates would react to his mental or physical erosion, and how that could affect Raúl's role as Cuba's No. 2.
''I envision Raúl trying to forge key alliances with subordinates in the military and among civilians to rule very tightly,'' he said. ''But I don't know how this could sustain itself without delivering benefits'' to the Cuban people.
That's assuming that Raúl, 74, does not die before his brother. That would leave Fidel without a clear successor and the powerful military, now controlled by the younger brother, without a widely recognized or respected leader.
The result might be political turmoil as senior government officials jockey for power with a Fidel Castro too infirm to make vital decisions.
''The revolution could be hanging by a thread,'' Latell said.
But that may be some time away. During his recent TV interview with Argentine soccer star Diego Maradona, Castro said that rumors of his health were so frequent that ``the day that I die, nobody is going to believe it.''
_krdDartInc++;
document.write('');

gotham news
ATTORNEY GENERAL TAKES ACTION AGAINST DEBT COLLECTORS
The Office of Minnesota Attorney General Mike Hatch filed lawsuits today against two debt collection agencies, Allied Interstate, Inc. and JBC and Associates, P.C. for engaging in business practices which violate Minnesota debt collection and consumer protection laws. Both companies are alleged to have used unlawful tactics to collect debts that were not valid or to collect money from the wrong Minnesota consumer.
“Debt collection agencies are becoming more emboldened and employing more aggressive collection activities. In the past, we've seen debt collectors use harassing techniques to collect debts. We are now seeing companies like JBC and Allied crossing the line by trying to coerce consumers into paying unsubstantiated debts and amounts that were not even owed by them in the first place,” said Solicitor General Lori Swanson.
The complaint against Allied Interstate, a Minnesota-based collection agency, alleges that the company has attempted to collect debts from the wrong person. The lawsuit outlines the following illegal collection practices by Allied:
• Failure to Provide Proper Notice. Allied often initiates its debt collection over the phone without sending a letter to the consumer. When consumers dispute the debt on the phone, the company does not tell them that the debt is valid unless they dispute it in writing; that Allied must verify the debt on written request by the consumer; and that Allied must cease collection on the disputed debt until verification of the debt is provided to the consumer.
• False Representation About the Status or Character of Debt. Allied has continued collection phone calls to innocent consumers, after consumers have orally told the debt collector they have the wrong person or that they do not owe the debt.
The second lawsuit alleges that JBC, a New Jersey-based collection agency, unlawfully attempts to collect debts for its clients with threats of legal action that cannot be taken. The complaint alleges:
• Attempts to Collect on Disputed Debts Without Providing Verification. JBC ignores timely, written disputes by consumers and continues collection efforts without providing the necessary verification. The law requires JBC to cease collection of disputed debts until the company mails verification to the consumer.
• Unlawful Threats to Sue on Time-Barred Debts. JBC improperly threatens legal action against Minnesota consumers for debts that are barred under Minnesota's six-year statute of limitations for civil claims on dishonored checks.
• False and Misleading Representation About $100 Civil Penalties. JBC threatens consumers with statutory penalties that are incorrect and are higher than state law. Minnesota law provides for a civil penalty up to $100, with the precise amount determined by a court. JBC nevertheless attempts to coerce consumers into automatically paying the $100 civil penalty without any determination by the court.
The lawsuits charge both companies with violating Minnesota's consumer protection and debt collection statutes. The Attorney General's Office is seeking to prohibit JBC and Allied from engaging in unlawful debt collection practices. The lawsuit also requests civil penalties, consumer restitution, costs and attorney's fees. The suit against Allied was filed in Hennepin County District Court, and the JBC lawsuit was filed in Ramsey County District Court.
BC is a California professional corporation with its headquarters located at 2 Broad Street, 6th floor, Bloomfield, New Jersey. Allied is a Minnesota corporation with its principal place of business located at 800 Interchange West, 435 Ford Road in Minneapolis.

View complaint against Allied Interstate click here View complaint against JBC & Associates click here
What to do when a collection agency calls click here
If you would like to file a complaint with the Minnesota Attorney General's Office click here

Office of Minnesota Attorney General Mike Hatch1400 Bremer Tower 445 Minnesota Street St. Paul, MN 55101 (651) 296-3353 1-800-657-3787 TTY: (651) 297-7206 TTY: 1-800-366-4812

gotham news
By JULIA PRESTON
Published: November 3, 2005
Of all the advances in the last decades in arresting and prosecuting rapists, none have been more revolutionary than testing of DNA, the genetic strands unique to each individual that can link a suspect to a sex crime with cool scientific certainty - a tool more trustworthy than a witness's recollection, or a host of other forensic measures.
DNA can remove much of the guesswork for the police and prosecutors, and it can reach back to grab those who committed crimes decades ago or were charged but dodged conviction. At the same time, DNA can relieve rape victims of the burden of identifying a predator who attacked from behind or in darkness, whose face they never saw, and it can bring a resolution to victims who gave up on justice years ago and learned to live with the injury.
But there is something DNA cannot do: replace the testimony of victims. They must still take the stand, and with that can come a measure of pain.
Kathleen Ham was raped in Manhattan 32 years ago. She wants her name to be public along with her account of the crime to show that she is not ashamed, and today she will testify in State Supreme Court in Manhattan, confronting for a second time the man accused of attacking her on a summer night in 1973.
She will recall how a man came through the window. How he pulled a sheet over her head, and held a knife at her throat. How she screamed and fought him, but was not as strong. How she never saw his face.
The first trial, in 1974, ended with a hung jury. Ms. Ham, 58, learned in April that the defendant, who is now known as Fletcher Anderson Worrell, had been conclusively matched to the assault by DNA. Since then, she has been forced to revisit the attack, and retrace the arc of a damaged life, the years of insomnia and self-rebuke that sometimes felt to her like a walking death.
"He's been out there for 32 years," Ms. Ham, a lawyer who lives in California, says in her warm voice turned gravelly by years of chain-smoking. "And I've been in my own private jail."
DNA helped to track Mr. Worrell, 59, back through the years, tying him as a suspect to at least 24 other rapes in New Jersey and Maryland, all of them committed after the rape of Ms. Ham.
Ms. Ham's three-decade story is framed by remarkable changes in the criminal justice system - especially rape prosecutions. Prosecutors have become skilled in sex crime cases, and in respectful handling of victims. Revised laws place fewer burdens on those who were attacked, and juries are more sympathetic.
Yesterday, she was torn with worry, but resolved. "I think underlying this," Ms. Ham said, "is a certain part of me that says that even if it hurts, things are supposed to be done right."
DNA has transformed thousands of other sex and violent crime cases across the country. The F.B.I., which maintains the national databank of DNA criminal case profiles, says that DNA has so far helped in the prosecution of 27,806 cases nationwide. DNA testing is unlocking old rape cases as fast as local law enforcement laboratories can analyze evidence and dispatch results to the databank. In the last few years, DNA helped to clarify seven unsolved rapes in New Iberia, La., three decade-old cases in Baltimore, dozens of cases in Ohio. DNA testing has provided new leads in more than 200 old rape cases in New York.
Mr. Worrell has sat calmly through a series of pretrial hearings, a stocky man of 5-foot-9 with broad arms and sloping shoulders. Described in court papers as a long-practicing Muslim, he came to court wearing a bushy beard and a macramé kufi cap. Mr. Worrell's lawyer, Michael F. Rubin, has asked the court to dismiss the case, arguing that New York authorities had information on his whereabouts years ago and should have arrested him then. The court denied the motion.
On the night of June 26, 1973, Ms. Ham had just moved to Manhattan, and was staying at a friend's studio apartment on West 21st Street in Chelsea. She had been a student at Berkeley in the 1960's, and was still a free spirit. In 1968 she had hitchhiked, on a whim, across Europe to Prague, to see the uprising there before the Russian tanks rolled in.
"I said, this is history, I have to see it," Ms. Ham said, drawing on a cigarette and describing her fearless younger self like a character from a novel she read and put away long ago. She is not tall, but has straight bearing, a sophisticate's language and a Park Avenue voice. A photograph from 1975 shows a smiling, slim woman with hair flowing to her shoulders, classic cheekbones and bold red lipstick. Today she is heavier, and her curls are closer-cropped.
She had come to a city very different from today's New York: shadowed with fiscal crisis, and crime so rampant that 13 police officers had been killed in the line of duty just two years before.
1
2
3Next Page >

gotham news
Cibotium is a genus of perhaps a dozen species of tropical tree fern - subject to much confusion and revision - distributed fairly narrowly in Hawaii (six species), Southeast Asia (three species), and the cloud forests of Central America (two species). Some of the species currently listed in the literature seem to be synonyms or local-variant sub-species. Cibotium glaucum, from Hawaii, is the most frequently encountered Cibotium species in the horticultural trade, together with its sibling species C. chamissoi and the potentially huge C. menziesii. The remaining Hawaiian Cibotium species, C. nealiae, is a one-metre dwarf variety, restricted to one island, and never seen in the horticultural trade. Precise identification of the Hawaiian Cibotiums is difficult, even for experts; however all have shiny and rather waxy fronds when viewed from above, with varying degrees of powdery-pale blush when seen from underneath. The dripping forests and stream gulleys of the cloud forests on Hawaii's volcanic slopes are the natural habitat of Cibotium.
Pressure on Hawaiian Cibotium habitats comes from development encroaching on the forested areas, especially the more accessible lower lying areas which are commercially attractive for land clearance. Another less obvious threat comes, somewhat ironically, from an invasive introduced tree fern species, Cyathea cooperi (the most popular garden tree fern in the United States), which has escaped from the islands' suburban gardens and now out-competes the endemic flora. Wind-blown spores from this rapidly growing Australian import can migrate many miles into pristine Cibotium forests. This is a fairly recent phenomenon, but one which may eventually have grave consequences for the tree fern ecology in Hawaii.
The other Cibotiums that often surface in botanical collections are C. schiedei and C. regale (Mexico), plus C. barometz (Asia). The latter species is best known for its role in ancient medicine, and even today its hairs are a staple ingredient in ointments used in natural Chinese remedies. The medieval world was beguiled by stories that claimed Cibotium barometz - the 'Scythian Lamb' - was in fact half-sheep, half vegetable.
There are no publically accessible Cibotium collections growing outdoors in the United Kingdom - although they are sometimes glimpsed in Californian garden designs - but there are two outstanding glasshouse collections at the Royal Botanical Gardens, Kew, and at RBG Edinburgh in Scotland.
Retrieved from "http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cibotium"

Young uncurling fronds of tree ferns are often eaten in the wild by animals and birds. Humans have also used tree ferns as a food source. The Aboriginal peoples of Australia, the peoples of Hawaii, India, Madagascar, New Guinea, New Caledonia, and the Maori in New Zealand are known to have used the pith from the center of the trunk as a starch source. The young uncurling fronds have also been eaten. This material is often full of silicates and resinous compounds and remains an acquired taste. For a short period in the 1920s, Cibotium starch was extracted in Hawaii commercially for laundry and food use (Nelson and Hornibrook 1962).
Several tree ferns have toxic or therapeutic properties; some have been explored for antiviral and medicinal uses. About 300 B.C., Theophrastus recommended oil extracted from ferns to expel internal parasites. Cyathea manniana (also called C. usambarensis) from East Africa has been used by the Chagga and by German troops in the First World War as an anthelmintic (Mabberley 1997). However, excessive or prolonged use is reported to cause blindness. The sappy gum from the large tree fern C. medullaris (native to the New Zealand region) is likewise a vermifuge. This gum is happily also a treatment for diarrhea.
Cyathea medullaris has many further uses, with extracts used for easing boils (T. Bell 1890). The slimy material from the interior of a young uncurling frond has also been rubbed on wounds or used in various ways to relieve sores, saddle sores on horses, swollen feet, and sore eyes (three applications per day were advised). The young fronds have also been boiled and the liquid drunk to assist the expulsion of afterbirth (O. Adams 1945). The small scales on the fronds of this species are often an irritant and are reported as having been used by inventive children as itching powder. Other members of the genus Cyathea provide a variety of medicinal uses. In Fiji, infusions made from frond material of C. lunulata were used to treat headaches as well as taken by expectant mothers to shorten the period of labor. On Pohnpei, also in the Pacific, fronds of C. nigricans were pounded, squeezed, and the liquid drunk as a contraceptive; there is no record of its success or otherwise. In Malesia, stems and frond extractions of C. moluccana have been used to poultice sores. (For further discussion see Burkill 1935, Cambie and Ash 1994, and Cambie and Brewis 1997.)
The use of tree fern fronds, stipes, scales, and trunks to treat wounds is widespread. Frond material of Cyathea mexicana (also known as Alsophila firma) has been used in Mexico to treat hemorrhaging. The four Hawaiian species of Cibotium are also traditionally used as a wound dressing, as is C. arachnoideum in Malaysia and the Indonesian portion of Borneo. Rhizome hairs from this latter species have also been used to staunch blood loss from open wounds. Similar use as a wound dressing has been made of Cyathea dealbata by the New Zealand Maori. The pith of this plant was used as a poultice for cutaneous eruptions. Ponga powder, probably from C. dealbata, was used by early New Zealand settlers for the reduction of fever, though its effectiveness is not recorded. A surviving package of "Mrs Subritzky's Ponga Powder" can still be found in the Wagner Museum, Northland, New Zealand (Brooker et al. 1981).
Cibotium barometz, from China and Malaysia, is still used medicinally. Hairs of the rhizome and stipe may be charred or used fresh as a wound dressing, and the fronds are used to ease fainting. This short fern, with its distinctive furry trunk, has long been considered to have magical properties. The rhizome (turned upside down with bud and four leaf bases) was passed off as the "vegetable lamb," a strange beast that was thought to be half animal and half plant. Stories of a vegetable lamb, or organism sharing both plant and animal characteristics, date to the time of Christ. One of the early descriptions may be found in Talmud Ierosolimitanum (A.D. 436). In the 14th century, John Mandeville brought to England the story of a fruit that enclosed a "a beast as it were of fleshe and bone and bloud, as it were a lyttle lambe without wolle" (Ashton 1890). There is no direct proof that these early stories specifically concern C. barometz, and they may refer to cotton or some similar plant. However, these descriptions have become mingled with later stories, specifically those concerning the Scythian lamb or lamb of Tartary, from India and Asia; the specific name barometz is a Tartar word, meaning lamb.
By the 16th century, even respectable scholars believed in the existence of this beast. Many early illustrations seem to show a dead dog supported on a stalk. In the early 18th century, several vegetable lambs were exhibited at the Royal Society, London. One of these specimens remains in the 18th-century collection of Hans Sloane, now in the Natural History Museum, London. There is little doubt that this lamb is formed from a rhizome of Cibotium barometz. In the 17th and 18th centuries, these lambs were fashioned by the Chinese to use as toys and charms to ward off evil.
Pengawar Djambi (more). Paku Eidang. Golden Moss.—This is composed of silky, long, yellow or brownish hairs, very soft, which are obtained in Sumatra from the base of the shrub of various ferns, especially Cibotium Link. (Fam. Cyatheaceae), a peculiar fern related to Dicksonia. (See also S. W. P., 1910, No. 43, 661.) It has the power of causing rapid coagulation of blood, and, when properly used, of mechanically arresting hemorrhages from capillaries. It has been much used. in the physiological laboratories of Europe and this country, and was employed in human medicine during the Middle Ages under the name of Agnus Scythicus. The medieval drug was composed of pieces of the rhizome with the attached scales and petioles so cut as to resemble animals. Interest in the pengawar djambi was revived on account of the assertions of Junker of its usefulness during the Franco-German war. (L. M. R., Dec., 1887.) It is undoubtedly a very efficient styptic.

gotham news
The Scientific Investigation of Ayahuasca
A Reviefw of Past and Current Research
by McKenna D, Callaway JC, Grob CS
Dennis J McKenna, PhD -- Heffter Research Institute
J C Callaway, PhD -- Department of Pharmaceutical Chemistry, University of Kuopio, Finland
Charles S Grob MD --Heffter Research Institute, Department of Psychiatry, Harbor/UCLA Medical Center,
Introduction Of the numerous plant psychotropics utilized by indigenous populations of the Amazon Basin, perhaps none is as interesting or complex, botanically, chemically, or ethnographically, as the beverage known variously as ayahuasca , caapi, or yage. The beverage is most widely known as ayahuasca , a Quechua term meaning "vine of the souls," which is applied both to the beverage itself and to one of the source-plants used in its preparation, the Malpighiaceous jungle liana, Banisteriopsis caapi (Schultes, 1957). In Brazil, transliteration of this Quechua word into Portuguese results in the name, Hoasca . Hoasca, or ayahuasca , occupies a central position in Mestizo ethnomedicine, and the chemical nature of its active constituents and the manner of its use makes its study relevant to contemporary issues in neuropharmacology, neurophysiology, and psychiatry. Traditional and Indigenous Uses of AyahuascaThe use of ayahuasca under a variety of names is a widespread practice among various indigenous aboriginal tribes endemic to the Amazon Basin (Schultes, 1957). Such practices undoubtedly were well established in pre-Columbian times, and in fact may have been known to the earliest human inhabitants of the region. Iconographic depictions on ceramics and other artifacts from Ecuador have provided evidence that the practice dates to at least 2000 B.C. (Naranjo, 1986). Its widespread distribution among numerous Amazonian tribes also argues for its relative antiquity. Considerable genetic intermingling and adoption of local customs followed in the wake of European contact, and ayahuasca , along with a virtual pharmacopoeia of other medicinal plants, gradually became integrated into the ethnomedical traditions of these mixed populations. Today the drug forms an important element of ethnomedicine and shamanism as it is practiced among indigenous Mestizo populations in Peru, Colombia, and Ecuador. The sociology and ethnography of the contemporary use of ayahuasca (as it is most commonly termed) in Mestizo ethnomedicine has been extensively described (Dobkin de Rios, 1972, 1973; Luna, 1984, 1986)Syncretic Religious Use of Ayahuasca From the perspective of the sociologist or the ethnographer, discussion of the use of ayahuasca or hoasca can conveniently be divided into a consideration of its use among indigenous aboriginal and mestizo populations, and its more recent adoption by contemporary syncretic religious movements such as the Uni' do Vegetal (UDV), Barquena, and Santo Daime sects in Brasil. It is within the context of acculturated groups such as these that questions regarding the psychological, medical, and legal aspects of the use of ayahuasca become most relevant, and also, most accessible to study.The use of ayahuasca in the context of mestizo folk medicine closely resembles the shamanic uses of the drug as practiced among aboriginal peoples. In both instances, the brew is used for curing, for divination, as a diagnostic tool and a magical pipeline to the supernatural realm. This traditional mode of use contrasts from the contemporary use of ayahuasca tea within the context of Brazilian syncretic religious movements. Within these groups, the members consume ayahuasca tea at regular intervals in group rituals in a manner that more closely resembles the Christian Eucharist than the traditional aboriginal use. The individual groups of the UDV, termed nucleos, are similar to a Christian Hutterite sect, in that each group has a limited membership, which then splits to form a new group once the membership expands beyond the set limit. The nucleo consists of the congregation, a group leader or mestre, various acolytes undergoing a course of study and training in order to become mestres, and a temple, an actual physical structure where the sacrament is prepared and consumed at prescribed times, usually the first and third Saturday of each month. The membership of these newer syncretic groups spans a broad socio-economic range and includes many educated, middle-class, urban professionals (including a number of physicians and other health professionals). Some older members have engaged in the practice for 30 or more years without apparent adverse health effects. The UDV and the Santo Daime sects are the largest and most visible of several syncretic religious movements in Brasil that have incorporated the use of ayahuasca into their ritual practices. Of the two larger sects, it is the UDV that possesses the strongest organizational structure as well as the most highly disciplined membership. Of all the ayahuasca churches in Brasil, the UDV has also been the most pivotal in convincing the government to remove ayahuasca from its list of banned drugs. In 1987, the government of Brasil approved the ritual use of hoasca tea ('hoasca' is a Portugese shortening of 'ayahuasca' and is sometimes used to differentiate UDV brew from non-UDV ayahuasca) in the context of group religious ceremonies. This ruling has potentially significant implications, not only for Brasil, but for global drug policy, as it marks the first time in over 1600 years that a government has granted permission to its non-indigenous citizens to use a psychedelic substance in the context of religious practices.Botanical, Chemical, and Pharmacological Aspects of AyahuascaAyahuasca is unique in that its pharmacological activity is dependent on a synergistic interaction between the active alkaloids in the plants. One of the components, the bark of Banisteriopsis caapi, contains ß-carboline alkaloids, which are potent MAO-A inhibitors; the other component, the leaves of Psychotria viridis or related species, contains the potent short-acting psychoactive agent N,N-dimethyltryptamine (DMT). DMT is not orally active when ingested by itself, but can be rendered orally active in the presence of a peripheral MAO inhibitor - and this interaction is the basis of the psychotropic action of ayahuasca (McKenna, Towers, & Abbott, 1984). 1 Botanical sources of ayahuascaIn a traditional context, Ayahuasca is a beverage prepared by boiling - or soaking - the bark and stems of Banisteriopsis caapi together with various admixture plants. The admixture employed most commonly is the Rubiaceous genus Psychotria, particularly P. viridis. The leaves of P. viridis contains alkaloids which are necessary for the psychoactive effect (see the sections on chemistry and pharmacology, below). There are also reports (Schultes, 1972) that other Psychotria species, especially P. leiocarpa or P. carthaginensis, are used instead of P. viridis, but such reports may be due to a botanical misidentification; in any case, use of Psychotria species other than P. viridis is rare. In the Northwest Amazon, particularly in the Colombian Putumayo and Ecuador, the leaves of Diplopterys cabrerana, a jungle liana in the same family as Banisteriopsis, are added to the brew in lieu of the leaves of Psychotria. The alkaloid present in Diplopterys, however, is identical to that in the Psychotria admixtures, and pharmacologically, the effect is the same. In Peru, various admixtures in addition to Psychotria or Dipolopterys are frequently added, depending on the magical, medical, or religious purposes for which the drug is being consumed. Although a virtual pharmacopoeia of admixtures are occasionally added, the most commonly employed admixtures (other than Psychotria, which is a constant component of the preparation) are various Solanaceous genera, including tobacco (Nicotiana sp.), Brugmansia sp., and Brunfelsia sp. (Schultes, 1972; McKenna, et al., 1995). These Solanaceous genera are known to contain alkaloids, such as nicotine, scopalamine, and atropine, which effect both central and peripheral adrenergic and cholinergic neurotransmission. The interactions of such agents with serotonergic agonists and MAO inhibitors are essentially unknown in modern medicine. 2 Chemistry of ayahuasca and its source plantsThe chemical constituents of ayahuasca and the source-plants used in its preparation have been well characterized (McKenna, et al., 1984; Rivier & Lindgren, 1972). Banisteriopsis caapi contains the ß-carboline derivatives harmine, tetrahydroharmine, and harmaline as the major alkaloids (Callaway, et al., 1996). Trace amounts of other ß-carbolines have also been reported (McKenna, et al., 1984; Rivier & Lindgren, 1972; Hashimoto and Kawanishi, 1975, 1976) as well as the pyrrolidine alkaloids shihunine and dihydroshihunine (Kawanishi et al. 1982). The admixture plant, Psychotria viridis, contains a single major alkaloid, N,N-dimethyltryptamine (DMT), while N-methyl tryptamine and methyl-tetrahydro-ß-carboline have been reported as trace constituents (McKenna, et al., 1984; Rivier & Lindgren, 1972). The admixture plant Psychotria carthagenensis has been reported to contain the same alkaloids (Rivier & Lindgren, 1972) but a subsequent investigation could not confirm the presence of DMT in the single collection examined (McKenna, et al., 1984). The concentrations of alkaloids reported in Banisteriopsis caapi range from 0.05 % dry weight to 1.95 % dry weight; in Psychotria, the concentration of alkaloids ranged from 0.1 to 0.66 % dry weight (McKenna, et al., 1984; Rivier & Lindgren, 1972). Similar ranges and values were reported by both groups of investigators.The concentrations of alkaloids in the ayahuasca beverages are, not surprisingly, several times greater than in the source plants from which they are prepared. Based on a quantitative analysis of the major alkaloids in several samples of ayahuasca collected on the upper Rio Purœs, Rivier & Lindgren (1972) calculated that a 200 ml dose of ayahuasca contained an average of 30 mg of harmine, 10 mg tetrahydroharmine, and 25 mg DMT. Callaway, et al., determined the following concentrations of alkaloids in the hoasca tea utilized in the biomedical study with the UDV (mg/ml): DMT, 0.24; THH, 1.07; harmaline, 0.20; and harmine 1.70. A typical 100 ml dose of hoasca thus contains in mg: DMT, 24; THH, 107; harmaline, 20; harmine, 170. Interestingly, these concentrations are above the threshold of activity for i.v. administration of DMT (Strassman & Qualls, 1994).McKenna et al. (1984) reported somewhat higher values for the alkaloid content of several samples of Peruvian ayahausca. These investigators calculated that a 100 ml dose of these preparations contained a total of 728 mg total alkaloid, of which 467 mg is harmine, 160 mg is tetrahydroharmine, 41 mg is harmaline, and 60 mg is DMT. This is well within the range of activity for DMT administered i.m. (Szara, 1956) or i.v. (Strassman & Qualls, 1994) and is also well within the range for harmine to act effectively as a monoamine oxidase inhibitor (MAOI). In vitro, these ß-carbolines function as MAOI at approximately 10 nM (e.g., harmine's IC50 for MAOI is ~1.25 x 10-8 M; cf. McKenna, et al., 1984; Buckholtz & Boggan, 1977). In mice, harmaline administered i.p. at 5 mg/kg causes 100% inhibition by 2 hours post-injection, the activity falling off rapidly thereafter (Udenfriend et al. 1958) This dose corresponds to approximately 375 mg in a 75 kg adult, but, based on the measured concentration of harmine in the liver, it is likely that one half this dose or less would also be effective. The reasons for the discrepancy in alkaloid concentrations between the samples examined by Rivier & Lindgren (1972) and those examined by McKenna, et al. (1984) are readily explained by the differences in the methods of preparation. The method employed in preparing ayahuasca in Pucallpa, Peru, where the samples analyzed by McKenna et al. (1984) were collected, results in a much more concentrated brew than the method employed on the upper Rio Purœs, the region which was the source of the samples examined by Rivier & Lindgren. The concentrations and proportions of alkaloids can vary significantly in different batches of ayahuasca , depending on the method of preparation, as well as the amounts and proportions of the source-plants. ß-carbolines, by themselves, may have some psychoactivity and thus may contribute to the overall psychotropic activity of the ayahuasca beverage; however, it is probably inaccurate to characterize the psychotropic properties of ß-carbolines as "hallucinogenic" or "psychedelic" (Shulgin & Shulgin, 1997). As MAO inhibitors, ß-carbolines can increase brain levels of serotonin, and the primarily sedative effects of high doses of ß-carbolines are thought to result from their blockade of serotonin deamination. The primary action of ß-carbolines in the ayahuasca beverage is their inhibition of peripheral MAO, which protects the DMT in the brew from peripheral degradation and thus renders it orally active. There is some evidence, however, that tetrahydroharmine (THH), the second most abundant ß-carboline in the beverage, acts as a weak 5-HT uptake inhibitor and MAOI. Thus, THH may prolong the half-life of DMT by blocking its intraneuronal uptake, and hence, its inactivation by MAO, localized in mitochondria within the neuron. On the other hand, THH may block serotonin uptake into the neuron, resulting in higher levels of 5HT in the synaptic cleft; this 5-HT, in turn, may attenuate the subjective effects of orally ingested DMT by competing with it at post-synaptic receptor sites (Callaway, et al., 1997).3 Pharmacological actions of Ayahuasca and its Active AlkaloidsThe psychotropic activity of ayahuascais a function of the peripheral inactivation of MAO by the ß-carboline alkaloids in the mixture. This action prevents the peripheral oxidative deamination of the DMT, which is the primary psychotropic component, rendering it orally active and enabling it to reach its site of action in the CNS in an intact form. (McKenna, et al 1984; Schultes, 1972). DMT alone is inactive following oral administration at doses up to 1000 mg (Shulgin, 1982; Nichols, et al. 1991). DMT is active by itself following parenteral administration starting at around 25 mg (Szara, 1956; Strassman & Qualls, 1994). Because of its oral inactivity, various methods of parenteral administration are employed by users. For example, synthetic DMT is commonly smoked as the free base; in this form, the alkaloid volatilizes readily and produces an immediate, intense psychedelic episode of short duration (5 -15 min), usually characterized by multicolored, rapidly moving visual patterns behind the closed eyelids (Stafford, 1977). The Yanomamo Indians and other Amazonian tribes prepare a snuff from the sap of various trees in the genus Virola, which contain large amounts of DMT and the related compound, 5-methoxy-DMT, which is also orally inactive (McKenna, et al. 1985; Schultes and Hofmann, 1980). The effects of the botanical snuffs containing DMT, while not as intense as smoking DMT free base, are similarly rapid in onset and of limited duration [unpublished data]. The ayahuasca beverage is unique in that it is the only traditionally used psychedelic where the enzyme-inhibiting principles in one plant (ß-carbolines) are used to facilitate the oral activity of the psychoactive principles in another plant (DMT). The psychedelic experience which follows ingestion of ayahuasca differs markedly from the effects of parenterally ingested DMT; the time of onset is approximately 35-40 minutes after ingestion, and the effects, which are less intense than parenterally administered synthetic DMT, last approximately four hours. The subjective effects of ayahuasca include phosphene imagery seen with the eyes closed, dream-like reveries, and a feeling of alertness and stimulation. Peripheral autonomic changes in blood pressure, heart-rate, etc., are also less pronounced in ayahuasca than parenteral DMT. In some individuals, transient nausea and episodes of vomiting occur, while others are rarely affected in this respect. When ayahuasca is taken in a group setting, vomiting is considered a normal part of the experience and allowances are made to accommodate this behavior (Callaway, et al., 1997). The amounts of ß-carbolines present in a typical dose of ayahuasca are well above the threshold for activity as MAOI. It is likely that the main contribution of the ß-carbolines to the acute effects of ayahuasca results from their facilitation of the oral activity of DMT, through their action as peripheral MAOI. It is worthy of note that ß-carbolines are highly selective inhibitors of MAO-A, the form of the enzyme for which serotonin, and presumably other tryptamines, including DMT, are the preferred substrates (Yasuhara, et al., 1972; Yasuhara, 1974). This selectivity of ß-carbolines for MAO-A over MAO-B, combined with their relatively low affinity for liver MAO compared to brain MAO, may explain why reports of hypertensive crises following the ingestion of ayahuasca have not been documented. On the other hand, Suzuki, et al., (1981) has reported that DMT is primarily oxidized by MAO-B; it is possible, therefore, that high concentrations of ß-carbolines, partially inhibit MAO-B as well as MAO-A; but the greater affinity of tyramine for MAO-B enables it to compete for binding to the enzyme and displace any residual ß-carbolines. This mechanism would explain the lack of any reports of peripheral autonomic stimulation associated with the ingestion of ayahuasca in combination with foods containing tyramine (Callaway, et al., 1997).DMT and its derivatives and the ß-carboline derivatives are widespread in the plant kingdom (Allen & Holmstedt, 1980) and both classes of alkaloids have been detected as endogenous metabolites in mammals, including man (Bloom, et al. 1982; Barker, et al. 1981a; Airaksinen & Kari, 1981). Methyl transferases which catalyze the synthesis of DMT, 5-methoxy-DMT, and bufotenine have been characterized in human lung, brain, blood, cerebrospinal fluid, liver, and heart, and also in rabbit lung, toad, mouse, steer, guinea pig, and baboon brains, as well as in other tissues in these species (McKenna & Towers, 1984). Endogenous psychotogens have been suggested as possible etiological factors in schizophrenia and other mental disorders, but the evidence remains equivocal (Fischman, 1983). Although the occurrence, synthesis, and degradative metabolism of DMT in mammalian systems has been the focus of recent scientific investigations (Barker, et al. 1981b), the candidacy of DMT as a possible endogenous psychotogen essentially ended when experiments showed comparable levels in both schizophrenics and normals. At present the possible neuroregulatory functions of this "psychotomimetic" compound are incompletely understood, but Callaway (1988) has presented an interesting hypothesis regarding the possible role of endogenous DMT and ß-carbolines in regulating sleep cycles and REM states. ß-carbolines are tricyclic indole alkaloids that are closely related to tryptamines, both biosynthetically and pharmacologically. They are readily synthesized via the condensation of indoleamines with aldehydes or alpha-keto acids, and their biosynthesis probably also proceeds via similar reactions (Callaway et al., 1994). ß-carbolines have also been identified in mammalian tissue including human plasma and platelets, and rat whole brain, forebrain, arcuate nucleus, and adrenal glands (Airaksinen and Kari, 1981). 6-methoxy-tetrahydro-ß-carboline has been recently identified as a major constituent of human pineal gland (Langer et al. 1984). This compound inhibits the high-affinity binding of [3H]-imipramine to 5-HT receptors in human platelets (Langer et al. 1984), and also significantly inhibits 5-HT binding to type 1 receptors in rat brain; the compound has a low affinity to type 2 receptors, however (Taylor et al. 1984). 2-methyl-tetrahydro-ß-carboline and harman have been detected in human urine following ethanol loading, (Rommelspacher, et al., 1980) and it has been suggested that endogenous ß-carbolines and other amine-aldehyde condensation products may be related to the etiology of alcoholism (Rahwan, 1975). At least one ß-carboline has been identified as a by-product of the oxidative metabolism of DMT in rat brain homogenates (Barker, et al. 1980).ß-carbolines exert a variety of neurophysiological and biological effects (McKenna and Towers, 1984). ß-carboline derivatives are selective, reversible, competitive inhibitors of MAO-A (Buckholtz and Boggan, 1976, 1977). Other neurophysiological actions of ß-carbolines include competitive inhibition of the uptake of 5-HT, dopamine, epinephrine, and norepinephrine into synaptosomes (Buckholtz and Boggan, 1976; PŠhkla, et al., 1997), inhibition of Na+ dependent membrane ATPases (Canessa, et al. 1973), interference with biosynthesis of biogenic amines (Ho, 1977), and vasopressin-like effects on sodium and water transport in isolated toad skin (de Sousa and Gross, 1978). ß-carboline-3-carboxylate and various esterified derivatives have been implicated as possible endogenous ligands for benzodiazepine receptors (Lippke et al. 1983). ß-carboline ligands of these receptors can induce epileptiform seizures in rats and in chickens homozygous for the epileptic gene (Morin, 1984; Johnson, et al. 1984); this proconvulsant action can be blocked by other receptor ligands, including diazepam and ß-carboline-carboxylate propyl ester (Morin, 1984; Johnson, et al. 1984). ß-carbolines also exhibit other biological activities in addition to their effects on neurophysiological systems. For instance Hopp and co-workers found that harmine exhibited significant anti-trypanosomal activity against Trypanosoma lewisii (Hopp et al., 1976). This finding may explain the use of ayahuasca in mestizo ethnomedicine as a prophylactic against malaria and internal parasites (Rodriguez, et al. 1982). Certain ß-carbolines are known to exert mutagenic or co-mutagenic effects, and the mechanism responsible may be related to their interactions with nucleic acids (Umezawa, et al. 1978; Hayashi, et al. 1977). The ultra-violet activated photocytotoxic and photogenotoxic activity of some ß-carbolines has also been reported (McKenna & Towers 1981; Towers & Abramosky, 1983).Recent Biomedical Investigations of AyahuascaAlthough achieving some notoriety in North American literature through the popular press and the writings of William Burroughs and Allan Ginsberg (Burroughs and Ginsberg, 1963), the psychological and physiological phenomena induced by ayahuasca have received little or no rigorous study. Various travellers to the Amazon have reported their own first hand experiences with ayahuasca (Weil, 1980; Davis, 1996), while both formal and informal ethnographic narratives have excited the public imagination (Lamb, 1971; Luna and Amaringo, 1991). Interest in the exotic origins and effects of ayahuasca have attracted a steady stream of North American tourists, often enticed by articles and advertisements in popular and New Age magazines (Krajick, 1992; Ott, 1993). Concern over possible adverse health effects resulting from the use of ayahuasca by such naive travelers has recently been expressed by a noted authority on Mestizo ayahuasca use (Dobkin de Rios, 1994). These concerns are in marked contrast to testimonials of improved psychological and moral functioning by the adherents of the syncretic hoasca churches in Brasil. The individuals who are attracted to the UDV seem to belong to a slightly more professional socio-economic class than those who join the Santo Daime. Of the approximately 7000 members of the UDV in Brasil, perhaps 5 - 10 % are medical professionals, among them physicians, psychiatrists, psychologists, chiropracters, and homeopathic physicians. Most of these individuals are fully aware of the psychologically beneficial aspects of the practice, and evince a great interest in the scientific study of hoasca , including its botany, chemistry, and pharmacology. The medically educated members can discuss all of these aspects with a sophistication equal to that of any U.S.-trained physician, or other medical professional. At the same time they do have a genuine spiritual reverence for the hoasca tea and the experiences it evokes. The UDV places a high value on the search for scientific truth, and sees no conflict between science and religion; most members of the UDV express a strong interest in learning as much as possible about how the tea acts on the body and brain. As a result of this unique circumstance, the UDV presents an ideal context in which to conduct a biomedical investigation of the acute and long-term effects of hoasca /ayahuasca. Due to a fortunate combination of circumstances, we were invited to conduct such a biomedical investigation of long-term hoasca drinkers by the Medical Studies section of the UDV (Centro de Estudos Medicos). This study, which was conducted by an international consortium of scientists from Brasil, the United States, and Finland, was financed through private donations to various non-profit sponsoring groups, notably Botanical Dimensions, which provided major funding, the Heffter Research Institute, and MAPS, (Multidisciplinary Association for Psychedelic Studies). Botanical Dimensions is a non-profit organization dedicated to the study and preservation of ethnomedically significant plants, and MAPS and the Heffter Research Institute are non-profit organizations dedicated to the investigation of the medical and therapeutic uses of psychedelic agents. The field phase of the study was conducted during the summer of 1993 at one of the oldest UDV temples, the Nucleo Caupari located in the Amazonian city of Manaus, Brasil. Subsequent laboratory investigations took place at the respective academic institutions of some of the principle investigators, including the Department of Psychiatry, Harbor UCLA Medical Center, the Department of Neurology, University of Miami School of Medicine, the Department of Psychiatry, University of Rio de Janeiro, Department of Internal Medicine, University of Amazonas Medical School, Manaus, and the Department of Pharmaceutical Chemistry, University of Kuopio, Finland. Since this study was the first of its kind, there was virtually no pre-existing data on the objective measurement of the physical and psychological effects of ayahuasca in human subjects. As a result, this study was in some respects a pilot study; its primary objectives were modest, representing an effort to collect a basic body of data, without attempting to relate the findings to either possible detrimental effects of ayahuasca, or to possible therapeutic effects. The study had four major objectives:- Assessment of Acute Psychological and Physiological Effects of Hoasca in Human Subjects- Assessment of Serotonergic Functions in Long-term Users of Hoasca Tea- Quantitative Determination of Active Constituents of Hoasca Teas in Plasma- Quantitative Determination of Active Constituents of Hoasca TeasMost of these objectives were achieved, and the results have been published in various peer-reviewed scientific journals (Grob, et al., 1996; Callaway, et al., 1994; Callaway, et al., 1996;. Callaway, et al., 1997) Some key findings are summarized briefly below. Assessment of Acute and Long-term Psychological Effects of Hoasca Teas (Grob, et al., 1996)The subjects in all of the studies consisted of a group of fifteen healthy, male volunteers, all of whom had belonged to the UDV for a minimum of ten years, and who ingested hoasca on average of once every two weeks, in the context of the UDV ritual. None of the subjects actively used tobacco, alcohol, or any drugs other than hoasca. For some comparative aspects of the study, a control group of fifteen age-matched males was also used; these individuals were recruited from among the friends and siblings of the volunteer subjects, and like them were local residents of Manaus having similar diets and socio-economic status. None of the control subjects were members of the UDV, and none had ever ingested hoasca tea. The psychological assessments, administered to both groups, consisted of structured psychiatric diagnostic interviews, personality testing, and neuropsychological reviewuations. Measures administered to the UDV hoasca drinkers, but not to the hoasca-niave group, included semistructured and open-ended life story interviews, and a phenomenological assessment of the altered state elicited by hoasca, was quantified using the Hallucinogen Rating Scale developed by Dr. Rick Strassman in his work with DMT and psilocybin in human subjects (Strassman, et al., 1994). The UDV volunteers showed significant differences from the hoasca-naive subjects in the Tridimensional Personality Questionnaire (TPQ) and the WHO-UCLA Auditory Verbal Learning Test. The TPQ assesses three general areas of behavior, viz., novelty-seeking, harm avoidance, and reward dependence. With respect to novelty-seeking behaviors, UDV members were found to have greater stoic rigidity vs exploratory excitability, greater regimentation vs disorderliness, and a trend toward greater reflection vs impulsivity; but there was no difference between the groups on the spectrum between reserve and extravagance. On the harm reduction scale, UDV subjects had significantly greater confidence vs fear of uncertainty, and trends toward greater gregariousness vs shyness, and greater optimism vs anticipatory worry. No significant differences were found between the two groups in criteria related to reward-dependence. The fifteen UDV volunteers and the control subjects were also given the WHO-UCLA Auditory Learning Verbal Memory Test. Experimental subjects performed significantly better than controls on word recall tests. There was also a trend, though not statistically significant, for the UDV subjects to perform better than controls on number of words recalled, delayed recall, and words recalled after interference. The Hallucinogen Rating Scale, developed by Strassman et. al (1994) for the phenomenological assessment of subjects given intravenous doses of DMT, was administered to the UDV volunteers only (since control subjects did not receive the drug). All of the clinical clusters on the HRS were in the mild end of the spectrum compared to intravenous DMT. The clusters for affect, intensity, cognition, and volition, were comparable to an intravenous DMT dose of 0.1 to 0.2 mg/kg, and the cluster for perception was comparable to 0.1 mg/kg intravenous DMT; the cluster for somatesthesia was less than the lowest dose of DMT measured by the scale, 0.05 mg/kg. The most striking findings of the psychological assessment came from the structured diagnostic interviews, and the semi-structured open-ended life story interviews. The Composite International Diagnostic Interview (CIDI) was used for the structured diagnostic interview. None of the UDV subjects had a current psychiatric diagnosis, whereas two of the control subjects had an active diagnosis of alcohol misuse and hypochondriasis. Only one subject among the controls had a past psychiatric disorder that was no longer present; an alcohol misuse disorder that had remitted two years previously. However, prior to membership in the UDV, eleven of the UDV subjects had diagnoses of alcohol misuse disorders, two had had past major depressive disorders, four had past histories of drug misuse (cocaine and amphetamines), eleven were addicted to tobacco, and three had past phobic anxiety disorders. Five of the subjects with a history of alcoholism also had histories of violent behavior associated with binge drinking. All of these pathological diagnoses had remitted following entry into the UDV. All of the UDV subjects interviewed reported the subjective impression that their use of hoasca tea within the context of the UDV had led to improved mental and physical health, and significant improvements in interpersonal, work, and family interactions.Assessment of Serotonergic Functions in Long-term Users of Hoasca (Callaway, et al., 1994)Another objective of the study was to investigate whether long-term use of hoasca resulted in any identifiable "biochemical marker" that was correlated with hoasca consumption, particularly with respect to serotonergic functions, since the hoasca alkaloids primarily affect functions mediated by this neurotransmitter. Ideally, such a study could be carried out on post-mortem brains; since this was not possible, we settled on looking at serotonin transporter receptors in blood platelets, using [3H]-citalopram to label the receptors in binding assays. The up-or down regulation of peripheral platelet receptors is considered indicative of similar biochemical events occuring in the brain, although there is some controversy about the correlation between platelet receptor changes and changes in CNS receptors in patients receiving antidepressant medications (Stahl, 1977; Pletscher and Laubscher, 1980; Rotman, 1980);. However, platelet receptors were deemed suitable for the purposes of our study, as our objective was not to resolve this controversy but simply to determine if some kind of long-term biochemical marker could be identified. Neither did we postulate any conclusions about the possible "adverse" or "beneficial" implications of such a marker, if detected. We conducted the assays on platelets collected from the same group of 15 volunteers after they had abstained from consuming the tea for a period of one week. We also collected platelet specimens from the age-matched controls who were not hoasca drinkers. We were surprised to find a significant up-regulation in the density of the citalopram binding sites in the hoasca drinkers compared to control subjects. While the hoasca drinkers had a higher density of receptors, there was no change in the affinity of the receptors for the labelled citalopram. The significance of this finding, if any, is unclear. There is no other pharmacological agent which is known to cause a similar upregulation, although chronic administration of 5-HT uptake inhibitors has been reported to decrease both Bmax (the density of binding sites) and 5-HT transporter RNA in rats (Hrinda 1987; Lesch et al., 1993). Increases in Bmax for the uptake site in human platelets have been correlated with old age (Marazziti et al, 1989) and also to the dark phase of the circadian cycle in rabbits (Rocca et al., 1989). It has been speculated (Marazziti et al, 1989) that upregulation of 5-HT uptake sites in the aged may be related to the natural course of neuronal decline. Although our sample size was limited, we found no correlation with age, and the mean age of the sample was 38 years. Also, none of our subjects showed evidence of any neurological or psychiatric deficit. In fact, in view of their exceptionally healthy psychological profiles, one of the investigators speculated that perhaps the serotonergic upregulation is associated, not simply with age, but with "wisdom" -- a characteristic often found in the aged, and in many hoasca drinkers.Another interesting self-experiment related to this finding was carried out by one of the investigators, Jace Callaway, following his return to Finland after the field phase of the study was completed. Dr. Callaway has access to Single Photon Emission Computerized Tomography (SPECT) scanning facilities in the Department of Pharmacology at the University of Kuopio. Suspecting that the causative agent of the unexpected upregulation might be tetrahydroharmine (THH), Dr. Callaway took SPECT scans of his own brain 5-HT uptake receptors prior to beginning a six week course of daily dosing with tetrahydroharmine, repeating the scan after the treatment period. He did indeed find that the density of central 5-HT receptors in the prefrontal cortex had increased; when he discontinued THH, their density gradually returned to previous levels over the course of several weeks. While this experiment only had one subject, if it is indicative of a general effect of THH that can be replicated and confirmed, the implications are potentially significant. A severe deficit of 5-HT uptake sites in the frontal cortex has been found to be correlated with aggressive disorders in violent alcoholics; if THH is able to specifically reverse this deficit, it may have applications in the treatment of this syndrome. These findings are especially interesting when viewed in the context of the psychological data collected in the hoasca study (Grob, et al., 1996). The majority of the subjects had had a previous history of alcoholism, and many had displayed violent behavior in the years prior to joining the UDV; virtually all attributed their recovery and change in behavior to their use of hoasca tea in the UDV rituals. While it can be argued that their reformation was due to the supportive social and psychological environment found within the UDV, the finding of this long-term change in precisely the serotonin system that is deficient in violent alcoholism, argues that biochemical factors may also play a roleAssessment of the Acute Physiological Effects of Hoasca Tea (Callaway, et al., 1997)The major focus of the biochemical and physiological measurements carried out for the study was on the acute effects subsequent to consuming hoasca tea. One of the objectives was simply to measure the effects of hoasca on standard physiological functions, such as heart rate, blood pressure, and pupillary diameter, subsequent to ingestion. We found that all of these responses were well within normal parameters. Hoasca, not surprisingly, caused an increase in pupillary diameter from baseline (pre-dose) levels of 3.7 mm to approximately 4.7 mm at 40 minutes, which continued to 240 minutes after ingestion at which point measurements were discontinued. Breaths per minute fluctuated throughout the 240 minutes, from a low of 18.5 at baseline to a high of 23 breaths per minute at 100 minutes. Temperature rose from a baseline low of 37 ° C at baseline to a high of 37.3 ° C at 240 min (although the ambient temperature also increased comparably during the course of the experiments, which were conducted from 10:00 - 16:00). Heartrate increased from 71.9 bpm at baseline to a maximum of 79.3 bpm by 20 minutes, decreased to 64.5 bpm by 120 minutes, then gradually returned toward basal levels by 240 minutes. There was a concomitant increase in blood pressure; both systolic and diastolic pressure increased to maxima at 40 minutes (137.3 and 92.0 mm Hg respectively) over baseline values (126.3 and 82.7 mm Hg respectively) and returned to basal values by 180 minutes. We also measured nueroendocrine response for plasma prolactin, cortisol, and growth hormone; all showed rapid and dramatic increases over basal values from 60 minutes (cortisol) to 90 minutes (growth hormone) to 120 minutes (prolactin) after ingestion. The observed response, typical of serotonergic agonists, are comparable to the values reported by Strassman & Qualls (1994) in response to injected DMT. In our study, however, the response to oral DMT was delayed by a factor of four or five. Dr. Russell Poland, of the Harbor-UCLA Medical Center, carried out the neuroendocrine measurements. Characterization of the Pharmacokinetics of Hoasca Alkaloids in Human Subjects (Callaway, et al., 1996; 1997)The fourth objective of the study was to measure pharmacokinetic parameters of the hoasca alkaloids in plasma following ingestion of hoasca tea, and to correlate this to the amounts of alkaloids ingested. The UDV collaborators held a special "preparo" to prepare the sample of hoasca that was used forall subjects in the study. The mestres confirmed the activity in the usual manner, via ingestion, and pronounced it active and suitable for use in the study. Subsequent analysis by HPLC found the tea to contain, in mg/ml: harmine, 1.7; harmaline, 0.2; THH, 1.07; and DMT 0.24. Each subject received an aliquot of tea equivalent to 2 ml/kg body weight, which was consumed in a single draught. Based on the average body weight (74.2 ± 11.3 kg), the average dose of tea was 148.4 ± 22.6 ml, containing an average of 35.5 mg DMT, 158.8 mg THH, 29.7 mg harmaline, and 252.3 mg harmine. These doses are above the threshold level of activity for DMT as a psychedelic, and for harmine and THH as MAO inhibitors; harmaline is essentially a trace constituent of hoasca tea (Callaway, et al., 1996, 1997).Only 12 of the 15 volunteers had sufficient plasma levels of DMT to permit pharmacokinetic measurements, possibly due to early emesis during the course of the session. Of these, the maximum plasma concentration (Cmax) (15.8 ng/ml) occurred at 107 minutes after ingestion, while the half-life (T1/2 was 259 minutes. THH was measured in 14 of the 15 subjects; the Cmax was 91 ng/ml, reached at 174 min. This compound displayed a prolonged half-life of 532 minutes, in contrast to harmine which had a half-life of 115.6 min. The Cmax for harmine and harmaline was 114.8 and 6.3 ng/ml, respectively, and time of maximum concentration (Tmax) was 102 and 145 minutes, respectively. The T1/2 for harmaline could not be measured (Callaway, et al.,1997).In many ways this study was conceived because of the need to collect some basic data on the physiological and pharmacokinetic characteristics of hoasca, since none had existed previously. The conclusions to be drawn from the results, if any, are interesting and potentially significant, particularly in that these findings may offer a physiological rationale for the marked improvements in psychological health that is correlated with long-term hoasca use. Not surprisingly, the highest plasma concentrations of DMT correlated with the most intense subjective effects; however, the psychological measurement (Hallucinogen Rating Scale) indicated that comparable plasma levels of injected DMT in Strassman & Qualls (1994) study were more intense than the effects reported from the hoasca tea. One possible explanation is that THH, by acting as a 5-HT reuptake inhibitor, may have resulted in a greater availability of 5-HT at the synapse, and this may have competed with DMT for occupancy at serotonergic synapses. Another point worthy of remark is that the activity of THH in hoasca is apparently more a function of its inhibition of 5-HT uptake than to its action as an MAOI. THH is a poor MAOI compared to harmine (EC50= 1.4 x 10-5 M vs 8 x 10-8 M for harmine), and while the plasma levels for harmine are well above the EC50 values, those for THH are well below the EC50 value for this compound as an MAOI.Future StudiesThe major objectives of the initial biomedical investigation of hoasca have been met, including the overall objective, that of developing a basic body of descriptive information on the physiological and psychopharmacological characteristics of the tea. These investigations have laid the groundwork that will enable future studies to focus on specific areas of interest. It seems clear that ayahuasca is relatively safe; it can be taken, on a regular schedule, for months or even years without producing any adverse effect; indeed, all of our subjects were highly functional individuals who attribute much of their "coping" skills to the tea and the lessons it has taught them, albiet within the doctrinal context of the UDV. None of them showed any signs of physical disease, or neurological or psychological deficits, indeed, many had higher scores in some of the psychometric testing regimes than comparable control subjects who had never imbibed hoasca. Yet many questions remain, and it is to be hoped that future investigations will be done, and that some of the most relevant questions will be at least partially answered. Among areas which suggest themselves for future research, the following seem obvious: Effect of hoasca on women, particularly pregnant and/or lactating women. For simplicity's sake, our initial study included only male subjects who had imbibed the tea on a regular basis for at least ten years. Thus our sample was deliberately restricted; it included only experienced, male hoasca drinkers, just to minimize the number of variables. But women also drink hoasca, and moreover, most do so throughout pregnancy and lactation; indeed, children in the UDV are baptized with a tiny spoonful of hoasca, although they are not usually exposed to pharmacologically active amounts until at least age 13. There are many issues here worthy of study. For example, women claim that hoasca has positive benefits both in managing their pregnancy, and in assisting birth; many will take hoasca during labor to facilitate the process. The role of hoasca during pregnancy and lactation, whether adverse or positive, is just one of a score of questions which could be answered by followup studies using women hoasca drinkers.Prospective studies, with children and new members. For similar reasons, our study did not include any recent converts to the UDV, nor any children, who, if they choose, are allowed to attend UDV sessions and imbibe smaller amounts of hoasca as early as age 13. Nor did the study include any recent adult converts to the UDV. Clearly, prospective studies of both groups could add a great deal to our knowledge. In view of our finding that hoasca apparently brings about long-term increases in serotonin uptake receptor densities, the implications of this need to be further investigated, and prospective studies may clarify this question. For instance, is the increase in serotonin uptake sites a consequence of regular imbibition of hoasca, as would seem the obvious conclusion, or are hoasca drinkers as a group biased toward those who are predisposed toward naturally high receptor densities? And what are the implications of either finding? Similar questions, as well as a host of sociological and developmental questions, could be addressed in a prospective study of children of UDV members who remain in the group and start to imbibe hoasca regularly in adolescence. An obvious question to answer in this context would be an assessement of children and adolescents who were exposed to hoasca in utero, to determine the impact, if any, of prenatal hoasca exposure on their subsequent neurological and psychological development. Another question germane to the possible long-term health benefits of regular hoasca use is that of whether the practice might prove to be prophylactic against alcohol and drug misuse for adolescents who consume the tea within the UDV structure. Brain imaging and electrophysiological studies. To the degree that facilities can be made available, brain imaging and electrophysiological studies of the acute and chronic effects of hoasca would further fill in the picture of its pharmacological characteristics. Therapeutic applications of hoasca in treatment of alcoholism and other forms of substance misuse. The experience of UDV members, recounted in the structured "life-story" interviews, would seem to indicate that hoasca has real potential as a therapeutic agent in treating substance misuse and/or alcoholism as well as other psychopathologies. Most of the subjects interviewed were involved with substance misuse prior to joining the UDV, and have since ceased. Most attribute their recovery to the tea; it would seem that confirmation of their experience and further information could be collected relatively easily, perhaps through a prospective study using recent converts to the UDV with prior involvement with substance misuse or other addictive disorders. Immunomodulatory effects of hoasca. Another parameter that could be easily assessed, that may have important implications for the long-term health effects of hoasca, is the question of its possible effects on the immune system. Hoasca may be an immunostimulant, and thus potentially beneficial in maintaining resistance to disease; on the other hand, it could be an immunosuppressant, and this would also have serious implications for long-term or frequent use. Although hoasca tea is customarily used as a ritual sacrament rather than a medicine, anecdotal reports suggesting that hoasca may facilitate recovery from serious illnesses such as cancer, and well-designed studies are needed to investigate this question. One possibility is that discontinuation of the use of alcohol, tobacco, and drugs of misuse, as is common in UDV members, may contribute to long-term salutory effects on health. Prospective and epidemiological study of hoasca and Parkinson's disease. Earlier in this century, harmine, then known as banisterine, was investigated for its potential utility in the treatment of postencephalitic parkinsonism (Sanchez-Ramos, 1991). Despite some initially encouraging results in early clinical trials, further explorations of this promising pharmacotherapy were abandoned in the 1930's in favor of synthetic drugs, without really resolving the question of whether harmine may have some benefits as an anti-parkinson's agent. Both prospective and epidemiological studies of the incidence of parkinson's among UDV members, compared to the general population, could shed some light on the possible applications of harmine or other ß-carbolines in the treatment of parkinson's disease. SummaryAyahuasca, or hoasca, whether known by these names, or any of numerous other designations, has long been a subject of fascination to ethnographers, botanists, psychopharmacologists, and others with an interest in the many facets of the human relationship with, and use of, psychoactive plants. With its complex botanical, chemical, and pharmacological characteristics, and its position of prime importance in the ethnomedical and magico-religious practices of indigenous Amazonian peoples, the investigation of ayahuasca in its many aspects has been an impetus to the furtherence of our scientific understanding of the brain/mind interface, and of the role that psychoactive plant alkaloids have played, and continue to play, in the quest of the human spirit to discover and to understand its own trancendent nature.Now, the process which has unfolded in Western culture since Richard Spruce first reported on ayahuasca use among the Indians of the Norwthwest Amazon in 1855 (Anon, 1855; Spruce, 1873) has reached a new stage. Ayahuasca has emerged from the Amazonian jungles where it has remained cloaked in obscurity for thousands of years, to become the sacramental vehicle for new syncretic religious movements that are now diffusing from their center of origin in Brasil to Europe, the United States, and throughout the world. As the world observes this process unfolding (with joyous anticipation for some, and with considerable trepidation for others), the focus for the scientific study and understanding of ayahuasca has shifted from the ethnographer's field notes and the ethnobotanist's herbarium specimens, to the neurochemist's laboratory and the psychiatrist's examining room. With the completion of the first detailed biomedical investigation of ayahuasca, science now has the basic corpus of data needed to ask further questions, regarding the pharmacological actions, the toxicities and possible dangers, and the considerable potential ayahuasca has to heal the human mind, body, and spirit. Humanity's relationship with ayahuasca is a long-term commitment, expressed on an evolutionary timescale, that has already taught us much, and from which we can still learn, provided we have the courage, and the tools, to ask the right questions. ReferencesAiraksinen, M. M. and I. Kari, (1981) ß-carbolines, psychoactive compounds in the mammalian body. Medical Biology 59: 21-34. Allen, J. R. F. & B. Holmstedt (1980) the simple ß-carboline alkaloids. Phytochemistry 19:1573-1582.Anonymous (1855) Journal of a voyage up the Amazon and Rio Negro by Richard Spruce, San Carlos del Rio Negro, June 27, 1853. Hooker Journal of Botany and Kew Garden Miscellany, Nos. 6&7.Barker, S. A. J. A. Monti, and S. T. Christian (1980) Metabolism of the hallucinogen N,N-dimethyltryptamine in rat brain homogenates. Biochemical Pharmacology 29: 1049-1057.Barker, S. A. J. A. Monti, and S. T. Christian (1981a) N,N-dimethyltryptamine: An endogenous hallucinogen. International Review of Neurobiology 22: 823-110.Bloom, F., J. Barchus, M. Sandler, and E. Usdin (eds). (1982) ß-carbolines and Tetrahydroisoquinolines. Alan R. Liss; New York.Buckholtz, Neil S., & W. O. Boggan (1976) Effects of tetrahydro-ß-carbolines on monoamine oxidase and serotonin uptake in mouse brain. Biochemical Pharmacology 25: 2319-2321.Buckholtz, Neil S., & W. O. Boggan (1977) Monoamine oxidase inhibition in brain and liver produced by B-carbolines: structure-activity relationships and substrate specificity. Biochemical Pharmacology 26:1991-1996.Burroughs, WS & A Ginsberg (1963) The Yage Letters. City Lights Books, San Francisco.Callaway, J. C., D. J. McKenna, C. S. Grob, G. S. Brito, L. P. Raymon, R.E. Poland, E. N. Andrade, E. O. Andrade, D. C. Mash (1998) Pharmacology of Hoasca alkaloids in Healthy Humans. Journal of Ethnopharmacology. In press. Callaway, J. C., L. P. Raymon, W. L. Hearn, D. J. McKenna, C. S. Grob, G. S. Brito, D. C. Mash (1996) Quantitation of N,N-dimethyltryptamine and harmala alkaloids in human plasma after oral dosing with Ayahuasca. Journal of Analytical Toxicology 20: 492-497.Callaway, J.C. (1988) A proposed mechanism for the visions of dream sleep. Medical Hypotheses 26:119-124.Callaway, J.C., J. Gynther, A. Poso, A. VepsŠlŠinen, M.M. Airaksenin (1994) The Pictet-Spengler reaction and biogenic tryptamines: formation of tetrahydro-ß-carbolines at physiological pH. J. Hertocyclic Chemistry 31:431-435. Callaway, J.C., M. M. Airaksinen, Dennis J. McKenna, Glacus S. Brito, & charles S. Grob (1994) Platelet serotonin uptake sites increased in drinkers of ayahuasca. Psychopharmacology 116: 385-387.Canessa, M., E. Jaimovich, and M. de la Fuente (1973) Harmaline: a competitive inhibitor of Na+ ion in the (Na+/K+)ATPase system. Journal of Membrane Biology 13:263-282.Davis, W. (1996) One River: Explorations and Discoveries in the Amazon Rainforest. Harper Collins, New York. de Rios, M. Dobkin (1972) Visionary vine: Psychedelic healing in the Peruvian Amazon. International Journal of Social Psychiatry 17: 256-269.de Rios, M. Dobkin (1973) Curing with ayahuasca in an urban slum. In Harner, M. (ed.) Hallucinogens and Shamanism. Oxford University Press. London.de Rios, M. Dobkin (1994, January) Drug tourism in the Amazon. Omni, p. 20.de Sousa, R. C., & A. Grosso; (1978) Vasopressin-like effects of a hallucinogenic drug - harmaline - on sodium and water transport. Journal of Membrane Biology 40: 77-94.Fischman, L. G. (1983) Dreams, hallcinogenic drug states, and schizophrenia: a psychological and biological comparison. Schizophrenia Bulletin 9: 73-94. Grob, C. S., D. J. McKenna, J. C. Callaway, G. S. Brito, E. S. Neves, G. Oberlender, O. L. Saide, E. Labigalini, C. Tacla, C. T. Miranda, R. J. Strassman, K. B. Boone (1996) Human psychopharmacology of hoasca, a plant hallucinogen used in ritual context in Brasil: Journal of Nervous & Mental Disease. 184:86-94. Hashimoto, Y. & K. Kawanishi (1975) New organic bases from Amazonian Banisteriopsis caapi. Phytochemistry 14: 1633-1635.Hashimoto, Y. & K. Kawanishi(1976) New alkaloids from Banisteriopsis caapi. Phytochemistry 15: 1559-1560.Hayashi, K., M. Nagao, & T. Sugimura (1977). Interactions of harman and norharman with DNA. NucleicAcidsResearch4:3679-3685.Ho B. T. (1977) Pharmacological and biochemical studies with ß-carboline analogs. In Essman, W. B. and L. Vazelli (eds.) Current Developments in Psychopharmacology Vol 4. Spectrum Press, New York. Hopp, K.H., L. V.. Cunningham, M. C. Bromel, L. J. Schermeister, & S. K. W. Kahlil (1976) In vitro antitrypanosomal activity of certain alkaloids against Trypanosoma lewisi. Lloydia 39:375-77.Hrinda P.D. (1987) Regulation of high- and low-[3H]-imipramine sites in rat brain by chronic treatment with antidepressants. European Journal of Pharmacology 138:159-168.Johnson, D. D., T. E. Fisher, J. M. Tuchek, & R. D. Crawford (1984) Pharmacology of methyl- and propyl-B-carbolines in a hereditary model of epilepsy. Neuropharmacology 23:1015-1017.Kawanishi, K., Y. Uhara, and Y. Hasimoto (1982) Shinunine and dihydroshihunine from Banisteriopsis caapi. Journal of Natural Products 45: 637-38. Krajick, K. (1992, June 15). Vision quest. Newsweek, pp. 44-45.Lamb, F.B. (1971) Wizard of the Upper Amazon: the Story of Manuel Cordova-Rios. Houghton-Miflin, Boston.Langer, S. Z, R. Raisman, M. S. Briley, D. Schecter, and E. Zarafian (1980) Platelets from depressed patients have a decreased number of 3H-imipramine binding sites. Federation Proceedings, Federation of American Society for Experimental Biology 30:1097.Langer, S. Z., C. R. Lee, A. Segnozac, T. Tateishi, H. Esnaud, H. Schoemaker, & B. Winblad (1984) Possible endocrine role of the pineal gland for 6-methoxytetrahydro-ß-carboline, a putative endogenous neuromodulator of the [3H]imipramine recognition site. European Journal of Pharmacology 102:379-380.Lesch, K. P., C.S. Aulakh, B.L. Wolozin, T.J. Tolliver, J.L. Hill, D. L. Murphy (1993) Regional brain statement of serotonin transporter mRNA and its regulation by reuptake inhibiting antidepressants. Molecular Brain Research 17:31-35.Lippke, K. P., W. G. Schunack, W. Wenning, & W. E. Muller (1983) ß-carbolines as benzodiazepine receptor ligands: 1. Synthesis and benzodiazepine receptor interaction of esters of ß-carboline-3-carboxylic acid. Journal of Medicinal Chemistry 26:499-503.Luna, Luis E. (1984) The healing practices of a Peruvian shaman. Journal of Ethnopharmacology 11:123-133.Luna, Luis E. (1986) Vegitalismo: Shamanism Among the Mestizo Population of thePeruvian Amazon. Stockholm: Almqvist and Wiksell International. Luna, Luis E., & Pablo Amaringo (1991) Ayahuasca Visions: The Religious Iconography of a Peruvian Shaman. North Atlantic Books, Berkeley, CA.Marazziti, D., M. Falcone, A. Rotondo, P. Castrogiovanni (1989) Age related differences in human platelet 5-HT uptake. Naunyn-SchmiedebergÕs Arch. Pharmacol. 340:593-594.McKenna D. J. & G. H. N. Towers (1981) Ultra-violet mediated cytotoxic activity of ß-carboline alkaloids. Phytochemistry 20(5):1001-1004. McKenna, D. J. & G. H. N. Towers (1985) On the comparative ethnopharmacology of the Malpighiaceous and Myristicaceous hallucinogens. Journal of Psychoactive Drugs, 17:35-39.McKenna, D., G. H. N. Towers, & F. S. Abbott. (1984) Monoamine oxidase inhibitors in South American hallucinogenic plants: Tryptamine and ß-carboline constituents of ayahausca. Journal of Ethnopharmacology 10:195-223.McKenna, D.J., & G. H. N. Towers (1984). Biochemistry and pharmacology of tryptamines and ß-carbolines: A minireview. Journal of Psychoactive Drugs 16:347-358.McKenna, Dennis J., L. E. Luna, & G. H. N. Towers, (1995) Biodynamic constituents in Ayahuasca admixture plants: an uninvestigated folk pharmacopoeia. In: von Reis, S., and R. E. Schultes (eds). Ethnobotany: Evolution of a Discipline. Dioscorides Press, Portland.Melchior, C. & M. A. Collins (1982) The route and significance of endogenous synthesis of alkaloids in animals. CRC Critical Reviews in Toxicology 9: 313-356.Morin, A. M. (1984) ß-carboline kindling of the benzodiazepine receptor. Brain Research 321:151-154.Naranjo, C. (1967) Psychotropic properties of the harmala alkaloids. in D. H. Efron, B. Holmstedt, & N. S. Kline (eds.) Ethnopharmacologic Search for Psychoactive Drugs. U.S. Public Health Service Publication # 1645.Naranjo, P. (1986) El ayahuasca in la arqueolog’a ecuatoriana. America Indigena 46: 117-128.Nichols, D. E., Robert Oberlender, and McKenna, D. J. (1991) Stereochemical Aspects of Hallucinogenesis. Chapter 1, pp. 1-39 in R. R. Watson (ed.) Biochemistry and Physiology of Substance Abuse, Vol. III. CRC Press, Boca Raton, FL.Ott, J. (1993) Pharmacotheon: Entheogenic Drugs, their Plant Sources and History. Natural Products, Kennewick, WA.PhŠkla, R., L. Rago, J.C. Callaway, M.M. Airaksinen (1997) Binding of pinoline on the 5-hydroxytryptamine transporter: competitive interaction with [3H]-citalopram. Pharmacology & Toxicology 80:122-126.Pletscher, A. and A. Laubscher (1980) Use and limitations of platelets as models for neurons: Amine release and shape change reaction. In Platelets: Cellular response Mechanisms and Their Biological Significance. Rotman, A. et al. (eds) pp. 267-276.Rahwan, R. G. (1975) Toxic effects of ethanol - possible role of acetaldehyde, tetrahydroisoquinolines, and tetrahydro-ß-carbolines. Toxicology and Applied Pharmacology 24: 3-27.Rivier, L., & J. Lindgren (1972) Ayahausca, the South American hallucinogenic drink: Ethnobotanical and chemical investigations. Economic Botany 29:101-129.Rocca, P. A-M Galzin, S. A. Langer (1989) Light-dark differences in [3H]-paroxetine binding in rabbit platelet membranes. . Naunyn-SchmiedebergÕs Arch. Pharmacol. 340:41-44.Rodriguez, E., J. C. Cavin, and J. E. West (1982) The possible role of Amazonian psychoactive plants in the chemotherapy of parasitic worms: a hypothesis. Journal of Ethnopharmacology 6: 303-309.Rommelspacher, H., S. Strauss & J. Lindemann (1980) Excretion of tetrahydroharmane and harmane into the urine of man after a load with ethanol. FEBS Letters 109:209-212.Rotman, A. (1980) The use of blood platelets serotonin uptake as a model in the study of mental illness. In: Enzymes and Neurotransmitters in Mental Disease. Usdin, E., T. L. Sourkes, and M. B. H. Youdim (eds) pp. 65-76. John Wiley and Sons. Sanchez-Ramos, J.R. (1991) Banisterine and Parkinsons disease . Clinical Neuropharmacology 14:391-402.Schultes, R. E. (1957) The identity of the Malpighiaceous narcotics of South America. Harvard Botanical Museum Leaflets 18:1-56.Schultes, R. E. (1972) Ethnotoxicological significance of additives to New World hallucinogens. Plant Science Bulletin 18: 34-41Schultes, R. E. and A. Hofmann (1980) The Botany and Chemistry of Hallucinogens, 2nd. Edition. Charles C. Thomas, Publishers, Springfield, Ill. Shulgin, A. T. (1982) Psychotomimetic drugs: structure-activity relationships. In Handbook of Psychopharmacology Vol. 11. L. L. Iversen, S. D. Iversen, and S. H. Snyder (eds.) Plenum Press, New York. Shulgin, A.T. & Shulgin, A. (1997) Tihkal The Continuation. Transform Press, Berkeley, Ca. Spruce, R.A. (1873) On some remarkable narcotics of the Amazon Valley and Orinoco. Ocean Highways. Geographical Magazine 1:184-193.Stafford, P. (1977) Psychedelics Encyclopedia. And/Or Press, Berkeley, CA.Stahl, Stephen M. (1977) The human platelet: a diagnostic and research tool for the study of biogenic amines in psychiatric and neurologic disorders. Archives of General Psychiatry 34: 509 516.Strassman, R. J. & C. R. Qualls (1994) Dose-response study of N,N-dimethyltryptamine in humans I: Neuroendocrine, autonomic, and cardiovascular effects. Arch. Gen. Psychiatry 51:85-97.Suzuki, O., Y, Katsumata, M. Oya (1981) Characterization of eight biogenic indolamines as substrates for type A and type B monoamine oxidase. Biochemical Pharmacology 30:1353-1358. Szara, S. (1956) Dimethyltryptamine: its metabolism in man; the relation of its psychotic effect to the serotonin metabolism. Experientia 12: 411-441. Taylor, D. L., P. B. Silverman, B. T. Ho (1984) Effects of 6-methoxytetrahydro-ß-carboline on 5-hydroxytryptamine binding in rat brain. Journal of Pharmacy and Pharmacology 1984. 36: 125-127.Towers, G. H. N. and Z. Abramosky (1983) UV-mediated genotoxicity of furanoquinoline and of certain tryptophan-derived alkaloids. Journal of Natural Products 46 576-581.Udenfriend, S., B. Witkop, B. G. Redfield, & H. Weissbach (1958) Studies with reversible inhibitors of monoamine oxidase: Harmaline and related compounds. Biochemical Pharmacology 1:160-165.Umezawa, K., A. Shirai, T. Matsushima, & T. Sugimura (1978). Co-mutagenic effect of harman and norharman with 2-acetyl-aminoflourine derivatives. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences USA 75:928-930.Weil, A.T. (1980) In the land of yage. In: The Marriage of the Sun and Moon: A Quest for Unity in Consciousness. Houghton-Mifflin, Boston.Yasuhara, H (1974) Studies on monoamine oxidase (report XXIV). Effect of harmine on monoamine oxidase. Japanese Journal of Pharmacology 24: 523-533.Yasuhara, H, S. Sho, & K. Kamijo (1972) Differences in the actions of harmine on the oxidations of serotonin and tyramine by beef brain mitochondrial MAO. Japanese Journal of Pharmacology 22: 439-441.

gotham news
To: NYC and NY State government
Add Greenspace to New York's Rooftops! We face three crises in New York right now. Bloomberg says that there's no money for recycling, dust from the WTC disaster endangers us all, and we're facing another hot summer with untrustworthy deregulated powerplants (Enron, anybody?) We can respond to all three at the same time. -Let's take organic debris and compost it. Mix it with shredded styrofoam and other city waste to make a lightweight soil (as demostrated by the Gaia Instute over ten years ago and tested many times since). -Put it into lightweight shallow planters made of locally recycled plastic. Seed the planters with drought-resistant species. -Put the planters on every rooftop that will take them. This gives us a use for our plastic waste for several years to come (some glass too as we'll explain later), gets particulate matter and other pollutants out of the air, and superinsulates the rooftops of New York buildings at almost no cost to building owners. Rooftops won't be stressed by this. The biggest stress on most city rooftops is upward pressure from wind. New York winds are so bad that last year NYU had pavers torn loose and scattered about the roof. So not only would the weight not be a problem (as long as the planters are designed properly) but they would cut down on maintenance costs. We know that plants can survive in New York without watering. Just look at any abandoned lot. It's just a matter of choosing the right species. Current rooftops are suited only to birds like pigeons. Planters of hardy perennials like English Ivy, Sedum, and beach grasses would create habitats for birds that need more gentle conditions and increase biodiversity. Materials would come from the city's waste stream so processing and transport are the only costs. Can anybody *really* show that this would be more expensive than having waste landfilled? In fact, one option would be to scatter flattened "pebbles" of waste glass and plastic over the soil, which would reduce evaporation and both summer and winter heat stresses on the plants. In countries like Switzerland and Japan rooftop greenspace is the law. They've found that covering buildings with flora makes environmental and business sense. Here in New York programs like Materials for the Arts and Greenthumb show how well city government can execute when they get the chance. Mayor Bloomberg, Governor Pataki, we, the undersigned ask that instead of throwing up your hands and calling New York's problems unaddressable, or even worse, counting on the circus down in Washington to help, take action. Initiate a program to turn our garbage into gardens and give us the first skyline in America to mix skyscrapers with skymeadows.
Sincerely,
The Undersigned

gotham news
BY MICHAEL SAUL
DAILY NEWS CITY HALL BUREAU
Looking directly at Mayor Bloomberg and scoffing, "I don't know what city you're living in," underdog Democratic challenger Fernando Ferrer went on the attack yesterday in the candidates' first debate.
Bloomberg met Ferrer's combativeness on issues ranging from education to housing to the economy with cool confidence, throwing few punches of his own and, at times, barely responding to his rival's charges.
Ferrer, who is desperately trying to deflate the mayor's 31-point poll lead with the election just over a week away, took every opportunity yesterday to chip away at the billionaire incumbent's multimillion-dollar TV ad campaign and link Bloomberg to the national GOP.
Ferrer ridiculed the mayor's representatives to the MTA as "potted plants," repeatedly rebuked Bloomberg for chasing the Olympic Games and the West Side stadium, and accused Hizzoner of ignoring the high dropout rate in the city schools.
"Mike Bloomberg thinks everything's going just great in this town, and for some it is, but for millions of others it isn't," he said. "There are two New Yorks.
"I know that very well because I've lived in both," said Ferrer, invoking the controversial "two New Yorks" theme that he first raised in his 2001 campaign.
"I'm running for mayor so that millions of others can cross over that very same bridge I did."
Bloomberg portrayed himself as a bipartisan leader who made "tough decisions" after 9/11 and produced a strong record of accomplishment.
"I'm independent. I'm not beholden to anybody," he said. "I'm proud of what we've accomplished. We've brought crime down. We've improved test scores. We've made life expectancy in this city longer than the country as a whole."
The most dynamic moment of the one-hour debate, co-sponsored by the Daily News, occurred in response to a question about a spike in the number of shootings in the city.
Taking a rare swipe at Ferrer, Bloomberg questioned his opponent's record on gun control and chided him for campaigning with Democratic National Committee Chairman Howard Dean, who has been endorsed by the National Rifle Association.
"Let's talk about Mike Bloomberg's support of the [Republican] party and the President whose policies have hurt this city," Ferrer retorted.
"Not on this policy, I didn't," snapped Bloomberg, referring to gun control.
Pointing at the mayor, Ferrer said, "You have supported right-wing politicians. ... You can't have it both ways."
Then he turned to face Bloomberg, and charged, "You can't disclaim responsibility for the policies you politically and financially support."
"I'm going to go and fight for the city, Freddy, and I can't have everybody in Washington vote for everything I like," Bloomberg replied. "I wish they would. But they don't."
Talking over the mayor, Ferrer insisted, "You could do this city a big favor sometimes by putting your checkbook away."
On the issues, the duo offered very different policy visions:
Despite a budget deficit estimated at $4.5 billion for the fiscal year beginning July 1, Bloomberg said he expected the the city would get through the year "without any tax increases or fee increases."
Ferrer said he would cut taxes and slammed Bloomberg's 18.5% property tax hike.
Bloomberg, who closed six fire companies in 2003, refused to rule out closing others. Ferrer said he would reopen four of the six "immediately."
The former Bronx borough president vowed yesterday to set aside 10% of city-funded apartments for the homeless. Bloomberg said he would have to study the issue further before making such a commitment, but noted the number of homeless is decreasing in the city.
While policy issues dominated the debate, Ferrer - running in a city where Democrats outnumber Republicans 5-to-1 - turned back time and time again to the mayor's party affiliation. "Are you proud of George Bush?" he asked the mayor.
"I agree with him on some things. I disagree with him on others," Bloomberg said. "We have to have a bipartisan approach. ... You've got to work with everybody."
It was the first of two mayoral debates. The next is tomorrow at 7 p.m. on Channel 4. Originally published on October 30, 2005

gotham news

By ROBIN POGREBIN
Published: October 31, 2005
For downtown arts groups struggling with the void left by the 9/11 attacks, a 2002 "blueprint for renewal" seemed full of promise. Drafted by the agency in charge of rebuilding in Lower Manhattan, it pledged to develop "a critical mass of dynamic, enticing and diverse cultural venues" there.
The agency, the Lower Manhattan Development Corporation, also promised to help cultural institutions in the area - and those that might be thinking of relocating downtown - to find the sites and the money they would need to expand or move.
Three years later, the development corporation has accomplished practically none of the above. The number of cultural groups, including libraries, below Canal Street now, according to the Lower Manhattan Cultural Council, a nonprofit advocacy organization, has plummeted to 112, from 200 before 9/11. The $45 million that the development corporation set aside last May for cultural groups that are not part of the master plan at ground zero has yet to be distributed.
Tom Healy, the president of the Lower Manhattan Cultural Council, expressed frustration over the delay. "Nothing has happened," he said. "There is no plan. There is no group that's been chosen to help them give that out yet. And it would make a huge difference now, that kind of money."
Given the gradual evaporation of planned cultural organizations at the ground zero site itself, many downtown arts groups are pessimistic.
The Freedom Center was dropped from the site last month by Gov. George E. Pataki in response to objections from the families of some 9/11 victims who wanted a strictly patriotic memorial focus; the Drawing Center, which had sought to relocate from SoHo, was forced out for similar reasons. Both had been chosen in June 2004 to share a museum building designed by the Norwegian firm Snohetta.
"We're all pretty upset about it," said Holly Block, the executive director of Art in General, an alternative art space on Walker Street. "It's very problematic that it's been politicized."
Contributing to the bleak picture, a performing arts center that was to be designed for the ground zero site by Frank Gehry and shared by the Joyce Theater, which presents dance, and the Signature Theater, an Off Broadway company, is on the back burner. And Anita Contini, the point person for culture on the development corporation, resigned from that post in July and is unlikely to be replaced.
While many arts groups have stuck it out downtown and several are trying to upgrade their operations, all say they could use more help. Three-Legged Dog, a media and theater group, has been struggling since Tower 7 fell on its headquarters at 30 West Broadway. The company cut its staff from 27 to 2, suspended salaries for nine months and stopped production for a year and a half.
The group decided that the route to survival was building a new home. It has managed to raise $3 million toward a $4.6 million arts complex, now under construction at 80 Greenwich Street. But there is still $1.6 million to go.
Three-Legged Dog said it had asked the development corporation for help but never heard back. "We've had a request to them for about three years now," said Kevin Cunningham, the company's executive artistic director.
Members of Dance New Amsterdam, a nonprofit dance service organization, say they asked the development corporation for $1 million two years ago but also never received any response. "I think everyone is so discouraged about L.M.D.C.," said Charles D. Wright, the group's executive director. Still, the dance group managed to raise $4.5 million over the last few years for a new 25,000-square-foot space, now under construction at 280 Broadway in the Sun building. Such arts groups have managed to endure mostly through contributions from various foundations, individuals and local downtown groups, like the cultural council, which was given $5 million from the Sept. 11 Fund to distribute in the first three years after 9/11. "With the cultural plan stalled at ground zero, it's all the more important that the rest of what goes on culturally gets supported," Mr. Healy said.
The development corporation has been noticeably absent from this effort, arts groups say. "They've said all along that they are going to be helping people in the neighborhood," said Mr. Cunningham of 3-Legged Dog.
1
2Next Page >

gotham news

By MICHAEL BRICK
Published: October 31, 2005
Investigators are pursuing a criminal inquiry involving macabre dealings in mortuaries and unseemly sales of flesh and bone.
Investors in a Brooklyn funeral home have told the police that they suspect an embalmer improperly removed body parts. The embalmer had connections to a dentist whose business, Biomedical Tissue Services of Fort Lee, N.J., sold human tissue to processing companies, a legitimate but poorly understood niche of medical science. The police quietly pursued the investigation for more than a year until it was disclosed in newspapers this month.
Now investigators are following an abundance of leads from people identifying themselves as relatives of victims, a law enforcement official said, adding that no charges had been filed and no grand jury convened. The federal Food and Drug Administration has warned the public that Biomedical Tissue Services may have obtained tissue without getting proper consent from donors or screening the tissue for disease, and that some of that tissue may have been implanted in patients. Law enforcement officials spoke on condition of anonymity because there have been no charges and the investigation is unfinished.
The notion of a clandestine human chop shop has attracted some of the familiar characters of New York scandal. Sanford Rubenstein, the lawyer best known for representing the Rev. Al Sharpton and Abner Louima, went before five television cameras to announce a civil lawsuit on behalf of a man who said that tissue had been taken from his father's body. Mr. Rubenstein said that he was also taking calls from other people who were making similar claims.
The case's origins trace to a complicated disagreement over the sale of a funeral home in Brooklyn.
A couple operating the funeral home approached the police and prosecutors more than a year ago with accusations of fraud, an investigator and the law enforcement official said. An offhand remark developed into an accusation that the embalmer was returning bodies with parts missing, and the embalmer's business connections to the dentist led to questions about the possibility of sales of improperly obtained tissue.
Since the investigation was disclosed in The Daily News on Oct. 7, its twists and turns have given tabloid editors occasion to design headlines with the words "ghouls," "ghoulish" and "harvest" and the phrase "Body-Snatch Probe Widens."
Tales of stolen body parts are timelessly resonant, tied to the sanctity of dying and fear of the unknown. The 1978 movie "Coma," directed by Michael Crichton, told a fictional story of doctors stealing organs from patients. For years, the State Department has sought to dispel rumors of an international trade in baby organs, distributing materials that quote the French folklorist Veronique Campion-Vincent: "The baby-parts story is a new - updated and technologized - version of an immemorial fable."
Two central themes of the New York story have drawn scrutiny in recent years. In 2002, oversight of the funeral industry was much discussed after the discovery of 280 bodies dumped in the woods near a Georgia crematory. And last year, the underground market for body parts was underscored by a scandal at the University of California, Los Angeles, where an employee was accused of conspiring to sell body parts.
Experts say the nature of these fears is evolving as advances in technology make more parts of the body useful and consequently valuable. An area of medical science once mostly limited to whole vital organs like hearts, livers and kidneys has expanded to include muscle, bone, tendon and skin used in therapies and research.
And an aging population with the resources to pay for health care options has increased demand, said Doug Wilson, vice president of LifeNet, a nonprofit organ donation and tissue banking system in Virginia Beach, Va.
"This story has been written with different players - the names are now changed - over the last 10 years," Mr. Wilson said. "There's more use of tissue today because orthopedic and neurosurgery are increasing because baby boomers are getting older. They want to remain active and golf and play tennis and jog five miles and keep their cholesterol levels down."
As the industry has grown, the possibility of infection from diseased tissue has become a concern. A galvanizing case was the death in 2001 of Brian Lykins, 23, who received tainted tissue during knee surgery in Minnesota. In May, the Food and Drug Administration enacted safety standards for tissue processors, governing labeling, packaging and distribution.
That agency is one of several investigating the New York case. Law enforcement officials and representatives of people involved in the inquiry say the case can be traced to the sale of the Daniel George & Son Funeral Home in Bensonhurst. Records in Kings County Supreme Court show that Daniel George Jr. signed an agreement in March 2002 to sell the home to Joseph Nicelli of Staten Island.
1
2Next Page >

gotham news
By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
Published: October 31, 2005
Filed at 6:03 a.m. ET
LONDON (AP) -- Telefonica SA of Spain announced Monday that it has agreed to buy the mobile phone company O2 PLC in a 17.7 billion-pound ($31.4 billion) cash deal that it said would help expand its presence in two of Europe's largest markets, the U.K. and Germany.
Peter Erskine, chief executive of O2, said two companies operated in different geographical areas and that was a strong reason for recommending the deal.
''It's ... good for customers. They have no overlapping territory, so they will be able to offer our customers better roaming and better services around the world,'' Erskine told British Broadcasting Corp. radio.
''Finally, it's very good for our people. Because there's no overlapping territories, we can really build on what we've got, as opposed to having to integrate and rationalize jobs.''
The deal follows Telefonica's 2.75 billion euro (US$3.32) acquisition of a majority stake in Czech operator Cesky Telekom earlier this year as it expands in Europe.
Telefonica agreed to pay 200 pence (euro2.94; US$3.55) per share, a 22 percent premium over O2's closing price on Friday. Shares in O2 gained 28 percent to 204 pence (euro3.00; US$3.62) in trading Monday on the London Stock Exchange.
O2 and its subsidiaries provide service to nearly 25 million customers in Britain, Ireland and Germany, where the company says it is the fastest-growing mobile telephone operator. O2 was created in 1971 from the mobile telephone operation of BT PLC, Britain's largest telecommunications company.
Erskine said the deal could be completed by January or February if shareholders approve.
Telefonica had around 145 million customers in June and 173,000 employees.
------
On the Net:
http://www.02.com
http://www.telefonica.com

gotham news
The Roots of 'Hispanic'1975 Committee of Bureaucrats Produced DesignationWashington Post Wednesday, October 15, 2003; Page A21 By Darryl Fears Washington Post Staff Writer During Hispanic Heritage Month, Grace Flores-Hughes did not dance at any galas, sit on any panels or receive any awards. And when the annual celebration ends today, the 57-year-old Mexican American will look back on another year of being forgotten. Hardly anyone knows that 28 years ago, Flores-Hughes and a handful of other Spanish-speaking federal employees helped make the decision that changed how people with mixed Spanish heritage would be identified in this country. In 1975, when Flores-Hughes was a baby-faced bureaucrat working for the Department of Health, Education and Welfare, she sat on the highly contentious Ad Hoc Committee on Racial and Ethnic Definitions. "We chose the word 'Hispanic,' " she said proudly in a recent interview. The choice resounded throughout the federal government, including at the Office of Management and Budget, which placed the word on census forms for the first time in 1980. But the decision touched off a debate in the wider community over whether "Latino" should have been the designated term, and that debate still rages. Flores-Hughes, a federal appointee who lives in Alexandria, does not engage in it. She is more concerned with setting the record straight.
"People keep saying that Richard Nixon is the reason why we're called 'Hispanic,' " she said. "And I think, 'Where did they get that from?' " But no one can be blamed for not knowing. Few records survive to document the committee's existence or its work. A search of the federal Education Resources Information Center yielded a single report that includes a list of members and the chairman, Charles Johnson of the Census Bureau. Even former representative Robert Garcia (D-N.Y.), who worked diligently for a "Hispanic" designation in those days, said, "I didn't know the committee existed." The story of how the term came to be embraced by government is more important than ever, Flores-Hughes said, because it is crucial to the debate over whether to identify people as "Hispanic" or "Latino," a debate that vexes the Spanish-speaking and Spanish-surnamed community and non-Hispanic Americans with connections to it. "Latino" refers to the Latin-based Romance languages of Spain, France, Italy and Portugal. The term embraces Portuguese-speaking Brazilians in a way that the word "Hispanic" does not."Hispanic" is an American derivation from "Hispaña," the Spanish- language term for the cultural diaspora created by Spain. That diaspora is the result of a bygone age of conquest, which disturbs many of the people who prefer "Latino.""For us Spaniards, there's always a very strong link to the Spanish-speaking people across the Atlantic," said Javier Ruperez, the Spanish ambassador to the United States. "They are part of the Spanish family."Ruperez said he understands that people who prefer "Latino" "want to follow their own path. But it hurts. I think it's untrue to say that 'Hispanic' reflects imperialism. Our history is a part of human history. Empires come and go."Abdin Noboa-Rios, a member of the ad hoc committee, said some members wanted to use the Spanish-language term "Hispano," but were overruled by others who felt that "Hispanic" would be less confusing, even though it is rarely used outside the United States. A survey by the Pew Hispanic Center and Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation last year found that a majority of Hispanics and Latinos -- 53 percent -- have no preference for either term. An overwhelming majority prefer to identify themselves by national origin. But among those who listed a preference, "Hispanic" was widely favored. Activists, however, assert that "Latino" is fast becoming the favored term, as students, intellectuals and scholars refer to it almost exclusively in their works.Flores-Hughes said those activists wrongly insist that "Hispanic" was thrust on them by white bureaucrats who knew very little about their culture. Members of the ad hoc committee said it was hastily formed early in 1975, after educators of Puerto Rican, Cuban, Mexican and Native American descent stormed out of a meeting called to discuss a report at the Federal Interagency Committee on Education. The group never got around to discussing the report, on the education of Chicanos, Puerto Ricans and Indians. They were livid over how it wrongly identified certain groups. As Flores-Hughes put it, "they came ready for bear."Caspar W. Weinberger, secretary of Health, Education and Welfare at the time, knew he had a problem. He ordered that a committee be convened to solve the identity matter for good.The committee included African Americans, Asians and Pacific Islanders, Caucasians and Native Americans, in addition to Latinos. During the year they met, arguments erupted over now-outdated terms such as "colored" and "Oriental." But the most contentious arguments took place in the group that blended Spanish and English. It included Flores-Hughes of HEW, Philip (Felipe) Garcia of the Department of Housing and Urban Development, Noboa- Rios of the National Institute of Education and Paul Planchon of the Office of Management and Budget."There was never any consensus in that group to the very end," said Noboa-Rios, who preferred the term "Latino" and still does. "We came up with an agreement, but . . . there were some bad feelings. I know two people who didn't speak for up to a year after it was over."Noboa-Rios said he agreed to "Hispanic," because "we had to transcend labels. For the purposes of the census it was important to know who we were, because we were an underrepresented population."He remembered Flores-Hughes, but vaguely. Her name was Grace Flores then, and she was 26 years old. She was a low-level employee in the Special Concerns section of HEW, with only a high school education, serving on her first board."I was like a little kid involved in every aspect of the office," she said. Flores-Hughes went on to earn a bachelor's degree in psychology from the University of the District of Columbia and a master's in public administration from Harvard University. She now lectures on managing a culturally diverse workforce in the public/private sector and serves as an appointee to the Federal Service Impasses Panel of the Federal Labor Relations Authority.Flores-Hughes grew up in Taft, Tex., not far from Corpus Christi. Her grandfather regaled her with stories about serving in the army of Pancho Villa. He was originally from Spain, she said, and his family moved to Mexico."I was called a 'wetback,' a 'Mexkin' and a 'dirty Mexkin,' " she said. "In public school, I had to be careful what I said. If I spoke Spanish, they would send me home for three days." Her driver's license identified her as Latin American.That was going through her mind when arguments were raging on the committee.
" 'Hispanic' was better than anything I had been called as a kid," she said.
"Latino," she said, would have included Italians, so she would not endorse it. And "Spanish surname" would have given protection to people who had never been discriminated against, she said. Besides, she said, not everyone in the Spanish diaspora has a Spanish-sounding name.
"It was hard eliminating all those terms," she said. "I felt alone. But I was determined to stick to 'Hispanic.' We kept going back to Spain. We couldn't get away from it." © 2003 The Washington Post Company

gotham news

New York State Government Affairs
Your voice in New YorkWelcome to the New York State Issues and Government Affairs site. As your voice in New York, we represent the high-tech industry and have an positive impact on the issues that can affect your business. If you have any questions or would like to find out more about our NY Government Affairs Committee, email Justin Wright, Executive Director or call 518.427.0963.
Government and Public Policy Sites of Interest
AeA's Online Advocacy Software - Make your voice heard and learn more about your federal, state, and local elected Oregon officials by the click of a button.
Empire State Development - includes information on how New York has changed, it's strengths, etc.
New York State Assembly - includes information on legislature, reports, committees, press releases, etc.
State of New York - includes information on government agencies, economy, education, etc.
The Whitehouse - includes information on The President and Vice President, commonly requested Federal Services, press releases, etc.
U.S. House of Representatives - includes information on House Operations, Member's Offices, Commissions, Task Forces, etc.
U.S. Senate - includes Senators, Committees. Legislative Activities, etc.

gotham news
By ERIC LIPTON
Published: October 27, 2005
WASHINGTON, Oct. 26 - The three-year federal investigation into the collapse of the World Trade Center failed to sufficiently identify specific changes needed in building codes to ensure that skyscrapers and other tall buildings can better handle a future terrorist attack or even a more routine emergency, members of Congress said Wednesday.

As a result, said Republicans and Democrats on the House Science Committee, the efforts to improve skyscraper safety in the aftermath of the Sept. 11, 2001, attack are moving far too slowly, a situation that they say the federal government and those in charge of establishing national building codes have a moral obligation to correct.
"A lot of people are impatient, understandably," said Representative Sherwood Boehlert, Republican of central New York, the chairman of the committee. "And a lot of people want action as quickly as possible."
The criticism emerged at a hearing during which the National Institute of Standards and Technology formally released its final report on the collapse of the twin towers, a $16 million study that has produced more than 10,000 pages of findings detailing exactly why the towers were able to stand after being hit by planes, but ultimately collapsed.
The study, which used computers to meticulously reconstruct the attack and the resulting fires and structural damage, also examined the evacuation of the towers and the response by the New York City Fire Department and other emergency personnel.
The report includes 30 recommendations for improving building safety, including requiring more-reliable emergency-communications systems and wider stairwells or more robustly built elevators that can be used during catastrophic emergencies to evacuate towers.
But the recommendations are not detailed enough, or sufficiently documented, to be rapidly incorporated into standard building code publications that local and state governments use to guide them in drafting local codes, the members of Congress said. Some of the code-writing officials present at the House hearing Wednesday agreed.
"N.I.S.T. has fallen short of making this a true reference manual for the protection of big buildings," said Representative Anthony D. Weiner, Democrat of Brooklyn and Queens.
Despite the calls to rapidly adopt many of the recommended changes, it was also clear on Wednesday that many of the provisions would face intense opposition. The Building Owners and Managers Association International, a Washington-based group that represents the real estate industry, submitted a statement to the House committee strongly objecting to many of the proposed safety improvements.
"This recommendation is just too costly to implement," says the letter to Representative Boehlert, objecting to a proposed requirement that tall buildings have black-box-like devices so investigators can better understand how a fire or other event unfolded. "How many building collapses have there been, ever?"
William Jeffrey, the institute's director, told the committee that he agreed that his agency must do more to help code-writing organizations like the International Code Council and the National Fire Protection Association adopt the recommended changes. Under questioning, he agreed that by March, he would prepare actual language for possible code amendments that will be submitted to the International Code Council.
Past investigations by the institute into damage caused by hurricanes in Florida and the collapse of an apartment building in Connecticut in 1987 resulted in tougher building code and inspection requirements, he said.
"We will do everything possible to add the World Trade Center investigation to this list," he said.
Mr. Jeffrey emphasized that the institute's recommendations - ranging from backup water supplies for fire sprinklers to a requirement that towers be built so that fires can burn out of control until they run out of fuel and still not threaten a building's structural integrity - are intended to make buildings safer in a variety of possible emergencies.
But central to the debate over any possible code changes will be consideration of how widespread the new requirements should be, leaders of the code-writing groups and some members of Congress said.
"Why on earth would you expect the Landmark Center on Six Forks Road in Raleigh to have the same standards, preparation against terrorist attack, as the John Hancock Center would have?" asked Representative Brad Miller, Democrat from North Carolina, referring to his old six-story law office building in North Carolina and the iconic tower in Chicago. "It has got to be a balance of cost against risk."
Building code officials said the full array of recommendations made by the institute would most likely add a few percent to the cost of designing and building new towers. But so far, officials of the institute have not recommended which buildings might merit having the more stringent requirements.
Even without consensus on many of the recommendations, several code organizations have amended their standards to incorporate safety elements sought by the institute.
The National Fire Protection Association, for instance, incorporated a provision that requires wider stairwells in buildings with more than 2,000 people. And last year, New York City wrote some of these skyscraper safety provisions into its building code.
Nancy McNabb, director of government affairs for the National Fire Protection Association, said all of the code-writing groups recognize that the lessons from the World Trade Center could not be forgotten.
"To learn nothing and do nothing would be delinquent," she said, a remark that Representative Boehlert then repeated, word for word.

gotham news
By JOHN MARKOFF
Published: October 26, 2005
SAN FRANCISCO, Oct. 26 - A team of Stanford electrical engineers has discovered how to modulate, or switch on and off, a beam of laser light up to a 100 billion times a second with materials that are widely used in the semiconductor industry.
The group used a standard chip-making process to design a key component of optical networking gear potentially more than 10 times faster than the highest-performance commercial products available today.
The team reported its discovery in the current issue of Nature, which was published on Wednesday. Such an advance could have broad applications both in accelerating the already declining cost of optical networking and in potentially transforming computers in the future by making it possible to interconnect computer chips at extremely high data rates.
Currently, the communications industry uses costly equipment to transmit data over optical fibers at up to 10 billion bits per second. However, researchers are already experimenting with optically linked computers in which components may be located on different sides of the globe. Cheap optical switches will also make it possible to create data superhighways inside computers, making it possible to reorganize them for better performance.
"The vision here is that, with the much stronger physics, we can imagine large numbers - hundreds or even thousands - of optical connections off of chips," said David A.B. Miller, director of the Solid State and Photonics Laboratory at Stanford University. "Those large numbers could get rid of the bottlenecks of wiring, bottlenecks that are quite evident today and are one of the reasons the clock speeds on your desktop computer have not really been going up much in recent years."
The modulator, or solid-state shutter, reported by the team, could also have a dramatic effect on the telecommunications industry, which is already being transformed by the falling cost of optical fiber networks.
The device, which is constructed from silicon and germanium, would alternately block and transmit light from a separate continuous wave laser beam, making it possible to split the beam into a stream of ones and zeros.
The effect, known as a Quantum-Confined Stark Effect, or QCSE, has been previously demonstrated, but was not expected in the germanium, a material that is compatible with the industry's silicon-based manufacturing technologies.
The Stark Effect allows materials to act as shutters for particular wavelengths of light as an electrical field is switched on and off. In the past, however, the effect has been achieved in optoelectronic applications by using exotic materials like gallium Aarsenide, which are not easily compatible with standard chip-making techniques.
"What we achieved is somewhat surprising," said James S. Harris, a Stanford University electrical engineering professor, who is a member of the research group. "No one thought it would work."
The research project was supported both by the Intel Corporation and by the Pentagon's Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency. Intel has been intensely interested in the possibility of designing optical communications components with standard chip-making tools, both for networking and computer communications applications. Theodore I. Kamins, a quantum materials specialist at Hewlett-Packard Laboratories, also contributed to the research effort.
"They've made a big leap," said Mario Paniccia, director of Intel's Photonics Technology Laboratory. That research group has made a number of announcements about progress in development of similar components that could lead to low-cost optical network systems in the future.
He acknowledged, however, that there is a significant gap between research results and commercial availability of devices based on scientific breakthroughs.
Other designers working in the field were also cautious about direct applications of the technology. Alex Dickenson, chief executive of Luxtera, a Carlsbad, Calif. start-up firm that announced a 10-billion bit per second optical modulator using a different silicon-based approach earlier this year, said that he believed there would significant hurdles to the commercialization of the Stanford discovery.
He cautioned that while the display was interesting from an academic perspective, the researchers had yet to prove that the effect works at the standard frequencies of light used by the telecommunications industry.
Several industry executives said the advance was significant because it meant that optical data networks were now on the same Moore's Law curve of increasing performance and falling cost that has driven the computer industry for the past four decades. In 1965, the Intel co-founder Gordon Moore noted that the number of transistors that could be placed on a silicon chip was doubling at regular intervals. The semiconductor industry has held to that rate of change since then, giving rise to the modern era of microelectronics that has transformed the global economy.
Now that rate of change could be directing the future of the telecommunications industry. Computer and communications industry executives believe that advancements in inexpensive optical networks will transform the computer industry and other major industries ranging from the financial marketplace to Hollywood.
Next Article in Technology (1 of 13) >

gotham news
By IGON L. as told to ELLEN LAMMERS
Published: October 23, 2005
I always thought it would be bullets that would kill me, or a land mine - but now it's this disease, a silent enemy. War and AIDS often go together, I suppose.
It is painful to be in a hospital in a foreign country. I am here in Kampala, in Uganda, because I escaped the civil war in my homeland of Sudan. I participated in this war for many years. Leaving it was difficult, and dangerous too - desertion is treason. But I had to leave.
When I was young, living in Sudan, I had so many dreams. I wanted to go to university. But when I was about 17, Shariah was introduced by the Arab government, and all education in the Christian south changed from English to Arabic. My chance for further education was over. I became active in student protests, but these were violently suppressed, and I saw only one alternative. I left my town and went to the bush to join the Sudan People's Liberation Army. Like many of my fellow students, I wanted to fight for my right to education.
When I first fought on the front line, I was scared but also excited. We believed we were liberating the people of southern Sudan from oppression by the northern Arab government. We imagined that in time we would help reconstruct our country and recover the opportunities we had lost.
But to be honest, I barely understood. I did not know this war was also about oil, and race, and big men with big egos. My childhood had been so protected. I was the last-born of 13 children and spoiled by my sisters. Then there I was, a teenage soldier taught to chant: "This gun, this Kalashnikov, is my mother, my food, my everything, including my wife!" It was intoxicating.
We followed orders and killed with pride. But also out of revenge for all the friends we lost - comrades with whom we sang songs in the evening and who were dead the next day. Random killing is against the values of my culture, but I was young and made to believe it was a normal thing.
Then, after more than eight years of fighting, one battle left me severely wounded. As a result, I was assigned to be a radio operator. It was then that I began to see things differently. I came to denounce the unnecessary killings, the personal ambitions of commanders for which whole villages suffered. And I deeply regretted my part in all this.
One day I refused orders, and that night they came for me. I was asleep in my tent. Three officers arrested me and took me to prison. I was interrogated and beaten. But I was lucky. One of the guards knew me and helped me escape. He knew I was scheduled to be executed. On that morning, he escorted me for a bath in a stream and let me go. I walked through the forest up to the Ugandan border.
That is how I ended up here. It has been more than five years. Five years of relying on the whims of charity, of scraping a living for my wife and young children, who eventually managed to follow me out here. Civilian life proves hard.
In January, after 22 years of fighting, peace was signed with the Arab government. But all Sudanese wonder whether this peace will hold. The soldiers gave much of their lives, and they demand returns: they want land, authority, money to feed their wives and educate their children. I pray they will not fight again. The problem is, guns are everywhere. In Sudan, you don't need to go looking for guns: they come and look for you.
I feel sad that people in the West never talked about our war - don't they know that all these years their governments put big money into it? Then again, we in Africa still need to learn to speak of this dreadful disease. My wife is afraid to tell her family that we have AIDS. I blame myself. She was dishonored by enemy soldiers, like so many village women who stayed behind while their men were fighting.
I feel as if an army of warrior ants has swept through my body. My legs can barely carry me. My hair is gone. But I haven't given up hope. The doctors are kind, and they assure me I still have a chance. That's if they manage to get me medication.
If I'm still alive in, say, November, I will go back to Sudan. I'm no longer with the military, no longer with politics, but I will stand with my people. Meanwhile I'm determined to use this time to tape some of my memories. So many children in Sudan don't know anything about their parents. Sometimes I wish I could send my children back into the womb of their mother, but I can't. I want them to at least remember my voice.
Igom L. died in July. To protect his family, he is identified here by his first name and last initial. This essay is adapted from interviews conducted with him in Uganda between July 1999 and May 2005 by Ellen Lammers, a medical anthropologist based at the University of Amsterdam
Next Article in Magazine (13 of 16) >