A Farewell to Homo Sacer? Sovereign Power and Bare Life in Agamben's Coronavirus Commentary

The article addresses Giorgio Agamben's critical commentary on the global governance of the Covid-19 pandemic as a paradigm of his political thought. While Agamben's comments have been criticized as exaggerated and conspiratorial, they arise from the conceptual constellation that he has developed starting from the first volume of his Homo Sacer series. At the centre of this constellation is the relation between the concepts of sovereign power and bare life, whose articulation in the figure of homo sacer Agamben traces from the Antiquity to the present. We shall demonstrate that any such articulation is impossible due to the belonging of these concepts to different planes, respectively empirical and transcendental, which Agamben brings together in a problematic fashion. His account of the sovereign state of exception collapses a plurality of empirical states of exception into a zone of indistinction between different exceptional states and the normal state and then elevates this very indistinction to the transcendental condition of intelligibility of politics as such. Conversely, the notion of bare life, originally posited as the transcendental condition of possibility of positive forms of life, is recast as an empirical figure, whose sole form is the absence of form. We conclude that this problematic articulation should be abandoned for a theory that rather highlights the non-relation between sovereign power and bare life, which conditions the possibility of resistance and transformation that remains obscure in Agamben's thought.

A Review of Phytochemistry and Pharmacology on Moringa Oleifera

Natural extracts have been of very interest since ancient times due to their enormous medicinal use and research attention. Moringa oleifera is well known as miracle tree as it consists of high nutritive values. Originally from India is widely distributed in many tropical regions, in the pacific region, west Africa as well as central America. India is the major supplier of Moringa worldwide, accounting for around 80% of global demand. It is a multipurpose plant cultivated for medicinal applications. It contains rich sources of Vit- A, B1, B2, B3 and C, It also has calcium, potassium, iron, magnesium, zinc and phospherus. Moringa species contain various phytoconstituents such as alkaloids, saponins,tannins, steroids.phenolic acids( gallic, vanillic and p-coumaric acids) and flavanoids(catechin), tocopherol ,glucosinolates and terpenes. Investigations of ethanol extract of the leaves gives lutein, B-carotene,phytyl fatty acids, esters, poly phenols, B- sitosterols,triglycerols,fatty acids and saturated hydrocarbons. Leaves were obtained by super critical extraction with CO2 using ethanol as a cosolvent, temperature 35-80 0C.The phenolic acids( gallic, vanillic and p- coumaric acids) and flavanoids(catechin) were identified in all extracts. Extracts obtained at 35 degrees shows the highest values of total phenolic compounds. The activities of plant include Anti-oxidants, anti-cancer, anti-microbial, anti-viral,anti- hyperglycemic,anti-hyperlipidemic,anti-inflammatory,anti-hypertension, anti-spasmodic and others. Due to covid-19 pandemic, the global Moringa products market size is estimated to be worth USD 5167.2 million in 2022. Leaf powder is expected to exceed USD 6 billion by 2025 on account of increasing demand in the dietary supplement and food applications.

Herbs for Heart: Benefits for Post-Covid Cardiac Protection

The severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2)-caused coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic, which began in early December 2019, has spread quickly over the world and presented an unprecedented threat to human health. The disease is characterized by cytokine storm, resulting in endothelial inflammation/dysfunction, micro- and macro-vascular thrombosis, which may damage organs other than the lung. COVID-19 substantially impairs the cardiovascular system. According to the study published in the journal Nature Medicine, patients with COVID-19 were more likely to have a wide range of cardiovascular conditions. Thus, one of the most useful tools in the therapeutic management of post-covid cardiovascular illnesses will be cardio-protection and treatment. Despite improvements in CVD management and therapy, CVDs continue to claim more lives than other cancer types combined. As a result, there has been significant enforcement of CVD prevention in recent years. Since ancient times, people have used herbs to treat cardiovascular conditions. The journal of Clinical Phytoscience published an article in 2021 that used cluster analysis to choose 128 plants. These herbs effectively protected the heart. This study and subsequent analysis revealed that herbal remedies like Arjuna, Tribulus, and Tinospora have potent cardioprotective characteristics. The evidence for these herbs' cardiovascular protection is highlighted in the current review.

An Overview of Biotechnological Applications in Ayurveda: Amalgamation of Modern Techniques and Science

Health systems and their trends are continually evolving with advanced research on new tools and techniques. Since every health system has its limitations, there is a requirement for the integration of different medical systems to better serve mankind. In this direction, a practitioner of modern medicine should take into consideration traditional medicine practices, while the traditional medicine practitioner should also integrate the beneficial strategies of modern medicine. In spite of different approaches, the aim of all these medical systems is the same, which is to serve mankind by treating various health problems. Although traditional medicine has the potential to treat a variety of diseases, its acceptance by the global community is less than that of modern medicine due to inadequate scientific validation of its therapeutic benefits. In recent years, many new diseases have emerged, perhaps due to changes in geography, environment, weather conditions, and soil composition. A complete treatment of such diseases is a challenge for all medical practitioners, whether belonging to modern or traditional medicine. Therefore, an in-depth multidisciplinary research is needed to find an effective therapeutic strategy by connecting modern and traditional medical systems with biomedical sciences. In this direction, biotechnology can play an important role in developing a diagnostic method and treatment protocol. The present review provides an overview of the available Ayurvedic treatment options and future possibilities in which biotechnology may assist as a service provider. Copyright © 2023 Bentham Science Publishers.

Beyond Jewish Racial Justice Activism Can Jewish Tradition Guide Us in Times of COVID-19 and Black Lives Matter?

The novel coronavirus crisis exposed deep racial inequalities in the United States. People of color are disproportionately affected by the pandemic and its economic impact. These social inequalities, paired with anti-Black racist violence by the police, led to a series of racial justice protests under the umbrella of Black Lives Matter. Many Jews participated and supported these anti-racist efforts. But can Jewish tradition guide us in tackling racist injustices in the twenty-first century? This article will present some dilemmas surrounding traditional Jewish teachings and whether they can help address racial justice today.

DEVELOPING VACCINES TO COMBAT HUMAN DISEASES: A HISTORY

This article traces the development of vaccines from the early attempts to combat a fatal disease caused by variola (smallpox) virus in antiquity, through to the highly technical advances which have led to the efficacious vaccines targeting COVID-19. As vaccine preparation has advanced, so has the understanding of the immune response to immunisation and the realisation that the use of adjuvants is essential to boosting the immune response. Furthermore, coupling polysaccharides to proteins is important in achieving vaccine efficacy in young children and older adults. Successful vaccination programmes have led to marked reductions in mortality associated with the diseases targeted by those vaccines – and to the unintended consequence of cultural amnesia regarding those diseases. The anti-vaccination movement has gained traction by riding on this cultural amnesia to capitalise on spurious associations, infrequent public-health disasters around inadvertent administration of faulty vaccine preparations and rare adverse events to build a case against vaccination. This tension between the advances in vaccine production and the criticism cast at the pro-vaccination agenda should be viewed as an agent for growth in the development of safe and effective vaccines, and in the planning to combat future pandemics.

Editorial

[...]with many, if not all, countries lifting restrictions and international travel reopening, the 2022 in-person archaeology conference calendar looks particularly full, including EAA (Budapest), WAC (Prague), PanAf (Zanzibar), SEAA (Daegu, South Korea) and IPPA (Chiang Mai, Thailand). Sadly, the renovation of the Native North America Hall was not quite complete in time for the SAA meeting, though the curators were on hand in the gallery space to greet delegates and discuss the plans;the new displays subsequently opened at the end of May (Figure 1). The use of remotely sensed data for the detection and assessment of looting and other damage to archaeological sites has frequently featured in the pages of Antiquity.1 Much of this work has focused on the arid landscapes of the Middle East;Kirsty's research investigates the densely forested landscapes of Central America and makes the case for the wider application of lidar in this very different environment to help combat the persistent and widespread looting of sites across the region. Evaluating nearly 70 000 s drawn from 41 annual meetings, the authors identify very limited discussion of racism-related topics over the past 50 years, although they do note an uptick over the past decade. [...]the results suggest that most of the attention to racism documented in the s relates to the research of historical archaeologists working on the last few centuries, with much less discussion amongst specialists of other, earlier periods.

Informative Review on Pharmacognostic, Phytochemistry, Ethnopharmacological, and Phytopharmacological Actions of Tinospora cordifolia

Herbal drugs are medicinally and therapeutically active. From ancient times, Tinospora cordifolia belongs to Menispermaceae. This plant generally contains tinosporine, hydroxy ecdysone, furanoid diterpene, tinosponone, terpenoids, sinapic acid, and aliphatic compounds. Major phytopharmacological actions are significantly reported are against Diabetes Mellitus (DM), SARS-CoV-2 syndrome, boost immunity, treat influenza, viral infection, lymphoma, anticancer, antipyretic, effective against several bacteria such as Mycobacterium leprae, Mycobacterium tuberculosis, Neisseria gonorrhoeae and having diverse variety beneficial properties. This review is an endeavor on many isolated chemical components from T. cordifolia, medicinal utilization of this plant against several disorders, ethnopharmacology, phytopharmacological actions.

Anti-Obesity Siddha Medicinal Plants-A Preclinical Review

Obesity is a complex multi factorial preventable disease affecting all age groups of both the sexes. Now one third of world’s population is overweight or obese. From 1980 the world-wide prevalence of obesity has become doubled. Overweight and obesity were the 5th foremost causes of death globally. Obesity is associated with many co morbid diseases. Prevalence of obesity with co morbidities is on big alarm throughout the world. Recently in COVID-19 pandemic most of the obese people get affected due to the co morbidities and reduced immunity. The anti-obesity properties of medicinal plants were known from ancient times in traditional Siddha medicine some thousand years ago. Many Siddha medicinal plants showed anti-obesity activities that can be utilized in the management of obesity, through which the complications of obesity can be prevented. Most researches explored the anti-obesity potentials of medicinal plants. Terminalia chebula, Phyllanthus niruri, zingiber officinale, Piper longum, Curcuma longa, Elettaria cardamomum, Cuminum cyminum, Picrorhiza kurroa, Ipomea turpethum, Tinospora cordifolia, Michelia champaka are some medicinal plants possess anti-obesity properties that had been indicated in Siddha classical text. The objective of this review is to validate the anti-obesity potentials of Siddha medicinal plants scientifically through various research reports. Due to the presence of Phyto compounds like phenols, flavonoids, terpenoids, alkaloids, anti-oxidants these medicinal plants revealed anti-obesity activities and its anti-obesity mechanism had been proven scientifically through various animal experimental studies collected from many research articles. Modern anti-obesity drugs produce numerous side effects. Regular consumption of Siddha anti-obesity medicinal plants, in the prescribed dose and duration, can induce gradual and sustainable weight loss effectively. Furthermore, in future, there is a need for the development of standardized, safe and effective anti-obesity drugs from medicinal plants and highly economical too. Hence eventually exploration of anti-obesity Siddha medicinal plants will lead to safe and effective treatment for obesity.

Advanced Technologies Used in Digitizing the Cultural Heritage of Northwestern Colchis: The Experience of the Markul Expedition

The article presents the experience of the Institute of Archeology of the Russian Academy of Science’s Markul Expedition, which utilized digital technologies for the study, preservation, and popularization of cultural heritage. The objective of the Markul Expedition was to obtain a complete picture of the historical and cultural landscape of Northwestern Colchis in antiquity by applying two key digital technologies: geographic information systems (GIS) and photogrammetry. The results obtained from the latter were used both independently and were integrated into GIS as separate layers (orthophotomaps, digital terrain models) or as hyperlinks to objects (3D models, videos, plans, sections, etc.). The objects investigated by the expedition are very diverse both in size and in terms of shooting conditions. Accordingly, each category of archaeological site required an individual approach, and a separate methodology and equipment. The final visualization angles differ to a fair extent from the original samples even though photogrammetry provides more accurate results than manual measurements. There are several reasons for this, including the vegetation, which is a dominant factor in the Caucasus subtropical area and led to partial visual distortions of the photographed objects. For this reason, the final projections of architectural forms required corrections and some hand drawing. In this process, new aspects appeared in the final result, resulting from the archaeologist and artist’s differing views of the objects. Our experience of using modern remote sensing technologies is also presented in the article.

A synthetic journey through hygiene from ancient times to the Porfiriato motivated by the current COVID-19 pandemic

In times like the one we live in, experiencing the tremendous global impact that the COVID-19 pandemic is causing, it is important to ask ourselves how we have arrived at practices such as quarantine and institutional isolation, and how much we have had to sacrifice in order to implement effective measures of public hygiene for the control of the main epidemics. This essay summarizes the history of hygiene as a private practice and as a social discipline of care, directed by the State to prevent the disease spread.

Writing on Death: Plague Narratives. A Review Essay

This essay discusses several books, ancient and recent, on plagues to ask the question: Can we face death without turning away from it through historical narration? Can we write about death, which only afflicts individuals, without stripping death of its individuality? After briefly addressing these questions, I discuss five books, one from the ancient period (Thucydides’s Peloponnesian War), one from the late medieval period (Giovanni Boccaccio’s The Decameron), one from the early modern period (Daniel Defoe’s A Journal of the Plague Year), and two from the modern period (Mary Shelley’s The Last Man, and Frank Snowden’s Epidemics and Society). These books not only come from different eras but also reflect different written responses to death—ancient history, story/fable, reportage, futuristic novel, and contemporary history. The essay concludes by considering a counterargument to its focus on death, an argument developed by Baruch Spinoza which claims that humans should think nothing less than of death.

Poisoning, ergotism, mass psychosis. Writing a history of ancient epidemics beyond infectious diseases

»Vergiftung, Ergotismus und Massenpsychose. Antike Seuchengeschichte jenseits von Infektionskrankheiten«. For the last 100 years, the modern concept of epidemics as contagious diseases caused by pathogenic agents or microorganisms entering the body has not only dominated present thinking about epidemics but highly influenced historiographical study of past disease as well. In the case of Greek and Roman antiquity, this led to extensive and thorough scholarly work on epidemics fitting the pattern of infectious diseases while incompatible cases were put aside notwithstanding that by ancient definition they were epidemics of the same quality: illness that affects many individuals of the same community at the same time. This includes cases retrospectively explained as mass poisoning, ergotism, and mass hysteria. This article discusses the methodological problem of disparate definitions of modern and ancient epidemics and argues for broadening the source base in the study of ancient epidemics to include accounts of diseases that do not fit into the modern mould of infectious disease. To demonstrate the benefit of this suggestion, two disregarded later ancient epidemics drawn from relatively unknown patristic sources are introduced, which have been explained as fungal poisoning, ergotism, or mass psychosis in the past. © 2021, GESIS - Leibniz Institute for the Social Sciences. All rights reserved.

Ayurvedic remedies of covid-19

The Sanskrit term Ayurveda has translated knowledge of life. It is one of the world's oldest healing systems that originated in eastern culture and it includes numerous medical concepts and it’s a hypothesis for treatment and prevention of disease. In ancient times near to 3000 years ago in India when there are no synthetic medicines was developed then people used Ayurvedic plants to get cures for different diseases. Ayurveda is based on a belief that health and wellness depend on a delicate balance of mind, body, and spirit. Ayurvedic herbs are key components of Ayurveda. COVID-19 is an infectious disease found in December 2019 and it has now become a pandemic. The COVID-19 infection is produced by virulent severe acute respiratory syndrome-Coronavirus-2 (SARS-CoV-2) virus although various antiviral drugs are available for controlling the infection but sometimes, they lack in supply for treating the worldwide population. So, it has become imperative to develop an effective medical strategy for the management of COVID-19 which has become a major threat to humanity. Herbs exhibit various biological activities so;they can effectively help with managing the pandemic. This review discussed some herbs which have the potential for the treatment of COVID-19.

A critical assessment of proposed outbreaks of plague and other epidemic diseases in Ancient Egypt.

The current coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic has reminded us of past epidemics. Pharaonic Egypt has often been associated with epidemics and disasters through the 10 plagues in the Bible. The aim of this study was to examine which epidemics and serious diseases can be effectively proven for Ancient Egypt through mummies and historical source texts. The biblical plagues cannot be proven because there is no agreement on the dating of the Exodus, or the Exodus is a conglomeration of memories of different events. Other diseases such as malaria and schistosomiasis have been proven for Ancient Egypt, while polio and smallpox are still uncertain. There are indications of a bubonic disease from the time of the middle 18th Dynasty, but its exact nature cannot be determined from source texts or mummies, as they are too vague.