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Miliusa velutina Hook. f. and Thomson var. deviyarina (Annonaceae) is a lesser-known medicinal tree traditionally used by tribal and local communities in Maharashtra, India. However, its pharmacological profile has not been systematically characterized. This study aimed to provide a comprehensive in vitro evaluation of the antioxidant, α-amylase inhibition, antimicrobial, antibiofilm and anticancer activities of different extracts of this variety. Bark, leaf, fruit and flower powders were successively extracted with water, methanol, ethanol, ethyl acetate and alcohol–water mixtures. Antioxidant activity was assessed by DPPH (2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl) radical scavenging, α-amylase inhibition by α-amylase inhibition, antimicrobial and antibiofilm activities by agar well diffusion and biofilm inhibition assays, and anticancer activity by sulforhodamine B (SRB) assays on MCF-7 and Vero cell lines. Methanol, ethanol and ethyl-acetate bark and leaf extracts showed strong DPPH scavenging with low IC₅₀ values comparable to quercetin and vitamin C. Green and ripe fruit extracts produced up to 89.57% α-amylase inhibition, while bark extracts showed moderate inhibition (37.50–61.25%). Bark extracts exhibited pronounced antimicrobial and antibiofilm effects, with maximum biofilm inhibition of 95.45% and zones of inhibition comparable to penicillin and streptomycin at 50 µg/mL. The ethyl-acetate bark extract displayed potent cytotoxicity toward MCF-7 cells (GI₅₀ < 10 µg/mL) with relatively lower effects on Vero cells, approaching the activity of Adriamycin. These in vitro findings highlight M. velutina var. deviyarina as a promising source of bioactive extracts and provide a multi-assay dataset to guide future phytochemical characterization and in vivo evaluation of this understudied medicinal plant.  

Thinking about Logic is an accessible and thought-provoking collection of classic articles in the philosophy of logic. An ideal companion to any formal logic course or textbook, this volume illuminates how logic relates to perennial philosophical issues about knowledge, meaning, rationality, and reality.

In the campaign against Japan in the Pacific during the Second World War, the armed forces of the United States, Australia, and the Australian colonies of Papua and New Guinea made use of indigenous peoples in new capacities. The United States had long used American Indians as soldiers and scouts in frontier conflicts and in wars with other nations. With the advent of the Navajo Code Talkers in the Pacific theater, Native servicemen were now being employed for contributions that were unique to their Native cultures. In contrast, Australia, Papua, and New Guinea had long attempted to keep indigenous peoples out of the armed forces altogether. With the threat of Japanese invasion, however, they began to bring indigenous peoples into the military as guerilla patrollers, coastwatchers, and regular soldiers. Defending Whose Country?is a comparative study of the military participation of Papua New Guineans, Yolngu, and Navajos in the Pacific theater. In examining the decisions of state and military leaders to bring indigenous peoples into military service, as well as the decisions of indigenous individuals to serve in the armed forces, Noah Riseman reconsiders the impact of the largely forgotten contributions of indigenous soldiers in the Second World War.

Ylang-ylang [Cananga odorata (Lam.) Hook. f. & Thomson]: a barely known essential oil plant in an industry at risk. Cananga odorata is a tropical tree from the Annonaceae family, native of Indonesia. Only the forma genuina can be called ylang-ylang. Nowadays, it is mainly cultivated in the Indian Ocean Islands in order to extract the ylang-ylang essential oil for the cosmetic industry. Ylang-ylang develops on many types of soils, under high temperatures and average precipitations of 1,500 mm per year. The pollarding, the maintenance, the elimination of water sprouts and the weeding must be performed to insure a high flower yield and facilitate harvesting. Flower harvest takes place all year long but flowers and essential oils yields are higher during the dry season. Mature and fresh flowers are then distillated and fractionated to obtain essential oil. Generated incomes are important for the economy of the three main producers: Union of Comoros, Madagascar and Mayotte. However, this plant is still poorly known despite its great economic value. This lack of information is a bottleneck for solving the ylang-ylang industry problems which endanger it. Moreover, there is no improvement program of this plant despite the high added value of its essential oil, probably due to the fact that its reproduction biology is far from being known. A thorough study of the plant and its essential oil could generate information necessary to solve the aforementioned problems, maintain and develop the ylang-ylang industry.