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Biomedical subjects

S Mahdihassan

Publications and source records attributed to S Mahdihassan.

At least 55 records · Page 3Linked to original sources

A comparative study of the word sugar and of its equivalents in Hindustani as traceable to Chinese.

Etymology enables words to deliver past facts and can become an independent source of knowledge. Here the word sugar is traced to the Chinese term Sha-Che, literally "Sand-Sugar plant," signifying a sand-like product from the sugar plant, which is sugar. Sha-Che underwent the following phonetic changes: Sha-Che = Sha-Ke = Shar-Ker = Sharkera, which became the Sanskrit word for sugar, with the variant Sha-Kera. Its popular vernacular form became Shak-Ker. This entered Arabic as Al-Shakker, changing into Al-Sukker, pronounced as "Assuker." Muslims in Spain gave the Spanish their word when Assuker = Azucar (Spanish). Sukker, the real Arabic word, entered Old French as Suker-e, Italian as Zuker-o or Zucckero, and German as Zucker. When "k" is emphasized it can become aspirated as "kh" or doubled as "kk," or mutate into "g." Sukker then changed into Sugar with the "s" further mutating into "sh," giving the final form Shugar, written as Sugar. The Greeks directly borrowed the popular vernacular word Shakker. It was Hellenized as Sakkharon, mentioned by Discoredes in 56 A.D. From the Greek it passed into Latin as Saccharum. In India the large crystalline form of sugar is called Misri. Its Chinese original is Mi-Sha-Li, "sweet-pebble-glassy," a sweet crystalline (glassy) substance the size of pebbles. Another form of sugar is in small crystals, which in a heap appear opaque-white or porcelain-white rather than transparent salt-white. Porcelain-white sugar was called Cheeni, where Cheeni = Porcelain. Thus, Cheeni does not mean Chinese sugar, nor Misri Egyptian sugar. Both these forms of sugar were sweetening agents not intended to be directly consumed. But a sweet, composed of sugar and an article of food, was known in Chinese as Kan-Di, "Sweet-Drop." This became Candy in English, Qand in Arabic, Khanda in Sanskrit and Khand in vernaculars.

Carbohydrates↗

A comparative study of greek and chinese alchemy.

According to an herbal cult of immortality in China, about 200 B.C., certain plants could make man immortal. Greek alchemy, the earliest record of which dated about 200 A.D., presents a similar version, was originally Chinese and was introduced by the Arabs who brought herbal drugs of longevity to Alexandria. The name of these drugs, Chin-I, dialectal Kim-Iya, was Arabicized as Kimiya and transliterated Chemeia by the Copts. Other terms were later influenced by Indians (Chumeia, 100 A.D.) and more directly by the Chinese (Chrusozomion, 200 A.D.). The 3 terms signify herbal elixirs of gold and the art related to them. Both early Chinese and Greek alchemies were not concerned with the making of bullion gold. In China the development of alchemy has been ruled by two theories: first, as like makes like, a perennial plant can make human life perennial: likewise, certain substances can prolong human life as they are rich in Life-force or Soul-content. From here, Blood was equated to Soul and later Redness to Soul. Jade, Cinnabar and eventually gold, more precisely Red-gold or Cinnabar-gold, a colloidal gold, became the ideal drug of immortality. Finally, alchemy can be defined as the art of making metal colloids as panaceae.

Alchemy↗

The longest symbiotic bacterium as found in a membracid insect.

An insect tumour cell, carrying germs, contains nuclei and also cellular debris as protoplasmic and nuclear degradation bodies. In histological sections the nucleus may be seen surrounded by such bodies, cut across, which then appear round in form. They have therefore been mistaken for yeast-like germs, called "Cicadomyces". But in smears the protoplasmic debris is stained blue and reveals bizarre shapes. T. assamensis is an exception and offers the key to properly interpret the bodies named Cicadomyces. Its symbiote is a long filamentous bacterium and persists in protoplasmic debris, the so-called Cicadomyces. Since Cicadomyces themselves cannot be infected by germs as long as themselves, the former can only represent cellular degradation bodies.

Adipose Tissue↗