twitter

Thursday 28 February 2013

3 grant announcements

Mary Kay Foundation Domestic Violence Shelter Grant Program Posted: 26 Feb 2013 07:19 AM PST Mary Kay Foundation Domestic Violence Shelter Grant Program Every October, The Mary Kay Foundation observes National Domestic Violence Awareness Month by awarding grants to deserving women’s domestic violence shelters across the United States. In 2012, the Foundation awarded $20,000 grants to more than 150 women’s domestic violence shelters across the nation for a total of $3 million. Each year, the Foundation awards a grant to at least one domestic violence shelter in every state. Any remaining funds are distributed based on state population. Grant applications are reviewed by the Domestic Violence Shelter Grant Committee, which makes recommendations to the TMKF Board of Directors. After reviewing these recommendations, the Foundation’s Board of Directors selects the final grant recipients. Mail a cover letter, the signed application, and all required attachments by Tuesday, April 30, 2013 (postmark date). The Mary Kay Foundation P.O. Box 799044 Dallas, Texas 75379-9044 1-877-652-2737 MKCares@marykayfoundation.org Planet Dog Foundation Spring 2013 Grant Cycle Posted: 26 Feb 2013 07:09 AM PST Planet Dog Foundation Spring 2013 Grant Cycle Applications are due by March 1, 2013 The Planet Dog Foundation (PDF) strives to support worthy organizations through a grant-making program designed to financially support 501(c)(3) not-for-profit partners across the U.S. The goal of our grant program is to fund programs that train, place and support dogs helping people in need. Funding is allocated nationwide to promote and financially support service-oriented canine programs such as assistance dogs, therapy dogs, search and rescue programs or police, fire and military dogs. We are looking to support like-minded organizations that will most benefit from our support. As our grants do not currently exceed $7,500, we will be reviewing annual operational and project budgets to fund those organizations best able to maximize a PDF grant. While not a requirement, we seek programs that are able to creatively serve multiple populations or otherwise maximize the value of our modest grants whenever possible. The Planet Dog Foundation only funds organizations classified as tax-exempt under section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Service. Programs we fund include: • Assistance dog programs: These include service dogs, guide dogs, hearing dogs and medical alert dogs. Applicants for an assistance dog grant MUST be an accredited member of Assistance Dogs International. For more information about our eligibility requirements, please contact the Executive Director. • Therapy dog programs: These include animal-assisted physical or emotional therapy, hospital and other facility visitation programs, reader/literacy dogs and psychiatric service dogs. Programs applying for a therapy dog grant MUST require membership of their volunteer teams by the Delta Society, Therapy Dogs International, Therapy Dogs, Inc. or other nationally recognized certification program. • Other canine service programs: These include K-9 search and rescue programs, police, fire and military dogs, wildlife conservation dogs, disease detection dogs or other innovative programs. Grants in these categories WILL fund training or other activities but WILL NOT fund the purchase of any form of equipment. Police and fire dog programs must apply through an eligible 501(c)(3) organization - we cannot fund municipalities with any other status. We do not fund the following. Please do not submit an application if your program falls under one of these categories. • Spay/Neuter Programs • Adoption, Shelter or Rescue Program Operating Expenses • Individuals • Political Groups • Religious Groups (or groups with any religious affiliation) • For-profit Organizations • Scholarship Programs • Government Agencies • Non-profit agencies with any determination other than 501(C)(3) • Programs spending more than 35% of expenses on administrative costs • Any program engaged in animal testing or animal cruelty Letters of intent are due in the Planet Dog office by March 1, 2013. Late proposals will not be accepted. The Grant Committee will review proposals and notify finalists by March 18 for submission of additional materials.Please be sure to thoroughly review the eligibility criteria listed above before submitting an application. Due to our limited budget, our guidelines are very specific and firm. After review, Planet Dog Foundation staff will contact those organizations who are invited to submit additional materials to complete a full proposal. Additional materials will be due within 2 weeks of notification. Those not selected will be notified. M. Louise Carpenter Gloeckner, M.D. Summer Research Fellowship Posted: 26 Feb 2013 06:08 AM PST M. Louise Carpenter Gloeckner, M.D. Summer Research Fellowship NOTE: Deadline has been extended to April 1, 2013. The M. Louise Carpenter Gloeckner, M.D. Summer Research Fellowship is offered annually by the Drexel University College of Medicine Archives and Special Collections on Women in Medicine. A $4,000 stipend is awarded to one applicant for research completed in residence at the Archives and Special Collections. The term of the fellowship is no less than four to six weeks to begin on or after June 1. The deadline for applications is March 1, annually. A short essay summarizing research findings is required upon completion of the fellowship. This essay may be published in a University publication or online via the Archives website. This fellowship was established in memory of M. Louise Carpenter Gloeckner, M.D. by her husband Frederick Gloeckner in recognition of her key leadership role in the medical profession. This is a competitive annual fellowship open to scholars, students and general researchers. In addition to materials related to the history of the Woman's Medical College/Medical College of Pennsylvania, the collections have particular strengths in the history of women in medicine, nursing, medical missionaries, the American Medical Women's Association, American Women's Hospital Service, and other women in medicine organizations. The majority of the collections fall within the period 1850 to the present. For further information, email Joanne Murray at archives@drexelmed.edu

NCCAM Clinical Digest: High Cholesterol and Complementary Health Practices

Announcements NCCAM Clinical Digest: High Cholesterol and Complementary Health Practices Approximately 13 percent of U.S. adults has high total cholesterol. Lowering cholesterol levels can slow down, reduce, or even stop plaque from building up in the walls of arteries and may decrease the chance of having a heart attack. Mainstays in treating high cholesterol include diet, weight loss, physical activity, and when necessary, drug treatment. Read more » Message from the Director: Dealing with High Blood Cholesterol NCCAM Director Dr. Josephine Briggs discusses the prevalence of high blood cholesterol and steps that can be taken to lower cholesterol levels and protect your health. Read more » Twitter Chat: High Cholesterol and Complementary Health Practices The next NCCAM twitter chat will take place on February 28 from 1–2 p.m. ET. The experts for this month are NCCAM program officers D. Craig Hopp, Ph.D. and John S. Williamson, Ph.D. and NHLBI nutritionist Janet de Jesus, M.S., R.D. Drs. Hopp and Williamson oversee the portfolio of grants relating to natural products and ethnomedicine. Ms. de Jesus is an expert in nutrition and obesity for the NHLBI Division for the Application of Research Discoveries. To participate, use the hashtag: #nccamchat. Read more » FDA News: Tainted Weight Loss Supplements Seized from Globe All Wellness, LLC (Globe All) U.S. Marshals, acting on behalf of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, seized tainted dietary supplements from Globe All Wellness, LLC (Globe All), in Hollywood, Fla. The products may be unsafe because they contain an undisclosed active pharmaceutical ingredient. Read more » Resources for Researchers Bullet Program Announcements and Requests for Applications Bullet Mechanisms, Models, Measurement, & Management in Pain Research (R01) Bullet Mechanisms, Models, Measurement, & Management in Pain Research (R21) Bullet NIH Operation Plan in the Event of a Sequestration Upcoming Events Integrative Medicine Research Lectures Date: March 11, 2013 Topic: How Positivity and Positivity Resonance Heal Speaker: Barbara Fredrickson, Ph.D., Kenan Distinguished Professor of Psychology, Director of the Positive Emotions and Psychophysiology Lab at the University of North Carolina Read more » NCCAM Exhibits Date: March 14–16, 2013 Meeting: Association of Chiropractic Colleges Research Agenda Conference Location: Washington, DC Read more » Follow NCCAM on: Twitter Twitter at http://twitter.com/NCCAM Facebook Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/nccam YouTube YouTube at http://www.youtube.com/NCCAMgov If a friend or colleague forwarded this message, we encourage you to subscribe directly. You can also unsubscribe from this listserv. NCCAM Update is a service of the National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine (NCCAM), National Institutes of Health (NIH), U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. It provides timely information on NCCAM news, resources, and events. NCCAM is 1 of 27 institutes and centers at the NIH. The mission of NCCAM is to define, through rigorous scientific investigation, the usefulness and safety of complementary and alternative medicine interventions and their roles in improving health and health care. For additional information, call NCCAM's Clearinghouse toll free at 1-888-644-6226, or visit the NCCAM Web site at nccam.nih.gov.

Linking Couture Across the Years

Linking Couture Across the Years
What happens to clothes when the body that once occupied them has disappeared? An exhibition in Paris, “Paris Haute Couture” explores this question.http://www.nytimes.com/slideshow/2013/02/28/fashion/20130228-SALLIARD.html?smid=pl-share

Wednesday 27 February 2013

Dependents of the State

http://opinionator.blogs.nytimes.com/2013/02/26/dependents-of-the-state

The Stone: Dependents of the State
Why do we loathe and fear some people's reliance on the government but not others? 
............
The irony isn’t only that the poor are condemned for being dependent on the state while the rich are not. It’s also that the rich get so much more out of their dependence on the state than the poor. Without the support of the state, poor people’s quality of life would certainly drop, but only by degrees: their lives would go from bad to worse. Take the state’s assistance away from the rich, however, and their lives would take a serious plunge in comfort. No wonder rich people are on the whole conservative: the most ferocious defenders of the status quo are usually those who are most dependent on the system

Tuesday 26 February 2013

The pact with the devil by Joseph E. Stiglitz

http://www.beppegrillo.it/eng/2007/01/stiglitz.html

The Nobel prize-winner for Economics, Joseph Stiglitz has sent me a letter and given two interviews. One is on globalisation and is published below. The other is on video and is about work and poverty.

"Dear Beppe,
maybe we need a RESET; before that we can try to put a grand of sand in the machine. This is what I'm trying to do as an economist.
For much of the world, globalization as it has been managed seems like a pact with the devil. A few people in the country become wealthier; GDP statistics, for what they are worth, look better, but ways of life and basic values are threatened … This is not how it has to be.
We can make globalization work, not only for the rich and powerful, but for everyone, for those that live in the poorest contries too. The task is difficult and requires time. We waited too much: the time to get working has come.
Greetings.
Joe
"

Sunday 24 February 2013

High Debt and Falling Demand Trap New Veterinarians.

High Debt and Falling Demand Trap New Vets
The cost of veterinarian school has far outpaced the rate of inflation. Meanwhile, there is a boom in supply (that is, vets), and a decline in demand for services.
http://www.nytimes.com/2013/02/24/business/high-debt-and-falling-demand-trap-new-veterinarians.html

Friday 22 February 2013

Stop Fox North

http://www.avaaz.org/en/stop_fox_news_north_2013_a/?cOUfzbb

The grasshopper wins - Judge Sotomayor’s spending habits

http://andrewgelman.com/2013/02/19/the-grasshopper-wins-and-greg-mankiws-grandmother-would-be-shocked/

Thursday 21 February 2013

5 Reasons Why the Keystone XL Pipeline is Bad for the Economy

5 Reasons Why the Keystone XL Pipeline is Bad for the Economy

Rosemary Gladstar Receives First-Annual ABC Mark Blumenthal Herbal Community Builder Award

Rosemary Gladstar Receives First-Annual ABC Mark Blumenthal Herbal Community Builder Award (AUSTIN, Texas, Feb. 20, 2013) The American Botanical Council (ABC) has announced that its first Mark Blumenthal Herbal Community Builder Award will be given to Rosemary Gladstar, the renowned herbalist, teacher, and author known to many as the Godmother of American Herbalism. Among her many accomplishments and efforts that have helped grow a rich herbal community in the United States, Gladstar founded several schools of herbal education, founded and organizes annual herbal conferences, leads international herb-focused journeys, and has authored or co-authored about a dozen books on topics ranging from herbal medicine recipes to medicinal plant conservation. “I know of no other herbalist who has done more to create a sense of relationship, community, and identity among herbalists and others with a strong interest in herbs and herbal healing than Rosemary,” said ABC Founder and Executive Director Mark Blumenthal. “Her energy, enthusiasm, passion, creativity, love, and generous spirit are bountiful and contagious. There is no one like her." Gladstar, the daughter of Armenian immigrants, first learned plant medicine during informal garden walks with her grandmother, Mary Abelian Egitkanoff. She was instantly interested in the plant world, which was apparent in the middle school projects she chose to do on medicinal herbs. In the early 1970s, Gladstar opened her own herb shop, Rosemary’s Garden, in Sonoma County, California. Then, in 1974, she co-founded the tea company Traditional Medicinals with Drake Sadler and created many of the teas’ original formulations, including the popular Smooth Move®, Throat Coat®, and Mother’s Milk®. In 1978, she founded the California School of Herbal Studies (CSHS), which is still in operation today as the country’s oldest herbal school. In the following years, she founded the Breitenbush Herbal Conference, the International Herb Symposium, and the New England Women’s Herbal Conference — the latter two of which she still directs. “In those early days,” said Gladstar, “when herbalism and herbalists were first peeking up from ‘underground’ — where they had rested quite contentedly, it seems to me, for a number of decades — there really wasn’t very much going on herbally at all. We were rather isolated; there weren’t newsletters, gatherings, or schools that I know of in the US that served to bring us together. [So,] these early gatherings were revolutionary, really, and had a lot to do, I think, with nourishing and creating an herbal community. When I look at plant communities, they thrive together. The greater the diversity in the garden (or meadow or woodland), the better the health of the community. And it’s certainly true of herbalists, as well.” In the 1980s, Gladstar created Sage Mountain Herbal Retreat Center, a 500-acre botanical sanctuary in Vermont where she currently lives and hosts educational events and programs. Additionally, she runs her commended herbal home-study course, “The Science & Art of Herbology,” and has been leading the internationally focused Plant Lovers Journeys since 1986. Gladstar’s several books on herbs — including Herbal Healing for Women, Rosemary Gladstar’s Family Herbal, and the 2012 Rosemary Gladstar’s Medicinal Herbs: A Beginner’s Guide — regularly sell well and receive glowing reviews from her herbal peers and loyal readers. The United Plant Savers, which Gladstar founded in 1994, remains the project that she is most passionate about due to its focus on preserving and conserving native North American medicinal plants and their habitats from unsustainable wild-collection. She continues to serve on the group’s Board of Directors as founding president. “For Rosemary, the linking of herbs to humans is only a mechanism for people to bring awareness to Mother Earth from whom we all originate,” said ABC Board of Trustees President Steven Foster. “Rosemary laid the foundation for the rise of traditional herbalism, which has blossomed into touching the hearts of and teaching tens of thousands of people. Small gatherings of a couple dozen folks of like mind grew into international conferences, symposia, classes, and retreats that were key to the rise of two generations of practicing herbalists in the modern herbal renaissance.” “Rosemary Gladstar introduced herbalists to each other, and to the world,” said fellow herbalist Cascade Anderson Geller. “She gave herbalism a face, approachable and lovable. She gave a big leg up to herbalists of current renown, helping them to achieve success and grow their reputations. [She also] is a brilliant business woman. All of her businesses, even when she has moved on, continue to flourish in some form. To achieve such success, and to be so well loved by colleagues and students alike, is remarkable. Her trustworthiness shines because it is legitimate emanating from an open heart and mind with roots entwined deep in Mother Earth. By walking her talk, Rosemary’s achieved incredible energy that she has generously shared.” Ever humble and modest, Gladstar gives much credit to her herbal peers. “We help each other grow,” she said, “either by pushing, pulling, encouraging, tugging, or just pure nourishing love. At this point in time, the herbal community is really comprised of many communities, all interlinking through our love of plants. But as extraordinary as the plants that bring us together and unite us as an herbal community, are the people who love plants. They are an amazing group of diverse, bright, eccentric, talented, and amazing individuals. I count my lucky stars to be amongst them…. Again, I am humbled and honored by this award.” Although she is unable to be present in person due to a prior commitment, Gladstar will accept the Mark Blumenthal Herbal Community Builder Award via pre-recorded video at the 8th Annual ABC Botanical Celebration and Awards Ceremony in March in Anaheim, California. The ABC event occurs during the annual Nutracon conference and Natural Products Expo West.

Wednesday 20 February 2013

Second Annual Science and Technology in Society Day: "Women in Physics: Past, Present, and Future," on March 8, 2013 at Perimeter Institute for Theoretical Physics in Waterloo, Ontario.

Friends, You are invited to attend the Second Annual Science and Technology in Society Day: "Women in Physics: Past, Present, and Future," on March 8, 2013 at Perimeter Institute for Theoretical Physics in Waterloo, Ontario. The event will bring together humanities and social science scholars who study women in science, as well as physicists from Perimeter Institute and several Ontario Universities. Discussions will highlight the important contributions women have made in physics. There will also be a focus on exploring the current situation of women physicists and how these scientists may be better supported in their field of study. This event broadly considers the culture of physics and the important rolls that both men and women have in assuring that this culture helps those who aspire to be scientists to flourish. "Women in Physics" marks International Women's Day. This event is aimed at reaching a broad audience, including university students; faculty in the humanities, the natural and social sciences and engineering; and the general public. Anyone who is interested in physics, or interested in making our scientific and educational institutions more equitable, will find much to think about at "Women in Physics." Here are the day's events: 8:30-9:00: Registration 9:00-9:10: Introduction 9:10-10:10: A conversation with Adriana Ocampo, NASA Planetary Geologist 10:40-11:20 Creating Great Scientific Workplaces for Men and Women: From Practice to Theory and Back Again, Carla Fehr, Wolfe Chair in Science and Technology Studies, University of Waterloo 11:30-12:30: Making Physics Work: A Glimpse Behind the Scenes, Panel Discussion: John Berlinsky, Rachel Ivie, Paul Jessop 2:00-3:00: The Effects of Limited Resources and Opportunities on Women’s Careers in Physics: Results from the Global Survey of Physicists, Rachel Ivie, Associate Director of the Statistical Research Center at the American Institute of Physics 3:00-4:15 This is What a Scientist Looks Like, Panel Discussion: Sampa Bhadra, Melanie Campbell, Shohini Ghose, Natalie Toro 4:15-4:30 Closing Sponsors: Center for Women in Science and Women and Gender Studies, Wilfrid Laurier University; Perimeter Institute for Theoretical Physics; Science and Technology in Society Collaboration, Philosophy Department, University of Waterloo For more more information and to register please go here: http:sciencetechsociety.uwaterloo.cahttp:sciencetechsociety.uwaterloo.ca Or you can email me at carla.fehr@uwaterloo.ca Dr. Carla Fehr Wolfe Chair in Science and Technology Department of Philosophy University of Waterloo Waterloo, ON (519) 888-4567 ext 31386

save the bees

https://secure.avaaz.org/en/bye_bye_bee_killers/?cOUfzbb

Tuesday 19 February 2013

Ethnoveterinary medicines used for horses in Trinidad and in British Columbia, Canada

#journalofethnobiologyandethnomedicine Ethnoveterinary medicines used for horses in Trinidad and in British Columbia, Canada http://www.ethnobiomed.com/content/2/1/31

Monday 18 February 2013

Herbal Collective - Hawthorn

Welcome to the Herbal Collective. We're pleased to have you. It's been an incredibly wet week here on the West Coast. But spring is around the corner, so don't lose heart. Speaking of heart, that's the topic for this newsletter. Read on for more Hawthorn for the Heart Many people suffer from heart disease and associated disorders such as high blood pressure and congestive heart failure. There's an herb well know by those in the herbal community for the heart but not so much by the general public. This herb is hawthorn and it has a great reputation for healing the heart. Hawthorn has many attributes and ways of improving the heart. We cover some information on hawthorn and another herb for the heart in the current Feb/March'13 issue of the Herbal Collective, now available at no cost online. Hawthorn is also our Herb of the Month for February. Each month we pick a different herb and help you, our readers, learn more about applying herbs to your life. To get more in-depth information on hawthorn and learn how it helps congestive heart failure, heart disease and high blood pressure, go to Herbguide.

Thursday 14 February 2013

The Lancet What's wrong with inequality?

The Lancet, Volume 381, Issue 9864, Page 363, 2 February 2013 doi:10.1016/S0140-6736(13)60154-3Cite or Link Using DOI What's wrong with inequality? Angus Deaton Email Address The Price of Inequality Joseph E Stiglitz Penguin, 2012 Pp 448. £14·99. ISBN-9781846147364 If a few people get very rich, do the rest of us have something to complain about? If the few had got rich by harming us, we would certainly have legitimate cause, but otherwise, what's the issue? Envy, perhaps, but that is hardly a compelling basis for public policy. Poverty should certainly concern us, but if the rich get richer, without harming anyone else, then good luck to them. This was long the view among mainstream economists. Those further to the left recognised the desirability of equality, but noted that there had to be a compromise between equality and the need to reward people for working. Besides, inequality didn't change much over time, so no one was much interested anyway. This complacency has been shattered by events, by rapidly rising income inequality in many rich countries, and by data that show astonishing levels of income among the very rich. After decades of stagnation, the share of total income going to the top 1%—mostly bankers, hedge fund managers, CEOs, lawyers, celebrities, and a few doctors—has soared to levels not seen for 100 years. Worse still, this has happened at a time when most people in these countries have seen little or no gain in their living standards. Is there really nothing to complain about? Joseph Stiglitz doesn't think so. The stagnation of the living standards of the majority is not at all unrelated to the success at the top; in effect, those at the very top are plundering the poor and the middle classes. In The Price of Inequality, Stiglitz argues that market democracy is incompatible with extreme inequality. He contends that the market is at risk because extreme differences of power make a mockery of the voluntary nature of market transactions. The political system is at risk because plutocracy gradually replaces democracy. Stiglitz focuses on what inequality does to the economy and on the process of “rent—seeking”. In a well-functioning market economy, people get rich by making things, innovating, and generally expanding what the system can offer. By and large, their personal incentives are aligned with what is good for society. Rent-seekers have another way of getting rich. They do not create, but try to redistribute in their own favour by lobbying, by rewriting the rules, or by rewarding and being rewarded by their cronies in business and in government. Bankers—who are Stiglitz's main target—successfully lobbied to change the laws of bankruptcy so that people who have been enticed into taking on inappropriate loans cannot use bankruptcy to escape from their liability. And when the whole edifice came crashing down, their bonuses and salaries were largely untouched while escape clauses for mortgage holders were successfully opposed by the bankers' lobby. Successful rent-seeking reinforces itself. The more successful the lobbyists, the richer their clients become, and the more money there is for lobbying. And as the rewards have soared, talent is sucked in and diverted from inventing new technologies, or discovering a cure for cancer. Stiglitz tends to characterise the forces of evil as “the Right”, who are in favour of unfettered capitalism, oppose regulation (except when it helps them), and work for smaller government. I think this is wrong: it is the money that is the primary problem, not partisan politics. Democrats may be mildly less enthusiastic curators of special interests than are Republicans, but it is a matter of degree. Big money is careful to hedge its bets, and makes sure that legislators of all stripes are on board. It is this that makes many of us so pessimistic. If it were Right versus Left, there would be much more hope in electoral politics than there seems to be. Banking is not, however, the only industry whose rent-seeking is hurting us. The US health-care industry—pharmaceutical companies, device manufacturers, insurance companies, physicians, and hospitals—accounts for 18% of US gross domestic product. Perhaps as much as a half of this spending does anything for population health. Yet there is overwhelmingly effective opposition to anything that would help bring costs under control. The industry vehemently opposes anything that looks like the UK's National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (NICE). US industry-funded researchers help write the national guidelines that set treatment thresholds, creating an epidemic of overtesting and overtreatment. Lobbyists agitate for Medicare payment schedules that provide rich paydays for manufacturers and that prevent Medicare seeking discounts for bulk purchase. In the meantime, the richest Americans live in a world in which public goods—including public health care—are irrelevant. Their wealth insulates them from any need for the collective action on which national health depends. Instead, an ineffective but grotesquely expensive health-care system is one more way in which they get rich at others' expense. In effect, when inequality becomes large enough, the very rich no longer live in the same society as everyone else. It is thus—not through some sort of pollution effect of income inequality within the general population—that the gap between the rich and the rest is such a threat to our health. Click to toggle image size Click to toggle image size Full-size image (19K) Download to PowerPoint

Lancet withdraws its support of document on collaboration between doctors and drug industry BMJ 2013

News Lancet withdraws its support of document on collaboration between doctors and drug industry BMJ 2013; 346 doi: http://dx.doi.org/10.1136/bmj.f770 (Published 5 February 2013) Cite this as: BMJ 2013;346:f770 Article Related content Read responses (3) Article metrics Nigel Hawkes Author Affiliations The Lancet has withdrawn its support from a document outlining how healthcare professionals could collaborate with the drug industry. In an editorial titled “Falling out with pharma,”1 the journal’s editor, Richard Horton, said that the statements the document made did not match the latest evidence on the behaviour of drug companies today and that this evidence undermined the principles to which he originally signed up in an attempt “to forge a new and more constructive partnership between medicine and the pharmaceutical industry.” The four page document was published in 2012 by the Ethical Standards in Health and Life Sciences Group,2 which is co-chaired by the president of the Royal College of Physicians, Richard Thompson, and the president of the Association of the British Pharmaceutical Industry, Deepak Khanna. The group’s members include several royal colleges, the BMA, the Department of Health for England, and the Lancet. The document is available on the websites of the RCP and the ABPI.3 Horton said that his action was triggered by Tom Yates, a doctor who is a PhD student at University College London and who is active in Conflict Free, a campaign for medical education to be freed of any industry involvement. Yates told Horton that the document contained claims that were demonstrably false: that the industry “plays a valid and important role in the provision of medical education” and that “medical representatives can be a useful resource for healthcare professionals.” The second claim, said Yates, conflicted with the finding of a systematic review by Geoffrey Spurling and colleagues that exposure to information from drug companies led to a higher frequency of prescribing, higher costs, and lower prescribing quality.4 Horton concurs with Yates and adds that the drug industry has a long way to go to meet acceptable standards of transparency over clinical trial results. “It’s time for us to withdraw our name from the guidance as it currently stands,” he wrote. The ABPI said that, contrary to Horton’s assertion, the guidance was not an ABPI document, nor was it led by the ABPI, but that a range of healthcare organisations agreed and signed it. It was reviewed regularly to ensure that it continued to represent best practice across all the organisations involved with the Ethical Standards in Health and Life Sciences Group, the association added. All the group’s members, including the Lancet, see and approve all documents that the group produces before their publication. On the issue of clinical trials, the ABPI spokesman added that since 2012 the association’s code of practice had required companies to disclose details of the results of all clinical trials in accordance with guidance of the International Federation of Pharmaceutical Manufacturers and Association. This includes a requirement that all results must be published within one year of marketing authorisation. Companies must also publicly register clinical trials within 21 days of initiation of patient enrolment. As far as past trials were concerned, the ABPI said that there was more common ground than the Lancet suggested. “We believe that greater transparency of clinical trial data is in the best interests of patients, medicine and science,” the association said in a statement. “Our differences lie in how this should be achieved. We are part of the EMA [European Medicines Agency] working groups which are looking into the mechanics of exactly how to do this, and we await their findings which will be reported later this year.” The Spurling review cited by Yates concluded that although the study did not find evidence of net improvements in prescribing among doctors exposed to drug company literature, the available information did not exclude that possibility. The team acknowledged that, in theory, increased prescribing might in some cases provide better health outcomes. The limitations of the literature were such that this theory could not be disproved, though little evidence had been found to support it. Richard Thompson said, “I was surprised to read the Lancet editorial, as not one group has previously approached the Ethical Standards in Health Life Sciences Group to share their concerns on this issue. “However, since we are all working towards the same aims—the highest standards in clinical research, providing the best medicines and devices for patients—the group will, of course, address the issue in its coming meetings, and I hope that those campaigning on this issue can work with us to help to find a solution.” Horton told the BMJ, “There can be very positive interactions with the industry, but only if based on reliable evidence and with the patient’s interests centre stage. What is now much clearer is that several of the statements in the document do not stand up to scrutiny. Since there is no process to raise these matters in a joint working group (I have never been invited to the meetings), the only action we could take was to withdraw.” Notes Cite this as: BMJ 2013;346:f770 References ↵ Horton R. Offline: Falling out with pharma. Lancet2013;381:358. UBC eLinkCrossRef ↵ Dyer C. Collaboration with drug industry won’t affect clinical decisions, says new guide. BMJ2012;344:e2489. UBC eLinkFREE Full Text ↵ Ethical Standards in Health and Life Sciences Group. Guidance on collaboration between healthcare professionals and the pharmaceutical industry. 29 Mar 2012. www.abpi.org.uk/our-work/library/guidelines/Pages/collaboration-guidance.aspx. ↵ Spurling GK, Mansfield PR, Montgomery BD, Lexchin J, Doust J, Othman N, et al. Information from pharmaceutical companies and the quality, quantity, and cost of physicians’ prescribing: a systematic review. PLoS Med2010;7(10):e1000352. UBC eLinkCrossRefMedline

Medicinal and ethnoveterinary remedies of hunters in Trinidad

#bmccomplementaryandalternativemedicine
Medicinal and ethnoveterinary remedies of hunters in Trinidad http://www.biomedcentral.com/1472-6882/1/10

Tuesday 12 February 2013

Duck Soup: Stale Ph.D.'s Need Not Apply

Duck Soup: Stale Ph.D.'s Need Not Apply: When Harvard University and Colorado State University recently posted job ads indicating that applicants should be very recent recipien...

Mice Fall Short as Test Subjects for Humans’ Deadly Ills

Mice Fall Short as Test Subjects for Humans’ Deadly Ills
Mice have been the species of choice in the study of human diseases, but a new paper offered evidence that the mouse model has been totally misleading for sepsis, burns and trauma
http://www.nytimes.com/2013/02/12/science/testing-of-some-deadly-dis

The Edo period and Japan's fables provide a model for a sustainable Japan Authored by Cheryl Lans

Project Summary

The Edo period and Japan's fables provide a model for a sustainable Japan Authored by Cheryl Lans
List Price: $3.65
8" x 10" (20.32 x 25.4 cm)
Black & White on White paper
66 pages
Lans Cheryl
ISBN-13: 978-0988085237
ISBN-10: 0988085232
BISAC: Business & Economics / Strategic Planning
The good society for Japan may consist of emulating the Edo period. This was a creative, self-sufficient period in Japanese history and the population at that time was approximately 30 million. A reduction in population should alleviate environmental concerns and reduce the possible negative effects of climate change. Many traditional folk tales of Japan such as ‘The Tongue-Cut Sparrow’, ‘The Farmer and The Badger’, ‘The Adventures of Kintaro, the Golden Boy’, ‘The Bamboo-Cutter and the Moon-Child’, ‘The Mirror of Matsuyama’ and several others describe parents with one or no children. While some of these parents were disappointed with their fate, they all lived interesting lives that are still transmitted from generation to generation. One of the few mothers with many children was the evil Yuki-onna who remained beautiful in middle age because she was not human. Japan has a very high population density and fewer people would provide more space for gardens, wildlife and agriculture. Japan should increase the labor force participation of women, which would mean having a more flexible workplace but not exploitative labor practices. Child and elder care could be combined at special facilities since old people often love to tell stories. Older children could form apprenticeship relationships with these older adults and engage in hands-on activities that pass on cultural traditions or indigenous knowledge. Men should be encouraged to take parental leave and work shorter hours. Japan has already existing, but underused public buildings, museums and concert halls that could be used in the provision of this cultural training. There are many articles in the US and UK media that encourage higher fertility, more immigration, increased retirement age and reduced public pension benefits as a way to solve the increased demand for pension support. In reality these suggestions come from conservative policy makers who do not want to pay higher taxes and have kept much of their profits overseas to the detriment of their own fellow citizens. Japanese companies should be encouraged to work together to hire more workers who could buy their goods and to pay higher salaries. Japanese capitalism has a history of loyalty between the employee and employer that kept poverty levels low. Japanese culture also treats the elderly with respect. Japan should spend more money on education and pensions and less money on large-scale construction projects. Japan can save money by shortening the time frame before more alternative energy projects become viable.
CreateSpace eStore: https://www.createspace.com/4167598

Friday 8 February 2013

HerbalGram Publishes First Cannabis Cover in its 30-Year History (AUSTIN, Texas, February 7, 2013) HerbalGram, the journal of the American Botanical Council (ABC), has unveiled its first cannabis cover in 30 years of publishing history. The beautiful cover image of Cannabis sativa, photographed by Johnny Wiggs, accompanies the issue’s cover story on the federal medicinal cannabis program in Israel, written by associate editor Lindsay Stafford Mader. The cannabis cover represents an important milestone for ABC and is symbolic of the progress being made by the global medicinal cannabis community. According to ABC Founder and Executive Director Mark Blumenthal: There is obvious growing social demand for and acceptance of medicinal cannabis, and for this, and other reasons, ABC has increased its cannabis coverage in recent years. Now, more than 20 years since our first cannabis story, we have decided to recognize this important plant with the first-ever HerbalGram cannabis cover…. Other herb organizations also are dealing with cannabis. The American Herbal Pharmacopoeia is developing a Standards Monograph and Therapeutic Compendium — the first of its kind in North America — and the American Herbal Products Association’s Cannabis Committee just released draft recommendations for regulators on the legal dispensation of medicinal cannabis. As members of the medicinal cannabis community continue to work on quality standards, scientific research, and legal advocacy, ABC will maintain its medicinal cannabis coverage. From our perspective, cannabis is just another medicinal plant — one with a compelling history and an apparently promising future. HerbalGram 97 The entirety of Blumenthal’s Dear Reader column — available on ABC’s website and in HerbalGram issue #97 (in mailboxes and on newsstands in the coming days) — further discusses ABC’s history of cannabis coverage. Mader’s feature story, “The Quiet Giant: Israel’s Discreet and Successful Medicinal Cannabis Program,” also is available on ABC’s website and in HerbalGram #97. Please consider joining ABC so you can receive your own subscription to the acclaimed journal HerbalGram. Information about the many benefits of ABC membership can be found here.

Thursday 7 February 2013

Ten geleide: Etnobotanie in Zuidoost-Aziƫ

Ten geleide: Etnobotanie in Zuidoost-Aziƫ
Ruim 10 jaar geleden hield de NVF op uitnodiging van professor L.J. Slikkerveer haar congres Fytotherapie en Biodiversiteit in Leiden. Congresvoorzitter professor R.P. Labadie opende het symposium met de woorden “Nature expresses herself in biodiversity”: het is de taal van de natuur die tot ons spreekt door middel van biodiversiteit. Fytotherapeuten proberen overal ter wereld deze taal te verstaan, hetzij in traditionele therapievormen, hetzij in modern laboratoriumonderzoek. Verenigingen als de NVF bouwen bruggen tussen deze werelden.
Jan Slikkerveer benadrukt en bestudeert al vanaf 1984 het belang van de symbiose van cultuur- en natuurwetenschap in het universitaire Leiden Ethnosystems and Development (LEAD) programma, waar de bioculturele diversiteit centraal staat. Sinds 1999 bezet Slikkerveer bij het Nationaal Herbarium in Leiden tevens de bijzondere leerstoel Etnobotanische Kennissystemen met betrekking tot Medicinale Planten in Ontwikkelingslanden. Deze leerstoel is inmiddels door de faculteit der Wiskunde en Natuurwetenschappen overgenomen vanwege de grote maatschappelijke betekenis en belangstelling voor deze interdisciplinaire wetenschap. Een interview met Slikkerveer door ondergetekende, gevolgd door samenvattingen van enkele recente proefschriften over Indonesische traditionele kruidengeneeskunde, vormt de opening van deze special.
Oriƫntatie op andere culturen kan blikverruimend werken; dit blijkt met name uit het artikel van Woerdenbag en Brouwers. In Vietnam is een goede verstandhouding tussen moderne en traditionele geneeskunde de gewoonste zaak ter wereld. Een mooi voorbeeld voor Nederland waar de loopgravenoorlog tussen beoefenaars van beide disciplines alsmaar voortduurt. De overheid speelt hierbij in beide landen een niet te onderschatten rol.
De Boer promoveerde onlangs op etnobotanische aspecten van postpartum-rituelen in Laos. Hij stuurde ons een boeiende samenvatting van zijn werk daar. In het licht van toenemende resistentie van micro-organismen tegen westerse antibiotica is het documenteren van traditionele gebruiken van kruiden met (onder meer) antibiotische werkzaamheid van essentieel belang.
Wij bevinden ons in een periode van toenemende grondstoffencrisis die ongetwijfeld tot verergering van de voedselcrisis zal leiden. In het kader van het verduurzamen van de landbouw en de zorg om voedselzekerheid is het van belang dat etnobotanici documenteren welke eetbare wilde planten verbonden zijn met culturen en ecosystemen. Een mooi voorbeeld hiervan is het promotieonderzoek van Cruz-Garcia dat plaatsvond bij rijstboeren in Thailand.
Het werk dat in deze editie bijeen is gebracht, van Nederlanders in het buitenland en van buitenlanders die in Nederland promoveerden, laat met als voorbeeld Zuidoost-Aziƫ zien wat een geweldige schatkamers aan inheemse kennis er overal ter wereld nog zijn.
Actuele zaken die aan de orde komen in dit nummer zijn onder meer de nog openstaande vragen na het NVF/NVGO-symposium van 15 juni 2012 die door de sprekers van die dag achteraf zijn beantwoord.
Wij hopen dat u dit kleurrijke nummer met veel plezier leest. De redactie van het Nederlands Tijdschrift voor Fytotherapie en het bestuur van de Nederlandse Vereniging voor Fytotherapie wensen u en de uwen een vruchtbaar, geĆÆnspireerd en succesvol 2013 toe.
Drs. A.G.M. van Asseldonk, themacoƶrdinator.

Wednesday 6 February 2013

Adjournment Proceedings – Foreign Investment – elizabethmaymp.ca – February 6, 2013

Adjournment Proceedings – Foreign Investment – elizabethmaymp.ca – February 6, 2013

Ethnoveterinary medicines used for ruminants in British Columbia, Canada

J Ethnobiol Ethnomedicine. 2007; 3: 11.
Published online 2007 February 26. doi:  10.1186/1746-4269-3-11
PMCID: PMC1831764

Ethnoveterinary medicines used for ruminants in British Columbia, Canada

Abstract

Background

The use of medicinal plants is an option for livestock farmers who are not allowed to use allopathic drugs under certified organic programs or cannot afford to use allopathic drugs for minor health problems of livestock.

Methods

In 2003 we conducted semi-structured interviews with 60 participants obtained using a purposive sample. Medicinal plants are used to treat a range of conditions. A draft manual prepared from the data was then evaluated by participants at a participatory workshop.

Results

There are 128 plants used for ruminant health and diets, representing several plant families. The following plants are used for abscesses: Berberis aquifolium/Mahonia aquifolium Echinacea purpurea, Symphytum officinale, Bovista pila, Bovista plumbea, Achillea millefolium and Usnea longissima. Curcuma longa L., Salix scouleriana and Salix lucida are used for caprine arthritis and caprine arthritis encephalitis.Euphrasia officinalis and Matricaria chamomilla are used for eye problems.
Wounds and injuries are treated with Bovista spp., Usnea longissima, Calendula officinalis, Arnica sp., Malva sp., Prunella vulgaris, Echinacea purpurea, Berberis aquifolium/Mahonia aquifolium, Achillea millefolium, Capsella bursa-pastoris, Hypericum perforatum, Lavandula officinalis, Symphytum officinale and Curcuma longa.
Syzygium aromaticum and Pseudotsuga menziesii are used for coccidiosis. The following plants are used for diarrhea and scours: Plantago major, Calendula officinalis, Urtica dioica, Symphytum officinale, Pinus ponderosa, Potentilla pacifica, Althaea officinalis, Anethum graveolens, Salix alba and Ulmus fulva.
Mastitis is treated with Achillea millefolium, Arctium lappa, Salix alba, Teucrium scorodonia and Galium aparine. Anethum graveolens and Rubus sp., are given for increased milk production.Taraxacum officinale, Zea mays, and Symphytum officinale are used for udder edema. Ketosis is treated with Gaultheria shallon, Vaccinium sp., and Symphytum officinale. Hedera helix and Alchemilla vulgaris are fed for retained placenta.

Conclusion

Some of the plants showing high levels of validity were Hedera helix for retained placenta and Euphrasia officinalis for eye problems. Plants with high validity for wounds and injuries included Hypericum perforatum, Malva parviflora and Prunella vulgaris. Treatments with high validity against endoparasites included those with Juniperus communis and Pinus ponderosa. Anxiety and pain are well treated with Melissa officinalis and Nepeta caesarea.

Tuesday 5 February 2013

Ethnoveterinary remedies used in British Columbia for pets

Ethnoveterinary medicines used for pets in British Columbia by Cheryl Lans Ethnoveterinary medicines used for pets in British Columbia

Monday 4 February 2013

Ethnoveterinary knowledge in Navarra (Iberian Peninsula).

J Ethnopharmacol. 2010 Jul 20;130(2):369-78. doi: 10.1016/j.jep.2010.05.023. Epub 2010 Jun 4.

Ethnoveterinary knowledge in Navarra (Iberian Peninsula).

Source

Department of Plant Biology (Botany), Faculty of Sciences, University of Navarra, Pamplona, Spain.

Abstract

AIM OF THE STUDY:

To collect, analyze and evaluate the ethnoveterinary knowledge about medicinal plants in a northern Iberian region (Navarra, 10,421 km(2), 620,377 inhabitants).

METHODOLOGY:

Field work was conducted between 2003 and 2007, using semi-structured questionnaire and participant observation as well as transects walks in wild herbal plant collection areas. We performed semi-structured interviews with 667 informants (mean age 72; 55.47% women, 44.53% men) in 265 locations, identified the plant reported and analyzed the results, comparing them with those from other territories.

RESULTS:

Out of 287 species reported to be used in the health field (human and veterinary medicine), 36 are linked to veterinary medicine. 69.4% of these species are new or rarely reported in veterinarian uses. The most frequently used plants were Malva sylvestris, Juglans regia and Verbena officinalis. All different plant parts were used; aerial part was exploited more frequently than other plant parts. Most remedies listed used a single ingredient, typically soaked in water. The route of administration was primarily oral followed by topical applications. These remedies are mostly for cows, calves, sheep, pigs and horses, but cover almost all domestic animal species. The main ailments treated are digestive troubles, wounds and dermatological problems, and respiratory affections.

CONCLUSIONS:

The folk knowledge about medicinal plant use is still alive in the studied region, and a number of scarcely reported plant uses has been detected, some of them with promising phytotherapeutical applications.
Copyright 2010 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.

Friday 1 February 2013

computer's back

I ignored to advice to buy a new computer. Instead I took the hard drive out and showed it to two different stores. The first store told me to check another store that I did not need to go to because the second store agreed to order a new one. Then they followed my email advice to buy a larger capacity but apparently that drive was mislabelled and did not fit. So I have a new drive of the same size as the old one and as usual I am not sorry to put the borrowed one back on the shelf.