Ethnoveterinary herbal remedies used by farmers in four north-eastern Swiss cantons

Ethnoveterinary herbal remedies used by farmers in four north-eastern Swiss cantons (St. Gallen, Thurgau, Appenzell Innerrhoden and Appenzell Ausserrhoden) http://www.ethnobiomed.com/content/10/1/32 #journalofethnobiologyandethnomedicine

Ethnoveterinary herbal remedies used by farmers in four north-eastern Swiss cantons (St. Gallen, Thurgau, Appenzell Innerrhoden and Appenzell Ausserrhoden)

Monika Disler, Silvia Ivemeyer, Matthias Hamburger, Christian R Vogl, Anja Tesic, Franziska Klarer, Beat Meier and Michael Walkenhorst

Author Affiliations

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Journal of Ethnobiology and Ethnomedicine 2014, 10:32  doi:10.1186/1746-4269-10-32
Published: 31 March 2014

Abstract (provisional)

Background

Very few ethnoveterinary surveys have been conducted in central Europe. However, traditional knowledge on the use of medicinal plants might be an option for future concepts in treatment of livestock diseases. Therefore the aim of this study was to document and analyse the traditional knowledge and use of homemade herbal remedies for livestock by farmers in four north-eastern Swiss cantons (St. Gallen, Thurgau, Appenzell Innerrhoden and Appenzell Ausserrhoden).

Methods

Research was conducted in 2012. Fifty farmers on 38 farms were interviewed with the aid of semistructured interviews. Detailed information about the plants used, and their mode of preparation, were documented for each homemade remedy, as well as dosage, route of administration, category of use, origin of knowledge, frequency of use, and satisfaction with the outcome of the treatment with these remedies.

Results

In total, 490 homemade remedies were collected. Out of these, 315 homemade remedies contained only one plant species (homemade single species herbal remedies, HSHR), which are presented in this paper. Seventy six different plant species from 44 botanical families were mentioned. The most frequent HSHR were quoted for the families of Asteraceae, Polygonaceae and Urticaceae. The plant species with the highest number of HSHRs were Matricaria recutita L., Calendula officinalis L., Rumex obtusifolius L. and Urtica dioica L. For each formulation, one to eight different applications were enumerated. A total of 428 applications were documented, the majority of which were used to treat cattle. The main applications were in treatment of skin afflictions and sores, followed by gastrointestinal disorders and metabolic dysfunctions. Topical administration was most frequently used, followed by oral administration of remedies. In nearly half of the cases the knowledge on preparing and using herbal remedies was from forefathers and relatives. More than one third of the applications were used by farmers more than ten times during the last five years, and in about sixty percent of the cases, the last application was during the last twelve months preceding the interviews.

Conclusions

Traditional knowledge of farmers about the use of medicinal plants to treat livestock exists in north-eastern Switzerland. Homemade herbal remedies based on this knowledge are being used. In general, the interviewed farmers were satisfied with the outcome of the applications.

New Book Announcement: “Gender and Violence in Haiti”

New Book Announcement: “Gender and Violence in Haiti”



Rutgers University Press has published a new book by Benedetta Faedi
Duramy (Golden Gate).  Here is the publisher’s description of Gender and Violence in Haiti: Women’s Path from Victims to Agents:

Women in Haiti are frequent victims of
sexual violence and armed assault. Yet an astonishing proportion of
these victims also act as perpetrators of violent crime, often as part
of armed groups. Award-winning legal scholar Benedetta Faedi Duramy
visited Haiti to discover what causes these women to act in such
destructive ways and what might be done to stop this tragic cycle of
violence.

Gender and Violence in Haiti is
the product of more than a year of extensive firsthand observations and
interviews with the women who have been caught up in the widespread
violence plaguing Haiti. Drawing from the experiences of a diverse group
of Haitian women, Faedi Duramy finds that both the victims and
perpetrators of violence share a common sense of anger and desperation.
Untangling the many factors that cause these women to commit violence,
from self-defense to revenge, she identifies concrete measures that can
lead them to feel vindicated and protected by their communities.

Faedi Duramy vividly conveys the horrifying conditions pervading Haiti, even before the 2010 earthquake. But Gender and Violence in Haiti
also carries a message of hope—and shows what local authorities and
international relief agencies can do to help the women of Haiti.

Traditional print and e-book editions are available.


-Bridget Crawford

Call for Abstracts: Colloquium on Environmental Scholarship

Call for Abstracts: Colloquium on Environmental Scholarship



Fifth Annual Colloquium on Environmental Scholarship

at Vermont Law School

October 4, 2014

Deadline for submitting abstracts: June 1, 2014

Vermont Law School will host the Fifth Annual Colloquium on Environmental Scholarship on October 4, 2014.
This event offers environmental law scholars the opportunity to present
their works-in-progress, get feedback from their colleagues, and meet
and interact with those who are also teaching and researching in the
areas of environmental and natural resources law and related specialty
areas.

If you are interested in presenting a paper at the Colloquium, please submit a working title and short abstract, using the online form here, no later than June 1, 2014.
For an abstract to be eligible for submission, the author must
anticipate that the paper will still be at a revisable stage (neither
published nor so close to publication that significant changes are not
feasible) by the date of the Colloquium. We will do our best to include
all interested presenters, and will notify authors about acceptances no
later than July 1, 2014.


All selected participants must submit a draft paper no later than September 20,
2014, and all participants will be asked to provide commentary on
another participant’s paper draft at the Colloquium. Final papers will
also be eligible for publication in the Vermont Journal of Environmental
Law.

Success with AVAST antivirus

Only fair to say that I seem to have found an antivirus that works on my computer. Imagine it can update while I am doing other things without crashing the computer - minor miracle.

After 25 years of innovation, still the most trusted antivirus in the world

If you haven’t heard of AVAST, we’re only the most trusted name in antivirus, actively protecting more than 200 million PCs, Macs and Androids. So many people trust us because we’ve been protecting devices and data for 25 years, in over 40 languages (more than any other antivirus solution), on every populated continent in the world.

Kitty cams - cat vs manicou

http://www.kittycams.uga.edu/photovideo.html#videos

Kitty Cams provide a creative solution to answer widespread and controversial questions about the interactions and behaviors of cats in the environment.
Through the use of Kitty Cams, our research team measured cat predation on wildlife and quantified common factors threatening the health of owned free-roaming cats (for example: vehicles and exposure to infectious disease).
Images are much more powerful than words and our photos and videos may become an instant educational tool to help inform the general public about the welfare of their cat.

http://www.kittycams.uga.edu/research.html

Friday cat blogging Vermeer

Kevin Drum took a cat photo he likens to Vermeer. Here is my version.

citations on ethnovet

New citations

Article: Ethnoveterinary medicines used for ruminants in British Columbia, Canada. Cited in 3 publications: Article: Ethnoveterinary study of medicinal plants in Malakand Valley, District Dir (Lower), Khyber... Habib Ul Hassan, Waheed Murad, Akash Tariq... Irish veterinary journal 03/2014 67(1):6. View Article: Ethnoveterinary plants of Ankober District, North Shewa Zone, Amhara Region, Ethiopia. Ermias Lulekal, Zemede Asfaw, Ensermu Kelbessa... Journal of Ethnobiology and Ethnomedicine 02/2014 10(1):21. View Article: The Globalization of Traditional Medicine in Northern Peru: From Shamanism to Molecules. Rainer W Bussmann Evidence-based Complementary and Alternative Medicine 01/2013 2013:291903. View Article: Ethnomedicines used in Trinidad and Tobago for reproductive problems. Cited in 1 publication: Article: The Globalization of Traditional Medicine in Northern Peru: From Shamanism to Molecules. Rainer W Bussmann Evidence-based Complementary and Alternative Medicine 01/2013 2013:291903. View Article: Comparison of plants used for skin and stomach problems in Trinidad and Tobago with Asian ... Cited in 1 publication: Article: Are famine food plants also ethnomedicinal plants? An ethnomedicinal appraisal of famine f... Fardous Mohammad Safiul Azam, Anup Biswas, Abdul Mannan... Evidence-based Complementary and Alternative Medicine 01/2014 2014:741712. View

‘Animals Are Persons Too’

http://nyti.ms/1tB8gFs


How does a thing become a person? In December 2013, the lawyer Steven Wise showed the world how, with a little legal jujitsu, an animal can transition from a thing without rights to a person with legal protections. This Op-Doc video follows Mr. Wise on his path to filing the first-ever lawsuits in the United States demanding limited “personhood” rights for certain animals, on behalf of four captive chimpanzees in New York State.

miserable

Alex Salmond brands anti-Scottish independence campaign ...

www.theguardian.com › News › Politics › Scottish independence‎

Apr 12, 2014 - Alex Salmond has attacked the campaign against Scottish independence as "the most miserable, negative and depressing" political movement ...

 

This definition of miserable seems similar to the Caribbean one 

Dictionary of the English/Creole of Trinidad & Tobago ...

www.mqup.ca/dictionary-of-the-english-creole-of-trinidad---tobago-pro...‎

Using the historical principles of the Oxford English Dictionary, Lise Winer presents the first scholarly dictionary of this unique language. The dictionary ...

 

All you Belmont people too miserable but I will do for you – walk on!” (Bynoe 1985:54) ...

Trying a new antivirus product

I could not get my Windows Defender to run a full scan so I knew that something was wrong. I replaced it with a free trial of Sophos which found something called NewNext which is malware disguised as adware apparently. The problem with Sophos is that it is set to update hourly and I cannot change the frequency.  So it makes my computer which is old but with a new HDD crash all of the time. Precious hours are going down the drain and the location of the computer - Caribbean versus Canada, makes no difference.

Plectranthus amboinicus extract

I tried an alcoholic extract of big-leaf thyme on the ears of my firend's dog (Plectranthus amboinicus). He did not bite me and it did not do any harm. He did not get any insects in his ears either. My friend said that the alcohol was an irritant but I was following the literature and she did not tell me before I extracted it.

Strange emails

For years I have been sending perfectly good emails to friends and relatives, but occasionally cover letters will be sent with sections of large bold fonts that I did not include in the original. I don't understand how that could happen. I just changed the settings on my emails so hopefully that will fix the problem. I hope I remember to never send another cover letter without sending a test copy to myself first.
Happy Easter.

No posts

I have been moved and will not be making new posts for some time. All the best, Cheryl

Type 2 Diabetes and Dietary Supplements

Announcements

Type 2 Diabetes and Dietary Supplements

Millions of people have diabetes which can lead to serious health problems if not managed well. Many widely marketed dietary supplement products claim to provide health benefits for people with diabetes. Researchers have studied several dietary supplements to see if they can help people manage type 2 diabetes or lower their risk of developing the disease, but currently there is not enough evidence to suggest that any dietary supplement can help prevent or manage type 2 diabetes. Conventional medical treatments and following a healthy lifestyle, including watching weight, can help your patients prevent, manage, and control many complications of diabetes.

This issue of the digest addresses some of the many supplements studied for diabetes—such as alpha-lipoic acid, chromium, herbal supplements, magnesium, and omega-3s—with a focus on those that have undergone clinical trials.

http://nccam.nih.gov/health/providers/digest/diabetes-science.htm?nav=upd

Wikileaks Secret Trans-Pacific Partnership Agreement

Secret Trans-Pacific Partnership Agreement (TPP)

Today, 13 November 2013, WikiLeaks released the secret negotiated draft text for the entire TPP (Trans-Pacific Partnership) Intellectual Property Rights Chapter. The TPP is the largest-ever economic treaty, encompassing nations representing more than 40 per cent of the world’s GDP. The WikiLeaks release of the text comes ahead of the decisive TPP Chief Negotiators summit in Salt Lake City, Utah, on 19-24 November 2013. The chapter published by WikiLeaks is perhaps the most controversial chapter of the TPP due to its wide-ranging effects on medicines, publishers, internet services, civil liberties and biological patents. Significantly, the released text includes the negotiation positions and disagreements between all 12 prospective member states.

The TPP is the forerunner to the equally secret US-EU pact TTIP (Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership), for which President Obama initiated US-EU negotiations in January 2013. Together, the TPP and TTIP will cover more than 60 per cent of global GDP. Read full press release here

http://wikileaks.org/tpp/

Type 2 Diabetes and Dietary Supplements

Millions of people have diabetes, which, as you know, can lead to serious health problems if not managed well. Many widely marketed dietary supplement products claim to provide health benefits for people with diabetes. You may encounter patients in your practice who ask about dietary supplements for diabetes. Researchers have studied several dietary supplements to see if they can help people manage type 2 diabetes or lower their risk of developing the disease, but currently there is not enough evidence to suggest that any dietary supplement can help prevent or manage type 2 diabetes. As you know, conventional medical treatments and following a healthy lifestyle, including watching weight, can help your patients prevent, manage, and control many complications of diabetes.

This issue of the digest addresses some of the many supplements studied for diabetes—such as alpha-lipoic acid, chromium, herbal supplements, magnesium, and omega-3s—with a focus on those that have undergone clinical trials.

http://nccam.nih.gov/health/providers/digest/diabetes.htm?nav=cd

Ixoreal Biomed "Adopts" Ashwagandha through the American Botanical Council

Ixoreal Biomed "Adopts" Ashwagandha through the American Botanical Council

The adaptogenic herb has many traditional and modern uses

(AUSTIN, Texas, Nov. 11, 2013) The American Botanical Council (ABC) is pleased to announce that Ixoreal Biomed, an herbal extracts and medicines company based in Los Angeles, CA, and Hyderabad, India, has adopted the highly revered traditional herb ashwagandha (Withania somnifera) through ABC’s Adopt-an-Herb Program.

Ixoreal Biomed’s three-year commitment helps ABC keep its HerbMedPro™ database up-to-date with the latest scientific and clinical research on ashwagandha. HerbMedPro is an interactive and comprehensive database available on ABC’s website that provides access to important scientific and clinical research data underlying the use of nearly 250 herbs and their effects on human health.

"ABC is deeply grateful for Ixoreal Biomed’s support, which is crucial to continuing our nonprofit educational mission," said ABC Founder and Executive Director Mark Blumenthal. "Numerous health benefits of ashwagandha have been documented for hundreds, if not thousands, of years. It is well-known in Ayurveda and other systems of traditional medicine in India. The plant’s traditional reputation as a tonic has led to a growing body of modern research. ABC is looking forward to partnering with Ixoreal Biomed to take stewardship of abstracts on current and forthcoming scientific publications on this valuable herb."

Ixoreal Biomed joins 21 additional herb- and plant-based ingredient companies that support ongoing efforts through ABC’s Adopt-an-Herb Program to collect, organize, and disseminate reliable, traditional, science-based, and clinical information on herbs, medicinal plants, and other botanical- and fungal-based ingredients. Adopt-an-Herb encourages companies and individuals to "adopt" one or more specific herbs for inclusion and ongoing maintenance in the HerbMedPro database. To date, 24 herbs have been adopted. Each adopted herb is continuously researched for new articles and studies, ensuring that its HerbMedPro record stays current and robust. The result is an unparalleled resource — not only for researchers, health professionals, industry, and consumers, but for all members of the herbal and dietary supplements community, and others — available via ABC’s information-rich website. In keeping with ABC's position as an independent nonprofit organization, herb adopters do not influence the scientific information that is compiled for their respective adopted herbs.

HerbMedPro is available to ABC members at the Academic level and higher; its "sister" site HerbMed^®, however, is free and available to the general public. HerbMed features 20-to-30 herbs from HerbMedPro that are rotated on a regular basis. Making this unique resource free to the public increases the number of people who benefit from updated information on herbs, in accordance with ABC’s nonprofit educational mission.

About Ashwagandha

Ashwagandha, a much-revered plant in traditional Ayurvedic medicine, is cultivated throughout India and parts of Asia and grows to three-to-five feet tall. The root is used as an adaptogen, meaning it helps the body to cope with stress. Ashwagandha has a wide variety of traditional uses, including as a hypnotic, laxative, and tonic. In fact, the name "ashwagandha" comes from the Sanskrit word for "smells like a horse" or "horse essence," a reference to the traditional belief that the root provides the strength, character, essence, or stamina of a horse. Modern medicinal uses of ashwagandha preparations include treatment of inflammation, wasting diseases, and arthritis. Within the last few years, several clinical trials have been conducted to test the herb’s efficacy in treating infertility, tuberculosis, and anxiety, among other conditions; some trials have produced positive outcomes. In 2008, India’s Department of Ayurveda, Yoga & Naturopathy, Unani, Siddha and Homeopathy (AYUSH) chose to promote ashwagandha preparations as part of a global strategy for brand-building of Ayurvedic medicine in Western countries. Ashwagandha preparations can be found in dozens of dietary supplements and related products throughout Australia, Canada, the United States, and other countries. More information on ashwagandha can be found in this profile from HerbalGram issue 99.

About Ixoreal Biomed

Ixoreal Biomed is an herbal extracts and pharmaceuticals company based in Los Angeles, CA, and Hyderabad, India. Ixoreal is focused solely on producing a high-quality extract of ashwagandha called KSM-66®. Ixoreal has developed a proprietary process that integrates modern scientific technologies with traditional Ayurvedic concepts to produce a highly concentrated full-spectrum ashwagandha root extract. Ixoreal has invested heavily in basic research and development and in building a modern scientific repository of efficacy data on ashwagandha. To this end, Ixoreal has conducted seven human clinical trials and two animal studies on the effectiveness of ashwagandha in several important functional areas. Ixoreal describes itself as the only ashwagandha manufacturer in the world that is entirely vertically integrated with its own farms, production facilities, testing laboratories, research center, and distribution division. More information is available at www.ixoreal.com.

About the American Botanical Council

Founded in 1988, the American Botanical Council is a leading international nonprofit organization that addresses research and educational issues regarding botanicals, teas, medicinal plants, essential oils, and other beneficial plant-derived materials. ABC’s members include individuals, companies, and organizations in the herb, dietary supplement, and cosmetic industries; journalists; consumers; and others in more than 80 countries. The organization occupies a historic 2.5-acre site in Austin, Texas, where it publishes the peer-reviewed quarterly journal HerbalGram, the monthly e-publication HerbalEGram, the weekly e-newsletter Herbal News & Events, HerbClips (summaries of scientific and clinical publications), reference books, and other educational materials. ABC also hosts HerbMedPro, a powerful herbal database, covering scientific and clinical publications on more than 250 herbs. ABC also co-produces the “Herbal Insights” segment for Healing Quest, a television series on PBS

Fashion magazines are heavy

Dumped my magazines, after wanting to take them with me a few months ago. Reminded how heavy they are. Some were better than others. I actually hurt my hands fixing them because the tape stuck to the scissors and the glue made it hard to cut the paper. Sept 2012, what a bad one that one is. I never saw March 2013, I wonder what was in it.

Check out LOUIS VUITTON Vintage Monogram Weekender Canvas leather Suitcase  on @eBay http://r.ebay.com/2MZMp8

Call for Applications: Foundation for Physical Therapy Promotion of Doctoral Studies (PODS) I & II Scholarships

Call for Applications: Foundation for Physical Therapy Promotion of Doctoral Studies (PODS) I & II Scholarships

Posted: 07 Nov 2013 06:01 AM PST

Call for Applications: Foundation for Physical Therapy Promotion of Doctoral Studies (PODS) I & II Scholarships
PODS I & II Scholarships, part of the Foundation’s Doctoral Opportunities for Clinicians and Scholars (DOCS) Program, are to fund post-professional doctoral students, who, having completed one full year of coursework, wish to continue their studies or have entered the dissertation phase of their post-professional doctoral program.
Scholarship categories within the PODS program have been established for the two distinct phases of education and training:
PODS I – Up to $7,500 per year in support of the coursework phase of post-professional doctoral studies prior to candidacy (as defined by the applicant’s institution). Special consideration for one award will be given to applications with a Health Services Research focus.
PODS II – Up to $15,000 in support of the post-candidacy phase of post-professional doctoral studies (as defined by the applicant’s institution). Special consideration for one award will be given to applications with a Health Services Research focus.
Successful PODS I and PODS II candidates may receive up to three PODS I and two PODS II awards totaling $52,500. A new application is required for each year.
Application Deadline: January 15, 2014, noon, ET
Award Notification: June 2014

Stand Up for Science! Video Contest

Stand Up for Science! Video Contest

Posted: 06 Nov 2013 08:24 AM PST

Stand Up for Science! Video Contest
From the creation of flu vaccines and new cancer therapies to enhancing agriculture and developing biofuels, bioscience breakthroughs are transforming our world and our health at a rapid pace. However, many Americans are not aware of the critical role the US federal government plays in supporting biological research and discovery.

We are looking for you to create an exciting, yet informative video to help educate Americans on how science is funded!
The contest is open to individual entrants residing in the U.S. who are at least 13 years of age at the time of entry.
The video should be between 1-4 minutes in length.
$5,000 Grand Prize
All submissions must be received by November 30, 2013
Submission Topic
The second annual Stand up for Science competition is aimed at increasing awareness of federal funding support for biological and biomedical science. Video submissions must address at least one of the five federal agencies listed below:
National Institutes of Health (NIH)
National Science Foundation (NSF), Directorate for Biological Sciences
Department of Energy (DOE), Office of Science
United States Department of Agriculture (USDA), Agriculture and Food  Research Initiative
Department of Veterans Affairs (VA), Medical and Prosthetic Research Program
Questions to Consider
What is the mission of the agency(ies)?
What type(s) of research is supported by the agency(ies)?
Who performs the research supported by the agency(ies)?
Where do the researchers perform the science that is supported by the agency(ies)? Is any research conducted in your state supported by the agency(ies)?
What are some of the major discoveries that were supported through that agency(ies)?
How does the research funded by the agency(ies) benefit Americans?
How does the agency(ies) get the funds to distribute to the researchers?
What is the process by which researchers obtain funds through the agency(ies)?
What fiscal challenges does this agency(ies) face in the future?
Submission Criteria
Must describe at least one of the five listed agencies.
Must address at least three of the listed “questions to consider”.
Must be appropriate for a non-technical audience.
Must be between one and four minutes.
Videos can be any genre (for example, but not limited to, an interview, a music video, a dance video, an animated video).
Files must be in one of the following formats: .wmv, .flv, .zip, .mp3. Videos must be 95MB or less.
Entries that do not meet the submission criteria will be disqualified!
Sponsors
The Federation of American Societies for Experimental Biology (FASEB) is the nation’s largest coalition of biomedical researchers, representing 27 scientific societies and over 110,000 researchers from around the world. FASEB’s mission is to advance health and welfare by promoting progress and education in biological and biomedical sciences through service to our member societies and collaborative advocacy.
Please direct all questions to contest@faseb.org