The Tyee IMF Pegs Canada's Fossil Fuel Subsidies at $34 Billion

IMF Pegs Canada's Fossil Fuel Subsidies at $34 Billion

In such giveaways we're a world leader, a fact rarely noted when federal budgets are debated.

By Mitchell Anderson, 15 May 2014, TheTyee.ca

 

While Canada slashes budgets for research, education and public broadcasting, there is one part of our economy that enjoys remarkable support from the Canadian taxpayer: the energy sector.

The International Monetary Fund estimates that energy subsidies in Canada top an incredible $34 billion each year in direct support to producers and uncollected tax on externalized costs.
These figures are found in the appendix of a major report released last year estimating global energy subsidies at almost $2 trillion. The report estimated that eliminating the subsidies would reduce global carbon emissions by 13 per cent. The stunning statistics specific to this country remain almost completely unreported in Canadian media.
Contacted by The Tyee, researchers from the IMF helpfully provided a detailed breakdown of Canadian subsidies provided to petroleum, natural gas and coal consumption. The lion's share of the $34 billion are uncollected taxes on the externalized costs of burning transportation fuels like gasoline and diesel -- about $19.4 billion in 2011. These externalized costs include impacts like traffic accidents, carbon emissions, air pollution and road congestion.
The report also referenced figures sourced from the OECD showing an additional $840 million in producer support to oil companies through a constellation of provincial and federal incentives to encourage fossil fuel extraction. This brought total petroleum subsidies in Canada in 2011 to $20.23 billion -- more than 20 times the annual budget of Environment Canada.
In comparison to other countries, Canada provides more subsidies to petroleum as a proportion of government revenue than any developed nation on Earth besides the United States and Luxembourg.
Natural gas consumption also enjoys billions in subsidies in Canada. The IMF estimates that un-priced carbon emissions from burning natural gas added up to $7.3 billion per year. There's another $440 million in producer support and $360 million in other un-taxed externalities, all of which tops $8.1 billion. This tax giveaway on natural gas alone is 44 per cent more than Canada provides in international aid every year.
What about coal? Canada consumes over 30 million tonnes per year. While we currently export over half our domestic production, the IMF study only considered externalized costs within our own country. They found that the coal industry receives $4.5 billion in annual subsides -- almost all of this is un-priced carbon and sulfur dioxide emissions. This generous largesse towards the dirtiest of fuels is about four times what the CBC receives in public support every year.
Or we could spend that on...
What could Canada do with an extra $34 billion a year? Both Vancouver and Toronto are struggling with how to fund long overdue upgrades to public transportation. Subway construction comes in at about $250 million per kilometre, meaning we could build about 140 kilometres of badly-needed urban subway lines every year. Light rail transport (LRT) is about one-quarter of the cost of subways, meaning for the same money we could build about 560 kilometres of at-grade transit infrastructure.
This foregone revenue in less than two years could fully fund the Big Move transit plan for southern Ontario, providing affordable access for 80 per cent of people living from Hamilton to Oshawa. Toronto's transit system has languished for decades. This sorely needed infrastructure would save the average household thousands in wasted time sitting in traffic, and Canada's economy billions in reduced congestion costs.
The proposed Vancouver subway line to the University of British Columbia could be built using less than two months of the subsidies provided every day to the energy sector. Forty kilometres of rapid transit in Surrey could be had for about the same amount.
What about green energy infrastructure? Adding solar and wind capacity provides some of the best job-generation per dollar of any option available -- more than seven times the employment from an equivalent investment in oil and gas extraction. Extrapolating the findings from a 2012 report on green jobs, $34 billion could create 500,000 person years of employment and install more than 150,000 megawatts of clean generating capacity. Canada currently ranks 12th in the G20 on green energy investment and has been steadily falling behind our competitors.
Canada's infrastructure deficit of crumbling roads and outdated water and sewage treatment is pegged at $171 billion. This backlog could be wiped out in five years with the revenue we are subsidizing to the energy sector.
Of course, not all things of value can be measured by bricks and mortar. Thirty-four billion dollars each year could provide $10-a-day childcare for 5.5 million children ages 0 to 5. Canada's child care costs are currently the highest in the OECD.
No free lunch in energy costs
For all the complaining Canadians do about fuel prices, it's ironic to note the IMF essentially says we are undervaluing the true cost of gasoline by about $0.30 per litre. Compared to other nations, Canada enjoys some of the cheapest gas in the developed world. Fuel in Italy and Germany is almost double our price at the pump. Ever think it's odd that bottled water at the gas station costs more than the fuel you just put in your tank?
Consider for a moment all the costs of finding and extracting crude oil, shipping it across the globe, refining it into gasoline and trucking it to your neighbourhood. Not to mention the billions spent by some countries projecting military power into volatile oil-producing parts of the world and the very human price of those interventions. Additional un-priced costs after petroleum is burned, such as climate change, traffic congestion, road accidents and air pollution make gasoline perhaps the most subsidized substance on Earth.
Every decision based on artificially low energy prices can have years of unintended consequences. If gas is cheap, people will choose to buy cars rather than take transit, clogging both our roads and emergency rooms. Transportation accidents alone cost Canada $3.7 billion each year. Every vehicle bought based on low fuel prices will produce years of carbon emissions, and every owner over the life of that vehicle will have an interest in voting for cheaper gas.
The opposite, of course, is also true. Less than half of Vancouverites in their early twenties today have chosen to get a driver's license, down from 60 per cent 10 years ago. Better public transit and more expensive car ownership seem to be the main factors driving this remarkable demographic shift.
The IMF can hardly be accused of being a left-leaning, alarmist organization. Through this valuable research, they make the case that there is no free lunch in energy costs, and we exclude these externalized costs at our peril.
A country can be judged on what it chooses to tax and what it chooses to subsidize. And by that yardstick, this nation currently seems to care more about cheap energy than almost anything else.

Read more: Energy,

“Brain drain” and “brain waste”: experiences of international medical graduates in Ontario

“Brain drain” and “brain waste”: experiences o | RMHP



 Aisha Lofters,^1–4 Morgan Slater,² Nishit Fumakia,² Naomi Thulien<sup>5

1</sup>Department of Family and Community Medicine, University of Toronto, Toronto; ²Department of Family and Community Medicine, St Michael's Hospital, Toronto; ³Centre
for Research on Inner City Health, The Keenan Research Centre in the Li
Ka Shing Knowledge Institute of St Michael's Hospital, Toronto; ⁴Canadian
Institutes of Health Research Strategic Training Fellowship,
Transdisciplinary Understanding and Training on Research – Primary
Health Care Program, London; ⁵Lawrence S Bloomberg Faculty of Nursing, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON, Canada

Background:
“Brain drain” is a colloquial term used to describe the migration of
health care workers from low-income and middle-income countries to
higher-income countries. The consequences of this migration can be
significant for donor countries where physician densities are already
low. In addition, a significant number of migrating physicians fall
victim to “brain waste” upon arrival in higher-income countries, with
their skills either underutilized or not utilized at all. In order to
better understand the phenomena of brain drain and brain waste, we
conducted an anonymous online survey of international medical graduates
(IMGs) from low-income and middle-income countries who were actively
pursuing a medical residency position in Ontario, Canada.
Methods:
Approximately 6,000 physicians were contacted by email and asked to
fill out an online survey consisting of closed-ended and open-ended
questions. The data collected were analyzed using both descriptive
statistics and a thematic analysis approach.
Results:
A total of 483 IMGs responded to our survey and 462 were eligible for
participation. Many were older physicians who had spent a considerable
amount of time and money trying to obtain a medical residency position.
The top five reasons for respondents choosing to emigrate from their
home country were: socioeconomic or political situations in their home
countries; better education for children; concerns about where to raise
children; quality of facilities and equipment; and opportunities for
professional advancement. These same reasons were the top five reasons
given for choosing to immigrate to Canada. Themes that emerged from the
qualitative responses pertaining to brain waste included feelings of
anger, shame, desperation, and regret.
Conclusion:
Respondents overwhelmingly held the view that there are not enough
residency positions available in Ontario and that this information is
not clearly communicated to incoming IMGs. Brain waste appears common
among IMGs who immigrate to Canada and should be made a priority for
Canadian policy-makers.

Progressive Economics Forum - CBC

The CBC – the Corporate Broadcasting Corp.

Posted by Bruce Livesey  January 15th, 2015

A new scandal blew up at the CBC this week when the website Canadaland published an exposé charging that Amanda Lang, the broadcaster’s senior business reporter and host of The Exchange, tried to sabotage an investigative story the CBC produced about abuses committed by the Royal Bank of Canada (RBC) over the temporary foreign worker program (TFWP).
The story aired in April of 2013 and revealed that the RBC was using an Indian company called iGATE Corp. that was bringing in foreign workers under the program, but then allowed the workers to stay in Canada for years, with the intention of using them to replace Canadian workers. The story showed how Canada’s biggest bank was using a government program to cruelly exploit defenseless foreign workers while throwing Canadian citizens out of work. After the story aired, the Harper government was forced to alter the program, and RBC got a lot of bad press.
But in the rollout of the story, Canadaland alleges that Lang tried to dismiss the story’s importance by arguing that what the RBC was doing was merely outsourcing (in itself, a dreadful practise). Despite not being involved in the story, she was inexplicably allowed to participate in a conference call of the producers who were working on the piece, where she argued the bank’s position. After the story aired, the allegation is that the CBC did little follow up – possibly because of Lang’s internal meddling.
In fact, there were a number of things the CBC producers involved in the story didn’t know about Lang’s surprising intervention, namely: 1) She had been paid up to $15,000 a pop to conduct speaking engagements at RBC-sponsored events; and 2) She was involved in a romantic relationship with a member of the RBC’s board of directors, W. Geoffrey Beattie.
Then, immediately after the story aired, Lang invited the RBC’s CEO, Gord Nixon, to do an interview on the The National where he pissed all over the broadcaster and its story about the bank’s TFWP abuses. Lang did a puffball interview, apparently asking no hard questions.
To make matters worse, without informing her bosses, Lang approached the Globe and Mail and penned an op-ed page piece where she championed the practice of companies outsourcing jobs to countries like India.
Despite all this, when the Lang story broke, the CBC brass immediately (and angrily) rushed to her defence. Jennifer McGuire, the CBC’s editor-in-chief, vehemently denied Lang had done anything wrong. McGuire, CBC spokesperson Chuck Thompson and Lang herself launched a PR media onslaught, attacking the Canadaland story, saying she had not tried to sabotage the TFWP story.
This is not the only issue where Lang has crossed over into the world of outright corporate flackery. She’s also taken paid speaking gigs for the insurance companies Manulife and Sun Life and then had their CEOs on the CBC to do further puffball interviews.
The Lang affair comes hard on the heels of the debacle over the Jian Ghomeshi assault scandal (also broken by Canadaland’s owner, journalist Jesse Brown). But while the Ghomeshi affair revealed the craven efforts of CBC’s management to protect one of their stars in the facing of numerous allegations of assaulting women, the Lang affair speaks to the issue of how the CBC has, in effect, increasingly become a mouthpiece for big business and neo-conservative ideologues.
I worked at the CBC for nine years, from 2001 to the end of 2009 before I lost my job as a producer on the investigative unit due to budget cuts. I’d joined the CBC as an associate producer at “the fifth estate” and eventually worked at CBC News Sunday as a producer. I owe a lot to the CBC and had the pleasure of working with amazing people on great stories. I still have many friends who work there.
As a result, I saw the beginnings of the metamorphosis of the CBC that begat the Amanda Lang scandal. This change in the CBC’s direction began under former CEO Robert Rabinovitch. In 2004, Rabinovitch appointed Richard Stursberg, a millionaire and former head of Telefilm Canada, as vice-president of English services. At the time, CBC English television was in a ratings slump, having been hammered by government cutbacks, competition from other channels and the Internet, as well as uninspired programming.
Stursberg brought a business approach to the CBC, which in practice translated into turning it into a private network backed with public funds. Symphonies and experimental films and documentaries were out, and the Battle of the Blades was in. Meanwhile, “the fifth estate” saw its budgets cut, and moved from a primetime TV slot on Wednesday nights to the graveyard shift of Friday nights, to make way for a now long-forgotten sitcom called “Being Erica”.
In 2005, Rabinovitch engineered a showdown with the CBC’s main union, the Canadian Media Guild, locking out 5,500 workers (myself included) for two months. Management’s goal was to try and get hundreds of positions delegated as contract positions, thereby allowing the brass more ability to get rid of staff whenever they wanted. They won a partial victory in this dustup.
The CBC was now run like any other textbook corporation, with union-busting embraced. Employee morale sank, stress levels rose, and dread over the constant reality of layoffs and cuts grew. Stursberg emerged as an unpopular if not openly despised figure.
To be fair to Stursberg, the federal government seemed determined to let the CBC die the death of a thousand cuts, especially after the election of the Conservatives in 2006. His solution to this reality was to try and drive up ratings by producing popular programming in the hopes that advertising dollars would follow, which would stem the financial leakage. But he also evinced such open contempt for the news department (which he labeled “Fort News”) and current affairs – the very lifeblood of the CBC’s raison d’etre as a public broadcaster – that he alienated the beleaguered CBC staff.
The other change Stursberg introduced was of an ideological nature. In an interview I did with him in 2012, Stursberg said he wanted to change the perception that the CBC was too downtown Toronto leftist. In 2006, the CBC began airing Dragon’s Den, the show where rich businesspeople decide whether to the finance the ideas and dreams of would-be entrepreneurs. It’s a horrible program, with the “Dragons” appearing as arrogant super-clever overlords where they often mock the those who come seeking money as if they were dumb serfs. It’s a show that broadcasts the idea the rich deserve their wealth.
Then, in 2009, Stursberg snatched up Kevin O’Leary and Amanda Lang from the Business News Network (BNN) and gave them an hour-long show everyday during the dinner hour. O’Leary was a failed and unethical businessman, who sold a sham of a company to Mattel, the toy manufacturer, in what Businessweek later called one of the worst deals of all time. He was fired, sued and almost destroyed Mattel in the process. Just about every other project he’s touched has been a disaster, too. Yet Lang, who clearly is no journalist, was happy to be his co-host and tolerate his far-right wing blatherings, which he showered on viewers everyday. Despite his odiousness, O’Leary became a star.
Meanwhile, too many CBC hosts – who are extremely well compensated to begin with – were using their fame to make more money by giving speeches on the side. Both Rex Murphy and Peter Mansbridge were caught doing speeches for the oil industry. Murphy, who is a right-wing ideologue, also writes a turgid column for the pro-business National Post, where he rails against environmentalists on global warming, champions the oil sands and pipelines, and protests any effort to fight climate change. And yet Murphy is given the soapbox of the CBC’s The National to vomit forth his bizarre jeremiads like some bug-eyed curmudgeon.
At the same time, the CBC’s investigative unit, run by one of Canada’s most accomplished investigative journalists, Harvey Cashore, has limped along for years since it was created in 2009 with inadequate funding. In the latest round of cuts last year, his meager budget was cut down to virtually nothing. And yet this unit has broken important stories about how rich and powerful Canadians use offshore tax havens to evade the Canada Revenue Agency.
Since 2007, the CBC has been presided over by lawyer Hubert T. Lacroix, who used to work at the Canada’s most powerful corporate law firm, McCarthy Tétrault, as a business lawyer. He’s embraced, without complaint, every effort by the Harper government to kill off the CBC. Meanwhile, the CBC board is made up of Conservative appointees, most of whom have business or corporate law backgrounds.
Stephen Harper’s vision of Canada clearly does not include a national public broadcaster. Even in its castrated form, the CBC occasionally produces critical journalism. The private sector has long wanted to kill it off, too. The recent scandals that have plagued the broadcaster, brought on by its incompetent managers and toxic internal environment, further erode public trust in its existence. And that is a tragedy. For Canada needs the CBC – just not the pro-corporate current incarnation.

Comparative analysis total phenolic and total flavonoid contents, rutin, tannins and antioxidant capacity in Apiaceae and Lamiaceae families

 http://www.researchgate.net/profile/Valentina_Christova-Bagdassarian

 

Valentina Lubomirova Christova-Bagdassarian

Kristine Samvel Bagdassarian

Maria Stefanova Atanassova

M. Ayaz Ahmad

[more]

Indian Journal of Horticulture (Impact Factor: 0.11). 12/2014; 4((3/4)):131-140.

ABSTRACT The herb and seed spices were analysed for their tannins content by titrimetric method; rutin was determined spectrophotometrically by using ammonium molybdate; the total phenolic contents were determined by using Folin-Ciocalteu assay; the total flavonoids were measured spectrophotometrically using the colorimetric reaction with aluminum (III) chloride. Antioxidant capacity was also analysed spectrophotometrically by a 2,2-Diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) radical scavenging effect of the herbs and seeds.

Beyond Ebola: a new agenda for resilient health systems - The Lancet

Beyond Ebola: a new agenda for resilient health systems - The Lancet

Pharmacogn Mag. Aug 2014; 10(Suppl 3): S501–S505. doi:  10.4103/0973-1296.139781 PMCID: PMC4189264 New steroidal saponin from Antigonon leptopus Hook. and Arn. Maria Karmella L. Apaya and Christine L. Chichioco-Hernandez Author information ► Article notes ► Copyright and License information ► Go to: Abstract Background: Antigonon leptopus Hook. and Arn., Polygonaceae (cadena de amor), is a herbal remedy for pain and gout-like symptoms in the Philippines. The methanol extract of A. leptopus have shown strong inhibitory action against xanthine oxidase. Objective: To isolate and identify the compound responsible for the xanthine oxidase inhibitory action. Materials and Methods: A bioassay-guided isolation scheme using an in vitro assay for the inhibition of xanthine oxidase was employed. The structure was established using spectroscopic analysis and chemical methods. Results: The isolated compound was determined to be a noncompetitive inhibitor of xanthine with an IC50 of 1.79 μg/mL. Conclusion: The isolated compound may represent a new class of xanthine oxidase inhibitors. Keywords: Gout, medicinal plants, saponin, uric acid, xanthine oxidase Go to: INTRODUCTION Antigonon leptopus Hook. and Arn. is a woody, perennial member of the buckwheat (Polygonaceae) family commonly found in tropical Asia, Africa, the Caribbean and the Americas. Its common names include cadena de amor, flores kadena, bride's tears, chain-of-love and confederate vine. It is propagated by seeds or cuttings and is mostly used as an ornament. The bark, fruit, leaves, and seeds of this plant also have widespread applications in folkloric medicine. In the Philippines, the aerial parts of the plant are used as an anti-inflammatory agent and for wound healing.[1,2] In Trinidad and Tobago, the leaves are used for diabetes, urinary problems and low blood pressure.[3] Preliminary studies on the activity of crude extracts of A. leptopus in inhibiting the action of xanthine oxidase (XO) had been done. Results of phytochemical profiling included cardiac glycosides, steroids, tanins and terpenoids among possible types of compound responsible for this bioactivity.[4] Being a traditional medication used for inflammation and pain, these compounds may potentially find application as new XO inhibitors. The only commercially available XO inhibitor to date is allopurinol (1,5-dihydro-4H-pyrazolo[3,4-d] pyrimidin-4-one), a purine analog in clinical use for >30 years.[5] Despite generally acceptable efficacy and safety profiles, very rare but serious adverse reactions of allopurinol administration occur including interstitial nephritis, renal failure, hepatotoxicity, vasculitis, and an array of skin rashes varying from mild to very severe and life-threatening allopurinol hypersensitivity syndrome.[6,7] The recurrence and severity of gout has been reportedly increasing over the last decades and it continues to be a major health problem due to shifts in diets and lifestyles.[8] As part of our effort to search for new biologically active compounds from local herbal remedies, a new saponin, with a steroidal backbone was isolated from A. leptopus. In this paper, we present the result of the isolation, structure elucidation and XO inhibitory activity of this new compound. 3 of your publications were recently cited

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Article: Medicinal plant treatments for fleas and ear problems of cats and dogs in British Columbia... Cited in 1 publication: Article: Common mullein, pharmacological and chemical aspects Muhammad Riaz, Muhammad Zia-Ul-Haq, Hawa Z.E. Jaafar Revista Brasileira de Farmacognosia 11/2013 23(6):948–959. View Article: Ethnoveterinary medicines used for ruminants in British Columbia, Canada. Cited in 1 publication: Article: Comparative analysis total phenolic and total flavonoid contents, rutin, tannins and antio... Valentina Lubomirova Christova-Bagdassarian, Kristine Samvel Bagdassarian, Maria Stefanova Atanassova... Indian Journal of Horticulture 12/2014 4((3/4)):131-140. View Article: Ethnomedicines used in Trinidad and Tobago for urinary problems and diabetes mellitus. Cited in 1 publication: Article: New steroidal saponin from Antigonon leptopus Hook. and Arn. Maria Karmella L Apaya, Christine L Chichioco-Hernandez Pharmacognosy Magazine 08/2014 10(Suppl 3):S501-5. View

Damaging legacy: maternal cigarette smoking has long-term consequences for male offspring fertility

 http://humrep.oxfordjournals.org/content/29/12/2719.abstract?etoc

1. A.P. Sobinoff1,2,
2. J.M. Sutherland1,2,
3. E.L. Beckett3,
4. S.J. Stanger1,2,
5. R. Johnson3,
6. A.G. Jarnicki3,
7. A. McCluskey2,
8. J.C. St John4,
9. P.M. Hansbro3 and
10. E.A. McLaughlin1,2,5,*

+ Author Affiliations

1. ¹Reproductive Science Group, School of Environmental & Life Sciences, University of Newcastle, Callaghan, NSW 2308, Australia
2. ²Priority Research Centre for Chemical Biology, University of Newcastle, Callaghan, NSW 2308, Australia
3. ³Centre for Asthma and Respiratory Disease, University of Newcastle and Hunter Medical Research Institute, Newcastle, Callaghan, NSW 2308, Australia
4. ⁴Centre for Genetic Diseases, MIMR-PHI Institute of Medical Research, Monash University, 27-31 Wright Street, Clayton Vic 3168, Australia
5. ⁵Monash Medical Centre, Monash Institute of Medical Research, Clayton, VIC 3168, Australia

1. ↵*Correspondence address. PRC in Chemical Biology, School of Environmental & Life Sciences, University of Newcastle, Callaghan, NSW 2308, Australia. Tel: +61-2-4921-5708; Fax: +61-2-4921-6308; E-mail: eileen.mclaughlin@newcastle.edu.au

• Received May 4, 2014.
• Revision received August 20, 2014.
• Accepted August 25, 2014.

Abstract

STUDY QUESTION What are the effects on fertility of cigarette smoke-induced toxicity on male offspring exposed during the gestational/weaning period?

SUMMARY ANSWER Maternal cigarette smoke exposure during the gestational/weaning period causes long-term defects in male offspring fertility.

WHAT IS KNOWN ALREADY Cigarette smoke is a well-known reproductive toxicant which is particularly harmful to both fetal and neonatal germ cells. However, recent studies suggest a significant portion of young mothers in the developed world still smoke during pregnancy. In the context of male reproductive health, our understanding of the effects of in utero exposure on offspring fertility is limited.

STUDY DESIGN, SIZE, DURATION In this study, 27 C57BL/6 5-week-old female mice were exposed via the nose-only to cigarette smoke (treatment) or 27 were exposed to room air (control) for 6 weeks before being housed with stud males to produce litters. In the treatment group, smoke exposure continued throughout mating, pregnancy and lactation until weaning of pups at 21 days post birth. Male offspring were examined at post-natal days 3, 6, 12, 21 and 98 (adult).

PARTICIPANTS/MATERIALS, SETTING, METHODS Approximately 108 maternal smoke-exposed C57BL/6 offspring and controls were examined. Spermatogenesis was examined using testicular histology and apoptosis/DNA damage was assessed using caspase immunohistochemistry and TUNEL. Sertoli cell morphology and fluctuations in the spermatogonial stem cell population were also examined using immunohistochemistry. Microarray and QPCR analysis were performed on adult testes to examine specific long-term transcriptomic alteration as a consequence of maternal smoke exposure. Sperm counts and motility, zona/oolemma binding assays, COMET analysis and mitochondrial genomic sequencing were also performed on spermatozoa obtained from adult treated and control mice. Fertility trials using exposed adult male offspring were also performed.

MAIN RESULTS AND THE ROLE OF CHANCE Maternal cigarette smoke exposure caused increased gonocyte and meiotic spermatocyte apoptosis (P < 0.01) as well as germ cell depletion in the seminiferous tubules of neonatal and juvenile offspring. Aberrant testicular development characterized by abnormal Sertoli and germ cell organization, a depleted spermatogonial stem cell population (P < 0.01), atrophic seminiferous tubules and increased germ cell DNA damage (P < 0.01) persisted in adult offspring 11 weeks after exposure. Microarray analysis of adult offspring testes associated these defects with meiotic germ cell development, sex hormone metabolism, oxidative stress and Sertoli cell signalling. Next generation sequencing also revealed a high mitochondrial DNA mutational load in the testes of adult offspring (P < 0.01). Adult maternal smoke-exposed offspring also had reduced sperm counts with spermatozoa exhibiting morphological abnormalities (P < 0.01), affecting motility and fertilization potential. Odf2, a spermatozoa flagellum component required for coordinated ciliary beating, was also significantly down-regulated (P < 0.01) in maternal smoke-exposed adult offspring, with aberrant localization along the spermatozoa flagellum. Adult maternal smoke-exposed offspring took significantly longer to impregnate control females and had a slight but significant (P < 0.01) reduction in litter size.

LIMITATIONS, REASONS FOR CAUTION This study examined only one species (mouse) using a smoking model which only simulates human cigarette smoke exposure.

WIDER IMPLICATIONS OF THE FINDINGS This study represents the first comprehensive animal model of maternal smoking on male offspring reproductive function, suggesting that exposure during the gestational/weaning period causes long-term defects in male offspring fertility. This is due to a compromised spermatogonial stem cell population resulting from gonocyte apoptosis and impaired spermatogenic development. This results in significant germ cell damage and Sertoli cell dysfunction, impacting germ cell number, tubule organization, DNA damage and spermatozoa in adult offspring. This study strengthens the current literature suggesting that maternal exposure impairs male offspring fertility, which is currently debated due to conflicting studies.

STUDY FUNDING/COMPETING INTEREST(S) This study was funded by the Australian Research Council, Hunter Medical Research Institute, National Health and Medical Research Council of Australia and the Newcastle Permanent Building Society Charitable Trust. The authors declare no conflict of interest.

How Snake Oil Got a Bad Rap (Hint: It Wasn’t The Snakes’ Fault)

How Snake Oil Got a Bad Rap (Hint: It Wasn’t The Snakes’ Fault) http://www.collectorsweekly.com/articles/how-snake-oil-got-a-bad-rap/ via @collectorswkly

http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0378874114002827

J Ethnopharmacol. 2014 Jul 3;154(3):481-536. doi: 10.1016/j.jep.2014.04.007. Epub 2014 Apr 15.

Medicinal plants of the Russian Pharmacopoeia; their history and applications.

Shikov AN¹, Pozharitskaya ON², Makarov VG², Wagner H³, Verpoorte R⁴, Heinrich M⁵.

Author information

Abstract

ETHNOPHARMACOLOGICAL RELEVANCE:

Due to the location of Russia between West and East, Russian phytotherapy has accumulated and adopted approaches that originated in European and Asian traditional medicine. Phytotherapy is an official and separate branch of medicine in Russia; thus, herbal medicinal preparations are considered official medicaments. The aim of the present review is to summarize and critically appraise data concerning plants used in Russian medicine. This review describes the history of herbal medicine in Russia, the current situation and the pharmacological effects of specific plants in the Russian Pharmacopoeia that are not included in the European Pharmacopoeia.

MATERIALS AND METHODS:

Based on the State Pharmacopoeia of the USSR (11(th) edition), we selected plant species that have not yet been adopted in Western and Central Europe (e.g., selected for inclusion in the European Pharmacopoeia) and systematically searched the scientific literature for data using library catalogs, the online service E-library.ru, and databases such as Medline/Pubmed, Scopus, and the Web of Science regarding species, effectiveness, pharmacological effects, and safety.

RESULTS:

The Russian Federation follows the State Pharmacopoeia of the USSR (11(th) edition), which contains 83 individual plant monographs. Fifty-one of these plants are also found in the European Pharmacopoeia and have been well studied, but 32 plants are found only in the Pharmacopoeia of the USSR. Many articles about these medicinal plants were never translated in English, and much of the information collected by Russian scientists has never been made available to the international community. Such knowledge can be applied in future studies aimed at a safe, evidence-based use of traditional Russian medicinal plants in European and global phytopharmacotherapy as well as for the discovery of novel leads for drug development.

CONCLUSION:

The review highlights the therapeutic potential of these Russian phytopharmaceuticals but also highlights cases where concern has been raised about product safety and tolerability, which would aid in supporting their safe use.
Copyright © 2014 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Ireland Ltd.. All rights reserved.

KEYWORDS:

Aralia elata; Bergenia crassifolia; Bidens tripartita; Gnaphalium uliginosum; Inonotus obliquus; Tussilago farfara

Lancet oncology Uncaria tomentosa, the cat's whiskers or claws?

Cancer and Society

Uncaria tomentosa, the cat's whiskers or claws?

Fieke E M Froeling

,

Justin Stebbing

DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/S1470-2045(14)71095-2

Article Info

• Summary
• Full Text
• Tables and Figures
• Supplementary Material

After Columbus' second expedition to Central America in 1493, stories of poison-tipped arrows, and horrifying accounts of death and paralysis soon reached Europe. The poison used to coat the arrows is now known as curare, and is used as a skeletal muscle relaxant because of its action on the nicotinic acetylcholine receptor at the neuromuscular junction. Curare has enchanted American and European botanists since its discovery and was one of the first examples of plant extracts with medicinal valu

Stanford PhD in Epidemiology and Clinical Research

PhD in Epidemiology and Clinical Research

http://med.stanford.edu/epidemiology/grad_programs/phd-ecr.html

Overview

The PhD program in epidemiology and clinical research will provide methodologic and interdisciplinary training that will equip students to carry out cutting-edge epidemiologic research. The program trains students in the tools of modern epidemiology, with heavy emphases on statistics, computer science, genetics, genomics, and bioinformatics. We welcome applicants with diverse backgrounds.

• How to Apply
• Leadership and Faculty
• Course Requirements
• Sample Programs
• Advising
• Program Contacts

Course Requirements

PhD students will be required to complete a minimum of 135 units (as per university requirements), including 45 course units exclusive of HRP 236 (Epidemiology Research Seminar), HRP 299 (Directed Reading), and HRP 399 (Graduate Research).
Epidemiologic methods sequence:
HRP 225: Design and Conduct of Clinical and Epidemiologic Studies (3-4 units)
HRP 226: Advanced Epidemiologic and Clinical Research Methods (3-4 units)
HRP 251: Design and Conduct of Clinical Trials (3 units)
Biostatistics sequence:
HRP 259: Introduction to Probability and Statistics for Epidemiology
HRP 261/STATS 261: Intermediate Biostatistics: Analysis of Discrete Data (3 units)

"Big Epidemiology" elective courses:
One of the following advanced quantitative courses (3 to 4 units)

• STATS 116: Theory of Probability
• other than STATS 260: Any 200-level STATS course
• HRP 216: Analytical and Practical Issues in the Conduct of Clinical and Epidemiologic Research
• HRP 262/STATS 262: Intermediate Biostatistics: Regression, Prediction, Survival Analysis
• HRP 252: Outcomes Analysis
• HRP 392: Analysis of Costs, Risks, and Benefits of Health Care
• MED 206/STATS 211/HRP 206: Meta-Research

One of the following big data courses (3 to 4 units)

• BIOMED 215: Data-Driven Medicine
• CS 246: Mning Massive Data Sets
• STATS 202: Data Mining and Analysis
• CS 229A: Applied Machine Learning

One of the following genetics/genomics/bioinformatics courses (3 to 4 units)

• HRP 228: Genetic Epidemiology
• BIOMED 217/CS 275: Translational Bioinformatics
• GENE 244: Introduction to Statistical Genetics
• BIOMEDIN 258: Genomics, Bioinformatics and Medicine
• GENE 224: Principles of Pharmacogenomics
• CS 262: Computational Genomics
• BIOMEDIN 273A/DBIO 273A/CS273A: A Computational Tour of the Human Genome
• GENE 210/DBIO220: Genomics and Personalized Medicine
• STATS 166/STATS 345/GENE245: Computational Algorithms for Statistical Genetics

Other core courses/requirements:

• HRP 236 all quarters: At least 6 quarters of epidemiology research seminar (6 units)
• Med 255: Responsible Conduct of Research (1 unit)
• Attendance at the Epidemiology Methods Workshop once per quarter (minimum twice annual attendance while in residence)
• Attendance at one meeting of the Human Subjects Panel (Institutional Review Board)
• Attendance at one meeting of the GCRC Protocol Review Committee
• R Proficiency: students must show proficiency in the computing language R or must take an approved course in R

Sample Program

Course

Units

Course Director

Year 1: Autumn Quarter (10 units)
HRP 225	Design and Conduct of Clinical and Epidemiologic Studies	3	Rita Popat
HRP 259	Introduction to Probability and Statistics for Epidemiology	3	Kristin Sainani
Elective	Elective	3	TBD
HRP 236	Epidemiology Research Seminar	1	Core Faculty
Year 1: Winter Quarter (10 units)
HRP 226	Advanced Epidemiologic and Clinical Research Methods	3	Lorene Nelson
HRP 261	Intermediate Biostatistics: Analysis of Discrete Data	3	Kristin Sainani
Elective	Elective	2	TBD
MED 255	Responsible Conduct of Research	1	Katrina Karkazis
HRP 236	Epidemiology Research Seminar	1	Core Faculty
Year 1: Spring Quarter (10 units)
HRP 251	Design and Conduct of Clinical Trials	3	Victor Henderson
HRP 252*	Outcomes Analysis *Big Epidemiology elective: advanced quantitative	3	Jay Bhattacharya
Elective	Elective	3	TBD
HRP 236	Epidemiology Research Seminar	1	Core Faculty

*Milestones: Preliminary examination given after spring quarter of year 1.

Year 1: Summar Quarter (10 units)
HRP 399b	Graduate Research	10	Advisor/Preceptor

Year 2: Autumn Quarter (10 units)
HRP 202*	Data Mining and Analysis *Big Epidemiology elective: big data	3	Jonathan Taylor
Elective	Elective	3	TBD
HRP 399	Gaduate Research	3	Advsior/Preceptor
HRP 236	Epidemiology Research Seminar	1	Core Faculty

*Milestones: Qualifying examination given after fall quarter of year 2 (with some flexibility in timing if needed for individual students)

Year 2: Winter Quarter (10 units)
GENE 224/ BIOMEDIN 224*	Principles of Pharmacogenomics *Big Epidemiology elective: genetics/genomics/bioinformatics	3	Russ Altman
Elective	Elective	3	TBD
HRP 399	Graduate Research	3	Advisor/Preceptor
HRP 236	Epidemiology Research Seminar	1	Core Faculty
Year 2: Spring Quarter (10 units)
Elective	Elective	3	TBD
Elective	Elective	3	TBD
Elective	Elective	3	Advisor/Preceptor
HRP 236	Epidemiology Research Seminar	1	Core Faculty
Year 2: Summer Quarter (10 units)
HRP 399	Graduate Research	10	Advisor/Preceptor

*Milestones: R programming proficiency will be required by the end of year 2.

Year 3: Autumn-Summer Quarter (10 units)
HRP 399	Graduate Research	10	Advisor

Year 4: Autumn-Winter Quarter (10 units)
HRP 399	Graduate Research	10	Advisor

*Milestones: TGR 135 units.

Year 4 and above:
HRP 399	Dissertation	0	Advisor

Advisors and Mentors

Upon admission, each student in the PhD program will be assigned an academic advisor from the group of core faculty in epidemiology. This person will work with the student to craft an individually-tailored curriculum that meets their unique goals and interests. At a later time, the student will identify additional dissertation advisors, typically including a methodologic advisor (from the core faculty), a quantitative advisor (with expertise in statistics or computer science), and a clinical or translational advisor (in the applied research area). The methodologic, quantitative, and clinical/translational advisors will be expected to consult regularly with the student during the research and writing phases of the PhD dissertation. The advisors will monitor the student’s progress and alert the executive committee if problems arise. The executive committee will oversee advising arrangements to ensure that each student receives adequate supervision.

Examinations and Academic Milestone Assessment

In the course of the doctoral program, each student will carry out the following academic milestones to complete the core courses and elective coursework

• Pass the Preliminary Examination
• Identify a dissertation project
• Form a Doctoral Dissertation Reading Committee
• Develop a detailed NIH-style dissertation proposal
• Complete the Qualifying Examination
• Conduct the dissertation research project(s)
• Write the dissertation
• Present dissertation results in a public seminar
• Pass the Final Examination (defense of dissertation)
• Complete and turn in the dissertation

Efficacy of a Tetravalent Dengue Vaccine in Children in Latin America — NEJM

Efficacy of a Tetravalent Dengue Vaccine in Children in Latin America — NEJM

Silence of the Labs Screening and Discussion at SFU on January 15, 2015

Subject: Mark your calendars - Silence of the Labs Screening and Discussion January 15, 2015


"CBC’s the fifth estate spoke to scientists across the country who are concerned that Canadians will suffer if their elected leaders have to make policy decisions without the benefit of independent, fact-based science." (www.cbc.ca/fifth)


The Centre for Coastal Science and Management in the Faculty of Environment at Simon Fraser University in partnership with Evidence for Democracy present a free public screening of the CBC documentary, Silence of the Labs followed by discussion.

Dr. Arne Mooers, Biological Sciences, SFU, will moderate a panel of respondents comprised of Dr. Craig Orr, Executive Director, Watershed Watch Salmon Society and others followed by open discussion.


Date:   January 15, 2015

Time:   7:00 pm

Place:  SFU Harbour Centre, 515 West Hastings, Vancouver, Room 1900

Cost:   Free but reservations are recommended as seating is limited

Reservations:  http://silence-of-the-labs.eventbrite.com





Laurie Wood, Coordinator
Centre for Coastal Science and Management Simon Fraser University
8888 University Drive, Strand Hall Annex, Room 622 Burnaby, BC  V5A 1S6

778.782.9235
lauriew@sfu.ca

Journal of Ethnopharmacology

Volume 161, 23 February 2015, Pages 116–127

Research Paper

The importance of cultural factors in the distribution of medicinal plant knowledge: A case study in four Basque regions

• Gorka Menendez-Baceta^a,
• Laura Aceituno-Mata^{a, b},
• Victoria Reyes-García^{c, d},
• Javier Tardío^b,
• Matthieu Salpeteur^c,
• Manuel Pardo-de-Santayana^{a, ,}

doi:10.1016/j.jep.2014.12.007

Get rights and content

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Abstract

Ethnobotanical relevance

Previous research suggests that the use of medicinal plants by a given group is mainly driven by biological variables such as the chemical composition or the ecological distribution of plants. However, other studies highlight the importance of cultural aspects such as the curative meaning given to a plant, beliefs, religion or the historical context. Such aspects could play an important role in the use, diffusion or even in the effectiveness of a plant remedy.

Materials and methods

Fieldwork consisted of 233 orally consented semi-structured interviews with 178 informants about medicinal uses of plants. Interviews were conducted in four historically and geographycally delimited regions of Alava and Biscay with similar environmental conditions but different sociolinguistic backgrounds: two regions were Basque- and two Spanish-speaking. Data were structured in use-reports. A Between Class Analysis was conducted to assess the intercultural and intracultural variability of medicinal plants knowledge.

Results

The results show the existence of four clearly different medicinal ethnofloras. While the four ethnofloras share remedies widely distributed through the territory, each of them also includes remedies that are only shared among closely related communities. The ecological availability and chemical composition of the plants may explain why there are widely used plant remedies. On the contrary, the distribution of the locally shared remedies matches up with the cultural heterogeneity of the territory, so cultural factors, such as, language, social networks or the meaning response of the plants seem to explain the use of many traditional plant remedies. In Addition, we also found that Basque speaking territories show higher knowledge levels than Spanish speaking territories. In this sense, the development and reinforcement of Basque identity by Basque nationalism seems to have contributed to maintain the traditional knowledge in the Basque speaking regions.

Conclusions

Despite the fact that pharmacological effectiveness and ecological availability are usually considered as the main variables that shape the traditional use of medicinal plants, our results suggest that cultural factors can be at least as important as ecological and chemical factors. In fact, differences in language, in the cultural meaning of the plants, in the context related to cultural identities, and in social networks seem to play a fundamental role in the use and diffusion and maintenance or erosion of traditional knowledge about medicinal plants in the study area.

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Graphical abstract

Keywords

• Basque nationalism;
• Cross-cultural studies;
• Ethnobotany;
• Folk medicine;
• Herbal remedies;
• Traditional knowledge