Pennsylvania Folklife Vol. 30, No. 2

• A Search for the Origin of the Pennsylvania Barn • A Forebay Bank Barn in Texas • The Swiss Bank House Revisited: Messerschmidt-Dietz Cabin • Paul R. Wieand, Lehigh County Folk Artist • Aldes un Neies / Old & Newhttps://digitalcommons.ursinus.edu/pafolklifemag/1090/thumbnail.jp

Pennsylvania Folklife Vol. 33, No. 3

• Moravian, Schwenkfelder, and American Log Construction • The Search for Our German Ancestors Continued: The Breunings of Mohringen • Where the Groundhog is King • The Louisiana Passport of Pennsylvania\u27s Charles Sealsfield • A Garden for the Friends of God : Religious Diversity in the Oley Valley to 1750https://digitalcommons.ursinus.edu/pafolklifemag/1103/thumbnail.jp

Pennsylvania Folklife Vol. 37, No. 2

• The Junior Republic Movement in Pennsylvania: Youth Care in Grove City and Redington • Brechloch, or Rapp\u27s Harmony Society and the Production of Flax, Hemp, and Linen in Pennsylvania and Indiana • Some Neglected Swiss Literature on the Forebay Bank Barn • Hoping for the Best, Yet Fearing the Worst : An Overview of Civil War Medical Care Until the Battle of Gettysburg • Aldes un Neieshttps://digitalcommons.ursinus.edu/pafolklifemag/1118/thumbnail.jp

Elucidating the nutritional dynamics of fungi using stable isotopes

Abstract Mycorrhizal and saprotrophic (SAP) fungi are essential to terrestrial element cycling due to their uptake of mineral nutrients and decomposition of detritus. Linking these ecological roles to specific fungi is necessary to improve our understanding of global nutrient cycling, fungal ecophysiology, and forest ecology

Pennsylvania Folklife Vol. 36, No. 2

• Immigration and Ethnicity in the Anthracite Region: The Peter Kowker Story • Diamond Notching in America and Europe • The Centennial of a First-Class Trip on Pennsylvania Canals: The Voyage of the Molly-Polly-Chunker • Journey Home: Pennsylvania German Ethnicity in Wallace Stevens • Quakers in the Lancaster Gaol, 1778https://digitalcommons.ursinus.edu/pafolklifemag/1114/thumbnail.jp

Pennsylvania Folklife Vol. 44, No. 1

• A Missing Link : The History of African Americans in Pennsylvania • The Twin City Elks Lodge: A Unifying Force in Farrell\u27s African American Community • The Greening of Philadelphia • The Saddlebag House Type and Pennsylvania Extendedhttps://digitalcommons.ursinus.edu/pafolklifemag/1141/thumbnail.jp

Pennsylvania Folklife Vol. 36, No. 1

• A Pennsylvania Dutch Yankee: The Civil War Letters of Private David William Mattern (1862-1863) • New Evidence on the European Origin of Pennsylvania V Notching • Sem Kaufman\u27s Instructions to my Children • Worldview on the Landscape: A Regional Yard Art Study • Aldes un Neies / Old & Newhttps://digitalcommons.ursinus.edu/pafolklifemag/1113/thumbnail.jp

Coagulotoxic effects by brown snake (Pseudonaja) and taipan (Oxyuranus) venoms, and the efficacy of a new antivenom

Snakebite is a neglected tropical disease that disproportionately affects the poor. Antivenom is the only specific and effective treatment for snakebite, but its distribution is severely limited by several factors, including the prohibitive cost of some products. Papua New Guinea (PNG) is a snakebite hotspot but the high costs of Australian antivenoms (thousands of dollars per treatment) makes it unaffordable in PNG. A more economical taipan antivenom has recently been developed at the Instituto Clodomiro Picado (ICP) in Costa Rica for PNG and is currently undergoing clinical trials for the treatment of envenomations by coastal taipans (Oxyuranus scutellatus). In addition to potentially having the capacity to neutralise the effects of envenomations of non-PNG taipans, this antivenom may have the capacity to neutralise coagulotoxins in venom from closely related brown snakes (Pseudonaja spp.) also found in PNG. Consequently, we investigated the cross-reactivity of taipan antivenom across the venoms of all Oxyuranus and Pseudonaja species. In addition, to ascertain differences in venom biochemistry that influence variation in antivenom efficacy, we tested for relative cofactor dependence. We found that the new ICP taipan antivenom exhibited high selectivity for Oxyuranus venoms and only low to moderate cross-reactivity with any Pseudonaja venoms. Consistent with this genus level distinction in antivenom efficacy were fundamental differences in the venom biochemistry. Not only were the Pseudonaja venoms significantly more procoagulant, but they were also much less dependent upon the cofactors calcium and phospholipid. There was a strong correlation between antivenom efficacy, clotting time and cofactor dependence. This study sheds light on the structure-function relationships of the procoagulant toxins within these venoms and may have important clinical implications including for the design of next-generation antivenoms

Pennsylvania Folklife Vol. 40, No. 1

• Square Notching in the Log Carpentry Tradition of Pennsylvania Extended • Letters from Home to a Wandering Farm Boy • Parre Schtories • Handcrafts in Lancaster County • Johann Conrad Dieffenbach of Tulpehocken • Aldes un Neies (Old and New)https://digitalcommons.ursinus.edu/pafolklifemag/1129/thumbnail.jp

The design and protocol of heat-sensitive moxibustion for knee osteoarthritis: a multicenter randomized controlled trial on the rules of selecting moxibustion location

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Knee osteoarthritis is a major cause of pain and functional limitation. Complementary and alternative medical approaches have been employed to relieve symptoms and to avoid the side effects of conventional medication. Moxibustion has been widely used to treat patients with knee osteoarthritis. Our past researches suggested heat-sensitive moxibustion might be superior to the conventional moxibustion. Our objective is to investigate the effectiveness of heat-sensitive moxibustion compared with conventional moxibustion or conventional drug treatment.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>This study consists of a multi-centre (four centers in China), randomised, controlled trial with three parallel arms (A: heat-sensitive moxibustion; B: conventional moxibustion; C: conventional drug group). The moxibustion locations are different from A and B. Group A selects heat-sensitization acupoint from the region consisting of Yin Lingquan(SP9), Yang Lingquan(GB34), Liang Qiu(ST34), and Xue Hai (SP10). Meanwhile, fixed acupoints are used in group B, that is Xi Yan (EX-LE5) and He Ding (EX-LE2). The conventional drug group treats with intra-articular Sodium Hyaluronate injection. The outcome measures above will be assessed before the treatment, the 30 days of the last moxibustion session and 6 months after the last moxibustion session.</p> <p>Discussion</p> <p>This trial will utilize high quality trial methodologies in accordance with CONSORT guidelines. It will provide evidence for the effectiveness of moxibustion as a treatment for moderate and severe knee osteoarthritis. Moreover, the result will clarify the rules of heat-sensitive moxibustion location to improve the therapeutic effect with suspended moxibustion, and propose a new concept and a new theory of moxibustion to guide clinical practices.</p> <p>Trial Registration</p> <p>The trial is registered at Controlled Clinical Trials: ChiCTR-TRC-00000600.</p