The Ethnomedical Practices of the Keetoowah traditional Cherokees: Current Clinical Implications University of Bridgeport Seed Grant Award

Keetoowah Cherokee medicine has never been documented, and the Western Band of Cherokees (Tahlequah, OK) have kept the traditions of the Keetoowahs through the bloodline of Redbird Smith. Crosslin F. Smith is the grandson of Redbird, and a well respected and international educator and practitioner of traditional Keetoowah Cherokee Medicine. Dr. Noé has been practicing Cherokee Medicine under Elder Smith's tutelage for 25 years. In Elder Smith's practice (Vian, OK) he treats native peoples with plants, rituals and prayers for such diseases as cancer without any western medicine applications (many native peoples refusing any western medical care). This research project is to collect botanical specimen that are used by Elder Smith and from the sites he collects from in OK. The collection is housed at UBCNM's new Medicinal Plant Herbarium. The new Herbarium is housed on the 6th floor of the HSC building, room 608. The University of Bridgeport Seed Grant Award financed the herbarium equipment, botanical field equipment and one collection trip to Vian, OK in July 2011

L-Glutamine Use in the Treatment and Prevention of Mucositis and Cachexia: A Naturopathic Perspective

This is a poster on the topic, there is also an article from this author by the same title.L-Glutamine (GLN) is considered a nonessential amino acid that has a variety of applications in naturopathic medicine. It has been postulated that in the critically ill patient, GLN becomes an essential amino acid for recovery, restoration, and repair at a cellular level. Mucositis is an intestinal mucosal damage of the gastrointestinal tract - mouth, throat, stomach, intestines, rectum, and anus - that is caused directly by chemotherapies and radiotherapies. Cancer cachexia is a significant biochemical event, which is characterized by weight loss, fatigue, and indicative of depletion of skeletal muscle GLN - a hypercatabolic state. There has been some question as to the use of GLN in this patient population because of its role as a preferred energy source not only for enterocytes and lymphocytes but for malignant cells as well. This article will address the questions of safety, efficacy, dosing, and toxicity of GLN used as an integrative therapeutic in ongoing naturopathic integrative cancer treatment

L-Glutamine Use In The Treatment And Prevention Of Mucositis And Cachexia: A Naturopathic Perspective

This is an article on the topic, there is also a poster from this author by the same title.L-Glutamine (L-GLN) is considered a nonessential amino acid that has a variety of applications in naturopathic medicine. It has been postulated that in the critically ill patient, GLN becomes an essential amino acid for recovery, restoration, and repair at a cellular level. Mucositis is an intestinal mucosal damage of the gastrointestinal tract—mouth, throat, stomach, intestines, rectum, and anus-that is caused directly by chemotherapies and radiotherapies. Cancer cachexia is a significant biochemical event, which is characterized by weight loss, fatigue, and indicative of depletion of skeletal muscle GLN-a hypercatabolic state. There has been some question as to the use of GLN in this patient population because of its role as a preferred energy source not only for enterocytes and lymphocytes but for malignant cells as well. This article will address the questions of safety, efficacy, dosing, and toxicity of GLN used as an integrative therapeutic in ongoing integrative cancer treatment.http://ict.sagepub.com.libproxy.bridgeport.edu/content/8/4/409.full.pdf+htm

L-Glutamine Use in the Treatment and Prevention of Mucositis and Cachexia: A Naturopathic Perspective

This is a poster on the topic, there is also an article from this author by the same title.L-Glutamine (GLN) is considered a nonessential amino acid that has a variety of applications in naturopathic medicine. It has been postulated that in the critically ill patient, GLN becomes an essential amino acid for recovery, restoration, and repair at a cellular level. Mucositis is an intestinal mucosal damage of the gastrointestinal tract - mouth, throat, stomach, intestines, rectum, and anus - that is caused directly by chemotherapies and radiotherapies. Cancer cachexia is a significant biochemical event, which is characterized by weight loss, fatigue, and indicative of depletion of skeletal muscle GLN - a hypercatabolic state. There has been some question as to the use of GLN in this patient population because of its role as a preferred energy source not only for enterocytes and lymphocytes but for malignant cells as well. This article will address the questions of safety, efficacy, dosing, and toxicity of GLN used as an integrative therapeutic in ongoing naturopathic integrative cancer treatment

Opening a Window on ICME-driven GCR Modulation in the Inner Solar System

Interplanetary coronal mass ejections (ICMEs) often cause Forbush decreases (Fds) in the flux of galactic cosmic rays (GCRs). We investigate how a single ICME, launched from the Sun on 2014 February 12, affected GCR fluxes at Mercury, Earth, and Mars. We use GCR observations from MESSENGER at Mercury, ACE/LRO at the Earth/Moon, and MSL at Mars. We find that Fds are steeper and deeper closer to the Sun, and that the magnitude of the magnetic field in the ICME magnetic ejecta as well as the strength of the ICME sheath both play a large role in modulating the depth of the Fd. Based on our results, we hypothesize that (1) the Fd size decreases exponentially with heliocentric distance, and (2) that two-step Fds are more common closer to the Sun. Both hypotheses will be directly verifiable by the upcoming Parker Solar Probe and Solar Orbiter missions. This investigation provides the first systematic study of the changes in GCR modulation as a function of distance from the Sun using nearly contemporaneous observations at Mercury, Earth/Moon, and Mars, which will be critical for validating our physical understanding of the modulation process throughout the heliosphere

Update on the Worsening Particle Radiation Environment Observed by CRaTER and Implications for Future Human Deep-Space Exploration

Over the last decade, the solar wind has exhibited low densities and magnetic field strengths, representing anomalous states that have never been observed during the space age. As discussed by Schwadron, Blake, et al. (2014, https://doi.org/10.1002/2014SW001084), the cycle 23–24 solar activity led to the longest solar minimum in more than 80 years and continued into the “mini” solar maximum of cycle 24. During this weak activity, we observed galactic cosmic ray fluxes that exceeded theERobserved small solar energetic particle events. Here we provide an update to the Schwadron, Blake, et al. (2014, https://doi.org/10.1002/2014SW001084) observations from the Cosmic Ray Telescope for the Effects of Radiation (CRaTER) on the Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter. The Schwadron, Blake, et al. (2014, https://doi.org/10.1002/2014SW001084) study examined the evolution of the interplanetary magnetic field and utilized a previously published study by Goelzer et al. (2013, https://doi.org/10.1002/2013JA019404) projecting out the interplanetary magnetic field strength based on the evolution of sunspots as a proxy for the rate that the Sun releases coronal mass ejections. This led to a projection of dose rates from galactic cosmic rays on the lunar surface, which suggested a ∼20% increase of dose rates from one solar minimum to the next and indicated that the radiation environment in space may be a worsening factor important for consideration in future planning of human space exploration. We compare the predictions of Schwadron, Blake, et al. (2014, https://doi.org/10.1002/2014SW001084) with the actual dose rates observed by CRaTER in the last 4 years. The observed dose rates exceed the predictions by ∼10%, showing that the radiation environment is worsening more rapidly than previously estimated. Much of this increase is attributable to relatively low-energy ions, which can be effectively shielded. Despite the continued paucity of solar activity, one of the hardest solar events in almost a decade occurred in September 2017 after more than a year of all-clear periods. These particle radiation conditions present important issues that must be carefully studied and accounted for in the planning and design of future missions (to the Moon, Mars, asteroids, and beyond)