Effects of omega-3 fatty acid supplementation on whole blood fatty acid levels

This study was approved by the University of Bridgeport’s Institutional Review Board ID# 2017-11-01, and made possible through a University of Bridgeport Seed Money Grant awarded to Cheryl L. Lyon, N.D.Omega-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids (n-3 PUFA) are popular dietary supplements that have purported beneficial effects for cardiovascular health, inflammatory, autoimmune, and mood disorders. The manufacture of dietary supplements in the United States is not well regulated and concerns surrounding the content and purity of commercially available n-3 PUFA supplements is warranted, as false content labeling and harmful or oxidized fatty acid contaminants may lead to negative health outcomes. In this research, which was part of a larger study assessing the role of nutritional and genetic factors in a sample of chronic musculoskeletal (MSK) pain sufferers, we report differences in whole blood fatty acid levels in a population seeking complementary and integrative health (CIH) care at an urban university-affiliated clinic

Characteristics of chronic musculoskeletal pain sufferers treated in a university-affiliated complementary and integrative health care clinic

This study was approved by the University of Bridgeport’s Institutional Review Board ID# 2017-11-01, and made possible through a University of Bridgeport Seed Money Grant awarded to Cheryl L. Lyon, N.D.Chronic pain is a substantial driver of high health care costs and disability, and disparities in the experience and treatment of pain based on age, sex and race are significant. Patients seeking complementary and integrative health (CIH) approaches for chronic pain are dramatically under-studied, therefore we assessed the role of nutritional, genetic and other factors in a sample of chronic musculoskeletal (MSK) pain sufferers from a unique patient population seeking complementary and integrative health (CIH) care at an urban university-affiliated clinic

Transforming knowledge systems for life on Earth : Visions of future systems and how to get there

Formalised knowledge systems, including universities and research institutes, are important for contemporary societies. They are, however, also arguably failing humanity when their impact is measured against the level of progress being made in stimulating the societal changes needed to address challenges like climate change. In this research we used a novel futures-oriented and participatory approach that asked what future envisioned knowledge systems might need to look like and how we might get there. Findings suggest that envisioned future systems will need to be much more collaborative, open, diverse, egalitarian, and able to work with values and systemic issues. They will also need to go beyond producing knowledge about our world to generating wisdom about how to act within it. To get to envisioned systems we will need to rapidly scale methodological innovations, connect innovators, and creatively accelerate learning about working with intractable challenges. We will also need to create new funding schemes, a global knowledge commons, and challenge deeply held assumptions. To genuinely be a creative force in supporting longevity of human and non-human life on our planet, the shift in knowledge systems will probably need to be at the scale of the enlightenment and speed of the scientific and technological revolution accompanying the second World War. This will require bold and strategic action from governments, scientists, civic society and sustained transformational intent.Peer reviewe

Um aroma no ar: a ecologia histórica das plantas anti-fantasma entre os Guajá da Amazônia

Entre as plantas medicinais dos Guajá da Amazônia oriental incluem-se várias usadas para repelir os fantasmas dos mortos. Esse artigo discute as plantas repelentes de fantasmas aiyã, em termos de seu significado simbólico, eficácia biológica, e contexto histórico-ecológico. Plantas repelentes de fantasmas são identificadas por seu odor pungente, que age sobre o odor fétido - causador de doenças - dos fantasmas dos mortos. A eficácia da cura pode também relacionar-se a sua interferência com o chamado "fenômeno proustiano", que se refere ao poder dos estímulos olfativos de evocar memórias do passado. Como tais, repelentes de fantasmas podem funcionar, em certo sentido, para afastar memórias e lidar com a dor da perda. Por fim, discutem-se evidências de que a predominância de repelentes de fantasmas entre as plantas medicinais dos Guajá é um efeito da baixa populacional maciça subseqüente ao contato europeu.<br>The medicinal plants of the Guajá people of eastern Amazonia include a number of plants that are used to repel the ghosts of the dead. This work discusses the aiyã ghost repellent plants in terms of their symbolic meaning, biological efficacy, and historical ecological context. Ghost repellent plants are identified through their pungent smell, which counteract the disease-causing foul smell of the ghosts of the dead. The efficacy of the cure may also relate to its interference with the so-called "Proustian phenomenon," which refers to the power of olfactory stimuli to evoke memories of the past. As such, ghost repellent plants may function, in a sense, to repel memory and cope with grief. Finally, evidence is discussed the predominance of ghost repellent plants among the Guajá is an artifact of massive depopulation in the wake of European contact