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At least 19 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMed1980

The role of humor and folklore themes in psychotherapy.

In the alternation of deconstitution and constitution that is fundamental to human life, humor has a useful role, mainly as a deconstituting force, whereas folklore emphasizes the revitalization of existence. Yet humor can be harmful in situations where there is a lack of mutual respect, and it can be growth-retarding if it becomes a substitute for needed change. The effectiveness of humor and folklore themes is proportional to the genuineness of the interpersonal relationship. In folklore, humor reinforces the injunction to seek wider worlds beyond the one that has become monotonous and stifling. Humor and folklore themes can, therefore, prove helpful when used judiciously in psychotherapy.

Folklore↗
PubMed1999

Are women carrying "basketballs" really having boys? Testing pregnancy folklore.

BACKGROUND: Antenatal ascertainment of fetal sex is a common feature of modern pregnancies. Women who opt not to learn fetal sex typically employ a variety of methods to forecast it. This study investigated the validity of prevalent folklore used to identify fetal sex before birth. METHOD: One hundred four pregnant women, who did not know the sex of the fetus, were administered a questionnaire to explore their perceptions of fetal sex and the basis for these predictions. RESULTS: Fetal sex was not systematically related to the shape of the woman's abdomen, prevalence of morning sickness, or comparisons with previous pregnancies. However, women who had more than twelve years of education correctly predicted fetal sex greater than chance (71% correct), in contrast to less educated women (43% correct). Contrary to expectations, women whose forecasts were based on psychological criteria (i.e., dreams or feelings) were more likely to be correct than those employing prevalent folklore criteria (i.e., the way a woman was carrying the pregnancy). CONCLUSIONS: In general, women were not good predictors of fetal sex. The mechanisms that promote maternal accuracy in predicting fetal sex for highly educated women are unknown. It is reasonable to expect that maternal perceptions of fetal sex contribute to the process of fetal attachment.

Adult↗
PubMed1997

[An outline medical history of Taiwan (I): the period of folklore medicine and witch doctor].

The paper makes a correlated analysis on the origin of health folklore between Chinese in mainland and Taiwan island. After quoting literatures written by authors living in the Qing dynasty in Taiwan, this paper analyses health condition among aboriginals of Taiwan during the witchcraft age. Along with the increasing immigration from China mainland to Taiwan island, health of folklore and gods from China mainland were introduced into Taiwan, hence the period of witch doctor in Taiwan, featuring the correlation of both. Though modern medicine in Taiwan is so advanced, yet there are still witch doctors elsewhere.

China↗
PubMed1976

Plant folklore: a tool for predicting sources of antitumor activity?

The National Cancer Institute's record of "active plants" (extracts which showed a significant inhibitory effect in experimental tumor systems) was compared with plants reported in folklore to have medicinal or poisonous properties. The occurrence of active plants was found to be higher in plants reported in folk literature than in plants collected at random, suggesting a correlation between plants used in folklore and those with anticancer activity.

Anthelmintics↗
PubMedDate not supplied

A modern look at folkloric use of anti-infective agents.

Infectious diseases are of ancient origin, and mankind has a venerable history of use of higher plant extracts for the therapy of such infections. Some such agents survive in use from earlier times--quinine, emetine, and sanguinarine, for example--but the modern use of fermentation-based antibiotics has greatly overshadowed work on agents from other sources. After a brief review of the present status of the field of antibiotics, this review focuses upon the present status of antimicrobial agents from higher plants with particular reference to agents from plants with a folkloric reputation for treatment of infections. In particular, recent work on the tropical genus Erythrina is emphasized. The use of modern microbiological techniques demonstrates that higher plants frequently exhibit significant potency against human bacterial and fungal pathogens, that many genera are involved, that many folkloric uses can be rationalized on this basis, that the active constituents are readily isolated by bioassay-directed techniques, that their chemical structures are types uncommon amongst fermentation-based agents but are familiar to natural product chemists, that their antimicrobial spectra are comparatively narrow but that their potency is often reasonable, that they are comparatively easy to synthesize and the unnatural analogues so produced can possess enhanced therapeutic potential and, thus, it is concluded that such work generates a gratifying number of novel lead structures and that the possibility of finding additional agents for human or agricultural use based upon higher plant agents is realistic.

Anti-Bacterial Agents↗
PubMed1996

Entitlements and the federal budget: facts, folklore, and future.

Several common perceptions about the putative linkage between deficits and entitlement spending have approached the status of folklore in deficit debates. In an effort to distinguish facts from folklore, four such perceptions are examined: that entitlement growth has caused increased deficits; that federal health care programs have driven the rapid growth in health care costs; that non-means-tested programs have been the fastest-growing entitlements; and that too large a share of entitlement benefits goes to affluent households. Although much of the conventional wisdom of entitlement growth cannot withstand scrutiny, entitlement reform will be needed, if for no other reason than the fact that the two largest entitlements--Social Security and Medicare--face long-term actuarial deficits. A set of principles is identified to guide deficit reduction, and some options are discussed to resolve the imbalances in the two largest entitlements: Social Security and Medicare.

Attitude to Health↗
PubMed2001

Utilizing the mythical and folkloric power of trees in the modern hospital environment.

The Department of Health, under the auspices of the Government of the United Kingdom, has recently been encouraging hospital management boards to plant trees for the benefit of patients and staff. Although there is little scientific evidence to support such an edict, there are thousands of years of mythical and folkloric evidence to support such an initiative. This evidence is briefly reviewed, paying particular attention to the supposed powers often ascribed to oak, rowan, yew, hawthorn, ash and beech trees. Recommendations for arboreal tree planting schemes in hospitals are made based on this evidence.

Crataegus↗
PubMed1991

The hand in Irish legend and folklore.

A brief review of the significance of the hand in the mythology, folklore, and religion of Ireland from ancient times is presented. Many of these accounts are also found in the history and legends of other Celtic countries.

Folklore↗
PubMed2006

Pregnancy folklore revisited: the case of heartburn and hair.

BACKGROUND: Folklore can originate by detection of actual associations between seemingly unrelated events and perpetuated through oral tradition. The objective of this study was to determine whether a common pregnancy belief that women who experience a lot of heartburn give birth to newborns with a lot of hair is accurate. METHODS: Sixty-four pregnant women ranked the severity of their degree of heartburn during pregnancy. Independent coders rated newborn hair volume using 2 photographs of the infant's head, taken shortly after birth. RESULTS: Most (78%) women reported some degree of heartburn. Symptom severity was unrelated to fetal sex and maternal characteristics including parity, age, or weight. The simple linear relationship between heartburn severity and hair volume was significant r(s)(62) = 0.40, p < 0.001. Categorical analysis by severity score and hair ranking revealed a similar association (chi(2)= 23.93, p < 0.05). Most (23/28) women who reported moderate or severe heartburn gave birth to babies with average or above average amounts of hair, and conversely, most (10/12) women reporting no heartburn had babies with less than average or no hair. CONCLUSIONS: Contrary to expectations, it appears that an association between heartburn severity during pregnancy and newborn hair does exist. We propose a shared biologic mechanism involving a dual role of pregnancy hormones in both the relaxation of the lower esophageal sphincter and the modulation of fetal hair growth.

Adult↗
PubMed1995

Dietary advice: from folklore to present beliefs.

Many countries have folklore beliefs about the use of foodstuffs to remedy ill health and to promote long life. Many of the beliefs and practices of the ancients and, more recently, "mothers's views of health" have a basic soundness and are in harmony with present-day advice on the attainment of a prudent diet and life-style.

Diet↗
PubMed2000

Folklore linked to pregnancy and birth in Nigeria.

As a part of a safe motherhood project implemented in eastern Nigeria between 1992 and 1996, in-house interviews were conducted with rural women and traditional birth attendants in the seven states of eastern Nigeria. The overall project was designed to contribute toward the reduction of maternal mortality and morbidity through the involvement of community leaders and women's organizations in women's health activities in rural Nigeria. It also focused on identifying and addressing some of the underlying cultural factors in maternal mortality and morbidity in Nigeria. Findings from the interview show that women in rural eastern Nigeria still hold many folklore beliefs about pregnancy and childbirth, and some of these beliefs lead to delay in the referral of complications to hospitals.

Community Participation↗
PubMed1999

Folklore associated with dying in the west of Ireland.

The warm welcome for modern advances in the care of the dying should not exclude the past in which there is much to be learned from the skills of our ancestors. A bilingual two-year qualitative research project into traditions associated with dying and death was undertaken. Research began in the archives available in the internationally recognized university folklore departments of Ireland and Scotland. This was augmented by 40 indepth personal interviews with Gaelic- and English-speaking residents in rural communities of both countries, recalling local customs and practices in the care of the dying. This paper reports the Irish experience; the collection of data in Scotland continues. From this study, several main themes emerged. Death was seen and accepted as a natural continuation of life, simply a step into the spirit world. In view of people's oneness with nature and the spiritual world, death was not to be feared. Traditions were unique to each area even down to the precise number of candles used at the sickbed. People understood the signs and symptoms of dying and were skilled in alleviating the distress of both relatives and the dying; and, in this, language was important in capturing and expressing the philosophy of these people. The acceptance of death as the one truism of life was facilitated by the strong faith and prayer of people for whom, in the celebration of death, humour was never far away. In their grief, the community was supported by the loose formality of the wake (torramh), funeral procession, keening (caoineadh) and music. In all these, the men and women of the community and its leaders had distinct and respected roles to play.

Attitude to Death↗
PubMed2005

Description of an injury in a human caused by a false tocandira (Dinoponera gigantea, Perty, 1833) with a revision on folkloric, pharmacological and clinical aspects of the giant ants of the genera Paraponera and Dinoponera (sub-family Ponerinae).

The authors observed an injury caused by the sting of a false tocandira ant in the hand of an amateur fisherman and they describe the clinical findings and the evolution of the envenoming, which presented an acute and violent pain, cold sweating, nausea, a vomiting episode, malaise, tachycardia and left axillary's lymphadenopathy. About three hours after the accident, still feeling intense pain in the place of the sting, he presented an episode of great amount of blood in the feces with no history of digestive, hematological or vascular problems. The intense pain decreased after eight hours, but the place stayed moderately painful for about 24 hours. In that moment, he presented small grade of local edema and erythema. The authors still present the folkloric, pharmacological and clinical aspects related to the tocandiras stings, a very interesting family of ants, which presents the largest and more venomous ants of the world.

Analgesics, Opioid↗
PubMed2005

Suicide among animals: clues from folklore that may prevent suicidal behaviour in human beings.

Knowing the most likely reasons for suicide might increase the chances to identify the early signs of suicide. Folkloric tales on suicide among animals are a possible source of such information, since people probably explain animal suicide using the same reasons they would apply to their kin. Modern naturalistic studies ave found little evidence of self-harming conduct among nonhuman species. Nevertheless, mythological accounts often report suicidal behaviour among animals. Claudius Aelian's De natura animalium, a classic in its genre, written in the 2nd century AD, reports 21 cases of suicide among animals. In Aelian's tales, the severing of social ties emerges as an important motive for suicide, together with incest and rage caused by adultery. Paying attention to the mechanisms leading to suicide described in ancient mythology may help us understand unusual and uncommon motives for suicide and the reasons people feel suicidal.

Animals↗
PubMed1976

Folklore and food habits.

The folklore surrounding food habits developed from uncertainty and fear in mankind's quest for food. In an attempt to gain control of his destiny, man developed various magical practices which would perhaps assure an abundance of food. The practice and beliefs did not develop haphazardly, but, on examination, reveal a type of "folk logic" explained by Sir James Frazer's concepts of contagious and homeopathic magic. The "logic" was extended to specific practices in preparing foods, eating of foods on special days, the use of food in curing certain diseases, and forbidding foods at certain times. The folk were attempting to coordinate the phenomena of their world according to cause and effect much the same as modern Americans coordinate their world. However, the basic assuptions were different.

Aged↗
PubMed1972

The pajaroello tick bite. The frightening folklore and the mild disease.

The pajaroella tick (Ornithodoros coriaceus) has a fairly wide distribution in the coastal and mountainous areas of California and Mexico. Persons engaged in outdoor activities there, are frequently bitten. Little is written in the medical literature concerning the tick and its bite. What has been written is liberally injected with frightening folklore that sometimes results in overzealous treatment. Conservative and supportive therapy is advisable and only rarely should one have to resort to such treatment as excision of an area of tissue necrosis to prevent ulceration and prolongation of healing.

California↗
PubMed1998

The folklore in your mouth.

Ancient folklore about our detentions contained some incredible notions about the number and nature of teeth and their care. Many modern myths remain, however.

Folklore↗