Food Security in a Warming World: The Role of a “Right to Food” in National Policy Responses

The ultimate purpose of this thesis is to contribute to evidence on good practices for countries to employ in support of food security under the conditions of climate change. Food security, as defined by the World Food Summit of 1996, is when all people at all times have access to sufficient, safe, nutritious food to maintain a healthy and active life.” It is usually broken down into four pillars: availability, accessibility, usage, and stability, creating a comprehensive foundation of the elements required for people to be properly nourished. This four-pillar approach is central to the framework of this thesis, as it allows us to understand the different factors contributing to food security, and thus to analyze current policy for how well these policies may address the states’ problem areas under the conditions of climate change. In order to accomplish this overarching goal, this thesis seeks to answer the following three questions: 1.In what ways does a rights-based approach to food security help prepare countries for the fight against hunger under the conditions of climate change? 2. How do current agricultural and climate change policies contribute to food security? and 3. What should these countries do to improve food security domestically both now and in the future? Answering these questions will be accomplished by through the study of four countries, Bolivia, Kenya, Nepal, and Ukraine. Agriculture lies at the heart of food security, contributing to each of the pillars for overall improved food security. Although agriculture is most commonly linked with availability, or the supply of food, it also contributes to access, or the economic and physical ability of people to procure food. The linkages between agricultural development and poverty alleviation are complex, but it is generally accepted that agricultural development significantly contributes to lifting people from poverty. In addition, changes in precipitation and temperature with climate change may impact agricultural production. To answer the second question, I depend heavily on historical, political, and geographical analysis to understand the country context and to create the elements by which I assess the policy. I find that while every country studied is taking some action to mitigate or adapt to climate change and support food security through agricultural policy, there is no one-size-fits-all model. Results of the agricultural and climate change policies analysis supports the context-specific approach to formulating and evaluating policy. In 1967, the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (ICESCR) created the legal framework on an international level to assure that everyone gets fed using the individual rights approach. Enshrining the right to food in international law, however, is not enough to ensure the end of world hunger. States that are party to ICESCR have to take action to respect, protect, and fulfil the right. In order to make the right justiciable in domestic courts so that individuals can bring suit when they feel their right to adequate food has been violated, states often integrate the right to food into their domestic legal systems. Each of the case study countries’ constitutions include a provision on the right to food. I find that the context in which the constitution was negotiated has a large impact on the constitutional provision, but that this does not translate into different approaches to food security at the level of agricultural or climate change policy. Based on jurisprudence from Kenya and Nepal, I posit that the right to food is more amenable to the courts when the case involves acute hunger and when there is clear evidence that the government has not done anything to prevent it. Furthermore, in preliminary results, I show that there are significant barriers to accessing justice for the right to food, including through the Optional Protocol to the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, which has the potential to allow individuals who feel their rights have been violated to seek help on the international level. Finally, I offer some guidelines for ways to think about creating and assessing agricultural policy. If land rights are a flash point, there needs to be policy put into place that reflects understanding of historical inequalities. Policymakers, whether they be locally-based or foreign consultants should be sensitive to the issue characteristics of any given problem, and try to understand its origin before putting policy into place. Taking into account who farms what, where, and how will help policies be responsive to farmers’ needs as well as to climate change. Determining who is vulnerable to food insecurity, and whether they face seasonal, chronic, or acute hunger will allow for better targeting of these groups. Social safety nets and food and nutrition policies that improve access should be included alongside efforts to increase productivity. To minimize the effects of climate change on food security, early warning systems on natural disasters, agricultural research and extension services, as well as agricultural insurance can support both farmers and consumers

Information technology and efficiency in trucking

In this paper, we develop an econometric model to estimate the impacts of Electronic Vehicle Management Systems (EVMS) on the load factor (LF) of heavy trucks using data at the operational level. This technology is supposed to improve capacity utilization by reducing coordination costs between demand and supply. The model is estimated on a subsample of the 1999 National Roadside Survey, covering heavy trucks travelling in the province of Quebec. The LF is explained as a function of truck, trip and carrier characteristics. We show that the use of EVMS results in a 16 percentage points increase of LF on backhaul trips. However, we also find that the LF of equipped trucks is reduced by about 7.6 percentage points on fronthaul movements. This last effect could be explained by a rebound effect: higher expected LF on the returns lead carriers to accept shipments with lower fronthaul LF. Overall, we find that this technology has increased the tonne-kilometers transported of equipped trucks by 6.3% and their fuel efficiency by 5%.Information and Communication Technology, Efficiency, Load factor, Trucking, Energy Efficiency

Information technology and efficiency in trucking.

In this paper, we develop an econometric model to estimate the impacts of Electronic Vehicle Management Systems (EVMS) on the load factor (LF) of heavy trucks using data at the operational level. This technology is supposed to improve capacity utilization by reducing coordination costs between demand and supply. The model is estimated on a subsample of the 1999 National Roadside Survey, covering heavy trucks travelling in the province of Quebec. The LF is explained as a function of truck, trip and carrier characteristics. We show that the use of EVMS results in a 16 percentage points increase of LF on backhaul trips. However, we also find that the LF of equipped trucks is reduced by about 7.6 percentage points on fronthaul movements. This last effect could be explained by a rebound effect: higher expected LF on the returns lead carriers to accept shipments with lower fronthaul LF. Overall, we find that this technology has increased the tonne-kilometers transported of equipped trucks by 6.3% and their fuel efficiency by 5%.

Caractérisation de Bax Inhibitor-I et de son rôle dans la mort cellulaire programmée chez les végétaux

Tableau d’honneur de la Faculté des études supérieures et postdoctorales, 2004-2005La mort cellulaire programmée (PCD) est un processus physiologique ou pathologique permettant l’élimination sélective de cellules devenues inutiles, endommagées ou infectées pour le maintien de l’intégrité ou l’adaptation (fitness) de l’organisme ou de la population cellulaire. Chez les végétaux, les mécanismes moléculaires régulant la PCD ne sont pas encore élucidés, mais la découverte que la protéine humaine anti-PCD Bax Inhibitor-1 (BI-1) est conservée chez les plantes, pourtant dépourvues de la protéine pro-PCD Bax, en a fait un candidat fort prometteur pour l’élucidation de sentiers de mort évolutivement conservés. En ce sens, cette thèse décrit la caractérisation d’orthologues de BI-1 isolés de Brassica napus (BnBI-1) et de Nicotiana tabacum (NtBI-1). Nous avons déterminé par des analyses informatiques et des études d’expression que BI-1 est une protéine membranaire intégrale possédant sept domaines transmembranaires putatifs et localisée au réticulum endoplasmique. Des essais fonctionnels dans des cellules humaines HEK 293 ont révélé que des orthologues végétaux de BI-1 peuvent inhiber la PCD (apoptose) induite par Bax dans ces cellules. Par ailleurs, des lignées cellulaires de tabac présentant des niveaux inférieurs de la protéine NtBI-1 grâce à l’expression d’un ARNm antisens entament un programme précoce de PCD suite à une déficience en carbone, démontrant ainsi le rôle anti-PCD intrinsèque de BI-1 dans des cellules végétales. Nous avons également découvert que la protéine NtBI-1 est surexprimée en présence de cytokinines (CK) dans des cultures cellulaires de tabac, et ce à des concentrations coïncidant avec l’établissement d’une réponse de stress, un phénomène impliquant des mécanismes de régulation post-transcriptionnels. La réponse cellulaire envers les CK comprend également un influx rapide de Ca2+ de l’apoplaste vers le cytosol. Cet influx est partiellement impliqué dans l’induction de la PCD mais non dans la signalisation menant à la surexpression de BI-1. L’ensemble de nos résultats indique que BI-1 est bel et bien un régulateur négatif de la PCD végétale, qui agirait au sein d’un sentier de mort évolutivement conservé. L’augmentation de l’accumulation de la protéine NtBI-1 lors de la réponse de stress envers les CK pourrait contribuer à la survie des cellules et laisse supposer que la protéine est impliquée dans l’activité anti-sénescence des CK. BI-1 s’insère dans un sentier où son niveau d’expression influence la capacité cellulaire à résister aux stress générés entre autres par une disette en carbone, et ce potentiellement via la modulation de l’homéostasie du Ca2+ intracellulaire.Programmed cell death (PCD) is a physiological or pathological process allowing the selective elimination of useless, damaged or infected cells with the aim of maintaining the integrity or fitness of the remaining organism or cell population. In plants, molecular mechanisms regulating PCD are not yet elucidated, but the identification of functional plant orthologs of the human anti-PCD protein Bax Inhibitor-1 (BI-1), given that the pro-PCD protein Bax is absent in the plant kingdom, revealed the potential of BI-1 as an evolutionary conserved cell death regulator. Accordingly, this thesis describes the characterization of BI-1 orthologs isolated from Brassica napus (BnBI-1) and Nicotiana tabacum (NtBI-1). While combining bioinformatics analysis and localization studies using a fusion between BnBI-1 and the green fluorescent protein, we determined that BI-1 is an integral membrane protein provided with seven putative transmembrane domains localized at the endoplasmic reticulum. We also proceeded to functional assays in human HEK 293 cells, and we demonstrated that plant BI-1 orthologs can inhibit Bax-induced PCD (apoptosis) in these mammalian cells. On the other hand, we demonstrated that tobacco cell lines expressing lower levels of the NtBI-1 protein via an antisens mRNA induced an early PCD program under carbon starvation. We also discovered the up-regulation of NtBI-1 when cultured cells were grown in the presence of cytokinins (CKs), which correlated with the establishment of a stress response. The phenomenon involved post-transcriptional regulatory mechanisms of the BI-1 protein accumulation. Cellular response to CKs also involved a rapid influx of Ca2+ from the apoplast to the cytosol and this influx is partly involved in PCD induction but not in signaling leading to BI-1 modulation. Taken together, our data indicate that BI-1 is a negative regulator of plant PCD that would act in an evolutionary conserved death pathway. NtBI-1 protein over-accumulation in the stress response to CKs could contribute to cell survival and suggests the involvement of the protein in the senescence-delay activities of CKs. BI-1 is part of a pathway where its expression level influence cellular ability to resist to carbon starvation- or senescence-induced stresses, potentially via modulation of intracellular Ca2+ homeostasis

Coalitions, alignements et alliances interétatiques (Note)

Coalition theory has developed outside the field of international relations in the wake of game theory, in laboratory experiments, and in the study of government coalitions. Four parameters can be used to predict the formation and development of coalitions : the benefits sought by the players, the resources at their disposal, the non-utilitarian linkages between them, and the decision threshold to be reached. In the field of international relations, many studies have dealt with coalitions, alignments, and interstate alliances. They can be grouped into three schools of thought. First, there is the economic school where States are seen as seeking to maximize the benefits they gain from working together. Second, there is the power relationship school, with States forging alliances mainly for self-protection from external military threats. Finally, there is the structural school, less developed than the two other ones, which is based on the affinities, rivalries, or neutralities between States. The effects of alliances, in particular military ones, have been much debated. Some authors claim they are a factor for stability in the international System ; others claim the opposite. The research note concludes by suggesting there is a need to develop a truly political theory of alliances, one that could integrate theories more economic or sociological in nature

SMARTer single cell total RNA-sequencing

Single cell RNA sequencing methods have been increasingly used to understand cellular heterogeneity. Nevertheless, most of these methods suffer from one or more limitations, such as focusing only on polyadenylated RNA, sequencing of only the 3' end of the transcript, an exuberant fraction of reads mapping to ribosomal RNA, and the unstranded nature of the sequencing data. Here, we developed a novel single cell strand-specific total RNA library preparation method addressing all the aforementioned shortcomings. Our method was validated on a microfluidics system using three different cancer cell lines undergoing a chemical or genetic perturbation and on two other cancer cell lines sorted in microplates. We demonstrate that our total RNA-seq method detects an equal or higher number of genes compared to classic polyA[+] RNA-seq, including novel and non-polyadenylated genes. The obtained RNA expression patterns also recapitulate the expected biological signal. Inherent to total RNA-seq, our method is also able to detect circular RNAs. Taken together, SMARTer single cell total RNA sequencing is very well suited for any single cell sequencing experiment in which transcript level information is needed beyond polyadenylated genes

SMARTer single cell total RNA sequencing

Single cell RNA sequencing methods have been increasingly used to understand cellular heterogeneity. Nevertheless, most of these methods suffer from one or more limitations, such as focusing only on polyadenylated RNA, sequencing of only the 3' end of the transcript, an exuberant fraction of reads mapping to ribosomal RNA, and the unstranded nature of the sequencing data. Here, we developed a novel single cell strand-specific total RNA library preparation method addressing all the aforementioned shortcomings. Our method was validated on a microfluidics system using three different cancer cell lines undergoing a chemical or genetic perturbation and on two other cancer cell lines sorted in microplates. We demonstrate that our total RNA-seq method detects an equal or higher number of genes compared to classic polyA[+] RNA-seq, including novel and non-polyadenylated genes. The obtained RNA expression patterns also recapitulate the expected biological signal. Inherent to total RNA-seq, our method is also able to detect circular RNAs. Taken together, SMARTer single cell total RNA sequencing is very well suited for any single cell sequencing experiment in which transcript level information is needed beyond polyadenylated genes

Improvement of the Trivalent Inactivated Flu Vaccine Using PapMV Nanoparticles

Commercial seasonal flu vaccines induce production of antibodies directed mostly towards hemaglutinin (HA). Because HA changes rapidly in the circulating virus, the protection remains partial. Several conserved viral proteins, e.g., nucleocapsid (NP) and matrix proteins (M1), are present in the vaccine, but are not immunogenic. To improve the protection provided by these vaccines, we used nanoparticles made of the coat protein of a plant virus (papaya mosaic virus; PapMV) as an adjuvant. Immunization of mice and ferrets with the adjuvanted formulation increased the magnitude and breadth of the humoral response to NP and to highly conserved regions of HA. They also triggered a cellular mediated immune response to NP and M1, and long-lasting protection in animals challenged with a heterosubtypic influenza strain (WSN/33). Thus, seasonal flu vaccine adjuvanted with PapMV nanoparticles can induce universal protection to influenza, which is a major advancement when facing a pandemic

La démarche et les outils d’évaluation clinique du trouble du spectre de l’autisme à l’ère du DSM-5

Le trouble du spectre de l’autisme (TSA) est un trouble complexe caractérisé par des difficultés sociales et communicationnelles et par des comportements ou intérêts restreints ou répétitifs (American Psychiatric Association [APA], 2013). Le profil clinique des enfants touchés par le TSA varie tout au long de leur développement en fonction de la présentation des symptômes, de même que par la manifestation de troubles associés, complexifiant ainsi la démarche d’évaluation diagnostique. Pour émettre un diagnostic en santé mentale, les spécialistes s’appuient majoritairement sur le Manuel Statistique et Diagnostique des Troubles Mentaux, dont la plus récente version comporte d’importants changements quant à la définition et nomenclature du TSA ([DSM-5]; APA, 2013). En dépit du DSM-5, plusieurs outils d’évaluation s’offrent aux cliniciens pour appuyer leur démarche évaluative et améliorer la précision de leur diagnostic clinique. Parmi la grande variété disponible, il peut s’avérer difficile de choisir des outils d’évaluation adaptés à la situation du jeune évalué (p.ex., âge, intensité des symptômes, langue parlée, etc.), possédant des qualités psychométriques satisfaisantes et s’arrimant avec les critères diagnostiques de la dernière version du DSM. L’objectif de cet article est de présenter la démarche d’évaluation du TSA, ainsi que de décrire et d’analyser les outils d’évaluation du TSA recommandés par les meilleures pratiques et couramment employés par les cliniciens exerçant auprès d’une population à risque de présenter ce trouble. Spécifiquement, il vise à faire une revue critique s’articulant autour des caractéristiques (objectif poursuivi, population ciblée, validations et langues offertes), des propriétés psychométriques et de la pertinence de ces outils d’évaluation en regard aux critères du TSA conformément au DSM-5. Enfin, la démarche, les outils d’évaluation à privilégier et certaines considérations cliniques sont proposés en conclusion.Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is a complex neurodevelopmental pathology characterisized by a broad array of symptoms including deficits in social interaction and communication as well as restricted and repetitive behaviors (American Psychiatric Association [APA], 2013). Substantial heterogeneity exists in symptoms expressions in children with ASD, which makes autism a complex disorder to identify and diagnose. Healthcare clinicians mostly rely on the fifth edition of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-5; APA, 2013) to make a mental health diagnosis. However, several screening and diagnostic tools allow clinicians to increase the quality of their assessment by identifying the probabilities of ASD and the severity of symptoms. Yet, from tools available, it can be difficult to choose those who are most appropriate to the appraisee (i.e., age, severity of symptoms) and that have good psychometric properties. This paper aims to present and analyze ASD assessment tools available to clinicians working with a population at risk for autism. In conclusion, we present a process and tools to promote