The Colonial Legacy – The Legal Oppression of Indigenous Women and Girls in Canada

Abstract:The problem of the missing and murdered Indigenous women and girls is one of the largest social problems plaguing Canadian society.  These social problems have severely affected the women and girls of the Indigenous populations in Canada marginalizing many of them to the periphery of present day society.  Unfortunately, the Canadian government under the conservative leadership, refused to recognize the trend as a social problem of the nation.[1]  After much condemnation from the national population, and the international community, current Prime Minister Justin Trudeau officially launched the National Inquiry into Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls in Canada.  Based on the historical and legal proceedings, to what extent is the Canadian government at fault for the systematic oppression and discrimination towards Indigenous women?  This paper will analyze in what ways the Indian Act has allowed for the systematic oppression and discrimination towards Indigenous women, in what ways is human trafficking a result of the socio-economic dynamic created by the Indian Act, and in what ways has the prejudice against Indigenous women continued into discrimination in front of the law.  This paper will be looking at the problems, and how the legal measures in place are applied.Résumé:Le problème des femmes et des filles autochtones disparues ou assassinées est un des problèmes sociaux les plus importants affligeant la société canadienne. Ces problèmes sociaux ont gravement touché les femmes et les filles des populations autochtones au Canada, marginalisant beaucoup aux périphéries de la société d’aujourd’hui. Malheureusement, le gouvernement canadien sous le leadership conservateur,  a refusé de reconnaître cette tendance en tant qu’un problème social de la nation. Après beaucoup de condamnation de la population nationale et la communauté internationale, le Premier Ministre actuel Justin Trudeau a officiellement lancé une Enquête nationale sur les femmes et les filles autochtones disparues et assassinées. Reposant sur les procédures historiques et judiciaires, dans quelle mesure le gouvernement canadien est-il responsable pour l’oppression et discrimination systémique envers les femmes autochtones ? Cet article analysera comment la Loi sur les Indiens a permis l’oppression et la discrimination systémique envers les femmes autochtones, comment le trafic des êtres humains est une conséquence de la dynamique socio-économique créée par la Loi sur les Indiens et comment le préjugé contre les femmes autochtones continue à discriminer devant le droit. Cet article regardera les problèmes et comment les mesures légales en place sont appliquées.[1] "Tories in Review: Aboriginal Rights," THIS Magazine, October 2, 2015, https://this.org/2015/10/02/tories-in-review-aboriginal-rights/ (accessed April 19, 2016).

Understanding Persistent Non-compliance in a Remote, Large-Scale Marine Protected Area

UIDB/04647/2020 UIDP/04647/2020Area coverage of large-scale marine protected areas (MPAs) (LSMPAs, > 100,000 km2) is rapidly increasing globally. Their effectiveness largely depends on successful detection and management of non-compliance. However, for LSMPAs this can be difficult due to their large size, often remote locations and a lack of understanding of the social drivers of non-compliance. Taking a case-study approach, we review current knowledge of illegal fishing within the British Indian Ocean Territory (BIOT) LSMPA. Data stemming from enforcement reports (2010–20), and from fieldwork in fishing communities (2018–19) were combined to explore and characterise drivers of non-compliance. Enforcement data included vessel investigation reports (n = 188), transcripts of arrests (20) and catch seizures (58). Fieldwork data included fisher interviews (95) and focus groups (12), conducted in two communities in Sri Lanka previously associated with non-compliance in BIOT LSMPA. From 2010 to 2020, there were 126 vessels suspected of non-compliance, 76% of which were Sri Lankan. The majority of non-compliant vessels targeted sharks (97%), catching an estimated 14,340 individuals during the study period. Sri Lankan vessels were primarily registered to one district (77%) and 85% operated from just two ports within the fieldwork sites. Social Network Analysis (SNA) showed that 66% of non-compliant vessels were linked by social ties, including sharing crew members, compared with only 34% of compliant vessels. Thematic analysis of qualitative data suggested that perceptions of higher populations of sharks and social ties between vessels may both be important drivers. We discuss our findings within a global context to identify potential solutions for LSMPA management.publishersversionpublishe

Conceptualising centres of excellence: a scoping review of global evidence

Objective- Globally, interest in excellence has grown exponentially, with public and private institutions shifting their attention from meeting targets to achieving excellence. Centres of Excellence (CoEs) are standing at the forefront of healthcare, research and innovations responding to the world’s most complex problems. However, their potential is hindered by conceptual ambiguity. We conducted a global synthesis of the evidence to conceptualise CoEs. Design- Scoping review, following Arksey and O’Malley’s framework and methodological enhancement by Levac et al and the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses extension for Scoping Reviews. Data sources- PubMed, Scopus, CINAHL, Google Scholar and the Google engine until 1 January 2021. Eligibility- Articles that describe CoE as the main theme. Results- The search resulted in 52 161 potential publications, with 78 articles met the eligibility criteria. The 78 articles were from 33 countries, of which 35 were from the USA, 3 each from Nigeria, South Africa, Spain and India, and 2 each from Ethiopia, Canada, Russia, Colombia, Sweden, Greece and Peru. The rest 17 were from various countries. The articles involved six thematic areas—healthcare, education, research, industry, information technology and general concepts on CoE. The analysis documented success stories of using the brand ‘CoE’—an influential brand to stimulate best practices. We identified 12 essential foundations of CoE—specialised expertise; infrastructure; innovation; high-impact research; quality service; accreditation or standards; leadership; organisational structure; strategy; collaboration and partnership; sustainable funding or financial mechanisms; and entrepreneurship. Conclusions- CoEs have significant scientific, political, economic and social impacts. However, there are inconsistent use and self-designation of the brand without approval by an independent, external process of evaluation and with high ambiguity between ‘CoEs’ and the ordinary ‘institutions’ or ‘centres’. A comprehensive framework is needed to guide and inspire an institution as a CoE and to help government and funding institutions shape and oversee CoEs

Understanding the key processes of excellence as a prerequisite to establishing academic centres of excellence in Africa

Background: Africa’s economic transformation relies on a radical transformation of its higher education institutions. The establishment of regional higher education Centres of Excellence (CoE) across Africa through a World Bank support aims to stimulate the needed transformation in education and research. However, excellence is a vague, and often indiscriminately used concept in academic circles. More importantly, the manner in which aspiring institutions can achieve academic excellence is described inadequately. The main objective of this paper is to describe the core processes of excellence as a prerequisite to establishing academic CoE in Africa. Methods: The paper relies on our collaborative discussions and real-world insight into the pursuit of academic excellence, a narrative review using Pubmed search for a contextual understanding of CoEs in Africa supplemented by a Google search for definitions of CoEs in academic contexts. Results: We identified three key, synergistic processes of excellence central to institutionalizing academic CoEs: participatory leadership, knowledge management, and inter-disciplinary collaboration. (1) Participatory leadership encourages innovations to originate from the different parts of the organization, and facilitates ownership as well as a culture of excellence. (2) Centers of Excellence are future-oriented in that they are constantly seeking to achieve best practices, informed by the most up-to-date and cutting-edge research and information available. As such, the process by which centres facilitate the flow of knowledge within and outside the organization, or knowledge management, is critical to their success. (3) Such centres also rely on expertise from different disciplines and ‘engaged’ scholarship. This multidisciplinarity leads to improved research productivity and enhances the production of problem-solving innovations. Conclusion: Participatory leadership, knowledge management, and inter-disciplinary collaborations are prerequisites to establishing academic CoEs in Africa. Future studies need to extend our findings to understand the processes key to productivity, competitiveness, institutionalization, and sustainability of academic CoEs in Africa

Negotiating power relations, gender equality, and collective agency: are village health committees transformative social spaces in northern India?

BACKGROUND: Participatory health initiatives ideally support progressive social change and stronger collective agency for marginalized groups. However, this empowering potential is often limited by inequalities within communities and between communities and outside actors (i.e. government officials, policymakers). We examined how the participatory initiative of Village Health, Sanitation, and Nutrition Committees (VHSNCs) can enable and hinder the renegotiation of power in rural north India. METHODS: Over 18 months, we conducted 74 interviews and 18 focus groups with VHSNC members (including female community health workers and local government officials), non-VHSNC community members, NGO staff, and higherlevel functionaries. We observed 54 VHSNC-related events (such as trainings and meetings). Initial thematic network analysis supported further examination of power relations, gendered “social spaces,” and the “discourses of responsibility” that affected collective agency. RESULTS: VHSNCs supported some re-negotiation of intra-community inequalities, for example by enabling some women to speak in front of men and perform assertive public roles. However, the extent to which these new gender dynamics transformed relations beyond the VHSNC was limited. Furthermore, inequalities between the community and outside stakeholders were re-entrenched through a “discourse of responsibility”: The comparatively powerful outside stakeholders emphasized community responsibility for improving health without acknowledging or correcting barriers to effective VHSNC action. In response, some community members blamed peers for not taking up this responsibility, reinforcing a negative collective identity where participation was futile because no one would work for the greater good. Others resisted this discourse, arguing that the VHSNC alone was not responsible for taking action: Government must also intervene. This counter-narrative also positioned VHSNC participation as futile. CONCLUSIONS: Interventions to strengthen participation in health systems can engender social transformation. However they must consider how changing power relations can be sustained outside participatory spaces, and how discourse frames the rationale for community participation.ISIScopu

Maternal Weaning Modulates Emotional Behavior and Regulates the Gut-Brain Axis.

Evidence shows that nutritional and environmental stress stimuli during postnatal period influence brain development and interactions between gut and brain. In this study we show that in rats, prevention of weaning from maternal milk results in depressive-like behavior, which is accompanied by changes in the gut bacteria and host metabolism. Depressive-like behavior was studied using the forced-swim test on postnatal day (PND) 25 in rats either weaned on PND 21, or left with their mother until PND 25 (non-weaned). Non-weaned rats showed an increased immobility time consistent with a depressive phenotype. Fluorescence in situ hybridization showed non-weaned rats to harbor significantly lowered Clostridium histolyticum bacterial groups but exhibit marked stress-induced increases. Metabonomic analysis of urine from these animals revealed significant differences in the metabolic profiles, with biochemical phenotypes indicative of depression in the non-weaned animals. In addition, non-weaned rats showed resistance to stress-induced modulation of oxytocin receptors in amygdala nuclei, which is indicative of passive stress-coping mechanism. We conclude that delaying weaning results in alterations to the gut microbiota and global metabolic profiles which may contribute to a depressive phenotype and raise the issue that mood disorders at early developmental ages may reflect interplay between mammalian host and resident bacteria

Analysis of the unexplored features of rrs (16S rDNA) of the Genus Clostridium

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Bacterial taxonomy and phylogeny based on <it>rrs </it>(16S rDNA) sequencing is being vigorously pursued. In fact, it has been stated that novel biological findings are driven by comparison and integration of massive data sets. In spite of a large reservoir of <it>rrs </it>sequencing data of 1,237,963 entries, this analysis invariably needs supplementation with other genes. The need is to divide the genetic variability within a taxa or genus at their <it>rrs </it>phylogenetic boundaries and to discover those fundamental features, which will enable the bacteria to naturally fall within them. Within the large bacterial community, <it>Clostridium </it>represents a large genus of around 110 species of significant biotechnological and medical importance. Certain <it>Clostridium </it>strains produce some of the deadliest toxins, which cause heavy economic losses. We have targeted this genus because of its high genetic diversity, which does not allow accurate typing with the available molecular methods.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Seven hundred sixty five <it>rrs </it>sequences (> 1200 nucleotides, nts) belonging to 110 <it>Clostridium </it>species were analyzed. On the basis of 404 <it>rrs </it>sequences belonging to 15 <it>Clostridium </it>species, we have developed species specific: (i) phylogenetic framework, (ii) signatures (30 nts) and (iii) <it>in silico </it>restriction enzyme (14 Type II REs) digestion patterns. These tools allowed: (i) species level identification of 95 <it>Clostridium </it>sp. which are presently classified up to genus level, (ii) identification of 84 novel <it>Clostridium </it>spp. and (iii) potential reduction in the number of <it>Clostridium </it>species represented by small populations.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>This integrated approach is quite sensitive and can be easily extended as a molecular tool for diagnostic and taxonomic identification of any microbe of importance to food industries and health services. Since rapid and correct identification allows quicker diagnosis and consequently treatment as well, it is likely to lead to reduction in economic losses and mortality rates.</p

Twenty-six years of HIV science: an overview of anti-HIV drugs metabolism

From the identification of HIV as the agent causing AIDS, to the development of effective antiretroviral drugs, the scientific achievements in HIV research over the past twenty-six years have been formidable. Currently, there are twenty-five anti-HIV compounds which have been formally approved for clinical use in the treatment of AIDS. These compounds fall into six categories: nucleoside reverse transcriptase inhibitors (NRTIs), nucleotide reverse transcriptase inhibitors (NtRTIs), non-nucleoside reverse transcriptase inhibitors (NNRTIs), protease inhibitors (PIs), cell entry inhibitors or fusion inhibitors (FIs), co-receptor inhibitors (CRIs), and integrase inhibitors (INIs). Metabolism by the host organism is one of the most important determinants of the pharmacokinetic profile of a drug. Formation of active or toxic metabolites will also have an impact on the pharmacological and toxicological outcomes. Therefore, it is widely recognized that metabolism studies of a new chemical entity need to be addressed early in the drug discovery process. This paper describes an overview of the metabolism of currently available anti-HIV drugs.Da identificação do HIV como o agente causador da AIDS, ao desenvolvimento de fármacos antirretrovirais eficazes, os avanços científicos na pesquisa sobre o HIV nos últimos vinte e seis anos foram marcantes. Atualmente, existem vinte e cinco fármacos anti-HIV formalmente aprovados pelo FDA para utilização clínica no tratamento da AIDS. Estes compostos são divididos em seis classes: inibidores nucleosídeos de transcriptase reversa (INTR), inibidores nucleotídeos de transcriptase reversa (INtTR), inibidores não-nucleosídeos de transcriptase reversa (INNTR), inibidores de protease (IP), inibidores da entrada celular ou inibidores de fusão (IF), inibidores de co-receptores (ICR) e inibidores de integrase (INI). O metabolismo consiste em um dos maiores determinantes do perfil farmacocinético de um fármaco. A formação de metabólitos ativos ou tóxicos terá impacto nas respostas farmacológicas ou toxicológicas do fármaco. Portanto, é amplamente reconhecido que estudos do metabolismo de uma nova entidade química devem ser realizados durante as fases iniciais do processo de desenvolvimento de fármacos. Este artigo descreve uma abordagem do metabolismo dos fármacos anti-HIV atualmente disponíveis na terapêutica

A communal catalogue reveals Earth’s multiscale microbial diversity

Our growing awareness of the microbial world’s importance and diversity contrasts starkly with our limited understanding of its fundamental structure. Despite recent advances in DNA sequencing, a lack of standardized protocols and common analytical frameworks impedes comparisons among studies, hindering the development of global inferences about microbial life on Earth. Here we present a meta-analysis of microbial community samples collected by hundreds of researchers for the Earth Microbiome Project. Coordinated protocols and new analytical methods, particularly the use of exact sequences instead of clustered operational taxonomic units, enable bacterial and archaeal ribosomal RNA gene sequences to be followed across multiple studies and allow us to explore patterns of diversity at an unprecedented scale. The result is both a reference database giving global context to DNA sequence data and a framework for incorporating data from future studies, fostering increasingly complete characterization of Earth’s microbial diversity