Municipal By-Laws Against Hunting in Quebec: An Obstacle to Wildlife Management and Damage Control

A study performed in 2000-2001, showed that a large number of Quebec\u27s municipalities have adopted by-laws to control or forbid the discharge of firearms within their territorial limits. Among the aforementioned municipalities, 9% actually forbid or control hunting itself, while 62% forbid or control the use of firearms. Unfortunately, these by-laws are being implemented at a time when territories around cities are facing a substantial increase in wildlife management problems. The issue is compounded by the fact that the majority of these by-laws occur in areas where the incidence of wildlife-related damage to agriculture and vehicles are the highest. These wildlife-related damages are mostly caused by black bears, white-tailed deer, moose and greater snow geese, whose populations are increasing in Quebec. Considering that hunting is recognized as a viable management tool for damage control and wildlife management, these municipal by-laws that further reduce hunting activities around cities, are therefore contributing substantially to this ever increasing problem. This action will impact not only wildlife management issues but Quebec\u27s hunters as well. Indeed, hunters are facing more barriers to their activities, resulting in a desertion of this sport and an aggravation of the problem. Therefore, government wildlife managers along with our Federation are working on legal and other types of solutions to protect hunting activities, based on social realities and their benefits to society

Abūnā Sam‘ān un prêtre bâtisseur en Égypte

Alors qu’on présente souvent les coptes cantonnés dans leur rôle de victimes de la violence islamiste, le monastère copte de Saint-Sam‘ān montre au contraire les capacités d’action et d’adaptation de la minorité chrétienne. Le prêtre Sam‘ān a construit au début des années 1990 un complexe de sept églises, au cœur du quartier de chiffonniers du Muqaṭṭam qui attire de nombreux visiteurs égyptiens et étrangers. L’initiative s’inscrit dans différentes scènes et logiques d’action : le développement urbain, la politique locale, et, surtout, la scène communautaire copte. Sam‘ān a exercé son office religieux dans un style que l’on peut qualifier de charismatique, caractérisé notamment par des exorcismes publics. Il s’est également appuyé sur la tradition pour mettre en valeur une vision régulièrement dénoncée par ses adversaires comme une dérive protestante.This article argues that the Copts are not simply victims of the violence perpetrated by Islamists in Egypt, but that they are also agents capable of acting and adapting to their environment. This argument will be based on the case of Father Sam‘ān, a prominent priest, known, among other things, for having built an impressive complex of seven churches at the heart of the garbage collector area of Muqaṭṭam in Cairo. As the paper highlights, the priest had to adapt to the different strategies and modes of action structuring local communities that were made available to him, such as urban development, local politics, and, above all, the characteristics of the communal Coptic milieu. He fulfilled his religious role in a style that could be called charismatic, and which included the practice of public exorcisms. This article explains how he took advantage of the Coptic tradition to serve a vision regularly criticized by his opponents, representatives of a protestant trend.El objetivo de este artículo es demostrar que los coptos, contrariamente a lo que se piensa de ellos como víctimas de la violencia islamista, constituyen una comunidad cristiana cuya capacidad de adaptación y acción se contrapone a la pasividad que por lo general se les atribuye. El análisis está basado en el caso del sacerdote copto Sam‘ān, quien goza hoy de una gran popularidad. Efectivamente, a principios de la década de los noventa, el sacerdote construyó un complejo de siete iglesias en el corazón del barrio de recicladores de Muqaṭṭam, lo que atrae a numerosos visitantes tanto egipcios como extranjeros. Para llevar a cabo el análisis, se darán a conocer las maneras en que el sacerdote se adaptó a las diferentes lógicas de acción de los contextos en los que se dio a conocer: el desarrollo urbano, la política local y, especialmente, el campo de acción de la comunidad copta. El sacerdote Sam‘ān ofició su labor religiosa en un estilo que puede ser calificado como carismático, principalmente caracterizado por el recurso a exorcismos públicos. Se darán a conocer las maneras en que el sacerdote Sam‘ān se apoyó en la tradición para atribuirle valor a una visión que era, por lo general, calificada como una desviación protestante por sus adversarios

Interactions between BRCA2 and RAD51 for promoting homologous recombination in Leishmania infantum.

In most organisms, the primary function of homologous recombination (HR) is to allow genome protection by the faithful repair of DNA double-strand breaks. The vital step of HR is the search for sequence homology, mediated by the RAD51 recombinase, which is stimulated further by proteins mediators such as the tumor suppressor BRCA2. The biochemical interplay between RAD51 and BRCA2 is unknown in Leishmania or Trypanosoma. Here we show that the Leishmania infantum BRCA2 protein possesses several critical features important for the regulation of DNA recombination at the genetic and biochemical level. A BRCA2 null mutant, generated by gene disruption, displayed genomic instability and gene-targeting defects. Furthermore, cytological studies show that LiRAD51 can no longer localize to the nucleus in this mutant. The Leishmania RAD51 and BRCA2 interact together and the purified proteins bind single-strand DNA. Remarkably, LiBRCA2 is a recombination mediator that stimulates the invasion of a resected DNA double-strand break in an undamaged template by LiRAD51 to form a D-loop structure. Collectively, our data show that LiBRCA2 and LiRAD51 promote HR at the genetic and biochemical level in L. infantum, the causative agent of visceral leishmaniasis

Different mutations in a P-type ATPase transporter in Leishmania parasites are associated with cross-resistance to two leading drugs by distinct mechanisms

Work in TKS’s lab is supported by the Wellcome Trust grant 093228 and European Community’s Seventh Framework Programme under grant agreement No. 602773 (Project KINDRED).Leishmania infantum is an etiological agent of the life-threatening visceral form of leishmaniasis. Liposomal amphotericin B (AmB) followed by a short administration of miltefosine (MF) is a drug combination effective for treating visceral leishmaniasis in endemic regions of India. Resistance to MF can be due to point mutations in the miltefosine transporter (MT). Here we show that mutations in MT are also observed in Leishmania AmB-resistant mutants. The MF-induced MT mutations, but not the AmB induced mutations in MT, alter the translocation/uptake of MF. Moreover, mutations in the MT selected by AmB or MF have a major impact on lipid species that is linked to cross-resistance between both drugs. These alterations include changes of specific phospholipids, some of which are enriched with cyclopropanated fatty acids, as well as an increase in inositolphosphoceramide species. Collectively these results provide evidence of the risk of cross-resistance emergence derived from current AmB-MF sequential or co-treatments for visceral leishmaniasis.Publisher PDFPeer reviewe

Genetic Polymorphisms and Drug Susceptibility in Four Isolates of Leishmania tropica Obtained from Canadian Soldiers Returning from Afghanistan

Cutaneous leishmaniasis (CL) is a vector-borne parasitic disease transmitted by the bite of sandflies, resulting in sores on the skin. No vaccines are available, and treatment relies on chemotherapy. CL has been frequently diagnosed in military personnel deployed to Afghanistan and returning from duty. The parasites isolated from Canadian soldiers were characterized by pulsed field gels and by sequencing conserved genes and were identified as Leishmania tropica. In contrast to other Leishmania species, high allelic polymorphisms were observed at several genetic loci for the L. tropica isolates that were characterized. In vitro susceptibility testing in macrophages showed that all isolates, despite their genetic heterogeneity, were sensitive to most antileishmanial drugs (antimonials, miltefosine, amphotericin B, paromomycin) but were insensitive to fluconazole. This study suggests a number of therapeutic regimens for treating cutaneous leishmaniasis caused by L. tropica among patients and soldiers returning from Afghanistan. Canadian soldiers from this study were successfully treated with miltefosine

Genome sequencing of the lizard parasite Leishmania tarentolae reveals loss of genes associated to the intracellular stage of human pathogenic species

The Leishmania tarentolae Parrot-TarII strain genome sequence was resolved to an average 16-fold mean coverage by next-generation DNA sequencing technologies. This is the first non-pathogenic to humans kinetoplastid protozoan genome to be described thus providing an opportunity for comparison with the completed genomes of pathogenic Leishmania species. A high synteny was observed between all sequenced Leishmania species. A limited number of chromosomal regions diverged between L. tarentolae and L. infantum, while remaining syntenic to L. major. Globally, >90% of the L. tarentolae gene content was shared with the other Leishmania species. We identified 95 predicted coding sequences unique to L. tarentolae and 250 genes that were absent from L. tarentolae. Interestingly, many of the latter genes were expressed in the intracellular amastigote stage of pathogenic species. In addition, genes coding for products involved in antioxidant defence or participating in vesicular-mediated protein transport were underrepresented in L. tarentolae. In contrast to other Leishmania genomes, two gene families were expanded in L. tarentolae, namely the zinc metallo-peptidase surface glycoprotein GP63 and the promastigote surface antigen PSA31C. Overall, L. tarentolae's gene content appears better adapted to the promastigote insect stage rather than the amastigote mammalian stage

Extracorporeal Membrane Oxygenation for Severe Acute Respiratory Distress Syndrome associated with COVID-19: An Emulated Target Trial Analysis.

RATIONALE: Whether COVID patients may benefit from extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO) compared with conventional invasive mechanical ventilation (IMV) remains unknown. OBJECTIVES: To estimate the effect of ECMO on 90-Day mortality vs IMV only Methods: Among 4,244 critically ill adult patients with COVID-19 included in a multicenter cohort study, we emulated a target trial comparing the treatment strategies of initiating ECMO vs. no ECMO within 7 days of IMV in patients with severe acute respiratory distress syndrome (PaO2/FiO2 <80 or PaCO2 ≥60 mmHg). We controlled for confounding using a multivariable Cox model based on predefined variables. MAIN RESULTS: 1,235 patients met the full eligibility criteria for the emulated trial, among whom 164 patients initiated ECMO. The ECMO strategy had a higher survival probability at Day-7 from the onset of eligibility criteria (87% vs 83%, risk difference: 4%, 95% CI 0;9%) which decreased during follow-up (survival at Day-90: 63% vs 65%, risk difference: -2%, 95% CI -10;5%). However, ECMO was associated with higher survival when performed in high-volume ECMO centers or in regions where a specific ECMO network organization was set up to handle high demand, and when initiated within the first 4 days of MV and in profoundly hypoxemic patients. CONCLUSIONS: In an emulated trial based on a nationwide COVID-19 cohort, we found differential survival over time of an ECMO compared with a no-ECMO strategy. However, ECMO was consistently associated with better outcomes when performed in high-volume centers and in regions with ECMO capacities specifically organized to handle high demand. This article is open access and distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution Non-Commercial No Derivatives License 4.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/)