RETHINKING CANADA’S DUTY TO CONSULT DOCTRINE: ACCOMMODATING ABORIGINAL RIGHTS IN THE DEPLOYMENT OF SMALL MODULAR REACTORS (SMRs)

In its foundational case law, the Supreme Court of Canada linked the duty to consult and accommodate to the purpose of reconciliation. However, the Canadian legal rules on the duty to consult, as presently structured and developed by case law, do not adequately fulfill that purpose. The Court has also consistently stated that the duty to consult and accommodate does not include an obligation to reach an agreement. This judicial pronouncement appears to provide the government an opportunity to approach consultation processes in a manner that merely seeks to reach the minimal requirements, without requiring an effective and meaningful dialogue. A minimum-requirement approach to consultation and accommodation would leave the protective and reconciliation purpose of section 35 significantly unsatisfied. Aboriginal engagement for future development should embrace a collaborative approach such that the Crown’s decisions affecting Aboriginal and treaty rights do not amount to a unilateral exercise of power, but rather, promote the goal of reconciliation with Aboriginal peoples. Although the jurisprudence in Haida Nation creates a useful path for achieving the protective and reconciliation purpose of section 35, it remains the case that without extending the Supreme Court’s articulation of the duty to consult process, the fundamental goal of section 35 may actually remain unachieved. This thesis makes this argument using the particular example of the possible development and placement of Small Modular Reactors (SMRs) within the traditional territory of Aboriginal communities. This perspective involves a novel technology as an example of future development, where there is a new opportunity to engage in consultation in better ways than may have occurred with legacy technologies. Building on the Supreme Court of Canada’s cases and academic scholarship, this thesis argues that implementing a standard for consultation that aims at consent would better respect the underlying law on the duty to consult and thereby improve Crown-Aboriginal relations. The thesis makes several recommendations: judicial interpretation that develops factors to assess if consultation has aimed at consent; government co-development of consultation policies and practices with Aboriginal peoples; and improved practices in securing Aboriginal approval through agreements negotiated by project proponents

Poor weather conditions and flight operations: Implications for air transport hazard management in Nigeria

The growth of aviation industry in Nigeria and the increased adoption of air transportation as one of the best means of transport have been obstructed by various weather hazards. There is a greater need for aviation weather forecasters to deliver quality forecasts. It is therefore necessary to identify the most dangerous and most common weather hazards which are detrimental to the aviation industry so as to enhance the expertise on addressing them. This paper examined various weather hazards which  include thunderstorm, fog, dust haze and line squall that affect flight operation such as flight delays, diversion and cancellation. The study revealed that fog accounted for 13.2% of flight cancellation at the airport and line squall similarly accounted for 10.1% of delays, 8.4% of diversion and 20% of cancellation from 2000-2009 at the airport. The paper recommends that with the aid of improved forecasting tools such as Meteosat Second Generation (MSG) and Radar network which provides different images of clouds every fifteen minutes, it becomes much easier to identify dangerous clouds and give prior warning to the aviation industry.Key Words: Flight operation, Cancellation, Diversion, Line squall, Fog, Thunderstor

Effects of Storage on Physicochemical Properties and Microbiological Qualities of African Breadfruit-Corn Yoghurt

African breadfruit-corn milk was obtained from blend of extracts of African breadfruit (Treculia africana var africana) and sweet corn (Golden cob F1) on 60:40 proportions. The breadfruit-corn milk was fermented to give a yoghurt-like product using inoculums from activated batch of dried starter culture and previously made breadfruit-corn milk. The breadfruit-corn yoghurt was stored in the refrigerator for four weeks, during which changes in physicochemical properties and microbiological qualities were examined weekly against commercial dairy yoghurt. It was found that changes in total solids, pH, titratable acidity, apparent viscosity, syneresis, water holding capacity followed similar trends, except for the whey drainage of the commercial dairy yoghurt which was constant at 0.00. The two yoghurt samples also exhibited similar microbiological changes during the period of study. Thus suggesting that non-dairy yoghurt from African breadfruit-corn milk shared common keeping characteristics with the dairy yoghurt

Using the Servoual Model to Evaluate the Service Delivery of the Consumer Protection Council in Nigeria

This study is an in-depth empirical investigation that seeks to compare consumer expectations to perceptions in the delivery of services in the consumer protection council (CPC) in Nigeria. The aim of this study is to use SERVQUAL instrument to ascertain any actual or perceive gap between consumer expectations and perceptions of the service offered by the council. The objectives are to ascertain the tangible, reliability, assurance, responsiveness and empathy dimensions of the service quality by measuring consumers’ expectations to perceptions using the twenty-two (22) statements developed in the modified five dimension SERVQUAL. The questionnaire was subjected to reliability and validity tests. Seven research questions and seven hypotheses were formulated and tested. The statistical analysis used are mean, paired t-test and one-way analysis of variance (ANOVA). Findings show that there are no significant differences between the expectation and perceived CPC services for the five SERVQUAL dimensions.The study sets a ground for further research in evaluating service deliveries performance in other service industries in Nigeria such as NAFDAC, SON etc by applying both technical and image quality. Keywords: Servqual, NAFDAC, t-test, ANOVA

Small Interfering RNA Imaging Probes for Neurological Applications

Small interfering RNAs (siRNAs) have emerged as a potent new class of therapeutics that regulate gene expression through sequence-specific inhibition of mRNA translation. Clinical trials of siRNAs have highlighted the need for robust delivery and detection techniques that would enable the application of these therapeutics to increasingly complex diseases and organ systems. Here we detail the generation and evaluation of siRNA-based optical and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) contrast agents for the treatment of neurological diseases, including ischemic stroke and glioblastoma multiforme brain cancer. First, we designed and tested a fluorescent probe for neuroprotection in the setting of stroke that consists of siRNA complexed with myristoylated poly-arginine peptide (MPAP). MPAP, a peptide shown to cross cell membranes and the blood brain barrier, promoted robust internalization of siRNA by neurons in vitro and in mouse brain after intracerebral injection. Cellular uptake of MPAP-siRNA probes directed against a protein implicated in stroke pathology, c-Src, led to statistically-significant reductions of endogenous mRNA expression. The neuroprotective potential of probes was tested in a mouse model of ischemic stroke. Second, superparamagnetic iron oxide nanoparticles were investigated as vectors for siRNA delivery to glioblastoma multiforme brain tumors. Nanoparticles were designed to enhance chemotherapeutic treatment of tumors through siRNA-mediated knockdown of O6-methylguanine–DNA methyltransferase (MGMT), a protein implicated in glioblastoma chemotherapy resistance. The iron oxide core of nanoparticles rendered them detectable by MRI while fluorescent labeling was used for optical imaging. Functionalizing nanoparticles with the peptide chlorotoxin enabled tumor targeting and cellular accumulation of probe. Probe uptake was accompanied by reductions in MGMT activity and enhanced cellular responses to the chemotherapeutic temozolomide. Nanoparticles were tested in an orthotopic glioblastoma mouse model, where intratumoral administration proved effective in suppressing MGMT expression and tumor volume. These studies serve as proof-of-principle that siRNA-based imaging agents can be used as therapeutic tools for diseases of the central nervous system.Engineering and Applied Science

Hypervariability within the Rifin, Stevor and Pfmc-2TM superfamilies in Plasmodium falciparum

The human malaria parasite, Plasmodium falciparum, possesses a broad repertoire of proteins that are proposed to be trafficked to the erythrocyte cytoplasm or surface, based upon the presence within these proteins of a Pexel/VTS erythrocyte-trafficking motif. This catalog includes large families of predicted 2 transmembrane (2TM) proteins, including the Rifin, Stevor and Pfmc-2TM superfamilies, of which each possesses a region of extensive sequence diversity across paralogs and between isolates that is confined to a proposed surface-exposed loop on the infected erythrocyte. Here we express epitope-tagged versions of the 2TM proteins in transgenic NF54 parasites and present evidence that the Stevor and Pfmc-2TM families are exported to the erythrocyte membrane, thus supporting the hypothesis that host immune pressure drives antigenic diversity within the loop. An examination of multiple P.falciparum isolates demonstrates that the hypervariable loop within Stevor and Pfmc-2TM proteins possesses sequence diversity across isolate boundaries. The Pfmc-2TM genes are encoded within large amplified loci that share profound nucleotide identity, which in turn highlight the divergences observed within the hypervariable loop. The majority of Pexel/VTS proteins are organized together within sub-telomeric genome neighborhoods, and a mechanism must therefore exist to differentially generate sequence diversity within select genes, as well as within highly defined regions within these genes

Increased Microerythrocyte Count in Homozygous α+-Thalassaemia Contributes to Protection against Severe Malarial Anaemia

Karen Day and colleagues show that increased microcytic erythrocyte count may contribute substantially to the protection of α+-thalassaemia-homozygous children against severe malaria anaemia

A genetically attenuated malaria vaccine candidate based on P. falciparum b9/slarp gene-deficient sporozoites

A highly efficacious pre-erythrocytic stage vaccine would be an important tool for the control and elimination of malaria but is currently unavailable. High-level protection in humans can be achieved by experimental immunization with Plasmodium falciparum sporozoites attenuated by radiation or under anti-malarial drug coverage. Immunization with genetically attenuated parasites (GAP) would be an attractive alternative approach. Here we present data on safety and protective efficacy using sporozoites with deletions of two genes i.e. the newly identified b9 and slarp, which govern independent and critical processes for successful liver-stage development. In the rodent malaria model, Pb Delta b9 Delta slarpGAP was completely attenuated showing no breakthrough infections while efficiently inducing high level protection. The human Pf Delta b9 Delta slarpGAP generated without drug-resistance markers were infective to human hepatocytes in vitro and to humanized mice engrafted with human hepatocytes in vivo but completely aborted development after infection. These findings support the clinical development of a Pf Delta b9 Delta slarpSPZ vaccine

The human semicircular canal model of galvanic vestibular stimulation

A vector summation model of the action of galvanic stimuli on the semicircular canals has been shown to explain empirical balance and perceptual responses to binaural-bipolar stimuli. However, published data suggest binaural-monopolar stimuli evoke responses that are in the reverse direction of the model prediction. Here, we confirm this by measuring balance responses to binaural-monopolar stimulation as movements of the upper trunk. One explanation for the discrepancy is that the galvanic stimulus might evoke an oppositely directed balance response from the otolith organs that sums with and overrides the semicircular canal response. We tested this hypothesis by measuring sway responses across the full range of head pitch. The results showed some modulation of sway with pitch such that the maximal response occurred with the head in the primary position. However, the effect fell a long way short of that required to reverse the canal sway response. This indicates that the model is incomplete. Here, we examine alterations to the model that could explain both the bipolar and monopolar-evoked behavioural responses. An explanation was sought by remodelling the canal response with more recent data on the orientation of the individual canals. This improved matters but did not reverse the model prediction. However, the model response could be reversed by either rotating the entire labyrinth in the skull or by altering the gains of the individual canals. The most parsimonious solution was to use the more recent canal orientation data coupled with a small increase in posterior canal gain

An Epithelial Serine Protease, AgESP, Is Required for Plasmodium Invasion in the Mosquito Anopheles gambiae

Background: Plasmodium parasites need to cross the midgut and salivary gland epithelia to complete their life cycle in the mosquito. However, our understanding of the molecular mechanism and the mosquito genes that participate in this process is still very limited. Methodology/Principal Findings: We identified an Anopheles gambiae epithelial serine protease (AgESP) that is constitutively expressed in the submicrovillar region of mosquito midgut epithelial cells and in the basal side of the salivary glands that is critical for Plasmodium parasites to cross these two epithelial barriers. AgESP silencing greatly reduces Plasmodium berghei and Plasmodium falciparum midgut invasion and prevents the transcriptional activation of gelsolin, a key regulator of actin remodeling and a reported Plasmodium agonist. AgESP expression is highly induced in midgut cells invaded by Plasmodium, suggesting that this protease also participates in the apoptotic response to invasion. In salivary gland epithelial cells, AgESP is localized on the basal side–the surface with which sporozoites interact. AgESP expression in the salivary gland is also induced in response to P. berghei and P. falciparum sporozoite invasion, and AgESP silencing significantly reduces the number of sporozoites that invade this organ. Conclusion: Our findings indicate that AgESP is required for Plasmodium parasites to effectively traverse the midgut and salivary gland epithelial barriers. Plasmodium parasites need to modify the actin cytoskeleton of mosquito epithelial cells t