Stakeholders' perspectives on the regulation and integration of complementary and alternative medicine products in Lebanon: a qualitative study

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>The regulation of the markets for Complementary and Alternative Medicine (CAM) products presents a global challenge. There is a dearth of studies that have examined or evaluated the regulatory policies of CAM products in the Eastern Mediterranean Region (EMR). We investigate the regulatory frameworks and the barriers for the proper regulation and integration of CAM products in Lebanon, as an example of an EMR country with a weak public infrastructure.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>We utilized a qualitative study design involving a series of semi-structured interviews with stakeholders of the CAM market in Lebanon. Snowball sampling was used to identify interviewees; interviews continued until the "saturation" point was reached. A total of 16 interviews were carried out with decision makers, representatives of professional associations, academic researchers, CAM product importers, policy makers and a media representative. Interviews were transcribed and thematic analysis of scripts was carried out.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>There was a consensus among all stakeholders that the regulation of the market for CAM products in Lebanon needs to be strengthened. Thematic analysis identified a number of impediments jeopardizing the safety of public consumption and hindering the integration of CAM therapies into mainstream medicine; including: weak infrastructure, poor regulation, ineffective policies and politics, weak CAM awareness and sub-optimal coordination and cooperation among stakeholders. With respect to policy instruments, voluntary instruments (self regulation) were deemed ineffective by stakeholders due to poor awareness of both users and providers on safe use of CAM products. Stakeholders' rather recommended the adoption of a combination of mixed (enhancing public awareness and integration of CAM into medical and nursing curricula) and compulsory (stricter governmental regulation) policy instruments for the regulation of the market for CAM products.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>The current status quo with respect to the regulation of CAM products in Lebanon is not conducive to public safety, nor does it support the integration of CAM products into the healthcare system. The Ministry of Health indeed plays a dominant role in the regulation of these products through a combination of mixed and compulsory policy instruments. Yet, the proper implementation of these regulations requires political resolve coupled with the cooperation of all CAM stakeholders.</p

Psychometric Properties and Correlates of Precarious Manhood Beliefs in 62 Nations

Precarious manhood beliefs portray manhood, relative to womanhood, as a social status that is hard to earn, easy to lose, and proven via public action. Here, we present cross-cultural data on a brief measure of precarious manhood beliefs (the Precarious Manhood Beliefs scale [PMB]) that covaries meaningfully with other cross-culturally validated gender ideologies and with country-level indices of gender equality and human development. Using data from university samples in 62 countries across 13 world regions (N = 33,417), we demonstrate: (1) the psychometric isomorphism of the PMB (i.e., its comparability in meaning and statistical properties across the individual and country levels); (2) the PMB’s distinctness from, and associations with, ambivalent sexism and ambivalence toward men; and (3) associations of the PMB with nation-level gender equality and human development. Findings are discussed in terms of their statistical and theoretical implications for understanding widely-held beliefs about the precariousness of the male gender role

The importance of genetic diversity and evolution in metacommunities.

The evolving metacommunity framework starts from a strong conceptual framework on metacommunity ecology, but includes the impact of evolutionary dynamics. Whereas metacommunity ecology integrates migration and species sorting in response to environmental factors, evolving metacommunities research also tries to disentangle the relative importance of species and genotype sorting in determining community trait responses to environmental gradients. Studying evolving metacommunities requires not only data on species composition, but also on trait values of a whole suit of ecologically important traits of the different species in the metacommunity, and genotypic trait values of the different species in those communities, for a reasonably large set of local populations and communities.To study how evolving metacommunities work, we used zooplankton and the water flea Daphnia magna as a focal species as a model system. Zooplankton form dormant stages during winter which accumulate in the sediment to form a sort of archive, a dormant egg bank. Such egg bank is interesting as starting material for experiments since it allows large scale experiments and integrates spatial and temporal variation of a pond habitat. However, since dormant eggs are produced sexually unlike the clonally produced eggs during the growing season, we wanted to know how this difference would affect trait values. In chapter 2, we reconfirmed that there are differences between the ex-ephippial generation and the first clonal generation, but also between the first and second clonal generation. In addition, to quantify life history traits in life table experiments, we concluded from chapter 1 that it is advisable to minimize handling stress and medium renewal. These findings should be taken into account when carrying out life table experiments.In chapter 3 we studied life history traits of Daphnia magna using three treatments: the fish background and land use background of the original ponds the Daphnia populations came from, as well as exposure to fish chemicals. We found out that these three factors affect life history traits significantly: exposure to fish chemicals made the water fleas grow and reproduce faster, have larger clutch sizes and stay smaller in body size to cope with fish predation. The adaptation to fish (i.e. fish background) induced two plastic responses to fish chemicals: a smaller size at maturity and a safer vertical migration behavior. Daphnia from fishless ponds only responded with size at maturity to fish chemical exposure. Land use by agriculture had a negative impact on fecundity. In chapter 4 we combined the different levels of biological organization. We tried to assess in an integrated way the importance of local and regional processes in determining species composition, trait values and genetic variation in a natural setting of local communities in a heterogeneous landscape. We postulated that broadening variation partitioning to multiple data matrices (community structure, quantitative trait values and neutral genetic variation) and quantifying the joint and separate effects of environment and space can be informative in explaining evolving metacommunity dynamics. We advocated the new approach using two datasets of zooplankton metacommunities in two separate regions. We found pure environment to be most important in explaining community structure and trait values. For neutral variation, spatial factors are of more importance. Our analysis revealed differences in the factors driving structure in the two metacommunities, pointing to different selection regimes in both regions.In chapter 5 we studied an experimental metacommunity using outdoor mesocosms in which we inoculated Daphnia magna and zooplankton communities originating from ponds with or without fish (i.e. past selection) and subjected them to current fish selection pressure. In one third of the mesocosms, we did not apply any dispersal treatment, in one third we exchanged a proportion of the entire metacommunity and in the last third we exchanged a proportion of the D. magna individuals. Our results showed that dispersal and fish predation, both past and current, play an important role in structuring zooplankton metacommunities. In the absence of predation, dispersal increases species diversity. Fish predation directly affected the two largest species in the community depending on their local genetic adaptation to fish (i.e. fish background). We observed a fish x fish background x dispersal interaction for the amount of algal biomass, indicating that top-down control of algae by zooplankton is a function of both past and current selection pressures combined with dispersal. Understanding of the interactions between genes and traits in populations and communities combined with dispersal connecting processes to each other, is a not to be underestimated challenge in the evolving metacommunity framework. From underlying research we can conclude that population and community dynamics are impacted by the environment, including anthropogenic factors. Our data provide support for a policy to drastically reduce the collateral damage of agriculture by promoting more sustainable practices.Introduction -Ecological background: from community to metacommunity -Evolution in metacommunities -Study system -Objectives and outline of thesis -Characterization of the studied ponds Part I. Methodology Chapter 1 Effects of medium renewal and handling stress on life history traits in Daphnia Chapter 2 Ex-ephippial and clonal generations of Daphnia magna: differences in life history and behavioral traits Part II. Field survey – evolutionary ecology & evolving metacommunities Chapter 3 Genetic variation for life history and behavioral traits of the water flea Daphnia magna in response to strong environmental gradients Chapter 4 The importance of environment versus space in species, traits and genes in a metacommunity setting Part III. Experimental metacommunity analysis Chapter 5 Past and current selection and dispersal interact to determine zooplankton community impact on ecosystem functioning Part IV. General discussion Summary Samenvatting References Publicationsnrpages: 250status: publishe

Buveurs, voleuses, insensés et prisonniers à Namur au XVIIIe siècle. Déviance, justice et régulation sociale au temps des Lumières

Se basant sur des archives administratives et judiciaires, les auteurs nous dévoilent plusieurs facettes de la vie sociale namuroise du XVIIIe siècle, initialement traitées dans leur séminaire de recherche ou leur mémoire de maîtrise. D’une belle qualité et comblant une lacune historiographique, ces contributions dressent un portrait peu banal de la ville et de ses habitants, ainsi que des mécanismes de régulation qui se mettent en place ou échouent. C’est la vie des rues, des cabarets, des prisons, des places publiques, mais aussi une certaine intimité privée, qui se dévoilent. Au-delà de la description des heurs et malheurs de ces hommes, de ces femmes ou de ces enfants, c’est la réflexion sur les phénomènes de déviance, de justice, de prise en charge des problèmes sociaux menée au siècle des Lumières qui est explorée à travers cet ouvrage

Measuring the contribution of evolution to community trait structure in freshwater zooplankton

There are currently few predictions about when evolutionary processes are likely to play an important role in structuring community features. Determining predictors that indicate when evolution is expected to impact ecological processes in natural landscapes can help researchers identify eco-evolutionary ‘hotspots', where eco-evolutionary interactions are more likely to occur. Using data collected from a survey in freshwater cladoceran communities, landscape population genetic data and phenotypic trait data measured in a common garden, we applied a Bayesian linear model to assess whether the impact of local trait evolution in the keystone species Daphnia magna on cladoceran community trait values could be predicted by population genetic properties (within-population genetic diversity, genetic distance among populations), ecological properties (Simpson's diversity, phenotypic divergence) or environmental divergence. We found that the impact of local trait evolution varied among communities. Moreover, community diversity and phenotypic divergence were found to be better predictors of the contribution of evolution to community trait values than environmental features or genetic properties of the evolving species. Our results thus indicate the importance of ecological context for the impact of evolution on community features. Our study also demonstrates one way to detect signatures of eco-evolutionary interactions in communities inhabiting heterogeneous landscapes using survey data of contemporary ecological and evolutionary structure

Impact of the fish Garra on the ecology of reservoirs and the occurrence of Microcystis blooms in semi-arid tropical highlands: an experimental assessment using enclosures

1. Many man-made reservoirs in the semi-arid highlands of Northern Ethiopia (Tigray) are characterised by the occurrence of intensive blooms of cyanobacteria and a dominance of small riverine fishes belonging to the genus Garra. 2. We carried out enclosure experiments to test for the effect of these small fish on abiotic characteristics, phytoplankton biomass and zooplankton community structure in the pelagic of two reservoirs (Gereb Awso and Tsinkanet). Two experiments were carried out in each of the reservoirs, one at the end of the rainy season (highest water level) and one at the end of the dry season (lowest water level). 3. The presence of Garra in general increased the amount of suspended matter, nutrient concentrations (total nitrogen and total phosphorus), phytoplankton and Microcystis biomass (including the proportion of Microcystis in the phytoplankton community), and reduced water transparency. The positive effect of the presence of Garra on nutrient concentrations and phytoplankton productivity indicate that Garra has the potential to affect food web functioning indirectly through bottom-up effects, by enhancing nutrient concentrations through sediment resuspension and excretion of nutrients. Indeed, population densities of the cladoceran zooplankton taxa Ceriodaphnia and Diaphanosoma also showed an overall increase in enclosures with Garra. 4. However, our data also provide some evidence for a potential of Garra to exert top-down control on large bodied daphnids (Daphnia carinata, D. barbata), although such effect varied among experiments. The limited capability of Garra to control zooplankton communities mainly reflects the low efficiency of these small, riverine and benthos-oriented fish in foraging on zooplankton and suggests the existence of an unoccupied niche for zooplanktivorous fish in the majority of the reservoirs. 5. Although the main effects of Garra on the pelagic food web seemed to be mediated by bottom-up mechanisms, our results also indicate that one of the key variables, the relative abundance of Microcystis, was impacted by Daphnia-mediated trophic cascade effects

IPV-PRO&POL Intimate Partner Violence: impact, processes, evolution and related public policies in Belgium Charlotte

Violence between partners (IPV) has become a major societal challenge. Since 2001 in Belgium, a public policy has been concerted between the Federal State, the Communities and the Regions, involving multiple sectors and actors: police, justice, health, aid and assistance or education. The objective of the IPV-PRO&POL project was to study the issue of IPVs as much from the perspective of the impact of the phenomenon and the complexity of the processes involved as from the perspective of the public policy practices developed, and more particularly the effectiveness of multi-level governance and transversal practices. The research took place during a period marked by the #MeToo movement (2017), the evaluation of the Istanbul Convention implementation and political debates within the Senate, as well as the pandemic crisis during the last phase of the research

Bromodomain-dependent stage-specific male genome programming by Brdt: Brdt: a master regulator of spermatogenesis

International audienceMale germ cell differentiation is a highly regulated multistep process initiated by the commitment of progenitor cells into meiosis and characterized by major chromatin reorganizations in haploid spermatids. We report here that a single member of the double bromodomain BET factors, Brdt, is a master regulator of both meiotic divisions and post-meiotic genome repackaging. Upon its activation at the onset of meiosis, Brdt drives and determines the developmental timing of a testis-specific gene expression program. In meiotic and post-meiotic cells, Brdt initiates a genuine histone acetylation-guided programming of the genome by activating essential genes and repressing a ‘progenitor cells’ gene expression program. At post-meiotic stages, a global chromatin hyperacetylation gives the signal for Brdt's first bromodomain to direct the genome-wide replacement of histones by transition proteins. Brdt is therefore a unique and essential regulator of male germ cell differentiation, which, by using various domains in a developmentally controlled manner, first drives a specific spermatogenic gene expression program, and later controls the tight packaging of the male genome.</p