Implementation, effectiveness and political context of comprehensive primary health care: preliminary findings of a global literature review

Primary health care (PHC) is again high on the international agenda. It was the theme of The World Health Report in 2008, thirty years after the Alma-Ata Declaration, and has been the topic of a series of significant conferences around the world throughout 2008. What have we learnt about its impact in improving population health and health equity? What more do we still need to know? These two questions framed a four-year international research/capacity-building project, “Revitalizing Health for All” (RHFA), funded by the Canadian Global Health Research Initiative, which began in 2007. The findings of a global literature review conducted by this Initiative, and focusing on comprehensive primary health care - and how it has been implemented since Alma Ata are presented. The way in which the political context has affected the comprehensiveness of PHC is considered - along with a series of proposed future PHC research areas.Web of Scienc

Enhanced thylakoid photoprotection can increase yield and canopy radiation use efficiency in rice

High sunlight can raise plant growth rates but can potentially cause cellular damage. The likelihood of deleterious effects is lowered by a sophisticated set of photoprotective mechanisms, one of the most important being the controlled dissipation of energy from chlorophyll within photosystem II (PSII) measured as non-photochemical quenching (NPQ). Although ubiquitous, the role of NPQ in plant productivity remains uncertain because it momentarily reduces the quantum efficiency of photosynthesis. Here we used plants overexpressing the gene encoding a central regulator of NPQ, the protein PsbS, within a major crop species (rice) to assess the effect of photoprotection at the whole canopy scale. We accounted for canopy light interception, to our knowledge for the first time in this context. We show that in comparison to wild-type plants, psbS overexpressors increased canopy radiation use efficiency and grain yield in fluctuating light, demonstrating that photoprotective mechanisms should be altered to improve rice crop productivity

Cardiac necrobiotic (Rheumatoid?) granulomas without arthritis. report of two cases

Cardiac necrobiotic lesions resembling rheumatoid granulomas were discovered in 2 patients without evidence of arthritis. Evidence from the literature indicates that pulmonary and subcutaneous nodules may occur before arthritis or before the appearance of the rheumatoid factor, and that cardiac lesions may occur early in the course of rheumatoid disease. Even in the absence of obvious arthritis and the rheumatoid factor, rheumatoid disease should be considered part of the differential diagnosis of acquired valvular heart lesions.Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/37713/1/1780130208_ftp.pd

Development of a photosynthesis model with an emphasis on ecological applications

A physiologically based steady-state model of whole leaf photosynthesis (WHOLEPHOT) is used to describe net photosynthesis daily time courses in Prunus armeniaca . Net photosynthesis rates are calculated in response to incident light intensity, leaf temperature, air carbon dioxide concentration, and leaf diffusion resistance measured at five minute intervals. The steady-state calculations closely approximate the observed net photosynthesis rates for a broad range of weather conditions and leaf stomatal behavior.Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/47730/1/442_2004_Article_BF00346453.pd

Identity lost and found: Lessons from the sixties scoop

The “Sixties Scoop” describes a period in Aboriginal history in Canada in which thousands of Aboriginal children were removed from birth families and placed in non-Aboriginal environments. Despite literature that indicates adoption breakdown rates of 85-95%, recent research with adults adopted as children indicates that some adoptees have found solace through reacculturating to their birth culture and contextualizing their adoptions within colonial history. This article explores the history of Aboriginal adoption in Canada and examines some of the issues of transracial adoption through the lens of psychology theories to aid understanding of identity conflicts facing Aboriginal adoptees. The article concludes with recommendations towards a paradigm shift in adoption policy as it pertains to Aboriginal children

The Indigenous Child Removal System in Canada: An Examination of Legal Decision-making and Racial Bias

This Indigenous child removal system in Canada has been in operation since the 1950s and has created unprecedented Indigenous child overrepresentation in the child welfare system. While five generations of residential schools and disastrous socio-economic conditions often warrant child welfare involvement, the statistics for Indigenous children in care are so disproportionate that we are called to examine key factors that have created and sustain the system. While history provides a contextual frame for these statistics, examining legislation and legal decision-making in Indigenous child welfare cases sheds light on how legal and racial factors contribute to ongoing Indigenous child removals from families and culture. This article is a call for the Indigenous child removal system to be overhauled and suggests that the recommendations of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission final report can guide us in how that can be achieved