A new set of 16S rRNA universal primers for identification 1 of animal species

In this study, bioinformatics were used to specifically design universal primers within 16S rRNA gene according to the following criteria: the priming sites needed to be sufficiently conserved to permit a reliable amplification (pooled samples) and the genetic marker needed to (a) be sufficiently variable to discriminate among most species and sufficiently conserved within than between species, (b) be short enough to allow also accurate amplification from processed samples (food) and non-invasive approaches (fur, feathers, faeces, etc.) (c) convey sufficient information to assign samples to species and (d) be amplified under variable lab conditions and protocols. Furthermore, short sequences allow the accurate massive inter- and intra-species identification of point mutations by the SSCP technique. The size of the amplified segment ranged from 222 to 252 bp. Amplification and identification success were 100% with all kinds of tissue tested in both raw and processed samples in a wind range of species, mammals (n = 27), fishes (n = 32) birds (n = 19), coleoptera (n = 23), reptiles (n = 5), crustaceans (n = 5) and cephalopods (n = 2), including almost all European mammal and avian game species. In addition, no intra-specific polymorphism was detected. Finally, gene fragments, homologous to those amplified by the primers used herein and retrieved from the GenBank for three animal sets [mammals (n = 248), birds (n = 231) and fishes (n = 644)] showed a particular precise percentage of correct identifications. Therefore, this short segment of the 16S rRNA mitochondrial gene could be a good candidate for a rapid, accurate, low-cost and easy-to-apply and interpret method to identify mammal and avian game species by PCR amplification and sequencing that can be easily incorporated in integrated conservation and forensic programmes

British citizenship, gender and migration: the containment of cultural differences and the stratification of belonging

Debates about integration, British values and identity, who can belong and who can become a citizen, have been fuelled by concerns about growing cultural diversity in the United Kingdom. To promote a shared sense of national identity and claim a universal and normative citizen subject, the UK government, along with many other western nations, has introduced compulsory citizenship and language testing. This article traces and critiques the evolution of the British citizenship test since its introduction in 2005 and argues that the regime fails to recognise the gendered and segmented nature of migration, and functions as a silent and largely invisible mechanism of civic stratification and control. Drawing on Home Office data, it is argued that citizenship testing enables the government to cherry pick migrants who conform to an idealised citizen subject, while containing cultural difference by excluding others, particularly women, who are tolerated but remain symbolic non-citizens

Migrant African women: tales of agency and belonging

This paper explores issues of belonging and agency among asylum seekers and refugee women of African origin in the UK. It discusses the ways these women engendered resistance in their everyday life to destitution, lack of cultural recognition, and gender inequality through the foundation of their own non-governmental organization, African Women’s Empowerment Forum, AWEF, a collective ‘home’ space. The focus of this account is on migrant women’s agency and self-determination for the exercise of choice to be active actors in society. It points to what might be an important phenomenon on how local grassroots movements are challenging the invisibility of asylum seekers’ and refugees’ lives and expanding the notion of politics to embrace a wider notion of community politics with solidarity. AWEF is the embodiment of a social space that resonates the ‘in-between’ experience of migrant life providing stability to the women members regarding political and community identification

Never outside the labour market, but always outsiders: female migrant workers in Greece

This article focuses on migrant women’s diverse experiences in the Greek labour market. Since the early 1980s all four Southern European countries of the EU, Spain, Portugal, Greece and Italy, have been transformed from emigration into immigration countries. The new immigrants, mostly undocumented and illegal, join the informal labour market under highly exploitative conditions. Starting from migrant women’s own perspectives, we analyze their experiences (1) in the framework of the unfolding «Mediterranean immigration model» (2) in the midst of increasing «South» – «North» migrations and increasing migratory flows to Greece in particular; (3) in the context of the legal and policy framework for migrants in Greece; and (4) in the framework of women’s citizenship in society. Our qualitative study of immigrant women in Greece fleshes out the general trends of women's participation in informal labour markets, documents the multi-layered nature of their economic and social exclusion, and highlights the intersecting racialization and sexist practices shaping their experiencesThis article focuses on migrant women’s diverse experiences in the Greek labour market. Since the early 1980s all four Southern European countries of the EU, Spain, Portugal, Greece and Italy, have been transformed from emigration into immigration countries. The new immigrants, mostly undocumented and illegal, join the informal labour market under highly exploitative conditions. Starting from migrant women’s own perspectives, we analyze their experiences (1) in the framework of the unfolding ≪Mediterranean immigration model≫ (2) in the midst of increasing ≪South≫ – ≪North≫ migrations and increasing migratory flows to Greece in particular; (3) in the context of the legal and policy framework for migrants in Greece; and (4) in the framework of women’s citizenship in society. Our qualitative study of immigrant women in Greece fleshes out the general trends of women's participation in informal labour markets, documents the multi-layered nature of their economic and social exclusion, and highlights the intersecting racialization and sexist practices shaping their experience

Gender and international migration: conceptual, substantive and methodological issues

No abstract (available).

Tracing individual experiences to systemic challenges: the (re)production of GBV in migrant women’s experiences in Canada

This study examines the experiences of migrant women survivors of gender-based violence (GBV) in Canada, focusing on their processes of disclosing violence and seeking help. It explores a range of migration-related factors and circumstances that shape migrant women’s responses to violence while also aiming to reveal how migration contexts determine system-and structural-level responses to GBV, which are then traced back to women’s individual experiences and responses. Based on 17 in-depth interviews with migrant women and using a situated intersectionality perspective, our findings demonstrate first how GBV in migration is uniquely shaped and (re)produced by precarity, rooted in structural, socioeconomic, and legal conditions that translate into heightened vulnerability at the individual level. We showed that migration contexts increased women’s vulnerability to GBV, as perpetrators exploited precarity to manipulate and control women, illustrating the continuum of precarity-GBV. Secondly, this manipulation, controlling behaviors, and abuse of migrant women by perpetrators are enabled by migration policies and practices that give rise to their precarity. Additionally, our participants reported a lack of supportive social networks, which, in combination with the fear of cultural stigmatization, created a double bind hindering their processes of seeking safety. Furthermore, systemic responses to migrant women experiencing GBV were found to be inadequate, with discriminatory and negligent attitudes in healthcare, police, and legal systems. This is the continuum of systemic-individual level violence. Our findings enhance both the theoretical and empirical understanding of the continuum (i) between precarity and GBV and (ii) between systemic and individual forms of GBV in migration contexts, where precarity exacerbates GBV, and vice versa, creating a vicious cycle that deepens individual experiences of vulnerability, while the systemic and structural forms of violence contribute/(re)produce individual experiences of GBV

Η προβατοτροφία στο νησί της Λέσβου: η διαχείριση μιας μονάδας προβάτων και η συσχέτιση της ευζωίας της με την αύξηση της παραγωγικότητάς της

Τα πρόβατα διαβιούν κάτω από συνθήκες ευζωίας, όταν έχουν καλή υγεία, ζουν σε ήρεμο και καθαρό περιβάλλοντα χώρο, σιτίζονται επαρκώς και ορθά, έχουν ασφάλεια, μπορούν να συμπεριφερθούν όπως ορίζουν η φύση και η προέλευση τους και δεν υποφέρουν από δυσάρεστες καταστάσεις (πόνο, φόβο ή αγωνία). Η Ευρωπαϊκή Ένωση έχει θεσπίσει τα τελευταία σαράντα χρόνια ένα σαφές νομοθετικό πλαίσιο όσο αφορά στην ευζωία των ζώων. Οι λόγοι εκτός από ανθρωπιστικοί, είναι και επιστημονικά τεκμηριωμένοι, αφού μελέτες έδειξαν ότι η ποιότητα του παραγόμενου προϊόντος (π.χ γάλα) είναι ‘καλύτερη’ όταν τα ζώα διαβιούν κάτω από ‘καλύτερες’ συνθήκες. Ο πρώτος σημαντικός σταθμός στην ευζωία των παραγωγικών ζώων ήταν το 1974, όταν έγινε υποχρεωτική η αναισθησία πριν την σφαγή. Από τότε έως και σήμερα, το νομοθετικό πλαίσιο διευρύνθηκε και πλέον δεν υπάρχει εθνική νομοθεσία αλλά Ευρωπαϊκή ή αλλιώς κοινοτική. Η νομοθεσία φροντίζει και επιβάλλει την τήρηση των Αρχών Ευζωίας ελέγχοντας τα κριτήρια Ευζωίας βάσει συγκεκριμένων παραμέτρων μέτρησης. Πιο αναλυτικά: 1. Η επαρκής σίτιση των ζώων (προβάτων) έχει ως κριτήριο την απουσία παρατεταμένης πείνας και οι παράμετροι μέτρησης αυτού είναι το σωματικό βάρος, η θρεπτική κατάσταση, η κατάρτιση του σιτηρεσίου (αναλογία χονδροειδών τροφών και συμπυκνώματος) και το σύστημα διανομής τροφής (σιλό, τροφοδοσία και αυτόματο τάισμα). 2. Η επαρκής χορήγηση νερού έχει ως κριτήριο την απουσία παρατεταμένης δίψας και οι παράμετροι μέτρησης αυτού είναι η ποσότητα του χορηγούμενου νερού, η καταγραφή ποτιστρών - πηγών, η απόσταση αυτών και η αναλογία τους, σύμφωνα με τον αριθμό των ζώων. 3. Η επαρκής στέγαση των ζώων έχει ως κριτήρια ευζωίας τον επαρκή χώρο ανάπαυσης, την ορθή θερμοκρασία και την ευκολία της κίνησης ενώ τα κριτήρια αυτά μπορούν να μετρηθούν με το υπολογισμό του αριθμού των κελιών, την απουσία της αρθρίτιδας και των μυοσκελετικών παθήσεων, την απουσία κόπρου στο σώμα των ζώων, την καθαριότητα του χώρου, τον επαρκή φωτισμό, τα διαθέσιμα τετραγωνικά μέτρα ανά ζώο και τα συστήματα ψύξης -θέρμανσης και αερισμού. 4. Η καλή υγεία έχει ως κριτήρια ευζωίας την απουσία τραυμάτων, την απουσία ασθένειας και την απουσία πόνου λόγω κακής διαχείρισης. 5. Έτσι, παράμετροι μέτρησης της υγείας είναι η έλλειψη τραυμάτων, η χαμηλή θνησιμότητα, ο χρόνος ανάρρωσης των ζώων, ο τρόπος απολύμανσης, η ύπαρξη απολυμαντικής τάφρου οχημάτων (π.χ. περίπτωση ευλογιάς ή πανώλης προβάτων) και ο κατάλληλος εξοπλισμός. 6. Τέλος, η έκφραση της συμπεριφοράς ακόμα και στα πρόβατα είναι φαινόμενο ζωτικής σημασίας αφού κι αυτά εξελίχθηκαν σε κοινωνικά όντα, έχοντας ανάγκη την ύπαρξη του ανθρώπου κοντά τους. Τα πρόβατα χρήζουν τακτικής ημερήσιας επίβλεψης (παρακολούθησης) από κατάλληλα πλέον εκπαιδευμένο προσωπικό με ζωοτεχνικές και λοιπές γνώσεις. Οι απαιτήσεις της Οδηγίας 98/58/EC για όλα τα παραγωγικά ζώα, σύμφωνα με τις οποίες, διεξάγονται από την Επίσημη Κτηνιατρική Αρχή της Περιφέρειας, συστηματικοί επιτόπιοι έλεγχοι ευζωίας, συμπεριλαμβάνουν τις εξής: 1. Επαρκές προσωπικό επίβλεψης των ζώων (προβάτων) με ικανότητες και επαγγελματική κατάρτιση. 2. Επίβλεψη κάτω από συνθήκες με επαρκή φυσικό ή τεχνητό φωτισμό. 3. Άμεση κτηνιατρική παρέμβαση όταν χρειαστεί 4. Αρχείο θεραπευτικών αγωγών, τραυματισμών, ασθενών και θανάτων με διατήρησή του τουλάχιστον για τρία έτη. 5. Διαμονή και ξεκούραση των ζώων μέσα σε κατασκευές από ασφαλή υλικά που μπορούν να καθαριστούν και να απολυμανθούν. 6. Προστασία από ακραίες καιρικές συνθήκες και τραυματισμούς. 7. Εξασφάλιση διατροφικών αναγκών χωρίς την χρήση απαγορευμένων ουσιών (ορμονικά σκευάσματα). 8. Επαρκείς μηχανικοί εξοπλισμοί, και 9. Κατάλληλη χρήση φαρμακευτικών ή αναισθητικών ουσιών Το πρόβατο παράγει το γάλα, το κρέας (και τα παραπροϊόντα του), το έριο και κατόπιν σφαγής, το δέρμα. Όλα αυτά τα προϊόντα έχουν ‘άριστη’ ποιότητα, όταν παράγονται υπό συνθήκες ευζωίας. Τόσο η άμελξη όσο και η σφαγή διέπονται από αρχές ευζωίας, με κριτήρια την ελαχιστοποίηση του στρες, του φόβου και του πόνου. Κατά άλλη θεωρία των βίγκαν, η άμελξη αποτελεί κακοποιητική πράξη στα παραγωγικά ζώα. Παρόλα αυτά, οι αντιλήψεις αυτές ανήκουν σε άλλο πεδίο και στην παρούσα διπλωματική θα αναπτυχθεί ο επιστημονικός τρόπος συσχέτισης της ευζωίας των προβάτων με την καλή ποιότητα των προϊόντων που παράγουν και θα δοθεί έμφαση στην προστασία των δικαιωμάτων και της υγείας των ίδιων των ζώων αλλά και των καταναλωτών ως τελικών αποδεκτών των προϊόντων αυτών.A sheep lives in conditions of well-being when it is in good health, with access to a calm and clean environment. Sheep must be fed adequately and correctly, kept safe, and able to behave naturally without experiencing distress or discomfort. Over the past forty years, the European Union has established a robust legislative framework focused on animal welfare. This framework is not only humanitarian but also scientifically supported, as studies have shown that the quality of animal products (such as milk from sheep) improves when animals live under better conditions. The first major milestone in animal welfare for livestock was reached in 1974, when pre-slaughter anesthesia became mandatory. Since then, the legislative framework has expanded, and today, European rather than national legislation sets the standards. This legislation enforces the principles of animal welfare by testing and monitoring specific well-being criteria based on measurable parameters. In detail: 1. Adequate Feeding: Animals must not experience prolonged hunger. Parameters for measuring adequate feeding include body weight, nutritional status, the balance of roughage and concentrates in the diet, and the type of feeding system (silos, feeding stations, or automated systems). 2. Adequate Water Supply: This is measured by assessing water sources, including their number and location relative to the number of animals. 3. Adequate Resting Space and Comfort: Measurement parameters include the availability of sufficient resting space, optimal temperature, freedom of movement, absence of arthritis and musculoskeletal diseases, cleanliness, adequate lighting, space per animal, and the effectiveness of cooling, heating, and ventilation systems. 4. Good Health: Ensuring animals’ good health means preventing injuries, disease, and pain due to mismanagement. Parameters for health measurement include low injury and mortality rates, recovery times, disinfection practices, the presence of disinfection trenches for vehicle entry (especially for disease prevention, e.g., in cases of smallpox or sheep plague), and the availability of appropriate equipment. 5. Compassionate Care: Even sheep benefit from compassionate care and require regular monitoring by trained individuals with technical expertise. The EU Directive R.98/58/EC outlines additional requirements for all farm animals, including adequate supervision by trained staff, sufficient natural or artificial lighting, timely veterinary intervention, record-keeping of treatments, injuries, illness, and deaths for a minimum of three years, secure and cleanable housing, protection from extreme weather, adequate mechanical equipment, and proper use of pharmaceutical or anesthetic substances. Sheep produce milk, meat, wool, and leather. All these products reach top quality when produced under healthy conditions. Slaughter processes adhere to welfare principles to minimize stress, fear, and pain. While some vegan perspectives view milking as an exploitative practice, this notion belongs to a separate debate