Realisation or oversight of a constitutional mandate? Corrective rape of black African lesbians in South Africa

Corrective rape is a form of sexual punishment by men towards lesbians in order to cure them of their sexual orientation. Black African lesbians are victims of corrective rape, particularly those in townships who are seen to challenge patriarchal gender norms. Therefore, discrimination on the basis of gender, race, sex and sexual orientation is called into play. The impact of discrimination is rendered more serious and their vulnerability increased by the fact that the victims are also seen as a threat to patriarchy and hetero-normativity which demarcate women's bodies as male property. The article focuses on how South Africa balances its constitutional mandate in relation to black African lesbians affected by corrective rape. The article argues that it is necessary to define corrective rape as a hate crime and not merely a crime of rape for victims of corrective rape to be adequately protected.International Bibliography of the Social Science

Corrective rape of black African lesbians in South Africa: the realisation or oversight of a constitutional mandate?

Magister Legum - LLMIn South Africa corrective rape is committed by African men as a form of social control to cure women of their homosexuality. The problem with corrective rape is that the victims of this crime are mainly black African lesbians, particularly those in townships who are seen to challenge patriarchal gender norms. Therefore discrimination on the basis of gender, race, sex and sexual orientation is called into play. Section 9 of the Constitution provides that the state may not unfairly discriminate directly or indirectly against anyone on one or more specified ground which include gender, race, sex and as well as sexual orientation. Further, no person may unfairly discriminate against anyone on one or more of the same specified grounds. Thus, the black African lesbians affected by corrective rape are protected by the equality provisions of the Constitution upon which discrimination is prohibited. In addition, the impact of discrimination on lesbians is thus rendered more serious and their vulnerability increased by the fact that the victims are black women. In the context of black African lesbians, it is believed that these women are a threat to the manhood as well as cultural beliefs of the perpetrators. Perpetrators, therefore, can justify their actions on the constitutional right to culture. This position obviously reopens the debate on the conflicts between African culture and tradition with human rights within the context of corrective rape which ultimately continues to militate against the adequate protection of women’s rights. Against this background, this research will focus on how South Africa is balancing its constitutional mandate in relation to the black African lesbians affected by corrective rape. It will be argued that for victims of corrective rape to be adequately protected it is necessary to define corrective as a hate crime and not merely the crime of rape. In addition, it will also be argued that because there is an inherent conflict between the right to culture of the perpetrators and the constitutionally protected rights of the victims of corrective rape, courts, in enforcing the rights of these victims should also address this conflict. The importance in recognising this conflict lies in the fact that one needs to take into account that both the perpetrators and the victims are protected by the Bill of Rights and that one cannot disregard the importance of either of their rights

Vitis seed longevity after prolonged cold storage

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Effects of receptor tyrosine kinase inhibitors on VEGF165a- and VEGF165b-stimulated gene transcription in HEK-293 cells expressing human VEGFR2

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE: Receptor tyrosine kinase inhibitors (RTKIs) targeted at VEGF receptor 2 (VEGFR2) have proved to be attractive approaches to cancer therapy based on their ability to reduce angiogenesis. Here we have undertaken a quantitative analysis of the interaction of RTKIs and two VEGF splice variants, VEGF165a and VEGF165b, with VEGFR2 by studying nuclear factor of activated T-cells (NFAT) reporter gene activity in live HEK-293 cells. EXPERIMENTAL APPROACH: HEK-293 cells expressing the human VEGFR2 and a firefly luciferase reporter gene regulated by an NFAT response element were used for quantitative analysis of the effect of RTKIs on VEGF165a- and VEGF165b-stimulated luciferase gene expression. KEY RESULTS: VEGF165a produced a concentration-dependent activation of the NFAT-luciferase reporter gene in living cells that was inhibited in a non-competitive fashion by four different RTKIs (cediranib, pazopanib, sorafenib and vandetanib). The potency obtained for each RTKI from this analysis was similar to those obtained in binding studies using purified VEGFR2 kinase domains. VEGF165b was a lower-efficacy agonist of the NFAT-luciferase response when compared with VEGF165a. Analysis of the concentration–response data using the operational model of agonism indicated that both VEGF165 isoforms had similar affinity for VEGFR2. CONCLUSIONS AND IMPLICATIONS: Quantitative pharmacological analysis of the interaction of VEGF165 isoforms and RTKIs with VEGFR2 in intact living cells has provided important insights into the relative affinity and efficacy of VEGF165a and VEGF165b for activation of the calcineurinNFAT signalling pathway by this tyrosine kinase receptor

In vivo cannabidiol treatment improves endothelium-dependent vasorelaxation in mesenteric arteries of Zucker diabetic fatty rats

Background and purpose: We have shown that in vitro treatment with cannabidiol (CBD, 2 h) enhances endothelial function in arteries from Zucker diabetic fatty (ZDF) rats, partly due to a cyclooxygenase (COX)-mediated mechanism. The aim of the present study was to determine whether treatment with CBD in vivo would also enhance endothelial function. Experimental approach: Male ZDF rats, or ZDF Lean rats, were treated for 7 days (daily i.p. injection) with either 10mg/kg CBD or vehicle (n D 6 per group). Sections of mesenteric resistance arteries, femoral arteries and thoracic aortae were mounted on a wire myograph, and cumulative concentration-response curves to endothelium-dependent (acetylcholine, ACh, 1 nM–100 mM) or endothelium-independent (sodium nitroprusside, SNP, 1 nM–100 mM) agents were constructed. Multiplex analysis was used to measure serum metabolic and cardiovascular biomarkers. Key results: Vasorelaxation to ACh was significantly enhanced in mesenteric arteries from CBD-treated ZDF rats, but not ZDF Lean rats. The enhanced vasorelaxation in ZDF mesenteric arteries was no longer observed after COX inhibition using indomethacin or nitric oxide (NO) inhibition using L-NAME. Increased levels of serum c-peptide, insulin and intracellular adhesion molecule-1 observed in the ZDF compared to ZDF Lean rats were no longer significant after 7 days CBD treatment. Conclusion and implications: Short-term in vivo treatment with CBD improves ex vivo endothelium-dependent vasorelaxation in mesenteric arteries from ZDF rats due to COX- or NO-mediated mechanisms, and leads to improvements in serum biomarkers

Application of BRET to monitor ligand binding to GPCRs

Bioluminescence resonance energy transfer (BRET) is a well-established method for investigating protein-protein interactions. Here we present a BRET approach to monitor ligand binding to G protein–coupled receptors (GPCRs) on the surface of living cells made possible by the use of fluorescent ligands in combination with a bioluminescent protein (NanoLuc) that can be readily expressed on the N terminus of GPCRs

Real-time analysis of the binding of fluorescent VEGF₁₆₅a to VEGFR2 in living cells: Effect of receptor tyrosine kinase inhibitors and fate of internalized agonist-receptor complexes

Vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) is an important mediator of angiogenesis. Here we have used a novel stoichiometric protein-labeling method to generate a fluorescent variant of VEGF (VEGF₁₆₅a-TMR) labeled on a single cysteine within each protomer of the antiparallel VEGF homodimer. VEGF₁₆₅a-TMR has then been used in conjunction with full length VEGFR2, tagged with the bioluminescent protein NanoLuc, to undertake a real time quantitative evaluation of VEGFR2 binding characteristics in living cells using bioluminescence resonance energy transfer (BRET). This provided quantitative information on VEGF-VEGFR2 interactions. At longer incubation times, VEGFR2 is internalized by VEGF₁₆₅a-TMR into intracellular endosomes. This internalization can be prevented by the receptor tyrosine kinase inhibitors (RTKIs) cediranib, sorafenib, pazopanib or vandetanib. In the absence of RTKIs, the BRET signal is decreased over time as a consequence of the dissociation of agonist from the receptor in intracellular endosomes and recycling of VEGFR2 back to the plasma membrane

A systematic review and meta-analysis of the haemodynamic effects of cannabidiol

Despite cannabidiol (CBD) having numerous cardiovascular effects in vitro, its haemodynamic effects in vivo are unclear. Nonetheless, the clinical use of CBD (Epidiolex) is becoming more widespread. The aim of this systematic review was to establish whether CBD is associated with changes in haemodynamics in vivo. Twenty-five studies that assessed the haemodynamic effects of CBD (from PubMed, Medline and EMBASE) were systematically reviewed and meta-analyzed. Data on blood pressure (BP), heart rate (HR), and blood flow (BF) were extracted and analyzed using random effects models. Twenty-two publications assessed BP and HR among 6 species (BP n = 344 and HR n = 395), and 5 publications assessed BF in 3 species (n = 56) after acute dosing of CBD. Chronic dosing was assessed in 4 publications in 3 species (total subjects BP, n = 6; HR, n = 27; BF, n = 3). Acute CBD dosing had no effect on BP or HR under control conditions. Similarly, chronic dosing with CBD had no effect on HR. In models of stress, acute CBD administration significantly reduced the increase in BP and HR induced by stress (BP, mean difference (MD) −3.54, 95% CI −5.19, −1.9, p < 0.0001; HR, MD −16.23, 95% CI −26.44, −6.02, p = 0.002). In mouse models of stroke, CBD significantly increased cerebral blood flow (CBF, standardized mean difference (SMD) 1.62, 95% CI 0.41, 2.83, p = 0.009). Heterogeneity among the studies was present, there was no publication bias except in HR of control and stressful conditions after acute CBD dosing, and median study quality was 5 out of 9 (ranging from 1 to 8). From the limited data available, we conclude that acute and chronic administration of CBD had no effect on BP or HR under control conditions, but reduces BP and HR in stressful conditions, and increases cerebral blood flow (CBF) in mouse models of stroke. Further studies are required to fully understand the potential haemodynamic effects of CBD in humans under normal and pathological conditions

Effects of novel hybrid and traditional rootstocks on vigour and yield components of Shiraz grapevines

Background and Aims: The influence of grapevine rootstocks on vine vigour and crop yield is recognized as an integral part of viticultural management. However, the genetic potential of Vitis species rootstock hybrids for vigour and yield control is not fully exploited in Australian viticulture. The effect of 55 novel inter- and intra-species hybrids and five traditional hybrid rootstock cultivars on winter pruning weight, berry size and fruit yield of grafted Shiraz vines is presented. The genetic predictions that resulted from this analysis were used to illustrate how rootstocks that best perform for a combination of traits may be selected. Methods and Results: The use of linear mixed models and residual maximum likelihood procedures took into account repeated measures and spatial variation within a large field trial (720 vines). Over 6 years of assessment, variation of up to 93.9% in winter pruning weight, 81.9% in fruit yield and 21.0% in berry weight between rootstocks was estimated. Conclusions: The effect of rootstock genotype accounted for marked differences in conferred pruning weight, berry weight and fruit yield from trial averages. Comparison of statistical analysis techniques illustrated that the choice of such techniques may influence the outcome of genetic selection from field trial data. Significance of the Study: Such quantification of the variation between vines in vigour, fruit yield and berry size due to rootstock genotype provides a framework for selection of well-performing genotypes for inclusion in advanced generations of the CSIRO vine rootstock breeding program