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Interest and technological know-how in cell-based meat production has grown tremendously in recent years. The appeal is wide ranging, but two main drivers include: i) the possibility of producing edible meat without requiring the slaughter of sentient animals; and ii) the potential to significantly reduce the environmental impact of animal agriculture. Owing to these potential benefits, proponents have called for major government investments in cell-based meat to further develop the technology and help launch the industry. This article critically examines the environmental promise of cell-based meat, focussing specifically on its potential role in climate change mitigation, and specifically within the context of Canada’s agri-food sector. The analysis is founded upon a comparison of available life cycle greenhouse gas assessments of cell-based and conventional meat, supplemented with contextual data about the Canadian agri-food sector. Cell-based meat in Canada is found to have a likely carbon footprint similar in scale to poultry meat, pork, and beef from dairy cattle, though considerably lower than meat from beef cattle. Alongside these findings and additional contextual factors pertaining to Canada’s agri-food sector, the paper argues that cell-based meat is best understood as one tool among many which could potentially support greenhouse gas emissions reductions in domestic food production if supporting conditions are met, not a silver bullet climate solution obtained by fully replacing conventional meat.

In recent years there have been increasing calls for “global dietary transition” in order to save the planet and improve human health. One troubling development associated with this is the attempt to delineate in universal terms what constitutes a sustainable and healthy diet. This perspective takes issue with this development, and specifically refutes one increasingly popular dietary narrative which calls for people to avoid red meat and dairy, and which portrays the local food movement as a romantic distraction. In contrast, the paper provides evidence of a range of sustainability and health benefits associated with both local food systems and the agri-food system’s inclusion of ruminants (the suborder of mammals from which humans mostly derive red meat and dairy). Finally, the perspective calls for a pluralist and multi-scalar approach to the multifaceted challenges associated with food production.

A second-year engineering course at the authors’ institution was offered via a blended synchronous learning (BSL) method of delivery whereby students could choose to attend lectures live (face-to-face) or remotely (via a synchronous, live stream over the internet) during a summer semester. Survey and grade data were collected across two years of this offering. Attendance, interaction, communication with the instructor, and general distractions were main themes affecting the student learning experience both positively and negatively. Specifically, students found the remote access, the ability to ask questions, the teaching style, and having more time during the summer semester as positive aspects to their learning experience. Negative influences on their learning experience related primarily to their busy work schedules, technological issues associated with BSL, and typical summer distractions. Critically, our results indicate that attendance is a key indicator of student grades (after correcting for GPA), regardless of whether students attended lectures remotely or face-to-face: students attending more than 75% of the lectures performed on average 12% better than students who did not (p=0.0093). The consensus in the student comments was that the remote attendance option allowed students to attend in situations where the alternative was no attendance at all, implying that the potential gain in grades due to higher attendance may outweigh any potential impact the mode of attendance may have. Overall, a synchronous, remote attendance option may provide a lifeline to students who would not otherwise be able to attend a course, and (assuming a mode of interaction, such as the synchronous chat, is available) students do not perceive remote attendance as having a negative influence on their learning. Un cours de deuxième année en génie dans l’établissement de l’auteur a été offert par le biais de l’apprentissage mixte synchrone, où les étudiants pouvaient choisir d’assister aux cours magistraux en personne ou à distance (par le biais de diffusions synchrones sur internet) au cours d’un semestre d’été. Des données ont été recueillies (sondages et données sur les notes obtenues) au cours de deux années pendant lesquelles ce cours avait été offert selon cette méthode. L’assiduité, l’interaction et la communication avec l’instructeur, ainsi que les distractions générales, étaient les thèmes principaux qui ont affecté l’apprentissage des étudiants, tant positivement que négativement. Plus précisément, les étudiants ont trouvé que l’accès au cours à distance, la possibilité de poser des questions, le style d’enseignement et le fait d’avoir davantage de temps au cours du semestre d’été avaient été des aspects positifs de leur expérience d’apprentissage. Les aspects négatifs de cette expérience d’apprentissage étaient principalement liés à leur emploi du temps chargé, aux problèmes d’ordre technique liés à cette méthode d’enseignement, ainsi qu’aux distractions typiques de la saison d’été. De façon critique, nos résultats indiquent que l’assiduité est un indicateur clé des notes obtenues par les étudiants (après correction pour la moyenne pondérée cumulative), quelle qu’ait été la manière d’assister au cours de l’étudiant (à distance ou en personne) : les étudiants qui avaient assisté à 75 % des classes avaient en général obtenu de meilleures notes (12 %) que les étudiants qui n’avaient pas été assidus (p=0,0093). Le consensus observé dans les commentaires des étudiants était que la participation au cours à distance avait permis aux étudiants d’assister aux classes dans des situations où l’alternative aurait été de ne pas y assister du tout, ce qui implique que le potentiel d’obtenir de meilleures notes grâce à une meilleure assiduité pourrait peser davantage que n’importe quel impact causé par la manière de participer au cours. Globalement, l’option de participation synchrone à distance pourrait offrir une bouée de sauvetage aux étudiants qui, sans cela, ne seraient pas en mesure de suivre un cours, et (en supposant qu’il existe un mode d’interaction, tel que le clavardage synchrone) que les étudiants ne perçoivent pas que l’assiduité à distance a une influence négative sur leur apprentissage.

Infants born at ≤32 +6 weeks gestation are at higher risk for intracranial ischemic and hemorrhagic injuries, which often occur in the first 72 hours postbirth. Antenatal strategies to reduce the incidence of acute brain injuries include administering maternal corticosteroids and prompt antibiotic treatment for chorioamnionitis. Perinatal strategies include delivery within a tertiary centre, delayed cord clamping, and preventing hypothermia. Postnatal strategies include empiric treatment with antibiotics when chorioamnionitis is suspected, the cautious use of inotropes, the avoidance of blood PCO2 fluctuation, and neutral head positioning. Clinicians should be aware of the policies and procedures that, especially when combined, can provide neuroprotection for preterm infants.

In order to address the vitality of the microbial world, to detect emerging infectious diseases, to determine their potential threat to public health, and to establish effective interventions, the World Health Organization (WHO) has developed and coordinates the Global Outbreak Alert and Response Network (GOARN) which connects several surveillance networks. Some of these networks are specific to epidemic-prone diseases, such as influenza, dengue, yellow fever or meningitis. Others were especially designed to track unusual events--such as the emergence of SARS--that are naturally-occurring, accidental, or deliberately created (biological weapons, bio-terrorism). Lastly, a special effort is being made at the international level to modernize the International Health Regulations, now obsolete, and to support all the countries in the reinforcement of their outbreak alert and response capacity.