Combatting neo-Colonialism in Health Research: What can Aboriginal Health Research Ethics and Global Health Research Ethics Teach Each Other?

The ethics of research involving Aboriginal populations and low and middle-income country populations each developed out of a long history of exploitative research projects and partnerships. Commonalities and differences between the two fields have not yet been examined. This study undertook two independent literature searches for Aboriginal health research ethics and global health research ethics. Content analysis identified shared and differently emphasised ethical principles and concepts between the two fields. Shared ethical concepts like “benefit” and “capacity development” have been developed to guide collaborations in both Aboriginal health research and global health research. However, Aboriginal health research ethics gives much greater prominence to ethical principles that assist in decolonising research practice such as “self-determination”, “community-control”, and “community ownership”. The paper argues that global health research ethics would benefit from giving greater emphasis to these principles to guide research practice, while justice as approached in global health research ethics may inform Aboriginal health research practice. With increasing attention being drawn to the need to decolonise global health research, the lessons Aboriginal health research ethics can offer may be especially timely.

The influence of planting schemes, norms and inoculants on the yield of new soybean varieties

In this article, data about the new native variety of Nafis and variety of Selekta-302 is described which was brought from Krasnodar region of the Russian Federation in the conditions of irrigated meadow-gray soils of Samarkand region, seed germination in field conditions, storage, growth, development, productivity, yield composition, the optimal planting schemes, norms have been identified and recommended for implementation. In the second experiment, in the conditions of irrigated meadow-gray soils, local Nafis variety and Selekta-302 variety of Krasnodar regions included in the State Register, imported strains of Bradyrhizobium japonica endogenous bacteria produced in our republic and aboriginal populations bacterium present in local soil. The results of the study on the effect of inoculants studied and their effect on plant development, the number and weight dynamics of stems formed in plant roots, crop structure, yield, weight of 1000 seeds, as well as their effectiveness are described.

Characteristics of limiting factors affecting the state of hunting resources of Ukraine

The abundance of game animals that are in a state of natural freedom, as a natural resource of national importance, is the result of a number of different factors, which are divided into three main groups according to their origin and functional role. The feeding potential and the quality of protective features of habitats of wild animals are the main biotic factors determining the category of value of a particular kind of land, which should theoretically form the quantitative state and structure of aboriginal populations of animals and birds. Although direct dependence between the quality of hunting grounds and the abundance of faunal components of the biocoenosis was not revealed. A comparative classification of hunting grounds was carried out in accordance with the class of bonitet within the natural zones. It is determined that the low actual level of efficiency of national hunting in the research area does not correspond to the high average indicators of value categories (creditworthiness) of lands. At the same time, a significant additional role of the professional hunting approach to hunting management is observed. The highest profitability of hunting is where the highest level of intensity and quality of hunting management measures, in particular protection and biotechnical measures, are applied. Own observations confirmed by the analysis of state statistical reporting indicate the potential for biotechnological improvement of the value category of lands. In farms where wildlife management measures are regularly performed, the abundance of predators is controlled, measures against illegal hunting are carried out, as well as other anthropogenic factors are controlled, in particular where chemicals and environmental management of agriculture and forestry are observed, additional feeding sources for game animals is provided. In such farms, hunting performance indicators (achieving optimal numbers and the degree of use of hunting resources) are higher than in other farms with a similar natural potential. It has been established that, in addition to the quality of land, the following influencing factors have a limiting effect on the quantitative and qualitative state of populations of the main game species: anthropogenic factors such as illegal hunting and low professional level of hunting; biotic factors such as predation by wolves. The effect of other factors having a negative impact is not limiting.

An in-depth analysis of the mitochondrial phylogenetic landscape of Cambodia

Cambodia harbours a variety of human aboriginal populations that have scarcely been studied in terms of genetic diversity of entire mitochondrial genomes. Here we present the matrilineal gene pool of 299 Cambodian refugees from three different ethnic groups (Cham, Khmer, and Khmer Loeu) deriving from 16 Cambodian districts. After establishing a DNA-saving high-throughput strategy for mitochondrial whole-genome Sanger sequencing, a HaploGrep based workflow was used for quality control, haplogroup classification and phylogenetic reconstruction. The application of diverse phylogenetic algorithms revealed an exciting picture of the genetic diversity of Cambodia, especially in relation to populations from Southeast Asia and from the whole world. A total of 224 unique haplotypes were identified, which were mostly classified under haplogroups B5a1, F1a1, or categorized as newly defined basal haplogroups or basal sub-branches of R, N and M clades. The presence of autochthonous maternal lineages could be confirmed as reported in previous studies. The exceptional homogeneity observed between and within the three investigated Cambodian ethnic groups indicates genetic isolation of the whole population. Between ethnicities, genetic barriers were not detected. The mtDNA data presented here increases the phylogenetic resolution in Cambodia significantly, thereby highlighting the need for an update of the current human mtDNA phylogeny.

Indigenous Resilience in Australia: A Scoping Review Using a Reflective Decolonizing Collective Dialogue

Contemporary definitions and understandings of resilience refer to an individual's positive adaptation to the experience of adversity. One of the challenges of this extant body of work is that the central concept of resilience is rarely questioned. Current understandings of these concepts, largely framed in Western understandings, are unquestioningly accepted, reframed for, yet not by, Indigenous peoples, and then are unchallenged when imposed on Indigenous peoples. A scoping review was conducted and reported in line with the PRISMA-ScR guidelines. The review involved the participation of local Aboriginal Research Cultural Advisory Groups who participated and approved the analysis of the findings and collaborated on the design and writing of the paper. Eight publications drew on Aboriginal constructs of resilience in examining the effectiveness of programs, processes, and practices to promote individual and/or collective resilience and well-being. Most studies emphasized the need for strategies to strengthen individual or community connection to culture to foster resilience. Six studies used culturally validated strength-based tools to measure resilience, while two relied on Western constructs. This review reveals both the distinctive colonial characteristics of adversity experienced by Aboriginal people and the range of coping strategies and protective resources that support the development of resilience within different Aboriginal communities in diverse research sites across Australia. Importantly, many studies confirm adversity is linked to the enduring legacies of colonization, continuous and cumulative transgenerational grief and loss, structural inequities, racism, and discrimination. These external factors of adversity are unique to Aboriginal populations, as are the protective factors that entail strengthening connection to culture (including language reclamation), community, ancestry and land (including management and economic development) which contribute to individual and collective resilience. These findings suggest that Aboriginal community resilience is strengthened through the collective experience of adversity, such as transgenerational grief and loss, and the resulting support structures and shared resources that are developed and maintained through cultural practices to strengthen the bonds and mutual reciprocity to participate in transformative strategies to address adversity. This review highlights that strategies such as building on community strengths, capacities, and resources is critical when strengthening resilience within Indigenous communities across Australia.

Extraction of Aural Foreign Bodies in a Rural Setting: 10-Year Review and a Novel Method to Remove Magnetic Stones

Background: The external auditory canal’s unique anatomical characteristics made the presence of foreign bodies (FBs) a clinical challenge, particularly in rural settings without ready access to tertiary care and specialist intervention. Aims: Our study surveys the experience in aural FBs surgical management in a rural Australian tertiary center. It proposes a safe, easy, and affordable technique to remove stones from the ear canal. Methods: We have completed a 10-year retrospective surgical chart review, including 474 patients (52 adults and 428 children) requiring surgical management to remove aural FBs at the Royal Darwin Hospital, Northern Territory, Australia. We surveyed for patient demographics, foreign-body description, complications, location, and removal attempts. We identified what factors determine the need for surgical management and propose a technique for a safe, uncomplicated, and affordable removal of stones from the ear canal after applying this method in a small subgroup. Results: The most common FBs requiring surgery in children were stones. A predominance in the Aboriginal population from remote communities was found, leading to a nasal bridle magnet technique to remove stones in rural settings. This method reduces the number of extraction attempts of the most frequent FB found in children’s ears, aiming to minimize complications, negative experiences, and health cost. Conclusion: Contrary to international literature, stones were found to be the most common FB in remote aboriginal populations. The proposed technique reduces the number of extraction attempts of the most frequent FB found in children’s ears, aiming to minimize complications, negative experiences, and health cost.

‘We're Hands-On People’: Healing Diabetes in the Absence of Traditional Healers in an Aboriginal Community in Northern Territory, Australia.

This study of a remote Aboriginal community in Australia’s Northern Territory in 2014 sought to understand diabetes from a local Aboriginal perspective. Participants drew on a variety of holistic healing methods in the absence of an individual or individuals identified as holding a healing role in the community. The study offers an alternative to the common assumption that all communities can identify specific individuals as Aboriginal healers who are central to maintaining Aboriginal beliefs and wellbeing who contribute to holistic health (Clarke 2008; Maher 1999; McDonald 2006; Seathre 2013; Williams 2011). This research found the seven adult Aboriginal diabetes patients participating in the longitudinal ethnographic study actively engaged in self-healing strategies. Moreover, diabetes clinicians could combine local remedies and biomedical treatment to heal diabetes within the clinic, as well as actively engaging the patient in their own treatment, effective to reduce the symptoms and prevalence of diabetes in Aboriginal populations.