scholarly journals Q fever in South Australia: an outbreak in a meat-works

1962 ◽  
Vol 60 (1) ◽  
pp. 1-20 ◽  
Author(s):  
Margaret D. Beech ◽  
A. E. Duxbury ◽  
Peter Warner

This paper consists of an epidemiological study of 52 cases of Q fever occurring in metropolitan Adelaide in 1957 and also a description of the results of a survey of 516 sera obtained from abattoir workers.The only case occurring outside the abattoirs was a dairy farmer who probably became infected while visiting the abattoirs. If this were so the incubation period (35 days) of his disease would have been exceptionally long.The general features of the outbreak, which lasted several months, differed from those on the North American continent in that the latter occurred explosively within a few days with very high attack rates. The situation in the Adelaide abattoirs is similar to that in Brisbane, where the disease appears to be endemic. However, unlike in Adelaide, cases are commonly recognized outside the abattoirs in Brisbane.In the abattoirs the disease affected mainly inspectors, those working on killing beef, and those working on offal. Mutton workers were not so severely affected. However, all these groups had similar incidences of low titre antibodies suggesting that in the past Q fever spread equally in all killing departments. In departments not directly associated with slaughtering the incidence both of cases in 1957 and low titre antibodies was relatively small.It was suggested that the epidemiological features of Q fever in Adelaide could be explained by the irregular appearance of animals from infected herds situated perhaps in Queensland—a known endemic area. Perhaps the appearance of such animals in the Adelaide abattoirs might be governed by meteorological conditions such that they were prevented from going to the ordinarily most convenient slaughterhouse.

Author(s):  
Richard Campanella

As an urbanized river-dominated delta, New Orleans, Louisiana, ranks among the most experimental of cities, a test of whether the needs of a stable human settlement can coexist with the fluidity of a deltaic environment—and what happens when they do not. That natural environment bestowed upon New Orleans numerous advantages, among them abundant fresh water, fertile soils, productive wetlands and, above all, expedient passage between maritime and continental realms. But with those advantages came exposure to potential hazards—an overflowing Mississippi River, a tempestuous Gulf of Mexico, sinking soils, eroding coasts, rising seas, biotic invasion, pestilence, political and racial discord, conflagration—made all the worse by the high levels of social vulnerability borne by all too many members of New Orleans’ population. More so than any other major metropolis on the North American continent, this history of disaster and response is about the future of New Orleans as much as it is about the past. This article examines two dozen disasters of various types and scales, with origins oftentimes traceable to anthropogenic manipulation of the natural environment, and assesses the nature of New Orleans’ responses. It frames these assessments in the “risk triangle” framework offered by David Crichton and other researchers, which views urban risk as a function of hazard, exposure, and vulnerability. “Hazard” implies the disastrous event or trauma itself; “exposure” means human proximity to the hazard, usually in the form of settlement patterns, and “vulnerability” indicates individuals’ and communities’ ability to respond resiliently and adaptively—which itself is a function of education, income, age, race, language, social capital, and other factors—after having been exposed to a hazard.


2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Andrea D Wolfe ◽  
Paul D Blischak ◽  
Laura Kubatko

Abstract. Penstemon (Plantaginaceae), the largest genus of plants native to North America, represents a recent continental evolutionary radiation. We investigated patterns of diversification, phylogenetic relationships, and biogeography, and determined the age of the lineage using 43 nuclear gene loci. We also assessed the current taxonomic circumscription of the ca. 285 species by developing a phylogenetic taxonomic bootstrap method. Penstemon originated during the Pliocene/Pleistocene transition. Patterns of diversification and biogeography are associated with glaciation cycles during the Pleistocene, with the bulk of diversification occurring from 1.0-0.5 mya. The radiation across the North American continent tracks the advance and retreat of major and minor glaciation cycles during the past 2.5 million years with founder-event speciation contributing the most to diversification of Penstemon. Our taxonomic bootstrap analyses suggest the current circumscription of the genus is in need of revision. We propose rearrangement of subgenera, sections, and subsections based on our phylogenetic results. Given the young age and broad distribution of Penstemon across North America, it offers an excellent system for studying a rapid evolutionary radiation in a continental setting.


2020 ◽  
Vol 71 ◽  
pp. 1-17
Author(s):  
Sidse Birk Johannsen

ABSTRACT: The revitalization process among indigenous people on the North American continent has been increasing since the beginning of the 20th century, especially after 1960 (Paldam 2017, 136 Fonda 2012, 172, Wallace 1956). In Greenland, there are examples of cultural revitalization dating back to the 1970s, but interest in Inuit culture and religion has especially increased over the past decade (Krutak 2014, 55 Pedersen 2014, 51). The purpose of this paper is to clarify the differences and variations of where and how the flourishing of Inuit traditions is expressed in today’s Greenlandic society. The paper highlights variations and differences between mainstream culture and niche religiosity and presents a model for categorizing different groupings in the field. Finally, the revitalization process is discussed as respectively an ethno particular niche religion or a New Age tendency with a global outlook. DANSK RESUME: Revitaliseringstendensen blandt oprindelige folk har været stigende på det nordamerikanske kontinent siden begyndelsen af 1900-tallet og særligt efter 1960 (Paldam 2017, 136; Fonda 2012, 17, Wallace 1956). I Grønland findes der eksempler på kulturel revitalisering tilbage til 1970’erne; men opblomstringen af inuitiske traditioner og religion er særligt højnet det seneste årti (Krutak 2014, 55; Pedersen 2014, 51). Denne artikels formål er at tydeliggøre de forskellige variationer af, hvor og hvordan opblomstringen af inuitiske traditioner kommer til udtryk i nutidens grønlandske samfund. Artiklen fremhæver variationer og forskelle imellem mainstreamkultur og nichereligiøsitet og præsenterer en model til kategorisering af forskellige grupperinger i feltet. Afsluttende diskuteres revitaliseringsprocessen som henholdsvis etnopartikulær nichereligion eller New Age-tendens med globalt udsyn.


1950 ◽  
Vol 6 (04) ◽  
pp. 431-449 ◽  
Author(s):  
Joseph O. Baylen ◽  
Dorothy Woodward

On September 26, 1786, Don Francisco de Miranda, adventurer and patriot, secured a passport from the Austrian Minister in Constantinople which enabled him to continue his “grand tour” to Russia. The nature of Miranda’s subsequent visit, and the extent to which his reception at the court of Catherine II influenced Spanish and Russian policy, assumes significance in the light of events on the North American continent immediately preceding and during his stay in Russia.


2005 ◽  
Vol 119 (1) ◽  
pp. 82 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kathleen L. Londry ◽  
Pascal H. Badiou ◽  
Stephen E. Grasby

The chlorophycean alga Percursaria percursa (Ulvaceae, Ulvales, Chlorophyceae), typical of marine inter-tidal zones, is reported for the first time from hypersaline springs located along the north-western shore of Lake Winnipegosis in Manitoba. Although not usually found inland, P. percursa is the dominant member of microbial mat communities that thrive in shallow pools at the outlets of hypersaline springs.


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