Endogamy and Exogamy

Abstract

Three populations of Cayapo Indians from southern Pará and northern Mato Grosso, Brazil, show similar age distributions and endogamy rates, but low sex ratios and inbreeding rates, in comparison to those of other South American hunters and gatherers with incipient agriculture. Their fertility is moderate with a small variance, and mortality is low. The index of opportunity for selection is one of the lowest calculated so far for groups at this cultural stage. The pattern of exchange between the local groups can be described by the fission‐fusion model of genetic structure.     

!Kung spatial organization: An ecological and historical perspective

The ecological and social bases of spatial organization among hunters and gatherers are examined. After criticizing the patrilocal band model of social organization, the author documents the flexible, nonterritorial groupings of the !Kung Bushmen of Botswana and relates them to rainfall and surface water scarcity and variability. The paper goes on to consider the effects of extra-Bushman contacts on the breakdown of sociospatial organization and finds that the observed flexibility occurred in both the pre- and the postcontact periods. The final section attempts to relate the analysis to general issues. Three areas that need further work if a more valid model of hunter spatial organization is to be developed are the problems of time perspective in research, adaptation to long-term climatic variability, and critical thresholds of population density.     

First record of Isocapnia (Plecoptera: Capniidae) from China with description of a new species

Summary

The winter stonefly genus Isocapnia Banks, 1938??? is mainly distributed in western North America and eastern Asia, but has never been reported from China. In this paper, we report, describe and illustrate a new species of this genus, I. anguis n. sp. from Sichuan Province of China. This is the first record for the genus Isocapnia from China, extending the distribution of Isocapnia into the southwestern China. An identification key to all the Isocapnia species from Asia is provided.???     

The Positional Quality of Life and Death: A Theory of Human–Animal Relations in Animism

ABSTRACT

This article examines human–animal relations in animism. Ethnographies of indigenous peoples in the Americas, Asia, and Africa are compared in order to provide a basic sketch of the remarkable consistency of animism across the world. A central feature that recurs time and again is the positional quality of life and death. That is, life and death are not conceived of as inherent properties but as changeable positions. This is why indigenous hunters, shamans, and diviners temporarily “die” when they participate in the specific rites or cults associated with their respective endeavors. Such metamorphoses of the living into the dead are crucial to understand how hunters engage with their prey, shamans mobilize their animal-helpers, and honey collectors approach their bees. At the same time, these different activities involve the transformation of humans into animals. Chachi bird stalkers and Uduk antelope hunters identify themselves with their quarry, Navajo medicine men and Ainu shamans shape-change into their animallike adversaries, while Batek mourners may adopt a tiger-form. At first sight, such simultaneous metamorphoses (from the living into the dead and from humans into animals) may seem contradictory. Yet, this apparent inconsistency disappears if one realizes that the modern notion of wildlife cannot be applied to animism. I show that the monkeys, deer, whales, tigers, and elephants that indigenous hunters and shamans deal with must be understood as “wild-dead” rather than as wildlife. These various animals are palpable representatives of an expanded realm of death which—I suggest—is characteristic of all forms of animism. In this context, being animate is not sufficient to be considered “alive.”     

Yunotrechus diannanensis n. gen., n. sp., the first troglobitic trechine (Coleoptera: Carabidae) from a tropical area of China

In the present paper Yunotrechus diannanensis n. gen., n. sp. is described and illustrated from two limestone caves which are close to each other in Wenshan and Maguan counties of southern Yunnan Province, southwestern China. Yunotrechus is an anophthalmoid, not directly related to any hypogean trechine genera hitherto known in Yunnan or in southeastern Asian countries because all of them are aphaenopsoids, with elongated prothorax and tumid propleura. The phylogenetic position of Yunotrechus within Trechinae in China or southeastern Asia remains unclear, although it may be related to Superbotrechus Deuve & Tian 2009, which was recorded from western Hubei Province, central China, and Sichuanotrechus Deuve 2006, which was recorded from northern Sichuan Province, southwestern China. Y. diannanensis n. sp. is the first troglobitic trechine beetle discovered in a tropical area of China.     

Mobile Agriculturalists and the Emergence of Sedentism: Perspectives from Northern Mexico

A truism in anthropology is that hunters and gatherers are mobile and agriculturalists are sedentary. Factors affecting residential mobility are examined using data from a Rarámuri (Tarahumara) community of residentially mobile agriculturalists in northern Mexico who move among principal residences, growing-season residences associated with distant fields, winter locations, and a ceremonial center. This case indicates that the unilineal model from mobile hunting and gathering to sedentary agriculture must be broadened and that economic factors alone do not totally determine settlement patterns. Explanatory models related to the causes of sedentism are considered.     

A contribution to the study of the evolution on Hesperis series Matronales CVĚL. emend. DVOŘÁK

The Taxon Hesperis theophrasti BORB . subsp. sintenisii DVOŘÁK subsp. nov. is described. The migration of the species of Hesperis series Matronales took place in a western and southwestern direction from the development centre situated probably in the mountain-ranges bordering northern Asia in the south. In the southwestern migration trent three parts can be distinguished: “The Balkan part of the southwestern migration trend”; “The Asia Minor-Crimea-Caucasus part of the southwestern migration trend”; “The central Asian part of the southwestern migration trend.”     

A synopsis of Costa Rican Ruellia (Acanthaceae), with descriptions of four new species

We describe four new species of Ruellia from Costa Rica; three from the Osa Peninsula, Puntarenas province (R. exilis, R. mira, R. odorata), and one from the southwestern corner of San José province (R. norvegigratiosa). Ruellia matagalpae is reported as a new record for the country. New combinations are made in Ruellia for the two Costa Rican species of Blechum (R. blechum and R. costaricensis). Three species are reduced to synonymy, and another species is considered doubtfully worthy of recognition. Notable range extensions are reported for two species. Corollas and fruits of all 22 Costa Rican species of Ruellia are shown and compared as easily used identification aids. An informal guide to species groups and a dichotomous key to the 22 species are presented.     

Retrospective analysis of census data on general practitioners who qualified in South Asia: who will replace them as they retire?

ObjectivesTo determine the number and geographical distribution of general practitioners in the NHS who qualified medically in South Asia and to project their numbers as they retire.DesignRetrospective analysis of yearly data and projection of future trends.SettingEngland and Wales.SubjectsGeneral practitioners who qualified medically in the countries of Bangladesh, India, Pakistan, and Sri Lanka and who were practising in the NHS on 1 October 1992.Results4192 of 25 333 (16.5%) of all unrestricted general practitioners practising full time on 1 October 1992 qualified in South Asian medical schools. The proportion varied by health authority from 0.007% to 56.5%. Roughly two thirds who were practising in 1992 will have retired by 2007; in some health authorities this will represent a loss of one in four general practitioners. The practices that these doctors will leave seem to be in relatively deprived areas as measured by deprivation payments and a health authority measure of population need.ConclusionMany general practitioners who qualified in South Asian medical schools will retire within the next decade. The impact will vary greatly by health authority. Those health authorities with the greatest number of such doctors are in some of the most deprived areas in the United Kingdom and have experienced the most difficulty in filling vacancies. Various responses will be required by workforce planners to mitigate the impact of these retirements.

Key messages

• Currently, one in six general practitioners practising full time in the NHS qualified medically in a South Asian medical school; two thirds are likely to retire by 2007
• It is unlikely that doctors who qualify in South Asia will be a source of general practice recruitment in the future
• The posts from which South Asian qualifiers are retiring may be more difficult to fill because they are often in practices in areas of higher need
• There is extreme variation in the proportion of total general practitioners who are South Asian qualifiers; flexibility for policy responses should be maintained

     

Bryological collections in Britain

Abstract

A new moss species, Homaliodendron pulchrum, from China, is delimited by its distinct morphology and biogeography. The new species has oblong–spathulate to obovate leaves and an indistinct double costa, which is unique within the genus. Distribution of this new species is restricted to three localities in southwestern and southern China. The new species is described and illustrated and a key to the species of Homaliodendron in Eastern Asia is provided. The systematic position of H. pulchrum is revealed to be sister to H. montagneanum by molecular evidence based on the parsimony and maximum likelihood analyses of nad5 and rps4 sequences.     

Settlement Pattern Variability in Brush Creek Valley,Platte County,Missouri

Abstract

During the summer of 1971, a field party from the Museum of Anthropology at the University of Kansas conducted an intensive archaeological- ·survey along Brush Creek, a tributary of the Missouri River four miles west of Parkville, Missouri. Data collected during this survey provides a preliminary characterization of the local environmental setting and a comparativecontrastive statement on prehistoric settlement pattern variability from the Early Archaic to the Steed-Kisker phase.

Topographic, geological, and botanical features of importance in establishing the parameters of effective biophysical environments for prehistoric occupants are summarized, and four resource zones tentatively identified: an upland prairie zone, an oak-history forest zone, a river-bottom forest zone and the Missouri River itself. Although the time depth for these resource zones is unknown, their presence throughout the history of man’s presence is a possibility.

Aspects of the human occupation and utilization of Brush Creek valley, which began as early as 8000 B.C., are viewed as adaptations to the local environmental setting. During the Archaic period (8000 B.C.-A.D. 1), £rush Creek valley was apparently exploited by hunters and gatherers who established short-duration camps. A large and probably permanent village was established during the period of Kansas City Hopewell occupation (A.D. 1-500), although small, temporary, camps were also in evidence. The Late Woodland occupation (A.D. 500-1 000) is marked by small sites with little evidence of any long term occupation. The final occupation of the valley, by Steed-Kisker peoples (A.D. 1 000-1250), is characterized by a pattern of many small homesteads occupied by populations who made their living through a combination of hunting, gathering, and horticulture.     

Epidemiology of Japanese Encephalitis in the Philippines: A Systematic Review

BackgroundJapanese encephalitis virus (JEV) is an important cause of encephalitis in most of Asia, with high case fatality rates and often significant neurologic sequelae among survivors. The epidemiology of JE in the Philippines is not well defined. To support consideration of JE vaccine for introduction into the national schedule in the Philippines, we conducted a systematic literature review and summarized JE surveillance data from 2011 to 2014.MethodsWe conducted searches on Japanese encephalitis and the Philippines in four databases and one library. Data from acute encephalitis syndrome (AES) and JE surveillance and from the national reference laboratory from January 2011 to March 2014 were tabulated and mapped.ResultsWe identified 29 published reports and presentations on JE in the Philippines, including 5 serologic surveys, 18 reports of clinical cases, and 8 animal studies (including two with both clinical cases and animal data). The 18 clinical studies reported 257 cases of laboratory-confirmed JE from 1972 to 2013. JE virus (JEV) was the causative agent in 7% to 18% of cases of clinical meningitis and encephalitis combined, and 16% to 40% of clinical encephalitis cases. JE predominantly affected children under 15 years of age and 6% to 7% of cases resulted in death. Surveillance data from January 2011 to March 2014 identified 73 (15%) laboratory-confirmed JE cases out of 497 cases tested.SummaryThis comprehensive review demonstrates the endemicity and extensive geographic range of JE in the Philippines, and supports the use of JE vaccine in the country. Continued and improved surveillance with laboratory confirmation is needed to systematically quantify the burden of JE, to provide information that can guide prioritization of high risk areas in the country and determination of appropriate age and schedule of vaccine introduction, and to measure the impact of preventive measures including immunization against this important public health threat.     

Radiotherapy in small countries

AimTo examine the availability of radiotherapy in small countries.MethodsA small country was defined as a country with a population less than one million persons. The economic status of each country was defined using the World Bank Classification. The number of cancers in each country was obtained from GLOBOCAN 2012. The number of cancer cases with an indication or radiotherapy was calculated using the CCORE model.ResultsThere were 41 countries with a population of under 1 million; 15 were classified as High Income, 15 Upper Middle Income, 10 Lower Middle Income and one Low Income. 28 countries were islands. Populations ranged from 799 (Holy See) to 886450 (Fiji) and the total number of cancer cases occurring in small countries was 21,043 (range by country from 4 to 2476). Overall the total number of radiotherapy cases in small countries was 10982 (range by country from 2 to 1239). Radiotherapy was available in all HIC islands with 80 or more new cases of cancer in 2012 but was not available in any LMIC island. Fiji was the only LMIC island with a large radiotherapy caseload. Similar caseloads in non-island LMIC all had radiotherapy services. Most non-island HIC did not have radiotherapy services presumably because of the easy access to radiotherapy in neighbouring countries.ConclusionThere are no radiotherapy services in any LMIC islands.     

High genetic diversity in southwest Asian populations of Philaenus spumarius (Hemiptera: Auchenorrhyncha)

The genus Philaenus is one of the best investigated among Auchenorrhyncha, and several morphological, ecological, karyological, and molecular data have led to a designation of up to 10 species, distributed mainly in the Mediterranean and south-western Asia. The only widespread Palaearctic species, P. spumarius, is known to be structured phylogeographically as it consists of two highly divergent mitochondrial clades (northeast, NE and southwest, SW), with several subclades. This study contributes to the species phylogeography through the study of the genetic diversity and affinity of P. spumarius populations from southwestern Asia. Mitochondrial DNA (cytochrome B) show a high level of genetic diversity within Turkish and Iranian populations, the majority of which belong to the SW clade, and only single populations from northeastern Turkey are found to be substantially highly divergent lineages within the NE clade. One of the NE populations also showed significant differences in the distribution and amount of heterochromatin compared to other populations. According to the results of this study and previous phylogenetic and phylogeographic works on this species, we conclude that Southwestern Asia is probably the place of origin of the Philaenus spumarius.     

Potential distribution of Schistocerca gregaria gregaria in southwestern Asia

1. The northern subspecies of desert locust Schistocerca gregaria gregaria has recently expanded into western Asia. It poses a serious threat to food security in areas that are already socially and politically unstable. Its further expansion into other parts of southwestern Asia is an issue of great concern (e.g., China).
2. We assembled S. g. gregaria occurrence records that were accumulated by the Food and Agriculture Organization and environmental variables that summarized aspects of climate, soil condition and vegetation. We predicted the potential distribution of S. g. gregaria via the fine-tuned Maxent model and ensemble ecological niche model approaches.
3. The models predicted that India and other southwestern Asian countries face high risk of S. g. gregaria invasion because of the presence of suitable habitats and the absence of natural barriers that would prevent S. g. gregaria dispersal into these areas. By contrast, the risk of S. g. gregaria invasion in China is low because the suitability values were very low. Moreover, the Tianshan Mountains, the Kunlun Mountains and the Himalaya Mountains may act as natural barriers against S. g. gregaria dispersal.
4. Responses of S. g. gregaria to these environmental variables were modelled using fine-tuned Maxent models.

     

Hunters and hunting patterns in part of the Kaimanawa Recreational Hunting Area

Abstract

A postal survey of 156 hunters who used the three southeastern-most hunting blocks in the Kaimanawa Recreational Hunting Area (RHA) in 1986 and 1987 achieved a 74% response rate. Comparison of age distributions from this and earlier hunter surveys confirmed an apparent decline in recruitment of young hunters entering the sport during the 1980s. Most hunters had considerable experience (>10 years) and were motivated not only by hunting success but also by the aesthetic value of the outdoor experience. The prime motivation for hunting in the Kaimanawa RHA was the presence of sika deer, and more than two-thirds of the hunters came from outside the Tongariro/Taupo Conservancy. Hunting pressure over current sika deer range in the central North Island may decline if this species continues to disperse naturally or through illegal liberations to other areas. Most (80%) hunters felt that deer densities were acceptable and were satisfied with the present unrestricted hunting system. Fewer than half (41%) the respondents were in favour of active management in the Kaimanawa RHA. Suggestions for active management focused on increasing hunter safety and increasing hunting success rates. Deer densities, as indicated by faecal pellet counts, were inversely related to hunting pressure. Variation in hunting pressure between areas was caused mainly by differences in accessibility. This indicates some potential for manipulation of deer density through options such as increasing access to remote areas or restrictions on hunting pressure.     

The bryophyte flora of northern Iturup (north-west Pacific): between the circumboreal and East Asian floristic regions

Introduction. The Kuril Islands Chain demarcates the boundary between the circumpolar and East Asian floras in the amphi-Pacific and is a trans-Oceanic migration route from warm-temperate insular East Asia to north-east Asia and Beringia. This paper reviews the flora of the northern part of Iturup Island in regards to its bryogeography and taxonomic diversity, as well as its relative position among other bryophyte floras of north-east and East Asia.

Methods. The paper uses morphological methods to identify the species composition and detrended correspondence analysis to identify the position of the northern Iturup Island in the system of local floras of the eastern, extra-tropical, Pacific.

Key results. The flora is closely related to the bryophyte floras of the southern Kurils and Hokkaido Island, but has been found to be distinctly distant from the ‘true’ cool-temperate East Asian floras, as well as from the boreal and hemiarctic floras of north-east Asia. Instead, the floras of the south Kurils and northern Hokkaido Island belong to a peculiar intermediate phytogeographic province that cannot be unambiguously placed in either the East Asian or circumboreal floristic regions. The hemiboreal character of the bryophyte flora of northern Iturup Island is in contrast to the general appearance of many of the dominant vegetation communities on the island, which are more characteristic of the hemiarctic.

Conclusion. There is no robust evidence to refer the bryophyte flora of northern Iturup either to the circumboreal or East Asian Floristic Region, the flora belongs to a unique intermediate province between the two regions.     

Taro (<Emphasis Type="Italic">Colocasia esculenta</Emphasis> [L.] Schott) Cultivation in Vertical Wet-Dry Environments: Farmers’ Techniques and Cultivar Diversity in Southwestern Ethiopia

Taro (Colocasia esculenta [L.] Schott) Cultivation in Vertical Wet-Dry Environments: Farmers’ Techniques and Cultivar Diversity in Southwestern Ethiopia. Taro (Colocasia esculenta [L.] Schott) is a food crop that was domesticated in Asia and the Pacific region and is now grown in the humid tropics. Following its arrival in Africa in ancient times, it may have adapted to the drier environments. In this ethnographic study, I present a particular case of taro cultivation and uses by a group of farmers in the mountains of southwestern Ethiopia. There are 36 named cultivars of taro for which diversity is maintained through different cultivation techniques and culinary practices in wet and dry environments that vary in elevation. Because taro in dry lowland environments has recently been replaced by the introduction of new crops, it is possible that the drought-tolerant eddoe-type cultivars, which are traditionally dominant in Africa, are now in danger of disappearing.     

Three Small Points: A Cody Complex Problem

Abstract

Three small points which resemble larger Cody Complex projectile points are related to this Complex on the basis of technological and shape attributes. It is concluded that several factors underlie occurrence of tiny Cody points. Resharpening of larger points accounts for one pattern. In addition, diminutive points were produced using two alternative sets of technological procedures. It is suggested that these points were not used in subsistence activities and may reflect ceremonial or symbolic activities practiced by late Paleo-Indian bison hunters.     

An artificial intelligence model to identify snakes from across the world: Opportunities and challenges for global health and herpetology

BackgroundSnakebite envenoming is a neglected tropical disease that kills an estimated 81,000 to 138,000 people and disables another 400,000 globally every year. The World Health Organization aims to halve this burden by 2030. To achieve this ambitious goal, we need to close the data gap in snake ecology and snakebite epidemiology and give healthcare providers up-to-date knowledge and access to better diagnostic tools. An essential first step is to improve the capacity to identify biting snakes taxonomically. The existence of AI-based identification tools for other animals offers an innovative opportunity to apply machine learning to snake identification and snakebite envenoming, a life-threatening situation.MethodologyWe developed an AI model based on Vision Transformer, a recent neural network architecture, and a comprehensive snake photo dataset of 386,006 training photos covering 198 venomous and 574 non-venomous snake species from 188 countries. We gathered photos from online biodiversity platforms (iNaturalist and HerpMapper) and a photo-sharing site (Flickr).Principal findingsThe model macro-averaged F1 score, which reflects the species-wise performance as averaging performance for each species, is 92.2%. The accuracy on a species and genus level is 96.0% and 99.0%, respectively. The average accuracy per country is 94.2%. The model accurately classifies selected venomous and non-venomous lookalike species from Southeast Asia and sub-Saharan Africa.ConclusionsTo our knowledge, this model’s taxonomic and geographic coverage and performance are unprecedented. This model could provide high-speed and low-cost snake identification to support snakebite victims and healthcare providers in low-resource settings, as well as zoologists, conservationists, and nature lovers from across the world.