Family allowances in great Britain,Canada, Australia and New Zealand

Abstract

Methods derived from stable population theory are employed to estimate the effect emigration is exerting upon the capacity of a Southwest Indian reservation population to develop economically. This capacity is measured by age‐structure‐dependent demographic indices which have been shown to affect the availability of development funds. Emigration is found to be absorbing all of the current positive growth of the population, decreasing and aging the available labor force and increasing the dependency burden upon nondependent members of the population. It is concluded that emigration affects the population structure in a way that could hinder economic development of the reservation population.     

A Multi-Site Study of Norovirus Molecular Epidemiology in Australia and New Zealand, 2013-2014

BackgroundNorovirus (NoV) is the major cause of acute gastroenteritis across all age groups. In particular, variants of genogroup II, genotype 4 (GII.4) have been associated with epidemics globally, occurring approximately every three years. The pandemic GII.4 variant, Sydney 2012, was first reported in early 2012 and soon became the predominant circulating NoV strain globally. Despite its broad impact, both clinically and economically, our understanding of the fundamental diversity and mechanisms by which new NoV strains emerge remains limited. In this study, we describe the molecular epidemiological trends of NoV-associated acute gastroenteritis in Australia and New Zealand between January 2013 and June 2014.MethodologyOverall, 647 NoV-positive clinical faecal samples from 409 outbreaks and 238 unlinked cases of acute gastroenteritis were examined by RT-PCR and sequencing. Phylogenetic analysis was then performed to identify NoV capsid genotypes and to establish the temporal dominance of circulating pandemic GII.4 variants. Recombinant viruses were also identified based on analysis of the ORF1/2 overlapping region.FindingsPeaks in NoV activity were observed, however the timing of these epidemics varied between different regions. Overall, GII.4 NoVs were the dominant cause of both outbreaks and cases of NoV-associated acute gastroenteritis (63.1%, n = 408/647), with Sydney 2012 being the most common GII.4 variant identified (98.8%, n = 403/408). Of the 409 reported NoV outbreaks, aged-care facilities were the most common setting in both Western Australia (87%, n = 20/23) and New Zealand (58.1%, n = 200/344) while most of the NoV outbreaks were reported from hospitals (38%, n = 16/42) in New South Wales, Australia. An analysis of a subset of non-GII.4 viruses from all locations (125/239) showed the majority (56.8%, n = 71/125) were inter-genotype recombinants. These recombinants were surprisingly diverse and could be classified into 18 distinct recombinant types, with GII.P16/GII.13 (24% of recombinants) the most common.ConclusionThis study revealed that following its emergence in 2012, GII.4 Sydney 2012 variant continued to be the predominant cause of NoV-associated acute gastroenteritis in Australia and New Zealand between 2013 and 2014.     

Indigenous Peoples, State-Sanctioned Knowledge, and the Politics of Recognition

Invisible Indigenes: The Politics of Nonrecognition . Bruce G. Miller. Lincoln: University of Nebraska Press, 2003. 248 pp.
Forgotten Tribes: Unrecognized Indians and the Federal Acknowledgement Process . Mark Edwin Miller. Lincoln: University of Nebraska Press, 2004. 355 pp.
Gambling and Survival in Native North America . Paul Pasquaretta. Tucson: University of Arizona Press, 2003. 202 pp.     

Reproduction, spawning, and development of 5 ophiuroids from Australia and New Zealand

Abstract. Reproduction and development in 5 brittle stars: Ophiactis resiliens, Ophionereis fasciata, Ophiothrix caespitosa, Ophiothrix spongicola , and Ophionereis schayeri were investigated in a series of laboratory spawning and fertilization trials. Ophiactis resiliens spawned in 90% of trials, both spontaneously (in response to disturbance) and after temperature and light shock. Ophiothrix caespitosa and Ophiothrix spongicola spawned in 100% of trials, largely due to spontaneous gamete release. In contrast, Ophionereis fasciata and Ophionereis schayeri spawned in only 32% and 50% of trials respectively, and only in response to temperature and light shock. All 5 species required an aggregation of males and females for spawning and fertilization. The breeding periods of each species, estimated from the spawning trials, are reported. Eggs of Ophiactis resiliens, Ophionereis fasciata, Ophiothrix caespitosa , and Ophiothrix spongicola were 83 μm, 99 μm, 105 μm, and 128 μm in diameter, respectively, and all underwent planktotrophic development through an ophiopluteus. Eggs of Ophionereis schayeri were 241 μm in diameter and underwent lecithotrophic development through an armless bilateral larva that secondarily transformed into a radial vitellaria. The two Ophionereis species, with differing modes of development, provide an ideal opportunity to examine life-history evolution within a clade; however, these species were the most difficult to spawn. Ophiactis resiliens and the two Ophiothrix species spawned readily when they were visually mature at collection, and are thus useful species for developmental studies.     

Trends in sales of drugs for asthma in New Zealand,Australia, and the United Kingdom, 1975-81.

As part of an investigation into the recent epidemic of deaths from asthma in New Zealand, trends in the sales of drugs for asthma in New Zealand, Australia, and the United Kingdom during 1975-81 were examined. Data on sales of drugs were obtained from an international pharmaceutical market research organisation. A striking increase in sales of sympathomimetic aerosols, steroid aerosols, and theophylline per caput occurred in all three countries, with the greatest increase occurring in New Zealand. Sales of sodium cromoglycate also increased in New Zealand and the UK but fell in Australia. By 1981 New Zealand had the highest sales of all these drugs per caput. Explanations for the rising mortality from asthma in New Zealand despite large increases in drug sales need to be explored. Although the temporal association between mortality and sales of drugs suggests that direct drug toxicity is unlikely, there may be more subtle adverse effects of drug use.     

Local texture convergence within three communities in Fiordland, New Zealand

Light environments in two lowland New Zealand podocarp rainforests are described using data from quantum sensors. Mean daily total photosynthetic photon flux density (PPFD) in the forest understorey varies from 2.6-5.2% incident PPFD in summer and 1.0-2.5% in autumn, and in gaps from 5.0-16.6% in summer and 6.3-8.3% in autumn. Pronounced differences in understorey PPFD occur between clear and overcast days. Overcast days tend to have a lower proportion of 2-minute periods with very low mean PPFD than clear days. In summer, 37.7-91.7% of PPFD occurs as sunflecks, but these only occur for 4.0-27.9% of the time. Most sunflecks are short duration (42.2-72.7% less than 4 minutes in summer) but some are very long (>32 minutes). Overall, light environments are similar to those found in other forests, both in New Zealand and elsewhere. However, canopy structure has a pronounced influence on spatial distribution of light environments within a forest, and differences in the size and frequency of canopy disturbances are a contributing factor to the floristic differences between the two forests studied.     

New Species of Lagenophrys (Ciliophora,Peritrichia) from New Zealand and Australia1

Lagenophrys novazealandae n. sp. occurs on the gills of Paranephrops zealandicus, a parastacid crayfish from New Zealand. The new species has the hemispheroidal lorica most common among members of its genus and is distinguished by its possession of large tubercles on the thickened edge of the anterior lip of the lorica aperture, a deep cleft in the left side of the lip's edge, and a ovoid to reniform macronucleus located in the right-hand part of the body. It is probable that an as yet unnamed species of Lagenophrys known to occur on another species of Paranephrops in New Zealand is distinct from L. novazealandae but phylogenetically related to it. Lagenophrys petila n. sp. occurs on setae of Parastacoides tasmanicus, a parastacid from Tasmania. The new species has an ovoid lorica tapering to a slender pseudostalk at the posterior end, a type of lorica possessed by only two other members of its genus that also attach to their host's setae. It is distinguished from the other ovoid species by the proportions of the lorica, the extreme shortness of the lips of the lorica aperture, and an ovoid macronucleus located in the right, anterior part of the body. Clefts in the lips of L. novazealandae and other members of Lagenophrys may function as points of flexure to allow the lips to bend in ways that accommodate interspecific differences in the size of the epistomial disk and its operation during suspension feeding.