Corsets,Culture and Contingency: Reflections on Joan Lindsay's Picnic at Hanging Rock1

This article turns an anthropological sensitivity onto a literary text from its own society. It takes Joan Lindsay's novel ‘Picnic at Hanging Rock’ and ‘reads’ it in the light of ideas prominent in recent anthropological writings (the ideas of Lévi-Strauss are particularly used): it also articulates an interpretation by using notions current in modern literary and cultural analysis. The article points out that Lindsay's text has most commonly been interpreted as being about mysterious natural forces injurious to man. Whilst the text explores the disjunction between nature and culture, the article interprets the text as exploring the nature of cultural institutions and cultural processes.     

Poliomyelitis vaccine; a report on field trials in Southern Alameda County in 1954

Southern Alameda County was the only area in California to take part in the 1954 nationwide field trials for testing poliomyelitis vaccine. Besides the contribution made in evaluating the vaccine, other benefits were:1. Participation contributed to the control of a serious communicable disease.2. Inoculations of vaccine during the field trials in all probability prevented some cases of paralytic poliomyelitis among children in southern Alameda County.3. The community became better informed about poliomyelitis and more interested in the local health department.4. Local physicians had an opportunity to contribute to important research and to give a valuable community service.5. The staff of the Alameda County Health Department became better informed and better prepared for any future responsibilities in poliomyelitis immunization programs.Other conclusions reached as a result of participation in the 1954 field trials are that the initial planning of the study was hasty and not sufficiently representative of medical and administrative thinking. If the trials had been planned for 1955 instead of 1954 there would have been sufficient time for research to be completed, professional information to be assured and for sound design of study.     

The causes of colour and colour change in caterpillars of the poplar and eyed hawkmoths (Laothoe populi and Smerinthus ocellata)

Caterpillars of the poplar and eyed hawkmoths (Laothoe populi and Smerinthus ocellata respectively) were reared under different conditions in order to determine why final instar caterpillars vary in colour. Poplar hawkmoth caterpillars normally rest on the undersides of leaves. Dull green and redspotted caterpillars are genetically determined polymorphisms. Caterpillars that are not dull green, however, can become white when fed on Populus alba or yellow-green when fed on Salix fragilis. Experiments showed that it is the reflective qualities of the leaves that determines which colour the caterpillar develops: if the young larva sees white then it becomes white, but if it sees green, grey or black then it becomes yellow-green. Young eyed hawkmoth larvae always developed into grey-green final instar caterpillars under our rather poorly-illuminated rearing conditions, but when reared on wild plants in white muslin sleeves they became whitish-green. In this species also it appears that colour of the final instar is determined by the reflectance of the substrate perceived by the young caterpillar.     

The distribution of Naididae (Oligochaeta) in the littoral zone of selected lakes in North Wales and Shropshire

SUMMARY. The distribution of twenty species of Naididae found in seventeen lakes in North Wales and Shropshire is described. Fewer species were observed in the mountain lakes in Snowdonia in comparison to the more productive lakes of Anglesey and Shropshire.
Substrate was an important factor influencing the distribution of naids within lakes, A small number of sexually mature individuals was found in more productive lakes in the summer and autumn months. Sexually mature individuals of Stylaria lacustris were cultured in the laboratory; the population doubled its numbers, by asexual reproduction, in 12 days at 15°C. In Llyn Coron a natural population of S. lacustris doubled its numbers in 40 days. The gut contents of S. lacustris consisted of periphyton.     

Historical and Life History Factors in the Biogeography of Mayflies

SYNOPSIS. Cladistic analysis of mayflies suggests that dispersalwas very asymmetrical after the new land connection betweenNorth and South America. Twenty-one genera apparently movedfrom South to North and Central America, but there is good evidencefor only one North American genus moving into the south. Testablepredictions are possible once the boreal (Laurasian) or austral(Gondwanian) designations are made. For example, Paracloeodes,a genus of austral origin, was predicted to be found in SouthAmerica, and in North America in warm rivers north and eastof its known distribution. These predictions have been confirmed.Other characteristics of tropical mayflies, such as length oflarval period and emergence and mating patterns, may be usedto predict habitats and characteristics of present North Americangenera. Merger events and consequent dispersal of organismshave profound influences on distributional patterns, and fromsuch information, biologically useful generalities can be made.     

Phosphoenolpyruvate Carboxylase from the Crassulacean PlantBryophyllum fedtschenkoiHametet Perrier: ACTIVITY CHANGES AND KINETIC BEHAVIOUR IN CRUDE EXTRACTS

The total activity (capacity) of phosphoenolpyruvate carboxylasein crude extracts of leaves of Bryophyllum fedtschenkoi, measuredon a fresh weight basis, varies considerably with leaf positionand with photoperiodic treatment. No diurnal variation in capacitywas detected under long – day or short – day conditions.The enzyme in freshly prepared crude extracts is about 50 timesmore sensitive to inhibition by malate at pH 7 than that inaged extracts, or in the fully purified state. Desensitizationin extracts proceeds rapidly unless protective measures aretaken, and appears to be irreversible. A pH-dependence studyshows that the effect of desensitization on the kinetic parametersof malate inhibition is identical to that of increasing thepH by 2.0 units over a wide range, but the maximum velocityat pH 7.8 is virtually unaffected. The significance of the resultsfor both the experimental determination of cyclic changes inenzyme capacity, and the theories concerning the mechanism ofa circadian rhythm of phosphoenolpyruvate carboxylase activityin vivo are discussed.     

Ultrastructure of the Eyespot and its Possible Significance in Phototaxis of Tetracystis excentrica*†

SYNOPSIS. The eyespot of the zoospore of Tetracystis excentrica (a green alga) has been studied by light and electron microscopy. In Tetracystis the eyespot consists of about 110 osmiophilic granules which form a plate in the anterior third of the cell. The granules are about 80 Å in diameter and are found in the outermost portion of the chloroplast; they commonly show hexagonal close packing and a hexagonal shape. The granules are confined positionally by the chloroplast envelope and an inner thylakoid. The plasmalemma over the eyespot is thickened and is separated from the chloroplast envelope by a 50 mμ space. The eyespot of Tetracystis is compared with others reported in the literature and the possible functional significance of these studies is discussed. The possibility that the eyespot plate in Tetracystis serves as a shading device rather than the primary photoreceptor is considered.     

A new species of the marattialean fern Scolecopteris (Zenker) Millay from the uppermost Permian of Guizhou Province, south-western China

Several isolated marattialean synangia and sporangia are reported from coal balls collected from Coal Seam No.1 (C605) in the uppermost Permian Wangjiazhai Formation in Guizhou Province, south-western China. The synangia are radially symmetrical with diameters between 0.8 and 1.2 mm and are 1.7 mm long, consisting of 3–4 elongate sporangia that are fused basally, free distally and possess a pointed apex. The outer-facing sporangial wall is 4–5 cells thick and conspicuously differentiated. Spores are trilete, have a granular ornamentation and are nearly round equatorially with a diameter of 55–60 µm. Comparisons with other anatomically preserved Palaeozoic marattialean synangia from the Euramerican and Cathaysian floras permit their assignment to the genus of Scolecopteris (Zenker) Millay. In this species the thick, outer-facing sporangial walls and large trilete spores are features consistent with those of the Oliveri Group within Scolecopteris , a group that has previously been considered primitive within this genus. Distinctions from all other previously recognized species within the Oliveri Group lead to the creation of a new species, S. guizhouensis sp. nov. This species is the youngest of the reported species of Scolecopteris recognized from the Euramerican and Cathaysian floras, and provides important evidence on the organization of marattialean ferns from the Upper Permian strata of south China.  © 2006 The Linnean Society of London, Botanical Journal of the Linnean Society , 2006, 151 , 279–288.