Molecular phylogeny of Wolbachia endosymbionts in southeast asian mosquitoes (Diptera: Culicidae) based on wsp gene sequences

Wolbachia are maternally inherited intracellular bacteria that infect a wide range of arthropods and nematodes and are associated with various reproductive abnormalities in their hosts. Insect-associated Wolbachia form a monophyletic clade in the α-Proteobacteria and recently have been separated into two supergroups (A and B) and 19 groups. Our recent polymerase chain reaction (PCR) survey using wsp specific primers indicated that various strains of Wolbachia were present in mosquitoes collected from Southeast Asia. Here, we report the phylogenetic relationship of the Wolbachia strains found in these mosquitoes using wsp gene sequences. Our phylogenetic analysis revealed eight new Wolbachia strains, five in the A supergroup and three in the B supergroup. Most of the Wolbachia strains present in Southeast Asian mosquitoes belong to the established Mors, Con, and Pip groups.

How young people from culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds experience mental health: Some insights for mental health nurses

This article reports on part of a study that looked at the mental health of culturally and linguistically diverse (CALD) young people. The research sought to learn from CALD young people, carers, and service providers experiences relevant to the mental health of this group of young people. The ultimate goal was to gain insights that would inform government policy, service providers, ethnic communities and most importantly the young people themselves. To this end, qualitative interviews were undertaken with 123 CALD young people, 41 carers and 14 mental health service providers in Queensland, Western Australia and South Australia. Only one aspect of the study will be dealt with here, namely the views of the young CALD participants, which included risk factors, coping strategies and recommendations about how they could be supported in their struggle to maintain mental health. One of the most important findings of the study relates to the resilience of these young people and an insight into the strategies that they used to cope. The efforts of these young people to assist us in our attempts to understand their situation deserve to be rewarded by improvements in the care that we provide. To this end this article sets out to inform mental health nurses of the results of the study so that they will be in a position to better understand the needs and strengths of their CALD clients and be in a better position to work effectively with them.

Snoring and its association with asthma in Indigenous children living in the Torres Strait and Northern Peninsula Area

Objective: Respiratory health of Indigenous and minority ethnic groups in affluent countries is poorer than their non-minority counterparts and sleep disorders are no exception. In children, obstructive sleep apnoea has the potential to result in serious long-term consequences. In 1999, we studied 1650 children and adolescents living in the Torres Strait and the Northern Peninsula Area, Australia. Here we report prevalence of snoring in these communities and relate its association with asthma symptoms. Methods: A population-based cross-sectional study was conducted in the Torres Strait region. Five indigenous communities were randomly selected and information was collected using a structured face-to-face interview based on a standardized questionnaire. There was a 98% response rate, and 1650 children, 0-17 years of age, were included in the study. Results: Overall, the prevalence of snoring was 14.2% (95% CI 12.5-15.9); 3.6% (95% CI 2.7-4.6) reported snorting, and 6% (95% CI 4.9-7.2) reported restless sleep. The prevalence of snoring was significantly higher among males (17.1% for males and 10.8 for females, P = 0.005). Children were five times more likely to have experienced snoring and snorting if they reported wheezing in the last 12 months. Conclusion: We conclude that the prevalence of symptoms suggestive of obstructive sleep problems is relatively high in children of this region. This highlights the need for awareness among the community patients and physicians about the problem of obstructive sleep-disordered breathing, especially in children with asthma, and for the need for further studies to measure prevalence of sleep breathing disorders among Indigenous Australians.

Ethnic Print Media in the multicultural nation of Canada: A case study of the black newspaper in Montreal

This article explores the social and cultural roles of ethnic print media in the country within the prism of Canada's multicultural policy. Specifically, the article examines how the ethnic groups are framed in the mainstream national media in Canada and then examines how these ethnic media are [re]constructing their own identities in contrast to their framed identities in the mainstream national print media such as the Globe and Mail, National Post and Toronto Sun. In exploring the overall socio-political impacts of these ethnic print media on the social fabrics and cultural identity in Canadian society, Montreal Community Contact, an ethnic newspaper of the black community in Montreal, is used as a case study. Copyright © 2006 SAGE Publications.

Emerging viral diseases of South-East Asia and the Western Pacific: A brief review

Over the past 6 years, a number of zoonotic and vectorborne viral diseases have emerged in Southeast Asia and the Western Pacific. Vectorborne disease agents discussed in this article include Japanese encephalitis, Barmah Forest, Ross River, and Chikungunya viruses. However, most emerging viruses have been zoonotic, with fruit bats, including flying fox species as the probable wildlife hosts, and these will be discussed as well. The first of these disease agents to emerge was Hendra virus, formerly called equine morbillivirus. This was followed by outbreaks caused by a rabies-related virus, Australian bat lyssavirus, and a virus associated with porcine stillbirths and malformations, Menangle virus. Nipah virus caused an outbreak of fatal pneumonia in pigs and encephalitis in humans in the Malay Peninsula. Most recently, Tioman virus has been isolated from flying foxes, but it has not yet been associated with animal or human disease. Of nonzoonotic viruses, the most important regionally have been enterovirus 71 and HIV.

Host age effect and expression of cytoplasmic incompatibility in field populations of Wolbachia-superinfected Aedes albopictus

The Asian tiger mosquito, Aedes albopictus (Skuse), is a known vector of dengue in South America and Southeast Asia. It is naturally superinfected with two strains of Wolbachia endosymbiont that are able to induce cytoplasmic incompatibility (CI). In this paper, we report the strength of CI expression in crosses involving field-caught males. CI expression was found to be very strong in all crosses between field males and laboratory-reared uninfected or wAlbA infected young females. In addition, crossing experiments with laboratory colonies showed that aged super- infected males could express strong CI when mated with young uninfected or wAlbA infected females. These results provide additional evidence that the CI properties of Wolbachia infecting Aedes albopictus are well suited for applied strategies that seek to utilise Wolbachia for host population modification.

Suicide in urban New South Wales, Australia 1985-1994: Socio-economic and migrant interactions

Variation of suicide with socio-economic status (SES) in urban NSW (Australia) during 1985-1994, by sex and country or region of birth, was examined using Poisson regression analysis of vital statistics and population data (age greater than or similar to 15 yr). Quintiles of SES were defined by municipality of residence and comparisons of suicide by SES were adjusted for age and country (or region) of birth (COB), and examined by COB. Risk of suicide in females was 28% that of males for all adults and 21% for youth (age 15-24 yr). Suicide risk was lower in males from southern Europe, Middle East and Asia, and higher in northern and eastern European males, compared to the Australian-born. Risks for suicide increased significantly with decreasing SES in males, but not in females. The relationship of male suicide and SES was stronger when controlled for COB. For males, the relative risk of suicide, adjusted for age and COB, was 66% higher in the lowest SES quintile compared to the highest quintile, and 39% higher for youth (age 15-24 yr). For male suicide, the population attributable fraction for SES (less than the highest quintile) was 27%. Analysis of SES differentials in male suicide according to COB indicated a significant inverse suicide gradient in relation to SES for the Australian-born and those burn in New Zealand and the United Kingdom or fire. but not in non-English speaking COB groups, except for Asia. For Australian-born males, suicide risk was 71% higher in the lowest SES group (compared to the highest), adjusted for age. These findings indicate that SES plays an important role in male suicide rates among the Australian-born and migrants from English-speaking countries and Asia, and among youth; but not in female suicide, nor suicide in most non-English speaking migrant groups. Reduction in SES differentials through economic and social policies may reduce male suicide in lower SES groups and should be seen to be at least as important as individual level interventions. (C) 1998 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.

History of vegetation and habitat change in the Austral-Asian region

Over 1000 marine and terrestrial pollen diagrams and Some hundreds of vertebrate faunal sequences have been studied in the Austral-Asian region bisected by the PEPII transect, from the Russian arctic extending south through east Asia, Indochina, southern Asia, insular Southeast Asia (Sunda), Melanesia, Australasia (Sahul) and the western south Pacific. The majority of these records are Holocene but sufficient data exist to allow the reconstruction of the changing biomes over at least the past 200,000 years. The PEPII transect is free of the effects of large northern ice caps yet exhibits vegetational change in glacial cycles of a similar scale to North America. Major processes that can be discerned are the response of tropical forests in both lowlands and uplands to glacial cycles, the expansion of humid vegetation at the Pleistocene-Holocene transition and the change in faunal and vegetational controls as humans occupy the region. There is evidence for major changes in the intensity of monsoon and El Nino-Southern oscillation variability both on glacial-interglacial and longer time scales with much of the region experiencing a long-term trend towards more variable and/or drier climatic conditions. Temperature variation is most marked in high latitudes and high altitudes with precipitation providing the major climate control in lower latitude, lowland areas. At least some boundary shifts may be the response of vegetation to changing CO2 levels in the atmosphere. Numerous questions of detail remain, however, and current resolution is too coarse to examine the degree of synchroneity of millennial scale change along the transect. (C) 2003 Elsevier Ltd and INQUA. All rights reserved.

Participatory assessment of rural livelihoods in the Central Highlands of Vietnam

There is a need for improved monitoring and evaluation (M&E) of participatory research with smallholder farmers, in particular to help differentiate between different types of farm household with different needs. This paper reports some of the results of a study to develop participatory M&E tools for the Forages for Smallholders Project in Southeast Asia, focusing on an upland commune in central Vietnam with a highly diverse crop-livestock system. Participatory rural appraisal techniques were used within a rural livelihoods framework to assess the differing livelihoods of poor, average, and better-off households. There were found to be marked differences between households, particularly in human resources, landholdings, and cattle numbers, affecting the livelihood strategies pursued. The improved understanding of livelihood strategies was gained in a cost-effective way and could be readily used by project participants to monitor the impacts of the introduced forages within the commune, enabling better focusing of the participatory research process on the needs and circumstances of poor farmers. (C) 2003 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

An archaeobotanical perspective on Holocene plant-use practices in lowland northern New Guinea

Existing archaeobotanical and palynological records of plant use in the northern New Guinea lowlands are reviewed in light of recent work at Kuk and theoretical refocusing on plant use practice. A practice-based approach is supported as the most useful way of investigating the highly problematical area of tropical plant food production. The existing direct record of past plant use in lowland New Guinea is considered woefully inadequate to achieve this task, as is that in Near Oceania and Island Southeast Asia. Archaeobotanical methods exist to fill the void, but full implementation requires a change in general archaeological and palaeoecological practice.