Cartier, Champlain, and the Fruits of the New World : Botanical Exchange in the 16th and 17th Centuries

Much has been written of the Columbian exchange, the transfer between New World and Old of people, pathogens, flora and fauna. The biota of two hemispheres, once seemingly irredeemably separated, were interpenetrated, both through accident and through human agency. Part of this exchange involved medicinal and food plants, discovered in the New World and adopted into the Old. This paper examines the translation of a number of New World plants that were part of the 'Cartierian' or 'Champlinian' exchange that followed the voyages to North America by Jacques Cartier (1491-1557) between 1534 and 1541, and the explorations and settlements undertaken by Samuel de Champlain (1580?-1635) from 1603 to his death at Quebec in 1635. During this period, a number of North American plants were propagated in European nurseries and even found their way into everyday use in gardens or kitchens. How were these new plants viewed on their introduction and how were they incorporated into Europe's "vegetable" consciousness? Where did these new plants fit in the classification of the edible and the exotic?L’échange colombien, le transfert de personnes, de pathogènes, de flore et de faune entre le nouveau et le vieux continent ont déjà fait couler beaucoup d’encre. Le biote des deux hémisphères, paraissant jadis irrémédiablement séparés, s’interpénètre, à la fois par accidents et par l’entremise de l’homme. Une partie de cet échange implique des plantes médicinales et comestibles, découvertes sur le nouveau continent et adoptées dans l’ancien. Cet article examine la translation de certaines plantes du nouveau monde faisant partie de l’échange ‘Cartierien’ et ‘Champlinien’ qui a suivi les voyages en Amérique du Nord de Jacques Cartier (1491-1557) entre 1534 et 1541, et les explorations et les premiers établissements dirigés par Samuel de Champlain (1580?-1635) de 1603 jusqu’à sa mort à Québec en 1635. Au cours de cette période, certaines plantes nord-américaines sont propagées dans les pépinières européennes et trouvent même leur voie dans les jardins et les cuisines pour un usage quotidien. Comment ces nouvelles plantes sont perçues au moment de leur introduction et comment sont-elles incorporées dans la conscience ‘alimentaire’ européenne ? À quel endroit de la classification du comestible et de l’exotique ces plantes s’insèrent-elles

Computer-Based Archival Research Project: A Preliminary Report

Grâce à la collaboration du Répertoire national des Musées nationaux du Canada et du Memorial University, le Newfoundland Museum a mis au point un fichier pour consigner les données tirées d'annonces de journaux du XIXe siècle. L'information ainsi traitée peut être versée aux ordinateurs du Répertoire national, puis retracée et analysée à l'aide de l'ordinateur. Le fichier est découpé en vingt-cinq champs dont neuf sont réservés aux marchandises classées d'après la publication de Statistique Canada intitulée Classification des marchandises pour le commerce du Canada. Comme l'information peut être retracée par tous les champs, les données ainsi informatisées peuvent servir à répondre aux interrogations les plus diverses des chercheurs

Formalin-induced behavioural hypersensitivity and neuronal hyperexcitability are mediated by rapid protein synthesis at the spinal level

Background: The mammalian target of rapamycin ( mTOR) is a key regulator of mRNA translation whose action can be inhibited by the drug rapamycin. Forms of long-term plasticity require protein synthesis and evidence indicates that mRNA in dendrites, axon terminals and cell bodies is essential for long-term synaptic plasticity. Specific to pain, shifts in pain thresholds and responsiveness are an expression of neuronal plasticity and this likely contributes to persistent pain. We investigated this by inhibiting the activity of mTOR with rapamycin at the spinal level, of rats that were subjected to the formalin test, using both behavioural and electrophysiological techniques.Results: For in vivo electrophysiology, Sprague Dawley rats were fully anaesthetised and single-unit extracellular recordings were obtained from lamina V wide dynamic range (WDR) dorsal horn spinal neurones at the region where input is received from the hind paw. Neuronal responses from naive rats showed that rapamycin-sensitive pathways were important in nociceptive-specific C-fibre mediated transmission onto WDR neurones as well mechanically-evoked responses since rapamycin was effective in attenuating these measures. Formalin solution was injected into the hind paw prior to which, rapamycin or vehicle was applied directly onto the exposed spinal cord. When rapamycin was applied to the spinal cord prior to hind paw formalin injection, there was a significant attenuation of the prolonged second phase of the formalin test, which comprises continuing afferent input to the spinal cord, neuronal hyperexcitability and an activated descending facilitatory drive from the brainstem acting on spinal neurones. In accordance with electrophysiological data, behavioural studies showed that rapamycin attenuated behavioural hypersensitivity elicited by formalin injection into the hind paw.Conclusion: We conclude that mTOR has a role in maintaining persistent pain states via mRNA translation and thus protein synthesis. We hypothesise that mTOR may be activated by excitatory neurotransmitter release acting on sensory afferent terminals as well as dorsal horn spinal neurones, which may be further amplified by descending facilitatory systems originating from higher centres in the brain

Behavioural and electrophysiological characterisation of experimentally induced osteoarthritis and neuropathy in C57Bl/6 mice

Background: Osteoarthritis is a widespread condition affecting the elderly where similar to 70-90% of over 75 year olds are affected, representing one of the largest cost burdens to healthcare in the western world. The monosodium iodoacetate (MIA) osteoarthritis model has been well described in the rat especially in terms of the pathological progression of the disease and more recently pain behaviour. In this study, we characterise, for the first time, MIA induced osteoarthritis in mice and compare it with nerve-injured mice (partial sciatic nerve injury), using both behavioural and in vivo electrophysiological measurements. These approaches uniquely allow the threshold and suprathreshold measures to many modalities to be quantified and so form a basis for improving and expanding transgenic studies.Results: Significant mechanical hypersensitivity was observed in the ipsilateral hindpaw in MIA injected mice at all observed time points following infrapetellar MIA injection (p < 0.05). The mechanical hypersensitivity exhibited a partial biphasic temporal pattern, but thermal hypersensitivity was absent. Electrically-evoked dorsal horn neuronal responses in MIA injected mice were significantly elevated (p < 0.05) with respect to A- and C-fibre firing, input, pinch and noxious von Frey (26 and 60 g). No significant changes in A- or C-fibre thresholds were observed. Nerve-injured mice displayed significant behavioural thermal and mechanical hypersensitivity (p < 0.05) and evoked dorsal horn responses were significantly increased with respect to C-fibre firing, pinch and wind-up (p < 0.05).Conclusion: The MIA model of osteoarthritic pain in mice displays behavioural characteristics similar to those observed in rats. Changes in both behavioural measures and neuronal activity from the paw, suggest that central changes are involved in this pain state, although a role for peripheral drives is also likely. Moreover, the behavioural and neuronal measures in these two pain models showed overlapping alterations in terms of certain neuronal measures and mechanical sensitivity despite their very different pathologies and a loss of input in neuropathy, suggesting some commonalities in the central processing of different peripheral pain states. This murine model of osteoarthritis will allow the exploitation of knock out animals to better understand underlying mechanisms and identify novel molecular targets

Com o diabo no corpo: os terríveis papagaios do Brasil colônia

Desde a Antiguidade, papagaios, periquitos e afins (Psittacidae) fascinaram os europeus por seu vivo colorido e uma notável capacidade de interação com seres humanos. A descoberta do Novo Mundo nada faria além de acrescentar novos elementos ao tráfico de animais exóticos há muito estabelecido pelos europeus com a África e o Oriente. Sem possuir grandes mamíferos, a América tropical participaria desse comércio com o que tinha de mais atrativo, essencialmente felinos, primatas e aves - em particular os papagaios, os quais eram embarcados em bom número. Contudo, a julgar pelos documentos do Brasil colônia, esses voláteis podiam inspirar muito pouca simpatia, pois nenhum outro animal - exceto as formigas - foi tantas vezes mencionado como praga para a agricultura. Além disso, alguns psitácidas mostravam-se tão loquazes que inspiravam a séria desconfiança de serem animais demoníacos ou possessos, pois só três classes de entidades - anjos, homens e demônios - possuíam o dom da palavra. Nos dias de hoje, vários representantes dos Psittacidae ainda constituem uma ameaça para a agricultura, enquanto os indivíduos muito faladores continuam despertando a suspeita de estarem possuídos pelo demônio. Transcendendo a mera curiosidade, essa crença exemplifica o quão intrincadas podem ser as relações do homem com o chamado “mundo natural”, revelando um universo mais amplo e multifacetado do que se poderia supor a princípio. Nesse sentido, a existência de aves capazes de falar torna essa relação ainda mais complexa e evidencia que as dificuldades de estabelecer o limite entre o animal e o humano se estendem além dos primatas e envolvem as mais inusitadas espécies zoológicas.Since ancient times, parrots and their allies (Psittacidae) have fascinated Europeans by their striking colors and notable ability to interact with human beings. The discovery of the New World added new species to the international exotic animal trade, which for many centuries had brought beasts to Europe from Africa and the Orient. Lacking large mammals, tropical America participated in this trade with its most appealing species, essentially felines, primates and birds - especially parrots - which were shipped in large numbers. It should be noted, however, that at times these birds were not well liked. In fact, according to documents from colonial Brazil, only the ants rank higher than parrots as the animals most often mentioned as agricultural pests. On the other hand, some of these birds were so chatty that people suspected them to be demonic or possessed animals, since only three classes of beings - angels, men and demons - have the ability to speak. Nowadays, several Psittacidae still constitute a threat to agriculture, and the suspicion that extremely talkative birds were demon possessed has also survived. More than a joke or a mere curiosity, this belief exemplifies how intricate man’s relationships with the “natural world” may be. In this sense, the existence of birds that are able to speak adds a further twist to these relationships, demonstrating that the problem of establishing a boundary between the animal and the human does not only involve primates, but also includes some unusual zoological species

Oiseaux de papier : La Collection Taylor White à McGill

After he retired from his career as an ophthalmologist in 1920, Dr Casey Wood devoted himself to his two private passions – ornithology and book collecting. He attended auctions, badgered book dealers, and haunted bookshops wherever he travelled with his wife Emma Shearer Wood. In 1926 Wood turned to Wheldon and Wesley and their agent, William John Henry Craddock (1870-1941), to help him acquire a magnificent collection held by the bookseller Quaritch of over 900 large, colourful and often life-size drawings of exotic birds, animals and fish, and equally imposing images of flowers, insects, and fungi, loosely inserted in twenty-nine portfolios, and painted by arguably the finest animal and botanical painters of eighteenth-century Britain. The collection had been created by the British jurist and collector Taylor White FRS (1701-72). This article recounts how White accumulated his collection, and how Wood acquired it for the Blacker Wood Natural History Collection at McGill University Library in Montreal. It also describes how White catalogued his collection, and how subsequent dealers and librarians added their own layers of documentation, up to the digitization of the paintings and manuscript notes by the McGill Library, which has made them available to contemporary researchers. Après sa retraite de sa carrière d’ophtalmologiste en 1920, le Dr Casey Wood s’est consacré à ses deux passions privées — l’ornithologie et la collection de livres. Il a assisté à des enchères, harcelé des commerçants de livres, et hanté des librairies partout où il voyageait avec son épouse Emma Shearer Wood. En 1926, Wood s’est tourné vers Wheldon and Westley et leur agent, William John Henry Craddock (1870-1941), pour demander leur aide dans l’acquisition d’une magnifique collection détenue par le commerçant de livres Quaritch de plus de 900 dessins de grande taille, colorés et souvent de grandeur réelle, d’oiseaux exotiques, d’animaux et de poissons, ainsi que des images également imposantes de fleurs, d’insectes et de champignons. Cette collection a été créée à l’origine par le juriste et collectionneur Taylor White, MSR (1701-72). Les nombreuses œuvres, exécutées par sans doute les meilleurs peintres animaliers et botaniques de la Grande-Bretagne du dix-huitième siècle, avaient été insérées librement dans vingt-neuf porte-documents. Dans cet article, nous retraçons l’accumulation de la collection par White, ainsi que son acquisition par Wood pour la Collection d’histoire naturelle Blacker Wood de la Bibliothèque universitaire de McGill à Montréal. Nous décrivons également comment White a catalogué sa collection, l’ajout de niveaux supplémentaires de documentation par les commerçants et bibliothécaires subséquents, et, finalement, la numérisation des peintures et des notes manuscrites par la Bibliothèque de McGill, projet qui a rendu ces œuvres accessibles aux chercheurs·euses contemporain·e·s

Canadian Content: The Authorized Version

Abstract: This article asserts that to make Canada's presence felt, we must understand the importance of the base-level information held by the country's preserving institutions (museums, libraries, and archives), and government must fund them to make their rich database content accessible on-line. The author suggests that Canada's meagre Internet presence can be strengthened by developing authoritative databases of Canadian literature, history, and art in full text, full image, or full audio and video format. Meanwhile, preserving agencies must abandon the notion that they are re-creating themselves in a virtual universe. Access to deep and authoritative content is what the next generation demands, not poor simulacrums of actual experience. This is the information that will transform and ultimately distinguish Canada's Internet presence. Résumé : Cet article affirme que, pour manifester la présence du Canada dans le monde, il faut reconnaître l'importance des données de base détenues par les institutions de conservation du pays (muséems, bibliothèques et archives). Le gouvernement doit subventionner ces institutions pour leur permettre de faciliter l'accès en ligne à leurs riches bases de données. L'auteur soutient que l'on peut renforcer la faible présence Internet canadienne en développant de solides bases de données sur la littérature, l'histoire et l'art canadiens en formats plein texte, pleine image, plein audio ou plein vidéo. En attendant, les agences de conservation doivent abandonner l'idée qu'elles sont déjà en train de se recréer dans un univers virtuel. En effet, la prochaine génération exige l'accès non à de pauvres simulacres d'expériences réelles mais à un contenu riche et sûr. C'est un tel contenu qui transformera la présence Internet canadienne et en assurera un caractère distinct