Popular Geopolitics and North American Borders in Global Context:: Identifying the »Borders that Count« in Post 9 / 11 America

Der Beitrag untersucht den öffentlichen Diskurs über die Grenzen der USA, wie er im Rahmen der neuen geopolitischen Ordnung nach dem 11. Septmeber 2001 geführt wurde. Es wird argumentiert, dass die Bestimmung der US-amerikanischen Grenze nur mit Hilfe eines weitergefassten Blickes auf nordamerikanische Sicherheitsfragen und die Auseinandersetzung um die Rolle der USA in einer globalisierten Welt plausibel analysiert werden kann. Es kann gezeigt werden, dass die neuen Diskurse alte Grenzen und Sicherheitsargumente wieder verwenden und gleichzeitig die Art der Bedrohung und der daran geknüpften Legitimationsstrategien neu erfunden wird. Die US-amerikanischen frontiers wie auch die Grenzen ihrer Hegemonie werden im Zusammenhang mit sich verändernden Weltordnungen ständig neu konstruiert. Der Beitrag hebt dabei schwerpunktmäßig auf jene Periode seit dem Zusammenbruch der Sowjetunion ab, als der frühere Präsident George Bush Sr. zu Beginn der neunziger Jahre den Beginn einer »Neuen Weltordnung« erklärte. Es wird untersucht, in welcher Form internationale Grenzen in diesem Diskurs in ein hierarchisches Verhältnis zueinander gesetzt werden und vergleicht diese intersubjektiven Grenz-Bilder mit der politischen Karte des 21. Jahrhunderts. Hervorgehoben wird, dass der relative Bedeutungsverlust oder -zuwachs jeder der betroffenen Grenzen – sowohl nach Süden als auch nach Norden – auf die zugrundeliegende Vorstellung von einer geopolitischen »Neuen Weltordnung« vereist, die zwar eine Besonderheit der US-amerikanischen Diskussion ist, gleichzeitig aber eine nachhaltige Wirkung auf die Grenzbildungsprozesse auf dem nordamerikanischen Kontinent insgesamt hat. Volkstümliche Imaginationen der Grenze und diskursiv behauptete Gefahren, die an den Rändern »Amerikas« lauerten, sind höchst wirksame Instrumente bei der Unterstützung von Hegemonie- und Eindämmungsstrategien. Gleichzeitig haben sich Grenzen im Verlauf des 19., 20. und 21. Jahrhunderts immer in Abhängigkeit zu ihrer wahrgenommenen strategischen Bedeutung verschoben und verändert. Der Beitrag geht davon aus, dass es einen weiteren nordamerikanischen und globalen Kontext der US-amerikanischen Grenzen nach dem 11. September 2001 gibt, den es zu verstehen gilt, um der Besonderheit heutiger Grenzregionen und dem Transnationalismus des 21. Jahrhunderts Rechnung zu tragen

Curating with Communities for Well-being: Exploring an Amgueddfa Cymru–National Museum Wales Biocultural Collection through Community Workshops

Biocultural collections include specimens of plant and animal origin, artefacts and documentation. They are important resources for the conservation of biological and cultural diversity, as well as for education and research. Curation of biocultural collections at Amgueddfa Cymru–National Museum Wales is underpinned by the unique legislative framework, the Well-being of Future Generations (Wales) Act (2015). This article presents the findings of a series of six workshops with a range of community groups invited to discuss how the Amgueddfa Cymru Economic Botany Collection can build public understanding of biodiversity and fulfil its well-being duty. Findings indicate participant interest in the collection as a resource that can support learning about the multiple values of plants, the diverse cultural heritage linked to plants and the community connections the collection can support, including within and across cultures, practices and places

Cordial

Cordial is an invitation to encounter contemporary artworks created from materials rooted in Euro-­‐American homes of the last century. Decorative components (wallpaper, frames, cabinets) and functional items (vases, stemware, platters) are stacked, fractured, layered and otherwise arranged for display in a site-­‐ specific installation comprised of suites of individual works. Cordial explores transitions in the value and use of objects through the passage of time and contexts. Associated with home display, these materials have been identified with modes of female subjugation or reified by feminist aesthetic reclamation. They also echo the Victorian passion for scientific collecting, classification and display. Grounded in discovery-­‐based processes of creation, the theoretical framework draws from discourses within feminism, deconstruction, performance, material culture, and the ontology of the object. Through a series of projects and culminating installation, this thesis investigates ways in which subjectivities are constructed and enacted through relationships with aesthetic, material things

After the Loyalists: The Archaeology of 19th Century Kingston

No abstract available at this time

Incidence and severity of childhood pneumonia in the first year of life in a South African birth cohort: the Drakenstein Child Health Study

Background Childhood pneumonia causes substantial mortality and morbidity. Accurate measurements of pneumonia incidence are scarce in low-income and middle-income countries, particularly after implementation of pneumococcal conjugate vaccine. We aimed to assess the incidence, severity, and risk factors for pneumonia in the fi rst year of life in children enrolled in a South African birth cohort. Methods This birth cohort study is being done at two sites in Paarl, a periurban area of South Africa. We enrolled pregnant women (>18 years) and followed up mother–infant pairs to 1 year of age. We obtained data for risk factors and respiratory symptoms. Children received 13-valent pneumococcal conjugate vaccine according to national immunisation schedules. We established pneumonia surveillance systems and documented episodes of ambulatory pneumonia and pneumonia warranting hospital admission. We calculated incidence rate ratios for pneumonia with mixed-eff ects Poisson regression. Findings Between May 29, 2012 and May 31, 2014, we enrolled 697 infants who accrued 513 child-years of follow-up. We recorded 141 pneumonia episodes, with an incidence of 0·27 episodes per child-year (95% CI 0·23–0·32). 32 (23%) pneumonia cases were severe pneumonia, with an incidence of 0·06 episodes per child-year (95% CI 0·04–0·08). Two (1%) of 141 pneumonia episodes led to death from pneumonia. Maternal HIV, maternal smoking, male sex, and malnutrition were associated with an increased incidence of pneumonia. Interpretation Pneumonia incidence was high in the fi rst year of life, despite a strong immunisation programme including 13-valent pneumococcal conjugate vaccine. Incidence was associated with pneumonia risk factors that are amenable to interventions. Prevention of childhood pneumonia through public health interventions to address these risk factors should be strengthened. Funding Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, South African Thoracic Society, Federation of Infectious Diseases Societies of South Africa, and University of Cape Town

Rapid diagnosis of pulmonary tuberculosis in African children in a primary care setting by use of Xpert MTB/RIF on respiratory specimens: a prospective study

Background In children admitted to hospital, rapid, accurate diagnosis of pulmonary tuberculosis with the Xpert MTB/RIF assay is possible, but no paediatric studies have been done in the primary care setting, where most children are given care, and where microbiological diagnosis is rarely available. We assessed the diagnostic accuracy of Xpert MTB/RIF in children in primary care. Methods For this prospective study, we obtained repeat induced sputum and nasopharyngeal aspirate specimens from children (<15 years) with suspected pulmonary tuberculosis at a clinic in Khayeliwtsha, Cape Town, South Africa. We compared the diagnostic accuracy of Xpert MTB/RIF with a reference standard of culture and smear microscopy on induced sputum specimens. For the main analysis, specifi city of Xpert MTB/RIF versus liquid culture, we included only children with two interpretable Xpert MTB/RIF and induced sputum culture results. Findings Between Aug 1, 2010, and July 30, 2012, we enrolled 384 children (median age 38·3 months, IQR 21·2–56·5) who had one paired induced sputum and nasopharyngeal specimen, 309 (81%) of whom had two paired specimens. Five children (1%) tested positive for tuberculosis by smear microscopy, 26 (7%) tested positive by Xpert MTB/RIF, and 30 (8%) tested positive by culture. Xpert MTB/RIF on two induced sputum specimens detected 16 of 28 culture-confi rmed cases (sensitivity of 57·1%, 95% CI 39·1–73·5) and on two nasopharyngeal aspirates detected 11 of 28 culture-confi rmed cases (sensitivity of 39·3, 23·6–57·6; p=0·18). The specifi city of Xpert MTB/RIF on induced sputum was 98·9% (95% CI 96·9–99·6) and on nasopharyngeal aspirates was 99·3% (97·4–99·8). Interpretation Our fi ndings suggest that Xpert MTB/RIF on respiratory secretions is a useful test for rapid diagnosis of paediatric pulmonary tuberculosis in primary care. Funding National Institutes of Health, National Health Laboratory Services Research Trust, the Medical Research Council of South Africa, the National Research Foundation South Africa, the European and Developing Countries Clinical Trials Partnership

Comparison of a real-time multiplex PCR and sequetyping assay for pneumococcal serotyping

BACKGROUND: Pneumococcal serotype identification is essential to monitor pneumococcal vaccine effectiveness and serotype replacement. Serotyping by conventional serological methods are costly, labour-intensive, and require significant technical expertise. We compared two different molecular methods to serotype pneumococci isolated from the nasopharynx of South African infants participating in a birth cohort study, the Drakenstein Child Health Study, in an area with high 13-valent pneumococcal conjugate vaccine (PCV13) coverage. METHODS: A real-time multiplex PCR (rmPCR) assay detecting 21 different serotypes/-groups and a sequetyping assay, based on the sequence of the wzh gene within the pneumococcal capsular locus, were compared. Forty pneumococcal control isolates, with serotypes determined by the Quellung reaction, were tested. In addition, 135 pneumococcal isolates obtained from the nasopharynx of healthy children were tested by both serotyping assays and confirmed by Quellung testing. Discordant results were further investigated by whole genome sequencing of four isolates. RESULTS: Of the 40 control isolates tested, 25 had a serotype covered by the rmPCR assay. These were all correctly serotyped/-grouped. Sequetyping PCR failed in 7/40 (18%) isolates. For the remaining isolates, sequetyping assigned the correct serotype/-group to 29/33 (88%) control isolates. Of the 132/135 (98%) nasopharyngeal pneumococcal isolates that could be typed, 69/132 (52%) and 112/132 (85%) were assigned the correct serotype/-group by rmPCR and sequetyping respectively. The serotypes of 63/132 (48%) isolates were not included in the rmPCR panel. All except three isolates (serotype 25A and 38) were theoretically amplified and differentiated into the correct serotype/-group with some strains giving ambigous results (serotype 13/20, 17F/33C, and 11A/D/1818F). Of the pneumococcal serotypes detected in this study, 69/91 (76%) were not included in the current PCV13. The most frequently identified serotypes were 11A, 13, 15B/15C, 16F and 10A. CONCLUSION: The rmPCR assay performed well for the 21 serotypes/-groups included in the assay. However, in our study setting, a large proportion of serotypes were not detected by rmPCR. The sequetyping assay performed well, but did misassign specific serotypes. It may be useful for regions where vaccine serotypes are less common, however confirmatory testing is advisable

Outbreak of multi-drug resistant Pseudomonas aeruginosa bloodstream infection in the haematology unit of a South African academic hospital

Objective: To describe an outbreak of multi-resistant Pseudomonas aeruginosa bloodstream infections (MRPA-BSI) that occurred in the haematology ward of a tertiary academic hospital in Cape Town, South Africa, and determine risk factors for acquisition of MRPA-BSI. METHODS: The outbreak investigation included a search for additional cases, review of patient records, environmental and staff screening, molecular typing using pulsed-field gel electrophoresis (PFGE) and Multi-locus sequencing (MLST) and a retrospective case-control study. RESULTS: Ten MRPA-BSI cases occurred in the haematology ward between January 2010 and January 2011. The case fatality rate was 80%. Staff screening specimens were negative for MRPA and an environmental source was not identified. PFGE showed that 9/10 isolates were related. MLST showed that 3 of these 9 isolates belonged to Sequence type (ST) 233 while the unrelated isolate belonged to ST260. CONCLUSION: We have described an outbreak of MRPA-BSI occurring over an extended period of time among neutropenic haematology patients. Molecular typing confirms that the outbreak was predominantly due to a single strain. The source of the outbreak was not identified, but the outbreak appears to have been controlled following intensive infection control measures