Datasets:

illuin-conteb
/

mldr-conteb-eval

Dataset card Data Studio Files Files and versions Community

Subset (3)

documents · 50.6k rows

Split (2)

train · 49.1k rows

chunk_id stringlengths 5 8	chunk stringlengths 1 1k
1589_13	Albania Bosnia and Herzegovina Bulgaria Cyprus (technically located in Asia, though most often is placed in Southeastern Europe) Croatia (can variously be included in Southeastern or Central Europe) Greece (Sometimes grouped in Southern Europe with countries like Italy, Spain and Portugal) Moldova (usually grouped with the non-Baltic post-Soviet states but sometimes considered part of Southeastern Europe) Montenegro North Macedonia Romania (can variously be included in Southeastern or Central Europe) Serbia (mostly placed in Southeastern but sometimes in Central Europe) Slovenia (most often placed in Central Europe but sometimes in Southeast Europe) Turkey (East Thrace, the portion west of the Turkish Straits) Partially recognized states: Kosovo History Classical antiquity and medieval origins
1589_14	Ancient kingdoms of the region included Orontid Armenia, Caucasian Albania, Colchis and Iberia (not to be confused with the Iberian Peninsula in Western Europe), of which the latter two were the predecessor states of modern-day Georgia. These peripheral kingdoms were, either from the start or later on, incorporated into various Iranian empires, including the Achaemenid Persian, Parthian, and Sassanid Persian Empires. Parts of the Balkans and some more northern areas were ruled by the Achaemenid Persians as well, including Thrace, Paeonia, Macedon, and most of the Black Sea coastal regions of Romania, Ukraine, and Russia. Owing to the rivalry between the Parthian Empire and Rome, and later between Byzantium and the Sassanid Persians, the Parthians would invade the region several times, although it was never able to hold the area, unlike the Sassanids who controlled most of the Caucasus during their entire rule.
1589_15	The earliest known distinctions between east and west in Europe originate in the history of the Roman Republic. As the Roman domain expanded, a cultural and linguistic division appeared. The mainly Greek-speaking eastern provinces had formed the highly urbanized Hellenistic civilization. In contrast, the western territories largely adopted the Latin language. This cultural and linguistic division was eventually reinforced by the later political east–west division of the Roman Empire. The division between these two spheres deepened during Late Antiquity and the Middle Ages due to a number of events. The Western Roman Empire collapsed in the 5th century, marking the start of the Early Middle Ages. By contrast, the Eastern Roman Empire—the Byzantine Empire—had a survival strategy that kept it alive for another 1,000 years.
1589_16	The rise of the Frankish Empire in the west, and in particular the Great Schism that formally divided Eastern and Western Christianity in 1054, heightened the cultural and religious distinctiveness between Eastern and Western Europe. Much of Eastern Europe was invaded and occupied by the Mongols. During the Ostsiedlung, towns founded under Magdeburg rights became centers of economic development and scattered German settlements were founded all over Eastern Europe.
1589_17	1453 to 1918 The conquest of the Byzantine Empire, center of the Eastern Orthodox Church, by the Ottoman Empire in the 15th century, and the gradual fragmentation of the Holy Roman Empire (which had replaced the Frankish empire) led to a change of the importance of Roman Catholic/Protestant vs. Eastern Orthodox concept in Europe. Armour points out that Cyrillic-alphabet use is not a strict determinant for Eastern Europe, where from Croatia to Poland and everywhere in between, the Latin alphabet is used. Greece's status as the cradle of Western civilization and an integral part of the Western world in the political, cultural and economic spheres has led to it being nearly always classified as belonging not to Eastern, but Southern or Western Europe. During the late-sixteenth and early-seventeenth centuries, Eastern Europe enjoyed a relatively high standard of living. This period is also called the east-central European golden age of around 1600.
1589_18	Serfdom Serfdom was a prevalent status of agricultural workers until the 19th century. It resembled slavery in terms of lack of freedom, however the landowners could not buy and sell serfs, who are permanently attached to specific plots of land. The system emerged in the 14th and 15th century, the same time it was declining in Western Europe. The climax came in the 17th and 18th century. The early 19th century saw its decline, marked especially by the abolition of serfdom in Russia in 1861. Emancipation meant that the ex-serfs paid for their freedom with annual cash payments to their former masters for decades. The system varied widely country by country, and was not as standardized as in Western Europe. Historians, until the 20th century, focused on master-serf economic and labor relations, portraying the serfs as slave-like, passive, and isolated. 20th century scholars downplayed the evils and emphasize the complexities. Interwar years
1589_19	A major result of the First World War was the breakup of the Russian, Austro-Hungarian, and Ottoman empires, as well as partial losses to the German Empire. A surge of ethnic nationalism created a series of new states in Eastern Europe, validated by the Versailles Treaty of 1919. Poland was reconstituted after the partitions of the 1790s had divided it between Germany, Austria, and Russia. New countries included Finland, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Ukraine (which was soon absorbed by the Soviet Union), Czechoslovakia, and Yugoslavia. Austria and Hungary had much-reduced boundaries. The new states included sizeable ethnic minorities, which were to be protected according to the League of Nations minority protection regime. Throughout Eastern Europe, ethnic Germans constituted by far the largest single ethnic minority. In some areas, as in the Sudetenland, regions of Poland, and in parts of Slovenia, German speakers constituted the local majority, creating upheaval regarding demands of
1589_20	self-determination.
1589_21	Romania, Bulgaria, and Albania likewise were independent. Many of the countries were still largely rural, with little industry and only a few urban centres. Nationalism was the dominant force but most of the countries had ethnic or religious minorities who felt threatened by majority elements. Nearly all became democratic in the 1920s, but all of them (except Czechoslovakia and Finland) gave up democracy during the depression years of the 1930s, in favor of autocratic, strong-man or single-party states. The new states were unable to form stable military alliances, and one by one were too weak to stand up against Nazi Germany or the Soviet Union, which took them over between 1938 and 1945.
1589_22	World War II and the onset of the Cold War Russia ended its participation in the First World War in March 1918 and lost territory, as the Baltic countries and Poland became independent. The region was the main battlefield in the Second World War (1939–45), with German and Soviet armies sweeping back and forth, with millions of Jews killed by the Nazis, and millions of others killed by disease, starvation, and military action, or executed after being deemed as politically dangerous. During the final stages of World War II the future of Eastern Europe was decided by the overwhelming power of the Soviet Red Army, as it swept the Germans aside. It did not reach Yugoslavia and Albania, however. Finland was free but forced to be neutral in the upcoming Cold War.
1589_23	Throughout Eastern Europe, German-speaking populations were expelled to the reduced borders of Germany in one of the largest ethnic cleansing operations in history. Regions where Germans had formed the local population majority were re-settled with Polish- or Czech-speakers. The region fell to Soviet control and Communist governments were imposed. Yugoslavia and Albania had their own Communist regimes independent of Moscow. The Eastern Bloc at the onset of the Cold War in 1947 was far behind the Western European countries in economic rebuilding and economic progress. Winston Churchill, in his famous "Sinews of Peace" address of 5 March 1946, at Westminster College in Fulton, Missouri, stressed the geopolitical impact of the "iron curtain": Eastern Bloc during the Cold War to 1989
1589_24	Eastern Europe after 1945 usually meant all the European countries liberated from Nazi Germany and then occupied by the Soviet army. It included the German Democratic Republic (also known as East Germany), formed by the Soviet occupation zone of Germany. All the countries in Eastern Europe adopted communist modes of control by 1948. These countries were officially independent of the Soviet Union, but the practical extent of this independence was quite limited. Yugoslavia and Albania had Communist control that was independent of the Kremlin.
1589_25	The communists had a natural reservoir of popularity in that they had destroyed the Nazi invaders. Their goal was to guarantee long-term working-class solidarity. The Soviet secret police, the NKVD, working in collaboration with local communists, created secret police forces using leadership trained in Moscow. This new secret police arrived to arrest political enemies according to prepared lists. The national Communists then took power in a gradualist manner, backed by the Soviets in many, but not all, cases. For a while, cooperative non-Communist parties were tolerated. The Communist governments nationalized private businesses, placing them under state ownership, and monitored the media and churches. When dividing up government offices with coalition partners, the Communists took control of the interior ministries, which controlled the local police. They also took control of the mass media, especially radio, as well as the education system. They confiscated and redistributed
1589_26	farmland, and seized control of or replaced the organizations of civil society, such as church groups, sports, youth groups, trade unions, farmers' organizations, and civic organizations. In some countries, they engaged in large-scale ethnic cleansing, moving ethnic groups such as Germans, Poles, Ukrainians and Hungarians far away from where they previously lived, often with high loss of life, to relocate them within the new post-war borders of their respective countries.
1589_27	Under pressure from Stalin, these nations rejected grants from the American Marshall Plan. Instead, they participated in the Molotov Plan, which later evolved into the Comecon (Council for Mutual Economic Assistance). When NATO was created in 1949, most countries of Eastern Europe became members of the opposing Warsaw Pact, forming a geopolitical concept that became known as the Eastern Bloc. This consisted of: First and foremost was the Soviet Union (which included the modern-day territories of Russia, Lithuania, Latvia, Estonia, Belarus, Ukraine, and Moldova). Other countries dominated by the Soviet Union were the German Democratic Republic, People's Republic of Poland, Czechoslovak Socialist Republic, People's Republic of Hungary, People's Republic of Bulgaria, and Socialist Republic of Romania.
1589_28	The Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia (SFRY; formed after World War II and before its later dismemberment) was not a member of the Warsaw Pact. It was a founding member of the Non-Aligned Movement, an organization created in an attempt to avoid being assigned to either the NATO or Warsaw Pact blocs. The movement was demonstratively independent of both the Soviet Union and the Western bloc for most of the Cold War period, allowing Yugoslavia and its other members to act as a business and political mediator between the blocs.
1589_29	The Socialist People's Republic of Albania broke with the Soviet Union in the early 1960s as a result of the Sino-Soviet split, aligning itself instead with China. Albania formally left the Warsaw pact in September 1968 after the suppression of the Prague Spring. When China established diplomatic relations with the United States in 1978, Albania also broke away from China. Albania and especially Yugoslavia were not unanimously appended to the Eastern Bloc, as they were neutral for a large part of the Cold War period.
1589_30	Since 1989
1589_31	With the fall of the Iron Curtain in 1989, the political landscape of the Eastern Bloc, and indeed the world, changed. In the German reunification, the Federal Republic of Germany peacefully absorbed the German Democratic Republic in 1990. In 1991, COMECON, the Warsaw Pact, and the Soviet Union were dissolved. Many European nations that had been part of the Soviet Union regained their independence (Belarus, Moldova, Ukraine, as well as the Baltic States of Latvia, Lithuania, and Estonia). Czechoslovakia peacefully separated into the Czech Republic and Slovakia in 1993. Many countries of this region joined the European Union, namely Bulgaria, the Czech Republic, Croatia, Estonia, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Romania, Slovakia and Slovenia. The term "EU11 countries" refer to the Central, Eastern and Baltic European member states that accessed in 2004 and after: in 2004 the Czech Republic, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Hungary, Poland, Slovenia, and the Slovak Republic; in 2007
1589_32	Bulgaria, Romania; and in 2013 Croatia.
1589_33	The economic changes were in harmony with the constitutional reforms: constitutional provisions on public finances can be identified and, in some countries, a separate chapter deals with public finances. Generally, they soon encountered the following problems: high inflation, high unemployment, low economic growth, and high government debt. By 2000 these economies were stabilized, and between 2004 and 2013 all of them joined the European Union. Most of the constitutions define directly or indirectly the economic system of the countries parallel to the democratic transition of the 1990s: free-market economy (sometimes complemented with the socially [and ecologically] oriented sector), economic development, or only economic rights are included as a ground for the economy.
1589_34	In the case of fiscal policy, the legislative, the executive and other state organs (Budget Council, Economic and Social Council) define and manage the budgeting. The average government debt in the countries is nearly 44%, but the deviation is great because the lowest figure is close to 10% but the highest is 97%. The trend shows that the sovereign debt ratio to GDP in most countries has been rising. Only three countries are affected by high government debt: Croatia, Hungary and Slovenia (over 70% of the GDP), while Slovakia and Poland fulfill the Maastricht requirement but only 10% below the threshold. The contribution to cover the finances for common needs is declared, the principle of just tax burden-sharing is supplemented sometimes with special aspects. Tax revenues expose typically 15–19 % of the GDP, and rates above 20% only rarely can be found.
1589_35	The state audit of the government budget and expenditures is an essential control element in public finances and an important part of the concept of checks and balances. The central banks are independent state institutions, which possess a monopoly on managing and implementing a state's or federation's monetary policy. Besides monetary policy, some of them even perform the supervision of the financial intermediary system. In the case of a price stability function, the inflation rate, in the examined area, relatively quickly dropped to below 5% by 2000. In monetary policy the differences are based on the euro-zone: Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Slovakia, Slovenia use the common currency. The economies of this decade – similar to the previous one – show a moderate inflation. As a new phenomenon, a slight negative inflation (deflation) appeared in this decade in several countries (Croatia, Estonia, Hungary, Poland, Romania, Slovakia, and Slovenia), which demonstrates sensitivity regarding
1589_36	international developments. The majority of the constitutions determine the national currency, legal tender or monetary unit. The local currency exchange rate to the U.S. dollar shows that drastic interventions were not necessary. National wealth or assets are the property of the state and/or local governments and, as an exclusive property, the management and protection of them aim at serving the public interest.
1589_37	See also Community for Democracy and Rights of Nations Eastern European Group Eastern Partnership Enlargement of the European Union Eurasian Economic Union Euronest Parliamentary Assembly European Union European Russia Eurovoc Future enlargement of the European Union Geography of the Soviet Union Intermarium List of political parties in Eastern Europe Organization of the Black Sea Economic Cooperation Post-Soviet States European subregions Eurovoc#Eastern Europe East-Central Europe Central Europe Central and Eastern Europe Northern Europe Southeast Europe Western Europe Geographical midpoint of Europe Regions of Europe References Further reading
1589_38	Applebaum, Anne. Iron Curtain: The Crushing of Eastern Europe, 1944–1956 (2012) Berend, Iván T. Decades of Crisis: Central and Eastern Europe before World War II (2001) Day, Alan J. et al. A Political and Economic Dictionary of Eastern Europe (2nd ed 2007) abstract Donert, Celia, Emily Greble, and Jessica Wardhaugh. "New Scholarship on Central and Eastern Europe." Contemporary European History 26.3 (2017): 507-507. DOI: New Scholarship on Central and Eastern Europe Frankel, Benjamin. The Cold War 1945-1991. Vol. 2, Leaders and other important figures in the Soviet Union, Eastern Europe, China, and the Third World (1992), 379pp of biographies. Frucht, Richard, ed. Encyclopedia of Eastern Europe: From the Congress of Vienna to the Fall of Communism (2000) Fuchs-Schündeln, Nicola, and Matthias Schündeln. "The long-term effects of communism in Eastern Europe." Journal of Economic Perspectives 34.2 (2020): 172–91. online
1589_39	Gal, Susan and Gail Kligman, The Politics of Gender After Socialism (Princeton University Press, 2000). Gorshkov, Boris B. "Serfdom: Eastern Europe." in Encyclopedia of European Social History, edited by Peter N. Stearns, (vol. 2: 2001), pp. 379–388. Online Ghodsee, Kristen R. Lost in Transition: Ethnographies of Everyday Life After Communism (Duke University Press, 2011). Held, Joseph, ed. The Columbia History of Eastern Europe in the Twentieth Century (1993) Jeffries, Ian, and Robert Bideleux. The Balkans: A Post-Communist History (2007). Jelavich, Barbara. History of the Balkans, Vol. 1: Eighteenth and Nineteenth Centuries (1983) Ramet, Sabrina P. Eastern Europe: Politics, Culture, and Society Since 1939 (1999) Roskin, Michael G. The Rebirth of East Europe (4th ed. 2001); 204pp
1589_40	Schenk, Frithjof Benjamin, Mental Maps: The Cognitive Mapping of the Continent as an Object of Research of European History, EGO - European History Online, Mainz: Institute of European History, 2013, retrieved: March 4, 2020 (pdf). Schevill, Ferdinand. The History of the Balkan Peninsula; From the Earliest Times to the Present Day (1966) Seton-Watson, Hugh. Eastern Europe Between the Wars 1918-1941 (1945) online Simons, Thomas W. Eastern Europe in the Postwar World (1991) Snyder, Timothy. Bloodlands: Europe Between Hitler and Stalin (2011) Stavrianos, L.S. The Balkans Since 1453 (1958), major scholarly history; online free to borrow Swain, Geoffrey and Nigel Swain, Eastern Europe Since 1945 (3rd ed. 2003) Verdery, Katherine. What Was Socialism and What Comes Next? Princeton: Princeton University Press, 1996. Walters, E. Garrison. The Other Europe: Eastern Europe to 1945 (1988) 430pp; country-by-country coverage
1589_41	Wolchik, Sharon L. and Jane L. Curry, eds. Central and East European Politics: From Communism to Democracy (2nd ed. 2010), 432pp Wolff, Larry: Inventing Eastern Europe: The Map of Civilization on the Mind of the Enlightenment. Stanford: Stanford University Press, 1994.
1589_42	External links Interview with historian Larry Wolff on "Inventing Eastern Europe" Eastern Europe Economic Data Emerging Europe - A new narrative for the region Regions of Europe
1590_0	Hurricane Tina was the strongest and longest-lived storm of the 1992 Pacific hurricane season, which also threatened land for a brief period. The twenty-fourth tropical cyclone, twenty-second tropical storm, fourteenth hurricane, and eighth major hurricane of the record breaking season, Tina formed from a tropical wave on September 17. The storm moved towards the west and strengthened into a hurricane. A breakdown in a ridge and to the north and a trough then re-curved Tina to the northeast and towards land, still moving slowly and gradually slowing down. The trough broke down and was replaced by a strong ridge. Tina then changed direction again and headed out to sea. It intensified into a Category 4 storm with winds of 150 mph (240 km/h) and a central pressure of 932 millibars. Tina then slowly weakened as it turned to the north. Tropical Depression Tina dissipated on October 11, shortly after entering the Central Pacific Hurricane Center's area of responsibility. Although the
1590_1	tropical cyclone never made landfall, heavy rains were recorded across western Mexico. While at peak intensity, the storm also displayed annular characteristics.
1590_2	Meteorological history Tina originated from a tropical wave that left the African coast on September 5. Six days later, the wave moved through the Lesser Antilles. The wave generated disorganized fare-ups while entering the Caribbean Sea, but due to strong wind shear further development failed to occur. On September 16, while about west of Acapulco, Mexico, the wave had entered the East Pacific basin. The system began to become more organized and at 1200 UTC on September 17, the NHC upgraded the disturbance into a tropical depression, the twenty-second of the season, as the disturbance had changed dramatically in organization. The depression became Tropical Storm Tina on the next day. The system began an intensifying trend, and Tina strengthened into a moderate tropical storm 24 hours after attaining tropical storm status, and the NHC forecasted Tina to become a hurricane.
1590_3	As forecasted, Tina reached hurricane status at 1800 UTC on September 20. Tina reached a secondary peak of 85 mph (140 km/h) on the next day. By September 21, shear began to take a toll on the hurricane, as deep convection decreased. Tina briefly weakened back into a tropical storm, but regained hurricane intensity for another two days. However, data from a Hurricane Hunter aircraft indicted that Tina had weakened back to tropical storm status, thus ending the first of three strengthening trends of Hurricane Tina. By September 24, Tropical Storm Tina took a sharp turn north-northeast towards the west coast of Mexico, due to a combination of a weakness in a subtropical ridge and a mid-level to low-level trough passing north of the tropical cyclone. Shortly thereafter, an anticyclone developed west of the Baja California Coast.
1590_4	By September 27, steering flow moved Tina away from the coast of Mexico, where there was little wind shear. The tropical storm then began to re-intensify. Tina regained hurricane status on September 28 as it accelerated. On September 28, Tina had reached major hurricane intensity. The next day, Tina continued intensify, becoming a Category 4 hurricane on the Saffir-Simpson hurricane scale. Late on September 29, the storm"s pressure had fallen to 944 mbar and winds had increased to 145 mph (230 km/h) while Tina was located away from the Mexican coast. Overnight on September 30, Tina peaked with winds of 150 mph (240 km/h) and a pressure of 930 mbar. On October 1, the hurricane underwent fluctuations in intensity.
1590_5	Tina began to change its path over the next days due to an approaching trough which allowed Tina to turn northbound into cooler sea surface temperatures, as well as into an area of increasing wind shear. The eye became very large, peaking in size on October 4. However, the less favorable environment caused Tina to slowly weaken. The system weakened back to tropical storm status late on October 4. Tina's motion decreased due to weak steering currents. As such, Tina continued to weaken, and was downgraded into a tropical depression. At this time, only a swirl of clouds remained, with limited deep convection. The next day Tina moved into the Central Pacific Hurricane Center's area of responsibility and six hours later, the storm's winds had dropped to 30 mph (45 km/h). Tina still maintained a small area of deep convection, despite decreasing seas surface temperatures, until dissipation on October 11.
1590_6	Records, preparations, and impact When Tropical Storm Tina was tracking northeastward toward Mexico, the National Hurricane Center noted the possibility of landfall, although all of the tropical cyclone forecast models correctly indicated a westward turn would occur. While passing the region, Tina dropped heavy rainfall that produced flooding along the west coast of Mexico. Lasting 22 days, Hurricane Tina surpassed Hurricane Fico as the longest lived storm in the northeastern Pacific. Hurricane John (1994) became the longest-lived tropical cyclone in the northern Pacific a couple years later. See also Other storms of the same name Pacific hurricane List of Category 4 Pacific hurricanes References Tina Tina (1992)
1591_0	Lives in the Balance is the eighth album by American singer/songwriter Jackson Browne, released in 1986 (see 1986 in music). It reached number 23 on The Billboard 200 chart. The title track as well as "For America" and "In the Shape of a Heart" were released as singles. The album was ranked number 88 on Rolling Stone's list of the best 100 albums of the 1980s. The album reached number 2 in Sweden. History Lives in the Balance was the first album by Browne where overtly political and socially critical songs dominated (three of which were about president Ronald Reagan), although it also included one of his best remembered songs about relationships, the tragic "In the Shape of a Heart", inspired by his relationship with his first wife. The radio play garnered by "For America" and "In the Shape of a Heart", and the use of "Lives in the Balance" in the show Miami Vice, gained him many new fans who later went back and discovered Browne's earlier works.
1591_1	The lesser commercial success of the album, according to a Rolling Stone November 1989 article, hardly mattered to Browne: "I like this album as much as any I've ever done," Browne said. "And there's a certain comfort, a security that I have, talking about something that I feel this strongly about. And whether or not an album succeeds wildly or not, that's intact." The album was certified as a gold record in 1986 by the RIAA. Reception Critical press focused on the political direction of Lives in the Balance. Music critic William Rulhmann wrote retrospectively "...if Browne sounded more involved in his music than he had in some time, the specificity of its approach inevitably limited its appeal and its long-term significance."
1591_2	Critic Robert Christgau also commented in a similar vein: "The difference is that Browne shouldn't be doing this... he's a pop star who's stretching his audience and endangering his market share merely by making such a statement in 1986. And he's thought hard getting here—not only does his way with words render these lyrics somewhat deeper than Holly Near's, but his moralistic put-downs have that edge of righteous anger nobody's yet found the formula for." The Rolling Stone Record Guide wrote that "the title track is a cutting slice of social observation, but the remainder of the album is muddled. For the first time, Browne seems unsure of himself."
1591_3	However, the original 1986 Rolling Stone review by Jimmy Guterman praised the album over-all in part because of Browne's "new-found ability to link the personal to the political," which "breathes life" into the songs and "prevents them from becoming too didactic. Browne's not just writing about the headlines; he's trying to tell the stories of the people they affect." Track listing All tracks composed by Browne except where noted.
1591_4	Personnel The list of contributors is as follows. Jackson Browne – lead vocals, vocoder (1), acoustic guitar (2, 3, 6), sequencing (2, 6), acoustic piano (4), harmony vocals (6) Jai Winding – acoustic piano (1), synthesizers (1, 4, 5, 6, 8), organ (5) Bill Payne – synthesizers (2, 3, 4, 6), acoustic piano (8) Danny Kortchmar – sequencing (2), guitar (5) Craig Doerge – synthesizers (3) Bernie Larsen – clavinet (7), guitar (7) Ian McLagan – organ (7) Gary Myrick – guitar (1) Steve Lukather – guitar (2, 4, 8) Rick Vito – guitar (3) David Lindley – guitar (5, 7) Waddy Wachtel – guitar (5) Jorge Strunz – nylon-string acoustic guitar (6) Hugo Pedroza – charango (6), tiple (6) Kevin McCormick – guitar (7), harmony vocals (7) Kevin Dukes – guitar (8) Jennifer Condos – bass (1) Bob Glaub – bass (2, 3, 4, 6, 8) Jorge Calderón – bass (5), harmony vocals (5) Phil Chen – bass (7) Ian Wallace – drums (1, 7) Russ Kunkel – drums (2, 4, 6, 8) Stan Lynch – drums (3)
1591_5	Jim Keltner – drums (5) Walfredo Reyes Jr. – congas (5) Phil Kenzie – alto saxophone (1) Enrique "Quique" Cruz – zampona (6) Doug Haywood – harmony vocals (3, 4, 7, 8) Bonnie Raitt – harmony vocals (4) Debra Dobkin – harmony vocals (6) Mindy Sterling – harmony vocals (6)
1591_6	Production Producer – Jackson Browne Production Assistant – Steven Landsberg Engineer – James Geddes Assistant Engineers – Tchad Blake, Bill Jackson and Coke Johnson. Technical Engineer – Ed Wong Mixing – James Geddes and Greg Ladanyi Mix Assistants – Murray Dvorkin and Sharon Rice Mixed at The Complex (Los Angeles, CA). Mastered by Doug Sax at The Mastering Lab (Los Angeles, CA). Art Direction – Dawn Patrol and Jimmy Wachtel Cover Artwork – Richard Duardo Back Cover Photo – Basia Kenton Charts Album – Billboard (United States) Singles – Billboard (United States) See also Ronald Reagan in music References Jackson Browne albums 1986 albums Asylum Records albums Albums with cover art by Jimmy Wachtel Political music albums by American artists
1592_0	The jack jumper ant (Myrmecia pilosula), also known as the jack jumper, jumping jack, hopper ant, or jumper ant, is a species of venomous ant native to Australia. Most frequently found in Tasmania and southeast mainland Australia, it is a member of the genus Myrmecia, subfamily Myrmeciinae, and was formally described and named by British entomologist Frederick Smith in 1858. This species is known for its ability to jump long distances. These ants are large; workers and males are about the same size: for workers, and for males. The queen measures roughly long and is similar in appearance to workers, whereas males are identifiable by their perceptibly smaller mandibles.
1592_1	Jack jumper ants are primarily active during the day and live in open habitats, nesting in bushland, woodlands, and dry open forests, surrounded by gravel and sandy soil, which can be found in rural areas and are less common in urban areas. They prey on small insects and use their barbless stingers to kill other insects by injecting venom. Other ants and predatory invertebrates prey on the jack jumper ant. The average worker has a life expectancy over one year. Workers are gamergates, allowing them to reproduce with drones, whether or not a queen is present in the colony. The ant is a part of the Myrmecia pilosula species complex; this ant and other members of the complex are known to have a single pair of chromosomes.
1592_2	Their sting generally only causes a mild local reaction in humans; however, it is one of the few ant species that can be dangerous to humans, along with other ants in the genus Myrmecia. The ant venom is particularly immunogenic for an insect venom; the venom causes about 90% of Australian ant allergies. In endemic areas, up to 3% of the human population has developed an allergy to the venom and about half of these allergic people can suffer from anaphylactic reactions (increased heart rate, falling blood pressure, and other symptoms), which can lead to death on rare occasions. Between 1980 and 2000, four deaths were due to anaphylaxis from jack jumper stings, all of them in Tasmania. Individuals prone to severe allergic reactions caused by the ant's sting can be treated with allergen immunotherapy (desensitisation). Taxonomy and common names
1592_3	The specific name derives from the Latin word pilosa, meaning 'covered with soft hair'. The ant was first identified in 1858 by British entomologist Frederick Smith in his Catalogue of hymenopterous insects in the collection of the British Museum part VI, under the binomial name Myrmecia pilosula from specimens he collected in Hobart in Tasmania. There, Smith described the specimens of a worker, queen, and male. The type specimen is located in the British Museum in London. In 1922, American entomologist William Morton Wheeler established the subgenus Halmamyrmecia characterised by its jumping behaviour, of which the jack jumper ant was designated as the type species. However, John Clark later synonymised Halmamyrmecia under the subgenus Promyrmecia in 1927 and placed the ant in the subgenus in 1943. William Brown synonymised Promyrmecia due to the lack of morphological evidence that would make it distinct from Myrmecia and later placed the jack jumper ant in the genus in 1953.
1592_4	One synonym for the species has been published – Ponera ruginoda (also titled Myrmecia ruginoda), described by Smith in the same work, and a male holotype specimen was originally described for this synonym. P. ruginoda was initially placed into the genera Ectatomma and Rhytidoponera, but it was later classified as a junior synonym of the jack jumper ant, after specimens of each were compared. The M. pilosula species complex was first defined by Italian entomologist Carlo Emery. The species complex is a monophyletic group, where the species are closely related to each other, but their actual genetic relationship is distant. Members of this group include M. apicalis, M. chasei, M. chrysogaster, M. croslandi, M. cydista, M. dispar, M. elegans, M. harderi, M. ludlowi, M. michaelseni, M. occidentalis M. queenslandica, M. rugosa, and M. varians. Additional species that were described in this group in 2015 include M. banksi, M. haskinsorum, M. imaii, and M. impaternata.
1592_5	Their characteristic jumping motion when agitated or foraging inspires the common name "jack jumper", a behaviour also shared with other Myrmecia ants, such as M. nigrocincta. This is the most common name for the ant, along with "black jumper," "hopper ant", "jumper ant", "jumping ant", "jumping jack" and "skipper ant". It is also named after the jumping-jack firecracker. The species is a member of the genus Myrmecia, a part of the subfamily Myrmeciinae. Description
1592_6	Like its relatives, the ant possesses a powerful sting and large mandibles. These ants can be black or blackish-red in colour, and may have yellow or orange legs. The ant is medium-sized in comparison to other Myrmecia species, where workers are typically long. Excluding mandibles, jack jumpers measure in length. The ant's antennae, tibiae, tarsi, and mandibles are also yellow or orange. Pubescence (hair) on the ant is greyish, short and erect, and is longer and more abundant on their gaster, absent on their antennae, and short and suberect on their legs. The pubescence on the male is grey and long, and abundant throughout the ant's body, but it shortens on the legs. The mandibles are long and slender (measuring ), and concave around the outer border.
1592_7	The queen has a similar appearance to the workers, but her middle body is more irregular and coarser. The queen is also the largest, measuring in length. Males are either smaller or around the same size as workers, measuring . Males also have much smaller, triangular mandibles than workers and queens. The mandibles on the male contain a large tooth at the centre, among the apex and the base of the inner border. Punctures (tiny dots) are noticeable on the head, which are large and shallow, and the thorax and node are also irregularly punctuated. The pubescence on the male's gaster is white and yellowish. Distribution and habitat
1592_8	Jack jumper ants are abundant in most of Australia, being among the most common bull ant to be encountered. The ants can be found in the south-western tip of Western Australia, where it has been seen in the sand hills around Albany, Mundaring, Denmark and Esperance. The ant is rarely sighted in the northern regions of Western Australia. In South Australia, it is commonly found in the south-east regions of the state, frequently encountered in Mount Lofty (particularly the Adelaide Hills), Normanville, Hallett Cove and Aldgate, but it is not found in north-western regions. There are dense populations on the western seaboard of Kangaroo Island. Jack jumpers are widespread throughout the whole of Victoria, but the species is uncommon in Melbourne. However, populations have been collected from the suburb of Elsternwick, and they are commonly found in the Great Otway Ranges, with many nests observed around Gellibrand. In New South Wales, nests are found throughout the entire state (with
1592_9	the exception of north-western New South Wales), but dense populations are mostly found in the Snowy Mountains, Blue Mountains and coastal regions. The ants are widespread in the Australian Capital Territory. In Queensland, the ants are only found along the south-eastern coastlines of the state, where populations are frequently encountered in the Bunya Mountains, Fletcher, Stanthorpe, Sunshine Coast, Tamborine Mountain and Millmerran, and have been found as far north as Rockhampton. The ant also resides in all of Tasmania, and their presence in the Northern Territory has not been verified.
1592_10	Jack jumper ants live in open habitats, such as damp areas, forests, pastures, gardens, and lawns, preferring fine gravel and sandy soil. Colonies can also be spotted around light bushland. Their preferred natural habitats include woodlands, dry open forests, grasslands, and rural areas, and less common in urban areas. Their nests are mounds built from finely granular gravel, soil, and pebbles, measuring in diameter and can be as tall as 0.5 m (20 in) in height. Two types of nests for this species have been described, one being a simple nest with a noticeable shaft inside, the other being a complex structure surrounded by a mound. These ants use the sun's warmth by decorating their nests with dry materials that heat in a quick duration, providing the nest with solar energy traps. They decorate their nests with seeds, soil, charcoal, stones, sticks, and even small invertebrate corpses. They also camouflage their nests by covering them with leaf litter, debris, and long grass. Nests
1592_11	can be found hidden under rocks, where queens most likely form their colonies, or around small piles of gravel, instead. Their range in southern Australia, like other regional ant species, appears like that of a relict ant. Jack jumpers have been found in dry sclerophyll forests, at elevations ranging from , averaging . Rove beetles in the genus Heterothops generally thrive in jack jumper nests and raise their brood within their chambers, and skinks have been found in some nests.
1592_12	Populations are dense in the higher mountain regions of Tasmania. Widespread throughout the state, their presence is known on King Island, located north-west from Tasmania. The ant prefers rural areas, found in warm, dry, open eucalypt woodlands; the climate provides the ant with isolation and warmth. This environment also produces the ant's food, which includes nectar and invertebrate prey. In suburban areas, this ant is found in native vegetation, and uses rockeries, cracks in concrete walls, dry soil, and grass to build nests. One study found suburbs with voluminous vegetation cover such as Mount Nelson, Fern Tree and West Hobart host jack jumper populations, while the heavily urbanised suburbs of North Hobart and Battery Point, do not.
1592_13	Pest control of the jack jumper ant is successful in maintaining their populations around suburban habitats. Chemicals such as bendiocarb, chlorpyrifos, diazinon, and permethrin are effective against them. Spraying of Solfac into nests is an effective way of controlling nests if they are in a close range of areas with considerable amounts of congestion and human activity. Pouring carbon disulfide into nest holes and covering entrances up with soil is another method of removing colonies. The Australian National Botanic Gardens have an effective strategy of marking and maintaining jack jumper nests. Behaviour and ecology
1592_14	Primarily diurnal, workers search for food during the day until dusk. They are active during warmer months, but are dormant during winter. Fights between these ants within the same colony is not uncommon. They are known for their aggression towards humans, attraction to movement, and well developed vision, being able to observe and follow intruders from 1 m (1.1 yd) away. This species is an accomplished jumper, with leaps ranging from . William Morton Wheeler compared jack jumper ants to "Lilliputian cavalry galloping to battle" when disturbed, due to their jumping behaviour. He further wrote that they also made a ludicrous appearance as they emerge from their nests, in a series of short hops.
1592_15	While no studies have established whether or not these ants contain alarm pheromones, their relative Myrmecia gulosa is capable of inducing territorial alarm using pheromones. If proven, this would explain their ability to attack en masse. Foraging workers are regularly observed on the inflorescences of Prasophyllum alpinum (mostly pollinated by wasps of the subfamily Ichneumonidae). Although pollinia are often seen in the ants' jaws, they have a habit of cleaning their mandibles on the leaves and stems of nectar-rich plants before moving on, preventing pollen exchange. Whether jack jumper ants contribute to pollination is unknown. Prey
1592_16	Unlike many other ants that use scent to forage for food, jack jumpers use their sight to target their prey, using rapid movements of the head and body to focus on their prey with their enlarged eyes. Like other bull ants, they are solitary when they forage, but only workers perform this role. These ants are omnivores and scavengers, typically foraging in warmer temperatures. They deliver painful stings, which are effective in both killing prey and deterring predators. Jack jumpers have smooth stingers, thus can sting indefinitely. Jack jumper ants are skilled hunters, partially due to their excellent vision; they can even kill and devour wasps and bees. They also kill and eat other ants, such as carpenter ants (Camponotus) and feed on sweet floral secretions and other sugar solutions. They often hunt for spiders, and sometimes follow their prey for a short distance, usually with small insects and small arthropods. Jack jumper ants, alongside M. simillima, have been given frozen
1592_17	houseflies (Musca domestica) and blowflies (Calliphoridae) as food under testing conditions. The ants have been observed to run and leap energetically at flies when they land, particularly on Acacia shrubs, plants, or trees. Jack jumpers and other Myrmecia ants prey on insects such as cockroaches and crickets.
1592_18	Mature adult ants of this species mostly eat sweet substances, so dead insects they find are given to their larvae. However, larvae are only fed insects when they have reached a particular size. Workers mostly collect small insects, sap-sucking insects along with the honeydew, which is taken to their nests to feed their young. Observations have been made of fly predation by jack jumper ants; they only attack the smaller fly species and ignore larger ones.
1592_19	Predators and parasites
1592_20	Blindsnakes of the family Typhlopidae are known to consume Myrmecia broods, although smaller blindsnakes avoid them since they are vulnerable to their stings. Predatory invertebrates such as assassin bugs and redback spiders prey on jack jumpers and other Myrmecia ants, and echidnas, particularly the short-beaked echidna (Tachyglossus aculeatus) hunt jack jumper ants, eating their larvae and eggs. Nymphs of the assassin bug species Ptilocnemus lemur lure these ants by trying to make the ant sting them. The jack jumper ant is a host to the parasite gregarines (Gregarinasina). Ants that host this parasite change colour from their typical black appearance to brown. This was discovered when brown jack jumpers were dissected and found to have Gregarinasina spores, while black jack jumpers showed no spores. If it is present in large numbers, the parasite interferes with the normal darkening of the cuticles while the ant is in its pupal stage. The cuticle softens due to the gregarine
1592_21	parasite.
1592_22	Lifecycle Like every ant, the life of a jack jumper ant starts from an egg. If the egg is fertilised, the ant will be a female (diploid); if not, it will become a male (haploid). They develop through complete metamorphosis, meaning that they pass through larval and pupal stages before emerging as an adult. Cocoons that are isolated from the colony are able to shed their pupal skin before hatching, allowing themselves to advance to full pigmentation. Pupae can also eclose (emerge from their pupal stage) without assistance from other ants. Once born, jack jumper ants can identify distinct tasks, an obvious primitive trait Myrmecia ants are known for.
1592_23	Based on observations of six worker ants, the average life expectancy of the jack jumper is around 1.3 years, but workers were shown to live as little as 1.12 years or as long as 1.6, with the queen living much longer than the workers at 10 years or more. These data give a life expectancy of 401–584 days, with an average of 474 days. Egg clumping is common, as observed in laboratory colonies. These clumps are often carried by worker ants, and these clumps would contain two to 30 eggs, without any larvae to hold them together. This confirms that eggs from jack jumper colonies do not always lie singly apart. George C. Wheeler and Jeanette Wheeler (1971) studied and described larvae collected from New South Wales and South Australia. They noted that very young larvae of the jack jumper were in length, with two types of body hair. They also described young larvae (matured from very young larvae) at , but with similar body characteristics to mature larvae, at . Reproduction
1592_24	Queens are polyandrous, meaning that queens can mate more than once; queens mate with one to nine males during a nuptial flight, and the effective number of mates per queen ranges from 1.0 to 11.4. Most queen ants only mate with one or two males. If the number of available male mates increases, the number of effective matings per queen decreases. Colonies are polygynous, meaning that a colony may house multiple queens; one to four queens typically inhabit a colony, and in multiple-queen colonies, the egg-laying queens are unrelated to one another. Based on a study, 11 of the 14 colonies tested were polygynous (78.57%), showing that this is common in jack jumper colonies. When the queen establishes a nest after mating, she will hunt for food to feed her young, making her semiclaustral. Nests can hold as few as 500 ants or as many as 800 to 1,000. Excavated nests typically have populations ranging from 34 to 344 individuals. Jack jumper ant workers are gamergates, having the ability
1592_25	to reproduce in colonies with or without queens.
1592_26	Colonies are mainly polygynous with polyandrous queens, but polyandry in jack jumper colonies is low in comparison to other Myrmecia ants, but it is comparable to M. pyriformis ants. In 1979, Craig and Crozier investigated the genetic structure of jack jumper ant colonies, and although queens are unrelated to each other, the occurrence of related queens in a single colony was possible. During colony foundation, suggestions exist of dependent colony foundation in jack jumper queens, although independent colony foundations can occur, as the queens do have fully developed wings and can fly. Isolation by distance patterns have been recorded, specifically where nests that tend to be closer to each other were more genetically similar in comparison to other nests farther away.
1592_27	As colonies closer to each other are more genetically similar, independent colony foundation is most likely associated with nuptial flight if they disperse far from genetically similar colonies they originate from. Inseminated queens could even seek adoption into alien colonies if a suitable nest site area for independent colony foundation is restricted or cannot be carried out, known as the nest-site limitation hypothesis. Some queens could even try to return to their nests that they came from after nuptial flight, but end in another nest, in association that nests nearby will be similar to the queen's birth nest.
1592_28	Genetics The jack jumper ant genome is contained on a single pair of chromosomes (males have just one chromosome, as they are haploid). This is the lowest number known (indeed possible) for any animal, a number shared with the parasitic roundworm Parascaris equorum univalens. Jack jumper ants are taxonomically discussed as a single biological species in the Myrmecia pilosula species complex. The ant has nine polymorphic loci, which yielded 67 alleles. Interaction with humans History The earliest known account of ant sting fatalities in Australia was first recorded in 1931; two adults and an infant girl from New South Wales died from ant stings, possibly from the jack jumper ant or M. pyriformis. Thirty years later, another fatality was reported in 1963 in Tasmania. Historical and IgE results have suggested these two species or perhaps another species were responsible for all recorded deaths.
1592_29	Between 1980 and 2000, four deaths have been recorded, all in Tasmania and all due to anaphylactic shock. All known patients who died from jack jumper stings were at least 40 years old and had cardiopulmonary comorbidities. Severe laryngeal oedema and coronary atherosclerosis were detected in most of the autopsies of those who died. Most of the victims died within 20 minutes after being stung. Prior to any desensitisation program being established, the fatality rate was one person every four years from the sting.
1592_30	Before venom immunotherapy, whole body extract immunotherapy was widely used due to its apparent effectiveness, and it was the only immunotherapy used on ants. However, fatal failures were reported and this led to scientists researching for alternative methods of desensitisation. Whole body extract immunotherapy was later proven to be ineffective, and venom immunotherapy was found to be safe and effective to use. Paul Clarke first drew medical attention to the jack jumper ant in 1986, and before this, there had been no history of records of allergic reactions or study on their sting venom. The identification of venom allergens began in the early 1990s in preparation for therapeutic use. Whole body extracts were first used to desensitize patients, but it was found to be ineffective and later withdrawn. Venom immunotherapy was shown to reduce the risk of systemic reactions, demonstrating that immunotherapy can be provided for ant-sting allergies.
1592_31	In 2003, Professor Simon Brown established the jack jumper desensitisation program, although the program is at risk of closure. Since the establishment of the program, no death has been recorded since 2003. However, the ant may be responsible for the death of a Bunbury man in 2011. Incidence The extent of the jack jumper sting problem differs among areas. Allergy prevalence rates are significantly lower in highly urbanised areas and much higher in rural areas. These ants represent a hazard towards people in the southern states of Australia, due to a high proportion of the population having significant allergies to the ant's sting. The ant is a significant cause of major insect allergies, responsible for most anaphylaxis cases in Australia, and rates of anaphylaxis are twice those of honeybee stings. One in three million annually die of general anaphalaxis in Australia alone. Over 90% of Australian ant venom allergies have been caused by the jack jumper.
1592_32	The ant is notorious in Tasmania, where most fatalities have been recorded. In 2005, over a quarter of all jack jumper sting incidents were sustained in Tasmania; excessive in comparison to its 2006 population of only 476,000 people. Jack jumper stings are the single most common cause of anaphylaxis in patients at the Royal Hobart Hospital. The ant has also been a major cause of anaphylaxis outside Tasmania, notably around Adelaide and the outskirts of Melbourne, while cases in New South Wales and Western Australia have been more distributed. One in 50 adults have been reported to suffer anaphylaxis due to the jack jumper or other Myrmecia ants. Venom
1592_33	The jack jumper ant and its relatives in the genus Myrmecia are among the most dangerous ant genera and have fearsome reputations for their extreme aggression; Guinness World Records certifies the ant Myrmecia pyriformis as the world's most dangerous ant. The jack jumper have been compared to other highly aggressive ant species, such as Brachyponera chinensis, Brachyponera sennaarensis, and the red imported fire ant (Solenopsis invicta). The retractable sting is located in their abdomen, attached to a single venom gland connected by the venom sac, which is where the venom is accumulated. Exocrine glands are known in jack jumpers, which produce the venom compounds later used to inject into their victims. Their venom contains haemolytic and eicosanoid elements and histamines. It contains a range of active ingredients and enzymatic activity, which includes phospholipase A2 and B, hyaluronidase, acid and alkaline phosphatase. The venom of the ant also contains several peptides; one being
1592_34	pilosulin 1, which causes cytotoxic effects, pilosulin 2, which has antihypertensive properties and pilosulin 3, which is known to be a major allergen. Other pilosulins include pilosulin 4 and pilosulin 5. The peptides have known molecular weights. The LD50 (lethal dose) occurs at a lower concentration than for melittin, a peptide found in bee venom. Its LD50 value is 3.6 mg/kg (injected intravenously in mice).
1592_35	Loss of cell viability in the jack jumper's venom was researched through cytometry, which measures the proportions of cells that glow in the presence of fluorescent dye and 7-Aminoactinomycin D. Examinations of the rapidly reproducing Epstein–Barr B-cells showed that the cells lost viability within minutes when exposed to pilosulin 1. Normal white blood cells were also found to alter easily when exposed to pilosulin 1. However, partial peptides of pilosulin 1 were less efficient at lowering cell viability; the residue 22 N-terminal plays a critical role in the cytotoxic activity of pilosulin 1.
1592_36	20 percent of jack jumper ants have an empty venom sac, so failure to display a sting reaction should not be interpreted as a loss of sensitivity. Substantial amounts of ant venom have been analysed to characterise venom components, and the jack jumper has been a main subject in these studies. An East Carolina University study which summarised the knowledge about ant stings and their venom showed that only the fire ant and jack jumper had the allergenic components of their venom extensively investigated. These allergenic components include peptides found as heterodimers, homodimers and pilosulin 3. Only six Myrmecia ants, including the jack jumper, are capable of inducing IgE antibodies. Due to the vast differentiation of venom produced in each Myrmecia species, and other species sharing similar characteristics to the jack jumper ant, diagnosing which ant is responsible for an anaphylactic reaction is difficult. A review of a patient's history with allergies while identifying a
1592_37	positive result of venom specific IgE levels helps to identify the species of ant that caused a reaction.
1592_38	Signs and symptoms
1592_39	Reactions to the ants sting show similar symptoms to fire ant stings; namely local swelling which lasts for several days, and swelling of the lips, face and eyes may occur from a minor allergic reaction. Other common symptoms include watering of the eyes and nose, and hives or welts will begin to develop. Headaches, anxiety and flushing may also occur. Jack jumpers, bees and wasps are the most common causes of anaphylaxis from insect stings. People most commonly feel a sharp pain after these stings, similar to that from an electric shock. Some patients develop a systemic skin reaction after being stung. Localised envenomation occurs with every sting, but severe envenoming only occurs if someone has been stung many times (as many as 50 to 300 stings in adults). The heart rate increases, and blood pressure falls rapidly. Most people will only experience mild skin irritation after being stung. Those who suffer from a severe allergic reaction will show a wide variety of symptoms. This
1592_40	includes difficulty breathing and talking, the tongue and throat will swell up, and coughing, chest tightness, abdominal pain, nausea and vomiting may occur. Others may lose consciousness and collapse (sometimes people may not collapse), and confusion. Children who get stung will show symptoms such as floppiness and paleness if a severe allergic reaction occurs.
1592_41	In individuals allergic to the venom (about 2–3% of the population), a sting sometimes causes anaphylactic shock. In comparison to other insects such as the western honeybee (Apis mellifera) and the European wasp (Vespula germanica), their rates are only 1.4% and 0.6%. The annual sting exposure rates for the jack jumper ant, Western honeybee and European wasp are 12%, 7% and 2%. The median time from sting to cardiac arrest is 15 minutes, but the maximum period is around three hours. The ant allergy does not disappear; people with jack jumper allergies will most likely suffer from another allergic reaction if re-stung. Approximately 70 percent of patients with a history of systemic reaction to the ant's sting have another reaction when stung again. In comparison, systemic reaction figures for Apis mellifera and Vespula germanica after being stung show a rate of 50% and 25%. About half of these reactions were life-threatening and occurred predominantly in people who had had previous
1592_42	incidents with the sting. Anaphylaxis in jack jumper ant stings are not rare; 2.9% of 600 residents from semi-rural Victoria had allergic reactions to the ant's sting, according to a questionnaire. The sensitivity to stings is persistent for many years.
1592_43	In 2011, an Australian ant allergy venom study was conducted, with the goal of determining which native Australian ants were associated with ant sting anaphylaxis. It showed that the jack jumper ant was responsible for the majority of patients' reactions to stings from ants of genus Myrmecia. Of the 265 patients who reacted to such a sting, 176 were from the jack jumper, 15 from M. nigrocincta and three from M. ludlowi, while 56 patients had reacted to other Myrmecia ants. The study concluded that four native species of Australian ants caused anaphylaxis. Apart from Myrmecia species, the green-head ant (Rhytidoponera metallica) was also responsible for several systemic reactions.
1592_44	Most people recover uneventfully following a mild local reaction and up to about 3% of individuals suffer a severe localised reaction. Most individuals who suffer from severe localised reactions will most likely encounter another reaction if stung again. Fatalities are rare, and venom immunotherapy can prevent fatalities. First aid and emergency treatment If no signs of an allergic reaction are present, an ice pack or commercially available sprays are used to relieve the pain. Stingose is also recommended to treat a jack jumper sting. Other treatments include washing the stung area with soap and water, and if continuous pain remains for several days, antihistamine tablets are taken for one to three days.
1592_45	Emergency treatment is needed in a case of a severe allergic reaction. Before calling for help, laying a person down and elevating the legs is suggested. Depending on a patients needs, they will be given an EpiPen or an Anapen to use in case they are stung. In a scenario of experiencing anaphylaxis, further doses of adrenaline and intravenous infusions may be required. Some with severe anaphylaxis may suffer cardiac arrest and will need resuscitation. Inhalers may additionally be used in case a victim has asthma and experiences a reaction from a sting. The use of ACE inhibitors is not recommended, as it is known to increase the risk of anaphylaxis. Medications like antihistamines, H2 blockers, corticosteroids and anti-leukotrienes have no effect on anaphylaxis.
1592_46	There are several bush remedies used to treat jack jumper stings (and any other Myrmecia sting). The young tips of a bracken fern provide a useful bush remedy to treat jack jumper stings, discovered and currently used by indigenous Australians. The tips are rubbed on the stung area, and may relieve the local pain after getting stung. Another plant used as a bush remedy is Carpobrotus glaucescens (known as angular sea-fig or pigface). Desensitisation and prevention Desensitisation (also called allergy immunotherapy) to the jack jumper sting venom has shown effectiveness in preventing anaphylaxis, but the standardisation of jack jumper venom is yet to be validated. Unlike bee and wasp sting immunotherapy, jack jumper immunotherapy lacks funding and no government rebate is available. Venom is available; however, no commercial venom extract is available that can be used for skin testing. Venom extract is only available through the Therapeutic Goods Administration Special Access Scheme.
1592_47	The Royal Hobart Hospital offers a desensitisation program for patients who have had a severe allergic reaction to a jack jumper sting. However, the program may face closure due to budget cuts. Professor Simon Brown, who founded the program, commented, "Closing the program will leave 300 patients hanging in the lurch". There is a campaign to make the program available in Victoria. The Royal Adelaide Hospital runs a small-scale program that desensitises patients to the ant's venom. Patients are given an injection of venom under the skin in small amounts. During immunotherapy, the first dose is small, but will gradually increase per injection. This sort of immunotherapy is designed to change how the immune system reacts to increased doses of venom entering the body.
1592_48	Follow-ups of untreated people over thirty with a history of severe allergic reactions would greatly benefit from venom immunotherapy. Both rapid and slow doses can be done safely during immunotherapy. The efficacy (capacity to induce a therapeutic effect) of ant venom immunotherapy is effective in reducing systemic reactions in comparison to placebo and whole body extract immunotherapy, where patients were more likely to suffer from a systemic reaction. Ultrarush initiation of insect immunotherapy may be used, but results show higher risks of allergic reactions. Despite immunotherapy being successful, only ten percent of patients do not have any response to desensitisation.
1592_49	It is suggested that people should avoid jack jumpers, but this is difficult to do. Closed footwear (boots and shoes) along with socks reduce the chances of encountering a sting, but wearing thongs or sandals will put the person at risk. With this said, they are still capable of stinging through fabric, and can find their way through gaps in clothing. Most stings occur when people are gardening, so taking extra caution or avoiding gardening altogether is recommended. People can also avoid encountering jack jumpers by moving to locations where jack jumper populations are either low or absent, or eliminate nearby nests. Since Myrmecia ants have different venoms, people who are allergic to them are advised to stay away from all Myrmecia ants, especially to ones they have not encountered before. See also Ant stings Ants of medical importance List of ants of Australia Notes References Cited texts External links
1592_50	Jack jumper ant in the Catalogue of Life Jack jumper ant in the Universal Protein Resource Video about the Jack jumper ant — YouTube JJA Desensitisation Program website Myrmeciinae Endemic fauna of Australia Hymenoptera of Australia Household pest insects Insects described in 1858 Taxa named by Frederick Smith (entomologist)
1593_0	This is the official list of titular sees of the Catholic Church included in the Annuario Pontificio. Archiepiscopal sees are shown in bold. The Italian-language Annuario Pontificio devotes some 200 pages to listing these sees, with up to a dozen names on each page. It gives their names in Latin (which are generally the names used also in English) as well as in Italian, and indicates the ancient Roman province to which most of them belonged or other geographical particulars, their status as metropolitan see or suffragan see (of episcopal or archiepiscopal rank), and basic biographical information about their current bishops. A
1593_1	Abaradira Abari Abbir Germaniciana (Africa proconsularis) Abbir Maius (Africa proconsularis) Abercornia Abernethia Abidda Abila in Palaestina Abila Lysaniae Abitinae Abora (Africa Proconsularis) Abrittum Absa Salla (Africa proconsularis) Absorus Abthugni (Africa proconsularis) Abula Abydus Abziri (Africa proconsularis) Acalissus Acarassus Acci Accia Acelum Achelous Acholla Achrida (Ohrid) Achyraus Acilisene Acmonia Acrassus Acropolis Acufida Adada Adana (Armenian Catholic Church) Adana (Melkite Catholic Church) Adraa Adramyttium Adrasus Adulis Aeclanum Aegae Aegeae Aegina Aela Aeliae Aemona Aenus Aëtus Aezani Africa Afufenia Agathonice Agathopolis Agbia (Africa) Aggar Aggersel Agnus Agrippias Aguntum Aggersel Alabanda Ala Miliaria Alava Alba Alba Maritima Albulae Aleria Alexandria Minor Alexanum Algiza Alia Aliezira Alinda Allegheny Alphocranon Altava Altiburus (Africa) Altinum Alton Amadassa Amaia
1593_2	Amantia Amasea Amastris Amathus in Cypro Amathus in Palaestina Amaura Ambia Amblada Amida (Armenian Catholic Church and Syriac Catholic Church) Amisus Amiternum Ammaedara Ammoniace Amorium Amphipolis Ampora Amudarsa Amyzon Anaea Anasartha Anastasiopolis Anatetarte Anazarbus Anbar (Chaldean Catholic Church) Anchialus Ancusa Ancyra (Armenian Catholic Church and Latin Church) Ancyra Ferrea Andeda Andrapa Andropolis Anemurium Anglona, Pandosia Anineta Antaeopolis Antandrus Antarados Anthedon Antigonea Antiphellus Antiphrae Antinoë Antiochia ad Maeandrum Antiochia in Pisidia Antiochia Parva Antipatris Antipyrgos Antium Apamea Cibotus Apamea in Bithynia Apamea in Syria (Maronite Church, Melkite Catholic Church and Syriac Catholic Church) Aperlae Aphnaeum Aphroditopolis Apisa Maius (Africa) Apollonia Apollonia Salbace Apollonias Apollonis Apollonopolis Magna Apollonopolis Parva Apollonos-Hieron Appia Appiaria Aprus Apta
1593_3	Aptuca (Africa) Aquae Albae in Byzacena Aquae Albae in Mauretania Aquae in Byzacena Aquae in Dacia Aquae in Mauretania Aquae in Numidia Aquae in Proconsulari (Africa) Aquae Flaviae Aquae Novae in Numidia Aquae Novae in Proconsulari (Africa Proconsularis) Aquae Regiae Aquae Sirenses Aquae Thibilitanae Aquaviva Aquileia Patriarchate (in Italy) Aquipendium Arabia Arabissus Arad Aradi Aradus Arae in Mauretania Arae in Numidia Arausio Araxa Arba Arbanum Arcadia Arcadiopolis in Asia Arcadiopolis in Europa Arca in Armenia Arca in Phoenicia (Latin Church and Maronite Church) Arcavica Archelaïs Ardamerium Árd Carna Árd Mór Árd Sratha Arena Areopolis Arethusa (Latin Church and Syriac Catholic Church) Argos Ariarathia Ariassus Arindela Arisitum Aristium Arna Arneae Arpi Arsacal Arsamosata Arsennaria Arsinoë in Arcadia Arsinoë in Cypro Artvin (Armenian Catholic Church) Arycanda Ascalon Aspendus Aspona Assava Assuras Assus Astigi
1593_4	Astypalaea Asuoremixta Atella Atenia Athribis Ath Truim Athyra Attaea Attalea in Lydia Attalea in Pamphylia Attanasus Attuda Auca Aufinium Augurus Augusta Augustopolis in Palaestina Augustopolis in Phrygia Aulon (Aulonensis) Aulon (Aulonitanus) Aureliopolis in Asia Aureliopolis in Lydia Aurocla Aurusuliana Ausafa Ausana (Africa) Ausuaga (Africa) Ausuccura Autenti Auzegera Auzia Aveia Africa Avensa (Africa) Avioccala (Africa) Avissa (Africa) Avitta Bibba Axomis Azotus Azura (diocese)

Subsets and Splits

No community queries yet

The top public SQL queries from the community will appear here once available.