Heat‐triggered fruit opening and delayed release of mature seeds are widespread among plants in fire‐prone ecosystems. Here, the material characteristics of the seed‐containing follicles of Banksia attenuata (Proteaceae), which open in response to heat frequently caused by fire, are investigated. Material analysis reveals that long‐term dimensional stability and opening temperatures of follicles collected across an environmental gradient increase as habitats become drier, hotter, and more fire prone. A gradual increase in the biaxial curvature of the hygroscopic valves provides the follicles in the driest region with the highest flexural rigidity. The irreversible deformation of the valves for opening is enabled via a temperature‐dependent reduction of the elastic modulus of the innermost tissue layer, which then allows releasing the stresses previously generated by shrinkage of the fiber bundles in the adjacent layer during follicle drying. These findings illustrate the level of sophistication by which this species optimizes its fruit opening mechanism over a large distribution range with varying environmental conditions, and may not only have great relevance for developing biomimetic actuators, but also for elucidating the species' capacity to cope with climatic changes.

This study describes the epidemiology, the clinical features and the course of confirmed chikungunya among a cohort of children. It is a prospective audit of chikungunya cases among children registered for routine medical care at a primary care center. Children presenting with suspected chikungunya were confirmed using real-time reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction. There were 203 suspected cases of chikungunya; of these, 115 samples were tested and 69 (59.0%) were confirmed. The attack rate of chikungunya was 10.2% and 3.5% for the suspected and confirmed cases, respectively. Only six (8.7%) of the children with confirmed chikungunya required hospitalization. Joint pain was a clinical feature in 68 of 69 (98.6%) and skin rash was seen in 32 (46.4%) confirmed cases. The duration of illness was <2 weeks in 89.9% and less than a week in 62.3% of cases. In conclusion, most children had mild clinical manifestations and recovered fully within 2 weeks.

A national survey of children described as deaf-blind was carried out in 1982/3 to ascertain numbers, cause of handicaps, communication and services. The results give details of 288 children, some of whom were handicapped by Rubella, although the majority suffered from multiple sensory defects caused by other conditions. It is concluded that there is a clear need for further staff training, an increased input from services for the visually handicapped and development of suitable assessment tools.

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