Suspect bodies: Pandemic and management of dead bodies in Brazil

This article analyses the management of bodies in Brazil within the context of the COVID-19 pandemic. Its objective is to examine how the confluence of underreporting, inequality and alterations in the forms of classifying and managing bodies has produced a political practice that aims at the mass infection of the living and the quick disposal of the dead. We first present the factors involved in the process of underreporting of the disease and its effects on state registration and regulation of bodies. Our analysis then turns to the cemetery to problematise the dynamics through which inequality and racism are re-actualised and become central aspects of the management of the pandemic in Brazil. We will focus not only on the policies of managing bodies adopted during the pandemic but also on those associated with other historical periods, examining continuities and ruptures, as well as their relationship to long-term processes.

Digital Juneteenth: Territorializing the Freedom Colony Diaspora

After Juneteenth, formerly enslaved African Americans in Texas founded hundreds of historic Black settlements known as freedom colonies. Later, freedom colonies' populations dispersed, physical traces disappeared, and memories of locations vanished as descendants passed away. In the absence of buildings and legally recognized borders, intangible heritage—stories, ephemeral traditions—define a sense of place. Betraying the perception that these places have disappeared, founders' descendants express commitments to freedom colonies by returning periodically to plan commemorative events, rehabilitate historic structures, and steward cemeteries. The Texas Freedom Colonies Project (The TXFC Project), a team of faculty and student researchers, documents settlements while supporting descendant communities' historic preservation aims. By making diasporic publics legible and increasing the visibility of communities' settlement patterns and remaining extant features, The TXFC Project elevates stakeholders' concerns in urban planning domains. In 2020, COVID-19's social distancing requirements challenged diasporic descendants' efforts to foster social cohesion. Consequently, The TXFC Project hosted a Facebook Live "talk show,” leveraging social media platforms to amplify freedom colony descendants' work. The team analyzed event transcripts revealing cultural adaptations to socially restrictive conditions during Juneteenth commemorations and indicating that virtual storytelling helped territorialize widely dispersed, unbounded places for stakeholders facing natural and human-made disruptions.

Urban Cemeteries as Shared Habitats for People and Nature: Reasons for Visit, Comforting Experiences of Nature, and Preferences for Cultural and Natural Features

Cemeteries are globally culturally protected greenspaces in cities that meet different societal needs and often harbor high biodiversity. To harness the potential of cemeteries as urban green infrastructure, stakeholders need to understand why people visit cemeteries and their preferences. We conducted an online survey in Berlin, Germany (n = 627) to understand (i) the reasons for cemetery visits;(ii) preferences for cemetery features;(iii) the effect of a dead tree as a wilderness component on preferences for differently managed green areas (wild, meadows, lawns);(iv) preferences of nature elements as comforting experiences;and (v) how reasons for the visit and sociodemographic variables relate to respondents’ preferences. The major reasons to visit cemeteries were ‘enjoying nature’, ‘mourning’, and ‘historical interest’ and most preferred cemetery features were ‘wildlife‘, ‘solitude’, and ‘vegetation‘. Presenting a dead tree did not modulate preference ratings for green areas that were depicted on photographs. Comforting experiences with nature elements were high overall. The reasons to visit had besides socio-demographic variables predictive potential on pronounced preferences. The results underscore the importance of cemeteries as multidimensional places and indicate tolerance for the inclusion of dead trees as important wildlife habitat. Strategies to develop cemeteries as shared habitats for people and nature should also consider, besides socio-demographic background, the reasons for cemetery visits.

From prison to pit: trajectories of a dispensable population in Latin America

The prisoner population in Latin America is highly vulnerable to violence and deadly disease due to overpopulation, understaffing and political neglect. The COVID-19 pandemic has worsened their situation. Drawing from empirical research in three countries – Argentina, Colombia, and Nicaragua – this paper analyses three phases of marginalisation in prisoners’ trajectories from prison to pit. Our analysis is structured by the triple marginalisation that stretches out from an experienced situation of ‘social death’ in prison, a legally imposed ‘depersonalisation’ of the dead prisoners’ body, and the ‘bare’ death of their plastic-wrapped bodies buried without any ceremony in a politically neglected cemetery. This process points to the everyday necropolitical production of marginal deaths and sheds light on marginalised populations’ moral conceptions of dying in pandemic times. [ FROM AUTHOR] Copyright of Mortality is the property of Routledge and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full . (Copyright applies to all s.)

Six Feet under Microbiota: Microbiologic Contamination and Toxicity Profile in Three Urban Cemeteries from Lisbon, Portugal.

Cemeteries are potential environmental reservoirs of pathogenic microorganisms from organic matter decomposition. This study aimed to characterize the microbial contamination in three cemeteries, and more specifically in grave diggers' facilities. One active sampling method (impingement method) and several passive sampling methods (swabs, settled dust, settled dust filters and electrostatic dust cloths-EDC) were employed. The molecular detection of Aspergillus sections and SARS-CoV-2, as well as mycotoxin analysis, screening of azole resistance, and cytotoxicity measurement were also conducted. Total bacteria contamination was 80 CFU·m-2 in settled dust samples, reached 849 CFU·m-2 in EDC and 20,000 CFU·m-2 in swabs, and ranged from 5000 to 10,000 CFU·m-2 in filters. Gram-negative bacteria (VRBA) were only observed in in settled dust samples (2.00 × 105 CFU·m-2). Regarding Aspergillus sp., the highest counts were obtained in DG18 (18.38%) and it was not observed in azole-supplemented SDA media. SARS-CoV-2 and the targeted Aspergillus sections were not detected. Mycophenolic acid was detected in one settled dust sample. Cytotoxic effects were observed for 94.4% filters and 5.6% EDC in A549 lung epithelial cells, and for 50.0% filters and 5.6% EDC in HepG2 cells. Future studies are needed in this occupational setting to implement more focused risk management measures.

Starting from the (sad) reality

An architecture magazine has to deal with disciplinary issues also starting from the contingent reality. In this period, deeply marked by the SARSCoV-2 Pandemic, it appeared right, after the double issue Coronavirus City Architecture. Perspectives of the architectural and urban project, to go back to doing something. A consequence of the pandemic documented by images that have traveled around the world was the cancellation of the funeral rite of death which took place in many countries. From this reflection (and from the sharing and discussion of the theme with the editorial staff) this issue is born which aims to underline (and remember) that architecture is inherent in death and the rituality connected to it no less than many other central spaces in the life of the individual.

Proposal of an Initial Environmental Management and Land Use for Critical Cemeteries in Central Ecuador

Cemeteries are sites for the final disposal of human bodies that constitute a source of contamination of soil and water as a result of the cadaveric decomposition generated. The current research performed an initial study on the contamination of soil and water due to the influence of cemeteries and verified compliance with the legislation regulating land use and occupation of Central Ecuador (PUGS) with the aim of proposing an environmental and territorial solution to the problems generated by the mismanagement of cemeteries, through the physicochemical analysis of soil and water and studies of land use compatibility. The results indicate the tendency of contamination caused by the studied cemeteries, since the samples taken in both the rainy and dry season for the measurement of parameters BOD5, COD, DO, pH and electrical conductivity fail to meet the established requirements of the Ecuadorian and international environmental regulations. In addition, land use conflicts were encountered in the cemetery grounds. It is concluded that the existing cemeteries should be subjected to more detailed environmental analysis and subsequently should be treated as security landfills in the closure and post-closure stage. Also, it has been concluded that the cemeteries should not be located in urban or peri-urban areas.

On the Road to AORN Expo: Recharge in New Orleans: The Official Voice of Perioperative Nursing

If you make a Thursday evening stop at the Ogden Museum of Southern Art's "Ogden After Hours," you'll have a chance to explore the art galleries as local musicians play and cocktails are served. Did you know the New Orleans Ernest N. Morial Convention Center has achieved GBAC STAR accreditation through the Global BioRisk Advisory Council, which certifies that the facility is implementing the industry's highest standards of cleaning, disinfection, and infectious disease prevention and is the leading standard of prepared facilities? All air exchange units in the convention center are equipped with minimum efficiency reporting value (MERV) 14 filters.

The Islamic burial question: the "frozen" case of the Madrid metropolis

The covid-19 pandemic has put the deficiencies related to burial and funeral services for Muslims in Spain back into the public arena, especially in large cities such as Madrid, which still do not have a burial space in accordance with Islamic religious requirements, as guaranteed by the fundamental right to freedom of religion and worship. To address this problem, this article analyzes the claims made by Muslim communities in the framework of citizenship rights and the rights to the city, focusing on the practices and discourses of the different actors involved.

Another casualty of the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic-the environmental impact.

Cemetery leachate generated by the process of cadaveric decomposition is a significant contaminant of several matrices in the cemetery environment (soil, groundwater, and surface water). The biogenic amines cadaverine and putrescine stand out among the cemetery leachate contaminants, since they are potentially carcinogenic compounds. This review article presents a discussion of possible environmental impacts caused by the increase in deaths resulting from COVID-19 as its central theme. The study also aims to demonstrate the importance of considering, in this context, some climatic factors that can alter both the time of bodily decomposition and the longevity of the virus in the environment. Additionally, some evidence for the transmission of the virus to health professionals and family members after the patient's death and environmental contamination after the burial of the bodies will also be presented. Several sources were consulted, such as scientific electronic databases (NCBI), publications by government agencies (e.g., ARPEN, Brazil) and internationally recognized health and environmental agencies (e.g., WHO, OurWorldInData.org), as well as information published on reliable websites available for free (e.g., CNN) and scientific journals related to the topic. The data from this study sounds the alarm on the fact that an increase in the number of deaths from the complications of COVID-19 has generated serious environmental problems, resulting from Cemetery leachate.