The Sounds of Babel: Staging American Ethnic Diversity in Early Nineteenth-Century New Orleans

In the early nineteenth century, Noah Webster proclaimed the existence of an American voice, distinct from the British one from which it originated. But was there really a single American voice? Could there be American voices? This paper examines the possibility of a multiplicity of voices. The main stage is New Orleans, although not the musical stage as might be expected. In early American New Orleans, indeed, travelers and sojourners described the city through its sounds, always qualified as both unusual and specific. To narrate their encounter with the city, most foreigners used the same metaphors—Babel, frogs in a marsh, noises specifically connected to one nation or another. This paper examines the way in which newcomers to early American New Orleans staged the city’s ethnic diversity in their narratives by referring to sounds and voices, suggesting that, instead of the single American voice Webster had hypothesized, the early nineteenth century was one of voices which could, however, be called American

Res Voluntaria, Non Necessaria: The Conquest and Forced Conversion of the Saxons under Charlemagne

This study focuses on Charlemagne’s conquest of Saxony in the late eighth and early ninth centuries and the policies of forced conversion he espoused in his attempts to bring the peoples of these territories to the Christian religion. Often remarked upon is the Carolingian king’s prescription of the death penalty for failure to be baptized, but this development was a logical consequence of contemporary ideology with regard to missionizing. I employ the letters of contemporaries, historical annals, and hagiographical sources to examine how the use of force in missionizing was viewed in this period, and I argue that with regard to Carolingian expansion and evangelization, forced conversion was not a major theological stumbling block. The letters of Alcuin of York are of special concern here because he appears at times to contradict this, yet as I demonstrate he, along with various popes and other prominent contemporary theologians, viewed Charlemagne’s armies as convenient and effective vehicles by which to spread the Christian faith. The efficiency of military might outweighed any negative considerations. These arguments are made against the backdrop of the Saxon Wars, a conflict lasting decades in which Charlemagne’s frustrations with the obstinacy of the Saxons further reduced the likelihood that peaceful means of evangelization would be considered

PbSR is synthesized in macrogametocytes and involved in formation of the malaria crystalloids

Crystalloids are transient organelles that form in developing malaria ookinetes and disappear after ookinete-to-oocyst transition. Their origins and functions remain poorly understood. The Plasmodium berghei scavenger receptor-like protein PbSR is essential for mosquito-to-host transmission of the parasite: PbSR knockout parasites produce normal numbers of oocysts that fail to form sporozoites, pointing to a role for PbSR in the oocyst during sporogony. Here, using fluorescent protein tagging and targeted gene disruption, we show that PbSR is synthesized in macrogametocytes, gets targeted to the crystalloids of developing ookinetes and is involved in crystalloid formation. While oocyst sporulation rates of PbSR knockout parasites are highly reduced in parasite-infected mosquitoes, sporulation rates in vitro are not adversely affected, supporting the view that mosquito factors could be involved in the PbSR loss-of-function phenotype. These findings are the first to identify a parasite protein involved with the crystalloid organelle, and suggest a novel protein-trafficking mechanism to deliver PbSR to the oocysts

Climate change impacts on hydro-generation and land suitability for agriculture in Cambodia, Laos and Myanmar

This paper quantifies and analyses the impacts of climate change on water availability for hydro generation and land suitability for key crops in three least developed countries in the Greater Mekong Sub-region, namely, Cambodia, Laos and Myanmar. The method used for the climate study is supported by the inter-sectoral model inter-comparison project (ISIMIP database). The recent ISIMIP input dataset, ISIMIP2b, outlines simulation scenarios divided into different emissions pathways (or 'Representative Concentration Pathways' known as RCPs). This paper focuses on the two extreme RCPs, specifically RCP2.6 and RCP8.5, which would result in global average temperature increases of approximately 1.6 and 4.3°C respectively. Th analysis concentrates on the difference between the historic period and the end of the century (toward 2100) for the climate conditions for the future. The fuzzy logic global land suitability model has been used to calculate the suitability of the land to support growing crops as well as to investigate how the climate changing could impact this. The analysis shows that quite significant changes in hydro-generation potential can occur depending on the region: Laos and Cambodia show decrease when Myanmar shows increase in output potential between present and RCP2.5 and RCP8.5 respectively. Quite significant increases or decreases in land suitability can occur depending on the region and the crop

Income Inequality Decomposition, Russia 1992-2002: Method and Application

Decomposition methods for income inequality measures, such as the Gini index and the members of the Generalised Entropy family, are widely applied. Most methods decompose income inequality into a between (explained) and a within (unexplained) part, according to two or more population subgroups or income sources. In this article, we use a regression analysis for a lognormal distribution of personal income, modelling both the mean and the variance, decomposing the variance as a measure of income inequality, and apply the method to survey data from Russia spanning the first decade of market transition (1992-2002). For the first years of the transition, only a small part of the income inequality could be explained. Thereafter, between 1996 and 1999, a larger part (up to 40%) could be explained, and ‘winner’ and ‘loser’ categories of the transition could be spotted. Moving to the upper end of the income distribution, the self-employed won from the transition. The unemployed were among the losers

The Plasmodium LAP complex affects crystalloid biogenesis and oocyst cell division.

Malaria parasite oocysts located on the mosquito midgut generate sporozoites by a process called sporogony. Plasmodium berghei parasites express six LCCL lectin domain adhesive-like proteins (LAPs), which operate as a complex and share a localisation in the crystalloid - an organelle found in the ookinete and young oocyst. Depletion of LAPs prevents crystalloid formation, increases oocyst growth, and blocks sporogony. Here, we describe a LAP4 mutant that has abnormal crystalloid biogenesis and produces oocysts that display reduced growth and premature sporogony. These findings provide evidence for a role of the LAP complex in regulating oocyst cell division via the crystalloid

LCCL protein complex formation in Plasmodium is critically dependent on LAP1.

Successful sporogony of Plasmodium berghei in vector mosquitoes requires expression of a family of six modular proteins named LCCL lectin domain adhesive-like proteins (LAPs). The LAPs share a subcellular localization in the crystalloid, a unique parasite organelle that forms during ookinete development. Here, LAP interactions in P. berghei were studied using a series of parasite lines stably expressing reporter-tagged LAPs combined with affinity purification and high accuracy label free quantitative mass spectrometry. Our results show that abundant complexes containing LAP1, LAP2 and LAP3 are formed in gametocytes through high avidity interactions. Following fertilization, LAP4, LAP5 and LAP6 are recruited to this complex, a process that is facilitated by LAP1 chiefly through its scavenger receptor cysteine-rich modules. These collective findings provide new insight into the temporal and molecular dynamics of protein complex formation that lead up to, and are required for, crystalloid biogenesis and downstream sporozoite transmission of malaria parasites

Biogenesis of the crystalloid organelle in Plasmodium involves microtubule-dependent vesicle transport and assembly.

Malaria parasites possess unique subcellular structures and organelles. One of these is the crystalloid, a multivesicular organelle that forms during the parasite's development in vector mosquitoes. The formation and function of these organelles remain poorly understood. A family of six conserved and modular proteins named LCCL-lectin adhesive-like proteins (LAPs), which have essential roles in sporozoite transmission, localise to the crystalloids. In this study we analyse crystalloid formation using transgenic Plasmodium berghei parasites expressing GFP-tagged LAP3. We show that deletion of the LCCL domain from LAP3 causes retarded crystalloid development, while knockout of LAP3 prevents formation of the organelle. Our data reveal that the process of crystalloid formation involves active relocation of endoplasmic reticulum-derived vesicles to common assembly points via microtubule-dependent transport. Inhibition of microtubule-dependent cargo transport disrupts this process and replicates the LCCL domain deletion mutant phenotype in wildtype parasites. These findings provide the first clear insight into crystalloid biogenesis, demonstrating a fundamental role for the LAP family in this process, and identifying the crystalloid and its formation as potential targets for malaria transmission control

Célia Camoin, Louisiane. La théâtralité comme force de vie

L’ouvrage est la publication de la belle thèse de Littérature Comparée soutenue par Cécilia Camoin en 2008 à l’Université Paris-Sorbonne dans le cadre du Centre international d’études francophones. Le projet est ambitieux (étudier deux siècles de littérature francophone louisianaise), l’approche est originale (examiner cette littérature au travers de la notion de théâtralité), l’arrière-plan théorique parfaitement maîtrisé. Le choix de l’auteur est d’examiner l’ensemble de la production litté..