Environmental and cultural reflections in Kanuri hunters' songs

Our dichotomy of ‘nature’ and ‘culture’ is expressed in the Kanuri language with the terms al@ga for ‘creation’ and ‘creature’ which embraces trees, mammals, birds, insects, humans, in short the whole of the natural environment, and ada for ‘custom, habit, way of behaviour, family tradition’ for culture as a whole. There is no genre of oral literature, which would describe al@ga as such, but aspects of it can always be expressed in proverbs, riddles, toponymic praise phrases and songs, of which those performed by the hunters figure most prominently in reflecting upon al@ga. Yet, in these songs (and partly in other genres) ideas about al@ga are not purely descriptive in naturalists’ terms. They are much rather expressions, which centrally combine notions of the social and natural environment

Modelling the effect of vertical mixing on bottle incubations for determining in situ phytoplankton dynamics. II. Primary production

The estimation of in situ phytoplankton primary production is pivotal to many questions in biological oceanography and marine ecology both in a local and global context. Applications range from earth system modelling, the characterisation of aquatic ecosystem dynamics, or the local management of water quality. A common approach for estimating in situ primary production is to incubate natural phytoplankton assemblages in clear bottles at a range of fixed depths and to measure the uptake of carbon (14C) during the incubation period (typically 24 h). One of the main concerns with using fixed-depth bottle incubations is whether stranding samples at fixed depths biases the measured CO2 fixation relative to the 'true' in situ mixed conditions. Here we employ an individual based turbulence and photosynthesis model, which also accounts for photoacclimation and -inhibition, to examine whether the in vitro productivity estimates obtained from fixed-depth incubations are representative of the in situ productivity in a freely mixing water column. While previous work suggested that in vitro estimates could either over- or underestimate the in situ productivity, we show that the errors due to arresting the incubation bottles at fixed depths are indeed minimal. We present possible explanations for how previous authors could have arrived at contradictory results and discuss whether they might be artefacts related to the particular sampling protocol used. We discuss the errors associated with chlorophyll-based incubation methods for determining in situ phytoplankton growth rates in Ross et al. (2011; Mar Ecol Prog Ser 435:13-31). © Inter-Research 2011

Treatment of Barrett's Esophagus by radiofrequency ablation: a monocentrical study

Background and aims: Barrett's esophagus (BE) is a frequent disease. Therapy by radiofrequency ablation (RFA) has been shown in literature to be an effective eradication therapy of BE, with a reasonable frequency of complications. The aim of our study is to compare the efficacy and complications of the treatment of BE by RFA in our center to those of literature, as a quality control. Methods: We collected the data of patients who underwent RFA treatment of BE between January 1st 2011 and July 31st 2015. This included 32 patients, 20 of which completed the therapy by the end of the study period. The data was taken from histological and endoscopical medical reports as well as clinical follow-up reports for certain patients. The primary outcome was the efficacy of treatment, including whether there was a complete eradication of intestinal metaplasia (CE-IM) or of dysplasia (CE-D). The secondary outcome was to assess any post-RFA complications. These included progression to adenocarcinoma under treatment, upper gastro-intestinal (GI) hemorrhage, stenosis and pain. We compared our results to those of literature. Results: CE-D was achieved in 93.8% of the patients, whereas CE-IM was achieved in 61.1% of the patients. However, there were 11.11% of the patients who only had microislets of residual metaplasia. In a meta-analysis from Orman and al, CE-D was achieved in 91% of patients and CE-IM in 78% of patients. In our cohort, one patient progressed to adenocarcinoma, 4 patients had upper-GI hemorrhage and 2 patients had esophageal stenosis. Of the 17 patients who benefitted from a systematic clinical follow-up, 2 patients had fever after the RFA session and 10 described pain (odynodysphagia, epigastralgia or retrosternal pain). These complications were all previously described in literature. Conclusion: The efficacy of radiofrequency ablative therapy of Barrett's esophagus in the University hospital of Lausanne is comparable to that described in literature in terms of CE-D, but not in terms of CE-IM. The post-RFA complications were qualitatively comparable to those of literature

Progressive Swahili bibliography (1990s - 2001)

Once more we can offer our readers some further titles of the Swahili- related research literature, some brand new in publication, others already out since years, yet still not yet put on record for the wider world of Swahilists. Our call for bibliographical references was hardly responded to by the readers of Swahili Forum VII and other possible contributors except for one scholar who much prefers to be `in consultation with` a certain other scholar. Therefore we once more would like to draw your attention to communicate your articles, books and other resources on Swahili studies to us so that the bibliographical section of the next Swahili Forum will be a treasure house again. Atiya koko wangue koma (Tiuow a fruit stone into the tree and you may bring down a doum-fruit). For the present issue we present all the titles which we happened to come across during one year of observation

Elisabeth Linnebuhr: Sprechende Tuecher. Frauenkleidung der Swahili (Ostafrika).

Women in East Africa appear to be in a unique position worldwide: their everyday dresses are not only significant in their habitual textile codes, but also as textures exhibiting meaningful verbal elements in complex density and seemingly endless variety These textual elements are proverbs or proverbial phrases written in Swahili, which seem to interact with the colour and design of the cloth (termed kanga), being either abstract or figurative in ornament, which the female wearer may choose according to cunent personal and interpersonal dispositions The paremiologist will find a traesury of signs, texts and contexts, which extend the conventional notions of literature and the verbal arts It appears rather curious to the reviewer that the Swahili proverb cloths have only recently come into scholarly focus, perhaps because of the meanwhile more advanced studies in gender relations and popular culture (though, for instance, truck slogans as another medium of proverb-like sentences were already recorded some 30 years ago

Lubumbashi and Mayotte:: Two recent editions of Swahili-written chronicles. Book Reviews

Book Review of: Johannes Fabian (ed.), History from below. The vocabulary of Elisabethville. By Andre Yav. Text, Translations and interpretive essay (Creole Language Library, Vol.7). Edited, translated and commented by Johannes Fabian with assistance from Kalundi Mango. With linguistic notes by W. Schicho. Amsterdam- Philadelphia: John Benjamins, 1990. 236 pp. Review of Noel-Jacques Gueunier (ed.), La chroniques Swahilie du Cad/Umari de Mayotte. Edition critique. (Recherches et Documents, 2).(Madagascar\''): Etablissement d\''Enseignement Superieur des Lettres (CEDRATOM),1989

Swahili bibliopgraphy update and contents of Swahili Forum I - VIII

An update of Swahili bibliography and listing of articles of former issues of the Swahili Forum

Modelling the effect of vertical mixing on bottle incubations for determining in situ phytoplankton dynamics. I. Growth rates

Reliable estimates of in situ phytoplankton growth rates are central to understanding the dynamics of aquatic ecosystems. A common approach for estimating in situ growth rates is to incubate natural phytoplankton assemblages in clear bottles at fixed depths or irradiance levels and measure the change in chlorophyll a (Chl) over the incubation period (typically 24 h). Using a modelling approach, we investigate the accuracy of these Chl-based methods focussing on 2 aspects: (1) in a freely mixing surface layer, the cells are typically not in balanced growth, and with photoacclimation, changes in Chl may yield different growth rates than changes in carbon; and (2) the in vitro methods neglect any vertical movement due to turbulence and its effect on the cells' light history. The growth rates thus strongly depend on the incubation depth and are not necessarily representative of the depth-integrated in situ growth rate in the freely mixing surface layer. We employ an individual based turbulence and photosynthesis model, which also accounts for photoacclimation and photo - inhibition, to show that the in vitro Chl-based growth rate can differ both from its carbon-based in vitro equivalent and from the in situ value by up to 100%, depending on turbulence intensity, optical depth of the mixing layer, and incubation depth within the layer. We make recommendations for choosing the best depth for single-depth incubations. Furthermore we demonstrate that, if incubation bottles are being oscillated up and down through the water column, these systematic errors can be significantly reduced. In the present study, we focus on Chl-based methods only, while productivity measurements using carbon-based techniques (e.g. 14C) are discussed in Ross et al. (2011; Mar Ecol Prog Ser 435:33-45). © Inter-Research 2011

Redfield Revisited: variability of C:N:P in marine microalgae and its biochemical basis

A compilation of data on the elemental composition of marine phytoplankton from published studies was used to determine the range of C:N:P. The N:P ratio of algae and cyanobacteria is very plastic in nutrient-limited cells, ranging from <5 mol N:mol P when phosphate is available greatly in excess of nitrate or ammonium to <100 mol N:mol P when inorganic N is present greatly in excess of P. Under optimal nutrient-replete growth conditions, the cellular N:P ratio is somewhat more constrained, ranging from 5 to 19 mol N:mol P, with most observations below the Redfield ratio of 16. Limited data indicate that the critical N:P that marks the transition between N- and P-limitation of phytoplankton growth lies in the range 20–50 mol N:mol P, considerably in excess of the Redfield ratio. Biochemical composition can be used to constrain the critical N:P. Although the biochemical data do not preclude the critical N:P from being as high as 50, the typical biochemical composition of nutrient-replete algae and cyanobacteria suggests that the critical N:P is more likely to lie in the range between 15 and 30. Despite the observation that the overall average N:P composition of marine particulate matter closely approximates the Redfield ratio of 16, there are significant local variations with a range from 5 to 34. Consistent with the culture studies, lowest values of N:P are associated with nitrate- and phosphate-replete conditions. The highest values of N:P are observed in oligotrophic waters and are within the range of critical N:P observed in cultures, but are not so high as to necessarily invoke P-limitation. The C:N ratio is also plastic. The average C:N ratios of nutrientreplete phytoplankton cultures, oceanic particulate matter and inorganic N and C draw-down are slightly greater than the Redfield ratio of 6.6. Neither the analysis of laboratory C:N:P data nor a more theoretical approach based on the relative abundance of the major biochemical molecules in the phytoplankton can support the contention that the Redfield N:P reflects a physiological or biochemical constraint on the elemental composition of primary production