The Bearers of Sacred Sound Ritual Musicians of Miami

The making of the first set of consecrated bata drums, central to the Cuban religion of Regia de Ocha, in the United States happened in Miami in 1975. Prior to this, the fledgling religious community honored their orichas (deities) using guiros (beaded gourds), a campana (a metal hoe blade), and a conga. At the time only a handful of Cuban exiles knew the sacred rhythms, chants, and ceremonial protocols of a musical tradition that spans centuries and continents. Since the 1980 Mariel boatlift, the number of ritual drummers has continued to grow, as many arrive with the knowledge while others acquire it on U.S soil. Those in the community estimate that there are now over a hundred ritual musicians and at least fifty sets of consecrated bata drums in Miami alone. This lecture reflects on the lived experiences of these professional musicians and the changing landscape of their world. The research presented follows a three-month oral history collection project by ethnomusicologist and performer Vicky Jassey. Vicky Jassey is a British Visiting Scholar currently affiliated with the Cuban Research Institute and the Digital Libraries of the Caribbean at Florida International University. She completed her M.A. in Performance at the School of Oriental and African Studies at the University of London. She was awarded a South West Wales Doctoral Partnership scholarship and is now a third-year Ph.D. student in the Ethnomusicology Program at Cardiff and Exeter Universities in the UK. Her Ph.D. research focuses on gender narratives in Cuban bata performance. She has spearheaded Afro-Cuban music in the UK by facilitating a community arts organization, Bombo Productions, which mobilizes artists within the genre to create and support a range of performance and educational events around the UK.https://digitalcommons.fiu.edu/cri_events/1341/thumbnail.jp

Analysis of BAZNAS's Efficiency in Banten

Poverty and inequality in income distribution are classic economic issues faced by all regions, including Banten. In addition, Islamic institutions offer an instrument for distributing wealth through Islamic philanthropy, namely BAZNAS. In the operational activities of BAZNAS, assessment is needed for the evaluation and accountability of BAZNAS internally and externally in achieving the goal of overcoming problems and equitable income distribution. The research method used is a quantitative approach through the DEA (Data Envelopment Analysis), a non-parametric calculation method to measure an institution's efficiency level. The input variables used are total assets and operational costs, and the output variables used are the amounts of collection and distribution of ZIS funds. According to the findings of this study, the BAZNAS of Banten Province was efficient in 2019 and 2020. In 2020, the BAZNAS of South Tangerang City and the BAZNAS of Serang Regency were efficient. In 2018, the Tangerang City BAZNAS did not yet achieve efficiency. Specifically for BAZNAS of Cilegon for the period of 2016-2016. 2020 failed to attain efficiency and continues to deteriorate annually. Three factors caused the inefficiency at BAZNAS in Banten Province between 2016 and 2020: first, the excessive, ineffective, and productive use of assets may have contributed to the institution's poor performance. Second, expenditures on operational costs that deviate from the aim create an increase in expenses. The third issue is that the collection and distribution of ZIS funds have not been optimized

Diverse fen plant communities enhance carbon-related multifunctionality, but do not mitigate negative effects of drought

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Phenoloxidase and peroxidase activities in Sphagnum-dominated peatland in a warming climate

International audiencePeatlands still suffer from the scarcity of available data about the characterization and the response to climate forcing of the main oxidative enzymes that occur over the seasons. In the present study, phenoloxidase and peroxidase activities were examined in Sphagnum lawns along a narrow fen-bog gradient under experimental elevated temperatures. We showed that peroxidase activities from Sphagnum mosses were 1000-fold higher than those of phenoloxidases irrespective of seasons and sampling areas. Peroxidase activities increased (+30%) with the rise of air temperatures (an average of 1 °C), while warming did not alter phenoloxidase activities. These results suggest that the monitoring of peroxidase activities in peatlands may represent a suitable and forward indicator of the impact of climate warming on carbon cycle in peatlands

Characterizing the Feeding Habits of the Testate Amoebae Hyalosphenia papilio and Nebela tincta along a Narrow "Fen-Bog" Gradient Using Digestive Vacuole Content and (13)C and (15)N Isotopic Analyses.

International audiencePopulation dynamics and feeding habits of the testate amoebae Nebela tincta and Hyalosphenia papilio were studied along a short "fen" to "bog" gradient in a Sphagnum-dominated mire (Jura, France). Samples were collected in living "top segments" (0-3cm) and early declining "bottom segments" (3-6cm) of Sphagnum fallax peat. Observations of digestive vacuole content and stable isotope analyses ((13)C and (15)N) were used to establish the feeding behavior of both testate amoeba species. Owing to their vertical distribution, the feeding habit of H. papilio was described from top segments, and that of N. tincta from bottom segments. Among identified food sources, those most frequently ingested by N. tincta were spores and mycelia of fungi (55%), microalgae (25%) and cyanobacteria (8.5%). For H. papilio, the most frequently ingested prey were ciliates (55%) and microalgae (35%). Nonmetric Multidimensional Scaling analysis clearly demonstrated that the two species did not have the same feeding habit along the "fen-bog" gradient, and furthermore that a significant spatial split exists in the feeding behavior of H. papilio. Additionally, isotope analyses suggested that H. papilio and N. tincta did not have the same trophic position in the microbial food web, probably resulting from their different feeding strategies

Effect of a temperature gradient on Sphagnum fallax and its associated living microbial communities: a study under controlled conditions.

International audienceMicrobial communities living in Sphagnum are known to constitute early indicators of ecosystem disturbances, but little is known about their response (including their trophic relationships) to climate change. A microcosm experiment was designed to test the effects of a temperature gradient (15, 20, and 25°C) on microbial communities including different trophic groups (primary producers, decomposers, and unicellular predators) in Sphagnum segments (0-3 cm and 3-6 cm of the capitulum). Relationships between microbial communities and abiotic factors (pH, conductivity, temperature, and polyphenols) were also studied. The density and the biomass of testate amoebae in Sphagnum upper segments increased and their community structure changed in heated treatments. The biomass of testate amoebae was linked to the biomass of bacteria and to the total biomass of other groups added and, thus, suggests that indirect effects on the food web structure occurred. Redundancy analysis revealed that microbial assemblages differed strongly in Sphagnum upper segments along a temperature gradient in relation to abiotic factors. The sensitivity of these assemblages made them interesting indicators of climate change. Phenolic compounds represented an important explicative factor in microbial assemblages and outlined the potential direct and (or) indirect effects of phenolics on microbial communities

Experimental climate effect on seasonal variability of polyphenol/phenoloxidase interplay along a narrow fen-bog ecological gradient in Sphagnum fallax

International audienceExtracellular phenoloxidase enzymes play an important role in the stability of soil carbon storage by contributing to the cycling of complex recalcitrant phenolic compounds. Climate warming could affect peatland functioning through an alteration of polyphenol/phenoloxidase interplay, which could lead them to becoming weaker sinks of carbon. Here, we assessed the seasonal variability of total phenolics and phenoloxidases subjected to 2-3 °C increase in air temperature using open-top chambers. The measurements were performed along a narrow fen-bog ecological gradient over one growing season. Climate warming had a weak effect on phenoloxidases, but reduced phenolics in both fen and bog areas. Multivariate analyses revealed a split between the areas and also showed that climate warming exacerbated the seasonal variability of polyphenols, culminating in a destabilization of the carbon cycle. A negative relationship between polyphenols and phenoloxidases was recorded in controls and climate treatments suggesting an inhibitory effect of phenolics on phenoloxidases. Any significant decrease of phenolics through repeatedly elevated temperature would greatly impact the ecosystem functioning and carbon cycle through an alteration of the interaction of polyphenols with microbial communities and the production of extracellular enzymes. Our climate treatments did not have the same impact along the fen-bog gradient and suggested that not all the peatland habitats would respond similarly to climate forcing

Effects of short-term ecosystem experimental warming on water-extractable organic matter in an ombrotrophic Sphagnum peatland (Le Forbonnet, France)

International audienceIn a future warmer world, peatlands may change from a carbon sink function to a carbon source function. This study tracks changes in water-extractable organic matter (WEOM) after one year of in situ experimental warming using open top chambers (OTCs). WEOM was studied in the upper peat layers (0-10 cm) through analysis of water-extractable organic carbon (WEOC), stable C isotopic composition (δ13C), specific UV absorbance at 280 nm and sugar composition of cores taken from an open bog (DRY sites) and a transitional poor fen (WET sites). At the DRY sites, the impact of OTCs was weak with respect to WEOM parameters, whereas at the WET sites, the air warming treatment led to a decrease in peat water content, suggesting that the supply of heat by OTCs was used mainly for evapotranspiration. OTCs at the WET sites also induced a relative enrichment at the surface (0 to 5 cm depth) of aliphatic and/or aromatic compounds with concomitant decrease in WEOC, as a result of decomposition. On the contrary, WEOC and sugar content increased in the deeper peat layer (7.5-10 cm depth) probably as a result of increased leaching of phenolic compounds by roots, which then inhibits microbial activity. The different response to experimental warming at DRY and WET sites suggests that the spatial variability of moisture in is critical for understanding of the impact of global warming on the fate of OM and the carbon cycle in peatlands