In Search of the Lost Taste: La Cuisine Pied Noir

1962 marked the end of the colonial occupation of Algeria by France after more than 130 years. After a bloody war of independence, nearly 700,000 former European settlers left their old homeland in dramatic circumstances in the summer of this year. Most of them landed in the port of Marseille to find a new livelihood in the motherland of France. After their exodus from the lost French-Algeria, the Pieds-noirs developed a multifaceted culture of remembrance. Their specific culinary culture, La Cuisine Pied Noir, is an essential part of this memory work. The description of this cuisine provides a deeper understanding of culinary cultural transfer in the context of colonialism and decolonization. The Cuisine Pied Noir can be used to reflect the importance of food as a cultural companion and as a preserver of social identity. The drama of Algerian-French history is currently being discussed intensively in the French public. The archives are finally to be opened in both countries. A particular concern of this paper is to understand the topic “Food and Movement” from the perspective of Life Review and Biographical Work

Phytoextraction of Cadmium and Zinc from contaminated soils by Salix ssp.

Die Extraktion von Schwermetallen aus Böden durch Anreicherung in der oberirdischen Biomasse von Pflanzen (Phytoextraktion) wurde als sanfte und kostengünstige in-situ Sanierungsmethode von kontaminierten Oberböden vorgeschlagen. Es ist bekannt, dass Weiden (Salix ssp.) prinzipiell in der Lage sind, Schwermetalle in erhöhten Konzentrationen in ihren Blättern anzureichern. Es konnten aber noch keine genügend hohen Metallentzugsraten gezeigt werden, die den Einsatz von Weiden als effiziente Sanierungsmethode rechtfertigen würden. In der vorliegenden Arbeit wurde daher in Gefäßversuchen im Freiland das Phytoextraktionspotential von verschiedenen Weidenarten auf unterschiedlichen Böden zwei bis drei Jahre lang getestet. Zusätzlich wurden zwei mikrobielle Behandlungen im Boden hinsichtlich ihrer Effekte auf die Metallakkumulation von Weiden untersucht. Weiters wurde getestet, ob ein Intercropping von Salix caprea und Arabidopsis halleri das Phytoextraktionspotential von Weiden möglicherweise erhöhen kann. Die Ergebnisse zeigen, dass die untersuchten Weiden außergewöhnlich hohe Konzentrationen an Cd und Zn in den Blättern akkumulierten und nach drei Vegetationsperioden Cadmium im Boden um 20 % reduziert werden konnte. Die Anwendung mikrobieller Behandlungen erhöhte die Metallkonzentrationen in Blättern von zwei Weidenarten auf einem der untersuchten Böden. Durch das Intercropping von S. caprea und A. halleri wurde der Gesamtentzug an Zn deutlich erhöht. Den Ergebnissen dieser Studie nach zu urteilen, erscheint die Phytoextraktion von vor allem Cd aus moderat kontaminierten Böden mithilfe von effizienten, metalltoleranten und metallakkumulierenden Weiden wie z.B. S. fragilis, S. caprea oder S. x smithiana erfolgversprechend. Der nächste wichtige Schritt, um die Phytoextraktion der praktischen Anwendung näher zu bringen, ist die Ausführung von Feldversuchen in denen die festgestellten Metallentzugsraten unter realen Bedingungen evaluiert werden.The extraction of heavy metals from contaminated soils using metal accumulating plants has been suggested as low-cost, environmentally friendly, in-situ soil remediation method. Willows (Salix ssp.) are known to accumulate enhanced concentrations of heavy metals in their leaves. However willows with metal extraction rates sufficiently large to be applied as soil remediation method remain to be demonstrated. In this thesis the phytoextraction potential of different willow species was tested in two outdoor pot experiments on five long term contaminated soils for the duration of two to three years. The effects of applying microbial treatments to contaminated soils on biomass production and metal accumulation of willows were determined additionally. Further it was investigated whether an intercropping of Salix caprea with the hyperaccumulator Arabidopsis halleri can possibly enhance the phytoextraction potential of willows. Results showed that the investigated willows accumulated extraordinary large concentrations of cadmium and zinc in their leaves. After three vegetation periods a reduction of aqua regia - extractable Cd in the soil by 20% was determined. Significant seasonal variations of metal concentrations in leaves suggest, that harvesting the leaves after the natural fall of leaves in autumn will remove the largest amount of metals from sites to be remediated. The application of microbial treatments enhanced foliar metal concentrations of two willows on one of the investigated soils. Intercropping of S. caprea and A. halleri increased the total uptake of Zn, but did not influence the Cd accumulation. According to the results of these studies phytoextraction of Cd using efficient, metal tolerant and metal accumulating willows such as S. fragilis, S. caprea or S. x smithiana seems promising. To reach practical application of phytoextraction one important next step is the establishment of field experiments to evaluate metal extraction rates under real conditions.vorgelegt von Gerlinde WieshammerAbweichender Titel laut Übersetzung der Verfasserin/des VerfassersZsfassung in dt. SpracheWien, Univ. für Bodenkultur, Diss., 2007OeBB(VLID)193120

Smoking exposure, loss of forced expiratory volume in one second and the risk of lung cancer among patients with malignant disease who present with cardiac or pulmonary symptoms: a cross-sectional study

Introduction Smokers with airway obstruction are at a higher risk of lung cancer than smokers without airway obstruction. Inflammation plays a key role in lung carcinogenesis. This single-center study prospectively assessed (i) the relationship between smoking exposure and the loss of forced expiratory volume in 1 s (FEV1) in determining lung cancer risk and (ii) the effect of lung cancer on systemic inflammation. Material and Methods The study group comprised 475 consecutively enrolled patients with cancer who presented with pulmonary or cardiac symptoms. The effects of smoking exposure and FEV1 loss on the predicted lung cancer risk were assessed using multiple logistic regression analysis. C-reactive protein (CRP) was used as a marker of inflammation. Results The prevalence of lung cancer was 0.23. The lung cancer risk increased with the number of pack years and FEV1 loss (p < 0.01). Moving from the 5th (−22% of the predicted value) to the 95th percentile of FEV1 loss (56% of the predicted value) increased lung cancer risk from 0.07 to 0.23 (Δ = 0.16) at 0 pack years and from 0.39 to 0.73 (Δ = 0.34) at 70 pack years (95th percentile). The values for Δ peaked at 61 pack years (0.34) and then decreased with a further increase in smoking exposure, without reaching the zero mark. Patients with lung cancer were more likely to have a CRP level above the median (4.05 mg/L) than patients with other cancers (adjusted odds ratio = 2.67). Conclusions Systemic inflammation is more pronounced in patients with lung cancer than in patients with other cancers. The effect of FEV1 loss on the patients’ predicted risks of lung cancer increases with increasing smoking exposure. Measurements of FEV1 loss are useful to identify patients facing an increased risk of developing lung cancer