Time, Narrative, and Cultural Action

Disorderly Discourse: Narrative, Conflict, and Inequality. Charles L. Briggs. ed. New York: Oxford University Press, 1997. 302 pp.     

The Genesis of Ribosome Structure: How a Protein Generates RNA Structure in Real Time

Ribosomal subunit assembly is initiated by the binding of several primary binding proteins. Results from chemical modification studies show that 16S ribosomal RNA undergoes striking structural rearrangements when protein S17 is bound. For the first time, we are able to distinguish and order these structural rearrangements by using time-dependent chemical probing. Initially, protein S17 binds to a portion of helix 11, inducing a kink-turn in that helix that bends helix 7 toward the S17-helix 11 complex in a hairpin-like manner, allowing helix 7 to bind to protein S17. This structural change is rapidly stabilized by interactions at the distal and proximal ends of both RNA helices. Identifying the dynamic nature of interactions between RNA and proteins is not only essential in unraveling ribosome assembly, but also has more general application to all protein-RNA interactions.     

The Cultural Production of the Educated Person: Critical Ethnographies of Schooling and Local Practice

The Cultural Production of the Educated Person: Critical Ethnographies of Schooling and Local Practice. Bradley A. Levinson, Douglas E. Foley, and Dorothy C. Holland, eds. Albany: State University of New York Press, 1996. 338 pp.     

The Cultural Production of the Educated Person: Critical Ethnographies of Schooling and Local Practice

The Cultural Production of the Educated Person: Critical Ethnographies of Schooling and Local Practice. Bradley Levinson. Douglas Foley, and Dorothy Holland, eds. Albany: State University of New York Press, 1996. 299 pp.     

Seroepidemiology of Dengue virus in Mayotte, Indian Ocean, 2006

Background

Although Dengue virus (DENV) circulation had been documented in neighbouring South-western Indian Ocean Islands, its presence in Mayotte is poorly characterised. To address this issue, we aimed to assess the seroprevalence of dengue IgG antibodies (DENV-IgG Ab) among the population and to investigate potential associations with individual and household characteristics.

Methods/Principal Findings

In November–December 2006 we conducted a cross-sectional serologic survey in Mayotte among 1,154 inhabitants aged ≥2 years by using a multistage cluster random sampling method. The overall prevalence of DENV-specific IgG antibodies (ELISA) was 22.73% (95% CI, 18.16–27.31). The age-specific seroprevalence increased with age (χ² for trend = 11.86, P<0.0006), and was linked with previous known outbreaks in this region. In multivariate analysis, older age, being born in the Comoros and living in a household with a low socioeconomic index were positively associated with DENV IgG antibody positivity.

Conclusions

These findings document substantial prior exposure of the population of Mayotte to DENV and highlight the risk of severe illness due to the possibility of sequential DENV infections. Further investigations characterizing current DENV circulation patterns and associated serotypes are needed.     

Seroprevalence and risk factors of chikungunya virus infection in Mayotte, Indian Ocean, 2005-2006: a population-based survey

BACKGROUND: Since 2006, Chikungunya virus (CHIKV) has re-emerged as an important pathogen of global concern. However, individual and household factors associated with the acquisition and the magnitude of clinically silent CHIKV infections remain poorly understood. In this present study, we aimed to investigate the seroprevalence, estimate the proportion of symptomatic illness and identify the risk factors for CHIKV infection in the primo-exposed population of Mayotte. METHODS/ PRINCIPAL FINDINGS: We conducted a household-based cross sectional serosurvey in Mayotte in November and December 2006 using complex multistage cluster sampling. To produce the results representative of the island population aged 2 years or older, sample data were adjusted with sample weights. Explanatory and multiple logistic regression analyses were performed to investigate associations between CHIKV infection seropositivity (presence of IgM and/or IgG to CHIKV by enzyme-linked immunoabsorbent assay) and risk factors. A total of 1154 individuals were analyzed. The overall seroprevalence of CHIKV infection was 37.2% (95% CI = 33.9-40.5), 318 (72.3%) of the seropositive participants reported symptoms consistent with a CHIKV infection during the epidemic period. Risk factors for CHIKV seropositivity among adults (aged 15 years and older) were male gender, low socioeconomic index, schooling < or = 6 years and living in makeshift housing. CONCLUSIONS: Our findings indicate that roughly one out of four CHIKV infections is asymptomatic. Conditions associated with poverty may be considered as critical in CHIKV acquisition. Thus, these conditions should be taken into account in the development of future prevention strategies of CHIKV disease.     

The Mechanisms and Time Factor of the Enzyme Structure of a Paleosoil

The data on the enzyme activity of paleosoils of archaeological sites are given. It is shown that the activity of phosphatases and urease in soils of ancient settlements is significantly higher than in modern soils: 1.5–2.0 times for urease and 7–15 times for phosphatase in some cultural layers of the Bronze Age. This is related to a large amount of organic material (garbage, rubbish, excrement, and urea), which entered the soil in ancient times and stimulated soil microorganisms to produce a greater amount of enzymes, whose high activity has been preserved for 4000 years. The location of the enzymes was determined by soil fumigation using chloroform and activation of extracellular enzymes by glycine. The release of intracellular enzymes as a result of fumigation caused a significant increase in phosphatase activity in modern soils and soils of ancient settlements in contrast to the virgin paleosoil of the Bronze Age. The treatment by glycine exerted a smaller effect on the activity of phosphatases, but caused a significant increase in urease activity. This may indicate the predominating extracellular localization of urease in paleosoils of ancient settlements, while phosphatase is characterized by both extra- and intracellular localization.

     

Influence of freshwater and terrigenous material on nutrients,bacteria and phytoplankton in a high island lagoon: Mayotte,Comoro Archipelago,Indian Ocean

Freshwater and terrigenous suspended material inputs were studied in Longoni Bay, an area of the lagoon of Mayotte (Comoro, Indian Ocean) that is unaffected by the influence of the most populated area of the island. The influence of terrigenous material on the lagoon waters was limited to the coastal zone and resulted in the increase of inorganic nitrogen and silica. The response of the bacteria was an increase of their cell volume; that of the phytoplankton was an increase of cyanobacteria numbers and chlorophyll a related to ammonia. Ammonification was apparently enhanced in freshwater whereas nitrification was enhanced in seawater. The high nitrate and silicate content of the reef zone were explained neither by river or rainfall inputs nor by enrichments by ocean waters. The hypothesis of the participation of marine groundwater discharges to this enrichment was examined and found to be supported by the range of concentrations in the reef zone and because enrichment did not concern ammonia and nitrite but only nitrate and silicate and occurred during the wet period when the aquifer is fed by abundant rainfall. The response of bacteria to the characteristics of the reef zone was an increase in biomass and a lower level of heterotrophic activity related to nitrate concentration. The changes observed during the wet period confirmed that the nitrogen increase was linked to the terrigenous material, and possibly to discharge of groundwater, and yielded a lower number of bacteria but increased biomass, and despite a drop in large phytoplankton numbers, a strong increase in chlorophyll a related in part to small cyanobacteria. This enrichment is high enough to place the Mayotte Lagoon among the richest high island lagoons, with regard to nitrogen and chlorophyll a. This revised version was published online in July 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

Time,False Noses and Skyrockets: The `Skyrocket Song‘ of Northeast Thailand in its Cultural Context

We present the text of the ribald song sung during the Skyrocket Festival of Northeast Thailand, and discuss the implications of the text as it relates to overt and covert functions of this festival. Contrary to Tambiah and other writers, we conclude that the festival is a complex, multifunctional one in which the crudity of the song and other related behaviour plays a central part.