Refractive Africa

Finalist for the Pulitzer Prize Winner of the California Book Award in Poetry Three kinetically distilled long poems by the singular American poet who “transfigures ‘thought’ into a weave of lexical magic” (Philip Lamantia) “The poet is endemic with life itself,” Will Alexander once said, and in this searing pas de trois, Refractive Africa: Ballet of the Forgotten, he has exemplified this vital candescence with a transpersonal amplification worthy of the Cambrian explosion. “This being the ballet of the forgotten,” he writes as diasporic witness, “of refracted boundary points as venom.” The volume’s opening poem pays homage to the innovative Nigerian-Yoruban author Amos Tutuola; it ends with an encomium to the modernist Malagasy poet Jean-Joseph Rabearivelo—two writers whose luminous art suffered “colonial wrath through refraction.” A tribute to the Congo forms the bridge and brisé vole of the book: the Congo as “charged aural colony” and “primal interconnection,” a “subliminal psychic force” with a colonial and postcolonial history dominated by the Occident. Will Alexander’s improvisatory cosmicity pushes poetic language to the point of most resistance—incantatory and swirling with magical laterality and recovery.

Albinism in Africa: Historical, Geographic, Medical, Genetic, and Psychosocial Aspects provides the first in-depth reference for understanding and treating patients of human albinism in Africa. Leading international contributors examine the historical, geographic, psychosocial, genetic and molecular considerations of importance in effectively and sensitively managing this genetic disorder. Foundational chapters covering the historical and psychosocial aspects of albinism are supplemented by discussions of the pathobiology of the disease, as well as a thorough analysis of the genetics of skin pigmentation, eye pigmentation, hair pigmentation, and incidents of skin cancer involved in the manifestations of this disorder. New prenatal diagnostics and genetic testing methods, genetic risk assessment for individuals, families, and communities, and novel genetic markers that may be used for developing new therapeutics for treating albinism are also discussed in detail. The book provides care management approaches that may be applied to instances of albinism in other regions, along with guiding principles for treating rare genetic disorders and stigmatized patient populations across the globe. Includes contributions from leading international contributors who examine the historical, geographic, psychosocial, genetic and molecular aspects of importance in sensitively managing albinism in Africa Discusses recent advances in our understanding of the pathobiology of albinism, while also offering a thorough analysis of the genetics of skin pigmentation, eye pigmentation, hair pigmentation, and rates of skin cancer Highlights new prenatal diagnostics and genetic testing methods and approaches to genetic risk assessment for individuals, families and communities

Principles of Medicine in Africa combines classical clinical medicine with a rich understanding of the major environmental and cultural influences on health and disease, providing comprehensive guidance for anyone intending to practise medicine in Africa. Disease is presented in the context of family and culture, and the effects of inequality and problems of limited resources are addressed. The authors have a wealth of experience in front line healthcare and provide practical, evidence-based management guidelines for all the common and less common conditions likely to be encountered. This fourth edition has been thoroughly updated to incorporate the latest research findings and management guidelines. It includes an expanded section on maternal and child health, but careful editing has generated a slimmer volume, whilst retaining all of the essential content. This is the one essential text for medical students and healthcare professionals wanting a complete and up-to-date reference book on medicine in Africa.

At STIAS, the ‘Health in Transition’ theme includes a programme to address the epidemic rise in the incidence of non-communicable diseases (NCDs) such as Type 2 diabetes, hypertension, obesity, coronary heart disease and stroke in Africa. The aim is to advance awareness, research capacity and knowledge translation of science related to the Developmental Origins of Health and Disease (DOHaD) as a means of preventing NCDs in future generations. Application of DOHaD science is a promising avenue for prevention, as this field is identifying how health and nutrition from conception through the first 1 000 days of life can dramatically impact a developing individual’s future life course, and specifically predicate whether or not they are programmed in infancy to develop NCDs in later life. Prevention of NCDs is an essential strategy as, if unchecked, the burden of caring for a growing and ageing population with these diseases threatens to consume entire health budgets, as well as negatively impact the quality of life of millions. Africa in particular needs specific, focussed endeavors to realize the maximal preventive potential of DOHaD science, and a means of generating governmental and public awareness about the links between health in infancy and disease in adult life. This volume summarizes the expertise and experience of a leading group of international scientists led by Abdallah Daar brought together at STIAS as part of the ‘Health in Transition’ programme.

For the goals of Education for All (EFA) to be achieved, children must be healthy enough not only to attend school but also to learn while there. Because school health and nutrition programs specifically benefit poor, sick, and hungry children, they can make a key contribution to achieving EFA's goals. However, children can benefit only if the programs reach them. Rethinking School Health: A Key Component of Education for All describes how schools have been used as a platform for delivering familiar, safe, and simple health and nutrition interventions to hard-to-reach children in low-income countries. The book's foreword was written jointly by Elizabeth King of the World Bank, Susan Durston of the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF), and Qian Tang of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), indicating the interagency support for this approach. The book will be of particular interest to those working in the fields of education, health and nutrition, and early childhood development. --Book Jacket.

Middle East and Mediterranean region locates at a crossroad of global climatic patterns. The region is under the influence of a convergence of different maritime conditions which together with extensive adjacent land masses marked by extreme differences in topographical features transporting continental air masses lead to a diverse climate. This edited volume is based on the best papers accepted for presentation during the 1st Springer Conference of the Arabian Journal of Geosciences (CAJG-1), Tunisia 2018. It gives new insights on patterns and mechanisms of past, present and future climate/environmental changes mainly on Middle East and Mediterranean region by international researchers. The book is of interest to all researchers in the fields of climate, paleo-climate and paleo-environmental studies. Main topics include: • Spatio-temporal Patterns of Climate Change • Sea Level Variability • Climate Change Impacts and Migration Schemes • Paleoclimate Evolution • Paleoenvironmental Evolution

This third volume, with three supporting editors, broadens its focus on genetic eye research from the Asian to the global scale. New efforts and a new awareness have sparked important discussions on genetic eye research, and new plans are being implemented to identify the genes responsible for numerous eye diseases. The book introduces the latest findings on genetics in eye diseases, gene therapy, and genome-wide association analysis, and the efforts of the Global Eye Genetic Consortium (GEGC). The book’s editors have been instrumental in developing strategies for discovering the new genes involved in many eye diseases. All chapters were written by leading researchers working on eye genetics from the fields of Human Genetics, Ophthalmology, Molecular Biology, Biochemistry, Sensory Sciences, and Clinical Research. Advances in Vision Research, Volume III is a major resource for all researchers, clinicians, clinical researchers, and allied eye health professionals with an interest in eye diseases around the globe.