Mitochondria are key to cellular energy generation, homeostasis and cell life; function actively during oocyte maturation, fertilization and embryo development through ATP production. Measuring ATP content necessitates oocyte destruction, but measuring activity through oxygen consumption is non-invasive. Retrospective. Respiration rates (RR; nL/H) of single oocytes from ICSI (D 0; GV and M I) and insemination cycles (D1; GV, M I, M II) were measured non-invasively (EmbryoScope-Unisense, Aarhus, Denmark) at 15–60 minutes over 3–5 hours, for base respiration rate (BRR). Oocytes were cultured overnight (18 hours) to assess developmental and maturational competence (maturation, arrest, attresia) which was correlated with BRR. BRR was correlated with infertility diagnosis, days of FSH administration, total number of oocytes retrieved and fertilization rates in non-ICSI cycles. BRR significantly correlated with oocyte developmental and cellular competence, reduced rates in those that became attretic (0.0019) and high in oocytes that were abnormal (1.24). Intermediate rates were obtained for arrested or matured oocytes. BRR of oocytes derived from failed fertilization with no male factor had significantly decreased rates. BRR of oocytes from patients with decreased ovarian reserve, PCOS and repeat pregnancy loss was significantly reduced. Oocytes derived from patients with <8 days of FSH and with >25 oocytes retrieved had reduced BRR. BRR correlated with fertilization rates, developmental competence, infertility etiology and factors affecting ovarian stimulation. Since our technique is non-invasive and BRR can be obtained expeditiously, respiration rates of oocytes may provide a feasible selection technique for enhanced development and clinical outcome.

In a departure from language policy in most other African countries, the 1996 South African Constitution added nine indigenous languages to join English and Afrikaans as official languages. This policy was meant to provide equal status to the indigenous languages and promote their use in power domains such as education, government, media and business. However, recent studies show that English has been expanding its domains at the expense of the other ten languages. At the same time, the expanded use of English has had an impact on the varieties of English used in South Africa. As the number of speakers and the domains of language use increase, the importance of Black South African English is also expanding. The purpose of this paper is to analyze current studies on South African Englishes, examining the way in which expanded use and domains for BSAE speakers will have a significant impact on the variety of English which will ultimately take center stage in South Africa.

In the introduction to this book, the reader follows Wilson Nyanforth, a 35-year-old Kru civil servant, through his morning in New Krutown, Monrovia, Liberia. As Nyanforth travels to work, he uses Kru and English separately and in combination, his language choices varying with the setting and the participants in the encounter. His greeting to his boss is an example: “Good morning Honorable Tarpeh, na kl[backwards c]ba (my chief)!” Breitborde's monograph on language choices of Kru-speaking inhabitants of New Krutown has many such specific case studies of language in use: these illustrate his claims and make the book accessible to readers. But his goal is to do more than provide descriptive case studies. He writes: “I ask how the choices urban Kru persons make to speak English embody certain aspects of contemporary social relations and cultural values, not simply within the community of speakers but also linking them to the Liberian national polity. In this sense, then, I attempt to integrate both the (societal) macrolevel and the (individual) microlevel in the exploration of the social meaning of English”.

Hellinger and Ammon have compiled a volume of 21 papers that cover a broad range of sociolinguistic topics, with a primary focus on Western Europe. In their introduction, the editors consider approaches to sociolinguistics, grounding this volume in Hymes' original discussion of language as a social phenomenon. According to the editors, the authors of these papers “seek to relate findings to underlying social, cultural or political structures” (p. 4).

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