bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Functionalization of three‐dimensionally ordered macroporous cross‐linked polystyrene by atom‐transfer radical polymerization of hydroxyethyl methacrylate and subsequent derivatization
Authors: Zhang Xu , Yan Weidong , Yang Huifang , Liu Binyuan , Liu Pange
Published: November 2008

The surface‐initiated atom‐transfer radical polymerization (ATRP) technique was applied to the graft polymerization of 2‐hydroxyethyl methacrylate (HEMA) from three‐dimensionally ordered macroporous crosslinked polystyrene (3DOM CLPS) on which the initiator (benzyl chloride) was immobilized onto the pore wall of 3DOM CLPS by chloromethylation of benzene ring. By the adjustment of the monomer concentration or graft polymerization time, the thickness of grafted polymer layers can be controlled. FTIR analysis confirms that the graft polymerization of HEMA via ATRP had been taken place at the pore wall of 3DOM CLPS. SEM images of PHEMA‐grafted 3DOM CLPS show that the ordered structure is well preserved after graft polymerization and the grafted layers are dense and homogeneous. The maximum thickness of grafted layer is up to 35 nm and the corresponding percent weight increase is 102.8% in this study. Moreover, the PHEMA layers were further functionalized in high yield via their reactive hydroxyl groups under gentle condition. © 2008 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Polym Sci Part A: Polym Chem 46: 7950–7959, 2008
Acrylate based anticorrosion films using novel bis‐phosphonic methacrylates
Authors: Chougrani Kamel , Boutevin Bernard , David Ghislain , Seabrook Shane , Loubat Cédric
Published: November 2008

Two novel phosphonated methacrylate monomers were successfully synthesized and subsequently incorportated into adhesion/anticorrosive coatings. Specifically, they were propyl N,N‐tetramethyl‐bis(phosphonate)‐2‐hydroxyl‐bis(methylene) amine methylmethacrylate (MAC3NP2) and 2‐[2,2‐bis(diisopropoxyphosphoryl)ethoxy]‐methylmethacrylate, (MAC3P2). The phosphonic forms of each monomer were blended with ∼85% w.w acrylates (tripropyleneglycol‐diacrylate and hexanediol‐diacrylate) and 6% w.w of the photo sensitive initiator Darocur®. Along with a monophosphonic monomer synthesized in a previous publication (MAC3P), they were polymerized on Q‐panels under ultraviolet light, and then subject to the salt spray test (ca. 0.5 mol/L NaCl at 35 °C) for a duration of up to 50 days. The results indicate that acrylate blends with low concentration of the bisphosphonic compound MAC3P2 have excellent resistance to corrosion, thus excellent adhesive properties. Importantly, these coatings were formed without the use of a hydrophobic polymer matrix or solvents. © 2008 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Polym Sci Part A: Polym Chem 46: 7972–7984, 2008
Copolymerization of amino acid and amino ester functionalized norbornenes via living ring‐opening metathesis polymerization
Authors: Biagini Stefano C. G. , Gibson Vernon C. , Giles Matthew R. , Marshall Edward L. , North Michael
Published: November 2008

The block and random copolymerization of a series of amino acid and amino ester functionalized norbornenes by ring‐opening metathesis polymerization (ROMP) induced by the well‐defined molybdenum [Mo(N‐2,6‐iPrC6H3)(CHCMe2)Ph)(OCMe3)2] or ruthenium [Ru(PCy)2Cl2(CHPh)] based initiators is described. The monomers are derived from the amino acids glycine, alanine, and isoleucine or the methyl esters of these amino acids and either endo‐ or exo‐norborn‐5‐ene‐2,3‐dicarboxylic anhydride. Enantiomerically pure monomers afforded optically active polymers, and the mechanism and kinetics of the copolymerizations are investigated. © 2008 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Polym Sci Part A: Polym Chem 46: 7985–7995, 2008
Sulfonation of metallocene‐based polyolefinic elastomers and its influence on physicomechanical properties: Effect of reaction parameters, styrene grafting, and pendant chain length
Authors: Biswas Anjan , Bandyopadhyay Abhijit , Singha Nikhil K. , Bhowmick Anil K.
Published: November 2008

Direct sulfonation and styrene‐mediated sulfonation were carried out onto metallocene‐based poly(ethylene‐co‐octene) (POE) and poly(ethylene‐co‐butene) (PBE) elastomers to impart polarity on the completely nonpolar rubbery matrices and to prepare a new class of elastomer. The influence of styrene‐grafting and pendant chain length on the degree of sulfonation was also studied. The effects of sulfonation, styrene grafting and styrene‐mediated sulfonation at their optimized levels on various physicomechanical properties were thoroughly investigated, and the resultant properties were correlated with structures of the modified elastomers. Higher extent of sulfonic acid groups were introduced through direct sulfonation in comparison with the styrene‐mediated sulfonation, whereas better thermal and mechanical properties were obtained through styrene‐mediated sulfonation in comparison with the direct sulfonation process. PBE had shown higher degree of sulfonation and percentage grafting than POE. © 2008 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Polym Sci Part A: Polym Chem 46: 8023–8040, 2008
Conserved amino acid networks involved in antibody variable domain interactions
Authors: Wang Norman , Smith William F. , Miller Brian R. , Aivazian Dikran , Lugovskoy Alexey A. , Reff Mitchell E. , Glaser Scott M. , Croner Lisa J. , Demarest Stephen J.
Published: November 2008

Engineered antibodies are a large and growing class of protein therapeutics comprising both marketed products and many molecules in clinical trials in various disease indications. We investigated naturally conserved networks of amino acids that support antibody VH and VL function, with the goal of generating information to assist in the engineering of robust antibody or antibody‐like therapeutics. We generated a large and diverse sequence alignment of V‐class Ig‐folds, of which VH and VL domains are family members. To identify conserved amino acid networks, covariations between residues at all possible position pairs were quantified as correlation coefficients (ϕ‐values). We provide rosters of the key conserved amino acid pairs in antibody VH and VL domains, for reference and use by the antibody research community. The majority of the most strongly conserved amino acid pairs in VH and VL are at or adjacent to the VH–VL interface suggesting that the ability to heterodimerize is a constraining feature of antibody evolution. For the VH domain, but not the VL domain, residue pairs at the variable‐constant domain interface (VH–CH1 interface) are also strongly conserved. The same network of conserved VH positions involved in interactions with both the VL and CH1 domains is found in camelid VHH domains, which have evolved to lack interactions with VL and CH1 domains in their mature structures; however, the amino acids at these positions are different, reflecting their different function. Overall, the data describe naturally occurring amino acid networks in antibody Fv regions that can be referenced when designing antibodies or antibody‐like fragments with the goal of improving their biophysical properties. Proteins 2009. © 2008 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
Enhanced protein fold recognition using a structural alphabet
Authors: Deschavanne Patrick , Tufféry Pierre
Published: November 2008

Fold recognition from sequence can be an important step in protein structure and function prediction. Many methods have tackled this goal. Most of them, based on sequence alignment, fail for sequences of low similarity. Alignment–free approaches can provide an efficient alternative. For such approaches, the identification of efficient fold discriminatory features is critical. We propose a new fold recognition approach that relies on the encoding of the local structure of proteins using a Hidden Markov Model Structural Alphabet. This encoding provides a 1D description of the conformation of complete proteins structures, including loops. At the fold level, compared with the classical secondary structure helix, strand, and coil states, such encoding is expected to provide the means of a better discrimination between loop conformations, hence providing better fold identification. Compared with previous related approaches, this supplement of information results in significant improvement. When combining this information with supplementary information of secondary structure and residue burial, we obtain a fold recognition accuracy of 78% for 27 protein families, that is, 8% higher than the best available method so far, and of 68% for 60 families. Corresponding scores at the class level are of 92% and 90% indicating that mispredictions are mostly within structural classes. Proteins 2009. © 2008 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
Evidences of complex formation between DABA‐based nucleo‐γ‐peptides with alternate configuration backbone
Authors: Roviello G. N. , Musumeci D. , Moccia M. , Castiglione M. , Cesarani A. , Bucci E. M. , Saviano M. , Pedone C. , Benedetti E.
Published: November 2008

In the present work, we report the synthesis and the characterization of dab PNA hexamers with diaminobutyric acid backbone of D‐ or/and L‐configuration. In particular, the four nucleo‐amino acids we synthesized, D‐ and L‐diaminobutyryl adenines and D‐ and L‐diaminobutyryl thymines, were used in various combinations to assemble the following oligomers: H‐G‐(t L−dab)6‐K‐NH2, H‐G‐(t D−dab)6‐K‐NH2, H‐G‐(a L−dab)6‐K‐NH2, H‐G‐(t L−dab‐t D−dab)3‐K‐NH2, H‐G‐(a L−dab‐a D−dab)3‐K‐NH2, H‐G‐(a L−dab‐t D−dab)3‐K‐NH2. By using CD and UV spectroscopies, we investigated the ability of complementary dab PNA strands to bind to each other. We found that binding occurs only between oligomers with backbone of alternate configuration [(t L−dab‐t D−dab)3/(a L−dab‐a D−dab)3 and (a L−dab‐t D−dab)3/(a L−dab‐t D−dab)3] and implies cooperative hydrogen bonds and base stacking. Furthermore, interesting properties relative to the self‐complementary oligomer (a L−dab‐t D−dab)3 forming palindromic complexes emerged from preliminary dynamic light‐scattering experiments that suggested the formation of multimeric aggregates. These results, together with the high serum stability of the DABA‐based oligomers, as shown by HPLC analysis, encourage us to further study dab PNAs as new self‐recognizing bio‐inspired polymers, to develop new nanomaterials in biotechnological and biomedical applications. Copyright © 2008 European Peptide Society and John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Caco‐2 Cell methodology and inhibition of the P‐glycoprotein transport of digoxin by Aloe vera Juice
Authors: Djuv Ane , Nilsen Odd Georg
Published: November 2008

The aims of this study were to carry out a thorough quality control setup for essential Caco‐2 cell characteristics in P‐glycoprotein (P‐gp) inhibition studies and to explore if Aloe vera juice (AVJ) inhibits the bidirectional transport of the P‐gp substrate digoxin (30 nm). Seven AVJ concentrations (0.00001‐1.0 mg/mL), anticipated to cover a clinically relevant range, were tested and digoxin apparent permeability coefficients (Papp), net Papp values (PappNet) and net flux values (JNet) were calculated. Relevant validation parameters for P‐gp inhibition studies in Caco‐2 cells are suggested to include, as a minimum, an assay linearity test with and without a known P‐gp inhibitor, cell cytotoxicity testing (MTT‐test) for substrates and inhibitors, and cell integrity testing by TEER and mannitol transport measurements. The question is also raised whether a minimum effect of a reference P‐gp inhibitor as verapamil should be demanded. Cell cytotoxicity was seen for digoxin at concentrations ≥3 µm and for AVJ at 10 mg/mL. AVJ did not inhibit the P‐gp transport of digoxin in any of the concentrations tested. This indicates that AVJ is no inhibitor of the P‐gp mediated transport of digoxin in vitro if AVJ is present in clinically relevant concentrations. Copyright © 2008 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Effect of coriander seed (Coriandrum sativum L.) ethanol extract on insulin release from pancreatic beta cells in streptozotocin‐induced diabetic rats
Authors: Eidi Maryam , Eidi Akram , Saeidi Ali , Molanaei Saadat , Sadeghipour Alireza , Bahar Massih , Bahar Kamal
Published: November 2008

Coriander (Coriandrum sativum L.) is grown as a spice crop all over the world. The seeds have been used to treat indigestion, diabetes, rheumatism and pain in the joints. In the present study, an ethanol extract of the seeds was investigated for effects on insulin release from the pancreatic beta cells in streptozotocin‐induced diabetic rats. Blood samples were drawn from the retro‐orbital sinus before and 1.5, 3 and 5 h after administration of the seed extract. Serum glucose levels were determined by the glucose oxidase method. To determine the insulin releasing activity, after extract treatment the animals were anaesthetized by diethyl ether, the pancreas was excised, fixed in 10% formaldehyde and embedded in paraffin for sectioning. Pancreatic sections of 5 µm were processed for examination of insulin‐releasing activity using an immunocytochemistry kit. The results showed that administration of the ethanol extract (200 and 250 mg/kg, i.p.) exhibited a significant reduction in serum glucose. Administration of streptozotocin decreased the number of beta cells with insulin secretory activity in comparison with intact rats, but treatment with the coriander seed extract (200 mg/kg) increased significantly the activity of the beta cells in comparison with the diabetic control rats. The extract decreased serum glucose in streptozotocin‐induced diabetic rats and increased insulin release from the beta cells of the pancreas. Copyright © 2008 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Ginkgo biloba extract prevents glucose‐induced accumulation of ECM in rat mesangial cells
Authors: Ji Lei , Yin Xiao‐xing , Wu Zheng‐mei , Wang Jian‐yun , Lu Qian , Gao Yuan‐yuan
Published: November 2008

Pathological remodeling characterized by extracellular matrix (ECM) accumulation contributes to diabetic nephropathy (DN). This study evaluated the effects of Ginkgo biloba extract (GbE) on the metabolism of the ECM in rat mesangial cells cultured in hyperglycemic conditions. The cultured mesangial cells in high glucose conditions were allotted into six groups: normal control group, high glucose group, low concentration of GbE group, moderate concentration of GbE group, high concentration of GbE group, and captopril group. In the presence of high glucose, the levels of matrix metalloproteinase‐2 (MMP‐2), matrix metalloproteinase‐9 (MMP‐9) and extracellular matrix metalloproteinase inducer (EMMPRIN) were decreased significantly, and the levels of tissue inhibitor of metalloproteinase‐2 (TIMP‐2), tissue inhibitor of metalloproteinase‐1 (TIMP‐1) and plasminogen activator inhibitor‐1 (PAI‐1) were increased significantly. These changes were reversed by GbE. GbE lowered the levels of transforming growth factor‐β1 (TGF‐β1), insulin‐like growth factor‐1 (IGF‐1) and connective tissue growth factor (CTGF) of the high glucose group. Furthermore, GbE also decreased the expressions of collagen IV and laminin of the high glucose group. In summary, the results suggest that GbE postpones the extracellular matrix accumulation by inhibiting the synthesis of ECM and promoting the degradation of ECM, and therefore, is a potential drug for the prevention and treatment of DN. Copyright © 2008 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Development of preset‐type sample stage in three‐dimensional atom probe
Authors: Ito S. , Kaneko T. , Yamashita C. , Kaito T. , Adachi T. , Iwata T. , Mayama N. , Nojima M. , Taniguchi M. , Owari M.
Published: November 2008

Three‐dimensional atom probe (3DAP) equipped with a newly designed preset‐type sample stage has been developed. This new type of sample stage can reduce the costs of constructing a 3DAP instrument, and this instrument consists of quite simple components because the complicated mechanism to make any desired adjustment is no longer required to be done in a vacuum. These advantages are expected to lead to the wider distribution of 3DAP.

In addition, a wider range of applications is also expected in our equipment because the atoms can be field‐evaporated by means of either high‐voltage pulses or femto‐second laser pulses. In this article, the performance of the pulse voltage mode and pulse laser mode are described and illustrated through the investigation of metals. Copyright © 2008 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Integrated assessment of emotional distress after work‐related accidents
Authors: Novara Caterina , Buodo Giulia , Ghisi Marta , Poli Silvia , Bichescu Dana Maria , Sanavio Ezio , Palomba Daniela
Published: November 2008

Work accidents can be traumatic events that might give rise to a variety of dysfunctional stress responses. An integrated assessment of stress responses after work‐related trauma is considered as a valuable approach in clinical practice. The purpose of the present study was to assess affective adjustment after work‐related accidents using a multidimensional assessment. Fourteen males who had experienced work‐related accidents and 13 male controls were assessed using self‐report instruments and the recording of skin conductance response and the startle reflex during the viewing of standardized trauma‐related and trauma‐unrelated pictures. Participants who underwent a work accident reported more severe maladjustment symptoms than controls, as indicated by higher Post‐traumatic stress disorder Symptom Scale (PSS) scores. Moreover, participants with higher PSS scores showed more severe depressive symptomatology and general psychopathology, and lower psychophysiological reactivity than participants with lower PSS scores. Long‐lasting maladjustment problems after work‐related accidents influence various affective domains even many years after the traumatic event. In those individuals who showed higher post‐stress symptoms, an integrated assessment highlights a lack of concordance between self‐reported symptoms and physiological activation. Copyright © 2008 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
First observations of nest attendance behavior by wild maned wolves, Chrysocyon brachyurus
Authors: De Melo Luiz Fernando Bandeira , Sábato Marco Aurélio Lima , Vaz Magni Elisa M. , Young Robert John , Coelho Carlyle Mendes
Published: November 2008

In many species of canids the male's role in reproduction extends to providing extensive or some parental care to his offspring. Maned wolves are a monogamous canid species whose males have been observed providing parental care to their offspring in captivity, but no field observations exist. We observed a wild pair of maned wolves at their nest site in a period soon after the female had given birth for a total period of 65 days. We made five observation sessions with an average of 3–4 days each separated by approximately 2 weeks. Direct visual observations of maned wolves were made each 30 min during the hours of darkness (17:00–07:00) using night‐vision binoculars and confirmed by VHF radiotelemetry. During observations we recorded the location of the male and the female in relation to the nest (i.e., in the nest, nearby or long way from the nest). The results showed that the female spent more than 60.44% of her time in or near the nest. The male spent 28.90% of his time in or near the nest. There was a positive significant correlation between the female and the male in terms of the amount of time spent in or near the nest (P<0.01). The maned wolves showed a strong temporal variation in time spent in or near the nest. In conclusion, our data show that wild male maned wolves—probably—provide parental care through provision of food to their female and presumed offspring rather than “babysitting.” Zoo Biol 28:69–74, 2009. © 2008 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
Fluoreszenz-in-situ-Hybridisierung in der humangenetischen Diagnostik
Authors: Schröck E. , Frensel A. , Gerlach E. , Stadler A. , Hackmann K. , Tinschert S. , Werner W.
Published: November 2008

Die humangenetische Diagnostik umfasst eine Vielzahl von Verfahren, die sich aufgrund ihrer spezifischen Einsatzbedingungen und Anwendungsmöglichkeiten gegenseitig ergänzen. Mit der stetigen Entwicklung neuer Methoden ist es sinnvoll und notwendig, etablierte Techniken auf den Prüfstand zu stellen. Die Fluoreszenz-in-situ-Hybridisierung (FISH) ist eine Standardmethode in der genetischen Diagnostik und Forschung. Abhängig vom Design der Sonden ist es möglich, ganz individuell DNA-Abschnitte oder auch das gesamte Genom im Fluoreszenzmikroskop in Metaphasechromosomen, in Interphasezellkernen, in Gewebeschnitten oder in lebenden Zellen sichtbar zu machen. Besonders häufig wird die FISH-Technik in der humangenetischen Diagnostik für die Darstellung und Analyse von Mikrodeletionen, Translokationen, Inversionen und Insertionen, also von Strukturaberrationen der Chromosomen, sowie für die Charakterisierung von Markerchromosomen, zur Kartierung von Chromosomenbruchpunkten und zum Aneuploidiescreening im „pränatalen FISH-Schnelltest“ eingesetzt. Die Stärke der Methode liegt dabei in der Untersuchung einzelner Zellen, sodass auch genetisch heterogene Zellpopulationen (Mosaike) im untersuchten Gewebe mit hoher Sicherheit festgestellt oder ausgeschlossen werden können. Außerdem ist es möglich, die morphologischen und immunologischen Eigenschaften der Zellen bei der Auswertung zu berücksichtigen, sodass genetische Veränderungen bestimmten Zellarten zugeordnet werden können.
Grass Genomic Synteny Illuminates Plant Genome Function and Evolution
Authors: Bennetzen Jeffrey L. , Chen Mingsheng
Published: November 2008

The genic colinearity of grass genetic maps, physical maps, and contiguous genomic sequences has been a major contributor to almost two decades of study into the structure and evolution of grass genomes. This research has led to the discovery of all of the major phenomena responsible for the rapid evolution of flowering plant genomes. These processes include polyploidy, transposable element (TE) amplification, TE-driven genome rearrangement, and DNA removal by unequal homologous recombination and illegitimate recombination. The great variety in angiosperm genome structure is largely an outcome of differences in the specificities, frequencies, and amplitudes of these common genome-altering processes. Future emphasis now needs to shift to harnessing an even broader range of studied species, and to use this phylogenomic perspective to uncover the nature and functions of the genes that are shared by particular lineages and those that set each individual species apart as a unique biological entity.
Societal Change and OR Nursing in the Pages of the AORN Journal, 1963 to 1983
Authors: Moszczynski Alice
Published: November 2008

THE DECADES OF THE 1960s and 1970s were unlike any US society had previously experienced. The order of society was openly challenged, which resulted in diverse viewpoints about what was acceptable behavior and thinking.

THE EFFECTS OF SCIENTIFIC DISCOVERIES were evident in health care, and demands for options in care influenced the delivery of health services. Many of these influences were felt by nurses in the OR, and OR nursing itself transformed in response to the changes in society.

THE AORN JOURNAL is used in this article as a source of information to ascertain how changes in society were reflected in OR nursing during the period from 1963 to 1983. AORN J 88 (November 2008) 747–762. © AORN, Inc, 2008.
Placental Amniotic Membrane: The Pathway to Ocular Transplantation
Authors: Hill Sonia June
Published: November 2008

OPHTHALMOLOGY RESEARCH has identified a relationship between human placenta and eye tissue. Placental amniotic membrane provides structural healing properties that help restore vision in patients with ocular disease that has been unresponsive to medical treatment.

THE PATHWAY from donor placenta retrieval to amniotic membrane transplantation (AMT) involves perioperative nurses from obstetrics and ophthalmology departments who are well versed in federal regulations and eye or tissue bank standards.

PERIOPERATIVE NURSES can promote recycling of placentas for preservation and facilitate optimal surgical outcomes for patients undergoing AMT, as well as provide these patients with emotional support and education. AORN J 88 (November 2008) 731–742. © AORN, Inc, 2008.
Anti‐cancer effect ofCassia auriculataleaf extractin vitrothrough cell cycle arrest and induction of apoptosis in human breast and larynx cancer cell lines
Authors: Prasanna R. , Harish C.C. , Pichai R. , Sakthisekaran D. , Gunasekaran P.
Published: November 2008

Thein vitroanti‐cancer effect ofCassia auriculataleaf extract (CALE) was evaluated in human breast adenocarcinoma MCF‐7 and human larynx carcinoma Hep‐2 cell lines. CALE preferentially inhibited the growth of both the cell lines in a dose‐dependent manner with IC50values of 400 and 500 μg for MCF‐7 and Hep‐2 cells, respectively. The results showed the anti‐cancer action is due to nuclear fragmentation and condensation, associated with the appearance of A0peak in cell cycle analysis that is indicative of apoptosis. In addition, CALE treated MCF‐7 and Hep‐2 cells had decreased expression of anti‐apoptotic Bcl‐2 protein and increased expression of pro‐apoptotic Bax protein, eventually leading a decrease in the Bcl‐2/Bax ratio. These results demonstrated that CALE inhibits the proliferation of MCF‐7 and Hep‐2 cells through induction of apoptosis, making CALE a candidate as new anti‐cancer drug.
Food and Dependency: P.L. 480 Aid to Black Africa
Authors: Vengroff Richard
Published: November 2008

In a recent study of 90 developing countries by the U.N. Food and Agriculture Organisation, 52 of them were found to have more than 15 per cent of their populations undernourished. This figure was determined using the F.A.O. minimum intake of 1,600 calories per day, only about half of that of the average diet of citizens in the ‘First World’. In Black Africa, 29 of the 33 independent nations included in the F.A.O. study fall into the category of undernourished. Contributions of aid in the form of food and food-production technology are therefore extremely important to this region. Obtaining an adequate supply of food for their people must be high on the priority list for governments in sub-Saharan Africa, and is the focus of this article.
The Policy of National Integration in Zaïre
Authors: MacGaffey Wyatt
Published: November 2008

National integration continues to be a matter of considerable debate and experiment among those concerned with the administration of Zaïre, but has attracted little attention elsewhere, even within the country. It is not to be confused with another policy – or alleged policy – that of suppressing tribalism in favour of national solidarity. Although ‘tribalism’ and ‘regionalism’ are constantly denounced by President Mobutu Sese Seko and other officials, they are major sources of corruption which the Government, by its practice, actively encourages by frequently reassigning all personnel in the higher ranks of the public service, and making sure that an ethnic mix is maintained in every agency. Officers commonly complain that the only thing that matters is one's tribal designation, not one's ability or performance. Engineered ‘tribalism’ of this sort has nothing to do with ancestral traditions and communal habits.
The Colonial Legacy of Salary Structures in Anglophone Africa
Authors: Bennell Paul
Published: November 2008

The distribution of personal incomes in contemporary African societies is powerfully influenced by public-sector salary and wage structures. Even where capitalist and hence pro private-enterprise development strategies have been openly pursued, as in Kenya, the public service accounts for over 40 per cent of total employment in the modern sector. Where more statist, quasi-socialist strategies have been abopted, as in Ghana and Tanzania, this percentage rises to over 70. Clearly, then, any discussion of income distribution and the potential rôle of incomes policy hinges on an adequate understanding of the processes that determine remuneration in the public sector. And this in turn requires a comprehensive historical analysis of the political economy of each society – in particular, the process of class formation and the rôle of the state.
Food Insecurity and Foreign-Exchange Constraints in Sub-Saharan Africa
Authors: Kirkpatrick Colin , Diakosavvas Dimitris
Published: November 2008

The problem of food insecurity in less-developed countries (L.D.C.s) continues to demand the attention of the international community. Despite the progress that has been made in increasing the world's production of cereals and other major foodstuffs, many L.D.C.s continue to face immense difficulties in ensuring an adequate level of food supplies on a regular year-to-year basis. The current African food crisis has once again demonstrated the vulnerability of low-income economies to a sudden shortfall in supplies, and has highlighted the need for additional measures to strengthen food security in the Third World.
The Southern African Development Co-ordination Conference and the West: Co-operation or Conflict?
Authors: Friedland Elaine A.
Published: November 2008

The Southern African Development Co-ordination Conference (S.A.D.C.C.) was established in 1979 to eliminate the economic dependence of Angola, Botswana, Lesotho, Malawi, Mozambique, Swaziland, Tanzania, Zambia, and Zimbabwe upon the Republic of South Africa, and to create regional self-reliance –that is, economic development and regional co-operation. To attain these goals, S.A.D.C.C. seeks financial and technical assistance from all possible public and private sources, inculding international commercial banks and industrial corporations.
The Mano River Union
Authors: Robson Peter
Published: November 2008

Of the four current schemes for international economic integration in West Africa, the operation of the Communauté économique de l'Afrique de l'Ouest has been recently reviewed, the Economic Community of West African States continues to be widely discussed, while the agreement of the Presidents of Senegal and Gambia in Dakar on 17 December 1981 to establish a Senegambian Confederation, and to develop an economic and monetary union between the two countries, is as yet in its formative stages. This article examines the structure, progress, and potential of the Mano River Union (M.R.U.) about which little has been published.
Cleavage, Conflict, and Anxiety in the Second Nigerian Republic
Authors: Diamond Larry
Published: November 2008

Democratic politics embraces, inevitably and inescapably, an uneasy tension between conflict and consensus. If liberal democracy is defined as the institutionalisation of regular competition for political offices and policies, then clearly, there cannot be democracy without conflict. On the other hand, precisely because constitutional democracy is the institutionalisation of conflict, it is vulnerable to the decay of political order – and of the very political liberties that distinguish it from other governmental forms – that may result when conflict becomes to intense. The containment of political conflict within certain boundaries of behavioural restraint has, therefore, long figured prominently in the writing of theorists on the conditions for stable democracy.
Black and White American Opinions Towards South Africa
Authors: Fierce Milfred C.
Published: November 2008

The erudition of the late W. E. B. DuBois was never more prophetic than in 1903 when he issued his famous dictum that ‘The problem of the 20th century is the problem of the color-line – the relation of the darker to the lighter race of men in Asia and Africa, in America and the islands of the sea.’ The United States of America, for its remarkable technological achievement and democratic example, despite decades of difficulty in race relations; and the Republic of South Africa, for its unique violation of human rights: each represents in its own special way both the best and the worst in human history, and are fitting testaments to DuBois's clairvoyance.
The Anini Saga: Armed Robbery and the Reproduction of Ideology in Nigeria
Authors: Marenin Otwin
Published: November 2008

At the conclusion of a meeting of the Armed Forces Ruling Council in October 1986, President Ibrahim Babangida turned to the Inspector- General of the Nigeria Police Force, Etim Inyang, and asked, ‘My friend, where is Anini?’. At about this time, Nigerian newspapers and journals were publishing numerous articles and editorials on the ‘Anini Challenge’, the ‘Anini Saga’, the ‘Anini Factor’, ‘Lawrence Anini – the Man, the Myth’, ‘Anini, Jack the Ripper’, and ‘Lawrence Anini: A Robin Hood in Bendel’. The Guardian asked, almost plaintively, ‘Will they ever find Anini, “The Law”?’, and when he was finally captured in early December, the cover of the magazine Thisweek blared forth, above a picture of the badly injured criminal in his hospital bed, ‘Anini. Face to Face with The Law’.
Pretoria's Reaction to the Rôle of Moscow and Peking in Southern Africa
Authors: Maritz Chris
Published: November 2008

We have it from the celebrated Max Weber that the behaviour of nations is determined not by ideas but by ‘interests’ – a loaded concept in the sense that these are dependent on the interpretation given by a nation to its environment. This implies that ‘images of reality’ are crucial in the definition of what are national interests and what are not. Perceptions thus determine inter-state relations, and existing Policies should be seen as reactions to images of interests, pressures, and assumed underlying objectives.
Post-Apartheid South Africa: Constraints on Socialism
Authors: Southall Roger J.
Published: November 2008

Few observers reckon that the white citadel will fall overnight, yet the days of racial minority rule in South Africa are now widely assumed to be running out. But the future can rarely be tamed in advance, and many of the more optimistic scenarios and hopes concerning a transition to a non-racial form of state may well prove to be hopelessly misplaced. Even so, to the extent that it is considered that history is now finally on the move, debate about the nature of opportunities available to, and constraints upon a post-apartheid state becomes not only more legitimate but more urgent. The ambition of this article is to provide a framework for consideration of whether a non-racial South Africa could or will be socialist.
Nigeria and the Ecowas Protocol on Free Movement and Residence
Authors: Brown M. Leann
Published: November 2008

During the past 25 years, there have been several efforts by developing countries to establish regional economic institutions to address their poverty, underdevelopment, and external dependency. Although the economic imperatives and rationales for their creation intuitively seemed sufficient to ensure that the national political leaderships would choose to engage in whatever give-and-take was necessary to achieve their stated goals, the historical record reveals that these regional organisations have experienced uneven results at best. Several are now defunct. Why is this the case?
Debt and the One-Party State in Zambia
Authors: Good Kenneth
Published: November 2008

In the debate over relief for Africa and the Third World, the situation of dictatorial, corrupt, and mismanaged régimes is often subsumed with the rest. It is rather uncritically accepted that indebtedness chiefly results from the impact of international factors, such as falling commodity prices, International Monetary Fund conditionalities, and rising metropolitan interest rates. The independent national state, whatever its policies and form, is seen as simply the passive victim of such forces, and little or no differentiation is made between the régime and the groups and classes of the domestic society.
Freeing the Pan-African News Agency
Authors: Cavanagh Kevin
Published: November 2008

After years of constant struggle, the Pan-African News Agency (Pana) appears barely closer to commanding respect and economic stability today than when it issued its first bulletin in 1983. The yearning for noble repute might seem more to do with vanity than necessity, because Pana was created to perform a specific function: to counter what African leaders decried as the negative, distorted coverage of the continent by western news organisations being beamed back to Africa and out to the rest of the world. However, since arriving on the scene six years ago as purveyors of African liberation, content to implement their own ideas of what journalism should be, the Agency's administrators are increasingly making it known that they realise credibility is not superfluous: that in the business of international news, respect goes hand in hand with survival.
Monitoring Human Rights in Africa
Authors: Dicker Richard
Published: November 2008

Since its founding in May 1988, Africa Watch has documented and reported on human rights abuses in 13 countries in sub-Saharan Africa. These findings are available in eight book-length reports and more than 70 newsletters, with new evidence available all the time on such topics as, for example, the suppression of information in the Sudan, violations of laws of war in Liberia, the devastating impact of the 15-year armed conflict in Angola, slavery in Mauritania, and interference with academic freedom in Zimbabwe.
Development and Cultural Genocide in the Sudan
Authors: Burton John W.
Published: November 2008

Genocide is easily defined: ‘the deliberate extermination of a people’. It appears to occur in human history primarily in association with the emergence of the state, or in the effort of an established régime to maintain or expand its domination, and is virtually unrecorded for ‘traditional’ or pre-state societies. Although the concept of ‘development’ is by contrast exceedingly ambiguous (other than as an ideal process or social form in an evolutionary typology), the meaning conveyed would be antithetical to the definition of genocide, being some form of material or moral improvement in social existence, rather than a means towards the rapid extinction of a cultural tradition.
Islam, History, and Politics
Authors: Hodgkin Thomas
Published: November 2008

It is not, I imagine, necessary to argue in this Journal (whose birth I welcome) that the study of African politics should never be separated from the study of African history. There was a time when the political institutions of African states (except in a few special cases, such as Ethiopia) meant ‘colonial political institutions, together with such indigenous African institutions as had been permitted to survive within the colonial framework’. For students of colonial government the study of African history had no obvious relevance. For those who wished to explain such institutions as Legislative Councils in British-controlled territories, Communes Mixtes in French-controlled territories, or the Conseil de Gouvernement in the Belgian Congo, the history of the European state which had imposed the institution was understandably more significant than the histories of the African peoples upon whom it had been imposed. As for such indigenous African political systems as had survived, in a modified form, within the colonial administrative structure, their study was—by a kind of unwritten convention—left to the social anthropologists, whose historical interests varied according to the character of the system and the approach of the anthropologist.
Institut Français d'Afrique Noire, Dakar, Senegal
Authors: Sene Abdoulaye
Published: November 2008

I.F.A.N. was first established by the central government of l'Afrique Occidentale Française in 1936, as a successor to the Comité d'etudes historiques et scientifiques. At the time of the break-up of the A.O.F. federation, in March 1959, it became an Institute of the University of Dakar, and since then has been financed by the French Ministry of National Education.
African Studies Program, Howard University, Washington
Authors: Brown Vincent J.
Published: November 2008

This Program was established in 1954. It is inter-disciplinary in character, and has the following primary purposes:

1. To provide an opportunity for students at Howard University to acquire as a part of their general education an objective view of the present position of Africa in the modern world, and an understanding of its economic, social, and political problems.

2. To enable African students attending the University to view objectively and in a larger perspective the problems of their own continent.

3. To provide training and education for a small number of graduate students, who will either continue their studies at other centres, or will be prepared to work in Africa.
African Meeting on Commodity Stabilisation
Authors: Chudson Walter A.
Published: November 2008

The purpose of this meeting, convened by the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa (E.C.A.), was to consider the position and prospects of Africa's major agricultural export commodities and to examine possible national and international measures for commodity stabilisation. Over 50 representatives attended from 17 African countries; the chairman was Mr O. I. Afe of Nigeria, and the vice-chairman was M Medoune Fall of Senegal.
Inter-governmental Symposium on Unemployed Youth
Authors: Callaway Archibald C.
Published: November 2008

In recent years many countries in tropical Africa have seen the growth of an urgent problem: unemployment among young people. Although in some areas local unemployment has been a continuing problem, this new, more serious form has emerged as a result of accelerated social change and demands difficult policy decisions. The problem arises from the rapid expansion of basic education without widespread facilities for further education and without many possibilities for labour absorption in the modern sector of the economy. Frequently the effect of primary schooling is to turn young people away from traditional means of making a living: those in villages reject farming and migrate to the cities to compete for the few wage-paid jobs. Each year the number of school leavers increases and the pool of unemployed grows.
Program of Studies on Africa, Columbia University, New York
Authors: Cowan L. Gray
Published: November 2008

This Program is one of the five area studies operating in conjunction with the School of International Affairs at Columbia. It consists entirely of graduate work, and offers a Certificate in African Studies, which must be taken together with a post-graduate degree; this normally requires two years' residence at the University. The aim is to educate a limited number of highly qualified graduate students concerning the peoples and problems of tropical Africa especially, and to give them knowledge in depth of a particular area of the continent. Through this training, students will be prepared for careers dealing with African political, social, and economic affairs. The program also hopes to perform a national service by increasing American understanding of our relations with the new states of Africa.
Scandinavian Institute of African Studies at the University of Uppsala
Authors: Widstrand Carl Gösta
Published: November 2008

This Institute came into being in order to provide information on Africa and its problems for official institutions, private organisations, and the general public throughout Scandinavia. It functions as a part of the University of Uppsala, but has its own board of governors and its own budget. The need for such a centre was first discussed in the Swedish Parliament in 1961; the matter was then referred to a Royal Commission which at the time was dealing with Swedish aid to under-developed countries, in particular with the recruitment and training of technical assistance experts.
Colloque sur les politiques de développement et les diverses voies africaines vers le socialisme
Authors: Schleimann Jørgen
Published: November 2008

This Colloquium on the Politics of Development and Different African Ways to Socialism was attended by delegates from 16 African countries, and observers from several others. They included such distinguished Africans as the Senegalese President, Léopold Sédar Senghor, who acted as host, and the Premier, Mamadou Dia; Jacques Rabemananjara, Malagasy Minister of Economic Planning; Auguste Anfuille, Gabon Minister of National Education; Mohamed El Moktar Marouf, Mauritainan Minister of Economic Planning; Asséfa Demisse, Ethiopian Deputy Minister of Finance; Boubou Hama, President of the National Assembly of Niger; Abdelmajed Chaker, Tunisian Scretary of Agriculture; Dr S. O. Biobaku, Pro-Vice Chancellor of the University of Ife, Nigeria; Osman Ahmed Hassen Somali Ambassador to France; and Namamodou Diakité Guinean Ambassdor to Senegal.
From a different viewpoint:
Authors: Kaplan Abbot
Published: November 2008

To this American, some aspects of the Dakar colloquium were curiously nostalgic and unreal. They were reminiscent of the discussions of left-wing intellectuals in the early thirties—in the U.S. at least—when any proposed solution of a pressing social, economic, or political problem had first to be blessed by the appropriate ideological rationale or actually couched in ideological terms. The compulsion to make obeisance to socialist ideology before getting down to discussion of the concrete problems confronting African countries was apparent in many of the addresses. At the same time the discussion of the problems themselves and the solutions proposed frequently bore little relation to socialist ideology. Non-socialists might very well have discussed them in exactly the same terms and come up with the same conclusions or solutions.
Eighteenth Session of the Commission for Technical Co-operation in Africa
Authors: Ensor M. de N.
Published: November 2008

C.C.T.A. combined this formal Session, attended by representatives of the member governments, with meetings of its Administrative Committee and its technical assistance organ, the Foundation for Mutual Assistance in Africa (F.A.M.A.). This year's Administrative Committee meeting was notable as the first presided over by the new secretary-general, M Mamoudou Touré, formerly Mauritanian Ambassador in Paris. Delegates warmly welcomed the first African to hold the post, as well as paying tribute to the energetic guidance of his predecessor, M C. Cheysson. Two new member governments, Rwanda and Uganda, were welcomed, and Ghana resumed its place in the Commission, showing a desire to co-operate fully in its activities. There are now 25 African States as full members. The delegates elected as their chairman for the Session Mr A. Z. N. Swai, Minister without Portfolio in the Tanganyika Government, whose business-like approach enabled the agenda to be disposed of on time but without undue hurry.
The Committee on African Studies in Canada
Authors: Wiedner Donald L.
Published: November 2008

This Committee was organised by interested scholars meeting in December 1962 at McGill University in Montreal. Representatives were present from the Islamic Institute, the Universities of Alberta (Edmonton), McGill, Montreal, New Brunswick, and Toronto, and from Loyola College and the Ontario Agricultural College. Expressions of interest were also received from Alberta (Calgary), British Columbia (Vancouver and Victoria), Manitoba, Memorial, Queens, Carleton, Waterloo, and York Universities. Professor Ronald Cohen (McGill) was elected chairman, Professor Donald C. Savage (Loyola) executive secretary, and Professor Donald L. Wiedner (Alberta-Edmonton) editor of a proposed annual bulletin. Organisational support and assistance was given by Dr J. R. Kidd, executive secretary of the Social Science Research and Humanities Research Councils of Canada, with which the Committee on African Studies is to be affiliated for its first two years.
African Studies in Czechoslovakia
Authors: Waridi-Ruzicka K. F.
Published: November 2008

The Institute of Oriental and African Studies (Prague 1, Lazenska Str. No. 4), originally founded in 1922 by the Government, has since 1952 been an integral part of the Czechoslovak Academy of Sciences, the president of which is a member of the Government. The purpose of the Institute, under its director, Professor J. Prusek, is to foster research in Oriental and African languages, cultures, economics, and history; there are four departments, one of which is concerned with the Near East and Africa, and has 17 members of staff, headed by Dr. O. Klima. Four scholars are working on various aspects of African languages and literature: Dr K. F. Waridi-Ruzicka (Swahili and Bantu), Mr S. Pantucek (Berber), Mr P. Zima (Hausa and Yoruba), and Mr J. Hulec.