bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Quantitative abnormalities of fetal trophoblast cells in maternal circulation in preeclampsia
Authors: Zhang Ling , Wang Yan , Liao Ai‐Hua
Published: November 2008

Objective

To determine if quantitative abnormalities of circulating fetal trophoblast cells (CFTCs) are associated with preeclampsia.

Methods

The trophoblast cell‐specific antibody, MEM‐G/9 (monoclonal antibody to HLA‐G), was applied to distinguish the trophoblast cells from the maternal circulation. The trophoblast cells were isolated by density‐gradient centrifugation from maternal blood samples of normal pregnant and preeclamptic women, respectively. After preliminary enrichment, the CFTCs were identified by immunocytochemical staining with the MEM‐G/9. To prove fetal origin of the HLA‐G‐positive cells, primer‐extension preamplification (PEP) and polymerase chain reaction (PCR) based on single HLA‐G‐positive cells were adopted to detect human sex‐determining region of the Y‐chromosome (SRY) gene.

Results

There were 6.88 ± 1.54 and 30.56 ± 5.16 HLA‐G‐positive cells in 6 mL maternal blood from the normal pregnant (n = 16) and preeclamptic women (n = 18), respectively. The difference was statistically significant (p < 0.001). The SRY gene from the HLA‐G‐positive cells was detected in all pregnant women carrying male fetuses. The sensitivity and specificity of PEP and PCR for the SRY gene detection were 100%.

Conclusion

It is concluded that enhancement of CFTCs numbers is related to preeclampsia, which provides information useful for noninvasive prenatal diagnosis of preeclampsia. Copyright © 2008 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Surface modification of polytetrafluoroethylene films by plasma pretreatment and graft copolymerization to improve their adhesion to bismaleimide
Authors: Lin Tsung‐Kuan , Wu Shao‐Jung , Peng Chih‐Kang , Yeh Chao‐Hsien
Published: November 2008

BACKGROUND: Polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE) is utilized in many engineering applications, but its poor wettability and adhesion properties with other materials have limited its use. The study reported was aimed at achieving surface modification of PTFE films by radiofrequency NH3 and N2 plasma treatment, followed by graft copolymerization, in order to improve the interfacial adhesion of PTFE and bismaleimide.

RESULTS: X‐ray photoelectron spectroscopy results showed that a short‐time plasma treatment had a distinct defluorination effect and led to nitrogen functional group formation. The nitrogen chemical bonding form was different for NH3 and N2 plasma treatments. Under the same experimental conditions, the NH3 plasma exhibited a better etching effect than did the N2 plasma. Contact angle measurement showed an improvement in both surface energy and wettabliity by short‐time plasma treatment. The concentration of the surface‐grafted bismaleimide on PTFE increased after the plasma pretreatment. The lap shear strength between PTFE and bismaleimide increased significantly after surface modification.

CONCLUSION: This study found that plasma treatment caused changes in surface chemistry, thus leading to an increase of the wettability of PTFE surfaces. Hence, the adhesion properties of PTFE with bismaleimide were significantly improved. Copyright © 2008 Society of Chemical Industry
Highly ordered nanoporous thin films by blending of PSt‐b‐PMMA block copolymers and PEO additives as structure directing agents
Authors: Park Sung Chan , Jung Hyunjung , Fukukawa Ken‐ichi , Campos Luis M. , Lee Kyunghee , Shin Kyusoon , Hawker Craig J. , Ha Jeong Sook , Bang Joona
Published: November 2008

Herein, we present a simple method for producing nanoporous templates with a high degree of lateral ordering by self‐assembly of block copolymers. A key feature of this approach is control of the orientation of polymeric microdomains through the use of hydrophilic additives as structure directing agents. Incorporation of hydrophilic poly(ethylene oxide) (PEO) moieties into poly(styrene‐b‐methyl methacrylate) (PSt‐b‐PMMA) diblock copolymers gives vertical alignment of PMMA cylinders on the substrate after solvent annealing. Because of the miscibility between PEO and PMMA, PEO additives were selectively positioned within PMMA microdomains and by controlling the processing conditions, it was found that ordering of PSt‐b‐PMMA diblock copolymers could be achieved. The perpendicular orientation of PMMA cylinders was achieved by increasing the molecular size of the PEO additives leading to an increased hydrophilicity of the PMMA domains and consequently to control the orientation of microdomains in PSt‐b‐PMMA block copolymer thin films. © 2008 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Polym Sci Part A: Polym Chem 46: 8041–8048, 2008
The effect of a trithiol and inorganic fillers on the photo‐induced thermal frontal polymerization of a triacrylate
Authors: Nason Charles , Pojman John A. , Hoyle Charles
Published: November 2008

Thermal frontal polymerization is a process in which a localized reaction propagates through an unstirred system by the coupling of the thermal diffusion and the Arrhenius kinetics of an exothermic polymerization. A trithiol was found to affect the front velocity and the time for inducing a front upon exposure to UV light for trimethylolpropane triacrylate polymerization fronts with either kaolin or calcium carbonate filler present. The addition of trithiol and filler both decreased the front velocity. © 2008 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Polym Sci Part A: Polym Chem 46: 8091–8096, 2008
Persistent and emission color tunable poly(phenylene‐ethynylene)s covered with polyhedral oligomeric silsesquioxanes
Authors: Miyake Junpei , Chujo Yoshiki
Published: November 2008

The development of chemically and thermally persistent blue‐, and green‐luminescent hybrid π‐conjugated polymers consisting of poly(phenylene‐ethynylene) conjugated backbone wrapped with the rigid three‐dimensional polyhedral oligomeric silsesquioxane (POSS) units was successfully achieved by means of the Sonogashira‐Hagihara coupling reaction. Because of the steric effect of POSS units, the luminescence stability of the conjugated backbone was significantly enhanced. Moreover, emission color was also easily tunable only by changing the ratio of POSS moieties incorporated. © 2008 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Polym Sci Part A: Polym Chem 46: 8112–8116, 2008
Toward low‐band gap dithienophosphole copolymers for an application in organic solar cells
Authors: Durben Stefan , Nickel Debby , Krüger Robin A. , Sutherland Todd C. , Baumgartner Thomas
Published: November 2008

Two functionalized dithieno[3,2‐b:2′,3′‐d]phospholes with solubilizing groups have been synthesized that allow for the generation of a series of π‐conjugated AB‐ and ABC‐copolymers. The polymers obtained show notable optoelectronic properties with red‐shifted absorption and emission in the orange to red section of the optical solar spectrum. Although combination of dithienophosphole units with fluorene building blocks gives access to processable polymers with band gaps between 2.2 and 2.3 eV in solution and 2.0 eV in the solid state, an ABC copolymer based on dithienophosphole, fluorene, and bis(thienyl)benzothiadiazole units was found to not only exhibit a suitable band gap for solar cell applications (solution: 2.0 eV; solid state: 1.7 eV) but also showed good solubility as well as good electron transfer properties in the presence of fullerene (C60). © 2008 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Polym Sci Part A: Polym Chem 46: 8179–8190, 2008
Experimental Investigation on the Heterogeneous Kinetic Process of the Low Thermal Decomposition of Ammonium Perchlorate Particles
Authors: Longuet Baptiste , Gillard Philippe
Published: November 2008

The thermal decomposition of ammonium perchlorate has been extensively studied in the past. Nevertheless, the various results published illustrate, on the one hand, significant differences regarding the influence of different parameters on the decomposition and on the other hand, a lack of useful quantitative laws to predict the thermal behaviour of this crystal under a range of conditions (temperature, duration of exposure, presence of confinement).
High‐density guided growth of silicon nanowires in nanoporous alumina on Si(100) substrate: Estimation of activation energy
Authors: Buttard D. , David T. , Gentile P. , Dhalluin F. , Baron T.
Published: November 2008

High‐density growth of silicon nanowires confined within a nanoporous alumina template is carried out. The growth rate is measured for several temperatures. An incubation time is observed and measured. The activation energy of this system is calculated and compared to that of growth on a free silicon surface. (© 2009 WILEY‐VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim)
Application of optimal design methodologies in clinical pharmacology experiments
Authors: Ogungbenro Kayode , Dokoumetzidis Aristides , Aarons Leon
Published: November 2008

Pharmacokinetics and pharmacodynamics data are often analysed by mixed‐effects modelling techniques (also known as population analysis), which has become a standard tool in the pharmaceutical industries for drug development. The last 10 years has witnessed considerable interest in the application of experimental design theories to population pharmacokinetic and pharmacodynamic experiments. Design of population pharmacokinetic experiments involves selection and a careful balance of a number of design factors. Optimal design theory uses prior information about the model and parameter estimates to optimize a function of the Fisher information matrix to obtain the best combination of the design factors. This paper provides a review of the different approaches that have been described in the literature for optimal design of population pharmacokinetic and pharmacodynamic experiments. It describes options that are available and highlights some of the issues that could be of concern as regards practical application. It also discusses areas of application of optimal design theories in clinical pharmacology experiments. It is expected that as the awareness about the benefits of this approach increases, more people will embrace it and ultimately will lead to more efficient population pharmacokinetic and pharmacodynamic experiments and can also help to reduce both cost and time during drug development. Copyright © 2008 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Down‐regulatory effect of usnic acid on nuclear factor‐κB‐dependent tumor necrosis factor‐α and inducible nitric oxide synthase expression in lipopolysaccharide‐stimulated macrophages RAW 264.7
Authors: Jin Ju‐qing , Li Cui‐qin , He Lang‐chong
Published: November 2008

The purpose of this study was to investigate the molecular mechanisms that are responsible for the antiinflammatory effect of usnic acid (UA). UA is one of the most common and abundant lichen metabolites. The present study examined the effects of UA on the tumor necrosis factor‐α (TNF‐α) and nitric oxide (NO) production induced by lipopolysaccharide (LPS) in RAW264.7 macrophages and the underlying molecular mechanisms. UA decreased the TNF‐α level in LPS‐stimulated RAW264.7 macrophages in dose‐dependent manner, the IC50 value was 12.8 µM. RT‐PCR analysis indicated that it inhibited TNF‐α mRNA expression. Furthermore, it inhibited NO production in LPS‐activated RAW264.7 macrophages, the IC50 value was 4.7 µM. Western blot analysis showed that UA attenuated LPS‐induced synthesis of iNOS protein and nuclear translocation of NF‐κB p65 in the macrophages, in parallel. UA also inhibited LPS‐mediated I‐κBα degradation. Taken together, this suggests that UA has an antiinflammatory effect by inhibiting TNF‐α and iNOS expression, possibly through suppression of nuclear translocation of NF‐κB p65 and I‐κBα degradation. Copyright © 2008 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Infrared laser desorption/vacuum ultraviolet photoionization mass spectrometry of petroleum saturates: a new experimental approach for the analysis of heavy oils
Authors: Guo Wenyue , Bi Yucheng , Guo Huijun , Pan Yang , Qi Fei , Deng Wenan , Shan Honghong
Published: November 2008

A novel method combining infrared (IR) laser desorption with tunable synchrotron vacuum ultraviolet (VUV) photoionization mass spectrometry (LD/VUV PIMS) is applied to characterize a number of petroleum saturates samples from Lungu atmospheric residue (LGAR) under different treatment procedures. The mass spectra of these saturates are well resolved with even masses as the dominant ions and are clearly sample‐dependent. In order to assess the ability of IR LD/VUV PIMS to determine the average molecular weight of heavy oils, the dependence of the measured molecular weight distributions on the VUV ionization photon energies is also discussed. Copyright © 2008 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Dynamics of organizational information security
Authors: Dutta Amitava , Roy Rahul
Published: November 2008

While technology is important, organizational and human factors also play a crucial role in achieving information security. In this paper we develop a system dynamics model of the interplay between technical and behavioral security factors, along with their impact on business value of an organization's IT infrastructure. The model captures delays associated with perception of security risk, the mechanics of user compliance and the mechanics of risk mitigation achieved by investments in security technology and user training. These structural model components interact to mediate the impact of security incidents on the business value generated by information technology enabled transactions. The model reveals the dynamics of erosion in and recovery of business value resulting from security incidents. Experiments with the model suggest that information security drills, analogous to fire drills, may be useful in maintaining user compliance, in addition to usual training and awareness activities. Among the management policy parameters examined, we find that improvement in realized business value is statistically significant for the minimum security risk the firm is willing to accept, and the proportion of security‐related investment spent on security technology versus security training and awareness. We also discuss how our model can be extended to help justify an organization's investments in information security, an objective that has been notoriously difficult to achieve in practice. Copyright © 2008 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
A penalized likelihood approach for mixture cure models
Authors: Corbière Fabien , Commenges Daniel , Taylor Jeremy M.G , Joly Pierre
Published: November 2008

Cure models have been developed to analyze failure time data with a cured fraction. For such data, standard survival models are usually not appropriate because they do not account for the possibility of cure. Mixture cure models assume that the studied population is a mixture of susceptible individuals, who may experience the event of interest, and non‐susceptible individuals that will never experience it. Important issues in mixture cure models are estimation of the baseline survival function for susceptibles and estimation of the variance of the regression parameters. The aim of this paper is to propose a penalized likelihood approach, which allows for flexible modeling of the hazard function for susceptible individuals using M‐splines. This approach also permits direct computation of the variance of parameters using the inverse of the Hessian matrix. Properties and limitations of the proposed method are discussed and an illustration from a cancer study is presented. Copyright © 2008 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Prenatal evaluation of a scrotal mass using a high‐frequency probe in the diagnosis of inguinoscrotal hernia
Authors: Frati A. , Ducarme G. , Vuillard E. , Pecastaing A. , Yver C. , Pejoan H. , Luton D.
Published: November 2008

Whereas inguinal hernia is a common pediatric disease, fetal inguinal hernia is rarely diagnosed because intra‐abdominal pressure usually occurs only after birth. We report a case of prenatal diagnosis of a scrotal mass at 35 weeks' gestation. The initial differential diagnosis included hydrocele, testicular teratoma and testicular torsion, but inguinoscrotal hernia was considered the most likely diagnosis when further ultrasound imaging using a high‐frequency probe demonstrated bowel loop movements around the mesenteric artery. This diagnosis was confirmed postnatally. Copyright © 2008 ISUOG. Published by John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Assessing functional connectivity using empirical data
Authors: Kadoya Taku
Published: November 2008

The potential for connectivity to impact populations in heterogeneous landscapes, and the obvious implications for conservation biology, has led to increasing interest in connectivity and a proliferation of connectivity measures. Despite the pivotal role of this measure in ecology, however, there is no generally accepted and employed formal definition of connectivity. In addition, despite the strong desire from conservationists, who are increasingly asked to design and implement corridor plans, empirically determining measures of movement and dispersal, and assessing connectivity from field data remain challenging tasks in spatial ecology. Here I summarize the current use of connectivity concepts in terms of both metapopulation and landscape ecology, and present recently developed promising techniques in spatial ecology, such as graph theory, pattern‐oriented modeling, and state–space modeling, which will help to improve assessment of species‐centered or functional connectivity based on empirical data.
Midday depression in root respiration of Quercus crispula and Chamaecyparis obtusa: its implication for estimating carbon cycling in forest ecosystems
Authors: Bekku Yukiko Sakata , Sakata Tsuyoshi , Nakano Takashi , Koizumi Hiroshi
Published: November 2008

We observed the phenomenon of midday depression in the rate of tree root respiration. Diurnal changes in the root respiration rate of Quercus crispula and Chamaecyparis obtusa were measured under intact conditions using a closed chamber method and a soil respiration measurement system (LI‐6400 with a root respiration chamber) in a forest in the foothills of Mt. Fuji. After the measurement of intact root respiration in the field, the root was excised and taken to the laboratory, and the temperature dependence on the respiration rate of the detached root was measured using an open‐flow gas exchange system with an infrared gas analyzer (LI‐6252). The measurement was conducted in September 2003, August and November 2005, and June 2006. Whereas the root respiration rate of both species under intact conditions increased with increasing soil and root temperatures from dawn to early morning, the respiration rate decreased around midday from 10:00 to 15:00 despite an increment of soil and root temperatures. There was no clear relationship between the intact root respiration rate and root temperature in either species, although the detached root respiration rate of both increased exponentially with the temperature. The amount of the CO2 efflux estimated using the temperature dependence of detached root respiration tended to underestimate the actual measurement value (intact respiration rate) by 20–50% in both species. These results indicate that evaluating midday depression in root respiration would be important for a more accurate estimation of the carbon cycle or net ecosystem production in forests.
Successful treatment of heart failure with devices requires collaboration
Authors: Swedberg Karl , Cleland John , Cowie Martin R. , Nieminen Markku , Priori Silvia G. , Tavazzi Luigi , van Veldhuisen Dirk J. , Alonso‐Pulpon Luis , Camm John , Dickstein Kenneth , Drexler Helmut , Filippatos Gerasimos , Linde Cecilia , Lopez‐Sendon José , Santini Massimo , Zannad Faiez
Published: November 2008

Implanted biventricular pacemakers (cardiac resynchronisation therapy, CRT) with or without implantable cardioverter defibrillators (ICD) improve survival and morbidity in some patients with chronic heart failure (CHF) who are optimally treated with pharmacologic agents according to current guidelines. Correspondingly, ICDs improve survival.

However, there is only limited evidence for device treatment in certain patient subgroups, such as the impact of ICD on outcomes in patients with reduced ejection fraction in New York Heart Association (NYHA) Class I or IV heart failure. Similarly, limited evidence exists for CRT in patients with only modest QRS prolongation or only modestly reduced ejection fraction.

Despite evidence for a beneficial effect of device therapy in CHF, only a minority of eligible patients are currently offered these options. Multiple reasons contribute to the underuse of these potentially life‐saving therapies. A lack of adherence to guidelines by health care professionals is an important barrier. Clearly, efforts should be made to improve the standard of care and to familiarise all physicians involved in managing CHF patients with the indications and potential efficacy of these devices. Increased collaboration between structured heart failure care and pacemaker clinics as well as between electrophysiologists, heart failure clinicians, and primary care physicians is required. Such team collaborations should lead to improved care with reduced mortality and morbidity and increased cost effectiveness. Treatment strategy should be based on a structured approach tailored to local practice and national priorities.
Quality cesarean delivery in Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso: A comprehensive approach
Authors: Richard F. , Ouédraogo C , De Brouwere V.
Published: November 2008

Objective

To assess the effects of a comprehensive intervention (staff training, equipment, internal clinical audits, cost sharing system, patients–providers meetings) in improving cesarean delivery access and quality in an urban district of Burkina Faso.

Methods

We conducted a before‐after study in the health district sector 30 in Ouagadougou between 2003 and 2006. We measured cesarean delivery quality (accessibility, diagnosis, procedure, postoperative follow‐up) and maternal and neonatal health in 1371 sections.

Results

The number of cesarean deliveries performed increased each year, from 42 in 2003 to 630 in 2006. This increase happened without increase in maternal and perinatal post‐cesarean mortality (respectively 1.1% and 3.6% in 2006). The cesarean delivery rate for women of the district increased from 1.9% to 3.3% of expected births between 2003 and 2005.

Conclusion

To improve access to quality cesarean delivery, we have shown that it was necessary to have a systemic approach combining technical, operational, sociocultural, and political factors.
Ethnicity and Leadership in Africa: the ‘Untypical’ Case of Tom Mboya
Authors: Goldsworthy David
Published: November 2008

This article seeks to relate a biographical case-study to some ‘liberal’ and ‘radical’ ways of thinking about ethnicity. The Kenyan political leader Tom Mboya, who was active in labour and political affairs from 1951 until his death in 1969, was widely regarded as genuinely non-tribalist in his politics. Yet he exercised successful leadership within a political system characterised very strongly, according to a great many observers and participants, by the play of ethnic forces. His would appear to be a strikingly deviant case, and hence may be seen as a useful point of departure for a reconsideration of ideas about ethnic factors in political leadership.
Land Use and Agricultural Productivity in Zimbabwe
Authors: Weiner Dan , Moyo Sam , Munslow Barry , O'Keefe Phil
Published: November 2008

Given a continuation of current trends, with increasing population growth and declining food production, Southern Africa (excluding South Africa) which could nearly feed itself during 1979–81, will be only 64 per cent self-sufficient by the turn of the century. Zimbabwe has a particularly important rôle to play in trying to prevent such a disaster. It is by far the most important exporter of food and cash crops in the region, and has been allocated the task of co-ordinating a food-security strategy for the nine member-states of the Southern African Development Co-ordination Conference, namely Angola, Botswana, Lesotho, Malawi, Mozambique, Swaziland, Tanzania, Zambia, and Zimbabwe.
Ethiopia, Revolution, and the Question of Nationalities: the Case of the Afar
Authors: Shehim Kassim
Published: November 2008

Of all the serious problems facing the present rulers of Ethiopia none has proved to be more elusive or challenging than the question of nationalities. Since the 1974 revolution there has been a proliferation of liberation movements calling for either regional autonomy or outright secession from Ethiopia. Although the Somalis and the Eritreans have long sought to break away from Ethiopia and have waged an armed struggle for many years, the Afar, Oromo, and Tigrean movements are recent developments which manifested themselves openly after the overthrow of Haile Sellassie. Their discontent with the weakened central Government, which they saw as insensitive to their needs, had long been brewing, and now threatens the viability of Africa's oldest state.
The Sudanese Private Sector: an Historical Overview
Authors: Tignor Robert L.
Published: November 2008

In the decade of the 1970s the Arab world, its resources swelled by surplus oil profits, looked to the Sudan to become the area's granary. Arab leaders knew that the country possessed abundant arable and pasture land, thought to be capable of supplying 40 per cent of the grain requirements of the region, and substantial fish and red meat supplies. They saw Sudanese development as leading to regional food self-sufficiency. In this vision of economic transformation they expected the Sudanese private sector to work in combination with Arab oil money and western technology.
Is There Hope for Conservation in Africa?
Authors: Cartwright John
Published: November 2008

The listing of the African elephant in Appendix I to the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species in late 1989 provided a dramatic indicator of the overwhelming pressures threatening the natural heritage of a number of states in Africa. While both their leaders and international organisations express concern about the longterm environmental stability of many areas, the more immediate economic difficulties in producing enough food and obtaining sufficient foreign exchange to finance essential imports and service debts mean that effective conservation measures have been largely neglected.
The Scope for Uniform National Laws in Cameroon
Authors: Fombad Charles Manga
Published: November 2008

Cameroon like most formerly colonised countries in African has, since independence and re-unification, grappled with a Danaidean task in attempting to develop a modern legal system that takes account of its heritage and present conditions, as well as its socio-economic and political needs. If the history of African legal systems reflects the difficulties encountered in framing national laws derived from customary and foreign laws introduced during the colonial era, these are even more serious in Cameroon where, because of its complicated colonial past, two potentially divergent foreign legal systems have struggled for supremacy in determining the nature and content of its new uniformised laws. Now in its third decade of independence, and with the two former British and French parts united politically, the goal of legal unity seems to be regarded as a logical sequitur.
Land Resettlement and Gender in Zimbabwe: Some Findings
Authors: Jacobs Susie
Published: November 2008

While a Research Associate attached to the Ministry of Community Development and Women's Affairs, Zimbabwe, in 1984, I studied the relation between gender and class in six Resettlement Areas (R.A.s) during an eight-month period in there north-eastern Provinces: Central and East Mashonaland, and Manicaland. The country is divided into five agro-ecological ‘Natural Regions’, numbered I to V, indicating decreasing rainfall and soil fertility, and the R.A.s studied were all in II or III, albeit in a year of drought.
A United States of Africa
Authors: Nyerere Julius K.
Published: November 2008

There is one sense in which African unity already exists. There is a sentiment of ‘African-ness’, a feeling of mutual involvement, which pervades all the political and cultural life of the continent. Nationalist leaders all over Africa feel themselves to be part of a greater movement; they recognise a special responsibility to the political unit in which they happen to belong, but feel personally involved in the triumphs and set-backs of all other African countries. There is, in other words, an emotional unity which finds expression in, among other things, concepts such as the ‘African personality’, and in a tendency to consult together at international conferences.
The All Africa Church Conference
Authors: M'Timkulu Donald G. S.
Published: November 2008

The idea of a permanent co-operating body of Christian Churches in Africa dates back to the first All Africa Church Conference arranged at Ibadan, Nigeria, in 1958, by the International Missionary Council. This brought together some 200 representatives of church bodies from 25 African countries, the majority being African church leaders rather than missionaries. It was the most representative gathering of African Christians that had ever met together. Here for the first time the Church in Africa found its voice.
The Unification of Laws in East Africa
Authors: Cotran Eugene
Published: November 2008

In examining the question of the unification of laws in East Africa, we must bear in mind that we are faced with two distinct problems: on the one hand, territorial unification of the different types of law prevailing within each territory; and on the other, inter-territorial unification as between the systems of law in Kenya, Uganda, and Tanganyika.
The M.I.T. Fellows in Africa Program
Authors: Wilson Carroll L.
Published: November 2008

This Program of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology was conceived in January 1960 as a means for bringing well-trained, working-level assistance to development institutions at a time of acute need. The aim was to aid a few African governments by recruiting to their service exceptionally able young Americans whose education is directly relevant to problems facing these governments. A corollary objective was to expose these promising graduates to front-line experience within African institutions, in the belief (i) that such men and their wives would present a favourable image of highquality young Americans, (ii) that they would mature rapidly through responsible action in the actual business of economic planning and development, and (iii) that upon completing a two-year tour in Africa they would form a promising pool of talent for meeting the manifold needs of the United States in its role towards emerging Africa.
New Forms of Colonialism in Africa
Authors: Goncharov L.
Published: November 2008

The colonial system is a system of social relations based on the political and economic domination of backward peoples by imperialist powers, in a world divided territorially and economically. The colonial régime is a monopoly exercised by the bourgeoisie of an imperialist country, based on economic and extra-economic pressure in a dependent country. This imperialist monopoly has two basic functions: on the one hand, it exploits the colonies; on the other hand, it maintains and develops the political enslavement necessary for its own existence.
African Studies in the University of Aix-Marseille
Authors: Bourde André
Published: November 2008

Teaching and research in French universities on African history and contemporary problems are no longer the sole privilege of Paris. Several provincial universities, including Strasbourg and Bordeaux, have in fact well equipped research centres. Among these newly-developing programmes, special mention must be made of the University of Aix-Marseille. The long-standing connexions of the Marseille region with Africa, especially the Maghreb, have led to the establishment in recent years of a number of institutes and centres dealing with African affairs—first by the University, then by other local bodies in association with it.
Fifth Session of the U.N. Economic Commission for Africa
Authors: Sewell J. P.
Published: November 2008

‘Bread … before politics’ was the aim set for this session of E.C.A. in an early address by the Commission's retiring chairman, M Oumar Baba Diarra of Mali. Fittingly enough, these words were attributed to Cyrille Adoula, whose host government had been striving to transform those energies yielding Congolese friction into efforts to satisfy the basic needs of human existence, so appallingly evident on every hand to guests in Leopoldville. The conference agenda prepared through the initiative of E.C.A.'s secretariat was laden with economic questions of both short-and long-term significance.
Dependency and Underdevelopment in Black Africa: an Empirical Test
Authors: Vengroff Richard
Published: November 2008

In the literature of both comparative politics and international relations there exist two broad theoretical orientations towards the concept of development: capitalist and Marxist or neo-Marxist. The first emphasises the nation as the basic unit of analysis, and assumes that development is a matter of accepting and implementing western forms of political and economic organisation, and of the masses internalising ‘modern’ attitudes and values.1 The second identifies world capitalism as the key unit of analysis, and is convinced that underdevelopment is both created and maintained by this international economic system.2
Agrarian Crisis and Economic Liberalisation in Tanzania
Authors: Lofchie Michael F.
Published: November 2008

It is now generally acknowledged that Tanzania's policy of rural collectivisation has been abandoned as a failure. By most accounts, systematic efforts to bring about collective production ceased altogether during 1975 and may have halted, informally, as early as the end of 1974. According to the Villages and Ujamaa Villages Act of 1975, one or another form of block farming is considered sufficient for a village to become officially identified as an ujamaa village. Thus, ujamaa as a concept once intended to convey a social ideal of collective ownership, labour, and sharing is reduced to describing a state of affairs in which individual farming is intermittently supplemented by occasional cooperation in such tasks as planting and harvesting. Villagisation without socialism is, in effect, the current policy.
Soviet Marxism and African Socialism
Authors: Ottaway Marina
Published: November 2008

In the last few years, there has been a sharp upsurge in the popularity of Marxism among intellectuals in African countries. The earlier African ideologies - ujamaa, humanism, négritude – with their softer, reconciliatory attitudes, and their stress on brotherhood rather than class struggle, have lost some of their appeal for progressive or radical African intellectuals. The reasons for this decline are fairly obvious. The early progressive ideologies are all now associated with governments in power, thus with the status quo, and cannot become the motivating force for those desiring change.
The Islamic Reformist Movement in North Africa
Authors: Brown Leon Carl
Published: November 2008

If my own experience is at all typical, probably most students concerned with the influence of Islam in the modern world occasionally experience total doubt about their approach to the subject. Can one still justify putting such emphasis on the role of Islam as a historical continuum? Rather, since the nineteenth century, the period of the intensive ‘impact of the west’, haven't there been so many institutional changes that we have reached a real watershed, a breaking point with past history and with past categories of thought designed to explain that history? Shouldn't we de-emphasise Islam as a vital factor in the equation of the modern Arab world and of North Africa? Isn't it a mistake to put so much emphasis on the Islamic heritage?
Workshop on the Role of Women in Urban Development
Authors: Comhaire Jean
Published: November 2008

The main aim of the social affairs section of the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa, in organising this workshop, was to analyse the economic aspects of the situation of women in African urban areas, and their importance in general economic development. Twenty-four women had been invited from as many African countries, representing the whole range of modern activities; 14 of them came, with another 10 representing the various regions of Nigeria, and more than 50 observers.
British Policy Towards the High Commission Territories
Authors: Spence J. E.
Published: November 2008

The accusation that Britain neglected the three High Commission territories of Basutoland, Bechuanaland, and Swaziland, especially during the inter-war period, is a common one, both in standard works on the subject and in current controversies over their future. It has been alleged that an important reason for this neglect was the assumption made by successive British governments that their future status was uncertain, particularly in view of South Africa's repeated claim that the territories were geographically part of the Union, largely dependent on the latter's economy, and therefore should be transferred to South Africa's jurisdiction.1 In this article an attempt will be made to test the truth of these assertions in so far as there is evidence for a considered judgment.
The ‘Class Struggle’ in Africa: An Examination of Conflicting Theories
Authors: Grundy Kenneth W.
Published: November 2008

Wellover 50 years ago, John Mensah Sarbah, a Gold Coast lawyer, romantically described the traditional social order in these terms: ‘In the African social system the formation of a pauper class is unknown, nor is there antagonism of class against class.’1Similar views still prevail throughout most of Africa and the western world. Moreover, a rationale based on this ostensible ‘classlessness’ is employed by Africa's leaders to justify single-party rule and the repression of dissident elements in society, and to explain and defend policies of African socialism.
International Trade and Economic Development
Authors: Kaldor Nicholas
Published: November 2008

A Recebt study by the U.N. Secretariat provides ample proof, if further proof were needed, that the problem of the economic development of the low-income countries cannot be solved without these countries becoming not only producers, but also exporters of manufactured goods, on an important scale.1 At present 86 per cent of the exports of the ‘developing countries’2 consists of primary products, and only 14 per cent of manufactured goods. But the world market for primary commodities expands only slowly, owing to the low income elasticity of demand. This is partly due to the low income elasticity of food consumption in the wealthy countries and the rapid growth of their own agricultural production, and partly to economies in the use of materials in industry and the development of synthetics. Since 1938, the volume of trade in manufactures has more than trebled, while the volume of trade in primary products has increased only by two-thirds.
The Rural Development College, Holte, Denmark
Authors: Stapleton G. Brian
Published: November 2008

This College—Højskole for Udviklingslandene—opened in August 1964 with 22 students from six countries of the eastern half of Africa, who had come for a four-month course. Behind this lies a story of years of effort by many people, principally Danes, and more especially those within the folk high- school movement, who were persuaded and inspired by the zeal of the indefatigable Dr Peter Manniche, who conceived the original idea. This was to aid the developing nations by inviting some of their citizens to come and study how Denmark itself had in the past developed from poverty to affluence by the efforts of its own people; and to provide a college for this purpose, organised along the lines of a folk high-school community.
Rawlings, Economic Policy Reform, and the Poor: Consistency or Betrayal?
Authors: Ahiakpor James C. W.
Published: November 2008

Flight-Lieutenant Jerry Rawlings has presided over two distinct types of régime as far as economic policy is concerned since the overthrow of the Third Republic at the end of 1981. The first was characterised by the extensive intrusion of the state, or by those claiming to act on its behalf, in directing economic activity, notably the sale of goods and services. The other, since 1983, has witnessed greater reliance on the market freedom of individuals in both production and exchange, largely consistent with the economic liberalism prescribed by the International Monetary Fund (I.M.F.). Most analysts familiar with the evidence have concluded that the experiment during 1982–3 was an unmitigated disaster for the wellbeing of Ghanaians, and that since then the Economic Recovery Programme (E.R.P.) has successfully reversed the downward spiral and created the conditions for real income growth.
A Critical Evaluation of the Failed 1990 Coup in Nigeria
Authors: Ihonvbere Julius O.
Published: November 2008

The Federal Republic of Nigeria shall not be governed, nor shall any person or group of persons take control of the government of Nigeria or any part thereof, except in accordance with the provisions of this constitution.
Zaïre: the Roots of the Continuing Crisis
Authors: Kabwit Ghislain C.
Published: November 2008

The guns have again gone silent in Zaïre. The second war — dubbed Shaba II — in the key mining town of Kolwezi during May 1978, seems to have faded away as rapidly as it started, and has stopped making headlines around the world. However, in its wake, it has left a bitter taste in many mouths. In less than 15 months since Shaba I in March 1977, western intervention – spearheaded this time by French légionnaires and Belgian paratroopers – again pulled the tottering régime of President Mobutu Sese Seko back from the brink. The net result of this military intervention in Zaïre has been to keep Mobutu more firmly entrenched in power than ever.
Cultural Traditions, Social Change, and Fertility in Sub-Saharan Africa
Authors: Valentine Carol Hopkins , Revson Joanne E.
Published: November 2008

Because there is growing evidence of interest in increasing the level and scope of activities in family planning programmes in sub-Saharan Africa, we believe that it is important to examine some of the assumptions under which these are being undertaken. In what is one of the poorest areas of the world, particularly in terms of health resources and educational facilities, with enormous gaps of trained personnel in both, the programmes already in existence have not been a notable success. Yet a rapidly expanding population quickly outpaces what efforts have been made in health and education, and there is now a growing concern that food supplies, particularly in West Africa, may soon enter a period of chronic shortage.
Towards a Housing Policy
Authors: Nerfin Marc
Published: November 2008

In most African countries, the housing situation is most unsatisfactory, both in quality and quantity. The underlying factors are both demographic (population growth, rapid urbanisation) and economic (the under-development of productive resources). Although the poverty of housing is only one facet of the ‘pauperisation’ of the African masses, and although new needs arise directly from the process of development itself, yet the only possible framework for any modern housing policy is planning—economic, social, and spatial—in which the role of the public authorities is decisive both in the preparation and the implementation of the plan. Housing then becomes one element in the total modernisation of society.
Institut de Recherches et d'Applications des Méthodes de Développement, Paris
Authors: Chaponay Henryane De
Published: November 2008

The Institute for Research and Experiment in Development Methods is an international, private, non-profit-making association under Swiss law. Its headquarters are in Geneva and its management in Paris (Rue Réaumur). The constitution requires that all its activities shall be carried out without political, religious, or racial distinction.

I.R.A.M. was born along with the newly independent countries, to answer the historical need for research and action to ensure the participation of the people in development programmes. It is based on the notion of‘animation’, which arose resulting from a meeting between African and South American leaders and a small group of Europeans who had been actively involved in the struggle for independence in many countries under colonial rule before 1956.
International Congress of African History
Authors: Kamian Bakary
Published: November 2008

This International Congress was organised by the University College, Dar es Salaam, in conjunction with the Government of Tanzania, and with financial assistance from U.N.E.S.C.O. It was concerned with the related problems of research and teaching in African history, and the working plan covered four main points: African historiography, its methods, its emerging themes, and the teaching of African history.
Bureaucratic Élites and Public-Sector Wage Bargaining in Nigeria
Authors: Otobo Dafe
Published: November 2008

The establishment of independent commissions in Nigeria since 1931 to review wage structures, gradings, and relativities in the public sector would seem to suggest either a continuing belief in their efficacy for determining remuneration and job classification, or else that this method has become ‘inevitable’ for reasons that remain to be discovered.
Theories of Contemporary State Formation in Africa: a Reassessment
Authors: Stark Frank M.
Published: November 2008

The understanding of state formation in Africa depends on the analysis of attempts by Africans to build political institutions which suit their needs in an era when they have been faced with many constraints. These efforts take place in a setting of two dimensions: in time, as part of a history of indigenous culture and political traditions, colonial domination, nationalist independence movements, and the trials of new nationhood; and in space, as the activities of members of a world system of integrated economies and political relations, with a well-defined and sometimes brutally administered pecking-order of power and status. There have been a number of attempts to explain how state institutions in Africa have been created and built up, or perhaps how they have collapsed and been supplanted by alternative structures.
Trade Unions, the Labour Process, and the Tanzanian State
Authors: Bienefeld M. A.
Published: November 2008

Eventhose who do not see the struggle between capital and labour as necessarily antagonistic in a capitalist economy, recognise that it represents one of the most critical areas of potential conflict. This must be analysed by those who wish to study industrial relations and to understand class struggle. Furthermore, the complexity of issues involved is such that people with the most divergent perspectives have often found themselves emphasising the same facts to achieve very different objectives.
The Continuing Struggle for National Liberation in Zaïre
Authors: Nzongola-Ntalaja
Published: November 2008

Thepurpose of this article is to elucidate the factors underlying the rise of political opposition against the régime of Mobutu Sese Seko, and this should help clarify the background to the Shaba wars of 1977–8. The major argument is that these factors are intimately related to two major aspects of a continuous political crisis in Zaïre today, namely: the democratic struggle against Mobutu's dictatorship and reign of terror, and the popular movement for a ‘second independence’. In order to substantiate this argument, the article traces the growth of organised opposition to four interrelated phenomena: (1) the ideological split in the anti-colonial nationalist movement between ‘radicals’ and ‘moderates’, (2) the leadership struggle among the moderates themselves, (3) the neo-colonial character and tasks of the post-colonial state, and (4) the autocratic nature of Mobutu's oppressive rule.