bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Causality assessment of liver injury after chronic oral amiodarone intake
Authors: Llanos Lucía , Moreu Rocío , Peiró Ana M , Pascual Sonia , Francés Rubén , Such José , Horga José F. , Pérez‐Mateo Miguel , Zapater Pedro 
Published: January 2009

AbstractBackground/AimThe number of patients receiving amiodarone will increase in future years. As clinically significant hepatotoxicity associated with oral amiodarone is infrequent and difficult to predict, a new Bayesian‐developed model is proposed to help in the causality assessment of amiodarone‐induced liver injury.MethodsIncidence of abnormal liver enzymes in patients receiving amiodarone was obtained from placebo controlled clinical trials. Published case reports of amiodarone‐induced hepatotoxicity were identified through a literature search. Maximum number of expected hepatotoxicity cases in amiodarone and placebo‐treated patients was calculated using Poisson distribution. The calculated odds ratio was used as a Prior Odds (PrO) to subsequent quantification, using a Bayesian‐approach, of individual amiodarone‐induced hepatotoxicity likelihood.ResultsPrO of amiodarone‐induced hepatotoxicity was 0.48. Thirty nine amiodarone‐associated hepatotoxicity case reports were retrieved. Half of published case reports developed an irreversible damage. The amiodarone Bayesian model combining information about latency period and period of remission, together with analytical parameters properly defines the toxicity profile shown in published case reports. The analytical pattern defined by this model is different from the one expected if liver injury in published cases was caused by other etiologies.ConclusionsA method based on a Bayesian‐approach, which links information from clinical trials with clinical hepatotoxicity profile from published case reports can be a useful tool for amiodarone‐induced liver injury causality assessment. At present, this method is limited due to scarcity and quality of available data. Further efforts are needed to improve model ability in order to identify amiodarone‐induced liver injury. Copyright © 2009 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Effect of additives in aqueous formulation on the foliar uptake of dimethomorph by cucumbers
Authors: Yu Ju‐Hyun 
Published: January 2009

AbstractBACKGROUND: The efficacy enhancement of dimethomorph formulation by several adjuvants is thought to be through increased foliar uptake. In order to identify the most effective adjuvants, the adjuvancy of 36 additives was examined in aqueous formulations in relation to the absorption of dimethomorph by cucumber leaves.RESULTS: Polyethylene glycol monohexadecyl ethers with ethylene oxide (EO) contents of between 7 and 20, polyethylene glycol monooctadecyl ethers with EO contents of between 10 and 20 and polyethylene glycol monooctadecenyl ethers with EO contents of between 6 and 20 were effective adjuvants for promoting dimethomorph uptake from both aqueous acetone solutions and aqueous wettable powder (WP) suspensions into cucumber leaves. Polyethylene glycol monododecyl ethers with EO contents of between 7 and 9 were effective in promoting dimethomorph uptake from aqueous WP suspensions but less effective relative to the other adjuvants tested with aqueous acetone solutions. Foliar uptake of dimethomorph was also facilitated by the addition of methyl hexadecanoate, methyl octadecenoate and methyl octadecadienoate.CONCLUSIONS: Although the foliar uptake of dimethomorph from both aqueous WP suspensions and aqueous acetone solutions was greatest in the presence of fatty alcohol ethoxylates generally having a C16 or C18 lipophile, uptake from aqueous surfactant–acetone solutions was, on average, 7.6‐fold greater than that from aqueous WP suspensions containing surfactant. Copyright © 2009 Society of Chemical Industry
Acid hydrolysis followed by matrix‐assisted laser desorption/ionization mass spectrometry for the rapid diagnosis of serum protein biomarkers in patients with major depression
Authors: Lo Li‐Hua , Huang Tiao‐Lai , Shiea Jentaie 
Published: January 2009

AbstractWe have developed a technique combining acid hydrolysis with matrix‐assisted laser desorption/ionization time‐of‐flight mass spectrometry (MALDI‐TOF MS) for the rapid study of the changes in the levels of positive and negative acute phase protein biomarkers in the sera of patients suffering from major depression. The serum proteins were first precipitated using an organic solvent; after separation, they were subjected to hydrochloric acid hydrolysis (6 M HCl) for 10 min. The resulting peptides were characterized using MALDI‐TOF MS. Short‐term treatment of the serum proteins with HCl efficiently removed interference from the abundant protein – albumin – and produced abundant peptide ion signals in the range of m/z 4000–10 000. This approach allowed us to rapidly detect the peptide ions originating from transferrin (a common negative acute phase protein) and fibrinogen (a common positive acute phase protein). The average ratios and (standard deviations) of the ion signals derived from transferrin/fibrinogen were 3.58 (±1.93) for the healthy control subjects and 1.02 (±0.52) for the patients suffering from major depression. The differences in transferrin/fibrinogen ratios between healthy controls and patients suggest that major depression will induce internal inflammation and cause either an increase in the level of fibrinogen or a decrease in the level of transferrin. Copyright © 2009 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Preparation and Aqueous Properties of Starch‐grafted Polyacrylamide Copolymers
Authors: Eutamene Mohamed , Benbakhti Abbes , Khodja Mohamed , Jada Amane 
Published: January 2009

AbstractIn the present work, starch‐grafted polyacrylamide copolymers were prepared and their rheological properties, either in water or in water‐based muds, were investigated. The advantages in using starches as substrates to prepare additives which are suited for improving stability and the rheological properties of water‐based muds, lie in their low cost, and their lower biodegradability than native starches. Thus, various copolymer series were prepared by free‐radically grafting acrylamide (AM) onto starch using ceric ammonium sulphate (CAS) as initiator. It is shown that the intrinsic viscosity and the molecular weight of the grafted starches are controlled by the initiator and monomer concentrations. Furthermore, to predict the behaviour of the samples under oil‐well conditions, the aqueous solution properties of the copolymers such as water solubility, viscosity, shear rate, were determined as function of temperature, salt concentration and type, and aging time. The knowledge of these properties is a prerequisite for the use of the copolymers in drilling fluids. The data indicate that starch‐grafted polyacrylamide copolymers as compared to the non‐modified starch, behave as shear‐thinning, are salt resistant, and their rheological properties are stable with time. The grafted starches as prepared above were also added to water‐based mud and the rheological properties of the resulting muds were determined under oil‐well conditions. Grafted starches, having high AM contents, are more efficient in decreasing the filtrate volume, and increasing the plastic viscosity of the muds, when compared to PAC‐L, a modified cellulosic polymer used in the filtration control of most water‐based muds. Such improvements in the rheological properties of the muds were found to result from the behaviour and/or properties of the grafted starches in water.
Testing of different plants to determine influence of physico–chemical properties and contaminants content on municipal sewage sludges phytotoxicity
Authors: Oleszczuk Patryk 
Published: January 2009

AbstractThis study attempts to evaluate the Phytotoxkit™ as a tool for measuring the toxicity of municipal sewage sludges using 10 common plants: mustard, turnip, cress, red clover, cucumber, tomato, radish, sorrel, and spinach. The results were used to determine a germination index (GI) and a median effective concentration (EC) value for each plant. The trace metal and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon (PAH) contaminant content and the physical–chemical properties were examined. Most sewage sludges were characterized by an unfavorable electrical conductivity value of about 5.2 mS/cm−1. The most abundant trace metals were zinc (Zn) at 871–1680 mg kg−1, manganese (Mn) at 245–661 mg kg−1, and copper (Cu) at 88.2–161.0 mg kg−1. The lowest values were determined for cobalt (Co) at 2.9–3.8 mg kg−1 and cadmium (Cd) at 0.7–3.7 mg kg−1. The PAH sum was based on 10 individual compounds (USE EPA), and the PAH content ranged from 4.76 to 27.95 mg kg−1, most of the sewage sludges showing a predomination by carcinogenic PAHs. The GI values, based on seed germination and root growth inhibition bioassays, showed increasing plant sensitivity to the tested sewage sludges in the following order: cress > turnip > mustard > sorrel > tomato > sorgo > red clover > radish > cucumber > spinach. The EC50 sewage sludge values lay in the range 31–404 g/kg of soil, and significant relationships were found for most of the plants between EC50 and the magnesium content (Mg2+: α = 0.888–0.924, P = 0.05), calcium content (Ca2+: α = 0.813–0.911, P ≤ 0.05), and pH (α = −0.913–0.948, P = 0.05). In the case of sewage sludge pollutants, significant relationships were found for trace metals such as: strontium (Sr: α = 0.851–0.948, P ≤ 0.05), chromium (Cr: α = 0.858, P ≤ 0.05), and nickel (Ni: α = 0.955, P = 0.05), as well as pyrene (PAHs). © 2009 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Environ Toxicol, 2010.
Colonialism and Christianity in West Africa: the Igbo case, 1900–1915
Authors: Ekechi F. K. 
Published: January 2009

A critical examination of the forces behind Igbo acceptance of Christianity during the first decade of this century reveals that British military imperialism and other forms of colonial exploitation were in fact basic to the decision of many Igbo communities to embrace Christianity. The adoption of the Christian religion, especially by the male adults, may be seen as a clear method of adjusting to the new colonial regime in which Christianity offered visible social advantages. Communities which embraced the new religion believed that by associating with the Christian missionaries, they would perhaps escape various forms of colonial over-rule.The expansion of British political authority in the Igbo country, therefore, widened the frontiers of missionary enterprise. And as the Christian missions found the Igbos remarkably receptive to missionary propaganda, each was more than anxious to exert its denominational influence on the people. Thus interdenominational rivalry, especially between the Roman Catholics and the Protestants, was acute. For various reasons, the Roman Catholic missionaries seem to have established a more preponderating influence than the other Protestant societies.
Somali Resistance to Colonial Rule and the Development of Somali Political Activity in Kenya 1893–1960
Authors: Turton E. R. 
Published: January 2009

This article investigates the relationship between different phases of Somali political activity in Kenya. A clear contrast emerges between the focus, the aims and the methods adopted by the Somali pastoralists along the northern frontier and those adopted by the Isaq and Herti Somali traders in Nairobi and Isiolo. The attitude of the former towards the Colonial Government was essentially negative. Yet, while they tended to be resisterspar excellenceand fought against the Government on a large number of occasions between 1893 and 1916, this article shows that their resistance was much more limited than has generally been supposed and that they were never united on a clan basis in their resistance. In fact intra-clan rivalries seriously undermined the effectiveness of their activities Moreover, certain weaker Somali segments actively cooperated with the Government in order to obtain military and political support for their positions which were threatened by stronger groups.On the other hand, Isaq and Herti traders attempted to manipulate the political institution in order to obtain additional privileges within the system. Their agitation had positive goals, for they campaigned to gain Asiatic status. They put pressure on the central organs of Government and hired lawyers to plead their case. They wrote numerous petitions and memorials to governors of the colony, to Secretaries of State and even to two British kings. They formed well-organized political associations and had contacts in British Somaliland and England. Yet, by a curious irony, it seems that the Somali Exemption Ordinance of 1919, which represented the closest they came to achieving non-native status, was not passed as a result of their campaigns. In fact, their later agitation achieved nothing; it seems to have represented a futile effort to counter the gradual erosion of privileges obtained at an earlier date.One of the main characteristics of the Isaq and Herti agitation was its essentially sectarian character. In fighting to obtain Asiatic status they emphasized traits that isolated them from other Somali groups, and they even ended by denying that they were Somali. As such, there was a considerable disparity between their aims and those of the Somali Youth League which emerged in 1946 as the main vehicle of mass Somali nationalism, uniting the Somali pastoralists and traders in one group.
Anglo-German Relations in Uganda, 1890–1892
Authors: Gray John 
Published: January 2009

After recovery from his alarming accident at Bagamoyo at the end of 1889, Emin Pasha decided to enter the German service in East Africa. At the beginning of 1890 he was appointed the leader of an expedition into the interior of the continent. Part of Emin's instructions read as follows:In accordance with instructions received by me from the Imperial Chancellor, and the arrangement made with Your Excellency, I have the honour to give you the following directions with regard to the mission undertaken by you:(I) Your Excellency is to secure on behalf of Germany the territories situated south of and along the Victoria Nyanza Lake, from Kavirondo and the countries between Victoria Nyanza and Tanganyika up to the Muta Nzige and Albert Nyanza, so as to frustrate England's attempts at gaining an influence. I consider that the extension of the line from Kilimanjaro and the Kavirondo Bay to the north west, up to the frontier of the Congo State, constitutes the Anglo-German frontier. Any extension warranted by the circumstances of the sphere of influence just described would be regarded by me as redounding to Your Excellency's special merit.
Pre-European Ironworking in Central Africa with Special Reference to Northern Rhodesia
Authors: Fagan Brian 
Published: January 2009

Pre-European ironworkers in Central Africa reached a high standard of metallurgical skill, culminating in the production of beautiful ceremonial objects and instruments which show a Congo origin and inspiration. Many of these specimens, especially hoes, were traded over enormous distances. One can probably detect three phases of ironworking in Northern Rhodesia:(1) The Earliest Period (c. a.d. 0 to ? a.d. 1000). Little is known about these earliest settlers, associated with channelled and stamped ware. Slag and tuyère fragments occur, and simple forms of weapons were probably made. Acculturation of Later Stone Age peoples took place.(2) The Middle Period (c. ? a.d. 1OOO to a.d. 1740). Iron was still extremely rare, and iron objects are normally associated with some functional purposes. Coiled iron bangles occur, and a few ceremonial objects including gongs are rarely found; at Lusitu and in Southern Rhodesia, they are more common. The Chewa/Maravi migration brought in new ideas and tool forms around a.d. 1500.(3) The Late Period (a.d. 1740–1900). Over the more northerly portion of the territory, there was considerable standardization of iron tool forms and techniques, which found their origin in Luba country, and were carried over the Luapula into Northern Rhodesia by repeated migrations. These forms survived to the present day when they are now dying out, and many ceremonial pieces have lost their ritual value.
The Ashanti Confederacy
Authors: Tordoff William 
Published: January 2009

The Basel missionaries, Ramseyer and Kühne, had this to say of Ashanti government in the reign of Kofi Karikari (1867–74):…the reins of the Ashantee government are not exclusively in the hands of the king, nor does he possess unlimited power, but shares it with a council which includes, besides his majesty, his mother, the three first chiefs of the kingdom [Juabenhene, Bekwaihene, and Mamponghene], and a few nobles of Kumasi (Coomassie). This council is called ‘Asante Kotoko’, or the Ashantee porcupine, which means that like the animal of that name, nobody dare touch them.…It is this Kotoko council which rules the entire kingdom, and deals with the people, who must obey, whatever their own wishes or inclinations may be, in the most despotic way.…In important matters all the other chiefs of the kingdom are called together to discuss the case, but they are sure to vote in accordance with the view of the council, for who would dare to oppose the Kotoko?
Some Questions on the Economic Prehistory of Ethiopia
Authors: Simoons Frederick J. 
Published: January 2009

This paper considers several questions in the economic prehistory of Ethiopia. Who domesticated the banana-like ensete, the food plant which in parts of southern Ethiopia forms a monoculture? Was the ensete cultivated in ancient Egypt? Was it once cultivated extensively in northern Ethiopia as a food plant? Did the Semites, who invaded Ethiopia from South Arabia, starting about 1000 B.C., introduce the plough to Ethiopia and first develop cereal-plough agriculture there?The Sidama peoples of southern Ethiopia are viewed as likely candidates in ensete domestication. The evidence for ensete cultivation in ancient Egypt is weighed and judged inconclusive. The cultivation of ensete for food in northern Ethiopia is viewed as recent. The suggestion is made that cereal-plough agriculture pre-dated the Semitic invasions. The ancient Cushitic inhabitants of northern Ethiopia are seen as having been in an excellent position for contacts with countries at the north end of the Red Sea, particularly Egypt, whence wheat and barley and the plough could have been introduced.
The Garamantes and Trans-Saharan Enterprise in Classical Times
Authors: Law R. C. C. 
Published: January 2009

The sources for pre-Arab trans-Saharan contacts are poor, but at least for the central Sahara a picture can be made out. The alignment of rock paintings and engravings of chariots along two trans-Saharari routes has been supposed to prove regular traffic across the desert. The inference is unjustified, but literary and archaeological sources indicate that the conclusion is correct. Herodotus attests the use of a route running west from Egypt to the Fezzan, then apparently south-west via Tassili and Hoggar to the Niger. This corresponds with the central Saharan ‘chariot-route’.There was also a route to the Garamantes of the Fezzan from the Punic settlements on the coast of Tripolitania. Carthage imported from the Garamantes the precious stones known as ‘carbuncles’, which were apparently brought to the Fezzan from the south-west. Other possible imports are slaves and gold. Carthage imported gold from West Africa by sea, and it seems likely that her explorations down the coast were inspired by an overland trade in gold. But there is no direct evidence for such a trade.In the second century B.C. Rome replaced Carthage in control of the coast of Tripolitania. Between 20 B.C. and A.D. 86 she fought a series of wars with the Garamantes. Later friendly relations were established, but further trouble led to the organization of the ‘limes Tripolitanus’ after A.D. 201. Trade is attested by imported Roman material in tombs of the Fezzan dating from the late first to the fourth centuries. There is evidence that the Romans imported ivory from the Garamantes, and slaves are now attested directly.The commodities exported north by the Garamantes came not from the Fezzan, but from farther south. Literary sources refer to hunting expeditions and raids to the south, and finds of Roman material have been made along the ‘chariot-route’ south-west of the Fezzan as far as Ti-m-Missao.Trade ended with the collapse of Roman rule in North Africa. It was revived with the Byzantine reconquest after A.D. 533, and Christianity penetrated to the Fezzan. In 666 the Arabs overran the Fezzan.
New Views on Engaruka, Northern Tanzania
Authors: Sassoon Hamo 
Published: January 2009

This paper describes a large area of stone-built ruins in northern Tanzania which has so far only been briefly excavated, but which is likely to prove to be a key site in the study of the Iron Age in East Africa. In addition to numerous massive stone circles, terraces and cairns, there are extensive systems of fields and enclosures defined with lines of stones. Excavations carried out in 1964 and 1966 have shown that the small terrace-platforms on the hillsides and the stone circles on the flatter land in the valley were occupied at different periods and by different peoples whose pottery is readily distinguishable. Radiocarbon dates suggest that the terrace sites on the hillsides were occupied during the first millennium A.D., and that the stone circles on the lower slopes in the valley were occupied during the fifteenth century A.D. The purpose of the numerous large and well-built cairns is not yet known, but it appears that they were not burial monuments. No evidence has been found that any of the stone structures were built or occupied by immigrants from outside Africa.It has not yet been possible to link the systems of fields and enclosures to the hillside terrace-platforms or to the stone circles. A close examination of the main area of fields and of low-level aerial photographs has not produced any evidence that the fields were irrigated, a fact which raises important agricultural and climatic problems in an area which has an average rainfall of less than 380 mm. (15 inches).The general picture of Engaruka which emerges is of an area which was occupied by different peoples at different times over a period of at least a thousand years. The stone structures which these different peoples built have accumulated to give the impression that there was once a very large population living in the area; in fact it is possible that this population was always less than 4,000 people at any one time.