Remittances,Bonds and Bridges: Remittances and Social Capital in Burundi

This study explores the effects of remittances on households’ structural social capital in urban Burundi. Distinctions are made between bonding and bridging social capital, referring to intra- versus inter-network ties of family members and friends. The results demonstrate that remittance-receiving households invest more in bridging social capital by participating in organisations (donating time), but make fewer monetary contributions, compared to non-receiving households. Remittances have mixed effects on bonding social capital: receiving households give significantly less gifts to family members and friends, but are more likely to send internal remittances, compared to non-receivers. The implications of these findings for post-conflict development are discussed.     

Diagnosis of early human myocardial ischemic damage with electron probe microanalysis

We determined the Na/K x-ray intensity ratio in frozen sections of myocardial tissues obtained at autopsy from patients who died from various causes, using electron probe analysis. We have been able to distinguish between the ischemically injured and normal cells. The method is simple, fast, and dependable even when the duration of ischemia is only 30 minutes.