Fifty years of creativity,crisis, and cancer in Uganda

Abstract

This article tells the story of the Uganda Cancer Institute over the past 50 years. I discuss the fundamental dynamism of research collaborations and the ways in which they bring vital yet partial investments in improving the capacity of medical facilities in sub-Saharan Africa. I explore the ways in which patient populations and the needs of caretakers themselves shape research collaborations. I also show how extreme oscillations in the capacity to conduct oncology research and provide care were (and are) tied not only to shifting international research priorities, but also to broader upheaval and periods of stability in Uganda since independence in 1962. Rather than dwelling on the debris, ruins, or an emptying of capacity in the health sector in Africa, this article highlights how this experimental infrastructure in East Africa not only survived, but also fundamentally shaped a culture of care and oncology practice that lived on.     

On-treatment predictions of success in peg-interferon/ribavirin treatment using a novel formula

AIM:To predict treatment success using only simple clinical data from peg-interferon plus ribavirin therapy for chronic hepatitis C. METHODS:We analyzed the clinical data of 176 patients with chronic hepatitis and hepatitis C virus genotype 1 who received 48 wk standard therapy, derived a predictive formula to assess a sustained virological response of the individual patient using a logistic regression model and confirmed the validity of this formula.The formula was constructed using data from the first 100...     

The European Commission–Appointment, preferences, and institutional relations

The paper analyzes the appointment of the European Commission as a strategic game between members of the European Parliament and the Council. The focal equilibrium results in commissioners that duplicate the policy preferences of national Council representatives. Different internal decision rules still prevent the Commission from being a Council clone in aggregate. Rather, it is predicted a priori that Commission policies are on average more in accord with the aggregate position of the Parliament than that of the Council. This prediction is confirmed for a dataset covering 66 dossiers with 162 controversial EU legislative proposals passed between 1999 and 2002.     

How China Became an ’ArcticState’

China’s permanent observership to the Arctic Council is clearly a great step forward for all Arctic states and indigenous groups.Going further,it offers indisputable proof of what Chinese strategists have understood since 2009 in terms of how one non-Arctic state must act to work its way into a region in     

Modeling the Triple Helix from a Small Country Perspective: The Case of Finland

In recent discussions on the science and technology system particularly two perspectives have been visible, one emphasizing the transitory changes in the modes of knowledge production, the other focusing on the institutional integration of the S&T system (Triple Helix). The article analyzes the development of the Finnish S&T system and policy as a national case from the point of view of the Triple Helix thesis. It concludes that both perspectives—systemic transition and integration—are essential for understanding recent changes in S&T, but do not yet cover the whole range of relevant issues. In addition, one should take into account the spatial, or international, dimension of S&T, which is crucial especially when viewed from a small country perspective. Furthermore, it is important to consider the cognitive dimension of S&T, as the socio-cognitive diversity of research fields affects their specific role in the transformation processes.