Chinua Achebe, Homi Bhabha and the Language of Ambivalence in Things Fall Apart

Chinua Achebe, the contemporary Nigerian novelist is one of the most outstanding figures in modern African Literature. What bestows him such a credit might be taken to be his attempts to use literature as a discursive tool in the way of de-colonization. Precisely, what Achebe does in his novels is providing an alternative discourse which can depict not only an authentic picture of native African life with all its complexity, but also dynamic native characters in such a context with all their human and existential conflicts. Thus, it can be claimed that what makes Achebe’s novels different from the other novels produced at his time is the specific language he adopts; a language which is able to give birth into a kind of ‘ambivalence’ and can structure, in consequence, a discourse capable of drawing on the postcolonial condition his people face as inheritors of ‘hybridity’ and ‘otherness’. Accordingly, the present study intends to investigate the language, or discourse, adopted by Chinua Achebe in his first novel, Things Fall Apart, by approaching them through Homi Bhabha’s theory of ‘Ambivalence’, as it seems to be much illuminating in the case

Mesoporous molecular sieve MCM-41 catalyzed one-pot synthesis of 3,4-dihydro-2(1H)-pyrimidinones and –thiones under solvent-free conditions

An efficient synthesis of 3,4-dihydro-2(1H)-pyrimidinones and -thiones using MCM-41 as the catalyst from an aldehyde, β-keto ester, and urea or thiourea under solvent-free conditions is described.KEY WORDS: Biginelli reaction, Dihydropyrimidinones, MCM-41, One-pot, Reusable Bull. Chem. Soc. Ethiop. 2011, 25(2), 309-313

EFFICIENT SODIUM SELENATE-CATALYZED SYNTHESIS OF 3,4-DIHYDRO-2(1H)-PYRIMIDINONES AND –THIONES UNDER SOLVENT-FREE CONDITIONS

Sodium selenate efficiently catalyzes the three-component Biginelli reaction of an aldehyde, a,β-keto ester and urea or thiourea under solvent-free conditions to afford the corresponding 3,4-dihydropyrimidin-2(1H)-ones or –thiones in excellent yields. KEY WORDS: Dihydropyrimidinones, Sodium selenate, Biginelli reaction, Three component reaction Bull. Chem. Soc. Ethiop. 2009, 23(1), 141-144

Igbo naming cosmology and name symbolization In Chinua Achebe’s Tetralogy

Things Fall Apart, No Longer at Ease, Arrow of God and A Man of the People, the first four novels by Chinua Achebe, the contemporary Nigerian novelist, are among the most outstanding works of African postcolonial literature. As a matter of fact, each of these four novels focuses on a different colonial or postcolonial phase of history in Nigeria and through them Achebe intends to provide an authentic record of the negative and positive impacts of ‘hybridity’ on different aspects of the life of native subjects. Briefly stated, Achebe is largely successful in taking advantages of variable discursive tools he structures based on the potentials of the hybrid, Igbo-English he adopts. Thus, it might be deduced that reading these four novels in line with each other, and as chains or sequels of Tetralogy, might result in providing a more vivid picture of the Nigerian (African) subjects and the identity crises emerging in them as a result of colonization. To provide an account of the matter, the present study seeks to focus on one of the discursive strategies Achebe relies on in those four novels: Igbo Naming Cosmology and Name-symbolization

DOWNREGULATION OF STEAROYL-COA DESATURASE 1 (SCD-1) PROMOTES RESISTANCE TO IMATINIB IN CHRONIC MYELOID LEUKEMIA

Chronic myeloid leukemia (CML) is a malignant hematopoietic stem cell disease resulting in the fusion of BCR and ABL genes and characterized by the presence of the reciprocal translocation t(9;22)(q34;q11). BCR-ABL, a product of the BCR-ABL fusion gene, is a structurally active tyrosine kinase and plays an important role in CML disease pathogenesis. Imatinib mesylate (IMA) is a strong and selective BCR-ABL tyrosine kinase inhibitor. Although IMA therapy is an effective treatment, patients may develop resistance to IMA therapy over time. This study investigated the possible genetic resistance mechanisms in patients developing resistance to IMA. We did DNA sequencing in order to detect BCR-ABL mutations, which are responsible for IMA resistance. Moreover, we analyzed the mRNA expression levels of genes responsible for apoptosis, such as BCL-2, P53, and other genes (SCD-1, PTEN). In a group of CML patients resistant to IMA, when compared with IMA-sensitive CML patients, a decrease in SCD-1 gene expression levels and an increase in BCL-2 gene expression levels was observed. In this case, the SCD-1 gene was thought to act as a tumor suppressor. The present study aimed to investigate the mechanisms involved in IMA resistance in CML patients and determine new targets that can be beneficial in choosing the effective treatment. Finally, the study suggests that the SCD-1 and BCL-2 genes may be mechanisms responsible for resistance. Keywords  CML; Imatinib resistance; BCR-ABL mutations; SCD-

H14[NaP5W30O110] as a Heterogeneous Recyclable Catalyst for the Air Oxidation of Thiols Under Solvent Free Conditions

The catalytic oxidation of thiols to the corresponding disulfides usingPreyssler’s catalyst H14[NaP5W30O110] has been studied. These highly selective oxidationsgave good yields of the target disulfides