The tripartite alliance on the eve of a new millennium: The Congress of South African Trade Unions, the African National Congress and the South African Communist Party

African Studies Seminar series. Paper presented 3 March, 1997This paper argues that the transition from Nationalist Party to African National Congress [ANC] rule, culminating in the elections of April 1994, has involved a realignment in the balance of power between the members of the Tripartite Alliance, comprising the ANC, the Congress of South African Trade Unions [COSATU] and the South African Communist Party [SACP]. The ANC's gradual return to legal activity, pari passu with the steady erosion of Nationalist Party rule, during the decade prior to 1994, has led to the consolidation of ANC hegemony, reaching a climax since approximately 1992. It is suggested, however, that this has affected COSATU and the SACP each in a different manner. The paper is in two parts, with the dividing line roughly at the end of 1991. The first part begins in 1985, the year of COSATU's founding and the beginning of an evolving ideological divergence between the SACP and the ANC. It is argued that this divergence originated from the climate of unprecedented massive township and industrial unrest during 1984-1986 and from the resulting imposition of international sanctions. In the wake of these events, the SACP and the ANC began each to react in its own way. The SACP began to draw closer to COSATU, although not out of interest in a separate alliance, but rather primarily to canvass their membership. In the process, it began to espouse primarily a policy of urban insurrection, rather than that of guerrilla warfare, which both it and the ANC had hitherto endorsed... The second part begins with the eighth SACP congress, held in late 1991

The Utility of Neuroimaging in the Differential Diagnosis of Parkinsonian Syndromes

The differential diagnosis of parkinsonian syndromes can be challenging, particularly in early disease stages. However, prognosis and therapeutic regimes are not alike in Parkinson disease and atypical parkinsonism, and thus a correct diagnosis at the earliest possible stage is desirable. Over the past two decades, magnetic resonance imaging and radiotracer-based imaging techniques have proven to be helpful tools to enhance the accuracy of clinical diagnosis in these disorders. Here, we review recent advances in neuroimaging for the differential diagnosis of parkinsonian syndromes

Brain Network Metabolic Changes in Patients with Parkinsonian Tremors

Functional neuroimaging and modern multivariate analysis techniques have greatly contributed to research into the pathophysiology, diagnosis, and new treatments of neurodegenerative diseases, such as Parkinson’s disease (PD). The pathogenesis of PD symptoms, especially akinesia and rigidity, is associated with abnormalities of cortico-striato-pallido-thalamocortical circuits. Although a resting tremor is one of the cardinal features of PD, the pathophysiology underlying this symptom is unclear and is thought to differ from those of akinesia and rigidity. The application of network analyses to metabolic positron emission tomography scans of patients with PD has provided valuable information concerning functional neural connectivity and identified the patterns of covariance that are specific to the motor manifestations and many nonmotor features of the disease, such as cognitive dysfunction. Functional imaging methods have revealed PD-specific brain activation patterns, including a parkinsonian tremor-related network. Network-based algorithms might aid in the clinical diagnosis of patients with PD from early symptoms and provide objective evidence of treatment responses