bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Two mitochondrial haplotypes in Pterochloroides persicae (Hemiptera: Aphididae: Lachninae) associated with different feeding sites
Authors: Lassaad Mdellel , Martínez‐Torres David , Monia Ben Halima Kamel 
Published: June 2012

AbstractPterochloroides persicae (Cholodkovsky) is an aphid species belonging to the subfamily Lachninae that uses different members of Rosaceae (specially Prunus spp.) as hosts. Partial sequences from the mitochondrial cytochrome c oxidase 1 (COI) and the nuclear long‐wave opsin genes were obtained for approximately 100 P. persicae aphid individuals sampled from 34 colonies collected mainly in Tunisia and other Mediterranean locations. The variability found at the mitochondrial locus revealed the presence of two maternal haplotypes in the studied area that differed in a single nucleotide. The nuclear gene analyzed, however, failed to reveal any variability in this species. The variability found at the COI locus was related to the season of aphid sampling and with the site of feeding, with haplotype I mostly detected in samples collected in spring and summer on trunks and branches and haplotype II only detected in aphids collected in autumn on roots. The observed pattern of molecular variation suggests the presence of two clonal races of P. persicae coexisting in the studied area differentially adapted to conditions prevalent in the alternative seasons and/or to different feeding sites.
Household's willingness to pay for improved water service: a case study in Shebedino District, Southern Ethiopia
Authors: Behailu Sileshi , Kume Abera , Desalegn Biruck 
Published: June 2012

AbstractWillingness to pay for basic water services is often high if the services are appropriate and affordable. This study was aimed at assessing the household's willingness to pay for improved water service in Shebedino District, Southern Ethiopia. The survey was administered to 635 participants from March 29 to April 26, 2008. Findings revealed that the majority of respondents (83.62%) were willing to pay 10 cents for 25 L of water. The average monthly expense of water was 2.36% of their average monthly income. Willingness of households to pay for improved water services was found to be better than the current expenditure.
ECONOMIC IMPACT ANALYSIS OF PORT DEVELOPMENT ON THE SOUTH AFRICAN ECONOMY
Authors: LEE TSUNG‐CHEN , LEE PAUL T‐W. , CHEN TAO 
Published: June 2012

AbstractPorts have been regarded as economic infrastructure and catalysts for the economies they serve, and it is evident that the associated development would generate economic benefits. In this paper, the economy‐wide impacts of port development in South Africa are examined via a computable general equilibrium analysis. Central to the analysis is to make quantitative contributions to the understanding of the impacts of port investment and changes in freight costs on the national economy. The results support the economic significance of port development, as a means of promoting growth, trade and employment, in South Africa.
SOUTH AFRICAN MARKET VOLATILITY, ASYMMETRY AND RETAIL INTEREST RATES PASS‐THROUGH
Authors: FADIRAN GIDEON O. , EZEOHA ABEL 
Published: June 2012

AbstractThe purpose of this paper is to examine the interest rate transmission mechanism for South Africa as an emerging economy in a pre‐repo and repo system. It explains how the money market rate is transmitted to the retail interest rates both in the long run and short run, and tests the symmetric and asymmetric interest rate pass‐through using the error‐correction model (ECM) and the adjusted ECM‐exponential generalised autoregressive conditional heteroscedasticity (ECM‐EGARCH) (1,1)‐M methodology. This permitted the examination of the impact of interest rate volatility, along with the leverage effect. An incomplete pass‐through is found in the short run. From the entire sample period, a symmetric adjustment is found in the deposit rate, which had upward rigidity adjustment, while an asymmetric adjustment is found in the lending rate, with a downward rigidity adjustment. All the adjustments supported the collusive pricing arrangements. According to the conditional variance estimation of the ECM‐EGARCH (1,1), negative volatility impact and leverage effect are present and influential only in the symmetric deposit interest rate adjustment process in South Africa.
WATER BILL ESTIMATION WHEN PRICE IS CRYPTIC: EXPERIENCE FROM WINDHOEK, NAMIBIA
Authors: KARUAIHE SELMA , WANDSCHNEIDER PHILIP , YODER JONATHAN 
Published: June 2012

AbstractFor water policy to be effective, policy makers must know how water users perceive and respond to changes in water prices. However, it is not uncommon for water prices faced by consumers to be unclear. In Windhoek, Namibia, the marginal and average water price is difficult to calculate from the information provided in users' utility bills. This paper applies a hedonic pricing approach to investigate price perceptions of water users in a setting with cryptic price information. Using self‐reported water charges as the dependent variable, the pricing model utilises reported utility characteristics and other factors that may affect perceived price. Low‐income standpipe water users report a weighted average monthly charges of N$24.68, whereas users in high income segments report N$521.34. This reflects differences in service levels, possible subsidies to low‐income users and potential errors in respondents' understanding of their water price. Average price per litre (N$11.78 for the low‐use segment; N$1.89 for the highest segment of Tier 1 water use) tends to be perceived as higher by those with lower water use even though average prices in the relevant range should generally be identical.
SOUTH AFRICA'S TRANSITION TO A CONSOLIDATED BUDGET
Authors: JOOSTE CHARL , MARINKOV MARINA 
Published: June 2012

AbstractThe size of South Africa's fiscal stimuli, whether intended or not, has helped to avert negative consequences of the global financial downturn. With the economic cycle turning again, consolidation of deficits and a reduction of the level of debt are again the focus of policymakers. These outcomes are generally achieved by either increasing tax rates or cutting spending (discretionary fiscal policy), whereas an alternative option is to allow automatic stabilisers to consolidate budgets. This study attempts to answer whether cyclical factors or discretionary policy minimise output volatility and which one of the two presents a better policy option regarding uncertainty in real economic recovery. For this purpose, a small open‐economy gap model is built using South African data, where the budget deficit is endogenised by way of a fiscal policy “rule.” Sensitivity analyses and robustness checks are carried out using a structural vector autoregression. Given the estimates of both the automatic stabilisers as well as the components of discretionary fiscal policy, we are able to obtain impact multipliers on output and conduct scenario testing for optimal fiscal policy response towards fiscal consolidation as well as debt sustainability.
Concentrations of Noncortisol Adrenal Steroids in Response to ACTH in Dogs with Adrenal‐Dependent Hyperadrenocorticism, Pituitary‐Dependent Hyperadrenocorticism, and Nonadrenal Illness
Authors: Monroe W.E. , Panciera D.L. , Zimmerman K.L. 
Published: June 2012

BackgroundIncreases of adrenal hormone concentrations other than cortisol have been reported in dogs with hyperadrenocorticism (HAC).Hypothesis/ObjectivesMeasuring noncortisol adrenal hormone concentrations will help identifyHACin dogs. The objective was to determine plasma cortisol, androstenedione, estradiol, progesterone, testosterone, and 17‐hydroxyprogesterone concentrations duringACTHstimulation testing of dogs with clinical signs ofHACto ascertain their utility in diagnosis of the disease.AnimalsNinety dogs with clinical findings consistent withHAChadACTHstimulation tests performed. Results from 29 dogs were excluded from analysis because diagnoses were inconclusive for a variety of reasons. Results from 32 dogs withHACand 29 dogs with disease other thanHACwere analyzed.MethodsProspective observational study. Concentrations of adrenocortical hormones were determined before and 1 hour after injecting 5 μg/kgACTH IM. Diagnoses were determined by response to therapy, histopathology or both.ResultsPost‐ACTH cortisol (P < .001), progesterone (P = .001), and 17‐hydroxyprogesterone (P < .001) concentrations were associated with a diagnosis ofHAC. Sensitivity and specificity, respectively, for diagnosingHACfor post‐ACTHcortisol were 84 and 59%, progesterone 88 and 55%, and 17‐hydroxyprogesterone 91 and 59%, and for post‐ACTHcortisol, progesterone and 17‐hydroxyprogesterone combined were 88 and 55%. Of 5 dogs withHACand normal post‐ACTHcortisol concentrations, 5 had increased progesterone and 4 had increased 17‐hydroxyprogesterone.Conclusions and Clinical ImportanceSerum progesterone and 17‐hydroxyprogesterone concentrations were useful to diagnoseHACin this study, but were not more sensitive or specific than cortisol concentration.
Intravenous Hypertonic Saline Solution (7.5%) and Oral Electrolytes to Treat of Calves with Noninfectious Diarrhea and Metabolic Acidosis
Authors: Leal M.L.R. , Fialho S.S. , Cyrillo F.C. , Bertagnon H.G. , Ortolani E.L. , Benesi F.J. 
Published: June 2012

ObjectiveThe aim of this study was to compare the efficacy of treating osmotic diarrhea and dehydration in calves with hypertonic saline solution (HSS)IV, isotonic electrolyte solution (IES)PO, and a combination of these 2 solutions (HSS + IES).Experimental DesignEighteen male calves 8–30 days of age were used to evaluate the efficacy of 3 methods of fluid therapy after induction of osmotic diarrhea and dehydration. The diarrhea and dehydration were induced by administration of saccharose, spironolactone, and hydrochlorothiazide for 48 hours. The animals were randomly divided into 3 experimental groups: Group 1: 7.2% hypertonic saline solution‐HSS(5 mL/kgIV); Group 2: oral isotonic electrolyte solutionIES(60 mL/kgPO); or Group 3:HSS+IES. Clinical signs and laboratory finding observed 48 hours post‐induction (Time 0) included diarrhea, dehydration, lethargy, and metabolic acidosis.ResultsCalves treated withHSS + IESexperienced decreases in hematocrit, total protein concentration, albumin concentration, urea nitrogen concentration, and plasma volume as well as increases in bloodpH, blood bicarbonate concentration, and central venous pressure between 1 and 3 hours post‐treatment. These findings also were observed in animals treated with IES, however, at a slower rate than in theHSS + IES‐treated animals. Animals treated with HSS continued to display signs of dehydration, lethargy, and metabolic acidosis 24 hours post‐treatment.ConclusionTreatment with a combination ofHSSandIESproduced rapid and sustainable correction of hypovolemia and metabolic acidosis in calves with noninfections diarrhea and dehydration.
The End of Investment Bank Capitalism? An Economic Geography of Financial Jobs and Power
Authors: Wójcik Dariusz 
Published: June 2012

abstractThis article investigates employment patterns, remuneration, and power relations in the U.S. financial sector between 1978 and 2008. It demonstrates that investment banking has played a central part in the securities industry, which has been by far the most expansive segment of the U.S. financial sector and a significant contributor to growing income inequality. The power of investment banking has risen over the past 30 years under the conditions of the growing demand for investment services, technological changes, deregulation, and globalization. Investment banks were at the heart of the shadow banking system, inventing many of the products used by it and often disguising its operation, thus contributing decisively to the outbreak of the global financial crisis of 2007–9. With leading U.S. investment banks converted into bank holding companies and the threat of reregulation, the future of investment banking is uncertain. One area of uncertainty is the banks' relationship with sovereign wealth funds, which involves both opportunities and challenges. The article identifies the economic geography of investment banking as one of the keys to understanding the dynamics of the contemporary world economy and promotes a mesolevel approach to geographies of finance.
Beyond Upgrading: Gendered Labor and the Restructuring of Firms in the Dominican Republic
Authors: Werner Marion 
Published: June 2012

abstractIn the literature on global commodity chains, industrial upgrading describes the process whereby firms shift to more secure or more profitable niches within or between industries through organizational learning facilitated by networks. While the framework of upgrading identifies key dynamics of competition between capitals, it nonetheless sidelines inquiry into how such imperatives condition and are conditioned by labor. To address this conceptual weakness, I argue that studies of the restructuring of production networks can be enriched through a feminist analysis of value. In particular, the efforts of firms to reposition themselves in networks should be considered in light of struggles to rework the basis of labor's value to capital, a process of reproducing and recombining interlocking social differences into novel combinations of exploitable workers. I explore this process through an in‐depth case study of a large garment firm in the Dominican Republic, in which upgrading involved the reworking of skilled and unskilled work, animated by gendered practices and norms, that led to the masculinization of skilled sewing and the feminization of new service engineering functions.
The fate of Treponema denticola within human gingival epithelial cells
Authors: Shin J. , Choi Y. 
Published: June 2012

SummaryTreponema denticola is one of the major pathogens associated with chronic periodontitis. Bacterial invasion into gingival tissues is a critical process in the pathogenesis of periodontal disease. We recently reported that T. denticola can invade gingival epithelial cells. The aim of this study is to determine the fate of internalized T. denticola in gingival epithelial cells. Immortalized human gingival epithelial HOK‐16B cells were infected with 5‐ (and 6‐) carboxy‐fluorescein diacetate succinimidyl ester (CFSE)‐labeled live or heat‐killed T. denticola for 24 h, and the presence of bacteria inside the cells was confirmed by confocal microscopy. Live T. denticola, but not heat‐killed bacteria, invaded HOK‐16B cells. Confocal microscopy also revealed that internalized T. denticola rarely colocalized with either endosomes or lysosomes. Transmission electron microscopy of infected cells showed that intracellular T. denticola was localized inside endosome‐like structures. Although a culture‐based antibiotics protection assay could not detect viable intracellular T. denticola 12 h after infection, a substantial number of bacteria were observed by confocal microscopy and weak expression of bacterial 16S ribosomal RNA was detected 48 h after infection. In addition, flow cytometric analysis of HOK‐16B cells infected with CFSE‐labeled T. denticola showed no loss of fluorescence over 48 h. Collectively, T. denticola invades gingival epithelial cells and remains within the host cells for many hours by resisting endolysosomal degradation. These findings may provide new insight into the role of T. denticola in the pathogenesis of periodontitis.
betapart: an R package for the study of beta diversity
Authors: Baselga Andrés , Orme C. David L. 
Published: June 2012

Summary1. Beta diversity, that is, the variation in species composition among sites, can be the result of species replacement between sites (turnover) and species loss from site to site (nestedness).2. We present betapart, an R package for computing total dissimilarity as Sørensen or Jaccard indices, as well as their respective turnover and nestedness components.3. betapart allows the assessment of spatial patterns of beta diversity using multiple‐site dissimilarity measures accounting for compositional heterogeneity across several sites or pairwise measures providing distance matrices accounting for the multivariate structure of dissimilarity.4. betapart also allows computing patterns of temporal difference in assemblage composition, and its turnover and nestedness components.5. Several example analyses are shown, using the data included in the package, to illustrate the relevance of separating the turnover and nestedness components of beta diversity to infer different mechanisms behind biodiversity patterns.
Protecting livestock, improving human lives
Authors: Sones Keith 
Published: June 2012

The Global Alliance for Livestock Veterinary Medicines (GALVmed) was recently awarded £31 million by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and the UK Government's Department for International Development. The five‐year grant will enable the Edinburgh‐based international livestock health charity to implement the second phase of its ‘Protecting livestock, saving human life’ project. Keith Sones, an animal health consultant based in Kenya, explains more about the charity's work
Science on the Fringe of the Empire: The Academy of the Linceans in the Early Nineteenth Century
Authors: Pia Donato Maria 
Published: June 2012

The article treats the Academy of the Linceans in the early nineteenth century, and more particularly during the Napoleonic domination of Rome in 1809-14.
For the French regime, the Academy was instrumental to turning intellectuals into notables; pursuing the advancement of knowledge; stimulating industry; fostering secularization and orientating public opinion. But these goals did not always harmonize one with the other. Moreover, the local agenda was subordinated to strategic and ideological considerations pertaining to the organization of the Empire, relations with the Papacy, and internal politics. Hence, support to the Academy was subject to changes and contradictions. Within the Empire, the small local scientific elite found a place within international networks of science. Men of science increased their visibility and social standing, and greater symbolic and material resources were granted to the practice of science. The Academy, however, was left in the unclear status of a semi-public establishment, and it eventually imploded after the Restoration.
The article analyses the Academy’s scientific activity and its role in public life, focusing on material history as a key element to understand the ambiguous nature of Roman scientific institutions both under the papal government and the French regime.
Violence, Amnesty and Transitional Law: “private” Acts and “public” Truth in South Africa
Authors: Nagy Rosemary 
Published: June 2012

AbstractWhereas amnesty is generally associated with impunity and denial, in South Africa, amnesty was pulled into the reach of justice and reconciliation. This article assesses the extent to which South Africa's amnesty fulfilled these normative goals. It centers on the difficulty of differentiating between “private” acts and “political” crimes deserving of amnesty. It argues that the determination of political crimes obfuscated the full extent of apartheid violence and responsibility for it. Consequently, the amnesty process produced a truncated “truth” about apartheid violence that was insufficient to the task of overcoming the past. This is in part an intractable problem embedded in the conflicting tasks of transitional law. The lesson of hope that South Africa offers to other transitional nations is that amnesty should be wound into the promises of democracy without creating false expectations of reconciliation or simplistic truths about the past.
Reconciliation in Post-Genocide Rwanda
Authors: Zorbas Eugenia 
Published: June 2012

AbstractNational reconciliation is a vague and 'messy' process. In post-genocide Rwanda, it presents special difficulties that stem from the particular nature of the Rwandan crisis and the popular participation that characterized the Rwandan atrocities. This article outlines the main approaches being used in Rwanda to achieve reconciliation, highlighting some of the major obstacles faced by these institutions. It then goes on to argue that certain 'Silences' are being imposed on the reconciliation process, including the failure to prosecute alleged RPA crimes, the lack of debate on, and the instrumentalization of, Rwanda's 'histories', the collective stigmatization of all Hutu as génocidaires, and the papering over of societal cleavages through the 'outlawing' of 'divisionism'. The role economic development can play in the reconciliation process is also discussed. Given the Government of Rwanda's central role in the reconciliation process and its progressive drift towards authoritarianism, the article ends with a reflection on the worrisome parallels between the pre and post-genocide socio-political contexts.
The African Commission on Human and Peoples' Rights and the Demystification of Second and Third Generation Rights under the African Charter: Social and Economic Rights Action Center (SERAC) and the Center for Economic and Social Rights (CESR) v. Nigeria
Authors: Nwobike Justice C. 
Published: June 2012

AbstractThis article argues that the decision of the African Commission on Human and Peoples' Rights in the Ogoni case represents a giant stride towards the protection and promotion of economic, social and cultural rights of Africans. This is predicated on the African Commission's finding that the Nigerian Government's failure to protect the Ogoni people from the activities of oil companies operating in the Niger Delta is contrary to international human rights law and is in fact a step backwards since Nigeria had earlier adopted legislation to fulfill its obligation towards the progressive realization of these rights. The findings of the African Commission demonstrate that economic, social and cultural rights are not vague or incapable of judicial enforcement. They also illustrate how the Charter can be interpreted generously to ensure the effective enjoyment of rights. Novel and commendable as the decision is, it is not without its shortcomings. These shortcomings lie in the failure of the Commission to pronounce on the right to development, its silence on the desirability of holding transnational corporations accountable for human rights violations, and the institutional weakness of the Commission in enforcing its decisions.
Property Restitution Laws in a Post-War Context: The Case of Mozambique
Authors: Unruh Jon 
Published: June 2012

AbstractPost-war reconstruction environments involve particular contexts within which legal reform must operate in order to facilitate the peace process, recovery, and development. Land and property restitution after a war is an important but difficult issue for the integrity of the process, given the chaotic rights environment created by war and the limited financial, personnel, and institutional resources of governments recovering from war. This article examines Mozambique's experience with the creation of a land and property restitution legal regime within a post-war context that includes: a) strong restitution desires by very divided segments of the population that differ markedly in literacy, access to the state, allegiance during the war, attachment to legitimate authority, and tenure system; b) a history of changing and failed land policy; and c) the extreme lack of state capacity needed to manage a formal restitution program. After setting out the history of the war and land policy in Mozambique, the article examines restitution claims, and describes how the land law reform has attempted to produce a legal environment whereby many complex restitution cases could be 'self managed.'