bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
THE GENERATIVE POWER OF AIR FREIGHT IN THE TRADE OPENNESS – ECONOMIC GROWTH NEXUS IN AFRICAN COUNTRIES
Authors: Chang Chun‐ping , Ying Yung‐hsiang 
Published: November 2008

AbstractForeign trade matters considerably more than ever in today's integrated economies, and the wealth of benefits afforded by air transport is one of the cornerstones of international trade. Therefore, to shed light on the precise role of air cargo, seen as an important motor of growth, this paper provides an empirical model to examine the relationships among trade openness, air freight volume and GDP per capita using panel cointegration techniques for a sample of Economic Commission for Africa (ECA) countries during the 1970‐2002 period.The analysis substantiates that there are cointegrated relationships among the three variables and that they are bound together in a long‐run equilibrium. Furthermore, evidence from fully modified Ordinary Least Squares panel estimations also indicates that positive trade and air freight shocks contribute to real GDP per capita. In addition, improvements in air cargo services are accompanied by an increase in trade openness in ECA countries and vice versa. These results underscore the important role of air freight and demonstrate that it should not have been overlooked in earlier studies. Finally, the empirical findings have important policy implications for our sample countries.
THE RECENT DECLINE IN THE EMPLOYMENT OF PERSONS WITH DISABILITIES IN SOUTH AFRICA, 1998‐2006
Authors: Mitra Sophie 
Published: November 2008

AbstractThis paper shows that there has been a significant decline in the employment and labour force participation of persons with disabilities in South Africa over the 1998 through 2006 period. Disability is defined based on activity limitations. Data are from the October and the General Household Surveys. The paper also deals with the possible causes of the decline. While several causes can be invoked, preliminary evidence suggests that the rise of the Disability Grant programme might be responsible for a part of the decline. Recommendations are made for future research and data collection on disability and employment.
THE CHANGING VOLATILITY OF THE SOUTH AFRICAN ECONOMY
Authors: Burger Philippe 
Published: November 2008

AbstractDuring the last decade economic literature explored the presence of and reasons for what became known as “the great moderation” in the US and other G7 countries. “The great moderation” describes the decrease in economic volatility experienced in many of the G7 countries. This paper finds that in South Africa volatility is also not constant (it even finds that there are autoregressive conditional heteroskedastic effects present) and that volatility also decreased, particularly since 1994. Following the literature, the paper explores several reasons for this decrease and finds that smaller shocks, better monetary policy and improvements in the financial sector that place less liquidity constraints on individuals and allow them to manage their debt better are some of the main reasons for the reduction in the volatility of the South African economy. The literature on the G7 also suggests that better inventory management contributed to the lower volatility. However, this seems not to be true for South Africa.
MONEY, OUTPUT AND INFLATION IN AFRICAN ECONOMIES1
Authors: Thornton John 
Published: November 2008

AbstractThis paper examines the long‐run money‐inflation relation for 36 African countries using cross‐section and panel data analysis. The focus is on the recent claim by De Grauwe and Polan that the common finding in multi‐country studies of a strong positive link typically reflects the presence of high‐inflation countries in the sample and on Nelson's criticisms of the data and methodology employed in that study. Adjusting the De Grauwe and Polan methodology to take account of many of Nelson's criticisms, I confirm a weak long‐run relation between money growth and inflation for countries when money growth and inflation are below 10%, but a strong relation when money growth and inflation move much above that number. This result is not dependent on the inclusion of high inflation countries in the cross‐section and panel data samples.
LONG MEMORY IN SOUTHERN AFRICAN STOCK MARKETS
Authors: Jefferis Keith , Thupayagale Pako 
Published: November 2008

AbstractThe paper examines long memory in equity returns and volatility for stock markets in Botswana, South Africa and Zimbabwe using the ARFIMA‐FIGARCH model in order to assess the efficiency of these markets in processing information. The findings are diverse. Significant long memory is demonstrated in the equity returns of Botswana; while, in South Africa this result is not statistically different from zero. For Zimbabwe returns are characterised by an anti‐persistent process. Furthermore, all the markets investigated provide evidence of long memory in volatility with the exception of Botswana where there is no evidence of volatility persistence and hence the return from taking risk in this market cannot be predicted on the basis of previous values.
COMPARATIVE FISCAL RESPONSE EFFECTS OF DEBT RELIEF: AN APPLICATION TO AFRICAN HIPCS
Authors: Cassimon Danny , Van Campenhout Bjorn 
Published: November 2008

AbstractAs part of the efforts of the international donor community to scale up aid to Africa, substantial debt relief has been granted in recent years through the Heavily Indebted Poor Countries (HIPC) Initiative and its successor, the Multilateral Debt Relief Initiative. This paper tries to assess, for a sample of 24 African countries that have at least reached decision point status in the HIPC Initiative, to what extent this debt relief has created fiscal space in recipient country budgets, and what, on average, the actual fiscal response effects have been, relative to other types of aid. Inspired by the fiscal response literature, we model public finance behaviour as a system of structural equations and estimate the reduced form parameters in a Vector Autoregressive framework. In general, we are unable to find evidence that debt relief might provoke no or even perverse fiscal responses. On average, debt relief affects public finance behaviour in a desired way, with effects being most similar to those of its most direct substitute, programme grants.
OPPORTUNITIES AND COSTS OF PORTFOLIO DIVERSIFICATION IN SADC'S SMALLEST EQUITY MARKETS
Authors: Hearn Bruce , Piesse Jenifer 
Published: November 2008

AbstractThis paper contrasts the performance of three time series models, a simple stochastic drift, GARCH, and a time varying parameter CAPM for three of SADC's smallest equity markets: Namibia, Swaziland and Mozambique. Analysis of the portfolio characteristics for each reveals the level of integration with South Africa using optimised portfolio frontiers. In addition, the implications of adopting a minimum investment retention levy by the smaller states is examined. Namibia is found to exhibit the greatest degree of integration with South Africa, followed to a much lesser extent by Swaziland with Mozambique. The evidence suggests that investors in the smaller markets would face considerable additional costs should such a policy be adopted.
PRODUCT DIFFERENTIATION: AN ALTERNATIVE TO CVDS
Authors: Wang Yu‐ter 
Published: November 2008

AbstractBy using a Cournot model where a domestic firm competes with a foreign firm in the domestic market, this paper suggests that, in addition to countervailing duty measures allowed by the World Trade Organization, product differentiation between the goods produced by the domestic and foreign firms could be considered as a way of eliminating foreign export subsidies.
FORECASTING CURRENCY CRISES: WHICH METHODS SIGNALED THE SOUTH AFRICAN CRISIS OF JUNE 2006?
Authors: Knedlik Tobias , Scheufele Rolf 
Published: November 2008

AbstractIn this paper we test the ability of three of the most popular methods to forecast South African currency crises with a special emphasis on their out‐of‐sample performance. We choose the latest crisis of June 2006 to conduct an out‐of‐sample experiment. The results show that the signals approach was not able to forecast the out‐of‐sample crisis correctly; the probit approach was able to predict the crisis but only with models, that were based on raw data. The Markov‐regime‐switching approach predicts the out‐of‐sample crisis well. However, the results are not straightforward. In‐sample, the probit models performed remarkably well and were also able to detect, at least to some extent, out‐of‐sample currency crises before their occurrence. The recommendation is to not restrict the forecasting to only one approach.
FACTORS THAT AFFECT THE LONG‐TERM SURVIVAL OF MICRO, SMALL AND MEDIUM ENTERPRISES IN ETHIOPIA
Authors: Bekele Eshetu , Worku Zeleke 
Published: November 2008

AbstractThere is an increasing recognition of the potential importance of micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) for employment, income and poverty reduction in Ethiopia. Although the MSME sector contributes significantly to the national economy, the high failure rate among well established small businesses and enterprises is a matter of major concern. A random sample of 500 small businesses and enterprises selected from five major cities in Ethiopia were followed up for 6 years in order to assess the impact of influential factors that affect the long‐term survival and viability of small enterprises. Hazard ratios estimated from the Cox Proportional Hazards Model were used to quantify the impact of key predictors of survival. Businesses that ceased operation were characterised by inadequate finance (61%), low level of education (55%), poor managerial skills (54%), shortage of technical skills (49%), and inability to convert part of their profit to investment (46%). The study shows that participation in social capital and networking (iqqub schemes) was critically helpful for long‐term survival. Businesses that did not participate in iqqub schemes regularly were found to be 3.25 times more likely to fail in comparison with businesses that did. Results of the study have implications that could be used for developing policy initiatives that are aimed at fostering long‐term growth in small businesses and enterprises.
Identification ofMannheimia haemolyticaAdhesins Involved in Binding to Bovine Bronchial Epithelial Cells
Authors: Kisiela Dagmara I. , Czuprynski Charles J. 
Published: November 2008

ABSTRACTMannheimia haemolytica, a commensal organism of the upper respiratory tract in cattle, is the principal bacterial pathogen associated with the bovine respiratory disease complex. Adherence to the respiratory mucosa is a crucial event in its pathogenesis. However, the bacterial components that contribute to this process are not fully characterized. In this study, we demonstrated thatM. haemolyticaadhered to bovine bronchial epithelial cells (BBEC) in vitro and that adherence was inhibited by anti-M. haemolyticaantibody. Western blot analysis ofM. haemolyticaproteins that bind to BBEC showed a dominant protein band with an apparent molecular mass of ∼30 kDa. Peptide sequences for the 30-kDa BBEC-binding proteins, as determined by liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry, matched twoM. haemolyticasurface proteins: heat-modifiable outer membrane protein A (OmpA) and lipoprotein 1 (Lpp1). Western blotting showed that the 30-kDa protein band is recognized by both anti-M. haemolyticaOmpA and anti-Lpp1 antibodies. Furthermore, incubation with anti-OmpA and anti-Lpp1 antibodies significantly inhibitedM. haemolyticabinding to BBEC monolayers. In summary, these results suggest that OmpA and Lpp1 contribute to adherence ofM. haemolyticato bovine respiratory epithelial cells.
Identification of an Essential
Francisella tularensis
subsp.
tularensis
Virulence Factor
Authors: Qin Aiping , Scott David W. , Thompson Jennifer A. , Mann Barbara J. 
Published: November 2008

ABSTRACT

Francisella tularensis
, the highly virulent etiologic agent of tularemia, is a low-dose intracellular pathogen that is able to escape from the phagosome and replicate in the cytosol. Although there has been progress in identifying loci involved in the pathogenicity of this organism, analysis of the genome sequence has revealed few obvious virulence factors. We previously reported isolation of an
F. tularensis
subsp.
tularensis
strain Schu S4 transposon insertion mutant with a mutation in a predicted hypothetical lipoprotein, FTT1103, that was deficient in intracellular replication in HepG2 cells. In this study, a mutant with a defined nonpolar deletion in FTT1103 was created, and its phenotype, virulence, and vaccine potential were characterized. A phagosomal integrity assay and lysosome-associated membrane protein 1 colocalization revealed that ΔFTT1103 mutant bacteria were defective in phagosomal escape. FTT1103 mutant bacteria were maximally attenuated in the mouse model; mice survived, without visible signs of illness, challenge by more than 10
10
CFU when the intranasal route was used and challenge by 10
6
CFU when the intraperitoneal, subcutaneous, or intravenous route was used. The FTT1103 mutant bacteria exhibited dissemination defects. Mice that were infected by the intranasal route had low levels of bacteria in their livers and spleens, and these bacteria were cleared by 3 days postinfection. Mutant bacteria inoculated by the subcutaneous route failed to disseminate to the lungs. BALB/c or C57BL/6 mice that were intranasally vaccinated with 10
8
CFU of FTT1103 mutant bacteria were protected against subsequent challenge with wild-type strain Schu S4. These experiments identified the FTT1103 protein as an essential virulence factor and also demonstrated the feasibility of creating defined attenuated vaccines based on a type A strain.
Immunization with Recombinant
Brucella
Species Outer Membrane Protein Omp16 or Omp19 in Adjuvant Induces Specific CD4
+
and CD8
+
T Cells as Well as Systemic and Oral Protection against
Brucella abortus
Infection
Authors: Pasquevich Karina A. , Estein Silvia M. , Samartino Clara García , Zwerdling Astrid , Coria Lorena M. , Barrionuevo Paula , Fossati Carlos A. , Giambartolomei Guillermo H. , Cassataro Juliana 
Published: November 2008

ABSTRACT

Available vaccines against
Brucella
spp. are live attenuated
Brucella
strains. In order to engineer a better vaccine to be used in animals and humans, our laboratory aims to develop an innocuous subunit vaccine. Particularly, we are interested in the outer membrane proteins (OMPs) of
B. abortus
: Omp16 and Omp19. In this study, we assessed the use of these proteins as vaccines against
Brucella
in BALB/c mice. Immunization with lipidated Omp16 (L-Omp16) or L-Omp19 in incomplete Freund's adjuvant (IFA) conferred significant protection against
B. abortus
infection. Vaccination with unlipidated Omp16 (U-Omp16) or U-Omp19 in IFA induced a higher degree of protection than the respective lipidated versions. Moreover, the level of protection induced after U-Omp16 or U-Omp19 immunization in IFA was similar to that elicited by live
B. abortus
S19 immunization. Flow cytometric analysis showed that immunization with U-Omp16 or U-Omp19 induced antigen-specific CD4
+
as well as CD8
+
T cells producing gamma interferon. In vivo depletion of CD4
+
or CD8
+
T cells in mice immunized with U-Omp16 or U-Omp19 plus IFA resulted in a loss of the elicited protection, indicating that both cell types are mediating immune protection. U-Omp16 or U-Omp19 vaccination induced a T helper 1 response, systemic protection in aluminum hydroxide formulation, and oral protection with cholera toxin adjuvant against
B. abortus
infection. Both immunization routes exhibited a similar degree of protection to attenuated
Brucella
vaccines (S19 and RB51, respectively). Overall these results indicate that U-Omp16 or U-Omp19 would be a useful candidate for a subunit vaccine against human and animal brucellosis.
The effect of prolonged endurance exercise upon blood pressure regulation during a postexercise orthostatic challenge
Authors: Privett S E , George K P , Middleton N , Whyte G P , Cable N T 
Published: November 2008

ObjectiveTo investigate the regulation of blood pressure in response to an orthostatic challenge in athletes running a marathon.Methods10 experienced male runners (mean (SD) age 29 (4) years) were tested on the day prior to the 2004 London Marathon, and again immediately postrace (race time 210 (36) min). In addition, 6 of the subjects were retested 24 h postrace. During each examination, beat-to-beat systolic arterial blood pressure (SBP) and heart rate (HR) were measured, and stroke volume (SV), cardiac output (CO) and total peripheral resistance (TPR) were estimated via arterial transmural pressure waveforms during 3 min in a supine position and then during 3 min of upright, unsupported standing. Data were averaged over 20 s epochs, and the final 20 s of each posture were compared prerace and postrace via repeated measures 2-way ANOVA.ResultsPrerace SBP in standing increased only moderately when compared with supine values (2 (9) mm Hg, NS). This was accompanied by an increase in HR (13 (7) beats/min, p<0.05), as well as a decrease in SV (16 (9) ml, p<0.05). However, there was little change in CO (−0.13 (0.97) litres/min, NS) or TPR (0.047 (0.280) medical units (MU), NS). Postrace SBP significantly decreased from supine to standing (−15 (20) mm Hg, p<0.05). The change in SBP was accompanied by an increase in HR (19 (6) beats/min, p<0.05) and a reduction in SV (26 (14) ml, p<0.05) and CO (−1.02 (1.39) litres/min, p = 0.05). Postrace there was no change in TPR (0.366 (0.607) MU, NS) upon standing. The orthostatic adjustments in SBP, HR and CO were greater than at prerace (p<0.05). The postrace orthostatic challenge resulted in only one subject experiencing presyncopal symptoms. At 24 h postrace, cardiovascular responses to an orthostatic challenge mirrored those at prerace.ConclusionsFollowing prolonged exercise, a fall in systolic blood pressure during orthostasis results from an inadequately compensated decrease in SV and resultant CO during standing.
Inhibition of Invasion and Metastasis of Hepatocellular Carcinoma Cells via Targeting RhoC In vitro and In vivo
Authors: Wang Wei , Wu Fan , Fang Feng , Tao Yiming , Yang Lianyue 
Published: November 2008

Abstract
Purpose: Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is one of the most deadly human cancers because of its high incidence of metastasis. Our previous work identified a strong correlation between increased expression of RhoC and HCC metastasis. Here, we investigate to define the role of RhoC in HCC metastasis. Furthermore, we sought to determine whether inhibition of the expression of RhoC might block the metastasis of HCC in vivo.
Experimental Design: A stable retroviral small interfering RNA approach was employed to selectively knockdown the expression of RhoC in vitro and in vivo. Invasion and migration assay, MTT and fluorescence-activated cell sorting analysis, Rho activity assay, and immunofluorescence staining were carried out to characterize RhoC in vitro. An anti-RhoC retroviral gene delivery BALB/c nude mice model was established to investigate whether knockdown of the expression of RhoC might inhibit the metastasis of HCC in vivo.
Results: We confirmed the correlation of RhoC expression and metastatic potentials of HCC cell lines. We also showed that suppression of RhoC expression resulted in inhibition of invasion and migration without an apparent effect on cell survival and proliferation in HCCLM3 cells. Furthermore, a similar effect of RhoC on autotaxin-induced invasion of HCCLM3 cells was also observed. Significantly, we successfully adopted an HCC metastatic mouse model that allowed us to show that knockdown of the RhoC expression resulted in inhibition of metastasis of HCC in vivo for the first time.
Conclusions: Our results show a critical role of RhoC in metastasis of HCC, implicating RhoC as a potential therapeutic target to block HCC metastasis.
The Interleukin-8 Pathway in Cancer
Authors: Waugh David J.J. , Wilson Catherine 
Published: November 2008

Abstract
Interleukin-8 (IL-8) is a proinflammatory CXC chemokine associated with the promotion of neutrophil chemotaxis and degranulation. This chemokine activates multiple intracellular signaling pathways downstream of two cell-surface, G protein–coupled receptors (CXCR1 and CXCR2). Increased expression of IL-8 and/or its receptors has been characterized in cancer cells, endothelial cells, infiltrating neutrophils, and tumor-associated macrophages, suggesting that IL-8 may function as a significant regulatory factor within the tumor microenvironment. The induction of IL-8 signaling activates multiple upstream signaling pathways that (a) impinge on gene expression via regulation of numerous transcription factor activities, (b) modulate the cellular proteome at the level of translation, and/or (c) effect the organization of the cell cytoskeleton through posttranslational regulation of regulatory proteins. As a consequence of the diversity of effectors and downstream targets, IL-8 signaling promotes angiogenic responses in endothelial cells, increases proliferation and survival of endothelial and cancer cells, and potentiates the migration of cancer cells, endothelial cells, and infiltrating neutrophils at the tumor site. Accordingly, IL-8 expression correlates with the angiogenesis, tumorigenicity, and metastasis of tumors in numerous xenograft and orthotopic in vivo models. Recently, IL-8 signaling has been implicated in regulating the transcriptional activity of the androgen receptor, underpinning the transition to an androgen-independent proliferation of prostate cancer cells. In addition, stress and drug-induced IL-8 signaling has been shown to confer chemotherapeutic resistance in cancer cells. Therefore, inhibiting the effects of IL-8 signaling may be a significant therapeutic intervention in targeting the tumor microenvironment.
Interleukin-6 and Soluble Interleukin-6 Receptor Levels as Markers of Disease Extent and Prognosis in Neuroblastoma
Authors: Egler Rachel A. , Burlingame Susan M. , Nuchtern Jed G. , Russell Heidi V. 
Published: November 2008

Abstract
Purpose: To explore the relationships between interleukin-6 (IL-6) and soluble IL-6 receptor (sIL-6R) levels and disease extent and clinical outcome in childhood neuroblastoma.
Experimental Design: Pretreatment peripheral blood (PB; n = 53) and bone marrow (n = 18) samples from patients with neuroblastoma were assayed by ELISA for IL-6 and sIL-6R. PB values were compared with healthy pediatric controls (n = 28).
Results: PB IL-6 levels were significantly elevated in patients with high-risk disease compared with those with low and intermediate risk disease (23.9 versus 4.3 pg/mL; P &lt; 0.001) and the normal control group (23.9 versus 3.3 pg/mL; P &lt; 0.001). Similarly, bone marrow IL-6 levels were higher in high-risk patients when compared with low- and intermediate-risk patients (15 versus 0 pg/mL; P &lt; 0.02). Other factors correlated with higher IL-6 levels were age of &gt;18 months, bony metastases, and unfavorable histology. sIL-6R levels were not significantly correlated with disease stage. Patients with detectable PB IL-6 at diagnosis had significantly lower event-free survival rates (P &lt; 0.008). sIL-6R levels &lt;2.5 × 104 pg/mL were also associated with a significantly worse event-free survival (P = 0.016).
Conclusion: Elevated PB IL-6 levels correlated with features of high-risk neuroblastoma and poor prognosis in this population. Decreased PB sIL-6R levels correlated with the presence of metastatic disease. Further study of these markers in children with neuroblastoma seems warranted.