Overview of Public Transport Policy Developments in South Africa

The public transport system in South Africa is undergoing significant change and large amounts of capital is being made available in support of a high speed intercity rail service between Johannesburg and Pretoria, the development of a number of Bus Rapid Transit Systems, the recapitalisation of the rail commuter services, the recapitalisation of the minibus taxi industry and the implementation of a contracting regime in the commuter bus industry. This paper will provide a broad overview of the progress made with the public transport policy and strategy implementation in the countryInstitute of Transport and Logistics Studies. Faculty of Economics and Business. The University of Sydne

Novel antiviral strategies for feline coronavirus and feline calicivirus

Feline coronavirus (FCoV) and feline calicivirus (FCV) commonly infect domestic cats, and are an important cause of morbidity and mortality. There are currently no effective antiviral agents for these pathogens. Studies reported herein attempt address this therapeutic shortfall through the testing of a panel of small molecule compounds and specifically designed small interfering RNAs (siRNAs) for antiviral effects against both viruses. Initial compound screening identified chloroquine, mefloquine, and hexamethylene amiloride as effective inhibitors of FCoV, whilst mefloquine effectively inhibited FCV. Efficacy at low micromolar concentration was confirmed with orthogonal testing, albeit with relatively narrow selective indices. Preliminary experiments performed to inform the antiviral mechanism of the compounds against FCoV demonstrated all three compounds acted at an early stage of viral replication. For FCV, mefloquine exhibited potent inhibition of a panel of recent field isolates and demonstrated additive effects in combination with recombinant feline interferon omega. For both FCoV and FCV, a number of siRNAs demonstrated potent and specific inhibition of viral replication. These were effective at low nanomolar concentrations, when used in combination, and against high viral loads. A structural siRNA variant, Dicer-substrate siRNA, demonstrated similar or better efficacy, depending on the target, over canonical siRNAs directed at the same FCoV motif. Limitations of antiviral siRNAs in terms of antiviral resistance were investigated. FCoV serially passaged through siRNA treated cells rapidly acquired resistance, however combination therapy with three siRNAs was able to delay this considerably. For FCV, siRNAs effective against the reference strain were broadly efficacious against field isolates, although some variability was noted. Taken together these results provide important information regarding potential antiviral therapies against these important pathogens

Parental marital dissolution and the intergenerational transmission of homeownership

Children of homeowners are more likely to enter homeownership than are children whose parents rent. We investigate whether this association is dependent on parental divorce, focusing on parental assistance as a conduit of intergenerational transmission. Event history analyses of data for England and Wales from the British Household Panel Survey (BHPS) show that the intergenerational transmission of homeownership is stronger for children of divorced parents compared with children of married parents. Such an effect may arise from two channels: (1) children of divorced parents are more in need of parental assistance due to socio-economic disadvantages associated with parental divorce; and (2) compared with married parents, divorced homeowning parents (mothers) rely more on housing wealth, rather than financial wealth, for assisting children. Findings support both explanations. Children of divorced parents are furthermore less likely to co-reside. We find limited evidence that when they do, co-residence is less conductive to homeownership compared with children from married parents