Trade liberalisation, competitiveness and the real exchange rate (RER) : an analysis of developments in South Africa during the 1990s

This paper tests whether tariff liberalisation has lead to increased competitiveness in the South African economy. The 46 sectors of the South African economy are classified as exportable, importable, importable and exportable and non-tradable. The impact of trade liberalisation on domestic prices for importables and exportables is then assessed by making use of real exchange rate calculations. It is concluded that while increased globalisation of production processes in South Africa may have improved the competitiveness of the tradable sector, tariff liberalisation played a minimal role in improving competitiveness in the manufacturing sector

Trade liberalisation, competitiveness and the real exchange rate (RER) : an analysis of developments in South Africa during the 1990s

This paper tests whether tariff liberalisation has lead to increased competitiveness in the South African economy. The 46 sectors of the South African economy are classified as exportable, importable, importable and exportable and non-tradable. The impact of trade liberalisation on domestic prices for importables and exportables is then assessed by making use of real exchange rate calculations. It is concluded that while increased globalisation of production processes in South Africa may have improved the competitiveness of the tradable sector, tariff liberalisation played a minimal role in improving competitiveness in the manufacturing sector

Individual variation in levels of haptoglobin-related protein in children from Gabon

Background: Haptoglobin related protein (Hpr) is a key component of trypanosome lytic factors (TLF), a subset of highdensity lipoproteins (HDL) that form the first line of human defence against African trypanosomes. Hpr, like haptoglobin (Hp) can bind to hemoglobin (Hb) and it is the Hpr-Hb complexes which bind to these parasites allowing uptake of TLF. This unique form of innate immunity is primate-specific. To date, there have been no population studies of plasma levels of Hpr, particularly in relation to hemolysis and a high prevalence of ahaptoglobinemia as found in malaria endemic areas. Methods and Principal Findings: We developed a specific enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay to measure levels of plasma Hpr in Gabonese children sampled during a period of seasonal malaria transmission when acute phase responses (APR), malaria infection and associated hemolysis were prevalent. Median Hpr concentration was 0.28 mg/ml (range 0.03-1.1). This was 5-fold higher than that found in Caucasian children (0.049 mg/ml, range 0.002-0.26) with no evidence of an APR. A general linear model was used to investigate associations between Hpr levels, host polymorphisms, parasitological factors and the acute phase proteins, Hp, C-reactive protein (CRP) and albumin. Levels of Hpr were associated with Hp genotype, decreased with age and were higher in females. Hpr concentration was strongly correlated with that of Hp, but not CRP

A Simple Standard for Sharing Ontological Mappings (SSSOM).

Despite progress in the development of standards for describing and exchanging scientific information, the lack of easy-to-use standards for mapping between different representations of the same or similar objects in different databases poses a major impediment to data integration and interoperability. Mappings often lack the metadata needed to be correctly interpreted and applied. For example, are two terms equivalent or merely related? Are they narrow or broad matches? Or are they associated in some other way? Such relationships between the mapped terms are often not documented, which leads to incorrect assumptions and makes them hard to use in scenarios that require a high degree of precision (such as diagnostics or risk prediction). Furthermore, the lack of descriptions of how mappings were done makes it hard to combine and reconcile mappings, particularly curated and automated ones. We have developed the Simple Standard for Sharing Ontological Mappings (SSSOM) which addresses these problems by: (i) Introducing a machine-readable and extensible vocabulary to describe metadata that makes imprecision, inaccuracy and incompleteness in mappings explicit. (ii) Defining an easy-to-use simple table-based format that can be integrated into existing data science pipelines without the need to parse or query ontologies, and that integrates seamlessly with Linked Data principles. (iii) Implementing open and community-driven collaborative workflows that are designed to evolve the standard continuously to address changing requirements and mapping practices. (iv) Providing reference tools and software libraries for working with the standard. In this paper, we present the SSSOM standard, describe several use cases in detail and survey some of the existing work on standardizing the exchange of mappings, with the goal of making mappings Findable, Accessible, Interoperable and Reusable (FAIR). The SSSOM specification can be found at http://w3id.org/sssom/spec. Database URL: http://w3id.org/sssom/spec

Amide-controlled, one-pot synthesis of tri-substituted purines generates structural diversity and analogues with trypanocidal activity

Anovel one-pot synthesis of tri-substituted purines and the discovery of purine analogues with trypanocidal activity are reported. The reaction is initiated by a metal-free oxidative coupling of primary alkoxides and diaminopyrimidines with Schiff base formation and subsequent annulation in the presence of large N,N-dimethylamides (e.g.N,N-dimethylpropanamide or larger). This synthetic route is in competition with a reaction previously-reported by our group1, allowing the generation of a combinatorial library of tri-substituted purines by the simple modification of the amide and the alkoxide employed. Among the variety of structures generated, two purine analogues displayed trypanocidal activity against the protozoan parasite Trypanosoma brucei with IC50 , 5 mM, being each of those compounds obtained through each of the synthetic pathways.J.J.D.M. thanks Spanish Ministerio de Economı´a y Competitividad for a Ramon y Cajal Fellowship. A.U.B. thanks MRC IGMM for an academic fellowship. This work was partially supported by Grant SAF2011-30528 to J.A.G.S.

A Simple Standard for Sharing Ontological Mappings (SSSOM)

Despite progress in the development of standards for describing and exchanging scientific information, the lack of easy-to-use standards for mapping between different representations of the same or similar objects in different databases poses a major impediment to data integration and interoperability. Mappings often lack the metadata needed to be correctly interpreted and applied. For example, are two terms equivalent or merely related? Are they narrow or broad matches? Or are they associated in some other way? Such relationships between the mapped terms are often not documented, which leads to incorrect assumptions and makes them hard to use in scenarios that require a high degree of precision (such as diagnostics or risk prediction). Furthermore, the lack of descriptions of how mappings were done makes it hard to combine and reconcile mappings, particularly curated and automated ones. We have developed the Simple Standard for Sharing Ontological Mappings (SSSOM) which addresses these problems by: (i) Introducing a machine-readable and extensible vocabulary to describe metadata that makes imprecision, inaccuracy and incompleteness in mappings explicit. (ii) Defining an easy-to-use simple table-based format that can be integrated into existing data science pipelines without the need to parse or query ontologies, and that integrates seamlessly with Linked Data principles. (iii) Implementing open and community-driven collaborative workflows that are designed to evolve the standard continuously to address changing requirements and mapping practices. (iv) Providing reference tools and software libraries for working with the standard. In this paper, we present the SSSOM standard, describe several use cases in detail and survey some of the existing work on standardizing the exchange of mappings, with the goal of making mappings Findable, Accessible, Interoperable and Reusable (FAIR). The SSSOM specification can be found at http://w3id.org/sssom/spec

Understanding the management of iron deficiency anaemia

Iron deficiency, the most common cause of anaemia, is seemingly easy to manage. However, in many cases the nutritional deficiency is complicated by concurrent gastro-intestinal disease and/or inefficient absorption. In addition, iron absorption and mobilisation from physiological storage sites is regulated by the peptide hormone hepcidin, which is upregulated in anaemia associated with chronic inflammation. Successful patient management requires the continuous evaluation of iron status as well as monitoring of haemoglobin levels to measure treatment outcomes. Iron requirements change with patient physiological status and this must be taken into consideration when making clinical decisions. Provided that there is no underlying problem most patients respond rapidly to oral iron therapy. In non-responsive patients, and patients with concurrent gastro-intestinal disease, parenteral therapy must be considered. This brief review provides a summary of some of the problems that may be encountered with the management of iron deficiency and iron deficiency anaemia

South Africa's tariff liberalisation policy : an appraisal of developments during the 1990s

Trade liberalization in South Africa has been a characteristic of trade policy since the early 1970s, with the reduction of quantitative restrictions being the main policy instrument as far as imports were concerned. By the early 1990s there was strong support for South Africa’s industrial strategy being spearheaded by comprehensive tariff reductions agreed to under the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT) in 1994, and implemented from 1995 onwards under the auspices of the World Trade Organisation (WTO). South Africa’s trade policy reform was premised on the assumption that tariff liberalization would increase the competitiveness of domestic manufacturing industries. This paper attempts to ascertain if this did in fact materialise by critically appraises the impact of trade policy reform on the production of the South African manufacturing sector. The results obtained in this paper indicate that tariff liberalisation has not been successful in securing improved competitiveness. The article argues that improved competitiveness goes beyond trade policy reform – government policies should also be directed at issues relating to efficiency in production, distortions in factor markets and institutional development. The desired or appropriate level of openness does not necessarily entail completely free markets for trade and investment. In view of market and institutional failures the role of government in securing the appropriate industrial outcomes should not be underestimated

The extent of trade liberalisation in the 1990s : revisited

In a recent article in this journal, Fedderke and Vaze (2001:436-473) undertook an analysis of the extent and effects of trade liberalisation in South Africa during the 1990s. The study (hereafter referred to as the FV study) quantifies the extent of trade (tariff) liberalisation in SA using a measure of the effective protection rate (ERF). Based on their ERP calculations the FV study finds that "more of South Africa's output is protected by tariffs in 1998 than in 1988", and hence deduces from this that, "the much-hyped liberalization of the South African economy has not been fully realized" (Fedderke and Vaze, 2001:447). The purpose of this paper is to ascertain if this is indeed the case and if new evidence exists that gives more complete answers. The first part of the paper provides a brief overview of some theoretical considerations relating to the measurement of ERP and its use as an indicator of the extent of trade liberalisation. The second part documents the tariff liberalisation undertaken by South Africa during the 1990s. ERP calculations are undertaken in part three and these are compared to those in the FV study. Some conclusions are drawn in the last section