Integration between the South African and international bond markets : implications for portfolio diversification

International bond market linkages are examined using monthly bond yield data and total return indices on government bonds with ten years to maturity. The bond yield data covers a nineteen-year period from January 1990 to July 2008, while the bond total return index data covers a nine-year period from August 2000 to July 2008. The international bond markets included in the study are Australia, Canada, Germany, Japan, the United Kingdom, and the United States. The examination of international bond market linkages across these markets has important implications for the formulation of effective portfolio diversification strategies. The empirical analysis is carried out in three phases: the preliminary analysis, the principal component analysis (PCA), and the cointegration analysis. For each analysis and for each set of data the full sample period is first analysed and subsequently a five-year rolling window approach is implemented. Accordingly, this makes it possible to capture the time-varying nature of international bond market linkages. The preliminary analysis examines the bond market trends over the sample period, provides descriptive statistics, and reports the correlation coefficients between the selected bond markets. The PCA investigates the interrelationships among the bond markets according to their common sources of movement and identifies which markets tend to move together. The cointegration analysis is carried out using the Johansen cointegration procedure and investigates whether there is long-run comovement between South Africa and the selected bond markets. Where cointegration is found, Vector Error-Correction Models (VECMs) are estimated in order to examine the long-run equilibrium relationships in addition to their short-run adjustments over time. The empirical analysis results were robust, and overall integration between SA and the selected major bond markets remained weak and sporadic. In addition, the results showed that even after accounting for exchange rate differentials, international bond market diversification remained beneficial for a South African investor; and since international bond market linkages remained weak with no observable trend, international bond market diversification will remain beneficial for some time to come for a South African investor

Effects of Parasitic Infections on Erythrocyte Indices of Camels in Nigeria

This study was conducted to determine the prevalence and effect of parasitic infection on erythrocyte indices in trade camels slaughtered in Maiduguri, Nigeria. Two hundred adult one humped camels comprised of 87 (43.5 %) males and 113 (56.5 %) females were examined for helminths and hemoparasites at their slaughter time according to the standard procedures. An overall prevalence of 79 % for single and mixed infections was observed. Examination of faecal samples from camels shows 82 (41 %) were harbouring different nematodes, mostly Strongyle, Strongyloides and Hemonchus species. Buffy coat and thin smear examination of blood samples showed Babesia and Anaplasma species. More females (44.5 %) than males (34.5 %) were positive for various parasitic infections. But the percentage was not statistically significant (P > 0.05). Packed cell volume (PCV), mean haemoglobin concentration (MCH), mean corpuscular haemoglobin concentration (MCHC) and red blood cell counts were significantly (P < 0.01) affected in the infected camels compared to the non-infected ones. Parasite infection in camels leads to macrocytic anaemia

Developing & Using Ontologies for the Semantic Web: An Inspirational and a Synthetic Approach to Ontological Engineering & Utilizing WordNet in Information Retrieval

Ontological engineering is explored via the inspirational approach of creating ontologies through one’s own imagination and the synthetic approach of developing ontologies through the synthesis of existing ones. The inspirational approach is implemented in two toolkits, one with minimal constructs and guidance and the other with constructs such a functional contexts and granularity. The synthetic approach is implemented in a toolkit that makes use of WordNet to generate semantically similar concepts across source ontologies, so as to support semi-automated merging. Lastly, an ontology-based information retrieval system is developed as a characteristic example of the use of ontologies in common applications

El impacto de la supervisi?n abusiva y el liderazgo ppseudo-transformacional en el comportamiento laboral contraproducente: el ?lado oscuro? del liderazgo

Sobre la base de diversos modelos e investigaciones sobre la materia, as? como la Teor?a del Aprendizaje Social de Bandura (1977, 1986) y la Teor?a de los Acontecimientos Afectivos de Weiss & Cropanzano (1996) se ha elaborado un modelo propuesto seg?n el cual la supervisi?n abusiva y el liderazgo pseudo-transformacional pueden afectar el comportamiento laboral contraproducente, adem?s se explora en qu? medida el clima ?tico y la conciencia moral podr?an moderar dicha relaci?n. Para tal fin, la muestra estuvo conformada por 207 participantes desde los 20 a?os, con estudios profesionales, trabajadores dependientes en diversos rubros empresariales, de ambos sexos, de tanto del sector p?blico como del privado y quienes realizan trabajo en modalidad remota, mixta o presencial y con una antig?edad desde seis meses de tiempo de servicio en sus empleos actual residentes de Lima Metropolitana

Estimating mortality and disability in Peru before the COVID-19 pandemic: a systematic analysis from the Global Burden of the Disease Study 2019

"Background: Estimating and analyzing trends and patterns of health loss are essential to promote efficient resource allocation and improve Peru’s healthcare system performance. Methods: Using estimates from the Global Burden of Disease (GBD), Injuries, and Risk Factors Study (2019), we assessed mortality and disability in Peru from 1990 to 2019. We report demographic and epidemiologic trends in terms of population, life expectancy at birth (LE), mortality, incidence, prevalence, years of life lost (YLLs), years lived with disability (YLDs), and disability-adjusted life-years (DALYs) caused by the major diseases and risk factors in Peru. Finally, we compared Peru with 16 countries in the Latin American (LA) region. Results: The Peruvian population reached 33.9 million inhabitants (49.9% women) in 2019. From 1990 to 2019, LE at birth increased from 69.2 (95% uncertainty interval 67.8–70.3) to 80.3 (77.2–83.2) years. This increase was driven by the decline in under-5 mortality (−80.7%) and mortality from infectious diseases in older age groups (+60 years old). The number of DALYs in 1990 was 9.2 million (8.5–10.1) and reached 7.5 million (6.1–9.0) in 2019. The proportion of DALYs due to non-communicable diseases (NCDs) increased from 38.2% in 1990 to 67.9% in 2019. The all-ages and age-standardized DALYs rates and YLLs rates decreased, but YLDs rates remained constant. In 2019, the leading causes of DALYs were neonatal disorders, lower respiratory infections (LRIs), ischemic heart disease, road injuries, and low back pain. The leading risk factors associated with DALYs in 2019 were undernutrition, high body mass index, high fasting plasma glucose, and air pollution. Before the COVID-19 pandemic, Peru experienced one of the highest LRIs-DALYs rates in the LA region. Conclusion: In the last three decades, Peru experienced significant improvements in LE and child survival and an increase in the burden of NCDs and associated disability. The Peruvian healthcare system must be redesigned to respond to this epidemiological transition. The new design should aim to reduce premature deaths and maintain healthy longevity, focusing on effective coverage and treatment of NCDs and reducing and managing the related disability.

Canine and ovine tick-borne pathogens in camels, Nigeria

AbstractIn April 2008, whole blood samples were collected from 36 dromedary camels in Sokoto, North-western Nigeria. Following PCR and reverse line blotting, twenty-two samples (61%) resulted positive for Ehrlichia/Anaplasma spp. and three (8%) for Theileria/Babesia spp., with three (8%) cases of co-infections being found. Both sequence and BLAST analyses identified Ehrlichia/Anaplasma spp. and Theileria/Babesia spp. positive cases as Anaplasma platys and Theileria ovis, respectively.This is the first report of the detection of A. platys and T. ovis in camels from sub-Saharan Africa. The epidemiological relevance of this finding is enhanced by the close living of these animals with both dogs and small ruminants. The high prevalence detected for A. platys suggests a possible role of camels as carriers of this infection

A six year (2005-2010) retrospective study of avian coccidiosis diagnosed in Gombe veterinary clinic, Nigeria

Chicken Coccidiosis remains one of the major diseases of concern in the poultry production enterprise in Nigeria. A six year retrospective study to establish the prevalence of chicken Coccidiosis (CC) in relation to other poultry  diseases diagnosed at the Veterinary Clinic Gombe was conducted. CC occurred year round with high prevalence  during the rainy season (July-September). Incidence of CC was 1.7 more likely to occur in November. CC is endemic  with higher prevalence during the rainy season in Gombe. Farmers should adhere to routine chemoprophylaxis and  avoid factors of predisposition to coccidiosis especially during the rainy season.Keywords: Avian coccidiosis, Gombe, Northeastern Nigeria, Retrospective prevalence, Seasonalit

Extruded whole grain flours and sprout millet as functional ingredients for gluten-free bread.

This work aimed to use thermoplastic extrusion technology as a pretreatment for whole grain flours (corn, parboiled brown rice, and sorghum) and the incorporation of germinated millet at 5% for the production of gluten-free bread. The study characterized the flour (chemical composition and particle size distribution), evaluated the dough (pasting, empirical and fundamental rheological properties) and analyzed the bread quality characteristics (physical, structural, and textural measurements). Thermoplastic extrusion enabled the devel-opment of consistency, improved water absorption (105?153%) and viscoelastic properties of the doughs. This process caused an increase of the specific volume (66, 33 and 82%, respectively for corn, rice and sorghum made bread), and formation of better internal air cell distribution in the three different breads produced, especially in the sorghum bread. In addition, parboiled brown rice showed atypical pasting and rheological properties of the dough, which also affected the quality characteristics of the bread. The incorporation of 5% germinated millet enhanced breadcrumb softness in all samples, particularly for extruded rice flour added of germinated millet flour sample, which presented similar hardness values (7.3 N) and springiness (0.97) to whole wheat flour