Spillovers From Europe Into Morocco and Tunisia

This paper examines the economic and financial linkages between Morocco and Tunisia and their European partners. Using structural vector autoregressions, we find that growth shocks in European partner countries generate significant responses on growth in Morocco and Tunisia. For Tunisia, exports and, to a much lesser extent, tourism appear to be the major transmission channels. In Morocco, exports, remittances and tourism play relatively equal roles. An analysis with sectoral data supports these results.Morocco;Tunisia;Spillovers;Trade;Business cycles;Economic growth;Economic recession;External shocks;Inward remittances;Tourism;growth rates, gdp growth, partner countries, real gdp, growth rate, domestic demand, gdp growth rates, trade flows, business cycle, open economies, free trade, liberalized trade, growth accounting, trade liberalization, gdp growth rate, foreign trade, trade integration, aggregate demand, domestic market, bilateral cooperation, trade data, trade interdependence, world trade, dynamic effects, trade relations, neighboring countries, regulatory framework, liberalization of trade, trade partners, domestic firms, free trade area, increased liberalization, trade barriers, internal market, competition rules, transmission of shocks, export performance, quantitative restrictions, increasing competitiveness

Expression of MAGE genes in esophageal squamous-cell carcinoma

The genes MAGE-1, -2, -3 and -4 are expressed in tumors of different histological types, but not in normal tissues, with the exception of testis and placenta. Short peptides derived from MAGE-1 and MAGE-3 gene products are recognized by cytolytic T lymphocytes when presented by HLA-class-I molecules, and represent potential targets for specific immunotherapy. We have determined whether esophageal carcinoma patients should be eligible for MAGE-peptide-based vaccine therapies. The expression og genes MAGE-1,-2,-3 and -4 in tumor samples was assessed by reverse-transcription and polymerase-chain-reaction amplification. Out of the 49 esophageal squa-mous-cell carcinomas studied, 53% expressed MAGE-1, 49% MAGE-2, 47% MAGE-3 and 71% MAGE-4. Eighty-four percent of the tumors expressed one or more of the four MAGE genes. Owing to the high incidence of MAGE gene expression in esophageal squamous-cell carcinoma, a large proportion of patients could be suitable candidates for immune therapies involving tumor-specific antigens encoded by MAGE genes