Factoring as a Financing Alternative for African Small and Medium-Sized Enterprises

Small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) are the main drivers of economic growth and employment. African SMEs are constrained by a lack of access to finance. In line with the pecking order theory, capital-constrained SMEs are expected to seek external finance. However, due to credit rationing, African SMEs have limited success raising finance. Factoring could enable African SMEs to gain access to finance, as underwriters mainly place the risk on the receivables as opposed to the firm itself. Despite its benefits, factoring has not taken root in sub-Saharan Africa. The purpose of this phenomenological study was to explore the obstacles and prospects to stimulating awareness, availability, acceptance, and utilization of factoring in Africa. Data on the lived experiences of 22 executives providing or promoting factoring in 16 African countries were collected through semistructured interviews; these data were analyzed using the Braun and Clarke thematic approach. Four themes emerged: supply-side conditions, demand-side conditions, business environment conditions, and facilitating institutions and industries. Results suggest high factoring prospects, legal and regulatory impediments, low awareness levels, reluctance of banks to avail factoring, high entry barriers for nonbank factors, a lack of credit insurance, and a lack of an open account trade culture. A framework was recommended, based on these findings, along with actions for factoring development in Africa. Implications for positive social change include increased awareness which may boost factoring availability, acceptance, and utilization. Improved financing options may yield improved African SME competitiveness, which in turn, may result in improved job opportunities, household incomes, quality of life, and more broadly, Africa\u27s economic growth

The Data Sharing Practices and Challenges in Uganda

With the rapid development and increased use of information and communication technology (ICT), the demand for data sharing and reuse is growing even in developing countries. This study aims to contribute to the recently emerging discussions on data sharing in developing countries with a focus on the case of Uganda. The goal of this study is to uncover the current practices of and efforts for data sharing in the public sector in Uganda and to understand the relevant stakeholders’ perceptions of data sharing and reuse practices/services

Mucosal vaccination with a live recombinant rhinovirus followed by intradermal DNA administration elicits potent and protective HIV-specific immune responses

Published: 17 November 2016Mucosal immunity is deemed crucial to control sexual transmission of human immunodeficiency virus (HIV). Herein we report the efficacy of a mucosal HIV vaccine strategy comprising intranasal (IN) vaccination with a cocktail of live recombinant human rhinoviruses (HRVs) encoding overlapping fragments of HIV Gag and full length Tat (rHRV-Gag/Tat) followed by intradermal (ID) vaccination with DNA vaccines encoding HIV Gag and Tat (pVAX-Gag-Tat). This heterologous prime-boost strategy will be referred to hereafter as rHRV-DNA. As a control, IN vaccination with wild type (wt)-HRV-A1 followed by a single ID dose of pVAX (wt-HRV-A1/pVAX vaccination) was included. rHRV-DNA vaccination elicited superior multi-functional CD8(+)T cell responses in lymphocytes harvested from mesenteric lymph nodes and spleens, and higher titres of Tat-specific antibodies in blood and vaginal lavages, and reduced the viral load more effectively after challenge with EcoHIV, a murine HIV challenge model, in peritoneal macrophages, splenocytes and blood compared compared with wt-HRV-A1/pVAX vaccination or administration of 3 ID doses of pVAX-Gag-Tat (3X pVAX-Gag-Tat vaccination). These data provide the first evidence that a rHRV-DNA vaccination regimen can induce HIV-specific immune responses in the gut, vaginal mucosa and systemically, and supports further testing of this regimen in the development of an effective mucosally-targeted HIV-1 vaccine.Khamis Tomusange, Danushka Wijesundara, Jason Gummow, Steve Wesselingh, Andreas Suhrbier, Eric J. Gowans, Branka Grubor-Bau

Construction of a recombinant rhinovirus accommodating fluorescent marker expression

Peer Reviewedhttps://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/146429/1/irv12602.pdfhttps://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/146429/2/irv12602_am.pd

Quantifying HIV transmission flow between high-prevalence hotspots and surrounding communities: a population-based study in Rakai, Uganda

Background International and global organisations advocate targeting interventions to areas of high HIV prevalence (ie, hotspots). To better understand the potential benefits of geo-targeted control, we assessed the extent to which HIV hotspots along Lake Victoria sustain transmission in neighbouring populations in south-central Uganda. Methods We did a population-based survey in Rakai, Uganda, using data from the Rakai Community Cohort Study. The study surveyed all individuals aged 15–49 years in four high-prevalence Lake Victoria fishing communities and 36 neighbouring inland communities. Viral RNA was deep sequenced from participants infected with HIV who were antiretroviral therapy-naive during the observation period. Phylogenetic analysis was used to infer partial HIV transmission networks, including direction of transmission. Reconstructed networks were interpreted through data for current residence and migration history. HIV transmission flows within and between high-prevalence and low-prevalence areas were quantified adjusting for incomplete sampling of the population. Findings Between Aug 10, 2011, and Jan 30, 2015, data were collected for the Rakai Community Cohort Study. 25 882 individuals participated, including an estimated 75·7% of the lakeside population and 16·2% of the inland population in the Rakai region of Uganda. 5142 participants were HIV-positive (2703 [13·7%] in inland and 2439 [40·1%] in fishing communities). 3878 (75·4%) people who were HIV-positive did not report antiretroviral therapy use, of whom 2652 (68·4%) had virus deep-sequenced at sufficient quality for phylogenetic analysis. 446 transmission networks were reconstructed, including 293 linked pairs with inferred direction of transmission. Adjusting for incomplete sampling, an estimated 5·7% (95% credibility interval 4·4–7·3) of transmissions occurred within lakeside areas, 89·2% (86·0–91·8) within inland areas, 1·3% (0·6–2·6) from lakeside to inland areas, and 3·7% (2·3–5·8) from inland to lakeside areas. Interpretation Cross-community HIV transmissions between Lake Victoria hotspots and surrounding inland populations are infrequent and when they occur, virus more commonly flows into rather than out of hotspots. This result suggests that targeted interventions to these hotspots will not alone control the epidemic in inland populations, where most transmissions occur. Thus, geographical targeting of high prevalence areas might not be effective for broader epidemic control depending on underlying epidemic dynamics. Funding The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, the National Institute of Mental Health, the National Institute of Child Health and Development, the Division of Intramural Research of the National Institute for Allergy and Infectious Diseases, the World Bank, the Doris Duke Charitable Foundation, the Johns Hopkins University Center for AIDS Research, and the President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief through the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention

Inferring HIV-1 transmission networks and sources of epidemic spread in Africa with deep-sequence phylogenetic analysis

To prevent new infections with human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV-1) in sub-Saharan Africa, UNAIDS recommends targeting interventions to populations that are at high risk of acquiring and passing on the virus. Yet it is often unclear who and where these ‘source’ populations are. Here we demonstrate how viral deep-sequencing can be used to reconstruct HIV-1 transmission networks and to infer the direction of transmission in these networks. We are able to deep-sequence virus from a large population-based sample of infected individuals in Rakai District, Uganda, reconstruct partial transmission networks, and infer the direction of transmission within them at an estimated error rate of 16.3% [8.8–28.3%]. With this error rate, deep-sequence phylogenetics cannot be used against individuals in legal contexts, but is sufficiently low for population-level inferences into the sources of epidemic spread. The technique presents new opportunities for characterizing source populations and for targeting of HIV-1 prevention interventions in Africa

Novel recombinant DNA and live virus vaccines to prevent or control HIV-1 infection

Background Vaccination is the most cost effective and long-term solution to the global human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) pandemic. The HIV Gag and Tat proteins are attractive components of a HIV vaccine as immune responses targeting these proteins confer protective benefits against HIV infections in humans. This thesis has developed two innovative candidate HIV vaccines viz. a DNA vaccine encoding oligomerised and secreted Tat (pVAXsTat-IMX313), and a recombinant live human rhinovirus serotype A1 (HRV-A1)-based vaccine encoding Gag and Tat (rHRV-Gag/Tat). Methods To construct pVAX-sTat-IMX313, Tat was fused with the oligomerisation domain of IMX313 to form Tat heptamers and linked to the leader sequence of tissue plasminogen activator to ensure that the bulk of oligomerised protein is secreted. To develop the rHRVGag/Tat vaccine, initially, the full length tat gene and 5 discrete overlapping fragments corresponding to the full length gag gene were individually inserted into the junction between the HRV-A1 genes encoding structural and non-structural proteins (P1/P2 junction) to ensure that the exogenous HIV Gag or Tat proteins were separated from the recombinant polyprotein using the HRV encoded 2Aprotease enzyme. Thus, one recombinant HRV encoding Tat (rHRV-Tat) and 5 rHRVs each encoding a unique Gag fragment (rHRV-Gag1-5) were generated. The individual rHRVs were then mixed into a single cocktail vaccine (rHRVGag/Tat), purified and titrated for inoculation in mice. The immunogenicity of these vaccines was evaluated in female BALB/c mice that received up to five intradermal injections of pVAX-sTat-IMX313 (50 μg per dose) at 2 weekly intervals in one study. In another study, mice were vaccinated intranasally with 2 doses (5x106 TCID50/dose) of the rHRV-Gag/Tat followed by a single 50 μg booster dose of a cocktail DNA vaccine containing pVAX-sTat-IMX313 and pVAX-Gag-Perforin. Vaccine-induced immune responses were examined 2 weeks after the last dose by antibody ELISA, in-vitro Tat transactivation neutralization, IFN-γ ELISpot, KdGag197-205 tetramer staining and intracellular cytokine staining assays. Results Data showed that fusing Tat with IMX313 results in complete heptamerisation of Tat. Furthermore, the data suggested that pVAX-sTat-IMX313 vaccination elicited higher titers of serum neutralizing Tat-specific IgG, secretory IgA (sIgA) in the vagina and CMI responses, and showed superior control of ecotropic HIV (EcoHIV) infection, a surrogate murine HIV challenge model, compared with animals vaccinated with other DNA vaccines tested in this study. Human rhinovirus serotype A1 (HRV-A1) was successfully engineered into a replication-competent genetically stable recombinant vector to deliver a mucosally-targeted vaccine, rHRV-Gag/Tat, by inserting exogenous HIV gag and tat sequences into the HRV-A1 genome. Finally, intranasal administration of 2 doses of rHRV-Gag/Tat followed by a single DNA booster dose induced superior poly-functional Gag-specific CD8 T cell responses in the spleen (systemic) and mesenteric lymph nodes (mucosal), higher Tat-specific serum IgG and sIgA in the vagina, and effective control of EcoHIV infection compared to other vaccination regimens tested in this study. Conclusion First, the data support the inclusion of IMX313 as a molecular adjuvant for Tat-based HIV DNA vaccines. Second, the data demonstrated that intranasal vaccination with rHRV-Gag/Tat followed by a single DNA booster dose is effective in eliciting HIV-specific immunity panmucosally and systemically. Collectively, the data support further testing of the pVAX-sTat IMX313 and rHRV-Gag/Tat vaccines in macaques, preferably in a heterologous prime-boost vaccination strategy, and results from these studies might influence future HIV clinical trials.Thesis (Ph.D.) (Research by Publication) -- University of Adelaide, Adelaide Medical School, 2016

Mucosal vaccination with a live recombinant rhinovirus followed by intradermal DNA administration elicits protective HIV-specific immune responses

Poster 19: Novel vaccine and prevention concepts - P19.46LBKhamis Tomusange, Danushka Wijesundara, Jason Gummow, Eric James. Gowans, Branka Grubor-Bau

Engineering human rhinovirus serotype-A1 as a vaccine vector

Abstract not availableKhamis Tomusange, Wenbo Yu, Andreas Suhrbier, Danushka Wijesundara, Branka Grubor-Bauk, Eric J. Gowan