A sub-national economic complexity analysis of Australia's states and territories. Regional Studies. This paper applies economic complexity analysis to the Australian sub-national economy (nine ...regions with 506 exported goods and services). Using a 2009 Australian multi-regional input-output table for base data, we determine the number of export goods or services in which each state and territory has a revealed comparative advantage, and visualize the complexity of Australia's interstate and international exports. We find that small differences in industrial capability and knowledge are crucial to relative complexity. The majority of states (especially Western Australia) export primarily resource-intensive goods, yet interstate trade has many complex products that are not currently internationally exported.
The original version of this article contained a mistake in the Table 3. In Table 3: Two rows were accidentally cut out which reported the B coefficients and standard errors for two variables in the ...multiple regression model, the hyperoursal symptom cluster, avoidance/numbing symptom cluster. The corrected table is presented below.
Inconsistent findings have been reported by previous cross-sectional studies regarding the association between specific posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) symptom clusters and suicidality. To ...advance the understanding of the role of specific PTSD symptoms in the development of suicidality, the primary aim of this study was to investigate the predictive effects of the three specific PTSD symptom clusters on suicidal ideation prospectively. Fifty-six individuals diagnosed with PTSD completed a two-stage research design, at baseline and 13–15 months follow-up. The clinician administered PTSD scale (CAPS) was used to assess the severity of the PTSD symptom clusters and validated self-report measures were used to assess suicidal ideation, severity of depressive symptoms and perceptions of defeat entrapment. The results showed that only the hyperarousal symptom cluster significantly predicted suicidal ideation at follow-up after controlling for baseline suicidal ideation, severity of depressive symptoms and perceptions of defeat and entrapment. These findings suggest that both disorder-specific and transdiagnostic factors are implicated in the development of suicidal ideation in PTSD. Important clinical implications are discussed in terms of predicting and treating suicidality in those with PTSD.
Water quality is a fundamental issue for the survival of a city, especially on dry land. In ancient times, water availability determined the location and size of villages and cities. Water supply and ...treatment methods were developed and perfected along with the evolution of urbanization. In Europe, after the fall of the Roman Empire, water supply and sewage systems went through fundamental changes. However, in medieval times, the lack of proper sanitation and low water quality increased the spreading and effects of epidemics. The importance of potable water quality was established during modern times. In Greece, the significance of water filtration and disinfection was not understood until the beginning of the 20th century. Moreover, the beneficial effects of water quality and sanitation on human health and especially on life expectancy are considered. In Greece and other countries, a dramatic increase in life expectancy mainly after the 2nd World War is probably due to the improvement of potable water quality and hygiene conditions. However, since the mid-20th century, new water quality issues have emerged, such as eutrophication, the improvement of water treatment technologies, as well as chemical and microbiological water pollution problems. This study, in addition to the historical evolution of water quality, highlights and discusses the current issues and challenges with regard to the management and protection of water quality, including global changes in population and urbanization, lack of infrastructure, use of nonconventional water resources, spreading of emerging pollutants and contaminants (e.g., antibiotics and microplastics), and climatic variability impacts. Against these, a review of the main proposed strategies and measures is presented and discussed to protect water quality and maintain water supplies for the future. Understanding the practices and solutions of the past provides a lens with which to view the present and future.
Wastewater treatment and reuse has passed through different development stages with time. This study reviews the most essential changes in water reclamation and reuses over millennia, focusing on ...initial approaches in the Hellenic world and discussing the current situation. Based on archeological evidence and time records, the awareness of the Greeks regarding land disposal, irrigation, and water reuse is highlighted. The latter has evolved into a plethora of applications, with Direct Potable Reuse (DPR) representing one of the last modern frontiers. Currently, advances in wastewater treatment and the spreading of wastewater treatment plants producing large amounts of treated effluents increase the potential for water reuse. This is regarded as a critical option for the continuing protection of water resources and human health, while concurrently satisfying water demand, particularly in areas subject to increased water scarcity. The main constraints in the expansion of water reuse practices are discussed, focusing on wastewater treatment efficiency and quality effluent standards issues, as well as on the lack of motivations related to the acceptability of this practice by final users. Against these challenges, the need for a transition from an “issue-by-issue” approach to a broader integrated water management framework is highlighted.
Since ancient times, dams have been built to store water, control rivers, and irrigate agricultural land to meet human needs. By the end of the 19th century, hydroelectric power stations arose and ...extended the purposes of dams. Today, dams can be seen as part of the renewable energy supply infrastructure. The word dam comes from French and is defined in dictionaries using words like strange, dike, and obstacle. In other words, a dam is a structure that stores water and directs it to the desired location, with a dam being built in front of river valleys. Dams built on rivers serve various purposes such as the supply of drinking water, agricultural irrigation, flood control, the supply of industrial water, power generation, recreation, the movement control of solids, and fisheries. Dams can also be built in a catchment area to capture and store the rainwater in arid and semi-arid areas. Dams can be built from concrete or natural materials such as earth and rock. There are various types of dams: embankment dams (earth-fill dams, rock-fill dams, and rock-fill dams with concrete faces) and rigid dams (gravity dams, rolled compacted concrete dams, arch dams, and buttress dams). A gravity dam is a straight wall of stone masonry or earthen material that can withstand the full force of the water pressure. In other words, the pressure of the water transfers the vertical compressive forces and horizontal shear forces to the foundations beneath the dam. The strength of a gravity dam ultimately depends on its weight and the strength of its foundations. Most dams built in ancient times were constructed as gravity dams. An arch dam, on the other hand, has a convex curved surface that faces the water. The forces generated by the water pressure are transferred to the sides of the structure by horizontal lines. The horizontal, normal, and shear forces resist the weight at the edges. When viewed in a horizontal section, an arch dam has a curved shape. This type of dam can also resist water pressure due to its particular shape that allows the transfer of the forces generated by the stored water to the rock foundations. This article takes a detailed look at hydraulic engineering in dams over the millennia. Lessons should be learned from the successful and unsuccessful applications and operations of dams. Water resource managers, policymakers, and stakeholders can use these lessons to achieve sustainable development goals in times of climate change and water crisis.
Polyamine oxidase (PAO) catalyzes the oxidative catabolism of spermidine and spermine, generating hydrogen peroxide. In wild-type tobacco (Nicotiana tabacum 'Xanthi') plants, infection by the ...compatible pathogen Pseudomonas syringae pv tabaci resulted in increased PAO gene and corresponding PAO enzyme activities; polyamine homeostasis was maintained by induction of the arginine decarboxylase pathway and spermine was excreted into the apoplast, where it was oxidized by the enhanced apoplastic PAO, resulting in higher hydrogen peroxide accumulation. Moreover, plants overexpressing PAO showed preinduced disease tolerance against the biotrophic bacterium P. syringae pv tabaci and the hemibiotrophic oomycete Phytophthora parasitica var nicotianae but not against the Cucumber mosaic virus. Furthermore, in transgenic PAO-overexpressing plants, systemic acquired resistance marker genes as well as a pronounced increase in the cell wall-based defense were found before inoculation. These results reveal that PAO is a nodal point in a specific apoplast-localized plant-pathogen interaction, which also signals parallel defense responses, thus preventing pathogen colonization. This strategy presents a novel approach for producing transgenic plants resistant to a broad spectrum of plant pathogens.
Contaminated water and poor sanitation are associated with disease transmission. Absent, inadequate, or improperly managed water resources and sanitation systems expose individuals to preventable ...health risks. Billions of people lack access to these basic services today and will remain in this condition for decades to come. As we are usually thinking and talking about water, sanitation and hygiene services have changed. Looking back at the history of water, sanitation, and hygiene can help us understand the challenges and opportunities of these issues and draw lessons to achieve sustainable development in the future. Throughout history, civilizations have successfully experimented with treating water and using it for drinking, sanitation, and agriculture. For example, the Minoan civilizations originally focused on water treatment and cleaning to improve the aesthetic properties of drinking water. During prehistoric times, Minoan and Indus Valley civilizations, dating back to about 2000 BC, were the first to focus on the treatment of water supplies. From the early Minoan period, they relied on rainwater collection. During historic times, Hippocrates was the first to invent and used a water filter in the form of a cloth bag, at about 400 BC, known today as the Hippocrates Sleeve. The Romans perfected existing water technologies on a larger scale and initiated their spread throughout the Empire. Hygiene in ancient Rome was promoted by the famous public baths and toilets, which were supplied with water through widely branched aqueducts that had a high standard of cleanliness for the time and were regularly maintained.
Floods are one of the most dangerous natural disasters, causing great destruction, damage, and even fatalities worldwide. Flooding is the phenomenon of a sudden increase or even slow increase in the ...volume of water in a river or stream bed as the result of several possible factors: heavy or very long precipitation, melting snowpack, strong winds over the water, unusually high tides, tsunamis, or the failure of dams, gages, detention basins, or other structures that hold back water. To gain a better understanding of flooding, it is necessary to examine evidence, search for ancient wisdom, and compare flood-management practices in different regions in a chronological perspective. This study reviews flood events caused by rising sea levels and erratic weather from ancient times to the present. In addition, this review contemplates concerns about future flood challenges and possible countermeasures. Thus, it presents a catalogue of past examples in order to present a point of departure for the study of ancient floods and to learn lessons for preparation for future flood incidents including heavy rainfalls, particularly in urbanized areas. The study results show that ancient societies developed multifaceted technologies to cope with floods and many of them are still usable now and may even represent solutions and measures to counter the changing and increasingly more erratic weather of the present.
Summary Objectives Many patients undergoing long-term doxycycline treatment do not regularly take their treatment because of photosensitivity. Our objective was to create an assay for determining ...doxycycline levels and to use hair samples for monitoring the compliance over a longer period of time. Methods We tested sera and hair samples from patients treated with doxycycline by a suitable ultra-high performance liquid chromatography (UHPLC) based assay. Results We estimated that the speed of hair growth is roughly 1.25 cm per month and we were able to determine doxycycline levels over a 6-month period. We tested 14 patients treated with doxycycline and we found similar levels of doxycycline in the serum and the hair samples representing the last 4 months. Linear regression analysis revealed that the level of doxycycline in the serum remained stable over time ( p = 0.7) but the level of doxycycline in the hair decreased significantly over time ( p = 0.03) indicating a degradation of this molecule in the hair. We detected two patients who did not have antibiotic in the hair, indicating a lack of compliance that was also confirmed by interview. Conclusion Hair samples can be used to test long-term compliance in patients to explain failures or relapses.
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