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.
Abstract Specific clusters of metabolic syndrome (MetS) components impact differentially on arterial stiffness, indexed as pulse wave velocity (PWV). Of note, in several population-based studies ...participating in the MARE (Metabolic syndrome and Arteries REsearch) Consortium the occurrence of specific clusters of MetS differed markedly across Europe and the US. The aim of the present study was to investigate whether specific clusters of MetS are consistently associated with stiffer arteries in different populations. We studied 20,570 subjects from 9 cohorts representing 8 different European countries and the US participating in the MARE Consortium. MetS was defined in accordance with NCEP ATPIII criteria as the simultaneous alteration in ≥3 of the 5 components: abdominal obesity ( W ), high triglycerides ( T ), low HDL cholesterol ( H ), elevated blood pressure ( B ), and elevated fasting glucose ( G ). PWV measured in each cohort was “normalized” to account for different acquisition methods. MetS had an overall prevalence of 24.2% (4985 subjects). MetS accelerated the age-associated increase in PWV levels at any age, and similarly in men and women. MetS clusters TBW, GBW, and GTBW are consistently associated with significantly stiffer arteries to an extent similar or greater than observed in subjects with alteration in all the five MetS components – even after controlling for age, sex, smoking, cholesterol levels, and diabetes mellitus – in all the MARE cohorts. In conclusion, different component clusters of MetS showed varying associations with arterial stiffness (PWV).
Samples of subbituminous coal from the Huntly Coalfield, New Zealand, were analyzed for methane adsorption at a variety of moisture contents and temperatures. Density and moisture determinations as ...part of the procedure were used to experimentally confirm that the packing density of water adsorbed to the coal's surface is equivalent to that of normal liquid water. Moisture content was found to be critical in evaluating the storage capacity of these coals. Low moisture was associated with elevated adsorption isotherms. The relationship between moisture content and gas adsorption is non-linear. Temperature over the range we tested was found to play only a small role in storage capacity for this coal. A series of algorithms were developed to correct for moisture and temperature variations between samples. Testing of the algorithms by using an additional sample indicated that they are close to predicting experimental data but that the constants still require further refinement. These algorithms only apply to this coalfield and are not intended to be widely applied. In addition, it was found that methane adsorption isotherms determined on samples collected after desorption were elevated in comparison to those determined on samples which were collected immediately after drilling.
While investment in territory defence is expected to be influenced by its benefits, the additional role that costs may play is rarely considered. Here, we quantify both benefits and costs of ...repelling prospecting males in cooperative meerkats, and demonstrate that both are required to explain the substantial variation in individual contributions to the defence observed. Males benefit more from repelling prospectors than females, as males may lose dominance and be expelled during intrusions. Accordingly, males invest the most in repelling prospectors. We also show that males experience an associated cost in the form of reduced weight gain and, as such, heavier males contribute more to chasing prospectors. Finally, we show evidence of a cost not restricted to individuals engaged in chasing: both males and females reduce their contributions to feeding dependent pups when prospectors are present, resulting in a reduction in pup weight gain in this context. Males appear to adjust their contributions to chasing in light of this cost, chasing at lower rates when their group contains dependent young. Our findings support the view that investment in cooperative behaviours can be attributed to benefits and costs, and highlight the additional importance of considering trade-offs in investment between cooperative behaviours.
•Direct initiation of moderate-high efficacy therapy seems beneficial.•Moderate-high efficacy therapy does not lead to treatment switch due to adverse events.•Treatment strategy between Sweden and ...the Czech Republic differ.•Early moderate-high efficacy therapy initiation might lead to confirmed disability improvement.
In relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis (RRMS) the most common treatment strategy has been to start with low-moderate efficacy disease modifying therapy (LE-DMT) and to escalate to more efficacious treatments in cases of breakthrough disease activity. However, recent evidence suggests a better outcome in patients commencing with moderate-high efficacy DMT (HE-DMT) immediately after clinical onset.
The aim of this study is to compare disease activity and disability outcomes in patients treated with the two alternative strategies using the Swedish and Czech national multiple sclerosis registries, taking advantage of the fact that the relative frequency of each strategy differs markedly between these two countries.
Adult RRMS patients who initiated their first-ever DMT between 2013 and 2016 and were included in the Swedish MS register were compared with a similar cohort from the MS register of the Czech Republic using propensity score overlap weighting as a balancing method. The main outcomes of interest were time to confirmed disability worsening (CDW), time to achieve an expanded disability status scale (EDSS) value of 4, time to relapse, and time to confirmed disability improvement (CDI). To support the results, a sensitivity analysis focusing solely on patients from Sweden starting with HE-DMT and patients from the Czech Republic starting with LE-DMT was performed.
In the Swedish cohort, 42% of patients received HE-DMT as initial therapy compared to 3.8% of patients in the Czech cohort. The time to CDW was not significantly different between the Swedish and Czech cohorts (p-value 0.2764), with hazard ratio (HR) of 0.89 and a 95% confidence interval (CI) of 0.77–1.03. Patients from the Swedish cohort exhibited better outcomes for all remaining variables. The risk of reaching EDSS 4 was reduced by 26% (HR 0.74, 95%CI 0.6–0.91, p-value 0.0327), the risk of relapse was reduced by 66% (HR 0.34, 95%CI 0.3–0.39, p-value <0.001), and the probability of CDI was three times higher (HR 3.04, 95%CI 2.37–3.9, p-value <0.001).
The analysis of the Czech and the Swedish RRMS cohorts confirmed a better prognosis for patients in Sweden, where a significant proportion of patients received HE-DMT as initial treatment.
Resource availability plays a key role in driving variation in somatic growth and body condition, and the factors determining access to resources vary considerably across life stages. Parents and ...carers may exert important influences in early life, when individuals are nutritionally dependent, with abiotic environmental effects having stronger influences later in development as individuals forage independently. Most studies have measured specific factors influencing growth across development or have compared relative influences of different factors within specific life stages. Such studies may not capture whether early‐life factors continue to have delayed effects at later stages, or whether social factors change when individuals become nutritionally independent and adults become competitors for, rather than providers of, food. Here, we examined variation in the influence of the abiotic, social and maternal environment on growth across life stages in a wild population of cooperatively breeding meerkats. Cooperatively breeding vertebrates are ideal for investigating environmental influences on growth. In addition to experiencing highly variable abiotic conditions, cooperative breeders are typified by heterogeneity both among breeders, with mothers varying in age and social status, and in the number of carers present. Recent rainfall had a consistently marked effect on growth across life stages, yet other seasonal terms only influenced growth during stages when individuals were growing fastest. Group size and maternal dominance status had positive effects on growth during the period of nutritional dependence on carers, but did not influence mass at emergence (at 1 month) or growth at independent stages (>4 months). Pups born to older mothers were lighter at 1 month of age and subsequently grew faster as subadults. Males grew faster than females during the juvenile and subadult stage only. Our findings demonstrate the complex ways in which the external environment influences development in a cooperative mammal. Individuals are most sensitive to social and maternal factors during the period of nutritional dependence on carers, whereas direct environmental effects are relatively more important later in development. Understanding the way in which environmental sensitivity varies across life stages is likely to be an important consideration in predicting trait responses to environmental change.
Preharvest sprouting is common in cereals that lack grain dormancy if maturing grain is exposed to rain. Over three successive seasons wheat genotypes with a range of dormancy levels, were exposed to ...moisture stress and periods of high temperature stress (>30
°C) in controlled field trials. Dormancy assessments were based on a germination index of hand threshed grain throughout grain filling. There were three main results. First, moisture stress combined with consistently high temperature during grain filling was associated with induced dormancy in Cunderdin, (germination index of 0.41) in a normally non-dormant genotype (germination index normally >0.80), but no additional dormancy in DM 2001, a dormant genotype (germination index normally <0.10). In contrast sudden heat shocks (>30
°C max. for >12 days) at 30–50 days post-anthesis reduced dormancy, germination index increase of 0.42 on average across five genotypes. Secondly, whilst dormancy was affected by moisture and heat stress, genotypes maintained their relative rankings across environments and genotype had the most effect on dormancy (70–92% of the variation in germination index) with DM 2001 and DH 22 more dormant than DH 56, DH 45 and Cunderdin. Finally, the effect of environment was different for different genotypes; those with partial dormancy (germination index usually 0.20–0.50, DH 56 and DH 45) were most influenced by the environmental conditions with germination indexes ranging from 0.06 to 0.85 depending on environment. Consequently avoidance of high temperatures, moisture stress, and maturity
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stress interactions, are important prerequisites in screening for genotypes with genetic differences in dormancy.
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