532 research outputs found
The health benefits of autonomous vehicles: public awareness and receptivity in Australia
Objectives: The substantial public health benefits of autonomous vehicles will be optimised once all vehicles operate in autonomous mode. This form of disruptive technology will need to be widely accepted by the community to facilitate the regulatory and behavioural adjustments required to achieve rapid adoption. The aim of this study was to assess: i) receptiveness to autonomous vehicles; ii) the salience of various health benefits (e.g. crash prevention, emission reduction, driving stress reduction, cyclist safety, increased mobility for those unable to drive); and iii) prompted awareness of these health benefits. Methods: Quantitative and qualitative data were generated via a national online survey of a broad range of Australians aged 16 years and over (n=1,624). Results: There were neutral levels of receptiveness and very low salience of health benefits, but more substantial levels of prompted awareness of positive health outcomes. Conclusions: These results suggest that the public may be interested in information relating to the individual and societal health benefits of autonomous vehicles, which in turn may increase overall support for this innovation. Implications for public health: Australians are likely to be receptive to autonomous vehicles when provided with information relating to their public health benefits
External economies as a mechanism of agglomeration in EU manufacturing
International audienceProductive externalities are significant determinants of agglomeration, not deeply studied at the industry and international level. We analyse the impact on productivity growth of technological externalities, both inter- and intraindustry, national or international, at the industry level for the European Union (EU) countries and the period 1995-2002. The results confirm the advisability of considering international externalities when countries are takes as regions, whose omission underestimates national spillovers. Together with national endowments and a central geographical position, the growth of productivity is encouraged by national and international specialization as a general result; moreover, it is fuelled by stronger interindustry spillovers and productive diversification, a result more evident for high technology industries, while lower technology industries are more sensitive to the omission of international externalities. Economic integration seems to be relevant, because supranational regions with less friction for goods and factor movements are more likely to take advantage of external economies as a mechanism of productivity growth and agglomeration
Vitamin D and Calcium Supplementation Accelerates Randall's Plaque Formation in a Murine Model
Most kidney stones are made of calcium oxalate crystals. Randall\u27s plaque, an apatite deposit at the tip of the renal papilla, is considered to at the origin of these stones. Hypercalciuria may promote Randall\u27s plaque formation and growth. We analyzed whether long-term exposure of Abcc6 mice (a murine model of Randall\u27s plaque) to vitamin D supplementation, with or without a calcium-rich diet, would accelerate the formation of Randall\u27s plaque. Eight groups of mice (including Abcc6 and wild type) received vitamin D alone (100,000 UI/kg every 2 weeks), a calcium-enriched diet alone (calcium gluconate 2 g/L in drinking water), both vitamin D supplementation and a calcium-rich diet, or a standard diet (controls) for 6 months. Kidney calcifications were assessed by 3-dimensional microcomputed tomography, Ό-Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, field emission-scanning electron microscopy, transmission electron microscopy, and Yasue staining. At 6 months, Abcc6 mice exposed to vitamin D and calcium supplementation developed massive Randall\u27s plaque when compared with control Abcc6 mice (P < 0.01). Wild-type animals did not develop significant calcifications when exposed to vitamin D. Combined administration of vitamin D and calcium significantly accelerates Randall\u27s plaque formation in a murine model. This original model raises concerns about the cumulative risk of vitamin D supplementation and calcium intakes in Randall\u27s plaque formation
Government institutions and the dynamics of urban growth in China
Economic growth in China in recent decades has largely rested on the dynamism of its cities. High economic growth has coincided with measures aimed at improving the efficiency of local governments and with a mounting political drive to curb corruption. Yet the connection between government institutions and urban growth in China remains poorly understood. This paper is the first to look into the link between government efficiency and corruption, on the one hand, and urban growth in China, on the other hand and to assess what is the role of institutions relative to more traditional factors for economic growth in Chinese cities. Using panel data for 283 cities over the period between 2003 and 2014, the results show that the urban growth in China is a consequence of a combination of favorable human capital, innovation, density, local conditions, foreign direct investment, and city-level government institutions. Both government qualityâespecially for those cities with the best governmentsâand the fight against corruption at the city level have a direct effect on urban growth. Measures to tackle corruption at the provincial level matter in a more indirect way, by raising or lowering the returns of other growth-inducing factors
Cultural and creative industries and regional diversification:Does size matter?
This paper aims at analysing how the presence of workers employed in cultural and creative industries (CCIs) is related to regional specialized diversification. From a theoretical perspective, CCIs drive economic development and local innovative capacity by facilitating processes of cross-fertilization of ideas. This study estimates an entry model analysing the ability of Italian provinces to successfully create new sectoral specializations. The results indicate that the relationship between the share of employees in CCIs and the probability of creating new sectoral specializations is non-linear, highlighting the need for CCIs-led policies to achieve a certain level of critical mass to be successful
Employer-provided Training and Knowledge Spillovers: Evidence from Italian Local Labour Markets
Developing intermediate cities
Intermediate cities have experienced economic dynamism in recent years, but, with the focus firmly on large metropoles and sprawling megacities, the development potential of intermediate cities has stayed out of the limelight. This paper upholds the relevance and potential of intermediate cities, arguing that they can play as important a role â if not a more important one â than the large metropoles that, until now, have been the focus of attention. Intermediate cities hold considerable advantages, in particular for poverty reduction and as more efficient ecosystems to live and work. Untapping the potential of intermediate cities requires, however, more territorially balanced, place-sensitive strategies
Accelerated apoptotic death and <i>in vivo</i> turnover of erythrocytes in mice lacking functional mitogen- and stress-activated kinase MSK1/2
The mitogen- and stress-activated kinase MSK1/2 plays a decisive role in
apoptosis. In analogy to apoptosis of nucleated cells, suicidal erythrocyte
death called eryptosis is characterized by cell shrinkage and cell membrane
scrambling leading to phosphatidylserine (PS) externalization. Here, we
explored whether MSK1/2 participates in the regulation of eryptosis. To this
end, erythrocytes were isolated from mice lacking functional MSK1/2 (mskâ/â)
and corresponding wild-type mice (msk+/+). Blood count, hematocrit, hemoglobin
concentration and mean erythrocyte volume were similar in both mskâ/â and
msk+/+ mice, but reticulocyte count was significantly increased in mskâ/â
mice. Cell membrane PS exposure was similar in untreated mskâ/â and msk+/+
erythrocytes, but was enhanced by pathophysiological cell stressors ex vivo
such as hyperosmotic shock or energy depletion to significantly higher levels
in mskâ/â erythrocytes than in msk+/+ erythrocytes. Cell shrinkage following
hyperosmotic shock and energy depletion, as well as hemolysis following
decrease of extracellular osmolarity was more pronounced in mskâ/â
erythrocytes. The in vivo clearance of autologously-infused CFSE-labeled
erythrocytes from circulating blood was faster in mskâ/â mice. The spleens
from mskâ/â mice contained a significantly greater number of PS-exposing
erythrocytes than spleens from msk+/+ mice. The present observations point to
accelerated eryptosis and subsequent clearance of erythrocytes leading to
enhanced erythrocyte turnover in MSK1/2-deficient mice
The association between residential arrangements and academic performance in UK university students
- âŠ