Holt and the establishment of arbitration: an Australian perspective

'Even the argument that New Zealand has done something is not sufficient to satisfy me of the correctness of the present government.' The speaker was Sir John Downer, a delegate to the final session of the Australian Federal Convention in 1898. The occasion was a debate on industrial arbitration, during which enthusiasts pointed repeatedly to the success of the New Zealand Industrial Conciliation and Arbitration Act of 1894. And the outcome was that by a narrow majority the Convention reversed its previous decisions and empowered the Commonwealth to make laws for conciliation and arbitration for the prevention and settlement of industrial dispules extending beyond the limits of any one State. (Victorian Government Printer. 1898. vol. I. p. 187

Bayesian analysis of models of population divergence for SNP variation data

Probabilistic models to describe genetic differentiation between populations typically fail to include the effect of complex ancestry. A Bayesian hierarchical model proposed by Nicholson et al. (2002) (ND) provides a framework for assessing differentiation using population-wise parameters for single-nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) data under certain assumptions regarding the evolution of allele frequencies over time. Although the ND model offers a coherent method to estimate population divergence, a rather simplistic assumption must be made about the historical evolution of populations. Since shared ancestry between populations results in correlations in allele frequencies, it is the potential capture of such correlations that motivates the development of the new model reported here. This thesis presents a review of the ND model using simulated and newly available SNP data, highlighting situations where the ND model does and does not fit the data well. The model was fitted using Markov-chain Monte-Carlo (MCMC) methods, and the fit assessed using residual diagnostics. Nicholson et al. (2002) reported instability in parameter estimates when a population was removed from the data set and the model re-fitted. Analysis of simulated data ensured that this is not an inherent property of the ND model and therefore can be used to highlight discrepancies with the model. Analyses on real data show that the ND model works well for groups of Europeans with low levels of genetic differentiation between populations, but a lack of fit is found when groups of populations dispersed across continents are considered. Data are also simulated under an alternative ancestral configuration and it is shown that lack of fit, manifest in residuals and estimator instability, is present when analysed using the ND model. An extension to the ND model is developed and fitted, supposing that discrepancies in the modelling assumptions of the ND model are due to the effect of alternative ancestral relationships. The ND and the new model are compared, as regards their fit to various data sets, and it is found that in some cases the new model does provide a better fit and in other cases the distinction is unclear. The new model is also used to infer the most likely ancestral relationships between populations sampled from the Human Genome Diversity Panel

Vanguards and avant-gardes : The reason in revolt online project on political and cultural radicalism

The 'Reason in Revolt' project aims to bring together primary source documents of Australian radicalism as a readily accessible digitised resource. By 'radical' we refer to those who aimed to make society more equal and to emancipate the exploited or oppressed. As it grows and develops, the project website will become an expanding record of the movements, institutions, venues and publications through which radicals sought to influence Australian society. Burgmann, Macintyre and Milner intend to utilise the technological benefits of this website in the production of a monograph on the role of intellectuals in the development of radical thought and practice

Low serum cortisol predicts early death following acute myocardial infarction

<b>Objective</b>: Low serum cortisol concentrations have been associated with adverse prognosis in critical illness of diverse aetiology. We aimed to determine whether low serum cortisol concentrations are associated with adverse prognosis in patients with acute myocardial infarction. <b>Design</b>: Nested case-control study. <b>Setting</b>: Prospective cohort study of consecutive patients admitted with acute myocardial infarction to 9 Scottish hospitals. <b>Patients</b>: 100 patients who survived 30 days (controls) and 100 patients who died within 30 days (cases). <b>Measurements and Main Results</b>: Admission cortisol concentrations were lower in patients who died than those who survived (median 1,189 versus 1,355 nmol/L, p<0.001). A cortisol concentration in the bottom quartile (<1,136 nmol/L) was a strong predictor of death within 30 days, and remained so after adjustment for age and cardiac troponin concentration (adjusted OR 8.78, 95% CI 3.09-24.96, p<0.001). <b>Conclusions</b>: Patients who mount a lesser cortisol stress response to acute myocardial infarction have a poorer early prognosis

Marine Macroalgal Diversity Assessment of Saba Bank, Netherlands Antilles

Background: Located in the Dutch Windward Islands, Saba Bank is a flat-topped seamount (20–45 m deep in the shallower regions). The primary goals of the survey were to improve knowledge of biodiversity for one of the world’s most significant, but little-known, seamounts and to increase basic data and analyses to promote the development of an improved management plan. Methodology/Principal Findings: Our team of three divers used scuba to collect algal samples to depths of 50 m at 17 dive sites. Over 360 macrophyte specimens (12 putative new species) were collected, more than 1,000 photographs were taken in truly exceptional habitats, and three astonishing new seaweed community types were discovered. These included: (1) ‘‘Field of Greens’ ’ (N 17u30.6209, W63u27.7079) dominated by green seaweeds as well as some filamentous reds, (2) ‘‘Brown Town’ ’ (N 17u28.0279, W63u14.9449) dominated by large brown algae, and (3) ‘‘Seaweed City’ ’ (N 17u26.4859, W63u16.8509) with a diversity of spectacular fleshy red algae. Conclusions/Significance: Dives to 30 m in the more two-dimensional interior habitats revealed particularly robust specimens of algae typical of shallower seagrass beds, but here in the total absence of any seagrasses (seagrasses generally do not grow below 20 m). Our preliminary estimate of the number of total seaweed species on Saba Bank ranges from a minimum of 150 to 200. Few filamentous and thin sheet forms indicative of stressed or physically disturbed environments were observed. A more precise number still awaits further microscopic and molecular examinations in the laboratory. The expedition, while intensive, has only scratched the surface of this unique submerged seamount/atoll

Health effects of climate change (HECC) in the UK: 2023 report. Chapter 4. Impacts of climate change and policy on air pollution and human health

•Air pollution is one of the greatest environmental risks to public health in the UK and is associated with an estimated 29,000 to 43,000 deaths a year. Chapter 4 considers the relationship between climate change and outdoor air pollution and includes new analyses of the health burden from long-term and short-term exposure to air pollution. The chapter was led by expert scientists in the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA), with contributions from experts in the University of Edinburgh, UK Centre for Ecology and Hydrology and University College London. •Key outdoor air pollutants include particulate matter (PM), nitrogen dioxide (NO2), and ozone (O3). Exposure to these is known to reduce life expectancy and is associated with a range of negative health effects, including respiratory and cardiovascular disease. People who live near busy roads are generally exposed to higher concentrations of air pollution. Some people are more susceptible to the health effects of air pollution including those with pre-existing cardiovascular and respiratory disease, young people, pregnant women, older people and low income communities. •Climate change will have an impact on air pollution. Changes in weather patterns, particularly temperature, rainfall and wind speed, are expected to have an effect on dispersal and concentrations of PM and O3. However, climate change mitigation measures that reduce emissions of greenhouse gases will help reduce air pollutants and lead to improvements in health outcomes. Evidence shows that emissions of air pollutants will be the dominant driver of air pollution concentrations over the coming decades. In this context, the analyses in the chapter focus on air pollutant emissions rather than climate change projections. •Future air quality in the UK will be determined by recent policy announcements and new legislation, such as the Environment Act 2021, the Environmental Improvement Plan 2023, and the Air Quality Strategy (England), the Environment (Air Quality and Soundscapes) (Wales) Bill, Cleaner Air for Scotland 2 strategy and Clean Air strategy for Northern Ireland. In 2018, the UK government published the 25 Year Environment Plan, which set out the framework and vision for reducing emissions of key air pollutants by setting or meeting legally binding targets. •Analysis of the impacts of air quality controls over the next 2 decades indicate that by 2050, exposure to PM2.5 will decrease by between 28% and 36%, and NO2 exposure will decrease by between 35% and 49%, depending on the region. By 2050, annual mortality attributable to the effects of long-term exposure to PM2.5 and NO2 is projected to decrease roughly by between 25% and 37% compared with a 2018 baseline, depending on future demographic change in the UK. Reducing emissions, therefore, results in benefits to population health. However, due to the complex chemistry in the air, as NO2 levels decrease, there can be local increases in O3 in urban centres, which may increase some harms to health. The analyses in the chapter show that annual estimated emergency respiratory hospital admissions associated with short-term Chapter 4. Impacts of climate change and policy on air pollution and human health 3 effects from O3 exposure are projected to increase by between 4% and 12% by 2050 from a 2018 baseline of 60,488, depending on demographic change. •Overall, these projections reflect significant improvements in outdoor air quality and associated reductions in the burden of long-term health impacts arising from recent and upcoming air quality controls, and the greater the efforts to mitigate emissions of air pollutants, the greater the improvement in air quality. •The results presented in the chapter have several implications for public health. Although air pollutant emission controls will reduce concentrations of some air pollutants (such as PM2.5 and NO2), there may be local increases in O3, which may be exacerbated during heatwaves. Therefore, provision of localised alerting and monitoring will become particularly important. Ensuring that public health professionals and other stakeholders have accessible and high quality information to provide health advice and raise awareness will continue to be important. •This chapter highlights several priority research gaps, including the need to: • develop modelling techniques that consider climate-driven changes in both pollutant emissions and meteorology at spatial resolutions sufficient to quantify exposures to improve health impact assessment projections • develop an evidence base estimating the economic benefits associated with improvements in health from air pollution reduction as a result of strategies to tackle climate change • undertake further work to consider the potential combined effects of air pollution and other environment stressors that may be affected by climate change, such as heat and aeroallergens • advance our understanding of how climate change-driven behavioural change could modify personal exposure to air pollution, such as increased time spent outdoors in warmer temperatures •The Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra), Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) and UKHSA are undertaking a comprehensive review of how to communicate air quality information. The aim is to ensure members of the public, and vulnerable groups in particular, have what they need to protect themselves. UKHSA has also been developing an Air Pollution Exposure Surveillance (APES) vulnerability indicator which aims to indicate areas where population vulnerability to air pollution is elevated

The Calcitonin and Glucocorticoids Combination: Mechanistic Insights into Their Class-Effect Synergy in Experimental Arthritis

PMCID: PMC3564948This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited

Cytokine-induced nitric oxide inhibits bone resorption by inducing apoptosis of osteoclast progenitors and suppressing osteoclast activity

Interferon- � (IFN-�) has been shown to inhibit interleukin-1 (IL-1) and tumor necrosis factor � (TNF-�) stimulated bone resorption by strongly stimulating nitric oxide (NO) synthesis. Here we studied the mechanisms underlying this inhibition. Osteoclasts were generated in 10-day cocultures of mouse osteoblasts and bone marrow cells and the effect of cytokine-induced NO on osteoclast formation and activity was determined. Stimulation of the cocultures with IL-1�, TNF- � and IFN- � markedly enhanced NO production by 50- to 70-fold, and this was found to be derived predominantly from the osteoblast cell layer. When high levels of NO were induced by cytokines during early stages of the coculture, osteoclast formation was virtually abolished and bone resorption markedly inhibited. Cytokine stimulation during the latter stages of coculture also resulted in inhibition of bone resorption, but here the effects were mainly due to an inhibitory effect on osteoclast activity. At all stages, however, the inhibitory effects of cytokines on osteoclast formation and activity were blocked by the NO-synthase inhibitor L-NMMA. Further investigations suggested that the NO-mediated inhibition of osteoclast formation was due in part to apoptosis of osteoclast progenitors. Cytokine stimulation during the early stage of the culture caused a large increase in apoptosis of bone marrow cells, and these effects were blocked by L-NMMA and enhanced by NO donors. We found no evidence of apoptosis in osteoblasts exposed to high levels of cytokine-induced NO at an