"A few good men": Public sector audit in the Swan River Colony, 1828-1835

The appointment of the Auditor General to undertake public sector audit is the primary instrument used to safeguard public finances in most contemporary Westminster-based democracies. It is axiomatic that the independence of the Auditor General from executive government is a critical element in ensuring the effectiveness of the role, yet this separation is a relatively recent phenomenon. Those responsible for nineteenth century public sector audit in the Australian colonies operated in what would today be considered an unacceptable environment, with little, if any, independence from the executive arm of government. Yet, while several other Australian colonies suffered from the mismanagement of government finances, there is nothing to show that the Swan River Colony experienced much more than clerical errors and minor administrative oversights. In this article, we explore the extent to which satisfactory public financial management in the Swan River Colony occurred as a result of both good financial management systems (in the context of the era) and the appointment of competent and ethical administrators – “a few good men”

Modelling mammalian energetics: the heterothermy problem

Global climate change is expected to have strong effects on the world’s flora and fauna. As a result, there has been a recent increase in the number of meta-analyses and mechanistic models that attempt to predict potential responses of mammals to changing climates. Many models that seek to explain the effects of environmental temperatures on mammalian energetics and survival assume a constant body temperature. However, despite generally being regarded as strict homeotherms, mammals demonstrate a large degree of daily variability in body temperature, as well as the ability to reduce metabolic costs either by entering torpor, or by increasing body temperatures at high ambient temperatures. Often, changes in body temperature variability are unpredictable, and happen in response to immediate changes in resource abundance or temperature. In this review we provide an overview of variability and unpredictability found in body temperatures of extant mammals, identify potential blind spots in the current literature, and discuss options for incorporating variability into predictive mechanistic models

Maternal and paternal genomes differentially affect myofibre characteristics and muscle weights of bovine fetuses at midgestation

Postnatal myofibre characteristics and muscle mass are largely determined during fetal development and may be significantly affected by epigenetic parent-of-origin effects. However, data on such effects in prenatal muscle development that could help understand unexplained variation in postnatal muscle traits are lacking. In a bovine model we studied effects of distinct maternal and paternal genomes, fetal sex, and non-genetic maternal effects on fetal myofibre characteristics and muscle mass. Data from 73 fetuses (Day153, 54% term) of four genetic groups with purebred and reciprocal cross Angus and Brahman genetics were analyzed using general linear models. Parental genomes explained the greatest proportion of variation in myofibre size of Musculus semitendinosus (80–96%) and in absolute and relative weights of M. supraspinatus, M. longissimus dorsi, M. quadriceps femoris and M. semimembranosus (82–89% and 56–93%, respectively). Paternal genome in interaction with maternal genome (P<0.05) explained most genetic variation in cross sectional area (CSA) of fast myotubes (68%), while maternal genome alone explained most genetic variation in CSA of fast myofibres (93%, P<0.01). Furthermore, maternal genome independently (M. semimembranosus, 88%, P<0.0001) or in combination (M. supraspinatus, 82%; M. longissimus dorsi, 93%; M. quadriceps femoris, 86%) with nested maternal weight effect (5–6%, P<0.05), was the predominant source of variation for absolute muscle weights. Effects of paternal genome on muscle mass decreased from thoracic to pelvic limb and accounted for all (M. supraspinatus, 97%, P<0.0001) or most (M. longissimus dorsi, 69%, P<0.0001; M. quadriceps femoris, 54%, P<0.001) genetic variation in relative weights. An interaction between maternal and paternal genomes (P<0.01) and effects of maternal weight (P<0.05) on expression of H19, a master regulator of an imprinted gene network, and negative correlations between H19 expression and fetal muscle mass (P<0.001), suggested imprinted genes and miRNA interference as mechanisms for differential effects of maternal and paternal genomes on fetal muscle.Ruidong Xiang, Mani Ghanipoor-Samami, William H. Johns, Tanja Eindorf, David L. Rutley, Zbigniew A. Kruk, Carolyn J. Fitzsimmons, Dana A. Thomsen, Claire T. Roberts, Brian M. Burns, Gail I. Anderson, Paul L. Greenwood, Stefan Hiendlede

TESTING MODALITY IS VITAL TO DETECT PERFORMANCE CHANGES IN OVERREACHING RESISTANCE EXERCISE

Justin Nicoll1, Andrew C. Fry1, Loren Z. F. Chiu2, Brian K. Schilling3 & Lawrence W. Weiss3, FACSM 1University of Kansas, Lawrence, Kansas; 2University of Alberta, Edmonton, Alberta, Canada; 3University of Memphis, Memphis, Tennessee Non-functional overreaching (NFOR) is detrimental to resistance exercise (RE) performance. Research concerning sensitive and sport specific methods that identify NFOR is sparse, and inconsistencies of results may be due to differences in testing modalities. PURPOSE: The purpose of this study was to compare muscle performance using different testing modalities (dynamic vs. isometric) after high power RE overreaching (OR). METHODS: As part of a larger dietary supplementation study, seventeen men (n=17; X±SD; age: 22.8±3.3yrs) were randomly assigned to a supplement (SUPP; n=8; body mass: 88.28±16.7kg; bodyfat: 11.7±6.4%), placebo (PL: n=3; bodymass: 86.66±25.7kg; bodyfat: 12.9±10.8%), or control (CON; n=6; body mass: 76.63±8.4kg, bodyfat: 11.3±6.8%) group. All groups participated in two weeks of normal training. After normal training, SUPP and PL performed OR for one week, while CON continued normal training. External mean power (MP), force (MF), and velocity (MV) were determined for the barbell squat exercise at 70% 1-RM load. Maximum isometric force, and rate of force development were determined using the isometric knee extension exercise on leg-extension machine interfaced with a force transducer. Performance data was collected at baseline (BL), after two weeks of normal training (Pre-OR), after OR phase (Post-OR), and after one week of recovery (POST). A 3x4 (group x time) repeated-measures ANOVA with Fisher LSD post-hoc was used to determine differences between groups and time. Significance was set at pRESULTS: There were no significant differences in knee extension variables (p\u3e0.05). MF was higher in PL at Post-OR compared to BL and Pre-OR (2037 ± 626N vs. 1626±40N & 1581±92N; p-1 vs 78.7±11.3cm.s-1 & 75.3±6.7cm.s-1; p-1 vs 70.4±2.9cm.s-1 & 69.0±6.4cm.s-1; p0.05). CONCLUSION: Only dynamic RE (barbell squat) was sensitive to detect decreased performance compared to isometric RE (knee extension) in overreached subjects. Similarly, it appears power and velocity are more adversely affected by OR than measures of maximal force. Funding provided by Nutricia