Financial system architecture and the patterns of international trade

Countries differ on the extent to which their financial system relies on banks or on the financial market. We offer a model featuring a possible two way relationship between countries’ financial system architecture and their comparative advantage. Countries specialising in bank dependent sectors favour the development of the banking sector. Simultaneously, countries with more efficient capital markets develop comparative advantage in sectors with strong dependence on market finance. To empirically investigate our model’s predictions, we construct a measure of sector bank dependence and establish a strong relationship between countries’ comparative advantage and their financial system architecture

Vertical intra-industry trade and differences in endowments: revisiting the empirical evidence

This paper investigates the relationship between differences in endowments and different types of trade, in particular vertical intra-industry trade (VIIT). We build a general equilibrium framework based on a hybrid of the Chamberlain-Heckscher-Ohlin and the specific factors models that generates predictions about how the shares of different types of intra- and interindustry or net trade flows change with differences in endowments. We also present some empirical evidence for European Union (EU) trade with 51 major trading partners. The econometric models of the determinants of the different types of trade confirm the theoretical predictions, namely that the effect of cross country differences in the endowments of trading partners on the share of vertical IIT in total bilateral trade differs from their effect on both horizontal IIT and net trade. The share of horizontal IIT (net trade) decreases (increases) for all increases in absolute endowment increases, but the share of vertical IIT can both increase and decrease with increases in endowment differences

Effect of a concussion on subsequent baseline SCAT performance in professional rugby players : a retrospective cohort study in global elite Rugby Union

Objectives This study assessed whether concussion affects subsequent baseline performance in professional rugby players. Annual baseline screening tests are used to guide return-to-play decisions and concussion diagnosis during subsequent screens. It is important that baseline performances are appropriate and valid for the duration of a season and unaffected by factors unrelated to the current head impact event. One such factor may be a concussion following baseline assessment. Setting: The World Rugby concussion management database for global professional Rugby Union. Participants: 501 professional rugby players with two baseline Sports Concussion Assessment Tools (SCATs) and an intervening concussion (CONC) were compared with 1190 control players with successive annual SCAT5s and no diagnosed concussion (CONT). Primary and secondary outcome measures: Symptom endorsement, cognitive and balance performance during annual SCAT baseline assessments. Results: Players with a diagnosed concussion (CONC) endorsed fewer symptoms (change −0.42, 95% CI −0.75 to −0.09), and reported lower symptom severity scores during their second assessment (T2, p<0.001) than non-concussed players (CONT). Concussed players also improved Digits Backward and Final Concentration scores in T2 (p<0.001). Tandem gait time was improved during T2 in CONT. No other sub-mode differences were observed in either group. Conclusions: Reduced symptom endorsement and improved cognitive performance after concussion may be the result of differences in the motivation of previously concussed players to avoid exclusion from play, leading to under-reporting of symptoms and greater effort in cognitive tests. Improved cognitive performance may be the result of familiarity with the tests as a result of greater exposure to concussion screening. The changes are small and unlikely to have clinical significance in most cases, though clinicians should be mindful of possible reasons, possibly repeating sub-modes and investigating players whose baseline scores change significantly after concussion. The findings do not necessitate a change in the sport’s concussion management policy

Baseline SCAT performance in men and women: comparison of baseline concussion screens between 6288 elite men's and 764 women's rugby players

Objective: This study compared Sports Concussion Assessment Tool (SCAT) performance in elite male (6288 players) and female (764 players) rugby players, to determine whether reference limits used for the management and diagnosis of concussion should differ between sexes. Design: Cross-sectional census sample. Setting: Data from World Rugby's Head Injury Assessment management system were analyzed. This data set covers global professional rugby. Participants: All professional players who underwent baseline SCAT testing as part of World Rugby's concussion management requirement formed the study cohort. Ten thousand seven hundred fifty-four SCAT assessments from 6288 elite male rugby players and 1071 assessments from 764 elite female players were analyzed. Intervention: Elite men and women rugby players are independent variables. Main Outcome Measures: Sports Concussion Assessment Tool performance, including symptoms endorsed, cognitive submode performance, and balance performance. Results: Women endorsed significantly more symptoms, with greater symptom severity, than men (relative ratio 1.34, 95% confidence interval, 1.25-1.45 women vs men). Women outperformed men in cognitive submodes with the exception of immediate memory and delayed recall and made fewer balance errors than men during the modified Balance Error Scoring System. Clinical reference limits, defined as submode score achieved by the worst-performing 50% of the cohort, did not differ between men and women. Conclusions: Women and men perform differently during SCAT baseline testing, although differences are small and do not affect either the baseline or clinical reference limits that identify abnormal test results for most submodes. The greater endorsement of symptoms by women suggests increased risk of adverse concussion outcomes and highlights the importance of accurate evaluation of any symptom endorsement at baseline

Diagnostic utility of new SCAT5 neurological screen sub-tests

Background The Sports Concussion Assessment Tool (SCAT) is recommended to screen for concussion following head impact events in elite sport. The most recent 5th edition (SCAT5) included a ‘rapid neurological screen’ which introduced new subtests examining comprehension, passive neck movement, and diplopia. This study evaluated the additional diagnostic value of these new subtests. Methods A prospective cohort study was performed in the Pro14 elite Rugby Union competition between September 2018 and January 2020. The SCAT5 was administered by the team doctor to players undergoing off-field screening for concussion during a medical room assessment. Sensitivity, specificity, false negatives, and positives were examined for SCAT5 comprehension, passive neck movement, and diplopia subtests. The reference standard was a final diagnosis of concussion, established by serial standardised clinical assessments over 48 h. Results Ninety-three players undergoing off-field screening for concussion were included. Sensitivity and specificity of the comprehension, passive neck movement, and diplopia subtests were 0, 8, 5% and 0, 91, 97%, respectively (concussion prevalence 63%). No players had any abnormality in comprehension. No players had abnormal passive neck movement or diplopia in the absence of abnormalities in other SCAT5 sub-components. Conclusions The new SCAT5 neurological screen subtests are normal in the majority of players undergoing off-field concussion screening and appear to lack diagnostic utility over and above other SCAT5 subtests

Symptom presentation and evolution in the first 48 hours after injury are associated with return to play after concussion in elite Rugby Union

Background Return to play (RTP) in elite rugby is managed using a 6-stage graduated RTP protocol, which can result in clearance to play within 1 week of injury. We aimed to explore how symptom, cognitive, and balance presentation and evolution during concussion screens 2 h (head injury assessment (HIA) 2) and 48 h (HIA3) after injury were associated with time to RTP) to identify whether a more conservative graduated RTP may be appropriate. Methods A retrospective cohort study was conducted in 380 concussed rugby players from elite men's rugby over 3 consecutive seasons. Players were classified as shorter or longer returns, depending on whether RTP occurred within 7 days (allowing them to be considered to play the match 1 week after injury) or longer than 8 days, respectively. Symptom, cognitive, and balance performance during screens was assessed relative to baseline (normal or abnormal) and to the preceding screen (improving or worsening). Associations between sub-test abnormalities and RTP time were explored using odds ratios (OR, longer vs. shorter). Median day absence was compared between players with abnormal or worsening results and those whose results were normal or improving. Results Abnormal symptom results during screens 2 and 48 h after concussion were associated with longer return time (HIA2: OR = 2.21, 95% confidence interval (95%CI): 1.39–3.50; HIA3: OR = 3.30, 95%CI: 1.89–5.75). Worsening symptom number or severity from the time of injury to 2h and 48 h post-injury was associated with longer return (HIA2: OR = 2.49, 95%CI: 1.36–4.58; HIA3: OR = 3.34, 95%CI: 1.10–10.15. Median days absence was greater in players with abnormal symptom results at both HIA2 and HIA3. Cognitive and balance performance were not associated with longer return and did not affect median days absence. Conclusion Symptom presentation and evolution within 48 h of concussion were associated with longer RTP times. This may guide a more conservative approach to RTP, while still adhering to individualized concussion management principles

Rift structure and sediment infill of hyperextended continental crust: insights from 3D seismic and well data (Xisha Trough, South China Sea)

Three‐dimensional seismic and well data from the deepwater Xisha Trough are used to investigate the rift structure and sediment infill of a region formed adjacently to the initial oceanic ridge of the South China Sea (SCS). The high‐quality data permitted a detailed analysis of features such as: (1) detachment faults soling out at the Moho, (2) rotated and thinned continental blocks covered by thick sediment, and (3) changes in the location of basin depocenters resulting from detachment faulting. During the continental rifting phase (Eocene to earliest Oligocene), faulting was broadly distributed in Xisha Trough and resulted in the generation of isolated grabens/half‐grabens filled by proximal sediment sources. During continental breakup in the Northwest Ocean Sector of SCS (Oligocene), extension became restricted to a narrow region where highly tilted continental blocks and thin crust were formed. Sediment was, at that time, fed to distal depocenters, which are presently bounded by listric faults rooted in a basal detachment. Later in a second stage (early Miocene), synchronously with continental breakup in the Southwest Ocean Sector of the SCS, the study area was blanketed by thick sediment. During the two continental breakup events, the hyperextended Xisha Trough was affected by closely spaced, small‐scale faults rather than large basement‐related structures. Our study highlights the effect of continental breakup as a way to broaden sediment influx from multiple sources into deepwater basins. As a corollary, this work recognizes two distinct breakup sequences in the Xisha Trough, and concludes on their geodynamic significance to the SCS

The photochemistry of N-p-toluenesulfonyl peptides: the peptide bond as an electron donor

The scope of photobiological processes that involve absorbers within a protein matrix may be limited by the vulnerability of the peptide group to attack by highly reactive redox centers consequent upon electronic excitation. We have explored the nature of this vulnerability by undertaking comprehensive product analyses of aqueous photolysates of 12 N-p-toluene-sulfonyl peptides with systematically selected structures. The results indicate that degradation includes a major pathway that is initiated by intramolecular electron transfer in which the peptide bond serves as electron donor, and the data support the likelihood of a relay process in dipeptide derivatives