Growth Intensity Research Articles

How will mass-vaccination change COVID-19 lockdown requirements in Australia?

BackgroundTo prevent future outbreaks of COVID-19, Australia is pursuing a mass-vaccination approach in which a targeted group of the population comprising healthcare workers, aged-care residents and other individuals at increased risk of exposure will receive a highly effective priority vaccine. The rest of the population will instead have access to a less effective vaccine.MethodsWe apply a large-scale agent-based model of COVID-19 in Australia to investigate the possible implications of this hybrid approach to mass-vaccination. The model is calibrated to recent epidemiological and demographic data available in Australia, and accounts for several components of vaccine efficacy.FindingsWithin a feasible range of vaccine efficacy values, our model supports the assertion that complete herd immunity due to vaccination is not likely in the Australian context. For realistic scenarios in which herd immunity is not achieved, we simulate the effects of mass-vaccination on epidemic growth rate, and investigate the requirements of lockdown measures applied to curb subsequent outbreaks. In our simulations, Australia’s vaccination strategy can feasibly reduce required lockdown intensity and initial epidemic growth rate by 43% and 52%, respectively. The severity of epidemics, as measured by the peak number of daily new cases, decreases by up to two orders of magnitude under plausible mass-vaccination and lockdown strategies.InterpretationThe study presents a strong argument for a large-scale vaccination campaign in Australia, which would substantially reduce both the intensity of future outbreaks and the stringency of non-pharmaceutical interventions required for their suppression.FundingAustralian Research Council; National Health and Medical Research Council.

Tunable blue-shift of the charge-transfer photoluminescence in tetrapod-shaped CdTe/CdSe nanocrystals

The photoluminescence peculiarities and the excited state absorption of the tetrapod-shaped CdTe/CdSe nanocrystals are studied in the single-photon excitation regime. A giant blue shift (≈ 129 meV) of the charge-transfer photoluminescence spectra is revealed for the first time in the molecular nanoscale donor–acceptor system with the pump intensity growth. The photoluminescence lines of the CdTe and CdSe domains, originating from direct electron-hole transitions were observed in addition to the tunable photoluminescence across the indirect gap. Differential transmission spectra reveal the superposition of the exciton’s transitions bleaching originating from different structural domains of the CdTe/CdSe nanocrystals, which confirms the observed separated excitonic emission bands in the photoluminescence spectra. The observed features of the photoluminescence and differential transmission spectra allow to determine and to analyze possible exciton’s relaxation channels in the CdTe/CdSe nanocrystals. Obtained results make nanocrystals in the form of nano-tetrapods promising for implementation in optoelectronic nanodevices.

WTO accession and firm exports in developing economies

The World Trade Organization (WTO) has a significant impact on international business activities due to its actions and decisions that set the rules of international trade. However, our understanding of how WTO affects firm behavior is limited. Taking advantage of the variations in entry dates to the World Trade Organization, we perform difference-in-differences estimation to examine whether a country’s accession to the WTO significantly increases firms’ export intensity. In addition, we apply insights from the threat-rigidity hypothesis to argue that firms’ reactions to supranational institutions vary depending on how managers perceive the institutional environment. We find that firms from countries that enter the WTO experience significantly higher growth in export intensity when their managers have positive perceptions about domestic institutions. In contrast, accession to the WTO does not significantly increase firms’ export intensity whose managers perceive domestic institutions as obstacles. Our findings suggest that supranational institutions, such as the WTO, play an important role in the strategic decisions that firms make. However, the full value of such institutions can only be realized if the managers are aware and positively disposed to engage with these institutions.

Concentrated dispersed magnet with different relative lengths: Basic properties and characteristics (on the example of a polyspherical structure)

Attention is drawn to the lack of experimental data allowing one to judge the magnetic properties of concentrated disperse magnets with different values of the ratio of the cylindrical sample’s length L to its diameter D. Data have been obtained for magnetic induction, permeability, susceptibility, and magnetization for granular samples in the form of a backfill of ferromagnetic balls at different magnitudes of L/D (1–16). It has been found that within the accepted range of intensity of the magnetizing field equals 9–47 kA/m, the permeability and susceptibility correspond to values in the region of weakly expressed extrema of their field dependences and therefore are almost stable, while the field dependences of induction and magnetization demonstrate a noticeable (only with slightly decreasing intensity) growth, what indicates the absence of magnetic saturation of granular (as opposed to solid) magnets. It has been shown that with an increase in L/D the studied magnetic parameters grow to a certain value L/D = [L/D] (at L/D ≥ [L/D] the magnetic properties of the sample correspond to its potential magnetic properties, i.e. its quasi-solid material). For such samples, this transitional (to a certain extent criterion) value of L/D is [L/D] = 10–12, i.e. significantly lower than for solid samples, in particular, made of steel. The exponential dependence of the demagnetizing factor N of “short” samples (1 ≤ L/D < [L/D]) on such an argument as the power function L/D with an exponent of power equals 0.5–0.6.

WTO Accession and Exports: Firm Level Evidence from Developing Economies

The World Trade Organization (WTO) has a significant impact on international business activities due to its actions and decisions that set the rules of international trade. However, our understanding of how WTO affects firm behavior is limited. Taking advantage of the variations in entry dates to the World Trade Organization, we perform difference-in-differences estimation to examine whether a country’s accession to the WTO significantly increases firms’ export intensity. In addition, we apply insights from the threat-rigidity hypothesis to argue that firms’ reactions to supranational institutions vary depending on how managers perceive the institutional environment. We find that firms from countries that enter the WTO experience significantly higher growth in export intensity when their managers have positive perceptions about domestic institutions. In contrast, accession to the WTO does not significantly increase firms’ export intensity whose managers perceive domestic institutions as obstacles. Our findings suggest that supranational institutions, such as the WTO, play an important role in the strategic decisions that firms make. However, the full value of such institutions can only be realized if the managers are aware and positively disposed to engage with these institutions.

Stochastic resonance of volatility influenced by price periodic information in financial market

General researches show that all kinds of random risk information and periodic information in the financial system are mainly transmitted to the asset price through influencing the volatility, thus impacting the whole market. So can the periodic information and random factors in the price be transmitted to the volatility in reverse and cause volatility changes? Hence, in this paper, we investigate the stochastic resonance of volatility which is influenced by price periodic information in financial market, based on our proposed periodic Brownian Motion model and absolute return volatility. The parameter estimation of the periodic Brownian Motion model is obtained by minimizing the mean square deviation between the theoretical and empirical return distributions for the CSI300 data set. The good agreements of the probability density functions of the price returns, realized volatility (RV) at 5 minutes, RV at 15 minutes and absolute return volatility between theoretical and empirical calculation are found. After simulating the absolute return volatility and signal power amplification (SPA) of volatility via periodic Brownian Motion model, the results indicated that (i) single and double inverse resonance phenomena can be observed in the function of SPA versus random information intensity or economic growth rate; (ii) multiple inverse resonance phenomena can be also observed for SPA versus frequency of periodic information. The results imply that the transmission of stochastic factors and periodic information is not only from the volatility to the price, but also from the price to the volatility.

Method of salivary histatins determination.

Histatins are the most significant antimicrobial peptides (AMP) of saliva and there are 12 types of such AMP. Histatin molecules contain relatively high percent of histidine and tyrosine residues. This property allows to use well known from organic chemistry Pauly reaction for detection of protein bounded histidine and tyrosine residues (BHT), which are in fact characterize the summary content of all histatins in saliva. Aim of the present study was comparison of BHT with antimicrobial activity of salivary AMP fraction in patients with inflammatory diseases of upper airways (IDUA). Group of examined persons include 28 patients with different diagnoses: chronic pharyngitis (n=11), chronic tonsillitis (n=7), nasopharyngitis (n=5), pollinosis (n=5). Degree of intensity of inflammatory symptoms was estimated in balls. The algorithm of BHT analysis include following steps: freezing - thawing of saliva; removal of microparticles by centrifugation; separation of fraction lower than100 kDa; dialysis for free amino acids removal; Pauly reaction carrying out. Antimicrobial activities of saliva and its low molecular fractions were estimated towards Candida albicans cells by the spectrophotometric method with bromocresol purpur. Analysis of saliva sediments for coccoid microbiota was carried out by PCR method. Pauly reaction for histatins estimation in saliva of IDUA patients use here for the first time. The histatins levels (BHT) were significantly correlated with the intensity of inflammatory symptoms (r=0,975) and activity of low molecular salivary fraction (AMP activity) (r=0,824). The AMP activity/ BHT ratio, i.e. antimicrobial activity of histatin unit, decreased together with growth of inflammatory symptoms intensity (r=-0,944). Any considerable differences in coccoid microbiota frequency of finding at different diagnoses were not detected. The S. aureus frequency of occurrence was connected neither with inflammatory symptoms intensity (r=0,118), nor with BHT concentration (r=0,318). However S. pyogenes and S. pneumoniae frequencies of occurrence demonstrated the invert correlation towards these indexes: (r=-0,627/-0,614) and (r=-0,827/-0,864). Probably at the exacerbation forms of IDUA the S. pyogenes and S. pneumoniae growth controlled by high levels of histatins.

Do macroeconomic uncertainty and financial development cause environmental degradation? Evidence from an emerging economy

PurposeThe main purpose of this paper is to empirically investigate the effect of macroeconomic uncertainty on environmental degradation in India over the period 1971–2016. Additionally, this paper considers the role of financial development, energy consumption intensity and economic growth in explaining the variation of environmental degradation in India.Design/methodology/approachThe authors applied the power generalized autoregressive conditional heteroskedasticity model to measure inflation volatility and used it as a proxy for macroeconomic uncertainty. From a methodological perspective, the authors employ the autoregressive distributive lag bound testing model to establish the long-run equilibrium association between the variables. The Toda–Yamamoto causality approach has been used to examine the direction of causality between the variables.FindingsFindings suggest that macroeconomic uncertainty exerts a positive effect on carbon emissions, indicating that higher inflation volatility, as a proxy for macroeconomic uncertainty, hinders India's environmental quality. Financial development, economic growth and energy consumption intensity have also adversely impacted environmental quality.Practical implicationsThe negative association between macroeconomic uncertainty and environmental degradation calls for some stringent policy actions. While formulating policies to promote growth and maintain stability, policymakers and government stakeholders should take into account the environmental effects of macroeconomic policies. There is a need to implement more environmental-friendly technologies in the financial sector that could reduce carbon emission.Originality/valueTo the best of the authors' knowledge, this study is the first that considers the role of macroeconomic uncertainty along with financial development and energy intensity in an emerging economy like India.

Convection of Viscoplastic Fluid in Square Cavity Heated from the Sidewalls

The paper is devoted to the numerical study of two-dimensional convective motion of a viscoplastic fluid in a closed region under lateral heating. The problem is solved numerically using the ANSYS Fluent software. The Bulkeley-Herschel model describing viscoplastic behavior was chosen as a non-Newtonian fluid model. Under certain rheological parameters, this model is reduced to a Newtonian fluid model, the behavior of which is also investigated as a limit case. Based on the results of the calculations, the dependence of the maximum value of the stream function in the cavity on the Rayleigh number is plotted and the evolution of the unyielded zones with an increase in the Rayleigh number is traced. The threshold value of the Rayleigh number, at which a sharp growth of the flow intensity is observed, has been determined. The calculated threshold value of the Rayleigh number for the Bulkley-Herschel liquid was found to be very close to the threshold value of the Rayleigh number at which the flow of the Bingham liquid arises, which was obtained analytically.

Spatiotemporal Evolution and Influencing Factors of China’s Agricultural Environmental Efficiency

Taking the 30 Chinese provinces in 2000–2018 as the objects, this paper measures their agricultural environmental efficiencies (AEEs) with slack-based measure (SBM) containing an undesired output. Then, the features of the spatiotemporal evolution of AEE in China were explored on ArcGIS, and the factors affecting the AEE were analyzed with a geodetector. The results show that there is a huge provincial gap in AEE across China; most provinces with a high AEE belong to eastern coastal region, while most inland provinces had a relatively low AEE. Except for a few years, the AEEs in eastern, central, and western regions changed very slightly, and the eastern region had a higher AEE level than central and western regions. The results of spatiotemporal evolution show that, with the elapse of time, the high-AEE provinces gradually shifted to the inland; the AEE trend varied from province to province; the provinces were highly polarized in terms of AEE. The AEE is mainly affected by the following factors: fiscal expenditure, fertilizer intensity, pesticide intensity, and economic growth.

Impact of energy intensity, renewable energy, and economic growth on CO2 emissions: Evidence from Africa across regions and income levels

Existing studies have widely examined the link between energy consumption, economic growth, and CO2 emissions regionally and globally across development levels. Very few studies conducted at the African level overlooked the difference in regions and income levels of the countries involved in the research. This study empirically examined the long-run impact of energy intensity, renewable energy consumption, and economic growth on CO2 emissions across regions and income levels over 50 African countries from 1980 to 2018. The most recent panel estimators, causality test, and impulse response and variance decomposition analysis were employed. The findings from panel estimators revealed that renewable energy consumption contributed to mitigating CO2 emissions, while energy intensity promoted emissions across regions and income levels, and at the African level. Economic growth affected CO2 emissions negatively at the African level but the effect was mixed across regions and income levels. The causality test confirmed bi-directional causations between CO2 emissions and its determinants in African, and some regions and income levels. Again, unidirectional causation was highly supported across regions and income levels. Moreover, results of impulse response and variance decomposition analysis showed that both energy intensity and economic growth counted higher variations of CO2 emissions, while renewable energy highly contributed to reducing emissions within 10 years. Our findings grasp new insight into country development, income levels, and regions for regional and government policymakers related to effectively mitigate CO2 emissions.

Decomposition analysis of bioresources: Implementing a competitive and sustainable bioeconomy strategy in the Baltic Sea Region

Bioeconomy development has become one of the new trends in policy design and research. This study looks at biotic resource extraction in the Baltic Sea region countries providing detailed country by country analyses of factors affecting changes in resource extraction. The study is based on the index decomposition analysis including factors related to bioeconomy strategies such as the population, share of people employed in bioeconomy, labour intensity, biotic resource extraction productivity, share of bioeconomy, export intensity, and share of bioresource export. The main factors increasing biotic resource extraction were the growth in labour material intensity, biotic extraction productivity and export intensity. However, changes in these factors differed significantly among the countries studied and had different trajectories over time depending on overall performance of the economy. These differences should be taken into account when developing national bioeconomy strategies.

Ecological signifcance of winter wheat varieties in phytosanitary optimization of agroecosystems

Mycobiota of Podolyanka and Poliska 90 winter wheat varieties seeds was found to be represented mainly by fungi of the Alternaria, Fusarium, Penicillium, Aspergillus, Chaetomium, Trichothecium genera which are characterized by various levels of pathogenicity, depending on the physiological and biochemical properties the host variety. Signifcant increase is air temperature and relative humidity during the wheat flowering and milking stage of grain ripening contributed to the spread of micromycetes of the genus Alternaria Nees. (50 %). The seeds the affected by fungi Alternaria were physiologically underdeveloped, had low energy and germination, which averaged 40 %. Plants form such seeds lag behind in growth and development. It is established that the physiological and biochemical mechanism of Podolyanka winter wheat variety stimulates mycelium radial growth and intensity of fungi Alternaria sporulation indicating the rapid reproduction of micromycetes, which contributes to the contamination of agrophytocenoses by propagative structures of the pathogen. However, the intensity of spore formation and the rate of mycelium radial growth on Poliska 90 variety seeds, was signifcantly lower. This fact gives reason to believe that the physiological and biochemical mechanism of the Poliska 90 variety plants is able to restrain the intensity of the genus Alternaria micromycetes spore formation at an ecologically safe level. It was found that the seeds of the Podolyanka and Poliska 90 winter wheat varieties are low in protein content and have high humidity. In terms of raw gluten content, they are classifed in the quality group 3. Isolates of fungi the genus Alternaria developed more intensively on the Podolyanka winter wheat variety grain, which is characterized by a lower content of protein and gluten. However the development of fungi was signifcantly lower on the Poliska 90 variety grain, which is characterized by a slightly higher content of protein and gluten. System-ecological approach to the improvement of agroecosystems in organic farming can be carried out using indicators of the variety physiological and biochemical properties interaction with physiological properties of phytopathogenic fungi, namely sporulation intensity and mycelial radial growth rate. This can increase the level of biosafety in agroecosystems and improve the quality of plant raw materials. Key words: the frequency of occurrence, mycelium radial growth, sporulation intensity, phytosanitary optimization, wheat winter agrphytocenoses.

Factors Controlling the Diversities of MJO Propagation and Intensity

AbstractThe diversity of the Madden-Julian Oscillation (MJO) in terms of its maximum intensity, zonal extent and phase speed was explored using a cluster analysis method. The zonal extent is found to be significantly correlated to the phase speed. A longer zonal extent is often associated with a faster phase speed.The diversities of zonal extent and speed are connected with distinctive interannual sea surface temperature anomaly (SSTA) distributions and associated moisture and circulation patterns over the equatorial Pacific. An El Niño–like background SSTA leads to enhanced precipitation over the central Pacific, allowing a stronger vertically overturning circulation to the east of the MJO. This promotes both a larger east-west asymmetry of column-integrated moist static energy (MSE) tendency and a greater boundary-layer moisture leading, serving as potential causes of the faster phase speed. The El Niño–like SSTA also favors the MJOs intruding further into the Pacific, causing a larger zonal extent.The intensity diversity is associated with the interannual SSTA over the Maritime Continent and background moisture condition over the tropical Indian Ocean. An observed warm SSTA over the Maritime Continent excites a local Walker cell with a subsidence over the Indian Ocean, which could decrease the background moisture, weakening the MJO intensity. The intensity difference between strong and weak events would be amplified due to distinct intensity growth speed. The faster intensity growth of a strong MJO is attributed to a greater longwave radiative heating and a greater surface latent heat flux, as both of which contribute to a greater total time change rate of the column-integrated MSE.

Industrial policy intensity, technological change, and productivity growth: Evidence from China

China has employed various industrial policies and science & technology (S&T) policies in its effort of catching up with the world technology frontier. This paper evaluates the effect of China's industrial policies and S&T policies with a newly constructed measurement of policy intensity and a national database of firm surveys. We argue that whether China's industrial policies and S&T policies contribute to productivity growth in an industry is conditioned by the relative development stage of that industry to that of the world frontier. Specifically, we argue that China's industrial policies and S&T policies contribute to greater productivity growth in globally emerging high-tech industries than in domestically catching-up and domestically mature industries. We then provide empirical evidence for our hypotheses. Our study identifies a new driver behind China's economic success in the past decades.

Similarities and disparities in urban local heat islands responsive to regular-, stable-, and counter-urbanization: A case study of Guangzhou, China

Understanding the dynamics and spatial heterogeneity of the intra-city surface heat island (herein termed the surface urban heat island, SUHI) is critical for the design of urban heat mitigation strategies. Large disparities in the spatiotemporal variations of SUHIs are anticipated under different urbanization processes. However, most previous studies have focused solely on the inter-annual spatiotemporal SUHI variations of regular urbanization, while those for stable- and counter-urbanization remain largely unknown. Based on the remote identification of these three urbanization types over Guangzhou, China, we propose a novel strategy to investigate simultaneously the spatiotemporal variations and the associated controls of SUHIs. Our results indicate that: (1) Counter-, regular-, and stable-urbanization occurs mainly over the city center, city periphery, and the in-between areas, respectively. (2) The three urbanization types all demonstrate similar and significant growth in the daytime local SUHI intensity (SUHII). (3) There are significant disparities in the contributions of controls to the inter-annual daytime SUHII trends for these three urbanization processes. For the regular urbanization, the increase of the impervious surface percentage (ISP) dominates daytime SUHII growth, while the combination of ISP and residual factors (e.g., background climate and 3D urban geometry) leads for counter urbanization. For stable urbanization, the combination of residual controls and the increase in population density is the major factor. Urban divisional management may contribute to the mitigation of intra-city SUHI. Our findings potentially advance our understanding of changes in urban thermal environment under different urbanization processes.

Study on the Relationship between Innovation Capability and Profit Growth: Based on the Impact of Environmental Policy

In order to provide suggestions forthe reform and transformation of coal mining firms, we construct regression models to analyze the impact of innovation capability. Using a sample of coal mining firms listed on the Shanghai and Shenzhen Stock Exchanges in China from 2013 to 2018, and explaining the innovation capability from three perspectives of R&D intensity, innovation level, and innovation efficiency, this paper is the first to empirically examine the relationship between innovation capability and enterprise profitability, and further investigate the impact of environmental policy on the relationship. We find that the innovation of coal mining firms can effectively promote the improvement of profit growth, especially for the coal mining firms with stronger R&D intensity and higher innovation level. After considering the constraints of environmental policy on coal mining firms, we also find that the greater the intensity of environmental policy, the stronger the positive relationship between R&D intensity and profit growth, which is the effective evidence of applying the Porter’s hypothesis to the high-polluting coal mining firms in China. The conclusions facilitate the managers of coal mining firms to further understand the impact of innovation on profitability. At the same time, the study also provides empirical evidence for policy-makers to stimulate innovation of coal mining firms from the perspective of environmental policy.

Greenhouse gas emissions intensity of food production systems and its determinants.

It is estimated that about 1/4th of all greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions may be caused by the global food system. Reducing the GHG emissions from food production is a major challenge in the context of the projected growth of the world’s population, which is increasing demand for food. In this context, the goal should be to achieve the lowest possible emission intensity of the food production system, understood as the amount of GHG emissions per unit of output. The study aimed to calculate the emission intensity of food production systems and to specify its determinants based on a panel regression model for 14 countries, which accounted for more than 65% of food production in the world between 2000 and 2014. In this article, emission intensity is defined as the amount of GHG emissions per value of global output. Research on the determinants of GHG emissions related to food production is well documented in the literature; however, there is a lack of research on the determinants of the emission intensity ratio for food production. Hence, the original contribution of this paper is the analysis of the determinants of GHG emissions intensity of food production systems. The study found the decreased of emission intensity from an average of more than 0.68 kg of CO2 equivalent per USD 1 worth of food production global output in 2000 to less than 0.46 in 2014. The determinants of emission intensity decrease included the yield of cereals, the use of nitrogen fertilizers, the agriculture material intensity, the Human Development Index, and the share of fossil fuel energy consumption in total energy use. The determinants of growth of emission intensity of food production systems included GDP per capita, population density, nitrogen fertilizer production, utilized agriculture area, share of animal production, and energy use per capita.

Comparative characteristics of human thalamus parameters in the first period of mature age and in senile age in mesocephals

The problem of demographic aging intensity growth is increasingly raised in the scientific community. Patients belonging to the senile age group have a number of reasons that reduce their quality of life, as well as reduce the effectiveness of treatment and rehabilitation. The most important information node involved in providing functions such as an integrative role in cognition, starting from learning and memory and ending with flexible adaptation is the structure of the intermediate brain – the thalamus. The aim of the study was to conduct a comparative analysis of agerelated morphometric characteristics of human thalamuses in the first period of adulthood and in old age according to magnetic resonance imaging. Material and methods. The results of morphometric study of the thalamuses of 83 people were analyzed, which were divided into two groups based on their age. Group I included 46 people of the first period of Mature age, group II included 37 people of senile age. All patients had a history of diseases and injuries of the Central/peripheral nervous system, alcohol and drug addiction, and were right-handed. The transverse, longitudinal, and vertical parameters of the thalamuses in both hemispheres of the brain were determined. Results. It was found that the parameters of the thalamus prevail in the first period of adulthood in both men and women (p&lt;0.01). At the same time, there was no statistically significant difference between the morphometric parameters of the thalamuses in the hemispheres, but there was a tendency to a predominance of linear dimensions in the left thalamus (p&gt;0.05). We found a tendency to slightly exceed the indicators of the thalamus in men in comparison with the indicators established in women (p&gt;0.05). Conclusion. The results obtained can serve as starting points as the equivalent of the anatomical age norm of the human thalamus in the first period of adulthood and senile age, which in the future will allow for a personalized approach in medical practice.

Disordered Photonic Time Crystals.

We study the propagation of electromagnetic waves in disordered photonic time crystals: spatially homogenous media whose refractive index changes randomly in time. We find that the group velocity of a pulse propagating in such media decreases exponentially, eventually coming to a complete stop, while experiencing exponential growth in intensity. These effects greatly depend on the Floquet band structure of the photonic time crystal, with the strongest sensitivity to disorder occurring in superluminal modes. Finally, we analyze the ensemble statistics and find them to coincide with those of Anderson localization, exhibiting single parameter scaling.