Auckland University of Technology

About: Auckland University of Technology is a education organization based out in Auckland, New Zealand. It is known for research contribution in the topics: Population & Context (language use). The organization has 4116 authors who have published 13461 publications receiving 353076 citations. The organization is also known as: AUT & AUT University.

Ethical investing in Australia: is there a financial penalty?

Abstract: This study provides new evidence on the performance and investment style of retail ethical funds in Australia. By applying a conditional multi-factor model and after controlling for investment style, time-variation in betas and home bias, we observe no evidence of significant differences in riskadjusted returns between ethical and conventional funds during 1992–2003. This result however is sensitive to the chosen time period. During 1992–1996 domestic ethical funds under-performed their conventional counterparts significantly, whereas during 1996–2003 ethical funds matched the performance of conventional funds more closely. This suggests that ethical mutual funds underwent a catching up phase, before delivering returns similar to those of conventional mutual funds. D 2005 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

The burden of neurological diseases in Europe: an analysis for the Global Burden of Disease Study 2017.

Abstract: Summary Background Neurological disorders account for a large and increasing health burden worldwide, as shown in the Global Burden of Diseases (GBD) Study 2016. Unpacking how this burden varies regionally and nationally is important to inform public health policy and prevention strategies. The population in the EU is older than that of the WHO European region (western, central, and eastern Europe) and even older than the global population, suggesting that it might be particularly vulnerable to an increasing burden of age-related neurological disorders. We aimed to compare the burden of neurological disorders in the EU between 1990 and 2017 with those of the WHO European region and worldwide. Methods The burden of neurological disorders was calculated for the year 2017 as incidence, prevalence, mortality, disability-adjusted life-years (DALYs), years of life lost, and years lived with disability for the countries in the EU and the WHO European region, totally and, separately. Diseases analysed were Alzheimer's disease and other dementias, epilepsy, headache (migraine and tension-type headache), multiple sclerosis, Parkinson's disease, brain cancer, motor neuron diseases, neuroinfectious diseases, and stroke. Data are presented as totals and by sex, age, year, location and socio-demographic context, and shown as counts and rates. Findings In 2017, the total number of DALYs attributable to neurological disorders was 21·0 million (95% uncertainty interval 18·5–23·9) in the EU and 41·1 million (36·7–45·9) in the WHO European region, and the total number of deaths was 1·1 million (1·09–1·14) in the EU and 1·97 million (1·95–2·01) in the WHO European region. In the EU, neurological disorders ranked third after cardiovascular diseases and cancers representing 13·3% (10·3–17·1) of total DALYs and 19·5% (18·0–21·3) of total deaths. Stroke, dementias, and headache were the three commonest causes of DALYs in the EU. Stroke was also the leading cause of DALYs in the WHO European region. During the study period we found a substantial increase in the all-age burden of neurodegenerative diseases, despite a substantial decrease in the rates of stroke and infections. The burden of neurological disorders in Europe was higher in men than in women, peaked in individuals aged 80–84 years, and varied substantially with WHO European region and country. All-age DALYs, deaths, and prevalence of neurological disorders increased in all-age measures, but decreased when using age-standardised measures in all but three countries (Azerbaijan, Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan). The decrease was mostly attributed to the reduction of premature mortality despite an overall increase in the number of DALYs. Interpretation Neurological disorders are the third most common cause of disability and premature death in the EU and their prevalence and burden will likely increase with the progressive ageing of the European population. Greater attention to neurological diseases must be paid by health authorities for prevention and care. The data presented here suggest different priorities for health service development and resource allocation in different countries. Funding European Academy of Neurology.

The road from Santa Rosalia: A faster tempo of evolution in tropical climates

Abstract: Using an appropriately designed and replicated study of a latitudinal influence on rates of evolution, we test the prediction by K. Rohde [(1992) Oikos 65, 514–527] that the tempo of molecular evolution in the tropics is greater than at higher latitudes. Consistent with this prediction we found tropical plant species had more than twice the rate of molecular evolution as closely related temperate congeners. Rohde’s climate-speciation hypothesis constitutes one explanation for the cause of that relationship. This hypothesis suggests that mutagenesis occurs more frequently as productivity and metabolic rates increase toward the equator. More rapid mutagenesis was then proposed as the mechanism that increases evolutionary tempo and rates of speciation. A second possible explanation is that faster rates of molecular evolution result from higher tropical speciation rates [e.g., Bromham, L. & Cardillo, M. (2003) J. Evol. Biol. 16, 200–207]. However, we found the relationship continued to hold for genera with the same number of, or more, species in temperate latitudes. This finding suggests that greater rates of speciation in the tropics do not cause higher rates of molecular evolution. A third explanation is that more rapid genetic drift might have occurred in smaller tropical species populations [Stevens, G. C. (1989) Am. Nat. 133, 240–256]. However, we targeted common species to limit the influence of genetic drift, and many of the tropical species we used, despite occurring in abundant populations, had much higher rates of molecular evolution. Nonetheless, this issue is not completely resolved by that precaution and requires further examination.