The aim of this study is to examine the consistency between the Balassa index and Vollrath
indices in measuring comparative advantages of the Malaysian shrimp products with other
major shrimp exporting nations as comparator. The study uses Balassa index and Vollrath
indices to measure comparative advantages of the Malaysian shrimp products. The indices then
are compared by consistency tests. Malaysia was generally not competitive in shrimp trade;
however, revealed comparative advantage (RCA) and relative export advantage (RXA) indices
show some extent of competitiveness on non-frozen shrimp product. Thailand had a remarkable
competitiveness in shrimp trade as compared to other major exporting countries. Although we
found that double-counting problem in the Balassa index is insignificant in measuring export
performance of the Malaysian shrimp sector, import could be an important variable in accessing
its trade competitiveness. Marginal import of a sector may lead to relative trade advantage (RTA)
index consistent with RCA and RXA indices. Considering exports and imports of a particular
commodity in measuring competitiveness is more consistent with the real world phenomenon
of two-way trade. Selecting measurement of comparative advantage should rigorously base
on trade behaviour of a sector as well as theoretical constructs. The competitiveness of the
Malaysian shrimp products remains unclear due to the lack of contemporary analyses backed
by formal testing procedures. The results and policy implications of this study provide
stakeholders insights into comparative advantage as well as trade position of the products.
Better measurement for revealed comparative advantage, particularly for shrimp products, is
discussed in this paper.
Farm sustainability issues are diverse but interconnected and complex. Many organizations
have begun to promote packaged sustainable agricultural practices (SAPs). Some of these
bundled SAPs (i.e. organic agriculture and integrated pest management) have long been
employed by farmers, and studied by scientists seeking to understand their response to these
alternative agricultural approaches. This paper reviews and synthesizes recent research in this
area. It identifies key explanatory factors, which frequently lead to the adoption of bundled
SAPs. Vote count analysis reveals that variables implying economic motivation and facilitation
regularly explain farmers’ behaviour. In addition, a new finding emerged, in which factors
inferring higher learning and superior management capacity provided further indicators to
adoption. In particular, the training that provided by non-governmental organizations and rural
institutions complements change agents (i.e. public extension services). While this finding is
novel, more research is required to generate better understanding of farmer reaction to bundled
SAPs, particularly dynamic ones (i.e. private standards) in which farm business sustainability
depends upon good agricultural practices being implemented.
Popliteal artery injury is the most disastrous intraoperative complication during total knee replacement. This study aims to determine the mean distance between the popliteal artery (PA) and the tibial plateau in normal and osteoarthritic patients who underwent Dual Energy CT Angiography (CTA) of the lower limb.
Materials and Methods: All CTA lower limb examinations from January 2013 to October 2014 were retrospectively reviewed. The distance between the PA the tibial plateau distance and the thickness of popliteus muscle were electronically measured. We used modified Kellgren and Lawrence’s Classification to grade the osteoarthritis in patients who underwent CT examinations regardless of symptoms.
Results: There were a total of 126 patients who underwent CTA (93 males and 33 females). 54 of them were Malays, 47 Indians, and 24 Chinese. The mean age of patients was 58 years (range 16 to 92). The mean PA-totibial plateau distance was 9.9 mm for the right lower limb (range 2.5 mm to 17.2 mm) and 10.24 mm for the left (range 5.5 mm to 15.4 mm). There were no significant correlations between PA-to-tibial plateau distance with osteoarthritis grade, age, gender, and racial origin (P > 0.05); however, there was a positive
correlation between PA-to-tibial plateau distances with popliteus muscle thickness (P = 0.000).
Conclusion: Osteoarthritic condition in the knee does not reduce the popliteal artery to the tibial plateau distance. Hence, a higher osteoarthritic grade does not impose additional risks with regards to popliteal artery to tibial plateau distance, with relatively similar arterial injury risks compared to normal knees.