Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Integration of conservation agriculture in smallholder farming systems of southern Africa: identification of key entry points

A component-omission experiment based on the principle of conservation agriculture (CA) was established on smallholder farms for three seasons in Murehwa and Hwedza districts, Zimbabwe; Barue district in Mozambique; Balaka district and Chitedze Research Station in Malawi, and Monze district in Zambia to identify strategies for improving crop productivity and livelihoods for smallholder farmers. The objective of the experiment was to evaluate the effect of tillage, residue retention, fertiliser application and weed control on maize yield. In addition, the study analysed possible combinations of these factors that could provide a sustainable entry point for intensification through CA. Results showed that fertilisation had the strongest effect on crop yield in both tillage systems; adequate fertilisation is therefore key to success in CA. Retention of crop harvest residues increased yield in no-tillage systems; no-tillage without residues depressed yield by 50% when compared with yields of conventional tillage. A step-wise integration of CA into the smallholder farming systems is proposed as a possible strategy to avoid new constraints on smallholder farms. If resources are limiting, farmers may apply all principles on small areas to overcome the initial demand in resources (labour, fertiliser and residues), and once productivity is raised, they can expand.
Efficiency of Dispatch ® and Infiltrator ® Cardiac Infusion Catheters in Arterial Localization of Nanoparticles in a Porcine Coronary Model of Restenosis

Localized intramural delivery of sustained release biodegradable nanoparticles containing an antiproliferative agent could provide prolonged drug effect at the site of vascular injury that could inhibit the proliferation of smooth muscle cells and hence restenosis. The efficiency of arterial localization of nanoparticles is crucial in maximizing the drug effect in the target tissue. Therefore, the objective of the present study was to determine the comparative efficiency of the Dispatch ® and the Infiltrator ® cardiac infusion catheters to localize nanoparticles in the arterial wall. Following a standard balloon angioplasty procedure on the left anterior descending artery (LAD) in a porcine coronary model of restenosis, a suspension of nanoparticles containing a fluorescent marker was infused at the site of injury using either the Dispatch ® or the Infiltrator ® catheter. One hour following the infusion, animals were sacrificed and the nanoparticle levels in the LAD and other tissue were analyzed. The Dispatch ® catheter resulted in 3.3 folds greater efficiency of nanoparticle localization in the LAD than the Infiltrator ® catheter (309 ± 124 vs. 93 ± 43 μ g/g of tissue, n =6 for Dispatch ® and n =5 for Infiltrator ®, p =0.082, t -test). It is estimated that about 2% of the arterial volume can be displaced with the nanoparticle infusion. Fluorescence microscopy of the cross-sections of the LAD revealed greater fluorescence activity in the intimal layer with both the catheters, however the arteries infused using the Dispatch ® catheter demonstrated relatively higher degree of fluorescence activity in the medial and adventitial layers. The transmission electron microscopy of the arterial sections demonstrated infiltration of nanoparticles in the arterial wall and the histological analysis of the sections demonstrated no apparent damage to the endothelium due to the infusion of nanoparticles.
Between Risk and Comfort: Representations of Adventure Tourism in Sweden and Switzerland

The aim of this study is to analyse how adventure is constructed and represented as an experience to purchase and to examine the particularities of a process of commodification of adventure transforming a theoretical concept into a range of activities labelled as “adventure”. Sweden and Switzerland are two countries that offer adventure tourism through similar activities but yet in a different geographical and cultural context. Written messages produced by the national tourism boards of Sweden and Switzerland are analysed using a reading grid that incorporates the main components of the concept of adventure tourism as identified in the literature. The theoretical foundations of adventure are compared with its empirical foundations once translated into experiences to purchase. The analysis reveals that the two sets of discourses mostly gravitate around the same themes: first, a strong emphasis on safety and comfort but paradoxically on thrill as well, second, an adventure represented as a unique, authentic and sometimes even spiritual experience that almost everyone can access, and third, surprisingly no reference made in the promotion material to two notions essential to the theoretical concept of adventure: risk and uncertainty.
Current industrial practices of assessing permeability and P-glycoprotein interaction

Combination of the in vitro models that are high throughput but less predictive and the in vivo models that are low throughput but more predictive is used effectively to evaluate the intestinal permeability and transport characteristics of a large number of drug candidates during lead selection and lead optimization processes. Parallel artificial membrane permeability assay and Caco-2 cells are the most frequently used in vitro models to assess intestinal permeability. The popularity of these models stems from their potential for high throughput, cost effectiveness, and adequate predictability of absorption potential in humans. However, several caveats associated with these models (eg, poor predictability for transporter-mediated and paracellularly absorbed compounds, significant nonspecific binding to cells/devices leading to poor recovery, variability associated with experimental factors) need to be considered carefully to realize their full potential. P-glycoprotein, among other pharmaceutically relevant transporters, has been well demonstrated to be the major determinant of drug disposition. The review article presents an objective analysis of the permeability and transporter models currently being used in the pharmaceutical industry and could help guide the discovery scientists in implementing these models in an optimal fashion.
Fibrinogen synthesized by cancer cells augments the proliferative effect of fibroblast growth factor‐2 (FGF‐2)

Summary. Background: Fibroblast growth factor (FGF)‐2 is a critical growth factor in normal and malignant cell proliferation and tumor‐associated angiogenesis. Fibrinogen and fibrin bind to FGF‐2 and modulate FGF‐2 functions. Furthermore, we have shown that extrahepatic epithelial cells are capable of endogenous production of fibrinogen.
What do we really know about the ubiquitin-proteasome pathway in muscle atrophy?

Studies of many different rodent models of muscle wasting have indicated that accelerated proteolysis via the ubiquitin-proteasome pathway is the principal cause of muscle atrophy induced by fasting, cancer cachexia, metabolic acidosis, denervation, disuse, diabetes, sepsis, burns, hyperthyroidism and excess glucocorticoids. However, our understanding about how muscle proteins are degraded, and how the ubiquitin-proteasome pathway is activated in muscle under these conditions, is still very limited. The identities of the important ubiquitin-protein ligases in skeletal muscle, and the ways in which they recognize substrates are still largely unknown. Recent in-vitro studies have suggested that one set of ubquitination enzymes, E214K and E3α, which are responsible for the ‘N-end rule’ system of ubiquitination, plays an important role in muscle, especially in catabolic states. However, their functional significance in degrading different muscle proteins is still unclear. This review focuses on the many gaps in our understanding of the functioning of the ubiquitin-proteasome pathway in muscle atrophy, and highlights the strengths and limitations of the different experimental approaches used in such studies.
Personal strategic alliances: enhancing the scientific and technological contributions of university faculty in Malaysia

Scientific and technological human capital is a critical element for the economic and social advancement of countries in the developing world. Using Malaysia as an example, this paper examines the relationship between the research productivity of university faculty and human capital development with a specific focus on personal strategic alliances. The results show that educational attainment, location at a designated research university, and consulting experience positively influence faculty publication productivity. Furthermore, alliances established through consulting, applied research, and entrepreneurial experiences are critical for the development of new technologies stemming from university research. Malaysia's experience may hold lessons for developing countries: the full development potential of human capital investments may only be realized by simultaneously strengthening and supporting personal strategic alliances with communities outside academia.
ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT THROUGH SECOND HOME DEVELOPMENT: EVIDENCE FROM SOUTH AFRICA

This investigation aims to make a contribution towards addressing the general lack of academic reflection on second homes in South Africa. In particular, it aims to provide insight into the economic impact of second home development on smaller settlements in remote rural towns in the country. While the empirical evidence demonstrates the unique development characteristics and impact of South African second home development, the investigation also highlights the stimulation of new capital inflow, employment creation and property price appreciation.
Engaging with Startups to Enhance Corporate Innovation

When it comes to agility, startups have an edge over large corporations—whereas large corporations sit on resources which startups can only dream of. The combination of entrepreneurial activity with corporate ability seems like a perfect match, but can be elusive to achieve. This article examines how large corporations from the tech industry have begun to tap into entrepreneurial innovation from startups. Prominent examples are used to inductively derive a set of four models commonly used to engage with startups and to describe their characteristics, challenges, and rationales. While corporate equity is the key mechanism behind more established models, newer approaches replace equity with shared technology to connect both worlds with fewer organizational costs and greater speed and agility. This article presents a typology of corporate mechanisms to engage with startups that balance speed and agility against control and strategic direction, to map the ways companies can bridge the gap between themselves and the startup world.
Fiscal Decentralisation, Chinese Style

This paper analyses the effect of fiscal decentralisation on health outcomes in China using a panel data set with nationwide county-level data. We find that counties in more fiscally decentralised provinces have lower infant mortality rates than counties where the provincial government remains the main spending authority, if certain conditions are met. Spending responsibilities at the local level need to be matched with county governments’ own fiscal capacity. For county governments that have only limited revenues, the ability to spend on local public goods such as health care depends crucially upon intergovernmental transfers. The findings of this paper, therefore, support the common assertion that fiscal decentralisation can lead to more efficient production of local public goods, while also highlighting the conditions required for this result to be obtained.
Essays in empirical finance and econometrics

This thesis consists of three essays and aims to deepen our understanding of agent's actions in financial markets at different aggregation levels and using various data. In the first essay, we analyse the trades of brokers in a non-anonymous market. Specifically, we explore the information context of broker identities and how their disclosure can be exploited by other investors. Using data from the Helsinki Stock Exchange we form dynamic mean-variance strategies with daily rebalancing which condition on the net flow of brokers. We find that investors can benefit from knowing who trades compared to a portfolio that disregards this information. We demonstrate a link between the information content of broker order flow and the sophistication of their clients. In the second essay, we investigate the forecasts of sell-side analysts. We use banking sector news to proxy for the severity of career concerns and examine their impact on analysts' tendency to make bold forecasts. We show that analysts follow the consensus forecast more closely when the prospects of the banking sector are negative. The more established analysts, in terms of reputation and experience, are generally unaffected by banking news. In contrast, their less established peers cluster their forecasts near the consensus after negative news for banks. In the last essay, we are interested in the estimation of the covariation matrix of equity prices in the presence of market microstructure noise and non-synchronous trading. We base our analysis on a simple framework that derives separate pooled OLS regressions from other well-known estimators, whose byproducts are the integrated variance and covariance, and noise components. A comprehensive simulation study shows that our estimator is very precise and out-performs other widely applied estimation techniques. A similar picture emerges when we use historical data. Finally, we document the association of the noise component with liquidity frictions.
Why One Firm Is the Target and the Other the Bidder in Single-Bidder, Synergistic Takeovers

Since target firms obtain more of the synergy gains than bidder firms, the question arises of why, in single-bidder, synergistic takeovers, either firm is willing to be the bidder. The author argues that the takeover-related costs and benefits to the managers of the two firms determine which firm will be the target and which the bidder. A manager's fear that the firm with which his firm can create synergy gains will take over his firm and force him out of his job if his firm does not take it over makes him want his firm to be the bidder. Copyright 1994 by University of Chicago Press.
Capital Flows, Capital Account Regimes, and Foreign Exchange Rate Regimes in Africa

This study examines capital flows and shifts in capital account and exchange rate regimes in African countries over the past two decades. The evidence shows that official lending to Africa has declined while the volume of private capital flows remains low and significantly below the levels observed in other developing regions. Private capital inflows to Africa are limited due to several factors, including the weakness of the macroeconomic environment, underdeveloped financial systems, high country risk, and exchange rate misalignments. The focus of policy reforms must be on alleviating these constraints in order to attract more foreign capital and overcome the shortage of development financing. Many African countries have pursued reforms aimed at liberalizing their capital account and exchange rate regimes. However, liberalization has not been accompanied by systematic gains income growth, price stability, and trade performance. African countries must pay serious attention to the scope, speed, and sequencing of capital account liberalization to minimize potential adverse effects of openness. It is desirable for countries to maintain selective discretionary control over capital movements and exchange rate markets in order to hedge against adverse shocks to the economy and to maintain macroeconomic and financial stability. To attract foreign capital, any move toward capital account openness and exchange rate liberalization must be supported by reforms aimed at improving credibility of macroeconomic policy and establishing an investment-friendly environment. These reforms will not only attract foreign capital but also encourage domestic investment. An important aspect of capital movements in Africa is the high level of capital flight. There is an urgent need for policies to stem further hemorrage of capital from Africa and induce the repatriation of private capital held abroad. This will require not only improvement of the macroeconomic conditions to ameliorate incentives for domestic investment, but also reform of the political and legal systems to improve accountability and credibility of economic policy.
The ‘thirsty’ water-electricity nexus: field data on the scale and seasonality of thermoelectric power generation’s water intensity in China

There is a lack of field data on the water withdrawal and consumption intensity of thermoelectric power plants in China. With China’s ambitious electricity capacity expansion and ever-growing water deficit, the overlooked water dimension of thermoelectric power generation could soon have significant water sustainability implications, and field data on water intensity of thermoelectric power plants will be essential to further our understanding of China’s water-electricity nexus. To address this knowledge gap, this paper presents field data on the water withdrawal intensity and water balance of 19 coal-fired power plants in Shandong, China, categorized by different generator capacities (<100 MW ∼ >600 MW) and boiler technologies (subcritical, supercritical and ultra supercritical). This paper suggests that the annual average water withdrawal intensity of coal-fired power plants in Shandong (1.50–3.75 L kWh−1) is within the range of values reported for other countries, and that the distinction between water withdrawal and water consumption effectively vanishes since very little water is returned from withdrawal. This paper also suggests that there is quite significant seasonality in power plants’ water intensity whereby the water intensity in July can be approximately 15–28% higher than the annual average. The seasonality is on a similar scale across all generator capacities, except for a small co-generation plant (<100 MW), which had substantially lower water intensity in January when a heat exchanger was used to provide heating.
Preparing the Patient for Enhanced Recovery After Surgery

As is detailed elsewhere in this issue, enhanced recovery pathways integrate evidence-based best practices across the spectrum of perioperative care. Although interventions in the operating room and in the postoperative ward are important for improving postoperative outcomes in enhanced recovery after surgery (ERAS®) pathways, an ERAS® approach for preoperative care is equally important for achieving optimal outcomes. This review will describe current recommendations for preparing patients for surgery within an ERAS® program.
A Resource-based Analysis of IT Personnel Capabilities and Strategic Alignment

Researchers argue that information technology (IT) personnel capabilities and strategic alignment are important organizational resources. Grounded in the resource-based view, this research examines the relationship between IT personnel capabilities and strategic alignment, showing how companies leverage IT effectively on the basis of complementary and co-specialized organizational resources. This research confirmed those IT personnel's technical skills (e.g., 'systems' and 'computer') per se are hardly unique and inimitable resources to enable strategic alignment unless comparable efforts are spent to enhance business skills (e.g., 'performance skill', 'business know - ledge', and 'organizational skill') as well. Insights gained from this research help researchers and practitioners to better understand and focus their attention on complementary business skills necessary for IT human resources development. Implications are discussed.
Psychological Barriers in the Foreign Exchange Market

This paper undertakes an empirical analysis of the existence of psychological barriers in the dollar/DM and the dollar/yen exchange markets. Psychological barriers occur when agents attach some special importance to the last trailing digits of the price of an asset or a currency. Our empirical results indicate that psychological barriers exist and are significant in the dollar-yen market. Market exchange rates tend to resist movements towards numbers such as 130, 140, . yen per dollar etc. In addition, once these barriers have been crossed, exchange rates accelerate away from them. The evidence of psychological barriers in the dollar/DM market is less clear-cut.
Experiment 3 : Comparison of Taq Polymerase × Selective Primer Combinations in Pea , White Lupin , and Alfalfa

Genotyping-by-Sequencing (GBS) may drastically reduce genotyping costs compared with single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) array platforms. However, it may require optimization for specific crops to maximize the number of available markers. Exploiting GBS-generated markers may require optimization, too (e.g., to cope with missing data). This study aimed (i) to compare elements of GBS protocols on legume species that differ for genome size, ploidy, and breeding system, and (ii) to show successful applications and challenges of GBS data on legume species. Preliminary work on alfalfa and Medicago truncatula suggested the greater interest of ApeKI over PstI:MspI DNA digestion. We compared KAPA and NEB Taq polymerases in combination with primer extensions that were progressively more selective on restriction sites, and found greater number of polymorphic SNP loci in pea, white lupin and diploid alfalfa when adopting KAPA with a non-selective primer. This protocol displayed a slight advantage also for tetraploid alfalfa (where SNP calling requires higher read depth). KAPA offered the further advantage of more uniform amplification than NEB over fragment sizes and GC contents. The number of GBS-generated polymorphic markers exceeded 6,500 in two tetraploid alfalfa reference populations and a world collection of lupin genotypes, and 2,000 in different sets of pea or lupin recombinant inbred lines. The predictive ability of GBS-based genomic selection was influenced by the genotype missing data threshold and imputation, as well as by the genomic selection model, with the best model depending on traits and data sets. We devised a simple method for comparing phenotypic vs. genomic selection in terms of predicted yield gain per year for same evaluation costs, whose application to preliminary data for alfalfa and pea in a hypothetical selection scenario for each crop indicated a distinct advantage of genomic selection.
The impact of financial performance on environmental policy: does firm life cycle matter?

Existing literature has provided inconclusive evidence regarding the impact of financial performance on firm policy relating to environmental issues. In this paper, we propose that the influence of corporate financial performance on corporate environmental policy is unlikely to be monotonic but, rather, will vary with firm life cycle. We test this hypothesis by the application of static and dynamic techniques on panel data from UK companies. The results provide support for our hypotheses that financial performance has the strongest impact on environmental policy in the maturity stage of the firm life cycle and the weakest impact in the rapid growth stage. Copyright © 2007 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd and ERP Environment.