Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
A Productivity analysis of Eastern European banking taking into account risk decomposition and environmental variables

This paper develops a new Luenberger productivity which is applied to a technology where the desirable and undesirable outputs are jointly produced and are possibly negative. The components of this Luenberger productivity index the efficiency change and the components of the technological shift are then decomposed into factors determined by the technology, adjusted for ‘risk and environment’, ‘risk management’ and ‘environmental effects’. The method is applied to Central and Eastern European banks operating during 1998–2003 utilising three alternative input/output methodologies (intermediation, production and profit/revenue). Additionally, the comparative analysis of the sensitivity of the productivity indices in the choice of the methodologies is undertaken using statistical and kernel density tests. It is found that the main driver of productivity change in Central and Eastern European banks is technological improvement, which, in the beginning of the analysed period, hinged on the banks’ ability to capitalise on advanced technology and successfully take into account risk and environmental factors. Whereas, in the later sampled periods, we show that one of the most important factors of technological improvement/decline is risk management. Finally, the tests employed confirm previous findings, such as Pasiouras (2008) in this journal, that different input/output methodologies produce statistically different productivity results. Indeed, we also find that external factors, such as a risk in the economy and banking production, and a ‘corruption perception’ affect the productivity of banks. JEL Classification: C14, G2, L1
Dynamic interelationship between macroeconomic fundamentals andstock prices in Nigeria

This paper investigated the dynamic interrelationship between macroeconomic fundamentals and stock prices in Nigeria using time series data spanning from 1980 to 2016. The study made use of co-integration test and the error correction mechanism. Empirical estimates revealed pointedly that there is a long run correlation between macroeconomic fundamentals and stock prices in Nigeria. Similarly, in the short run, the previous values of money supply and interest rate were found to demonstrate a significant effect on stock prices. Also, the previous value of stock market return was found to show significant influence on the current stock prices. Markedly, the results revealed that the natural logarithm of real gross domestic product is a leading indicator that stimulates stock prices in the long and short run. Based on the above findings the study recommends that the Central Bank of Nigeria should carry out prudent macroeconomic policies to derive the best from the stock market. Furthermore, the government should look into the high rate of inflation since it is one of the most significant macroeconomic indicators used to analyze the economic conditions of a country.
The relationship between international students’ English test scores and their academic achievements

This study investigates the connection between international students’ scores achieved in an English grammar and vocabulary test and the overall grades attained on their degree programmes at a UK university. Data was collected from 1841 students taking part in the university’s Communication Skills programme, which provides supplementary support for students by means of in-sessional English for Academic Purposes tuition. A comparatively strong correlation (r=0.426) between English proficiency test scores and final academic grades was established, indicating that students’ knowledge of English grammar and vocabulary has a telling impact on their ability to attain higher level grades and that further support to boost international students’ communicative ability at all performance levels is warranted.
Are Cultural and Gender Diversity Drivers of Firm Performance in Post- Crises Emergent Economies?

Abstract The study aims to see if it could offer a positive response to the question whether the company’s financial performance depends on diversity of ownership structure, board and management team. Studies of this type have been made in the developed financial markets, but hardly any were made in recent years in emerging markets. The results of this study on the Romanian financial market indicate that relationships between ownership structure, board and management team composition and firm performance are mixed. ROA, ROE, ROS and P/BV as measures of firm performance are influenced by the presence of foreign shareholders, top foreign managers, and the percentage of women managers and by company’s size. Boards including foreign members are more inclined to appoint foreign managers and women in firm’s managerial teams, but a small number of such persons are not positively associated with an increased financial performance of the firm.
Discriminating estuarine nurseries for five fish species through otolith elemental fingerprints

Chemical composition of otoliths may provide valuable information in establishing con- nectivity between nursery grounds and marine coastal stocks. Juveniles of the commercially impor- tant fish species Solea solea, S. senegalensis, Platichthys flesus, Diplodus vulgaris and Dicentrarchus labrax were captured in 8 estuarine nursery grounds along the Portuguese coast in July 2005. Con- centrations of Li, Na, Mg, K, Mn, Ni, Cu, Zn, Sr, Cd, Ba and Pb were determined in whole juvenile otoliths using solution-based inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry. Significant differences in the concentration of several elements were found between estuaries and species using ANOVA and MANOVA. Linear discriminant function analysis classified otolith fingerprints between estuaries for all species with good cross-validated results. Depending on the species, 70.2 to 92.0% of individ- uals were correctly assigned to their estuary of origin, with discrimination success varying with species, estuaries and number of estuaries in the analysis. Since accurate classification of juvenile fish to their nursery estuary was achieved, fingerprint analysis can be used as a natural habitat tag in assigning adult fish to their estuarine nursery. Ultimately the connectivity between Portuguese estuarine nursery grounds and coastal areas may be estimated, with possible implications for future fisheries and coastal management plans.
Complexity trade-offs between the subsystems of language

Starting from a view on language as a combinatorial and hierarchically organized system we assumed that a high syllable complexity would favour a high number of syllable types, which in turn would favour a high number of monosyllables. Relevant cross-linguistic correlations based on Menzerath’s (1954) data on monosyllables in eight Indo-European languages turned out to be statistically significant. A further attempt was made to conceptualize “semantic complexity” and to relate it to complexity in phonology, word formation, and word order. In English, for instance, the tendency to phonological complexity and monosyllabism is associated with a tendency to homonymy and polysemy, to rigid word order and idiomatic speech. The results are explained by complexity trade-offs between rather than within the subsystems of language.
The inside–outside duality for scattering problems by inhomogeneous media

This paper investigates the relationship between interior transmission eigenvalues k0 > 0 and the accumulation point 1 of the eigenvalues of the scattering operator S(k)? > when k approaches k0. As is well known, the spectrum of S(k)? > is discrete, the eigenvalues μn(k) lie on the unit circle in C? > and converge to 1 from one side depending on the sign of the contrast. Under certain (implicit) conditions on the contrast it is shown that interior transmission eigenvalues k0 can be characterized by the fact that one eigenvalue of S(k)? > converges to 1 from the opposite side if k tends to k0 from below. The proof uses the Cayley transform, Courant’s maximum–minimum principle, and the factorization of the far field operator. For constant contrasts that are positive and large enough or negative and small enough, we show that the conditions necessary to prove this characterization are satisfied at least for the smallest transmission eigenvalue.
Assessment of the warning system against floods on a rural area: the case of the lower Siret River (Romania)

Abstract. The development of non-structural measures such as an early warning system, across the Europe, in flood risk management, requires a better understanding of the public involved and of the territory threatened. This paper aims to conduct an assessment of early warning and information to people with an analysis of the population's behaviour, presented in a form of an event tree. The objective is to understand the strengths and weaknesses of the warning system during a deadly flood in the lower Siret River (Romania) in 2005 and to demonstrate that each warning system has to be adapted to the territory in which it is effective. The behavioural model aims to determine to what extent the warning system can be improved but also to suggest ways to adapt risk education to the study area.
Temperature and pre-germinative treatments for overcoming Acacia farnesiana (L.) Willd. (Fabaceae) seeds dormancy

1 Department of Plant Protection, Center of Agronomical Sciences and Veterinary, FCAV/UNESP, São Paulo State University, Via de Acesso Prof. Paulo Donato Castellane, Km 5, Jaboticabal, SP, 14.849-900, Brazil. 2 Department of Environmental Sciences and Fitotecnia, Paraiba Federal University, Areia-PB, CEP: 58397-000, Brazil. 3 Maranhão State University, Unit of Agronomy Studies. São Luís, MA, 65055-310, Brazil. 4 Department of Biology Applied to Agriculture (DBAA), Universidade Estadual Paulista Julio de Mesquita Filho, Campus Jaboticabal, Jaboticabal, SP, Brazil.
Mixed models and multivariate analysis for selection of superior maize genotypes

Selections via the mixed model and the multivariate analysis approach can be powerful tools for selecting cultivars in plant breeding programs. Therefore, this study aimed to compare the use of mixed models, multivariate analysis and traditional phenotypic selection to identify superior maize ( Zea mays L.) genotypes. Seventy-one (71) maize Topcrosses and three commercial cultivars were evaluated using these three methods. Plant height, ear height, ear placement, stalk lodging and breakage, and grain yield were evaluated. There was a difference between selection methods, as the selection with mixed models and the selection based on the average phenotypic afforded the inclusion of genotypes with high productivity, which did not occur for the multivariate analysis. The selection by multivariate analysis allowed the inclusion of genotypes with better agronomic and other desirable traits, not only those with highest productivity, in a maize breeding program. ABSTRACT
Effect of Financial Liberalization on the Probability of Occurrence of Banking Crises

This study examines the relationship between financial liberalization and the advent probability of banking crises because of institutional quality. We used a logit panel data for a sample of fifty developing countries during the period (1990-2014). The results show that there is a positive relationship between financial liberalization and banking crises and the strengthening of institutional quality overcomes the problem of banking crises.
Postharvest Quality of Red-fleshed Watermelon Affected by Fruit Position in Vine -

Effect of different fruit position on postharvest quality of F1 hybrid redfleshed watermelon Hi-U 16 was examined. In this study only one main vine was trained and maintained. The plants were allowed to set three fruits naturally at the first (8th - 11th nodes), second (13th - 16th nodes) and third (18th - 21th nodes) position. Fruits were harvested at 35 days after anthesis. Fruit weight, diameter, skin glossiness, skin and flesh colour, soluble solids concentration, firmness, pH, titratable acidity and vitamin C were determined. Fruit from second position was heavier and larger than fruit at first position followed by third position. Fruit position affected watermelon flesh lightness where flesh of first fruit position was darker than second and third position. Soluble solids concentration and firmness of fruits decreased as fruit position increased. Fruit pH decreased with increasing fruit position order while titratable acidity showed contrary trend. In addition, fruit position had no significant (pe0.05) effect on skin color and glossiness and vitamin C of the fruit. In conclusion, the results indicated that different fruit positions affected postharvest quality of watermelon and the greatest effect was on soluble solids concentration and fruit weight which was the important characteristic for high quality of watermelon.
A look at the links between drainage density and flood statistics

Abstract. We investigate the links between the drainage density of a river basin and selected flood statistics, namely, mean, standard deviation, coefficient of variation and coefficient of skewness of annual maximum series of peak flows. The investigation is carried out through a three-stage analysis. First, a numerical simulation is performed by using a spatially distributed hydrological model in order to highlight how flood statistics change with varying drainage density. Second, a conceptual hydrological model is used in order to analytically derive the dependence of flood statistics on drainage density. Third, real world data from 44 watersheds located in northern Italy were analysed. The three-level analysis seems to suggest that a critical value of the drainage density exists for which a minimum is attained in both the coefficient of variation and the absolute value of the skewness coefficient. Such minima in the flood statistics correspond to a minimum of the flood quantile for a given exceedance probability (i.e., recurrence interval). Therefore, the results of this study may provide useful indications for flood risk assessment in ungauged basins.
High Resolution Transmission Electron Microscopy of Grain Boundaries between Hexagonal Boron Nitride Grains in Si3N4—SiC Particulate Composites

High resolution transmission electron microscope observations of grain boundaries in hexagonal boron nitride in which adjacent grains are rotated with respect to one another about either or directions are shown to be free of intergranular glass, in agreement with previous work. The implication of these observations is that the solid-solid boundary energies of such grain boundaries in hexagonal boron nitride are relatively small in magnitude.
The scleractinian fauna of Yemen: diversity and species distribution patterns

Hard coral diversity and species distribution in Yemen are thought to be principally controlled by hydrology and hydrodynamic factors acting in the Arabian region. In particular, a strong seasonal upwelling linked to the SW summer monsoon is typically described as a major forcing function prevailing in the Gulf of Aden and Socotra. The diversity of the hitherto little known scleractinian coral fauna of Yemen was investigated through surveys extending from the Kamaran Island area, in the southern Red Sea, to Socotra in the Arabian Sea, and including Aden, Balhaf, Bir Ali, Burum, and Al Mukallah in the Gulf of Aden. Results showed that the scleractinian fauna of the Gulf of Aden is notably different from that of the Yemen Red Sea and from the Socotra Archipelago. More unexpectedly, striking patterns of species and genera distribution and relative frequency were observed along a relatively short stretch of coastline. It is hypothesized that, at the local scale, the synergistic effects of the seasonal upwelling, of fresh water input from major wadi estuaries, and of westward moving eddies in the Gulf of Aden could play a role as for the observed striking coral species distribution patterns.
Implantable bone-conduction hearing aid Baha system

Implantable hearing aids are currently used in management of hearing loss. For patients with conductive component of hearing loss, bone conduction hearing aids are used. In these implantable hearing devices sound pressure is transmitted directly to the inner ear through an implant placed behind the ear bypassing the affected external and middle ear. Biomaterials used for these implantable hearing aids proved their safety and long-term stability due to good osseointegration and stabilising tissue-implant interaction.
The Organizational Socialization of High School Principals: A Description and Analysis.

ABSTRACT An exploration of the process by which newly hired high school principals learn instructional leadership roles is presented in this paper, which focuses on the effect of faculty and superintendent expectations on principals' leadership behavior. A triangularized methodology includes indepth interviews with new principals, (n=28) from a midwestern state, observation, and document analysis. The findings indicate that both supervisors and teachers influence principals' instructional leadership behavior. A second conclusion is that principals receive strong, consistent messages to become involved with student personnel issues. Third, teacners limit principals' power in areas of curriculum development and staff personnel issues. 'finally, selection interviews convey powerful messages to principals about job expectations. Suggestions for imprcving the new principals' socialization process include: (1) identification of school needs and evaluation of the principal's role prior to the selection process; (2) involvement of teachers in the development of the selection process; and (3) the creation of a princiral socialization committee after selection. District norms and expectations often do not promote instructional leadership in the areas of staff personnel functions. The organizational socialization of principals must be balanced, unambiguous, and explicit. (23 references) (LMI)
Adoption of Recommended Management Practices by the Buffalo Owners

The present study was conducted in three districts of Punjab on 180 buffalo owners to measure the extent of adoption of recommended management practices. The study revealed that buffalo owners had medium level of adoption of recommended management practices. High adoption was found in case of adequate supply of feed and water to the buffalo (95%), followed by udder cleaning (90.56%) and keeping of buffalo in ventilated houses (82.22%). The low adoption rates were observed in the practices of separation of pregnant buffalo few days before calving (18.89%) and wallowing of buffalo in the pound (23.33%). The education level of the respondent was positively and significantly co-related with the adoption of recommended management practices.
Multidisciplinary stratigraphy across the Permian-Triassic boundary in deep-water environment of the Dongpan section, south China

13 Corg values occurred in the PTBST. The global correlation was also compared by multidisciplinary stratigraphy between the Dongpan section and GSSP in the Meishan section. The correlation was based on the lithostratigraphical, event-stratigraphic (the boundary clay beds), biostratigraphic (radiolarian fossil assemblages), and chemostratigraphic (organic carbon isotope excursion signals) evidence. We conclude that a well-defined PTB succession is recognizable in the deep-water section of Dongpan.
Non-symbiotic Nitrogen-fixing Organisms from Some New Zealand Tussock-grassland Soils

SUMMARY: The screening of several hundred isolates from tussock-grassland soils for nitrogen-fixing ability resulted in the isolation of Clostridium butyricum and five facultatively anaerobic nitrogen-fixing species. These latter have been identified as Bacillus circulans (tentative identification), B. polymyxa, Enterobacter aerogenes (formerly Aerobacter aerogenes), Klebsiella pneumoniae and Escherichia intermedia. Estimates of numbers of these species indicate that they will be responsible for only very low rates of nitrogen fixation in the soils tested.
Morphological and Stratigraphic Investigation of a Holocene Subaqueous Shelf Fan, North of the İstanbul Strait in the Black Sea

In 2002, the Bosphorus outlet was mapped using an EM 300 multibeam echo-sounder together with a Chirp sonar system. This survey, carried out on board the Ifremer RV 'Le Suroit' in the frame of the BlaSON project, completes the data previously acquired directly at the mouth of the Bosphorus by Di Iorio et al. (1999) in the frame of a NATO SACLANT Undersea Research project using jointly the NATO RV Alliance, and the Turkish Navy Survey ship 'Cubuklu'. This acoustic imaging has identified a canyon system at the slope and a shallow marine fan, which contains shelf incisions extending the Istanbul Strait incision. Multibeam bathymetry, ultra-high resolution seismic profiling and coring correlations on this subaqueous fan area allowed reconstruction of morphology and patterns of sediment distribution indicative of high energy sediment transport processes. The discovery of a shallow water/shelf type fan directly offshore from the Bosphorus and connected to its outlet is consistent with the theories of sudden discharges of large volumes of water. Age dating obtained at the bottom of this subaqueous shelf fan yielded an age of 6700 yr C14 BP (uncorrected age) for the first marine mollusc encountered at the base. This is in accordance with a last and abrupt reconnection of the Marmara Sea to the Black Sea. A detailed morphological map of the shelf and slope along with seismic profile interpretation and core correlation is presented here. A synthesis is proposed to explain the formation of this subaqueous fan and its relationship with the last connection between Black and Marmara seas after the Last Glacial Maximum. This interpretation can be summarized as follows: stage A corresponds to the first erosion surface seen on the shelf related to the Last Glacial Maximum low stand; stage B is the ravine surface onlapping to ca. -30, -40 m; stage C is a second erosional surface related to a sea level fall and eroding most of underlying Unit 1B; and stage D corresponds to the onset of the fan deposit during a period of high water run-off from the Black Sea entering from the Bosphorus. Avulsion branches show that this fan has been active for a long time.