Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Information Reliability, Organizational Bank Structure, Interbank Competition and Relationship Lending Benefits

In this paper we study how does bank–borrower relationships benefits differ depending on three factors identified in the theoretical literature: verifiability of information, bank’s organizational structure and interbank competition. We employ an empirical model that simultaneously accounts for all three of these factors to analyse how relationship lending affects credit cost. Our key result is that that borrowers with long relationship length are likely to be captured and deprived of larger rents and that the diversification of banking products moderate the hold-up problem. These latter findings suggest the possibility that relationship borrowers may suffer from capture effects. Moreover, we find evidence that close relationships benefit on credit cost is larger in a more competitive loan market. So, banks consider relationships as a device for product differentiation.
Timing of nutrient depletion, diatom dominance and a lower-boundary estimate of export production for Irminger Basin, North Atlantic

During the North Atlantic spring bloom, a seasonal phytoplankton community succession takes place from diatoms to non-siliceous phytoplankton. Diatoms rely on silica to form their frustules and are out-competed by other species when silica becomes depleted. Diatoms are also expected to contribute significantly to export production in the North Atlantic. We suggest that a lower boundary to export production can be estimated as the component of total production that occurs between the start of the spring bloom and the time when silica becomes depleted. This method has been tested in the Irminger Basin, located between Greenland and Iceland, in the North Atlantic. A technique to estimate silica concentration from satellite-derived sea surface temperature and chlorophyll a concentration has been developed and used to determine silica concentration at high spatial and temporal resolution. This facilitates an estimation of the timing of silica depletion and thus the timing of the transition from a phytoplankton community dominated by diatoms to dominance by non-siliceous species. The timing of the initiation of the bloom, defined as a pronounced and sustained increase in biomass, is estimated from a Sea-viewing Wide Field-of-View Sensor (SeaWiFS)-derived chlorophyll a concentration. A lower-boundary estimate of export production is made and, additionally, estimates of the contribution to export production by diatoms and non-diatoms are made by considering silica-to-nitrate drawdown ratios. We estimate export production in this region to be ~60 gC m–2 yr–1, of which diatoms account for ~65%.
Dynamics of prey selection by an omnivorous flagellate

The heterotrophic flagellate Paraphysomonas imperforata, a raptorial grazer, sustained maximum specific growth rates of ca 1.5 d-' at 20°C when fed 3 phytoplankton species of different sizes and shapes (the relatively small diatom Phaeodactylum tricornutum and haptophyte Isochrysis galbana, and the larger chlorophyte Dunaliella tertiolecta), either singularly or in combinations of 2 species. When prey combinations included D, tertiolecta, the chlorophyte was grazed only after a large fraction of the other species was first grazed. Diatom and haptophyte were grazed concurrently when offered in combination. Changing the relative proportions of starting biomass of the different species in combination had no effect on the order of grazing. However, in all cases the switch to the chlorophyte occurred rapidly and the maximum ingestion rate attained after the switch was proportional to the contribution of the chlorophyte to total starting biomass. From a hydrodynamic standpoint, specific clearance rate C' increased as the ratio of predator radius to prey radius R: r decreased and C' increased as R decreased for a given value of R: r. We suggest that the preference for the 2 smaller species is governed by the ability of the flagellate to adjust its own size downward to accomodate the smaller prey in order to maintain R : r at ca 2 : 1. When sized to graze these smaller species, the flagellate simply is too small to graze the chlorophyte. Thus, although there is clear evidence that the flagellate is a non-passive grazer and will not graze certain species at all, mechanoreception clearly plays a major role in the dynamics of grazing desired species. Raptorial grazers such as P. imperforata, by having the ability to graze prey almost as big as themselves, may be effective competitors with larger protozoa for nanoplankton-size food particles and also contribute to making the food chain (web) withln the microbial loop long and complicated with high losses of energy and materials.
Does credit improve the food consumption vulnerability of the extreme poor? - Empirical evidence from Bangladesh

This paper examines the extent of seasonal hunger and its food consumption vulnerability among rural households in the North West part of Bangladesh (i.e., the greater Rangpur region) and whether the Programmed Initiative for Monga Eradication or PRIME interventions (such as flexible micro-credit, Emergency loan and cash for work) have some positive impact for improving the consumption ordering of monga affected households or not. Seasonal hunger, also known as monga in greater Rangpur, is caused by a deprivation of food during certain months of the year when households do not have adequate employment, income, and savings. That is, monga is an ex post measure of seasonal deprivation of food. However, for policymaking purpose, knowing who are going to be in seasonal hunger in future is more important than knowing who already are. This ex post measure of seasonal food deprivation through the changes in consumption ordering in two years- 2008 and 2007 can be defined as food consumption vulnerability. That is, vulnerability to seasonal hunger is the likelihood of remaining in or falling into seasonal hunger. Households smooth consumption via income smoothing and other measures, which also reduce their vulnerability to monga. When consumption smoothing does not happen for one reason or another, food deprivation is sure to follow.
Bank relationships and firm private debt restructuring: a duration analysis

This paper uses duration models to analyze the factors affecting the duration of private debt restructuring for distressed firms. We find that a distressed firm with a stronger bank relationship has a shorter length of time needed to successfully restructure its debt through private renegotiation. We conclude that in a bank dominated financial system such as Taiwan’s in which firms are heavily bank-dependent, the bank-firm relationship is of crucial importance to the duration of successful debt restructuring for financially distressed firms. Moreover, the empirical results also show that younger firms, less severely distressed firms, or those in the new economy industry, exhibit significantly shorter length of time needed for a debt restructuring.
Student Teachers Learning to Teach: The Mastery and Appropriation of Digital Technology

This article aims to shed light on the processes by which student teachers change and shape their understanding of ICT (Information and Communication Technology) as a tool for learning. Two types of processes are investigated. One is the process by which student teachers gain a technical proficiency, i.e. how student teachers benefit from their technical skills in a school context. The other process is concerned with how student teachers are able to integrate or combine a technical proficiency with a broader view on how teaching and learning should be conducted. The research reviewed indicates that an isolated technical proficiency is not sufficient for providing new teaching opportunities, and there seems to be a gap between technical knowledge and knowledge on how to employ technology in a learning context. In this light, student teachers need to develop a view on ICT that goes beyond the mere technical aspects. The concepts “mastery” and “appropriation” from Wertsch (1998) are employed to structure the discussion. These two concepts from Wertsch can inform us about the way in which student teachers approach ICT as a tool for learning and can help characterize this approach.
Detection of phthalic acid esters in the packaging films of meat products

The contents of di-n-butyl phthalate (DBP) and di-2-ethylhexyl phthalate (DEHP) were monitored in materials used for packaging films of meat products. A printed sample and a nonprinted sample were taken from each of the packaging films analysed, the sample area being 1 dm2 , to determine whether or not there is increased presence of phthalates in printed packaging films compared to non-printed packaging films, and to assess possible risks arising from their use. The determination of DBP and DEHP was conducted using high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) with the Zorbax Eclipse C8 column and UV detection at a wavelength of 224 nm. Concentrations of phthalates ranged from 2.18 to 81.33 µg∙dm-2 in printed samples and from 2.25 to 69.88 µg∙dm -2 in those without printing. This study shows different contents of phthalates in printed and non-printed areas of packaging films. The printed area had in most cases a higher content of phthalates probably due to the content of the substances in the printing colours. Phthalates, di-n-butyl phthalate, di-2-ethylhexyl phthalate, printed area, package
Environmental controls on the CO2 exchange in north European mires

Net CO2 exchange measured under well-mixed atmospheric conditions in four different mires in Sweden and Finland were used to analyse which factors were controlling photosynthesis and respiration. The parameters of a light response function showed strong seasonal variations with similar behaviour for all mires. The half-monthly nighttime respiration rates in the central part of the growing season were about two times higher in the southernmost, warmest site, Fåje, as compared to the northernmost, coldest site, Kaamanen. However, Kaamanen had high photosynthesis rates, and this in combination with the long daylight periods in the middle of the summer caused Kaamanen to have the largest net ecosystem exchange (NEE) during the summer period. Fåje that showed the highest productivity had also the highest respiration and therefore, the lowest NEE during summer. Correlation between half-monthly components and different environmental variables showed the highest correlation between the components themselves. Thereafter came temperature except for Fåje where water table depth (WTD) explained most of the variance both for detrended and temperature-normalized components. All sites showed dependencies between WTD and the respective components during drying up periods. Temperature sensitivity was higher for productivity than for respiration indicating that CO2 uptake would increase during global warming.
The Southern Sierra Nevada Drip and the Mantle Wind Direction Beneath the Southwestern United States

The Miocene-Pliocene convective removal of the southern Sierra Nevada batholithic root and its sinking through the upper mantle provides a natural experiment to estimate the direction and velocity of mantle flow beneath the southwestern United States. Xenolith data, volcanism patterns, and geologic evidence are used to constrain the location and timing of the initial detachment. Seismic tomography images of the upper mantle are used to determine the displacement of the downwelling "tail" by the background mantle flow. The "mantle wind" direction based on this analysis is estimated to be SSW, in contradiction to another recent estimate based on a combination of geodetic data and shear-wave splitting measurements. The conflicting conclusions can be reconciled if the splitting measurements are dominated by anisotropy in the shallow mantle imposed by lithospheric motion. The SSW direction is approximately consistent with global models of asthenospheric counterflow directions, and therefore supports the idea that self-driving plate forces can explain the absolute motion of the North American plate.
Inventory management in customised liquidity pools

We consider “customised liquidity pools” (CLP), which are trading venues that offer over-the-counter brokerage and dealer services to selected market participants. The dealer activity, whereby two-sided liquidity is offered to a limited pool of clients, shares in common similarities with the market-making problem. The arrival flow of client orders is assumed random. The CLP offers a stream of two-way prices to its clients, which are functions of the amount traded by the client and the CLP holding. The concern is inventory risk, which increases for critically small or large numbers of held positions. The CLP controls its inventory by choosing the size and the skew of its spread, so to encourage, e.g. buy orders instead of sell orders. Furthermore, it can submit limit orders to standard exchanges, of which execution is uncertain, and market orders, which are expensive. In either case, the CLP risks information leakage, which is discouraged by a penalty for trading in standard exchanges. We numerically solve a double-obstacle impulse-control problem associated with the optimal management of the inventory. We observe that the CLP skews its spread before resorting to limit orders, and ultimately crosses the spread in the standard exchange. We learn that it is optimal to post limit orders deeper in the book when the inventory is relatively small and to progressively move towards the best price as the inventory increases. The CLP adjusts its pricing-hedging strategy according to its profit and losses (P&L) target, a feature we analyse by considering various degrees of the CLP’s risk appetite.
Four foliar applications of glycinebetaine did not alleviate adverse effects of salt stress on growth of sunflower

In response to salt stress, plants have evolved some adaptations such as osmotic adjustment to acclimatize salt stress. Glycinebetaine (GB) is known to have a role in osmotic adjustment. The present investigation was focused to understand the role of fortnightly exogenous foliar application of GB in inducing salt tolerance in sunflower through osmotic adjustment or by modulating plant water relations. Three levels of GB solutions (0, 0.1% Tween 20 solution; 50 and 100 mM GB in 0.1% Tween 20 solution) were foliarly applied to three-week old plants of sunflower grown at 0, 60, and 120 mM NaCl. Salt stress reduced the growth of sunflower plants. However, four foliar applications of 50 mM GB on weekly basis improved the growth of sunflower plants at intermediate level of salt stress, whereas higher level of GB did not improve the growth or even reduced the growth. Although exogenously applied GB reduced the leaf water potential and osmotic potential that resulted in enhanced leaf turgor potential, it did not improve the growth. Salt induced reduction in photosynthetic rate was partially improved by four applications of GB at intermediate level of salt stress. Furthermore, changes in photosynthetic capacity mainly occurred due to stomatal limitations. Finally, it was concluded that four applications of GB partially alleviated adverse effects of salt stress, which was associated with stomatal factors.
Message Framing Effects on Product Judgments

The purpose of this paper is to provide a summary of a special topic session organized to address recent developments in framing research in consumer behavior. The papers presented in this session examined both how and when consumers' judgments vary as a function of the way message information is framed. In addition, they explored the theoretical and empirical implications of such framing effects.
Partial Fiscal Decentralization and Public-Sector Heterogeneity: Theory and Evidence from Norway

This paper provides an empirical test of a principal tenet of fiscal federalism: that spending discretion, when granted to localities, leads to public-sector heterogeneity, with public-good levels adjusting to suit local demands. The test is based on a simple model of partial fiscal decentralization, under which earmarking of central transfers for particular uses is eliminated, allowing funds to be spent according to local tastes. The model predicts that partial decentralization generates dispersion in the levels of public services as spending adjusts to local preferences. But the model also yields the more-general prediction that the characteristics of local jurisdictions should play a bigger role in determining the levels of public goods after a decentralization reform than before. Both predictions are confirmed by the paper’s empirical results, which show the effects of the 1986 Norwegian reform.
TROPOSPHERIC NO 2 FROM GOME MEASUREMENTS

Measurements from the Global Ozone Monitoring Experiment (GOMB) have been analysed for tropospheric NO, using the Differential Optical Absorption method. The retrieval technique is described and a detailed error analysis is given. A case study of tropospheric NO, above Africa in fall 1997 is presented, showing the influence of both biomass burning and lightning. Comparison of clear and cloudy pixels reveals, that substantial amounts of NO, am present in the free troposphere over the African continent and in the outflow regions over the Southern Atlantic and the Indian Ocean. This has important implications for the formation of the tropospheric ozone maxima observed in these areas.
Effect of integrated nutrient management on productivity, nutrient acquisition and economics of blackgram (Phaseolus mungo L.) in an inceptisol of eastern Uttar Pradesh

A field experiment was conducted during kharif seasons of 2010 and 2011 to find out the suitable integrated nutrient management (INM) package for successful blackgram production in eastern part of Uttar Pradesh. The results indicates that significantly higher grain (959 kg ha-1), stover (2479 kg ha-1) and biological (3438 kg ha-1) yields and harvest index (27.9%) of blackgram were recorded with the application of soil test based NPK+10 t FYM ha-1+ Rhizobium + 30kg S ha-1+ 1kg Mo ha-1 over rest of the treatments. With regards to economics, soil test based application of NPK + 10t FYM ha-1 + Rhizobium + 30kg S ha- 1+ 1kg Mo ha-1 resulted in highest gross returns (44,580 ha-1), net returns (26,519 ha-1) and benefit: cost ratio (2.27) over other nutritional treatments. Similarly, integration of FYM, NPKSMo with Rhizobium significantly enhances the nitrogen (3.98% and1.55%), phosphorus (0.53% and 0.27%), potassium (2.52% and 3.53% ), sulphur (0.39% and 0.31%), and molybdenum (4.25 mg kg-1 and 3.59 mg kg-1) contents in grain and stover of blackgram over control, respectively.
Effects of 5-Hour ENERGY® Shot on Oxygen Consumption, Heart Rate, and Substrate Utilization During Submaximal and Maximal Exercise

International Journal of Exercise Science 9(5): 685-693, 2016. The purpose was to examine the effects of a 5-Hour ENERGY® shot (5HES) on aerobic performance in recreational athletes. Maximal Aerobic capacity (VO2max), substrate utilization and time to fatigue were determined in twenty-three male participants (21.7±3.3 years, Mean±SD), with a BMI of 25.6±3.7 kgm(Mean±SD). Each participant was tested twice in a randomised, double-blind cross-over study design, during which participants were provided with either a 5HES or a placebo shot to ingest prior to exercise. Participants completed a VO2 max treadmill test with RER and RPE values also being measured. Ingestion of a 5HES shot before exercise had no effect on peak VO2 (p=0.194), peak heart rate (p=0.507), peak RER (p=0.678), peak ventilation (p=0.056), and running time to exhaustion (p=0.091) as compared with the ingestion of a placebo shot before exercise. Test results also showed that at the end of each stage there was no difference between heart rate and RER, with P values ranging from 0.226 to 1.000, with an exception being RER at 6 minutes, where p=0.009. The results of this study indicate a 5HES shot before exercise does not have an effect on oxygen consumption, heart rate, or substrate utilization during submaximal and maximal exercise.
31. MANTLE MELTING SYSTEMATICS: TRANSITION FROM CONTINENTAL TO OCEANIC VOLCANISM ON THE SOUTHEAST GREENLAND MARGIN 1

We present trace element analyses of basaltic and picritic lavas recovered from the Ocean Drilling Program Leg 152 transect on the southeast Greenland volcanic rifted margin. These lavas span the stratigraphic interval from continental to oce anic magmatism. Incompatible element patterns define two geochemical groups within the Site 917 upper series. Group 1 flows are characterized by (La/Sm) N = 0.3-0.8, whereas group 2 flows have (La/Sm) N = 0.7-1.2 and higher mantle-normalized Th, Ba, and Pb, and lower Nb and U concentrations. The transition upsection from group 1 to group 2 at Site 917 occurs between 114 and 65 meters below seafloor, and is represented by interfingering of flows belonging to the two groups. (La/Sm) N, Ba/Zr, and Th/Pb ratios and mantle-normalized incompatible element concentrations decrease systematically with stratigraphic height within each group, and the Site 915 and Site 918 units are generally continuous with group 2. These variations imply an increase in the extent of partial melting with time. Lu/Hf ratios vary from 0.14 to 0.25 through the upper series and into the Site 915 and Site 918 flows. This relationship suggests the importance of residual garnet in the mantle source melting decreased with time. We develop a quantitative model for mantle melting to investigate melting systematics responsible for these relation ships. Comparison between observed data and model results suggests a progressive increase in the extent of partial melting (from 4% to 12%) and decrease in mean pressure of melting with time. This temporal evolution of primary magma compositions is explicable by rapid thinning of the continental lithosphere during eruption of the upper series. We conclude that grou p 1 units were derived from mantle with normal mid-ocean-ridge basalt source characteristics, whereas units from group 2 and from Sites 915 and 918 were derived from a source similar to depleted Icelandic mantle. We infer that the thermal anomaly associated with the ancestral Iceland plume pre-dated the transition in mantle source compositions.
Differential effects of phosphorus and fatty acids on Daphnia magna growth and reproduction

We investigated the effects of various mineral and biochemical limitations on Daphnia magna. These daphniids have much lower saturation thresholds for growth for the polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFA) eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA), and arachidonic acid (ARA) than has been previously described for other Daphnia species. Daphniids take up large amount of fatty acids from food, and different fatty acids are handled differently by D. magna. The saturated fatty acid (20:0; EPA) was not retained, and metabolized, the PUFAs were preferably stored. There were also differences among the PUFAs: EPA was found in higher concentrations in the eggs than ARA. In contrast, although there were some variations in D. magna phosphorus levels with varying levels of phosphorus in the food, these differences were small compared with the changes in D. magna fatty‐acid concentrations. Independent of these small changes, the P content of eggs was constant at 14 mg P (g dry wt)−1. Storage of EPA, but not P, fully compensated D. magna growth during periods of bad food quality. Egg production was a major drain of fatty acids from female D. magna.