Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Physiological effects of potassium chloride, formalin and handling stress on bonytail

Abstract We characterized the sublethal physiological changes in bonytail Gila elegans subjected to consecutive 750-mg/L potassium chloride (KCl) and 25-mg/L formalin treatments for the removal of zebra mussel Dreissena polymorpha and quagga mussel D. bugensis veligers. Plasma cortisol, glucose, and osmolality were measured over 24 h and at 14 d posthandling after exposing bonytail to KCl and one net stressor (capture with a net), KCl plus formalin and two net stressors, and one or two net stressors without chemicals. Elevated plasma cortisol (322–440 ng/mL) and glucose (254–399 mg/dL) concentrations were observed in all treatments compared with the concentrations in control fish (plasma cortisol, 56 ng/mL; glucose, 43 mg/dL). While there were no detectable differences in plasma osmolality among the treatment and control fish, a difference was observed between fish that were handled once versus twice. Chemical effects of stress were not observed in any of the physiological responses when the KCl treatment.
Failure Risk, Risk Arbitrage, and Outcomes of Mergers and Acquisitions

This paper examines how a target firm's trading volume, bid-ask spread, and stock return volatility respond over a two-week period to the announcement of M&A deals ("nonprice reactions"). I find that these variables are strongly correlated with changes in risk arbitrageurs' holdings surrounding the time of an announcement, whose ability to predict deal outcomes is often argued to be superior to that of other investors. I show that nonprice reactions predict deals that are more likely to be renegotiated, to feature slower completion times, and to fail even after controlling for merger arbitrage spreads and announcement returns. A trading strategy that involves investing in target firms with a low degree of failure risk, as predicted by nonprice reactions, yields positive abnormal returns. The presented results suggest that a target firm's volume, spread, and volatility after an M&A announcement reflect information about a deal's resolution not fully incorporated into stock prices and cast doubt on the notion that arbitrage spreads represent a deal's risk of failure as perceived by investors.
Desempenho de frangos de corte, sexados, submetidos a dietas formuladas pelos conceitos de proteína bruta versus proteína ideal

The study was carried out at the Poultry Section of the Departament of Animal Science at Federal University of Santa Maria, in order to evaluate the performance of broilers grown sexed and fed with diets formulated by the traditional concept (Crude Protein - CP), which is based on total amimo acids (TAA) and fed with the approach of Ideal Protein (IP), which is based on digestible amino acids (DAA), in the period from 1 to 42 days of age. A comparative economic analysis among the two feeding methods was also accomplished. There were 960 chicks (Ross) at the age of 1 day, being 480 males and 480 females. The diet based on the concept of CP was formulated according to the recommendation of NRC (1994) and the diet formulated by the concept of IP was adapted from Han and Baker (1994). The completely randomized experimental design consisted of 4 treatments with 12 replications of 20 chicks each. The feed intake, phase gain, body weight, daily gain, feed conversion and the nutritional efficieny index were evaluated. The results indicated that the parameters studied were more efficient in the initial phase. The diet formulated by the Ideal Protein concept, based on the content of DAA, influenced all parameters studied positively, providing significantly better gain weight and feed efficiency in both male and female chicks in the initial and final phases, being similar in the growing phase. The chicks fed with DAA showed greater profits in the initial phase and during the growth phase. These data allowed the conclusion that diets containing corn and soybean meal as base for the formulated feed provides better biological and economic performance of the broilers when compared to those formulated with crude Protein, from day the first up to 35 days of age. The final phase (35-42) showed the contrary, being the CP concept more economical than IP.
Criticism of the complete markets Ramsey model as a positive model for the analysis of fiscal policy has led to a spur of recent contributions casting the optimal taxation problem

A : We introduce a concern for model misspecification in a Lucas and Stokey optimal fiscal policy setting. The representative household in this economy is endowed with the knowledge of one particular model for the government spending process but acknowledges that this model is potentially misspecified. We show how this concern for misspecification affects the competitive equilibrium pricing of state-contingent debt and how this in turn affects the calculation of present value budget constraints. We show how to adapt the Ramsey problem and how the optimal solutions are affected by the size of potential misspecification entertained. This enables us to explore the implications of this setup for the optimal maturity structure for non-contingent debt, paying particular attention to how pricing of these assets is affected by robustness considerations. A linear-quadratic specification serves to implement numerically the economy under study.
Lack of trade‐off between direct and indirect defence against grape powdery mildew in riverbank grape

Abstract 1. The hypothesis that plants that invest more in an indirect defence will invest less in direct mechanisms was tested using genotypes of the riverbank grape Vitis riparia that varied in expression of acarodomatia, tufts of non‐glandular trichomes on underside of leaves that are frequently occupied by mycophagous mites. Mycophagous mites in this system have been shown to protect vines from grape powdery mildew caused by the fungus Uncinula necator.
Heritability of and relationship among selected seed traits of three provenances of Jatropha curcas L.

Due to its high oil yield per hectare and ability to grow in a wide range of environments, Jatropha curcas L. is on top of the promising potential crops as biofuel feedstock. However, its full potential is yet to be realized due to lack of systematic improvement/breeding programs aimed at increasing oil yield. Improvement programs require knowledge on variability and genetic parameters. Thus, this study determined the extent of variation and relationship between seed traits of the different provenances, namely, South Cotabato, Bacolod and Talisay. Analysis of variance (ANOVA) showed no considerable difference between provenances in seed length and breadth at P < 0.05. Seeds from South Cotabato were found to be significantly thicker than the other two provenances. Heritability estimates obtained for all the seed traits were high (>80%). High genotypic coefficients of variation (GCV) indicate that traits are less amenable to changes due to environmental flux. Seed thickness had the highest heritability and GCV (721.3%). In general, variation among the provenances of the seed traits studied is low, which indicates narrow genetic resource of J. curcas in the country. Unproductive breeding is expected unless there is an introduction of material from other sources, especially from the center of origin of the plant.
The importance of the variance around the mean effect size of ecological processes

Experiments in ecology are usually designed to provide tests of hypotheses on the influence of the mean intensity of causal processes, whereas the variance around mean effects has been largely overlooked as a causal force in biological assemblages. Repetition of experiments in space and time provides an estimate of this variability at specific scales, but does not explain how changes in variance generate structure in assem- blages and the extent to which variance and mean intensity interact. This paper seeks to identify suitable procedures for empirical analyses on the influence of variance and mean intensity of predictor ecological variables on spatial and temporal patterns in natural pop- ulations. A survey of the ecological literature indicates that temporal variability in studies of disturbance and in analyses of consumer-resource interactions is generally expressed in terms of frequency of events. This is inappropriate, as frequency confounds the variance with the mean effect size of a process. A possible solution to the problem involves ex- perimental designs in which levels of intensity and those of variability are chosen inde- pendently over explicit spatial or temporal scales and treated as fixed, orthogonal factors. Examples are offered for various scenarios of consumer-resource interactions along with indications for statistical tests of hypotheses. Such novel approaches have important ram- ifications for understanding variability in a wide range of ecological contexts and for predicting the response of assemblages to increased environmental fluctuations, including those expected under modified climate conditions.
Making the Numbers? "Short Termism" & the Puzzle of Only Occasional Disaster

Much recent work in strategy and popular discussion suggests that an excessive focus on "managing the numbers" --delivering quarterly earnings at the expense of longer term investments--makes it difficult for firms to make the investments necessary to build competitive advantage. "Short termism" has been blamed for everything from the decline of the US automobile industry to the low penetration of techniques such as TQM and continuous improvement. Yet a vigorous tradition in the accounting literature establishes that firms routinely sacrifice long-term investment to manage earnings and are rewarded for doing so. This paper presents a model that can reconcile these apparently contradictory perspectives. We show that if the source of long-term advantage is modeled as a stock of capability that accumulates gradually over time, a firm's proclivity to manage short-term earnings at the expense of long-term investment can have very different consequences depending on whether the firm's capability is close to a critical "tipping threshold". When the firm operates above this threshold, managing earnings smoothes revenue with few long-term consequences. Below it, managing earnings can tip the firm into a vicious cycle of accelerating decline. Our results have important implications for understanding managerial incentives and the internal processes that lead to sustained advantage.
EFFECT OF DEOXYNIVALENOL (DON)-CONTAMINATED DIET FED TO GROWING-FINISHING PIGS ON THEIR PERFORMANCE AT MARKET WEIGHT, NITROGEN RETENTION AND DON EXCRETION

In a feeding experiment, a total of 64 pigs (16–18 kg body weight) were assigned to four experimental diets. Three diets contained 70% wheat, one with clean wheat (C), another with DON-contaminated wheat (V) and the third a 50:50 mixture of the clean and contaminated wheats (CV). The fourth diet, included for comparative purposes only, was a barley-corn-soybean meal diet (PC). The DON content of each diet was 0.0, 0.0, 2.89 and 5.26 mg kg−1, respectively. Pigs were penned individually and offered the diets ad libitum until reaching 90 ± 5 kg body weight: a necropsy was conducted on each pig. In a metabolism trial, seven pairs of littermate barrows were fed two of the experimental diets (C and V). Feed and water allowances were based upon the voluntary intake (twice daily) of the littermate offered diet V. During a 5-d period, feces and urine were collected separately and samples taken for subsequent nitrogen and DON analyses. Pigs fed diet PC reached market weight earlier than those fed the other diets. F.
Bionomics of the acarophagous ladybird beetle Stethorus tridens fed Tetranychus evansi

The bionomics of Stethorus tridens Gordon fed Tetranychus evansi Baker & Pritchard were studied in the laboratory. The number of prey consumed by S. tridens increased with increasing instar levels and the total mean number consumed during immature development was 184.1 ± 18.02 T. evansi nymphs per individual. For adult male and adult female, the daily consumption was 41.3 ± 0.80 and 67.8 ± 1.69 nymphs, respectively. Stethorus tridens successfully developed to adulthood between 20 and 30°C but failed at 10, 15 and 35°C. The lower thermal threshold for egg‐to‐adult development estimated via linear regression and the modified Logan model was 9.2 and 8.1°C, respectively. The optimum and maximum temperatures for egg‐to‐adult development were around 29–31 and 32.9°C, respectively. Egg to adult development time was 23.8 ± 0.24, 17.4 ± 0.22, 16.2 ± 0.22 and 12.1 ± 0.16 days at 20, 24, 27 and 30°C, respectively. At 27°C, the sex ratio, expressed as the proportion of females, was 0.54 and the mean preoviposition, oviposition and postoviposition periods were 10.3 ± 0.67, 31.2 ± 4.74 and 30.2 ± 5.24 days, respectively. The oviposition rate was 4.0 ± 0.16 eggs/female/day with a female mean longevity of 71.6 ± 6.19 days and an intrinsic rate of natural increase of 0.104. The potential of S. tridens as a candidate natural enemy of T. evansi is discussed.
PII: S0939-3625(01)00030-9

This paper investigates the importance of institutions as a determinant of growth and foreign direct investment (FDI) in 25 transition countries for 1990–1998. It introduces some novel institutional measures, performs extensive sensitivity tests, and checks for reverse causation. Estimation results suggest that state institutions in particular are quite robustly important for growth and FDI. The relationship between institutions and growth is likely to be a causation, that between institutions and FDI less so. The significance of macroeconomic stabilization and liberalization is also confirmed, but multicollinearity problems make it impossible to properly judge their importance relative to that of institutions. © 2001 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved. JEL classification: O11; O17; P21; P24; P27
DOCUMENTOS DE TRABAJO FCEA

This paper studies the relationship between the size of the fiscal multiplier and the degree of capital mobility in some Latin American countries. The Mundell (1963) and Fleming (1962) model establishes that this effect might be very large or very small (very close to zero) depending on the exchange rate regime and the degree of capital mobility; the potency of fiscal policy is inversely correlated with the degree of capital mobility. We use Mora (2013) model to argue that the multiplier might not be negatively correlated with capital mobility in these countries. In other words, the potency of fiscal policy could be reduced by the fact that capital mobility in Latin American countries tends to be quite low. The empirical findings support the hypothesis. We have found that the size of the fiscal multiplier tends to increase or (at least) to remain relatively stable, around 1.40, in these countries in the short run; however, in the long run, this effect tends to decrease significantly to 0.34. These results also suggest that fiscal policy is still very potent, but given their economic structure differences, could be larger if Latin American countries become more financially integrated with the rest of the world.
On the Generalizability of Experimental Results in Economics

Economists are increasingly turning to the experimental method as a means to estimate causal effects. By using randomization to identify key treatment effects, theories previously viewed as untestable are now scrutinized, efficacy of public policies are now more easily verified, and stakeholders can swiftly add empirical evidence to aid their decision-making. This study provides an overview of experimental methods in economics, with a special focus on developing an economic theory of generalizability. Given that field experiments are in their infancy, our secondary focus pertains to a discussion of the various parameters that they identify, and how they add to scientific knowledge. We conclude that until we conduct more field experiments that build a bridge between the lab and the naturally-occurring settings of interest we cannot begin to make strong conclusions empirically on the crucial question of generalizability from the lab to the field.
Microhabitat Use and Movements of the Wandering Salamander, Aneides vagrans, on Vancouver Island, British Columbia, Canada

MANIERO, G. D. , AND C. CAREY. 1997. Changes in selected aspects of immune function in the leopard frog, Rana pipiens, associated with exposure to cold. Comparative Physiology and Biochemistry B 167:256-263. MARNILA, P., A. TIISKA, K. LAGERSPETZ , AND E. -M. LILIUS. 1995. Phagocyte activity in the frog Rana temporaria: whole blood chemiluminescence method and the effects of temperature and thermal acclimation. Comparative Biochemistry and Physiology 111A:609-614. MCDONALD, D. G. , J. L. OZOG, AND B. P. SIMONS. 1984. The influence of low pH environments on ion regulation in the larval stages of the anuran amphibian, Rana clamitans. Canadian Journal of Zoology 62:2171-2177.
REG IME DE P ENDENT E F F E C T S O F I N F LA T I ON UNCERTA I N TY ON REAL GROWTH : A MARKOV SW I T CH I NG

We empirically investigate the effects of inflation uncertainty on output growth for the United States between 1960 and 2012. Modeling output dynamics within a Markov regime switching framework, we provide evidence that inflation uncertainty exerts a negative and regime-dependent impact on output growth. A battery of sensitivity checks confirm our findings.
Earnings beta

The literature on cash flow or earnings beta is theoretically well-motivated in its use of fundamentals, instead of returns, to measure systematic risk. However, empirical measures of earnings beta based on either log-linearizing the return equation or log-linearizing the clean-surplus accounting identity are often difficult to construct. I construct simple earnings betas based on various measures of realized and expected earnings and find that an earnings beta based on price-scaled expectations shocks performs consistently well in explaining the cross-section of returns over 1981–2017. I also examine the relation between different measures of beta and several firm characteristics that are either theoretically connected to systematic risk or are empirically associated with returns and find evidence in support of the construct validity of an earnings beta based on price-scaled expectations shocks. Overall, the findings suggest that this easy-to-construct earnings beta can be suitable for future researchers requiring a measure of systematic risk.
Relationship between Water‐Soluble Carbohydrates in Fall and Spring and Vigor of Spring Regrowth in Orchardgrass

To clarify relationships among factors associated with winter stress in orchardgrass (Dactylis glomerata L.), water-soluble carbohydrate (WSC) concentration, resistance to snow mold, and tolerance to prolonged snow cover were evaluated under both conditions of natural infection and chemical control of snow mold. A total of 18 cultivars from Japan, Europe, and the United States were transplanted into the field at Hokkaido in October 2003 and 2004. Crown samples were collected before the start of snow cover in fall and after melting of the snow in spring and were analyzed for WSC concentration. The total WSC concentration of cultivars originating in cold regions was higher in spring than that of cultivars originating in warm regions. The WSC concentration in fall was not correlated with tolerance to prolonged snow cover and resistance to snow mold. Otherwise, WSC concentration in spring was significantly correlated with spring regrowth and resistance to snow mold. Although dry wt. in the fall was negatively correlated with spring regrowth and snow mold resistance, it was not correlated with tolerance to prolonged snow cover. WSC concentration of crown tissues in spring should be an important selection criterion for a superior winter-hardy cultivar with rapid regrowth in spring. Cultivars that show both more fall growth and better tolerance to prolonged snow cover could be used in crosses with winter-hardy cultivars to increase forage yield in the fall.
Financial Distress in Indian Aviation Industry: Investigation Using Bankruptcy Prediction Models

The Indian aviation sector over the recent years has shown a significant growth prospects on various parameters like passenger traffic, freight traffic, aircraft movements and number of airports, among others. But ironically the financial performance of most of the air carrier individually is not at all impressive. Every five years one airline in India is being grounded, latest being Jet Airways which had to suspend its operations in April 2019 due to severe financial crunch. The primary aim of this paper is to assess the current financial health of different Indian airline companies. This study uses four different models i.e. Altman Modified Z” Score Model, Pilarski Model, Fuzzy Logic Model and Kroeze Model to test the existence of financial distress and simultaneously aims to assess the applicability of these models on the Indian aviation sector. The models have been applied on four airline companies. Models indicate the existence of severe financial distress in three out of four chosen airlines and also indicate their suitability to be applied to the sector. The study contributes to the existing literature on Indian aviation by attempting to indicate the suitability of studied models for indicating financial distress which can lead to potential bankruptcy.
Chemical and histological changes in stored cassava roots of cultivars

The research aimed evaluate and compare chemical and histological changes occurring after harvesting of cassava roots (Manihot esculenta Crantz) of cultivars Catarina Amarela and Catarina Branca. The cassava plants were grown at Instituto Agronômico do Paraná Londrina-BR, plants were trimmed 30 days before harvest, and roots were collected at 10 months of age. The roots were stored for 5 days at room conditions and submitted to evaluate the degree of physiological deterioration, moisture content, polyphenoloxidase and peroxidase enzymes activities, phenolic compounds content, hydrogen peroxide detection, content of carotenoids, cellulose, lignin and, parenchyma microscopy. After storage the cultivars presented physiological deterioration and changes in moisture content, peroxidase activity, content of phenolic compounds and lignin. Both cultivars showed no polyphenoloxidase activity. Histological alterations were observed, which are more evident in Catarina Amarela. The cultivars Catarina Amarela and Catarina Branca present chemical and histological changes after storage, and Catarina Branca is the most resistant to post-
Social and Psychological Underpinning of the Bar-Tal and Antebi’s Concept of General Siege Mentality within Different Ethnic Groups

The aim of this research was to find out (1) whether social alienation, right-wing authoritarianism (RWA), and primary psychopathy are significant predictors of Daniel Bar-Tal & Dikla Antebi's concept of general siege mentality (GSM), and (2) whether the components of the path model are invariant across different ethnic groups. The survey was carried out on the adult population in the region of eastern Croatia where live Croats and Serbian ethnic minority, and in the northern region of Serbia where live the members of Croatian ethnic minority (The Province of Vojvodina). The convenience and purposive sample consisted of 1431 full aged participants. Multiple-group analysis of structural invariance was used to test whether differences observed in the structural parameters across different ethnic groups are statistically significant.