Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Yield, economics and biological indices of chickpea + rapeseed intercropping system as influenced by moisture conservation and nutrient management practices under rainfed conditions

A field experiment was conducted during rabi season of 2018-2019 at the experimental field of Pandit Deen Dayal Upadhyay Institute of Agricultural Sciences located at Utlou, Bishnupur District, Manipur to assess the yield, economics and biological indices of chickpea + rapeseed (4:2) intercropping system with suitable moisture conservation practices and different levels of phosphorus and sulphur under rainfed conditions in order to evaluate the intercropping system and analyze the competition and the interrelationship between component crops and their pure stands. Chickpea + rapeseed intercropping system (4:2) recorded higher chickpea equivalent yield over sole chickpea and sole rapeseed with the application of moisture conservation and phosphorus and sulphur fertilizer. The chickpea equivalent yield and system productivity index values were greater with moisture conservation practices and higher dose of phosphorus and sulphur nutrition indicating an advantage of intercropping. In intercropping, the values of aggressivity and competitive ratio indicated that chickpea was more competitive than rapeseed. This study suggests that chickpea/rapeseed (4:2) intercropping system was more productive and profitable with phosphorus and sulphur nutrition if proper moisture conservation practice could be adopted by the farmers as alternative options under rainfed conditions.
Multifunctional areas as a tool to enhance biodiversity and promote conservation in alfalfa fields

1 Agricultura Sostenible Syngenta España – c/. de la Ribera del Loira, 8, 10 – 28042 – Madrid – Spain. luis.miranda@syngenta.com 2 Andrena Iniciativas y Estudios Medioambientales S.L. – c/. Gabilondo 16bis – 47007 Valladolid – Spain. oscaraguado@lepidopteros.com 3 Laboratory of Entomology and Pest Control – Institute Cavanilles of Biodiversity and Evolutionary Biology – c/ Catedrático José Beltrán 2 – 46980 – Paterna – Valencia – Spain. jofalga@uv.es; david.lopez@uv.es 4 Syngenta Crop Protection – Rosentalstrasse 67 – 4058 – Basel – Switzerland. michael.schade@syngenta.com; vasileios.vasileiadis@syngenta.com; javier.peris@syngenta.com
reGulaTory CHanGe anD CoinTeGraTon beTweenTHai SPoT anD fuTureS SToCK inDiCeS

This study investigates the dynamics of the short-term and cointegrating relationships between SET50 index and SET50 Futures prices from 2011 – 2017, in order to examine the impacts of the change of TFEX regulation in 2014 on the market efficiency and the predictive role of both data. The findings show that the regulatory change causes both markets to be more cointegrated as revealed by a faster speed of adjustement toward their long-run equilibrium. SET50 Index Futures price is found to perform better as a leading indicator of SET50 as a result of the regulatory adjustment.
CARPATHIAN JOURNAL OF FOOD SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY

Sugiono Sugiono1* , Doni Ferdiansyah1 1Department of Fisheries Science, Faculty of Agriculture, Madura Islamic University, Pamekasan 69351, Indonesia * yonosugiono78@yahoo.co.id https://doi.org/10.34302/crpjfst/2020.12. 2.9 Article history: Received: 27 June 2019 Accepted: 22 March 2020 ABSTRACT The critical step in the sequential extraction of fucoidan and alginate from brown algae is acid treatment, since it noticeably affects physicochemical properties of the both components. This study aimed to investigate the effects of acid treatment on the multiple responses of alginate and fucoidan yield from brown alga Sargassum cristaefolium. Box Behnken Design (BBD) from Response Surface Methodology (RSM) was established to understand the effects of temperature, time and pH in acid treatment on the fucoidan yield and multiple-response alginate as follows: yield, intrinsic viscosity, and molecular weight. The experimental results revealed that temperature, time and pH significantly affected fucoidan yield, alginate yield, intrinsic viscosity, and molecular weight of alginate. The optimum acid treatment was found at temperature 33.75 °C, time 58.22 min, and pH 3.07, resulting in fucoidan yield 1.22±0.068%, alginate yield 29.85±0.24%, intrinsic viscosity 409.72±8.23 ml/g and molecular weight 194.08±3.77 kDa with the desirability value 0.805.
Quantum-mechanical simulations of pressure effects on MgIn2S4 polymorphs

ABSTRACT We have carried out a computational study of the behavior under pressure of three polymorphs of MgInS. Ab initio calculations are performed to determine the equation of state parameters of direct (DS) and inverse (IS) spinel phases, and a defect-LiTiO-type (LTO) structure observed at high pressure. It has been shown that the DS phase has higher enthalpy at zero pressure than the IS one, and the latter undergoes a pressure-induced transition to the LTO structure at 8 GPa, very close to the experimental value. Additionally, the topological analysis of the electron density of this IS phase indicates that the size and atomic-like bulk modulus associated with the sulfur atom are the key contributions to of the IS phase of MgInS. This result is in concordance with the anomalous trend found for at spinels (, S, Se) as X increases its atomic number.
The Impact of Dark Triads on employee’s Time Banditry Behavior: Moderating Role of Islamic Work Ethics

Purpose: The present study scrutinizes the novel concept of time banditry in the Banking sector. The study examined the impact of dark triad personalities- Machiavellianism, Narcissism, and Psychopathy, on the Time Banditry behavior. Also, the study extends the research on Islamic work ethics (IWE), whether IWE attenuates the detrimental effect of dark triad personalities on time banditry. Methodology: The study utilizes the survey method for data collection using questionnaire. Data was collected from 204 employees working in Islamic banks. Time-lagged data was collected at two time interval. Findings: Results confirmed that the dark triad has a significant impact on time banditry. Moreover, the moderating effect of IWE on the relationship between Machiavellianism, Psychopathy on time banditry is significant, whereas IWE did not moderate the relationship between Narcissism and time banditry. Significance: This is the first study that examine the impact of Dark Triad on Time Banditry and explore that whether Islamic Work Ethics attenuate this relationship in the context of Islamic banks in Pakistan. Implications: The main theoretical implication is toextends Dark triad literature in reducing its deteriorating effect on time banditry by integrating IWE. The theoretical model tested in the study and confirm empirical evidences in literature. Practical and Social Implications: This study prompts manager about the critical issue of time banditry and amond the dark traid personalities, which personality have more chances to indulge in such behavior. Also, managers can handle the dark triad employees by integrating IWE, to less indulge in undesirable behavior
Financial Inclusion As Determinant Of Performance: Does it Matter for Nigeria Deposit Money Banks

This paper evaluated financial inclusion as determinant of Nigeria deposit money banks performance. Data financial inclusion variants (bank network, automated teller machine and loans penetrations) and performance measures (total assets and liquidity ratio) were sourced from statistical bulletin of Central Bank of Nigeria during the periods 1981-2019. Multivariate time-series result showed that financial inclusion variants of bank networks and automated teller machine penetrations are the most fundamental determinants of deposit money banks performance, particularly. More so, while loans penetration significantly affects the performance of deposit money banks, is negative. Thus, there is the need to increase loans penetration channels so as to further augment the performance Nigeria deposit money banks. In addition, there is the need to encourage banks to invest in more branches or networks; this would help policy-makers develop effective strategies aimed at expanding bank networks, automated teller machines and loans penetrations of deposit money banks in Nigeria.
An observational study to evaluate factors predicting survival in patients of non-small cell lung cancer with poor performance status in resource-constrained settings

Background A significant proportion of non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) patients present with poor performance status (PS) at baseline are almost always excluded from the clinical trials leading to availability of only limited data in this subgroup. Patients and methods This was an observational single institutional study. The eligibility criteria for inclusion were a histologic or cytologic diagnosis of advanced NSCLC and Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group PS 3 or 4. All patients coming between June 2015 and December 2018 were evaluated for inclusion in this study. Results A total of 245 patients were enrolled in the study. The median age of the patients was 63 years (range 25–89), 142 (58%) were male, 196 (80%) had adenocarcinoma histology and 192 (78.4%) has PS 3 while rest (21.6%) had PS 4. Out of 245 patients, 192 (78.4%) received oral tyrosine kinase inhibitors (TKI) and supportive care, 45 (18.4%) received supportive care alone, while 8 (3.2%) patients received chemotherapy along with supportive care. Median overall survival (OS) was 3 months (95% CI: 1.8–4.2) in patients who received oral TKI versus 1 month (1.0–2.9) in patients who received supportive care alone (log-rank p = 0.013). The median OS for epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) mutant patients who received oral TKI was 12 months (95% CI: 7.7–16.3), while it was 3 months (95% CI: 1.5–4.5) for patients who were EGFR wild-type and received TKI on compassionate basis (HR = 0.50; 95% CI: 0.32–0.77; p = 0.001). Conclusions The use of oral TKI on a compassionate basis led to improvement in survival in the overall cohort of the patients; this was principally driven by EGFR-mutated patients.
Diagnosis and pathophysiology of Hirschsprung’s disease

Hirschsprung’s Disease (HD) is relatively common in children. Surgical treatment is aimed at removing the aganglionic section of the gut and repairing the intestinal tract. Despite some achievements of recent years, the diagnosis of the disease is not always timely. After surgical correction, functional problems may arise. The final diagnosis of HD is based on rectal biopsy. Nevertheless, the diagnostic process may involve a contrast barium enema, which in some cases allows to reject the putative diagnosis of HD, and in 70%–90% of cases establish the location of the transition zone. Some authors recommended the use a manometric study to exclude HD, but its use is recently decreasing. During normal early embryonic development, the nerve cells invade the primary intestine in a craniocaudal direction. The enteric ganglia are interconnected to form two plexuses that extend along the length of the bowel: an outer myenteric (Auerbach) plexus running through the full length of the gut, and an inner submucosal (Meissner) plexus, found only in the small and large intestine. The myenteric plexus develops first and
Investigation on Synthesis, Structural and Nonlinear Optical Responses of Cadmium Selenide Coated With Gold Nanoparticles Induced by Femtosecond Laser Excitation

Nonlinear optical signal enhancement cannot be achieved by using semiconductor materials alone. Here, we show that the recently discovered nonlinear optical behavior of plasmonic nanoparticles and hybrid nanowires enables an enhanced nonlinear optical response. A synthesis, characterization, and nonlinear optical response of synthesized hybrid nanowires structures were studied. The growth of gold nanoparticles (Au NPs) onto cadmium selenide nanowires CdSe NWs with different concentrations of gold nanoparticles coating prepared via an impregnation technique. Au nanoparticles in the CdSe/Au nanowires were uniformly dispersed on the CdSe nanowire surface. The surface morphologies and the propagation manner of hybrid nanostructures were used for transmission electron microscopy (TEM) to study the optical properties of pure and hybrid nanostructures. Dark-field scattering microscopy was used to characterize single CdSe NW and confirm the coating of hybrid CdSe/Au nanowires and characterize the concentration effect of gold nanoparticles. The dark-field scattering spectrum (DFSS) reference to the surface plasmon resonance of nearer Au NPs was observed at ca. 800 nm. By making a comparison between a single cadmium selenide with and without gold nanoparticles coating, hybrid CdSe/Au nanowires exhibit sufficient quality to produce second-harmonic generation stimulated with a pulsed, linearly polarized pump-light from a femtosecond Ti-sapphire laser. The estimated improvement of the second-harmonic generation signal is about ~ 1.8 times, ~ 5.5 times, ~ 6.9 times for low, moderate and full coating of gold nanoparticles, which was mainly due to the high quality of synthesis techniques and good dispersion of gold nanoparticles on CdSe nanowires
Financing Discretionary Payout via Debt or Equity – Evidence From India

The purpose of the paper is to examine financing payout behavior of Indian firms. Specifically, the reliance of Indian firms on capital markets to finance their discretionary payouts (DCP) is explored using data of S&P BSE 500 firms for the sample period from 2010 to 2020. This study reports several new findings for the payout policies followed by Indian firms. First, dividend payouts are not disappearing in India because dividend payout ratio and share repurchase ratio for Indian firms are found to increase during the sample period. Second, rupee magnitude of dividend payments and percentage of firms paying dividends are also increasing. Third, the financing of DCP shows that firms finance DCP mostly with debt and occasionally with equity. Fourth, firm characteristics namely size, excess leverage, excess cash, market-to-book ratio, R&D (only for debt financing), managerial ownership, cash flows, and credit rating influence financing of DCP with debt and equity issuance. Lastly, business cycle conditions are shown to influence debt financed DCP. Overall, the findings run counter to existing studies which state that dividends are disappearing because this study finds evidence of increasing dividends among Indian firms and provides insights to practitioners and academicians on the financing of payout policy in India.
When the Local Newspaper Leaves Town: The Effects of Local Newspaper Closures on Corporate Misconduct

Abstract We examine whether the local press is an effective monitor of corporate misconduct. Specifically, we study the effects of local newspaper closures on violations by local facilities of publicly listed firms. After a local newspaper closure, local facilities increase violations by 1.1% and penalties by 15.2%, indicating that the closures reduce firm monitoring by the press. This effect is not driven by the underlying economic conditions, the underlying local fraud environment, or the underlying firm conditions. Taken together, our findings indicate that local newspapers are an important monitor of firms’ misconduct.
Steady-state Growth

The starting point for estimating firm-specific steady-state growth, which is a critical assumption in implementing fundamental valuation, is the expected long-term growth rate of the economy in which the company operates. This study provides evidence that supports using the risk-free long-term interest rate as the basis for forecasting long-term economy-wide growth. Using the risk-free interest rate and various economists’ forecasts, the study then develops a composite estimate of long-term GDP growth. It concludes by discussing potential adjustments to this estimate in deriving firm-specific steady-state growth rates.
Nonparametric Impulse Response Analysis in Changing Macroeconomic Conditions

We introduce a simple nonparametric approach to compute impulse response functions. We first search for clusters of recurrent patterns of observations resembling two sets of given initial conditions, one of which contains the impact effect of the structural shock of interest. Then, to trace out the dynamic effects of the structural shock, we compare the evolution of the variables of interest following each set of initial conditions. In an empirical application to U.S. fiscal policy, we show the government spending multiplier to be moderate, typically smaller than one, and at most only weakly dependent on initial macroeconomic conditions.
Machine Learning, Corporate Bankruptcies and Variable Selection

I employ a variety of machine learning techniques to predict corporate bankruptcies. I compare machine learning techniques' predictions with the ones of reduced-form regressions and structural models. To assess the performances of different models, I compute a range of scores both in-sample and out-of-sample. I show that neural networks produce better predictions than other machine learning methods, reduced-form regressions and structural models. I provide evidence that a small set of variables consistently predict bankruptcy for firms of different dimensions, over different periods and in different industries.
Quants, Strategic Speculation, and Financial Market Quality

We study the effects of quantitative equity investing, an increasingly popular investment style, on financial market quality. Within a noisy REE model of strategic speculation with two informed market participants, we define discretionary investing as fully strategic trading and quantitative investing as partially or fully myopic via its reliance on a backtested trading strategy. Growth in quantitative investing is modeled as both the introduction of and the greater backtest adherence by an informed speculator. The introduction of an additional speculator generally benefits financial market quality. The effect of greater backtest adherence depends on whether it leads to more or less aggressive trading than discretion, the former improving, while the latter worsening market quality. If it is more aggressive, market quality broadly benefits with greater quantitative investing; if it is less aggressive, market quality deteriorates.
Comparing the Effect of Nanoclays on the Water-Resistance of Intumescent Fire-Retardant Coatings

This paper reports a study into the effect of nanoclays on the water-resistance of the intumescent system ammonium polyphosphate/melamine/pentaerythritol/titanium dioxide/polymer (ethylene vinyl acetate (EVA) or styrene acrylate (SA). It has been established that adding nanoclay to a coating based on ethylene vinyl acetate increases the fire resistance limit of a metal plate by 30 %, and to a coating based on styrene acrylate – by 50 %. At the same time, coatings that include the EVA polymer are characterized by greater fire-retardant efficiency and less water resistance than coatings containing the SA polymer. It has been shown that intumescent coatings, regardless of the nature of the polymer, under the conditions of 80 % humidity over 800 days their reduce fire-protective properties by an average of 10 %. The loss of coating fire resistance occurs due to the leaching of pentaerythritol, ammonium polyphosphate, and polymer degradation by hydrolysis. The admixtures of nanoclays with a high degree of exfoliation to the studied system create a barrier effect and maximize the chemical formulation of the intumescent coating. The fireproof properties of coatings with organically-modified montmorillonite admixtures are maintained or reduced to 5 % under the conditions of 80 % humidity over 800 days. It has been determined that the direct effect of water on the coating over a period of more than 2 days leads to a significant decrease in the swelling coefficient of intumescent coatings, regardless of the content of a nanoclay admixture in their composition. At the same time, the half-decay period of coatings without nanoclay, calculated on the basis of solubility constant in water, is 0.5 days. For coatings, which include the admixtures of organically-modified nanoclays, the half-decay period increases to 2 days. The results reported in this paper could be recommended for designing water-proof fire-resistant reactive-type nano-coatings with prolonged service life.
Should We Be Worried about 'Zero Net Taxpayers'?

In the past decade, libertarians, free-market think tanks, and conservative media and politicians in English-speaking countries (Romney, 2012; Ryan, 2010; Morrison, 2016) have increasingly argued that a growing share of the population are receiving more in benefits than they pay in taxes, and are “voting for a living”. This presentation of a class conflict between ‘tax producers’ and ‘tax consumers’ is related to public choice theories (MacLean, 2017), and has also been argued in Sweden (Lindbeck, 1983, 1985, 1997). Statistics on the share of the taxed and the “taxed not” are used to argue that tax systems are too progressive, and that welfare states have become over-generous and unsustainable. This article analyses the creation, interpretation and development of measures used to estimate the number of the taxed and the taxed nots. The paper shows that the share of households who receive more in benefits than they pay in taxes is very similar across countries and is not related to the size of the welfare state, the distribution of benefits and taxes or the welfare state regimes commonly used to classify different countries. The paper analyses the relationship between these concerns and political rhetoric justifying austerity policies.
Natural Disasters and the Role of Regional Lenders in Economic Recovery

We find that Chinese regional state-owned City-Commercial Banks (CCBs) landlocked by their remit to operate within a city respond to natural disasters more effectively by aggressively expanding credit, especially to corporate borrowers. The credit expansion is more remarkable in CCBs with high state ownership and those that are private. However, the additional lending does not sacrifice asset quality. Moreover, using satellite-based city night lights, we find post-disaster cities that experience greater CCB credit expansion enjoy stronger economic recovery. Overall, our findings highlight the critical role played by regional state-owned lenders in economic recovery from increasingly frequent natural disasters.
Intangible Customer Capital and Bank Resilience

Bank stability depends critically on the ability to connect and retain customers amid negative shocks. This study proposes a novel measure of accumulated customer capital at the branch level. In a within bank-county estimation, we exploit reputation damage as exogenous negative shocks to deposit-taking and find that branches with higher customer capital mitigate deposit outflows more effectively. These results are stronger in neighborhoods with higher income and lower population mobility, and for branches of community banks. Overall, our work highlights the value of intangible customer capital as a novel and important factor influencing the resilience of retail banking relationships.