Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
The Impact of CEMAC Bilateral Trade on the Economic Growth of Cameroon: Evidence from the Augmented Solow Model

Economists view international trade as an engine to the economic growth of nations. Specifically, international trade is believed to promote the efficient allocation of resources, allows countries to experience the benefits of scale, facilitates the diffusion of knowledge, fosters technological progress and encourages competition. As a result, policy makers continue to undertake socio-economic, legal, political and institutional reforms in order to boost international trade. The study examines the impact of bilateral trade in the Economic and Monetary Union of Central African States (CEMAC) on the economic growth of Cameroon for a forty six year period from 1972 to 2018 using data collected from the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund. Through the adoption of the Poisson Pseudo Maximum Likelihood Estimator (PPML), the study finds out that while Cameroon’s bilateral trade with other CEMAC member States had an insignificant impact on the economic growth of Cameroon. Also, total labour force, government investment in education, government investment in fixed capital and the creation of CEMAC as a trade bloc all have a positive impact on the economic growth of Cameroon. The study recommends that policy makers in Cameroon and the CEMAC region as a whole should put in place laws, policies, measures and structures that boost bilateral trade within the CEMAC region in a bid to foster the economic growth of Cameroon as well as the economic growth of the CEMAC region as a whole. Keywords: International trade, Economic growth, CEMAC, Poisson Pseudo Maximum Likelihood (PPML) Estimator. DOI: 10.7176/JESD/11-10-19 Publication date: May 31 st 2020
Optimal Detection for Ambient Backscatter Communication Systems With Multiantenna Reader Under Complex Gaussian Illuminator

This article addresses the issue of symbol detection in ambient backscatter communication systems with the multiantenna reader. Focusing on the ON–OFF keying modulation, the optimal detector minimizing the bit error rate (BER) is devised based on the maximum a posteriori principle. We then analyze the exact closed-form BER expression for the optimal detector. Moreover, simple approximate BER expressions are derived in certain asymptotic regimes. Furthermore, a simple energy detector is analyzed as a benchmark scheme, and the asymptotic BER is devised in a closed form. The findings of this article suggest that implementing multiple antennas at the reader is an effective means to enhance the BER performance and extend the tag–reader communication range. Also, the optimal detector always outperforms the energy detector. In particular, the optimal detector can avoid the error floor phenomenon, which is inevitable for the energy detector in the high SNR regime.
Determinants of Corporates Leverage in Indonesia

This paper examines the determinants of corporate leverage with the determining factors are bond yield, company size, and liquidity. The research samples include 22 companies that present a complete report with the determination of the sample through a purposive sampling method. The study uses the data panel using Eviews 8 program application. The analysis of data panels conducted first conducted the classical assumption test and the second through the model selection test is Chow test, Hausman test, and Lagrange multiplier test. The selected model is a random effect model. Regression model developed in three models total debt, long term debt and short term debt. The results showed that in total debt and short term debt model are a partially bond yield has no effects on leverage while the company size and liquidity significantly negative affects on leverage. In long term debt model is a partially bond yield has positive effect on leverage, size has no effect on leverage, and liquidity has positive effect on leverage. The results of this study can identified that leverage pattern in line with short term debt.
The contribution of variance in lifetime reproduction to effective population size in Tigers

Abstract: We studied tiger (Panthera tigris) reproduction in Royal Chitwan National Park to examine variance in lifetime reproduction and its contribution to estimates of inbreeding-effective population size in this species. A total of 36 breeding animals (14 males, 22 females) and 144 young were monitored between 1973 and 1989. Mean litter size was 2.98 and young were born throughout the year. Mortality during the first year was 34%. Loss of entire litters accounted for 73% of first-year mortality, suggesting that chance events were more important in determining first-year survival than the quality of a female's territory. Second-year mortality was 17%, and most (71%) was within-litter mortality. The number of young that survived to dispersal or 2 years was used as a measure of lifetime reproduction. To calculate the effect of variance in lifetime reproduction on inbreeding-effective population size, we estimated the distribution of number of offspring that reach breeding age. High variance in lifetime reproduction resulted in an Ne-to-N ratio of 0.41 and an Ne, of 26 Because the rate of inbreeding in the Chitwan population is approximately 2% per generation and Chitwan is one of the largest tiger populations on the Indian subcontinent, it is possible that inbreeding depression occurs in many tiger populations. Inbreeding depression may be reflected in many measures of fitness: litter size, birth weight, infant and early survival, and sperm viability. The field data presented here demonstrate the length of time and effort needed to obtain even a single moderate-sized data set. Were it possible to obtain two such data sets, comparisons between populations or time periods would-be problematic Because of these difficulties, conservation decision-makers will need to rely on population viability analysis modeling. Long-term field data on individual populations and information on the dynamics of metapopulations are needed to build and validate these models.
Increased Herbivory in Forest Isolates: Implications for Plant Community Structure and Composition

Abstract: Understanding processes driving population declines and, ultimately, species loss in forest isolates has significant implications for the long‐term maintenance of species diversity. We investigated a potential mechanism driving loss of plant species in small, medium, and large land‐bridge islands in Lago Guri, a 4300‐km2 hydroelectric impoundment in the State of Bolivar, Venezuela. Our hypothesis was that elevated Atta ( leaf‐cutter ants) herbivory on small Guri islands, attributable to release from predation, could result in reduced sapling densities, with potentially negative effects on preferred plant species. We experimentally established Atta preferences among 43 common tree species. Vegetation plots on small, medium, and large land masses were examined for variation in density, size‐class distribution, and representation of preferred and less preferred species of small stems. Densities of adult trees of preferred and less preferred species were compared between Atta colony foraging zones and control plots without active Atta colonies, and between foraging zones on the small islands and the large island. Small stem densities were significantly reduced on the small islands, especially in the sapling category (≥1 m tall, <1 cm dbh). On medium and large land masses, preferred species were underrepresented in both sapling (≥1 m tall, <1 cm dbh) and juvenile (≥1 cm dbh, <10 cm dbh) size classes. On small islands, however, both preferred and less preferred species showed reduced representation in the sapling size class. Adults of preferred species were significantly reduced within Atta foraging zones compared with control plots without Atta colonies. Small stem densities were independent of adult tree densities for preferred species on small islands and for both preferred and less preferred species on large land masses. High levels of Atta herbivory could be a potentially important cause of reduced plant recruitment on small Guri islands. Our findings contribute to understanding of the role of altered ecological interactions as deterministic mechanisms driving a process of change in the structure and composition of fragmented communities.
Sexing Mute Swans Cygnus olor by discriminant analysis

External measurements taken readily in the field were used to develop an alternative method of sexing Mute Swans Cygnus olor. Measurements of weight, tarsus length and skull length were taken during the period 1982 to 1999 in an area of southeast Scotland, UK. A discriminant function was developed using these biometrics to distinguish between males and females. The function derived for cygnets exceeding 7 kg in weight successfully described the sex of 88% of the original data when tested by jack‐knifing. A function derived for adults correctly assigned 95% of a novel data set. Factors other than sex may influence the size of animals in a population overall, and so application of these functions to discriminate data from a wider geographical area, and when applied by other fieldworkers, should be tested prior to use.
Efficacy of ISSR and SRAP techniques for molecular characterization of some Cucurbita genotypes including naked (hull-less) seed pumpkin.

This study was carried out to determine the efficacy of inter simple sequence repeats (ISSR) and sequence -related amplified polymorphism (SRAP) techniques for molec ular characterization some Cucurbitagenotypes including naked (hull-less) seed pumpkin. Plant material consisted of sixteen genotypes belonging to Cucurbita pepoL. ,and four genotypes belonging to Cucurbita moschataDuchesne,andfourgenotypes belongingtoCucurbita maximaDuchesne. A larger part of the Cucurbita pepogenotypes (7 Turkish and 4 foreign) were seed pumpkin and some of them were naked seed types used as appetizer and/or for oil production. Morphological characterization was also done accord ing to UPOV criteria. The sixty bands were obtained by using 8 ISSR primers and all these bands were found polymorphic. In the SRAP study, 8 primer combinations were used, a total of 71 bands were scored and all these bands were polymorphic. In the ISSR analyses, the genetic similarity coefficients varied between 0.07 and 0.96, while in SRAP it was between 0.13 � 1.0. The correlation coefficient between ISSR and SRAP genetic similarity data was very high (r = 0.947). The genetic variation as measured by ISS R and SRAP markers revealed high diversity among Cucurbita genotypes (H = 0.30, I = 0.46 and 100 % polym.). The genetic diversity among Turkish naked seed pumpkin genotypes (H = 0.09, I = 0.14 and 26.7 % polym.) was only a little less than that of the fore ign accessions (H = 0.12, I = 0.18 and 32.1 % polym.). Some differences were observed between molecular and morphological studies, and it was concluded that only morphological or molecular analyses but a combination of both approaches are often more reliab le in genetic variability studies in Cucurbita genus.
Model-Aware Regularization For Learning Approaches To Inverse Problems

There are various inverse problems -- including reconstruction problems arising in medical imaging -- where one is often aware of the forward operator that maps variables of interest to the observations. It is therefore natural to ask whether such knowledge of the forward operator can be exploited in deep learning approaches increasingly used to solve inverse problems. In this paper, we provide one such way via an analysis of the generalisation error of deep learning methods applicable to inverse problems. In particular, by building on the algorithmic robustness framework, we offer a generalisation error bound that encapsulates key ingredients associated with the learning problem such as the complexity of the data space, the size of the training set, the Jacobian of the deep neural network and the Jacobian of the composition of the forward operator with the neural network. We then propose a 'plug-and-play' regulariser that leverages the knowledge of the forward map to improve the generalization of the network. We likewise also propose a new method allowing us to tightly upper bound the Lipschitz constants of the relevant functions that is much more computational efficient than existing ones. We demonstrate the efficacy of our model-aware regularised deep learning algorithms against other state-of-the-art approaches on inverse problems involving various sub-sampling operators such as those used in classical compressed sensing setup and accelerated Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI).
Response of new cotton varieties to nitrogen fertilization in Sudan Gezira.

The growth and yield responses of three newly released cotton varieties to nitrogen fertilization were evaluated in a two-year (2006 -2007) field experiment at Gezira Research Station (GRS), Central Sudan. Three cotton varieties, (Hamid, Khairalla and Knight) and six equidistant N rates (0, 30, 60, 90, 120 and 150 kg N/ha) were arranged in a split plot design. The varieties were the main plot and N rates were the subplot with 4 replications. Results indicated similar trends of response of the three varieties, but with varying relative responses of each variety to nitrogen rates. Significant differences in yield potential among the three varieties were detected. Averaged across the nitrogen rates, variety Hamid gave 31 and 14% yield advantages over varieties Khairalla and Knight, respectively. Cotton growth, seed cotton and lint yields were significantly and progressively increased with the rise in the levels of added nitrogen. The yield response of each variety to N increments was best expressed by a quadratic response model. Key words: New cotton varieties, cotton growth, seed cotton, lint yield, quadratic response model.
Restoration potential of the persistent soil seed bank in successional calcareous (alvar) grasslands in Estonia

Questions What is the overall restoration potential of the persistent soil seed bank of abandoned alvar grassland sites? To what degree does the share of characteristic alvar grassland species in the soil seed bank change during secondary succession from traditionally managed pasture towards stages overgrown by Corylus avellana and Juniperus communis? Location Northern Estonia. Methods The species composition of above-ground vegetation and the persistent soil seed bank were investigated in successional alvar grasslands. Particular attention was given to typical grassland species in the persistent soil seed bank. Soil seed bank density was also recorded. General linear models and non-metric multidimensional scaling were used to assess successional trends and the restoration potential of the soil seed bank. Results The cessation of traditional management has led to a considerable decline in above-ground plant species richness. The composition of above-ground vegetation in different successional stages was considerably more variable than that of the seed bank. We detected large and species-rich persistent soil seed banks in all our study sites. About 70% of species in the seed banks of overgrown sites could be classified as typical grassland species. The frequency of typical alvar grassland species, such as Arabis hirsuta, Arenaria serpyllifolia, Cerastium fontanum, Helianthemum nummularium, Poa angustifolia, Potentilla crantzii, Sedum acre and Veronica spicata in the seed bank of long-term abandoned (25 and 50 yr) sites was unexpectedly high. Conclusions Abandoned semi-natural grassland sites in northern Estonia still contain a relatively large grassland community species pool, including a large and effective soil seed bank. The soil seed bank could thus play a more important role in the restoration management of abandoned dry grassland communities than could be concluded from previous studies.
Effects of Hurricane Isabel on a maturing hardwood forest in the Virginia Coastal Plain1

Abstract When Hurricane Isabel reached the Virginia Coastal Plain on September 18, 2003, it was still a Category 2 hurricane, the strongest hurricane to hit Virginia for more than 70 years, and it inflicted much damage on forests. Permanent hardwood forest plots sampled just months before the storm were re-sampled after the event, revealing an overall damage rate of 14.9% of stems ≥ 2.5 cm dbh, with 7.3% of stems uprooted or secondarily crushed. Larger trees suffered more damage than smaller trees, ranging from 9.7% stems damaged for stems below 10 cm dbh (all by secondary damage) to 32.4% of stems over 60 cm dbh. In the larger size classes, red oaks (predominantly Quercus rubra, but including, Q. falcata, Q. coccinea, Q. velutina) suffered more damage than white oak (Quercus alba). Liriodendron tulipifera and Fagus grandifolia suffered even less damage, but both species lost many branches in an ice storm in 1998, and may have had smaller crowns with less wind resistance than the canopy oaks. There was no significant difference among species in amount of (secondary) damage to smaller trees, although Nyssa sylvatica had a particularly low percent damage. Overall 16% of basal area was lost, but damage was patchily distributed. No basal area was lost in nine of 27 plots, but more than 30% of basal area was lost in seven plots. Loss of large trees created numerous canopy gaps that will no doubt change the forest dynamics in years to come.
Effects of a New Recombinant Phytase on the Performance and Mineral Utilization of Broilers Fed Phosphorus-Deficient Diets

SUMMARY An experiment was conducted with Arbor Acres broiler chickens that were fed 3 experimental diets—a control diet containing an adequate level of available phosphorus (AP) and 2 diets that were deficient in AP but supplemented with phytase at a level of either 500 or 750 phytase units/kg—to assess the effects of a novel microbial phytase supplement in broilers fed AP-deficient diets on growth performance and mineral utilization. Similar average daily gain, feed intake, and feed efficiency (P > 0.05) were obtained among broilers fed different diets. Compared with broilers fed the control diet, broilers fed diets with phytase had greater (P < 0.05) retention of Ca, P, and Zn. Moreover, the levels of Cu, Zn, Mg, and Mn in the tibia bone at 28 d of age, and Zn and Mn at 42 d of age in birds fed diets with phytase exceeded (P < 0.05) those of birds fed the control diet. Supplementation of phytase increased Zn and Mg contents in the plasma at 42 d of age. Birds responded similarly to phytase supplemented at a level of 500 or 750 phytase units/kg in terms of growth performance, mineral retention, and mineral content in the serum and bone. Therefore, with the supplementation of this novel phytase, it is possible to reduce the dietary levels of P and other minerals to below the recommended levels of the Feeding Standard of Chicken in P. R. China (ZB B 43005-86).
Enhance salt stress tolerance in wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) plant using exogenous β-carotene or algal extract

This study was designed to examin the effect of exogenous application of β-carotene and algal extract to mitigate the deleterious effect of salt stress in wheat plants. Generally, salt stress induced changes in the contents of compatible osmolytes and some antioxidants compounds in the different plant parts of T. aestivum. The results indicated that applying of β-carotene or algal extract can used to ameliorate the deleterious effect of salt stress and could be enhance the level of free amino acids, proline, glycine betaine, choline, glutathione, ascorbic acid, phenolic contents and total antioxidants activity in both shoot and grains.
Response of grain and protein yields of triticale varieties at different levels of applied nitrogen fertilizer

The grain yield and grain protein content of winter triticale in dry farming can be significantly affected by environmental conditions and different nitrogen (N) levels. Two year field trials with six winter triticale cultivars (Tatlicak, 97; Presto, 2000; Karma, 2000; Melez, 2001; Mikham, 2002 are registered in Turkey and Samur Sortu in Azerbaijan) were conducted in Central Anatolia, Turkey to investigate the possible influences of nitrogen levels on grain yield, grain protein content and grain protein yields. Nitrogen level applications included: N0 (control), N1 (0+40 kg ha), N2 (40+0 kg ha), N3 (40+40 kg ha) and N4 (80+80 kg ha) (the first amount used for sowing and the second top dressed). There were differences between cultivars in response to a variation in N level. Grain yield, grain protein content, and grain protein yield showed a highly significant response to N levels, increasing with rising N levels till N3 level. Grain yield, protein content and protein yield were highest at N3 (40+40 kg ha ) level. The grain yield of triticale did not differ at N1 and N2 (total 40 kg N ha ) levels depending on application time. Melez, 2001 cultivar produced higher performance than the other triticale cultivars.
Communication Technology Use by Caregivers of Adolescents With Mental Health Issues: Systematic Review

Background Caregivers of adolescents with mental health issues experience challenges that may result in the caregivers having a variety of unmet needs. There is a growing need to support these caregivers. Effective support to strengthen positive caregiving behavior in caregivers may address their challenges. Communication technologies offer novel opportunities to assist these caregivers and may contribute to strengthening caregiver behavior. However, little is known about the use of communication technologies among caregivers of adolescents with mental health issues. Objective The study aimed to answer the question: “What is the best evidence available to strengthen positive behavior of caregivers of adolescents with mental health issues using communication technology. ” Methods A systematic review of articles published between January 2007 and August 2018 was conducted. Searches included articles of multiple study designs from EBSCO Host and Scopus platforms with prespecified eligibility criteria. Methodological quality was evaluated using the applicable Critical Appraisal Skills Programme and Joanna Briggs Institute assessment tools. Results The search yielded 1746 articles. Altogether, 5 articles met the eligibility criteria and were included in the review for data synthesis. Data analysis and synthesis identified three thematic conclusions reflecting the types of communication technologies used, caregivers as the target population, and strengthening of positive behavior through determinants of the Integrated Model of Behavior Prediction. Conclusions The review reported the usefulness of communication technology by caregivers. Caregivers also demonstrated improvement in self-efficacy, knowledge, parent-child communication, and parental skills reflecting positive behavior. Although the use of communication technology is expanding as a supportive intervention to address caregivers’ needs, the evidence for usefulness among caregivers of adolescents with mental health issues is still scarce. More research and information related to preferred methods of communication delivery among caregivers of adolescents is still needed.