Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
A COMPARATIVE STUDY OF GERMINATION CHARACTERISTICS IN A LOCAL FLORA

seeds for immediate germination. Of the 403 species examined, 158 failed to exceed 10% germination but 128 attained values greater than 80%. Germination was high in the majority of grasses and low in many annual forbs and woody species. With respect to initial germinability, major families could be arranged in the series Gramineae > Compositae > Leguminosae = Cyperaceae > Umbelliferae. Many small-seeded species were able to germinate immediately after collection and seeds of these species were often elongated or conical and had antrorse hairs or teeth on the dispersule. High initial germinability was conspicuous among the species of greatest abundance in the Sheffield flora. (4) In the majority of species, germination percentage increased during dry storage; this effect was most marked in small-seeded species. Among the seventy-five species which responded to chilling, some germinated at low temperature in darkness whilst others were dependent upon subsequent exposure to light or to higher temperature or to both. Responses to chilling were characteristic of the Umbelliferae. In all of the legumes examined, rapid germination to a high percentage was brought about by scarification. (5) Under the experimental conditions, all of the annual grasses showed the potential for rapid germination. High rates were also observed in many of the annual forbs and perennial grasses. Low rates of germination occurred in the majority of sedges, shrubs and trees, and were particularly common in species of northern distribution in Britain. Rapid germination was characteristic of the species of greatest abundance in the Sheffield flora. Rate of germination showed a progressive decline with increasing seed weight, and, with some exceptions, there was a positive correlation between rate of germination and the relative growth rate of the seedling. (6) In sixteen species, germination in the light was found to be dependent upon exposure to diurnal fluctuations in temperature. Under constant temperature conditions, the majority of grasses, legumes and composites germinated over a wide range of temperature, and the same feature was evident in species of ubiquitous or southern distribution in the British Isles. A requirement for relatively high temperature was apparent in sedges, in plants of northern distribution and in a majority of the marsh plants. The range of constant temperatures conducive to germination tended to be wider in grassland plants than in woodland species. Rapid germination over a wide range of temperature occurred in many of the species which attain greatest abundance in the Sheffield flora. 0022-0477/81/1100-1017 $02.00 (? 1981 Blackwell Scientific Publications
What Drives the Disappearing Dividends Phenomenon?

We study the determinants of dividend payout policy and examine the role of liquidity, risk and catering in explaining the changes in propensity to pay. Our results indicate that risk plays a major role in firms’ dividend policy. The evidence substantiates from a large sample of firms representing eighteen countries over the sample period from 1989 to 2011. For firms in the US, France, UK and Other European markets, liquidity is additionally an important determinant of dividend policy. We find that, although catering incentives persist only among firms in common law countries and not in civil law countries, after adjusting for risk there is little support for catering theory even among firms incorporated in common law countries. Our results indicate that catering incentives reflect the risk-reward relationship in the changing propensity to pay dividends.
Factors Limiting the Survival of Native Tree Seedlings Used in Conservation Efforts at the Edges of Forest Fragments in Upland Madagascar

We tested four reforestation techniques in tropical forest fragments that were damaged by fire in upland Madagascar. We conducted a full‐factorial experiment on the survival of transplanted seedlings of five native tree species in grassland plots adjacent to the forest fragments in the Ambohitantely Forest Reserve. The species studied were Dodonaea madagascariensis, Filicium decipiens, Olea lancea, Podocarpus madagascariensis, and Rhus taratana. A total of 480 seedlings were planted; 207 survived the 15 months of the experiment. The factors examined were distance of the reforestation plots from the forest, mixing of forest soil into the plots, application of chemical fertilizers, experimental shading of plots, and the cover of naturally establishing shrubs. Both increasing the distance of plots from the forest edge and adding chemical fertilizers significantly reduced the survival of all seedlings. The surprising negative effects of fertilization may be partly due to increased competition from naturally establishing shrubs that are adapted to exploit high nitrogen levels. Mixing soil from the forest areas into the plots did not change seedling survival. Shading reduced the survival of D. madagascariensis seedlings and did not increase the survival of any species. These findings suggest that the success of reforestation projects can be increased by planting seedlings close to the existing forest fragments. Reforestation of similar tropical forests is likely to be more successful if efforts are focused on expanding the size of existing fragments of tropical forest, rather than on establishing new fragments in grassland openings.
Do Sovereign Re-Ratings Destabilize Equity Markets During Financial Crises?: New Evidence From Higher Return Moments

We investigate the effects of S&P’s sovereign re-ratings on the higher moments of equity market returns over recent financial crises. Using a set of intraday stock market index prices and sovereign credit ratings for a sample of 36 countries which experienced sovereign rating changes over the period from 1996 - 2013, we find that the higher moments of stock market returns are significantly more responsive to sovereign re-ratings during financial crises but the effects on stock markets are not the same across different financial crises. The effects during crises are however magnified for large downgrades and those that are associated with a loss of investment grade status. We find that there are asymmetric effects during financial crises in that downgrades are consistently more significant than upgrades in increasing realized volatility and realized kurtosis. Both upgrades and downgrades affect realized skewness in times of crises in the expected direction.
You Can't Be Happier than Your Wife: Happiness Gaps and Divorce

This paper asks whether the gap in subjective happiness between spouses matters per se for a couple's risk of separation. We use three panel databases to explore this question. Controlling for the level of life satisfaction of spouses, we find that a higher satisfaction gap, even in the first year of marriage, increases the probability of a separation. We show that this basic relationship between the gap in satisfaction and the probability of separation is robust to a number of different specifications. Moreover, the relationship holds in all three countries that we study: Germany, the UK, and Australia. Our interpretation is that this higher separation probability results from comparisons of well-being between spouses and from an aversion to an unequal distribution of wellbeing. While a growing number of studies has already underlined that comparisons affect individual well-being, the advantage of the present article is to focus on a plausible and important reference group, namely one's own spouse. Another contribution of the article is to show that subjective variables (here, the gap in life satisfaction) matter for objectively measured outcomes such as a couple's separation. Finally, we believe that our result is interesting for the theoretical literature on the economics of the household, which has so far neglected the consequences that an unequal distribution of well-being may have. We also explore the hypothesis that it is assortative mating with respect to the baseline level of happiness that affects the risk of separation. We find that it is not only this baseline level, but also the current level of happiness that matters. First, our results hold in fixed-effects estimates that take away the effect of the initial quality of the match between spouses: fixed-effects estimates suggest that a widening of the happiness gap over time raises the risk of separation. Second, we uncover an asymmetry in the effect of happiness gaps: couples are more likely to break up when the difference in life satisfaction is unfavourable to the wife. The information available in the Australian survey reveals that divorces are indeed predominantly initiated by women, and importantly, by women who are unhappier than their husband. Hence, happiness gaps seem to matter to spouses, not only because they reflect a mismatch in terms of baseline happiness, but because they matter as such.
M&A and R&D - Asymmetric Effects on Acquirers and Targets?

We evaluate the impact of M&A activity on the growth of R&D spending and R&D intensity of 265 acquiring firms and 133 merger targets between 1990 and 2009. We use different matching techniques to construct separate control groups for acquirers and targets and use appropriate difference-in-difference estimation methods to single out the causal effect of mergers on R&D growth and intensity. We find that target firms substantially decrease their R&D efforts after a merger, while the R&D intensity of acquirers drops due to a sharp increase in sales.
A High Roughage System for Raising Calves Based on the Early Development of Rumen Function. V. Some Effects of Feeding Aureomycin with Different Ratios of Hay to Grain

Summary Twenty-four Jersey calves were used in a study of the effects of feeding aureomycin to calves raised on the high roughage system using three ratios of hay to grain (4:1, 3:2, and 2:3). Aureomycin in the form of Aurofac 2A was fed at the rate of 15 rag. per day for the first 7 weeks during milk feeding and at the rate of 20 mg. per pound of dry feed ingested from the end of the seventh week to 12 weeks of age. Aureomycin increased growth both in body weight and withers height and resulted in increased feed intake and efficiency of feed utilization at all three hay to grain ratios. After the termination of aureomycin feeding, both growth and efficiency of feed utilization declined below the level of the controls so that no prolonged growth benefit resulted at either hay to grain ratio fed, 2:1 or 4:1. The percentage of dry matter, cellulose, and protein digested was not influenced by aureomycin feeding. When the grain was increased from the 4:1 to the 2:3 hay to grain ratio, growth increased in accordance with the increased TDN intake, cellulose digestion decreased, and protein digestion and nitrogen retention increased. Riboflavin appeared to be higher in both rumen juice and urine when aureomycin was fed. Thiamine was not affected by aureomycin in either rumen juice or urine. Although the total volatile fatty acid and acetic acid content of rumen juice was not changed by aureomycin feeding, a shift occurred in the relative proportion of propionic and butyric acids. In the aureomycin-fed group, the average butyric acid content of the rumen juice was higher and propionic acid was lower than in that of the control group. The stepwise increase in the proportion of hay to grain fed resulted in lower per cent acetic and propionic acids and increased per cent butyric acid. During the period 8 to 12 weeks, blood sugar was maintained at a higher level in the aureomycin-fed group than in the control group. Ratings of indicator microorganisms, made from wet preparations and Gram stains, showed that aureomycin feeding practically eliminated the establishment of the Hay II group of rumen bacteria, which were well established in the control group. Increasing the amount of grain fed in relation to hay resulted in a progressive decrease in rumen bacteria of the Hay II group, which is in agreement with previously published results. The evidence obtained suggests that the growth stimulation due to aureomycin feeding resulted from an alteration in energy metabolism, possibly involving the micron ora of the rumen.
Bolivia’s Fiscal Rules: Dynamic Stochastic General Equilibrium Model Approach

Changes in fiscal revenues in Bolivia allow us to assess its impact on the fiscal budget and spending policy. Based on a Dynamic Stochastic General Equilibrium Model (DGSE) in line with the new macroeconomic vintage and using stylized facts for small open economy, we’re looking for a simulation of fundamentals’ responses or effects against different fiscal rulesapplied. In accordance with this we use two rules: first, where taxes adjust according to the debt level and government expenditures; and second, balanced budget where taxes adjust every time in order to maintain the equilibrium in budget. Our results show that after the fiscal shock hits the economy, the first fiscal rule has mayor stabilization effects on the price level than the second one, around 50%.
Various attempts in greening the state of Kuwait

Kuwait is a desert country characterized by harsh climate, poor soils, and scarce water resources. Several attempts have been undertaken to combat desertification in the arid country of Kuwait. These include the emphasis on the native plants through the mass planting of local plants to be further used in the desert rehabilitation, where seeds from the desert are being collected to be used for the natural re-vegetation process. Other attempts include the introduction of exotic ornamental plants that can endure similar harsh climatic conditions. Several studies are being conducted to enhance the greenery and beautification of the country. Xeriscaping is a recent approach used in Kuwait's desert landscapes. It is a low-water landscape concept especially developed to be used in countries with low rainfall and scarce water resources. More than 150 ornamental plants have been introduced and naturalized within Kuwait and yet around 200 more species are being examined for further introductions. A new study was also conducted to enhance the re-vegetation of the country was the remediation of the oil-contaminated soil that resulted form the Iraqi invasion on Kuwait. In attempts to retain the soil's productivity, physical, chemical and biological methods of remediation were studied earlier. The biological method was recommended for agricultural purposes. Local and newly introduced ornamental plants were experimented using bio-remediated soil. After a thorough study of the plants' performance the results proved that there were no major differences in the plants' survival and vegetative growth in either soil types.
Low Stakes Opportunism

In this research, the authors develop a theory for why people act opportunistically when the stakes (i.e., payoffs) are low. Transaction cost theory suggests that opportunistic behavior is more likely under high stakes conditions. The authors identify rapport as an important moderator of this relationship. Through a series of three studies, they find that high stakes opportunism appears to occur only when rapport is low. In contrast, when rapport is high, this relationship reverses, such that opportunism is actually more likely when the stakes are low than when the stakes are high. The authors attribute these findings to differences in reasoning and find that when rapport is high and the stakes are low, managers are better able to justify their actions by employing morally malleable reasoning. Thus, this research offers insights into an important form of opportunism that has been largely absent from transaction cost theory.
Population structure of seabass in Portugal: Evidence from allozymes

Starch-gel electrophoresis was used to assess the level and distribution of genetic variation in juvenile European seabass sampled from five different nursery grounds along the coast of Portugal between November 1992 and February 1994. Thirty-eight loci were examined, of which six (AAT-3*, ADA*, GPI-1*, GPI-2*, G3PDH-2*, SOD*) were polymorphic at the 99% level and were used in population surveys. Low but statistically significant multilocus FST values suggest that population structuring exists along the Portuguese coast. There is some restriction in gene flow between the population at Faro and all other sites to the north.
Effect of Cysteine on the Molecular Weight Distribution and the Disulfide Cross-Link of Wheat Flour Proteins in Extrudates

The changes in solubility, molecular size, and free sulfhydryl and disulfide contents of wheat proteins as affected by additions of cysteine during wheat flour extrusion processing were investigated. An increase in the concentration of added cysteine resulted in increases in the solubility and sulfhydryl and disulfide contents of wheat proteins in the wheat flour extrudates. The addition of cysteine as a reducing agent resulted in a decrease in the molecular size and therefore an increase in the solubility of the cross-linked wheat proteins by weakening the extensive disulfide-mediated cross-linking of wheat proteins during extrusion processing. The oxidation of two SH groups into an S−S bond between the protein and the added cysteine resulted in an increase in the disulfide content of the wheat proteins. The interchange between an SH group of an added cysteine and an S−S bond of a protein resulted in an increase in SH content in wheat proteins. A schematic pathway to illustrate the mechanism of all these.
A Spatial Mankiw-Romer-Weil Model: Theory and Evidence

This paper presents a theoretical growth model that extends the Mankiw-Romer-Weil [MRW] model by accounting for technological interdependence among regional economies. Interdependence is assumed to work through spatial externalities caused by disembodied knowledge diffusion. The transition from theory to econometrics leads to a reduced-form empirical spatial Durbin model specification that explains the variation in regional levels of per worker output at steady state. A system of 198 regions across 22 European countries over the period from 1995 to 2004 is used to empirically test the model. Testing is performed by assessing the importance of cross-region technological interdependence, and measuring direct and indirect (spillover) effects of the MRW determinants on regional output.
Can European Bank Bailouts Work?

Cross-border banking needs cross-border recapitalisation mechanisms. Each mechanism, however, suffers from the financial trilemma, which is that cross-border banking, national financial autonomy and financial stability are incompatible. In this paper, we study the efficiency of different burden-sharing agreements for the recapitalisation of the 30 largest banks in Europe. We consider bank bailouts for these banks in a simulation framework with stochastic country-specific bailout benefits. Among the burden sharing rules, we find that the majority and qualified-majority voting rules come close to the efficiency of a bailout mechanism with a supranational authority. Even a unanimous voting rule works better than home-country bailouts, which are very inefficient. If we assume additional systemic risk benefits, the efficiency of burden sharing rules comes close to the supranational solution.
A genetic evaluation of the leafnose snake, Phyllorhynchus arenicolus.

A population of leafnose snakes from Isla Monserrate, Gulf of California, Mexico was recently described as Phyllorhynchus arenicolus Savage and Cliff. The nomenclatorial status of this population has since been questioned but without supportive evidence. This population was electrophoretically compared with populations of P. decurtatus on the peninsula of Baja California and with a population on a landbridge island, Isla San Marcos. The genetic comparisons based on the gene products of 29 presumptive loci do not support recognition of the Isla Monserrate population as a valid species. It is recommended that the insular population be referred to P. decurtatus arenicolus.
Communal Service Delivery: How Customers Benefit from Participation in Firm-Hosted Virtual P3 Communities

Firm-hosted virtual peer-to-peer problem solving (P3) communities offer a low-cost, credible, and effective means of delivering education and ongoing assistance services to customers of complex, frequently evolving products. Building upon the social constructivist view on learning and drawing from literature on the firm-customer relationship in services marketing, we distinguish between functional and social benefits received by P3 community participants and study the central role of learning in influencing these benefit perceptions. The proposed model is tested on data gathered from 2,299 active members of a P3 community hosted by a global online auction firm, and the framework’s generalizability is demonstrated using a sample of 204 members of a global B2B software firm’s P3 community. Based on the results, specific recommendations are provided to marketers interested in implementing service support programs via customer communities, and future research opportunities are explored.
What 5,000 Acknowledgements Tell Us About Informal Collaboration in Financial Economics

Abstract We present and discuss a novel dataset on informal collaboration in financial economics, manually collected from more than 5,000 acknowledgement sections of published papers. We find that informal collaboration is the norm in financial economics, while generational differences in informal collaboration exist and reciprocity among collaborators prevails. Female researchers appear less often in acknowledgements than comparable male researchers. Information derived from networks of informal collaboration allows us to predict academic impact of both researchers and papers even better than information from co-author networks. Finally, we study the characteristics of the networks using various measures from network theory and characterize what determines a researcher’s position in it. The data presented here may help other researchers to shed light on an under-explored topic.
Political Dynasties and Political Competition in Pakistan

Existing literature on political dynasties argues that dynastic candidates enjoy a disproportionate electoral advantage. Theoretically, the presence of political dynasties can be considered as a non-institutional barrier to candidacy in the election. Using constituency-level data on national assembly elections (2002, 2008, & 2013) in Pakistan, we study the impact of political dynasties on various metrics of electoral competition. The empirical results show that political dynasties negatively affect political competition in Pakistan. A one-standard-deviation increase in the proportion of dynastic candidates decreases political competition by 13% in a constituency. Similarly, other metrics of political competition also respond negatively to dynastic presence. Furthermore, we also exploit historical colonial rule variations across regions as an instrument to explore the causal effect of political dynasties on political concentration. The instrumental variable (IV) estimates are also consistent with the baseline results.
Zeros

Asset prices can be stale. We define price staleness as a lack of price adjustments yielding zero returns (i.e., zeros). The term idleness (respectively, near idleness) is, instead, used to define staleness when trading activity is absent (respectively, close to absent). Using statistical and pricing metrics, we show that zeros are a genuine economic phenomenon linked to the dynamics of trading volume and, therefore, liquidity. Zeros are, in general, not the result of institutional features, like price discreteness. In essence, spells of idleness or near idleness are stylized facts suggestive of a key, omitted market friction in the modeling of asset prices. We illustrate how accounting for this friction may generate sizable risk compensations in short-dated option returns. This paper was accepted by Kay Giesecke, finance.