Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Drought tolerance of some bread wheat genotypes in Ethiopia

Low moisture stress is one of the most important abiotic constraints limiting bread wheat production and area expansion in Ethiopia. To alleviate this problem, evaluation of varieties in drought prone areas has been undertaken from 1996 to1998. In this study, eighteen bread wheat (Triticum aestivum) varieties were tested at five low moisture stress locations. Appropriate standard and local checks were included at each location. There were significant differences among varieties for grain yield, days to maturity, plant height, thousand-kernel weight and test weight. Plant height, thousand kernel weight and test weight showed positive and strong association with grain yield, indicating considerable direct or indirect contributions to grain yield under low moisture conditions. Hence, these traits may be used as selection criteria for yield. The stability analysis revealed that varieties HAR 2503, HAR 2504, HAR 2324 and HAR 2508 had stable performance across the stress environments. RESUME Le stress hudrique est l'une de contraintes abiotique la plus importante limitant la production du ble et l'expansion de la superficie en Ethiopie. Pour eliminer ce probleme, une evaluation des varietes dans les regions de forte secheresse a ete entreprise depuis 1996 jusqu'en 1998. Dans cette etude, dix huit varietes de ble de pain (Triticum aestivum) ont testees dans cinq localites a stress hydique. Des temoins locaux et des standards appropries ont ete inclus a chaque localite. Il y avaient des differences significatives entre les varietes pour le rendement grain, les jours a la maturite, la hauteur des plantes, le poids de 1000 graines et le poids test. La hauteur des plantes , le poids de 1000 graines et le poids test ont montre une association forte et positive evec le rendement grain, indiquant des contributions considerables directes ou indirectes au rendement grains en conditions de stress hydrique. Ainsi ces traits peuvent etre utilises comme criteres de selection pour le rendement. L'analyse de stabilite a montre que les varietes HAR 2503, HAR 2504, HAR 2324 et HAR 2508 avaient des performance stables a travers les environnements a stress. (African Crop Science Journal 2001 9(2): 385-392)
Mortgage Risks, Debt Literacy and Financial Advice

A limited understanding of mortgage contracts and the risks involved may have contributed to the origination of the financial crisis. We have designed a special questionnaire to relate mortgage loan decisions to financial literacy and financial advice. Our findings show that homeowners seem well aware of mortgage risks. Loans are perceived more risky when they are large compared to the home value, entail high mortgage payments compared to income and when they are linked to investment vehicles. Homeowners with riskier mortgages know they may encounter financial problems when housing prices or income declines. Individuals with a lower level of financial literacy are more likely to take out traditional mortgages which pay off the principal at maturity. Riskier mortgages are more prevalent among homeowners with a better understanding of loan contracts. Financially less sophisticated homeowners who consult intermediaries for professional financial advice hold more risky mortgages as well.
Information, Participation, and Passive Investing

I investigate the impact of fundamental information acquisition costs on price informativeness and passive investing. Within a REE model of multiple risky assets and a redundant market index, I define passive investing as the optimal decision to: 1) free-ride on the information acquisition efforts of active traders in the index asset, and 2) forgo all stock picking strategies. Falling information costs have the dual effect of lowering the cost of market timing, decreasing passive share, and lowering the cost of stock picking, increasing passive share. If the stock picking effect dominates the market timing effect, passive share increases in tandem with greater price informativeness. I exploit SEC's eXtensible Business Reporting Language mandate as a negative shock to information costs to provide suggestive evidence that falling information costs may be contributing to the rise in passive investing.
Trends analysis relating to pollution in Sakumo Lagoon, Ghana

Sakumo Lagoon, situated near Accra, is a Ramsar-listed coastal wetland threatened by urban and agricultural waste, being located in an urban area where access to domestic and waste disposal facilities is a major problem. The aim of this study was to assess the pollution status as well as trends, in terms of pollution laoding, in the lagoon. Nutrients, dissolved oxygen, biochemical oxygen demand, suspended solids, temperature, pH and faecal coliforms were monitored on a quaterly basis from 1997–1998 and 2001–2002, covering both wet and dry seasons. Significant increases in the mean concentrations of suspended solids, ammonia-nitrogen, phosphate-phosphorus and biochemical oxygen demand indicated an increase in the level of pollution in the lagoon. Faecal coliform counts were fairly high, exceeding 130 counts 100 ml–1, which is the maximum acceptable count in Ghana for water used for recreation. Results from the study suggested rapid deterioration of the lagoon water quality between 1997 and 2002. Domestic and agricultural discharges into feeder streams were the main sources of pollution, as well as decaying plant material in the lagoon.
Job Protection Versus Contracts At‐Will: Trading‐Off Entrenchment and Shirking

I compare two types of employment contracts: those offering job protection and at&#8208;will contracts. Their respective performances reveal the following trade&#8208;off: at&#8208;will contracts provide cheaper incentives for agents not to shirk, but they can induce the opportunistic actions of agents to make themselves less dispensable (&#8220;entrenchment&#8221;). One implication of the model is that more senior managers, such as chief executive officers, should receive more protection, for example, through contracts that are explicitly not at&#8208;will or contracts that specify a longer duration.
Acoustic signalling in palaeotropical bushcrickets (Orthoptera: Tettigonioidea: Pseudophyllidae): does predation pressure by eavesdropping enemies differ in the Palaeo‐ and Neotropics?

When producing its calling song, a male bushcricket exposes itself to predators which use this sound for localization. Male signalling therefore has to be a compromise between attracting females and avoiding predators. In this study, the calling song structure of six Malaysian bushcricket species of the family Pseudophyllidae was examined. The lowest frequency of longdistance signals in insects yet discovered is the 600 Hz produced by Tympanophyllum arcufolium. The peak frequency of all six species and three additional species, from which only handling sounds were examined, was below 12 kHz. The duty cycle (that period of time spent signalling) was low, between one and five percent in four species and more than 20 percent in the remaining two species, typical for species which rely on camouflage. None of the various types of bat avoidance behaviour observed in the neotropical Pseudophyllidae was found in the Malaysian species. This difference is discussed in regard to the possibility of different predation pressures in the Palaeo- and Neotropics.
Financial Pressure and Balance Sheet Adjustment by UK Firms

This paper examines the financial policies and balance sheet adjustment of companies. Using a large panel of UK firms, we estimate models for dividends, new equity issuance and investment, relating them to debt adjustment. The results suggest that while dividends are sticky in the short run, they are an important means of balance sheet adjustment in the long run. Other evidence supports the idea that companies actively target their balance sheet by variation in dividends, new equity issues and investment.
Nonasymptotic Condorcet and Anti-Condorcet Jury Theorems under Strategic Voting

The nonasymptotic Condorcet jury theorem states that, under certain conditions, group decision-making by simple majority voting can decide more efficiently than single-person decision-making, in terms of having a higher probability of choosing the better alternative. Wit (1998) showed that the nonasymptotic Condorcet jury theorem holds under strategic voting in the basic model in which each member receives a binary signal. We examine the robustness of the nonasymptotic Condorcet jury theorem shown by Wit (1998) with respect to the assumptions of information structure. We show two results. The first result is that the nonasymptotic Condorcet jury theorem holds robustly in a general signal model with finite signals for binary states when the strongest signals for each state are realized with probability larger than 1/2. The second result is that the nonasymptotic Condorcet jury theorem may not hold when the strongest signal that indicates a particular state is realized with probability less than 1/2. We provide a sufficient condition for this anti-Condorcet jury theorem with respect to the prior probability and the likelihoods of signals.
Space-Time Structure of the Environment and the Survival of Parasite-Host Systems

The role played by the space-time structure of the environment in the survival of the wasp (Nasonia vitripennis) parasite-fly (Musca domestica and Phaenicia sericata) host systems was studied in the laboratory using a special population cage which consisted of a group of interconnected cells. One 30-cell parasite-host system survived for longer than a year. Increasing the number of cells from 16 to 30 in the population cage, decreased the average density of parasites and hosts per cell, but increased the chances of survival of the system. The amplitude of the fluctuations of the parasite-host populations did not increase with time as proposed by Nicholson's theoretical models but was limited by intraspecific competition. The rapid rate of evolution which occurred was the most important aspect of the experimental parasite-host populations. Within eight generations in a 16-cell system, reproductive capacity of the parasite declined 40 per cent. In 20 generations in a 30-cell system, reproductive capacity of the parasite declined 68 per cent. Such important qualitative changes in the parasite and host populations influenced the population characteristics of the systems to some degree. This demonstrates the importance of considering qualitative changes in studies of population dynamics of all herbivore-plant, predator-prey, and parasite-host systems.
Effects of Dual Microalgal Species Biofilms on New Zealand Black-Footed Abalone (Hailotis iris) Larval/Post-Larval Processes

Dual microalgal species biofilms with distinct amino acid characteristics were tested for their effects on abalone (Haliotis iris) initial attachment, metamorphosis, settlement, and survival. Nine microalgal species, isolated from around Auckland, New Zealand, were grown in the laboratory, and used to produce nine dual microalgal species biofilms. Abalone larvae were exposed to the different biofilm treatments and controls (no biofilms) for seven (attachment and metamorphosis) and 14 (settlement and survival) days. The larvae performed significantly better in the dual microalgal biofilms compared to controls, and some biofilms resulted in better attachment, metamorphosis, settlement, and survival than others. For example, the best-performing biofilms almost always contained cyanobacteria (Oscillatoria cf. erythrata, Anacystis cf. aeruginosa, and Schizothrix cf. calcicola), which are attributed with better nutritional values. However, the amino acid profiles did not produce a clear pattern with regard to their effects on the four larval processes. Instead, total amino acid (TAA) content was positively correlated with percentage of attachment and metamorphosis. Greater TAA contents are likely to reflect greater amounts of extra-cellular polymers within the biofilms, which are suggested to improve larval performance.
Talking about Climate Change: What Are Enterprises Saying in Their SEC filings?

The principal contribution of this paper lies in demonstrating that individual climate change terms may, with statistical confidence, be identified as indicators of content and found to change in frequency over time and among industries. In doing so, the study presents a method, using automated text mining and nonparametric statistics, that is complementary to less automated methods of content analysis. This study examines a climate change vocabulary of 16 terms in 19,739 SEC filings over a 14 year period (2003--2016) for preeminent firms in nine industries. We find, for most of these terms, that there is generally a significant increase of use in their annual reports (10-Ks) from the 2003--2009 period to the 2010--2016 period. The pattern for the current reports (8-Ks) is much weaker, although overall they evidence a fair amount of significant change. We also found significant differences among industries. We compare these results with those of a well-regarded content analysis report done by a prominent nonprofit organization, CERES. The two studies are complementary and together yield a more nuanced picture of SEC reporting.
Follicle curvature and crimp size in some selected Australian Merino groups

A method of measuring the degree of follicle curvature in Australian Merino sheep has been devised. It was found that the degree of follicle curvature and the follicle curvature chord were highly correlated with the crimp size. It is suggested that the fibre, "setting" in a more or less curved follicle canal, acquires a bend which contributes to the mechanism of staple crimp formation.
HABITUATION OF THE RESPONSE TO SEX PHEROMONE IN TWO SPECIES OF LEPIDOPTERA, WITH REFERENCE TO A METHOD OF CONTROL

The rate of habituation of male Anagasta kuehniella to sources of sex pheromone at four different concentrations (10−4—10−1 female equivalents of extract) was measured at the time of their diel peak of responsiveness. While the level of response to pheromone increased with concentration, the rate of habituation seemed to be independent of concentration provided this was above the threshold level for response. An interpretation of some data obtained with Trichoplusia ni by Shorey et al. yielded a similar conclusion: the rate of habituation of the response to pheromone was not greatly affected by changes in concentration. The relevance of these findings to the design of control measures for Lepidoptera is discussed.
Macroeconomic risk and higher-moment risk premia

In this paper I investigate the relation between macroeconomic risk and higher-moment risk premia. I use existing methodology on higher-moment swaps and estimate the excess returns for variance and skewness swaps. I also introduce new methodology for kurtosis swaps. The expected excess returns on such swaps are interpreted as higher-moment risk premia. I find evidence supporting an increase in tail risk when variance is low and expectations about economic growth are positive. In such periods higher-moment swaps act as a hedge against elevated tail risk, and buyers of such swaps accept lower returns, while sellers of the swaps collect higher-moment risk premia. I find evidence supporting a common source for higher-moment risk premia and that macroeconomic risk could propagate through this source. Finally, I present evidence that higher-moment swaps are good candidates for hedging macroeconomic risk due to higher payoffs when expectations about growth are negative
Measuring Limits of Arbitrage in Fixed-Income Markets

We use relative value to measure limits to arbitrage in fixed-income markets. Relative value captures apparent deviations from no-arbitrage relationships. It is simple, intuitive and can be computed model-free for any bond. A pseudo-trading strategy based on relative value generates higher returns than one based on the well-known noise measure. The relative value is therefore a better proxy for limits to arbitrage. We construct relative value indices for the US, UK, Japan, Germany, Italy, France, Switzerland and Canada. Limits to arbitrage increase with the scarcity of capital: we find that each index is correlated with local volatility and funding costs. Limits to arbitrage also exhibit strong commonality across countries, consistent with the international mobility of capital. The relative value indices are updated regularly and available publicly.
VCRIX - A Volatility Index for Crypto-Currencies

Public interest, explosive returns, and diversification opportunities gave stimulus to the adoption of traditional financial tools to crypto-currencies. While the CRIX index offered the first scientifically-backed proxy to the cryptomarket (analogous to S&P 500), the introduction of Bitcoin futures by Cboe became the milestone in the creation of the derivatives market for cryptocurrencies. Following the intuition of the "fear index" VIX for the American stock market, the VCRIX volatility index was created to capture the investor expectations about the crypto-currency ecosystem. VCRIX is built based on CRIX and offers a forecast for the mean annualized volatility of the next 30 days, re-estimated daily. The model was back-tested for its forecasting power, resulting in low MSE performance and further examined by the simulation of VIX (resulting in a correlation of 78% between the actual VIX and VIX estimated with the VCRIX model). VCRIX provides forecasting functionality and serves as a proxy for the investors’ expectations in the absence of the developed derivatives market. These features provide enhanced decision making capacities for market monitoring, trading strategies, and potentially option pricing.
Morphological and Anatomical Responses of Lythrum salicaria L. (Purple Loosestrife) to an Imposed Water Gradient

Morphological and anatomical responses of Lythrum salicaria L. to an imposed water gradient were assessed under greenhouse conditions. Nine-week-old seedlings were exposed to three levels of water availability for an 8-wk period. Fresh and dry mass of the shoot, root, and entire plant, shoot fresh:dry mass ratios, root:shoot fresh mass ratios, and root:shoot dry mass ratios were not significantly affected by water availability. Total fresh:dry mass ratios were significantly lower in the dry treatment compared with the wet, while root fresh:dry mass ratios were significantly greater in the intermediate and wet treatments. Total stem diameter and porosity was generally higher in submersed portions of flooded stems and roots, while tissue density was generally lower under these conditions. Stem diameter excluding the phellem did not differ among treatments. The total root diameter to diameter excluding phellem showed significant increases with increasing water availability. Adventitious and lateral roots in primary growth from all plants possessed an endodermis with Casparian bands and subsequently suberin lamellae and a modified, uniseriate hypodermis. Submerged stems and roots in secondary growth possessed a multilayered, lacunate polyderm, while nonsubmerged stems and roots had a compact, multilayered polyderm. Fluorescent properties of walls of some cells in the root and stem polyderm indicate that these cells share features with endodermal cells.
Relação hipsométrica para Pinus caribaea var. hondurensis e Pinus tecunumanii em povoamento homogêneo no Estado de Rondônia

The commercial plantings of Pinus were established in Brazil for over 30 years, initially in the South and Southeast. However, with the introduction of tropical species, became feasible in the whole country. Considering the importance of obtaining parameters to assess growth and the potential production of Pinus, the present work aims to adjust traditional models of hypsometric relation to species Pinus caribaea Morrelet var. hondurensis Barret & Golfari and Pinus tecunumanii Eguiluz & Perry, in pure stand, in the municipality of Vilhena, Rondonia State. Ten models were adjusted and the selection criteria followed the lower standard error of estimate (Syx%), higher adjusted coefficient of determination (R²aj.), F value and regression coefficients significant and graphical analysis of the residues. The model showed the better fit, with R²aj. of 0,896 and Syx% of 3,941% for P. caribaea var. hondurensis and R²aj. of 0,973 and Syx% of 6,319% for P. tecunumanii.
Observation of parturition in the Mexican mantled howler monkeys (Alouatta palliata) on the Island of Agaltepec, Veracruz State, Mexico

We observed a birth in a group of Mexican mantled howler monkeys (Alouatta palliata) living under semi‐free‐ranging conditions on Agaltepec Island, Catemaco, Veracruz, Mexico. Although we could not quantify contractions, we were able to record a complete description of the sequence of events that resulted in a successful birth. Nine minutes passed from the release of the amniotic fluid to the total emergence of the infant. Although all group members were resting relatively close to the female when the birth occurred, none approached her until the postpartum period. Only then did several individuals briefly inspect the newborn and then resume their foraging activities. Am. J. Primatol. 65:93–98, 2005. © 2005 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
A Network Analysis of the Singapore Court of Appeal's Citations to Precedent

This article presents findings from an empirical network analysis of citation practices in Singapore’s highest court. A network of all 987 reported Court of Appeal judgments handed down from 2000 to 2017 is constructed. Network centrality algorithms are used to rank judgments by centrality. Judgments on contract law, particularly on contractual interpretation and terms, emerge as the most central. Based on this, this article argues that more attention can be paid to interpretation per se as a legal skill. More generally, this article establishes a framework for applying network analysis to Singapore jurisprudence on a larger scale.
On the temperature dependence of soil respiration

From previously published measurements of soil respiration rate (R) and temperature (T) the goodness of fit of various R vs T relationships was evaluated. Exponential (Q 10 ) and conventional Arrhenius relationships between T and R cannot provide an unbiased estimate of respiration rate. Nor is a simple linear relationship appropriate. The relationship between R and T can, however, be accurately represented by an Arrhenius type equation where the effective activation energy for respiration varies inversely with temperature. An empirical equation is presented which yields an unbiased estimator of respiration rates over a wide range of temperatures. When combined with seasonal estimates of Gross Primary Productivity (GPP) the empirical relationship derived provides representative estimates of the seasonal cycle of net ecosystem productivity and its effects on atmospheric CO 2 (.)
Studies on antibiotic resistance of some bacterial isolates from sachet water samples in Nsukka, Nigeria

Sachet water samples of different brands were collected from several retail outlets in Nsukka, Nigeria and analysed microbiologically to determine their bacteriological quality and antimicrobial susceptibility of the isolates. A brand of the sachet water samples tested negative for the presence of bacteria while a total of 61 bacterial strains isolated from the other sachet water samples. Using the disc diffusion method, the 61 bacterial isolates were screened for susceptibility to 12 commonly used antimicrobial agents including amoxycillin, chloramphenicol, ciprofloxacin, cotrimoxazole, streptomycin and tetracycline. The isolates showed 91.8% susceptibility to chloramphenicol and 85.2%, 80.3% and 77.0% susceptibility to ciprofloxacin, nalidixic acid and nitrofurantoin, respectively. About 79% of the isolates were resistant to cotrimoxazole and rifampicin, respectively followed by gentamicin (69%). These results suggest that a large proportion of the bacterial flora in sachet water samples is resistant to a variety of antibiotics, and that resultant water-related infections will be more difficult to treat. Keywords: Antibiotic resistance, Bacterial isolates, Sachet water samples