Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Derivatives Clearing and Systemic Risk

This paper investigates systemic risk of bank holding companies (BHCs) following the enactment of mandatory clearing of derivatives by the Dodd–Frank Act. We find that BHCs that were bigger users of derivatives experienced a larger drop in systemic risk after mandatory clearing, all else being equal. This relationship holds across different measures of systemic risk and across several robustness checks that account for potential endogeneity and self-selection bias, including data mining through high-dimensional methods. Overall, our results suggest that derivatives clearing can curtail systemic risk in the banking system.
Tidal straining, density currents, and stirring in the control of estuarine stratification

Buoyancy input as fresh water exerts a stratifying influence in estuaries and adjacent coastal waters. Predicting the development and breakdown of such stratification is an inherently more difficult problem than that involved in the analogous case of stratification induced by surface heating because the buoyancy input originates at the lateral boundaries. In the approach adopted here, we have adapted the energy considerations used in the surface heating problem to describe the competition between the stabilizing effect of fresh water and the vertical mixing brought about by tidal and wind stirring. Freshwater input induces horizontal gradients which drive the estuarine circulation in which lighter fluid at the surface is moved seaward over heavier fluid moving landward below. This contribution to stratification is expected to vary in time as the level of turbulence varies over the tidal cycle. The density gradient also interacts directly with the vertical shear in the tidal current to induce a periodic input to stratification which is positive on the ebb phase of the tide. Comparison of this input with the available stirring energy leads to a simple criterion for the existence of strain-induced stratification. Observations in a region of Liverpool Bay satisfying this criterion confirm the occurrence of a strong semidiurnal variation in stratification with complete vertical mixing apparent around high water except at neap tides when more permanent stratification may develop. A simulation of the monthly cycle based on a model including straining, stirring, and the estuarine circulation is in qualitative agreement with the main features of the observations.
Credit Access and Household Well-being: Evidence from Payday Lending

How does gaining access to expensive credit affect the well-being of credit-constrained households? I use plausibly exogenous zip code level variation in the temporal accessibility of payday loans to examine the causal effects of access to payday loans on household well-being. Using suicide risks as a long-term measure for household distress, I find detrimental effects from payday loans; that is, there is a sharp increase in attempted suicides after gaining access to payday loans only for people effectively eligible for payday loans. The increased suicide risks appear to be related to mental health deterioration from financial distress.
Does the Capital Structure Really Matter? A Study from the United Kingdom

Among other things, the study employs time series and cross-sectional regressions to shed some intuitive light on the relevance of the Modigliani and Miller (1958) irrelevance hypothesis. Based on the principal objective of the study, I attempt to empirically examine the relationships between explanatory variables: capital structure (gearing ratio), debt tax shields, non-debt tax shields, asset structure and bankruptcy probability and the dependent variable: firm value. Based on the analysis of a set of ten UK industries, my findings are not compatible with the Modigliani and Miller (1958) propositions. The evidence is highly consistent with the Modigliani and Miller (1963) theoretical predictions about tax benefits. Therefore, capital structure really matters if firms judiciously use corporate debt. The study also sheds some insightful light on the inter-industry capital structure differences. Using a one-way ANOVA test, I find that various industries, subject to various nature of business, have developed characteristically different capital structures. Another persuasive and interesting findings that I have uncovered through this study are that, costs of debt are similar across a set of industries studied regardless of the capital structure.
Misallocation across Establishment Gender

Extending a standard model for measuring misallocation, I find substantial differences to its extent across male and female establishments spanning over 75 low and middle income countries. In South American and South Asian countries female establishments face higher distortions on production, whereas in Eastern European countries male establishments face higher distortions. These differences are due to gender bias against females in South Asia in the range of 20 percent, and perhaps surprisingly, against males in Eastern Europe of a similar range. Importantly, gender bias against females is negatively related to economic development. A hypothetical policy that levels the playing field across gender has a larger impact on female establishment size and raises their market share in countries where females face higher distortions.
Collusive Price Rigidity Under Price Matching Punishment

In this paper we provide game theoretic support for the results of the kinked demand curve. By analyzing an infinitely repeated game where unit costs fluctuate stochastically between a low and a high state over time and where firms follow a price-matching punishment strategy, we demonstrate that price rigidity can occur in the best collusive subgame perfect Nash equilibrium for small fluctuations in costs. The critical level of high costs under which the best collusive prices are rigid is shown to depend upon the expected duration of a sequence of high-cost periods, the number of firms in the market, and the degree of product differentiation.
Occurrence and management of fruit flies in Cuba

In Cuba, fruit-fly control is traditional and is sustained by phytosanitary regulations. Recent surveys have shown that Anastrepha obliqua and Anastrepha suspensa attack various fruits, especially guava and mango, whereas Toxotrypana curvicauda attacks papaya. New host plants are reported for Cuba: A. obliqua on coffee, peach and Pouteria sapota and A. suspensa on Spondias mombin and S. ciruela. Their occurrence was only occasional, and neither of these species was found on citrus. Populations of A. obliqua and A. suspensa were relatively low on guava and mango, occurring mostly in the months of May to September. Five causes are suggested for the relatively low incidence of fruit flies in Cuba: efficient natural regulation by Bracanastrepha anastrephae; predation of larvae by ants in the soil; high mortality of pupae because of surface soil temperature and generalist predators; the cropping system; and the phytosanitary control programme (with preventive approach). The results of the control programme are presented, especially for areas intended for fresh-fruit export.
Corruption, Product Market Competition, and Institutional Quality: Empirical Evidence from the U.S. States

This article argues that the effect of corruption on competition is dependent on the institutional environment. When institutions are relatively efficient, observed corruption is likely to be associated with relatively less competition. Conversely, in areas with low quality institutions (e.g., excessively burdensome regulations), corruption may lead to relatively more competition. I employ unique data on competition, corruption, and institutional quality across U.S. states from 1997 to 2009 and report that a higher level of corruption is associated with relatively more competition in states with low levels of institutional quality. However, as institutional quality improves, the effect of corruption worsens. Thus, institutional quality is a fundamental determinant of the corruption&#8208;competition relationship. Improving institutional quality, while at the same time reducing corruption, will increase competition and likely improve economic outcomes.
RESPONSES OF N‐LIMITED ECOSYSTEMS TO INCREASED CO2: A BALANCED‐NUTRITION, COUPLED‐ELEMENT‐CYCLES MODEL

Ecosystem responses to increased CO2 are often constrained by nutrient limitation. We present a model of multiple-element limitation (MEL) and use it to analyze constraints imposed by N on the responses to an instantaneous doubling of CO2 concen- tration in a 350-yr-old eastern deciduous forest. We examine the effects of different exchange rates of inorganic N with sources and sinks external to the ecosystem (e.g., through de- position and leaching) and different initial ratios of net: gross N mineralization. Both of these factors influence the availability of N to vegetation and, therefore, have important effects on ecosystem responses to increased CO2. We conclude that reliable assessments of ecosystem responses to CO2 will require a better understanding of both these factors. The responses to increased CO2 appear on at least four characteristic time scales. (1) There is an instantaneous increase in net primary production, which results in an increase in the vegetation C:N ratio. (2) On a time scale of a few years, the vegetation responds by increasing uptake effort for available N (e.g., through increased allocation of biomass, energy, and enzymes to fine roots). (3) On a time scale of decades, there is a net movement of N from soil organic matter to vegetation, which enables vegetation biomass to accumulate. (4) On the time scale of centuries, ecosystem responses are dominated by increases in total ecosystem N, which enable organic matter to accumulate in both vegetation and soils. In general, short-term responses are markedly different from long-term responses.
No Long-Term Effects of Prescribed Fire on Lehmann Lovegrass (Eragrostis lehmanniana)–Invaded Desert Grassland

Abstract Desert grasslands of the southwestern United States have experienced an increase in the abundance and distribution of woody plant species over the past century. Shrub encroachment has caused a substantial loss of grasslands in the northern Chihuahuan Desert. The Chihuahuan Desert has also been invaded by Lehmann lovegrass, a fire-adapted species from southern Africa. In 1999, the U.S. Department of Agriculture–Agricultural Research Service burned a remnant desert grassland to determine the effects of prescribed fire on shrub–perennial grass dynamics. The grassland also contained the nonnative perennial grass Lehmann lovegrass. I am reporting on a study that was initiated to determine whether prescribed burning would alter the vegetative community within and proximal to a Lehmann lovegrass–dominated patch. Cover of Lehmann lovegrass showed no significant response to the burn treatment. Of the dominant native species, only black grama and broom snakeweed had a significant year by treatment interaction. No species or growth form had a significant vegetation type by year by treatment interaction. After 6 yr, differences between burned and unburned transects were not significant for any species or growth form. Nomenclature: Lehmann lovegrass, Eragrostis lehmanniana Nees, black grama, Bouteloua eriopoda (Torr.) Torr. , broom snakeweed, Gutierrezia sarothrae (Pursh) Britt. & Rusby
Molecular Screening of Tomato Yellow Leaf Curl Virus (TYLCV) in Tomato Cultivars at Buyeo Tomato Experiment Station, Chungnam, Korea

Molecular Screening of Tomato Yellow Leaf Curl Virus (TYLCV) in Tomato Cultivars at Buyeo Tomato Experiment Station, Chungnam, Korea Molecular screening detected the presence of Tomato yellow leaf curl virus (TYLCV) in tomato cultivars grown at Buyeo tomato experiment station (BTES) and in tomato samples collected from two farmer green houses (FGHs). A number of cultivars viz. BT07203, BT08205, Summer King, Madison, and Rapito exhibited tomato yellow leaf curl symptoms with a variable disease incidence (1.37 to 66.86%). Maximum disease incidence 66.86% was found in Rapito cultivar while the least incidence of 1.37% was found in the Madison cultivar. Doterong TY Winner, Minichal and Blackiss cultivars and root stock cultivars (Ganmaune, BT06302, BT07302 and BT10301-2) did not show any visible symptoms of TYLCV. Both FGH samples (cherry tomatoes) showed very mild symptoms. In a whitefly transmission analysis, TYLCV inoculated tomato plants showed leaf curl symptoms similar to naturally infected plants three weeks post-inoculation. None of the other test plant species viz. chilli, potato cantaloupe, cucumber, and sweet potato showed any visible symptoms. PCR analysis of these test plants with a CP gene degenerate primers resulted in positive amplification (~775 bp) in tomato, chilli, potato, cantaloupe, and cucumber but no such amplicon was resulted with sweet potato sample. Some apparently asymptomatic samples viz. Doterong TY winner Minichal and root stock cultivars Ganmaune, BT6302 and BT7302 were also found positive in PCR analysis. Only Blackiss and BT1031-2 cultivars (root stock) were found negative in PCR analysis. CP gene amplicons (~775bp) obtained from 6 isolates (four BTES and one each from both FGHs were cloned and sequenced and data was deposited in GenBank. In BLASTn and phylogenetic analysis, of all six isolates (four selected from BTES and one each from both farmer green houses) shared highest (99-100%) sequence identity and close relationships with various TYLCV isolates reported from South Korea and abroad. During the study, a degenerate primer pair designed based on the CP gene sequences of TYLCV, TbLCV, and SPLCV was found to be broad spectrum begomovirus detection. In PCR analysis, primer pair amplified ToLCNDV, AEV, BYVMV, and ICMV. The primers set may be employed to detect various begomoviruses.
The effect of cassava mosaic geminiviruses on symptom severity, growth and root yield of a cassava mosaic virus disease‐susceptible cultivar in Uganda

Summary A study was carried out to assess the effect of different cassava mosaic geminiviruses (CMGs) occurring in Uganda on the growth and yield of the susceptible local cultivar ‘Ebwanateraka’. Plants infected with African cassava mosaic virus (ACMV), ‘mild’ and ‘severe’ strains of East African cassava mosaic virus-Uganda (EACMV-UG2) and both ACMV and EACMV-UG2 were grown in two experiments in Kabula, Lyantonde in western Uganda. The most severe disease developed in plants co-infected with ACMV and EACMV-UG2 and in those infected with the ‘severe’ form of EACMV-UG2 alone; disease was least severe in plants infected with the ‘mild’ strain of EACMV-UG2. ACMV-infected plants and those infected with the ‘mild’ strain of EACMV-UG2 were tallest in the 1999–2000 and 2000–2001 trials, respectively; plants dually infected with ACMV and EACMV-UG2 were shortest in both trials. Plants infected with ‘mild’ EACMV-UG2 yielded the largest number and the heaviest tuberous roots followed by ACMV and EACMV-UG2 ‘severe’, respectively, whilst plants dually infected with ACMV and EACMV-UG2 yielded the least considering the two trials together. Reduction in tuberous root weight was greatest in plants dually infected with ACMV and EACMV-UG2, averaging 82%. Losses attributed to ACMV alone, EACMV-UG2 ‘mild’ and EACMV-UG2 ‘severe’ were 42%, 12% and 68%, respectively. Fifty percent and 48% of the plants infected with both ACMV and EACMV-UG2 gave no root yield in 1999–2000 and 2000–2001, respectively. These results indicate that CMGs, whether in single or mixed infections, reduce root yield and numbers of tuberous roots produced and that losses are substantially increased following mixed infection.
Optimum Plant Density for High Yield in Rice (Oryza sativa L.)

Three mutant strains Basmati 370-32, Jajai 77-30 and Sonahri Sugdasi-6 along with their respective mother varieties Basmati 370, Jajai 77, Sonahri Sugdasi and check variety Basmati 385 were evaluated under different plant population (spacings, 20 x 20 cm , 22.5 x 22.5 cm and 25 x 25cm between plant and rows) for grain yield and yield contributing parameters. An 2 2 2 increase in spacing induced vigorous plant growth as well as increased the number of panicles per hill, grain yield per hill, filled grains per panicle and 1000 grain weight. The spacing 22.5 x 22.5 cm proved more appropriate because it produced better plant 2 stand, gave more panicle density and higher grain yield than other two spacings. The mutant strains Jajai 77-30 produced significantly higher grain yield at all spacings as compared with all other entries.
Abundance and diversity of Odonata in temporary water bodies of Coimbatore and Salem districts in Tamil Nadu

Odonata diversity was assessed in 13 temporary water bodies of Coimbatore and Salem districts in Tamil Nadu. Assessment revealed the presence of 21 species of Odonata (14 species of Anisoptera and seven species of Zygoptera) belonging to 17 genera under four families. Libellulidae (Anisoptera) was represented by the maximum number of species and individuals. Pantala flavescens (Libellulidae) was the most abundant among 21 species. Among the temporary water bodies, the maximum number of individuals as well as species was recorded from Utkulam tank (Coimbatore district). Odonata diversity was higher in Kamalapuram tanks 1 and 2 (Salem district) and lower in Ukkadam tank (Coimbatore District). Diplacodes trivialis (Rambur), Orthetrum sabina (Drury) and Pantala flavescens (Fabricius) were identified as temporary water body specialists because of their presence in all the 13 temporary water bodies sampled.
Value the 'Memory'!: Identifying Macroeconomic Variations in Housing Price Determination

When both housing prices and macroeconomic variables possess significant 'long-memory', disregarding this under-identifies demand and supply functions of a housing market. The long-run relationship among variables and the speed of disequilibrium error adjustment are also misrepresented. We confirm these predictions for the US housing market using a fractionally cointegrated-VAR framework.
Tackling the Performance Regime Paradox: A Problem-Solving Approach Engages Professional Goal-Based Learning

Public performance regimes are bedeviled by a paradox: they must engage the specialized knowledge of professionals who often perceive those very regimes as a threat to their autonomy. We use a mixed-method analysis of performance management in Danish hospitals, with separate data for managers and frontline professionals, to offer two insights into this challenge. First, we show that managerial behavior – in the form of performance information use - matters to how frontline professionals engage in goal-based learning. Second, we show that how managers use performance data matters. When managers use data in ways that reinforce the perception of performance management as an externally-imposed tool of control, professionals withdraw effort. However, when managers use data in ways that solve organizational problems, professionals engage in goal-based learning. The threat to professional values that performance regimes pose can therefore be mitigated by managers using data in ways that complements those values.
Corporate Leadership and Inherited Beliefs About Gender Roles

Abstract Some U.S. firms have women directors and executives, while many do not. We seek to explain this heterogeneity. Using U.S. Census data from 1900, we find that U.S. counties with populations originating from countries with stronger gender-egalitarian beliefs have more women in the labor market and in STEM occupations, and lower gender-pay gaps. Firms headquartered in such counties have more women executives and directors. When firms move to more gender-egalitarian counties, the representation of women on board increases. Our findings are consistent with the idea that inherited beliefs about gender roles impact the labor market and corporate leadership.
Application of Texture Measures to Study Effect of B Chromosomes on the 3D Architecture of Plant Chromatin

Background: Supernumerary chromosomes (B) comprise optional complement to basic (A) chromosome set. The presence of B-chromosomes may significantly reduce plant vigor and fertility. Potentially active genes constitute only small fraction of DNA of these chromosomes indicating that these effects are mediated by epigenetic mechanisms. One example is down-regulation of rDNA genes and condensation of their respective chromatin regions (demonstrated in squashed preparations using 2D microscopy). It may be postulated that the presence of B chromosomes leads to more extensive changes of local chromatin structure. Verification of hypothesis requires studying 3D spatial architecture of intact nuclei in tissue. Results: An image processing algorithm was developed and applied for isolation (from the confocal datasets) of regions corresponding to single nuclei. The nuclei were segmented using iterative global thresholding followed by growing and merging of regions belonging to different nuclei. The result of segmentation was verified by a human observer. Chromatin architecture was characterized quantitatively using global fluorescence intensity distribution measures (mean, variance) and local intensity distribution parameters (haraclick features, wavelet energy, run- length features). The sets of parameters corresponding to populations of nuclei with different number of B-chromo- somes were subjected to discriminate analysis. The distinct parameters were then correlated with depth in tissue at which a given nucleus was positioned. Conclusions: Combination of light microscopy with dedicated image processing and analysis framework made it possible to study chromatin architecture in nuclei containing various number of B chromosomes. These data indicate that alterations of 3D chromatin distribution occur globally in the interphase nuclei in the presence of Bs. The changes occur at the spatial scale comparable with the resolution limit of light microscopy and at larger distances.
Pupping-site fidelity among individual Steller sea lions (Eumetopias jubatus) at Chiswell Island, Alaska

Pupping-site fidelity (defined as pupping within 5.8 m of a previous location in ≥2 years) in Steller sea lions (Eumetopias jubatus (Schreber, 1776)) was investigated during the breeding seasons from 2001 to 2005 at Chiswell Island, a small rookery in the Gulf of Alaska. Density of females was minimal with 54–80 pups born. Photo-identification of individuals and GPS points, including elevation of the rookery, were used to determine locations of 297 births. Sixty-four percentage (35/55) of the females exhibited pupping-site fidelity, and mean frequency of site fidelity was greater for females that gave birth >3 times. Fifty percentage of the births occurred at 22% of the locations for all years, indicating that multiple births occurred at some locations throughout the breeding season. Competition or aggression among females for specific pupping locations before birth was not observed, and there was no temporal order of pupping locations used, indicating that the rookery was not overcrowded and that many su.