Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
ECONOMIC GROWTH AND POVERTY REDUCTION IN NIGERIA: THE ROLE OF INSTITUTIONS

It is worthy of note that the link between economic growth and poverty can be altered in the presence of institutions. The role quality institutions play in economic growth and poverty cannot be overemphasized as it has continued to receive attention from academia and policymakers. Institutions can serve as substitutes or complements in affecting poverty when interacted with economic growth. This study examined the role of institutions in the nexus between economic growth and poverty reduction in Nigeria over the period 1984-2018, using the Autoregressive Distributed Lag cointegration technique. Two institutional quality variables were employed, namely; corruption control and political stability. Poverty was measured using per household consumption, while economic growth was proxied by per capita income. The study found that economic growth and institutions had positive effects on per household consumption in both the short and long run. This implied that as institutions and economic growth increased, per household consumption also increased, while poverty reduced. Furthermore, in the short run, the interactive effect of institutions and economic growth on per household consumption was negative, suggesting that the interaction of institutions and economic growth had a positive effect on poverty. This showed that institutions and economic growth played substitutive roles in poverty reduction in the short run. The interactive effect of institutions and economic growth in the long run was however positive on per household consumption, causing an increase in household consumption and a decrease in household poverty. This showed that institutions and economic growth played complementary roles in reducing poverty in Nigeria in the long run. The study concluded that strong institutions and sound economic growth are important in combating poverty.
Exploiting natural genetic diversity and mutant resources of Arabidopsis thaliana to study the A. thaliana–Plasmodiophora brassicae interaction

Clubroot, caused by the obligate biotroph Plasmodiophora brassicae Woron. , is one of the most damaging diseases of Brassica crops in the world. Because the pathogen can infect all the Brassicaceae, including Arabidopsis thaliana, possible advantages have been found by identifying sources of resistance to P. brassicae in this model plant. Fifty-seven ecotypes of A. thaliana, including the INRA Arabidopsis core collection, were assessed for resistance to clubroot disease. Ecotypes Burren (Bur-0), Tsu (Tsu-0) and Kaunas (Kn - 0) were identified as partially resistant to P. hrassicae isolates eH and/or Ms6. Fifteen Arabidopsis mutant lines known for certain physiological processes potentially involved in the host-pathogen interaction were evaluated for their resistance/susceptibility to P. brassicae. Mutant axr3-1 appeared to be less susceptible than the wild type Columbia, supporting the hypothesis of the involvement of the auxin pathway in the development of clubs.
Jasmonic acid promotes germination and lipase activity in non‐stratified apple embryos

The effects of (−)jasmonic acid (JA) on germination of embryos isolated from dormant seeds of apple (Malus domestica Borb. cv. Antonowka) cultured in darkness or at 12-h photoperiod were studied, as well as its effects on the activity of alkaline lipase (AlkL, EC 3.1.1.3) in these embryos. The maximum sensitivity of germination to JA occurred on days 3 and 4 of embryo culture. Both germination and enzyme activity were stimulated by JA, its effect being additive to that of light. Inhibitors of lipoxygenase inhibited embryo germination and AlkL activity, both effects being partially reversed by JA treatment. We suggest that (1) JA is implicated in an endogenous complex controlling apple seed germination, and that (2) it acts independently of the mechanism triggered by light.
Sportsfish Consumption Surveys: A Risk Assessment Practitioner's Wish List

ABSTRACT In the United States, risk assessments that include sportsfish consumption often rely on default values derived by the USEPA. However, local, regional, and cultural differences can result in substantial differences in consumption rates, species of fish caught, parts of fish consumed, and fish preparation methods—all of which contribute to the extent of contaminant exposure. Because of these differences, site-specific data are important for the reliable prediction of exposure. This article reviews the types of information important to a risk assessor to enhance the applicability of the exposure assessment to the population being evaluated. It provides a method for setting priorities based on the sensitivity of the exposure assessment to each type of information. Consumption rate and parts of fish consumed are the most important information to obtain. This information should be obtained for each fish species consumed, and should be obtained for both children and adults. Body weight and exposure duration have the next level of priority, and cooking method has the lowest level of priority. Results from surveys should be presented in a manner that allows the reader to understand the variability observed in the data and the survey questions that were asked. Correlations between variables should be evaluated and presented.
Suicide attempt and associated factors among in-school adolescents in Mozambique

The study estimated the prevalence and correlates of suicide attempts in the past year in adolescents in Mozambique. We utilised a cross-sectional national secondary data set (N = 1 918; median age 15 years, interquartile range =3 years) from the 2015 Mozambique Global School-based Health Survey (GSHS). Results indicate a prevalence of 18.0% (17.6% among boys and 20.0% among girls) suicide attempts in the past year. In adjusted logistic regression analysis, bullying victimisation in the past month, current tobacco use, and past 12-month injury were associated with suicide attempts. Almost one in five of the students had attempted suicide in the past year. Suicide prevention strategies with school students should prioritise their experience of bullying and substance use.
The Insights and Illusions of Consumption Measurements

Although household well-being is anchored in long-term average rates of consumption, welfare comparisons typically rely on shorter-duration survey measurements. This paper develops a new strategy to identify the distribution of these long-term rates by leveraging a large-scale randomization that elicited repeated short-duration measurements from diaries and recall questions. Identification stems from diary-recall differences in reports from the same household, does not require these reports to be error-free, and hinges on a research design with broad replicability. This strategy delivers cost-effective suggestions for designing survey modules to yield the most accurate measurements of consumption well-being, and offers new insights for interpreting and reconciling diary-recall differences in household expenditure surveys.
Phylogenetic diversity in South African Porphyra (Bangiales, Rhodophyta) determined by nuclear SSU sequence analyses

Specimens of Porphyra were collected at 10 sites along the western, southern and eastern Cape coasts of South Africa during late January to early February 2001. Sequence data from the variable V9 region of the nuclear small subunit rDNA (nSSU) locus were determined for 45 specimens. These data identified 11 distinct entities each with unique V9 sequences. Phylogenetic analyses incorporating sequences of Porphyra and Bangia from throughout the world revealed that eight of the entities examined in this study form a monophyletic group, apparently endemic to the southern African region. The other three entities exhibited no close phylogenetic relationship either with each other or with the other South African taxa. This survey indicates that the southern African coast is a repository of greater taxonomic diversity for this genus than has been previously reported.
A general modelling framework for resource‐ratio and CSR theories of plant community dynamics

Grime's CSR and Tilman's resource‐ratio theories are two major contributions to our understanding of plant community dynamics. They have both been corroborated empirically, whilst providing several contradictory predictions. Notably, contrary to Tilman, Grime predicts that competition for soil resources is unimportant on poor soils. We show that Grime's CSR theory can be modelled with the same type of differential equations for resource and plant biomass dynamics used by Tilman in his resource‐ratio theory. Using this unified modelling framework, we demonstrate that both models predict intense competition for soil resources on poor soils, as long as biomass loss per unit mass is modelled as a size‐independent process. When considering biomass loss per unit mass as a size‐dependent process mimicking farming activities, both models predict a unimodal relationship between soil fertility and the intensity of soil resource competition, and a decreasing relationship between disturbance rate and resource competition. Synthesis. Our modelling analysis reveals that the resource‐ratio and CSR theories make different predictions regarding competition on poor soils, not because of their differing schemes of plant strategies, but because of the different disturbance types that they are considering. Tilman's predictions apply to little disturbed natural habitats, whilst Grime's predictions apply to disturbed ones.
The Species and Depth Distribution of Deepwater Caridean Shrimps (Decapoda, Caridea) Near Some Southwest Pacific Islands

Quatorze especes de crevettes Carides et trois especes de Peneides ont ete capturees dans des nasses au cours de recherches dans les iles sud-ouest-pacifiques de Fidji et Vanuatu (precedemment Nouvelles-Hebrides), Ouest-Samoa et Tonga. Plesionika longirostris, Heterocarpus sibogae et H. laevigatus ont ete habituellement prises dans les quatre iles et une quatrieme H. gibbosus, etait commune dans les eaux des Fidji. De breves descriptions et une clef sont fournies. Les taux des captures moyennes maximales etaient, par nasse, de 1,2 kg a Fidji, de 2,8 kg a Vanuatu, et de 1,4 kg a Ouest-Samoa, a des profondeurs de 500-600 m. A Tonga le taux maximal de prises des grandes especes d'Heterocarpus se situait par plus de 700 m. Les variations des taux de captures dans le temps et des tailles des crevettes avec la profondeur suggerent qu'il existe des migrations cycliques pour certaines especes.
Investigating the Effects of Role Demands, Psychosocial Stress Symptoms and Safety Leadership on Mineworkers’ Safety Performance

Purpose This study aimed to investigate the effects of role demands on safety performance in mining companies under the mediating role of psychosocial stress symptoms. Three dimensions of safety leadership were also tested as moderators on the relationship between psychosocial stress symptoms and safety performance. Methods To collect data to analyze the hypothesized relationships in the present study, a total of 850 questionnaires were distributed to mineworkers in Ghana. Hierarchical regression analysis was employed as the main statistical technique in analyzing the data using SPSS version 21 software. Findings Results from hierarchical regression analysis showed that psychosocial stress symptoms fully mediated the relationship between role demands and safety compliance but showed no mediation on role demands and safety participation. Also, only safety coaching from safety leadership demonstrated to have a moderating effect on the relationship between psychosocial stress symptoms and safety compliance of safety performance. Conclusion The study proposes that it is important to examine the effects of role demands on specific job performance. The importance of safety coaching as a key element of planning to improve safety performance should not be underestimated.
Studies on feeding of mirror carp (Cyprinus carpio L.) in intensive culture

Zusammenfassung Die Futterung von Spiegelkarpfen in Intensivhaltung. 1. Mitt. Futter und Futterungsintensitat Es werden Ergebnisse eines Futterungsversuches an wachsenden Karpfen (Cyprinus carpio L.) mitgeteilt, der in einer geschlossenen Kreislaufanlage des Instituts uber einen Zeitraum von 28 Wochen durchgefuhrt wurde. In dem Versuch wurden zwei Diaten A und B (Diat A = Standarddiat fur Karpfen, Diat B = Handelsprodukt fur Forellen) und zwei Futterungsintensitaten (2% und 2,5% bezogen auf kg0,8 auf Trockensubstanz-Basis) miteinander verglichen. Die Ergebnisse zeigen, das das durchschnittliche Korpergewicht der Versuchsfische bei der Standarddiat A signifikant hoher lag als das Korpergewicht der Fische bei der Diat B, und zwar auch dann, wenn die Standarddiat nur mit einer Futterungsintensitat von 2% der metabolischen Korpergrose verabfolgt wurde. Die hohere Futterungsintensitat fuhrte bei beiden Diatformen zu gesteigertern Korpergewichtszunahmen gegenuber der niedrigeren Futterungsintensitat. Die taglichen Korpergewichtszunahmen und die spezifische Wachstumsrate der Fische waren bei der Diat hoher als bei der Diat B. Bei der Standarddiat A erreichten die Fische nach 19–20 Wochen (2,5%) bzw. nach 23–24 Wochen (2,0%) ein mittleres Korpergewicht von 1 kg. Bei der Diat B konnte ein mittleres Korpergewicht von 1 kg nur bei der hoheren Futterungsintensitat von 2,5% je kg0,8 nach 28 Wochen gemessen werden. Der Fettgehalt der Fischkorper war bei der Verfutterung der Diat A hoher als beim Einsatz der Diat B. Eine Steigerung der Futterungsintensitat erhohte den Fettgehalt und reduzierte den Proteingehalt der Fische. Bei einem mittleren Korpergewicht von 1 kg enthielten die Fischkorper bei der Diat B weniger Proteinanteile als bei der Diat A. Die Steigerung der Futterungsintensitat erhohte den Energiegehalt der Korpermasse in signifikanter Weise. Der Nahrstoffansatz und die Energieausnutzung des Futters waren nach 16 Versuchswochen bei der Diat A signifikant hoher als bei der Diat B. Die Diat A wurde insgesamt hoher verwertet als die Diat B und bei niedriger Futterungsintensitat lag die Futterverwertung hoher als bei gesteigerter Futterungsintensitat. Mehr als 1/3 des Futterproteins wurden bei de Diat A im Fischkorper angesetzt, bei der Diat B lag dieser Anteil unterhalb von 1/4, wenn die Korperzusammensetzungen der Versuchsfische nach einer Zeit von 16 Wochen miteinander verglichen wurden. Die PPW lagen bei 32% bzw. 20% bei einem durchschnittlichen Korpergewicht der Versuchsfische von 1 kg. Nach einer Versuchsdauer von 16 Wochen lag die Energieverwertung beim Einsatz der Diat A hoher als bei Verwendung der Diat B.
The Origins and Evolution of Culture

This article outlines a deductive theory that creates a new way to think about the origins and evolution of culture. It is Darwinian in the sense that it posits that novel concepts and behavior, like novel genes, appear randomly and are subject to selection on the basis of specific criteria that are established by the properties of living things. The theory permits us to hypothesize properties of the genome that generate culture and to infer the conditions under which selection would favor the origins of culture. Theoretical deductions lead to the conclusion that the organisms that create culture actively participate in the creation of descendants who exhibit increasing cultural abilities and who generate increases in productivity and more reliable flows of resources. Culture is not something that has evolved solely and relatively recently in the hominid line of evolution. Fossil evidence suggests that culture may have existed at least 50 million years ago, and may have originated more than 200 million years ago.
In vitro Plant Regeneration in Brinjal (Solanum melongena L.) Using Cotyledon, Hypocotyl and Root Explants

The present investigation was undertaken for developing a high frequency regeneration system, as an essential pre-requisite for the genetic transformation in brinjal. Regeneration of multiple shoots via callus induction and organogenesis was achieved using cotyledons, hypocotyls and roots as explants at various concentrations and combinations of growth regulators. Hundred percent callus induction was observed in cotyledon and hypocotyl explants when cultured on medium supplemented with BAP or Zeatin. Earliest callus induction was observed in cotyledon explants (8.03 days). The MSB5 media supplemented with 2 mg/l zeatin + 0.1 mg/l IBA found to be the best medium with regards to number of days requires for callus induction and shoot induction, number of shoot buds formed per explant and regeneration frequency. Among explants used cotyledons found to be give best response to shoot induction and number of shoot bud formation (87.50% and 24) and followed by hypocotyls (83.33% and 22) and root explant (69.17% and 12). In vitro rooting (53.33%) was obtained within 13 days on MSB5 media supplemented with 1mg/l IBA. The in vitro rooted plantlets were successfully established in polycabonated polyhouse with 92% survival rate.
Feasibility study on the use of UV/Vis spectroscopy to measure total phenolic compound and pH in apple (Malus sylvestris L.) cv. Manalagi

This paper will report the feasibility study on the use of UV/Vis spectroscopy to determine apple quality based on Total Phenolic Compound (TPC) and pH. To achieve the conclusion, several stages had to be conducted. First, the total 50 sample of apples from 4 different ripening stages (3, 4, 5 and 6 month) were collected from local farmer in Bumiaji District and extracted. The juice from extraction was prepared for UV/Vis spectrum collection ranging from 200-1100 nm. TPC and pH were then measured. Afterwards, chemometrics analysis was performed to provide Partial Least Square (PLS) prediction model. And lastly, was identifying robustness of the model by analysing all the statistic parameter. The result showed that, partial spectrum of PLS model to predict absorbance of TPC provided good determination coefficient (R2 calibration was 0.803 and R2 validation was 0.710) while RMSEC and RMSECV were 0.070 and 0.088 respectively. As for pH model prediction, the best model was also obtained from the partial spectrum resulting R2 calibration was 0.822 and R2 validation was 0.797 while RMSEC and RMSECV were 0.56 and 0.61, respectively.
The epiphyte communities of a montane rain forest in the Andes of Venezuela: patterns in the distribution of the flora

The dependent flora was surveyed on 20 trees at a 1.5-ha site in montane rain forest at 2600 m altitude in western Venezuela. Vascular species were recorded over the whole site and totalled 120 epiphytes, 21 climbers, 3 hemiepiphytes, 5 nomadic vines and 6 mistletoes. Non-vascular species were recorded within 95 sample plots and totalled 22 mosses, 66 liverworts and 46 macrolichens. The angiosperm species were restricted in geographical range to the Neotropics; 22.1% were endemic to Venezuela. Pteridophyte and bryophyte species were largely restricted to the Neotropics but few were endemic. Macrolichen species were mostly pantropical or cosmopolitan; only 9.6% were restricted to the Neotropics and none was endemic. Canonical Correspondence Analysis found the environmental variables most closely correlated with variation in community composition to be height above ground and a horizontal gradient reflecting differences in forest structure. The epiphytic vegetation was classified using Two-way Indicator Species Analysis into a Syrrhopodon gaudichaudii–Elaphoglossum hoffmannii group of lower trunks, an Omphalanthus filiformis–Maxillaria miniata group of intermediate levels and an Usnea–Parmotrema group of upper crowns. Diversity increased with height above ground; non-vascular diversity was greatest in upper crowns whereas vascular diversity was greatest at intermediate levels. Similarity levels were low among sample plots of the same community, whereas between-tree and between-stand similarities were relatively high. La flora arborícola se estudió sobre 20 árboles en 1.5 ha de un bosque lluvioso montaño en Venezuela. Las especies vasculares registradas en la localidad totalizaron 120 epífitas, 21 trepadoras, 3 hemiepífitas, 5 lianas nómadas y 6 muérdagos. Las especies no vasculares se registraron en 95 muestras y totalizaron 22 musgos, 66 hepáticas y 46 macrolíquenes. El rango geográfico de las angiospermas estuvo restringido a los Neotrópicos; 22.1% endémicas. Las pteridófitas y briófitas fueron mayoritariamente Neotropicales, pero pocas especies eran endémicas. Los macrolíquenes eran principalmente pantropicales o cosmopolitas; 9.6% eran Neotropicales y ninguno era endémico. El Análisis de Correspondencia Canónica determinó que las variables ambientales más importantes fueron la altura por encima del suelo y la distancia horizontal, reflejando esta última una variación entre rodales en la estructura del bosque. La vegetación epifítica se clasificó usando el Análisis de Especies Indicadoras en tres grupos: Syrrhopodon gaudichaudii-Elaphoglossum hoffmannii del estrato inferior, Omphalanthus filiformis-Maxillaria miniata del estrato medio y en Usnea-Parmotrema del estrato superior. La diversidad se incrementó con la altura; la diversidad no vascular fue mayor en el estrato superior, mientras que la vascular fue mayor en el medio. Los niveles de similitud entre las parcelas de la misma comunidad fueron bajos, mientras que los niveles de similitud entre árboles y entre rodales fueron relativamente altos.
Aquatic macrophytes as indicators of heavy metal pollution of water in DTD canal system

The aim of this investigation was to establish the presence or absence of chemical contamination of water and the littoral zone (banks) of Danube-Tisza-Danube (DTD) canal system. The investigation covered the canal section from Bezdan to Prigrevica. By analyzing the chemical composition of dominant aquatic species in four locations of the section, we defined the species with the highest capacity to accumulate nutrients and heavy metals. Concentrations of P and K as well as of a beneficial element Na in the tissues of the analyzed macrophytes were both species- and site-dependent. The highest accumulation was registered for Ceratophyllum demersum while the species Elodea canadensis showed increased P and K accumulation values in the location Sombor. The lowest concentrations of almost all heavy metals were recorded near Sombor, indicating that this section suffered the lowest chemical pollution. Highest concentrations of all of the analyzed heavy metals were recorded in the tissue of Ceratophyllum demersum from the location Prigrevica, possibly due to the influx of polluted drainage waters from surrounding agricultural areas as well as industrial wastewaters. The obtained results showed that the enforcement of biomonitoring and analyses of other parameters indicative of ecosystem conditions might be useful for improved protection of areas experiencing a strong human impact.