Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Financial Sector Development and Economic Growth in Nigeria (1981-2017)

This study appraised the impact of financial sector development on economic growth in Nigeria using time series data from 1981 to 2017. The study used Principal component analysis techniques, ARDL, the result shows that financial sector development has a direct relationship with economic growth in Nigeria, that supports supply follow hypothesis. The stability test showed that the three models were significant and stable. The granger causality results revealed that economic growth granger cause financial development which support the demand pull hypothesis of financial development. Furthermore, the granger causality also revealed that bank sector as a financial sector granger cause the stock market performance in Nigeria. The study recommended that Government should consolidate on previous financial sector reforms to make the financial sector a strong, virile and competitive sector to support the economic growth process in Nigeria. The Nigerian government should device a means to energize the deposit money banking sector so as to make credits available and accessible to the private sector. This will help boost the private sector development and investment which is the engine of growth.
ON THREE NEW VIRUS DISEASES OP HYOSCYAMUS NIGER

SUMMARY 1 The source and general character of three new virus diseases occurring in Hyoscyanzus are described under the names of Hyoscyamus virus (Hy.) 11, 111 and IV. They have a host range of various solanaceous plants not including any variety of potato. 2 Hy. I1 and 111 are non-flterable (through L 3) and are transmitted to and from all their hosts except tomato by tEe aphid Myzus persicae. Hy. I11 survives for a relatively short period as clarified juice. Hy. II and Hy. III have many characters in common and are probably closely related. 3 Hy. IV is a different type of Virus, flterable through an L 3 candle and no insect vector has yet been found for it. 4 Problems arising from consideration of the data so far accumulated are submitted and discussed.
Propagation of Shocks due to Natural Disasters through Global Supply Chains* [Preliminary. Do not cite.]

In this paper, we take Hurricane Sandy that hit the east coast of the United States in 2012 as a source of negative shocks and examine its indirect effects on the global economy through supply chains. More specifically, using firm-level data on global supply chains, we examine how sales growth of firms in and outside the US changes when their direct and indirect suppliers are damaged by the hurricane. Our results show that direct links with damaged suppliers and indirect links with them in two steps of supply chains lower sales growth of firms. Moreover, we observe that the negative effect on non-US firms is similar in size to the effect on US firms, concluding that negative shocks due to the hurricane propagated to firms indirectly damaged in the US as well as those outside the US through global supply chains. We further find that the negative effect is heterogeneous in size across firms depending on characteristics of their network. For example, the negative effect is smaller when the supply chain link is associated with a shareholding link, whereas it is larger when the supply chain link is associated with a research collaboration link. In addition, the negative effect on a firm's sales growth is larger when the firm's ego network is more dense or more diverse.
Sum-of-Squares Optimization

Polynomial optimization is a fundamental task in mathematics and computer science. Such tasks rose to popularity with the advent of linear and semidefinite programming. Research on these topics has led to beautiful theoretical results, such as the simplex algorithm, duality, the ellipsoid algorithm, etc. A number of applications also exist in a variety of fields, such as operations research, combinatorial optimization, etc [JM07].
BELIEF UPDATING WITH DISSONANCE REDUCTION

This paper models a dissonance-reducing learner. The learner suﬀers utility loss when faced with mutually conﬂicting information and, in response, distorts how she perceives diﬀer-ent pieces of information to increase the apparent agreement among them. Relative to Bayesian updating, the learner always appears partisan. In two-sided debates, she champions one side by exaggerating arguments that support it and downplaying opposing arguments. Her choice of favored side is both inﬂuenced by objective evidence and skewed by hotly-debated issues. Her posterior belief is inordinately extreme. Applications to dynamic learning, networks, persuasion, and information-seeking further characterize the learner’s behavior.
Molecular Targets of Arsenic Trioxide in Malignant Cells

Arsenic trioxide (As2O3; ATO) has considerable efficacy in the treatment of relapsed acute promyelocytic leukemia (APL), inducing partial differentiation and promoting apoptosis of malignant promyelocytes. Although initial studies focused on the role of the characteristic APL fusion protein, PML-RARα, in mediating response to ATO, subsequent investigations have revealed that ATO acts on numerous intracellular targets. ATO broadly affects signal transduction pathways and causes a wide range of alterations leading to apoptosis. Key mediators of sensitivity to ATOinduced apoptosis include intracellular glutathione and hydrogen peroxide (H2O2). The loss of inner mitochondrial membrane potential is also an important step in ATO-mediated cell killing. Cellular and physiologic pathways affected by ATO provide some clues as to the mechanisms for the biologic effects of ATO. Recent research has shown that hematologic cancers other than APL and solid tumors derived from several tissue types may be responsive to monotherapy or combination therapy with ATO. A better understanding of the mechanisms of action of ATO may help guide the use of ATO for the treatment of a wide variety of malignancies and allow its potential in cancer therapy to be fully realized. The Oncologist
Case Report on Deep Brain Stimulation Rescue After Suboptimal MR-Guided Focused Ultrasound Thalamotomy for Essential Tremor: A Tractography-Based Investigation

Essential tremor (ET) is the most prevalent movement disorder in adults, and can often be medically refractory, requiring surgical intervention. MRI-guided focused ultrasound (MRgFUS) is a less invasive procedure that uses ultrasonic waves to induce lesions in the ventralis intermedius nucleus (VIM) to treat refractory ET. As with all procedures for treating ET, optimal targeting during MRgFUS is essential for efficacy and durability. Various studies have reported cases of tremor recurrence following MRgFUS and long-term outcome data is limited to 3–4 years. We present a tractography-based investigation on a case of DBS rescue for medically refractory ET that was treated with MRgFUS that was interrupted due to the development of dysarthria during the procedure. After initial improvement, her hand tremor started to recur within 6 months after treatment, and bilateral DBS was performed targeting the VIM 24 months after MRgFUS. DBS induced long-term tremor control with monopolar stimulation. Diffusion MRI tractography was used to reconstruct the dentatorubrothalamic (DRTT) and corticothalmic (CTT) tracts being modulated by the procedures to understand the variability in efficacy between MRgFUS and DBS in treating ET in our patient. By comparing the MRgFUS lesion and DBS volume of activated tissue (VAT), we found that the MRgFUS lesion was located ventromedially to the VAT, and was less than 10% of the size of the VAT. While the lesion encompassed the same proportion of DRTT streamlines, it encompassed fewer CTT streamlines than the VAT. Our findings indicate the need for further investigation of targeting the CTT when using neuromodulatory procedures to treat refractory ET for more permanent tremor relief.
Dry season — wet season volume change of Echinopsis atacamensis ssp. atacamensis (Cactaceae) as proxy for the amount of utilizable water of a stem succulent plant

Summary: Echinopsis atacamensis ssp. atacamensis is a columnar cactus from the western slopes of the high Andes of northern Chile. As for other species of the family, water is primarily stored in the succulent cortex of the stems. Repeat observations during the years 2016–2018 include an extremely long dry period and an extremely wet summer showed that the fraction of utilizable water (UW) in the stem is at least 53% of the maximum storage capacity. The observation of longitudinal ruptures in the rib furrows questions the usefulness of saturated water content (SWC) as a measure of water storage capacity.
Impaired Facial Emotion Recognition in Individuals at Ultra-High Risk for Psychosis and Associations With Schizotypy and Paranoia Level

Background Patients with schizophrenia and individuals at ultra-high risk for psychosis (UHR) have been reported to exhibit impaired recognition of facial emotion expressions. This impairment has involved both inaccuracy and negative bias of facial emotion recognition. The present study aimed to investigate whether UHR individuals display both types of impaired facial emotion recognition and to explore correlations between these impairments and schizotypy, as well as paranoia levels, in these individuals. Methods A total of 43 UHR individuals and 57 healthy controls (HC) completed a facial emotion recognition task consisting of 60 standardized facial photographs. To explore correlations, we assessed schizotypy using the Revised Physical Anhedonia Scale and Magical Ideation Scale and paranoia level using the Paranoia Scale and persecution/suspicious item of the Positive and Negative Syndrome Scale in UHR individuals. Results Compared with HC, UHR individuals exhibited less accuracy for facial emotion recognition (70.6% vs. 75.6%, p=0.010) and a higher rate of “fear” responses for neutral faces (14.5% vs. 6.0%, p=0.003). In UHR individuals, inaccuracy was significantly correlated with schizotypy scores, but not with paranoia level. Conversely, “disgust” response for neutral faces was the only fear response correlated with paranoia level, and no threat-related emotion response correlated with schizotypy scores. Discussion UHR individuals exhibited inaccuracy and negative bias of facial emotion recognition. Furthermore, schizotypy scores were associated with inaccuracy but not with negative bias of facial emotion recognition. Paranoia level was correlated with “disgust” responses for neutral faces but not with inaccuracy. These findings suggest that inaccuracy and negative bias of facial emotion recognition reflect different underlying processes, and that inaccuracy may be a vulnerability marker for schizophrenia.
Energy content and amino acid digestibility of extruded and dehulled-extruded corn by pigs and its effect on the performance of weaned pigs

Three experiments were conducted to compare raw corn, extruded corn, and dehulled-extruded corn in piglets' feeding. In Experiment (Exp.) 1, 8 barrows (19.9 ± 0.6 kg) were fed experimental diets contain - ing one out of three corn samples and a rice-soybean meal basal diet in a double 4 × 4 Latin square design to determine the digestible energy (DE) and metabolizable energy (ME) in the corn samples using the difference method. The DE content in extruded (14.29 MJ/kg) and dehulled-extruded (14.42 MJ/kg) corn was greater ( P < 0.05) than in raw corn (13.57 MJ/kg). In Exp. 2, 5 barrows (26.2 ± 1.3 kg) were fitted with ileal T-cannulas and used in a 5 × 5 Latin square design to determine the apparent (AID) and standardized (SID) ileal digestibility of amino acids (AA). The diets comprised the basal diet, the three corn diets from Exp. 1, as well as a nitrogen- free diet to estimate basal endogenous losses of AA. The AID and SID of isoleucine, leucine, lysine, threonine, and valine in dehulled-extruded corn was lower ( P < 0.05) than in raw or extruded corn. In Exp. 3, 108 weaned 35 days old piglets (8.4 ± 1.2 kg) were allotted to one of the three diets based on corn type. Weaned pigs fed diets containing extruded or dehulled-extruded corn exhibited reduced ( P < 0.05) weight gain and feed intake than pigs fed diets containing raw corn. The diet containing dehulled-extruded corn resulted in a higher incidence of diarrhoea. In summary, extrusion of corn did not result in improvements in digestibility and dehulling corn prior to extrusion appeared to result in heat damage which reduced ileal digestibility of AA. Substitution of raw corn with extruded or dehulled-extruded corn in starter diets formulated to equal quantities of ME and SID AA content did not improve the performance of weaned pigs.
Parthenogenesis in the Aspidiotus nerii Complex (Hemiptera: Diaspididae): A Single Origin of a Worldwide, Polyphagous Lineage Associated with Cardinium Bacteria

Abstract Aspidiotus nerii Bouché, the oleander scale, is a nearly cosmopolitan pest that attacks >100 families of woody plants. A. nerii has long been suspected of comprising multiple cryptic parthenogenetic and sexual species. We amplified and sequenced a 760-bp fragment of cytochrome oxidase 1 and 2 (COI-COII) from 59 individuals representing four laboratory stocks and 16 wild populations from four biogeographic regions (United States, several Mediterranean countries, South Africa, and New Zealand), along with three outgroup species. We also used polymerase chain reaction (PCR) to assay 92 individuals representing five laboratory stocks and seven wild populations for the presence of the intracellular bacteria Cardinium. We find three highly (>5%) divergent groups of mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) haplotypes in A. nerii. Two of these are associated with males and not associated with Cardinium and are inferred to represent sexual populations. The other haplotype group is not associated with males, is associated with Cardinium, and includes laboratory stocks known to be parthenogenetic; this haplotype group is inferred to represent a parthenogenetic lineage. Although Cardinium is associated with the parthenogenetic lineage, a “curing” experiment that would demonstrate direct parthenogenesis induction by Cardinium has not been done. The parthenogenetic lineage is 5.5–7.3% divergent at COI-II from the closest sexual lineage and comprises five moderately divergent (≤3.5%) haplotypes. This amount of mtDNA divergence within the parthenogenetic lineage may imply an ancient (≥1 Mya) origin; however, the amount of amino acid sequence diversity within the parthenogenetic lineage is much greater than in the sexual sister-lineage, implying an elevated rate of nonsynonymous substitution in the parthenogenetic lineage. The highest haplotype diversity is found in New Zealand, and the closest outgroup is found in Australia, suggesting a possible Australasian origin of A. nerii.
Nitrogen fertiliser value of digested dairy cow slurry, its liquid and solid fractions, and of dairy cow slurry

An understanding of crop availability of livestock slurry nitrogen (N) is necessary to maximise crop N use efficiency and to minimise environmental losses. Results from field and laboratory incubation experiments suggest that first-year crop availability of slurry N comes mainly from its ammonium fraction because net mineralisation of organic N is often negligible in the short term. A two-year field experiment during 2011 and 2012 in northern Italy was undertaken with several aims: to estimate the N fertiliser value of raw dairy cow slurry, digested dairy cow slurry, and the liquid and solid fractions of the digested slurry, and to verify if applied ammonium recovery was similar both among slurries and between slurries and inorganic N fertiliser (ammonium sulphate). Different fertilisers were applied before silage maize cultivation followed by an unfertilised Italian ryegrass crop. The results showed that ammonium recovery was significantly higher in mineral-fertilised (75%) versus slurry-fertilised (30%) treatments, except in digested slurry (65%). This indicates that ammonium applied with organic materials is less efficient than when applied with mineral fertiliser. For the digested slurry and its liquid fraction, most of the applied ammonium was available to the maize during its application year (55%) due to a low carbon (C)/organic N ratio. The apparent N recovery of the raw slurry and digested slurry solid fraction increased substantially between the first (-1.4%) and second (20%) years, as these materials had high C/organic N ratios; they likely immobilised N for several months post application, producing residual effects during the Italian ryegrass and next maize crops.
Microbial glucose uptake and growth along a horizontal nutrient gradient in the North Pacific

The quantitative role of carbon‐rich compounds for bacterial carbon demand can vary with nutrient availability. This study is the first to investigate the effect of nutrient concentrations on bacterial uptake of a carbon‐rich compound (glucose) along a naturally occurring nutrient gradient. Seawater was collected from varying depths at six stations across the nutrient gradient between the nutrient‐poor North Pacific gyre and the nutrient‐rich sub‐ Arctic gyre. Ambient concentrations of free glucose, glucose uptake, bacterial production, and nutrient concentrations were determined across the gradient. Incubations were carried out to determine the effect of nutrient additions on glucose uptake and bacterial production. Samples from the northern, nutrient‐rich end of the transect had high glucose uptake rates and high bacterial production in surface waters. The northern stations also showed rapid turnover of the glucose pool. At the southern stations, glucose uptake rates, bacterial growth rates, and fractional glucose turnover were lower. At these stations, glucose uptake increased when inorganic nutrients and amino acids were added. The variations in glucose uptake indicate that microbial uptake of nitrogen‐ and phosphorus‐poor organic material depends on the availability of nitrogen and phosphorus from other sources.
New Records of Digenean Parasites of Clarias gariepinus (Pisces: Clariidae) from the Okavango Delta, Botswana, with Description of Thaparotrema botswanensis sp. n. (Plathelminthes: Trematoda)

ABSTRACT Forty-two specimens of African sharptooth catfish Clarias gariepinus (Clariidae) were collected from a number of localities in the Okavango Delta in Botswana and examined for digenean parasites. The morphology of these parasites was studied using light and scanning electron microscopy. Six digenean species, four represented by adults and two by metacercariae, belonging to five different genera were collected from various organs within the fish. Clinostomoides brieni is described from the branchial chamber; a Neodiplostomum type metacercariae from the musculature; Phyllodistomimi bavuri and Phyllodistomum vanderwaali from the urinary bladder; Glossidium pedatum from the intestine and one new species, Thaparotrema botswanensis sp. n. from the gall bladder. These are all new geographical records for southern Africa.
Chytrid Pathogen (Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis) in African Amphibians: A Continental Analysis of Occurrences and Modeling of Its Potential Distribution

Abstract The fungal pathogen Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis (Bd) is implicated in global declines of amphibian populations and has been documented in African specimens originally collected as far back as the 1930s. Numerous recent surveys focusing on regional pathogen prevalence have greatly increased the number of known occurrences of Bd in African species, but few studies have focused on continental distribution patterns. We analyzed all known positive occurrences of Bd in African amphibians to date, including newly reported data from Cameroon, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Gabon, Namibia, and the Republic of the Congo. Records from both Namibia and the Republic of the Congo reported herein represent first positive occurrences for these countries. With this most comprehensive sampling of the African continent to date we identified patterns of Bd-positive occurrences associated with (1) location (i.e., biogeographic region, country), (2) taxonomy, (3) life history, and (4) threat of extinction. We used fine-grained (30 arc seconds) environmental niche models (ENMs) to predict the continental distribution of Bd and identify hotspots for the pathogen, including areas not previously modeled to have high suitability for the fungus, and areas of high amphibian biodiversity from which Bd has not yet been documented. Our ENMs predicted that the environmentally suitable range of Bd encompasses vast areas of high amphibian biodiversity, including the Congo Basin and the Albertine Rift. Although our ENMs indicated that West Africa is environmentally suitable for Bd, the fungus has not been reported west of the Dahomey Gap. Likewise, the ENMs also identified regions across the Congo Basin and coastal Angola that are environmentally suitable for the pathogen but from which Bd has not yet been reported, underscoring a need for Bd surveys in these regions. Although amphibian declines in Africa have not been directly attributed to chytridiomycosis, Bd has been detected in over one fifth of the most-threatened African amphibians. Given the presence of the hypervirulent Bd global panzootic lineage (BdGPL) in Africa, we believe that the threat of Bd as a novel pathogen may be underestimated and that focused research is urgently needed to identify which species are susceptible to Bd-driven declines.
Population structure and recruitment microsites of Agave offoyana (Asparagaceae: Agavoideae / Agavaceae) at two locations in western Cuba with different plant communities

Summary: The population structure and the establishment microsites of the Agave offoyana populations in Lomas de Galindo and the Pan de Matanzas were studied. These occur in a xeromorphic thorny thicket on serpentine and in a mesophytic semi-deciduous forest on calcium carbonate rocks, respectively. Five levels of rosette diameter for the age structure were considered and the density and spatial distribution of the individuals were evaluated. Microsites were compared with and without juveniles in terms of number of juveniles, number of leaves and length of major leaf, distance from other herbs, trees, shrubs, and other Agave species (larger than 1m in diameter) and Leptocereus scopulophilus, plus density, percentage of rockiness, bare soil, litter layer and lighting. The relationship between these variables with the presence or absence of juveniles in the microsites was evaluated, as well as their estimated probability. In Lomas de Galindo, middle class individuals predominate; while in the Pan de Matanzas those over 1m, with little representation of intermediate categories. In both populations there is an aggregate pattern of spatial arrangement and similar densities. The juveniles were found on the ground in Lomas de Galindo and in the hollows of the rocks in the Pan de Matanzas, so the availability of microsites seems not to limit recruitment. Germination and establishment is capable of occurring anywhere, independent of nurse plants or any other associated factor.