Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Lauraceous leaves from the Eocene of Nerriga, New South Wales

A study of extant leaves of the Lauraceae and the results of previous research show that fossil leaves can be placed with confidence in the family, but that leaf morphology within the family is so variable that with few exceptions more detailed affinities are impossible to determine. A review of the taxonomic literature reveals that Laurophyllum Goeppert has priority as the generic name for fossil leaves belonging to the Lauraceae. Twelve species from the Eocene Nerriga locality are assigned to Laurophyllum. This represents 44% of species described from Nerriga, compared with 46% for the Middle Eocene Claiborne Formation in North America. Therefore it is possible that the Lauraceae was a widespread and dominant family in the Eocene. The leaf species from Nerriga represent a wide diversity of leaf morphologies which suggests that they may not be closely related within the family.
Moving beyond the guild concept: developing a practical functional trait framework for terrestrial beetles

1. New logical and analytical frameworks for studying functional traits have led to major advances in plant and freshwater ecology at local and global scales. The ecological and taxonomic diversity of terrestrial adult beetles (Coleoptera) means that functional trait approaches should have considerable power to illuminate the function not only of these animals but also of the ecosystems in which they occur.
How Far Will Managers Go to Look Like a Good Steward? A Re-Examination of Honesty Preferences in Managerial Reporting

This study reports the results of two experiments that re-examine how preferences for honesty affect managers’ excessive consumption of firm resources. In our investor-manager investment game, if the investor chooses to invest, the manager privately observes production costs, chooses his or her personal pay, and provides a cost report in one of three reporting regimes: aggregated reporting, disaggregated without discretion, or disaggregated with discretion. In experiment one, we do not find evidence of an incremental effect for honesty preferences. Instead, we find that managers appear more concerned with looking like a good steward to investors than with actually being one (i.e., they classify some personal pay as production costs when the setting allows for reporting discretion over cost classification). In experiment two, we further investigate the incremental effect of honesty by allowing managers to choose either an aggregated report or a disaggregated report with reporting discretion. Our evidence again suggests that the weight of honesty preferences in the managers’ utility function is much lower than the weight for a preference to look like a good steward worthy of the investors’ capital investment. This evidence has implications for accounting researchers, standard setters, and regulators.
Estimating Mutual Fund Skill: A New Approach

We propose a novel methodology that jointly estimates the proportions of skilled/unskilled funds and the cross-sectional distribution of skill in the mutual fund industry. We model this distribution as a three-component mixture of a point mass at zero and two components — one negative, one positive — that we estimate semi-parametrically. This generalizes previous approaches and enables information-sharing across funds in a data-driven manner. We find that the skill distribution is non-normal (asymmetric and fat-tailed). Furthermore, while the majority of funds have negative alpha, a substantial 13% generate positive alpha. Our approach improves out-of-sample portfolio performance and significantly alters asset allocation decisions.
Uncertainty Shocks and Asymmetric Dynamics in Korea: A Nonlinear Approach

This study investigates the impact of uncertainty shocks on macroeconomic activity in Korea. For this purpose, a Smooth Transition VAR model is employed to document the state-dependent dynamics of two distinct types of uncertainty shocks, namely, financial market based and news-based. When nonlinearity is allowed to play a role in our model, quantitatively very different asymmetric dynamics are observed. Following in inflation targeting, the responses tend to be smoother and less pronounced. Our empirical results support the view that the link between uncertainty and macroeconomic activity is clear over both recessions and expansions. Furthermore, the impact of uncertainty shocks is more pronounced when economic activity is depressed especially after shocks originate from the financial market, and not from news-based policy uncertainty in Korea.
Seasonal dynamics of plankton in a mountain lake in the southern Alps (Laghetto Inferiore, Switzerland)

The pelagic populations in Laghetto Inferiore (southern Swiss Alps) were studied between 1996 and 1998 during the ice-free period. Investigations revealed a considerable number of phytoplankton species but few zooplankton species. The vertical distribution of the main species of algae shows a marked vertical stratification, with higher biomass concentrations in the deep zone. Along this profile, species in the same taxonomic class tend to be distributed at different depths, according to their specific light requirements. During the study period no clear seasonal succession of populations was observed, also because of the influence of precipitation on the biological cycles. On the whole there was a good correspondence between the biomass values of phytoplankton and those of chlorophyll-a, both in integral samples of the whole water column and in the vertical profile.
Water use in neighbouring stands of beech (Fagus sylvatica L.) and black alder (Alnus glutinosa (L.) Gaertn.)

Dans une hetraie et une aulnaie voisines, au nord de l'Allemagne, la transpiration, l'evaporation du sol et l'evaporation de l'eau interceptee ont ete estimees pour quatre annees presentant des conditions meteorologiques differentes. Base sur des donnees meteorologiques standard, un modele a deux couches a ete applique. Pour la hetraie, âgee de 105 ans (hauteur des arbres 29 m, indice de surface foliaire maximal 4,5), la transpiration annuelle (Tr) varie entre 326 et 421 mm (moyenne 389 mm ou 50 % des precipitations, P G ) et l'evapotranspiration annuelle (ET) entre 567 et 665 mm (moyenne 617 mm ou 79 % des P G ). Pour l'aulnaie, âgee de 60 ans (hauteur des arbres 18 m, indice de surface foliaire maximal 4.8), les valeurs respectives sont de 375 et 658 mm (moyenne 538 mm ou 69 % des P G ) pour Tr et de 612 et 884 mm (moyenne 768 mm ou 99 % des P G ) pour ET. Pour l'aulnaie, situee au bord d'un lac (a disponibilite en eau illimitee), ET depasse P G ainsi que le rayonnement net dans les annees a fort ensoleillement. La variation interannuelle de la transpiration, dependante des conditions meteorologiques, est plus elevee pour l'aulnaie, ce qui est du a une capacite moindre de regulation des stomates.
Risk Management Disclosure by Financial Listed Companies in Vietnam

To the best of our knowledge, there have been no studies to assess the level of risk management disclosure (RMD) by listed companies in the financial sector in Vietnam. This research evaluates the level of mandatory and discretionary disclosure of risk management in financial statements of Vietnamese financial listed firms. Using the content analysis method, this study has revealed that the level of information disclosure on risk management by those firms is relatively low. The regression analyses demonstrate that RMD level is affected by firm size, solvency, leverage and independent directors.
Quantitative variation of melanins in alpaca (Lama pacos L.)

The amount of melanin pigments was investigated in 95 Peruvian alpaca, representative of six different fleece colours, by means of spectrophotometry assays: SpEM (Spectrophoto-metric Eumelanin), SpPM (Spectrophotometric Pheomelanin), SpASM (Spectrophotometric Alkali Soluble Melanin), and SpTM (Spectrophotometric Total Melanin). It was found that these melanin pigments were suitable for identifying three homogeneous groups, each consisting of two closely related colours. A low, an intermediate, and a high amount of SpASM, SpTM, and SpPM characterize pinkish grey and light reddish brown, brown and reddish brown, dark reddish brown and black fleeces, respectively. SpEM and SpTM provide a further split within this latter group; higher concentrations of these pigments distinguish black fleece from dark reddish brown.
The response of four lotic macroinvertebrate taxa to burial by sediments

Sedimentation is widely acknowledged as a major.cause of-degradation of instream habitats. However, macroinvertebrate burial by sediment has been poorly studied. Ex situ experiments were undertaken to examine the response of four common and abundant macroinvertebrate taxa (Baetis rhodani, Nemoura cambrica, Hydropsyche pellucidula, and Asellus aquaticus) to burial by six sediment size classes (range = 125 μm - 10mm in size) and two depths of burial (5 mm and 10mm). The nymphs of the ephemeropteran, Baetis rhodani, were unable to excavate themselves from any of the sediments. In contrast, the plecopteran nymphs of Nemoura cambrica were able to excavate themselves from all sediment classes and burial depths. Adults of the isopod, Asellus aquaticus, were able to excavate themselves rapidly from finer sediment classes ( 1 mm in size and became trapped in coarser sediments (>4 mm in size at 5 mm burial depth and > 2 mm at 10mm burial depth). The larvae of the trichopteran, Hydropsyche pellucidula, were able to excavate their heads from all sediment classes and both burial depths, but became trapped in particles <500 μm in size when buried under 10 mm of sediment. The results demonstrate that the response of individual taxa to burial with sediments is highly variable. Consequently, many of the documented changes to benthic macroinvertebrate community composition due to sedimentation probably mask a variety of individual faunal responses.
Amino Acid Sequence of β-Microseminoprotein from Porcine Seminal Plasma

Abstract β-Microseminoprotein is a small mucus-associated protein of unknown function, previously characterized in man and the ape. The corresponding porcine protein was identified in tracheal mucus and seminal plasma by its cross-reaction with antibodies raised against the human protein. The porcine protein was isolated from seminal plasma, and its complete amino acid sequence determined. It is a single-chain protein of 91 amino acids with a molecular mass of 10,068 Da. Compared to primate β-microseminoprotein, the porcine protein has a blocked N-terminus and a deletion of three amino acids in the N-terminal region, but otherwise manifests similarity in amino acid sequence including conservation of 10 cysteine residues. A proportion of individual pigs have two forms of the protein, differing in charge but not in size. The characterization of β-microseminoprotein in a species suited for experiments should help determine the function of this protein.
Physiological and Growth Responses of Arctic Plants to a Field Experiment Simulating Climatic Change

Field manipulations of light, temperature, nutrients, and length of growing season in directions simulating global environmental change altered biomass of the four most abundant vascular plant species in tussock tundra of northern Alaska. These species are Betula nana, Ledum palustre, Vaccinium vitis-idaea, and Eriophorum vaginatum. Biomass response reflected changes in both growth and mortality, with growth being stimulated by treatments that enhanced biomass,a and mortality being enhanced by all treatments (except in Vaccinium). Those species with highest leaf and stem turnover (the graminoid and deciduous shrub) initially showed large positive responses to nutrient addition. By contrast, slow-turnover evergeen species showed little initial change in production in response to our manipulations, and their long-term biomass responses were in the opposite direction to those of the responsive species. Short-term measurement of leaf expansion, photosynthesis, and phosphate uptake showed little correlation with net production of biomass change in response to manipulations because of compensatory mechanisms at levels of growth and allocation. Changes in nutrient distribution among species accounted for many of the long-term changes in biomass and productivity. Processes that are readily integrated at annual time steps (e.g., shoot growth, shoot mortality, allocation) were more useful than instantaneous physiological measurements in predicting decadalmore » vegetation changes because (1) compensating responses among physiological processes buffer plant responses at progressively longer time scales, (2) species interactions in the community buffer ecosystem processes such as productivity and nutrient cycling from changes in growth of individual species, and (3) different time lags between physiological, demographic, and ecosystem processes complicate modeling of long-term responses from short-term mechanism. 76 refs., 11 figs., 5 tabs. « less
Influence of prehatch temperature on the development of muscle cellularity in posthatch Atlantic salmon (Salmo salar)

Previous work has shown that higher incubation temperatures produce newly hatched salmon (Salmo salar) with fewer but larger muscle fibres than salmon incubated at colder temperatures. Our purpose was to study the effect of differing incubation temperatures on the development of muscle cellularity in posthatch salmon. Eggs from a single pair of Atlantic salmon were incubated at either the stream ambient temperature (fluctuating around 5 °C prehatch and gradually rising to around 10 °C posthatch) or at 11 °C. From each group, samples were taken at hatching, first feeding, and at 3 weeks after first feeding. During the period of exogenous feeding under study, the ambient group grew faster. The number of muscle fibres remained lower in the 11 °C fish but there was more muscle fibre hypertrophy in the ambient group so that the difference in muscle fibre size seen at hatching was eliminated by 3 weeks after first feeding. It is suggested that reduced number of nuclei in the 11 °C fish at hatching may contribut.
Token-Based Platforms and Speculators

This paper studies conflicts of interest between different token investors. Platform users, speculators, and an insider hold tokens that serve as transaction medium on a platform. The insider controls platform development but is subject to moral hazard and incentivized by retained tokens. Token liquidity reflecting speculative investment and platform adoption undermines these incentives. Vesting provisions and trading frictions compromising token liquidity mitigate moral hazard but induce the insider to cater to speculators at the expense of users. This paper also shows under what circumstances a dual token structure with a security token and a stablecoin stimulates platform development.
Long-term recolonization patterns of ants in Western Australian rehabilitated bauxite mines with reference to their use as indicators of restoration success

1. The return of invertebrate animals to rehabilitated mine pits is desirable for the re-establishment of ecosystem functioning. A long-term ant monitoring programme is reported over 14 years in a jarrah Eucalyptus marginata forest control plot and in three bauxite mine pits, one of which had been left unvegetated, one planted with marri trees E. calophylla and the other seeded with mixed native plant species. 2. The results confirm published findings for the first 2 years of the succession that seeding with mixed species results in a more rapid attainment of a forest-like ant fauna, although in the last 6 years of the study the ant fauna of the planted plot had become more similar to that of the seeded plot. 3. Changes in the nature of the ant fauna are described and it is concluded that although composition has substantially converged on that of the forest by the end of the study, differences still persist. 4. Research on vegetation, spiders and ants in bauxite mined areas which have been rehabilitated using more recent technology suggest that these differences will lessen with time and with the introduction of improved rehabilitation prescriptions. 5. An additional aim of the study was to validate the chronosequence approach to studying ecosystem recovery following disturbances such as mining. It is concluded that long-term studies provide important information that is missed by the chronosequence approach. Ideally, rapid-feedback chronosequence approaches should be augmented by long-term case studies.
Share Transfer Behaviour of Newly Introduced Tunisian Companies and Its Determinants: An Empirical Analysis

This study seeks to determine the reasons behind original shareholder sales of particular numbers of shares at the IPO date. It also examines whether share transfer behaviour reveals specific characteristics of blockholders and if a non-linear relationship emerges between the variable representing the shares held by controlling shareholders immediately prior to the transaction and the share transfer variable. The sample consists of 46 Tunisian companies listed on the Tunis Stock Exchange during the period 1992–2012. Results show that the original shareholders sale decision depends significantly on company growth opportunities. Assignee shareholders benefit from favourable stock market conditions when they sell their shares at the IPO time. Share transfer behaviour depends on whether company ownership consists of a family or not, and on whether the shareholders are blockholders or not. Besides, controlling shareholders benefit from IPO to enhance their ownership.
Turning Back the Clock on Disclosure Regulation? – Evidence from the Termination of the Quarterly Reporting Mandate in Europe

We investigate economic consequences of the deregulation of quarterly reporting in member states of the European Union, as stipulated by the amended Transparency Directive in 2013. We observe that subsequent to this deregulation, only relatively few firms reduced reporting frequency by switching from quarterly reporting to semi-annual reporting. Using a difference-in-differences design, we then explore the capital market and investment (real) effects of the deregulation. We find that on average, firms that chose to terminate quarterly reporting experienced reductions in liquidity, and increased their long-term investments. These results are robust to controlling for endogeneity, and point at both, potential economic benefits (less short-termism) and losses (reduced transparency) of the deregulation. Our findings represent rare evidence on economic consequences of disclosure deregulation, suggesting that prior regulatory effects can be potentially reversed, effectively “turning back the clock”. This finding is of potential interest not only to researchers, but also to policy-makers and securities regulators.
Carbon Price Forecasting: Which Driven Factors Can Help

This paper proposes two dimension-reduction and forecasting quantile methods (i.e., the quantile group lasso and the quantile group SCAD models) to predict carbon futures returns and investigate the predictability of a comprehensive group of factors including market fundamental variables and technical variables. In terms of the predictive performance, the two proposed models outperform a series of popular competing models. In terms of robustness, the employed quantile method outperforms the mean shrinkage models, especially in the case of our empirical dataset with a non-normal distribution. Through the predictor selection process, the most powerful predictors of carbon futures returns are selected through the dimension-reduction mechanism of the two employed models, while the possible difference of the selected predictors for different quantiles of carbon returns are carefully considered. Moreover, the impacts of those selected predictors are eventually estimated on the quantiles of carbon returns through a quantile regression. We find that the Brent price is the key factor of carbon returns at different quantile levels. The crude oil closing stock and the natural gas futures in the UK significantly influence the carbon futures returns at lower and higher quantile levels. Our research shows that appropriate predictors for carbon futures returns and their impacts hinge on carbon market conditions.
The relationship between prey selectivity and growth and survival in a larval fish

We examined prey preference, growth, and survival of small larval (8-10 mm total length (TL)), large larval (11-17 mm TL), and early juvenile (>18 mm TL) walleye (Stizostedion vitreum) in laboratory aquaria and field mesocosms using multiple prey assemblages that included cladoceran, copepod, and rotifer prey of varied sizes. Both prey taxa and size affected prey preference during the larval period. All sizes of walleye avoided rotifer and nauplii prey. Small and large larvae selected for intermediate-sized (0.4-0.9 mm) cladoceran prey and selected against large prey (>0.9 mm) of both taxa. Although neither capture efficiency nor handling time differed between prey taxa, larvae oriented more frequently towards cladoceran prey suggesting that they were more visible than copepods to these small fish. Larval walleye that were fed exclusively cladoceran prey survived better than fish that were fed other prey. Early juveniles selected primarily on the basis of prey size, choosing large copepods and cladocerans.
Financial Markets and Climate Models: An Empirical Study on Corn Futures

Some economic sectors — particularly agriculture — are sensitive to weather conditions and hence to the accuracy of available forecasts. Unfortunately, even forecasts of the near future made by the most advanced climate models suffer from relatively low accuracy due to imperfect modeling of the climate system with its highly complex and uncertain nature. Participants in the markets for agricultural commodities would therefore benefit from improved prediction systems — such systems would facilitate better knowledge about the harvest in the coming season and suggest better strategies to be deployed on financial markets. If the markets are efficient, the prices of those commodities sensitive to weather are expected to reflect the best knowledge about the conditions for the following growing seasons. <br><br>In this paper we look for evidence that the expectations of the financial markets for the coming growing seasons are superior to those formed purely from publicly available climate forecasts. We analyze the accuracy of the climate forecasts across corn growing areas of the largest producer of corn — the US — and find no evidence of corn futures markets having more information about future climate conditions than that contained in the publicly available forecasts of the multi-model ensemble studied here.
Evolutionarily Stable Quality and Price in Oligopoly: A Comparison with Nash

The article proposes an evolutionary game theoretical analysis of quality and price competition in oligopoly. Using the notion of a finite population evolutionarily stable strategy (FPESS) defined by Schaffer (1989), the relative payoff maximizing behavior is compared with the absolute payoff maximizing behavior. In the literature of IO on quality competition, two different assumptions are made about the nature of cost function. First, firms produce quality mostly with fixed costs and second, quality is produced by variable costs. Therefore, in the context of a symmetric oligopoly game where each firm has two dimensional strategy set of price and quality, the present paper attempts to answer a question regarding the equivalence of FPESS and Nash equilibrium. In conclusion, whether firms produce quality with fixed costs or variable costs, our results show that Nash equilibrium, FPESS and competitive equilibrium are distinct. Moreover, this paper provide a generalization of evolutionary game setup of Tanaka (2000) where we obtain not the same equilibrium price comparison between Nash and FPESS from the one that attained in Tanaka (2000, proposition 2).