Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Use of surface films to reduce ammonia volatilization from flooded rice fields

This paper presents the results of experiments on the control of ammonia volatilization from flooded rice by the use of surface films of organic compounds.Preliminary experiments in evaporation pans, 1.2 m diameter, buried in an upland field of mown pasture, showed that ammonia volatilization from water could be reduced by applications of surface films of long chain alcohols; the effect increased with increasing length of carbon chain.The most effective way to add the film was to dissolve the long chain alcohol in ethanol, and to distribute the solution on the surface of the water.In an experiment in a flooded rice field, additions of cetyl alcohol dissolved in ethanol significantly reduced the rate of ammonia emission and total nitrogen loss. The effect was short-lived, probably due to microbiological decomposition of the cetyl alcohol and dispersion of the surface film by strong winds.
Voluntary Operational Risk Management Disclosures by Islamic Banks in Muslim Majority Countries

In this paper, we develop a new voluntary operational risk management disclosure (ORMD) framework for the Islamic banks by incorporating five dimensions related to operational risk: personnel risk, information technology/system risk, legal risk, social risk, and business performance sustainability risk. We provide a quantitative assessment of the effects of the Shari’ah governance system at the country level and corporate governance at the bank level on the quantity of the ORMD while controlling for the influence of stylized factors. Using a new voluntary ORMD framework, we find that Islamic banks’ ORMD has a pecking order, i.e., more voluntarily disclosed information relates to (i) personnel risk, (ii) social risk, and (iii) performance sustainability risk. This is the first study to provide evidence that a two-tier Shari’ah governance system significantly increases the voluntary ORMD in a Muslim majority country. Our estimation results show that an increase in both the government ownership and the percentage of the independent directors increases ORMD. The evidence presented in this paper also indicates that the nature and scope of internal control requirements for the Islamic financing contracts such as Mudarabah and Musharakah, and adoption of AAOIFI standards, influences the voluntary ORMD. Our results imply that as Islamic banks grow and compete against conventional banks, the Islamic banks must do more, to promote the ethos of Shari’ah by improvements in voluntary ORMD, as disclosing robustness and transparency of their internal controls to stakeholders is promising for the future of Islamic banking. We developed new indicators to measure ORMD to determine whether an understanding of operational risk has a significant impact on the internal control environment of Islamic banks.
Financial Health of Select Telecom Companies in India

Indian telecom industry was disrupted with the entry of Reliance Jio in the year 2016. It introduced low cost call and data resulted in extreme competition amongst the existing players in the market. In the disruption situation, the competitors tried to offer services at low prices in order to retain its customers and market share, and hence impacting growth in revenues and profitability. This resulted in financial stress in this particular sector during the entry of reliance Jio. The study attempted to evaluate the financial health of telecom service companies in India namely Vodafone Idea,RCOM and Bharati Airtel. The study considers the period from 2013-14 to 2017-2018. The study is quantitative in nature and has used Altman ‘Z’ score model for understanding the financial stability.
Sclerophylly: primarily protective?

The leaves of plants show an almost infinite variety of form although most leaves are essentially organs utilized for the same function, photosynthesis. Analyses of the diversity of plant leaf form have revealed the presence of one major trend in the variation, i.e. from large, relatively thin and soft leaves to small, thick and tough ones (Givnish 1987; Reich, Walters & Ellsworth 1992; Turner 1994), although there is a great deal of scatter about any regression line. The subject of this paper is the leaves at latter end of the spectrum which I will call sclerophylls, using the term in its literal, descriptive sense of 'hard leaves'. Soft leaves will be called malacophylls. The sclerophyll is the predominant leaf form in vegetation occurring over a wide geographic and climatic range. This has been recognized for at least the last century (Seddon 1974) but the functional significance of sclerophylly remains controversial (Cody & Mooney 1978; Grubb 1986). Hypotheses concerning the significance of sclerophylly fall into three categories. It has been argued that sclerophylls are primarily adapted for water conservation, nutrient conservation or the prevention of damage. I believe that critical examination of the data available indicates that the anatomical features typical of sclerophylls serve a fundamentally protective function. The reasons for this statement will be discussed after reviewing the characteristics of sclerophylls.
Money Maker or Penny Pincher: On the Psychological Foundation of Inequality Traps

We provide a new perspective to understand poverty traps by researching the effect of psychological poverty on economic decisions. Our innovative sample consists of two pools of subjects: impoverished students and normal students from the same university. Subjects were first randomly assigned either to a treatment group that induced them to think about finances or to a control group. Then all subjects performed three tasks of economic decisions. Our results show that priming in general significantly intensifies the poor’s choices, with fewer total payoffs, higher response times, and favoring “pinching pennies” over “making money,” all of which can perpetuate poverty traps.
The Articulata hypothesis – or what is a segment?

The long held view that annelids and arthropods are closely related (Articulata) has been challenged recently by phylogenetic analyses using molecular data. The outcome of these studies is a clade of moulting animals (Ecdysozoa) comprising arthropods and some taxa of the nemathelminth worms. Monophyly of the Ecdysozoa has not yet been shown convincingly on morphological evidence, but is strongly supported by molecular data. The implication of the Ecdysozoa hypothesis is that the type of segmentation found in annelids and arthropods must be either convergent or an ancestral feature of protostomes or even bilaterians. The present review discusses aspects of segmentation in annelids and arthropods at the genetic, cellular, morphogenetic and morphological levels. Based on numerous similarities not shared with other bilaterian taxa it is suggested that segmentation of annelids and arthropods is homologous and apomorphic for a monophyletic Articulata. However, the challenge provided by the molecular analyses should stimulate research programmes gaining more data such as on additional genes, cleavage patterns, molecular developmental biology, and the comparison of nervous systems at the level of single neurons.
Risk Sharing Supplier Relationships and Investment Financing Decisions

This paper investigates the effects of risk sharing supplier relationships on the profitability and cost of capital of a new investment project. We compare the three possibilities of not investing in the project, bearing the project risk alone and sharing the risk with a supplier. We find that firms enter risk sharing contracts with a supplier if there is a mismatch between the capital available and the capital needed for financing a new investment opportunity. A low leverage ratio on the supplier's side abets the profitability of risk sharing - making a low debt ratio a competitive advantage for the supplier. Moreover, we show that the equity cost of capital for the project can decrease especially for high risk and highly pro table projects.
3-Hydroxylation of the polycyclic tetramate macrolactam in the biosynthesis of antifungal HSAF from Lysobacter enzymogenes C3

HSAF isolated from Lysobacter enzymogenes is an antifungal natural product with a new mode of action. The polycyclic tetramate macrolactam (PTM) carries a 3-hydroxyl group on the ornithine residue, which is a feature common to nearly all PTM type natural products found in phylogenetically diverse organisms. A previous gene disruption experiment indicated that the sterol desaturase (SD) gene, which is clustered with the central polyketide synthase–nonribosomal peptide synthetase (PKS–NRPS), was involved in the 3-hydroxylation. However, the mechanism for this hydroxylation had not been established. Here, we determined the structure of the main metabolite accumulated in the SD mutant, which is 3-dehydroxy HSAF (3-deOH-HSAF). This compound lost the antifungal activity against Penicillium avellaneum, showing the crucial role of the 3-hydroxyl group. We then expressed the SD gene in E. coli. Upon feeding 3-deOH-HSAF, E. coli produced HSAF. When the SD enzyme extract was incubated with 3-deOH-HSAF in the presence of NADPH, HSAF was also produced. The results demonstrated that the SD gene encodes a 3-hydroxylase of the HSAF carbon chain. In addition, the data support that the 3-hydroxylation step is likely a post-PKS–NRPS event in the HSAF biosynthetic pathway. Finally, we co-expressed the ferredoxin reductase (FNR) gene, which is also clustered with the PKS–NRPS gene, with the SD gene in E. coli. The results showed that FNR significantly enhanced the conversion of 3-deOH-HSAF into HSAF. Together, the study established the mechanism for the installation of this common functionality that is important to the activity of the PTM-type natural products.
Einfache Methode zur Isolierung von Immunglobulin (Y) aus Eiern immunisierter Hühner

Summary A simple method for the isolation of immunoglobulin (Y) from eggs of immunized hens Hens were vaccinated with Salmonella typhi-murium and with serum-IgG from a goat. Antibodies (IgY) were isolated from the eggs by ammonium sulphate precipitation. The concentration of egg antibodies was equal or superior to the concentration of serum antibodies of the hen. The longlasting antibody plateau of 9 and 28 weeks, respectively, provides evidence of the high yields of specific IgY which can be collected from a single immunized hen. Zusammenfassung Huhner wurden mit Salmonella typhi-murium und Serum IgG einer Ziege immunisiert. Aus den gelegten Eiern wurden Antikorper (IgY) mit Hilfe der Ammoniumsulfat-Prazipitation gewonnen. Die Konzentration der Eigelb-Antikorper entsprach oder ubertraf die Konzentration der Serum-Antikorper des Elterntieres. Die langfristige Ausbildung eines Antikorperplateaus von 9 bzw. 28 Wochen gibt einen Hinweis auf die hohen Ertrage von spezifischem IgY, die von einem immunisierten Huhn gewonnen werden konnen.
Experimental crosses within European Silene latifolia (Caryophyllaceae): intraspecific differentiation, distance effects, and sex ratio

The dioecious weed Silene latifolia Poiret is thought to have spread northwards through Europe from separate southern source populations and shows a pronounced east–west pattern of differentiation in seed morphology. We used crossing experiments to investigate whether patterns of interfertility in S. latifolia are consistent with a scenario of ongoing speciation (reflected by outbreeding depression in crosses between the seed races), a scenario involving local inbreeding (reflected by heterosis in interpopulations crosses), or a combination of both scenarios. The experiments involved three western and three eastern populations, which were crossed reciprocally in all possible inter- and intra-population combinations. Inter-race cross-progenies did not have lower fitness than those from intra-racial crosses, and the results are not consistent with a scenario of incipient speciation. A pattern of overall heterosis was found in three variables, indicating the expression of inbreeding depression in progeny from intrapopulation crosses. For two fitness variables, negative relationships between interpopulation distance and heterosis, together with signs of outbreeding depression in the longest-distance crosses, suggest that there may be significant levels of genetic differentiation between geographically distant populations. The sex ratio was female-biased in most progenies, especially in those from the longest-distance crosses. (Less)
Beyond Transaction Costs: Thorstein Veblen's Contributions to the Analysis of Hybrid Forms of Governance in Agribusiness

The paper aims to investigate Thorstein Veblen (1898) institutional theoretical approach to the analysis of hybrid forms in agribusiness. A comparative assessment of Transaction Cost Economics against to Veblen’s evolutionary approach, originated from the “Old” Institutionalism, was performed. First it was found that a distinctive characteristic of Veblen’s theory is based on the notion of a broad understanding of institutions that considers habits of thought as the core of institutional fabrics. In that regard organizations are also institutions because they induce the evolvement of habits collectively. Second it is stressed out in Veblen’s theory the endogenous relationship among individuals and institutions, called by Hodgson (2007) as “reconstitutive downward causation. ” That is distinctive from New Institutional Economics that follows an approach based on methodological individualism in which institutions are the result of individual choices. In Veblen’s theory institutions are as much the result of individual choices as act over choices through the enforcement of habits of thought. So there is a recursive relationship between individuals and institutions. Veblen’s stressed out contributions: (i) a broad concept of institution, and (ii) institutional recursive relationships, both are of great value to the investigation of agribusiness systems. The article provides an assessment of three Brazilian beef alliances which have distinctive governance arrangements, based on horizontal and hierarchical structures. The analysis performed indicates that transaction costs play a minor role on the definition of the governance arrangements. Horizontal governance depends upon relational density to deliver coordination, on the other hand, vertical governance relies on the hierarchical leadership of a “captain” that guarantees cooperative behavior based on economic incentives and vertical control. The empirical illustration provided indications that the patterns of habits of thought and relational density are of key importance to the governance of hybrid forms in agribusiness.
To Study or to Work? Education and Labour Market Participation of Young People in Poland

This paper proposes Heckprobit estimates of the determinants of labour market participation of a sample of young (15-30) Poles, controlling for the sample selection bias caused by excluding those in education. There is evidence of sample selection bias in the case of young men, suggesting that they obey more than women to economic factors in making their educational choices. Education is an important determinant of the success in the labour market. The instrumental variables used in the selection equation - the local unemployment rate, expected lifetime earnings and the opportunity cost of education - have a statistically significant impact on the probability to be in education. In contrast with several previous studies relative to mature market economies, in high unemployment voivodships young people prefer to seek a job, rather than studying. In turn, this contributes to make regional unemployment persistent.
Oxidation of Methanol by the Yeast, Pichia pastoris, Purification and Properties of the Formaldehyde Dehydrogenase

The formate dehydrogenase from the yeast Pichia pastoris IFP 206 was purified to homogeneity. The protein showed a molecular weight of 68,000 daltons and was composed of two identical subunits. Its amino acid composition was similar to those of other formate dehydrogenases and was characterized by a high content of acidic residues. The N-terminal end of the molecule was probably blocked.The enzyme activity was NAD+ dependent (NADP+ could not replace NAD+). Its optimum temperature was 47°C and the activation energy 10.8 kcal/mol. The enzyme was active from pH 3.5 to 10.5 with a maximum at pH 7.5. The Michaelis constant for NAD+ and formate were respectively 0.27 and 15mM. The purified enzyme had no S-formylglutathione hydrolase activity, strongly suggesting that the true substrate was formate. NADH, cyanide and azide were strong inhibitors of the enzyme.
Venture Capital Ownership as a Contingent Resource: How Owner/Firm Fit Influences IPO Outcomes

This study seeks to contribute to the literature on corporate ownership and firm performance by advancing an expertise-based perspective that views owners as a contingent resource. Specifically, we propose that heterogeneous prior experiences of corporate owners creates identifiable differences in owner expertise, and that these differences in expertise, when matched appropriately and dynamically to firms’ specific strategic needs, will be a source of value over the life cycle of a firm. We draw from the venture capital (VC) context to identify ex ante the meaningful differences in owner expertise, as well as the firm-specific situations for which we believe a dynamic fit/misfit would exist between VC owners and these private firms. We test and find support for our predictions regarding the performance benefits of dynamically well-matched owners and firms using an extensive longitudinal dataset of the population of U.S. private firms seeking to go public from 1997 to 2004 and their VC owners. We discuss the implications of our approach as they relate to future research opportunities across the corporate governance, strategy, and entrepreneurship literatures.
Product Market Regulation in Bulgaria: A Comparison With OECD Countries

Less restrictive product market policies are crucial in promoting convergence to higher levels of GDP per capita. This paper benchmarks product market policies in Bulgaria to those of OECD countries by estimating OECD indicators of Product Market Regulation (PMR). The PMR indicators allow a comprehensive mapping of policies affecting competition in product markets. Comparison with OECD countries reveals that Bulgaria has made substantial progress towards less restrictive product market policies but also emphasizes a number of areas where further reform is needed. These include adoption of a regulatory process based on incentive-based rather than command-and-control approach, reduction of state interference in the decision of state-owned enterprises, further streamlining of business licensing procedures, and improvement in the communication of rules and procedures to affected parties.
Environmental and genetic control of morphogenesis in crops: towards models simulating phenotypic plasticity

As molecular biologists are realising the importance of physiology in understanding functional genomics of quantitative traits, and as physiologists are realising the formidable prospects for improving their phenotypic models with information on the underlying gene networks, researchers worldwide are working on linked physiological-genetic models. These efforts are in their early methodological stage despite, or because of, the availability of many different types of models, the problem being to bring together the different ways that scientists see the plant. This paper describes some current efforts to adapt phenotype models to the objective of simulating gene-phene processes at the plant or crop scale. Particular emphasis is given to the models' capacity to simulate genotype x environment interaction and the resulting phenotypic plasticity, assuming that this permits the defining of model parameters that are closer to specific gene action. Three different types of approaches are presented: (1) a generic, mathematical-architectural model called GREENLAB that simulates resource-modulated morphogenesis; (2) an ecophysiological model of peach tree fruit development and filling, parameterised for a mapping population to evaluate the potential of plugging quantitative trait locus (QTL) effects into the model; and (3) the new model Ecomeristem that constructs plant architecture and its phenotypic plasticity from meristem behaviour, the principal hypothesis being that resource limitations and stresses feed back on the meristems. This latter choice is based on the fact that gene expression happens to a large extent in the meristems. The model is evaluated on the basis of preliminary studies on vegetative-stage rice. The different modelling concepts are critically discussed with respect to their ability to simulate phenotypic plasticity and to operate with parameters that approximate specific gene action, particularly in the area of morphogenesis.
On Vector Autoregressive Modeling in Space and Time

Despite the fact that it provides a potentially useful analytical tool, allowing for the joint modeling of dynamic interdependencies within a group of connected areas, until lately the VAR approach had received little attention in regional science and spatial economic analysis. This paper aims to contribute in this field by dealing with the issues of parameter identification and estimation and of structural impulse response analysis. In particular, there is a discussion of the adaptation of the recursive identification scheme (which represents one of the more common approaches in the time series VAR literature) to a space-time environment. Parameter estimation is subsequently based on the Full Information Maximum Likelihood (FIML) method, a standard approach in structural VAR analysis. As a convenient tool to summarize the information conveyed by regional dynamic multipliers with a specific emphasis on the scope of spatial spillover effects, a synthetic space-time impulse response function (STIR) is introduced, portraying average effects as a function of displacement in time and space. Asymptotic confidence bands for the STIR estimates are also derived from bootstrap estimates of the standard errors. Finally, to provide a basic illustration of the methodology, the paper presents an application of a simple bivariate fiscal model fitted to data for Italian NUTS 2 regions.
Household Participation in International Financial Markets: Empirical Evidence from Italy

This work develops a simple methodology to make some contribution to current thinking about household participation in international financial markets. I combine standard microeconometrics with a latent model (multivariate statistics). This type of model is usually applied in the social sciences, but here it helps us to better identify the gap between actual international investor and potential international investor. The heterogeneity of agents can be useful to explain the behaviour of Italian families and its related economic problems, like equity home bias and equity premium puzzle.