Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
The hen's egg: A mathematical model with three parameters

Synopsis An egg‐shaped body is defined mathematically in terms of three parameters: L, its length along the axis of symmetry; b, the ratio of its maximum breadth to its length; and p, which is given by the equation where Xm is the distance from the narrow pole to the plane of maximum breadth. The volume, V, of such a body is given by the equation where V 1 is the volume of a similar body of unit length and is given by Comparison of the volumes of hens’ eggs measured by water displacement with the volumes calculated from these equations showed a very high correlation (r = + 0.994). The surface area, S, of the ovoid of length L is given by the equation where S 1 is the surface area of a similar ovoid of unit length. St is the sum of a rapidly converging infinite series the terms of which are functions of b and p. A table gives values of V 1 and S 1 for ovoids having values of b and of (L‐X m)/L found in hens’ eggs.
Public Good Provision and Social Loss under Polarization

This paper considers a population divided into two significantly-sized groups regarding the preferences its members have about a single public good. The public good equilibrium amount is that of the majority group in such a way that it is far from the Pareto-efficient one. This allows us to characterize a social loss function, which depends on the inter-group heterogeneity and the relative size of each group, parameters which also compound the degree of polarization. Our main conclusion is that, in general, higher levels of polarization do not imply higher social losses. This happens whenever the higher polarization is associated with higher inter-group heterogeneity, and the change in the amount of the public good in equilibrium implied is low enough.
Detection and Inoculation of Peanut Witches' Broom Phytoplasma (16SrII‐A) and Periwinkle Leaf Yellowing Phytoplasma (16SrI‐B) in Citrus Cultivars in Taiwan

To clarify the phytoplasma associated with Huanglongbing (HLB), a detection survey of phytoplasma in field citrus trees was performed using the standardized nested PCR assay with primer set P1/16S-Sr and R16F2n/R16R2. The HLB-diseased citrus trees with typical HLB symptoms showed a high detection of 89.7% (322/359) of HLB-Las, while a low detection of phytoplasma at 1.1% (4/359) was examined in an HLB-affected Wentan pummelo (Citrus grandis) tree (1/63) and Tahiti lime (C. latifolia) trees (3/53) that were co-infected with HLB-Las. The phytoplasma alone was also detected in a healthy Wentan pummelo tree (1/60) at a low incidence total of 0.3% (1/347). Healthy citrus plants were inoculated with the citrus phytoplasma (WP-DL) by graft inoculation with phytoplasma-infected pummelo scions. Positive detections of phytoplasma were monitored only in the Wentan pummelo plant 4 months and 3.5 years after inoculation, and no symptoms developed. The citrus phytoplasma infected and persistently survived in a low titre and at a very uneven distribution in citrus plants. Peanut witches' broom (PnWB) phytoplasma (16SrII-A) and periwinkle leaf yellowing (PLY) phytoplasma belonging to the aster yellows group (16SrI-B) maintained in periwinkle plants were inoculated into healthy citrus plants by dodder transmission. The PnWB phytoplasma showed infection through positive detection of the nested PCR assay in citrus plants and persistently survived without symptom expression up to 4 years after inoculation. Positive detections of the phytoplasma were found in a low titre and several incidences in the other inoculated citrus plants including Ponkan mandarin, Liucheng sweet orange, Eureka lemon and Hirami lemon. None of the phytoplasma-infected citrus plants developed symptoms. Furthermore, artificial inoculation of PLY phytoplasma (16SrI-B) into the healthy citrus plants demonstrated no infection. The citrus symptomless phytoplasma was identified to belong to the PnWB phytoplasma group (16SrII-A).
Pane E Cioccolata: The Impact of Native Attitudes on Return Migration

This paper addresses the potentially causal link between native attitudes and migrants' intended duration of stay. We exploit the variation in perceived anti-immigrant sentiments using information on the media exposure of Romanian migrants in Italy. A unique shock in public attitudes towards Romanian migrants allows us to identify the impact of a change in attitudes on out-migration plans. Our results suggest a significant impact of native attitudes on settlement intentions in Italy. The subgroup analysis indicates a particularly pronounced impact for low-skilled migrants, which has important consequences for the integration prospects of migrants in Italy.
Soft Budget Constraint in Health Care: Evidence from Italy

The reforms that have reshaped most public health care system have often been accompained by a process of devolution. However, this process has not always produced the desired effects and the existence of widespread soft budget constraint policies at local level is well documented. In this paper we argue that the soft budget constraint arise from a cooperative game between the authorities that are locally responsible for the provision and finance of health care. Our theoretical model is tested using data for Italian Regions for the period 2002-2006 and our hypothesis is verified. Although the model uses Italy as a benchmark, the results can be easily extended to any federal context where resources are unevenly distributed and preferences are asymmetric.
Data-Driven Newsvendor with Profit Risk Consideration

We study a risk-averse newsvendor problem where demand distribution is unknown. The focal product is new, and only the historical demand information of related products is available. The newsvendor aims to maximize its expected profit subject to a profit risk constraint. We develop a model with a value-at-risk constraint and propose a data-driven approximation to the theoretical risk-averse newsvendor model. Specifically, based on the covariate information, we use machine learning methods to weight the similarity between the new product and the previous ones. The sample-dependent weights are then embedded to approximate the expected profit and the profit risk constraint. Afterward, we show that the data-driven risk-averse newsvendor solution entails a closed-form quantile structure and can be efficiently computed. Finally, we prove that this data-driven solution is asymptotically optimal. Experiments based on real data and synthetic data demonstrate the effectiveness of our approach. We find that under data-driven decision making, contrary to that in the theoretical risk-averse newsvendor model, the average realized profit may benefit from a stronger risk aversion. It further reveals that under data-driven decision making, even a risk-neutral newsvendor can benefit from incorporating a risk constraint, which plays a regularizing role in mitigating issues of data-driven decision making such as sampling error and model misspecification. The above effects however diminish as the size of the training data set increases, as the asymptotic optimality result implies.
Red Tape Asset Pricing

The equity premium–risk-free rate puzzle in standard consumption-based asset pricing models disappears once we remove the government-imposed component from the consumption expenditure series. I calibrate this component based on the growth rates of two proxies for government intervention, which I also show to forecast the short- and long-term equity premiums between 1974 (or 1981) and 2017. In summary, investors require large premiums to hold stocks because stocks give poor returns when government intervention increases, thereby systematically reducing individuals’ utility levels.
Registration of ‘Santa Fe’ Pinto Bean

'Santa Fe' pinto bean (Phaseolus vulgaris L.) (Reg. No. CV-291, PI 656393), developed by the Michigan Agricultural Experiment Station, was released in 2008 as an upright, midseason, disease-resistant cultivar. An F 4 -derived line developed using pedigree selection was advanced on the basis of superior yield performance, upright plant architecture and improved disease resistance. Over 4 yr of testing (2005-2008), Santa Fe was advanced from the F 7 to F 10 and yield tested at 32 locations in mid-Michigan and at locations in Colorado, North Dakota, Nebraska, Washington and Ontario. Santa Fe combines competitive yield potential (2729 kg ha -1 ) with erect type II architecture while retaining midseason maturity (91 d) in a pinto seed type. Santa Fe has resistance to lodging, making it suitable for direct harvest under narrow-row production systems. The upright architecture also contributes to avoidance to white mold [caused by Sclerotinia sclerotiorum (Lib.) de Bary], a disease aggravated by narrow rows. Santa Fe possesses resistance to specific races of rust [incited by Uromyces appendiculatus (Pers.:Pers.) Unger], virus, and anthracnose [caused by Colletotrichum lindemuthianum (Sacc. & Magnus) Lams. -Scrib]. Santa Fe has a large mottled dry bean seed (40.4 g 100 seed -1 ) that meets the standards and canning quality of the pinto bean seed class.
Liquidity and Large Shareholder Monitoring

Permanent or long-term large shareholders have different governance incentives and mechanisms from institutional investors. Liquidity could facilitate either cutting and running by large shareholders or, alternatively, increased monitoring. Using an exogenous shock to liquidity in China, we document evidence of no cutting and running. We find that board members representing large shareholders become less busy and more diligent, while busyness and diligence of independent directors are not affected by liquidity. Large shareholders also improve compensation contracts by increasing pay-performance sensitivity. These effects are more pronounced when gains from monitoring are higher or monitoring is less susceptible to the free-rider problem.
Harvesting Railway Passenger Opinions on Multi-themes through Micro Blog Data

Railway passenger opinions’ have been lot of importance for monitoring, enhancing the existing services and understanding the current needs of the people. The existing practice involves the people to collect the data, respond to the complaints and forwarding to the concerned heads. Now the current research is focusing on dynamic passenger behaviour analysis by using micro blog data like twitter, facebook etc. In this paper the importance of dynamic social sentiment analysis in railways, issues associated with data collection and processing are elaborated. The proposed work proposes a framework for social sentiment analysis on railway passenger tweets, firstly it identify the theme wise data and then finding the sentiment score being expressed about multiple themes. In this a clustering approach is used to separate the data according to theme and perform the sentiment analysis on each cluster to anticipate the passenger opinions. This work will give the indicators and assessment of railway services quality and can understand the passenger’s opinions. It acts as an expert feedback, service indicator and helpful to enhance the services through a deep analysis of Indian railways passengers’ opinions.
Isolation and Characterization of NBS-LRR Resistance Gene Analogs from Sugarcane: Isolation and Characterization of NBS-LRR Resistance Gene Analogs from Sugarcane

For the purpose of isolating resistance gene analogs (RGAs) from sugarcane (Saccharum officinarum Roxb.) with primers from the conservative sequences of nucleotide-binding site (NBS), 6 forward and 10 backward primers were designed according to the conserved motifs in the NBS regions of 3 typical NBS-LRR resistance genes RPS2, N, and L6. The homologous PCR was used to amplify NBS sequences from genomic DNA and cDNA of smut-resistant sugarcane variety NCo376. A total of 11 RGAs were obtained, of which 5 from the genomic DNA and 6 from the cDNA. Sequence analysis showed that these RGAs comprised of the conserved domains P-loop, Kinase-2a, Kinase-3a, and HD, which was conserved in NBS-LRR type of disease-resistance gene. The last amino acid in the alignment was residue W in LLVLDDV (W/D) motif, which is typical in non-TIR-NBS-LRR type of genes, indicating only non-TIR-NBS-LRR type resistance genes in the genome of sugarcane. The 11 RGAs, together with RPS2 and Xa1, were clustered into one group, and N and L6 were in another group. One RGA, termed PIC (EF059974), was validated through real-time PCR. The result showed that the expression of PIC gene was induced by Ustilago scitaminea and salicylic acid, but inhibited by hydrogen peroxide. The PIC gene had constitutive expressions in leaves, stalks, and roots of sugarcane, with the strongest expression in leaves.
Effects of Chlorophyll-Derived Efflux Pump Inhibitor Pheophorbide a and Pyropheophorbide a on Growth and Macrolide Antibiotic Resistance of Indicator and Anaerobic Swine Manure Bacteria

Natural plant compounds, such as the chlorophyll a catabolites pheophorbide a (php) and pyropheophorbide a (pyp), are potentially active in the gastrointestinal tracts and manure of livestock as antimicrobial resistance-modifying agents through inhibition of bacterial efflux pumps. To investigate whether php, a known efflux pump inhibitor, and pyp influence bacterial resistance, we determined their long-term effects on the MICs of erythromycin for reference strains of clinically relevant indicator bacteria with macrolide or multidrug resistance efflux pumps. Pyp reduced the final MIC endpoint for Staphylococcus (S.) aureus and Escherichia (E.) coli by up to 1536 and 1024 μg erythromycin mL−1 or 1.4- and 1.2-fold, respectively. Estimation of growth parameters of S. aureus revealed that pyp exerted an intrinsic inhibitory effect under anaerobic conditions and was synergistically active, thereby potentiating the effect of erythromycin and partially reversing high-level erythromycin resistance. Anaerobe colony counts of total and erythromycin-resistant bacteria from stored swine manure samples tended to be lower in the presence of pyp. Tylosin, php, and pyp were not detectable by HPLC in the manure or medium. This is the first study showing that pyp affects growth and the level of sensitivity to erythromycin of S. aureus, E. coli, and anaerobic manure bacteria.
Trace Metals in Mesozooplankton of the North Sea: Concentrations in Different Taxa and Preliminary Results on Bioaccumulation in Copepod Collectives (Calanus finmarchicus/C. helgolandicus)

Trace metals (Cd, Cu, Zn, Pb, Ni) were determined in different zooplankton taxa to assess their role in the biogeochemical cycle in the North Sea. Results of semi-static bioaccumulation experiments on board ship using collectives of Calanus finmarchicus/C. helgolandicus were in agreement with a net accumulation strategy, thus meeting an inevitable precondition for their utilization as biomonitors. Cd, Cu and Zn concentrations in field samples of zooplankton displayed a pronounced variability between taxa, with Cd ranging from 0.13 mg kg -1 (d.w.) in fish larvae to 51 mg kg -1 in hyperiid amphipods. Almost no information is available about metal requirements of copepods. However, most of our and worldwide reported Cu concentrations in calanoid copepods (6-22 mg kg -1 ) coincided with estimates of enzymatic requirements of decapod crustaceans. Cd levels in Calanus collectives increased significantly from 0.68 mg kg -1 in the German Bight to 11 mg kg -1 at some stations around Scotland above 59° N, in line with literature data reported for benthic decapod crustaceans.
Price and Non-Price Competition in Oligopoly – An Analysis of Relative Payoff Maximizers

Do firms under relative payoff s maximizing (RPM) behavior always choose a strategy profile that results in tougher competition compared to firms under absolute payoffs maximizing (APM) behavior? In this paper we will address this issue through a simple model of symmetric oligopoly where firms select a two dimensional strategy set of price and a non-price variable known as quality simultaneously. In conclusion, our results show that equilibrium solutions of RPM and APM are distinct. We further characterize the comparison between these two equilibrium concepts. In particular, RPM does not always lead to stricter competition compared to the Nash equilbrium (APM). In fact, the comparison between two equilibrium concepts is influenced by the parameters of demand curve and cost function. The conditions, derived in this paper, determine under which circumstances RPM induces more competition or less competition w.r. t the price or non-price dimension.
The RegTech for Regulators Accelerator (R²A) Process: Giving Financial Authorities Superpowers

The purpose of this working paper is to share the RegTech for Regulators Accelerator's (R2A) approach, process, and tools with financial authorities and other experts who aim to develop and test new RegTech and SupTech solutions for market oversight and policy analysis. The R²A approach draws on best practices from management and entrepreneurial consulting as well as from lessons learned by BFA during past engagements with both the public sector and the Fintech community. The R²A process employs lean design and innovative procurement methods to develop cutting-edge prototypes aimed at relieving specific pain points in financial regulation and supervision. That entails crafting new solutions around the idiosyncratic needs and circumstances of partner financial authorities, which can then be adapted to other jurisdictions in order to reach scale and create an off-the-shelf product.
Crescimento radicular e produção de ácidos orgânicos em cultivares de soja com diferentes tolerâncias ao alumínio

The understanding of the mechanisms for the differential performance of soybean genotypes in relation to Al toxicity is important to explore the existing or produced genetic variability. The objective of this study was to determine the Al influence on root growth, solution pH modifications and organic acid content in root extracts of Al tolerant, FT-1 and FT-6 (Veneza) and sensitive, IAC-13 and Parana, soybean cultivars. Plants were grown during nine days in a solution containing 50 mg L-1 of calcium and 0.0 and 0.2 mg L-1 of aluminum. The solution pH at the beginning was 4.76. Root growth in Al solutions of the tolerant soybean cultivars was higher than that of the sensitive ones. There was no solution pH modification related to the tolerance of soybean cultivars to aluminum. The content of citric, lactic, succinic, oxalic and malic acids was reduced in all cultivars in the presence of aluminum. The highest reduction was observed in the Al sensitive cultivars. The largest amount of citric acid was found in the tolerant cultivars. Tolerance of soybean cultivars can be expressed by the content of non-volatile organic acids, particularly of the citric acid. These characteristics, expressed by the FT-1 and FT-6 (Veneza), suggest that it can be a very important mechanism for Al tolerance in soybean.
Temperatura-base para alface cultivar "white boston", em um sistema de unidades térmicas

The effect of mean air temperature on the development of lettuce (Lactuca sativa L.) variety White Boston was determined in a heat-unit system. The results showed that the base temperature is function of the stage of development of the crop. The base temperature for the phase: emergence-transplant was 6°C and for the phase transplant-harvest was 10°C. It was observed that there is not a linear relationship between crop development and mean air temperature because the growth rate had a maximum at 22°C and it decreased after this value.
A Note on the Wang Transform for Stochastic Volatility Pricing Models

In this paper we study a conditional version of the Wang transform in the context of discrete GARCH models and their diffusion limits. Our first contribution shows that the conditional Wang transform and Duan’s generalized local risk-neutral valuation relationship based on equilibrium considerations, lead to the same GARCH option pricing model. We derive the weak limit of an asymmetric GARCH model risk-neutralized via Wang's transform. The connection with stochastic volatility limits constructed using other standard pricing kernels, such as the conditional Esscher transform or the extended Girsanov principle, is further investigated by comparing the corresponding market prices of variance risk.
Evidence for Hedge Fund Predictability from a Multivariate Student-T Full-Factor GARCH Model

Extending previous work on hedge fund return predictability, this paper introduces the idea of modelling the conditional distribution of hedge fund returns using Student-t full-factor multivariate GARCH models. This class of models takes into account the stylized facts of hedge fund return series, that is heteroskedasticity, fat tails and deviations from normality. For the proposed class of multivariate predictive regression models, we derive analytic expressions for the score and the Hessian matrix, which can be used within classical and Bayesian inferential procedures to estimate the model parameters, as well as to compare different predictive regression models. We propose a Bayesian approach to model comparison which provides posterior probabilities for various predictive models that can be used for model averaging. Our empirical application indicates that accounting for fat tails and time-varying covariances/correlations provides a more appropriate modelling approach of the underlying dynamics of financial series and improves our ability to predict hedge fund returns.
Antiurolithiatic Activity of Crashcal on Ethylene Glycol Induced Urolithiasis in Rats

The present study was designed to evaluate effect of Crashcal, a polyherbal formulation in the treatment of renal calculi. The urolithiasis was induced by ethylene glycol. Male Wistar rats (150–200 g) were selected and divided into seven groups. Ethylene glycol (0.75%) in drinking water was fed to all groups except normal group (Group–1) till 28th day to induce calculi. Group–4 and Group–5 served as preventive regimen (PR) and Group–6 and Group–7 served as curative regimen (CR) and were treated with different doses of Crashcal. Group–1, 2 and 3 served as normal,calculi induced and standard (cystone 750 mg/kg) respectively. Oxalate, calcium and phosphates were monitored in the urine and kidney. Serum BUN, creatinine and uric acid were also recorded. In-vivo antioxidant parameters such as lipid peroxidation (MDA), glutathione (GSH) and superoxide dismutase (SOD), catalase (CAT), body weight, kidney weight and urine volume were also monitored. In hypercalculi animals, the oxalate, calcium and phosphate excretion grossly increased. However, the increased deposition of stone forming constituents was significantly lowered by Crashcal. It was also observed that Crashcal produced significant decrease in MDA and increased GSH, SOD and CAT. The present study suggests that Crashcal possess significant antiurolithiatic and antioxidant activity in rats.
An Increasing Gasoline Price Elasticity in the United States?

Drawing on the 2009 and 2017 waves of the National Household Transportation Survey, this paper is concerned with modeling the fuel price elasticity, allowing for differential estimates in its magnitude over time and across households. We find a small but statistically significant mean elasticity of about -0.05 for the year 2009, which increases over fivefold to -0.26 by the year 2017. We explore the robustness of this result to different model specifications and estimation techniques, including instrumental variable estimation to account for the possible endogeneity of fuel prices, as well as quantile regression to account for heterogeneity according to driving intensity. While a similar pattern of substantially increasing elasticity emerges across all these models, the quantile model suggests an inverse relationship between the magnitude of the elasticity and miles driven in 2017. As demonstrated with a back of the envelope calculation, one implication of this pattern is a more muted effectiveness of fuel taxation than implied by the estimates of a standard mean regression.