Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Effect of Buffered and Unbuffered Tricaine Methanesulfonate (MS-222) at Different Concentrations on the Stress Responses of Channel Catfish, Ictalurus punctatus Rafinesque

ABSTRACT The effects of four concentrations (0, 90,120, and 180 mg/L) of the anesthetic tricaine methanesulfonate (MS-222) (buffered and unbuffered with sodium bicarbonate) were evaluated on anesthetization efficacy and stress responses of juvenile channel catfish, Ictalurus punctatus Rafinesque. Buffered MS-222 treatments were neutralized with sodium bicarbonate to bring the pH of exposure water to that of rearing water (pH ∼7.0). Fish were exposed to MS-222 treatments for 10 minutes after reaching stage 3 anesthetization, or for 10 minutes only for the control treatment (0 mg/L MS-222). Blood was sampled from fish at the end of the 10 minute exposure period and after 30,60,120,240, and 480 minutes recovery in aquaria to measure blood glucose and plasma cortisol and osmolality. With increasing MS-222 concentration, there were significant decreases in pH (7.0 to 5.7) and increases in osmolality (40 to 63 mOsm/kg) in unbuffered water, while osmolality (43 to 69 mOsm/kg), but not pH, were significantly different among the treatments in buffered water. As expected, anesthesia induction time was reduced and recovery time was increased as MS-222 exposure concentration increased. Buffering of exposure water had no effect on anesthetization induction or recovery. Sampling time and MS-222 concentration, but not buffering or pH, had significant effects on the stress responses. Although anesthetization reduced the cortisol response to handling, plasma cortisol concentrations increased with increasing MS-222 concentration regardless of buffering, suggesting an anesthesia effect that was unrelated to MS-222 acidification of exposure water. The blood glucose response also increased with increasing MS-222 concentration; however, glucose concentrations, unlike cortisol, were lowest in handled, non-anesthetized fish, which suggests that stress-related hyperglycemia may not be solely under cortisol control. We determined 90 mg/L MS-222 to be an effective dose for fingerling channel catfish, which provided a moderate rate of anesthesia without significantly exacerbating the cortisol response to handling.
The International Coordination of Corporate Taxation: Old Solutions for New Challenges?

The ways in which multinational companies operate in the current economic context questions the adequacy of international coordination of corporate taxation. A conceptual approach would require abandoning the classic paradigms of the international tax system (permanent establishment, arm's length, transfer pricing); they remain at the basis of the “Base Erosion and Profit Shifting” project (BEPS) elaborated by the OECD but are now obsolescent. The crisis of this system has been exacerbated by the Trump Reform and the explosion of the digital economy. The former introduces new regimes that undermine international cooperation and are in contrast with the WTO rules and with the double taxation treaties, regardless of the traditional OECD principles. The latter has features that cannot be governed by current tax rules, even if improved with the suggestions of the BEPS project. Solutions proposed at international level or applied by individual countries could lead to great uncertainty. A rational response to these challenges would rest on different bases, such as those of a system of formulary apportionment, with advantages in terms of simplicity, cost and certainty, fostering allocative efficiency and growth. Although this design is not feasible at international level, applying such a system in Europe, with the common consolidated corporate tax base (CCCTB), could ensure greater attractiveness and efficiency of the EU internal market: it would apply the same formulary system applied to other markets (e.g., the US market), while intra-European transactions are still regulated by the transfer pricing mechanism.
DIABETES MELLITUS AND AGING: DIMINISHED PLATING EFFICIENCY OF CULTURED HUMAN FIBROBLASTS

Abstract This work concerns the effect of age and the diabetic gene(s) on the growth capacity of skin fibroblasts in culture. Cells from normal subjects and the progeny of conjugal diabetics have similar lifespans after multiple passages in mass culture. The combined lifespans in vitro are inversely proportional to the age of the donor. When individual cells are plated, more of those from normal subjects are able to form colonies. The difference in plating efficiency is apparent when first tested after 20 generations of growth, persists at 30 and 40 generations, but disappears after 50 generations. This cell culture system should be useful in studying the inheritance of the diabetic gene(s), the pathogenesis of the diabetic state, and the relationship between aging and diabetes, both of which decrease plating efficiency.
Running for the Exit: International Banks and Crisis Transmission

The global financial crisis has reignited the debate about the risks of financial globalization, in particular the international transmission of financial shocks. We use data on individual loans by the largest international banks to their various countries of operation to examine whether banks’ access to borrower information affected the transmission of the financial shock across borders. The simultaneous use of country- and bank-fixed effects allows us to disentangle credit supply and demand and to control for general bank characteristics. We find that during the crisis banks continued to lend more to countries that are geographically close, where they are integrated into a network of domestic co-lenders, and where they had gained experience by building relationships with (repeat) borrowers.
Do Corporate Governance Ratings Reflect Firm Financial Performance?

In this study, we investigate whether the commercial corporate governance ratings generated by Turkish rating institutions provide useful information about firm financial performance. We analyze corporate governance ratings both summary and sub-ratings in reflecting firm financial performance. In the study, both accounting based (ROA) and market-based performance measures (MVA, Tobin’s Q) are used to properly capture firm financial performance. The results indicate that the summary corporate governance ratings seem to be inadequate to reflect firm financial performance, while mixed results are determined between sub-ratings and firm financial performance.
Silica decouples fungal growth and litter decomposition without changing responses to climate warming and N enrichment

Ongoing global changes, such as climate warming and increasing supply of reactive nitrogen (N), are expected to affect essential ecosystem processes such as the decomposition of plant litter. Determining the influence of environmental heterogeneity on the magnitude of these effects remains an important task, with silicon (Si) availability being a notable component of this heterogeneity, especially for grasses. We conducted an outdoor enclosure experiment to test if increased Si supply to a widespread foundation species (Phragmites australis) alters the effect of climate warming and excess N supply on litter decomposition by curbing fungal decomposers. Consistent with expectations, Si supply during plant growth reduced fungal biomass in decomposing leaf blades by 50%, an effect that was doubled by excess external N supply. These strong impacts, however, did not directly translate to reduced litter decomposition or associated changes in nutrient dynamics. Instead, plant tissue-specific effects determined th.
How far do experimentally elevated CO2 levels reach into the surrounding? – An example using the 13C label of soil organic matter as an archive

During the last two decades, free air CO2 enrichment (FACE) studies have been conducted to study the effects of rising atmospheric CO2 concentrations on ecosystems. The distances between fumigated and control plots differ widely among those projects, but no experimental data are available how far into the surrounding area an effect of CO2 fumigation can be detected. As the CO2 gas added to the fumigated plots has a different 13C label than ambient atmospheric CO2, its carbon can be traced into plants and soil organic matter (SOM). The Swiss FACE in Eschikon had been conducted for 10 years on a grassland site. After it had ended, we analysed soil samples from three transects extending from the plots to the surrounding area for their organic carbon (Corg) content and carbon isotopic signature. We determined the maximum spatial extension to which carbon originating from the fumigation was incorporated into SOM. A budget of the fumigation gas‐derived Corg in the upper 10 cm of the soil showed that approximately 50 kg C were stored within the plots, and an additional 31 kg C were stored in their immediate surroundings up to a distance of 9 m from the gas pipes. The presented approach provides us with a method to determine a posteriori the extension to which the CO2 fumigation treatment contaminated its immediate surroundings during a FACE experiment. In the presented example, this showed that the distances between plots could have been reduced significantly. Although not generalizable to other experimental settings, the finding indicates that optimizing the spatial layout, e.g. by modelling gas dispersion, will be useful when planning future large‐scale FACE infrastructures. Our approach provides a solid basis to test such gas‐dispersion models on existing FACE sites before planning new sites.
Movilidad Económica en Colombia 1994-2005 (Economic Mobility in Colombia 1994-2005)

Spanish Abstract: El concepto de desarrollo economico de un pais comprende multiples dimensiones. Por tanto seria reduccionista limitar su valoracion a la simple evaluacion del crecimiento del PIB per capita. En el presente estudio, la dimension de desarrollo economico que los autores toman en consideracion es la Movilidad Economica, entendida como la evolucion de los ingresos de la poblacion teniendo en cuenta la distribucion de los mismos y la brecha existente entre grupos socioeconomicos. Para el caso colombiano -en el periodo comprendido entre 1994-2005- se encuentra que en general, el crecimiento economico colombiano ha reducido los indices de pobreza; sin embargo, este logro se ha visto opacado por el aumento de la desigualdad. Es decir, el crecimiento del ingreso del 20% mas rico de la poblacion ha sido superior al crecimiento del ingreso del 20% mas pobre.English Abstract: The concept of economic development of a country comprises multiple dimensions. So it would be reductionist to limit their assessment to a simple evaluating of aggregate output growth. In the present study, the dimension of economic development that the authors take into consideration is the Economic Mobility, understood as the evolution of incomes, taking into account the distribution of the same and the gap between socioeconomic groups. For Colombia, in the period 1994-2005 we found that in general, Colombian economic growth has reduced poverty rates; however, this achievement has been reduced by the rise in inequality. That is, the income growth of 20% richest of the population has exceeded the income growth of 20% poorest.
Marijuana and Alcohol Evidence Using Border Analysis and Retail Sales Data

We use retail scanner data on purchases of alcoholic beverages across US counties for 2006-2015 to study the link between medical marijuana laws (MMLs) and alcohol consumption. To do this we first exploit differences in the timing of marijuana laws among states and find that they are substitutes. We show that unlike traditional national-level analysis, focusing on contiguous border county-pairs provides unbiased estimates of the effect of MMLs on alcohol sales. Specifically, counties located in MML states reduced monthly alcohol sales by 12.4 percent. Results are robust to including placebo effective dates for MMLs in treated states.
Performance Analysis of Indonesian Islamic and Conventional Banks

The sharia banking phenomenon get higher attention for the last two decades, and received special attention by the banking industry. In sharia banking, interest-based principal is not allowed; instead, profit-and-loss-sharing is applied. In Indonesia, the practice of sharia-based banking system is based on the Banking Act No. 7 May 1992. This Act provides Islamic banks freedom to develop their own strategy to generate income, either in the form of profit sharing or through the interest. Although there was only one Islamic bank operated at the time the Government passed the law, the number has been continue to growing since then. This study aims to answer the question on the performance of Indonesian Islamic banks’ during the latest four-year period using individual-bank data. In addition, this study also attempts to compare the performance of Islamic and conventional banks. Using three financial efficiency ratios, (i.e. cost efficiency ratios, revenue efficiency ratios and profit efficiency ratios), it is found that there is a significant performance improvement of Islamic banks due to costs and revenue efficiency. T-test and F-test are used to check significance difference of Islamic and conventional banks. Results from the study show that Islamic banks experienced higher cost efficiency (CITR and NIER) than that of conventional banks. In addition, Islamic banks also appear to be able to generate more revenue and profit efficient than those of conventional banks. This indicates that Islamic banks are able to generate more revenue and profit than conventional banks, although they have less experience than conventional banks. Furthermore, big Islamic banks have also higher value of revenue efficiency (NIM) and profit efficiency ratios (ROAA and ROAE) than big conventional banks.
Rapid and sensitive colorimetric detection of Xanthomonas axonopodis pv. citri by immunocapture and a nested-polymerase chain reaction assay.

We have developed a sensitive and specific assay for Xanthomonas axonopodis pv. citri, the causal agent of citrus bacterial canker. The assay is based on sequential nested amplification by polymerase chain reaction (PCR) of a region of plasmid DNA that is very highly conserved in X. axonopodis pv. citri. Specific amplification products were observed in reactions containing three or fewer target molecules, an improvement of 50- to 100-fold over single-stage PCR, and similar results were observed when beginning with purified DNA or living bacterial cells. Colorimetric detection of amplification products was performed with the DIANA (detection of immobilized amplified nucleic acids) method, which uses labeled primers to allow amplification product capture and detection in a microtiter plate. Predicted amplification products were produced from all strains of X. axonopodis pv. citri and from four of six strains of X. axonopodis pv. aurantifolii but not from other xanthomonads, including citrus epiphytes, except for X. axonopodis pv. vignicola and one strain isolated from Feronia elephantiacum, consistent with previous hybridization results. No amplification products were observed from strains of X. axonopodis pv. citrumelo that incite citrus bacterial spot disease in Florida citrus nurseries. Amplification was completely inhibited by copper hydroxide when present in the reaction mix at 13.6 μg/ml. Concentrated leaf extracts from tangelo and mandarin orange, but not similar extracts from other citrus varieties, also inhibited amplification. Immunomagnetic separation of target bacteria prior to amplification was used to concentrate and recover X. axonopodis pv. citri from samples containing compounds that inhibit amplification (i.e., copper and concentrated citrus extracts). Immunocapture, by concentrating target bacteria from dilute plant extracts, improved the sensitivity of the assay by 100-fold over nested-PCR alone. The combination of sensitivity, specificity, and speed of the assay could make this a widely used assay both in plant quarantine and in areas where X. axonopodis pv. citri is endemic and clean planting stock programs are to be initiated.
Effects of land use on aquatic macrophyte diversity and water quality of ponds

Summary 1. Aquatic macrophyte diversity and water quality of 55 ponds in western Japan were related to land use and morphometric variables to identify the environmental factors that sustain biodiversity and the spatial extent at which these factors operate. 2. The relevant spatial extent for floating-leaved macrophyte richness (500 m from pond edge) was larger than that for submerged macrophyte occurrence (10, 75 and 100 m), whereas emergent macrophyte richness was best explained at much larger extents (1000 m). Total macrophyte richness was explained at the extent of 500, 750 and 1000 m. The extents relevant for explaining the physicochemical condition of pond water (100 and 250 m) were similar to those for submerged and floating-leaved macrophytes, suggesting that these two growth forms are more sensitive to water quality compared to emergent macrophytes. 3. Diversity of all three growth forms and that of total macrophytes collectively were inversely related to turbidity and nutrient concentration; among the three growth forms, submerged macrophytes were most affected by water quality. 4. Negative relationships were found between the proportion of urban area and the diversity of the three growth forms and that of total macrophytes and water quality. Species richness of emergent, floating-leaved and total macrophytes decreased with depth and increased with surface area up to about 5000 m2, above which it declined. 5. Urbanisation and enlargement of ponds were the two main factors that decreased aquatic macrophyte diversity in irrigation ponds. To alleviate the adverse effects of urban areas on aquatic macrophyte diversity, our results suggest that management efforts should focus on the creation of buffer zones within the relevant spatial extent from the pond edge.
The Final Chapter in Keynes's 'History of the Multiplier Doctrine' Had Already Been Written in the 'A Treatise on Probability' in 1921 in Chapter 26

R J Kent’s 2007 History Of Political Economy article ends with the claim that “…But there certainly are many unanswered questions concerning Keynes’s role in the development of the multiplier…”. Pace Kent, anyone who has read Keynes’s chapter 26 in the A Treatise on Probability in 1921 and compared the mathematical analysis provided there with the mathematical analysis presented in Richard Kahn’s June, 1931 Economic Journal article, will immediately recognize that Kahn’s formal representation is identical to Keynes’s except for the specific variables used by Keynes and Kahn, q for Keynes and k for Kahn. <br><br>There are no more “unanswered questions concerning Keynes’s role in the development of the multiplier…”. Keynes developed the logical and mathematical theory of the multiplier at least 10 years before the publication of Kahn’s article and applied his knowledge by providing an application of the multiplier theory in May of 1929, at least two years before the publication of Kahn’s article, as shown by Kent in his paper. <br><br>Paul Samuelson missed a golden opportunity in his 1977 Journal of Economic Literature to end the mystery of the multiplier, but overlooked Keynes’s technical analysis in his analysis of Keynes’s risk analysis in chapter 26 of the General Theory. The real unanswered question is why it took nine decades for economists to recognize that it was Keynes who showed Kahn how to apply the multiplier and not the other way around. <br>
CEO Characteristics and Value of Cash Holdings

This study examines the effect of CEO characteristics on the value of excess cash using the listed firm data in Korea. We find that firms with business major CEO have significantly higher value of excess cash compared to the other firms, but science and engineering major have no significant effect. Moreover, firms with MBA CEO and master CEO increase the value of excess cash. Age and tenure have negative impact on the value of excess cash, but newly appointment of CEO has positive impact on the value of excess cash. Our study suggests that the value of excess cash depends on CEO characteristics such as educational backgrounds and CEO demographics.
Law and Economics of Shareholder Rights and Ownership Structures: How Trivial are Shareholder Rights for Shareholders?

Law and Finance theory stresses the importance of shareholder rights for the reliability and development of capital markets. Many European Parliaments picked up this corporate governance issue. We expand the analysis of Lele and Siems (2007) and show that the number of shareholder rights grew steadily in many countries over the last fifteen years. In particular the protection of shareholders against shirking of the board members and the officers increased significantly. The protection of minority shareholders against the expropriation of major shareholders remained unchanged. In light of these findings, it can be expected that after a time lag ownership concentration would decrease in continental Europe. However, our evidence is mixed. The analysis of the development of shareholder structures from different perspectives - ownership concentration, shareholder classes and ownership distribution - revealed only limited support for the Law and Finance arguments. The results cause serious doubts on the influence of shareholder rights on ownership structures and the development of liquid capital markets. That is not to say, shareholder rights have no added value and should be abolished. The mixed evidence suggests that other variables, like the presence of activist shareholders, might be much more influential than the development of shareholder rights.
Spatial Distribution of Pacific Halibut (Hippoglossus stenolepis): An Application of Geostatistics to Longline Survey Data

The spatial distribution of Pacific halibut (Hippoglossus stenolepis) in the Gulf of Alaska was analyzed using longline catch per unit of effort (CPUE) data collected during three grid surveys in 1984, 1985, and 1986. Geostatistical techniques were used: (i) a variographic analysis to model and estimate the spatial structure of halibut abundance and (ii) ordinary kriging to predict local abundance. Available small-scale information made it possible to model satisfactorily the spatial structure. Results show (i) a persistent large-scale east–west difference in average CPUE and (ii) spatially correlated CPUE data with an average covariance decreasing as the distance between observations increased, over a range of 0–20 nautical miles (nmi) in 1984 and 1985, and 50 nmi in 1986. The survey design had limitations in that it was too unbalanced, with stations very close together along north–south transects, and transects too far apart from each other. Consequently, prediction error was small close to the transect.
Managerial Miscalibration

Using a unique 10-year panel that includes more than 13,300 expected stock market return probability distributions, we find that executives are severely miscalibrated, producing distributions that are too narrow: realized market returns are within the executives’ 80% confidence intervals only 36% of the time. We show that executives reduce the lower bound of the forecast confidence interval during times of high market uncertainty; however, ex post miscalibration is worst during periods of high uncertainty. We also find that executives who are miscalibrated about the stock market show similar miscalibration regarding their own firms’ prospects. Finally, firms with miscalibrated executives seem to follow more aggressive corporate policies: investing more and using more debt financing.