Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Effect of brewer's grain on rumen fermentation, milk production and milk composition in lactating dairy cows

Six lactating Holstein cows were divided into two groups (n = 3) and used in a double reversal trial with three periods of 14 days each to evaluate the rumen fermentation, milk production and milk composition of cows fed brewer's grain (BG). The control diets contained 14% chopped Sudangrass hay, 24% corn silage, 18% alfalfa hay cube, 34% concentrate mixture-1 and 10% concentrate mixture-2 (wheat bran, soybean meal and cottonseed). In the experimental diet, wet BG replaced the concentrate mixture-2. The protozoal population, concentration of ammonia-N and volatile fatty acids in the ruminal fluid did not differ between the control and BG diets. The molar percentage of acetic acid was significantly higher (P < 0.05) with the BG diet at 5 h after feeding. The milk yield, the percentage of protein, lactose, solids not-fat and somatic cell counts of milk did not differ between the two diets. The percentage of milk fat tended to increase with the BG diet. The BG diet significantly increased the proportions of C18:0 and C18:1 in milk fat (P < 0.01, P < 0.05, respectively) and tended to increase that of conjugated linoleic acid.
Forecasting Employment of Tourism Industry in Sri Lanka

The tourism industry in Sri Lanka is growing over the recent past; increasing arrivals from various destinations. As a result, the employment in the industry also shows a rapid growth, but there were very few attempts in forecasting employment in the tourism industry in Sri Lanka. Hence, the objective of the study was to find out the suitable forecasting techniques for total employment of tourism industry in Sri Lanka. Annual employment data for the period of 1970 to 2015 were obtained from the Sri Lanka Tourism Development Authority (SLTDA). Karl Pearson’s correlation used to test the correlation between total employment and tourist arrivals. Time series plots used for pattern identification. Simple Regression Model (SRM) and Auto Distributed Lag Model (ADLM) tested for forecasting. The Anderson-Darling test used to test the normality of data and residuals. Ljung-Box Q test, Auto-Correlation Functions (ACF) and Durbin-Watson (DW) test used to test the independence of residuals. Augmented Dickey-Fuller (ADF) test used to test the stationary of the series. Forecasting ability of the models was assessed by both relative and absolute measurements of errors. The SRM was not successful, but the ADLM satisfied the validation criterion. Both relative and absolute measurements of ADLM were very low. Hence, the ADLM is recommended for forecasting total employment of tourism industry in Sri Lanka. The results of this study will be facilitating for decision making and various strategy development related to overcome the surplus and shortfall of employment. It will be useful for workforce planning in both public and the private sector in the tourism industry. It is useful for developing various training programs such as workshops, academic and professional courses related to hospitality management. Further, the finding of the study can be used to assess the economic benefits to the host community in various tourism areas in Sri Lanka.
Socially Embedded Knowledge Networks and the Making of Opinion Leaders: Evidence from Twitter

This paper focuses on knowledge markets exploring how network relationships between knowledge consumers impact the equilibrium number of opinion leaders. Both a theoretical model and empirical analysis show that there’ll be more opinion leaders in a knowledge market if the most active knowledge consumers occupy more central positions in a social network connecting consumers. The model formalizes the following story. Knowledge consumers are embedded in network relationships through which they influence each other on which opinion providers they pay attention to. If the most active (thus most capable to influence) knowledge consumers occupy more central network positions, consumer attention gravitates toward some opinion providers, and this turns more opinion providers into opinion leaders. The model inspires and is supported by empirical analysis using a Twitter network and associated tweets. First, unsupervised machine learning is used to define knowledge markets: topic modeling finds 45 topics in tweets, network community detection yields 4 nearly isolated Twitter sub-networks, and a knowledge market is then defined by a combination of one topic and one sub-network. Second, with each knowledge market being a unit of observation, we define variables and test our theoretical predictions. This is the first paper to formally define opinion leaders, knowledge markets, and consumer attention. While the existing literature emphasizes the role of opinion providers’ network positions on the making of opinion leaders, this work shows the network positions of active consumers matter because active consumers serve as a propagation machine.
An empirical bio‐economic stocking model for floodplain beels in Bangladesh

While stocking floodplain depressions or beels with fingerlings is a common form of fisheries management in Bangladesh, bio-economic guidance for improving the outcome of stocking strategies is sparse. The Community-Based Fisheries Management (CBFM) Project, funded by the Ford Foundation and the UK Government's Department for International Development (DfID) promoted stocking practices in beels throughout the country as a means to improve fisher livelihoods. This paper describes an empirical bio-economic model developed using data generated under the CBFM project. The model offers guidance on selecting stocking densities depending upon the available size (length) of fingerlings to maximize profit and return on investment while minimizing risk. Because large fingerlings are relatively inexpensive and have lower rates of natural mortality, the model predicts that it is more profitable to stock large fingerlings at low densities than small fingerlings at high densities. These general recommendations were found to be largely insensitive to the market price for harvested fish. To minimize credit burden and financial risk, minimum stocking densities should be selected according to the length of fish available that maximizes profit. Because of its empirical nature, the model recommendations may not be applicable beyond the project sites. Furthermore, it is recommended that attempts be made to field test the model predictions before widespread adoption or promotion.
Identifying Causal Marketing-Mix Effects Using a Regression Discontinuity Design

We discuss how regression discontinuity designs arise naturally in settings where firms target marketing activity at consumers, and discuss how this aspect may be exploited for econometric inference of causal effects of marketing effort. Our main insight is to use commonly observed discreteness and kinks in the heuristics by which firms target such marketing activity to consumers for nonparametric identification. Such kinks, along with continuity restrictions that are typically satisfied in marketing and industrial organization applications, are sufficient for identification of local treatment effects. We review the theory of regression discontinuity estimation in the context of targeting, and explore its applicability to several marketing settings. We discuss identifiability of causal marketing effects using the design, and illustrate theoretically the conditions under which the RD estimator may be valid. Specifically, we argue that consideration of an underlying model of strategic consumer behavior reveals how identification hinges on model features such as the specification and value of structural parameters as well as belief structures. We present two empirical applications: the first, to measuring the effect of casino e-mail promotions targeted to customers based on ranges of their expected profitability; and the second, to measuring the effect of direct mail targeted by a B2C company to zip-codes based on thresholds of expected response. In both cases, we illustrate that exploiting the regression discontinuity design reveals negative effects of the marketing campaigns that would not have been uncovered using other approaches. Our results are nonparameteric, easy to compute, and fully control for the endogeneity induced by the targeting rule.
The Republic of Moldova between the Signed European Union' Free Trade Agreement and the Customs Union of Russia, Kazakhstan and Belarus: Challenges and Perspectives

The Republic of Moldova, as a sovereign, independent and democratic state, imposed on itself a course of progressive adherence to the European Union. The profound transformations, dictated by the new geopolitical realities in the region, as well as the new requirements and exigencies imposed by the imperative of economic prosperity and political security, allowed the Republic of Moldova to establish priorities and to conclude treaties and international agreements. Can it be said that the new stage that will occur as imperative of the Republic of Moldova's integration into the EU will have consequences on the domestic policy given its ongoing commercial economic relations with the Russian Federation? Can the Free Trade Agreement between the Republic of Moldova and the EU, signed on June 27th, 2014, to represent the beginning of new commercial relations with member states of the European community? Two levels of analysis need to be taken into account: on the one hand the opening of new markets for Moldovan products and on the other hand, counteracting the impact of high-quality products on third markets against trade barriers imposed by the Custom Union of Russia, Kazakhstan and Belarus, following the non-adherence to this free trade area. Can this agreement also be analyzed as being the key to diplomatic success regarding the visa-liberalization regime, in maintaining the international community's support for a favorable settlement of the Transnistrian problem, as well as for the determination of the Russian Federation to withdraw its troops from the territory of the Republic of Moldova?
Insights on Tax Evasion Using a Monetary Circuit Model

The paper analyses the impact of tax evasion on government budgets, using a monetary circuit model. It is possible to show that, under specific parameter values, evading taxes on profit becomes an attractive proposition when government policies tax capital and employment in different ways and on different timescales. Without adequate tax enforcement, government is reduced to acting as a financial backer for companies. Furthermore, a lower tax rate on labour income enabling money to flow from households to companies through private consumption reduces incentives for tax evasion. These results hold true even if the government decides to implement a balanced budget fiscal policy.
Spillover Effect of Consumer Awareness on Third Parties' Selling Strategies and Retailers' Platform Openness

Global e-commerce sales have experienced unprecedented growth for the past years and have reached over $2 trillion annually. One interesting phenomenon along with this remarkable growth is that giant online retailers, such as Amazon.com in the United States and JD.com in China, open their platforms and allow third-party sellers to offer products there, thus inviting competition. We explore why an online retailer would open its platform and why a third-party seller would join the platform. We highlight the role of a spillover effect that, when the third-party seller joins the retailer’s platform, more consumers become aware of the third-party seller’s existence and its products which are not even listed on the retailer’s platform. We characterize how the third-party seller’s optimal selling strategies should vary with and how the retailer’s openness decision should be determined by the extent of the spillover effect and the retailer’s initial awareness advantage. Compared with the case without a spillover effect, the spillover effect makes the retailer less likely to open its platform, but it makes the third-party seller more likely to sell identical products on an open retailer platform; the spillover effect always (weakly) benefits the third-party seller, but it does not necessarily hurt the retailer.
Financial Performance Trends of Australian Superannuation: System and Sectors

This paper provides an overview of the financial performance trends of the Australian superannuation system in the period 1997-2016, based on audited accounting data. Strong contribution flows have allowed total assets to grow at an average annual rate of about ten percent to $2 trillion by June 2016. However, the system is rapidly approaching the withdrawal phase due to demographic and policy factors when net contributions to the system may be negative, in which case investment performance will be critical to sustain the system. Historically, the lacklustre performance of the system, at about 0.7 percent per annum over cash return (before tax), may be attributed significantly to Retail funds which underperform other Public offer funds, on long-term averages, by about two percent per annum.
Consumer Choice in an Affluent Society: The Temporal, Spatial and Physiological Constraints and Their Implications

The present study intends to develop a framework for a new consumption theory that is pertinent to the economy in the age of artificial intelligence and robots. In the new framework, besides the monetary budget constraint, there are also temporal, spatial and physiological constraints on an individual’s consumption, leading to a finite individual maximum non-vanity consumption. Human preference is modulated by human physiology and psychology, with only lower level human needs requiring consumption to satisfy. The finite individual capacity to consume and the finite needs for consumption imply that technological progress in artificial intelligence and robotics will dramatically decrease employment.
An Integrative Model of Factors Influencing Debt Burden: A Mediating Role of Money Management in Thai Society

The objective of the present study is to identify factors influencing debt burden of Thais. By integrating theories from various disciplines, the present study contends that debt burden is determined by economic factors (i.e. income and number of credit card), demographic factors (i.e. age, education, and number of children), and socio-psychological factors (i.e. material values). It is proposed that the effects of these factors on debt burden may not be the direct ones. They may be mediated by money management practices. These factors may facilitate people in managing money, resulting in lower debt burden. Results from the questionnaire survey on respondents of working ages in Bangkok indicated that number of credit card and age directly affected debt burden. People of working age who hold more number of credit cards tended to use more credit, hence, had more debt burden. In addition, disposable income, education, and personal’s material values were found to indirectly influenced debt burden - they were mediated by money management practices. People, who had high income, high education, and low materialism, manage their money better, resulting in lower debt burden. Results from the present study provide policy implementation in reducing Thais’ debt burden. Limiting number of credit cards held by individuals may be an effective policy to reduce debt. Increasing income or education may be necessary but not sufficient to decrease debt burden. Training or financial counseling on how to manage cash, credit, saving and investment should be provided in order to reduce debt burden.
Monetary Systems

Throughout modern international finance, different monetary regimes existed. International monetary arrangements initially arose from the need to provide international trade with easy means of settling trans-border payments (Semmler, 2019). For centuries, both domestic and international trade was carried out using gold and silver (Semmler, 2019). The Gold standard during the Interwar Period since 1870, the Bretton Woods system and the following Euro currency introduction. This essay summarizing the differences between the three Monetary and currency systems: Gold standard, Bretton Woods and Euro-System and highlights the success and failures of the different approaches to guide monetary matters throughout history.
The effect of phytosterol concentration on oxidative stability and thermal polymerization of heated oils

This study determined the effect of adding mixed phytosterols, at various concentrations, on the thermal polymerization and oxidative stability index (OSI) of soybean and high-oleic sunflower oils. The indigenous tocopherols and phytosterols were removed from the oils by molecular distillation. Pure phytosterols were added back to these stripped oils at concentrations of 0.25, 0.5, 1, and 2.5 wt-%. These oils were heated at 180 °C, and triacylglycerol dimers and polymers, fatty acid composition, and residual phytosterols were determined. Added phytosterols at 1 and 2.5% significantly decreased thermal polymerization of stripped soybean oil over 8 h. Phytosterols at 2.5% significantly increased polymerization of stripped high-oleic sunflower oil over 12 h. Added phytosterols did not affect the loss of polyunsaturated fatty acids in either oil. The decomposition of the added phytosterols was followed in both oils during the heating study. The loss of phytosterols in soybean oil ranged from 7 to 13%, while loss in stripped high-oleic sunflower oil ranged from 13 to 20%. Phytosterols added at 1 and 2.5% significantly decreased the OSI for stripped high-oleic sunflower oil. This research shows that added phytosterols, especially at higher concentrations, will have an impact on the thermal and oxidative stability of oils.
Growth in vitro and infectivity of Colletotrichum coccodes on potato tubers at different temperatures

To investigate the ability of black dot symptoms to develop on infected potato tubers during storage, the growth of Colletotrichum coccodes was followed in vitro on malt agar at temperatures ranging from 5–27°C, and in vivo on artificially infected potato tubers kept at 5, 10 and 15°C. In vitro, 13 isolates from different geographical origins grew at all temperatures tested; growth started with a delay of 10 days at 5°C and of 4 days at 10°C, and was fastest at 27°C. All isolates had similar growth patterns and produced conidia and sclerotia at all temperatures. Minitubers were successfully infected at 5, 10 and 15°C by depositing either a mycelial plug or a drop of conidial suspension on the tuber surface. Sclerotia were observed after 7 days at the point of inoculation. Symptoms extended in all cases, although more slowly at 5 and 10 than at 15°C. Latent infections were detected in up to 21% of tubers without black dot symptoms at harvest. These results show that latent infections by C. coccodes are probably quite frequent, and that the pathogen is able to develop at low temperatures in controlled conditions. This suggests that black dot symptoms can increase during storage if stores are not adequately managed.
Adiposity, fatty acid composition, and delta‐9 desaturase activity during growth in beef cattle

Oleic acid (18:1n-9) is the most abundant fatty acid in bovine adipose tissue. Because most of the lipid in bovine muscle is contributed by intramuscular adipocytes, oleic acid also is the predominant fatty acid in beef. In many species, the concentration of oleic acid in adipose tissue is dictated by the average concentration of oleic acid in the diet, but in ruminant species such as beef cattle, oleic acid is hydrogenated largely to stearic acid by ruminal microorganisms. In these species, the concentration of oleic acid in adipose tissue is dependent upon the activity of ∆ 9 desaturase, encoded by the stearoyl coenzyme A desaturase (SCD) gene. Expression of the SCD gene is essential for bovine preadipocyte differentiation, and desaturase gene expression and catalytic activity increase dramatically as adipose tissue mass increases after weaning. Feeding a hay-based diet to American Wagyu steers to a typical Japanese bodyweight endpoint (650 kg) markedly stimulated desaturase enzyme activity as well as the accumulation of both oleic acid and intramuscular lipid, but the increase in oleic acid and intramuscular lipid was much less in hay-fed Angus steers. Increasing the concentration of oleic acid improves the palatability and healthiness of beef, and Korean Hanwoo and Japanese Black (and American Wagyu) seem especially well adapted to accumulate oleic acid in their adipose tissue.
Informational Role of Investment in Bankruptcy

We develop a credit-risk model to study the informational role of investment in bankruptcy. Firms' investment decisions carry information about their asset quality, thereby mitigating informational frictions when firms enter bankruptcy. An increase in aggregate investment can reduce the informational value of investment, depressing firms' recovery values. Therefore, policies boosting investment can decrease debt and firm values through reducing the informational value of investment. The presence of debt overhang may enhance firm value by making firms' investment decisions more informative. We present suggestive empirical evidence consistent with model predictions on the relation between firms' investment rates and recovery rates.
PHOTOREACTIONS OF 5‐BROMOURACIL IN THE PRESENCE OF CYSTEINE AND GLUTATHIONE

Abstract—Sulfhydryl compounds such as cysteine and glutathione enhance the photochemical reactivity of 5‐bromouracil irradiated in aqueous solution with ultraviolet light (Λ > 240 nm). Production of uracil and addition of the sulfhydryl compound to the 5‐bromouracil residue are the major photoreactions.
The controversy over traits conferring shade‐tolerance in trees: ontogenetic changes revisited

1 Successional replacement of intolerant species by shade tolerators along gap‐understorey gradients is commonly associated with increasingly higher low‐light carbon acquisition capacities of more tolerant species. This doctrine has recently been challenged because of evidence demonstrating larger leaf dry mass per unit area (MA), lower photosynthetic capacities and inferior whole plant relative growth rates (RGR) in both high and low irradiance in seedlings of shade‐tolerators. However, as the individuals of shade‐tolerant species often need to endure canopy shade for many years before gap formation, testing of the carbon gain hypothesis of shade tolerance requires examination of species carbon gain potentials during the entire plant ontogeny. 2 Light vs. MA relationships throughout ontogeny demonstrate that saplings and canopy individuals of shade tolerators do have lower MA than intolerant species, and moderately higher photosynthetic capacities in low light, resulting in greater whole plant carbon gain capacities at lower light. The apparent discrepancy between results from studies on seedlings vs. saplings/trees is due to MA increasing at a faster rate in shade intolerators during ontogeny. A strong positive linkage between seed size and species shade tolerance further implies that shade tolerators have larger initial size, absolute growth rate and survivorship in low light despite their lower RGR. 3 The evidence reviewed collectively suggests that the carbon balance concept of species’ successional position is valid for both seedlings and saplings, and that the apparent discrepancies in species rankings on the basis of structural and physiological characteristics are driven by variations in initial size and rate of ontogeny. Analyses of species shade tolerance potentials should therefore consider how any suite of adaptive traits varies with ontogeny.