Urease inhibitor (NBPT) and efficiency of single or split application of urea in wheat crop

NBPT (N-(n-butyl) thiophosphoric triamide), a urease inhibitor, has been reported as one of the most promising compounds to maximize urea nitrogen use in agricultural systems. The objective of this study was to evaluate the performance of irrigated wheat fertilized with urea or urea + NBPT as single or split application. The experiment was conducted from June to October 2006 in Viçosa, MG, Brazil. The experimental design followed a 2×2 factorial scheme, in which urea or urea + NBPT were combined with two modes of application: full dose at sowing (60kg ha-1) or split (20kg ha-1 at sowing + 40kg ha-1 as topdressing at tillering), in randomized blocks with ten replications. The split application of nitrogen fertilization does not improve the yield wheat under used conditions. The use of urease inhibitor improves the grain yield of wheat crop when urea is applied in topdressing at tillering, but its use does not promote difference when urea is applied in the furrow at planting.

The determinants of international equity and bond investment

The purpose of this research is fourfold. First, to investigate whether the determinants of international equity investment differ between investors with different degrees of information, experience and sophistication. For this purpose, the determinants of international equity investment of institutional and noninstitutional investors from 20 OECD countries, in the period 2001-2009, were analysed and compared. The results show that there are significant differences in the determinants of international equity investment between institutional and noninstitutional investors. Particularly, noninstitutional investors exhibit a more pronounced preference for equities of geographical nearby, contiguous and more transparent countries than institutional investors, suggesting that the effect of information costs and familiarity on international equity investment is stronger for less informed, experienced and sophisticated investors. Moreover, the preference for more developed equity markets and the contrarian behaviour are more severe for noninstitutional investors. Hence, the heterogeneity of institutional and noninstitutional investors in international equity investment is not negligible and therefore should be taken into account. Second, to investigate whether the determinants of international bond investment differ between investors with different degrees of information, experience and sophistication. For this purpose, the determinants of international bond investment of institutional and noninstitutional investors from 20 OECD countries, in the period 2001-2009, were analysed and compared. The results show that there are few significant differences in the determinants of international bond investment between institutional and noninstitutional investors. Particularly, the preference for bonds of more transparent countries and the return chasing behaviour are more pronounced for noninstitutional investors, whereas the preference for bonds with lower risk diversification potential is more pronounced for institutional investors. Hence, not only the results for international bond investment do not allow to support (or reject) the argument that information costs and familiarity are more important for less informed, experienced and sophisticated investors, but also they are contrary to the idea that financial variables, namely return and risk diversification, are more important for more informed, experienced and sophisticated investors. Third, to investigate whether the determinants of international equity investment differ from the determinants of international bond investment. For this purpose, the determinants of both international equity and bond investment of institutional and noninstitutional investors from 20 OECD countries, in the period 2001-2009, were analysed and compared. The results show that, although the effect of information costs on international equity investment tends to be stronger than on international bond investment, the differences between assets are not usually statistically significant, especially when the influence of financial variables is taken into account. Hence, it is not possible to conclude that international equity investment is much more information intensive than international bond investment, as suggested by Gehrig (1993) and Portes, Rey and Oh (2001), among others. Fourth, to investigate whether the flight to quality phenomenon is also observable in international investment and whether the flight to quality phenomenon is more pronounced for more sophisticated than for less sophisticated investors. For this purpose, a two-factor and three-factor ANOVA models, respectively, were applied to the international equity and bond investment of institutional and noninstitutional investors from 20 OECD countries in the period 2001-2009. The results suggest that the flight to quality phenomenon is also observable in international investment, as a change from business cycle of expansion to recession causes investors to significantly decrease the average weight invested in more risky assets (equities) and increase the average weight invested in less risky assets (bonds). The results also show that the variation on the average weight assigned to each type of asset, due to changes in business cycles, is significantly stronger for institutional investors than for noninstitutional investors, thereby suggesting that the flight to quality phenomenon is more pronounced for more sophisticated than for less sophisticated investors.

Long-run consumption risk with durable goods : UK evidence for equity and bond markets

"It is a widely accepted fact that the consumption-based capital asset pricing model (CCAPM) fails to provide a good explanation of many important features of the behaviour of financial market returns in a large range of countries over a long period of time. However, within a representative consumer/investor model, it is hard to see how the basic structure of the consumption based model can be safely abandoned." [introdução]

Diffusion and efficiency of ISO 9001 in Portugal: a qualitative and quantitative study from a holistic theoretical perspective

Purpose – the aim of this paper is to analyse the diffusion and efficiency of ISO 9001 on different sectors of activity Design/methodology/approach – for that purpose, a holistic an integrative theoretical approach was based on the scope of the Contingency theory, the Institutional theory and the Resources-Based View (RBV). This theorethical perspective was used in a broad empirical study, using a qualitative and quantitative methodology, concerning Portuguese companies from different sectors of activity. Findings – according to the findings from both perspectives, a ranked combination of the named theoretical frame was constructed. Research limitations/implications – as to the analysis of the efficiency of ISO 9000, one of the limitations of this study lays in the consideration of just two sectors of activity, and another relates to its domestic geographical placement. Practical implications – this study used the ISO 9001 structure for the interviews and this has revealed very useful for the organizations to grasp the matters inquired. Originality/value – a relevant contribution to the state of art is achieved through the considered theoretical scope of analysis

The sensitivity, specificity and efficiency values of some serological tests used in the diagnosis of paracoccidioidomycosis

This work reports on the results of double immunodiffusion (ID), counterimmunoelectrophoresis (CIE), complement fixation (CF) and indirect immunofluorescence (IIF) techniques in the serodiagnosis of paracoccidioidomycosis. The study was undertaken on four groups of individuals: 46 patients with untreated paracoccidioidomycosis, 22 patients with other deep mycoses, 30 with other infectious diseases (tuberculosis and cutaneous leishmaniasis) and 47 blood donors as negative controls. Data were obtained using Paracoccidioides brasiliensis antigens, i.e.,a yeast culture filtrate for ID, CIE and CF, and a yeast cell suspension for IIF. The sensitivity, specificity and efficiency values were measured according to GALEN & GAMBINO8.The gel precipitation tests (ID and CIE) showed the greatest sensitivity (91.3 and 95.6%, respectively), maximum specificity (100%) and the highest efficiency values when compared to the CF and IIF tests.

Multiple Linear Regression and Artificial Neural Networks to Predict Time and Efficiency of Soil Vapor Extraction

The prediction of the time and the efficiency of the remediation of contaminated soils using soil vapor extraction remain a difficult challenge to the scientific community and consultants. This work reports the development of multiple linear regression and artificial neural network models to predict the remediation time and efficiency of soil vapor extractions performed in soils contaminated separately with benzene, toluene, ethylbenzene, xylene, trichloroethylene, and perchloroethylene. The results demonstrated that the artificial neural network approach presents better performances when compared with multiple linear regression models. The artificial neural network model allowed an accurate prediction of remediation time and efficiency based on only soil and pollutants characteristics, and consequently allowing a simple and quick previous evaluation of the process viability.

Development and efficiency optimizing of the human body energy converters

Nowadays it is known that the human body is continuous source of many types of energy and the devices used for collecting energy taken from the environment also have the required capabilities for the collection of the energy produced by the Human body (HB), but very limited and with very low efficiency. Low power and high yield converters are particularly needed in these cases of collecting energy from human activity and its movements due to the small amount of energy generated this way. But this situation can be improved. Enhancing or focusing the human movements by using mechanical amplifiers applied to the piezoelectric element. By doing so the input of energy in the element increases. As such increasing its output, therefore producing more energy.

Measuring spillover effects in Euro Area equity and bond markets

Since its inception, the Eurozone has experienced significant financial integration. However, with the recent turbulent period, the dynamics of this integration may have changed. This study analyses the volatility spillovers from the US and aggregate Eurozone markets into ten Euro Area national equity and bond markets, using a regime-switching model with shifting shock sensitivities. The evidence confirms an increased impact of shock spillover intensity after the 2008 crisis in the equity market and a decrease of the same parameters for the bond market. In both markets, the overall impact of the Eurozone is greater when compared to the U.S.

Water depth selection during foraging and efficiency in prey capture by the egrets Casmerodius albus and Egretta thula (Aves, Ardeidae) in an urban lagoon in Rio de Janeiro State, Brazil

This study aimed to evaluate the water depth selection during foraging, the efficiency in prey capture, and the food items captured by Casmerodius albus (Linnaeus, 1758) and Egretta thula (Molina, 1782). The work was conducted at an urban lagoon, Lagoa Rodrigo de Freitas, Rio de Janeiro. Four transects were made each month (two in the morning and two in the afternoon) for six months. When the birds were detected foraging, the water depth and the types of prey captured were recorded. There was no significant relationship between the foraging efficiencies of the two species. However, they differed in relation to the water depth when foraging, and also in the food items captured. Casmerodius albus captured mainly fishes while Egretta thula captured mainly invertebrates. The results suggest that the differences in water depth when foraging and the food items captured allow a differential use of the food resources available by C. albus and E. thula at Lagoa Rodrigo de Freitas.

Public enterprise reforms and efficiency in regulated environments: the case of the postal sector

Purpose - This paper focuses on analyzing the effect that public reforms have on the efficiency of state-owned enterprises in regulated environments. Design/methodology/approach - The research is focused in the postal sector where public and private companies must obey a legal framework related to provide a universal service. The analysis is carried out using a panel of 7 European postal operators for the period 1997-2003. The activity analyzed was the letter mail division; we take as key variable the unit cost of a letter and use a translog cost function where as independent variables we include traffic levels, labor cost per employee, quality and availability of the service as well as the type of ownership (public or private). Additionally, in a second stage the geographical differences among countries are considered. Findings - Results indicate that postal operators that experienced organizational changes without being privatized, such as the Spanish and Greek operators, do not have higher unit costs than privatized postal operators like the one of Germany and the Netherlands. Moreover, we find that in all cases the operator of Ireland appear to be the most efficient. In this case restructuring process has been carried out giving an important leadership role to workers. This suggests us that labor culture could be a key variable to study when analyzing reform processes in public enterprises. Originality/value - Our findings show that in a regulated environment like in the postal sector, public and private companies can obtain similar efficiency levels in term of unit costs.

Cooperative production and efficiency

We characterize the sharing rule for which a contribution mechanism achieves efficiency in a cooperative production setting when agents are heterogeneous. The sharing rule bears no resemblance to those considered by the previous literature. We also show for a large class of sharing rules that if Nash equilibrium yields efficient allocations, the production function displays constant returns to scale, a case in which cooperation in production is useless.

Equity and CO2 emissions distribution in climate change integrated assessment

Emissions distribution is a focus variable for the design of future international agreements to tackle global warming. This paper specifically analyses the future path of emissions distribution and its determinants in different scenarios. Whereas our analysis is driven by tools which are typically applied in the income distribution literature and which have recently been applied to the analysis of CO2 emissions distribution, a new methodological approach is that our study is driven by simulations run with a popular regionalised optimal growth climate change model over the 1995-2105 period. We find that the architecture of environmental policies, the implementation of flexible mechanisms and income concentration are key determinants of emissions distribution over time. In particular we find a robust positive relationship between measures of inequalities.

Organisational status and efficiency: the case of the spanish SOE "Paradores"

The purpose of this paper is to provide new evidence on the issue of the effect on public enterprises economic performance of the introduction of some given changes in organisational status and management practices, while keeping the enterprises under public control. Our approach is case study type and relies on comparative efficiency literature. We identify relevant changes on the organisational status of a State owned large hotel group along a period of twenty years, next we measure its annual efficiency indicators, and then evaluate to which extent the observed changes in economic performance can be attributable to the corresponding management reforms carried out. As a result we find that the formally more relevant change in organisational status (the enterprise passing to be a Limited Company), which implied a substantial increase in the enterprise autonomy, did not produce a significant improvement in its economic performance; a finding contrary to what we expected according to agency theory. However, a second relevant organisational change –five years later- when both the principal (government) and the agent (firm’s CEO) changed is consistently related to a significant improvement in economic performance. As a research implication we abide for use more precise agency theory statements; and as a practical implication we argue here that potentialities of improvement brought about by a formal-legal change in the status of the enterprise may require also –in order to actually improve firm’s efficiency- some changes in the firm’s key personal positions: supervisor (principal) and CEO (agent), in the sense that a change to a greater-autonomy for the enterprise it seems should come together a parallel new ‘management culture’. Practical implications Management good practises to apply to other public enterprise’s restructuring in order to improve their efficiency. It’s the first study on organizational changes and efficiency for an important Spanish public enterprise.

The Design and efficiency of loyalty rewards

The goal of this paper is to reexamine the optimal design and efficiency of loyalty rewards in markets for final consumption goods. While the literature has emphasized the role of loyalty rewards as endogenous switching costs (which distort the efficient allocation of consumers), in this paper I analyze the ability of alternative designs to foster consumer participation and increase total surplus. First, the efficiency of loyalty rewards depend on their specific design. A commitment to the price of repeat purchases can involve substantial efficiency gains by reducing price-cost margins. However, discount policies imply higher future regular prices and are likely to reduce total surplus. Second, firms may prefer to set up inefficient rewards (discounts), especially in those circumstances where a commitment to the price of repeat purchases triggers Coasian dynamics.