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This study explores the relationships among Industry 4.0 technologies, their application areas, and the involvement of Russian manufacturing firms in global and domestic value chains. We apply logit and multinomial logit regressions using an original survey dataset of approximately 1700 Russian manufacturing firms. We make a novel contribution to the literature by uncovering an asymmetry in adopting Industry 4.0 technologies among Russian industrial firms in domestic value chains (DVCs) and global value chains (GVCs). This asymmetry has the potential to impede GVC localization and DVC internationalization. Based on our results, software automation solutions are the only ones demonstrating statistical significance for firms participating simultaneously in GVCs, DVCs, and both GVCs and DVCs. Companies in DVCs demonstrate a broader utilization of Industry 4.0 technologies across various application areas. We also identify evidence of reshoring in DVCs, indicating that Industry 4.0 adoption encourages firms to establish enduring relationships with domestic suppliers. Highlighting that differences in technology adoption are influenced by external factors, including adherence to international standards and regulatory principles, we propose policy implications for developing countries. Recommendations encompass reducing entry barriers to DVCs, improving procurement transparency, and promoting competition in the digital solutions market to empower firms for seamless GVC integration.

AbstractThis study delves into dynamics and determinants of agricultural exports from India. India’s agricultural export basket is heavily reliant on a limited range of commodities, including basmati rice, buffalo meat, spices, tea, coffee, and marine products. Such concentration poses risks, making the sector vulnerable to price fluctuations, changes in global demand, and challenges in accessing specific markets. Furthermore, the declining ratio of export value to import value in recent years indicates an unfavourable trade imbalance. To address these challenges and foster sustainable growth in the agricultural export sector, policymakers must gain a comprehensive understanding about the determinants for agricultural exports. So, this study utilizes panel data encompassing 40 agricultural export items over an 11-year period. The researchers employ the system Generalized Method of Moments (GMM) estimation and the findings showed positive and significant impact of past export performance on current export decisions. Moreover, the study highlights the positive and significant influences of gross output of agriculture, value-added activities in agricultural sector, gross domestic product, trade openness, foreign direct investment, water use efficiency, corruption index and exchange rate dynamics on quantum of agricultural exports. However, higher consumer prices have a negative effect on export quantities, emphasizing the importance of price competitiveness in international markets. The findings of this study provide valuable insights for diversifying the export basket, enhancing productivity, value addition, and sustainability. Addressing challenges related to trade imbalances and price competitiveness is crucial for driving growth in India’s agricultural sector, benefiting farmers, the economy, and the nation as a whole.

This study applies Keynesian macroeconomic theory in the ARDL model to compare the growth effects of the US's AGOA and China's FOCAC multilateral trading systems in South Africa from the first quarter of 2001 to the fourth quarter of 2022. The study uses South Africa's net exports with the corresponding partner as a proxy for each multilateral trading system. This quantification stems from the fact that South Africa's trade with the US and China has significantly improved since the establishment of AGOA and FOCAC in 2000. Our findings show that none of the multilateral trading systems contribute significantly to South Africa's economic growth. Rather, they appear to be used as strategic initiatives to gain access to mineral resources and facilitate the movement of mining machinery and other inputs into South Africa. To some extent, they are used as market-seeking initiatives, particularly FOCAC. It is worth noting, however, that the mineral resource preferences of these systems vary: while China prioritizes mineral products, the US prioritizes precious metals. This suggests that China and the US scramble for natural resources in South Africa, and possibly Africa in general, is complementary rather than competitive.

Studies on the effect of Information and Communication Technology (ICT) on the export of the manufacturing industry, as disaggregated into the low-, medium-, and high-technology intensity, were lacking. However, the trade impact of ICT is mixed and relies on countries’ development and adoption of technology. To this end, this study explicitly contributes to this strand of literature. By using some key and popular ICT indicators we examined the comparative influence of ICT on the manufacturing industry exports defined by their technology intensity/adoption in OECD and non-OECD countries. A panel data technique with the PPML (Pseudo-Poisson Maximum Likelihood) covering the period 2010–2018 was applied for the analysis. Our empirical strategy indicates that internet use only promotes manufacturing exports of high-technology intensity in OECD countries. Low-technology intensity manufacturing exports were negatively affected by an increase in the use of the internet in all the samples of non-OECD and OECD economies. Except for high-technology, an increase in mobile phone subscribers is associated with increased manufacturing exports in all categories of industries and all sample countries. Broadband subscriptions only positively affect exports of low-technology intensity in OECD countries and negatively affect exports of medium-technology in non-OECD countries. The economic complexity index shows a positive influence on exports in OECD and non-OECD countries except for low-technology intensity. Human capital has been found to influence manufacturing exports in OECD countries and reduce exports in non-OECD countries. In both the OECD and non-OECD countries, positive and significant effects of GDP and trade were observed in all categories of technology adoption. These findings imply that in OECD and non-OECD countries ICT is an important aspect worth considering in trade policy making due to its significant influence on exports. ICT services need to be checked by the government to ensure quality, efficient, and effective delivery for better export. Findings also support the practical significance of ICT especially in developing OECD countries.

Energy production plays a major role in the Saudi Arabian economy, but energy production can lead to an increase in environmental pollution.

The BRICS nations have made environmental sustainability a top priority in their policies due to concerns about the negative impact of fossil fuel reliance on the environment. Their dependence on fossil fuels, both for energy production and imports, has led to a steady increase in greenhouse gas emissions over time. However, the BRICS nations also have significant potential for renewable energy sources that can be harnessed without harming the environment. In this study, we examine how green finance (GFN) and financial technology (fintech) can contribute to the BRICS nations' goal of achieving carbon neutrality from 2000 to 2018. We also consider the influence of energy innovation, economic growth, and natural resources rent. The results support the Environmental Kuznets Curve hypothesis and indicate that GFN, fintech, and energy innovation promote environmental sustainability. On the other hand, natural resources rent, and economic growth have a negative impact on environmental quality. We also find that there is a bidirectional causality between CO2 emissions and GFN, fintech, and natural resources rent, while GDP and energy innovation exhibit a unidirectional causality with CO2 emissions. Based on these findings, we recommend that the BRICS countries prioritize the development of green financial products and expand the capacity of banks and financial institutions to offer green credit facilities. Furthermore, more resources should be dedicated to research on how to effectively use green finance solutions while managing associated risks.

The present study examines import determinants of Pakistan with the top 28 trade partners from 2002 to 2018. To achieve this objective, the augmented gravity model of trade has been applied by incorporating both time-variant and time-invariant variables. In addition, the analysis quantifies the impact of free trade agreements (FTA) signed by Pakistan with China and other trade partners. The results show that along with income and distance, FTA, common language, and common border plays an essential role in imports of Pakistan with its main trade partners. In addition to identifying trade determinants, the impact of adherence to a particular trade agreement was also examined. The results indicate that FTA signed by Pakistan with China and other trade partners has created trade opportunities for participating countries, highlighting the importance of trade liberalization for the long-run development of the country.

This study investigates the nexus between economic growth (GDP), trade openness, remittances, exchange rate, and agricultural output in E7 (Russia, Indonesia, Mexico, China, India, Brazil, and Turkey) economies, covering the data from 1990 to 2020. In the first step, we adopted the Dumitrescu and Hurlin time domain Granger causality test, which shows that economic growth (GDP) and agriculture do not have any causal relationship, not even at 3-lags. However, uni-directional causality exists between agriculture and economic growth at the first level difference. In the second step, we used Granger causality analysis in the frequency domain, presented by Croux and Reusens, showing a bivariate correlation among economic growth, trade, remittance, and agricultural output. The panel Granger causality outcome indicated that the causality between variables with various frequencies differs. Policymakers in these economies may consider these pragmatic results to formulate valuable and appropriate short-, medium-, and long-term economic strategies.

Aim/purpose – Street traders are seen selling all kinds of goods to patrons who pass-by or who are vehicular traffics on Nigerian roads, particularly major intra and inter-state roads in urban and rural areas. The study assessed the perspectives of salespersons from six selected FMCG companies regarding the extent to which street trading has contributed to the overall performances of their respective firms.

The purpose of this review was to analyze the findings of domestic and foreign researchers on the development of modern drugs for the specific prevention of plague and to illustrate the possibilities of using bioinformatics analysis at the design stages to create an effective and safe vaccine. Work on the creation of an effective new-generation plague vaccine is hampered by several factors associated primarily with the presence of mechanisms of evasion from the immune system of the macroorganism, as well as a large number of pathogenicity determinants in the plague agent. Due to the development of approaches that are based on in silico studies, there is a progressive development of vaccine technologies oriented primarily to the use of the most important immunogens of the plague microbe (F1 and V antigen). Studies aimed at improving the antigenic properties of F1 and LcrV, as well as work on bioinformatic search and analysis of additional promising components to be included in the composition of subunit vaccines are considered as topical applications of bioinformatics data analysis in developing the tools for enhancing the effectiveness of protection through vaccination with subunit preparations.

The study was carried out on 28 white Wistar adult female rats from F1 generation (derived from females and males exposed for three months before mating to potassium dichromate, 25, 50 and 75 ppm CrVI). F1 generation was exposed in utero and until sexual maturity to the same Cr VI levels. The study pointed out: significant increase of sexual cycles duration comparative to control group and over the physiological limits, directly correlated to exposure level (p

We investigate the asymmetric nonlinear link between foreign direct investment, oil prices, and CO2 emissions for the Gulf Cooperation Council nations, using foreign direct investment and oil price data. As foreign direct investment is positively associated with carbon emissions in the long run and oil prices have positive, significant effects on CO2 emissions, our findings support the pollution-haven hypothesis. Furthermore, these variables have an asymmetric nonlinear relationship, which corresponds to the theoretical expectations of the pollution-haven hypothesis. We also find that negative changes in foreign direct investment have positive, significant impacts on carbon emissions in the short run, implying that foreign enterprises utilize green technologies in their manufacturing processes in the short run. In the long run, however, negative changes in oil prices are positively associated with carbon emissions. These findings should help Gulf Cooperation Council economies focus on policies that encourage foreign direct investment in green rather than dirty industries in order to ensure environmental sustainability.

This study investigated cue weighting in the perception of the retroflex and non-retroflex lateral contrast in the monosyllabic words /ɭə/ and /lə/ in the Zibo dialect of Chinese. A binary forced-choice identification task was carried out among 32 natives, using computer-modified natural speech situated in a two-dimensional acoustic space. The results showed that both acoustic cues had a significant main effect on lateral identification, with F1 of the following schwa being the primary cue and the consonant-tos-vowel (C/V) duration ratio as a secondary cue. No interaction effect was found between these two acoustic cues. Moreover, the results indicated that acoustic cues were not equally weighted in production and perception of the syllables /ɭə/ and /lə/ in the Zibo dialect. Future studies are suggested involving other acoustic cues (e.g., the F1 of laterals) or adding noise in the identification task to better understand listeners’ listening strategies in their perception of the two laterals in the Zibo dialect.

Boar semen is voluminous and ejaculated as jets or fractions of pre-sperm, sperm rich (SRF) and post-sperm rich fractions. Recent studies have reported more resilient characteristics of sperm in initial portions of SRF towards cold shock and cryopreservation. The present study was conducted to assess the quality of specific fractions of SRF, namely, first 10mL of SRF (F1) and rest of SRF (F2) in Large white Yorkshire (LWY) boar semen. Ejaculates were collected using gloved-hand technique and were subjected to quality assessments of volume, pH, sperm progressive motility, concentration, plasma membrane integrity, abnormality, acrosome integrity and sperm membrane cholesterol. Upon statistical analysis, significant differences were noticed in volume, pH, sperm concentration and sperm membrane cholesterol between fractions of the ejaculate.

Research purpose. The article aims to identify the risk groups arising in foreign trade in the four main groups of processed beverages at a national level.

This research was carried out in Puerto La Boca, Manabí province, Ecuador, in 2019. The objective was to obtain hybrid F1 melon seed under greenhouse conditions. For the development of this research, a plot was implemented in a 500 m2 greenhouse in a randomized complete block experimental design with three repetitions and two treatments (A1: Plants with pruning and A2: Plants without pruning). The response variables were: plant height (m), stem diameter (mm), number of nodes before fruit, number of nodes after the fruit, fruit volume (cm3), fruit weight (g), number of live seeds, number of dead seeds, the weight of seeds with the embryo (g), and a cost/benefit estimate using partial budgets. The results showed that the best average fruit weight, number of live seeds, and viable seed weight was for the pruning treatment. The partial budget analysis showed that seed production was highly profitable for the treatments evaluated with a cost-benefit ratio B/C> 1, with the pruning treatment being the best. Pruning improved melon F1 hybrid seed production, as well as fruit quality.

The paper contains a deep analysis of exports of Belarus and defines the proposals for its development. Economic comparisons and systematisation, which is based on the official statistical data for 2012–2018, are used in the study. It is concluded that Belarus exports have a poor diversification; export development is largely determined by Eurasian Economic Union (EAEU) integrating processes; export support of innovative goods and evolution of a single service market through the enhanced cooperation are possible. A generalised model for the export development of innovative goods and services of the EAEU member states on a cooperative basis is proposed.

The aim of the article is to identify determinants of export of road vehicles from Slovakia to the United Kingdom. The Error correction model is based on monthly data from January 2008 to November 2018. The modelling identifies short and long-run effects of real effective exchange rate, inflation rate and industrial production on foreign demand of transport equipment. The real effective exchange rate indicates competitiveness of domestic producers towards most important trade partners, inflation rate of Slovakia is a proxy for macroeconomic environment and industrial production of the UK stands in for the income variable. The results suggest that export of road vehicles is in the long-run impacted by exchange rate and industrial production. The appreciation of exchange rate reduces export from SR to the UK while rising income increases foreign demand. In the short-run trading with motor vehicles is impacted by all three explanatory variables. The Error correction term indicates that roughly 30 % of disequilibrium in the previous month will be corrected in the current month. The implications are for governing bodies to manage the current commodity framework which is at present mainly oriented on machinery and transport equipment and to support companies from other industries aiming to create more diversified export commodity structure.

Doubled-haploid lines (DHs) are normally produced from F1 plants in maize (Zea mays L.). Several studies have found a low frequency of recombinants in doubled haploids produced from F1 plants that could limit the selection response. Hence, an attempt was made to produce doubled haploids from the F2 generation to verify whether one more round of meiotic recombination could lead to increased genetic variability and assess the response to selection. The F1 and F2 plants of two cross-combinations, VL1043 × CM212 and VL121096 × CM202, were subjected to doubled-haploid production and evaluated in terms of their reaction to Fusarium stalk rot and yield traits along with F2 individuals of the same two crosses. There was significant variation in the number of DHs produced when F1 and F2 plants were subjected to DH production in the cross VL121096 × CM202. Furthermore, substantial genetic variability was observed among the DHs produced from the F1 generation (DHF1s), F2 generation (DHF2s), and F2s for Fusarium stalk rot (FSR) resistance. The genetic variance was more extensive in DHF2 compared to DHF1 plants in the cross VL1043 × CM212. Extreme candidate plants (highly resistant, resistant, and highly susceptible) were found in the F2 generation with a more standardized range than in the DHs. In the DH populations, the close correspondence between the phenotypic coefficient of variability (PCV) and the genotypic coefficient of variability (GCV) indicated less influence from the environment compared to the F2 plants. The heritability estimates in the DHs were greater than in the F2 plants of the VL1043 × CM212 cross, while in the VL121096 × CM202 cross, the heritability was almost the same between the DHs and F2 plants due to the relatively small population size of the DHs. The positively skewed leptokurtic distribution of the DH populations indicated the role of fewer genes, with the majority of them exhibiting complementary epistasis with decreasing effects in response to FSR. The mean estimated yield and genotypic variance in the top crosses produced from randomly chosen DHF1 and DHF2 plants of the cross VL1043 × CM212 were similar in magnitude.

Although many studies have argued that the source of competitiveness has shifted from functional value to emotional value, a comparison of the effects remains inadequate. This study evaluated the influence of each brand image on corporate brand preference in the Japanese automobile industry. An online survey was conducted in Japan, targeting Toyota, Honda, and Nissan. The hypothesis is that emotional value, rather than functional value, contributes more to brand preference. As a result of generalized linear mixed models, emotional value contributed significantly to brand favor, and the hypothesis was upheld. Many emotional value images had a significant effect, while innovation had the greatest effect. It is more effective to give an emotional impression by using technology rather than communicating it. However, the functional value is never unnecessary. Regardless of how good the design is, if the safety performance is defective, the product will not be accepted by consumers.

This study aims to evaluate service quality performance of major LCCs (Low Cost Carriers) in Europe by the MCDM (Multi-Criteria Decision Making) methodology. In addition it focuses on managerial business models and includes the international airline service providers that have applied the cost leadership strategy. In the study passenger reviews based on customer-rating systems are adopted as an alternative data source. For this purpose 24,971 passenger reviews, including 7 evaluation criteria, are analyzed. In this integrated methodology the Entropy method is used to weight the service quality criteria and the WASPAS method is used to rank the airlines. A sensitivity analysis is also applied and the robustness and stability of the application are confirmed. Consequently Jet2.com demonstrates the best service performance overall and legroom is the most important evaluation criterion.

Lagenaria siceraria is one of the most important cucurbitaceous vegetables due to its prolific bearing habit, its edibility as a cooked vegetable, and its low cost of cultivation. The objective of this study was to evaluate variation in the morpho-agronomic traits among selected landraces and their F1 populations. The landraces were crossed based on the North Carolina II genetic design to develop F1 populations. The twelve F1 populations along with seven parental landraces were grown in a randomized complete block design with three replications. Significant differences (p < 0.05) were observed among quantitative traits suggesting considerable genetic variability. The genotypes displayed significant variation in most qualitative traits of fruits and seeds. The first five principal components of quantitative traits among the evaluated 19 genotypes contributed 74.84% of the variability. The biplot and dendrogram clustered the genotypes into five clusters according to their vegetative, fruit, and seed traits. The highest value for the broad-sense heritability estimate was recorded for days to edible harvest maturity trait. The F1 progenies were more variable than the landraces and can therefore be used for further Lagenaria siceraria genetic improvement.

Seaports and their efficiency are particularly important for international trade flows and the trade balance. Notwithstanding the efficiency of seaports, there exists no empirical evidence on how it influences the trade balance. This paper provides empirical evidence on the effect of seaport efficiency on the trade balance in a sample of 27 African countries for the period 2010-2017. We do this with the aid of the dynamic system Generalised Method of Moments (GMM) estimation technique, which addresses potential endogeneity of regressors. The results suggest that seaport efficiency improves the trade balance in the short- and long-run periods. From a policy-oriented point of view, enhancing the efficiency of seaports in Africa is what policy reforms should target.

This study replicates Ahn, Khandelwal, and Wei’s (2011) model of intermediary trade. The study produces two main results. First, the authors are able to reproduce empirical evidence for AKW’s three main predictions for Chinese exports. This is impressive because much of the data for their replication are independently sourced. However, when the authors subject their model to additional tests, they find that the evidence is not robust. Using more recently available data to test AKW′s first prediction, the authors estimate coefficients that are wrong-signed and significant. When they re-analyze the evidence supporting the second and third predictions, they find that the full sample results mask significant heterogeneity across Chinese regions. In many cases, key coefficients are insignificant. In a few cases, they are wrong-signed and significant. Finally, using multiple versions of a key variable measuring the number of required import documents by country, the authors discover that the results are not robust across versions.

This study investigates the effect of economic infrastructure and trade openness on the evolution of manufacturing and service sectors output using panel data for 14 selected COMESA member countries from 1993 to 2016. The Pooled Mean Group, Mean Group, and Dynamic Fixed Effects techniques were used to estimate the long-run effect. The results show strong evidence of a significant long-run dampening effect of trade openness on the relationship between economic infrastructure and manufacturing output on the one hand and between economic infrastructure and service output on the other hand. To achieve economic transformation, COMESA member countries need to introduce more projects to improve and increase access to energy infrastructure, especially electricity, and telecommunication related infrastructure. The presence of adequate infrastructure can make it possible for the countries in the bloc to benefit more from trade openness.

Software testing is the main method for finding software defects at present, and symmetric testing and other methods have been widely used, but these testing methods will cause a lot of waste of resources. Software defect prediction methods can reasonably allocate testing resources by predicting the defect tendency of software modules. Cross-project defect prediction methods have huge advantages when faced with missing datasets. However, most cross-project defect prediction methods are designed based on the settings of a single source project and a single target project. As the number of public datasets continues to grow, the number of source projects and defect information is increasing. Therefore, in the case of multi-source projects, this paper explores the problems existing when using multi-source projects for defect prediction. There are two problems. First, in practice, it is not possible to know in advance which source project is used to build the model to obtain the best prediction performance. Second, if an inappropriate source project is used in the experiment to build the model, it can lead to lower performance issues. According to the problems found in the experiment, the paper proposed a multi-source-based cross-project defect prediction method MSCPDP. Experimental results on the AEEEM dataset and PROMISE dataset show that the proposed MSCPDP method effectively solves the above two problems and outperforms most of the current state-of-art cross-project defect prediction methods on F1 and AUC. Compared with the six cross-project defect prediction methods, the F1 median is improved by 3.51%, 3.92%, 36.06%, 0.49%, 17.05%, and 9.49%, and the ACU median is improved by −3.42%, 8.78%, 0.96%, −2.21%, −7.94%, and 5.13%.

The authors examine the impacts of quality of institutions, border and transport efficiency, physical and communication infrastructure on overall and intra-Africa trade covering 44 African countries and their 173 trade partners for the periods 2000–2014. Aggregate indicators are derived for the quality of economic institutions, border and transport efficiency, physical and communication infrastructure using principal component analysis. The findings disclose that intra-Africa and overall Africa's trade robustly determined by the quality of institutions, border and transport efficiency, physical and communication infrastructure. The estimates also indicate that the marginal effect of the quality of institutions, physical and communication infrastructure on trade flow appears to be increasing in GDP per capita. In contrast, the marginal effect of border and transport efficiency on trade decreases in GDP per capita. The authors compute the simulation of improving each indicator to the best performer in the sample. Their findings are robust to estimation method conducted to account for potential endogeneity.

Bu çalışma yabani ve ticari bezelye çeşitlerinin (Utrillo ve Bolero) çaprazlaması sonucu elde edilen melez bitkiler üzerinde yapılmıştır. F1 ve F2 generasyonu 2016 yılında Bayburt Üniversitesi, Gıda Tarım ve Hayvancılık Uygulama ve Araştırma Merkezi arazisinde yetiştirilmiştir. Araştırmada bakla boyu, ilk bakla yüksekliği, dal sayısı, gövde çapı, bakla uzunluğu, bakla genişliği, bitkideki bakla sayısı ve bakladaki tane sayısı özellikleri üzerine korelasyon katsayısı analizi uygulanmıştır. F1 ve F2 melez bezelye materyaline ait sonuçlar birlikte değerlendirilerek korelasyon analizi göz önüne alındığında, bitki boyu ile dal sayısı (0,4779*), bitki boyu ile ilk bakla yüksekliği (0,4188*) arasında, gövde kalınlığı ile bakla boyu (0,4397*) ve gövde kalınlığı ile bitki başına bakla sayısı arasında (0,6185**) olumlu ve önemli bulunmuştur. Ayrıca dal sayısı ile bitki başına bakla sayısı arasında (0,5774**), bakla boyu ile bakla eni arasında (0,4691*) ve bitki başına bakla sayısı ile baklada tane sayısı arasında (0,4662*) olumlu ve önemli ilişkiler bulunmuştur.

Traditional research methods in software defect prediction use part of the data in the same project to train the defect prediction model and predict the defect label of the remaining part of the data. However, in the practical realm of software development, the software project that needs to be predicted is generally a brand new software project, and there is not enough labeled data to build a defect prediction model; therefore, traditional methods are no longer applicable. Cross-project defect prediction uses the labeled data of the same type of project similar to the target project to build the defect prediction model, so as to solve the problem of data loss in traditional methods. However, the difference in data distribution between the same type of project and the target project reduces the performance of defect prediction. To solve this problem, this paper proposes a cross-project defect prediction method based on manifold feature transformation. This method transforms the original feature space of the project into a manifold space, then reduces the difference in data distribution of the transformed source project and the transformed target project in the manifold space, and finally uses the transformed source project to train a naive Bayes prediction model with better performance. A comparative experiment was carried out using the Relink dataset and the AEEEM dataset. The experimental results show that compared with the benchmark method and several cross-project defect prediction methods, the proposed method effectively reduces the difference in data distribution between the source project and the target project, and obtains a higher F1 value, which is an indicator commonly used to measure the performance of the two-class model.

It is necessary to know the combining ability of starting material for effective breeding to create varieties. The research aim was to determine the peculiarities of the general combining ability (GCA) and specific combining ability (SCA) and the ratio of their variances for awned and awnless varieties and their parental forms in F1. The study was conducted in 2014–2015. Spring barley varieties and their parental forms were used in direct diallel crosses. In 2014–2015, peculiarities of the combining ability of awned and awnless spring barley varieties and their parental forms were determined in F1. We highlighted varieties with strong GCA effects: ‘Badioryy’ for plant productivity; ‘Dzherelo’, ‘Badioryy’, ‘Vitrazh’ and ‘Maliovnychyy’ for grain number per spike; ‘Dzherelo’, ‘Badioryy’, ‘Etiket’, ‘Granal’, ‘Modern’, ‘Vitrazh’, and ‘Tolar’ for 1000-grain weight; ‘Dzherelo’, ‘Granal’, and ‘Vitrazh’ for spike length; ‘Dzherelo’ and ‘Maliovnychyy’ for spikelet number per spike; ‘Dzherelo’, ‘Badioryy’ and ‘Granal’ for plant height; ‘Zvershennya’ and ‘Badioryy’ for productive tillering; ‘Zvershennya’ and ‘Badioryy’ for total tillering; and ‘Badioryy’ for straw weight. These varieties had the largest numbers of genes that positively determine these traits. The level of combining ability of parental forms may be manifested differently in varieties created via hybridization of them. GCA variances exceeded SCA variances in ‘Zvershennya’ in 2014–2015 for the trait “1000-grain weight” (GCA – 4.20 and 4.03, respectively; SCA – 3.78 and 3.84, respectively), therefore, it is determined mainly by additive gene effects. Strong and weak SCA effects were observed for plant productivity (grain weight) and its structural components (productive tillering, grain number per spike, 1000-grain weight). Strong SCA effects were the most numerous for the trait “1000-grain weight.”

Mouse monoclonal antibodies were raised against plague disease biomarkers: the bacterial capsular protein fraction 1 (F1) and the low-calcium response—LcrV virulence factor (Vag). A novel tandem assay, employing BioLayer Interferometry (BLI), enabled the isolation of antibodies against four different epitopes on Vag. The tandem assay was carried out with hybridoma supernatants, circumventing the need for antibody purification. The BioLayer assay was further adopted for characterization of epitope-repetitive antigens, enabling the discovery of two unique epitopes on F1. The selected antibodies were purified and applied as “oligo-clonal” reagents for the immuno-detection of both biomarkers. The developed Homogenous Time Resolved Fluorescence (HTRF) tests were short (10 min) and simple (no washing steps), allowing for detection of 10 ng/mL F1 and 2.5 ng/mL Vag. The tests were successfully applied for detection of disease biomarkers produced by various Y. pestis strains during growth in blood culture vials.

Plague is a zoonosis caused by gram-negative bacteria Yersinia pestis, which, as a rule, is transmitted to humans from septicemic rodents by the bites of infected fleas. This microbe killed more people than all of the wars in the human history. Y. pestis circulation in the natural plague foci is ensured by the whole number of pathogenicity factors with differing functional orientation. This review is devoted to one of them, Y. pestis capsular antigen (F1 or Caf1). The history of its discovery and studying of its genetic control, biosynthesis, isolation and purification, and physicochemical properties are reviewed. Its roles in plague pathogenesis and its application as a main component of plague vaccines are also discussed. Y. pestis capsule under light microscopy is visually amorphous, while high-resolution electron microscopy displays the structure formed from separate fimbria-like cords up to 200 nm long, diverging from the bacterial surface in different directions. At 37°C Y. pestis produce 800–1000 times more capsular antigen than at 28°C. Genes coding for 17.6-kD Caf1 protein, which contains 170 amino acids, are located in caf1 operon of pFra plasmid. Analysis of caf1 operon nucleotide sequence testified its close phylogenetic relationship with the gene clusters coding for pilus adhesins that were secreted with the help of chaperone/usher systems in enterobacteria including six additional adhesins in Y. pestis. Y. pestis multiplication within macrophages is the obligatory stage of plague pathogenesis, and the plague pathogen virulence correlates not with resistance to phagocyte ingesting but with bacterial ability to survive and multiply within phagolysosomes of phagocytes due to neutralization of antibacterial functions of eukaryotic cells. The capsule formed out of the Caf1 aggregates protects Y. pestis from ingestion by naïve host’s phagocytes and prevents from initiation of the alternative pathway of the complement system. Molecular usher Caf1A responsible for capsular antigen anchoring on the surface of bacterial cell has a high affinity to human interleukin 1β. Caf1 can compete with interleukins 1α, 1β, and 1ra in binding to receptors on lymphoid cells preventing development of adequate immune response. Immunodiagnosis of plague is based on detection of Caf1 or anti-Caf1 antibodies since this Y. pestis antigen is species specific. Covering bacterial surfaces capsular antigen is also the paramount component of all modern plague vaccines. Its leading role in induction of intense immunity in mice, rats, monkeys, and men was shown clearly. However, non-capsulated (Caf1–) variants of Y. pestis keeping their virulence at the level of the wild-type strains might be selected and accumulated in immune animals. This indicates inadmissibility of application of monoantigen plague vaccines and necessity for design of immunoprophylactic preparations aimed at two or three molecular targets.

Floodplains are valuable scenes of water management and nature conservation. A better understanding of their geomorphological characteristic helps to understand the main processes involved. We performed a classification of floodplain forms in a naturally developed area in Hungary using a Digital Terrain Model (DTM) of aerial laser scanning. We derived 60 geomorphometric variables from the DTM and prepared a geomorphological map of 265 forms (crevasse channels, point bars, swales, levees). Random Forest classification was conducted with Recursive Feature Elimination (RFE) on the objects (mean pixel values by forms) and on the pixels of the variables. We also evaluated the classification probabilities (CP), the spatial uncertainties (SU), and the overfitting in the function of the number of the variables. We found that the object-based method had a better performance (95%) than the pixel-based method (78%). RFE helped to identify the most important 13–20 variables, maintaining the high model performance and reducing the overfitting. However, CP and SU were not efficient measures of classification accuracy as they were not in accordance with the class level accuracy metric. Our results help to understand classification results and the specific limits of laser scanned DTMs. This methodology can be useful in geomorphologic mapping.

Expectations run high about the cornucopia of riches which are supposed to fow from the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP). TTIP is a proposed free trade agreement between the United States and the European Union. It aims to build upon the already sweeping scope of the North American Free Trade Agreement concluded two decades earlier and the 2013 Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement (CETA), which removes 99 % of tariffs between the EU and Canada.1 Te TTIP negotiations were launched in July 2013 with an initial time frame of completion within two years.

The purpose of this study was to evaluate feed intake and develop lactation and weight change curves for Holstein x zebu cows under grazing. Eighteen F1 cows were used, divided into three treatments; 6 were Holstein x Gir (HGI), 6 were Holstein x Guzerat (HGU), and another 6 were Holstein x Nelore (HNE), under the feeding conditions of pasture plus concentrate with 22% of crude protein (CP). To estimate individual feed intake at pasture, 2 markers were used: titanium dioxide to estimate fecal dry matter (DM) excretion, and the indigestible acid detergent fiber (iADF) to estimate individual pasture intake. The Wood (1967) model was used to evaluate milk yield and the parameters were estimated for each genetic group, as follows: HGI = 17.2667*t0.0652*e-0.00424t; HGU = 18.1470*t0.0332*e-0.00408t; and HN = 14.2836*t0.1059*e-0.00552t. The NEFA contents varied according to different genetic groups (P

This paper studies articulatory, acoustic and perceptual characteristics of Mandarin Chinese emotional utterances as produced by two speakers, expressing Neutral, Angry, Sad and Happy emotions. Articulatory patterns were recorded using ElectroMagnetic Articulography (EMA), together with acoustic recordings. The acoustic and articulatory analysis revealed that Happy and Angry were generally higherpitched, louder, and produced with a more open mouth than Neutral or Sad. Sad is produced with low back tongue dorsum position and Happy, with a forward position, and for one speaker, duration was longer for Angry and Sad. Moreover, F1 and F2 are more dispersed (i.e., hyperarticulated) in emotional speech than Neutral speech. Perception tests conducted with 18 native listeners suggest that listeners were able to perceive the expressed emotions far above chance level. The louder and higher pitched the utterance, the more emotional the speech tends to be perceived. We also explore specific articulatory and acoustic correlates of each type of emotional speech, and how they impact perception.

Drastic changes in plant height (PH) are observed when maize adapt to a higher plant density. Most importantly, PH is an important factor affecting maize yield. Although the genetic basis of PH has been extensively studied using different populations during the past decades, genetic basis remains unclear in the F1 population, which was a widely used population in production. In this study, a genome-wide association study (GWAS) was conducted using an F1 population consisting of 300 maize hybrids with 17,652 single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) makers to identify candidate genes for controlling PH. A total of nine significant SNPs makers and two candidate genes were identified for PH. The candidate genes, Zm00001d018617 and Zm00001d023659, were the genes most probable to be involved in the development of PH. Our results provide new insights into the genetic basis of PH in maize.

The objective of this study was to evaluate the effects of genetic group and environmental factors, including farm of origin, season of calving and lactation number, on the individual lactation curves of 1,010 Holstein-Gyr, Guzerat-Holstein, Holstein-Nellore, and Holstein-Zebu F1 cows on the experimental farms of the Agricultural Research Company in Minas Gerais (Empresa de Pesquisa Agropecuária de Minas Gerais, EPAMIG). Least squares analysis and the incomplete gamma function were used to investigate differences in early milk yield, peak milk yield, time from onset to the lactation peak, persistency, total milk yield and lactation duration. The highest early yields were observed for Holstein-Gyr and Holstein-Zebu, and the lowest were observed for Holstein-Nellore cows. Early yield increased with lactation number, and the lactations that began in the late rainy and early dry seasons had the highest early yield. The time between lactation onset and the lactation peak was longer for primiparous Holstein-Gyr and Holstein-Guzerat cows. The lowest yields at the lactation peak were observed for the first lactation number. The highest values of persistency were observed for the first lactation number in Holstein-Guzerat cows. Total production from Holstein-Gyr and Holstein-Zebu cows were higher by approximately 14% and 29% compared with Holstein-Guzerat and Holstein-Nellore cows, respectively. The highest total yields were observed in lactations beginning in the dry season. Total yield increased with lactation number. The shortest lactation periods were observed in lactations beginning late in the rainy season. The incomplete gamma function was used to fit the individual curves from the genetic groups evaluated. The total yield differences were linked to early yields and yields at the peak of lactation.

Modelaram-se curvas de lactação a partir de 1.340 lactações de vacas F1 dos grupos Holandês-Gir, Holandês-Guzerá, Holandês-Nelore e Holandês-azebuado com controles leiteiros realizados a cada 14 dias, provenientes de duas fazendas. O manejo nutricional era à base de pastagens no verão e silagem de milho e cana-de-açúcar com ureia no inverno, e ração concentrada na ordenha, de acordo com a produção. A função Gamma Incompleta foi utilizada para estimação dos parâmetros das curvas, da produção no pico da lactação, do tempo entre o início da lactação e o pico, da persistência e da produção total de leite. Dentro de cada grupo genético, curvas foram modeladas para as várias ordens de lactação. Coeficientes de determinação ajustados foram superiores a 90% para a maioria das curvas, logo a função Gamma Incompleta modelou adequadamente curvas de lactação de vacas F1 Holandês-Zebu. As curvas apresentaram produção inicial seguida de fase ascendente até o pico de lactação e fase descendente posterior ao pico. Para a quinta ou mais ordens do grupo Holandês-Nelore, a curva foi linear e descendente a partir do início. Para todos os grupos genéticos, foram evidentes as diferenças entre as curvas da primeira ordem e as demais. As diferenças entre produção inicial e produção no pico da lactação não foram expressivas, com média, para todas as ordens de lactação, de 2,3 kg para o grupo Holandês-Gir; 2,6 kg para o Holandês-Guzerá; 1,2 kg para o Holandês-Nelore e 3,5 kg para o Holandês-azebuado, mostrando pico de lactação discreto. A média entre o início da lactação e o pico foi de 23,3 dias, variando entre 15,8 dias para o grupo Holandês-Nelore até 32,6 dias para o Holandês-azebuado. A persistência da lactação tendeu a diminuir e as produções inicial, no pico e total aumentaram com a ordem de lactação. Em geral, vacas Holandês-azebuadas apresentam maior produção total e persistência em comparação às demais.Lactation curves were fitted from 1,340 lactations of F1 Holstein-Gyr, Holstein-Guzerat, Holstein-Nellore and Holstein-Undefined Zebu crossbred cows from two farms with milk controls carried out every 14 days. Nutritional management was based on pastures in the summer, and corn silage and sugar cane with urea during winter and concentrated rations in the milking, according to the production. Incomplet Gamma function was used for estimating parameters of curves, production during lactation peak and of the time from the beginning of lactation to the peak, of persistence and total milk production. Within each genetic group, curves were adjusted for the several lactation orders. Adjusted coefficients of determination were higher than 90% for most of the curves; therefore Incomplete Gamma function adequately fitted lactation curves of F1 Holstein-Zebu cows. Curves showed initial production followed by upward phase until lactation peak and downward phase subsequent to the peak. For fifth or higher orders of Holstein-Nellore, the curve was linear and downward from the beginning. The differences among curves of the first order and others were evident for all genetic groups. Differences among initial production and production during lactation peak were not expressive, with the following means for all lactation orders: mean 2.3 kg for Holstein-Gir; 2.6 kg for Holstein-Guzerat; 1.2 kg for Holstein-Nellore and 3.5 kg for Holstein-Undefined Zebu, showing a discreet lactation peak. The mean from the beginning of lactation to the peak was 23.3 days ranging from 15.8 for Holstein-Nellore group to 32.6 days for Holstein-Undefinied Zebu. Persistence of lactation tended to decrease and initial productions, during the peak and total production increased according to lactation order. In general, Holstein-Undefinied Zebu cows show higher total production and persistence compared to the others.

Avaliaram-se a viabilidade técnica e a rentabilidade de um sistema de produção de leite com gado mestiço, mediante análise de custos e receitas da atividade e avaliação da rentabilidade. Os dados foram obtidos de uma unidade experimental da EPAMIG, situada no município de Felixlândia, MG, e referem-se a dois períodos iguais de um ano cada. As variáveis analisadas foram: rentabilidade nos períodos de análise, custo de cria do bezerro e sua importância sobre a receita da atividade. A viabilidade do sistema foi demonstrada pela rentabilidade de 20,2% no ano 1 e 37,6% no ano 2; a venda dos bezerros à desmama representou 25% da receita total.The economic viability of a milk production system with crossbred (F1) cattle, through analysis of costs and income of the activity and assessment of benefit/total income index was evaluated. Data were from the Research Experimental Unit of EPAMIG, located at Felixlandia City, Minas Gerais State, and refer to two equal periods of 1 year each. The following parameters were analyzed: benefit/total income, raising cost of calves and its importance upon income. The viability of the system was demonstrated by the benefit/total income index of 20.2% and 37.6% for year 1 and 2, respectively. The calf sale accounted for 25% of the total income.

Foram utilizados dados parciais ou totais de vários experimentos sobre exigências nutricionais de bovinos, nos quais foi usada a técnica do abate comparativo, abate de uma amostra representativa dos animais experimentais no início do período de alimentação e determinação da composição do corpo vazio. Os conteúdos de gordura, proteína, energia, Ca, P, Mg, Na e K retidos no corpo dos animais de cada grupamento racial foram estimados por meio de equações de regressão do logaritmo do conteúdo corporal de proteína, gordura, energia, Ca, P, Mg, Na e K, em função do logaritmo do peso de corpo vazio (PCVZ). As exigências líquidas de proteína, energia, Ca, P, Mg, Na e K foram obtidas a partir de equação Y' = b. 10ª. Xb-1, sendo "a" e "b" o intercepto e coeficiente de regressão, respectivamente, das equações de predição dos conteúdos corporais de gordura, proteína, energia, Ca, P, Mg, Na ou K. A energia líquida para mantença (ELm) foi obtida pelos valores médios, de todos os trabalhos, para os diferentes grupos raciais. As eficiências de utilização da energia metabolizável (EUEM) para mantença (k m) e ganho de peso (k f) foram estimadas a partir da relação entre os teores de energia líquida, para mantença ou ganho, respectivamente, em função da EM da dieta. Para a análise de todos os dados agrupados, entre animais zebuínos e F1 (E x Z) e entre animais mestiços leiteiros e Holandeses, aplicou-se o teste de identidade de modelos. A relação ganho de PCVZ/ganho de peso vivo em jejum (GPVJ) dos animais zebuínos, F1, mestiços leiteiros e Holandeses foi 0,96; 1,00; 0,94 e 0,86, respectivamente. As equações obtidas para estimativa da proteína retida (PR), em função do GPVJ e da energia retida (ER) foram: PR = - 17,6968 + 192,31 GPVJ - 3,8441 ER, para animais zebuínos e PR = 31,4045 + 107,039 GPVJ + 5,632 ER, para F1. As energias líquidas para ganho (ELg) podem ser obtidas pelas equações ELg = 0,0435 x PCVZ0,75 x GDPCVZ0,8241, para animais zebuínos e ELg = 0,0377 x PCVZ0,75 x GDPCVZ1,0991, para animais F1. A média dos valores de ELm para zebuínos, F1, mestiços leiteiros e Holandeses foram 71,30; 70,77; 79,65 e 88,97 kcal/PCVZ0,75, respectivamente. As EUEM para mantença (k m) e ganho (k f) variaram de 0,65 a 0,63 e de 0,25 a 0,37, respectivamente, para dietas com concentração de EM variando de 2,2 a 2,7 Mcal/kg de matéria seca. A exigência de P foi superior e as de Na e K, inferiores às recomendações do NRC (1996). As exigências de Ca e Mg foram semelhantes às do NRC (1996).

Muestras secadas al aire y sin secar de cinco perfiles de Andisoles del norte de la cordillera central colombiana fueron sometidas a extracción con oxalato ácido de amonio y con pirofosfato de sodio. En los extractos de oxalato se determinaron A1, Fe y Si y en los de pirofosfato A1 y Fe. El secado de las muestras redujo significativamente al 95% la cantidad de A1 y de Fe extraída con oxalato ácido, dificultando la clasificación de los suelos en el orden Andisol utilizando los parámetros de la taxonomía del USDA.

Propósito: Examinar el comportamiento mecánico estático de los instrumentos ProTaper Universal® S1, S2, F1 bajo torsión y doblamiento teniendo en cuenta las propiedades mecánicas del material, mediante el método de elementos finitos. Metodología: Estudio Observacional descriptivo. Las limas investigadas fueron S1, S2, F1 de ProTaper Universal®, modeladas con el software ANSYS 10 y sometidas a fuerzas de torsión empezando en 0.25N/cm hasta alcanzar el torque máximo recomendado por la casa comercial Maillefer® y doblamiento en un ángulo de 600. Resultados:El máximo esfuerzo ocurre en el núcleo de la sección para todos los instrumentos evaluados; al incrementar el torque el esfuerzo se disipa a la periferia para S1 (D5, D10, D14), S2 (D5, D7, D8, D10), F1 (D2, D3, D5). La lima S1 al ser sometida a torsión en D0 y D5 independiente del torque que fuese aplicado el máximo de esfuerzo superaba el límite de deformación plástica en el núcleo de la sección del instrumento. La lima S2 con torques de 1 ó 1,5 N/cm superó el límite elástico del material. Lima F1 en D0, D2 con torques de 0.25, 0.5, 1, 1.5, 2 N/cm el esfuerzo máximo no supero el límite de deformación plástica. En la prueba de doblamiento la gran mayoría de la estructura de las limas S1, S2, F1, se encuentra por debajo del esfuerzo de ruptura (línea neutral es bastante ancha).Conclusion: Las fuerzas de torsión para todas la limas del estudio mostraron tener mayor riesgo de separación del instrumento en comparación con las fuerzas de doblamiento.