Search for a periodic signal from Cygnus X-3 usingmuons observed underground in the Frejus detector (4800 mwe)

Periodic signals from Cygnus X-3 in the ultra high energy range were recently reported by air shower arrays and attributed to gamma rays. Although gamma rays are expected to produce muon-poor showers, the preceding observations have stimulated similar studies based on underground muons. Two groups have claimed a significant underground signal coming from Cygnus X-3. The results are, however, extremely difficult to explain in the present framework of particle physics, and clearly need confirmation. The preliminary results obtained from the Frejus underground detector during its first 16 months of operation (March 1984 to June 1985) are presented

Field Diagnosis of Groundnut Diseases

Diseases ar e major constraints to groundnut production throughout the world. This handbook is designed to assist agricultural research and extension workers, wh o may have little formal training in plant pathology, to make tentative diagnosis of diseases of groundnut caused by 31 fungi, 2 bacteria. 9 viruses, a mycoplasma-like organism, 4 nematodes, and a parasitic flowering plant. The most characteristic field symptoms of each disease are Illustrated and descr ibed. It is emphasized that for confirmation of field diagnosi s the assistance of skilled plant pathologists will be requi red in most cases

Field Diagnosis of Groundnut Disease. Information Bulletin No 36(revised)

Diseases are major constraints to groundnut production throughout the world. This handbook is designed to assist agricultural research and extension workers, who may have little formal training in plant pathology, to make tentative diagnosis of diseases of groundnut caused by 29 fungi, 2 bacteria, 11 viruses, a mycoplasma-like organism, 4 nematodes, and a parasitic flowering plant. The most characteristic field symptoms of each disease are illustrated and described. It is emphasized that for confirmation of field diagnosis the assistance of skilled plant pathologists will be required in most cases

The value of discretion in Africa: Evidence from acquired intangible assets under IFRS 3

The paper examines the value of managerial discretion in financial reporting by exploring the value relevance of intangible assets acquired in business combinations (AIA) before and after the 2008 International Financial Reporting Standard (IFRS) 3 amendment. The 2008 IFRS 3 amendment gave managers the discretion to recognize previously unrecognized intangibles in the target firm, hence, we posit that if managerial discretion improves the quality of financial reporting, we should observe an increase in the value relevance of AIA after the amendment. Our empirical analysis is based on a dataset of 603 mergers announced between 2004 to 2016, across 7 African countries. Consistent with our main hypothesis, we find that the value relevance of AIA, predominantly acquired goodwill (AGW), increased after the amendment, suggesting that managerial discretion improves the quality of financial information. Importantly, we highlight a caveat to this argument by showing that the value of discretion is moderated by the underlying institutional quality, with the value relevance of AIA being greater in high-quality institutional contexts. Our findings are robust to alternative measures of AIA, alternative models for testing value relevance and various controls for endogeneity. Overall, our findings have important implications for accounting standard-setters, governments, investors and practitioners

Renegotiation and Relative Performance Evaluation: Why an Informative Signal may be Useless

Although Holmström's informativeness criterion provides a theoretical foundation for the controllability principle and inter firm relative performance evaluation, empirical and field studies provide only weak evidence on such practices. This paper refines the traditional informativeness criterion by abandoning the conventional full-commitment assumption. With the possibility of renegotiation, a signal's usefulness in incentive contracting depends on its information quality, not simply on whether the signal is informative. This paper derives conditions for determining when a signal is useless and when it is useful. In particular, these conditions will be met when the signal's information quality is either sufficiently poor or sufficiently rich

Bud Necrosis: A Disease of Groundnut Caused by Tomato Spotted Wilt Virus

This is the first ICRISAT Information Bulletin that deals with a virus disease of groundnut. Attention is focused on bud necrosis disease, caused by tomato spotted wilt virus, because of its economic significance on three continents. Epidemics build up rapidly with little warning and cause serious losses to growers. Protocols for purification and identification of the virus are given in detail. The symptoms of the disease in groundnut are illustrated. Procedures for a simple enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay for the detection of the virus are given. The identification of the vector insects—species of Thysanoptera (thrips)—is difficult, and is still to be fully resolved. But a key is provided as an aid in identifying seven thrips species that have been implicated as vectors of tomato spotted wilt virus on groundnut. The current situation concerning management of bud necrosis disease is outlined. Suitable insecticides, cultural practices, biological control, and host-plant resistance are discussed to assist crop protection and extension workers in formulating integrated management systems appropriate to their particular situations

Diagnosis and Resistance Breeding of Peanut Bud Necrosis Virus

he occurrence of peanut bud necrosis (PBN) disease in India was first reported in 1968. The high incidence of PBN disease during the 1960s coincided with large-scale imports of the peanut cultivars Asiria Mwitundae and Spanish Improved, both of which are highly susceptible to PBN. Since then, a number of reports have been published in India describing bud necrosis under at least seven different names (Reddy 1988). Crop losses due to PBN have been estimated at USD89 million per year in India during 1976–1986. The disease is also currently recognized as economically important in Nepal (Sharma 1996), in Sri Lanka, and in Thailand (Wongkaew 1995). The causal agent of PBN was originally reported as tomato spotted wilt virus (TSWV) (Ghanekar et al. 1979). Since then, methods to purify the causal virus of PBN have been developed, which facilitated the production of good quality antisera. On the basis of serological relationships, some physicochemical properties, and thrips transmission, it was shown that the causal virus of PBN in India was a distinct tospovirus that was named peanut bud necrosis virus (PBNV, Reddy et al. 1992). These results were subsequently confirmed by Adam et al. (1993). Later, monoclonal antibodies (MAbs) have been produced against the nucleocapsid (N) protein of PBNV (Poul et al. 1992). Antibodies from nine clones failed to react with a TSWV-lettuce (TSWV-L) isolate and with an impatiens necrotic spot virus (INSV) by triple-antibody sandwich enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (TAS-ELISA) (coating of PBNV polyclonal antiserum, addition of antigen followed by addition of MAbs and antimouse IgGs conjugated to alkaline phosphatase). Of 16 MAbs produced against TSWV-L (Hsu et al. 1990), 12 H5 Al (f), 12 H5 H5 (

Courtship and mating behaviour of manta rays Mobula alfredi and M. birostris in the Maldives

The aim of this 14 year study was to elucidate the entire courtship and mating behaviour of manta rays Mobula alfredi and M. birostris using behavioural observations, video and photographic records. From 2003 to 2016, over 11,000 surveys were undertaken at known manta ray aggregation sites in the Maldives to record any observed manta rays reproductive activity. From 47,591 photo-ID sightings, 4,247 individual M. alfredi were identified and 226 individual M. birostris from 229 photo-ID sightings, all recorded at 22 atolls across 265 different sites. Courtship activity was observed on 206 surveys at 30 different sites. A total of 229 courtship events were recorded, with 90% (n = 205) of them occurring at cleaning sites. The observed courtship activity was categorised into seven distinct stages which are described in detail: initiation, endurance, evasion, pre-copulatory positioning, copulation, post-copulatory holding and separation. Photographs provide the first scientific record of the entirety of manta rays courtship and mating. Both M. alfredi and M. birostris appear to engage in the same elaborate courtship rituals, exhibiting the same behaviours during all stages of the courtship and mating process. KEYWORDS

The Role of Information and Financial Reporting in Corporate Governance and Debt Contracting

We review recent literature on the role of financial reporting transparency in reducing governance-related agency conflicts among managers, directors, and shareholders, as well as in reducing agency conflicts between shareholders and creditors, and offer researchers some suggested avenues for future research. Key themes include the endogenous nature of debt contracts and governance mechanisms with respect to information asymmetry between contracting parties, the heterogeneous nature of the informational demands of contracting parties, and the heterogeneous nature of the resulting governance and debt contracts. We also emphasize the role of a commitment to financial reporting transparency in facilitating informal multiperiod contracts among managers, directors, shareholders, and creditors