Optimal Contracting for Cattle Feeding: An Assessment of Climatic Conditions

A unique approach using a biophysical growth model from the animal science literature is used to examine optimal contract cattle feeding behavior under alternative climatic conditions. The examination of incentives and outcomes in an unusually comprehensive contract parameter and behavioral space is made possible by combining simulated feedlot and carcass performance of a large set of cattle with public price and weather data. The model uniquely fits typical risk aversion levels and rationalizes existing contract types. The results show that optimal cattle feeding contract varies with climatic condition, but there is a tendency to replace cost-of-gain contracts with yardage-feed contracts as grid pricing has emerged.Cattle, Feeding, Contracts, Climate, Industrial Organization, D80,

Internationalisation of SMEs and firm performance: evidences from Bangladesh

One of the key objectives of this paper is to identify the impacts of internationalisation of SMEs on firm performance. Although there have been a number of research that examined the relationship between SME internationalisation and firm performance, research from the context of smaller developing economies are really scant. This is against the fact that SMEs are main vehicle for growth in those economies and extensive research on various dimensions of SMEs including its impact on firm performance may help to better understand the operational aspects of SMEs in those economies. Using primary data and structural equation modelling to analyse those data, the paper has found that internationalisation of SMEs has significant impact on both financial and non-financial performance of SMEs in Bangladesh. More specifically, the paper has found that internationalisation impacts in two dimensions (Financial impacts and non-financial impacts) with 8 indicators (higher sales, higher profit, assets maximization, market expansion, competitive advantage, better reputation, better customer service and added knowledge)

Traffic light detection and V2I communications of an autonomous vehicle with the traffic light for an effective intersection navigation using MAVS simulation

Intersection Navigation plays a significant role in autonomous vehicle operation. This paper focuses on enhancing autonomous vehicle intersection navigation through advanced computer vision and Vehicle-to-Infrastructure (V2I) communication systems. The research unfolds in two phases. In the first phase, an approach utilizing YOLOv8s is proposed for precise traffic light detection and recognition, trained on the Small-Scale Traffic Light Dataset (S2TLD). The second phase establishes seamless connectivity between autonomous vehicles and traffic lights in a simulated Mississippi State University Autonomous Vehicle Simulation (MAVS) environment resembling a small city with multiple intersections. This V2I system enables the transmission of Signal Phase and Timing (SPaT) messages to vehicles, providing information on current traffic light phases and time until the next phase change which enables the vehicles to adjust their speed and behavior in real-time. The simulation demonstrates accurate traffic light detection, with vehicles receiving SPaT messages, showcasing the system’s effectiveness in a multi-intersection scenario

OPTIMAL CONTRACTS FOR EXPLORATION WITH COST RECOVERY OF AN EXHAUSTIBLE NATURAL RESOURCE UNDER ASYMMETRIC INFORMATION

Exploration of an exhaustible resource with cost recovery under asymmetric information about cost is modeled and analyzed employing Principal-Agent theory. Allocation of lower than full information level of effort for the high-cost firms is found socially optimal. However, distortion is less in a two-stage process of exploration and extraction.Resource /Energy Economics and Policy,

A sustainable village phone model to serve the rural developing world

Wireless technologies have created an unprecedented opportunity for rural customers in the developing world to solve their communication and information problems in an instantaneous, interactive and customized way. The framework of the study focuses on existing mobile village phone model in Bangladesh and suggests ways to make it sustainable through mobile information services marketing. The study has treated ‘village phone’ as a cost effective and interactive channel through which various time befitting information can be marketed to serve customers in the rural settings

Handling Default Risks in Microfinance: The Case of Bangladesh

Despite the current enthusiasms in applying the concept of microfinance as a poverty alleviation tool in many countries, the risk management aspects of microfinancing should not be overlooked. This paper highlights several incidences of default risks in microfinance and subsequently, provides a comprehensive exploratory study on the various ways to handle the default risks in microfinance. While there are social and religious objectives embedded in extending microfinancing, fact is that the financiers are business entities having the objectives of maximizing returns and minimizing losses. In this regard, this paper contributes towards a more effective recovery process, so that more people can benefit from the microfinancing facilities. Several suggestions are highlighted to maximize the benefits of microfinance to both the creditors and borrowers with the objective of realizing a win-win situation for both parties.Microfinance, default risks, recovery process, Bangladesh

Electron Transport in Dry-Etched n+-GaAs Nanostructures

Abstract Not Provided

Sensitivity to gamma radiation of Scots pine seedlings grown from seeds developed under elevated levels of ionizing radiation

As being sessile, plants are generally exposed to background levels of ionizing radiation in their natural environment due to cosmic radiation as well as alpha-, beta- or gamma- emitting radionuclides in naturally occurring radioactive materials (NORM) including thorium, uranium and their progeny radionuclides in bedrocks, sediments and soils. Also, some areas have elevated, potentially harmful levels of radiation arising particularly from anthropogenic sources including fuel cycles and nuclear power plant accidents, tests and use of nuclear weapons as well as medical use. Such radiation at low and high doses can induce various physiological, biochemical and molecular responses in plants and can cause adverse effects such as reduction in growth and reproduction, and damage to DNA, proteins and lipids. Due to its high energy, gamma radiation has high penetration power in biological tissues and its effects on living organisms have accordingly been much studied. Long-term study results in plants have demonstrated detrimental effects and mutations even at low levels of ionizing radiation. Coniferous plants are suggested to be among the most radiosensitive plant species, and pine trees showed high-level of radiosensitivity after the Chernobyl and Fukushima nuclear power plant accidents. However, studies of sensitivity to gamma radiation of plant seedlings under controlled exposure conditions are scarce, especially for low to moderate dose rates. Also, there is limited information about how elevated levels of ionizing radiation during seed development affect the radiosensitivity in the plants grown from these seeds. The present study aimed to investigate the sensitivity to gamma radiation in seedlings of the ecologically and economically important gymnosperm Scots pine when grown from seeds from different areas in the Chernobyl region with background (CON), intermediate (INT) and high (TR22) levels of ionizing radiation. Such seedlings were exposed to gamma dose rates from 0-100 mGy h-1 from a 60Co (Cobalt-60) source for 144 h and studied across multiple levels of biological organization at the end of the gamma irradiation and up to 29 days postirradiation. In addition to growth and development, DNA damage, total antioxidant capacity and expression analysis of genes involved in control of cell division and DNA repair were assessed. In spite of significantly increased root and shoot lengths of TR22 seedlings at 10 mGy h-1 and 0-40 mGy h-1 , respectively, compared to the unexposed CON seedlings, at the end of the gamma irradiation, there was no clear dose-response relationship between the gamma dose rates and plant lengths for any of the plant types. Post-irradiation, the number of needles and shoot diameter were reduced at ≥ 40 mGy h-1 for all three plant types, but shoot elongation was not significantly affected. However, there was no overall significant difference in growth in response to the different gamma irradiation dose rates between the plant types. All the plant types showed a clear dose-rate dependent DNA damage as assessed by the COMET assay at the end of the 144 h gamma irradiation and at day 30 post-irradiation. At the end of the irradiation, the TR22 and INT plants showed significantly lower DNA damage than the CON plants at ≥ 40 mGy h-1 . Such differences were also observed day 30 postirradiation, but most pronounced so for TR22. Despite the differences in DNA damage, the different plant types did not show any significant differences in total antioxidant capacity measured by the FRAP assay after 144 h gamma irradiation. The relative transcript level of the cell division controlling gene CYCB1;1 was then significantly reduced in TR22 seedlings at 100 mGy h-1 compared to the unexposed CON seedlings, but the CDKB1;2 expression did not differ significantly between the different dose rates and plant types. The transcript level of the DNA repair-related RAD51 gene was significantly downregulated in TR22 seedlings at 10 mGy h-1 as compared to unexposed CON seedlings, whereas the SOG1 transcript level did not differ significantly between the plant types. Thus, except for a possible slight trend of a dose-rate dependent reduction in CYCB1;1 expression and more so in the TR22 than the CON plants, there was no clear, systematic dose-response relationship between the gamma dose rates or plant types and transcript levels of the analyzed genes. In conclusion, in spite of that, more DNA damage in the CON plants than the INT and TR22 plants after gamma irradiation at 40 and 100 mGy h-1 suggested lower radiosensitivity in the plants grown from seeds developed under elevated levels of ionizing radiation, this was not reflected in their growth, total antioxidant capacity or expression of selected cell divisionand DNA damage repair-related genes.CoE CERADM-P

Subdivision Specific Amenities and Residential Property Values

A hedonic property value model, derived from a dynamic game theoretic framework, is estimated using data obtained for 211 subdivisions including 4628 building lots in five Maryland counties. Linear Box-Cox estimation results show that variables measuring subdivision specific amenities significantly affect residential property values, and omission of such variables produces biased coefficient estimates.Land Economics/Use, Public Economics,

SUBDIVISION SPECIFIC AMENITIES AND RESIDENTIAL PROPERTY VALUES

A hedonic property value model, derived from a dynamic game theoretic framework, is estimated using data obtained for 211 subdivisions including 4628 building lots in five Maryland counties. Linear Box-Cox estimation results show that variables measuring subdivision specific amenities significantly affect residential property values, and omission of such variables produces biased coefficient estimates.Land Economics/Use,