Entire Research Period Research Articles

Zinc Improves Egg Quality in Cobb500 Broiler Breeder Females

2 Abstract: The aim of the present research was to, evaluate the effect of dietary supplementation with different levels of zinc (0, 50, 75, 100 mg/kg diet) on egg quality traits of Cobb 500 broiler breeder hens. The four experimental diets were as follows: T1 = the basal diet (control) without any addition (0 Zn). T2 = 50 mg Zn (pure zinc)/kg diet. T3 = 75 mg Zn (pure zinc)/kg diet T4 = 100 mg Zn(pure zinc)/kg diet. From the applied results which were selected a long the entire research period, we could be conclude the following: All of the egg quality traits and total mean of egg quality of broiler breeders hens were significantly affected by the different levels of dietary zinc supplementation except in both ESG and shell thickness. On the other hand, supplemental dietary zinc detected the highest (p<0.05) egg weight/week as compared to control group and had a significant effect (p<0.05) in accumulative egg weight.

Raise Your Glass: Wine Investment and the Financial Crisis

This paper uses auction hammer prices over the period 1996-2009, with a special emphasis on periods of economic downturns, to examine risk, return and diversification benefits of fine wine. Our research shows evidence that the wine market is heterogeneous with wine regions and price categories evolving differently in terms of volume and turnover. We construct wine indices for various wine regions and prices using repeat-sales regressions and find out that fine wine yields higher returns and has a lower volatility compared to stocks especially in times of economic crises. Forming portfolios for typical investors and taking risk aversion, different financial assets and various wine indices into consideration we confirm that the addition of wine to a portfolio as a separate asset-class is beneficial for private investors. Not only are returns favourably impacted and risk being minimised but skewness and kurtosis are also positively affected. Particularly, during the recent financial crisis these effects are most pronounced and improve portfolio diversification when it is most needed. Most importantly, balancing a portfolio with fine wine has resulted in added return while reducing volatility with the most prestigious and expensive vintages and estates outperforming the General Wine Index (GWI) during the entire research period. Results from the CAPM show that alpha is significantly positive over the period 1996- 2009 while showing a low beta coefficient. The use of a conditional CAPM model allows us to clarify the time-variance of alphas and betas depending on the economic environment that is not generally captured by the traditional CAPM. The time-varying dynamics of alphas and betas are in particular best explained by the spread between BAA- and AAA-rated bonds and the USD/EUR foreign exchange rate. Our findings confirm that wine returns are primarily related to economic conditions and not to the market risk.

Time–Space Trends in Swedish Divorce Behaviour 1911–1974

This study examines how the divorce rates in Sweden have varied over time and across different geographical areas during the period 1911–1974, and how these variations can be connected to the political, socio-economic and cultural development in Sweden. The analysis provides empirical support for the hypothesis that increased divorce rates have been the result of changes in the structural conditions that determine the degree of economic interdependence between spouses. There is a strong connection between the degree of urbanization and the divorce rate on a regional level for the entire research period. The statistical analysis of the regional data indicates that these patterns are connected to the more diversified economy that has developed in urban settings, in the form of a more qualified labour market and higher wages for females. These characteristics resulted in a faster and more pronounced reduction of economic interdependence between spouses, which made divorce more attainable in these areas as compared with rural settings.

Total-factor energy efficiency in developing countries

This paper uses a total-factor framework to investigate energy efficiency in 23 developing countries during the period of 1980–2005. We explore the total-factor energy efficiency and change trends by applying data envelopment analysis (DEA) window, which is capable of measuring efficiency in cross-sectional and time-varying data. The empirical results indicate that Botswana, Mexico and Panama perform the best in terms of energy efficiency, whereas Kenya, Sri Lanka, Syria and the Philippines perform the worst during the entire research period. Seven countries show little change in energy efficiency over time. Eleven countries experienced continuous decreases in energy efficiency. Among five countries witnessing continuous increase in total-factor energy efficiency, China experienced the most rapid rise. Practice in China indicates that effective energy policies play a crucial role in improving energy efficiency. Tobit regression analysis indicates that a U-shaped relationship exists between total-factor energy efficiency and income per capita.

Temporal changes and sexual differences of impaling behavior in Southern Grey Shrike (Lanius meridionalis)

The Southern Grey Shrike (Lanius meridionalis) is a common resident along the rift valley. During 2007-2008 we studied the impaling behavior of Southern Grey Shrikes at the Shezaf nature reserve by food supplementation. Our findings indicate seasonal shifts in impaling behavior. During the winter, there was no difference between the sexes and shrikes impaled house mice (Mus musculus) close to their territorial boundaries with neighboring conspecifics. All impaled mice disappeared from the tree within a few hours of impalement. During the mating season, males impaled the whole prey and let females eat it, and prey was impaled by both sexes only in order to dismember and feed the nestlings. Shrikes impaled and cached meal worms only after they were satiated. The number of meal worms taken to be hoarded increased during the non-breeding season, but during the breeding season male shrikes preferred to feed the females. During the entire research period we did not find any specific cache sites or trees and no prey remained impaled for extended periods of time. In conclusion, impaling prey changed temporally and between sexes: from being a signal for conspecifics to pair bonding.

Clinical characterization of chronic chagasic cardiomyopathy in dogs

On the American continent, almost 15 million people are affected by Chagas disease, resulting in important economic and social damages. Dogs are considered to be an excellent experimental model to study Chagas' disease; as a result, in this research, the characterization of cardiovascular abnormalities was performed in dogs experimentally infected with Trypanosoma cruzi (the Colombian strain) that were at chronic stage. Thirteen adult female dogs were evaluated by electrocardiographic, echocardiographic, hematological and biochemical analyses in the chronic phase. For the electrocardiographic studies, respiratory sinus arrhythmia was the predominant rhythm during the entire research period (49.55% to 67%), with a low prevalence of right bundle branch block (0-13%) and first-degree atrioventricular block (0-14%). The spectral Doppler echocardio-graphy showed E and A mitral wave reversal (0.71±0.17), confirming the diastolic dysfunction present in all dogs. An increase in the enzymes activities was detected in the serum analysis, indicating myocardial injury by the infection. Six dogs died during the follow-up. In this way, the clinical characterization of experimentally infected dogs, as described here, increases the knowledge and allows for recognition of the behavioural modifications present in Chagas' disease in affected dogs.

Raise your Glass: Wine Investment and the Financial Crisis

This paper uses auction hammer prices over the period 1996-2009, with a special emphasis on periods of economic downturns, to examine risk, return and diversification benefits of fine wine. Our research shows evidence that the wine market is heterogeneous with wine regions and price categories evolving differently in terms of volume and turnover. We construct wine indices for various wine regions and prices using repeat-sales regressions and find out that fine wine yields higher returns and has a lower volatility compared to stocks especially in times of economic crises. Forming portfolios for typical investors and taking risk aversion, different financial assets and various wine indices into consideration we confirm that the addition of wine to a portfolio as a separate asset-class is beneficial for private investors. Not only are returns favourably impacted and risk being minimised but skewness and kurtosis are also positively affected. Particularly, during the recent financial crisis these effects are most pronounced and improve portfolio diversification when it is most needed. Most importantly, balancing a portfolio with fine wine has resulted in added return while reducing volatility with the most prestigious and expensive vintages and estates outperforming the General Wine Index (GWI) during the entire research period. Results from the CAPM show that alpha is significantly positive over the period 1996-2009 while showing a low beta coefficient. The use of a conditional CAPM model allows us to clarify the time-variance of alphas and betas depending on the economic environment that is not generally captured by the traditional CAPM. The time-varying dynamics of alphas and betas are in particular best explained by the spread between BAA- and AAA-rated bonds and the USD/EUR foreign exchange rate. Our findings confirm that wine returns are primarily related to economic conditions and not to the market risk.

Seasonal and inter-annual zooplankton dynamics in temporary pools with different hydroperiods

The results of a research carried out in 2001 on nine temporary mountain pools (Northern Apennines, Italy) underlined a major role of hydroperiod in shaping zooplankton communities of temporary habitats. In 2002, the same pools were studied to assess inter-annual differences in zooplankton seasonal patterns. Data on precipitations (both snow and rainfalls) were collected to evaluate the influence of precipitation regimes on hydroperiod and concurrently on hydrochemical features and zooplankton dynamics. Mean annual snow and rainfall abundances were highly similar in both years but precipitation patterns were different. Moreover, different air temperatures were measured in the 2 years of study. These factors influenced water persistence and dry and wet cycles in the pools: in 2001, three pools dried out in summer and remained dry until autumn rainfalls (type A pools), in five pools (type B pools) the summer dry period was interrupted by re-filling due to storms in July and only in one pool water did remain for the entire research period (C1). In 2002, type A and B pools underwent only one dry phase (June–July) while C1 showed a hydroperiod similar to the one that occurred in the previous year. Overall, type A and B pools can be classified as ‘seasonal’ and C1 as ‘near-permanent or permanent’. Principal component analysis and paired t-tests did not show significant differences between years in the hydrochemical features of the pools. However, the seasonal pools showed a wide range of variation in their hydrochemical parameters while water features of the permanent pool presented less variability. Within the pools, divergences in the number and in the type of zooplankton taxa between the 2 years were limited. Rotifer and copepod density of the seasonal pools were comparable over years and only cladocerans exhibited distinct density dynamics. Cladoceran appeared to be associated with ionic content and influenced by the occurrence of ice-melting and by the wet phase length of the pools. On the contrary, the permanent pool showed diverse zooplankton seasonal patterns in 2001 compared to 2002. Over years, different pH values were measured; pH and conductivity varied with changing water volume, which in turn explained a significant amount of the observed variation in zooplankton densities in 2002.

Croatian poultry production in transition

A short review is given of the beginnings of an organised poultry production in the Republic of Croatia, along with the changes that came about during the transition period, from the year 1993 to 2003. That analysis includes basic characteristics of the Croatian poultry products market, such as poultry production facilities and the number of birds, the production and consumption of poultry meat and hen eggs as well as the export and import of poultry products. The result shows that Croatian poultry production is organised in 498 enterprises and 346,530 family farms. In the period examined, Croatia produced on the average 86.2 thousand tons of poultry weight gain and 825 million eggs (49.5 thousand tons). In 2003 – 19.3 kg of poultry meat and 8.1 kg of eggs were consumed per household member. The overall foreign trade balance of Croatian poultry product was positive over the entire research period.

The objectivity of corporate environmental reporting: a study of Finnish listed firms' environmental disclosures

This study examines the objectivity of Finnish listed companies' environmental reporting in their ordinary annual reports during the period 1985–1996. We study the firms' practice to disclose negative versus positive environmental events that are ex ante publicly known. As regards the entire research period, the results show that the environmental reporting of the sample firms cannot be considered objective, since the proportional share of negative events reported was negligible compared to the respective percentage for positive events. Copyright © 2001 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd and ERP Environment

The objectivity of corporate environmental reporting: a study of Finnish listed firms' environmental disclosures

This study examines the objectivity of Finnish listed companies' environmental reporting in their ordinary annual reports during the period 1985–1996. We study the firms' practice to disclose negative versus positive environmental events that are ex ante publicly known. As regards the entire research period, the results show that the environmental reporting of the sample firms cannot be considered objective, since the proportional share of negative events reported was negligible compared to the respective percentage for positive events. Copyright © 2001 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd and ERP Environment

Unit trusts in Singapore: Performance of the local funds

The objective of this study is to evaluate the performance of the funds in Singapore. A number of theoretical issues concerning the propriety of using the Sharpe Index as the performance measure are discussed. This study attempts to evaluate not only the funds’ performance over the entire research period (61/2 years) but also their performance during the volatile Gulf War period. Generally, the funds outperformed the market index during both evaluation periods. This unexpected result offers fresh perspective on the funds’ ability to ‘beat the market’.