Forage intake by heifers on alexander grass (Urochloa plantaginea (Link.) Hitch) fertilized with different levels of nitrogen

This work was conducted to study the efficiency of using nitrogen on Alexander Grass (Urochloa plantaginea (Link.) Hitch) through information about the characteristics of the pasture and forage intake of beef heifers. The experiment was carried out at the Federal University of Santa Maria (Universidade Federal de Santa Maria, UFSM) in Santa Maria, Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil, from January to April of 2014. The treatments consisted of doses of zero, 150, or 300 kg/ ha nitrogen (N) in the form of urea. The study used a rotational pasture method and 16 Angus heifers with a mean initial age and body weight (BW) of 15 months and 276 ± 17.4 kg, respectively. Forage intake was evaluated by treating two picketed test heifers with chromium oxide (Cr2O3) for eleven days as an external indicator of fecal production. The experimental design was completely randomized, and the measurements were repeated over time with three treatments and two repetitions per area. Crude protein content was 3.4% higher under 300 kg/ha nitrogen fertilization compared to 150 kg/ ha (18.7%). Independent of the N application rate, the heifers ingested 2.2 ± 0.09 kg DM 100/ kg BW of forage. Nitrogen fertilization of Alexander grass modified the structure of the pasture, increasing the quality and total production of the forage. Heifers pastured on Alexander grass fertilized with 300 kg/ha nitrogen harvested forage with higher levels of crude protein. The structural change in the canopy let the heifers reduce their consumption of forage at the end of the Alexander grass life cycle.

The Case of COVID-19 impact on the level of non-performing loans of conventional commercial banks in Indonesia

This study aims to investigate the impact of COVID-19 on the increase in bad credits at conventional commercial banks in Indonesia. The data used in this study are secondary data sourced from the Ministry of Health and from the Financial Services Authority (OJK), each of which consists of 50 data samples. The data analysis technique used in this study is simple regression analysis to determine the magnitude of the influence of COVID-19 on non-performing loans. The results of the data analysis show that COVID-19 has a significant effect on non-performing loans, and the COVID-19 variable can be used as an external indicator of the increase in non-performing loans for commercial banks in Indonesia. The implication of the research is that other researchers can make COVID-19 an external indicator of an emergency beyond human ability that can affect the level of non-performing loans. For banking, this study can be used as a reference when considering credit risk management policy during the COVID-19 pandemic. AcknowledgmentThe researchers are grateful to University of Sultan Ageng Tirtayasa for financial support. In addition, the authors sincerely apologize for the errors and mistakes found in this paper.

SOCIAL CAPITAL ORGANIZATIONS IN CONDITIONS OF THE COVID-19 EPIDEMIC

В статье рассматривается динамика социального капитала организации в условиях эпидемии COVID-19. Проанализированы основные подходы к пониманию сущности социального капитала - его функции, особенности, а также факторы, определяющие уровень его развития (личностный, групповой, организационный и социетальный). Представлена авторская концептуальная модель социального капитала организации. Проанализированы основные его компоненты - доверие, приверженность целям и ценностям организации, репутация и нормы взаимоотношений. В исследовании на выборке в 316 человек апробирована новая методика их изучения (КСКО). Приведены данные эмпирического исследования этих компонентов, проведенного методом поперечных срезов до начала эпидемии (февраль 2020 г.) и в период пика (май 2020 г.). Полученные данные продемонстрировали чувствительность новой методики к психологическим изменениям, связанным с критическими моментами организационного развития. В условиях эпидемии у всех сотрудников изученных нами коммерческих организаций выявлена тенденция роста таких компонентов социального капитала, как доверие, приверженность целям и ценностям, а также нормативность поведения, то есть повышение значимости организации для ее сотрудников. При этом сегодняшняя ситуация не отражается на оценке «внешнего» показателя - репутации организации. Обнаружены гендерные различия: мужчины в сложившейся ситуации стараются более строго придерживаться организационных норм. Разработан индекс консолидации социального капитала, определяющий согласованность всех его компонентов, что позволяет проводить сравнительный анализ уровня и структуры социального капитала различных организаций. Ситуация эпидемии COVID-19, рассматриваемая нами как кризисная, вызывает в целом позитивные изменения его компонентов, способствуя его консолидации, а значит, и личностной мобилизации персонала, что в перспективе предполагает позитивный выход из создавшегося положения. The article considers the dynamics of the organization's social capital in the context of the COVID-19 epidemic. The main approaches to understanding the essence of social capital - functions, peculiarities, factors determining the level of its development (personal, group, organizational, and social) were analyzed. The author 's conceptual model of the social capital of the organization was presented. The main components of social capital were explained - trust, commitment to the goals and values of the organization, reputation, and norms of relations. A study on a sample of 316 people tested a new methodology for studying the main components of social capital (SCSO). The data of empirical research of social capital elements carried out by the method of cross-sections before the beginning of the epidemic (02.2020) and during peak period (05.2020) were given. The obtained data showed the new technique's sensitivity to psychological changes related to critical moments of organizational development. In the context of the epidemic, all the commercial organizations' employees have revealed a tendency to increase such components of social capital as trust, commitment to goals and values, and standards of conduct, that is, the organization's importance its employees' increases. The situation does not affect the assessment of the "external" indicator - the reputation of the organization. Gender differences have been found - men in the current situation try to adhere more strictly to organizational norms. A social capital consolidation evaluation index has been developed, which determines the consistency of all its components, which allows for a comparative analysis of the level and structure of the social capital of different organizations. The situation of the COVID-19 epidemic, which we consider to be a crisis, causes generally positive changes in its components, contributing to its consolidation, and therefore to the personal mobilization of personnel, which in the future presupposes a positive way out of the situation.

Are Annual Report Graphs Being Used for Making Performance Attributions?

Previous literature on performance attributions has focused exclusively on annual report narratives. The objective of this article is to determine whether graphs in annual reports could be used for making performance attributions. The analysis focuses on annual reports of 33 commercial banks from 7 Central and Eastern European countries during 2006 to 2013. In line with expectations and results of previous research, there is strong support for the presence of negative performance attributions and attributional enhancements. A decrease in a bank’s profitability is associated with an increase in the use of external indicator graphs. If a bank’s profitability increases simultaneously with deterioration in a graphed external indicator, the use of such external indicator graphs increases compared with when profitability increase occurs simultaneously with an improvement in a graphed external indicator. There also exist signs that negative performance attributions are intentional and potentially driven by impression management motives.

Forage intake and botanical composition of feed for cattle fed Brachiaria/legume mixtures

A key contribution to study the cycling of nutrients in soil/plant/animal systems is the evaluation of the consumption of forage and their nutrients by cattle. The objective of this study was to test techniques to evaluate faecal production, in vitro digestibility, forage consumption and the proportion of legume in the acquired diet. Five Zebu steer calves were confined and fed five diets of different combinations of Brachiaria dictyoneura and Desmodium ovalifolium. All quantities of faeces were collected per animal and these values were found to compare favourably with those derived from using the chromium oxide technique. In vitro digestibility ranged from 7 to 10% higher than the actual in vivo digestibility. Faecal samples from steers fed with diets with 25% or more of grass in the mixture were found to be depleted in δ13C between 1.7 and 2.1‰, but no depletion was observed when the diet was 100% D. ovalifolium. There was a positive linear regression (r² = 0.97***) of the δ13C of the diet with the δ13C of faeces, but if the acquired diet contained a very high proportion of legume, the legume content could be underestimated by as much as 10%. None of the internal indicators, such as lignin or ash content of the diets, were useful to predict feed intake, but the chromium oxide external indicator performed satisfactorily. The 13C analysis of the faeces was an effective predictor of the proportion of the legume in the consumed diet.

Estimating White Trunk Rot in Aspen Stands

Advanced decay caused by Phellinus tremulae was estimated in 295 trembling aspen on 30 plots in 2 Minnesota counties using existing inventory guides, and then measured by felling and sectioning the trees. In standing trees, decay volume was underestimated by 38% compared to measured decay volume in felled trees. The most reliable external indicator of decay was the presence of conks of the fungus. Results indicate that decay associated with conks in the first 16 ft of the trees accounted for nearly 70% of the total volume loss. Decay volume in trees with no conks averaged less than 2% compared to 14% in trees with conks. There was little merchantable volume lost from decay associated with poplar borer (Saperda calcarata) damage, closed wounds, and hypoxylon cankers. We recommend that inventory guides for estimating aspen decay in Minnesota be revised, and a suggested guide is provided. North. J. Appl. For. 15(1):33-36.