The failed promise of foreign direct investment: some remarks on ‘malign’ investment and political instability in former Soviet states

The policy of key international organisation continues to be informed by the assumption that Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) has an unambiguously positive effect on recipient nations. However, there is increasing evidence that, on a global scale, increased trade and investment flows from rich to poorer nations have not contributed to a convergence of levels of income and well-being. This is particularly apparent in the context of former Soviet states, many of which continue to experience a decline, in both relative and absolute terms, in per capita GDP alongside a diminution in the life expectancy of their populations. Examining data on FDI received by former Soviet States from 1997 to 2005, this paper notes, firstly, that these investments have been concentrated on a few, typical natural-resource-rich states. Secondly, it observes that even these resource-rich countries experienced massive fluctuations in terms of the amounts of FDI they received over this time period. Lastly, the paper examines the impact of FDI on a number of country risk indicators via a pooled regression model which includes data for twelve former Soviet countries, namely the Central and Eastern European States of Belarus, Moldova, Russia, and Ukraine, and the Central Asian Republics of Armenia, Azerbaijan, Georgia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan. This analysis indicates that FDI has either a marginally negative effect on individual country risk measures such as in the case of ‘Overall Country Risk’, or significantly negative effects as in the case of ‘Economic Risk’ and ‘Legal Risk’. The paper concludes that there is strong case for questioning the existing orthodoxy which argues that problems of transition can be overcome via increased FDI and which continues to advise former Soviet states to pursue foreign capital at all cost

The failed promise of foreign direct investment: some remarks on ‘malign’ investment and political instability in former Soviet states

The policy of key international organisation continues to be informed by the assumption that Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) has an unambiguously positive effect on recipient nations. However, there is increasing evidence that, on a global scale, increased trade and investment flows from rich to poorer nations have not contributed to a convergence of levels of income and well-being. This is particularly apparent in the context of former Soviet states, many of which continue to experience a decline, in both relative and absolute terms, in per capita GDP alongside a diminution in the life expectancy of their populations. Examining data on FDI received by former Soviet States from 1997 to 2005, this paper notes, firstly, that these investments have been concentrated on a few, typical natural-resource-rich states. Secondly, it observes that even these resource-rich countries experienced massive fluctuations in terms of the amounts of FDI they received over this time period. Lastly, the paper examines the impact of FDI on a number of country risk indicators via a pooled regression model which includes data for twelve former Soviet countries, namely the Central and Eastern European States of Belarus, Moldova, Russia, and Ukraine, and the Central Asian Republics of Armenia, Azerbaijan, Georgia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan. This analysis indicates that FDI has either a marginally negative effect on individual country risk measures such as in the case of ‘Overall Country Risk’, or significantly negative effects as in the case of ‘Economic Risk’ and ‘Legal Risk’. The paper concludes that there is strong case for questioning the existing orthodoxy which argues that problems of transition can be overcome via increased FDI and which continues to advise former Soviet states to pursue foreign capital at all cost.

Resilience of Traffic Networks with Partially Controlled Routing

This paper investigates the use of Infrastructure-To-Vehicle (I2V) communication to generate routing suggestions for drivers in transportation systems, with the goal of optimizing a measure of overall network congestion. We define link-wise levels of trust to tolerate the non-cooperative behavior of part of the driver population, and we propose a real-time optimization mechanism that adapts to the instantaneous network conditions and to sudden changes in the levels of trust. Our framework allows us to quantify the improvement in travel time in relation to the degree at which drivers follow the routing suggestions. We then study the resilience of the system, measured as the smallest change in routing choices that results in roads reaching their maximum capacity. Interestingly, our findings suggest that fluctuations in the extent to which drivers follow the provided routing suggestions can cause failures of certain links. These results imply that the benefits of using Infrastructure-To-Vehicle communication come at the cost of new fragilities, that should be appropriately addressed in order to guarantee the reliable operation of the infrastructure.Comment: Accepted for presentation at the IEEE 2019 American Control Conferenc

Post-operative pain experience after third molar surgery

Abstract no. 116published_or_final_versio

Outcome for Hong Kong residents undergoing cadaveric liver transplantation in mainland China

Objective. To review the outcome for Hong Kong residents undergoing cadaveric liver transplantation in mainland China. Design. Retrospective study. Setting. Liver Transplant Centre, university teaching hospital, Hong Kong. Subjects and methods. A retrospective review of medical records was undertaken for patients at Queen Mary Hospital who underwent cadaveric liver transplantation in China between 1 January 1997 and 31 December 2001. Results. Fifteen patients from Queen Mary Hospital underwent cadaveric liver transplantation in China during the study period. Eleven were men and four were women. Their mean age was 51 years. Disease indications included hepatitis B-related liver cirrhosis (n=7), hepatitis B-related liver cirrhosis with hepatocellular carcinoma (n=5), hepatitis C-related liver cirrhosis (n=1), hepatitis C-related liver cirrhosis with hepatocellular carcinoma (n=1), and polycystic liver and kidney disease (n=1). Nine patients were already waiting for liver transplantation at Queen Mary Hospital, and two of the nine patients were on the 'urgent' list. The overall survival rate was 80.0% at 6 months and 73.3% at 12 months. There were four (27%) deaths, two of which occurred in China. Of the 11 surviving patients, nine (82%) developed complications. Nineteen complications were seen in the 13 patients who were managed in Hong Kong following their return from China. Infective and biliary complications accounted for 58% and 26% of complications, respectively. Major complications necessitated prolonged hospitalisation for four patients and two required further laparotomy. Conclusion. Although cadaveric liver transplantation in China is an option for Hong Kong residents, patients and clinicians should be aware of the possible outcomes and resource implications.published_or_final_versio

Polymer based nanocomposites: synthetic strategies for hybrid materials

Associating the well known advantages of hybrid materials to the wide potential of nanomaterials, the new and featuring class of polymer nanocomposites turned into one of the most intensively researched areas. This review highlights recent developments in the field of the synthesis of polymer based nanocomposites. Important issues related to the surface modification of fillers, in order to promote the compatibility between the inorganic/organic components, are also reported. The enhancement of the physical properties and the potential applications of polymer nanocomposites are considered in typical examples, given for each synthetic method describe

Interpolating the Sherrington-Kirkpatrick replica trick

The interpolation techniques have become, in the past decades, a powerful approach to lighten several properties of spin glasses within a simple mathematical framework. Intrinsically, for their construction, these schemes were naturally implemented into the cavity field technique, or its variants as the stochastic stability or the random overlap structures. However the first and most famous approach to mean field statistical mechanics with quenched disorder is the replica trick. Among the models where these methods have been used (namely, dealing with frustration and complexity), probably the best known is the Sherrington-Kirkpatrick spin glass: In this paper we are pleased to apply the interpolation scheme to the replica trick framework and test it directly to the cited paradigmatic model: interestingly this allows to obtain easily the replica-symmetric control and, synergically with the broken replica bounds, a description of the full RSB scenario, both coupled with several minor theorems. Furthermore, by treating the amount of replicas $n\in(0,1]$ as an interpolating parameter (far from its original interpretation) this can be though of as a quenching temperature close to the one introduce in off-equilibrium approaches and, within this viewpoint, the proof of the attended commutativity of the zero replica and the infinite volume limits can be obtained.Comment: This article is dedicated to David Sherrington on the occasion of his seventieth birthda

Raf/MEK/MAPK signaling stimulates the nuclear translocation and transactivating activity of FOXM1c

The forkhead box (FOX) transcription factor FOXM1 is ubiquitously expressed in proliferating cells. FOXM1 expression peaks at the G2/M phase of the cell cycle and its functional deficiency in mice leads to defects in mitosis. To investigate the role of FOXM1 in the cell cycle, we used synchronized hTERT-BJ1 fibroblasts to examine the cell cycle-dependent regulation of FOXM1 function. We observed that FOXM1 is localized mainly in the cytoplasm in cells at late-G1 and S phases. Nuclear translocation occurs just before entry into the G2/M phase and is associated with phosphorylation of FOXM1. Consistent with the dependency of FOXM1 function on mitogenic signals, nuclear translocation of FOXM1 requires activity of the Raf/MEK/MAPK signaling pathway and is enhanced by the MAPK activator aurintricarboxylic acid. This activating effect was suppressed by the MEK1/2 inhibitor U0126. In transient reporter assays, constitutively active MEK1 enhances the transactivating effect of FOXM1c, but not FOXM1b, on the cyclin B1 promoter. RT-PCR analysis confirmed that different cell lines and tissues predominantly express the FOXM1c transcript. Mutations of two ERK1/2 target sequences within FOXM1c completely abolish the MEK1 enhancing effect, suggesting a direct link between Raf/MEK/MAPK signaling and FOXM1 function. Importantly, inhibition of Raf/MEK/MAPK signaling by U0126 led to suppression of FOXM1 target gene expression and delayed progression through G2/M, verifying the functional relevance of FOXM1 activation by MEK1. In summary, we provide the first evidence that Raf/MEK/MAPK signaling exerts its G2/M regulatory effect via FOXM1c.published_or_final_versio

Importance of controlling the degree of saturation in soil compaction

n the typical conventional fill compaction, the dry density ρd and the water content w are controlled in relation to (ρd)max and wopt determined by laboratory compaction tests using a representative sample at a certain compaction energy level CEL. Although CEL and actual soil type affect significantly the values of (ρd)max and wopt, they change inevitably in a given earthwork project while CEL in the field may not match the value used in the laboratory compaction tests. Compaction control based on the stiffness of compacted soil in the field has such a drawback that the stiffness drops upon wetting more largely as the degree of saturation, Sr, of compacted soil becomes lower than the optimum degree of saturation (Sr)opt defined as Sr when (ρd)max is obtained for a given CEL. In comparison, the value of (Sr)opt and the ρd/(ρd)max vs. Sr - (Sr)opt relation of compacted soil are rather insensitive to variations in CEL and soil type, while the strength and stiffness of unsoaked and soaked compacted soil is controlled by ρd and “Sr at the end of compaction”. It is proposed to control not only w and ρd but also Sr so that Sr becomes (Sr)opt and ρd becomes large enough to ensue soil properties required in design.Fundação para a Ciência e Tecnologia (FCT)info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Measurement of serum 7α-hydroxy-4-cholesten-3-one as a marker of bile acid malabsorption in dogs with chronic diarrhoea: a pilot study.

Bile acid malabsorption is a common cause of chronic diarrhoea in people, however it has never previously been investigated in dogs, despite clinical suspicion of its existence. The goal of this study was to assess the feasibility of measuring serum 7α-hydroxy-4-cholesten-3-one (C4) in dogs, as a potential marker of bile acid malabsorption, and to see whether this is related to clinical disease severity or the presence of hypocobalaminaemia. Serum C4 concentration was measured in 20 clinically healthy control dogs and 17 dogs with chronic diarrhoea. Three of the 17 affected dogs (17.6 per cent) had a C4 concentration significantly above the range of clinically healthy dogs; these dogs were all poorly responsive to conventional therapy. These results suggest that bile acid malabsorption may be a clinically relevant disorder in dogs with chronic diarrhoea and serum C4 may be a useful tool to investigate this further.A.C.C. Kent is very grateful to the Alice Noakes Trust for sponsorship of his Senior Clinical Training Scholarship.This is the final version of the article. It first appeared from the BMJ Group via http://dx.doi.org/10.1136/vetreco-2015-00016