Does Knowledge from Home Markets Boost Outward Foreign Direct Investments of Emerging Economy Multinationals? Evidence from Indian Family EMNEs

Despite increasing research on multinationals from emerging economies (EMNEs), our understanding of the antecedents of their international expansion is still limited. In this study, we seek to examine whether knowledge gained from operating in their complex and diverse domestic markets deter or aid the outward foreign direct investments of EMNEs. As family firms are dominant in emerging economies, we further explore how heterogeneity within family firms moderate this relationship. We conduct our investigations using a proprietary longitudinal dataset comprising 213 EMNEs from India featuring in the S&P Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE) 500 index covering a six-year period from 2007-08 to 2012-13, of which 175 were family EMNEs and find supporting evidence for our theoretical predictions

DESIGN AND IMPLEMENTATION OF DIGITAL CONTROLLER IN DELTA DOMAIN FOR BUCK CONVERTER

This paper presents the design and implementation of a discrete-time controller for a DC-DC Buck converter in the complex delta domain. Whenever any continuous-time system is sampled to get a corresponding discrete-time system with a very high sampling rate, the shift operator parameterized discrete-time system fails to provide meaningful information. There is another discrete-time operator called delta operator. In the delta operator parameterized discrete-time system, the discrete-time results and continuous-time results can be obtained hand to hand, rather than in two special cases at a very high sampling rate. The superior property of the delta operator is capitalized in this paper to design the proposed controller in the discrete domain. The Proportional plus Integral (PI) controller designed in the delta domain is used to maintain the output voltage of the Buck converter at the load end for varying load and varying supply voltage conditions. The controller is designed and implemented using the DS1202 dSPACE board. The output voltage of the Buck converter is scaled to feed to the onboard analogue to digital converter of DS1202. Under the different disturbances, the error between the desired output voltage and the actual output voltage is measured and the delta PI controller is used to manipulate the duty cycle of the converter. The duty cycle of this pulse width modulation (PWM) signal is generated using a DS1202 board and is applied to the gate of the Metal Oxide Semiconductor field-effect transistor (MOSFET) via a suitable driver such that the output voltage of the Buck converter remains at its desired value

A NEW APPROACH FOR DIRECT DISCRETIZATION OF FRACTIONAL ORDER OPERATOR IN DELTA DOMAIN

The fractional order system (FOS) comprises fractional order operator. In order to obtain the discretized version of the fractional order system, the first step is to discretize the fractional order operator, commonly expressed as s±m, 0 < m < 1. The fractional order operator can be used as fractional order differentiator or integrator, depending upon the values of . In general, there are two approaches for discretization of fractional order operator, one is indirect method of discretization and another is direct method of discretization. The direct discretization method capitalizes the method of formation of generating function where fractional order operator s±mis expressed as a function of Z in the shift operator parameterization and continued fraction expansion (CFE) method is then utilized to get the corresponding discrete domain rational transfer function. There is an inherent problem with this discretization method using shift operator parameterization (discrete Z-domain). At fast sampling time, the discretized version of the continuous time operator or system should resemble that of the continuous time counterpart if the sampling theorem is satisfied. At very high sampling rate, the shift operator parameterized system fails to provide meaningful information due to its numerical ill conditioning. To overcome this problem, Delta operator parameterization for discretization is considered in this paper, where at fast sampling rate, the continuous time results can be obtained from the discrete time experiments and therefore a unified framework can be developed to get the discrete time results and continuous time results hand to hand. In this paper a new generating function is proposed to discretize the fractional order operator using the Gauss-Legendre 2-point quadrature rule. Additionally, the function has been expanded using the CFE in order to obtain rational approximation of the fractional order operator. The detailed mathematical formulations along with the simulation results in MATLAB, with different fractional order systems are considered, in order to prove the newness of this formulation for discretization of the FOS in complex Delta domain

A UNIFIED APPROACH FOR DIGITAL REALIZATION OF FRACTIONAL ORDER OPERATOR IN DELTA DOMAIN

The fractional order operator ( , ) plays the pivotal role for the realization of fractional orders systems (FOS). For the realization of the FOS, fractional order operator (FOO) needs to be realized either in discrete or continuous time domain. Discrete time rational approximation of FOO in the -domain fails to provide meaningful information at fast sampling interval. Moreover, domain rational transfer function becomes highly sensitive with respect to its coefficients variation resulting to the poor finite word length effects for digital realization. In the other hand delta operator parameterized system allows to develop unification of continuous and discrete time formulations leading to the development of a unified framework for digital realization at fast sampling interval. The discrete time approximation of the FOO in delta domain is found to be robust to its coefficient variation in comparison to the shift operator based discretization of FOO. In this paper, discrete -operator parameterization is proposed for the digital realization using direct discretization of FOO. As a result, superior finite word length effect is observed for the realization of the FOO in discrete delta domain. Fractional order operator with different orders ( ) are considered for the realization purpose using the proposed method and the results obtained using MATLAB are presented for validation

DESIGN AND IMPLEMENTATION OF FRACTIONAL-ORDER CONTROLLER IN DELTA DOMAIN

In this work, a fractional-order controller (FOC) is designed in a discrete domain using delta operator parameterization. FOC gets rationally approximated using continued fraction expansion (CFE) in the delta domain. Whenever discretization of any continuous-time system takes place, the choice of sampling time becomes the most critical parameter to get most accurate results. Obtaining a higher sampling rate using conventional shift operator parameterization is not possible and delta operator parameterized discretize time system takes the advantages to circumvent the problem associated with the shift operator parameterization at a high sampling limit. In this work, a first-order plant with delay is considered to be controlled with FOC, and is implemented in discrete delta domain. The plant model is designed using MATLAB as well as in hardware. The fractional-order controller is tuned in the continuous domain and discretized in delta domain to make the discrete delta FOC. Continuous time fractional order operator (s±α) is directly discretized in delta domain to get the overall FOC in discrete domain. The designed controller in implemented using MATLABSimulink and dSPACE board such that dSPACEboard acts as the hardware implemented FOC. The step response characteristics of the closed-loop system using delta domain FOC resembles to that of the results obtained by continuous time controller. It proves that at a high sampling rate, the continuous-time result and discrete-time result are obtained hand to hand rather than the two individual cases. Therefore, the analysis and design of FOC parameterized with delta operator opens up a new area in the design and implementation of discrete FOC, which unifies both continuous and discrete-time results. The discrete model performance characteristics are evaluated in software simulation using MATLAB, and results are validated through the hardware implementation using dSPACE

Probing long-range correlations in the Berezinskii-Kosterlitz-Thouless fluctuation regime of ultra-thin NbN superconducting films using transport noise measurements

We probe the presence of long-range correlations in phase fluctuations by analyzing the higher-order spectrum of resistance fluctuations in ultra-thin NbN superconducting films. The non-Gaussian component of resistance fluctuations is found to be sensitive to film thickness close to the transition, which allows us to distinguish between mean field and Berezinskii-Kosterlitz-Thouless (BKT) type superconducting transitions. The extent of non-Gaussianity was found to be bounded by the BKT and mean field transition temperatures and depend strongly on the roughness and structural inhomogeneity of the superconducting films. Our experiment outlines a novel fluctuation-based kinetic probe in detecting the nature of superconductivity in disordered low-dimensional materials.Comment: submitted to PR

A multi-parent genetic algorithm for solving longitude–latitude-based 4D traveling salesman problems under uncertainty

In this study, we propose a mathematical model of a 4D clustered traveling salesman problem (CTSP) to address the cost-effective security and risk-related difficulties associated with the TSP. We used a multiparent-based memetic genetic algorithm to optimize paths between all clusters and proposed unique heuristic approaches to create clusters and reconnect them. We constructed a 4D CTSP considering multiple routes between two locations and multiple available vehicles on each route. Travel expenses and risks impact every itinerary; however, the behaviors of these costs and risks are always uncertain. We inspected various standard benchmark problems from (TSPLIB) using the proposed calculations. Real-life problems in the tourism industry motivate a longitude–latitude-based CTSP with risk constraints. Thus, we determined the risk of each path based on longitude and latitude. The contributions of this study are twofold: developing a genetic algorithm and heuristics based on mathematical modeling of a real problem.</p

Dietary isothiocyanate sulforaphene induces reactive oxygen species, caspase -9, -8, -3-dependent apoptosis and modulates PTEN/PI3Kinase in human cervical cancer cells

Purpose: To investigate the apoptotic activity, cell proliferation inhibition and different signaling protein expressions after treatment with a new isothiocyanate, sulforaphene, in human cervical cancer (HeLa) cells. Methods: Cytotoxicity was analyzed by 3-(4,5-dimethylthiazol-2-yl)-2,5-diphenyltetrazolium bromide (MTT) assay after sulforaphene treatment for 3, 6, 12 and 24 h. Apoptosis assay, cell cycle analysis, intracellular oxygen species (ROS) measurement, mitochondrial membrane depolarization and western blot analysis were performed in four time-intervals to explore sulforaphene activity. Results: HeLa cell viability was reduced by sulforaphene dose and time dependently. ROS plays a causative role in sulforaphene induced cytotoxicity and apoptosis during which stimulation of Bax and blocking of Bcl2 were involved. Mitochondrial membrane potential depletion and cytochrome C, AIF modulation suggest mitochondrial pathway for the apoptosis. Activation of caspase -9, -8 and -3 in treated HeLa cells demonstrated caspase-dependent apoptosis by sulforaphene. Again, sulforaphene induced HeLa cell proliferation inhibition was evidenced by cell cycle arrest and PTEN/PI3Kinase modulation. Conclusion: Dietary sulforaphene induces HeLa cell apoptosis by enhancing intracellular ROS levels, thereby activating multiple apoptotic signal cascades. Therefore, sulforaphene is a potential candidate for anticancer therapy. Keywords: Sulforaphene, HeLa cells, Apoptosis, ROS, Caspase activation, PTEN, PI3Kinas

Replica symmetry breaking in a colloidal plasmonic random laser with gold-coated triangular silver nanostructures

Plasmonic random lasers have drawn significant attention recently due to their versatility, low threshold, and the possibility of achieving tunable and coherent/incoherent outputs. However, in this Letter, the phenomenon of replica symmetry breaking is reported in intensity fluctuations of a rarely used colloidal plasmonic random laser (RL) illumination. Triangular nanosilver scatter particles produced incoherent RL action when used in a dimethylformamide (DMF) environment in a Rhodamine-6G gain medium. The use of gold-coated triangular nanosilver as the scatterer in place of triangular nanosilver offered a dual contribution of scattering and lower photo-reabsorption, which caused a reduction in the lasing threshold energy of 39% compared to that obtained with the latter. Further, due to its long-term photostability and chemical properties, a phase transition from the photonic paramagnetic to the glassy phase is observed experimentally in the RL system used. Interestingly, the transition occurs at approximately the lasing threshold value, which is a consequence of stronger correlation of modal behaviors at high input pump energies. (c) 2023 Optica Publishing Grou