FDI and Performance: An Investigation of EU Manufacturing Industries

This paper investigates the impact of foreign direct investment (FDI) on the performance of companies in low- and high-technologically intensive industries in the manufacturing sector in EU member countries, using datasets covering the period between 2010 and 2020. The industries were selected according to the EU High-tech classification of manufacturing industries based on NACE Rev.2 at 2-digit codes. The performance of companies in our study was measured based on turnover. We used a set of independent variables, such as inward and outward FDI stocks, imports and exports of goods and services, gross domestic product (GDP) at market prices, real effective exchange rate, gross domestic expenditure on research and development, and gross fixed capital formation. On applying the panel data methodology, our findings indicated that inward FDI stocks, imports of goods and services, and real effective exchange rates have a significant impact on the performance of companies in high-technologically intensive industries. For low-tech companies, exports of goods and services are important driving factors behind their performance. Keywords: high-tech industries, low-tech industries, foreign direct investment, performance, European Unio

Advanced technology for gait rehabilitation: An overview

Most gait training systems are designed for acute and subacute neurological inpatients. Many systems are used for relearning gait movements (nonfunctional training) or gait cycle training (functional gait training). Each system presents its own advantages and disadvantages in terms of functional outcomes. However, training gait cycle movements is not sufficient for the rehabilitation of ambulation. There is a need for new solutions to overcome the limitations of existing systems in order to ensure individually tailored training conditions for each of the potential users, no matter the complexity of his or her condition. There is also a need for a new, integrative approach in gait rehabilitation, one that encompasses and addresses all aspects of physical as well as psychological aspects of ambulation in real-life multitasking situations. In this respect, a multidisciplinary multinational team performed an overview of the current technology for gait rehabilitation and reviewed the principles of ambulation training

Advanced technology for gait rehabilitation --- An overview

Most gait training systems are designed for acute and subacute neurological inpatients. Many systems are used for relearning gait movements (nonfunctional training) or gait cycle training (functional gait training). Each system presents its own advantages and disadvantages in terms of functional outcomes. However, training gait cycle movements is not sufficient for the rehabilitation of ambulation. There is a need for new solutions to overcome the limitations of existing systems in order to ensure individually tailored training conditions for each of the potential users, no matter the complexity of his or her condition. There is also a need for a new, integrative approach in gait rehabilitation, one that encompasses and addresses all aspects of physical as well as psychological aspects of ambulation in real-life multitasking situations. In this respect, a multidisciplinary multinational team performed an overview of the current technology for gait rehabilitation and reviewed the principles of ambulation training

ExClaim: a language for operationalizing CommonKADS expertise models using description logics

This report presents E x Claim, a hybrid language for knowledge representation and reasoning. Developed as an operationalization language for the KADS knowledge based systems development methodology, E x Claim has a meta-level architecture: it structures the knowledge on three levels, namely the domain, inference and task level. An extension of a description logic is used for implementing the domain level. The inference and task levels are procedural and support non-determinism (inferences and tasks being backtrackable). This in turn requires a non-monotonic domain level. Description logics (term subsumption languages) offer a set of inference services (not available in other KR languages) which are extremely useful in knowledge modelling. Such inference services include domain-level deduction, semantic consistency verification and automatic classification of concepts. Note that most of the existing KBS development tools and environments do not provide any facilities for model consis..

Antithyroid antibodies - a possible involvement in the development of chronic periodontitis

Objectives. Identification of periodontal lesions in patients with chronic autoimmune thyroiditis (CAT) assessed differently depending on their severity and the average serum level of thyroid autoantibodies. Material and methods. The study was initiated in a group of patients (n = 133) diagnosed with chronic autoimmune thyroiditis in conditions of normal thyroid function and without other comorbidities. Examination of the oral cavity identified lesions characteristic of chronic periodontitis (CP) classified according to their intensity in - mild, medium and aggravated in a group of 109 patients. The serum level of thyroid autoantibodies – as a mean value – was analyzed in a group of 77 patients with similar periodontal lesions related to their classification. Results. Characteristic ethological changes of chronic periodontitis were identified in 85% of patients being classified as: mild (40.2%), medium (31.9%), aggravated (28.5%). Thyroid autoantibodies were present: 62.3% for antithyroperoxidase antibodies (ATPO), 23.8% for both ATPO and antithyroglobulin antibodies (ATG); 13.7% for ATG. The differentiated statistical calculation of the average values of antibodies found for ATPO presented a high statistical significance (p < 0.0002) for spontaneous bleeding, all degrees of tooth mobility, depth of periodontal pockets, root fork and dental occlusion. No statistical significance was found for ATPO in bacterial plaque and gingival regression. No statistical significance was recorded for the mean level of ATG. Conclusions. The correlation of the serum level of thyroid autoantibodies with the specificity of periodontal lesions certify a possible differentiated involvement of them. For ATPO, extra-thyroid systemic effects can be suggested as a priority

Reliability Estimation of Parameters of Helical Wind Turbine with Vertical Axis

Due to the prolonged use of wind turbines they must be characterized by high reliability. This can be achieved through a rigorous design, appropriate simulation and testing, and proper construction. The reliability prediction and analysis of these systems will lead to identifying the critical components, increasing the operating time, minimizing failure rate, and minimizing maintenance costs. To estimate the produced energy by the wind turbine, an evaluation approach based on the Monte Carlo simulation model is developed which enables us to estimate the probability of minimum and maximum parameters. In our simulation process we used triangular distributions. The analysis of simulation results has been focused on the interpretation of the relative frequency histograms and cumulative distribution curve (ogive diagram), which indicates the probability of obtaining the daily or annual energy output depending on wind speed. The experimental researches consist in estimation of the reliability and unreliability functions and hazard rate of the helical vertical axis wind turbine designed and patented to climatic conditions for Romanian regions. Also, the variation of power produced for different wind speeds, the Weibull distribution of wind probability, and the power generated were determined. The analysis of experimental results indicates that this type of wind turbine is efficient at low wind speed