Foreign Direct Investment in a Late Industrialising Country: The Portuguese IDP Revisited

This article uses the investment development path to analyse the evolution of Portugal’s competitiveness in recent years. This is interpreted as the country’s capacity to both attract and engage in foreign direct investment. The estimation of the Portuguese IDP confirms previous claims that Portugal has joined other late industrialising countries as a 'stage 4' country, but that this position may not be consolidated. Outward FDI, albeit limited in terms of the number of firms and destinations, seems to show most characteristics expected at this stage of development. However, the fading of export-oriented inward FDI during the 1990s represents a danger in a country where FDI has been critical for market access and industrial diversification despite a much smaller weight in the economy than in other OECD countries.Investment Development Path, Inward FDI, Outward FDI, Portugal

Comment on "Effects of cosmic-string framework on the thermodynamical properties of anharmonic oscillator using the ordinary statistics and the q-deformed superstatistics approaches"

We point out a misleading treatment in a recent paper published in this Journal [Eur. Phys. J. C (2018)78:106] regarding solutions for the Schr\"{o}dinger equation with a anharmonic oscillator potential embedded in the background of a cosmic string mapped into biconfluent Heun equation. This fact jeopardizes the thermodynamical properties calculated in this system.Comment: 3 page

Foreign Direct Investment in the European Periphery: the competitiveness of Portugal

This thesis analyses the evolution and characteristics of Portugal’s inward and outward foreign direct investment (FDI) in recent years and how they reflect changes in the country’s competitiveness. Inward FDI was investigated using regression analysis and a postal questionnaire. For outward FDI, semi-structured interviews were conducted at locally owned firms with productive capacity abroad. The investment development path (IDP) was the framework used to integrate the results obtained with the analysis of national competitiveness. The thesis also suggests a novel functional relationship for the IDP in order to reconcile the empirical tests with the underlying theory. Inward FDI flows into Portugal have declined sharply in recent years, which was shown to be incommensurate with Portugal’s size and level of development. The questionnaire survey suggested that efficiency seeking investment was especially affected. This points to the geopolitical changes that have occurred in Europe as a major reason for Portugal’s lower attractiveness as a location for FDI. Bureaucracy and a shortage of skilled workers were other important obstacles to foreign investment. Both correspond to institutional failures: the failure to promote an efficient legal environment, and the failure to create advanced assets that compensate for rising production costs as locational determinants of FDI. Outward FDI was found to be more in line with Portugal’s level of development. It is growing fast but requires consolidation. Investment is concentrated in few locations, and cultural proximity (particularly language) plays a major role. I Iowever, more than exploiting existing ownership advantages, the firms surveyed were internationalising in order to build new ownership advantages. To reach an efficient size, which is not possible at home when the market is small, or to consolidate the relationship with important clients in oligopsonistic industries were the dominant motivations for internationalisation amongst the firms surveyed

Ancient clay bricks: manufacture and properties

The physical, mechanical and chemical properties of ancient fired clay bricks are addressed. A literature survey is carried out and samples of old Portuguese bricks dated from the 12th to 18th centuries are considered. A high porosity (15-40 %) and water absorption (10-20 %) is found. The suction rate can be rather high (up to 0.35 g/cm2/min), while the specific mass is low (1,500 to 1,800 kg/m3). The compressive strength shows a huge scattering with frequent values ranging from 1.5 to 30 N/mm2. In general, raw clays used in old clay bricks seem to have some consistency with respect to proportion of the main chemical constituents, while bricks of the same origin generally exhibit a strong chemical similarity. Finally, it is shown that a minor-destructive test (microdrilling) allows to adequately assess the compressive strength of old clay bricks, using appropriate correlations

Cardiorespiratory Fitness and Fatness Are Associated With Health Complaints and Health Risk Behaviors in Youth

We examined the association of cardiorespiratory fitness and fatness with health complaints and health risk behaviors in 691 (323 girls) Spanish children aged 6 to 17.9. Methods: Health complaints and health risk behaviors were self-reported using items of the Health Behavior in School-aged Children questionnaire. Weight and height were measured and body mass index was computed. Cardiorespiratory fitness was measured by the 20-m shuttle-run test, and youth categorized as fit/unfit. Results: Unfit youth were more likely to report health complaints sometime (OR: 2.556, 95% CI: 1.299–5.031; and OR: 1.997, 95% CI: 1.162–3.433, respectively) and health risk behaviors such as drinking alcohol sometime (OR: 5.142, 95% CI: 1.214–21.783; and OR: 2.413, 95% CI: 1.484–3.923) than their fit counterparts. Overweight-obese youth were more likely to report health complaints (OR: 1.732, 95% CI: 1.019–2.945; and OR: 1.983, 95% CI: 1.083–3.629, respectively). The analysis of the combined influence of fitness and fatness revealed that fit youth had lower health complaints index than the fat-unfit and unfat-unfit groups (all P < .05). Conclusions: Low fitness and overweight-obesity increased the risk of having health complaints in youth, yet high levels of cardiorespiratory fitness might overcome deleterious effects of overweight-obesity on health complaints

Enkapsulacija askorbinske kiseline u hidrofobnom silikagelu

Self-assembled hybrid organo-silica sol-gel materials are rapidly expanding for newand novel applications. The microporous solid silica matrix was used as a carrier for the controlled release of ascorbic acid (AA), selected as cargo molecule. One-step synthesis procedure was optimized for the preparation of silica–molecule composites by using tetraethoxysilane and methyltrimethoxysilane as precursors. The hydrophobic silica xerogel matrices were characterized by Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) and X-ray diffraction. Specific surface area and porosity parameters were determined by Brunauer-Emmett-Teller (BET) technique and the matrix surface morphology by scanning electron microscopy (SEM). The observed release pattern could be interesting for the development of AA-fortified food and for use in food packaging.Hibridni, organsko-silikatni sol-gel materijal sve se više primjenjuje u prehrambenoj industriji. Stoga je kao nosač za kontrolirano otpuštanje askorbinske kiseline upotrijebljen mikroporozni čvrsti silikatni matriks. Optimirana je jednostupanjska sinteza kojom su dobiveni silikatni kompoziti uz pomoć prekurzora: tetraetoksisilana i metiltrimetoksisilana. Matriksi su hidrofobnog silikagela okarakterizirani Fourier transformiranom infracrvenom spektroskopijom (FTIR) i difrakcijom X-zraka. Specifična površina i poroznost matriksa ispitane su Brunaer-Emmett-Teller (BET) metodom, dok su morfološka svojstva površine matriksa određena skenirajućim elektronskim mikroskopom (SEM). Utvrđeno je da se askorbinska kiselina ovako može upotrijebiti za proizvodnju hrane s dodanom vrijednošću, te za pakiranje prehrambenih proizvoda

Enkapsulacija askorbinske kiseline u hidrofobnom silikagelu

Self-assembled hybrid organo-silica sol-gel materials are rapidly expanding for newand novel applications. The microporous solid silica matrix was used as a carrier for the controlled release of ascorbic acid (AA), selected as cargo molecule. One-step synthesis procedure was optimized for the preparation of silica–molecule composites by using tetraethoxysilane and methyltrimethoxysilane as precursors. The hydrophobic silica xerogel matrices were characterized by Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) and X-ray diffraction. Specific surface area and porosity parameters were determined by Brunauer-Emmett-Teller (BET) technique and the matrix surface morphology by scanning electron microscopy (SEM). The observed release pattern could be interesting for the development of AA-fortified food and for use in food packaging.Hibridni, organsko-silikatni sol-gel materijal sve se više primjenjuje u prehrambenoj industriji. Stoga je kao nosač za kontrolirano otpuštanje askorbinske kiseline upotrijebljen mikroporozni čvrsti silikatni matriks. Optimirana je jednostupanjska sinteza kojom su dobiveni silikatni kompoziti uz pomoć prekurzora: tetraetoksisilana i metiltrimetoksisilana. Matriksi su hidrofobnog silikagela okarakterizirani Fourier transformiranom infracrvenom spektroskopijom (FTIR) i difrakcijom X-zraka. Specifična površina i poroznost matriksa ispitane su Brunaer-Emmett-Teller (BET) metodom, dok su morfološka svojstva površine matriksa određena skenirajućim elektronskim mikroskopom (SEM). Utvrđeno je da se askorbinska kiselina ovako može upotrijebiti za proizvodnju hrane s dodanom vrijednošću, te za pakiranje prehrambenih proizvoda

Genomic and Physiological Traits of the Marine Bacterium Alcaligenes aquatilis QD168 Isolated From Quintero Bay, Central Chile, Reveal a Robust Adaptive Response to Environmental Stressors

Alcaligenes aquatilis QD168 is a marine, aromatic hydrocarbon-degrading bacterium, isolated from an oil-polluted sediment of Quintero Bay, an industrial-coastal zone that has been chronically impacted by diverse pollutants. The aims of this study were to characterize the phylogenomic positions of Alcaligenes spp. and to characterize the genetic determinants and the physiological response of A. aquatilis QD168 to model environmental stressors (benzene, oxidizing agents, and salt). Phylogenomic analyses, using 35 housekeeping genes, clustered A. aquatilis QD168 with four other strains of Alcaligenes spp. (A. aquatilis BU33N, A. faecalis JQ135, A. faecalis UBA3227, and A. faecalis UBA7629). Genomic sequence analyses of A. aquatilis QD168 with 25 Alcaligenes spp., using ANIb, indicated that A. aquatilis BU33N is the closest related strain, with 96.8% ANIb similarity. Strain QD168 harbors 95 genes encoding proteins of seven central catabolic pathways, as well as sixteen peripheral catabolic pathways/reactions for aromatic compounds. A. aquatilis QD168 was able to grow on 3-hydroxybenzoate, 4-hydroxybenzoate, benzoate, benzene, 3-hydroxycinnamate, cinnamate, anthranilate, benzamide, 4-aminobenzoate, nicotinate, toluene, biphenyl and tryptophan, as sole carbon or nitrogen source. Benzene degradation was further analyzed by growth, metabolite identification and gene expression analyses. Benzene strongly induced the expression of the genes encoding phenol hydroxylase (dmpP) and catechol 1,2-dioxygenase (catA). Additionally, 30 genes encoding transcriptional regulators, scavenging enzymes, oxidative damage repair systems and isozymes involved in oxidative stress response were identified. Oxidative stress response of strain QD168 to hydrogen peroxide and paraquat was characterized, demonstrating that A. aquatilis QD168 is notably more resistant to paraquat than to H2O2. Genetic determinants (47 genes) for osmoprotective responses were identified, correlating with observed high halotolerance by strain QD168. The physiological adaptation of A. aquatilis QD168 to environmental stressors such as pollutants, oxidative stress and salinity may be exploited for bioremediation of oil-polluted saline sites