Economic Performance of U.S. Multinational Agribusinesses: Foreign Direct Investment and Firm Strategy

This paper empirically assesses the sequential relationships among firm strategic factors, FDI activity, and economic performance for a sample of U.S.-based Multinational agribusinesses. The most important findings of this research is a positive direct effect of FDI on performance, the complementary effect between FDI and firm strategic factors (positive and significant interaction terms) on performance, and the positive effect of FDI on performance given some thresholds of firm strategic factors. Specifically, it provides insights about the direct effect of FDI on performance, as well as about the joint effect of firm size and FDI, marketing intensity and FDI, and capital intensity and FDI on performance. These findings provide evidence that FDI activity is an important factor for U.S. agribusiness financial strength.Economic performance, Foreign direct investment, Firm strategic factors, Agribusiness, Agribusiness, International Relations/Trade, Marketing, F230, L250,

Consumer Confidence in the Food System, Media Coverage and Stock Prices of Food Companies: A Regression Analysis

A series of recent and serious food safety incidents have generated a national debate over the significant costs that they impose on various stakeholders - consumers, industry, or the government. This paper examines the impact of media coverage of food safety and defense issues on consumer confidence in food safety, and measures the response of stock prices of food companies to changes in consumer confidence. Results show that, increases in media coverage have a negative impact on consumer confidence, and that decreases in the levels of consumer confidence on food safety have a negative impact on stock prices of food companies, in particular for the larger firms. These findings confirm that the financial performance of food the industry is negatively affected by category-specific food safety events, and the effects of media coverage on consumer confidence in the safety of the food system.Agribusiness, Food Consumption/Nutrition/Food Safety,

Covariate effects of resting heart rate variability on affective ratings and startle reflex during cognitive reappraisal of negative emotions

Heart Rate Variability (HRV) has been widely studied in laboratory settings due to its clinical implications, primarily as a potential biomarker of emotion regulation (ER). Studies have reported that individuals with higher resting HRV show more distinct startle reflexes to negative stimuli as compared to those with lower HRV. These responses have been associated with better defense system function when managing the context demands. There is, however, a lack of empirical evidence on the association between resting HRV and eyeblinks during laboratory tasks using instructed ER. This study explored the influence of tonic HRV on voluntary cognitive reappraisal through subjective and startle responses measured during an independent ER task. In total, 122 healthy participants completed a task consisting of attempts to upregulate, downregulate, or react naturally to emotions prompted by unpleasant pictures. Tonic HRV was measured for 5 minutes before the experiment began. Current results did not support the idea that self-reported and eyeblink responses were influenced by resting HRV. These findings suggest that, irrespective of resting HRV, individuals may benefit from strategies such as reappraisal that are useful for managing negative emotions. Experimental studies should further explore the role of individual differences when using ER strategies during laboratory task

Evaluación de la actividad de los catalizadores 5% pd/tio2 y 5% pd/tio2 – 5%na en la reacción de hidrodecloración de cloroformo

Se evaluó la actividad de los catalizadores 5%Pd/TiO2 y por primera vez 5%Pd/TiO2-5%Na en la reacción de hidrodecloración de cloroformo en fase líquida a temperatura ambiente y 50°C, utilizando isopropanol c omo solvente y donor de hidrógeno. Se encontró que el catalizador 5%Pd/TiO2-5%Na presentó la mejor actividad tanto a temperatura ambiente como a 50°C, obteniénd ose la mayor conversión a 50°C (32,5%) luego de 5 horas de reacción. La incorporación de los iones sodio en el soporte, favoreció tanto la deshidrogenación del isopropanol, como la captura de los iones cloruro producidos durante la reacción, y por ende la hidrodecloración del cloroformo. Los catalizadores se caracterizaron por AAS, titulación en masa, DRX, BET, quimisorción de hidrógeno, TPR y TGA. El Na y el Pd se depositaron en el soporte prácticamente sin pérdidas; no se observó modificación de la fase cristalina anatasa del TiO2. La modificación del soporte con NaOH, aumentó su punto isoeléctrico, lo que correlaciona con un incremento en su basicidad y parece ser responsable de la mejora en actividad catalítica ABSTRACT The activity of 5%Pd/TiO2 and for the first time 5%Pd/TiO2-5%Na catalysts was evaluated in the liquid phase catalytic hydrodechlorination of chloroform at room temperature and 50°C, using isopropanol as solvent a nd hydrogen donor. 5%Pd/TiO2-5%Na catalyst showed the best catalytic performance at room temperature and 50°C, with the highest conversion at 50°C (32.5%) a fter 5 hours of reaction. The incorporation of sodium ions into the support favored both the dehydrogenation of isopropanol and the capture of chloride ions produced during the reaction, both positive for the hydrodechlorination of chloroform. The catalysts were characterized by AAS, mass titration, XRD, BET, hydrogen chemisorption, TPR and TGA. Na and Pd were loaded on the support practically without loss. and the anatase phase of titanium dioxide did not change with the addition of NaOH increased the catalyst’s isoelectric point, indicating an increase in catalyst basicity. This can explain the improved activity of Na-containing catalysts

Comparative Analysis of the Effects of Spectrum and Module Temperature on the Performance of Thin Film Modules on Different Sites

The electric behavior under natural sunlight of thin film PV modules is more difficult to predict than that of crystalline silicon ones owing to the higher sensitivity to the spectral distribution of the former when compared with the latter, among some other factors. The purpose of this work is aimed at looking into the influence of the spectral irradiance and the module temperature on the outdoor performance of recent commercially available a- Si, CdTe and a-Si/μc-Si modules in sites with different climates in Spain. This paper is addressed to present the results of a 12-month experimental campaign experienced by modules of these thin film technologies carried out in the utilities of the CIEMAT/DER (Madrid, continental climate) and those of the University of Málaga (Málaga, Mediterranean climate). For each one of the tested specimens, contour graphs of their performance ratio (PR) as a function of module temperature and average photon energy (APE) are shown. A strong dependence of PR on APE is noticeable at module temperatures below some 45º C so that as a general trend, the module performance improves as APE increases. However, the tested a-Si and a-Si/uc-Si modules show little sensitivity to module temperature within some specific ranges of values of APE which lie in the vicinity of the APE value for the AM1.5G spectrum. Last, spectral gains achieved at high values of APE together with cold temperatures yield figures of PR above 1 in some cases

Lumbociatalgia como presentación de un liposarcoma del psoas iliaco: Reporte de caso

Introduction. Retroperitoneal sarcomas are rare tumors, with a clinical presentation given by poorly specific compression symptoms. Case Report: We report a case of a 69-year-old man with a history of lumbociatalgia and an increase in the volume of the left lower limb until he was unable to wander, he underwent a Contrast Abdominal Tomography where a large tumor dependent on the left iliac psoas muscle was found, that extended to the pelvis, which was biopsied, finding a highly cellular psoas Liposarcoma. Conclusions: Sarcomas are rare tumors originating from the mesequenchymal tissue, the vast majority of them have nonspecific symptoms and signs, being diagnosed late and despite the surgical management of the prognosis is poor.Introducción. Los sarcomas retroperitoneales son tumores raros, con una presentación clínica dada por síntomas compresivos poco específicos. Reporte de Caso: Reportamos un caso de un varón de 69 años con historia de lumbociatalgia e incremento en el volumen del miembro inferior izquierdo hasta llegar a la incapacidad para deambular, se le realizó una Tomografía Abdominal Con Contraste donde se halló una gran tumoración dependiente del músculo psoas iliaco izquierdo que se extendía hasta la pelvis, la cual fue sometida a biopsia encontrándose un Liposarcoma de psoas de alta celularidad. Conclusiones: Los sarcomas son tumores raros originados del tejido mesequenquimal, la gran mayoría de estos tienen síntomas y signos inespecíficos siendo diagnosticados de forma tardía y a pesar del manejo quirúrgico el pronóstico es pobre

MODELOS DE TECNOLOGIAS DEL BIG DATA ANALYTICS Y SU APLICACIÓN EN SALUD

ResumenBig Data Analytics se refiere al almacenamiento, administración y análisis de grandes volúmenes de datos a través de métodos estadísticos o científicos para descubrir relaciones entre los datos. Recientemente se ha aplicado al campo de la salud, pero, ¿Qué tecnologías de big data aplicar a campos específicos en salud? El presente trabajo identifica áreas de oportunidad en salud que se benefician del big data Analytics, como la medicina personalizada, registros de salud, estancias y readmisiones de pacientes y biomedicina. También, se presenta una propuesta de modelo que conjunta plataformas tecnológicas (Hadoop, Mahout, Spark), algoritmos (Filtrado colaborativo, árboles de decisión, clustering) y campos de salud. Como ejemplo, se aplica el modelo propuesto en el caso del monitoreo a distancia de la salud de un paciente con problemas del corazón, como una base para su implementación real en un trabajo futuro.Palabras Claves: Big data, modelo tecnológico, salud.MODELS OF TECHNOLOGIES OF BIG DATA ANALYTICS AND ITS APPLICATION IN HEALTHAbstractBig Data Analytics refers to the storage, management and analysis of large volumes of data through statistical or scientific methods to discover relationships between data. Recently it has been applied to the field of healthcare, but, What big data technologies apply to specific fields in healthcare? This paper identifies areas of opportunity in healthcare that benefit from the big data analytics, such as personalized medicine, health records, stays and readmissions of patients and biomedicine. Also, a model proposal is presented that combines technological platforms (Hadoop, Mahout, Spark), algorithms (Collaborative filtering, decision trees, clustering) and health fields. An application of the model in relation to the remote monitoring of the patient’s health with heart problems illustrates its use, as a basis for its implementation in future work.Keywords: Big data, healthcare, technological model

Medición para cadenas de suministro bajo indicadores claves de desempeño (KPI) y tecnologías de información

The objective of the article is to design a model that identifies the aspects and processes to be measured in a supply chain (hereinafter CDS) under the guidance of objectives based on literature review on indicators and indexes in logistics and the management of the CDS to through information technologies (hereinafter referred to as IT). Methodologically, an explanatory-descriptive research is established, under a quantitative approach through a correlational study considering empirical data under a survey applied in the months of November, December 2017 and January 2018, addressed to a sample of entrepreneurs and executives of logistics in companies of the department of Atlántico-Colombia, selected through non-probabilistic sampling. The processing of the data was done through a multivariate analysis and variable correlation using the Statgraphics and SSPS programs. The results recommend the design of a model that classifies the key aspects to be measured in the supply chain under clear objectives in each logistics process (procurement, production and distribution), integrating IT in each logistics process as fundamental tools to guarantee the immediacy in the exchange of information.El objetivo del artículo es diseñar un modelo que identifique los aspectos y procesos a medir en una cadena de suministro (en adelante CDS) bajo la guía de objetivos basados en revisión de la literatura sobre indicadores e índices en logística y la gestión de la CDS a través de tecnologías de información (en adelante TI). Metodológicamente, se establece una investigación explicativa-descriptiva, bajo un abordaje cuantitativo a través de un estudio correlacional considerando datos empíricos bajo una encuesta aplicada en los meses de noviembre, diciembre de 2017 y enero de 2018, dirigida a una muestra de empresarios y directivos de logística en empresas del departamento del Atlántico-Colombia, seleccionados a través de muestreo no probabilístico. El procesamiento de los datos se realizó a través de un análisis multivariado y de correlación de variables empleando los programas Statgraphics y SSPS. Los resultados recomiendan el diseño de un modelo que clasifica los aspectos claves a medir en la cadena de suministro bajo objetivos claros en cada proceso logístico (aprovisionamiento, producción y distribución), integrando las TI en cada proceso logístico como herramientas fundamentales para garantizar la inmediatez en el intercambio de informació