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,

Experimental verification of four wave mixing efficiency characteristics in a few mode fibre

We introduce two techniques to measure the efficiency of inter mode FWM with respect to intra mode FWM. The first technique allows an estimation of the additional FWM penalty for any given system; the second isolates the contribution of each mode. Measurements are compared to an analytical model showing the FWM signal increases by ∼2dB with inter mode phase matching

Efficacy of pre-emergence herbicides in controlling Sumatran fleabane (Conyza sumatrensis) in the off-season

Received: February 1st, 2023 ; Accepted: May 7th, 2023 ; Published: May 19th, 2023 ; Correspondence: [email protected] herbicides can be effective in controlling Sumatran fleabane (Conyza sumatrensis [Retz.] E.Walker) at soybean and other crops. The goal was to evaluate the effectiveness of sulfentrazone/diuron, imazethapyr/flumioxazin, flumioxazin, diclosulam, s-metolachlor, imazethapyr, clomazone and imazapic/imazapyr in controlling Sumatran fleabane for application in the off-season before soybean planting. Three experiments were conducted in the off season, with 9 treatments. The control of Sumatran fleabane was evaluated at 28, 42 and 49 days after application (DAA), at 49 DAA was performed counting of plants per m2 . In experiment 1, the worst performance was found for s-metolachlor (58.3% final control), in a situation of lower emergence flow of Sumatran fleabane, with equivalence for the other herbicides. In experiments 2 and 3, with greater emergence flow of Sumatran fleabane, clomazone efficacy stood out (≥ 86.3% final control). A micro-encapsulated formulation of clomazone was used, which causes greater intoxication to this weed due to its slow release into the soil, and presents less loss to the environment. In conditions of lower emergence of Sumatran fleabane, sulfentrazone/diuron, imazethapyr/flumioxazin, flumioxazin, diclosulam, imazethapyr, clomazone and imazapic/imazapyr were effective in controlling it. Even in this condition, s-metolachlor was not effective in controlling Sumatran fleabane. The application of clomazone was effective in controlling Sumatran fleabane in the three experiments. Clomazone is characterized as an important herbicide for use in the off season in the management of this weed before soybean sowing

Towards a bio-inspired acoustic sensor : Achroia grisella’s ear

Bio-inspiration looks to nature to overcome challenges innovatively. Insects show many examples of efficient approaches to hearing considering the small sizes of their bodies. The nocturnal moth Achroia grisella is capable of directional hearing of wavelengths several times larger than the separation between its tympana. Directionality in this moth seems to be monoaural and dependent exclusively on morphology, so a model is developed to replicate the structure. We start from a simple circular model, progressively incorporating more complex elements to improve the resemblance to the natural system. The goal is to develop a model inspired by Achroia's ear, that behaves similarly to it, and to 3D print devices that agree with the model. Equations, simulations, and 3D printed devices measured through Laser Doppler Vibrometry are compared

Dynamics of tachyonic preheating after hybrid inflation

We study the instability of a scalar field at the end of hybrid inflation, using both analytical techniques and numerical simulations. We improve previous studies by taking the inflaton field fully into account, and show that the range of unstable modes depends sensitively on the velocity of the inflaton field, and thereby on the Hubble rate, at the end of inflation. If topological defects are formed, their number density is determined by the shortest unstable wavelength. Finally, we show that the oscillations of the inflaton field amplify the inhomogeneities in the energy density, leading to local symmetry restoration and faster thermalization. We believe this explains why tachyonic preheating is so effective in transferring energy away from the inflaton zero mode.Comment: 12 pages, 10 figures, REVTeX. Minor changes, some references added. To appear in PR

Spacetime Noncommutativity and Antisymmetric Tensor Dynamics in the Early Universe

This paper investigates the possible cosmological implications of the presence of an antisymmetric tensor field related to a lack of commutatitivity of spacetime coordinates at the Planck era. For this purpose, such a field is promoted to a dynamical variable, inspired by tensor formalism. By working to quadratic order in the antisymmetric tensor, we study the field equations in a Bianchi I universe in two models: an antisymmetric tensor plus scalar field coupled to gravity, or a cosmological constant and a free massless antisymmetric tensor. In the first scenario, numerical integration shows that, in the very early universe, the effects of the antisymmetric tensor can prevail on the scalar field, while at late times the former approaches zero and the latter drives the isotropization of the universe. In the second model, an approximate solution is obtained of a nonlinear ordinary differential equation which shows how the mean Hubble parameter and the difference between longitudinal and orthogonal Hubble parameter evolve in the early universe.Comment: 25 pages, Revtex file, 4 figures in attachmen