Determinants of Capital Intensive and R&D Intensive Foreign Direct Investment

We study the determinants of capital intensity and technology content of foreign direct investment, an important economic driving force for developing countries. For this purpose, we use sectoral industry data on U.S. foreign investment abroad, and data on host countries' institutional characteristics, like investment climate, protection of property rights, labor standards and constitutional arrangements. Our regressions show that better protection of property rights has a significant positive effect on R&D but not on capital intensive capital flows. There is evidence that an increase in workers' bargaining power results in a reduction of capital and technologically intensive foreign investment. And although the evidence with respect to constitutional arrangements is not very strong, presidential regimes appear to be less able than parliamentary ones to deliver policies attracting R&D intensive capital flows. This is consistent with recent research on the effects of constitutional arrangements on economic growth.FDI

Synthesis and Characterization of Centrifugally Spun Molybdenum-Based Nanomaterials for Lithium-Ion Batteries

The work presented in this thesis focuses on the processing and development of transition metal compound composite fibers as anode materials for rechargeable lithium-ion batteries (LIBs). Among the transition metal compounds, molybdenum compounds have risen as promising candidates of advanced electrode materials, in view of their natural abundance, virtuous mechanical/thermal stability, rich chemistry, high theoretical specific capacity, and multiple oxidation states of Mo. The current work reports synthesize MoO2/C and MoO3/C composite fibers drawn from centrifugal spun ammonium molybdate/PAN precursor fibers, followed by a thermal treatment stabilizing in air and calcination under argon atmosphere. The weight ratios of (MoOx, 2 ≤ x ≤ 3) were controlled to illustrate the ideal high performing activities and stable concentration. The calcination of ammonium molybdate/PAN precursor fibers develop MoO3 material which reached a specific capacity of 1052 mAhg-1 at 80 cycles, while ending at 1004 mAhg-1 after 100 cycles. The synthesized material outperformed commercial nanoscale MoO3 delivering a charge capacity of 836 mAhg-1 after 70 cycles. This work is then followed by the electrical performance of molybdenum disulfide (MoS2) coated with graphene oxide (GO) and reduced graphene oxide (rGO) obtained through a facile hydrothermal process involving ammonium tetra thiomolybdate and graphite. The use of an exfoliated multilayer and few-layer structures of GO with MoS2 inherently delivered increased specific capacity, prolonged stability, and improved electrochemical performance of the MoS2/GO composite electrode. Various concentrations of MoS2 to GO were used to promote the performance of the electrode, while altering calcination temperatures directly affected the morphology and the structural stability of the composite anode. MoS2/rGO exhibited good electrochemical performance after prolonged charge/discharge cycles, delivering discharge and charge capacities of 1068 mAhg-1 and 641 mAhg-1, at the first cycle, respectively, where 88% of its capacity was retained after 100 cycles. The outstanding electrochemical performance of the MoS2/rGO composites is attributed to the exfoliation of GO network, dominating performances for all concentrations, making the composite electrode a promising anode material for high performance LIBs

America is No Longer Taking the Tired, the Poor, the Huddled Masses Yearning to Breathe Free

In recent years, the Executive Office of the United States has engaged in a series of unprecedented moves, making it extremely difficult for immigrants to apply for asylum. The directives from President Donald Trump serve to discourage immigrants from attempting to make the trip across the United States-Mexico border. For others, the directives serve as a stern warning

A trio of sigma factors control hormogonium development in Nostoc punctiforme

Cyanobacteria are prokaryotes capable of oxygenic photosynthesis, and for many species, nitrogen fixation, giving cyanobacteria an important role in global carbon and nitrogen cycles. Furthermore, multicellular filamentous cyanobacteria are developmentally complex, capable of differentiation into different cell types, including cells capable of nitrogen fixation and cells for motility, making them an ideal platform for studying development, as well as for practical use in biotechnology. Understanding how developmental programmes are activated require an understanding of the role of alternative sigma factors, which are required for transcriptional activation in bacteria. In order to investigate the gene regulatory network and to determine the role of alternative sigma factors in hormogonium development, real time PCR and Next Generation RNA-seq were used to measure expression levels of genes involved in hormogonium development and to further characterise the nature of the hormogonium developmental programme in the filamentous cyanobacterium Nostoc punctiforme. The results support a model where a hierarchal sigma factor cascade activates hormogonium development, in which expression of sigJ activates expression of the sigma factors sigC and sigF, as well as a wide range of other genes, including those involved in the type IV pilus (T4P), chemotaxis-like systems, and cell architecture. SigC and SigF have more limited roles: cell division genes are dependent on SigC and pilA expression was stringently SigF-dependent. Interestingly, SigC was also found to enhance expression of sigJ during hormogonium development, implying a potential positive feedback loop between sigJ and sigC

Role of the central cations in the mechanical unfolding of DNA and RNA G-quadruplexes.

Cations are known to mediate diverse interactions in nucleic acids duplexes but they are critical in the arrangement of four-stranded structures. Here, we use all-atom molecular dynamics simulations with explicit solvent to analyse the mechanical unfolding of representative intramolecular G-quadruplex structures: a parallel, a hybrid and an antiparallel DNA and a parallel RNA, in the presence of stabilising cations. We confirm the stability of these conformations in the presence of [Formula: see text] central ions and observe distortions from the tetrad topology in their absence. Force-induced unfolding dynamics is then investigated. We show that the unfolding events in the force-extension curves are concomitant to the loss of coordination between the central ions and the guanines of the G-quadruplex. We found lower ruptures forces for the parallel configuration with respect to the antiparallel one, while the behaviour of the force pattern of the parallel RNA appears similar to the parallel DNA. We anticipate that our results will be essential to interpret the fine structure rupture profiles in stretching assays at high resolution and will shed light on the mechanochemical activity of G-quadruplex-binding machinery

Photovoltaic array: Power conditioner interface characteristics

The electrical output (power, current, and voltage) of flat plate solar arrays changes constantly, due primarily to changes in cell temperature and irradiance level. As a result, array loads such as dc-to-ac power conditioners must be capable of accommodating widely varying input levels while maintaining operation at or near the maximum power point of the array. The array operating characteristics and extreme output limits necessary for the systematic design of array load interfaces under a wide variety of climatic conditions are studied. A number of interface parameters are examined, including optimum operating voltage, voltage energy, maximum power and current limits, and maximum open circuit voltage. The effect of array degradation and I-V curve fill factor or the array power conditioner interface is also discussed. Results are presented as normalized ratios of power conditioner parameters to array parameters, making the results universally applicable to a wide variety of system sizes, sites, and operating modes

Graduate Recital: John Gonzalez Jr., Conductor; February 18, 2023

Center for the Performing ArtsFebruary 18, 2023Saturday Afternoon3:00 p.m

How to Leverage Strategic Alliances: The Success Factors of Strategic Alliance in Property Management

Companies pursue strategies to grow sales and increase market share by developing a more effective process, expanding into a new market, or obtaining an advantage over a competitor. This dissertation aims to understand the relationship between five success factors (i.e., partner commitment, partner trust and coordination, partner interdependence, partner capabilities, & partner information sharing) of a strategic alliance partnership agreement and strategic alliance performance and the role of partner cultural differences in this relationship. The overall goal of this dissertation is to understand how organizations can access the strengths, capabilities, knowledge, and trust that are paramount for strategic alliance in property management and to understand which success factors are deemed most valuable and important to those who work in the property management market segment that result in effective strategic alliance performance. An online survey was conducted using Mturk with about 523 participants vii from different organizations and sectors. Although the dissertation uses previously validated instruments, a Confirmatory Factor Analysis (CFA) using SPSS AMOS v.27 was performed to assess the factor structure of the data. The hypothesized direct relationships were tested using structural equation modeling (SEM) hierarchical regression analysis and simple slope moderation analysis using SPSS v.27. Results for the direct relationships revealed that partner commitment, partner trust and coordination, partner interdependence, partner capabilities, and partner information sharing was positively related to strategic alliance performance. Finally, the results revealed that the relationships between partner commitment and strategic alliance performance, partner trust and coordination and strategic alliance performance, partner interdependence and strategic alliance performance, partner capabilities and strategic alliance performance, and partner information sharing, and strategic alliance performance is higher when partner cultural difference is low rather than high. Implications of these findings are discussed. Keywords: Strategic Alliance Formations, Strategic Alliance Performance, Partner Capabilities, Partner Interdependence, Partner Trust and Coordination, Partner Commitment, Partner Information Sharing, and Partner Cultural Difference