Export promotion programmes and SMEs’ performance: Exploring the network promotion role

Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to investigate the network promotion role of export promotion programmes in driving small and medium enterprises’ (SMEs) export performance. Design/methodology/approach: Drawing on a dual institutional and network-based approaches to internationalisation, the study tests an integrative model that explores the mediating role of SMEs’ relationships in the link between government export promotion programmes (both informational and experiential forms) and export performance. The model was tested using a sample of 160 UK small and medium exporter firms. The data were analysed through a structural equation modelling technique. Findings: The study finds that whilst both informational and experiential export promotion programmes improved all forms of SMEs’ relationships, only experiential forms had an indirect effect on export performance. Further, only relationships with foreign buyers had a positive impact on export performance. Research limitations/implications: The results of this research provide directions for export promotion organisations in targeting their network support provision and for SMEs in utilising such a support. The study calls for similar research in different contexts to validate the proposed model. Originality/value: This study brings novel findings to the extant literature by conceptualising and validating the importance of the “network promotion” element of export promotion programmes

Antarctic Station Based Seasonal Pressure Reconstructions Since 1905, Part 1: Reconstruction Evaluation

Seasonal mean Antarctic pressures at 17 stations are reconstructed based on the method of principal component regression, employing midlatitude pressure data as predictors. Several reconstruction methods were performed in order to assess the stability and reliability of the reconstructions obtained, including performing the reconstructions over a shorter 30 year window and withholding the remaining data for an independent validation. Generally, there were small differences between the various approaches, but typically reconstructions conducted on data with the trends still present and over the full period of observations achieved the highest skill. Seasonally, reconstruction skill was high in austral summer across the entire Antarctic continent. Reconstructions that employed gridded pressure data over oceans as well as the observations (here termed “pseudoreconstructions”) also performed remarkably well in austral winter. Spatially, the reconstruction skill was highest near the Antarctic Peninsula in all seasons, and weakest in coastal East Antarctica and the Antarctic Interior during austral spring and autumn; the spatial variability of the skill in part reflects the distance to the nearest midlatitude predictor. Nonetheless, for nearly all seasons and locations the observed trends since 1957 were well captured by the reconstructions, as was the low-frequency decadal-scale variability. These results suggest Antarctic pressure observations can be extended throughout the twentieth century with high confidence, especially in summer, allowing for a more precise understanding of the role and magnitude of natural atmospheric circulation variability across Antarctica

Antarctic station-based seasonal pressure reconstructions since 1905: 2. Variability and trends during the twentieth century

The Antarctic seasonal station-based pressure reconstructions evaluated in our companion paper are evaluated here to provide additional knowledge on Antarctic pressure variability during the twentieth century. In the period from 1905 to 1956, we find that the Hadley Centre gridded sea level pressure data set compared the best with our reconstructions, perhaps due to similar methods to estimate pressure without direct observations. The primary focus on the twentieth century Antarctic pressure variability was in summer and winter, as these were the seasons with the highest reconstruction skill. In summer, there is considerable interannual variability that was spatially uniform across all of Antarctica. Notable high pressure anomalies were found in the summers of 1911/1912 and 1925/1926; both summers correspond to negative phases of the Southern Annular Mode as well as El Niño events in the tropical Pacific. In addition, negative summer pressure trends during the last ~40 years across all of Antarctica are unique in the context of 30 year trends throughout the entire twentieth century, suggesting a strong component of anthropogenic forcing on the recent summer trends. In contrast, mean winter pressure is less variable from year to year during the early twentieth century, and there is less similarity between the pressure variations along the Antarctic Peninsula compared to the rest of the continent. No significant pressure trends were found consistently across all Antarctica (although some significant regional trends can be identified), and low-frequency, multidecadal-scale variability appears to dominate the historical pressure variations in this season

Capacity for the management of kidney failure in the International Society of Nephrology North America and the Caribbean region:Report from the 2023 ISN Global Kidney Health Atlas (ISN-GKHA)

The International Society of Nephrology Global Kidney Health Atlas charts the availability and capacity of kidney care globally. In the North America and the Caribbean region, the Atlas can identify opportunities for kidney care improvement particularly in Caribbean countries where structures for systematic data collection are lacking. In this third iteration, respondents from 12 of 18 countries from the region reported a 2-fold higher than global median prevalence of dialysis and transplant, and a 3-fold higher than global median prevalence of dialysis centers. Peritoneal dialysis prevalence was lower than global median, and transplantation data was missing from 6 of the 10 Caribbean countries. Government-funded payments predominated for dialysis modalities, with greater heterogeneity in transplantation payor mix. Services for chronic kidney disease (CKD), such as monitoring of anemia and blood pressure, and diagnostic capability relying on serum creatinine and urinalyses were universally available. Notable exceptions in Caribbean countries included non-calcium-based phosphate binders and kidney biopsy services. Personnel shortages were reported across the region. Kidney failure was more commonly identified as a governmental priority than was CKD or acute kidney injury. In this generally affluent region, there is better access to kidney replacement therapy and CKD-related services than in much of the world. Yet clear heterogeneity exists, especially among the Caribbean countries struggling with dialysis and personnel capacity. Important steps to improve kidney care in the region include increased emphasis on preventive care, a focus on home-based modalities and transplantation, and solutions to train and retain specialized allied health professionals

An all-Mach number HLLC-based scheme for multi-phase flow with surface tension

This paper presents an all-Mach method for two-phase inviscid flow in the presence of surface tension. A modified version of the Hartens–Lax–van Leer Contact (HLLC) solver is developed and combined for the first time with a widely used volume-of-fluid (VoF) method: the compressive interface capturing scheme for arbitrary meshes (CICSAM). This novel combination yields a scheme with both HLLC shock capturing as well as accurate liquid–gas interface tracking characteristics. It is achieved by reconstructing non-conservative (primitive) variables in a consistent manner to yield both robustness and accuracy. Liquid–gas interface curvature is computed via height functions and the convolution method. We emphasize the use of VoF in the interest of interface accuracy when modelling surface tension effects. The method is validated using a range of test-cases available in the literature. The results show flow features that are in sensible agreement with previous experimental and numerical work. In particular, the use of the HLLC-VoF combination leads to a sharp volume fraction and energy field with improved accuracy

Type IV pili-independent photocurrent production by the cyanobacterium Synechocystis sp. PCC 6803

Biophotovoltaic devices utilize photosynthetic organisms such as the model cyanobacterium Synechocystis sp. PCC 6803 (Synechocystis) to generate current for power or hydrogen production from light. These devices have been improved by both architecture engineering and genetic engineering of the phototrophic organism. However, genetic approaches are limited by lack of understanding of cellular mechanisms of electron transfer from internal metabolism to the cell exterior. Type IV pili have been implicated in extracellular electron transfer (EET) in some species of heterotrophic bacteria. Furthermore, conductive cell surface filaments have been reported for cyanobacteria, including Synechocystis. However, it remains unclear whether these filaments are type IV pili and whether they are involved in EET. Herein, a mediatorless electrochemical setup is used to compare the electrogenic output of wild-type Synechocystis to that of a ΔpilD mutant that cannot produce type IV pili. No differences in photocurrent, i.e., current in response to illumination, are detectable. Furthermore, measurements of individual pili using conductive atomic force microscopy indicate these structures are not conductive. These results suggest that pili are not required for EET by Synechocystis, supporting a role for shuttling of electrons via soluble redox mediators or direct interactions between the cell surface and extracellular substrates

Understanding the buckling behaviour of steered tows in automated dry fibre placement (ADFP)

Technologies for automated fibre lay-up have proven their usefulness in composites manufacturing. Further development of the technologies, such as Automated Dry Fibre Placement (ADFP), allow further reduction of waste and increase of the design space through tow steering which enables creation of composites with tailored properties. Tow steering is, however, limited by possible defects such as wrinkles which result from mismatch of fibre length and steering path. This paper addresses wrinkle formation at different steering radii and provides a closed-form solution for the problem. Experimental results are used for estimation of the model parameters and validation of the model. An analytical framework is used to explore effects of processing parameters on defect formation. It was found that the tack stiffness has the greatest influence on defect formation. Parametric studies showed that increase of the temperature within the admissible temperature window can improve the tack properties and hence improve the lay-up

Modern African nuclear detector laboratory: Development of state-of-the-art in-house detector facility at the University of the Western Cape

The upcoming detector facility aims at developing new state-of-the-art particle detectors as well as providing hands-on training to postgraduate students using both analog and digital signal processing from nuclear radiation detectors. The project is two-fold and aims at developing: 1) ancillary detectors to be coupled with the new GAMKA array at iThemba LABS. Of particular interest to our group is the determination of nuclear shapes, which depend on the hyperfine splitting of magnetic substates; 2) PET scanners for cancer imaging using a cheaper technology. Performance of NaI(Tl) inorganic scintillator detectors has been evaluated using PIXIE-16 modules from XIA digital electronics. Gamma-ray energy spectra were acquired from 60Co and 137Cs radioactive sources to calculate the detector resolution as well as to optimize the digital parameters. The present study focuses on improving and optimizing the slow and fast filter parameters for NaI(Tl) detectors which can eventually be used in the list mode of data aquisition

The low-lying excitations of polydiacetylene

The Pariser-Parr-Pople Hamiltonian is used to calculate and identify the nature of the low-lying vertical transition energies of polydiacetylene. The model is solved using the density matrix renormalisation group method for a fixed acetylenic geometry for chains of up to 102 atoms. The non-linear optical properties of polydiacetylene are considered, which are determined by the third-order susceptibility. The experimental 1Bu data of Giesa and Schultz are used as the geometric model for the calculation. For short chains, the calculated E(1Bu) agrees with the experimental value, within solvation effects (ca. 0.3 eV). The charge gap is used to characterise bound and unbound states. The nBu is above the charge gap and hence a continuum state; the 1Bu, 2Ag and mAg are not and hence are bound excitons. For large chain lengths, the nBu tends towards the charge gap as expected, strongly suggesting that the nBu is the conduction band edge. The conduction band edge for PDA is agreed in the literature to be ca. 3.0 eV. Accounting for the strong polarisation effects of the medium and polaron formation gives our calculated E(nBu) ca. 3.6 eV, with an exciton binding energy of ca. 1.0 eV. The 2Ag state is found to be above the 1Bu, which does not agree with relaxed transition experimental data. However, this could be resolved by including explicit lattice relaxation in the Pariser- Parr-Pople-Peierls model. Particle-hole separation data further suggest that the 1Bu, 2Ag and mAg are bound excitons, and that the nBu is an unbound exciton.Comment: LaTeX, 23 pages, 4 postscript tables and 8 postscript figure