Foreign Direct Investment by Emerging Economy Multinationals: Coping with the Global Crisis

Even before the onset of the global crisis, the global market for foreign direct investment (FDI) had undergone significant changes. Foremost amongst these changes was the increasing importance of emerging market multinationals (MNEs). While outward foreign direct investment (OFDI) from these markets is, in itself, not new, the magnitude that this phenomenon achieved prior to the crisis and its resilience in the face of the global crisis suggest that this is not a temporary occurrence but rather a sign of a fundamental change that is taking place in the global OFDI market. However, emerging markets are not homogenous: in addition to the rise in OFDI from emerging markets, the formation of new regional groupings has led to the emergence of fresh investment patterns. This chapter examines changes taking place in global FDI flows and looks at the impact of the crisis in the context of profound structural changes; it also focuses on the response of emerging markets and the enormous risks and challenges that lie ahead. It is vital to note that this crisis is ongoing, and it is too early to predict the final contours it will leave in its wake on the FDI landscape

Mitochondrial quality control and neurological disease: an emerging connection

The human brain is a highly complex organ with remarkable energy demands. Although it represents only 2% of the total body weight, it accounts for 20% of all oxygen consumption, reflecting its high rate of metabolic activity. Mitochondria have a crucial role in the supply of energy to the brain. Consequently, their deterioration can have important detrimental consequences on the function and plasticity of neurons, and is thought to have a pivotal role in ageing and in the pathogenesis of several neurological disorders. Owing to their inherent physiological functions, mitochondria are subjected to particularly high levels of stress and have evolved specific molecular quality-control mechanisms to maintain the mitochondrial components. Here, we review some of the most recent advances in the understanding of mitochondrial stress-control pathways, with a particular focus on how defects in such pathways might contribute to neurodegenerative disease

Options for new real-time image-processing architectures in cardiovascular systems

Low-dose X-ray imaging, diagnosis by image analysis and multi-modal medical imaging are example aspects that lead to more advanced image processing algorithms and the corresponding platforms on which they have to be executed. In this paper, we investigate the applicability of commercially available off-the-shelf components for a new computing platform. In the analysis, we will comply to some specific use cases. In cardiovascular minimal invasive surgery, physicians require low-latency imaging applications, as their actions must be directly visible on the screen. Typical image-processing algorithms in this domain are based on multi-resolution decomposition, noise reduction, image analysis and enhancement techniques. We have compared various solutions for possible processing architectures. The most interesting technology areas for constituting a new architecture are presented and we discuss the mapping of the use cases onto the various architectural proposals. Results show that a heterogeneous architecture gives the highest potential for current and upcoming image-processing applications. However, hardware and software solutions to support low-latency, high-bandwidth image streaming and an efficient concurrent distribution of functionality still need further development. This validates a clear direction for the future, which is based on modeling streaming computing architectures and special interconnect infrastructures

Memory-efficient 3D multi-resolution image enhancement and processing to increase throughput

Advanced signal processing such as multi-resolution decomposition and three-dimensional processing and data sets are gradually becoming a integral part of medical imaging. With the growing number of signal dimensions, the bandwidth requirements increase exponentially. Because memory bandwidth is a scarce parameter, this paper focusses on bandwidth optimization at the processor-chip level within multiprocessor systems. We introduce a practical model including formulas for the computing, memory and cache read/write procedures to optimize the mapping of data into the memory and cache for different configurations. A substantial performance improvement is realized by a new memory-communication model that incorporates the data-dependencies of the image-processing functions. More specifically, bandwidth optimization and minimization is achieved by implementing two measures: (1) breaking down the algorithm such that the processing gets a locality that fits with the cache size of the processor, and (2) a technique known from based on addressing and organizing the data prior to processing in such a way that memory traffic is minimized. For the experiments, we have concentrated particularly on image enhancement and noise reduction build around image pyramids for 3D X-ray data sets. First experimental results show a bandwidth reduction in the order of 80% and a throughput increase of 60% compared to straightforward implementation

A survey of critical success factors for attracting private sector participation in water supply projects in developing countries

2016-2017 > Academic research: refereed > Publication in refereed journal201804_a bcm