Firm Strategy and Foreign Direct Investment: An Examination of the Economic Performance of U.S. Multinational Firms

International Relations/Trade, Production Economics,

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,

Diisopropylamide and TMP turbo-grignard reagents : a structural rationale for their contrasting reactivities

A neutral dimeric molecule in crystal form, the diisopropylamido turbo-Grignard reagent "(iPr2N)MgCl⋅LiCl" (see structure; blue N, red O, green Mg, yellow Cl, black C) separates into several charged ate species in dynamic exchange with each other in THF solution as determined by a combination of EXSY and DOSY NMR studies

Using a Social Determinants of Health Framework to Understand Clinical Trial Participation, Long-term Follow-up, and Outcomes Among Women Leaving Jail

Abstract Background: Participants from vulnerable populations in most modern clinical trials are underrepresented thereby impacting the generalizability of clinical trial results. This is particularly worrisome – where the intervention is behavioral and the outcome is cancer screening– as both are not well understood but are essential to addressing cancer health disparities and closing gaps in care. We used the World Health Organization’s (WHO) social determinants of health to frame results of clinical trial participation, long-term follow-up, and cervical cancer prevention outcomes among vulnerable participants- women leaving incarceration. Methods: Three years of follow-up data from a cervical cancer behavioral intervention clinical trial that took place in three county jails between 2014 and 2016 was used to report three outcomes: a) clinical trial completion for women in jails; b) factors associated with best practice community follow-up of women three years after the jail-based intervention; c) cervical cancer health literacy and up-to-date Pap testing at three-year follow-up. Results: Of the 261 women who consented to be in the original jail-based clinical trial (about half of the women incarcerated at local jails were recruited on any given day), 114/142 (80.3%) of those assigned to the intervention group completed the intervention. 70/119 (58.8%) of those in the waitlist control group completed the intervention. The primary factor associated with completion of the jail-based intervention was being assigned to the intervention group in Week 1 (by Week 2 when the control group received the intervention, 32 had been discharged from jails or transferred, 5 were cancelled by the intervention study staff, and 12 for other reasons). One hundred eleven of the 182 (61%) of intervention completers were retained at three years post-intervention and completed all pre, post, and year 3 assessments. Predictors of long-term follow-up included food security and lower utilization of public benefits. Among these participants, with regards to the cervical health literacy, there were statistically significant gains in three of the eight cervical health literacy domains when compared to post-intervention scores and seven of the eight domains when compared to pre-intervention scores (p < 0.05). Statistically significant predictors of cervical health literacy scores at year three included age within the confidence domain (b = 0.03, p = 0.030), education level within the susceptibility domain (b = – 0.82, p = 0.006), food insecurity within the barrier domain (b = 0.70, p = 0.006), having a past cervical cancer diagnosis within the severity domain (b = –1.15, p = 0.012), having received public benefits within the motivation domain (b = 0.62, p = 0.038) and having experienced racism within the self-efficacy domain ( b = – 0.90, p = 0.033). Despite these improvements to cervical health literacy, up-to-date Pap testing remained steady at 74% compared to 75% at baseline (p = 0.679). Conclusion: These findings illuminate how WHO social determinants of health predict clinical trial participation, long-term follow-up, and outcomes among vulnerable women. The study offers insights into how clinical trials for behavioral approaches to cancer prevention can be designed, implemented, and evaluated when targeting cancer prevention among vulnerable populations

The US-China Trade War and Global Reallocations

We study global trade responses to the US-China trade war. We estimate the tariff impacts on product-level exports to the US, China, and rest of world. On average, countries decreased exports to China and increased exports to the US and rest of world. Most countries export products that complement the US and substitute China, and a subset operate along downward-sloping supplies. Heterogeneity in responses, rather than specialization, drives export variation across countries. Surprisingly, global trade increased in the products targeted by tariffs. Thus, despite ending the trend towards tariff reductions, the trade war did not halt global trade growth

Reactions of (-)-sparteine with alkali metal HMDS complexes : conventional meets the unconventional

Conventional (-)-sparteine adducts of lithium and sodium 1,1,1,3,3,3-hexamethyldisilazide (HMDS) were prepared and characterised, along with an unexpected and unconventional hydroxyl-incorporated sodium sodiate, [(-)-sparteine·Na(-HMDS)Na·(-)-sparteine]+[Na4(-HMDS)4(OH)]--the complex anion of which is the first inverse crown ether anion

2-(methylamido)pyridine–borane : a tripod κ3N,H,H-ligand in trigonal bipyramidal rhodium(I) and iridium(I) complexes with an asymmetric coordination of its BH3 group

The complexes [M(κ3N,H,H-mapyBH3)(cod)] (M = Rh, Ir; HmapyBH3 = 2-(methylamino)pyridine–borane; cod = 1,5-cyclooctadiene), which contain a novel anionic tripod ligand coordinated to the metal atom through the amido N atom and through two H atoms of the BH3 group, have been prepared by treating the corresponding [M2(μ-Cl)2(cod)2] (M = Rh, Ir) precursor with K[mapyBH3]. X-ray diffraction studies and a theoretical QTAIM analysis of their electron density have confirmed that the metal atoms of both complexes are in a very distorted trigonal bipyramidal coordination environment, in which two equatorial sites are asymmetrically spanned by the H–B–H fragment. While both 3c–2e BH–M interactions are more κ1H (terminal sigma coordination of the B–H bond) than κ2H,B (agostic-type coordination of the B–H bond), one BH–M interaction is more agostic than the other and this difference is more marked in the iridium complex than in the rhodium one. This asymmetry is not evident in solution, where the cod ligand and the BH3 group of these molecules participate in two concurrent dynamic processes of low activation energies (VT-NMR and DFT studies), namely, a rotation of the cod ligand that interchanges its two alkene fragments (through a square pyramidal transition state) and a rotation of the BH3 group about the B–N bond that equilibrates the three B–H bonds (through a square planar transition state). While the cod rotation has similar activation energy in 2 and 3, the barrier to the BH3 group rotation is higher in the iridium complex than in the rhodium one

Potassium-mediated zincation of ferrocene and ruthenocene : potassium, the architect behind supramolecular structural variations

Direct zincation of ferrocene and ruthenocene by the synergic base [PMDETA.K(μ-TMP)(μ-Me)Zn(Me)] produces the monozincated complexes [{PMDETA.K(μ-Me)2Zn(Fc)}∞] and [{PMDETA.K(μ-Me)2Zn(Rc)}2] respectively, having similar monomeric (dinuclear) units but aggregating supramolecularly in very different polymeric and dimeric forms

Structural and reactivity insights in Mg–Zn hybrid chemistry : Zn–I exchange and Pd-catalysed cross-coupling applications of aromatic substrates

Expanding the synthetic potential of Mg-Zn hybrid organyl reagents (generated via transmetallation reactions), this study uncovers a versatile approach, involving a sequence of direct Zn-I exchange and Pd catalysed cross-coupling reactions which grants access to a wide range of asymmetric bis(aryls). By combining X-ray crystallography with ESI-MS and non-deuterium NMR spectroscopic studies, new light is shed on the heterobimetallic constitution of the intriguing organometallic species [(THF)4MgCl 2Zn(tBu)Cl] (1) and [{Mg2Cl3(THF) 6}+{ZntBu3}-] (2), formed through transmetallation of tBuMgCl with n equivalent amounts of ZnCl2 (n = 1 and 3 respectively). Operating by cooperative effects, alkyl-rich hybrid 2 can effectively promote direct Zn-I exchange reactions with aromatic halides in short periods of time at room temperature in THF solution. The structural elucidation of key organometallic intermediates involved in some of these Zn-I exchanges, provides new reactivity insights into how these bimetallic systems operate. Thus, while the reaction of 2 with 3 equivalents of 2-iodoanisole (3b) gives magnesium dizincate [{Mg(THF)6}2+{Zn(o-C 6H4-OMe)3}2 -] (4) which demonstrates the 3-fold activation of the tBu groups attached to Zn in 2, using 2-iodobenzonitrile (3i), only two tBu groups react with the substrate, affording [(THF)4MgCl(NC-o-C6H4)ZnI(o-C 6H4-CN)(THF)] (7). In 7 Mg and Zn are connected by an aryl bridge, suggesting that the formation of contacted ion-pair hybrids may have a deactivating effect on the outcome of the Zn-I exchange process. A wide range of homoleptic tris(aryl) zincate intermediates have been prepared in situ and used as precursors in Pd catalysed cross-coupling reactions, affording bis(aryls) 6a-s in excellent yields under mild reaction conditions without the need of any additive or polar cosolvent such as NMP or DMI

Prolonged duration of early antibiotic therapy in extremely premature infants.

BackgroundProlonged early antibiotics in extremely premature infants may have negative effects. We aimed to assess prevalence and outcomes of provision of prolonged early antibiotics to extremely premature infants in the absence of culture-confirmed infection or NEC.MethodsCohort study of infants from 13 centers born without a major birth defect from 2008-2014 who were 401-1000 grams birth weight, 22-28 weeks gestation, and survived ≥5 days without culture-confirmed infection, NEC, or spontaneous intestinal perforation. We determined the proportion of infants who received prolonged early antibiotics, defined as ≥5 days of antibiotic therapy started at ≤72 h of age, by center and over time. Associations between prolonged early antibiotics and adverse outcomes were assessed using multivariable logistic regression.ResultsA total of 5730 infants were included. The proportion of infants receiving prolonged early antibiotics varied from 30-69% among centers and declined from 49% in 2008 to 35% in 2014. Prolonged early antibiotics was not significantly associated with death (adjusted odds ratio 1.17 [95% CI: 0.99-1.40], p = 0.07) and was not associated with NEC.ConclusionsThe proportion of extremely premature infants receiving prolonged early antibiotics decreased, but significant center variation persists. Prolonged early antibiotics were not significantly associated with increased odds of death or NEC