Does FDI Regulatory Policies Influence FDI Inflows in Developing Countries? A Non Linear Analysis

Purpose: Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) inflow is regarded as highly important particularly for developing countries as it enhances economic activities and creates job opportunities. The main objective of the present study is to analyze the impact of two regulatory policies i.e. Regulatory Restrictiveness Index (RRI) and Ease of Doing Business (EDB) on FDI inflows in developing countries. Research Gap: Not many studies have discussed the role of more than one regulatory policy to examine their impact on FDI inflows. Therefore, the present study is an attempt to bridge this research gap as it uses two regulatory policies to examine this relationship. Design/Methodology/Approach: The study performs the non-linear analysis using two separate models to determine FDI inflows in 39 developing countries for the period 1997-2020.For this purpose FGLS econometric technique is utilized. The Main Findings: The linearized marginal effects of RRI show that all the countries are located on the left side of U shaped curve while linearized marginal effects of EDB show that some countries lie on the left side and others lie on the right side of U shaped curve. The higher value of the level coefficient than the value of the quadratic coefficient reveals the stronger influence of level coefficients in both models. Theoretical/Practical Implications of the Findings: The study concludes that developing countries need to reduce FDI restrictions to attract maximum FDI inflows. Furthermore, it is recommended that for improving the confidence of foreign investors, appropriate and consistent policies should be designed and implemented

Effect of Mould Size on Compressive Strength of Green Concrete Cubes

This paper is aimed to evaluate the effect of mould size on compressive strength of concrete cubes made with recyclable concrete aggregates. Natural coarse aggregates were replaced with 50% recycled aggregates from old demolished concrete. Five different mould sizes were used to cast 420 concrete cubes using 1:2:4 mix and 0.55 water/cement ratio. In each size equal number of cubes was cured for 3, 7, 14 and 28-day. After curing, weight of cubes was determined followed by testing for compressive strength in universal load testing machine with gradually increasing load. From the obtained results the strength correction coefficients were computed keeping 28-day cured standard size cubes as control specimens. Also, numerical expression based on regression analysis was developed to predict the compressive strength using weight of cube, area of mould and curing age as input parameter. The numerical equation predicts the compressive strength very well with maximum of 10.86% error with respect to experimental results.

A Seventeen Multilevel High-Power Application Inverter with Low Total Harmonic Distortion

In this paper, a new topology of multilevel inverter (MLI) is designed with a fewer number of components and low total harmonic distortion (THD) for high-power photovoltaic (PV) systems. The key limitations of conventional MLI topologies are high total harmonic distortion (THD) and the use of a large number of switching components due to which the cost of the overall inverter is high. In conventional MLI, THD can be significantly reduced by the addition of a large value filter element at the input side; however, it will result in increased size and cost. Thus, achieving a pure sinusoidal AC at the output and to maintain a low THD level is a major issue in conventional MLIs. The proposed MLI has the advantage of decreasing the output THD by using a modified form of the cascaded H-Bridge structure and sine pulse width modulation technique. The proposed inverter consists of 6 unidirectional switches and 2 bidirectional switches, and there is no extra requirement for additional voltage balancing capacitors or clinching diodes. The individual switching states and SPWM operation for generating the gate pulses of the proposed MLI are discussed in detail. Relevant waveforms are plotted, equations are derived, and mathematical analysis is carried out. A steady-state analysis of the proposed MLI demonstrates an output voltage with 17 levels while using only four DC sources. Simulation results of the proposed MLI for single-phase and three-phase structures are obtained, and comparison is carried out with existing MLI topologies which shows that the proposed MLI has significantly low THD and better performance. From the results, it is clear that the proposed MLI has a THD of 3.52% in comparison with four conventional MLIs whose THDs are 6.1%, 6.63%, 7.3%, and 9.93%. Moreover, the proposed MLI generates 17 voltage levels by using only 08 switching devices, whereas the conventional MLIs use more than 10 switching devices for the generation of 15 voltage levels

The pronounced role of impurity phases in the optical properties of Mn catalyzed ZnS nanostructures

We report the effect of Mn self-doping in Mn catalyzed ZnS nanostructures grown via vapor liquid solid mechanism, which also resulted in the formation of additional impurity minority phases like ZnO and MnO2. The synthesized ZnS nanostructures were subsequently annealed in the range of 500 °C – 700 °C in an inert environment to remove impurity phases and enhance the incorporation of dopant. Room temperature photoluminescence showed strong defect assisted luminescence. It was observed that green emission due to intrinsic defects of ZnS nanostructures was reduced in magnitude and Mn related orange/red luminescence increased in magnitude in nanostructures annealed at high temperature. The presence of impurity phases led to the observation of surface optical and interface phonon modes as observed in the Raman spectroscopy. Dielectric continuum and phonon confinement models were employed to determine the correlation lengths of the optical phonon modes

Study on Cultivators Associating Post Harvest Losses of Onion Vegetable in Sindh’s Mirpurkhas District

A study was carried out in Mirpurkhas District of Sindh Province during the year 2015-16, aiming to observe post-harvest losses of onions associated with the cultivators. Following the random sampling 60 respondents were selected from 12 villages of 06 Talukas in the District. Interviews were conducted for the collection of data. Problems expressed were as; high cost of fertilizers (93.33%), high cost of pesticides (93.33%), hand weeding is labour consuming and expensive (91.66%), labour problems during harvesting (85%), ineffective and costly weedicides (80%), lack of knowledge about recommended fertilizers doses for onion crop (80%) and lack of knowledge about improved varieties (68.33%). The problems in marketing of onion include lack of remunerative price (96.66%), fluctuation in market price (93.33%) and high charges of transportation (20%). The present study suggested that training/ awareness programs should be conducted for cultivators regarding establishing technical storage and handling onion problems

Study on Cultivators Associating Post Harvest Losses of Onion Vegetable in Sindh’s Mirpurkhas District

A study was carried out in Mirpurkhas District of Sindh Province during the year 2015-16, aiming to observe post-harvest losses of onions associated with the cultivators. Following the random sampling 60 respondents were selected from 12 villages of 06 Talukas in the District. Interviews were conducted for the collection of data. Problems expressed were as; high cost of fertilizers (93.33%), high cost of pesticides (93.33%), hand weeding is labour consuming and expensive (91.66%), labour problems during harvesting (85%), ineffective and costly weedicides (80%), lack of knowledge about recommended fertilizers doses for onion crop (80%) and lack of knowledge about improved varieties (68.33%). The problems in marketing of onion include lack of remunerative price (96.66%), fluctuation in market price (93.33%) and high charges of transportation (20%). The present study suggested that training/ awareness programs should be conducted for cultivators regarding establishing technical storage and handling onion problems

Phyllanthus emblica: A comprehensive review of its therapeutic benefits

Medicinal plants are precious gifts of nature, which may serve as a source of food and medicine to humans. Phyllanthus emblica L has held a unique position in the Indian (Ayurvedic), Turkish, Unani, and Tibetan medicinal systems for centuries. Its nutritional, therapeutic and healing potentials have made it a valid research option for the development of novel drug formulations with few side effects. The presence of vitamin C, alkaloids, ellagitannins, gallic acid, emblicanin A and emblicanin B, flavonoids (especially rutin and quercetin), and a variety of biological molecules, makes P. emblica, a valued medicinal plant. This review article summarizes the recent literature relevant to the nutritional, health, and therapeutic benefits of P. emblica, such as potential chemo-preventive, anti-diabetic, anti-microbial, anti-inflammatory, analgesic, anti-mutagenic, antioxidant, diuretic, aphrodisiac, UV protectant, and anti-aging activities. Its applications in memory enhancing, respiratory, skin and ophthalmic disorders, and detoxification including that of snake venom, are also highlighted. It additionally reviews retrospective studies on P. emblica at the molecular level, for disease management and control. P. emblica is an important medicinal plant with many benefits. It has been used for centuries and generations as a source of food because of its unique restorative and rejuvenating potential. Thus, in light of the sum of these investigations, new studies could be designed to explore valuable bioactive compounds present throughout in nature in the form of plant