Do foreign and domestic firms behave any different during economic slowdowns?

The global crisis has called to further reflection on the role of multinationals in host economies during crisis. The evidence on this matter is scarce and no definite conclusions were achieved. Using panel data analysis, this paper examines the link between foreign ownership, firm employment and turnover growth over 20 years and during economic downturns in particular. We analyse the determinants of firm employment and turnover growth and investigate whether there are significant differences in both variables among domestic and foreign firms when controlling for firm and industry specificities. Additionally we assess if the foreignness effect alters during economic downturns. After controlling for several firm and industry characteristics, we find no significant differences between domestic and foreign firms in what concerns employment growth. However, our results suggest that foreign ownership may affect positively firms' sales turnover growth during recessions

Firm exit during economic slowdowns: does foreign ownership matter?

Do multinationals’ activities contribute to the severity of global economic crisis by quickly closing down facilities or otherwise allow to mitigating some of the worst effects, by remaining rooted in the local economy and thus reducing lay-offs and output contraction in the host countries? The present paper provides an empirical analysis on the link between foreign ownership and firm survival over an almost 20-year period and during two economic downturns in particular, using an extensive firm-level database and applying hazard models. We analyse the determinants of exit of firms and investigate whether there are significant differences in the hazard rates of foreign and domestic firms when controlling for firm and industry specificities. Additionally we assess whether the foreignness effect alters during economic downturns and whether any spillovers arise from the multinationals’ presence in the industry. After controlling for several firm and industry specific characteristics, we find that foreign firms exhibit higher failure rates over the time period as a whole. However, during economic slowdowns domestic and foreign firms do not exhibit different chances of survival and exit. Finally, regarding potential spillovers, our results suggest that foreign presence may impact positively upon local firms’ survival

Two-pion exchange NN potential from Lorentz-invariant χ\chiEFT

We outline the progress made in the past five years by the S\~ao Paulo group in the development of a two-pion exchange nucleon-nucleon potential within a Lorentz-invariant framework of (baryon) chiral perturbation theory.Comment: 5 pages, Talk given at the 18th International IUPAP Conference on Few-Body Problems in Physics, August 21-26 2006, Santos, Sao Paulo, Brazi

Estudio de la influencia de los diferentes residuos de carbón como aluminosilicatos en las propiedades mecánicas y la microestructura de los cementos activados alcalinamente

Coal mining wastes are associated with serious environmental problems; they have potential as building materials, including alkali-activated cement. In this study, the effect of different coal mining wastes on the mechanical properties and microstructural development of alkali-activated materials (AAMs) was evaluated through XRD, SEM and FTIR spectroscopy. Different alkali-activated compounds were produced; the alkaline solution was composed of NaOH+Na2SiO3. The results obtained using the calcined coal sludge showed excellent mechanical performance, with compressive strength higher than 60 MPa. However, addition of metakaolin and ordinary Portland cement was necessary to increase the mechanical performance of calcined coal gangue materials. The formation of N-A-S-H gel and the incorporation of iron ions into the cementitious matrix were evidenced. Ultrasonic pulse velocity indicated the early polymerization during the reaction processes. The study verified that the different characteristics of the wastes influence the performance of alkali-activated materials.Los residuos de minería de carbón causan serios problemas ambientales, no obstante, tienen potencial como material de construcción, destacándose los cementos activados alcalinamente. El efecto de los residuos de carbón sobre las propiedades mecánicas y el desarrollo microestructural de los cementos activados alcalinamente son objeto de este estudio. Para ello, se utilizaron las técnicas de DRX, SEM y FTIR. Se produjeron diferentes compuestos activados alcalinamente, utilizando NaOH + Na2SiO3 como activador alcalino y curado térmico (50 °C durante 24 h). Los resultados obtenidos a partir del lodo de carbón calcinado mostraron un excelente rendimiento mecánico, con una resistencia a la compresión superior a 60 MPa. Sin embargo, en el caso de los materiales obtenidos a partir de la ganga de carbón calcinada, fue necesaria la adición de metacaolín y cemento Portland para aumentar sus resistencias mecánicas. Asimismo, se evidenció la formación de gel N-A-S-H y la incorporación de iones de hierro en la matriz cementante. El ensayo de velocidad de pulso ultrasónica indicó la polimerización inicial durante el proceso de reacción. Gracias a este se ha comprobado que las diferentes características de los residuos influyen en las propiedades y comportamiento de los correspondientes materiales activados alcalinamente

Intestinal microbiota influences non-intestinal related autoimmune diseases

Indexación: Scopus.The human body is colonized by millions of microorganisms named microbiota that interact with our tissues in a cooperative and non-pathogenic manner. These microorganisms are present in the skin, gut, nasal, oral cavities, and genital tract. In fact, it has been described that the microbiota contributes to balancing the immune system to maintain host homeostasis. The gut is a vital organ where microbiota can influence and determine the function of cells of the immune system and contributes to preserve the wellbeing of the individual. Several articles have emphasized the connection between intestinal autoimmune diseases, such as Crohn's disease with dysbiosis or an imbalance in the microbiota composition in the gut. However, little is known about the role of the microbiota in autoimmune pathologies affecting other tissues than the intestine. This article focuses on what is known about the role that gut microbiota can play in the pathogenesis of non-intestinal autoimmune diseases, such as Grave's diseases, multiple sclerosis, type-1 diabetes, systemic lupus erythematosus, psoriasis, schizophrenia, and autism spectrum disorders. Furthermore, we discuss as to how metabolites derived from bacteria could be used as potential therapies for non-intestinal autoimmune diseases. © 2018 Opazo, Ortega-Rocha, Coronado-Arrázola, Bonifaz, Boudin, Neunlist, Bueno, Kalergis and Riedel.https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fmicb.2018.00432/ful

NN Scattering: Chiral Predictions for Asymptotic Observables

We assume that the nuclear potential for distances larger than 2.5 fm is given just by the exchanges of one and two pions and, for the latter, we adopt a model based on chiral symmetry and subthreshold pion-nucleon amplitudes, which contains no free parameters. The predictions produced by this model for nucleon-nucleon observables are calculated and shown to agree well with both experiment and those due to phenomenological potentials.Comment: 16 pages, 12 PS figures included, to appear in Physical Review

Monitoring Single-point Dressers Using Fuzzy Models

AbstractGrinding causes progressive dulling and glazing of the grinding wheel grains and clogging of the voids on the wheel's surface with ground metal dust particles, which gradually increases the grinding forces. The condition of the grains at the periphery of a grinding wheel strongly influences the damage induced in a ground workpiece. Therefore, truing and dressing must be carried out frequently. Dressing is the process of conditioning the grinding wheel surface to reshape the wheel when it has lost its original shape through wear, giving the tool its original condition of efficiency. Despite the very broad range of dressing tools available today, the single-point diamond dresser is still the most widely used dressing tool due to its great versatility. The aim of this work is to predict the wear level of the single-point dresser based on acoustic emission and vibration signals used as input variables for fuzzy models. Experimental tests were performed with synthetic diamond dressers on a surface-grinding machine equipped with an aluminum oxide grinding wheel. Acoustic emission and vibration sensors were attached to the tool holder and the signals were captured at 2MHz. During the tests, the wear of the diamond tip was measured every 20 passes using a microscope with 10 to 100 X magnification. A study was conducted of the frequency content of the signals, choosing the frequency bands that best correlate with the diamond's wear. Digital band-pass filters were applied to the raw signals, after which two statistics were calculated to serve as the inputs for the fuzzy models. The results indicate that the fuzzy models using the aforementioned signal statistics are highly effective for predicting the wear level of the dresser

UV spectrophotometry method for the monitoring of galacto-oligosaccharides production

Monitoring the industrial production of galacto-oligosaccharides (GOS) requires a fast and accurate methodology able to quantify, in real time, the substrate level and the product yield. In this work, a simple, fast and inexpensive UV spectrophotometric method, together with partial least squares regression (PLS) and artificial neural networks (ANN), was applied to simultaneously estimate the products (GOS) and the substrate (lactose) concentrations in fermentation samples. The selected multiple models were trained and their prediction abilities evaluated by cross-validation and external validation being the results obtained compared with HPLC measurements. ANN models, generated from absorbance spectra data of the fermentation samples, gave, in general, the best performance being able to accurately and precisely predict lactose and total GOS levels, with standard error of prediction lower than 13 g kg-1 and coefficient of determination for the external validation set of 0.93–0.94, showing residual predictive deviations higher than five, whereas lower precision was obtained with the multiple model generated with PLS. The results obtained show that UV spectrophotometry allowed an accurate and non-destructive determination of sugars in fermentation samples and could be used as a fast alternative method for monitoring GOS production

Biopitch produced from eucalyptus wood pyrolysis liquids as a renewable binder for carbon electrode manufacture

Interest in biomass as a clean source of fuel, chemicals and materials is growing fast. What is attractive about biomass is its renewability and that it is CO2 balanced and sulfur-free. Biomass pyrolysis produces charcoal, bio-oil and gases in different proportions, depending on the technology and raw material used. In this study biopitch, a substitute for fossil pitches in electrodes, was produced from bio-oil distillation in bench-scale equipment. Biopitch and charcoal were mixed and thermically modified to give prebaked electrodes. The physico-chemical and mechanical properties of the biopitch and final electrodes were measured and compared with those of coal tar and petroleum materials. Despite their similar application, biomaterials are structurally and chemically different from minerals. The oxygen content in biopitch is ca 20 wt% and in mineral pitches it is no more than 2 wt%. Characterization experiments for electrode samples measured electrical resistivity, Young's modulus, rupture strength, density, porosity and proximate analysis.127132Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo (FAPESP