The determinants and impact of foreign direct investment in Central and Eastern Europe: A comparison of survey and econometric evidence

This note considers evidence that has been collected on the determinants and effects of foreign direct investment in Central and Eastern Europe, with a strong focus on Hungary, Poland and the Czech Republic. There are two main sources from which information is drawn: survey studies and econometric studies. We consider how each of these sources can contribute to research, whether they provide complementary or contradictory information, and how the information can be best exploited. We conclude that the findings of econometric studies tend to support survey results. This suggests that market size and growth potential have been the driving forces behind foreign direct investment, with factor-cost advantages playing a lesser, but still significant role. Macroeconomic and political stability were also taken into account. Investment incentives have not had a decisive influence on foreign direct investment inflows; however, the privatization process has affected the timing of foreign direct investment. Access to markets has been the primary motive for foreign direct investment; however, the absence of trade barriers and membership in free trade areas have been important for export-oriented investments. Foreign direct investment inflows have improved the overall growth potential of the economies under consideration, primarily through productivity improvements within foreign affiliates, rather than through linkages with domestic firms or spillovers

Redsharc: A Programming Model and On-Chip Network for Multi-Core Systems on a Programmable Chip

The reconfigurable data-stream hardware software architecture (Redsharc) is a programming model and network-on-a-chip solution designed to scale to meet the performance needs of multi-core Systems on a programmable chip (MCSoPC). Redsharc uses an abstract API that allows programmers to develop systems of simultaneously executing kernels, in software and/or hardware, that communicate over a seamless interface. Redsharc incorporates two on-chip networks that directly implement the API to support high-performance systems with numerous hardware kernels. This paper documents the API, describes the common infrastructure, and quantifies the performance of a complete implementation. Furthermore, the overhead, in terms of resource utilization, is reported along with the ability to integrate hard and soft processor cores with purely hardware kernels being demonstrated

Results and Consequences of Magnet Test and Cosmic Challenge of the CMS Barrel Muon Alignment System

In the last year - as part of the first test of the CMS experiment at CERN [1] called Magnet Test and Cosmic Challenge (MTCC) - about 25% of the barrel muon position monitoring system was built and operated. The configuration enabled us to test all the elements of the system and its function in real conditions. The correct operation of the system has been demonstrated. About 500 full measurement cycles have been recorded. In the paper the setup –including the read-out and control - is described and the first preliminary results are presented

Phenotyping shows improved physiological traits and seed yield of transgenic wheat plants expressing the alfalfa aldose reductase under permanent drought stress

Members of the aldo-keto reductase family including aldose reductases are involved in antioxidant defense by metabolizing a wide range of lipid peroxidation-derived cytotoxic compounds. Therefore, we produced transgenic wheat genotypes over-expressing the cDNA of alfalfa aldose reductase gene. These plants consequently exhibit 1.5-4.3 times higher detoxification activity for the aldehyde substrate. Permanent drought stress was generated in the greenhouse by growing wheat plants in soil with 20 % water capacity. The control and stressed plants were monitored by a semi automatic phenotyping platform providing computer-controlled watering, digital and thermal imaging. Calculation of biomass values was based on the correlation (R2 = 0.7556) between fresh weight and green pixel-based shoot surface area. The green biomass production by plants of the three transgenic lines was 12-26-41 % higher than the non-transgenic plants' grown under water limitation. Thermal imaging of stressed non-transgenic plants indicated an elevation in the leaf temperature. The thermal status of transformants was similar at both normal and suboptimal water regime. In drought, the transgenic plants used more water during the growing season. The described phenotyping platform provided a comprehensive data set demonstrating the improved physiological condition of the drought stressed transgenic wheat plants in the vegetative growth phase. In soil with reduced water capacity two transgenic genotypes showed higher seed weight per plant than the control non-transgenic one. Limitation of greenhouse-based phenotyping in analysis of yield potential is discussed. © 2013 The Author(s)

Response of Organ Structure and Physiology to Autotetraploidization in Early Development of Energy Willow Salix viminalis L.

The biomass productivity of the energy willow Salix viminalis as a short-rotation woody crop depends on organ structure and functions that are under the control of genome size. Colchicine treatment of axillary buds resulted in a set of autotetraploid S. viminalis var. Energo genotypes (polyploid Energo [PP-E]; 2n = 4x = 76) with variation in the green pixel-based shoot surface area. In cases where increased shoot biomass was observed, it was primarily derived from larger leaf size and wider stem diameter. Autotetraploidy slowed primary growth and increased shoot diameter (a parameter of secondary growth). The duplicated genome size enlarged bark and wood layers in twigs sampled in the field. The PP-E plants developed wider leaves with thicker midrib and enlarged palisade parenchyma cells. Autotetraploid leaves contained significantly increased amounts of active gibberellins, cytokinins, salicylic acid, and jasmonate compared with diploid individuals. Greater net photosynthetic CO(2) uptake was detected in leaves of PP-E plants with increased chlorophyll and carotenoid contents. Improved photosynthetic functions in tetraploids were also shown by more efficient electron transport rates of photosystems I and II. Autotetraploidization increased the biomass of the root system of PP-E plants relative to diploids. Sections of tetraploid roots showed thickening with enlarged cortex cells. Elevated amounts of indole acetic acid, active cytokinins, active gibberellin, and salicylic acid were detected in the root tips of these plants. The presented variation in traits of tetraploid willow genotypes provides a basis to use autopolyploidization as a chromosome engineering technique to alter the organ development of energy plants in order to improve biomass productivity

Bridging charge-orbital ordering and Fermi surface instabilities in half-doped single-layered manganite La_0.5Sr_1.5MnO_4

Density waves are inherent to the phase diagrams of materials that exhibit unusual, and sometimes extraordinarily useful properties, such as superconductivity and colossal magnetoresistance. While the pure charge density waves (CDW) are well described by an itinerant approach, where electrons are treated as waves propagating through the crystal, the charge-orbital ordering (COO) is usually explained by a local approach, where the electrons are treated as localized on the atomic sites. Here we show that in the half-doped manganite La0.5Sr1.5MnO4 (LSMO) the electronic susceptibility, calculated from the angle-resolved photoemission spectra (ARPES), exhibits a prominent nesting-driven peak at one quarter of the Brillouin zone diagonal, that is equal to the reciprocal lattice vector of the charge-orbital pattern. Our results demonstrate that the Fermi surface geometry determines the propensity of the system to form a COO state which, in turn, implies the applicability of the itinerant approach also to the COO

Why the idea of framework propositions cannot contribute to an understanding of delusions

One of the tasks that recent philosophy of psychiatry has taken upon itself is to extend the range of understanding to some of those aspects of psychopathology that Jaspers deemed beyond its limits. Given the fundamental difficulties of offering a literal interpretation of the contents of primary delusions, a number of alternative strategies have been put forward including regarding them as abnormal versions of framework propositions described by Wittgenstein in On Certainty. But although framework propositions share some of the apparent epistemic features of primary delusions, their role in partially constituting the sense of inquiry rules out their role in helping to understand delusions