Foreign direct investment, economic freedom and economic growth: international evidence

In this paper, we investigate the systemic link between economic freedom, foreign direct investment (FDI) and economic growth in a panel of 85 countries. Our empirical results, based on the generalized method-of-moment system estimator, reveal that FDI by itself has no direct (positive) effect on output growth. Instead, the effect of FDI is contingent on the level of economic freedom in the host countries. This means the countries promote greater freedom of economic activities gain significantly from the presence of multinational corporations (MNCs)

Voltage and active power management control of pv source distributed generations under unbalanced voltage of non-islanded microgrid

Key solution for future electrical power generation depends on alternative energy such as Solar Energy and renewable energy. Solar energy can be harvested by using a fast growing technique like Photovoltaic Plants (PV) in order to fulfill the demand of electrical energy. Proportional Integral Derivative Controller (PID controller) is added together with power electronic components such as boost converter combined with suitable controller of different maximum power point tracking techniques (MPPT) combined to optimized the PV system. In this paper, sudden irradiance and cell temperature variations are the variable input tested on grid PV systems modeled in MATLAB SIMULINK software. Incremental Conductance PID Controller with the trial and error method is used randomly in order to have good and efficient of transmission of energy and avoiding the unbalance voltage at the same time enhancing the protection system from bad disturbances. The stability of the system is checked to counter various irradiance and temperature in order to have a balance voltage and optimum energy. The new controller then been compared with previous literature in order to ensure the designed controller operating following the state of boundary and limitation of the operation

Adaptive neuro-fuzzy inference system for predicting alpha band power of EEG during muslim prayer (SALAT)

The features of electroencephalographic (EEG) signals include important information about the function of the brain. One of the most common EEG signal features is alpha wave, which is indicative of relaxation or mental inactivity. Until now, the analysis and the feature extraction procedures of these signals have not been well developed. This study presents a new approach based on an adaptive neuro-fuzzy inference system (ANFIS) for extracting and predicting the alpha power band of EEG signals during Muslim prayer (Salat). Proposed models can acquire information related to the alpha power variations during Salat from other physiological parameters such as heart rate variability (HRV) components, heart rate (HR), and respiration rate (RSP). The models were developed by systematically optimizing the initial ANFIS model parameters. Receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curves were performed to evaluate the performance of the optimized ANFIS models. Overall prediction accuracy of the proposed models were achieved of 94.39%, 92.89%, 93.62%, and 94.31% for the alpha power of electrodes positions at O1, O2, P3, and P4, respectively. These models demonstrated many advantages, including e±ciency, accuracy, and simplicity. Thus, ANFIS could be considered as a suitable tool for dealing with complex and nonlinear prediction problems.This research was supported and funded by the Prime Minister's Department, Malaysia (project no. 66-02-03- 0061/H-00000-3703), and University of Malaya, through a postgraduate grant (PS107-2010A)

Effect of Muslim Prayer (Salat) on a Electroencephalography and Its Relationship with Autonomic Nervous System Activity

Objectives: This study investigated the effect of Muslim prayer (salat) on the a relative power (RPa) of electroencephalography (EEG) and autonomic nervous activity and the relationship between them by using spectral analysis of EEG and heart rate variability (HRV). Methods: Thirty healthy Muslim men participated in the study. Their electrocardiograms and EEGs were continuously recorded before, during, and after salat practice with a computer-based data acquisition system (MP150, BIOPAC Systems Inc., Camino Goleta, California). Power spectral analysis was conducted to extract the RPa and HRV components. Results: During salat, a significant increase ( p < .05) was observed in the mean RPa in the occipital and parietal regions and in the normalized unit of high-frequency (nuHF) power of HRV (as a parasympathetic index). Meanwhile, the normalized unit of low-frequency (nuLF) power and LF/HF of HRV (as sympathetic indices) decreased according to HRV analyses. RPa showed a significant positive correlation in the occipital and parietal electrodes with nuHF and significant negative correlations with nuLF and LF/HF. Conclusions: During salat, parasympathetic activity increased and sympathetic activity decreased. Therefore, regular salat practices may help promote relaxation, minimize anxiety, and reduce cardiovascular risk.This research was supported and funded by the Prime Minister’s Department, Malaysia (project no. 66-02-03- 0061/H-00000-3703), and University of Malaya, through a postgraduate grant (PS107-2010A)

Exports, exchange rate movements and the credit markets imperfections: new evidence from threshold regression analysis

Based on an innovative threshold estimation technique, this study investigates whether the effect of exchange rate depreciation on exports is distinct with different channels of credit markets imperfections. The empirical results demonstrate the existence of a threshold effect in the relationship between exchange rate depreciation and exports flows. In particular, the impact of exchange rate depreciation on exports is negatively significant only after a certain threshold level of credit market imperfections has been attained. Until then, the exports effect of exchange rate depreciation seems to be non-existent. This finding suggests that the exchange rate depreciation-exports nexus is contingent on the level of credit market imperfection, thereby corroborating the view that credit market imperfection played an important role in impeding exports performance

Determination of flexibility of workers working time through Taguchi method approach

Human factor is one of the important elements in manufacturing world, despite their important role in improvement the production flow, they have been neglected while scheduling for many decades. In this paper the researchers taken the human factor throughout their job performance weightage into consideration while using job shop scheduling (JSS) for a factory of glass industry, in order to improving the workers' flexibility. In other hand, the researchers suggested a new sequence of workers' weightage by using Taguchi method, which present the best flexibility that workers can have, while decreasing the total time that the factory need to complete the whole production flow.

Effect of mentorship program on mentees' psychosocial development

The study investigates the role of mentorship in enhancing mentees' psychosocial development. It utilized self-administered questionnaires completed by undergraduate military students at a public higher learning institution in Malaysia. The outcomes of SmartPLS path model analysis revealed two important findings: firstly, communication insignificantly correlated with psychosocial development. Secondly, support significantly correlated with psychosocial development. The results confirm that communication does not act as an important determinant of mentees’ psychosocial development. However, support does act as an important psychosocial development in the studied organization. This paper also provides discussion, implications and conclusion

Gender differences in mortality among ST elevation myocardial infarction patients in Malaysia from 2006 to 2013

BACKGROUND: Coronary artery disease (CAD) is one of the leading causes of death in Malaysia. However, the prevalence of CAD in males is higher than in females and mortality rates are also different between the two genders. This suggest that risk factors associated with mortality between males and females are different, so we compared the clinical characteristics and outcome between male and female STEMI patients. OBJECTIVES: To identify the risk factors associated with mortality for each gender and compare differences, if any, among ST-elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI) patients. DESIGN: Retrospective analysis. SETTINGS: Hospitals across Malaysia. PATIENTS AND METHODS: We analyzed data on all STEMI patients in the National Cardiovascular Database-Acute coronary syndrome (NCVD-ACS) registry for the years 2006 to 2013 (8 years). We collected demographic and risk factor data (diabetes mellitus, hypertension, smoking status, dyslipidaemia and family history of CAD). Significant variables from the univariate analysis were further analysed by a multivariate logistic analysis to identify risk factors and compare by gender. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Differential risk factors for each gender. RESULTS: For the 19484 patients included in the analysis, the mortality rate over the 8 years was significantly higher in females (15.4%) than males (7.5%) (P<.001). The univariate analysis showed that the majority of male patients <65 years while females were ≥65 years. The most prevalent risk factors for male patients were smoking (79.3%), followed by hypertension (54.9%) and diabetes mellitus (40.4%), while the most prevalent risk factors for female patients were hypertension (76.8%), followed by diabetes mellitus (60%) and dyslipidaemia (38.1%). The final model for male STEMI patients had seven significant variables: Killip class, age group, hypertension, renal disease, percutaneous coronary intervention and family history of CVD. For female STEMI patients, the significant variables were renal disease, smoking status, Killip class and age group. CONCLUSION: Gender differences existed in the baseline characteristics, associated risk factors, clinical presentation and outcomes among STEMI patients. For STEMI females, the rate of mortality was twice that of males. Once they reach menopausal age, when there is less protection from the estrogen hormone and there are other risk factors, menopausal females are at increased risk for STEMI. LIMITATION: Retrospective registry data with inter-hospital variation

An overview of multi-filters for eliminating impulse noise for digital images

An image through the digitization process is referred to as a digital image. The quality of the digital image may be degenerating due to interferences on the acquisition, transmission, extraction, etc. This attracted the attention of many researchers to study the causes of damage to the information in the image. In addition to finding cause of image damage, the researchers also looking for ways to overcome this problem. There are many filtering techniques that have been introduced to deal the damage to the information in the image. In addition to eliminating noise from the image, filtering techniques also aims to maintain the originality of the features in the image. Among the many research papers on image filtering there is a lack of review papers which are an important to facilitate researchers in understanding the differences in each filtering technique. Additionally, it helps researchers determine the direction of research conducted based on the results of previous research. Therefore, this paper presents a review of several filtering techniques that have been developed so far

Risk identification for msxi mutation in non-syndromic cleft lip and palate deformities for the formulation of prevention stra tegtes.

Orofaciai clefts are congenital structural anomalies of the lip and/or palate that affect between I in 2000 and I in 500 live births worldwide. In Kelantan, it affect I in 600 live births. Their frequent occurrence as well as their extensive psychological, surgical, speech and dental involvement emphasize the importance of understanding the underlying causes. The etiology is complex, including multiple genetic and environmental factors. They can occur as one component of multiple congenital anomaly syndromes or as non-syndromic forms. The non-syndromic forms are more common and are likely due to secondary gene-environment interactions. Recent advances in both molecular and quantitative approaches have begun to identify the genes responsible for the rare syndromic and the more common and complex non-syndromic variants. From January, 1999 until December, 2002, 102 non-syndromic cleft lip and/or palate patients and parents have been studied in Reconstructive Sciences Unit, Universiti Sains Malaysia. All the studied patients have been interviewed to detect the common environmental factors that may contribute to the occurrence of the clefts deformity. From 102 patients included into the study, 41 venous blood samples (patient, father and mother) have been studied for MSX I mutation. MSX I mutation shows a significant contribution to the occurrence of the cleft group compare to the non-cleft control group (P<O.OOO I). Parents MSX I mutation shows a significant contribution to the mutation of the MSX I gene in the cleft patient (P~O.O II) predominantly paternal contribution (P~O.OO I). There is a highly significant possibility for the cleft child to inherit the mutation of the MSXI gene if both parents has the mutation, odd ratio 10.5 at P~0.007. There is no significant contribution of the environmental factors to the mutation of the MSX I gene, but there is a significant contribution of the paternal cigarette smoking to the incidence of clefts in general (P<O.OOO I) in I 02 samples compared to I 00 controls