Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Incoming Foreign Investment: holly water or menu of potential troubles?

Economic theory provides conflicting predictions concerning the effects of direct foreign investments. There are scientists and schools, mainly representatives of liberal and neo- liberal approach, who advocate free economic run and implicitly free flow of capital. This point of view was on its highest in the middle of the twentieth century and proved to be proved to be dangerous and crisis- enhancing in the first decade of the twenty-first century.On the other hand, there are scientists and schools, representatives of Keynesian school, who provide more critical and more realistic approach (Blackamn, A., Wu, X., Razin, A., Sadka, E., Hausmann, R., Xan X.Vo and others). Pro- FDI scientists and policy makers have a number of arguments when praising foreign direct investment. They argue that incoming foreign capital ensures economic efficiency firstly, via new jobs created, secondly, via enabled technology transfer; thirdly, via encouraged competition in domestic markets; fourthly, via human capital development as foreigners engage (more) in employee training.One more argument is often used in favour of foreign direct investment, namely that FDI has an advantage over other investment forms (portfolio or loans) as it proved to be more resilient in times of economic crisis.On an empirical level, there is a body of evidence that suggests possible positive correlation between FDI and economic growth in developing countries. Yet, while much evidence indicates a one-way causality between FDI and growth, there are many indications that the causality may run both ways. Benefits brought by some foreign investment in one country it does not necessary mean that the same will happen in another one. Methods that gave some positive effects in North Africa might prove as unsuitable when investing in Eastern Europe.Increased competition may be beneficial for the host economy, or it may not. International corporations may push out national businesses if they are yet not able to compete. In that case many jobs might be lost instead of creating. Foreign flow of capital might spread good practices of corporate governance, accounting rules, and legal traditions, and it may also not. Incoming FDI can limit ability of local government to implement bad policies but it might also result in encouraging host government to implement bad policies and so to spread bad practices instead.According to the dependency school, in the long- run, FDI tends to impede economic growth and development of recipient economies.The evidence appears that FDI is favourable to economic welfare only if appropriate conditions exist in the host economy. This includes such factors as adequate absorptive capacity and human capital, a capacity of domestic businesses to face and hold out foreign competition, a capacity of local government to make rational and transparent decisions, abundance of projects and market gaps that cannot to be filled up by home producers etc.Thus it seems convenient to look deeper into the world practice by measuring the effects of FDI.
Testing for Marshall-Lerner Condition: Bilateral Trades between Malaysia and Trading Partners

In this paper, empirical approaches are applied to test the validity of Marshall-Lerner condition, i.e. if devaluation in real exchange rate helps to improve the trade balance of domestic country. The analyses are focused on five pairs of bilateral trades between Malaysia and its main trading partners of China, EU, Japan, Singapore and U.S. respectively. Applying the Least Square and Fully Modified Least Square approaches, our results fail to show the validity of Marshall-Lerner condition in all five pairs of bilateral trades. However, our results show that higher income level of trading partners may lead to improvement in the trade balance of domestic country.  period of 1980-2012. We fail to prove the validity of Marshall-Lerner condition in all five pairs of bilateral trades. Our results reveal that higher income of foreign trade partner may improve the trade balance of domestic country.
Tensiometric behavior of [P4VPC8-20-SDS] poly(N-octyl-4-vinylpyridinium bromide)(20%)/sodium dodecylsulfate system in aqueous solution - Influence of NaCl salt

In this work, we consider the tensiometric behavior of the system poly(N-octyl-4-vinylpyridinium bromide)(20%)/sodium dodecylsulfate [ P4VPC8-20-SDS ] in absence and the presence of NaCl salt. Thus, t he copolymer poly(N-octyl-4-vinylpyridinium bromide)(2 0%) [ P4VPC8-20 ] is used under quaternization rate of 20%. The results show that the copolymer concentration p lays a main role in the tensiometric behavior of th is system. Also, the salt addition decreases the surface tensi on of the solution. Finally, the surface tension of the solution decreases as a function of the SDS concentrations f or all the copolymer concentrations. All the result s confirm the main role of the electrostatic interactions and the importance of the copolymer character in term of t he hydrophobic/hydrophylic balance.
Are the domestic investors of ̄ rms cross-listed in the U . S . better protected ?

The legal bonding hypothesis (Co®ee, 1999, 2002, Stulz, 1999, Reese and Weisbach, 2002, and Doidge, Karolyi, and Stulz, 2004) posists that ̄rms can e®ectively bypass their local market and opt-in to the superior disclosure and legal regime of the U.S. by cross listing on a U.S. exchange or Nasdaq. The crucial assumption underlying the legal bonding hypothesis is that the domestic or ordinary investors of these ̄rms are better protected under the U.S. regime. We test this proposition. Employing the agency models of dividends that derive a relationship between changes in investor protection and changes in ̄rm dividend payout, we document results consistent with the legal bonding hypothesis. Our initial results are consistent with the notion that the domestic investors of ̄rms that cross list on U.S. exchanges enjoy enhanced protection, post-listing. The domestic invrstors of OTC ̄rms are not. The domestic investors of Portal ̄rms appear to be. However, we believe that they are better protected through enhanced ̄rm level governance policies that are initiated post-listing in line with Pinnegar and Ravichandran (2004). Durnev and Kim (2002) and Klapper and Love (2002) document the e®ectiveness of ̄rm-level governance in enhancing ̄rm value and improving ̄rm performance. To reach these conclusions our paper warrants further study. ¤PhD Candidate, Economics Department, NUI Maynooth, Maynooth, Co. Kildare, Ireland. Contact information: e-mail: thomas.a. oconnor@may.ie. The author would like to acknowledge ̄nancial support for the Maynooth Finance Research Group (MFRG) and helpful comments from colleagues at Maynooth, Tom Flavin, Donal O'Neill and Denis Coni®e, Gerald Dwyer Jnr of the Federal Reserve Board of Atlanta, and Andrew Karolyi of Ohio State University. All errors and ommissions are my own.
Effects of Laparoscopic Roux-en-Y Gastric Bypass on Anthropometric Characteristics, Hypertension, Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus and Metabolic Syndrome: An Iranian Experience

Background: Surgically induced weight loss is a treatment option for the management of obesity and the related common disorders. This study evaluated the beneficial effects of bariatric surgery on metabolic profile and the prevalence of metabolic syndrome (MetS) among Iranian patients.Materials and Methods: A prospective observational study was performed on 26 morbidly obese patients scheduled for bariatric surgery, using laparoscopic Roux-en-Y gastric bypass (LRYGB). The parameters of hypertension, type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM), hyperlipidemia, MetS prevalence, and anthropometric measurements of Iranian patients, were recorded, at the preoperative visit and in follow-ups. The follow-up was performed for a median of 12 months, and the change in MetS prevalence and its componnts were assesed.Results: LRYGB induced a mean weight loss of 69.0±21.2%, after 12 months. Preoperative MetS was diagnosed in 21 patients (84%) and decreased to 6 patients (24%) after LRYGB (P=0.001). Likewise, the prevalence of hypertension was significantly decreased from 76% (pre-LRYGB values) to 20% (post-LRYGB values) (P=0.001). The prevalence of T2DM was also decreased from 20% to 8% (P=0.5). Conclusion: According to our results, RYGB produced a rapid and significant weight loss and improvement in hypertension and MetS within one year but there was a controversy about the improvement of T2DM, in Iranian morbidly obese patients.
Changes in soil nitrogen availability due to stand development and management practices on semi‐arid sandy lands, in northern China

Soil nitrogen (N) availability is one of the limiting factors for plant growth on sandy lands. Little is known about impacts of afforestation on soil N availability and its components in southeastern Keerqin sandy lands, China. In this study, we measured N transformation under sandy Mongolian pine (Pinus sylvestris var. mongolica Litv.) plantations of different ages (grassland, young, middle‐aged, close‐to‐mature) and management practices (non‐grazing and free‐grazing) during the growing seasons using the ion exchange resin bag method. Results showed that, for all plots and growing season, soil NH 4+ ‐N, NO 3− ‐N, mineral N, and relative nitrification index, varied from 0·18 to 1·54, 0·96 to 22·05, 1·23 to 23·58 µg d−1 g−1 dry resin, and 0·76 to 0·97, respectively, and NO 3− ‐N dominated the available N amount due to intense nitrification in these ecosystems. In general, the four indices significantly increased in the oldest plantation, with corresponding values in non‐grazing sites lower than those in free‐grazing sites (p < 0·05). Our studies indicated that it is a slow, extended process to achieve improvement in soil quality after afforestation of Mongolian pine in the study area. Copyright © 2009 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
The role of seed bank and seed rain in the recolonization of disturbed sites along an aridity gradient

The composition of seed bank and seed rain have been studied in different undisturbed vegetation types along an aridity gradient from the Mediterranean to the desert. The recruitment of colonizing species which originated either from the seed bank or the seed rain have been estimated for experimentally created gaps. The species richness of seed bank and seed rain decreases with increasing aridity, while no clear pattern has been observed for the density. The similarity of seed bank and seed rain with the actual vegetation increases with aridity. The seed rain shows overall greater dissimilarity than the seed bank. The seed bank has been found to be the main seed source in recolonization of the gaps in the Mediterranean and in the desert. The relative importance of seed bank compared with seed rain increases towards the desert. The portion of annual species in the vegetation is proposed as the main explanation for the revealed pattern. The special traits and evolutionary strategies of annuals are discussed as likely reasons for the differences in seed bank and seed rain along the gradient.
The effect of covering head on the hypocalcemia caused by phototherapy in the icteric preterm infants in the Vali-e-Asr hospital in 2015; A Randomized Controlled Trial

There are several methods to reduce serum bilirubin in neonatal jaundice that the most common of them is phototherapy and this method will cause some side effects which one of them is hypocalcemia that is occurred due to the decreased serum concentration of melatonin. This study was conducted aims to evaluate the effect of covering head on hypocalcemia caused by the phototherapy in the icteric infants in the Vali-e-Asr Hospital in 2015. in this clinical trial study, 60 preterm infants with icterus characteristics were hospitalized in NICU ward of Vali-e-Asr Hospital in Birjand at 2014 that had the inclusion criteria and were selected by available sampling and divided into two test group (30 individuals) and control group (30 individuals). Infants of the control group with the routine method and infants of the test group with the use of a hat covering occiput were treated under phototherapy. Serum bilirubin and calcium were checked upon admission, 48 hours after starting phototherapy and 24 hours after discontinuation of phototherapy. Data were analyzed using the statistical software of SPSS 15 and statistical t-test at the significance level of 0.05. results showed that the average age at birth, age at phototherapy, average of bilirubin level and calcium level before intervention in the infants of both test and control groups did not have a significant difference (P>0.05). But 48 hours after starting phototherapy, the average of serum calcium in the infants of test group compared to the control group and 24 hours after discontinuation of phototherapy in the infants of control group was significantly higher (P<0.05). In other words, incidence of hypocalcemia in infants with phototherapy with hat was significantly lower than infants with routine phototherapy. In this study (53 percent) of infants of the control group received 58.9 mg intravenous calcium. Only 6% of the infants in the intervention group received 10 mg intravenous calcium. covering the head of infants under phototherapy is an effective, safe and low cost method to prevent hypocalcemia.
Interference of five problematic weed species with rice growth and yield

Five weed species namely, Cyperus rotundus L. , Cyperus difformis L. , Echinochloa colonum (L.) Link. , Paspalum paspaloides (Mich.) Scribner, and Marsilea minuta L. were selected for the assessment of their level of competition with two commonly grown rice varieties viz. Basmati-385 and Super Basmati. Root and shoot growth as well as grain yield, in both rice cultivars, were adversely affected due to the weed competition in the field experiments. In general, Super Basmati was found to be comparatively more tolerant to weed infestation than Basmati-385. There were 6 to 40% and 21 to 56% reduction in grain yield of Super Basmati and Basmati-385, respectively, due to different weed species. E. colonum was found to be the most damaging weed which resulted in the highest grain yield losses of 56 and 42% in Basmati-385 and Super Basmati, respectively. P. paspaloides was found to be the second most damaging weed species which caused 47% yield losses in Basmati-385. It was concluded from the study that E. colonum was the most competitive weed. It resulted in the highest yield losses in rice especially in var. Basmati-385.
Evaluation of single-pass photovoltaic-thermal air collector with rectangle tunnel absorber

Photovoltaic solar cell generate electric by receiving sun light or solar irradiance. But solar cell recieved heat from solar irradiance as well and this will reduced the efficiency of the solar cell. The heat trap at the solar photovoltaic panel become waste energy. The solution for this was by adding a cooling system to the photovoltaic panel. The purpose of this paper was to cool the solar cell in order to increase its electrical efficiency and also to produce heat energy in the form of hot air. Hot air can be used for drying applications. A single pass PVT with rectangle tunnel absorber has been developed. The rectangle tunnel acted as an absorber and was located at the back side of a standard photovoltaic panel. The dimension of the photovoltaic panel was 120 cm × 53 cm. The size of the rectangle tunnel was 27 units of tunnel bar with the size of 1.2cm × 2.5cm × 120 cm (width × tall × length) and 12 units with 1.2cm × 2.5cm × 105.3cm (width × tall × length). The rectangle tunnel was connected in parallel. The PVT collector has been tested using a solar simulator. Results: Electrical efficiency increased when the solar cell was cool by air flow. Solar photovoltaic thermal collector with rectangle tunnel absorber has better electrical and thermal efficiency compared to solar collector without rectangle tunnel absorber. Photovoltaic, thermal and combined photovoltaic thermal efficiency of 10.02 %, 54.70 %, 64.72 % at solar irradiance of 817.4 W/m2, mass flow rate of 0.0287 kg/s at ambiant temperature of 25 °C respectively has been obtained. Conclusions: The hybrid photovoltaic and thermal with rectangle tunnel as heat absorber shows higher performance compared to conventional PV/T system.
Reply to the comments of the Referee # 1 on " Mesoscale cascades and the “ conundrum ” of energy transfer from large to dissipation scales in an adiabatic ocean ”

First of all, I would like to thank the Referee for emphasizing the fact that the results of the manuscript under the discussion “are very much at odds with the general understanding of mesoscale turbulence”. However, namely “the general understanding” leads to one of the most enigmatic conundrums of ocean general circulation which is “how does the energy of the general circulation cascade from the large climate scales, where most of it is generated, to the small scales, where all of it is dissipated? In particular, how is the dynamical transition made from an anisotropic, 2D-like, geostrophic cascade at large scales-with its strong inhibition of down-scale energy flux-to 3D-like, down-scale cascades at small scales. ” (Muller et al., 2002). Specifically, the Referee states that: (1). “it is widely recognized that strong conversion EPE EKE  occurs at the radius of deformation (see e.g. the text book by Geoff Vallis)”. Indeed, in the chapter 6.8 titled “The energetics of linear baroclinic instability” Vallis studies the problem of the baroclinic instability and concluded in the end of the chapter that “baroclinic instability converts potential energy into kinetic energy. ” This conclusion was drawn on the basis of the linear analysis within which the energy exchange between different Fourier modes is absent at all, as well as the energy cascades. Meanwhile, those phenomena and the non-linear (NL) interactions are crucial for the mesoscale dynamics and observational effects, as Dubovikov (2003, D3) and Canuto and Dubovikov (2005, CD5) showed theoretically. An analogous conclusion was drawn by Chelton et al. (2011) from the analysis of observational data: “essentially all of the observed mesoscales features are nonlinear”, “mesoscales do not move with the mean velocity but with their own drift velocity” and the latter is “the most germane of all the non-linear metrics”. In D3 and CD5 we derived the mesoscale drift velocity d u theoretically. In Fig.1 borrowed from Canuto et al. (2017a), we present the comparison of the predicted
Anatase Titanium Dioxide Coated Single Wall Carbon Nanotubes Manufactured by Sonochemical-Hydrothermal Technique

A novel, cost effective, sonochemical-hydrothermal technique was used for the deposition of nanosized anatase titanium dioxide (TiO2) onto single wall carbon nanotubes (SWCNTs). This technique is described and the characterization of the synthesized TiO2-SWCNTs is reported. The characterization techniques employed include scanning electron microscopy (SEM), Raman spectroscopy, and X-ray diffraction (XRD). From the characterization the size and morphology of the synthesized TiO2 nanoparticles (deposited on the SWCNTs) are reported. Furthermore, it is demonstrated that the created TiO2 nanoparticles are chemically attached to the SWCNTs. Also, an important correlation between calculated TiO2 crystal size and the red shifts in the lowest Raman TiO2 (E.g.) predominate peak is reported. The synthesized TiO2-SWCNTs have potential for large scale production and application in a variety of new technologies such as clean energy power generation devices, electrical storage devices, photocatalysts, and sensors.
Appraisal of Human Resource Accounting on Profitability of Corporate Organization

This study is to determine the adoption of Human Resource Accounting (increase in staff salary, increment in staff and staff retirement benefits) on the Profitability of Corporate Organizations. Specifically, the study sought; to determine the extent at which increase in staff salary has affected organizational profitability; to ascertain if the increment in staff has contributed positively on organizational profitability and to evaluate the extent at which staff retirement benefits has effect on organizational profitability. Research questions and hypotheses were formulated in line with the objectives of the study. Exploratory research design and time series data were adopted for this study. Data for the study were collected from selected ten (10) commercial banks in Nigeria. Data collected were analyzed and tested with t-test statistical tool with aid of SPSS version 20.0 version. The study revealed that the study revealed that increase in staff salary has positive effect on organizational profitability, also that the level of increment in staff has influence on organizational profitability. Another finding is that staff retirement benefits have positive effect on organizational profitability. The study recommends among other things that the relevant authorities should look into coming up with a financial reporting standard on human resource activities. Also that organization should enhance the retention of education and training on staff so as to avert wastage of knowledgeable investment.
POLITICAL CONTROL OF ADMINISTRATIVE SPENDING: THE CASE OF LOCAL GOVERNMENTS IN NORWAY*

Excessive administrative spending in local governments has been a concern in the public debate in Norway. Administration takes resources away from welfare services such as primary education and care for the elderly. Since administrative spending varies considerably between local governments, a study of the political and economic factors involved is warranted. The central hypothesis is that the administrators will have more power relative to the politicians when political control is divided between parties. Estimation of a demand model of administration added political structure shows strong empirical correlations between types of coalition governments and socialist controlled governments and the level of administrative spending. Divided political control strengthens the hands of the agenda setting bureaucrats. Copyright Blackwell Publishers Ltd 1998.