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The Synthesis of Molybdenum Oxide-Poly(ethylene) Oxide Composites by Electrospinning
No full textElectrospinning is a rising discipline within the material science community. Its diverse applications make it a lucrative research topic. In this experiment, molybdenum methoxide nanofibers were produced, successfully, using poly (ethylene oxide) (PEO) as the carrier polymer. Initially, to understand the parameters that would yield fully formed fibers, PEO in distilled water and PEO in reagent alcohol were electrospun to determine the parameters that effect fiber formation. These parameters were found to be voltage and flow rate at constant distance. Applying these conditions, molybdenum methoxide was electrospun at voltage settings of 10-kV, 15-kV, and 20-kV with flow rates at 1.00-mL/hr, 1.50-mL/hr, and 2.00-mL/hr. It was determined that using a voltage between 10-kV to 20-kV with a flow rate of 2.00-mL/hr worked well or, while at 1.50-mL/hr rate, fibers were produced at a voltage of 10-kV and 5-cm distance
Efficient Supply Chain Contracting with Loss-averse Players in Presence of Multiple Plausible Breaches
Get PDFThe legal literature distinguishes between the liquidated damage and the penalty clauses in contracts, and holds that penalties designed for the prevention of breach are excessive compared to the liquidated damages. In an efficient supply chain contract, the penalty must satisfy the participation and incentive compatibility constraints of the signatories. Considering loss-averse players, we have calculated optimal penalties in a supply chain contract and compared those with the liquidated damages. Two possible breaches are considered – a breach in quality of the delivery and a breach in the process. In the absence of any penalty, a process breach reduces the supplier’s delivery risk and cost of delivery. Determining the parametric conditions for efficient contracts, numerically we show the effects of various variables on the zone of efficient contract. We show that the optimal penalties need not be excessive compared to the liquidated damages
The Impact of COVID-19 Shocks on Business and GDP of Global Economy
Get PDFThis study examines the relationship between COVID-19 shocks and GDP loss of different countries worldwide based on the seven scenarios of the epidemiological DSGE/CGE model of [McKibbin, W., & Fernando, R. (2020). The Global Macroeconomic Impacts of COVID-19: Seven Scenarios. Asian Economic Papers, 20(2): 1-30, MIT Press]. We implemented a panel data approach for 24 cross-sectional units with three periods and a general regression neural network. The economic and financial shocks consist of labor supply, equity risk premium, consumption demand, and government expenditure. The findings show that the consumption demand and equity risk premium shocks on GDP are more influential than the other shocks. Moreover, the results reveal that the most significant GDP loss is associated with Japan, Germany, and the US, respectively, which are industrialized countries with the most prominent automobile manufacturers. The lowest GDP loss is linked to Saudi Arabia, one of the world\u27s biggest oil producer countries
A Study of Regional CARES Act Fraud relationships to Gross Domestic Product, Poverty Level, & Educational Completion per Region
Get PDFDue to the COVID-19 pandemic the United States government decided to enact Public Law No: 116-136, better known as the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act, made public law March 27, 2020 (Public Law No. 116-136). Under the CARES Act the government responded to COVID-19 hardships by distributing relief packages to qualifying members and businesses of the community. These relief packages came in the form of various programs; the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP), Economic Injury Disaster Loans (EIDL), and Unemployment Insurance (UI). However, a staggering amount of fraud took place during the issuance of these programs which resulted in money going towards people and businesses who did not require the assistance the CARES Act provided. The purpose of this research is to 1) establish the amount of fraud and percent of fraud compared to state total assistance received that occurred per state as a result of the CARES Act, 2) establish Gross Domestic Product (GDP), Poverty Level, and an educational attainment measurement for each state, 3) show if there is or is not statistical significance with the relation of these measurement factors against the percent of fraud in each state. All numbers collected and calculated will be shown by region (i.e Northeast) as well as individual state (i.e Connecticut) for the integrity of the research. This will show if there is a direct correlation between the economic and educational status of individuals or businesses that attempted to fraud the government out of CARES Act funding. The cumulative information can be used to determine if education or economic stability can decrease the level of Fraud that the government experiences and where educational or economic resources should be supplied based on the level of fraud in each state and geographic region
Motive-based Taxonomy of Professional Softball Fans: A Segmentation Study
No full textAlthough softball is one of the most popular participation sports in the USA, motives and behaviours of softball consumers have not been examined. As sport consumption options proliferate, there is a greater need to understand consumer\u27s motives related to the sports they elect to consume. Market segmentation is key to addressing the varying wants and needs of sport consumers, yet there has been limited research on women\u27s sport consumer segments. The purpose of this study was to identify motive-based consumer segments by examining the motives of professional softball consumers using the sport interest inventory and to explore differences in consumption intentions among these distinct softball fan segments. A two-stage cluster analysis utilising hierarchical and non-hierarchical methods was performed. Upon identifying motive-based softball fan segments, a MANOVA was performed revealing differences in each fan segments\u27 consumption intentions. Both theoretical and practical implications of these findings are discussed
Analyzing Business Research on the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act: Clusters, Gaps, and Future Directions
Get PDFThis study comprehensively analyzed and summarized business-related research on the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA). Research on the FCPA is essential because sanctions for violations have grown substantially, increasing risks for multinational enterprises (MNEs). Recent fines exceeded $1 billion, and business executives were personally fined and imprisoned (Stanford Foreign Corrupt Practices Act Clearinghouse, 2021). Unfortunately, theory-based and empirically-validated business research has not kept pace with this increased risk. Performance mapping and science mapping pinpointed the most prolific academic fields, the most cited articles, and clusters of authors, journals, and keywords. Analyses identified gaps in the literature. Prior research focused on public policy questions, like the impact of the FCPA on American companies (Shapiro, 2013), the propriety of attempting to regulate foreign business ethics, and international treaties. Moreover, significant clustering and fractionalization into legal academic silos have side-stepped business-related research topics. New and different research directions are proposed
Institutional Distance and the Motivations to Springboard
Get PDFWhile institutional distance presents opportunities for development of the general theory of springboard MNEs, the direction of distance and its relationship to the motivations to springboard are largely ignored in the literature on emerging-market MNE (EMNE) internationalization. To fill the research gap, we develop a model of springboard motives, and incorporate institutional distance (including its direction) and ownership share as factors explaining them. Based on an empirical analysis of over 700 mergers and acquisitions (M&As) by EMNEs from 26 emerging economies in 2015–2017, we find that EMNEs tend to have capability-building springboard motives in cross-border M&A when they move down the institutional ladder from a higher to lower quality institutional environment (with larger negative distance in FDI regulatory risk). The capability-leveraging motive is positively related to distance in terms of FDI regulations (particularly legal protection) when the company moves up the institutional ladder. Importantly, these relationships are moderated by ownership share
Role of Electronic Healthcare Record Adoption in Enhancing the Relationship between Quality Measures and Hospital Financial Performance
Get PDFElectronic Health Records (EHRs) are designed as a real-time digital record to streamline distinctive and valuable patient information across multiple stakeholders in the healthcare delivery channel. The stakeholders include hospitals, healthcare providers and patients, as well as a myriad of third-party providers (i.e., insurance companies, Medicare). Academicians, practitioners and public policy makers are grappling with uneven experiences and empirical findings regarding the relationship between technology-enabled information sharing and the ensuing quality of healthcare outcomes. The most significant government-mandated technology is the implementation and adoption of EHR. The present research examines EHR through the lens of Resource Advantage Theory –– to empirically assess how partial and comprehensive implementation levels of EHR adoption influence quality management and financial performance of hospitals. Based on archival data attained from 210 hospitals in the state of Texas, the results indicate positive relationships between EHR and the quality of care. While it is generally recognized that EHR and quality management affect a hospital’s performance, this research investigates the moderating effect that EHR has on quality management and a hospital’s performance. These findings provide hospital administrators, practitioners, and third-party payers with an integrative and parsimonious model to understand the impact of partial and comprehensive levels of EHR implementation on the relationship of healthcare quality and hospital performance
Investigation of Python Variable Privacy
Get PDFThis study looks at the relative security of Python regarding private variables and functions used in most other programming languages. Python has only grown in popularity due to its simple syntax and developing capabilities. However, little research has been published about how secure Python code and programs compiled from Python code actually are. This research seeks to expose vulnerabilities in Python code and determine what must be done for these vulnerabilities to be exploited by hackers to abuse potentially sensitive information contained within the program.
The proposed methodology includes examining the private variable concept in other programming languages and conducting experiments to determine whether Python has any vulnerabilities specific to a lack of private variables and functions. Based on the findings of these experiments, further research will be needed to explore the range of vulnerabilities in Python code and how to protect against exploiting these vulnerabilities
Impact of Borrelia burgdorferi on Inflammatory Markers in Mammalian Breast Cancer Cells
No full textBacterial infection can be a causative agent for cancer. The bacterial causing agent for Lyme Disease is Borrelia burgdorferi sensu lato. Lyme Disease is transmitted via a bite from the tick species Ixodes scapularis. Once in the body, B. burgdorferi can form biofilms. The formation of biofilms by B. burgdorferi helps to protect them from antibiotic treatment and the body’s immune system. This can make B. burgdorferi extremely dangerous to the host. As B. burgdorferi spreads into different tissues, the genetic expression of certain genes can be impacted. The presence of B. burgdorferi has been found within cancerous tissues and is known to impact the genetic transcription of some oncogenes and tumor suppressor genes. More specifically, infection of B. burgdorferi has been found to be associated with breast cancer and has found to play a prominent role in impacting genetic transcription in breast cancer cells.
When the body becomes infected with B. burgdorferi, it activates its immune response in attempts to eliminate this pathogen. This study aimed to examine the impact of B. burgdorferi infection on the genetic expression of cytokines CCL20 and CSF2. A previous RNA-seq revealed elevated expression of these genes in MDA-MB-231 cells infected with B. burgdorferi. This study aimed to confirm these results. These genes were examined by extracting mRNA from MDA-MB-231 cells infected with B. burgdorferi for 48 hours. RT-qPCR was then used to measure the amplification of CCL20 and CSF2. The amplification values obtained were compared to both the uninfected MDA-MB-231 cells and the GAPDH housekeeping gene. The changes in genetic expression were calculated using the Ct values from the RT-qPCR. It was discovered that both CCL20 and CSF2 were upregulated in breast cancer cells infected with B. burgdorferi, confirming the results of the RNA-seq. Therefore, it can be concluded that infection of breast cancer cells with B. burgdorferi can change the expression of inflammatory markers