Which foreign investors worry about foreign exchange risk in South Asia and why?

The authors show that the potential benefit to a host country of forward markets or of foreign exchange guarantees depend on the investor's country of origin and on specific characteristics of investment. They show this in terms of the effects on foreign-exchange risks and on the amount of foreign direct investment taking place. Their main lessons for foreign investors: (a) the benefits of hedging exchange risks through forward markets vary substantially, depending on the investor, the type of investment, and, for foreign direct investment (FDI), the direction of the market supplied; (b) for short lived investment or FDI targeted to the host country market, the potential for gain from forward contracts is substantial because in the short run, nominal exchange rate fluctuations tend to be larger than real exchange rate fluctuations; (c) for long-lived investments or export oriented FDI, the gains from forward contracts will be much smaller. Firms investing in long lived assets or in activities targeted to exports net natural insurance from the correlation between the nominal exchange rate and the firm's earnings in host-country currency; and (d) the evidence on exchange rate and price fluctuations between 1975 and 1991 suggests that the demand for coverage is likely to be stronger in South Asia than in Latin America. In East Asia, the evidence is mixed. Their main lessons for host country governments: (a) in the short run, if there are no private forward markets, the optimal policy for a risk-neutral host country is to provide the firm with forward contracts at the expected spot exchange rate. This government insurance has the same effects as allowing trading in forward markets. But these contracts can have fiscal consequences, as they did in Latin America; (b) forward markets do not discriminate against host country firms. Those engaged in international trade can also benefit from the presence of forward markets; and (c) in the medium run, as exchange controls are being liberalized, forward markets may be slow to develop because of participants'uncertainty about their ability to get foreign currency to cover forward commitments. In this transitional period, contracts offered by the government are likely to be the most efficient means of reassuring foreign investors. These contracts should also be make available to host-country firms during the transitional period, in order not to discriminate against domestic investors.Economic Theory&Research,Environmental Economics&Policies,Financial Intermediation,Banks&Banking Reform,Economic Stabilization

Removal of odorants from animal waste using Fenton’s reaction

The purpose of this study was to evaluate Fenton’s reaction as a means of mitigating the problem of offensive odors emitted from livestock manures. The hypothesis to be tested was that hydroxyl radicals generated during this reaction would oxidize odorant compounds, breaking them down to nonodorous products. The deodorization effect was assessed using various chromatographic techniques to determine the concentration of selected odor indicators present in swine slurry and reactor headspaces before and after treatment. The indicators included seven volatile fatty acids, three phenols, and two indoles that were positively correlated with malodors from animal manure. The extent of their removal strongly depended on the concentration of Fenton’s reagents (0 to 40 mM FeCl3, and 0 to 800 mM H2O2), the initial pH of swine slurry (2.0 to 6.5), and the total solids content (0.6 to 2.9% TSC). Control samples treated with no FeCl3 or H2O2 did not show significant reduction of odorant concentration at all pH and TSC levels tested. Acceptable removals of total odorants (65 to 90%) were observed between pH 3.5 and 5.5. When swine slurry (0.7% TSC, pH 5.0) was treated for 2 h with 40 mM FeCl3 at 400 mM H2O2, all odorants were removed completely (100%), except for small amounts of propionic acid. Odorant removal from swine slurry was in good agreement with that from the headspace air (90-100% removal for most measured odorants). Pilot-scale treatment produced encouraging results, surpassing the expectations based on the outcome of laboratory experiments

Nuggets, Pearls, and Vignettes of Master Heart Failure Clinicians

Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/73696/1/j.1527-5299.2001.00307.x.pd

Factors Associated with Acquisition of Human Infective and Animal Infective Trypanosome Infections in Domestic Livestock in Western Kenya

Trypanosomiasis is regarded as a constraint on livestock production in Western Kenya where the responsibility for tsetse and trypanosomiasis control has increasingly shifted from the state to the individual livestock owner. To assess the sustainability of these localised control efforts, this study investigates biological and management risk factors associated with trypanosome infections detected by polymerase chain reaction (PCR), in a range of domestic livestock at the local scale in Busia, Kenya. Busia District also remains endemic for human sleeping sickness with sporadic cases of sleeping sickness reported.In total, trypanosome infections were detected in 11.9% (329) out of the 2773 livestock sampled in Busia District. Multivariable logistic regression revealed that host species and cattle age affected overall trypanosome infection, with significantly increased odds of infection for cattle older than 18 months, and significantly lower odds of infection in pigs and small ruminants. Different grazing and watering management practices did not affect the odds of trypanosome infection, adjusted by host species. Neither anaemia nor condition score significantly affected the odds of trypanosome infection in cattle. Human infective Trypanosoma brucei rhodesiense were detected in 21.5% of animals infected with T. brucei s.l. (29/135) amounting to 1% (29/2773) of all sampled livestock, with significantly higher odds of T. brucei rhodesiense infections in T. brucei s.l. infected pigs (OR =  4.3, 95%CI 1.5-12.0) than in T. brucei s.l. infected cattle or small ruminants.Although cattle are the dominant reservoir of trypanosome infection it is unlikely that targeted treatment of only visibly diseased cattle will achieve sustainable interruption of transmission for either animal infective or zoonotic human infective trypanosomiasis, since most infections were detected in cattle that did not exhibit classical clinical signs of trypanosomiasis. Pigs were also found to be reservoirs of infection for T. b. rhodesiense and present a risk to local communities

Cytokine profiling in patients with VCP-associated disease.

Valosin containing protein (VCP) disease (also known as Inclusion Body Myopathy, Paget Disease of Bone and Frontotemporal Dementia [IBMPFD] syndrome) is caused by mutations in the gene encoding VCP classically affecting the muscle, bone and brain. Although the genetic cause has been identified, details regarding the pathogenesis of IBMPFD have not been fully determined. Muscle wasting observed in VCP disease is suggestive of cytokine imbalance. We hypothesized that dysfunctional protein homeostasis caused by VCP mutations leads to cytokine imbalances thereby contributing to the muscle wasting phenotype. Circulating levels of interleukin-4 (IL-4), interleukin-6 (IL-6), tumor necrosis factor alpha (TNF a) and epidermal growth factor (EGF) were measured in plasma of patients with VCP disease or controls. TNF a and EGF were significantly altered in VCP disease as compared to control. TNF a was up-regulated, consistent with a cachexia phenotype and EGF levels were increased. No significant differences were observed in IL-4 and IL-6. Cytokine imbalances may be associated with VCP disease and may play a contributory role in VCP myopathy. Further understanding of how VCP dysfunction leads to aberrant protein homeostasis and subsequent cytokine imbalances may also aid in the understanding of other proteinopathies and in the development of novel treatments