Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
The Channel Integration Decision for Small-to Medium-Sized Manufacturing Exporters

KERRI OSBORNE IS A LECTURER IN international and strategic marketing at Victoria University of Wellington, New Zealand. The main purpose of this paper is to use the qualitative method on a small sample to determine the key factors that influence the degree and nature of channel integration in the smallto medium-sized manufacturing exporting environment. The main theoretical model used was transaction cost analysis (TCA) first postulated by Williamson (1975) and later developed in the exporting literature by Anderson and Coughlan (1987), Klein, Frazier and Roth (1990) and Kim and Daniels (1991) but only in the multi-national environment. This exploratory research attempts to validate the TCA model in the small-to medium-sized exporting environment and suggests additional variables outside the TCA framework that determine the decision to channel integrate. This research confirms the role of TCA factors in the channel integration decision but suggests that sales volume, market characteristics and strategic factors play a large part in the decision to integrate the distribution channel. Management implications of the findings are provided and further empirical work is suggested for future research.
Ecotourism discourse: challenging the stakeholders theory

Advocacy of ecotourism as a sustainable development strategy emphasising local participation has tended to espouse the so-called ‘stakeholders theory’, treating interventions as wholly material endeavours and assuming that rural community members will be motivated to participate primarily through economic incentives. Observing that ecotourism is both practiced and promoted predominantly (although not exclusively) by white, professional-middle-class members of post-industrial Western societies, this essay suggests that ecotourism can also be viewed as a discursive process, embodying a culturally specific set of beliefs and values largely peculiar to this demographic group that promoters, often unwittingly, seek to propagate through ecotourism development. As a result, local peoples’ response to ecotourism promotion may depend in part on how this particular cultural perspective resonates with their own understandings of the world. Thus, future research and planning should pay greater attention to the ways in which ecotourism discourse is perceived and negotiated by local actors. The analysis is illustrated through ethnographic analysis of ecotourism development in a community in southern Chile.
The Mediating Role of Tourist Satisfaction: A Study of Muslim Tourists in Malaysia

Abstract This study attempts to empirically test the mediating effect of overall tourist satisfaction between travel motivations (push and pull) and destination loyalty. The tourism motivations were found significantly and positively related to tourist satisfaction. The results also supported that the tourist satisfaction positively associated with destination loyalty. The results indentified that the most important push motivations for Muslim tourists include achievement, exciting and adventure, family togetherness, knowledge/education, and escape. The most important pull motivations for Muslim tourists include natural scenery, wide space and activities, cleanness and shopping, and modern atmosphere.
Challenges facing international projects for entrepreneurial development in South Africa

International development projects that support entrepreneurship face a number of challenges, not least because they need to integrate different paradigms. Based on the case study of a Canadian non-governmental organisation in South Africa, this paper provides an exploratory assessment of these challenges and highlights four major factors that affect the success of such international projects: transposing a northern business model to the south; developing local roots and adapting to the local context; balancing the allocation of resources between managing the project and providing services to entrepreneurs; and aligning the cultures of the private sector and international development agencies. In practical terms, the findings provide benchmarks for the success of these projects and could help improve interventions that encourage entrepreneurship in developing countries.
Using social welfare concepts to guarantee Islamic banks’ deposits

Purpose - – The purpose of this paper is to examine the use of the social welfare concepts of Takaful and Design/methodology/approach - – The study critically analyzes the Mudaraba contract used by Islamic banks to mobilize funds, the use of Profit Equalization Reserves and Investment Risk Reserves, the use of other income smoothing techniques and the insurance of Islamic banks’ by regulatory agencies in some countries based on the Takaful and Findings - – This paper shows that Islamic banks are increasingly using the concepts of Takaful and Research limitations/implications - – This papers examined the behaviour of Islamic financial institutions and Islamic scholars based on the available literature. No empirical analysis was conducted. Originality/value - – This paper contributes to the ongoing debate about the substance of Islamic banking transactions and the risk shifting inherent in such transactions. Furthermore, it is the first study that examines the extent of utilizing different social welfare concepts to legalize – from Shariaa perspective – Islamic banking transactions.
Trade and Migration: Nafta and Agriculture

This study examines the controversial question of whether the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) will increase or decrease Mexican migration to the United States. The author estimates that NAFTA will increase migration by as many as 100,000 persons annually. He argues that NAFTA will prevent even more migration over the longer term by stimulating economic growth and job creation within Mexico. The author proposes a variety of ways in which the federal government should assist state and local governments that will be affected by increased immigration.
Prevention of Hypertension and Cardiovascular Diseases: A Comparison of Lifestyle Factors in Westerners and East Asians

Appropriate lifestyle modifications are a fundamental step to prevent hypertension, which is the strongest risk factor for cardiovascular disease (CVD). 1,2 However, the slope of the association between blood pressure (BP) and stroke is steeper among Asians than Westerners.3,4 This result is partly explained by the higher proportion of strokes that are hemorrhagic in Asian compared with Western populations and the steeper association of BP with hemorrhagic stroke as compared with ischemic stroke.5 The population-attributable fractions of hypertension for ischemic stroke in men and women have been reported as 40% and 36% in China, 34% and 35% in South Korea, 37% and 39% in Japan (East Asian), 15% and 44% in Australia, and 18% and 43% in New Zealand (Western), respectively.6 These differences between Westerners and East Asians depend on both genetic (racial) and lifestyle factors. A schema of the progression from lifestyle behaviors to the onset of stroke and coronary heart disease (CHD) is shown in the Figure. Lifestyle (modifiable) and genetic (unmodifiable) factors are key cardiovascular risk factors, especially higher BP (the primary stage of CVD prevention). Furthermore, cardiovascular risk factors, especially hypertension, are key factors for the prevention of CVD (the secondary stage of CVD prevention). To prevent CVD, it is important to improve lifestyle and reduce cardiovascular risk factors in the early stage. The health behaviors appearing in recent guidelines for the management of hypertension are also important for the primary prevention of stroke. Figure. Schema of the progression from lifestyle changes to the incidence of hypertension and cardiovascular disease (CVD). CHD indicates coronary heart disease. The guidelines put out by the United States,7 Europe,8 China,9 and Japan10 for lifestyle modifications for prevention of hypertension are similar, namely: (1) salt restriction, (2) high consumption of …
Trade and market integration with heterogeneous labor

This paper explores the impact of labor market integration between an advanced country (North) and backward country (South) on income distribution and pattern of trade (POT) by making use of a two-sector, competitive trade model with heterogeneous labor. We prove that, for the North, the labor market integration increases income inequality. And, for the South, the integration decreases income inequality. In addition, we find that the POT for the integrated economy might reverse.
Pulsatile release of somatotropin related to meal feeding and somatotropin response to secretagogues in horses.

Our goal was to establish a time of day and(or) interval from feeding that would avoid the refractory period after a somatotropin (ST) surge and optimize the responsiveness of horses to ST secretagogues. Two experiments were conducted with eight geldings conditioned to consume grain at 0800 and 1600 daily. In Exp. 1, during a 24-h period, these geldings averaged 3.2 +/- . 3 pulses of ST with peak amplitude of 4.2 +/- . 4 ng/mL, pulse duration of 55 +/- 6 min, and interpeak interval of 400 +/- 57 min. No ST peaks occurred within 2 h after either grain feeding. In Exp. 2, eight geldings were given 50 micrograms of ST-releasing factor (STRF) at 0800. Two geldings that had a pulse of ST between 0700 and 0800 failed to respond to STRF, but the other six responded with a pulse of ST at 37 +/- 3 min; peak amplitude was 4.6 +/- 2.2 ng/mL and duration was 123 +/- 25 min. Experiments 3 and 4 were with mares aged 20 to 26 yr and conditioned to be fed grain at 0800 daily. In Exp. 3, blood was sampled for 8 h beginning at 0500. Seven of the eight mares had a ST pulse in progress at 0500. Five additional pulses were detected, all from 0740 to 0940, but none from 0600 to 0700 or from 1000 to 1300. In Exp. 4, four of the same eight mares were given 50 micrograms of STRF at 0700 and the other four at 1300. Three of the four treated at 0700 and all four treated at 1300 responded to STRF with ST peaks at 20 +/- 5 min; peak amplitude was 12.7 +/- 9.5 ng/mL and duration was 69 +/- 6 min. In Exp. 5, nine mares aged 20 to 26 yr were fed grain at 0800 and 1600 as in Exp. 1 and 2 and given a nonpeptidal ST secretagogue (STS, Merck L-163,255) i.v. at 0, 1, or 5 mg/kg (n = 3 mares/dose) at 1300. No mare had a pulse of ST during the 1 h before treatment. All six mares given STS responded with ST pulses. The ST responses to STS at 1 and 5 mg/kg did not differ (P > .05); time to ST peak was 35 +/- 4 min, pulse amplitude was 24.0 +/- 6.3 ng/mL, and pulse duration was 100 +/- 9 min. We conclude that mares and geldings fed grain once or twice daily usually have a period of 2 to 5 h after feeding with no ST pulses. When horses are fed grain at 0800, one may give a ST secretagogue at 1300 to avoid a refractory period and improve the probability of an ST response.
Modulation of acetylcholine‐elicited currents in clonal rat phaeochromocytoma (PC12) cells by internal polyphosphates.

1. Whole‐cell voltage clamp techniques were used to examine acetylcholine (ACh)‐elicited currents in differentiated cells of the rat phaeochromocytoma cell line, PC12. 2. In the absence of intracellular Mg2+, the whole‐cell current‐voltage relationship for the ACh‐elicited current displayed inward rectification which was reduced in part by the presence of 5 mM internal adenosine 5'‐triphosphate (ATP). 3. The reduction in the rectification attributed to ATP developed over the first 15‐20 min of whole‐cell recording. Similar results were obtained with a non‐hydrolysable ATP analogue, adenosine‐5'‐O‐3‐thiotriphosphate (ATP gamma S), or cytosine 5'‐triphosphate (CTP) in the internal solution, but not with adenosine 5'‐diphosphate (ADP) or pyrophosphate. 4. The magnitude of the ACh‐elicited current was also dependent on recording time and the composition of the internal pipette solution. The magnitude of the peak ACh‐elicited current increased over time when the cell was internally perfused with the control solution or a pipette solution containing pyrophosphate, ATP gamma S, or ADP. The largest sustained increases in ACh‐elicited current were observed in the presence of internal pyrophosphate or ATP gamma S. In contrast, with internal ATP or CTP, the whole‐cell current initially increased, then steadily decreased with recording time. 5. The desensitization rate of the ACh‐elicited current increased with recording time irrespective of the composition of the intracellular solution. 6. The actions of the compounds tested make it likely that the changes in the whole‐cell current‐voltage relationship, peak current, and desensitization are produced by separate mechanisms. The mechanisms underlying these changes are unknown, but the ability of the compounds to chelate divalent cations is unlikely to be the explanation. Other unlikely explanations include phosphorylation of the ACh receptor or regulation by GTP‐binding proteins.
The Double Binds of Getting Food among the Poor in Rural Oregon

Abstract An in-depth ethnographic study of low-income rural residents in Oregon shows that they are caught in double binds as their ways of life and their incomes increasingly do not fit with the neoliberal economic order, creating tensions in the ways in which they can fulfill their food needs. The study uses Bourdieu's definition of a double bind as a set of inculcated habits that do not match the changing field in social, economic and political ways, and thus people are not able to live effectively. In this study, we found that interviewees, many of whom have experienced economic and social decline in their lives, exhibit attempts to keep up and strategies particular to their situation that do not fit easily into the neoliberal economy. Analysis of the data shows several important double binds: eating habits that do not fit their nutritional knowledge or their food income; strategizing for material cultural capital on incomes that can ill afford it; use of social networks to survive; and contradictory perceptions of independence set against need for government assistance.
Influence of streptozotocin-induced diabetes and insulin treatment on the pituitary-testicular axis during sexual maturation in rats.

Effects of streptozotocin (STZ)-diabetes and insulin treatment on the functioning of pituitary-testicular axis during sexual maturation was studied. Prepubertal (30 days old) and pubertal (50 days old) male Wistar rats were made diabetic by a single injection of STZ. A group of diabetic rats was given insulin (3U/100 g b.wt./day in 2 equally divided doses), 3 days after STZ treatment. Prepubertal and pubertal rats of all groups were killed on postnatal days 51 and 71, respectively. STZ-diabetes caused marked reduction in serum LH, FSH, prolactin, testosterone and testicular interstitial fluid testosterone as well as the activities of Leydig cellular steroidogenic enzymes (3beta-and 17beta-hydroxysteroid dehydrogenases). Insulin treatment to diabetic rats maintained these changes at control range except FSH and prolactin in prepubertal rats. The results indicate that (i) diabetes-induced steroidogenic lesions in Leydig cells represent a direct consequence of dysfunctioning of pituitary-testicular axis, (ii) the adverse effects of diabetes on pituitary-testicular functions are influenced by age of its induction and (iii) optimum insulin level is essential for the acquisition of Leydig cellular steroidogenic efficacy during sexual development.
Impact of Liquidity and Management Efficiency on Profitability: An Empirical Study of Selected Power Distribution Utilities in India

This study investigated the impact of liquidity and management efficiency on profitability of select power distribution utilities in India. The study consist a sample of 23 power distribution utilities operating in India for the period of 2004-05 until 2013-14. Therefore the total panel (balanced) observations are 230. The return on capital employed is used as a measure for profitability explaining dependent variable, whereas a current ratio, quick ratio, absolute cash ratio, debtor turnover ratio, creditor turnover ratio, collection efficiency, interest coverage ratio are representing independent variable. Statistical tools such as Generalized Least Squares (GLS) regression are applied. The study found that debtor’s turnover ratio, collection efficiency and interest coverage ratio are showing a significant impact while quick ratio, absolute liquid ratio and creditor’s turnover ratio show an insignificant impact on the profitability of select sample utilities. Research paper Reference to this paper should be made as follows: Azhar, S. (2015). “Impact of liquidity and Man-agement Efficiency on profitability: An Empirical Study of Selected Power Distribution Utilities in India”, Journal of Entrepreneurship, Business and Economics, Vol. 3, No. 1, pp. 31–49.
Circulating deoxyribonucleic Acid as prognostic marker in non-small-cell lung cancer patients undergoing chemotherapy.

PURPOSE Circulating cell-free DNA is present in increased amounts in the blood of cancer patients, but the clinical relevance of this phenomenon remains unclear. We conducted a clinical study to assess the value of circulating DNA as a prognostic marker in patients with non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC). PATIENTS AND METHODS A standard protocol for the quantification of circulating DNA by real-time polymerase chain reaction was set up and validated at two oncology units. One hundred eighty-five informed patients with NSCLC and 46 healthy controls were included in the study. DNA concentrations were determined in paired plasma and serum samples and analyzed for a relationship with leukocyte counts and lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) levels. DNA concentrations in healthy controls and in patients were compared, and cutoff levels for plasma and serum DNA were determined. Patient survival was analyzed relative to baseline DNA concentrations, and the relationship between tumor responses and changes in DNA concentrations was assessed in patients receiving chemotherapy. RESULTS We found a significant correlation between increased plasma DNA concentrations and elevated LDH levels (P = .009), advanced tumor stage (P < .003), and poor survival (P < .001). Tumor progression after chemotherapy was significantly (P = .006) associated with increasing plasma DNA concentrations. Serum DNA concentrations strongly correlated (P < .001) with leukocyte counts. CONCLUSION Our data demonstrate that quantification of plasma DNA is an accurate technique amenable to standardization, which might complement current methods for the prediction of patient survival. This approach might be considered for evaluation in large prospective studies.
B220+ Double-Negative T Cells Suppress Polyclonal T Cell Activation by a Fas-Independent Mechanism That Involves Inhibition of IL-2 Production

Fas-mediated apoptosis is a key mechanism for elimination of autoreactive T cells, yet loss of function mutations in the Fas signaling pathway does not result in overt T cell-mediated autoimmunity. Furthermore, mice and humans with homozygous Faslpr or Fas ligandgld mutations develop significant numbers of B220+ CD4− CD8− double-negative (DN) αβ T cells (hereafter referred to as B220+ DN T cells) of poorly understood function. In this study, we show that B220+ DN T cells, whether generated in vitro or isolated from mutant mice, can suppress the ability of activated T cells to proliferate or produce IL-2, IL-10, and IFN-γ. B220+ DN T cells that were isolated from either lpr or gld mice were able to suppress proliferation of autologous and syngeneic CD4 T cells, showing that suppression is Fas independent. Furthermore, restoration of Fas/Fas ligand interaction did not enhance suppression. The mechanism of suppression involves inhibition of IL-2 production and its high affinity IL-2R α-chain (CD25). Suppression also requires cell/cell contact and TCR activation of B220+ DN T cells, but not soluble cytokines. These findings suggest that B220+ DN T cells may be involved in controlling autoreactive T cells in the absence of Fas-mediated peripheral tolerance.
Developing Agricultural Markets in Sub-Saharan Africa: Organic Cocoa in Rural Uganda

Abstract This article investigates the process of development in a traditional African export market, focusing on a contract farming scheme for organic cocoa in rural Uganda. Based on a repeated household survey, we measure the impact of the scheme on the income of participants and the economic mechanisms behind these effects. We find substantial benefits from the scheme, driven primarily by the establishment of credible incentives for farmers to adopt technologies which improve cocoa quality. There is also evidence of broader trends of market deepening and increased productivity, probably due to positive spillovers.
Short-Run and Long-Run Persistence in Mutual Funds

This empirical examination of a strategy that picks equity mutual funds on the basis of past short- and long-run performance provides some interesting results. The premise is that short-run mutual fund performance is likely to persist in the long run. A division of the funds in the CRSP Survivor-Bias-Free U.S. Mutual Fund Database according to past performance? funds with strong past short-run and long-run performance rated as best? reveals that in the subsequent year the best funds significantly outperformed the worst funds. Mutual fund investors can likely benefit from selecting funds on the basis of not only past short-run performance but also past long-run performance.
Serial measurements of C-reactive protein and interleukin-6 in the immediate postnatal period: reference intervals and analysis of maternal and perinatal confounders.

BACKGROUND There is a wide range of reported sensitivities and specificities for C-reactive protein (CRP) and interleukin-6 (IL-6) in the detection of early-onset neonatal infection. This prompted us to assess reference intervals for CRP and IL-6 during the 48-h period immediately after birth and to identify maternal and perinatal factors that may affect them. METHODS CRP and IL-6 values were prospectively obtained for 148 healthy babies (113 term, 35 near-term) at birth and at 24 and 48 h of life, and from their mothers at delivery. RESULTS Upper reference limits for CRP at each neonatal age were established. At birth, CRP was significantly lower than at 24 and 48 h of life. Rupture of membranes > or =18 h, perinatal distress, and gestational hypertension significantly affected the neonatal CRP dynamics, but at specific ages. There was no correlation between CRP concentrations in mothers and their offspring at birth. The IL-6 values observed in the delivering mothers and in their babies at all three neonatal ages were negatively associated with gestational age. In the immediate postnatal period, IL-6 dynamics for term babies were significantly different from those for near-term babies. Maternal IL-6 concentrations correlated with babies' IL-6 concentrations only for term deliveries. Apgar score had a significant effect on babies' IL-6 values at birth. CONCLUSIONS The patterns of CRP and IL-6 responses in the healthy neonate should be taken into account to optimize their use in the diagnosis of early-onset neonatal sepsis.