Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
The impact of microfinance services on the growth of small and medium enterprises in Kenya

This study was conducted to establish the impact of microfinance services on the growth of small and medium enterprises in Kenya. A self-administered questionnaire was used as a sole means of collecting data from a targeted sample of fifty small and medium enterprises in Nairobi. However, data was collected from forty: respondents giving a response rate of eighty percent. Qualitative data was analyzed using quantitative analysis . Sales level was used as the dependent variable for the study. Microcredit, micro insurance, and training were used as the independent variables. The researcher predicted that there was a strong positive relationship between micro finance services and the growth of small and medium enterprises in Kenya. A regression analysis was performed to establish the impact of microcredit, micro insurance, and training on the growth in sales level. The regression analysis conducted established that the three independent variables have a positive correlation with the dependent variable. Each of the independent variables: microcredit; micro insurance and training contribute positively to sales growth. It is also evident from the study that without the services provided by MFls most of the SMEs would struggle with their growth objectives or eventually collapse. The study concluded that microfinance services have a strong positive impact on the growth of SMEs in Kenya. SMEs in Nairobi depend on micro financing for growth. The study also established that micro finance services have assisted enterprises to change their status through growth in sales level from micro to small and from small to medium. Most of the SMEs in Nairobi do not utilize micro insurance services. Notwithstanding, micro insurance helps SMEs to manage their business risks well thus; resulting in a positive impact on the growth in their sales level and profitability. The study also established that the level of training offered by micro finance institutions to SMEs was found to
In vitro the antiprotozoal activity of Allium sativum alchohole extract and metronidazole in Entamoeba gingivalis which isolated from patients with periodontal disease

Entamoeba gingivalis is a parasitic protozoa of the oral cavity, The E. gingivalis is transferred between humans directly by oral contact or through the common usage of crockery. The infective form is trofozoites.the last studies found relation between E. gingivalis and periodontal disease. In present study collected 30 samples collected from patient with age (21_30) years, result show infection with this parasite 53.3 %. These samples are cultured in TYSGM-9 media, and then treated with garlic (Allium sativum) extract alcoholic and metronidazole which show inhibited growth of parasite at 100 μg/ml.
Product development strategies for established market pioneers, early followers, and late entrants

SUMMARY AND CONCLUSIONS Earlier research describes how market pioneers, early followers, and late entrants tend to follow dif- ferent product development strategies at the time of entry. This study concludes that order of mar- ket entry also has an enduring impact on prod- uct development strategies for established busi- nesses. This conclusion is based on a PIMS sample of 2273 manufacturing businesses that compete in growing and mature markets. Because these businesses have typically survived for at least 20 years, they are well beyond the start-up venture stage. The first product development scenario predicts that market pioneers will maintain their histor- ical emphasis on product innovation, while late entrants will continue to introduce either prod- uct imitations or minor innovations. These his- torical strategies are partially supported. This is because market pioneers are the most likely and late entrants are the least likely to invest in product development, which covers product R&D intensity and new product sales intensity. The second product development scenario pre- dicts that a historical commitment to product R&D yields minor projects for pioneers. This prediction is consistently supported. This is because product R&D spending by market pioneers tends to empha- size minor projects, such as product improve- ments and line extensions. This indicates that competence-enhancing investments in R&D moti- vates incremental change. While early follower R&D spending also emphasizes minor projects, late entrant spending is more likely to emphasize
Comparison Between Direct and Competitive Models to Investigate Variation of Carcass and Ham Quality Traits in Heavy Pigs

Summary Social interactions among animals raised in pens can aff ect their performance. In this study direct and competitive models were compared to investigate the infl uence of social genetic eff ects on variation of carcass weight (CW), carcass lean meat content (LM) and ham round shape (RS) in heavy pigs. Four sequential models including, in addition to sex and slaughter group fi xed eff ects, the random eff ects of the social group, litter (full-sibs family), direct and social genetic eff ects of pigs were evaluated. Social group and litter eff ects accounted for about 4 and 3% of the phenotypic variance, respectively. When social genetic eff ects were added to model, a small social heritability was estimated for all traits (from 0.3 to 0.7% of the phenotypic variance). A negative correlation between direct and social eff ects was estimated for LM and RS, reducing the total heritable variance available for selection. Model comparison showed that the best fi t was provided by the model including only direct additive genetic eff ects of pigs. So, this model seems still preferable for the genetic evaluation of the investigated traits.
Institutional Investors' Participation in Foreign Firms: Evidence from ADRs

Purpose – Study the firm-level and country-level determinants of US institutional investors' holdings in American Depositary Receipts (ADRs) from emerging markets. Methodology/approach – We use a sample of 112 firms from emerging markets that listed as ADRs between 1990 and 2005. Rather than adopting the issuer's perspective, we take in this study the point of view of the investor and we focus on the US institutional investors' participation in ADR firms. Findings – We find that institutional investors hold higher stakes in foreign firms that are listed on more restrictive exchanges, in large, privatized, more liquid, and more transparent firms. Mutual investors and other institutional investors also prefer firms from countries with weaker institutional environments and from civil law legal tradition. Controlling for country-level determinants increases significantly the explanatory power of the model. Social implications – Our results have important implications for firms from emerging markets seeking to attract foreign institutional investors. Originality/value of the chapter – We focus on the motivations of investors when they choose to invest in the ADR, rather than on the ADR issuer motivation. In addition, we consider all types of institutional investors that acquire a participation in an ADR firm.
Contribution of CD8+ T Cells to Control of Mycobacterium tuberculosis Infection1

Tuberculosis is the number one cause of death due to infectious disease in the world today. Understanding the dynamics of the immune response is crucial to elaborating differences between individuals who contain infection vs those who suffer active disease. Key cells in an adaptive immune response to intracellular pathogens include CD8+ T cells. Once stimulated, these cells provide a number of different effector functions, each aimed at clearing or containing the pathogen. To explore the role of CD8+ T cells in an integrative way, we synthesize both published and unpublished data to build and test a mathematical model of the immune response to Mycobacterium tuberculosis in the lung. The model is then used to perform a series of simulations mimicking experimental situations. Selective deletion of CD8+ T cell subsets suggests a differential contribution for CD8+ T cell effectors that are cytotoxic as compared with those that produce IFN-γ. We also determined the minimum levels of effector memory cells of each T cell subset (CD4+ and CD8+) in providing effective protection following vaccination.
Renal disease in scleroderma: an update on evaluation, risk stratification, pathogenesis and management

Purpose of reviewRenal disease remains an important cause of morbidity and mortality in scleroderma. The spectrum of renal complications in systemic sclerosis includes scleroderma renal crisis (SRC), normotensive renal crisis, antineutrophil cytoplasmic antibodies-associated glomerulonephritis, penacillamine-associated renal disease, and reduced renal functional reserves manifested by proteinuria, microalbuminuria, or isolated reduction in glomerular filtration rate. The purpose of this review is to provide a concise and up-to-date review of the evaluation, risk stratification, pathogenesis, and management of scleroderma-associated renal disease. Recent findingsAlthough SRC survival has significantly improved, mortality of this complication remains high outside of specialized centers. Recent data demonstrate strong associations between anti-RNA polymerase III antibodies and SRC. Subclinical renal impairment affects approximately 50% of scleroderma patients and may be associated with other vascular manifestations. Subclinical renal involvement rarely progresses to end-stage renal failure; however, recent studies suggest it may predict mortality in patients with other vasculopathic manifestations. SummaryTesting for anti-RNA polymerase III antibodies should be incorporated into clinical care to identify patients at high risk for SRC. Recommendations from European League Against Rheumatism (EULAR), EULAR Scleroderma Trials and Research, and the Scleroderma Clinical Trials Consortium confirm angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitors as first-line therapy for SRC, and give recommendations for second-line agents.
Altered endogenous growth hormone secretory kinetics and diurnal GH‐binding protein profiles in adults with chronic liver disease

OBJECTIVE Increased serum GH concentrations and GH responses to a variety of stimuli have been reported in patients with chronic liver disease (CLD). We Investigated the pulsatile pattern of endogenous GH release and GH‐binding protein (GHBP) and insulin‐like growth factor‐I (IGF‐I) diurnal profiles in adults with cirrhosis, in comparison with healthy, matched control subjects.
Economically-Linked Economies and Forecasting Chinese Stock Returns

We explore whether economic links via trade affect aggregate Chinese stock market returns. We find that market return indices from countries that China net exports from can forecast the Chinese aggregate market return at the weekly time horizon. Countries that China net exports to have no consistently significant OOS predictability.The economic intuition for our results follows from the fact that China has positioned itself as a low-cost provider competing on price. As a low-cost provider China has a more difficult time passing cost increases through to export customers because of sticky prices. However, production must meet demand implying that costs will drive short term economic gains for the overall Chinese economy. One interpretation of our results is that supply shocks are absorbed within 2 weeks.
Single dose oral gabapentin for established acute postoperative pain in adults.

BACKGROUND Gabapentin is an antiepileptic drug, also used in the treatment of neuropathic pain, which is the subject of a Cochrane review, currently under revision. Its efficacy in treating established acute postoperative pain has not been demonstrated. OBJECTIVES To assess the efficacy and safety of single dose oral gabapentin compared with placebo in established acute postoperative pain using methods that permit comparison with other analgesics. SEARCH STRATEGY We searched Cochrane CENTRAL, MEDLINE, EMBASE, and the Oxford Pain Relief Database. Additional studies were sought from reference lists of retrieved articles and reviews. Clinical trials databases were searched for unpublished studies; clinical trial reports of several unpublished studies have been made public following litigation in the US. SELECTION CRITERIA Single oral dose, randomised, double-blind, placebo-controlled trials of gabapentin for relief of established moderate to severe postoperative pain in adults. DATA COLLECTION AND ANALYSIS Studies were assessed for methodological quality and data extracted by two review authors independently. Numbers of participants with at least 50% of maximum possible total pain relief (TOTPAR) or summed pain intensity difference (SPID) with gabapentin or placebo were calculated and used to derive relative benefit (RB) or risk (RR), and number-needed-to-treat-to-benefit (NNT). Numbers of participants using rescue medication, and time to its use, were sought as additional measures of efficacy. Information on adverse events and withdrawals was collected. MAIN RESULTS Four unpublished studies met inclusion criteria; in three, participants had pain following dental surgery, and one followed major orthopaedic surgery; 177 participants were treated with a single dose of gabapentin 250 mg, 21 with gabapentin 500 mg, and 172 with placebo. At least 50% pain relief over 6 hours was achieved by 15% with gabapentin 250 mg and 5% with placebo; giving a RB of 2.5 (95% CI 1.2 to 5.0) and an NNT of 11 (6.4 to 35). Significantly fewer participants needed rescue medication within 6 hours with gabapentin 250 mg than with placebo; NNT to prevent use 5.8. About one third of participants reported adverse events with both gabapentin 250 mg and placebo. No serious adverse events occurred with gabapentin. AUTHORS' CONCLUSIONS Gabapentin 250 mg is statistically superior to placebo in the treatment of established acute postoperative pain, but the NNT of 11 for at least 50% pain relief over 6 hours with gabapentin 250 mg is of limited clinical value and inferior to commonly used analgesics. Gabapentin 250 mg is not clinically useful as a stand-alone analgesic in established acute postoperative pain, though this is probably the first demonstration of analgesic effect of an antiepileptic in established acute pain.
Case Method Instruction in the Business Writing Classroom

An effective pedagogy narrows or closes the gap between what is taught in pre- professional communications programs and what is expected on the job. Case studies are often an important element in such pedagogy. But an analysis of cases recently published in Business Communication Quarterly and a survey of 25 employees who consider writing important to successful performance at work show that we may be giving our students instruction they will rarely use. The BCQ cases typically require students to respond to exceptional rhetorical situations when in reality the rhetorical situations writers usually face require more mundane and standardized types of discourse.
Health behaviour among adolescents in Denmark: Influence of school class and individual risk factors

Aims: The aim of this study was to assess the relative influence of school class on health behaviour among adolescents versus that of the family's socioeconomic status and individual factors among adolescents. Methods: The material comprised 3,458 students in grades 8 and 9 in 244 school classes. Data were collected through questionnaires completed by the students and by their class teacher and information from the school physician. Multilevel analysis was used to indicate the relative significance of individual and school class characteristics. Results: We find no consistent pattern between the mother's socioeconomic status and the included health behaviour measurements; however, adolescents from the lower socioeconomic groups had a higher risk of unhealthy dietary habits and adolescents whose mothers were unemployed had a significantly lower risk of drinking alcohol weekly versus all other adolescents. Not living with both biological parents, focusing on friends, and not being very academically proficient were associated with an increased risk of harmful health behaviour. Health behaviour varied substantially between school classes, especially for daily smoking, weekly alcohol consumption, and use of hashish and other euphoriants. Circumstances in the school class more profoundly influenced risk behaviour among adolescents (smoking, alcohol consumption, and use of hashish or other euphoriants) than their dietary habits (eating breakfast, frequent intake of fruit and vegetables, and frequent intake of soft drinks). Conclusions: The school class had the relatively strongest influence on adolescents' risk behaviour (smoking, alcohol intake, and use of hashish or other euphoriants), whereas family circumstances comprised the strongest influence on dietary habits.
Top Management Succession and Subsequent Firm Innovation: Evidence from Chinese Listed Companies

We examine the influences of top management succession on firm strategies in the case of innovation. Our main results show that top manager changes result in less innovation in Chinese listed companies. The evidence supports the hypothesis that succession events exert much pressure on managers to meet short-run earning expectations, hindering firms' investment in long-term value creation projects. Moreover, our moderating effects examinations exhibit that: different types of successions lead to different levels of innovation decline; the succession-innovation relationship are also moderated by lots of firm contextual features. To establish causality of succession-innovation relation, we introduce a rich set of tests to rule out competitive hypothesis concerns. Meanwhile, our robust test further supports our principal conclusion about succession-innovation relationship. Our study offers straight and comprehensive evidence on a previously under-explored adverse consequence of top management succession — its harmful effect on firm innovation.
A new family sufficient descent conjugate gradient methods for unconstrained optimization

In this paper, a new family modified descent conjugate gradient methods are proposed for solving unconstrained optimization problems. We develop a new sufficient descent direction at every iteration. Under some suitable conditions, theoretical analysis shows that the algorithm is global convergence. Numerical results show that this method is effective in unconstrained minimizing optimization problems.
Modeling customer advocacy: a PLS path modeling approach

This paper aims to model customer advocacy (CA) and provide empirical evidence for the fact that if a service company advocates for the best interests of its customers, they will reciprocate with stronger loyalty and advocacy for the company. The paper adopted partial least square (PLS) path modeling to test the hypotheses (sample size 575). The results support Urban's (2004) CA paradigm. The paper also finds support for the effect of CA by company on customers’ trust in the service company, and further trust had a positive impact on customer advocacy for the company. Service companies can build customer's trust by adopting the CA strategy in establishing mutual dialog with the customers and providing quality services. If the customers are satisfied and hold a positive attitude toward the service provider, they will advocate the service provider among their peers. The paper adds to the existing literature by modeling the CA paradigm of Urban (2004) and establishing its relationships with customer satisfaction (CS), two dimensions of customer loyalty (i.e. behavioral and attitudinal), customers’ perceived value and trust. This study also contributes to the literature by successful extension of the CS index studies in the context of the emerging economies.
Power dependence, diversification strategy, and performance in keiretsu member firms

Conceptualizing the keiretsu as a power-dependence system, we propose that benefits accruing from keiretsu affiliation differ across member firms, depending on their power in (or dependence on) the keiretsu. By integrating power with governance and internal market perspectives on group affiliation, we develop and find general support for the hypotheses that powerful keiretsu member firms are able to place more emphasis on growth in pursuing product and international diversification, whereas less powerful keiretsu member firms are subject to strong monitoring and emphasize profitability. These findings provide support to the study's proposition that power-dependence relationships in a keiretsu influence member firms' appropriation of group affiliation benefits in pursuing diversification strategies. Copyright © 2004 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
The Impact of Agricultural Credit and Farmer Trainings on Small Holder Dairy Production in Southern Region in Sri Lanka

Potential growth of dairy sector is highest and more reliable compared to crop sector, indicating that dairy sector can play vital role to increase income among farmers in rural areas than crop sector in Sri Lanka. Credit and farmer training in management ability have been major concerns of dairy development efforts. Therefore, this study was conducted to assess the impact of credit and farmer training on small holder dairy sector and to estimate its contribution to farmer’s income. The study was carried out in southern region of Sri Lanka. Purposive sampling approach was adopted and data were collected from 119 farmers through pre-tested structured questionnaire by personnel interview. Twenty one percents of respondents had taken credit and 72% of farmers had received subsidies to develop their dairy production capacity. Almost 97% of farmers had received knowledge for different activities in dairy production and 45% of them had participated for trainings which related to dairy. The milk yield of studied sample had correlation with credit amount (r=0.500, p=0.018), value of subsidy (r=0.350, p=0.003) and extension and training (r=.453, p=.000) which received by farmers. The farmers with higher level knowledge on management practices were acquiring and demanding of credit and farmer training compared to farmers with low knowledge. Further herd size had strong positive correlation with the amount of credit obtained. The results clearly illustrated credit and farmer training in dairy sector could considerably facilitate to increase income of dairy farmers and assists to develop dairy sector in small holder context.