Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Modelling Small Business Failures in Malaysia

Small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) are acknowledged as significant contributors to development and growth in the economy. Since failure among SMEs is common, this study intends to build a failure prediction model for SMEs in the manufacturing sector. By using 132 Malaysian SMEs during the period 2000 to 2010, the results show that higher gearing and lower profitability are associated with higher failure risk. Furthermore, the incorporation of firm’s age significantly improves the model’s predictive accuracy. Receiver Operating Characteristics curve demonstrates that the models possess better prediction ability than a random model. However, a model which includes financial and non-financial variables show superior performance. This model could detect failures as early as four years prior to the event. Overall, the accuracy rate that the model could correctly predict failures ranges from 75 percent to 89 percent.This model could be used as a refined tool to avoid possible adverse situations among the SMEs. A better credit decision making could take place that could potentially reduce non-performing loans.
The Link Between Purchase Delay and Resale Price Maintenance: Using The Real Options Approach

Why would a manufacturer want to impose resale price maintenance (RPM)? The traditional explanation of RPM is that it prevents retailers from free riding in providing services. In this paper, we show that the manufacturers still have incentives to impose RPM even their products do not need special services. When making a purchase decision, consumers choose from various alternatives, including options to delay the purchase, especially if they feel the price will be lower in the future. This paper connects frequent markdowns, purchase delay, and resale price maintenance (RPM) by using the real options analysis. The results indicate that the demand quantity under flexible pricing is lower than that under RPM, due to purchase delay. The profits of manufacturer will be lower without the use of RPM. This research also suggests that the manufacturer has more incentives to impose RPM on products with higher demand price elasticity. The results from real options analysis suggests that what we call consumers’ purchase delay, which is caused by retailers’ frequent markdowns makes RPM a desirable strategy for manufacturers.
Short wavelength automated perimetry and tamoxifen use

Background/aims: Oestrogen receptors (ORs) have been reported to be present in the retina, and the selective oestrogen receptor modulator tamoxifen has been reported to affect colour vision. This study aimed, therefore, to determine whether standard doses of tamoxifen affect visual sensitivities mediated via short wavelength sensitive (SWS) cones. Methods: Two types of visual fields were measured for middle aged women who were being treated with 20 mg of tamoxifen daily as adjuvant therapy for early stage breast cancer. Visual fields were measured using short wavelength automated perimetry (SWAP) and frequency doubling perimetry (FDP). For SWAP, 24-2 visual fields were analysed. No subjects had tamoxifen retinopathy or other eye disease. For each type of visual field, mean deviations (MDs) were assessed as a function of the duration of tamoxifen use, using a cross sectional design. In addition, the difference between the two types of MDs was computed after standardisation of each type of MD separately, and this difference itself was evaluated as a function of the duration of tamoxifen use. Duration dependent changes for SWAP were further evaluated as a function of eccentricity within the visual field, and the visual field data were compared with foveal data obtained psychophysically. Results: SWAP sensitivities depended on the duration of tamoxifen use. Subjects who used tamoxifen for about 2 years or less were significantly more likely than subjects who had longer use to have high MDs. The difference between the standardised SWAP and FDP MDs likewise was significantly related to the duration of use, whereas duration of use effects for FDP itself were reduced or absent. Although the duration of use effect observed for SWAP was strongest in the peripheral portion of the visual field, there was evidence of changes in SWS cone mediated vision even at the fovea. Conclusion: Standard dosages of tamoxifen can affect SWAP visual fields. The effects of tamoxifen are not equivalent for SWAP and FDP, indicating that tamoxifen affects some types of visual pathways preferentially or selectively. SWS cone pathways, in particular, are affected. SWAP appears able to reveal effects of tamoxifen occurring years before completion of the standard 5 year regimen of use.
L1/HNK‐1 Carbohydrate‐ and β1 Integrin‐Dependent Neural Cell Adhesion to Laminin‐1

Abstract: We have shown recently that mouse small cerebellar neurons adhere to a short amino acid sequence of the G2 domain of the laminin α1 chain via the cell surface‐expressed HNK‐1 carbohydrate. Therefore, we were interested in identifying glycoproteins carrying the HNK‐1 carbohydrate at the cell surface of these neurons. Adhesion of small cerebellar neurons to laminin is partially dependent on Ca2+, Mn2+, and Mg2+, indicating the involvement of integrins, which were identified as β1, α3, and α6. They could be shown to bind to laminin by a β1‐dependent adhesion mechanism. None of these subunits was found to carry the HNK‐1 carbohydrate. HNK‐1‐immunoreactive glycoproteins were immunoprecipitated and shown to consist of predominantly one molecular species, which was identified as the neural cell recognition molecule L1. L1 was demonstrated to bind in a concentration‐dependent and saturating manner to laminin. The binding could be partially inhibited by Fab fragments of monoclonal antibodies against the HNK‐1 carbohydrate and against the Ig‐like domains of L1. Furthermore, antibodies to the Ig‐like domains of L1 and β1 integrin inhibited partially cell adhesion to laminin. Determination of the association of L1, β1 integrin, and the HNK‐1 carbohydrate on the cell surface of live cerebellar neurons by antibody‐induced patching and copatching revealed HNK‐1 to be linked to L1, but less so to β1 integrin. However, only negligible association was found between L1 and β1 integrin. Furthermore, it could be shown that adhesion to laminin is mediated by L1/HNK‐1‐ and β1 integrin‐dependent mechanisms that act at least partially independent of each other.
The impact of low concentrations of aflatoxin, deoxynivalenol or fumonisin in diets on growing pigs and poultry

Abstract In the present review, the quantitative impact of dietary aflatoxin, deoxynivalenol (DON) and fumonisin concentrations on performance of pigs and broilers is evaluated, with special emphasis on low concentrations of these toxins. Also, responses in performance of pigs and broilers to these three toxins are related to their absorption and elimination kinetics. By applying simple linear regression, information from many literature sources is integrated and condensed into, for example, estimates of depression in rates of weight gain, relative to non-contaminated diets, with increasing toxin concentrations. It was estimated that with each mg/kg increase of aflatoxin in the diet, the growth rate would be depressed by 16 % for pigs and 5 % for broilers. For DON, with each mg/kg increase in the diet, the growth depression was estimated at about 8 % for pigs, while broilers showed no response to DON concentrations below 16 mg/kg. Fumonisin showed the lowest impact on growth performance; with each mg/kg increase, the depression in growth rate was estimated at 0·4 and 0·0 % for pigs and broilers, respectively. Dietary concentrations that cause a 5 % reduction in growth rate were estimated at 0·3 and 1·0 mg/kg for aflatoxin for pigs and broilers, respectively; 1·8 and 0·6 mg/kg for pure and naturally contaminated DON for pigs, respectively; 21 and 251 mg/kg for fumonisin for pigs and broilers, respectively.
The Consumer's Demand for Money: A Neoclassical Approach

Since the appearance of the contributions of Modigliani and Brumberg (1954), and of Friedman (1957), a series of writers has derived "new theories of the consumption function" from the neoclassical, or Fisherian, analysis of intertemporal resource allocation under assumptions of everincreasing generality. According to this approach, the consumer is viewed as maximizing an intertemporal utility function, having as arguments the levels of aggregate consumption at each point in time, subject to an overall resource constraint. The solution to this maximization problem yields the time path of consumption as a function of total resources and the time path of forward prices. In this capital-theoretic approach, the household stock of nonhuman wealth enters only indirectly. First, the services of real assets (for example, homes and cars) are included in consumption, and forward prices of aggregate consumption are defined to include the prices of these services rather than the prices of the assets themselves. Second, in the ModiglianiBrumberg formulation, expected labor income and nonhuman wealth (= present value of expected property income) are entered as separate arguments in the consumption function. However, neither Friedman nor Modigliani and Brumberg (nor their successors) stress the fact that the intertemporal maximization process also yields, as a by-product, the time path of savings and of household nonhuman wealth (which includes stocks of financial as well as of real assets). Parallel to this work on the consumption function, Friedman and others have argued that the demand for money should also be regarded as "a special topic in the theory of capital" (Friedman 1956, p. 4). Money
Identification of Gene Markers for the Prediction of Allograft Rejection or Permanent Acceptance

The clinical success of new treatment strategies aiming on inducing permanent graft acceptance will rely on the ability to determine whether specific unresponsiveness to donor alloantigens has developed and for how long it is maintained. To identify markers for such posttransplant monitoring, genes differentially expressed by graft infiltrating leukocytes during tolerance induction or rejection after kidney transplantation in rats were compared. A subsequently performed full kinetic analysis in two different transplant models, kidney and heart, in two species, rat and mouse identified two markers (TOAG‐1, α‐1,2‐mannosidase) with high specificity and reproducibility, which are highly expressed during induction and maintenance of acceptance, and downregulated during rejection. Expression level of these markers showed a strong positive correlation with graft function. In addition, expression of both genes was downregulated in the peripheral blood and the graft prior to rejection, suggesting that these markers may be useful for monitoring in clinical transplantation where peripheral blood is the most easily accessible patient sample. Interestingly, downregulation of TOAG‐1 and α‐1,2‐mannosidase expression occurred in graft infiltrating cells and expression of both genes was also downregulated after T‐cell activation in vitro.
Phosphate provides an extracellular signal that drives nuclear export of Runx2/Cbfa1 in bone cells.

Inorganic phosphate (Pi) supplement is generally used to accelerate mineralization of cultured bone cells but the mechanism of action is totally unknown. How the action is related with the transactivation of Runx2/Cbfa1,a master gene product of bone formation,was examined. Clonal bone cells (osteoblastic MC3T3-E1, chondrocytic ATDC5 and osteocytic MLO-Y4) on preculture in ascorbate-containing medium constantly expressed and accumulated Cbfa1 in the nuclei, and subsequent increase of Pi concentration to 3 or 10 mM was found to invariably induce nuclear export (not import) of Cbfa1 which was completed in a few hours. In addition, Pi was found to lower the expression of osteocalcin. Leptomycin B completely inhibited Pi-induced nuclear export, suggesting that CRM1/exportin 1 is involved in Pi-induced nuclear export. The result suggests that bone cells are equipped with a novel Pi sensing mechanism which is functionally linked to a nuclear export system of Cbfa1.
When is Fiscal Adjustment an Illusion?

Fiscal adjustment is an illusion when it lowers the budget deficit or public debt but leaves the government's net worth unchanged, says the author. Conventional measures of the budget deficit largely measure the change in explicit public sector liabilities (debt). A more appropriate measure of the deficit would be the change in public sector net worth, but many criticize this concept as impossible to measure. The author takes a positive, rather than normative, approach to the net worth definition of fiscal balance. A simple model shows that when an outside agent forces a reduction in a government's conventional deficit (debt accumulation), the government will respond by lowering its asset accumulation or by increasing hidden liabilities. That leaves net worth unchanged, so fiscal adjustment is an illusion. He performs some simple empirical tests on the observational predictions of the model, examining a sample of countries with World Bank and International Monetary Fund adjustmentprograms and case studies of Maastricht Euro countries. The results confirm the model predictions: Fiscal adjustment in these countries was at least partly an illusion.
Assessment of the anthocyanidin content of common fruits and development of a test diet rich in a range of anthocyanins

There is significant interest in the beneficial health properties of anthocyanins/anthocyanidins. Future investigations into their physiological effects will require human intervention with precise amounts of anthocyanins/anthocyanidins. We have investigated the total anthocyanin/anthocyanidin content of common berry fruits and designed an intervention diet intended to deliver a balanced profile of different anthocyanidins. Using acid hydrolysis and HPLC-diode array analysis we report the individual profile and total anthocyanidin profile/content of blueberry (148.76 mg/100 g FW), blackberry (76.78 mg/100 g FW), cranberry (19.30 mg/100 g FW), black grape (28.09 mg/100 g FW), raspberry (104.38 mg/100 g FW) and strawberry (41.09 mg/100 g FW). The measured anthocyanidin content in the various fruits was used to design an intervention diet (15 g of blueberry, 5 g of blackberry, 30 g cranberry, 20 g of grape, 5 g of raspberry and 25 g of strawberry; 100 g mixed fruit portion) capable of delivering high amounts of the six main anthocyanidins.
The Effects Of Macroeconomic And Policy Uncertainty On Exchange Rate Risk Premium

The goal of this paper is to identify the main determinants of the risk premium in some European currency markets just before the EMU. To that extent, we start from Lucas (1982) exchange rate model and derive an analytical expression for the forward premium. This expression includes money and production variables and it is quite standard, except for the inclusion of macroeconomic policy risk. Under some standard assumptions, this formula simplifies substantially and becomes amenable to regression analysis. Then, using standard measures of money and production, as well as interest rate swaps as indicators of macroeconomic policy risk, the theoretical expression is estimated. We provide evidence suggesting that it is policy uncertainty, much more than fundamental macroeconomic uncertainty, which determined risk premium over the convergence process to the euro. Whether these results can be extended to similar experiences for other currency unions remains open for future research.
Teacher migration impact : a review in the context of quality education provision and teacher training in higher education in Southern Africa

Teacher mobility has become a common feature of the cross-border flows and transnational networks that constitute globalisation. International and intraregional migration of teachers is an important factor in education provision and management in countries in the Southern Africa region, for example Botswana and South Africa. In an increasingly global context of teacher migration, education practitioners continue to strive for quality education. But has the mobility of teachers mediated the quality of education, and what are the implication of this for teacher education and training in higher education? This article explores teacher migration trends and dimensions of quality education, and assesses the impact that such teacher mobility has on education quality dimensions. The implications of teacher migration for teacher training in higher education are also explored. The article argues that teacher mobility negatively impacts education quality dimensions as well as the demand dynamics on higher education institutions for teachers in the migration origin countries. These concerns represent one of the major exclusions in the existing reflections on quality education provision and teacher supply and demand.
Internationalisation of Spanish family SMEs: an analysis of family involvement

The aim of this work is to analyse the influence of family involvement on a company in the context of the firm's internationalisation. The work incorporates some of the most current perspectives from the international business field. From these reflections, we propose a causal explanatory model whose ultimate dependent variable is the firm's level of internationalisation, considering independent variables both at the individual and company level (including family influence). The model is tested on a sample of 222 Andalusian firms (Spain), using a structural equation modelling technique (Partial Least Squares – PLS). The results show how the family involvement plays a mediating role when considering the internationalisation of family firms. Some of the conclusions may give useful insights for public agencies responsible for fostering SME internationalisation as well as for the academic world.
Generation of prions in vitro and the protein-only hypothesis

Prions are self-propagating proteinaceous infectious agents capable of transmitting disease in the absence of nucleic acids. The nature of the infectious agent in prion diseases has been at the center of passionate debate for the past 30 years. However, recent reports on the in vitro generation of prions have settled all doubts that the misfolded prion protein (PrPSc) is the key component in propagating infectivity. However, we still do not understand completely the mechanism of prion replication and whether or not other cellular factors besides PrPSc are required for infectivity. In this article, we discuss these recent reports under the context of the protein-only hypothesis and their implications.
The Dark brown plumage color in chickens is caused by an 8.3‐kb deletion upstream of SOX10

The Dark brown (DB) mutation in chickens reduces expression of black eumelanin and enhances expression of red pheomelanin, but only in certain parts of the plumage. Here, we present genetic evidence that an 8.3‐kb deletion upstream of the SOX10 transcription start site is the causal mutation underlying the DB phenotype. The SOX10 transcription factor has a well‐established role in melanocyte biology and is essential for melanocyte migration and survival. Previous studies have demonstrated that the mouse homolog of a highly conserved element within the deleted region is a SOX10 enhancer. The mechanism of action of this mutation remains to be established, but one possible scenario is that the deletion leads to reduced SOX10 expression which in turn down‐regulates expression of key enzymes in pigment synthesis such as tyrosinase. Lower tyrosinase activity leads to a shift toward a more pheomelanistic (reddish) plumage color, which is the characteristic feature of the DB phenotype.
Heterogeneity of Obsessive‐Compulsive Disorder: A Literature Review

Significant advances have been made in characterizing the phenomenology and psychobiology of obsessive‐compulsive disorder (OCD) in recent years. In many ways, such advances suggest a conceptualization of OCD as a relatively homogeneous neuropsychiatric entity, underpinned by particular mechanisms that manifest in universal symptoms. Nevertheless, some data have pointed to the heterogeneity of this disorder. A computerized literature search (MEDLINE: 1964‐2001) was used to collect studies addressing the heterogeneity of OCD. In addition, reviews of the phenomenology, psychobiology, family studies, and treatment of OCD were examined in an attempt to collate data addressing this issue. There is a growing consensus that some subtypes of OCD are valid and provide a useful means of integrating data on its symptomatology, neurobiology, and treatment response; for example, OCD with comorbid tics is characterized by earlier onset, a particular range of OCD symptoms, and worse response to selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors. The heterogeneity of OCD has important clinical and research implications. (Harv Rev Psychiatry 2003;11:113‐132.)
Does the nature of residual immune function explain the differential risk of non‐melanoma skin cancer development in immunosuppressed organ transplant recipients?

Patients receiving immunosuppression to prevent organ transplant rejection are at a greatly increased risk of developing nonmelanoma skin cancer. In recent years a correlation has been identified between the class of immunosuppressant that these patients receive and their subsequent cancer risk; in particular, patients switched from calcineurin inhibitors to mammalian target of rapamycin (mTOR) inhibitors not only displayed a dramatic reduction in new tumor formation but also in some cases a regression of their existing lesions. Studies of cancer models in mice and cell lines in the laboratory have attributed these discrepancies in cancer risk to the ability of immunosuppressants such as mTOR inhibitors to elicit direct anticancer effects, including suppressing angiogenesis and increasing autophagy‐mediated DNA repair. Recent evidence from the immunological literature however, suggests a significant alternative contribution of mTOR inhibitors; namely the promotion of memory T‐cell function. Recent advances in understanding memory T‐cell establishment and the demonstration of their critical role in long‐term immunity make it timely to review the available evidence as to whether the improved nonmelanoma skin cancer outcome shown by patients switched to mTOR inhibitor treatment regimens may be associated with the retainment of memory T‐cell function.