bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Effect of the lumbar scoliosis on the results of dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry
Authors: Kirilov Nikola , Kirilova Elena , Todorov Svilen , Nikolov Nikolay
Published: April 2020

One of the most common causes of lumbar scoliosis in adults is the decreased bone mineral density (BMD). The scoliosis in the lumbar spine has a known effect over the dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry (DXA) scan results. The objective of this study is to assess the influence of the lumbar scoliosis on the results of the DXA scan of the lumbar spine. 1019 women aged ≥40 years underwent a DXA scan of the spine. Age, weight, height, total BMD, total Tscore of the lumbar spine were recorded. The angle of the lumbar scoliosis (Cobb’s angle) was measured from the DXA scan image using a DICOM software. The incidence of lumbar scoliosis in the current study accounts to 12.3%. Women with scoliosis showed significantly higher incidence of discrepancy in BMD T-scores between the adjacent vertebrae by more than 1 SD compared to women without scoliosis, (p=0.046). DXA results of subjects with scoliosis require more detailed evaluation of the T-scores of each vertebra to make a prompt decision about the final diagnosis.
THALIDOMIDE FOR PATIENTS WITH THALASSEMIA INTERMEDIA: A RETROSPECTIVE MULTICENTER CLINICAL STUDY
Authors: Yang Kun , Wu Yi , Zhou Yali , Zhou Tianhong , Wang Li , Geng Zhili , Yin Xiaolin
Published: April 2020

Objective: This study focused on the efficacy and safety of thalidomide for patients with thalassemia intermedia (TI) in a multicenter trial.

Methods：Clinical and laboratory data of 62 patients subjected to thalidomide therapy in four centers were retrospectively analyzed. We evaluated the efficacy and safety of thalidomide in the short-term (three months) and long-term follow-up (12 and 24 months). Response to thalidomide was defined as follows: Main Responder (MaR) showing an increase in Hb level of >2.0 g/dl or removal from blood transfusion and Minor Responder (MiR) achieving elevated hemoglobin (Hb) level of 1.0-2.0 g/dl or ≥50% reduction in blood transfusion frequency.

Results：The overall response rate (ORR) of 62 patients with TI was 93.5% (58/62), with MaR and MiR rates accounting for 62.9% (39/62) and 30.6% (19/62) in short-term follow-up and 66.1% (41/62) and 27.4% (17/62) in long-term follow-up, respectively. The clinical response during long-term follow-up was maintained and the Hb level remained stable during the observation period. The response was still observed in patients with dose reduction despite a slight decrease in Hb level. However, Hb decreased rapidly to the baseline level after drug discontinuation. No effect of thalidomide on spleen size in nonsplenectomized patients was evident. Minimal side-effects were documented throughout, except peripheral neurotoxicity in one patient. Nevertheless, the mean serum ferritin (SF) level was significantly increased after treatment.

Conclusion: Thalidomide had significant therapeutic effects on patients with TI, and the response was sustained with acceptable short-term and long-term adverse reactions. While these preliminary results support the potential long-term efficacy and safety of thalidomide as a therapeutic agent for TI, several issues need to be addressed before its application in the clinic.
A comprehensive earthquake catalogue for the Fort St. John-Dawson Creek region, British Columbia, 2017-2018
Authors: Visser R , Kao H , Smith B , Goerzen C , Kontou B , Dokht R M H , Hutchinson J , Tan F , Babaie Mahani A
Published: April 2020

To gain a better understanding of induced seismicity in northeastern British Columbia, we conducted an analysis of seismic data to locate earthquakes that occurred within the area of 55.5°N-56.3°N and 119.8°W-121.2°W for the years of 2017 and
2018. This catalogue contains earthquakes that were detected and located using a combination of manual analysis and a semi-automated process utilizing the newly developed Seismicity-Scanning based on Navigated Automatic Phase-picking (S-SNAP) algorithm (Tan et al., 2019). There were two major
seismic station deployments within the study area during the study period which significantly increased our ability to locate small earthquakes (ML <1.5). Our dataset consisted of continuous seismic waveforms from a total of 52 stations operated by various organizations in the region. A
total of 10,692 events were identified, located, and had solutions which passed our quality control criteria. For the same period and area, the Canadian National Seismograph Network (CNSN) routine catalogue 71 events - all are included in this study. In this report, we describe in detail both the
manual location procedures and our implementation of S-SNAP. The earthquake catalogue, picking information, and magnitude information are included in separate files and can easily be joined using the earthquake origin IDs. The total number of events in 2017 and 2018 are 5779 and 4914, respectively.
The overall magnitude of completeness of our catalogue is ML ~1.5 for the period of 2017-01 through 2017-06, when there were only 2 stations within the study area, and ~ML 1.0 when there were 10 or more stations in the area from 2017-07 onwards.
Serum vitamin D content is associated with semen parameters and serum testosterone levels in men
Authors: Ciccone Inari M , Costa Elaine MF , Pariz Juliana R , Teixeira Thiago A , Drevet Joel R , Gharagozloo Parviz , Aitken Robert J , Hallak Jorge
Published: April 2020

The present study aimed to evaluate the influence of serum vitamin D levels on semen quality and testosterone levels. This is a cross-sectional study conducted at Androscience, Science and Innovation Center in Andrology and High-Complex Clinical and Andrology Laboratory in Sao Paulo, Brazil, with 508 male patients, aged 18–60 years, from 2007 to 2017. Seminal parameters and serum sexual hormones were correlated with serum vitamin D concentrations in 260 men selected by strict selection criteria. Patients were divided into normozoospermic group (NZG, n = 124) and a group with seminal abnormalities (SAG, n = 136). Evaluation included complete physical examination, past medical history, habits and lifestyle factors, two complete seminal analysis with sperm functional tests, serum levels of 25-hydroxy-vitamin D3 (25(OH)VD3), total and free testosterone, luteinizing hormone (LH), follicle-stimulating hormone (FSH), sex hormone-binding globulin (SHBG), total cholesterol, homeostatic model assessment of insulin resistance (HOMA-IR) index, and karyotype. The mean concentration of 25(OH)VD3 was significantly lower in the SAG (P < 0.001) and positively correlated with all baseline seminal parameters and total testosterone levels. In addition, serum vitamin D3 concentration was found to be positively correlated with sperm concentration (β= 2.103; P < 0.001), total number of spermatozoa with progressive motility (β = 2.069; P = 0.003), total number of motile spermatozoa (β = 2.571; P = 0.015), and strict morphology (β = 0.056; P = 0.006), regardless of other variables. This is the first comparative study to address the issue of serum vitamin D3 content between normozoospermic patients and those with sperm abnormalities. It clearly demonstrates a direct and positive relationship between serum vitamin D level and overall semen quality, male reproductive potential, and testosterone levels.
Evaluation of apical debris extrusion during endodontic retreatment by different systems
Authors: Dadalti Manoela Teixeira de Sant'Anna , Almeida Natália Elissa Monçôres de , Ormiga Fabíola , Risso Patrícia de Andrade
Published: April 2020

Aim: This study sought to evaluate the amount of apical debris extrusion during the removal of filling material (RFM) performed by the ProTaper-Retreatment (ProTaper-R), Mtwo-Retreatment (Mtwo-R), Reciproc, and hand files. Materials and Methods: Sixty lower premolars were prepared using the ProTaper Universal system and filled with thermoplastic technique. Subsequently, the samples were randomly divided into four groups (n = 15) according to the system used for the removal of the filling material: Mtwo-R (R25/.05); ProTaper-R (D1, D2, and D3); Reciproc (R25); and hand file (type K and Hedstroem stainless steel files). The apical debris extrusion was evaluated before and after the RFM from the root canal by weighing Eppendorf tubes on a high-precision balance. Statistical analysis was performed using the ANOVA test followed by the Tukey's test (P < 0.05). Results: All of the systems produced apical debris extrusion; however, the Mtwo-R group demonstrated significantly more extrusion as compared with the ProTaper-R and Reciproc groups (P < 0.05). There was no statistically significant difference between the Reciproc, ProTaper-R, and hand file groups (P > 0.05). Conclusions: The Mtwo-R group produced significantly more extrusion than did the ProTaper-R and Reciproc groups. There was no difference between the Reciproc, ProTaper-R, and hand file groups.
Single tooth implant versus resin-bonded bridge: A study of patient’s satisfaction
Authors: Lim Tong Wah , Ariff Tengku Fazrina Tengku Mohd
Published: April 2020

Objective: To compare the patients’ satisfaction between patients treated with single tooth implant (STI) or resin bonded bridge (RBB) for single missing tooth replacement. Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted in Faculty of Dentistry, Universiti Teknologi MARA (UiTM). Patients treated using STI (n=26) and RBB (n=26) were prospectively recruited. A validated patient satisfaction questionnaire was given to the participants to assess the aesthetics, masticatory function, phonetics, ease of cleaning and cost satisfaction using 7- point Likert scale. Demographic data (gender and age) and treatment data (site of treatment) were also collected. Differences in various aspects of satisfaction were compared. Results: STI and RBB groups has similar demographic and treatment characteristics. Both groups revealed high satisfaction with most of the aspects in the questionnaire. There was no statistically significant difference in overall satisfaction between the two treatment groups (p = 0.189). However, STI group had a significant higher score in existing appearance (p = 0.010), mastication (p = 0.018) and phonetics (p = 0.029) compared with RBB. Level of satisfaction did not differ by gender, age and site of the prostheses (p > 0.05). Almost all of the participants would choose to undergo the same treatment again in UiTM (STI = 96.2%, RBB = 92.3%). Conclusion: Both STI and RBB participants were highly satisfied with the aesthetics, phonetics, cost and found that the treatment fees were justified and reasonable in UiTM. Therefore, both treatment options are good to be indicated for single missing tooth replacement.
Полиномиальные реализации конечномерных алгебр Ли
Authors: Gorbatsevich Vladimir Vitalyevich
Published: April 2020

Доказано, что произвольная конечномерная алгебра Ли над алгебраически замкнутым полем $K$ характеристики $0$ может быть вложена (реализована) в качестве транзитивной подалгебры Ли в алгебру Ли полиномиальных векторных полей на пространстве $K^n$. То же доказано для произвольных вещественных алгебр Ли и еще в некоторых других случаях.
Переходные плотности диффузионных процессов на симплексе Тома
Authors: Korotkikh Sergey
Published: April 2020

Рассматривается трехпараметрическое семейство диффузионных процессов на бесконечномерном симплексе, построенное в работах А. М. Бородина и Г. И. Ольшанского 2009 и 2010 гг. Это семейство обобщает модель бесконечного количества нейтральных аллелей, построенную С. Этье и Т. Куртцом в 1981 г., а также ее обобщение, найденное Л. А. Петровым в 2009 г.
Каждый процесс $X$ рассматриваемого семейства обладает единственной симметризующей мерой $M$, называемой z-мерой. Главным результатом этой работы является существование непрерывной переходной плотности процесса $X$ относительно меры $M$. Это обобщение предыдущих результатов Этье (1992 г.) и Ш. Фена, В. Суня, Ф.-Ю. Вана и Ф. Сюя (2011 г.). Наше доказательство основано на особом базисе алгебры симметрических функций, связанном с многочленами Лагерра.
The long road to accommodative central banking: the US case
Authors: Knodell Jane
Published: April 2020

For Basil Moore and post-Keynesians who have followed him in developing the theory of endogenous money, accommodative central-bank behavior is a logical necessity in credit-money economies. Such central banks have no choice but to accommodate the banking system's demand for liquidity. Accommodative central banking evolved through a historical process, as this paper shows for the specific case of the US economy. The road to accommodative central banking was a long one in the US, marked by failed experiments with alternative institutional regimes: the Second Bank of the US of the early national period, the urban clearing-houses of the late nineteenth century, and the early Federal Reserve.
The Composition of Fish Capture and Level of Environmental Gill Net in Kuallo Sokkam North Sumatera
Authors: Limbong Irwan , Ariani Fitri , Heriyanto Teguh
Published: April 2020

Pengembangan teknologi penangkapan ikan ditekankan pada teknologi yang ramah lingkungan dengan harapan dapat memanfaatkan sumberdaya perikanan yang berkelanutan dan mengetahui jenis dan komposisi hasil tangkapan ikan. Tujuan penelitian ini untuk mengetahui komposisi hasil tangkapan ikan dan mengetahui tingkat keramahan lingkungan alat tangkap jaring insang berdasarkan FAO (1995). Metode yang digunakan dalam penelitian ini adalah metode survei dengan 2 objek unit alat tangkap ikan. Komposisi hasil tangkapan ikan berdasarkan jenis terdiri dari 8 spesies. Spesies didominasi oleh jenis ikan adalah Kembung Perempuan (Rastrellinger brachysoma) sebesar 34%. Nilai tingkat keramahan lingkungan pada ala tangkap jaring insang adalah 26. Berdasarkan angka nilai tersebut dikategorokan ssebagagai alat tangkap ramah yang ramah lingkungan
Rural Socio-Economic Development through Tourism in Bangladesh: Ways and Means
Authors: Saha Gopal Chandra
Published: April 2020

This study endeavors to test the effect of promoting of rural tourism in Bangladesh. Rural tourism can offer assistance in forming our society. It can have both positive and negative impacts on rural as well as urban communities. There's a scope of rural tourism in Bangladesh. The government ought to empower private enterprises to advance tourism in rural areas. For creating the rural tourism we ought to get it the rural environment, demography, socio-culture, financial and political foundation of that put. How we will include the country individuals to improve their socio-economic condition. To create a key promoting arranges for rural tourism we ought to get it the target customer, their needs and how to coordinate it with our rural framework. Rural tourism can create a win-win circumstance for both the rural and urban communities.
Prime Equity, Leveraged Structure and Corporate Earnings in Nigeria: A Comparative AnalysisPrime Equity, Leveraged Structure and Corporate Earnings in Nigeria: A Comparative Analysis
Authors: Lucky Lucky Anyike , Echewodo Akobundu Charles
Published: April 2020

This study examined prime equity, leveraged structure and corporate earnings in Nigeria. The objective was to examine if equity value and debt equity ratio have relationship with earnings per share of quoted deposit money banks. Earnings per share were modeled as the function of equity value and debt equity ratio. After cross examination of the validity of the pooled effect, fixed effect and the random effect, the study accepts the fixed effect model. The study found that 74.2% and 66.7% variation on earnings per share can be traced to equity value. The β coefficient indicates that of equity value has positive impact on earnings per share, while Debt equity ratio on of deposit money banks can explain 68.9% and 59.9% variation. The β coefficient proves that debt equity ratio have positive impact on earnings per share of the quoted deposit money banks. From the above results we conclude that equity value have greater impact on earnings per share than debt equity ratio. We recommend that management should ensure optimal capital structure of the quoted deposit money banks.
The Effect of Monetary Policy on Foreign Trade in Nigeria
Authors: O. Ashamu Sikiru
Published: April 2020

This research work investigated the impact of monetary policy on foreign trade in Nigeria during the period 1981 to 2017. The research made use of secondary data which are collected from the Central Bank of Nigeria, Statistical Bulletin (2017). The model obtained from the result represents a Error Correction Model (ECM) which relates the dependent variable (Net Import) to several predictor variables Money Supply, Interest Rate, Exchange Rate, Foreign Direct Investment and Trade Openness. From the findings of the study, the error correction term (speed of adjustment towards equilibrium) value of -0.53581 is significant at 5% and implies that there is a long run causality running from monetary policy   activities measures of foreign trade. However, only all the variable was used in the study was significant at 5% level of significance. This implies that monetary policy in Nigeria has a positive influence on foreign trade within the period, except for interest rate that has a negative coefficient and not significant. In conclusion, these intermediate variables of monetary, the exchange rate arguably have a huge impact on the economy because of its effect on the value of local currency, domestic inflation, macroeconomic credibility, capital flows and financial stability. Increased exchange rate directly affects the prices of imported commodities and an increase in the price of imported goods and services contributes directly to increase in inflation. Based on the analysis, the study concluded that there is significance relationship between money supply and net import in Nigeria and also that there is relationship between foreign direct investment and net import in Nigeria. The study also shows that there is relationship between trade openness and net import in Nigeria.
Nigeria’s Border and Its Effect on the Economic and Security Development: A Case of Northern Borders in Nigeria
Authors: Mohammed Hamza Shehu
Published: April 2020

Generally speaking, the borders in most of the African countries were among the upshot of the colonial ruling in those countries. Such demarcations were mostly created in a kind of problematic situation thereby causing serious misunderstanding among neighboring countries. It is also an imperative to know that these creations were actually perpetrated intentionally by the imperialist to serve so many purposes which includes among others the continuation of exploitation, free access to their colonies and coming back as aids providers. Moreover, such demarcations are being constructed on the papers without visiting those countries during the berlin conference in 1885 with the aid of complimenting the countries that were affected by the second world to revive them. Nevertheless, Nigeria without an exception has also faced with so many challenges in its borders especially the northern area. Therefore, this paper tries to examine why despite so many consideration by different governments and administrations yet border issues continue to be the most challenging factor in this prevailing situation in the country. Furthermore, the borders in the north were so porous to the extent that the issue of proliferation of weapons and food security were very obvious thereby challenging the security and economic wellbeing which in turn affect the nation building in the country.Based on the above, thisresearch concentrates on the qualitative technique on the area of economy and security as the drivers that highly contributed to this menaces and also measures to address it.
Monetary Policy and Return on Equity of Quoted Insurance Firms: A Time Series Study from Nigeria
Authors: Minafuro Suzane Macfubara, , Dumbor Norteh , Barida Barry Gberesuu,
Published: April 2020

The financial system is the transmission channel of monetary policy. This study examines the effect of monetary policy on the performance of insurance firms in Nigeria from 1990 – 2017. The objective is to investigate the existing relationship between monetary policy instruments and the performance indicators of insurance companies. Secondary data were sourced from Stock Exchange factbook, Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) Statistical Bulletin. Multiple linear regressions were formulated to examine the effect of the independent variables on the dependent variable. Return on equity was modeled as a function of treasury bill rate, monetary policy rate, interest rate, growth of money supply and exchange rate.  R2, T-Statistics, β Coefficient, F-Statistics and Durbin Watson were used to examine the extent to which the independent variables affect the dependent variables while augmented dickey fuller unit root test, granger causality test, cointgration test and error correction models was used to ascertain the dynamic relationship between monetary policy variables and return on equity of the insurance firms. Findings revealed that, all the explanatory variables have positive effect on return on equity except treasury bill rate.  The unit root test found that the variables are stationary at first difference, the cointgration test found the presence of long run relationship while the granger causality test found a uni-directional causality. The study concludes that monetary policy has moderate effect on the return on equity of the insurance firms. We recommend that management of insurance companies should devise measures of managing the negative effects of the monetary policy instruments to enhance the performance of the insurance companies.
Challenges of the Nigerian Banking Sector and the Way Forward
Authors: Gololo Ibrahim Aliyu
Published: April 2020

Nigerian banking sector struggle with challenges in the day to day running of their business activities, challenges are enormous and can either be market or operational challenges and regulatory or reforms challenges instituted by the regulatory agencies such as CBN, NDIC, SEC and CIBN etc. Therefore, this paper seeks to examine the challenges facing the Nigerian banking sector and proper possible solutions to the challenges based on the prevailing economic environment. The paper utilized questionnaires as source of data collection, fifteen out of 24 banks were selected based on purposive sampling method. Chi-Square (x2) method was adopted as a statistical tool of data analysis to analyze the collected data.  The result reveals that myriad of challenges exist in the Nigerian banking sector some of which are challenges both within and outside Nigeria. Banks are left behind in technological innovation aspect of banking transactions, movement of high volume of deposit or capital flight to foreign banks by the political class which reduce banks opportunity to expand their market base and the prevalent of fraud in the sector also hinders the banks progress, these challenges affects the sector to compete equally with banking sector in the developed nations. However, we also found that the challenges does not affect their financial performance. It is recommended that that government and relevant regulatory agencies should put heads together to render support and address those challenges identified that affect the sector, also Nigerian banking sector should invest in both technological innovation and human capital development, they should imbibe the culture of good corporate governance and stick to the issue of banking ethics and professionalism among others.
Functional Form for Estimating the Lorenz Curve
Authors: Bidabad Bijan , Bidabad Behrouz
Published: April 2020

A flexible Lorenz curve which offers different curvatures allowed by the theory of income distribution is introduced. The intrinsically autoregressive nature of the errors in cumulative data of the Lorenz curve is also under consideration.
Socioeconomic Impacts of Microfinance Programs in the Development of Bangladesh
Authors: Karim Rezaul
Published: April 2020

The study was conducted to find out what significant socioeconomic impact and how microfinance programs play the key role on the development of Bangladesh. To observe that we tried to find out in which way it is playing its role and what kind of socioeconomic impacts are related with microeconomic programs. Microfinance programs are providing a significant role in the development of Bangladesh by providing financial assistance to the lower income but self-employed people. They have turned into employed by getting the financial support from the different institutions especially from Grameen Bank, BRAC etc. The poverty level has minimized a lot from the rural area and household income increase by around one-third. Wages and marginal propensity to consumption (MPC) increased especially for women and it creates positive impact on children's schooling: A 1.05% increase in Grameen Bank female borrowers increases the probability of school enrollment by 1.8% for girls and 1.99% for boys. Microfinance also contributed to smoothening consumption level and reducing vulnerability of life of people. It plays a role in eradicating poverty, promoting education, improving health and empowering women.
Comparative Analysis on the Sources of Credit Risk in Nepalese Commercial Banks
Authors: Bahadur K.C Fatta , Kumar Kattel Indra
Published: April 2020

The study was conducted to find out the significant differences between state-owned bank and private sector bank in the practice of measuring the sources of credit risk. This paper attempts to ascertain the perceptions of Nepalese bankers about the importance of identification practice of credit risk sources within the specific borrowers. The result of the study indicates that the collaterals, characters, capacity, capital, condition, legality of the business, economy of the country, business environment and industrial relation were consider as a sources of credit risk in Nepalese banking sector. The result shows that level of the credit risk sources were disparity the Nepalese commercial banks. In addition, Collaterals provided as a security by the borrower, characters of the borrower, capacity, legality of the business, economy of the country and industrial relation were found significant predictor for the sources of credit risk. Moreover, there was a positive relationship between identification practice and sources of credit risk.
Corporate Characteristics and Influence on Share Based Payment of Financial Service Firms in Nigeria
Authors: Stanley Diepiriye Davies , Anyike Lucky Lucky
Published: April 2020

This investigates the effect of corporate characteristics on share base payment of financial service industry in Nigeria. Objective of the study is to if internal factors affects share base payments of corporate organizations in Nigeria. We analyzed five commercial banks and five insurance firms that are quoted on the floor of Nigerian Stock Exchange. Technique adopted for sampling adopted is convenience sampling. As the nature of data is panel therefore, pooled regression, fixed and random effect tests are run. Random effect results are focused after applying Hausman’s test. From the fixed effect model, tangibility, risk, management efficiency, debt equity ratio, corporate governance and cost of capital have negative but insignificant effects while return on investment, liquidity and firm size have positive and insignificant effect on share base payment. We conclude that corporate characteristics does not significantly influence share base payment of the selected financial service firms. We therefore recommend that the use of share base payment should be integrated with the corporate structure such as ownership structure, capital structure and others.
Evaluating Loan Loss Provisioning for Non-Performing Loans and Its Impact on the Profitability of Commercial Banks in Bangladesh
Authors: Islam Fakir Tajul
Published: April 2020

Through the collection and disbursement of money, banks often face the risk of default of the loan. These Non-Performing loans (NPLs) should be identified and cared for avoiding vulnerability to other risk. Banks may mitigate this risk using loan loss provisioning (LLP). Using the aggregate data of 56 commercial banks in the last 9 years (2009-2017), this study attempts to evaluate the Impacts of LLP maintained for NPLs on profitability, as it may help to take the level of the LLP, and NPLs in the optimum level of business success.  The dependent variables used in this study are Non-Interest Income to Total Assets and Net-Interest Income to Total Assets as a representative of the profitability of a bank. The dependent variables are analyzed using Least Square Multiple Regression on three independent variables, which were Gross NPL to Total Loans Outstanding, Loan Loss Provision Maintained, and Surplus/ (Shortfall) resulted from the required loan provisioning. The result showed that the profitability is very significantly influenced by the independent variables. NPLs and LLPs maintained by the commercial banks negatively related with the profitability of the business, especially LLPs shown statistical significance to impact on profitability negatively. it is better to take the LLPs and NPLs in the minimum level for maximum profitability of banks.
Determinants of Firm’s Leverage and Theoretical Examination: A Study on the Food and Allied Companies in Bangladesh
Authors: Chakma Saptarshi
Published: April 2020

Leverage helps to understand how much debt and equity employed by a firm to funds its operation and asset. Modigliani and Miller are the path breaker in this sector. In 1958 identified irrelevancy proposition of Firm Leverage decision. In 1963 they came with their new explanation to incorporate the effect of tax. There are some other popular theories. Jensen and Meckling agency cost theory, Scott trade off theory, Ross signaling theory, Myers and Majluf pecking order theory are the most popular one. There are several determinants in Firm Leverage used in different studies. In this study, we used some most popular determinants. They are profitability, tangibility, growth, operating leverage, liquidity, size. In this study, nine DSE listed food and allied companies’ data are used to analysis the relation between determinants and leverage and Firm Leverage theories are also tested for those companies. Food and allied sector is a constant growing sector and good option for the investors. Nine A category companies’ data are used for this study. For the data analysis descriptive data, hypothesis, correlation and regression method is used. Leverage mean of last seven-year data is 48.5%. That means there is a good combination of debt and equity. In the hypothesis, T-test: paired two sample for means is used. Null hypothesis only accepted for the tangibility determinants. That indicates there is a relationship between tangibility and leverage. In correlation matrix, it also showed that, leverage and tangibility have the strongest relation and the relation is negative. In regression model, only tangibility result is significant and the coefficient is negative. According to the result, pecking order theory, trade off theory and signaling theory play an important role in food and allied companies in Bangladesh. The analysis showed that, companies with high tangibility ratio try to finance their operations by internal finance rather than debt finance and supported theories also refer the same result.
Effects of Iran's WTO Accession on the Cement Industry: A Dynamic Disequilibrium Adjustment Model (DDAM) of Simultaneous Equations
Authors: Bidabad Bijan , Anaraki Nahid Kalbasi
Published: April 2020

Many companies around the globe are re-examining their business operations to explore profitable growth in international markets.The attractiveness of the membership in WTO can be recognized not only in the growing number of its members but also as a result of increasing access to potential markets around the world. Iranian economy suffers from huge inefficiency in its trade relationships with other countries due to import compression policy and strict import controls. Iran's import profile is heavily skewed towards those tradable that are not strongly under the effects of WTO, indicating protectionism policy in the industry sector. Besides the need for easing protectionism, the emphasis placed on the growth of non-oil exports and reducing oil dependency as an objective in the five-year development plans provides a strong argument for joining WTO. Measuring technical efficiency in the cement industry in Iran suggests that companies with export-orientation policy have potentials to succeed in increasing their technical efficiency.The new discovering realm of WTO for Iran's trade policy has been evaluated in this paper. The pros and cons for joining induced us to investigate the effects of Iran's membership on the cement industry. By designing a dynamic disequilibrium adjustment model (DDAM), we use annual data for the period 1963-2002 to estimate a simultaneous system of econometric equations including cement supply, exports, imports, and consumption functions in order to quantify the effects of joining on the cement industry of Iran. One of the main challenges confronting the Iranian cement industry is to improve the competitiveness of the industry by reducing the subsidies, removing restrictions, and price controls. Indeed, the experience of other counties after joining WTO portrays a conflicting profile on the effects of accession on domestic economies. While some countries have developed important trading partners, others have suffered due to the loss of domestic industries. In this paper, we intend to examine the hypothesis of whether reducing the tariff rates will promote Iranian cement industry. The results reveal that joining WTO has negligible effects on consumption, production, and exports, though, will raise imports substantially.
A Comparison Study on the Era of Internet Finance China Construction of Credit Scoring System Model
Authors: Zeng Hongjun
Published: April 2020

At present, China's Internet finance has flourished, showing a variety of business models and operating mechanisms. Through Internet technology, financial institutions can speed up business processing and bring users a better service experience. However, there are also problems such as credit risk and user fraud, and it is urgent to improve the level of risk control through credit scoring models. Because of this, this article uses the borrower data of a Chinese financial institution from January 2017 to June 2017 as the original data, and then uses the Spearman rank correlation test to screen out the variables with reliable explanatory power from the many variables of the sample data, and then Based on the variables selected, R 3.4.3 and SPSS 23.0 were used to construct a random forest model, discriminant analysis model, and logistic regression model. In general, different models perform differently under different sample characteristics, but the discriminant analysis has been better applicable. This paper compares the judgment accuracy of these three types of models and tries to establish a more effective financial credit scoring method, to solve the problem of constructing China's credit scoring system model under the current Internet financial background.
Accounting Information System: A Prevailing Tool for Appraising Firm Performance
Authors: Teru Susan Peter , Idoko Innocent F. , Audu Philip
Published: April 2020

The advancement in technology has enabled companies to generate and use accounting information system.  Accounting information system (AIS) is a computer-based application which conveys a new inclination of change from the conservative method of accounting to a computerised method. These advances in information and communication technology (ICT) have reduced the time and cost of transactions by aiding increased and improved transactions and communication for business dealings. It has also improved and advanced the efficiency of businesses by computerising existing operations to improve the performance of their operations. Accounting Information Systems (AIS) can be used by the organizations as a device for achieving a stronger, reliable, and more corporate culture to survive in this competitive environment. Accounting information systems also assist companies to gauge the risk of some operations or predict future warnings using sophisticated statistical software applications. The main objective of this paper is to examine the usage of Accounting Information System for effective decision making and improvedinternal control system on firm performance in which the qualitative data was used reviewing various literatures and other secondary data. This study providesvalue added in accounting literature given the scarcity of works dealing with the relationship between the application and use of AIS and evaluating overall firm performances
Fluctuations and Business Cycles Prevention by New Financial Instruments and Banking Structure Reform
Authors: Bidabad Bijan
Published: April 2020

Regarding the formation of financial crises in monetary and financial markets of advanced economies and its transmission to other countries through financial markets and foreign trade, a solution is pointed out which is called the reform of financial, monetary and banking structure. In spite of various theories about the source of crises, studies in this field show that usurious banking structures are the main source of crises. The curing method of this economic disease is to prevent somehow the existing time-lag between “deposits interest rates” and “loans interest rates”, which creates fluctuations in supply and demand of financial sources. That is to say, banks should not function as a conventional economic firm, but should function as a financial intermediate. Banking structural reform and new financial instruments will be introduced in this regard.Profit and Loss Sharing (PLS) Banking and its sub-systems as Joaleh Financial Sharing (JFS) and Mudarebeh Financial Sharing (MFS) with new financial instruments of “Partnership (Mosharekah) Certificate”, “Subscripted (Pazireh) Certificates” and “Future Certificate” are introduced at commercial and specialized banking levels. “Interest-Free Bonds” in four different groups of “Central Bank Interest-free Bonds”, “Banking Interest-free Bonds”, “Treasury Interest-free Bonds” all in varieties on domestic money and Foreign Currency are also introduced which in addition to elimination of usury, can be efficiently used as secure financial instruments at central, commercial and retail banking levels. “Saving Qarzul-Hasanah Certificate” as a kind of Interest-Free Bonds are also introduced. Non-Usury Script-less Security Settlement System (NSSSS) based on information and communication technology has been put forward for creating a secondary market of financial instruments transaction which provides the necessary background for financial structure reform. Squandering prevention and waste prevention and economic ethic teachings are also introduced as supplements in solving crises.
Influential Factors Responsible for Profitability: A Technical Study on Commercial Banks in Bangladesh
Authors: Akber S. M.
Published: April 2020

This paper explores how many internal and external factors from 2007-2017 affect the competitiveness of commercial banks in Bangladesh. Many bank-specific variables are used to achieve the goals as internal factors, and macroeconomic variables are used as external factors. A sample of seven commercial banks will be used for this purpose. Return on equity is used as a proxy for profitability and capital adequacy, the size of asset quality banks, investment control, liquidity, resource structure, and economic indicators are used as proxies for the independent variable. The paper's overview findings show that asset structure, capital adequacy, and asset quality are the key factors in Bangladesh's profitability for the commercial bank. The paper's outcome indicates that if commercial banks are more worried about these factors, they could produce a better return on the competitive market.
Attitudes towards Islamic Banks: The Impact of Religiosity and the Moderating Role of Trust
Authors: Zaid Zaid
Published: April 2020

The purpose of this study is to analyze the impact of Muslim religiosity on attitudes towards Islamic Banks, considering the moderating role of public trust that exists towards these Islamic financial institutions. It identifies how trust towards Islamic banks in terms of their conformity with Shari’ah principles and their safe handling of deposits would affect common attitudes towards them. Data for the study was collected through questionnaires from 113 individuals participated in the survey. The data was analyzed through correlation and regression analysis. Results showed that religiosity (belief, practice, knowledge, experience and consequence) has positive impact on attitudes towards Islamic banks. It proved that the more a person is religion conscious the more he/she is inclined towards Islamic banks. Moreover, it was confirmed that trust has positive relationship with attitudes towards Islamic banks. However, results could not identify any significant moderating role of trust on the relationship between religiosity and attitudes towards Islamic banks. Practical implications of the results and avenues for further investigation are discussed for future research.
Accounting Standards for Awaqf: A Review
Authors: Shaikh Zakir Hossen , Sarea Adel M. , Khalid Azam Abdelhakeem
Published: April 2020

The paper focuses on establishing accounting standards for the awqaf system in order to increase the efficiency and effectiveness of its operation. Standardization could cut costs and reduce the risk of mismanagement so that services provided by awqaf   strengthen development fundamentals. Thus, it is essential that Muslim countries adopt unified accounting standards to ensure accountability and transparency of various transactions related to awqaf. This will provide flexibility concerning allocations of awqaf endowments so that priority will be given to projects related to people’s basic needs. The proposed framework is designed based on the literature review to conceptualize the need of standardization of accounting for awqaf. The contribution of this paper is to add value to the literature of accounting for awqaf.

JEL Classification:  M41, E23.
Testing Multi-Factor Models in ADRs: Emerging Market vs. Developed Market
Authors: Que Tingting , Mok Wai Yin , Cheung Kit Yee
Published: April 2020

This paper tests whether the Carhart four-factor model and the Fama-French five-factor model can explain variation in returns of 1,230 ADRs originating from six developed markets and five emerging markets. We aim to compare emerging market ADRs with developed market ADRs in terms of traditional risk factors significance, model fitness and the existence of abnormal returns. Overall, we find that substantial variations exist among ADRs by their origin-of-market. First, both models show that most of the positive abnormal returns we document accrue to emerging market ADRs, mainly Chinese ADRs. Among the risk factors, market risk premium is found to be most prevalent in both emerging and developed markets. Although we find some difference in the presence of particular risk factors employed in the four-factor vs. five-factor model, overall, there are no significant differences in the explanation power between the two models. Lastly, the low R2 values imply that both models do not work very well with the international market ADRs.
Literature Review on the Association between Earnings Management and Corporate Social Responsibility
Authors: Parvin Ruksana , Sohel Rana Md. , Shams Shahpar
Published: April 2020

This paper aims to give an overview of the existing literature on the Earnings Management (EM) and Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) relationship in different countries. This paper reviews preceding studies concerned about EM, CSR and their relationship. Out of 23 works of literature, 11 studies found a negative relationship, 6 studies found a positive relationship, 2 studies found blended relationships in case of different situations and 4 studies found no connection between CSR and EM. Most of the results demonstrated that probably the socially responsible organizations have a negative correlation with EM practice. The types of the relationship depend on cause-effect relationship, information asymmetry, how can a company use resources, awareness on environmental issues, awareness on ethical issues, tax avoidance tendency, corporate governance practice, nature of the firm, political environment, opportunistic incentive, and stakeholder capital, manager's psychology, etc. Relationships between EM and CSR influence on earnings quality, firm performance, and firm value.
The Use of Management Information System to Help Decision Making in Digital Firms
Authors: Alzhrani Atyeh Mohammed
Published: April 2020

Management Information System (MIS) gives information for the managerial activities digital firms. This paper focuses on understanding the vital role of using management information system (MIS) in decision making in digital firms. It talks about considering the concept of MIS, the necessary use of MIS and the impact of the smart usage of MIS in decision making in digital firms. The study discusses MIS importance on decision making depending on a descriptive analytical method, in which the idea is discussed and described in an accurate methodology with analysis, through presenting and discussing previous studies, then relying on the comparative approach to know the role of using MIS in Digital organizations. The study revealed the effect of using MIS in decision making as a smart usage of MIS tool helps achieving a great success and minimizing the investigation of time in addition to increasing the profit of organizations. Also, it shows how decisions are made in digital firms using MIS and the challenges that the organizations facing in this process and a few recommendations to curb these challenges.
Earnings Management Practice in Bangladesh
Authors: Parvin Ruksana
Published: April 2020

This paper detects the existence of Earnings Management (EM) practice in Bangladesh. Total 105 manufacturing companies have been chosen from the different industrial sectors such as pharmaceuticals & chemicals, food & allied, cement, engineering, ceramics, tannery, textile & clothing, paper & printing, jute, fuel & power and miscellaneous. The well-known Beneish M score model has been used in detecting EM. The outcome shows that the percentage of non- manipulator companies is greater than manipulator companies except cement, paper & printing and jute industry. All out 39 % of manufacturing companies are likely manipulator where industry-wise pharmaceuticals & chemicals 28 % , food & allied 42%, cement 80%, engineering 42% , ceramics 0%  , tannery 33% , textile & clothing 40 % , paper & printing 100%, jute 100% , fuel & power 25 % and miscellaneous 17% of manufacturing organizations are likely to be manipulator for 2017. This paper may help the stakeholder for distinguishing between likely and non-likely manipulator companies from the different industrial sectors, making a better decision and formulating policy to reduce the likelihood of manipulation. As Beneish Model is a probabilistic model, it is not unquestionably decisive from the identification that organizations are likely manipulators.