bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
CCAS: an intelligent decision support system for credit card assessment
Authors: Matsatsinis Nikolaos F. 
Published: August 2003

AbstractDuring the last two decades credit cards have became one of the main ways for accomplishing financial transactions. The number of credit card owners have increased rapidly. Unfortunately, at the same time the cases where the owners cannot fulfil their obligations to the banks have also been increased. This fact forced credit institutions and banks to search for methodologies that will allow them to accurately evaluate the credibility of each credit card applicant. Multi‐criteria decision aid methods as well as machine learning algorithms can be used to accomplish this task. The present paper proposes a new intelligent decision support system for credit card evaluation, based on a machine‐learning algorithm, namely the Composite Rule Induction System and the Rough Sets. The major advantage of the algorithm and the system is the incorporation of qualitative variables, which have an essential role in credit card evaluation. The system is applied on a real case study concerning credit card evaluation by a leading Greek commercial bank and the obtained results are compared to the results of multi‐criteria decision aid methods as well as other machine learning algorithms. Copyright © 2003 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
The use of goal programming, regression analysis and data envelopment analysis for estimating efficient marginal costs of hospital services
Authors: Giokas D. 
Published: August 2003

AbstractThis paper presents a new composite methodology for estimating efficient marginal costs of outputs. The methodology is based on multi‐criteria methods involving Data Envelopment Analysis (DEA), Goal Programming (GP) and Regression Analysis (RA) techniques. Firstly, DEA is used to find an empirical frontier onto which each observed dependent variable (cost) is projected. Then GP or RA is applied to the projected data set to yield the parameter estimates of a cost function. That is, firstly, the amounts of technical inefficiency are removed and then the cost function is estimated. The parameters of the cost function provide the efficient marginal costs of outputs. The filtering of the data can be made by means of DEA as it yields target values with frontier rather than average behaviour. The results clearly indicate the superiority of the combination of DEA and GP over the combination of DEA and RA. The methodology was applied to estimate the efficient marginal costs of hospital services (inpatient days, outpatient visits, ancillary services) of public general hospitals in Greece. Concluding, the analysis proves that the estimation of efficient marginal costs of outputs is in author's view particularly useful for hospitals, and can serve as a theoretical basis for determining the prices of different hospital services. Copyright © 2003 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Multi‐criteria evaluation of loan applications in shipping
Authors: Dimitras Augustinos I. , Petropoulos Theodore , Constantinidou Isabella 
Published: August 2003

AbstractThe development of the shipping industry has been traditionally based on bank loans. An important step in the credit granting process is the application for the loan and the consequent evaluation of this application by the bank. Numerous bankers, consultants, as well as academics have been addressing this matter, presenting requirements to be satisfied and attributing values indicating the soundness and the financial strength of the applicant (company and/or individual), in relation to the characteristics of the loan application in the loan approval process. The work, however, done on the construction of standardized models able to combine all these criteria and provide relative weighting to assist the decision‐making process of the Bank's Credit Committee is limited.The ability of the multi‐criteria methods to utilize both qualitative and quantitative criteria in the evaluation process renders them a comprehensive tool for the formulation and expression of the shipping credit granting decision. This paper proposes a multi‐criteria methodology for the evaluation of credit applications and for the selection of those applications that better match the policy of the bank as well as the industry knowledge and the shipfinance experience of the decision maker. The study illustrates the application of the method using a suitable set of ship loan applications and the model developed is evaluated according to its usefulness in a decision process. Copyright © 2003 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Multi‐criteria decision aid in financial decision making: methodologies and literature review
Authors: Zopounidis Constantin , Doumpos Michael 
Published: August 2003

AbstractOver the past decades the complexity of financial decisions has increased rapidly, thus highlighting the importance of developing and implementing sophisticated and efficient quantitative analysis techniques for supporting and aiding financial decision making. Multi‐criteria decision aid (MCDA), an advanced field of operations research, provides financial decision makers (DMs) and analysts a wide range of methodologies, which are well suited to the complexity of financial decision problems. The aim of this paper is to provide an in‐depth presentation of the contributions of MCDA in the field of finance, focusing on the methods used and their real‐world applications. Copyright © 2003 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Trade credit and customer relationships
Authors: Summers Barbara , Wilson Nicholas 
Published: August 2003

AbstractTrade credit is an important economic phenomenon, and a variety of theories have been put forward to explain the decisions firms make on credit extension. The ways in which credit can be used as a strategic tool to support corporate objectives has not, however, been fully discussed. The results presented here provide some support for the extant theory on trade credit extension and for recent empirical papers in this area (e.g. Ng et al., 1999; Petersen and Rajan, 1994). However, our results suggest that trade credit granting has a set of subtle and complex motivations over and above those predicted by standard theory. In particular trade credit extension can be used as a many‐faceted marketing/relationship management tool and/or as a means of signalling information to the market or to specific buyers about the firm, its products and its future prospects/commitment. Much of credit extension can be seen as customer focused; for example, encouraging frequent purchasers which offer the potential for relationship development or accommodating customers' demand for credit to help finance their production period. The requirements/bargaining power of large customers can influence a firm to extend more credit. Firms will vary terms in anticipation of capturing new business, to attract specific customers and in order to achieve specific marketing aims. Copyright © 2003 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
The trade credit decision: evidence of UK firms
Authors: Cheng Nam Sang , Pike Richard 
Published: August 2003

AbstractTrade credit finance and credit management are gradually gaining the research attention an area of such importance merits. One area, still far from resolved, is why trade credit is extended by non‐financial firms to customers. This paper seeks to identify the generic forces behind the trade credit offer and to explore the empirical support for 20 propositions on credit motives derived from the literature and the implications of such motives to credit policies.The paper reports findings from a survey of senior finance officers involved in credit management in large UK companies. It assesses the degree to which theoretical explanations for granting trade credit are experienced in practice and whether observed differences attaching to credit motives among firms are associated with variations in credit policies and debtor days.The study found strong empirical support for seven propositions linked to competitiveness, pricing, investment and financing, and weaker support for a number of other theoretically‐derived motives for trade credit extension. Factor analysis suggested a more insightful approach to classifying trade credit motives, covering investment in customers, customer's operating and financial benefits, supplier's marketing/operational benefits and market pressure to conform. In addition, two factors—customer relations and pricing flexibility—were extracted as motives for varying credit terms. Consistent with our hypothesis average debtor days were found to be significantly higher for those firms emphasising the financing, investment, and pricing flexibility propositions. These findings, and implications for future research, are explored. Copyright © 2003 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Determinants of the collateralization of credit by small firms
Authors: Hulburt Heather M. , Scherr Frederick C. 
Published: August 2003

AbstractThis study presents results of an empirical investigation of debt collateralization using samples of small firms. We examine the fraction of debt that is collateralized and find substantial support for firm size, firm age, and collateral quality as determinants of collateralization. Our results regarding firm size and age are different from prior research and may stem from basic financial differences between small and large firms. We find mixed support for growth opportunities and taxation and little support for default probability, regulation, and form of legal organization as determinants of collateralization. Copyright © 2003 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
The product differentiation hypothesis for corporate trade credit
Authors: Blazenko George W. , Vandezande Kirk 
Published: August 2003

AbstractThe product differentiation hypothesis for trade credit says that business managers use trade credit like advertising to differentiate their products. Prior studies of this hypothesis conclude that higher profit margins induce firms to increase trade credit and vice versa. We better represent the relation between the cost of bad debts and the price of the product offered on credit. When prices are higher, firms suffer greater losses from non‐payment. Our model shows that, contrary to early versions of the product differentiation hypothesis, when managers adjust trade credit and profit margins for a perturbation in marginal cost, optimal profit margin and trade credit may move in opposite directions. A manager maintains revenue for price elastic demand by moderating the price increase, which decreases profit margin. At the same time, the manager also increases trade credit, which serves to maintain revenue by encouraging product demand. We report evidence of a negative relation between corporate receivables and profit margin. Copyright © 2003 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Habitual late payment of trade credit: an empirical examination of UK small firms
Authors: Howorth Carole , Reber Beat 
Published: August 2003

AbstractQuantitative and qualitative data are examined in an analysis of habitual late payment of trade credit by UK small firms. Multivariate logistic regression is employed to test the influence of variables expected to discriminate between small firms which pay late habitually and those which never or only occasionally pay late. Case studies extend quantitative analysis by validating interpretation of the results and providing explanations for unexpected outcomes. The results provide strong evidence of a financing demand for habitual late payment. There is a positive relationship between habitual late payment and difficulty obtaining bank finance and late payment by debtors and a negative relationship with the use of long term sources of finance. The influence of relationships between customer and supplier is shown to be complex. A concentrated supplier base is shown to be positively associated with late payment and case studies provide evidence that this is because increased knowledge of suppliers' credit management procedures is used to pay late without penalties. The implications of this result for the large number of firms that do not enforce their statutory right to interest on late payment are highlighted. Copyright © 2003 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Bank borrowing constraints and the demand for trade credit: evidence from panel data
Authors: Atanasova Christina V. , Wilson Nicholas 
Published: August 2003

AbstractMonetary policy contractions exacerbate credit constraints stemming from asymmetric information, incentive problems and limited collateral. During such periods financial intermediaries reduce the supply of credit to smaller businesses. Although trade credit is a less desirable alternative of corporate financing, it may play a special role in alleviating credit rationing. This paper is an empirical investigation of the interaction of monetary policy, credit market conditions and corporate financing over the business cycle. It provides a simple test of the existence of a credit channel of monetary policy transmissions. Using individual firm data we find that during periods of tight money the proportion of bank‐borrowing constrained firms increases. Borrowing constrained films are found to substitute away from bank credit to trade credit. Such evidence supports the existence of a credit channel of monetary policy transmission: firms do not voluntarily cut bank loans (e.g. because of demand slowdown) since they increase their demand for a less desirable alternative (trade credit). Copyright © 2003 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Designing for topical delivery: Prodrugs can make the difference
Authors: Sloan Kenneth B. , Wasdo Scott 
Published: August 2003

AbstractIt has been shown for homologous series of prodrugs that those members who were the more water soluble ones gave the greatest enhancement in topical delivery of the parent drug and not the more lipophilic ones. However, until recently models for topical delivery and equations to predict topical delivery focused only on lipid solubility (SLIPID) or partition coefficient (KOCT:AQ) and molecular volume (or molecular weight, MW) as parameters. Now several equations (transformed Potts–Guy or Series/Parallel) have been developed which include aqueous solubility (SAQ) as a parameter for predicting flux through skin. Experimental fluxes, solubilities, and MW from seven series of prodrugs have been fit to the transformed Potts–Guy equation to give coefficients for log solubility in isopropyl myristate (log SIPM) and log solubility in water (log SAQ) (0.53 and 0.47, respectively) which show, for parent drugs delivered by prodrugs from IPM in vitro through hairless mouse skin, that water solubility is almost as important as lipid solubility. When the transformed Potts–Guy equation was fit to data for the delivery of NSAID from mineral oil (MO) in vivo through human skin, the coefficients were 0.72 log SMO and 0.28 log SAQ. When the transformed Potts–Guy equation was fit to data for the delivery of their parent drugs by three series of prodrugs from water in vitro through hairless mouse skin the coefficients were 0.66 log SIPM and 0.34 log SAQ. Numerous recent examples are also given where more water‐soluble members of homologous series of prodrugs give higher flux values from water vehicles in vitro through human skin than the more lipid soluble ones. © 2003 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Med Res Rev, 23 No. 6, 763–793, 2003
Anti‐dipsotropic isoflavones: The potential therapeutic agents for alcohol dependence
Authors: Keung Wing Ming 
Published: August 2003

AbstractDaidzin is the active principle of Radix puerariae (RP), an herbal remedy that has been used apparently safely and effectively for the treatment of “alcohol addiction” in China for more than a millennium. It has been shown to reduce alcohol consumption in all animal models tested to date. A link between daidzin's capacity to reduce alcohol consumption and its ability to increase liver mitochondrial monoamine oxidase (MAO): aldehyde dehydrogenase (ALDH‐2) activity ratio has been established. Daidzin analogs that potently inhibit ALDH‐2 but not MAO are the most anti‐dipsotropic, whereas those that also inhibit MAO are not. On the basis of these findings, it was proposed that the liver mitochondrial MAO–ALDH‐2 pathway is the primary site of action of daidzin and that a biogenic aldehyde derived from the action of MAO mediates its anti‐dipsotropic action. Therefore, to design and synthesize more potent anti‐dipsotropic analogs, structural features that would enhance ALDH‐2 inhibition and/or decrease MAO inhibition needed to be evaluated. Structure‐activity‐relationship (SAR) studies have revealed that a sufficient set of criteria for a potent anti‐dipsotropic analog is an isoflavone with a free 4′‐OH function and a straight‐chain alkyl at the 7 position that has a terminal polar function such as ‐OH, ‐COOH, or ‐NH2. The preferable chain lengths for the 7‐O‐ω‐carboxy, 7‐O‐ω‐hydroxy, and 7‐O‐ω‐amino substituents are 5≤n ≤10, 2 ≤n ≤6, and n ≥4, respectively. Analogs that meet these criteria have increased potency for ALDH‐2 inhibition and/or decreased potency for MAO inhibition and are, therefore, likely to be potent anti‐dipsotropic agents. © 2003 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Med Res Rev, 23, No. 6, 669–696, 2003
Discovery of cytochrome P450 1B1 inhibitors as new promising anti‐cancer agents
Authors: Chun Young‐Jin , Kim Sanghee 
Published: August 2003

AbstractHuman cytochrome P450 (CYP)1B1 is a major enzyme for carcinogenic estrogen metabolism and involved in the metabolic activation of procarcinogens of the polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs). CYP1B1 is known to be expressed at a high frequency in various human cancers, but not in normal tissues. It also plays an important role in the metabolism of various anti‐cancer drugs. These findings suggest inhibition of CYP1B1 as a new oncological therapeutic strategy. Several natural and synthetic compounds have been studied in an effort to find the isoform‐specific inhibitors of the CYP1 subfamily. A survey of the inhibitors of CYP1B1 and other related inhibitors of the CYP1 subfamily is provided in this review. © 2003 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Med Res Rev, 23, No. 6, 657–668, 2003
Structure and function of “metalloantibiotics”
Authors: Ming Li‐June 
Published: August 2003

AbstractAlthough most antibiotics do not need metal ions for their biological activities, there are a number of antibiotics that require metal ions to function properly, such as bleomycin (BLM), streptonigrin (SN), and bacitracin. The coordinated metal ions in these antibiotics play an important role in maintaining proper structure and/or function of these antibiotics. Removal of the metal ions from these antibiotics can cause changes in structure and/or function of these antibiotics. Similar to the case of “metalloproteins,” these antibiotics are dubbed “metalloantibiotics” which are the title subjects of this review. Metalloantibiotics can interact with several different kinds of biomolecules, including DNA, RNA, proteins, receptors, and lipids, rendering their unique and specific bioactivities. In addition to the microbial‐originated metalloantibiotics, many metalloantibiotic derivatives and metal complexes of synthetic ligands also show antibacterial, antiviral, and anti‐neoplastic activities which are also briefly discussed to provide a broad sense of the term “metalloantibiotics.” © 2003 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Med Res Rev, 23 No. 6, 697–762, 2003
Cost‐utility analysis comparing free and pedicled TRAM flap for breast reconstruction
Authors: Thoma Achilleas , Khuthaila Dana , Rockwell Gloria , Veltri Karen 
Published: August 2003

AbstractThe purpose of this study was to compare the free TRAM to the unipedicled TRAM flap in postmastectomy reconstruction, using a cost‐utility analysis. A decision analytic model was used for this study. Medical costs associated with the two techniques were estimated from the Ontario Ministry of Health Schedule of Benefits (1998). Hospital costs were obtained from St. Joseph's Healthcare, a university hospital in Hamilton, Ontario. Utilities were obtained from 33 “experts” across Canada and then converted into quality‐adjusted life‐years (QALYs). The probabilities of various health states associated with unipedicled and free TRAM flaps were obtained by reviewing several key articles. The free TRAM flap was more costly than the unipedicled TRAM flap, but it provided more QALYs. The baseline incremental cost‐utility ratio (ICUR) was $5,113.73/QALY, favoring adoption of the free TRAM flap. This study showed that the free TRAM flap is a cost‐effective procedure for postmastectomy reconstruction in the Canadian healthcare system. © 2003 Wiley‐Liss, Inc. MICROSURGERY 23:287–295 2003
Kidney transplantation in rats: An appraisal of surgical techniques and outcome
Authors: Schumacher Martin , Van Vliet Bruce N. , Ferrari Paolo 
Published: August 2003

AbstractRenal transplantation in rats is an essential experimental tool in transplantation research. The surgical procedure per se could affect the outcome of an experiment, independent of the hypothesis addressed, therefore requiring a standardized method which should be comparable across studies. To date, however, there is little information on the optimal surgical technique. We performed a Medline search on original articles published between 1965–2001 in order to evaluate whether specific technical issues affecting the outcome of the procedure could be defined. Articles that reported on a novel microsurgical procedure, or whose main purpose was the outcome of a surgical technique itself, were included in the analysis. From 2,060 retrieved publications, 34 corresponded to the selection criteria (rats and microsurgery and technique and kidney or renal transplantation). Among the essential determining factors for a good outcome, body weight >200 g and warm ischemic time <30 min were identified. Other important factors were the techniques used for vascular (end‐to‐end and end‐to‐side procedure or sleeve technique) and ureteral (bladder patch or end‐to‐end procedure) anastomosis. Gender, animal strain, type of anesthesia, prophylactic administration of antibiotics, and type of flushing solution did not affect the success of renal allografts. In order to avoid a bias related to the surgical procedure in rat renal transplantation, a warm ischemia time <30 min in animals with a body weight >200 g seems to be essential. Also, end‐to‐end or end‐to‐side vascular anastomoses are preferable to the sleeve technique. Other factors do not influence the immediate function of the graft. © 2003 Wiley‐Liss, Inc. MICROSURGERY 23:387–394 2003
Adenovirus‐mediated angiopoietin‐1 gene therapy enhances skin flap survival
Authors: Jung Howard , Gurunluoglu Raffi , Scharpf Joe , Siemionow Maria 
Published: August 2003

AbstractThis experimental study investigates the feasibility of pretreating the abdominal skin of a rat with subdermal injections of adenovirus encoding angiopoietin‐1 in order to improve postoperative survival of the skin flap. An epigastric skin flap was used as the model in this study. Rats received subdermal injections of adenovirus encoding either angiopoietin‐1 (treatment group) or green fluorescent protein (treatment control), or they received no treatment (control group). Subdermal injections were made 2 days prior to surgery, and skin flap survival was assessed 7 days afterwards as a percentage of necrotic area over total skin flap area. The treatment group which received adenovirus‐mediated angiopoietin‐1 had a median percent necrotic area of 11.01%, a significant decrease from the control group, which had a median percent necrotic area of 32.24% (P < 0.001). The results of this study suggest the possibility of using adenovirus‐mediated angiopoietin‐1 gene therapy to promote therapeutic angiogenesis in patients who undergo reconstructive procedures. © 2003 Wiley‐Liss, Inc. MICROSURGERY 23:374–380 2003