19672 research outputs found
Sort by
Investors’ herding practice: do IFRS and national economic culture matter?
No full textPurpose: The purpose of this paper is to examine the effect of International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS) and the moderating role of national economic culture on investors’ herding practices in the European Union (EU) equity markets. Design/methodology/approach: The study employs and modify two extensively applied herding measures of cross-sectional standard deviation and cross-sectional absolute deviation, using stock return dispersion as a function of aggregate market return as a proxy for herding behavior. The sample period stretches from January 1, 2001 until December 31, 2015. Findings: The study finds that mandatory IFRS adoption significantly promotes investors’ herding practice in the EU equity markets. However, taking a further look, the results suggest that the new reporting regime seems not to be the only instigator for the observed herding practice; national economic culture, particularly individualism and masculinity, contribute significantly toward investors’ herd-formation around the mandatory IFRS adoption. Overall, it can be concluded that the notion that the adoption of IFRS improves information-based trading and mitigates irrational investment behavior might totally be inaccurate in some instances. For example, in the case of herding bias, the new reporting regime appears to have promoted the phenomenon. Research limitations/implications: The study employs an approach of herd detection, which explores evidence of herding toward the market consensus. Thus, the results do not in any way exclude the possibility that other types of herding behavior exist in the EU equity markets. Notwithstanding this caveat, the findings of this study would be of special relevance to academics, regulators and policymakers in performing a cost-benefit analysis of the IFRS adoption. Originality/value: To the researchers’ knowledge, this study is first to explore the nexus between IFRS and investors’ herding practices, while highlighting the role of the national economic culture
PdPSO: The fusion of primal-dual interior point method and Particle Swarm Optimization algorithm
No full textParticle Swarm Optimization (PSO) is a meta-heuristic algorithm that has been used to solve a variety of complex optimization problems. In spite of the acceptance of the algorithm in various fields, PSO still suffers from common issues such as premature convergence and local minima. This provides a platform for generating a variety of PSO variants. Although these variants are successful in addressing issues specific to a directed domain, they are still unable to resolve the issues effectively. The Interior-Point Methods (IPMs) are efficient tools for solving nonlinear optimization problems. On the one hand, the method is depicted as the most robust algorithm for solving large scale nonlinear optimization problems. On the other, similar to PSO, the methods are still plagued with several issues. We propose Primal-Dual Interior Point Particle Swarm Optimization (pdPSO) to resolve the shortcomings of a standard PSO without the limitations of the IPM methods. We applied the Primal Dual procedure to each particle in a finite number of iterations, and fed the PSO with the its output. We compared the performance of our new algorithm (pdPSO) with IPM and PSO using nine different dynamic benchmark functions. Our results revealed that pdPSO performed better than both the independent PSO algorithm and the IPM method. The proposed algorithm is not susceptible to premature convergence, and can better avoid local minima than conventional PSO, hence hypothetically it has the potential to perform better than many variants of PSO
The ontological law of Tawhid contra ‘Shari’ah-compliance’ in Islamic portfolio finance
No full textPurpose: The purpose of this study/paper is the generalized ontological law of monotheism (unity of knowledge) and its functioning in the financial world system is summarized and contrasted with the recent conception of “shari’ah-compliance”. Thereby, some specific rulings of shari’ah-compliance in Islamic finance are critically annulled. The principal problem of the inability of shari’ah-compliance in the formalism of rate-setting and debt cancellation is pointed out in analytical ways. The alternative valuation models in the light of the Tawhidi ontological law are formalized. Many important issues are examined in analytical and Tawhidi authentic ways of Islamic law contra to shari’ah-compliance. Design/methodology/approach: The epistemological approach commencing from the Tawhidi ontological law is used as the premise of developing analytical formalism to counter the irrelevant rulings done by the field of shari’ah compliance. Thereby, endogenous moral and ethical foundations are studied in deriving analytical finance models of asset valuation, rate-determination and debt cancellation. Findings: Substantive analytical results are derived for intellection in the area of the primal ontological law of Tawhid that negates many of the rulings framed up in shari’ah-compliance area of Islamic law. These results can guide financial academia, practitioners and policymakers. Research limitations/implications: The paper can be expanded subsequently to the area of analytical Islamic finance in general by further investigating the Modigliani and Miller theorem on optimal debt-equity structure of corporate finance. An introduction to this study is provided in this paper as a starting point of dealing with the debt problem of shari’ah-compliance. Practical implications: The paper presents important guidance as input for the rulings of shari’ah-compliance idea held by shari’ah advisory boards and similar institutions presently operating at the financial level. Social implications: The paper presents a subtle transformation of the social and financial order in the light of the Tawhidi ontological law quite differently from the way that shari’ah-compliance envisions. Originality/value: The theoretical and projected applied perspectives in analytical finance presented in this paper provide a methodological worldview for all areas of social finance with ethical consciousness. Such analytical approach is much needed today in the reconstruction of global finance in the scale of ethics and away from the sole focus on capital market efficiency
The spatial relationship and distances of posterior root apices to various anatomical structures
No full textObjective: This study aimed to determine the spatial relationship and distances of the apices of posterior teeth to the maxillary sinus and mandibular canal/mental foramen. Materials and Methods: Thirty-two digital orthopantomograms were included, and exported to Adobe® Photoshop® CS3 version 10.0. The length of the crown and root of all posterior teeth were measured. Their roots were identified as being located 'away', 'in contact' or 'appear to project into' the sinus or mandibular canal/mental foramen. The bony distances between the apices of all posterior teeth and these anatomy structures were measured. All posterior teeth were present except for 18 missing maxillary third molars (R = 8, L = 10) and mandibular third molars (R = 9, L = 9) each. Results: There were 75.2% apices that appeared 'in contact' or 'projected into' the sinus, and this involved mainly the second premolar and all molars. In cases with measureable bony distances, the average distances (in mm) in away from the maxillary sinus were 5.61 at first premolar, 2.70 at second premolar, 1.66 at first molar, 2.29 at second molar and 3.28 at third molar. The average distance (in mm) away from the neurovascular structure in the mandible were 5.49 at first premolar, 5.00 at second premolar, 4.50 at first molar, 2.58 at second molar and 1.31 at third molar. Ten second molar apices (20.8%) and 31 apices (64.6%) of the third molar appeared to be 'in contact' with the mandibular canal. The mandibular premolars did not appear to be 'in contact' with the anterior loop or mental foramen. Conclusion: There appeared to be a closer proximity of the posterior teeth to the maxillary sinus than the mandibular canal/ mental foramen
Factors Influencing the Successful Isolation and Expansion of Aging Human Mesenchymal Stem Cells
No full textMost studies highlight mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) extracted primarily from bone marrow (BM), very few report the use of peripheral blood (PB), often due to the associated low seeding density and difficulties with extraction techniques. As ageing populations are becoming more predominant globally, together with escalating demands for MSC transplantation and tissue regeneration, obtaining quality MSCs suitable for induced differentiation and biological therapies becomes increasingly important. In this study, BM and PB were obtained from elderly patients and extracted MSCs grown in vitro to determine their successful isolation and expansion. Patients' socio-demographic background and other medical information were obtained from medical records. Successful and failed cultures were correlated with key demographic and medical parameters. A total of 112 samples (BM or PB) were used for this study. Of these, 50 samples (44.6%) were successfully cultured according to standardised criteria with no signs of contamination. Our comparative analyses demonstrated no statistical correlation between successful MSC cultures and any of the six demographic or medical parameters examined, including sample quantity, age, sex, race, habits and underlying comorbidities of sample donors. In conclusion, the present study demonstrates that typical demographics and comorbidities do not influence successful MSC isolation and expansion in culture
Sustainable approach in phlorotannin recovery from macroalgae
No full textIn this present study, alcohol/salt liquid biphasic system was used to extract phlorotannin from brown macroalgae. Liquid biphasic system is a new green technology that integrated with various processes into one-step, by concentrating, separating and purifying the bioproduct in a unit operation. The solvent used is non-toxic and there is potential for solvent recovery which is beneficial to the environment. Phlorotannin is a bioactive compound that has gained much attention due to its health beneficial effect. Therefore, the isolation of phlorotannin is lucrative as it contains various biological activities that are capable to be utilised into food and pharmaceutical application. By using 2-propanol/ammonium sulphate system, the highest recovery of phlorotannin was 76.1% and 91.67% with purification factor of 2.49 and 1.59 from Padina australis and Sargassum binderi, respectively. A recycling study was performed and the salt phase of system was recycled where maximum salt recovery of 41.04% and 72.39% could be obtained from systems containing P. australis and S. binderi, respectively. Similar recovery of phlorotannin was observed after performing two cycles of the system, this concludes that the system has good recyclability and eco-friendly
Co-Administration of Conjugated Linoleic Acid and Rosiglitazone Increases Atherogenic Co-Efficient and Alters Isoprenaline-Induced Vasodilatation in Rats Fed High Fat Diet
No full textThe cis(c)-9, trans(t)-11 (c9,t11) and t10,c12 isomers of conjugated linoleic acid (CLA) have been reported as agonists of peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor (PPAR) and beneficial in lipidemia and glycemia. However, it is unclear whether CLA isomers enhance or antagonize effects of conventional drugs targeting PPAR. Male Sprague-Dawley rats were fed high fat diet (HFD) for 8 weeks and treated without or with CLA, rosiglitazone or both for 4 weeks. Oral glucose tolerance and surrogate markers of insulin resistance were not significantly different for all treatments compared to untreated normal diet (ND) or HFD group, except lipoprotein levels. The combination of CLA and rosiglitazone had suppressed levels of low and high density lipoproteins (46 % and 25 %, respectively), compared to HFD-alone. Conversely, the atherogenic co-efficient of the animals received HFD or HFD+rosiglitazone+CLA was 2-folds higher than ND, HFD+rosiglitazone or HFD+CLA. Isolated aortic rings from the combined CLA and rosiglitazone treated animals were less sensitive to isoprenaline-induced relaxation among endothelium-denuded aortas with a decreased efficacy and potency (R max =53±4.7 %; pEC50=6±0.2) compared to endothelium-intact aortas (R max =100±9.9 %; pEC50=7±0.2). Our findings illustrate that the combination of CLA and rosiglitazone precede the atherogenic state with impaired endotheliumindependent vasodilatation before the onset of HFD-induced insulin resistance
The misinterpretation of hadith texts by extremist groups to justify their terrorist acts: An analysis
No full textThis paper seeks to analyze the hadith texts which have been misinterpreted by various extremist groups to justify their terrorist acts. There were several narrations in the hadith that mention extremist acts in the past, such as the beheading of Abu Jahal by Ibn Mas'ud, the burning of enemies alive by Caliph Ali, and the presentation of the beheaded head of al-Aswad al-'Ansi to the Prophet PBUH. Unfortunately, these narrations were manipulated by extremist groups as their arguments to justify their extremist acts, without examining in depth the reasons why they occurred. This article aims to investigate the legitimacy of the stories, and find justification for the actions if they actually occurred. This paper uses qualitative research methodology by discussing hadith scholars' views and their interpretations of the jihad texts. The findings of the study show the extremist groups' dependency on the literal meaning of the hadith texts, and ignoring the context of the hadith. They also depend on weak hadiths that have been rejected by hadith scholars. Finally, this study outlines various ideas and suggestions to overcome confusion due to the misinterpretation of hadith texts by extremist groups
Electronic, optical and thermoelectric investigations of Zintl phase AE3AlAs3 (AE = Sr, Ba): First-principles calculations
No full textFirst principles calculations were performed to investigate the electronic, optical and thermoelectric properties of Zintl orthorhombic phase AE3AlAs3 (AE = Sr, Ba) compounds using the full potential linearized augmented plane wave method. The exchange-correlation potential is treated with the generalized gradient approximation (GGA) and modified Becke-Johnson potential (TB-mBJ) to improve the electronic structure calculations. These two compounds are semiconductors have direct band gaps. The optical transitions are investigated via dielectric function along with other related optical constants such as refractive index and absorption coefficient. Thermoelectric properties are examined using the combination of electronic structure and Boltzmann transport theory. In detail, the calculated results of Seebeck coefficient, electrical and thermal conductivity, figure of merit and power factor are reported as a function of temperature
Continuous spinal anaesthesia: A retrospective analysis of 318 cases
No full textBackground and Aims: Continuous spinal anaesthesia (CSA) is an underutilised anaesthetic technique. Our objectives were to evaluate the use of CSA in our institution, its efficacy, ease to use and safety. Methods: This was a retrospective analysis conducted in a tertiary centre. Records of all patients who underwent surgery and received CSA between December 2008 and July 2017 were reviewed. Their demographic profiles, type and duration of surgery were analysed. The outcomes measured were the success of CSA, technical evaluation and difficulties encountered, intraoperative haemodynamics, usage of vasopressors and any reported complications. Statistical analysis was done using Chi-square test. Results: Three hundred and eighteen patients (94%) successfully underwent surgery using CSA. Twenty cases (6%) had failed CSA, of which five of them had CSA insertion failure, while the rest failed to complete the operation under CSA, thus requiring conversion to general anaesthesia. Patients who have had an initial intrathecal local anaesthetic (LA) volume ≥1.5 ml had higher odds (odds ratio (OR) 2.78; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.70–4.57) of developing hypotension compared to those who had <1.5 ml (P < 0.001). There were no reported post-dural puncture headache, neurological sequelae or infection. Conclusion: CSA is a useful anaesthetic technique with low failure rate. The key to achieving haemodynamic stability is by giving a small initial bolus, then titrating the block up to required height using aliquots of 0.5 ml of intrathecal LA through the catheter