11 research outputs found
Subprime crisis : the impact of different types of debt on corporate performance.
No full textThis study examines the impact of different types of debt used by firms on corporate performance during the subprime crisis. We find that the dependency on Term Loans during the crisis would result in the decline in corporate performance during the crisis period. On the other hand, the research findings show that if firms were dependent on Other Debts before the crisis, these firms would experience an improvement in corporate performance during the crisis period. Likewise, if firms were able to access both Term Loans and Revolving Credit Lines amidst the credit crunch, these firms would be able to experience an increase in their corporate performance after the crisis period.
The second part of the study includes the examination of the effect of the accessibility to drawn and undrawn credit lines on the differential impact on corporate performance. For pre-crisis to crisis period, result indicates that firms possessing pre-existing Undrawn Credit Lines during the pre-crisis period would not perform significantly better than firms which did not have access to Undrawn Credit Lines. We attribute this finding to the likelihood of increased regulatory within the global banking industry and thus reduced accessibility to Undrawn Credit Lines for firms which failed to project stable cash flows. For crisis to post-crisis period, we find that firms that had access to Undrawn Credit Lines during the crisis were able to perform better after the crisis, as compared to firms that did not have access to the Undrawn Credit Lines.BUSINES
412 Respiratory virus infection-associated mortality among critically ill children: a retrospective single-centre cohort study
No full text
Contrast-Enhanced High-Frame-Rate Ultrasound Imaging of Flow Patterns in Cardiac Chambers and Deep Vessels
No full textCardiac function and vascular function are closely related to the flow of blood within. The flow velocities in these larger cavities easily reach 1 m/s, and generally complex spatiotemporal flow patterns are involved, especially in a non-physiologic state. Visualization of such flow patterns using ultrasound can be greatly enhanced by administration of contrast agents. Tracking the high-velocity complex flows is challenging with current clinical echographic tools, mostly because of limitations in signal-to-noise ratio; estimation of lateral velocities; and/or frame rate of the contrast-enhanced imaging mode. This review addresses the state of the art in 2-D high-frame-rate contrast-enhanced echography of ventricular and deep-vessel flow, from both technological and clinical perspectives. It concludes that current advanced ultrasound equipment is technologically ready for use in human contrast-enhanced studies, thus potentially leading to identification of the most clinically relevant flow parameters for quantifying cardiac and vascular function
Biogenic Silver Nanoparticles of Clinacanthus nutans as Antioxidant with Antimicrobial and Cytotoxic Effects
No full textSilver nanoparticles (AgNPs) previously synthesised using leaf (AgNP-L) and stem (AgNP-S) extracts of Clinacanthus nutans (C. nutans) were tested to evaluate antimicrobial, antioxidant, and cytotoxicity activities. The AgNPs showed good inhibition against bacteria, but not fungi. The inhibition results showed the highest activity against Staphylococcus aureus (S. aureus) with 11.35 mm (AgNP-L) and 11.52 mm (AgNP-S), while the lowest inhibition was against Escherichia coli (E. coli) with 9.22 mm (AgNP-L) and 9.25 mm (AgNP-S) in the disc diffusion method. The same trend of results was noted in the well diffusion method. The IC50 of AgNP-L and AgNP-S in 2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) and 2,2′-azino-bis (3-ethylbenzothiazoline-6-sulfonic acid) (ABTS) assays was 417.05 μg/mL and 434.60 μg/mL, as well as 304.31 μg/mL and 326.83 μg/mL, respectively. Ferric reducing power (FRAP) assay showed that AgNP-L [872.389 μmol/L Fe(II)] and AgNP-S [612.770 μmol/L Fe(II)] exhibited significantly (p < 0.05) greater antioxidant activities than leaf extract (CNL) [152.260 μmol/L Fe(II)] and stem extract (CNS) [110.445 μmol/L Fe(II)] of C. nutans. The AgNPs were also proven to possess cytotoxic effects on the breast (MCF-7), cervical (HeLa), and colon (HT-29) cancer cells in a dose-dependent manner. AgNP-S and AgNP-L showed significantly (p < 0.05) higher cytotoxicity against MCF-7 (117.43 μg/mL) and HT-29 (78.47 μg/mL), respectively. In conclusion, the biosynthesised AgNPs from aqueous extract leaves and stem of C. nutans have demonstrated promising potential towards antioxidant, antimicrobial, and cytotoxicity activities
Author Correction: Federated learning enables big data for rare cancer boundary detection.
No full text10.1038/s41467-023-36188-7NATURE COMMUNICATIONS14
3D super-resolution ultrasound imaging of rabbit lymph node vasculature in vivo using microbubbles
No full textBackground: Variations in lymph node (LN) microcirculation can be indicative of metastasis. Identifying and quantifying metastatic LNs remains essential for prognosis and treatment planning but a reliable non-invasive imaging technique is lacking. 3D super-resolution (SR) ultrasound has shown potential to noninvasively visualize microvascular networks in vivo.Purpose: To study the feasibility of 3D SR ultrasound imaging of rabbit lymph node (LN) microvascular structure and blood flow using microbubbles.Materials and Methods: In vivo studies were carried out to image popliteal LNs of two healthy male New Zealand White rabbits aged 6-8 weeks. 3D high frame rate contrast enhanced ultrasound was achieved by mechanically scanning a linear imaging probe. Individual microbubbles were identified, localized, and tracked to form 3D SR images and super-resolved velocity maps. Acoustic sub-aperture processing (ASAP)was used to improve image contrast and generateenhanced power Doppler (PD) and color Doppler (CD) images. Vessel size and blood flow velocity distributions were evaluated and assessed by Student’s paired t-test. Results:SR images revealed micro-vessels in the rabbitLN, with branches clearly resolved when separated by 30 μm, which is less than half of the acoustic wavelength and not resolvable by power or color Doppler. The apparent size distribution of most vessels in the SR images was below 80 μm and agrees with micro-CT data whereas most of those detected by Doppler techniques were larger than 80 μm. The blood flow velocity distribution indicated that most of the blood flow in the rabbit popliteal LN was at velocities lower than 5mm/s. Conclusion: 3D super-resolution ultrasound imaging using microbubbles allows non-invasive and non-ionizing visualization and quantification of rabbit lymph node microvascular structures and blood flow dynamics with resolution below the wave diffraction limit. This technology has potential for studying the physiological functions of the lymph system and for clinical detection of lymph node metastasis
Nutrition and nitrogen-fixation in Malaysian Pterocarpus Indicus willd
No full textPterocarpus indicus is a promising tropical woody legume for the establishment of forest plantations in Malaysia. Woody legumes that form symbiotic relationships with nitrogen-fixing bacteria also play an important role for forest restoration on degraded land. Although P. indicus has been widely planted as an amenity tree in SE Asia, its silvicultural requirements have not been determined. There are no recommendations for fertilizer or for inoculation with nitrogen-fixing bacteria. This thesis explores the phosphorus (P) and nitrogen (N) requirements of seedlings and identifies a range of nitrogen-fixing bacteria capable of forming root nodules under glasshouse conditions.
Four glasshouse experiments were undertaken on two soil types: Yalanbee sandy gravel (YB) and yellow sand (YS) to determine the P and N concentration ranges in the foliage of deficient and healthy plants and to define critical nutrient concentrations for the diagnosis of deficiency. There was a narrow range in rates of P fertilizer, supplied as aerophos, Ca(H2PO4)2.H2O, between deficiency and toxicity in both soil types. The relationship between yield and P concentration in the youngest fully expanded leaf (YFEL) enabled critical P concentrations for the diagnosis of deficiency (0.17%) and toxicity (0.41%) to be determined at 90% maximum yield from linear regressions fitted to the data. The foliar P concentration ranges for deficiency and toxicity were similar to other nitrogen-fixing trees. Only plants in YS responded to inorganic N fertilizer, and soil analysis suggested that seedlings may take up ammonium-N in preference to nitrate-N at luxury supply. A critical concentration for the diagnosis of N deficiency was not able to be determined due to the lack of data points. Plants with adequate N fertilizer had YFEL N concentrations of 2-3.5% dry weight.
To determine whether P. indicus is more sensitive to luxury soil P supply than other fast-growing legume trees, the P response of P. indicus in YB was compared with three other woody legumes, Pterocarpus macrocarpus, Acacia mangium and Sesbania formosa. The sensitivity of P. indicus to high P was confirmed and the response shown to be similar to P. macrocarpus. Both species showed severe symptoms of P toxicity, namely leaf necrosis and stunted growth. In contrast, shoot and root yields of A. mangium and S. formosa were not reduced at luxury P supply and yield x fertilizer relationships were able to be fitted to the Mitscherlich model. Critical P concentrations for the diagnosis of P deficiency in A. mangium and S. formosa, derived using the Mitscherlich model, were estimated to be 0.2-0.3% dry weight for the YFELs.
Two glasshouse inoculation trials were carried out using diverse strains of root nodule bacteria in order to identify strains suitable for inoculation in the nursery. There were eight strains from Bradyrhizobium, five from Rhizobium, three from Sinorhizobium and two Mesorhizobium strains. P. indicus formed nodules with strains from Bradyrhizobium, Rhizobium, Sinorhizobium and Mesorhizobium, which suggests it is a promiscuous host. Nodules formed were globose, single and of aeschynomenoid type. In the first trial, Bradyrhizobium strain WSM 2096, promoted shoot growth while in the second trial, Bradyrhizobium strain WSM 3712 promoted shoot growth. Growth stimulation was similar to the uninoculated control supplied with inorganic N as KNO3 but was inferior to plants given (NH4)2SO4.
The response of P. indicus to low soil P in inoculated and uninoculated plants was studied in a pot trial comprising two P treatments (nil, just adequate). Plants were grown for 3 and 6 weeks. At nil fertilizer P, uninoculated P. indicus seedlings had higher total root length and root dry weight than those with adequate P. Inoculation with WSM 3712 suppressed root growth relative to uninoculated plants.
Information gathered in this thesis has application for the production of planting stock in forest nurseries. Firstly, care needs to be taken to ensure that rates of P supplied as hard or liquid fertilizer are not in the range likely to cause toxicity. Secondly, if any starter inorganic N fertilizer is to be used then it should be supplied either as ammonium-N or as urea. Thirdly, more research is required in order to identify effective strains of rhizobia for widespread commercial application. Fourthly, the critical foliar P concentrations identified for the diagnosis of P deficiency and P toxicity can be used to help interpret foliar analysis of seedlings in the future
Designing A Competency Framework For Logistics Executives: The Case Of The Ready-Made Garments Manufacturers In Egypt
No full textThe ready-made garments (RMG) manufacturing industry in Egypt is one of the main industries that supports the Egyptian economy through exports‟ earnings. Egypt‟s RMG exports are considerably less in quantity than other RMG exporting countries despite the advantages that Egypt has in terms of availability of high quality raw materials „cotton‟, the geographical proximity to main RMG importers and duty free trade agreements. Among the factors found to affect the competitiveness of Egypt‟s RMG exports are the lack of training, and the lack of skilled labour and management. This research develops a competency framework - a tool that can assist RMG manufacturing companies in Egypt to identify the skills needed for effective job performance and to define the skills deficiencies that would require training. This competency framework focuses on logistics executives in RMG manufacturing companies, as competent logistics executives have been shown to play a vital role in supporting the competitive advantage of organisations. The competency approach had not previously been used in research to identify the competencies needed for logistics executives in any industry, including the RMG industry. Moreover, very little work has been carried out on investigating the skills of logistics executives in developing countries, nevertheless in the Middle East. To create this competency framework, methodological triangulation was used through the use of questionnaires, content analysis and semi-structured interviews. The online questionnaire targeted a sample of logistics executives in RMG companies in Egypt to determine the tasks they consider important for effective job performance. The content analysis was performed on skills-related research to collect the skills and knowledge elements acknowledged in the literature to create logistics competencies. The output of the questionnaire and the content analysis was then used in a semi-structured interview with a senior merchandiser and development manager in an Egyptian RMG manufacturing company to provide an example of a completed competency framework.
This thesis seeks to make an original contribution to knowledge by creating a competency framework template that RMG manufacturing companies in Egypt can use to identify the competencies and detect the skills deficiencies of logistics executives. This contribution would not only benefit the RMG manufacturing companies in Egypt, but it could also be of use to RMG exporters in developing countries which suffer from similar skills and training problems. This research is also a contribution in that it emphasises the role of logistics executives towards supporting Egypt‟s RMG exports, an angle which has not previously been explored, as earlier research focused on other aspects that supported the competitiveness of Egypt‟s RMG exports such as trade regulations. Moreover, acknowledging the role of logistics executives in this study could draw the attention of other industrial sectors in Egypt to consider the role of competent logistics executives towards supporting companies‟ performance
Asian Neonatal Network Collaboration (AsianNeo): a study protocol for international collaborative comparisons of health services and outcomes to improve quality of care for sick newborn infants in Asia – survey, cohort and quality improvement studies
No full textIntroduction Reducing neonatal deaths in premature infants in low- and middle-income countries is key to reducing global neonatal mortality. International neonatal networks, along with patient registries of premature infants, have contributed to improving the quality of neonatal care; however, the involvement of low-to-middle-income countries was limited. This project aims to form an international collaboration among neonatal networks in Asia (AsianNeo), including low-, middle- and high-income countries (or regions). Specifically, it aims to determine outcomes in sick newborn infants, especially very low birth weight (VLBW) infants or very preterm infants, with a view to improving the quality of care for such infants.Methods and analysis Currently, AsianNeo comprises nine neonatal networks from Indonesia, Japan, Malaysia, Philippines, Singapore, South Korea, Sri Lanka, Taiwan and Thailand. AsianNeo will undertake the following four studies: (1) institutional questionnaire surveys investigating neonatal intensive care unit resources and the clinical management of sick newborn infants, with a focus on VLBW infants (nine countries/regions); (2) a retrospective cohort study to describe and compare the outcomes of VLBW infants among Asian countries and regions (four countries/regions); (3) a prospective cohort study to develop the AsianNeo registry of VLBW infants (six countries/regions); and (4) implementation and evaluation of educational and quality improvement projects in AsianNeo countries and regions (nine countries/regions).Ethics and dissemination The study protocol was approved by the Research Ethics Board of the National Center for Child Health and Development, Tokyo, Japan (reference number 2020–244, 2022–156). The study findings will be disseminated through educational programmes, quality improvement activities, conference presentations and medical journal publications
