• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
• /
• v.16 no.1
• /
• pp.233-237
• /
• 2015

Background: Lung cancer is the leading cause of cancer death in Brunei Darussalam, accounting for almost 20% of the total. The epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) is a member of the erbB family of tyrosine kinase receptor proteins, which includes c-erbb2(HER2/neu), erb-B3, and erb-B4. EGFR overexpression is found in a third of all epithelial cancers, often associated with a poor prognosis. Materials and Methods: Protein expression of EGFR in 27 cases of lung cancer tissue samples and 9 cases of normal lung tissue samples was evaluated using an immunohistochemical approach. Results: The results demonstrated significant increase and overexpression of EGFR in Bruneian lung cancer tissue samples in comparison to normal lung tissue. However, there was no significant relationship between clinicopathologic variables (age and sex) of patients and EGFR protein expression. Conclusions: EGFR is overexpressed in Bruneian lung cancer patient tissue samples in comparison to normal lung tissue samples. This may indicate that EGFR protein over expression plays an important role in the genesis of this type of cancer in Brunei Darussalam.

• The Journal of Asian Finance, Economics and Business
• /
• v.7 no.9
• /
• pp.293-304
• /
• 2020

The study reveals the extent of changes in selective financial numbers caused by fixed asset revaluation (FAR) and explores whether there was a management motive for playing the financial numbers game through using the FAR model. The data set consists of a sample of 142 listed companies purposively selected from 13 industries. The study found a significant impact of FAR on the net asset value (NAV), fixed asset intensity (FAI), and debt-to-equity ratio (DER). These findings are supported by the political cost and the debt covenant hypotheses. The study also observed a high growth of fixed assets by 9.5% to 14,603.8% resulting from FAR. More revealing is that FAR increased NAV in revaluer companies by an average of 427.20% as compared to 6.86% in non-revaluer companies. Even some companies with negative NAV took resort on FAR to show positive NAV. Besides, revaluer companies managed to reduce their DER by 70.45% as opposed to an increase of 8.45% in non-revaluer companies. Hence, the study concludes that most of the publicly-listed companies are involved in financial numbers game by the use of the FAR model. To build confidence among investors, companies should practice FAR rightly and disclose related information to help reduce information asymmetry.

• The Journal of Asian Finance, Economics and Business
• /
• v.7 no.9
• /
• pp.263-269
• /
• 2020

The purpose of this paper is to examine the impact of consumer price index, infrastructure, human resources, trade openness, and private credit on the attraction of foreign direct investment (FDI) in Tay Ninh province as well as to emphasize the important role of FDI in economic growth of developing areas. The research data was collected from Tay Ninh Statistical Office with 80 samples of a 20-year period from 2000 to 2019. Also, OLS regression method using Eviews software was employed to analyze the data obtained. The findings revealed that human resources, infrastructure and private credit have a positive and significant impact on FDI attraction in Tay Ninh province, while consumer price index was proven to affect FDI attraction negatively. Accordingly, competent authorities of Tay Ninh province should focus on stabilizing prices as well as implementing policies for developing local human resources and attracting high-quality personnel from foreign countries. Tay Ninh province also needs to pay more attention to information technology investment for synchronous development of infrastructure. Moreover, the State Bank of Tay Ninh branch needs to consider more credit sources to provide support packages for businesses, creating a strong basis for establishments to attract FDI for the province's economic development.

• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
• /
• v.14 no.9
• /
• pp.4953-4960
• /
• 2013

Primary liver cancer is one of the most common cancers at the global level, accounting for half of all cancers in some undeveloped countries. This disease tends to occur in livers damaged through alcohol abuse, or chronic infection with hepatitis B and C, on a background of cirrhosis. Various cancer-causing substances are associated with primary liver cancer, including certain pesticides and such chemicals as vinyl chloride and arsenic. The strong association between HBV infection and liver cancer is well documented in epidemiological studies. It is generally acknowledged that the virus is involved through long term chronic infection, frequently associated with cirrhosis, suggesting a nonspecific mechanism triggered by the immune response. Chronic inflammation of liver, continuous cell death, abnormal cell growth, would increase the occurrence rate of genetic alterations and risk of disease. However, the statistics indicated that only about one fifth of HBV carries would develop HCC in lifetime, suggesting that individual variation in genome would also influence the susceptibility of HCC. The goal of this review is to highlight present level of knowledge on the role of viral infection and genetic variation in the development of liver cancer.

• Health Policy and Management
• /
• v.15 no.4
• /
• pp.81-109
• /
• 2005

According to many recent studies suggesting that cash flow analysis method tends to be more effective than traditional financial index analysis method to predict corporate bankruptcy, this study applies the cash flow analysis method to hospital business to identify the significant variables which can distinguish between superior hospitals and bankruptcy hospitals. The author analyzed recent 3 years, i.e. from the year of 2000 to the year of 2002, financial statements of 31 bankrupt hospitals In 2003, and the same number of superior hospitals through using Multiple Discriminant Analysis and Logit Analysis. The results are belows; First, the study releases that Logit Analysis is more likely to be effective than Multiple Discriminant Analysis. Second, this research also shows that traditional financial index analysis method is more superior compare to cash flow analysis method for hospital bankruptcy predict model. Finally, this study suggest that the significant variables, which can distinguish superior hospitals from bankrupt hospitals, are Operating/Current Liabilities$(Y_2)$, CFO/Equity$(Y_5)$ for cash flow analysis method and Net Worth to Total Assets Ratio$(X_1)$, Quick Ratio $(X_3)$, Return on Assets$(X_6)$, Growth Rate of Patient Revenues$(X_{16})$ for traditional financial index analysis method.

• STI Policy Review
• /
• v.8 no.1
• /
• pp.1-22
• /
• 2017

There has been a pronounced increase in research and development (R&D) expenditure in Singapore over the last two decades, with government spending accounting for a sizeable share. This increase has been spurred by public policy emphasis on research and innovation as engines of economic growth. This paper analyses the impact of R&D on economic performance in Singapore from 1978 to 2012 through the use of time series analysis. The Cobb-Douglas based analysis shows a long-run equilibrium relationship between Total Factor Productivity (TFP) and R&D investments. We found that the short-run productivity of R&D in Singapore is comparable to smaller advanced economies in the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD). However, in terms of long-run R&D productivity, Singapore lags slightly behind the smaller OECD nations and far behind the G7 countries. This suggests leakage of value capture and low absorptive capacity in local firms. Possibility of productivity improvements induced by policy changes in the 1990s was considered, but no evidence of significant structural breaks was found. Lastly, Granger causality analysis reveals that public sector R&D augments private sector R&D capital, thus playing an important role in generating externalities and spillover effects. Policy implications and lessons for other middle-income countries are discussed.

• Korean Journal of Bronchoesophagology
• /
• v.1 no.1
• /
• pp.142-145
• /
• 1995

The tracheocutaneous fistula(TCF) may develop infrequently as a complication after tracheostomy. Prolonged tracheostomy tube dependence increases the risk of TCF developing, and in growth of stratified squamous epithelium lines the furrow connecting the tracheal mucosa and the skin, accounting for persistence of the fistulous tract. Such fistulas are a nuisance and create nursing and social problems including poor hygiene, aspiration, difficulty with speech, and depletion of pulmonary reserve. Surgical closure has generally been successful by primary closure, fistulectomy with primary closure, and closure by secondary intention following excision of the tracheocutaneous fistula. No large series compares the efficacy of these techniques and each has its own merits. Recent literature has purposed to minimizing complications. For ten years, from January 1985 to December 1994, the authors experienced 25 cases of TCF which were analyzed in respect to incidence and interval of cannulation, duration between decanulation and fistular closure, precedent disease, closure methods, and complications of TCF repair.

• The Journal of Asian Finance, Economics and Business
• /
• v.7 no.11
• /
• pp.219-229
• /
• 2020

The study investigates the factors affecting the profitability of listed commercial banks in Vietnam. Survey data for this research were collected from 10 Vietnamese listed commercial banks for the period from 2008 to 2018. In the study, we have built a model of econometric regression with the dependent variable being listed commercial banks' profitability results measured through ROA. The research methods used include descriptive statistics, IV regression and OLS regression analysis, and the authors carried out the model verification with Stata 14 software. The results showed that operating efficiency, loans size, retail loans ratio, state ownership, inflation rate, and GDP growth are factors that have a positive impact on profitability On the other hand, variables such as capital size, credit risk, liquidity risk, bank size, and revenue diversification are statistically insignificant; hence, these variables are not statistically adequate to indicate the influence of those independent variables to banks' profitability. The findings of this study suggest that the quality of assets should be considered in the context that bad debt risks come from lending heavily to the real estate sector. Meeting Basel II's capital compliance requirements is relatively difficult for small listed commercial banks compared to bigger listed commercial banks in Vietnam.

• The Journal of Asian Finance, Economics and Business
• /
• v.7 no.10
• /
• pp.783-793
• /
• 2020

The purpose of this study is to investigate whether the ECFA impacted the efficiency of banks in China and Taiwan from 2008 to 2017. This study follows Seiford and Zhu (2002), who recommend using the standard data envelopment analysis model to measure performance by increasing the desirable outputs and decreasing the undesirables. The finding was that overall technical efficiency increased from 2012 to 2017, reaching 0.575, 0.652, 0617, 0.689, 0.701 and 0.74, respectively. This result implies bank efficiency did indeed improve after China and Taiwan signed the ECFA cooperation agreement. The study found that the mean technical efficiency was 0.8756 in China, greater than Taiwan's mean of 0.3511, implying that Chinese banks experienced a greater increase in efficiency after signing the EFCA. One possible reason explored in this study is that China's economy is currently growing at the highest rate in the world, and the banks' efficiency has benefited from greater economic growth. This suggests that cross-strait sustained negotiations to consummate an agreement on trade in the services will be a very important mission in the future. This result also provides significant evidence suggesting that not accounting for undesirable output while estimating the evolution of the model may seriously distort efficiency results.

• Asian Journal of Business Environment
• /
• v.11 no.4
• /
• pp.17-29
• /
• 2021

Purpose: The aim of this study is to explore the dynamic linkage between conditional stock market volatility and macroeconomic uncertainty of Bangladesh. Research design, data, and methodology: This study uses monthly data covering the time period from January 2005 to December 2018. A comprehensive set of macroeconomic variables, namely industrial production index (IP), consumer price index (CPI), broad money supply (M2), 91-day treasury bill rate (TB), treasury bond yield (GB), exchange rate (EX), inflow of foreign remittance (RT) and stock market index of DSEX are used for analysis. Symmetric and asymmetric univariate GARCH family of models and multivariate VAR model, along with block exogeneity and impulse response functions, are implemented on conditional volatility series to discover the possible interactions and causal relations between macroeconomic forces and stock return. Results: The analysis of the study exhibits time-varying volatility and volatility persistence in all the variables of interest. Moreover, the asymmetric effect is found significant in the stock return and most of the growth series of macroeconomic fundamentals. Results from the multivariate VAR model indicate that only short-term interest rate significantly influence the stock market volatility, while conditional stock return volatility is significant in explaining the volatility of industrial production, inflation, and treasury bill rate. Conclusion: The findings suggest an increasing interdependence between the money market and equity market as well as the macroeconomic fundamentals of Bangladesh.