• Asian Journal of Business Environment
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• v.9 no.1
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• pp.13-20
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• 2019

Purpose - The purpose of this paper is to find out the determinants of the quality of financial information in the financial environment of the cement companies of Bangladesh. Research design, data and methodology - This study considers a total of fifty-eight firm years as the sample from the seven listed cement companies of Bangladesh during the period of 2007 to 2015. This study applies the multivariate regression analysis including the pooled OLS, panel and controlling time. Results - This study finds that profitability and external financing are the two major explanatory variables in determining the quality of financial information. This study also finds that firm size and accrual quality don't have any significant influence on quality of financial information. Conclusion - This study observed that profitability of this sector which is much volatile and prone to be manipulated. Thus, this paper suggests that higher profitability needs more scrutiny while assessing quality of financial information. Finally, this study provides some indications for future research such as considering the listed firms of other sectors of Bangladesh or cross country comparison in different country setting.

• Journal of Korean Society for Atmospheric Environment
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• v.16 no.3
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• pp.265-275
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• 2000

By using thermal desorption/gas chromatograph/flame ionization detector(TD/GC/FID), this study was carried out to evalute an accuracy and a precision on Benzene(B), Toluene(T), o-Xylene(X) analysis in an industrial hygiene laboratory. Limits of detection of TD/GC/FID on B, T, X were showed 13.75ng/sample or less. For the accuracy of the method by concentration levels, overall bias was showed 7.7% as an absolute value, and the pooled coefficient of variation showed 3.51%. For the precision on repeatability of peak area and retention time between within-run and between-run of analytical system, it is showed the results of within-run gave better than those of between-run. Also the accuracy by sorbents(Tenax TA and Chromosorb 106)was evaluated, and the precision on reproducibility between MDHS72 and this study was compared. It is showed it is possible for TD/GC/FID to evaluate accurately B, T, X concentration levels of less than 1ppm at indoor or outdoor of workplaces in Korea.

• Clinical and Experimental Reproductive Medicine
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• v.38 no.1
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• pp.6-9
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• 2011

Objective: To investigate a kallikrein-related peptidase 2 (KLK2) single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) in relation to male infertility because of its role in semen processing. We investigated the genetic association of the KLK2+255G>A genotype with male infertility. Methods: We genotyped the SNP site located in intron 1 (+255G>A, rs2664155) of KLK2 from 218 men with male infertility (cases) and 220 fertile males (controls). Pyrosequencing analysis was performed for the genotyping. Results: The SNP of the KLK2 gene had a statistically significant association with male infertility (p<0.05). The odds ratio for the minor allele (+255A) in the pooled sample was 0.47 (95% confidence intervals, 0.26-0.85) for rs2664155. Conclusion: The relationship of KLK2 SNP to male infertility is statistically significant, especially within the non-azoospermia group. Further study is needed to understand the mechanisms associated with male infertility.

• Communications for Statistical Applications and Methods
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• v.30 no.1
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• pp.109-117
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• 2023

Intuitively, a test with more assumptions has greater power than a test with fewer assumptions. This kind of examples are abundant in the nonparametric tests vs corresponding parametric ones. In general, the nonparametric tests are less efficient in terms of asymptotic relative efficiency (ARE) compared to corresponding parametric tests (Daniel, 1990). However, this is not always true. To test equal means under independent normal samples, the usual test involves using the t-distribution with the pooled estimator of the common variance. Adding the assumption of equal sample size, we may derive another test. In this case, two tests using more assumptions were performed for univariate (multivariate) cases. For these examples, it was found that the power function of a test with more assumptions is less than or equal to that of a test with fewer assumptions. This finding can be used as an expository example in master's mathematical statistics courses.

• Agribusiness and Information Management
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• v.8 no.1
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• pp.17-26
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• 2016

India is largest producer of banana in the world producing 29.72 million tonnes from an area of 0.803 million ha with a productivity of 35.7 MT ha-1 and accounted for 15.48 and 27.01 per cent of the world's area and production respectively (www.nhb.gov.in). In India, Tamil Nadu leads other states both in terms of area and production followed by Maharashtra, Gujarat and Andhra Pradesh. In Rayalaseema region of Andhra Pradesh, Kurnool district had special reputation in the cultivation of banana in an area of 5765 hectares with an annual production of 2.01 lakh tonnes in the year 2012-13 and hence, it was purposively chosen for the study. On $23^{rd}$ November 2003, the Government of Andhra Pradesh has commenced a comprehensive project called 'Andhra Pradesh Micro Irrigation Project (APMIP)', first of its kind in the world so as to promote water use efficiency. APMIP is offering 100 per cent of subsidy in case of SC, ST and 90 per cent in case of other categories of farmers up to 5.0 acres of land. In case of acreage between 5-10 acres, 70 per cent subsidy and acreage above 10, 50 per cent of subsidy is given to the farmer beneficiaries. The sampling frame consists of Kurnool district, two mandals, four villages and 180 sample farmers comprising of 60 farmers each from Marginal (<1ha), Small (1-2ha) and Other (>2ha) categories. A well structured pre-tested schedule was employed to collect the requisite information pertaining to the performance of drip irrigation among the sample farmers and Data Envelopment Analysis (DEA) model was employed to analyze the performance of drip irrigation in banana farms. The performance of drip irrigation was assessed based on the parameters like: Land Development Works (LDW), Fertigation costs (FC), Volume of water supplied (VWS), Annual maintenance costs of drip irrigation (AMC), Economic Status of the farmer (ES), Crop Productivity (CP) etc. The first four parameters are considered as inputs and last two as outputs for DEA modelling purposes. The findings revealed that, the number of farms operating at CRS are more in number in other farms (46.66%) followed by marginal (45%) and small farms (28.33%). Similarly, regarding the number of farmers operating at VRS, the other farms are again more in number with 61.66 per cent followed by marginal (53.33%) and small farms (35%). With reference to scale efficiency, marginal farms dominate the scenario with 57 per cent followed by others (55%) and small farms (50%). At pooled level, 26.11 per cent of the farms are being operated at CRS with an average technical efficiency score of 0.6138 i.e., 47 out of 180 farms. Nearly 40 per cent of the farmers at pooled level are being operated at VRS with an average technical efficiency score of 0.7241. As regards to scale efficiency, nearly 52 per cent of the farmers (94 out of 180 farmers) at pooled level, either performed at the optimum scale or were close to the optimum scale (farms having scale efficiency values equal to or more than 0.90). Majority of the farms (39.44%) are operating at IRS and only 29 per cent of the farmers are operating at DRS. This signifies that, more resources should be provided to these farms operating at IRS and the same should be decreased towards the farms operating at DRS. Nearly 32 per cent of the farms are operating at CRS indicating efficient utilization of resources. Log linear regression model was used to analyze the major determinants of input use efficiency in banana farms. The input variables considered under DEA model were again considered as influential factors for the CRS obtained for the three categories of farmers. Volume of water supplied ($X_1$) and fertigation cost ($X_2$) are the major determinants of banana farms across all the farmer categories and even at pooled level. In view of their positive influence on the CRS, it is essential to strengthen modern irrigation infrastructure like drip irrigation and offer more fertilizer subsidies to the farmer to enhance the crop production on cost-effective basis in Kurnool district of Andhra Pradesh, India. This study further suggests that, the present era of Information Technology will help the irrigation management in the context of generating new techniques, extension, adoption and information. It will also guide the farmers in irrigation scheduling and quantifying the irrigation water requirements in accordance with the water availability in a particular season. So, it is high time for the Government of India to pay adequate attention towards the applications of 'Information and Communication Technology (ICT) and its applications in irrigation water management' for facilitating the deployment of Decision Supports Systems (DSSs) at various levels of planning and management of water resources in the country.

• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
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• v.15 no.10
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• pp.4265-4269
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• 2014

Purpose: This study aimed at summarizing epidemiological evidence of the association between gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM) and subsequent risk of cancer. Materials and Methods: We searched Medline, Embase, Cancer Lit and CINAHL for epidemiological studies published by February 1, 2014 examining the risk of cancer in patients with history of GDM using highly inclusive algorithms. Information about first author, year of publication, country of study, study design, cancer sites, sample sizes, attained age of subjects and methods used for determining GDM status were extracted by two researchers and Stata version 11.0 was used to perform the meta-analysis and estimate the pooled effects. Results: A total of 9 articles documented 5 cohort and 4 case-control studies containing 10,630 cancer cases and 14,608 women with a history of GDM were included in this review. Taken together, the pooled odds ratio (OR) between GDM and breast cancer risk was 1.01 (0.87-1.17); yet the same pooled ORs of case-control and cohort studies were 0.87 (0.71-1.06) and 1.25 (1.00-1.56) respectively. There are indications that GDM is strongly associated with higher risk of pancreatic cancer (HR=8.68) and hematologic malignancies (HR=4.53), but no relationships were detected between GDM and other types of cancer. Conclusions: Although GDM increases the risk of certain types of cancer, these results should be interpreted with caution becuase of some methodological flaws. The issue merits added investigation and coordinated efforts between researchers, antenatal clinics and cancer treatment and registration agencies to help attain better understanding.

• Analyses & Alternatives
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• v.7 no.3
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• pp.181-230
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• 2023

Evaluating the empirical validity of Modern Monetary Theory, this study implements panel cointegration analysis on annual panel data (2000-2022) of OECD countries. Specifically, the sample countries are divided into groups based on the presence of their own sovereign currencies, and for each group, the long-run equilibrium relation (cointegration) between the ratio of public debt or fiscal deficit and government bond rates is tested and estimated. Main findings are as follows: applying the pooled mean-group estimation for panel cointegration, it is found that both the ratios of public debt and fiscal deficit have significantly positive long-run correlation with government bond rates in countries without sovereign currency such as the Euro-zone or fixed exchange rate regime countries. However, in countries with sovereign currency such as non-Euro-zone or floating exchange rate regime countries, the long-run correlation is either negative or not statistically significant. Particularly, in countries without sovereign currency, the ratio of public debt has significantly positive correlation with the real government bond rates in the short run as well as the long run. These results are consistent with the prediction of Modern Monetary Theory, thus providing a supporting evidence for the empirical validity of the theory.

• Journal of Veterinary Clinics
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• v.27 no.6
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• pp.704-712
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• 2010

Porcine circovirus-2 (PCV2) has been implicated in many clinical diseases/syndromes that are now referred to as PCV-associated diseases (PCVAD). Due to significant economic losses caused by PCVAD, many swine operations have launched extensive monitoring programs for PCV2. Traditional serum sampling is, however, rather expensive and laborious, hampering effective large scale pathogen surveillance. A field-based longitudinal study was conducted to assess the utility of pen-based oral fluid sample as an alternative to serum for herd PCV2 testing. Six pens (25 pigs/pen) at each of 3 different sites were used in the study. One oral fluid and 5 random serum samples per pen were collected at 3, 5, 8, 12, and 16 weeks of age, and the sera were pooled by pen for testing. All samples were tested for PCV2 by real-time PCR and for antibodies by indirect fluorescent antibody test (for both anti-PCV2 IgG and IgA) and 3 ELISA assays (blocking ELISA, indirect ELISA, and IgG/IgM sandwich ELISA). PCV2 DNA was detected in oral fluid samples sporadically until 8 weeks and in all pens at 16 weeks. PCV2-specific IgG was detected in oral fluid samples at 3 weeks and persisted until 5 to 8 weeks in all sites. Anti-PCV2 IgG and IgA were detectable in oral fluid samples collected at 16 weeks from all of the pens at 1 site. The detection of PCV2 and anti-PCV2 antibody in oral fluid samples correlated positively with results on pooled sera, suggesting that oral fluids can be a cost-effective alternative to serum for herd monitoring of PCV2 infection.

• Advances in Traditional Medicine
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• v.8 no.3
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• pp.228-235
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• 2008

This study was conducted to evaluate the estrogen activity of silkworm (Bombyx mori) pupa extracts and their fractions. Powdered samples of freeze-dried silkworm pupa were extracted at room temperature (RT), $40^{\circ}C$, $60^{\circ}C$, $80^{\circ}C$, and $100^{\circ}C$ in water (D.W), chloroform, ethyl acetate, and methanol for 6h and then filtered (0.45 um). The extracts were then freeze-dried. The estrogenic activity of these extracts was then investigated by competition binding assays using estrogen receptor ${\alpha}\;(ER{\alpha})$ and $ER{\beta}$, and by evaluating their effects on the proliferation of the human breast cancer cell line, MCF-7. Among the extracts evaluated, water extracts prepared at RT showed the highest binding affinity to $ER{\alpha}$ ($IC_{50}$, 1.76 ug/ml) and $ER{\beta}$ ($IC_{50}$, 0.07 ug/ml). In addition, MCF-7 cells that were treated with 62.5 ug/ml of the RT extract showed the greatest increase in proliferation (2-fold; 1291.79%) when compared to control cells (659.82%). Next, the water extract that was prepared at RT (sample 1) was dissolved in D.W. and further fractionated using a Dowex 50W - 8X ($H^+$) column. The flow-through and wash were then pooled together and freeze-dried (sample 2). The bound materials were then eluted with 20 mM NaCl, after which they were applied to a Dowex 1X2 - 200 ($Cl^-$) column and washed with D.W. to remove the sodium ions. The eluants were then freeze-dried (sample 3). Of these fractions, sample 2 showed the highest binding affinity to ER{\alpha} ($IC_{50}$, 1.44 ug/ml) and $ER{\beta}$ ($IC_{50}$, 1.18 ug/ml). In addition, MCF-7 cells that were treated with sample 2 (15.6 ug/ml) showed the largest increase in growth (1159.39%) when compared to control cells (525.26%). Taken together, these results suggest that the fraction of the RT water extract of silkworm pupa referred to as sample 2 may be useful as a phytoestrogen.

• Journal of Nutrition and Health
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• v.20 no.5
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• pp.341-349
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• 1987

Dietary intakes of na include both the amount present in food materials (nondiscretionary Na intake) and the amount added during cooking and eating to increase salty taste and flavor (discretionary Na intake). In the present study, total Na intake was measured by duplicate food sample collected from each subject for 1 day, nondiscretionary Na intake was calculated by dietary intake record, optimum gustation of salt was measured of from pooled 3-day urine collection in healthy female college students, to measure Na intake more accurately and to find suitable method to estimate total Na intake. Mean values of total, discretionary and mondiscretionary Na intakes were 169.6 mEq, 46.2mEq, and 123.4mEq. respectively. Mean 24-hour urinary Na excretion was 137.9mEq., which was about 84.5% of total intake. Subjects with optimum gustation of salt equal to or higher than 0.5% had significantly higher total Na intake and urinary Na excretion compared to subjects with optimum gustation of salt lower than 5%. Total Na intake of subjects were significantly correlated with optimum gustation of salt, non-discretionary and discretionary Na intakes, and urinary Na excretion. Multiple regression analysis showed that the best estimate of total Na intake is obtained when both optimum gustation of salt and non-discredinary Na intake were used as independent variables (r=.7071). Among the equations using one independent variable, regression, equation with urinary Na excretion provides the best approximation (r=.6627) of total Na intake.