Non-Linear Impact of Growth Opportunity and Firm Size on the Capital Structure

One of the focuses on capital structure studies is to identify economic forces influencing corporate capital structure. We investigated the non-linear effects of the firm-specific factors to the leverage of the firm of the US-listed firms. In the partial-adjusted model, growth opportunity and the size of the firm had non-linear effects on the leverage of the firm. Growth opportunity showed quadratic effects on leverage with a negative linear term but a positive quadratic term. It meant if the growth opportunity of a firm reached a certain level, fund providers can relatively detect it and subsequently causes a decrease in asymmetric information. This detection of ample growth opportunity will increase the accessibility of external funding. Firm size also exhibits quadratic effects on leverage with a positive linear term but a negative quadratic term. In other words, if the firm size as a proxy of various omitted variables was imminent, the financial market has been applied the diversification discount that will decrease the accessibility of external funding.JEL Classification: G32, D92DOI: https://doi.org/10.26905/jkdp.v22i4.240

Perlindungan Hukum Bagi Anak Pelaku Tindak Pidan (Studi Putusan Pengadilan Negeri Medan Nomor: 27/pid.sus-anak/2014/pn.mdn)

Indonesia as a State Party in the Convention on the Rights of the Child governing the principle of legal protection for the child is obliged to provide special protection to children in conflict with the law. One of the forms of child protection is realized through special criminal justice system for children in conflict with the law. This is confirmed in the United Nations Standard Minimum Rules for the Administration of Juvenile Justice. The findings show that, the first is the legal protection of children as perpetrators of criminal acts is indispensable because it is useful for: 1) Children are not stablephysically and mentally, 2) To ensure the children freed from inhuman or demeaningpunishment, 3 ) To ensure the independence of the child, so as not seized unlawfully or arbitrarily, 4) To ensure that the criminal (penalty) applies only as an ultimumremedium; the second is the legal protection should be given to the child is the legal protection that covers several concepts as follows: 1) The concept of Restorative Justice; and 2) Concept of Diversy. The third isthe child criminal liability based on the judge's decision are as follows: Accepting an appeal from lawyer and public prosecutor of the child; strengtheningdecision ofMedan District Court No.:27/Pid.SUS.Anak/2014/PN.Mdn; Establish the length of children detained entirely deducted from the sentence imposed; Ordered the child remains in custody; Charge a second child in the case of judicial level, which is in the level of appeal for Rp.2.500,00 (Two thousand five hundred rupiahs)

Sintesis Nanoserat Poli(vinil Alkohol) Dalam Bentuk Lembaran Dengan Pemintal Elektrik Multi Nozel Dan Kolektor Drum

Electrospinning system with single needle and planar collector has the disadvantage of a low productivity. To overcome this problem drum collector and multi-nozzle system were employed. The multi-nozzle system was used to improve the production rate, while the drum collector was used for maintaining the uniformity of the size. The purposes of this study were to examine the influence of electric field in the electrospinning process and to control the morphology of the obtained poly(vinyl alcohol)/PVA nanofibers by changing the solution flow rate. The obtained results were: (1) PVA nanofibers membrane have been successfully produced stacked on the drum collector, (2) distortion of the electric field at the tip of the needle was occurred, which results in inhomogeneous thickness of the stacked nanofibers, and (3) the morphology of the obtained nanofibers at the flow rates of 0.4 and 0.6 ml/hour have many beads while at 0.8 ml/hour the number of beads decreased

Immunocompetent 3D Model of Human Upper Airway for Disease Modeling and In Vitro Drug Evaluation

The development of more complex in vitro models for the assessment of novel drugs and chemicals is needed because of the limited biological relevance of animal models to humans as well as ethical considerations. Although some human-cell-based assays exist, they are usually 2D, consist of single cell type, and have limited cellular and functional representation of the native tissue. In this study, we have used biomimetic porous electrospun scaffolds to develop an immunocompetent 3D model of the human respiratory tract comprised of three key cell types present in upper airway epithelium. The three cell types, namely, epithelial cells (providing a physical barrier), fibroblasts (extracellular matrix production), and dendritic cells (immune sensing), were initially grown on individual scaffolds and then assembled into the 3D multicell tissue model. The epithelial layer was cultured at the air–liquid interface for up to four weeks, leading to formation of a functional barrier as evidenced by an increase in transepithelial electrical resistance (TEER) and tight junction formation. The response of epithelial cells to allergen exposure was monitored by quantifying changes in TEER readings and by assessment of cellular tight junctions using immunostaining. It was found that epithelial cells cocultured with fibroblasts formed a functional epithelial barrier at a quicker rate than single cultures of epithelial cells and that the recovery from allergen exposure was also more rapid. Also, our data show that dendritic cells within this model remain viable and responsive to external stimulation as evidenced by their migration within the 3D construct in response to allergen challenge. This model provides an easy to assemble and physiologically relevant 3D model of human airway epithelium that can be used for studies aiming at better understanding lung biology, the cross-talk between immune cells, and airborne allergens and pathogens as well as drug delivery

Amphiphilic beads as depots for sustained drug release integrated into fibrillar scaffolds

Native extracellular matrix (ECM) is a complex fibrous structure loaded with bioactive cues that affects the surrounding cells. A promising strategy to mimicking native tissue architecture for tissue engineering applications is to engineer fibrous scaffolds using electrospinning. By loading appropriate bioactive cues within these fibrous scaffolds, various cellular functions such as cell adhesion, proliferation and differentiation can be regulated. Here, we report on the encapsulation and sustained release of a model hydrophobic drug (dexamethasone (Dex)) within beaded fibrillar scaffold of poly(ethylene oxide terephthalate)-poly(butylene terephthalate) (PEOT/PBT), a polyether-ester multiblock copolymer to direct differentiation of human mesenchymal stem cells (hMSCs). The amphiphilic beads act as depots for sustained drug release that is integrated into the fibrillar scaffolds. The entrapment of Dex within the beaded structure results in sustained release of the drug over the period of 28days. This is mainly attributed to the diffusion driven release of Dex from the amphiphilic electrospun scaffolds. In vitro results indicate that hMSCs cultured on Dex containing beaded fibrillar scaffolds exhibit an increase in osteogenic differentiation potential, as evidenced by increased alkaline phosphatase (ALP) activity, compared to the direct infusion of Dex in the culture medium. The formation of a mineralized matrix is also significantly enhanced due to the controlled Dex release from the fibrous scaffolds. This approach can be used to engineer scaffolds with appropriate chemical cues to direct tissue regenerationAKG, SMM, LM and AK conceived the idea and designed the experiments. AKG and SMM fabricated electrospun scaffolds and performed the structural (SEM, FTIR), mechanical, and in vitro studies. AAK and AKGperformedDex release study. AKGand AP performed thermal analysis. AKG analyzed experimental data. AKG, SMM, LMand AK wrote the manuscript. ADL and CvB provided the polymers and corrected the manuscript. AKK, AP, MG and RLR revised the paper. All authors discussed the results and commented on the manuscript. Authors would like to thank Shilpaa Mukundan, Poornima Kulkarni and Dr. Arghya Paul for help with image analysis, drug release modeling and technical discussion respectively. AKG would like to thank Prof. Robert Langer for access to equipment and acknowledge financial support from MIT Portugal Program (MPP-09Call-Langer-47). SMMthanks the Portuguese Foundation for Science and Technology (FCT) for the personal grant SFRH/BD/42968/2008 (MIT-Portugal Program). This research was funded by the office of Naval Research Young National Investigator Award (AK), the Presidential Early Career Award for Scientists and Engineers (PECASE) (AK), the NIH (EB009196; DE019024; EB007249; HL099073; AR057837), the National Science Foundation CAREER award (DMR 0847287; AK), and the Dutch Technology Foundation (STW # 11135; LM, CvB, and AD)

In vitro and in vivo analysis of co-electrospun scaffolds made of medical grade ploy (e-caprolcatone) and porcine collagen

In this study, a nanofiber mesh made by co-electrospinning medical grade poly(epsilon-caprolactone) and collagen (mPCL/Col) was fabricated and studied. Its mechanical properties and characteristics were analyzed and compared to mPCL meshes. mPCL/Col meshes showed a reduction in strength but an increase in ductility when compared to PCL meshes. In vitro assays revealed that mPCL/Col supported the attachment and proliferation of smooth muscle cells on both sides of the mesh. In vivo studies in the corpus cavernosa of rabbits revealed that the mPCL/Col scaffold used in conjunction with autologous smooth muscle cells resulted in better integration with host tissue when compared to cell free scaffolds. On a cellular level preseeded scaffolds showed a minimized foreign body reaction

Neodymium ions activated barium ferrite composites for microwave x-band absorber applications: synthesis and characterizations

Some composites of barium ferrites activated with the neodymium ions (Nd3+) of composition (20)BaO:(80-x)γ-Fe2O3:(x)Nd2O3 (x = 0, 1 and 2 mol%) were synthesized using the modified mechanical alloying for the first time. The influence of varying Nd3+ concentrations on the morphologies, microstructures, and magnetic characteristics of these composites were evaluated. In addition, the microwave (MW) reflection loss, complex relative permittivity, and permeability of the studied composites in the frequency range of 8.2–12.4 GHz were analysed using the Nicholson-Ross-Weir (NRW) method. The inclusion of Nd3+ in the proposed composites was discerned to influence the permittivity, permeability and reflection loss significantly in the MW X-band region

Colonization and Osteogenic Differentiation of Different Stem Cell Sources on Electrospun Nanofiber Meshes

Numerous challenges remain in the successful clinical translation of cell-based therapies for musculoskeletal tissue repair, including the identification of an appropriate cell source and a viable cell delivery system. The aim of this study was to investigate the attachment, colonization, and osteogenic differentiation of two stem cell types, human mesenchymal stem cells (hMSCs) and human amniotic fluid stem (hAFS) cells, on electrospun nanofiber meshes. We demonstrate that nanofiber meshes are able to support these cell functions robustly, with both cell types demonstrating strong osteogenic potential. Differences in the kinetics of osteogenic differentiation were observed between hMSCs and hAFS cells, with the hAFS cells displaying a delayed alkaline phosphatase peak, but elevated mineral deposition, compared to hMSCs. We also compared the cell behavior on nanofiber meshes to that on tissue culture plastic, and observed that there is delayed initial attachment and proliferation on meshes, but enhanced mineralization at a later time point. Finally, cell-seeded nanofiber meshes were found to be effective in colonizing three-dimensional scaffolds in an in vitro system. This study provides support for the use of the nanofiber mesh as a model surface for cell culture in vitro, and a cell delivery vehicle for the repair of bone defects in vivo