Valuation of Information Technology Investment Using the Discounted Cash Flow and Real Options Analysis

PT. Telekomunikasi Indonesia (Telkom) planned to develop an IT-based integrated Customer Relationship Management (CRM) system called Unified TICARES in 2012 as a part of corporate strategic initiatives. The key question is whether the value of this investment is truly feasible for the company. The purpose of this thesis is to provide an IT-based investment valuation analysis using two approaches, namely the discounted cash flow (DCF) and real options analysis (ROA). It compares the results to find out whether different approach will arrive to different conclusions about the investment feasibility. The finding result from both approaches show that Unified TICARES is a promising investment, indicated by positive NPV. However, the result with ROA did not show much difference against the DCF approach. It indicates that the use of ROA is not always necessary to value an investment due to its complexity. The usefulness of ROA will be visible in valuing investments that involve complex configurations. ROA is also required when DCF is not sufficient to provide quantitative judgment on project that subject to high risk and uncertainty

Upaya Meningkatkan Kemampuan Siswa Dalam Menyelesaikan Soal Cerita Melalui Pembelajaran Think Pair Share (Tps)

The purpose of this study is to describe Think Pair Share (TPS) learning, which can improve students\u27 ability in mathematic story problems probability material. According to the purpose of the research, the type of the research is descriptive qualitative. The subjects of the research is 30 students of SMK Telkom Malang. The learning phases in this research is (1) Think, (2) Pair, (3) Share. Student\u27s ability to solve story problems include (1) understanding the problem, (2) change the problem to mathematic model form, (3) making solution, (4) write the final answer accurately. The results of the research is the level of students have the ability to solve mathematic story problem at probability material is 80%.Tujuan penelitian ini adalah untuk mendeskripsikan pembelajaran Think Pair Share (TPS) yang dapat meningkatkan kemampuan siswa dalam menyelesaikan soal cerita matematika pada materi peluang.Berdasarkan tujuan penelitian tersebut maka jenis penelitian ini adalah deskriptif kualitatif. Adapun subyek penelitiannya adalah siswa SMK Malang dengan banyak siswa 30 orang. Tahap pembelajaran dalam penelitian ini adalah (1) Think, (2) Pair, (3) Share. Kemampuan siswa dalam menyelesaikan soal cerita meliputi (1) memahami soal, (2) mengubah soal ke bentuk model matematika, (3) membuat penyelesaian, (4) menulis jawaban akhir dengan tepat. Hasil dari penelitian ini adalah tingkat kemampuan siswa dalam menyelesaikan soal cerita matematika pada materi Peluang adalah sebesar 80%

Extrapancreatic insulin effect of glibenclamide

In eight patients with uncomplicated non insulin dependent diabetes mellitus, serum insulin levels, serum C-peptide levels and blood glucose levels were measured before and after oral administration of glibenclamide 0.1 mg/kg body weight and a test meal, or after a test meal alone. The rise in serum insulin levels persisted longer after glibenclamide. The initial rise in serum insulin was of the same magnitude in both situations, as was the rise in serum C-peptide levels during the entire 5 h study. It is concluded that glibenclamide is able to maintain a more protonged increase in serum insulin levels by inhibiting the degradation of insulin in the vascular endothelial cells of the liver. The inhibition contributes to the blood glucose lowering effect of glibenclamide

Long period polytype boundaries in silicon carbide

A significant gap in our understanding of polytypism exists, caused partly by the lack of experimental data on the spatial distribution of polytype coalescence and knowledge of the regions between adjoining polytypes. Few observations, Takei & Francombe (1967) apart, of the relative location of different polytypes have been reported. A phenomenological description of the boundaries, exact position of one-dimensional disorder (1DD) and long period polytypes (LPP’s) has been made possible by synchrotron X-ray diffraction topography (XRDT)

An Investigation to Validate the Grammar and Phonology Screening (GAPS) Test to Identify Children with Specific Language Impairment

The extraordinarily high incidence of grammatical language impairments in developmental disorders suggests that this uniquely human cognitive function is "fragile". Yet our understanding of the neurobiology of grammatical impairments is limited. Furthermore, there is no "gold-standard" to identify grammatical impairments and routine screening is not undertaken. An accurate screening test to identify grammatical abilities would serve the research, health and education communities, further our understanding of developmental disorders, and identify children who need remediation, many of whom are currently un-diagnosed. A potential realistic screening tool that could be widely administered is the Grammar and Phonology Screening (GAPS) test--a 10 minute test that can be administered by professionals and non-professionals alike. Here we provide a further step in evaluating the validity and accuracy (sensitivity and specificity) of the GAPS test in identifying children who have Specific Language Impairment (SLI)

Deletion of the ghrelin receptor GHSR corrects the trabecular, but not the cortical bone changes in the femoral head of ob/ob mice

Background: There exists an intriguing and complex relationship between fat and bone cells with respect to aging and osteoporosis, which is mediated in part by leptin. Genetically obese mice (ob/ob), that lack leptin, have aheterogeneous bone phenotype, with differential effects on cortical and trabecular compartments. Besides its role in bone metabolism, leptin is most well known for its anorexigenic properties. Opposed in action to leptin is ghrelin, a potent orexigenic peptide hormone derived from the stomach. Ghrelin and leptin also act as each other’s antagonists in gonadal and immune system function.Objective: To determine if ghrelin opposes leptin action on bone metabolism.Methods: Characterization of femoral micro-architecture in 6 months old male wild type, ob/ob, ghrelin receptor knockout (Ghsr -/-), and ob/ob.Ghsr-/- mice using micro-computed tomography.Results: Deletion of Ghsr alone did not significantly alter bone micro-architecture in wild type mice. Deletion of leptin reduced cortical volume and thickness in the femoral head of wild type mice, while it increased endocortical volume. Tissue volume remained unaffected. Conversely, deletion of leptin increased trabecular bone volume, trabecular number and connectivity in wild type mice. Additional deletion of Ghsr in ob/ob mice restored the changes to wild type levels in trabecular bone, but not in cortical bone (all not significant).Conclusion: We found that leptin deficiency has a negative effect on cortical and a positive effect on trabecular bone micro-architecture, confirming the heterogeneous skeletal effects observed by others in ob/ob mice. Knocking out ghrelin signaling compensates for the effect of leptin deficiency on trabecular bone. These observations demonstrate the positive activity of ghrelin signaling in bone, and suggest that ghrelin and leptin have opposing actions on bone metabolism

Effect of Pregnancy on eGFR after Kidney Transplantation:A National Cohort Study

BACKGROUND: The effect of pregnancy on the course of estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR) is unknown in kidney transplant recipients (KTRs). METHODS: We conducted a nationwide multicenter cohort study in KTRs with pregnancy (>20 weeks) after kidney transplantation (KT). Annual eGFR's after KT until death or graft loss and additional eGFR's before each pregnancy were collected according to protocol. Changes in eGFR slope before and after each pregnancy were analyzed by generalized estimating equations (GEE) multilevel analysis adjusted for transplant vintage. RESULTS: We included 3194 eGFR measurements before and after pregnancy in 109 (55%) KTRs with 1, 78 (40%) with 2 and 10 (5%) with 3 pregnancies after KT. Median follow-up after first delivery post-KT was 14 years (IQR 18 years). Adjusted mean eGFR pre-pregnancy was 59 ml/min/1.73m2 (SEM 1.72; 95% CI 56-63), after first pregnancy 56 ml/min/1.73m2 (SEM 1.70; 95% CI 53-60), after second pregnancy 56 ml/min/1.73m2 (SEM 2.19; 95% CI 51-60) and after third pregnancy 55 ml/min/1.73m2 (SEM 8.63; 95% CI 38-72). Overall eGFR slope after first, second and third pregnancy was not significantly worse than pre-pregnancy (p = 0.28). However, adjusted mean eGFR after first pregnancy was 2.8 ml/min/1.73m (p = 0.08) lower than pre-pregnancy. CONCLUSIONS: First pregnancy has a small, but no significant, effect on eGFR slope in KTR. Midterm hyperfiltration, a marker for renal reserve capacity, was associated with better eGFR and death-censored graft survival. In this KTR cohort with long-term follow-up, no significant effect of pregnancy on kidney function was detected

Use of human GH in elderly patients with accidental hip fracture

OBJECTIVE: To investigate whether early intervention with recombinant human growth hormone (hGH) after hip fracture improves functional recovery and long-term outcome. SUBJECTS AND METHODS: Functional recovery after hip fracture is often incomplete. The catabolic situation that develops after the hip fracture accident, and a state of malnutrition either pre-existing or developing after surgery, are main contributing factors for the poor clinical outcome. hGH has been used to promote anabolism in a variety of clinical catabolic situations. The study design was randomized, double-blind and placebo-controlled. A total of 111 patients older than 60 years with an accidental hip fracture (mean age 78.5+/-9.1 (s.d.) years) were randomized to receive either hGH (20 microg/kg per day) or placebo for a period of 6 weeks, starting within 24 h after the hip fracture accident. Thereafter patients were followed up for an additional period of 18 weeks. Efficacy was assessed by comparing the changes in the Barthel Index score of activities of daily living and in a patient's living situation between the hGH- and the placebo-treated subjects. RESULTS: Eighty-five (78.5%) patients completed the first 8 weeks of the study and 76 (68.5%) the entire study period of 24 weeks. When split according to age, a trend was found that for patients older than 75 years the changes in Barthel Index score from baseline were less in the hGH group than in the placebo group (-18.6+/-18 vs -28.1+/-26) at 6 weeks after surgery (P<0.075). There was an overall trend to a higher rate of return to the pre-fracture independent living situation in the hGH group than in the placebo group. Analysis by age revealed a significantly higher proportion of hGH- than placebo-treated patients returning to the pre-fracture living situation for subjects older than 75 years (93.8 vs 75.0%, P=0.034). hGH treatment increased IGF-I values to levels in the range of those of normal subjects of 50-60 years of age. CONCLUSIONS: A 6 week treatment with hGH (20 microg/kg per day) of otherwise healthy patients after an accidental hip fracture may be of benefit if given to subjects older than 75 years of age. The rate of return to the pre-fracture living situation in subjects of this age treated with hGH was significantly increased when compared with the placebo-treated group. The treatment intervention was well tolerated and no safety issues were recorded