Cost Efficiency Level of Rural Banks in East Java, Indonesia

Rural Bank (BPR) was an important part of financial service industry in Indonesia. Their pivotal role on lending to SMEs in the rural area made their existence very strategic to rural development. However, due to its operational scale, rural bank charged higher interest rate than commercial bank. The study estimated the cost efficiency of rural banks using parametric approach. The result found that rural bank efficiency was very high. The two year cost efficiency estimated using frontier 4.1 was 95% and median was 100%. The lowest of cost efficiency level was 32%. It meant cost inefficiency of the banks under investigated was around 10%. The cost efficiency level in 2006 was on average 95% and the median was 100%. It meant that 50% or more of the observation enjoyed 100% cost efficiency. The minimum was only 67%. It meant they operated at very efficient level, leaving only 5% inefficiency. In 2007, a dramatic change on efficiency level was going on. The average efficiency was dropped from 11% to 89.9% due to increase on interest rate and price level. Key words: rural bank, efficiency, cos

Pengembangan Daya Saing UMKM di Malaysia dan Singapura : Sebuah Komparasi

Small and medium enterprises (SMEs) play a vital role in the Singapore and Malaysian economy and areconsidered to be the backbone of industrial development in the countries. This paper tries to investigate howgovernment play role in development of SMEs and in what kind of support. The key messages from this paperare SMEs in both countries were facing some similar problems especially from foreign competitors and accessto business opportunities but both had a different approach. In Malaysia, it is very clear that SMEs developmentis a part of efforts to restructure economic activities among ethnics groups. National Strategy for SMEdevelopment is also put in place. There is a synergic effort among government bodies to develop SMEs. BankNegara Malaysia plays an active role in supporting and financing. In Singapore, SMEs development programsare aimed as a conscious effort to foster local private enterprise. The strategy is applied to support theestablishment, development and then internationalization. Internationalization is stressed as Singapore openseconomy where free trade and globalization are as the soul. In the effort, no protection is given but support.Government strategy is to improve Money, Managerial, Market and Know-how it does. To increase access toglobal market, government assists SMEs in term of competency, connection and capital. Government requiresthe MNCs to serve both as mentors and as market outlets for their products. The target is to achieve theinternational competitiveness of SMEs through technology and international marketing requisites such asglobal standard and quality on the hope, SMEs will become a valuable partner in the future economic developmentof Singapore. Keywords Small and medium enterprises (SMEs), restructure economic, internationalization, Malaysia, Singapore

Banks Claims on Private Sector and Monetary Policy Channel

Banking industry is the main channel of monetary policy. As emphasized by the information-theoretic approach, a central function of banks was to screen and monitor borrowers, thereby overcoming inform a- tion and incentive problems. By developing expertise in gathering relevant information, as well as b y main- taining ongoing relationships with customers, banks could control their business. Since 2000, Bank I ndone- sia started to implement a new framework of monetary policy and was initially applied in July 2005. The impact of new monetary policy framework was investigated within the banking capital adequacy regula- tion and economics framework. We found that stock exchange index (IHSG) was positive and significant at 1%. Other variables such as FINSHARE, GM2, NPL, CAR, BIRATE were negative and significant. In genera l, we concluded that banking sector claims on the private sector was one of important monetary policy channels. Key words : monetary policy, private claims, bank capita

Ex vivo Induction of Apoptotic Mesenchymal Stem Cell by High Hydrostatic Pressure

Among promising solutions for tissue repair and wound healing, mesenchymal stem (or stromal) cells (MSCs) have been a focus of attention and have become the most clinically studied experimental cell therapy. Recent studies reported the importance of apoptosis in MSC-mediated immunomodulation, in which apoptotic MSCs (apoMSCs) were shown to be superior to living MSCs. Nowadays, high hydrostatic pressure (HHP), a physical technique that uses only fluid pressure, has been developed and applied in various bioscience fields, including biotechnology, biomaterials, and regenerative medicine, as its safe and simply operation. In the current study, we investigated the impact of HHP treatment on human bone marrow-MSC survival and proliferation. Based on the detection of executioner caspase activation, phosphatidylserine exposure, DNA fragmentation (TUNEL) and irrefutable ultrastructural morphological changes on transmission electron microscopy (TEM), our data revealed that HHP treatment induced complete apoptosis in MSCs. Notably, this technique might provide manipulated products for use in cell-based therapies as manufacturing capability expands. We hope that our findings will contribute to the improvement of MSCs or EVs in translational research development. Graphical Abstract

High Hydrostatic Pressure Therapy Annihilates Squamous Cell Carcinoma in a Murine Model

Cutaneous squamous cell carcinoma (cSCC) is one of the most common skin cancers. In the treatment of cSCC, it is necessary to remove it completely, and reconstructive surgery, such as a skin graft or a local or free flap, will be required, depending on the size, with donor-site morbidity posing a burden to the patient. The high hydrostatic pressure (HHP) technique has been developed as a physical method of decellularizing various tissues. We previously reported that HHP at 200 MPa for 10 min could inactivate all cells in the giant congenital melanocytic nevus, and we have already started a clinical trial using this technique. In the present study, we explored the critical pressurization condition for annihilating cSCC cells in vitro and confirmed that this condition could also annihilate cSCC in vivo. We prepared 5 pressurization conditions in this study (150, 160, 170, 180, and 190 MPa for 10 min) and confirmed that cSCC cells were killed by pressurization at ≥160 MPa for 10 min. In the in vivo study, the cSCC cells inactivated by HHP at 200 MPa for 10 min were unable to proliferate after injection into the intradermal space of mice, and transplanted cSCC tissues that had been inactivated by HHP showed a decreased weight at 5 weeks after implantation. These results suggested that HHP at 200 MPa for 10 min was able to annihilate SCC, so HHP technology may be a novel treatment of skin cancer

Exploration of the Pressurization Condition for Killing Human Skin Cells and Skin Tumor Cells by High Hydrostatic Pressure

High hydrostatic pressure (HHP) is a physical method for inactivating cells or tissues without using chemicals such as detergents. We previously reported that HHP at 200 MPa for 10 min was able to inactivate all cells in skin and giant congenital melanocytic nevus (GCMN) without damaging the extracellular matrix. We also reported that HHP at 150 MPa for 10 min was not sufficient to inactivate them completely, while HHP at 200 MPa for 10 min was able to inactivate them completely. We intend to apply HHP to treat malignant skin tumor as the next step; however, the conditions necessary to kill each kind of cell have not been explored. In this work, we have performed a detailed experimental study on the critical pressure and pressurization time using five kinds of human skin cells and skin tumor cells, including keratinocytes (HEKas), dermal fibroblasts (HDFas), adipose tissue-derived stem cells (ASCs), epidermal melanocytes (HEMa-LPs), and malignant melanoma cells (MMs), using pressures between 150 and 200 MPa. We pressurized cells at 150, 160, 170, 180, or 190 MPa for 1 s, 2 min, and 10 min and evaluated the cellular activity using live/dead staining and proliferation assays. The proliferation assay revealed that HEKas were inactivated at a pressure higher than 150 MPa and a time period longer than 2 min, HDFas and MMs were inactivated at a pressure higher than 160 MPa and for 10 min, and ASCs and HEMa-LPs were inactivated at a pressure higher than 150 MPa and for 10 min. However, some HEMa-LPs were observed alive after HHP at 170 MPa for 10 min, so we concluded that HHP at a pressure higher than 180 MPa for 10 min was able to inactivate five kinds of cells completely

Natural-based nanocomposites for bone tissue engineering and regenerative medicine: a review

Tissue engineering and regenerative medicine has been providing exciting technologies for the development of functional substitutes aimed to repair and regenerate damaged tissues and organs. Inspired by the hierarchical nature of bone, nanostructured biomaterials are gaining a singular attention for tissue engineering, owing their ability to promote cell adhesion and proliferation, and hence new bone growth, compared with conventional microsized materials. Of particular interest are nanocomposites involving biopolymeric matrices and bioactive nanosized fi llers. Biodegradability, high mechanical strength, and osteointegration and formation of ligamentous tissue are properties required for such materials. Biopolymers are advantageous due to their similarities with extracellular matrices, specifi c degradation rates, and good biological performance. By its turn, calcium phosphates possess favorable osteoconductivity, resorbability, and biocompatibility. Herein, an overview on the available natural polymer/calcium phosphate nanocomposite materials, their design, and properties is presented. Scaffolds, hydrogels, and fi bers as biomimetic strategies for tissue engineering, and processing methodologies are described. The specifi c biological properties of the nanocomposites, as well as their interaction with cells, including the use of bioactive molecules, are highlighted. Nanocomposites in vivo studies using animal models are also reviewed and discussed.  The research leading to this work has received funding from the European Union's Seventh Framework Programme (FP7/2007-2013) under grant agreement no REGPOT-CT2012-316331-POLARIS, and from QREN (ON.2 - NORTE-01-0124-FEDER-000016) cofinanced by North Portugal Regional Operational Program (ON.2 - O Novo Norte), under the National Strategic Reference Framework (NSRF), through the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF)

Pendidikan tinggi dan tenaga kerja tingkat tinggi di Indonesia : studi tentang kaitan antara Perguruan Tinggi dan industri di Jawa.

xv, 209 p.; 22 cm