Family firm and analyst forecasts in an emerging economy

Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to examine how family firms affect analyst forecast dispersion, accuracy and optimism and how earnings smoothness as the moderating factor, affects these relationships in an emerging market context. Design/methodology/approach: This paper uses the population sample of firms listed on the Taiwan Stock Exchange from 2009 to 2010 as the research sample, which includes 963 firm-year observations. Findings: The findings show that analysts following family firms are more likely to have more dispersed, less accurate and more optimism biased forecasts than those following nonfamily firms. Earning smoothness is mainly used by nonfamily firms as a signalling strategy to improve analyst forecast quality. In contrast, earnings smoothness is mainly used by families as a garbling strategy, stimulating forecast optimism. Only earnings smoothness in family firms with a high level of family ownership concentration is likely to be signalling-oriented to improve analyst forecast accuracy and mitigate analyst optimism biases. Originality/value: Emerging markets are not only featured by prevailing principal-principal conflicts but also have multiple levels of agency conflicts among large shareholders, minority shareholders and professionally hired managers. This research reveals the multiple governance roles of family owners in affecting analyst forecast quality, including their entrenchment role in extracting private benefits of control through opaque environments and market discipline distortion role in aligning interests between managers and families without prioritising meeting or beating analyst forecasts, both at the cost of minority shareholders. This research further disentangles the intertwined signaling oriented and garbiling oriented incentives associated with earnings smoothness under family governance

Genetic Alterations of HOXA10 and Their Effect on the Severity of Endometriosis in a Taiwanese Population

[[abstract]]Endometriosis is one of the most common gynaecological diseases and evidence has suggested that it may be inherited as a complex genetic trait. HOXA10, a homeobox gene, is expressed in the developing uterus and participates in endometrium development and may contribute to endometriosis. In this study, the HOXA10 gene was analysed in 112 patients with endometriosis and in 54 women without endometriosis, as diagnosed laparoscopically. The entire HOXA10 gene was amplified using polymerase chain reaction followed by single-strand conformation polymorphism analysis and sequencing. Association between the polymorphism and the clinical parameters of endometriosis were examined. There were 7.23% patients with HOXA10 genetic alterations; however, there was no significant increase in the endometriosis patients compared with the controls. Most of these DNA variants were found to be novel mutations that reside within the HOXA10 homeobox domain. Six variants generate amino acid changes in the protein and one harbours a premature stop codon. It was found that patients with HOXA10 polymorphism were associated with a lower serum cancer antigen-125, a lower American Fertility Society score and less severe obliterated cul-de-sac. It is postulated that genetic alterations in the homeobox domain might lead to less specificity for HOXA10 protein binding to a DNA molecule

Adaptive RF Pigtail Probe Modeling for De-embedding of RF Measurements

This disclosure describes techniques for accurate estimation and de-embedding of the effects of pigtail probes in circuits. An adaptive pigtail model is developed and described that can accurately de-embed the effects of pigtail probes in digital circuits. Example parameters are identified that include pigtail length, tip length, pigtail tilt degree, ground distance, and solder amount. A pigtail simulation model is developed to model the soldered pigtail probe. The dependency of circuit impedance on the identified parameters is determined by experimentation which indicates that circuit performance can be boosted by short ground distance lengths, low tilt angles, thick support wires, short pin and cable lengths, and thick support wires. The pigtail model can be utilized to derive de-embedded results for different pigtail probe configurations without a need for explicitly measuring de-embedded results for those configurations

Applying a markov chain model in quality function deployment

[[abstract]]The relationships between customer requirements and technical measures are typically resolved by a cross-functional team with the assumption that the relationships are able to be identified objectively. However, due to the limited knowledge and experiences, determining the appropriate relationship could be difficult since the decision makers might not have enough information to evaluate the actual relationship. Moreover, the importance of technical measures is typically expressed in the current time period. It would be of interest to trace the future trends of technical measures since customer needs are fulfilled by technical measures. Under such circumstances, a Markov chain model could be an approach to model the relationship and monitor the trends of technical measures from probabilities viewpoints. With the needed probabilities, the dynamic relationships as well as the trends of technical measures can be performed by different time periods. Finally, the relationships and future trends of technical measures can be updated when the new information is available

The development of a confidence interval-based importance-performance analysis by considering variability in analyzing service quality

[[abstract]]The traditional importance-performance analysis (IPA) uses the mean ratings of importance and performance to construct a two-dimensional grid by identifying improvement opportunities and guiding strategic planning efforts. The point estimates of importance and performance vary from sample to sample such that the numerical analyses are different based upon different samples. Thus, using point estimates for items might lead the management to make false decisions. This study integrates confidence intervals and IPA to reduce the variability which enables the decision maker much easier to identify the strengths and weaknesses based upon the sample of size used. Moreover, the assumptions of equal and unequal population variances for constructing confidence intervals are discussed. (c) 2008 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved

Mutations in the PKM2 exon-10 region are associated with reduced allostery and increased nuclear translocation.

PKM2 is a key metabolic enzyme central to glucose metabolism and energy expenditure. Multiple stimuli regulate PKM2's activity through allosteric modulation and post-translational modifications. Furthermore, PKM2 can partner with KDM8, an oncogenic demethylase and enter the nucleus to serve as a HIF1α co-activator. Yet, the mechanistic basis of the exon-10 region in allosteric regulation and nuclear translocation remains unclear. Here, we determined the crystal structures and kinetic coupling constants of exon-10 tumor-related mutants (H391Y and R399E), showing altered structural plasticity and reduced allostery. Immunoprecipitation analysis revealed increased interaction with KDM8 for H391Y, R399E, and G415R. We also found a higher degree of HIF1α-mediated transactivation activity, particularly in the presence of KDM8. Furthermore, overexpression of PKM2 mutants significantly elevated cell growth and migration. Together, PKM2 exon-10 mutations lead to structure-allostery alterations and increased nuclear functions mediated by KDM8 in breast cancer cells. Targeting the PKM2-KDM8 complex may provide a potential therapeutic intervention

Applying Apriori algorithm to explore long-term care services usage status—Variables based on the combination of patients with dementia and their caregivers

PurposeThe aim of this study was to identify the combination of patients with dementia and their caregivers' characteristics associated with long-term care (LTC) services usage.Patients and methodsA cross-sectional study was conducted with 475 patients with mild, moderate, and severe dementia at Changhua Christian Hospital, Taiwan. Eleven types of variables from patients with dementia, nine types of variables from patients' caregivers, and 15 types of LTC services were used for this study. The Apriori algorithm was employed to identify the attributes from the patients and their caregivers who used a particular LTC service from a comprehensive viewpoint.ResultsA total of 75 rules were generated by the Apriori algorithm with support of 2%, confidence of 80%, and lift >1. Among these rules, 25 rules belonged to home personal care services which were summarized further into four general rules for home personal care services. On the other hand, 50 rules belonged to assistive devices that were summarized further into 21 general rules based on their similarities. Patient's walking ability, patient's emotional liability, unemployed or retired caregivers, caregivers' feelings with either helplessness or hopelessness, and caregivers who cared for patients with dementia solely were found to be the critical variables to use home personal care services. In contrast, patient's walking ability, age, and severity as well as caregivers' age, mood, marital status, caregiving burden, and the patient being cared for mainly by a foreign care helper were found to be the critical variables to use assistive devices.ConclusionThis study showed preliminary results on the LTC service usage from patients with dementia and their caregivers residing in the community. Understanding the patient–caregiver dyad's profile leads the service providers, policymakers, and the referral team to tailor service provisions better to meet the needs and identify the potential target groups. The findings in this study serve as references to reduce caregivers' burden as well as to improve the quality of care for patients with dementia

In vitro propagation of Gentiana scabra Bunge – an important medicinal plant in the Chinese system of medicines

Background: Gentiana scabra Bunge commonly known as `Long dan cao\u27 in China has been used in traditional Chinese medicines for more than 2000 years. Dry roots and rhizome of the herb have been used for the treatment of inflammation, anorexia, indigestion and gastric infections. Iridoids and secoiridoids are the main bioactive compounds which attribute to the pharmacological properties of this plant. The species is difficult to mass propagate by seed due to the low percentage of germination and limited dormancy period. Wild populations in some locations are considered to be in the endangered category due to over exploitation. Results: In the present study, we report an efficient micropropagation system. Shoot apices of six weeks old in vitro grown G. scabra plants were used as explants for the in vitro propagation. Induction of multiple shoots (9.1/explant) was achieved on the culture of shoot apices on half strength Murashige and Skoog\u27s basal medium (MSBM) containing 2.0 mg/L 1 6-benzylaminopurine (BA), 3% sucrose and 0.9% Difco agar. In vitro shoots induced profuse rooting on half strength of MSBM supplemented with 0.1 mg/L 1 1-naphthaleneacetic acid (NAA), 3% sucrose and 0.3% gelrite. A two-stage ventilation closure procedure during the in vitro culture, and transparent sachet technique enhanced the survival rate of G. scabra plantlets to 96% in the greenhouse. Tissue culture plants flowered after 5 months of transfer to pots. Conclusions: A simple and an efficient in vitro propagation protocol of Gentiana scabra Bunge by optimizing the medium composition and ventilation closure treatments has been developed. The protocol can be very useful in germplasm conservation and commercial cultivation of G. scabra plants

High Serum Estradiol Levels are not Detrimental to In Vitro Fertilization Outcome

SummaryObjectiveTo evaluate the impact of high estradiol (E2) levels and a high number of retrieved oocytes on the outcome of in vitro fertilization (IVF) cycles.Materials and MethodsWe retrospectively reviewed 274 IVF cycles. These patients were divided into five groups according to their peak E2 levels on the human chorionic gonadotropin day: ≤ 2,000 pg/mL (130 cycles); 2,001–3,000 pg/mL (53 cycles); 3,001–4,000 pg/mL (46 cycles); 4,001–5,000 pg/mL (29 cycles); > 5,000 pg/mL (16 cycles). Fertilization, pregnancy, and implantation rates were analyzed between these groups. We also compared the outcome of IVF for high responders (> 15 retrieved oocytes) and normal responders (≤ 15 retrieved oocytes).ResultsThe oocyte fertilization and embryo cleavage rates were not significantly different among these five groups. Although decrease in pregnancy and implantation rates was observed when E2 levels were > 5,000 pg/mL compared with those having lower E2 levels, there were no statistically significant differences between these five groups. In addition, similar IVF outcome was detected for those cycles with > 15 oocytes and ≤ 15 oocytes obtained.ConclusionHigh serum E2 levels and high oocyte yield are not detrimental to IVF outcome. More studies are needed to characterize the threshold E2 levels above which implantation rates are reduced