Universiti Sains Malaysia

About: Universiti Sains Malaysia is a education organization based out in George Town, Pulau Pinang, Malaysia. It is known for research contribution in the topics: Population & Ring (chemistry). The organization has 23231 authors who have published 39356 publications receiving 655434 citations. The organization is also known as: USM & University of Science, Malaysia.

Intellectual capital performance of financial institutions in Malaysia

Abstract: Purpose – This paper aims to examine the intellectual capital performance and its relationship with financial performance of financial institutions in Malaysia for the period 1999 to 2007.Design/methodology/approach – The value added intellectual coefficient (VAICTM) by Pulic is used.Findings – The paper reveals that VAIC and ROA are positively related among Malaysia's finance sector. The results also show that the three components of VAIC are associated with profitability with the explanatory power of 71.6 per cent.Research limitations/implications – This study does not cover all finance companies in Malaysia due to limited data. Future study should therefore further improve on the aspect of coverage.Practical implications – The findings may serve as a useful input for bankers to apply knowledge management in their institutions. Furthermore, the financial institutions may have more definite understanding of the composition of intellectual capital and evaluate its developing tendency periodically.Original...

Applicability of theory of planned behavior in predicting intention to trade online

Abstract: Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to identify factors that influence the intention to use internet stock trading among investors in Malaysia.Design/methodology/approach – A structured questionnaire was used to collect data from investors who are aware of internet stock trading in Malayisa. Out of 300 questionnaire only 144 were usable.Findings – Findings show that attitude, subjective norm and perceived behavioral control has a direct positive relationship towards behavioral intention to use internet stock trading. The theory of planned behavior can be used to explain variation in behavioral intention and actual usage.Research limitations/implications – More variations of results could be gained through a wider coverage of respondents. Other factors such as descriptive norm and perceived usefulness should be used to increase the explanatory power of the dependent variable. A comparison of the same study of explanatory power between other intention‐based model could give another valuable contribution....

Evaluating the Polarization of Tumor-Associated Macrophages Into M1 and M2 Phenotypes in Human Cancer Tissue: Technicalities and Challenges in Routine Clinical Practice

Abstract: Tumor-associated macrophages (TAMs) as immune cells within the tumor microenvironment have gained much interests as basic science regarding their roles in tumor progression unfolds. Better understanding of their polarization into pro-tumoral phenotype to promote tumor growth, tumor angiogenesis, immune evasion, and tumor metastasis has prompted various studies to investigate their clinical significance as a biomarker of predictive and prognostic value across different cancer types. Yet, the methodologies to investigate the polarization phenomena in solid tumor tissue vary. Nonetheless, quantifying the ratio of M1 to M2 TAMs has emerged to be a prevailing parameter to evaluate this polarization phenomena for clinical application. This mini-review focuses on recent studies exploring clinical significance of M1/M2 TAM ratio in human cancer tissue and critically evaluates the technicalities and challenges in quantifying this parameter for routine clinical practice. Immunohistochemistry appears to be the preferred methodology for M1/M2 TAM evaluation as it is readily available in clinical laboratories, albeit with certain limitations. Recommendations are made to standardize the quantification of TAMs for better transition into clinical practice and for better comparison among studies in various populations of patients and cancer types.