Government financial support (GFS) is an important factor for firms in developing countries, particularly small and medium enterprises (SMEs), to be competitive and perform better. Nonetheless, studies on the relationship between GFS and firm performance have yielded inconclusive results. Researchers' efforts to resolve the inconclusiveness led to an examination of competitive advantage (CA) as a simple mediator. This study contends that CA should not be the first mediator but rather a resource acquired with GFS, such as cloud ERP, which has CA-enabled qualities, as opposed to GFS, which lacks the ability to offer CA to firms. Hence, using 204 Malaysian manufacturing SMEs as a sample, this study investigates the dual sequential mediation of cloud ERP implementation (CERPI) and CA in the GFS-financial performance (FPER) relationship. PLS-SEM was employed as a data analysis method and for hypotheses assessment. Findings reveal that the GFS is not directly associated with FPER. However, GFS is positively related to CERPI, which subsequently enhances CA positively. CA is also positively associated with FPER, and CERPI and CA sequentially mediate the GFS and FPER relationship positively. This study makes a contribution to the literature by providing a more holistic understanding of the complex relationship between GFS and FPER. This study could assist SMEs and policymakers in gaining a better understanding of the process and requirements for realising valuable benefits from GFS.
Dengue virus is transmitted by mosquito around the tropical and sub-tropical regions. There was a large-scale dengue epidemic in Guangdong province, China during 2014 and around fifty thousands dengue fever cases, including six deaths, have been reported. In this study, we aimed to understand the clinical characteristics of hospitalized patients with laboratory-confirmed dengue virus (DENV) infection and determined the origin of the virus from the outbreak.
Diabetes mellitus (DM) is a chronic metabolic disorder recognized as a major health problem globally. A defective insulin activity contributes to the prevalence and expansion of DM. Treatment of DM is often hampered by limited options of conventional therapies and adverse effects associated with existing procedures. This has led to a spike in the exploration for potential therapeutic agents from various natural resources for clinical applications. The marine environment is a huge store of unexplored diversity of chemicals produced by a multitude of organisms. To date, marine microorganisms, microalgae, macroalgae, corals, sponges, and fishes have been evaluated for their anti-diabetic properties. The structural diversity of bioactive metabolites discovered has shown promising hypoglycaemic potential through in vitro and in vivo screenings via various mechanisms of action, such as PTP1B, α-glucosidase, α-amylase, β-glucosidase, and aldose reductase inhibition as well as PPAR alpha/gamma dual agonists activities. On the other hand, hypoglycaemic effect is also shown to be exerted through the balance of antioxidants and free radicals. This review highlights marine-derived chemicals with hypoglycaemic effects and their respective mechanisms of action in the management of DM in humans.