Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Performance Changes and Shareholder Wealth Creation Associated with Mergers of Publicly Traded Banking Institutions

Improvements in the technological infra-structure have freed financial institutions from many of the constraints of geography. Yet when courts are asked to determine liability after some event interferes with the payment of an international bank deposit, they often fall back on the notion of where the deposit is kept. This emphasis implicitly treats a bank deposit as if it is more a physical commodity at an unambiguous location where an exchange must take place, rather than as an electronic bookkeeping entry that spans national borders. The authors summarize 32 court decisions from five countries that reflect the variety of settings in which problems regarding the allocation of political risk in cross-border deposits can arise. The cases noted arose from some of the most traumatic events of the 20th century. The continuing growth in cross-border deposits suggests that conflicts over sovereign risk allocation will occur with increasing frequency. The authors note several common features of the cases: The international aspect of deposit transactions. International conflict of laws. The lack of risk allocation provisions in deposit agreements. The authors then evaluate the jumbled legal framework underlying the decisions and question whether the framework provides efficient rules for allocating political risks. Based on this analysis, the paper supports an alternative approach based on the assignment of property rights and the allocation of commercial risk. The authors argue that the distribution of commercial risks generally is efficient and that the distinction between commercial and political risks is neither useful nor definable. The advantage of adopting a commercial perspective regarding the allocation of political risks is that it affords banks and depositors greater ability to forecast the outcome of future cases. This may prevent some litigation by increasing the likelihood that parties will agree on the relative probability of the outcome in court. Moreover, it would provide a more efficient legal framework for cross-border deposit transactions.
Improving the generalized likelihood ratio test for unknown linear Gaussian channels

In this work, we consider the decoding problem for unknown Gaussian linear channels. Important examples of linear channels are the intersymbol interference (ISI) channel and the diversity channel with multiple transmit and receive antennas employing space-time codes (STC). An important class of decoders is based on the generalized likelihood ratio test (GLRT). Our work deals primarily with a decoding algorithm that uniformly improves the error probability of the GLRT decoder for these unknown linear channels. The improvement is attained by increasing the minimal distance associated with the decoder. This improvement is uniform, i.e., for all the possible channel parameters, the error probability is either smaller by a factor (that is exponential in the improved distance), or for some, may remain the same. We also present an algorithm that improves the average (over the channel parameters) error probability of the GLRT decoder. We provide simulation results for both decoders.
Auditor selection, client firm characteristics, and corporate governance: evidence from an emerging market

This study investigates the relationship between auditor selection, client firm characteristics, and corporate governance measures for firms listed in the ISE for the years 1999- 20042. The argument that varying levels of audit quality are demanded by companies with different firm characteristics constitutes the basis for our research. The paper focuses on determining the degree of association between the client firms’ choice of external auditors and the following client firm characteristics: percentage of shares held by foreign investors, percentage of shares open to the public (the float), membership in the finance industry, leverage, size, return on assets, and the market-to-book ratio. In addition, the effect of the client firms’ levels of Transparency and Disclosure (T&D) and compliance with local Corporate Governance Principles on the auditor selection process is also investigated.3 Whether the Big-Five4, second tier, and local audit firms are perceived as distinct groups in terms of credibility in the eyes of ISE firms is analyzed. We find that client firm size, level of shareholdings by foreign shareholders, and membership in the finance sector are the firm-specific variables that are positively and significantly associated with the choice of a Big-Five versus the other two types of auditors. This finding is consistent with the findings of extant auditor choice literature in both developed markets and in the emerging market of Athens Stock Exchange. Like Citron and Manalis (2000), we posit and find the positive relationship between foreign shareholding status and the selection of a Big Five auditor is an indication of the role of the Big-Five in providing audit credibility in the eyes of international investors. However, contrary to our expectation that agency costs will be mitigated by widespread public ownership, we find a significant negative association between the level of public shareholdings and selection of a Big-Five auditor. This might be a peculiar finding in the ISE where the managers, in serving the interests of majority family owners, may opt for the non-Big-Five that are more likely to allow managers to use discretionary, if not unethical, accounting methods that would expropriate wealth from minority shareholders and other stakeholders as we have seen in the case of bankrupt family banks. We also find that, although the Big-Five auditors’ clients are more profitable than the other types of auditors’ clients, the association is not a significant one. This might be a result of the downturn of the Turkish economy in 1998 and in 2001 that have negatively affected the profitability of all ISE companies. We expect the results of this study to be useful for auditors, their clients and the regulators that have an oversight function over both.
Coupling Particle Filters with Auto for Speech Feature

This paper addresses robust speech feature extraction in combination with statistical speech feature enhancement and couples the particle filter to the speech recognition hypotheses. To extract noise robust features the Fourier transformation is replaced by the warped and scaled minimum variance distortionless response spectral envelope. To enhance the features, particle filtering has been used. Further, we show that the robust extraction and statistical enhancement can be combined to good effect. One of the critical aspects in particle filter design is the particle weight calculation which is traditionally based on a general, time independent speech model approximated by a Gaussian mixture distribution. We replace this general, time independent speech model by timeand phoneme-specific models. The knowledge of the phonemes to be used is obtained by the hypothesis of a speech recognition system, therefore establishing a coupling between the particle filter and the speech recognition system which have been treated as independent components in the past.
Natural Language Processing versus Logic. Pros and cons on the dispute whether logic is useful in the computational interpretation of language

In this essay I express some personal opinions regarding the influence that logic has on modern approaches to process natural language in artificial systems. I start by presenting some successful linguistic formalisms that were originated in logic, arguing why logic is important in conveying the meaning of language expression. Then, I counterbalance the argumentation with a number of examples where logic is impuissant to mirror language usage, finally supporting a rather temperate opinion about the usefulness of logic to formalise low level linguistic processes and about the limits of language formalisation.
Outer membrane protein composition in disease isolates of Haemophilus influenzae: pathogenic and epidemiological implications.

The outer membrane protein composition of 50 disease isolates of Haemophilus influenzae has been determined by sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis. All strains, including 28 strains of serotype b, one strain each of serotypes a, c, d, e, and f, and 17 untypable strains, had an outer membrane protein composition typical of gram-negative bacteria, i.e., these membranes contained two to three dozen proteins with four to six proteins accounting for most of their protein content. Variation in the mobility of these major outer membrane proteins from strain to strain was common but not universal; the observed patterns provided useful data and new insight into the epidemiology of type b disease. The basic findings can be summarized as follows: (i) All 50 strains possessed three proteins (one minor and two major) each having identical mobilities. The other proteins, both major and minor, varied in mobility. (ii) All type b strains possessed a fourth (major) protein of identical mobility. (iii) The 28 type b strains, on the basis of the mobility of the six major outer membrane proteins, could be divided into eight subtypes. Of all the other strains examined, both typable and untypable, only the serotype a strain belonged to one of these subtypes. (iv) The untypable strains showed considerable variation in the mobilities of their major outer membrane proteins. Of these 17 strains, 13 had an additional major outer membrane protein not present in encapsulated strains. (v) The outer membrane protein composition of a single strain remained unchanged after many passages on solid media, but varied with the growth phase. (vi) The outer membrane protein composition of isolates obtained from nine patients during an epidemic of type b meningitis varied, indicating that a single strain was not responsible for the epidemic. At least five different strains were responsible for these nine cases. (vii) Identical outer membrane protein compositions were observed in the following: in a type b strain and a mutant of this strain deficient in capsule production, indicating that the level of capsule synthesis is not obviously related to outer membrane protein composition; in type b strains isolated from different anatomic sites of patients acutely ill with meningitis, indicating that the strain associated with bacteremia is the same as that isolated from the cerebrospinal fluid; in type b strains isolated from siblings who contracted meningitis at about the same time, indicating infection with the same strain; and in type b strains isolated from the initial and repeat infection of a single patient, suggesting that reinfection was due to the same strain.
Musculoskeletal disorders in demanding computer work - with air traffic control as a model

In computer work, musculoskeletal disorders are frequently reported, but the knowledge about causal relationships is limited. In air traffic control, female and male operators perform exactly the same computer work. Introduction of a new computer system implied a momentary change from a “varied” system containing different in-put devices, to a system characterized by intensive mouse-work. The effect of the change on the physical exposure was studied, as well as the musculoskeletal health before and after the change. In addition, gender differences and psychosocial factors were assessed. The physical workload, recorded in 14 subjects in both systems by technical measurements of postures, movements and muscular load, showed large differences: The mouse-intensive system was associated with lower movement velocities, less varying postures and less rest in the right forearm extensor muscles. The differences were amplified at high work intensity. Neck postures in females with neck/shoulders/upper back disorders were compared to those in healthy referents, but without significant differences. Musculoskeletal disorders in neck and upper limbs were assessed by standardised physical examinations in 148 air traffic controllers (71 women and 77 men) and the psychosocial work environment by questionnaire. Disorders in elbows/hands increased significantly after 20 months of work in the mouse-intensive system, while in neck/shoulders/upper back, there was no consistent change. There was no gender difference in elbows/hands disorders, while the females were at higher risk in neck/shoulders/upper back. Disorders in elbows/hands were not explained by psychosocial factors. Most likely, these findings are applicable to similar technological developments in other settings. (Less)
Clinical practice guidelines for the care of patients with severe traumatic brain injury: A systematic evaluation of their quality

T brain injury (TBI) is a relevant global public health and socioeconomic problem in today’s society. An estimated 57 million people have been hospitalized worldwide with TBI at some point, and at least 10 million cases of TBI are severe enough to result in death or hospitalization every year. Clinical practice guidelines (CPGs) are a set of recommendations that, unlike classical protocols, are systematically developed to assist both health professionals and patients in the process of making decisions in the most appropriate health interventions for addressing a specific clinical condition. Despite the validation and dissemination inherent to CPGs, concerns remain about their quality, applicability, and the lack of evidence of their recommendations. These shortcomings may account for the limited effect of CPGs on health outcomes. Previous studies on CPG evaluation have reported a quality ranking that ranges between moderate and low. Four studies have evaluated the quality of CPGs on TBI, three of which are focused on mild TBI and one on severe TBI. The last one made a partial evaluation of the four studies. The aim of this study was to evaluate the quality of CPGs on treating adults with severe TBI that are available in the scientific literature and/or on specialized Web sites in this area.
The design and implementation of a modular and extensible Java Virtual Machine

This paper describes the design, implementation, and experimental evaluation of a modular and extensible Java™ Virtual Machine (JVM) infrastructure, called Jupiter. The infrastructure is intended to serve as a vehicle for our research on scalable JVM architectures for a cluster of PC workstations, with support for shared memory in software. Jupiter is constructed, using a building block architecture, out of many modules with small, simple interfaces. This flexible structure, similar to UNIX® shells that build complex command pipelines out of discrete programs, allows the rapid prototyping of our research ideas by confining changes in JVM design to a small number of modules. In spite of this flexibility, Jupiter delivers good performance. Experimental evaluation of the current implementation of Jupiter using the SPECjvm98 and the EPCC Java Grande single‐threaded and multithreaded benchmarks reflects competitive performance. Jupiter is on average about 2.5 times faster than Kaffe and about 2 times slower than the Sun Microsystems JDK (interpreter versions only). By providing a flexible JVM infrastructure that delivers competitive performance, we believe we have developed a framework that supports further research into JVM scalability. Copyright © 2003 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Demonstration of Conductive Bridging Random Access Memory (CBRAM) in Logic CMOS Process

Today's main stream NVM technologies require operational conditions that are incompatible with modern low voltage logic CMOS designs. This characteristic results in complex integration issues as well as costly process and array concept especially for embedded NVM use models. Conductive bridging memory cell (CBRAM) technology is an attractive emerging memory technology that offers simple integration and scalable operational conditions. These unique features make CBRAM technology an ideal candidate for embedded applications. In this paper, we have shown successful integration of CBRAM into Copper and Aluminum back end logic CMOS processes with minimal number of added masks.
Supply Chain Management Competency and Firm Financial Success

Supply chain management (SCM) plays a major role in creating (or destroying) shareholder value by influencing the three major drivers of firm financial performance: revenue, operating costs, and working capital. Yet, the relationship between SCM competency and firm financial performance is not well-established. Drawing on the resource-based view of the firm, this study assesses this relationship using Delphi-style opinion data from AMR Research’s Supply Chain Top 25 rankings to assess SCM competency and Altman’s (1968)Z-score statistic as the measure of financial success. The study findings show that firms recognized by industry experts for SCM competency have significantly higher Z-scores than their close competitors and industry averages.
Therapeutic Effects of Acoustic Cavitation in the Presence of Gold Nanoparticles on a Colon Tumor Model

Acoustic cavitation can be fatal to cells and is used to destroy cancerous tumors. The particles in a liquid decrease the ultrasonic intensity threshold needed for onset of cavitation. Bubble generation from intense pulsed light–irradiated gold nanoparticles was investigated as a means of providing nucleation sites for acoustic cavitation in cancer tissues.
A software player for providing hints in problem‐based learning according to a new specification

The provision of hints during problem solving has been a successful strategy in the learning process. There exist several computer systems that provide hints to students during problem solving, covering some specific issues of hinting. This article presents a novel software player module for providing hints in problem‐based learning. We have implemented it into the XTutor Intelligent Tutoring System using its XDOC extension mechanism and the Python programming language. This player includes some of the functionalities that are present in different state‐of‐the‐art systems, and also other new relevant functionalities based on our own ideas and teaching experience. The article explains each feature for providing hints and it also gives a pedagogical justification or explanation. We have created an XML binding, so any combination of the model hints functionalities can be expressed as an XML instance, enabling interoperability and reusability. The implemented player tool together with the XTutor server‐side XDOC processor can interpret and run XML files according to this newly defined hints specification. Finally, the article presents several running examples of use of the tool, the subjects where it is in use, and results that lead to the conclusion of the positive impact of this hints tool in the learning process based on quantitative and qualitative analysis. © 2009 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Comput Appl Eng Educ 17: 272–284, 2009; Published online in Wiley InterScience (www.interscience.wiley.com); DOI 10.1002/cae.20240
Passivity constraints for the impedance control of series elastic actuators

Robots operating in close contact with humans require actuators capable of accurately and safely modulating the delivered torque. To this aim, rotary series elastic actuators are largely adopted. Torque control is often implemented using a cascade control scheme involving proportional–integral regulators (velocity controller nested in a torque controller) for its simplicity and its potential of ensuring coupled stability. A high-level impedance control loop is also commonly added to regulate the interaction with the external agents. In the present work, conservative passivity conditions are derived when a cascade-controlled series elastic actuator is used to haptically display different models of virtual impedance. In particular, the case of a null impedance, of a pure spring and of series and parallel spring–damper systems (corresponding to standard linear viscoelastic bodies) are analyzed in order to derive design guidelines useful for the selection of the control gains as well as for determining the ranges of renderable virtual impedance.
Optimization of the Cost Function in the Monge-Kantorovich Problem (MKP) under the Monge condition

This paper presents a method for adapting the cost function in the Monge–Kantorovich Problem (MKP) to a classification task. More specifically, we introduce a criterion that allows to learn a cost function which tends to produce large distance values for elements belonging to different classes and small distance values for elements belonging to the same class. Under some additional constraints (one of them being the well-known Monge condition), we show that the optimization of this criterion writes as a linear programming problem. Experimental results on synthetic data show that the output optimal cost function provides good retrieval performances in the presence of two types of perturbations commonly found in histograms. When compared to a set of various commonly used cost functions, our optimal cost function performs as good as the best cost function of the set, which shows that it can adapt well to the task. Promising results are also obtained on real data for two-class image retrieval based on grayscale intensity histograms.
A Novel Sphere-Based Maximum Margin Classification Method

Support vector data description (SVDD) aims at constructing an optimal hypersphere regarded as a data description for a dataset while support vector classification (SVC) aims at separating data of two classes without providing a data description. This paper proposes a unified approach to both SVDD and SVC that aims at separating data of two classes and at the same time provides a data description. A trade off parameter is introduced to control the balance between describing the data and maximising the margin. Experimental results are provided to evaluate the proposed approach.
Effect of protocol on determination of velocity at VO2 max and on its time to exhaustion.

The velocity associated with the achievement of VO2 max during an incremental treadmill test (v VO2 max) has been reported to be an indicator of performance in middle distance running events. Previous study has shown the reproducibility of the time to exhaustion (time limit: tlim) at v VO2 max performed by well-trained males in the same condition at one week of interval (Billat et al., 1994b). It is essential in studies involving tlim at v VO2 max that the v VO2 max be precisely determined, or else the measured tlim will be meaningless. The purpose of this study was to examine the influence of the stage duration and velocity incrementation on the velocity at VO2 max and, consequently, on the two times to exhaustion (tlim) associated with the two v VO2 max generated by the two protocols. v VO2 max was determined in 15 trained male endurance athletes as the lowest speed at which VO2 max was attained in speed-incremented 0%-slope treadmill tests. For one test, increments were 1.0 km.h-1 and stages were 2 min in duration; for the other test, increments were 0.5 km.h-1 and stages were 1 min in duration. Results of paired means t-tests revealed no difference in v VO2 max obtained using the two protocols. v VO2 max was 20.7 +/- 1.0 km.h-1 with the 1.0 km.h-1 x 2 min protocol and 20.8 +/- 0.9 km.h-1 with the 0.5 km.h-1 x 1 min protocol. In addition, VO2, VCO2, VE, VE/VO2 and respiratory exchange ratio at the submaximal intensities that were common to both protocols (e.g., 17.0 km.h-1, 18.0 km.h-1, 19.0 km.h-1, 20.0 km.h-1) did not differ. Times to exhaustion at the two v VO2 max demonstrated a high degree of inter-individual variability (coefficients of variation were 35% and 45%) but did not differ (345 +/- 120 s versus 373 +/- 169 s). These results demonstrated that small changes in protocol have no significant impact on the value of v VO2 max and in consequence on tlim v VO2 max.