Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Managing Subsidiary Dynamics: Headquarters Role, Capability Development, and China Strategy

A major development in recent research on the multinational enterprise (MNE) is the increased attention given to the interdependent, differentiated roles of the subsidiaries and their implications for MNE and subsidiary management. Paralleling this development is the shift away from studying subsidiaries as subunits to be controlled by the headquarters to investigating what subsidiaries do and how their activities can help develop firm-specific advantages. This volume includes contributions from leading scholars in the field from North America, Europe, and Asia-Pacific. Different from the traditional, single-discipline based investigation, it presents a multi-disciplinary approach to researching subsidiary dynamics and its effective management, with a focus on three important issues: the role of the headquarters within the context of subsidiaries as members of a differentiated, interdependent network; the development of subsidiary capabilities and their impact on firm performance; and, subsidiaries as learning agents for the MNE, particularly in emerging markets such as China.
Coronary multidetector computed tomographic angiography to evaluate coronary artery disease in liver transplant candidates: methods, feasibility and initial experience

Aims In patients undergoing orthotopic liver transplantation (OLT), coronary artery disease (CAD), obstructive and nonobstructive, is associated with high morbidity and mortality. In OLT candidates, stress testing for detecting ischemia is often inaccurate, and this patient population often has relative contraindications for cardiac catheterization. The objective of this study was to describe the methods, assess the feasibility and determine the extent and severity of CAD in OLT candidates without a prior history of CAD using coronary multidetector computer tomographic angiography (MDCTA). Methods Sixty-five OLT candidates without known CAD underwent coronary MDCTA with dual source cardiac computed tomography (Siemens Definition). Coronary arteries were divided into 17 segments based on American Heart Association guidelines and evaluated independently by two blinded reviewers. Image quality of coronary MDCTA was assessed on a four-point Likert scale (0 = poor, 1 = fair, 2 = good, and 3 = excellent). Atherosclerotic lesions were evaluated for severity [mild (0–50%), moderate (51–70%), and severe (71–100%)], morphology, extent, location and consistency. Results Image quality was graded as good or excellent in 73.8%. In this cohort of OLT candidates without known CAD, 9% had normal coronary arteries, 58% had mild CAD and 34% had moderate to severe CAD. Plaque severity and burden scores were high. Conclusion The prevalence of asymptomatic CAD is high in OLT candidates. Coronary MDCTA is feasible in OLT candidates and appears to be a useful technique to diagnose occult CAD in this patient population.
The effect of tourist personal theft on future travel decisions

Past research has shown that theft is a prevalent crime against tourists. This study’s purpose was to determine the effects of past incidents of personal theft on tourists’ future decisions to travel by analyzing and comparing those who have experienced personal theft to those who heard of such incidents through personal accounts of friends or family. The findings, which were taken from a survey of 215 respondents, revealed that that experiencing personal theft, or knowing of someone who has, is not a deterrent for visiting a destination where the theft occurred. Results also showed that one aspect of theft that was a deterrent to travel to destinations was how the authorities handled the reporting of the theft. If these findings are confirmed by other studies, then destinations that are afflicted by such thefts should not necessarily see a reduction in tourist arrivals.
Economic incentives and Blockchain security

Much like steam engines and the internet, blockchain has emerged as a disruptive technology and a foundation for tomorrow’s businesses and ecosystem. Blockchains meld technology and economics to provide unprecedented security guarantees. As individuals seek to reduce uncertainties, economic incentives can drive human behavior, and act as the enablers of personal security, either perceived or real. Since cryptographies are hackable, a truly secure, decentralized, and automated blockchain protocol can be established only when significant security guarantees, using inherent economically incentivized consensus mechanisms, are combined with cryptographic guarantees. WHITE PAPER
Guideline for prevention of intravascular device-related infections. Part I. Intravascular device-related infections: an overview. The Hospital Infection Control Practices Advisory Committee.

The “Guideline for Prevention of Intravascular Device-Related Infections” is designed to reduce the incidence of intravascular device-related infections by providing an over view of the evidence for recommendations considered prudent by consensus of Hospital Infection Control Practices Advisor y Committee (HICPAC) members. This two-part document updates and replaces the previously published Centers for Disease Control's (CDC) Guideline for Intravascular Infections ( Am J Infect Control 1983;11:183-199). Part I, “Intravascular Device-Related Infections: An Over view” discusses many of the issues and controversies in intravascular-device use and maintenance. These issues include definitions and diagnosis of catheter-related infection, appropriate barrier precautions during catheter insertion, inter vals for replacement of catheters, intravenous (IV) fluids and administration sets, catheter-site care, the role of specialized IV personnel, and the use of prophylactic antimi-crobials, flush solutions, and anticoagulants. Part II, “Recommendations for Prevention of Intravascular Device-Related Infections” provides consensus recommendations of the HICPAC for the prevention and control of intravascular device-related infections. A working draft of this document also was reviewed by experts in hospital infection control, internal medicine, pediatrics, and intravenous therapy. However, all recommendations contained in the guideline may not reflect the opinion of all reviewers.
Trastuzumab-Resistance and Breast Cancer

Evolution of therapeutic monoclonal antibodies significantly benefited from the recombinant DNA technologies that are used to generate chimeric, humanized, and human versions of monoclonal antibody to reduce the problem of immunogenicity and neutralization, as well as from understanding mechanisms of action mediated by monoclonal antibodies (Nelson et al., 2010; Reichert, 2009; Ranson & Sliwkowski , 2002). One of the significant advances in the application of monoclonal antibodies in oncology was the introduction and approval of trastuzumab, a humanized anti-HER2 antibody, for the treatment of HER2-positive breast cancer. Despite initial successes and encouraging results, development of monoclonal antibody-based therapies faces several challenges (Yan et al., 2009). Among them are the selection of patients most likely to benefit from clinical trials and lack of understanding of mechanisms of resistance to monoclonal antibody-based therapies (Yan et al., 2009). Selection of patients most likely to benefit from clinical trials of monoclonal antibody-based therapies was initially based on the expression of the antigen targeted by the monoclonal antibody. The anti-HER-2 antibody trastuzumab was tested in patients whose breast tumors overexpress HER2 (Pegram et al., 1998) and the anti-epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) antibody cetuximab was used in patients with colorectal cancer and head and neck cancers that overexpress EGFR (Shin et al., 2001). Even with careful characterization of the antigen expression level in the patient population eligible for the clinical trials, primary resistance to monoclonal antibodybased therapies is a common problem. Up to 50% of EGFR-positive colorectal cancer patients are resistant to cetuximab (Saltz et al., 2004), and 74% of HER2-positive breast cancer patients are resistant to anti-HER2 antibody trastuzumab (Vogel et al., 2002). It has emerged that the levels of antigen expression are not the only determinant of the patient response to monoclonal antibody therapies and that better understanding of the mechanisms of resistance to monoclonal antibodies in different patient subgroups has a potential to improve the effectiveness of the monoclonal antibody treatment. A retrospective analysis of the colorectal tumor samples from the patients that received cetuximab therapy indicated that EGFR-positive colorectal cancer patients with wild-type KRAS gene had increased overall
Interlaced Column-Row Message-Passing Schedule for Decoding LDPC Codes

This paper investigates efficient decoding algorithms for LDPC codes. Alternating column-row message-passing (ACRMP) and Interlaced column-row message-passing (I-CRMP) schedules for decoding of LDPC codes are proposed and investigated in this work. Existing serial scheduling schemes for LDPC decoding are based either on column message- passing (MP) or row MP, and roughly converge twice as fast as Gallager's flooding-based MP schedule at high signal-to-noise ratio (SNR). To further accelerate the convergence speed of serial decoders, hybrid column-row MP schedules that perform multiple message passes between check and variable nodes within or between iterations are proposed. Our proposed I-CRMP schedule converges in less than half the number of iterations compared to the best existing serial decoding schedules. Compared to column MP, the added complexity of this scheme is proportional only to check-node-degree times more additions at variable nodes. This increase in complexity is moderate compared to the convergence acceleration factor that the scheme achieves. Superior performance of the proposed I-CRMP scheme is confirmed by decoding randomly generated as well as IEEE 802.11n/ac LDPC codes.
Multinational Cross-Cultural Management: An Integrative Context-Specific Process

Preface Basic Processes and Tasks Cross-Cultural Management in a Multinational Context: Introduction Multinational Cross-Cultural Management: Key Tasks, Decisions, and Actions Common Frameworks Managing Cultural Differences Multinational Cross-Cultural Management Decision Making and Action Multinational Cross-Cultural Management: The Strategic Context Overview Making Decisions and Taking Action in Selected Enterprise-Wide, Business Unit, and Operational Task Areas Supporting Enabling Systems Telecommunications and Information Systems Accounting, Finance, and Control in the International Context Organizing for Multinational Operations: Structure, Processes (Business and Human), and Culture Enabling Human Resources Interpersonal Interaction Staffing, Training, and Communications Leadership and Management Managing Change and Diversity Integratively Selected Bibliography Index
A Study on the Internet Purchase Intentions of Credit Union Members in Taiwan

Credit unions were established in Taiwan over 40 years ago, and their members now number more than two hundred thousand. This study cites the Technology Acceptance Model by Davis (1989) in its discussion of the internet purchase intentions of Credit Union members in Taiwan. Structural equation modeling (SEM) is used to provide a descriptive statistical analysis of such demographic variables as trust, the characteristics of innovation, perceived usefulness, perceived ease of use, attitude, and purchase intentions, and the differences between them. According to this analysis, trust and the characteristics of innovation (through perceived usefulness, perceived ease of use, and attitude) influence the purchase intentions of credit union members. The most important variable is attitude. Accordingly, credit unions should improve the functionality of their websites. They could provide, for example, online ordering, information on commodities, a message board connecting buyers and sellers, online credit card payment, and an increased diversity of products. Furthermore, credit unions could use internet and placement marketing. This would increase awareness among members and the general public of the benefits of purchasing using the CU Let platform, and lead to its becoming a more popular choice among consumers.
Immunohistochemical Expression of Procaspase-3 and Its Clinical Significance in Childhood Non-Hodgkin Lymphomas

Previous studies have shown differences in expression levels of apoptosis regulatory proteins in non-Hodgkin lymphomas (NHLs) and indicated the correlation of procaspase-3 (proC-3) and caspase-3 activation to the response of chemotherapy. We investigated whether proC-3 expression in tumor biopsies of childhood NHLs is related to clinical outcome. Formalin-fixed paraffin-embedded tissues from 58 children with NHL were evaluated for proC-3 expression by immunochemistry analysis. The study included 20 cases of Burkitt lymphoma, 7 cases of diffuse large B-cell lymphoma, 18 cases of anaplastic large cell lymphoma (ALCL), and 13 cases of precursor lymphoblastic lymphoma. The highest expression level of proC-3 was observed in ALCL. In the multivariate analysis the higher clinical stage of disease and higher expression level of proC-3 were independent and appear to be significant prognostic factors of treatment failure. Our results suggest that the high expression level of proC-3 may be a powerful independent predictor of response to chemotherapy and progression-free survival in childhood NHLs.
Functional imaging of the suicidal brain.

Department of Psychiatry and Medical Psychology, Division of Nuclear Medicine, Ghent University Hospital, Ghent, Belgium and Department of Medical Imaging, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Ghent University, Merelbeke, Belgium. Correspondence to Dr K. Audenaert, Department of Psychiatry and Medical Psychology, Ghent University Hospital – 1K12F, De Pintelaan 185, B-9000 Gent, Belgium. Tel: + 32 9 240 4395; fax: + 32 9 240 4989; e-mail: kurt.audenaert@ugent.be
Intracellular calcium signaling through the CADPR pathway is agonist specific in porcine airway smooth muscle

Cyclic ADP‐ribose (cADPR) induces intracellular Ca2+ ([Ca2+]i) release in airway smooth muscle, and the cADPR antagonist, 8‐amino‐cADPR, abolishes [Ca2+]i oscillations elicited by acetylcholine (ACh), suggesting that cADPR is involved during muscarinic receptor activation. Whether the cADPR signaling pathway is common to agonists acting through different G protein‐coupled receptors is not known. Using digital video imaging of Fura2‐AM loaded porcine airway smooth muscle cells, we examined the effects of the membrane‐permeant cADPR antagonist, 8‐bromo‐cADPR (8Br‐cADPR), on the [Ca2+]i responses to ACh, histamine and endothelin‐1 (ET‐1). In cells preincubated with 100 μM 8Br‐cADPR, the [Ca2+]i responses to ACh and ET‐1 were significantly attenuated, whereas responses to histamine were not, suggesting agonist specificity of cADPR signaling. The effects of 8Br‐cADPR were concentration dependent. We further examined whether muscarinic receptor subtypes specifically couple to this pathway, because in porcine airway smooth muscle cells, ACh activates both M2 and M3 muscarinic receptors coupled to Gαi and Gαq, respectively. Methoctramine, an M2‐selective antagonist, attenuated the [Ca2+]i responses to Ach, and there was no further attenuation by 8Br‐cADPR. In airway smooth muscle, the CD38/cADPR signaling pathway is involved in [Ca2+]i responses to contractile agonists in an agonist‐specific manner.
Heparin in acute stroke with atrial fibrillation: clinical relevance of very early treatment.

BACKGROUND The risk-benefit ratio of early vs late heparinization for acute stroke with nonvalvular atrial fibrillation remains unsettled. OBJECTIVE To clarify the relationship between timing to heparinization and functional outcome in acute cardioembolic stroke. DESIGN Consecutive case series. SETTING Referral center. PATIENTS In 231 patients with stroke and nonvalvular atrial fibrillation, intravenous or subcutaneous heparin administered with the goal of achieving an activated partial thromboplastin time (APTT) 1.5 to 2.0 times control values. Delay to the initiation of heparin therapy was less than 6 hours from the onset of symptoms in 74 patients and between 6 and 48 hours in 157 patients. Functional outcome (Rankin scale) was assessed 9 +/- 3 (mean +/- SD) days from stroke onset using multivariate analysis and including in the model treatment delay, risk factors (eg, age, hypertension, diabetes, hypercholesterolemia, previous stroke, and heart disease), initial neurological severity, and baseline computed tomographic findings (eg, early signs of infarction and white matter abnormalities). Clinical symptoms on admission (Mathew score) and baseline radiological findings were evaluated in all subjects. The bleeding rate was assessed on subsequent computed tomographic (CT) scans (obtained 7 +/- 2 days after stroke). The relationship between APTT ratios and stroke recurrence or hemorrhagic worsening was also tested. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES Functional outcome at hospital discharge and incidence of early recurrent strokes and bleeding complications. RESULTS Mortality (9%), hemorrhagic worsening (3.4%), and early stroke recurrence (2.1%) occurred in the hospital. Complete recovery was associated with age younger than 70 years (odds ratio [OR], 0.21; 95% confidence interval [CI], 0.05-0.70), a baseline Mathew score higher than 74 (OR, 11.5; 95% CI, 4.95-26.70), normal baseline CT findings (OR, 8.86; CI, 3.99-19.60), and early heparinization (OR, 1.7; 95% CI, 1.10-2.50). Targeted APTT ratios were achieved at 24 hours in fewer than 50% of patients. Whereas stroke recurrence was associated with lower mean APTT ratios, higher mean APTT ratios were observed in patients with symptomatic bleeding, especially on the day of bleeding. Age, admission stroke severity, blood pressure, and baseline CT findings did not predict hemorrhagic worsening. CONCLUSIONS Delaying anticoagulation in alert patients with stroke and nonvalvular atrial fibrillation is not endorsed by the initial severity of symptoms or the early signs of infarction on CT scan. Functional recovery is improved the sooner heparin is administered. These findings suggest that heparin also has therapeutic properties. However, close APTT monitoring is warranted to lessen the incidence of untoward complications.
SECURITY WITH A HUMAN FACE

This article discusses how biometric technologies, including facial surveillance, can be used to prevent future air-related terrorist activities. Intelligence agencies throughout the world could build databases of terrorists' faces and identities that could be used to identify them through computerized facial recognition. Several airports have already adopted or are currently testing this technology at their security checkpoints. The same technology has been deployed in several municipalities, where faces passing in front of security cameras are checked against criminal watch lists. Polls show that the public favors the use of facial scanning to increase security. Privacy guidelines should be an important part of implementing any biometric system.
Market power and product quality: review of the literature

In this paper we focus on the relation between product quality and information, which let us distinguishing search and experience goods. We show how literature has studied the way firms signalling the high quality of their products/services: introductory discount pricing, strong advertising expenditures or commitment (for instance, warranties). For search goods we consider contributions dealing with a single-product monopolist (Spence 1975, Rochet and Stole 1999, Lambertini 1998,…) and a multiproduct monopolist (Mussa and Rosen 1978), this first simple model has been used extensively by applied theorists studying regulation, auctions, and labor contracts (Katz 1984, Rochet and Stole 2002,…) For experience goods, we mention for instance the lemons model (Akerlof 1970) and no milking condition (Shapiro 1983)
Motives for Maintaining Personal Journal Blogs

Although much has been learned about political and news blogs, there has been a lack of research on personal journal blogs. They deserve further research attention because of the implications blogs have in many bloggers' immediate social networks, as well as the opportunities for scientific inquiry in a rich and evolving communication environment. This study explored bloggers' motives for maintaining personal journal blogs, or blogs that resemble diaries about one's personal life. Stemming from the uses and gratifications perspective, antecedents (age, sex, loneliness, disclosiveness) and blogging motives composed a model for predicting the amount of blog use. Seven motives emerged from online survey data: helping/informing, social connection, pass time, exhibitionism, archiving/organizing, professionalism, and get feedback. Age, sex, loneliness, and disclosiveness predicted different motives, and the total model (age, sex, loneliness, disclosiveness, and motives) was useful for explaining 13% of the variance in the amount of blog use.
The Real Consequences of Financial Market Integration when Countries Are Heterogeneous

This paper studies the mechanisms through which financial integration affects the pattern of international capital flows and the domestic economic performances when explicitly accounting for wealth inequality on imperfect capital markets. Balancing the impact of a firm size and a credit rationing effect on the net credit position and on aggregate production will help predicting the distribution of gains and losses among and within countries on the basis of a country’s aggregate wealth and its distribution. Altogether, the results contribute new explanations for some empirical puzzles. They also bear important implications for policy making, supranational treaty design and financial stability.
The Design, Implementation and Analysis of Test Experiments

This paper discusses aspects which have to be considered in order to conduct a successful test experiment. Emphasis is on using data collected from testing large numbers of parts. Statistical arguments are presented relating to making meaningful conclusions, which includes the effects of sample size. Several pitfalls that can corrupt or skew data are discussed, and the importance of unambiguous presentation of data and results is stressed