Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Negotiating Cross-Border Acquisitions

With the increasing number of mergers and acquisitions, particularly across national borders, the importance of knowing how to approach delicate negotiations has grown. In this case study and interview, James Sebenius traces an Italian copper-products company's negotiations to provide important lessons for anyone involved in cross-border transactions. Sebenius interviewed Sergio Ceccuzzi, management board member of KM Europa Metal AG and chairman of its subsidiary, Europa Metalli SpA. Together they discuss the growth of the holding company, SMI (Societa Metallurgica Italiana SpA). In 1965, SMI was one of many small and medium-sized copper transformation companies in Italy. Over the years, it developed a strategy of growth by acquisition, but only in areas that amplified its line of business. It first acquired Finmeccanica, a state-owned competitor, at a time when privatization in Italy was anathema. Next, through skillful negotiations, it acquired its major French competitor, Trefimetaux, also a state-owned firm. And, in its most difficult transaction, it overcame formidable obstacles to acquire Kabel-metal AG, a German competitor. Throughout his conversation with Ceccuzzi, the author indicates specific lessons to be learned from each deal. In summary, he encapsulates the lessons into twelve major points, among them: be willing to wait, sometimes for years, for the right circumstances to culminate the deal; establish good personal relationships; map out the likely players in the deal and assess their interests, not yours; figure out how to deal with potential deal blockers; and, perhaps most important, remember that, even after the deal is done, negotiation does not stop.
New multiscale speckle suppression and edge enhancement with nonlinear diffusion and homomorphic filtering for medical ultrasound imaging

Speckle, shown as a granular pattern, considerably degrades the image quality of ultrasound B-mode imaging and lowers the performance of image segmentation and registration techniques. Thus, speckle reduction while preserving the tissue structure (e.g., edges and boundaries of lesions) is important for ultrasound B-mode imaging. In this paper, a new approach for speckle reduction and edge enhancement based on laplacian pyramid nonlinear diffusion and homomorphic filtering (LPNDHF) is proposed for ultrasound B-mode imaging. In LPNDHF, nonlinear diffusion with a weighting factor is applied in multi-scale domain (i.e., laplacian pyramid) for effectively suppressing the speckle. In addition, in order to overcome the drawback from the previous LPND method, i.e., blurred edges, homomorphic filtering for edge and contrast enhancement is also applied from a finer scale to a coarser scale. From the simulation study, the proposed LPNDHF method showed the higher edge preservation and structure similarity values compared to the LPND and LPND with shock filtering (LPNDSF). Also, the LPNDHF provided the higher CNR values compared to LPND and LPNDSF, i.e., 5.02 vs. 3.66 and 2.91, respectively. From the tissue mimicking phantom study, the similar improvement in CNR was achieved from the LPNDHF over LPND and LPNDSF, i.e., 2.35 vs. 1.83 and 1.30. Moreover, the consistent results were obtained with the in vivo abdominal study. These preliminary results demonstrate that the proposed LPNDHF can improve the image quality of ultrasound B-mode imaging by increasing contrast and enhancing the specific signal details while effectively suppressing speckle.
Addressing concerns about legitimacy: A case study of social responsibility reporting in the Australian banking industry

This paper investigates the relationship between social responsibility reporting and reputation at an industry rather than organisational level through a case study of the Australian banking industry. Since deregulation, the legitimacy of the social impact of the Australian banking industry has been questioned particularly through extensive media coverage. This case study investigates how the four major banks have responded to industry level legitimacy concerns through social responsibility reporting. Despite theoretical claims that organisations within an industry will respond to legitimacy concerns in a similar way, this paper shows that the banks in the study have responded in differing ways resulting in a disparity of approval rankings between organisations. Reputation rankings of the banks examined in this paper show varying levels of acceptance of individual organisations, despite ongoing media questioning about the legitimacy of the industry as a whole.
Pretreatment of Lycium barbarum polysaccharide reduces H 2 O 2-induced myocardial apoptosis

The study is aimed to explore the effects of Lycium barbarum Polysaccharide (LBP), the main active compound of Lycium barbarum, on H2O2-induced oxidative stress in myocardial cells, thereby to investigate the possibility of LBP to be an effective prophylactic agent for cardiac vascular disease (CVD). In the study, rat myocardial cells were randomly divided into control group, H2O2 model group and three LBP+H2O2 groups. Myocardial viability, cell apoptosis andoxidative stress parameters were detected. Real-time fluorescent quantitative PCR (RT-PCR) and Western blot were applied to investigate the influences of LBP pretreatment on apoptosis regulator proteins B-cell lymphoma 2 (Bcl-2) and Bcl-2-associated X (Bax) expression and NF-E2 p45-related factor 2 (Nrf2)/antioxidant responsive element (ARE) signaling pathway. The results revealed that LBP pretreatment significantly attenuated the increased myocardial apoptosis in H2O2-induced oxidative stress by activating the Nrf2 signaling pathway and endogenous antioxidants. It suggested that LBP has great potential to be an antioxidant to protect people from oxidative stress induced CVD.
PENGARUH KARAKTERISTIK PERUSAHAAN DAN REGULASI PEMERINTAH TERHADAP PENGUNGKAPAN CORPORATE SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY (CSR) PADA LAPORAN TAHUNAN DI INDONESIA

This study aims to obtain empirical evidence about the influence of company characteristics and government regulation on the disclosure of corporate social responsibility (CSR) in the annual reports of existing companies in Indonesia. The firm characteristics factors that used in this study such as government ownership, foreign ownership, the type of company, industry size, and profitability as well as an additional variable is government regulation. Measurement of corporate social responsibility is based on corporate social reporting category to calculate the Corporate Social Responsibility Index (CSRI) that seen from the company's annual report. The population of this study is all companies listed in Indonesia Stock Exchange (ISX) in 2006 and 2008. The total sample was 47 companies, with two years of observations. So the total sample who checked is 96. Data analysis was performed with the classical assumption and hypothesis testing using linear regression. The results of this study indicate that the factor of government ownership, government regulations, company type and size of the industry significantly influence the disclosure of CSR in Indonesia. Meanwhile, foreign ownership and profitability has no significant impact on disclosure of CSR in Indonesia.
Accuracy and Precision for Remote Sensing Applications of Nonlinear Model-Based Inference

In a forest inventory context, estimation for small areas and for remote and inaccessible regions may be problematic using traditional probability- or design-based inference because acquisition of sufficiently large samples to satisfy precision requirements is financially and/or logistically difficult. These problems can often be partially alleviated for inventory applications by enhancing inferences using models and remotely sensed independent variables. However, estimates obtained using probability-based, model-assisted estimators may still suffer detrimental effects as the result of small sample sizes. Model-based inference has the potential to alleviate these problems because precision is affected by other factors such as model specification. Nevertheless, model specification in the form of selection of independent variables often focuses exclusively on quality of fit with little consideration given to the precision of estimates of areal population parameters. Model-based inference is illustrated for two forest inventory applications, estimation of mean proportion forest area using Landsat-based independent variables for a study area in the USA and estimation of mean growing stock volume per unit area using lidar-based independent variables for a study area in Norway. Variations of a nonlinear logistic regression model are used for both applications. The results indicate selection of subsets of remotely sensed independent variables to maximize precision had negligible effects on the quality of fit of the models to the data and on estimates of means but substantial proportional beneficial effects on precision.
Fingerprint retrieval by spatial modelling and distorted sample generation

In this study, the authors extend and refine the process of fingerprint retrieval, with the goal of boosting recognition rates for the first rank candidate and low penetration rates. On top of a baseline retrieval system which extracts Gabor features in multiple directions from fingerprint images, the authors propose spatial modelling techniques to generate artificial samples for training the system. Translational modelling, rotational modelling and distorted sample generation techniques are used to augment the original training set in order to boost the accuracy of fingerprint retrieval. The effectiveness of the models is evaluated using the well-known National Institute of Standards and Technology database 4. Experimental results, with reference to some leading fingerprint retrieval rates reported in the literature, confirm that the authors’ proposed system is promising in recognition performance.
Public reaction to the portrayal of the tobacco industry in the film The Insider

OBJECTIVES To assess public perceptions of the tobacco industry and behavioural intentions for tobacco use in response to watching the filmThe Insider. DESIGN Self administered pre-film survey conducted immediately before viewing and post-film telephone survey conducted within 1–5 weeks of viewing. SETTING Two commercial cinemas in Melbourne, Australia. SUBJECTS 323 cinema patrons were recruited before screening of target films. 182 watchedThe Insider, 141 watchedErin Brockovich. INTERVENTIONS Subjects watched one of two films: The Insider which featured information about unethical conduct by the tobacco industry and negative information about the health effects of smoking, or the “control” film Erin Brockovich which had an analogous plot without anti-tobacco content. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES Pre-film questionnaire: assessed movie viewing habits, demographic characteristics, smoking status, attitudes towards the tobacco industry, intentions for smoking. Post-film questionnaire: assessed same attitudes and intentions plus questions on the film viewed and perceptions of smoking prevalence. RESULTS 266 (82%) subjects completed the post-film survey. Attitudes toward the tobacco industry were unfavourable at baseline. Those who sawThe Insider held more negative views of business conduct by the tobacco industry than those who sawErin Brockovich, once pre-existing attitudes to the industry were controlled for. The Insider also appears to have promoted a short term reduction in intentions to smoke. CONCLUSIONS Results of this study suggest that if people were recurrently exposed to anti-tobacco content in movies there is potential for a more substantial and lasting impact on attitudes toward the tobacco industry and smoking.
ICA-based MAP speech enhancement with multiple variable speech distribution models

This paper proposes a novel ICA-based MAP speech enhancement algorithm using multiple variable speech distribution models. The proposed algorithm consists of two stages, primary and advanced enhancement. The primary enhancement is performed by employing a single distribution model obtained from all speech signals. The advanced enhancement ﬁrst employs multiple models of speech signals, each modeling a spe-ciﬁc type of speech, and then adapts these model parameters for each speech frame by employing the enhanced signal from the primary estimation. A statistical noise adaptation technique has been employed to better model the noise in non-stationary case. The proposed algorithm has been evaluated on speech from TIMIT database corrupted by various noises and it has shown signiﬁcantly improved performance over using the single speech distribution model.
When Do Consumers Purchase Online?: Based on Inter-Purchase Time

This study is motivated by the premise that online consumers can make a purchase at any time of day if they have even a tiny time slot along with Internet access. To identify the increased shopping time flexibility, we first characterize the patterns of online purchase timing in comparison to those in the offline market. The results show (1) the breakdown of purchase timing regularity and (2) the change of weekly spike purchase occurrence. Second, we build online inter-purchase time model and estimate it with the data collected from one of the premier online vendors in Korea. We verify new theories in online consumers’ purchase timing, particularly, about (1) how online consumers’ hazard rates change, (2) how online consumers respond to price promotions, and (3) what factors affect online consumers’ purchasing timing decision. Both marketing researchers and practitioners can gain significant new insight to understanding the nature of online commerce on the time space.
The Medical Billing Framework as the Backbone of the National Health Information Infrastructure

Given the medical billing framework and proposed meaningful uses for the national health information infrastructure, this paper shows how the billing framework can strategically help achieve meaningful uses quickly. The existing medical billing framework has national connectivity, and its existing communication, data, and authentication standards are sufficiently expandable to serve as a necessary backbone for a national health information infrastructure. Doing so offers strategic advantages: (1) providers are already “wired” and using the billing framework, processing billions of claims a year; (2) the mechanism to check patient insurance eligibility can easily expand to additionally provide relevant patient information (e.g., problems, medications, and allergies) at the time and place of service; (3) a national program already exists that captures quality measures through claims processing; and, (4) payment incentives on claims can drive ongoing provider compliance. Growing independent regional data centers, as has been the primary focus so far, leaves a critical gap in connectivity, data consolidation, national analytics, and timeliness. To close the gap, this paper proposes an amended billing framework (“the Backbone”), and shows how the Backbone can help achieve meaningful uses. It recommends an open consortium of stakeholders to guide ongoing Backbone operations to insure interoperability. Included are detailed examples of maintaining active allergy and medication lists (a meaningful use objective for the year 2011). Disclaimer. This paper was produced by Latanya Sweeney, PhD, as Director of the AdvanceHIT Project, and in partial fulfillment of her responsibilities as Distinguished Career Professor at Carnegie Mellon University, MLK Visiting Professor at MIT, and Visiting Professor at Harvard University. No funds were received to produce this paper, though once written, donations to the AdvanceHIT Project may be accepted to sponsor its dissemination and to support non-specific Project activities. Dr. Sweeney is a member of the Federal HIT Policy Committee, and this document does not necessarily reflect opinions of ONC, HHS or the Obama Administration. These views are for the benefit of public education and informed discourse, and are not necessarily opinions regarding any position Dr. Sweeney herself may take on related issues decided by the HIT Policy Committee. Medicare processes 1.2 billion claims per year [1] on the medical billing framework, so this paper was written for the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) in response to CMS’ Request for Information dated August 20, 2009, entitled “National Gap Analysis and Readiness Assessment for the Health Information Technology Infrastructure to Enable the Electronic Exchange of Quality Measures as part of EHR Meaningful Use. ”
Leadership styles : gender similarities, differences and perceptions

A comprehensive definition of leadership is that of a process in which an individual influences a group of individuals to achieve a common goal. Over recent years there has been major expansion of research on gender relations in leadership. The growing presence of women in the international workforce continues to motivate research on the leadership styles of women, particularly to determine if women have their own ways of leading. The relationship between leadership styles and gender roles could be demonstrated as masculinity with task-oriented and femininity with people-oriented. Though a number of researches have been carried out in this area the question of whether there is a leadership style that distinguishes female leaders from male leaders is yet to be answered. In this context this paper attempts to review and analyse the past literature on gender differences, similarities and perceptions in relation to the leadership styles and to examine under what circumstances men and women differ.
A Matching Model of Liberalisation of Trade in Services

Clement Yuk Pang Wong Department of Economics and Finance City University of Hong Kong EFCWONG@CITYU.EDU.HK Jinhui Wu Department of Economics and Finance City University of Hong Kong 50001895@PLINK.CITYU.EDU.HK Anming Zhang Department of Economics and Finance City University of Hong Kong EFANMING@CITYU.EDU.HK Preliminary draft, comments are welcomed April, 2001 We develop a matching model between service suppliers and customers within a context of ideal variety product differentiation. Following Grossman and Helpman (1999), a circle is used to represent a two-dimensional space of product specificity, while consumers’ preferences are distributed along the circumference. Service suppliers in this model can select the degrees of specificity of their services to cater to the diverse preferences from their consumers. The model illustrates a source of gain from trade that arises from a closer match between customers’ requirements and the degree of specificity of service providers. The model illustrates that trade liberalization improves the welfare of customers not only by increasing their chances of matching with the appropriate service providers but also by forcing service providers to deepen their degrees of specialization to their customers. Given the fact that customization is more important in services than in goods, deepening of service providers’ degree of specialization is an important source of gain from service liberalization that merits further research. JEL Classification: F1, F12, F13 Keywords: Trade in Services, Trade Liberalization, Product Specificity, Matching ________________________________________________________________________________
A Compact High-Speed Low-Power rail-to-rail Buffer amplifier for Step-Pulse Signals

A compact high-speed low-power rail-to-rail buffer amplifier, which is suitable for driving heavy capacitive loads, is proposed. The buffer amplifier is composed of a pair of push-pull output transistors with two feedback loops consisting of a pair of complementary error amplifiers and a pair of complementary common-source amplifiers. The buffer draws little current while static but has a large driving capability while transient. A mutual bias scheme is also proposed to reduce the power consumption and the die area for LCD applications. An experimental prototype buffer amplifier implemented in a 0.35 μm CMOS technology demonstrates that the settling time is 1.5 μs for a voltage swing of 0.1 ~ (VDD–0.1) V under a 600 pF capacitance load. Quiescent current of 4 μA is measured. The area of this buffer is 32 × 109 μm2.
Efficiencies or Anticompetitive Effects: Vertical Integration of Hospitals into Medical Practices

Changes in the way that health care is produced and purchased are leading to greater integration among health care providers. In many cases, this integration combines hospitals and physicians. For a large urban area, the number of independent hospitals and physicians is sufficiently large so that integration between hospitals and physicians is unlikely to reduce competition. However, physician-hospital integration might harm competition in some
Drugs Implicated In Seizures and Its Management

Seizures in a patient taking a medically prescribed drug are a serious adverse drug reaction [1,2]. Drug induced seizures occur either due to exposure to or withdrawal from a medication, drug or a toxin [3]. The vital drug factors responsible for a seizure include class of drug, dose and route of administration. Whereas, the patient factors that predispose to drug induce seizures include pre-existing neurological illness, concomitant medical illnesses, old age, liver failure, renal insufficiency, family history of epilepsy, non-compliance with anti-epileptic treatment, use of concomitant drugs, stress, sleep deprivation, and alcohol abuse [2]. These factors together lower the seizure threshold. Majority of these seizures are self-limited and do not cause permanent sequelae. Nonetheless, repeated or prolonged seizure activity can cause irreversible neurological injury and life-threatening complications including hypoxia, hypotension, pulmonary aspiration, hyperthermia, rhabdomyolysis and metabolic acidosis [3]. Data about drugs commonly responsible for druginduced seizures is limited, particularly in children. Moreover, thorough acquaintance with the likely causative agents would be valuable to clinicians and could potentially guide the therapeutic approach.
College libraries in Shimoga district: A survey

The study evaluates the present situation of College Libraries in Shimoga District (Karnataka). A survey of 30-degree colleges is conducted through a questionnaire. The analysis of the collected data covers the organizational set-up of the library, library facilities, library resources, and services and physical facilities etc. Concludes that the present situation of the college libraries in Shimoga District do not meet the prescribed norms.
Hard and soft logical information

In this paper I use the distinction between hard and soft information from the dynamic epistemic logic tradition to extend prior work on informational conceptions of logic to include non-monotonic consequence-relations. In particular, I defend the claim that at least some non-monotonic logics can be understood on the basis of soft or “belief-like” logical information, and thereby question the orthodox view that all logical information is hard, “knowledge-like”, information.