Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
The value increment of mass-customized products: An empirical assessment

The primary argument in favor of mass customization is the delivery of superior customer value. Using willingness-to-pay (WTP) measurements, Franke & Piller (2004) have recently shown that customers designing their own watches with design toolkits are willing to pay premiums of more than 100% (DWTP). In the course of three studies, we found that this type of value increment is not a singular occurrence but might rather be a general phenomenon, as we again found average DWTPs of more than 100% among customers designing their own cell phone covers, T-shirts, and scarves. Building on this, we discuss the sources of benefits that are likely to explain this tremendous value increment. We argue that compared to conventional standard products, a mass-customized product might render the following utilitarian and hedonic benefits: (1) First, the output might be beneficial as self-designed products offer a much closer fit between individual needs and product characteristics. In addition to this mere functional benefit, extra value might also stem from (2) the perceived uniqueness of the self-designed product. As the customer takes on the role of an active codesigner, there may also be two general 'do-it-yourself effects': (3) First, the process of designing per se is likely to allow the customer to meet hedonic or experiential needs (process benefit). (4) Customers may also be likely to value the output of self-design more highly if they take pride in having created something on their own (instead of traditionally buying something created by somebody else). This is referred to as the 'pride of authorship' effect. (author's abstract)
Monetary Concepts and Definitions

This paper examines monetary concepts and definitions. It notes that approaches to monetary analysis, and the concept of money itself, have been undergoing substantial change in many countries due in large part to recent innovation, which has affected financial markets, financial instruments, and financial institutions. As a result, many countries increasingly tend to focus on multiple creators and instruments of money as opposed to just currency and transferable demand deposits. This fact is borne out by the paper`s survey of national practices in the selection and grouping of instruments in money measures. The paper concludes that the emerging trend towards broader concepts of money implies the need for some rethinking of traditional notion of money measures.
Grey system theory in China: A bibliometrics analysis

Using the method of bibliometrics, a 1982~2006 Grey Systems database was constructed for China from National Knowledge Infrastructure(CNKI). Gather documents with Grey System contained in their titles, by analyzing the year, institution, journal, high citation frequency, theme, subject, output manner etc. Quantitative Characteristics of distribution, structure change, research topic, research hotspots are depicted. The results concern: papers upon the grey system increase linearly; the research force mainly distributes in universities; the journals of natural science and engineering are the main carriers which present the achievements of the grey system research; the grey system has spread extensively in the natural science, engineering, agro-forestry, hygiene, human society science and many other fields.
IMM-PF for increased performance for maneuvering target tracking

In this study IMM-PF (Interacting Multiple Model - Particle Filter) algorithm has been developed in order to achieve increased performance for tracking maneuvering targets. Track lost rate and gate sizes are determined as the performance criteria. The developed algorithm has been compared with standard IMM algorithm. Effects of the number of particles on the performance is analysed.
LWESP: Light-Weight Exterior Sensornet Protocol

Access to Wireless Sensor Networks (WSNs) from external applications will become a key aspect in order to successfully deploy this technology. This paper presents the Light-Weight Exterior Sensornet Protocol (LWESP), to enable the communication between applications and WSNs. This protocol is a combination of the Sensor Communication Language (SENCOMLNG) and the eXtensible Binary Enconding (XBE32). SENCOMLNG is an XML-based language. XBE32 provides an efficient encoding of the SENCOMLNG in order to reduce the bandwidth utilization and the processing cost in the WSN gateways, that in many scenarios could also be resource-restricted devices. Finally, we present a test-bed based on JAVA as well as a comparison between our proposal and other solutions showing that LWESP outperforms all the previous proposals in terms of bandwidth utilization.
Functional and psychosocial effects of pulmonary Daoyin on patients with COPD in China: study protocol of a multicenter randomized controlled trial.

BACKGROUND Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) is a major public health problem worldwide. Pulmonary rehabilitation (PR) is an established intervention for the management of patients with COPD. Exercise training is an important part of PR, and its effectiveness in patients with COPD is well established. However, alternative methods of PR training such as Daoyin have not been appropriately studied. Hence, alternative forms of exercise training that require less exercise equipment and no specific training place should be evaluated. This paper describes the study protocol of a clinical trial that aims to determine if pulmonary Daoyin training will improve the exercise capacity and psychosocial function of patients with COPD in China. METHODS AND DESIGN A multicenter, randomized, controlled trial will be conducted. A total of 464 patients meeting the inclusion criteria will be enrolled into this study with 232 patients in each of the trial group and the control group. Based on patient education, patients in the trial group will receive pulmonary Daoyin and continue with their usual therapy for three months. In the control group, patients will continue with their usual therapy. The primary outcome measures are exercise capacity assessed by the six-minute walking distance test and lung function. Secondary outcomes include dyspnea and quality of life. Measurements will be taken at baseline (month 0) and after the study period (month 3). DISCUSSION It is hypothesized that pulmonary Daoyin will have beneficial effects in improving exercise capacity and psychosocial function of patients with stable COPD, and will provide an alternative form of exercise training that is accessible for the large number of people with COPD. TRIAL REGISTRATION This trial has been registered in ClinicalTrials.gov. The identifier is NCT01482000.
Intégration d’un champ de normales en présence de discontinuités Integration of a Normal Field in the Case of Discontinuities

Résumé Nous présentons trois méthodes d’intégration d’un champ de normales pour une scène présentant des discontinui-tés. Cela nous permet d’obtenir des reconstructions 3D très satisfaisantes, sans qu’il soit nécessaire de préalable-ment segmenter la scène en plusieurs parties sans discon-tinuité. Nous validons ces trois méthodes d’intégration sur des champs de normales estimés par stéréophotométrie, technique de reconstruction 3D qui utilise plusieurs pho-tographies d’une scène prises sous différents éclairages.
More on the No-dp Analysis of Article-less Languages

The goal of this reply is to address the arguments against the no-DP analysis of Bošk-oviƒ (2005), according to which languages without articles do not project DP (see also Boškoviƒ 2008), given in Pereltsvaig (2007). 2 The latter work erroneously attributes several properties to the no-DP analysis; it also incorrectly cites Boškoviƒ (2005), attributing a statement made regarding English to a statement regarding article-less languages. 1. On the structural position of adjectives First, contrary to what is claimed by Pereltsvaig, the no-DP analysis does not require positing a difference in the structural placement of adjectives in DP and NP languages.
Examples of Irreducible Automorphisms of Handlebodies

Automorphisms of handlebodies arise naturally in the a classiflcation of automorphisms of three-manifolds. Among automorphisms of handlebodies, there are certain automorphisms called irreducible (or generic), which are analogues of pseudo-Anosov automorphisms of surfaces. We develop a method for constructing a certain range of examples of such automorphisms.
Gemcitabine enhances rituximab‐mediated complement‐dependent cytotoxicity to B cell lymphoma by CD20 upregulation

Although rituximab, a chimeric monoclonal antibody that specifically binds to CD20, has significantly improved the prognosis for diffuse large B cell lymphoma (DLBCL), one‐third of DLBCL patients demonstrate resistance to rituximab or relapse after rituximab treatment. Thus, a novel approach to rituximab‐based treatment is likely to be required to improve the efficacy of DLBCL treatment. As complement dependent cytotoxicity (CDC) is a key mechanism mediating rituximab's tumoricidal activity, rituximab binding to CD20 on tumor cells is a critical factor for effective rituximab‐based treatments against DLBCL. We found that gemcitabine (GEM), but not lenalidomide (LEN) or azacitidine (AZA), can upregulate CD20 expression in TK and KML‐1 cells, two human DLBCL cell lines. Treatment of TK and KML‐1 cells with GEM enhanced CD20 expression at both the mRNA and protein levels. CD20 upregulation by GEM treatment was accompanied by increased rituximab binding to CD20. In TK cells, GEM treatment synergistically increased rituximab‐mediated CDC activity in a dose‐dependent manner. In KML cells, GEM treatment also induced upregulation of complement regulatory proteins, possibly leading to resistance to CDC. Treatment with LEN, a drug that did not upregulate CD20, did not enhance rituximab‐mediated CDC activity. GEM treatment activated nuclear factor‐kappa B (NF‐kB) signaling in these cells. Furthermore, a specific inhibitor to NF‐kB suppressed GEM‐induced CD20 upregulation, indicating that GEM‐induced NF‐kB activation is closely associated with CD20 upregulation. These results suggest that when used in combination, GEM might enhance the antitumor efficacy of rituximab against DLBCL due to its unique ability to upregulate CD20.
Does Nonprofit Status Signal Quality?

A popular theory for why firms take nonprofit status is that it is a signal of quality. This paper offers a simple, empirical test of this theory. If nonprofit status signals quality, surely nonprofit firms would want to ensure that consumers are aware of this. A natural way for firms to do this is to indicate their nonprofit status in their advertising. Taking this cue, we conducted a survey of over 2,800 firms in the hospital, nursing home, or child care industries in order to determine whether nonprofit firms communicate their status to consumers on their Web sites or yellow pages listings. We find that fewer than 7.5 percent of nonprofit firms signal their status in yellow pages listings, only 25 percent do so on their home pages, and 30 percent do so on their about‐us pages. Indeed, over 35 percent never signal their nonprofit status on their Web sites. Our evidence does not support the hypothesis that nonprofit status is a signal of quality.
UnderstAID, an ICT Platform to Help Informal Caregivers of People with Dementia: A Pilot Randomized Controlled Study

Information and communications technology (ICT) could support ambient assisted living (AAL) based interventions to provide support to informal caregivers of people with dementia, especially when they need to cope with their feelings of overburden or isolation. An e-learning platform (understAID application) was tested by informal caregivers from Denmark, Poland, and Spain to explore the technical and the pedagogical specifications, as well as evaluating the impact of its use on the psychological status of the participants. 61 informal caregivers completed the study taking part in the experimental (n = 30) or control (n = 31) groups. 33.3% of the caregivers were satisfied with the application and around 50% of the participants assessed it as technically and pedagogically acceptable. After using understAID the caregivers in the experimental group significantly decreased their depressive symptomatology according to the Center for Epidemiologic Studies Depression scale, but a possible benefit on their feelings of competence and satisfaction with the caring experience was also observed. The low scores obtained for satisfaction were highlighting issues that need to be modified to meet the informal caregivers' needs in national, social, and cultural context. Some possible biases are also considered and discussed to be taken into account in future improvements of understAID application.
Extended Si ˆ 311 ‰ defects

We perform total-energy calculations based on the tight-binding Hamiltonian scheme ~i! to study the structural properties and energetics of the extended $311% defects depending upon their dimensions and interstitial concentrations and ~ii ! to find possible mechanisms of interstitial capture by and release from the $311% defects. The generalized orbital-based linear-scaling method implemented on the Cray T3D is used for supercell calculations of large-scale systems containing more than 1000 Si atoms. We investigate the $311% defects systematically from few-interstitial clusters to planar defects. For a given defect configuration, constanttemperature molecular-dynamics simulations are performed at 300–600 K for about 1 psec to avoid trapping in the local minima of the atomic structures with small energy barriers. We find that interstitial chain structures along the^011& direction are stable interstitial defects with respect to isolated interstitials. The interstitial chains provide basic building blocks of the extended $311% defects, i.e., the extended $311% defects are formed by condensation of the interstitial chains side by side in the ^233& direction. We find that successive rotations of pairs of atoms in the$011% plane are mechanisms with a relatively small energy barrier for propagation of interstitial chains. These mechanisms, together with the interstitial chain structure, can explain the growth of the $311% defects and related structures such as V-shape bend structures and atomic steps observed in transmission electron microscopy images. @S0163-1829 ~97! 03123-8#
Kinase Phosphatase-1 in Airway Smooth via Mitogen-Activated a Oncogene Protein-Corticosteroid Inhibition of Growth-Related

Expression of the inﬂammatory chemokine, growth-related oncogene protein- (cid:1) (GRO- (cid:1) ), from airway smooth muscle cells (ASMC) is regulated by pathways involving NF- (cid:2) B and MAPK activation. We determined the effects of dexamethasone on GRO- (cid:1) induced by IL-1 (cid:3) or TNF- (cid:1) with respect to the role of MAPK pathways and of MAPK phosphatase-1 (MKP-1). Human ASMC were studied in primary culture at conﬂuence. Dexamethasone (10 (cid:4) 8 –10 (cid:4) 5 M) partially inhibited GRO- (cid:1) expression and release induced by IL-1 (cid:3) and TNF- (cid:1) ; this was associated with an inhibition of JNK, but not of p38 or ERK phosphorylation. Together with IL-1 (cid:3) or TNF- (cid:1) , dexamethasone rapidly induced mRNA and protein expression of MKP-1, which dephosphorylates MAPKs. Using MKP-1 small interfering RNA (siRNA) to block the expression of IL-1 (cid:3) - and dexamethasone-induced MKP-1 by 50%, JNK phosphorylation was doubled. The inhibitory effect of dexamethasone on GRO- (cid:1) release was partially reversed in ASMC treated with MKP-1 siRNA compared with those treated with scrambled siRNA. In contrast, overexpression of MKP-1 led to a reduction in IL-1 (cid:3) -induced release of GRO- (cid:1) , but the inhibitory effects of dexamethasone were preserved. Nuclear translocation of the glucocorticoid receptor was increased in ASMC exposed to dexamethasone and IL-1 (cid:3) . Using chromatin immunoprecipitation assay, glucocorticoid receptor binding to the MKP-1 promoter was increased by IL-1 (cid:3) and dexamethasone compared with either alone. Glucocorticoids and IL-1 (cid:3) or TNF- (cid:1) modulate GRO- (cid:1) release partly through the inhibition of JNK pathway, resulting from an up-regulation of MKP-1 expression. The Journal of Immunology, 2007, 178: 7366–7375.
Novel Fixed-Effort Sphere Decoder with Application to Indoor MIMO Channels

Multiple Input Multiple Output (MIMO) transmission systems promise higher data rates and better reliability for a given signal to noise ratio and a fixed bandwidth. To exploit the potentials of the MIMO technology, one of the main challenges lies in the implementation of an efficient MIMO detector requiring low effort for the separation of the spatially multiplexed data streams. We propose in this work a fixed-effort data detection strategy able to achieve a near maximum likelihood (ML) performance with a significantly reduced complexity. Based on an intelligent candidate selection strategy the proposed MIMO decoder outperforms some common fixed-effort detectors, and results in an efficient exploitation of the hardware resources. The performance of the MIMO decoder is evaluated by means of field trials performed in an indoor office scenario where the Line-of-Sight (LOS) is usually present. The dependency of the measured capacity and mutual information on the chosen geometrical setup of the transmit and receive antenna arrays, which essentially determines the channel eigenvalue profile, is investigated.
The Budgeted Transportation Problem

Consider a transportation problem with sets of sources and sinks. There are profits and prices on the edges. The goal is to maximize the profit while meeting the following constraints; the total flow going out of a source must not exceed its capacity and the total price of the incoming flow on a sink must not exceed its budget. This problem is closely related to the generalized flow problem. We propose an auction based primal dual approximation algorithm to solve the problem. The complexity is $O(\epsilon^{-1}(n^2+ n\log{m})m\log U)$ where $n$ is the number of sources, $m$ is the number of sinks, $U$ is the ratio of the maximum profit/price to the minimum profit/price. We also show how to generalize the scheme to solve a more general version of the problem, where there are edge capacities and/or the profit function is concave and piece-wise linear. The complexity of the algorithm depends on the number of linear segments, termed ${\cal L}$, of the profit function.
Toll-Like Receptor 2 Mediates In Vivo Pro- and Anti-inflammatory Effects of Mycobacterium Tuberculosis and Modulates Autoimmune Encephalomyelitis

Mycobacteria display pro- and anti-inflammatory effects in human and experimental pathology. We show here that both effects are mediated by Toll-like receptor 2 (Tlr2), by exploiting a previously characterized Tlr2 variant (Met82Ile). Tlr2 82ile promoted self-specific proinflammatory polarization as well as expansion of ag-specific FoxP3+ Tregs, while Tlr2 82met impairs the expansion of Tregs and reduces the production of IFN-γ and IL-17 proinflammatory cytokines. Preferential dimerization with Tlr1 or Tlr6 could not explain these differences. In silico, we showed that Tlr2 variant Met82Ile modified the binding pocket for peptidoglycans and participated directly to a putative binding pocket for sugars and cadherins. The distinct pro- and anti-inflammatory actions impacted severity, extent of remission, and distribution of the lesions within the central nervous system of experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis. Thus, Tlr2 has a janus function in vivo as mediator of the role of bacterial products in balancing pro- and anti-inflammatory immune responses.
Management information system of biological specimens for Entry-Exit Inspection and Quarantine

Nowadays, alien species have become a threat to human existence and social sustainable development. An effective way to prevent them from spreading is Inspection and Quarantine. Focusing on this subject, we design and implement a digital integrated service platform which serves the Inspection and Quarantine Bureau. Based upon the web services, the system realizes information exchange and sharing of biological specimens. Through using the platform, the staff can retrieve the detailed information of biological specimens in various ways, and meanwhile solve the problems encountered in practice easily, accurately and timely. Moreover, the staff, through adopting the platform, can instantaneously communicate with remote experts, and get the results immediately, which realize the sharing of talent.
Improved decoding of analog modulo block codes for noise mitigation

A drawback of digital transmission of analog signals is the unavoidable quantization error which leads to a limited quality even for good channel conditions. This saturation can be avoided by using analog transmission systems with discrete-time and quasi-continuous-amplitude encoding and decoding, e.g., Analog Modulo Block codes (AMB codes). The AMB code vectors are produced by multiplying a real-valued information vector with a real-valued generator matrix using a modulo arithmetic. Here, algorithms for improving the decoding performance are presented. The Lattice Maximum Likelihood (LML) decoder, a variant of the Discrete Maximum Likelihood (DML) decoder, is derived and analyzed. It refines the Zero Forcing (ZF) result if necessary, thus achieving near-ML signal quality with a reduced decoding complexity. A reduced complexity is essential for decoding high-dimensional code words. Additionally, pre- and post-processing methods are presented and analyzed, which increase the signal-to-distortion ratio (SDR) of the received symbols.
Real-Time Hand-Tracking as a User Input Device

Traditional motion-capture systems have found widespread use in content creation in the entertainment industry. However, their use as real-time user-input devices has been limited by their expense. In this thesis work, we propose an easy-to-use and inexpensive system that facilitates 3-D articulated user-input using the hands, enabling new user-interfaces and applications. Our system optically tracks an ordinary cloth glove that is imprinted with a custom pattern. Observing a custom pattern simpliﬁes the pose estimation problem, allowing us to eschew computationally demanding inference algorithms in favor of a simple and fast nearest-neighbor approach. We investigate optimal design of the cloth pattern as well as possible applications for our system.
Talking Numbers: Central Bank Communications on Monetary Policy and Financial Stability ⁄

During the last two decades, central banks have increasingly provided quantitative information about monetary policymaking, including their primary objective, macroeconomic prospects and to a lesser extent the decision-making process. Nevertheless, the recent financial turmoil shows there is room for improvement by concentrating more on conveying uncertainty and incorporating higher moments. This is illustrated by assessing measures of central bank credibility, with a special focus on the European Central Bank (ECB). It is shown that ECB credibility was at a historic low at the height of the financial crisis. More recently, the ECB appears to have conducted monetary policy by stealth through liquidity operations and its main policy rate no longer provides an appropriate measure of the monetary policy stance. Some other challenges related to financial stability are discussed, including the issue that communications may be harmful ex post but beneficial ex ante. As a result, it is important that central banks commit to regular information releases.
Performance Characteristics of Convex Strategies

The returns of certain strategies are notoriously positively or negatively convex with respect to changes in the broad market. The ability to measure this second order risk is paramount when creating portfolios of strategies or managers. I revisit the landmark work on market timing by Treynor and Mazuy (1966) to detect second order exposures to market returns. In addition, I find a relationship between return convexity and the alpha generated by that strategy.