Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Der Wert von Marken (brand equity)

Verschiedene Prognosen weisen darauf hin, das das Markenwertkonzept zu den einflusreichsten Themen der nachsten zehn Jahre innerhalb des Marketings werden wird. Die hier prasentierte Studie untersucht, fur welche Zwecke der Markenwert verwendet werden kann, auf welche inhaltlichen Dimensionen sich der Marken wertbegriff bezieht, wie diese Dimensionen bei der Markenwertmessung in der bisherigen Forschung und Praxis operationalisiert wurden und welche Implikationen sich hieraus fur die Begriffsbildung und Markenwertmessung ergeben. Als Ergebnis zeigt sich, das die Forschung von einer einheitlichen Begriffsabgrenzung und Meskonvention fur den Markenwert noch weit entfernt ist. Sowohl bezuglich wesentlicher Definitionsbestandteile als auch hinsichtlich der Operationalisierung der Markenwertmessung konnten bei der Analyse von sechsundzwanzig in der Literatur identifizierter Mase deutliche Unterschiede festgestellt werden. Diese Unterschiede lassen eine vergleichende Befundinterpretation zwischen den in der Literatur vorgeschlagenen Masen des Markenwerts strenggenommen nicht zu. Ausgehend von der Analyse bisheriger Mesvorschlage wird ein Konzept vorgeschlagen, wie eine einheitliche Begriffsabgrenzung und Messung aussehen konnte und in welche Richtung zukunftige Forschung gehen sollte.
DEAD Box Protein DDX1 Regulates Cytoplasmic Localization of KSRP

mRNA decay mediated by the AU-rich elements (AREs) is one of the most studied post-transcriptional mechanisms and is modulated by ARE-binding proteins (ARE-BPs). To understand the regulation of K homology splicing regulatory protein (KSRP), a decay-promoting ARE-BP, we purified KSRP protein complexes and identified an RNA helicase, DDX1. We showed that down-regulation of DDX1 expression elevated cytoplasmic levels of KSRP and facilitated ARE-mediated mRNA decay. Association of KSRP with 14-3-3 proteins, that are predominately located in the cytoplasm, increased upon reduction of DDX1. We also demonstrated that KSRP associated with DDX1 or 14-3-3, but not both. These observations indicate that subcellular localization of KSRP is regulated by competing interactions with DDX1 or 14-3-3.
Games and Gaming for Interactive Digital Television

This report focuses on the possibilities of convergence regarding video games and digital television. The report consist roughly of four parts: First, there is a brief discussion about media studies on television viewing. These observations will be related to research on gaming as a form of media use. Second, the interactive digital television (iDTV) peripherals (set-top box and remote controller) will be analysed in the context of gaming. The following question will be answered: what kinds of possibilities and restrictions do set-top boxes and remote controllers have as gaming devices? The third part focuses on the question of game genres. An analysis of video game genres in relation to television gaming genres (such as game shows and quizzes) will be presented in order to answer the question: What are the generic types of games that are suitable for adapting to the iDTV platform, and the social practices associated with watching TV? The fourth part will consist of case studies of SubTV Mobile Games, where mobile phone functions as the backchannel. Finally there will be conclusions, which serve as the basis for future game concept design in the Future interaction Television (FiTV) project. Conclusions will point to the hybridity and cross-media nature of iDTV gaming.
Examining Motivation to Learn in Massive Open Online Courses

Massive open online courses (MOOCs) are web-based learning environments in which participants, worldwide, can acquire knowledge for free without any commitment or prior requirements. Recent studies examined students' dropout rates and attrition; however, little is known about learners' motivation to learn and its connotation to their cultural background. Guided by the sociocultural and social cognitive theories, this study was set to examine motivation to learn in two MOOCs: English and Arabic. Applying the exploratory case study method, data was collected via pre- and post- questionnaires and online forums. Findings indicated a cross-cultural effect of MOOC participants' motivation to learn. Our findings suggest that although MOOC participants come from different academic backgrounds, countries, and ethnicities, they are driven to learn by similar goals. Both intrinsic and extrinsic motivation, especially career motivation with high self-determination had the strongest effect on participants' commitment and engagement in both English and Arabic MOOCs.
A Framework for Privacy-Preserving Mobile Payment on Security Enhanced ARM TrustZone Platforms

Modern smartphones with the capability to be always online and equipped with data transfer interfaces such as NFC allow to take advantage of a wide variety of services and pave the way for new classes of services. Naturally, not every service will be available for free, some providers will charge money for the services provided. Usually, users are uniquely identified by the provider of a service for billing purposes and providers therefore maintain user profiles. This allows to personalize services with respect to user's interests and preferences. However, it is problematic regarding user's privacy since users disclose lots of sensitive information to the service provider. Different mobile payment solutions have been proposed to date, but privacy aspects are usually not considered at all. In this paper, we demonstrate how privacy friendly payment can be realized using a recent payment mechanisms in combination with an ARM processor platform with TrustZone enhancements. We discuss the public transport ticket domain as an example. Then we propose a platform framework that can be used for arbitrary applications requiring a privacy preserving online remote prepaid payment system suitable for micro as well as macro payments.
Outside offers and bidding costs

This paper provides a search theoretic model with endogenous job creation, and homogenous workers and firms. The model introduces bidding costs and allows the current employer to make a counteroffer with probability q when the worker receives an outside offer. In equilibrium, a higher level of ex-post competition (q) reduces the probability that an employed worker receives an outside offer. Therefore, a higher level of ex-post competition may decrease the expected income of the workers. In the extreme case when the competition is cutthroat (q = 1), no employed worker receives outside offers and each employed worker earns only the minimum wage. In contrast to existing models, our model allows for wage dispersion even if all frictions (including bidding and search costs) converge to zero simultaneously. When bidding costs are small and ex-post competition is strong, a small change in parameter values may influence the equilibrium bidding, wage distribution and job creation substantially. Consequently, it is not only the overall level of market frictions that matters, but also their structure.
Do Visual Cues Contribute to the Neural Estimate of Viewing Distance Used by the Oculomotor System?

Perceived shape and depth judgments that require knowledge of viewing distance are strongly influenced by both vergence angle and the pattern of vertical disparities across large visual fields. On the basis of this established contribution of visual cues to the neural estimate of viewing distance, we hypothesized that the oculomotor system would also make use of high-level visual cues to distance. To address this hypothesis, we investigated how compensatory eye movements during whole-body translation scale with viewing distance. Monkeys viewed large-field (85 × 68°) random-dot stereograms that were rear projected onto a fixed screen and simulated either a textured wall or pyramid at different viewing distances. In these stereograms, we independently manipulated vergence angle, horizontal and vertical disparity gradients, relative horizontal disparities, and textural cues to viewing distance. For comparison, random-dot patterns were also projected onto a moveable screen placed at different physical distances from the animal. Several cycles of left-right sinusoidal motion of the monkey at 5 Hz were interleaved with several cycles of motion in darkness, and the relationship between eye movement responses and viewing distance was quantified. As expected from previous work, the amplitude of compensatory eye movements depended strongly on vergence angle. Although visual cues to distance had a statistically significant effect on eye movements, these effects were ∼20-fold weaker than the effect of vergence angle. We conclude that sensory and motor systems do not share a common neural estimate of viewing distance and that the oculomotor system relies far less on visual cues than the perceptual system.
The Cognition Hypothesis, second language task demands, and the SSARC model of pedagogic task sequencing

This chapter first summarises the basic pedagogic claim of the Cognition Hypothesis, that the cognitive demands of tasks be sequenced from simple to complex for learners, and describes a theoretically motivated model for syllabus designers and teachers to follow in planning and implementing such task sequences. This is followed by a description of the Triadic Componential Framework of task characteristics, which makes distinctions between task complexity, task conditions, and task difficulty. Next, I discuss the extent to which individual differences in cognitive and affective factors may mediate the effects of task complexity and task conditions on learning, interaction, and language production, and I argue for the need to research the interactions between task complexity/condition and task difficulty. The chapter concludes by identifying some points of contrast between the claims of the Cognition Hypothesis and Peter Skehan`s Trade-Off Hypothesis, and the differences in their intended scope of application to pedagogy.
The Relationship of Eye Movement, Workload, and Attention on Learning in a Computer-Based Training Program

Computer-based training is a version of training that is becoming quite common. The Project Team Builder (PTB) program uses a computer simulation to help train individuals on how to correct a variety of problems faced by project managers. In this study, the use of a computer-based training program was utilized to assess learning and performance. To measure this, a Tobii T120 eye tracking system was employed to measure fixations and saccades of the participant while completing a training program. The task consisted of the completion of a project management training with assistance of the researcher, then again without assistance. It was hypothesized that performance would improve on the self-guided task after the completion of the assisted task. Results found that participants that completed the task quicker found it to be less mentally demanding. Number of fixations was found to be positively correlated with mental workload and perceived performance. This gives way to further research on computer-based training and the use of eye tracking systems for future program development.
The Design of Terra: Harnessing the Best Features of High-Level and Low-Level Languages

Applications are often written using a combination of high-level and low-level languages since it allows performance critical parts to be carefully optimized, while other parts can be written more productively. This approach is used in web development, game programming, and in build systems for applications themselves. However, most languages were not designed with interoperability in mind, resulting in glue code and duplicated features that add complexity. We propose a two-language system where both languages were designed to interoperate. Lua is used for our high-level language since it was originally designed with interoperability in mind. We create a new low-level language, Terra, that we designed to interoperate with Lua. It is embedded in Lua, and meta-programmed from it, but has a low level of abstraction suited for writing high-performance code. We discuss important design decisions ‐ compartmentalized runtimes, glue-free interoperation, and meta-programming features ‐ that enable Lua and Terra to be more powerful than the sum of their parts. 1998 ACM Subject Classification D.3. 3 Language Constructs and Features
Constitutive cycling: A general mechanism to regulate cell surface proteins

Cells can change their function by rapidly modulating the levels of certain proteins at the plasma membrane. This rapid modulation is achieved by using a specialised trafficking process called constitutive cycling. The constitutive cycling of a variety of transmembrane proteins such as receptors, channels and transporters has recently been directly demonstrated in a wide range of cell types. This regulation is thought to underlie important biological phenomena such as learning and memory, gastric acid secretion and water and blood glucose homeostasis. This review discusses the molecular mechanisms of constitutive cycling, its regulation by extracellular agents such as hormones and its misregulation in disease states. BioEssays 25:39–46, 2003. © 2002 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.
Fast convergence and linear modeling of adaptive cascaded delayed signal cancellation-PLL

Currently, delayed signal cancellation (DSC) is the most popular and widely used technology owing to its robust performance and effectiveness, however, there are time delay in transient response. This paper proposed a method to choose delay factors of cascaded delayed signal cancellation-PLL (CDSC-PLL), which fast convergence and can extract fundamental frequency positive sequence(FFPS) in diode rectifier exactly. Frequency adaptive DSC operator can well adapt the grid frequency variations, however, increases the complexity and hard to establish its transfer function. This paper established the linear function of frequency adaptive CDSC-PLL in small signal method, and design the parameters of control system. Verify the correction of the linear model by MATLAB/Simulink and experiment. Also compare the performances with original schemes. The results shown that the small signal model is correct and the system performance is preferable in chosen parameters.
Gene repair of an Usher syndrome causing mutation by zinc-finger nuclease mediated homologous recombination.

PURPOSE Human Usher syndrome (USH) is the most frequent cause of inherited deaf-blindness. It is clinically and genetically heterogeneous, assigned to three clinical types of which the most severe type is USH1. No effective treatment for the ophthalmic component of USH exists. Gene augmentation is an attractive strategy for hereditary retinal diseases. However, several USH genes, like USH1C, are expressed in various isoforms, hampering gene augmentation. As an alternative treatment strategy, we applied the zinc-finger nuclease (ZFN) technology for targeted gene repair of an USH1C, causing mutation by homologous recombination. METHODS We designed ZFNs customized for the p.R31X nonsense mutation in Ush1c. We evaluated ZFNs for DNA cleavage capability and analyzed ZFNs biocompatibilities by XTT assays. We demonstrated ZFNs mediated gene repair on genomic level by digestion assays and DNA sequencing, and on protein level by indirect immunofluorescence and Western blot analyses. RESULTS The specifically designed ZFNs did not show cytotoxic effects in a p.R31X cell line. We demonstrated that ZFN induced cleavage of their target sequence. We showed that simultaneous application of ZFN and rescue DNA induced gene repair of the disease-causing mutation on the genomic level, resulting in recovery of protein expression. CONCLUSIONS In our present study, we analyzed for the first time ZFN-activated gene repair of an USH gene. The data highlight the ability of ZFNs to induce targeted homologous recombination and mediate gene repair in USH. We provide further evidence that the ZFN technology holds great potential to recover disease-causing mutations in inherited retinal disorders.
The contribution of prosody to the identification of Persian regional accents

This paper focuses on the contribution of prosody to the identification of some Persian regional accents. In this way, we measured prosodic features including rhythm-related features and global statistics on pitch contour, energy contour and their derivatives. Then sequential forward feature selection is employed to identify the most discriminant attributes to classify speakers according to their accents. Major identified accent-specific features are related to the derivative of pitch contour. For this purpose, we have recorded a corpus containing speech from different Persian accents, including Turkish, Kordish, Tehrani, Isfahani and Mazandarani. Also to understand human ability to detect accents, a perceptual experiment has been arranged. The automatic accent classification rate using the identified best features and employing a SVM classifier is obtained and compared to human performance.
John von Neumann Institute for Computing Integrators for Quantum Dynamics : A Numerical Analyst ’ s Brief Review Christian Lubich published in Quantum Simulations of Complex Many-Body Systems : From Theory to Algorithms , Lecture Notes

c © 2002 by John von Neumann Institute for Computing Permission to make digital or hard copies of portions of this work for personal or classroom use is granted provided that the copies are not made or distributed for profit or commercial advantage and that copies bear this notice and the full citation on the first page. To copy otherwise requires prior specific permission by the publisher mentioned above.
Evolution of Adaptive Behaviour in Robots by Means of Darwinian Selection

Keywords: Digital Organisms ; Swarm-Bot ; Cooperation ; Controllers ; Environments ; Locomotion ; Navigation ; Avoidance ; Sensors ; Walking ; Evolutionary Robotics Note: communication Reference LIS-ARTICLE-2010-003doi:10.1371/journal.pbio. 1000292View record in Web of Science Record created on 2010-02-02, modified on 2017-05-10
Analysis of Failure Mechanism on Gate-Silicided and Gate-Non-Silicided, Drain/Source Silicide-blocked ESD NMOSFETs in a 65nm Bulk CMOS Technology

Electrical and SEM analysis of gate-silicided (GS) and gate-non-silicided (GNS) ESD NMOSFETs in a 65nm bulk CMOS technology show that the failure mechanism switches away from classical drain-to-source filamentation when the silicidation between the silicide-blocked drain/source and the polysilicon gate is avoided. For 2.5V thick oxide devices, drain-to-substrate junction shorting was observed, whereas, for 1.0V thin oxide devices, gate-oxide breakdown failure occurred
Pathogenesis of Newcastle Disease in Vaccinated Chickens: Pathogenicity of Isolated Virus and Vaccine Effect on Challenge of Its Virus

ABSTRACT The pathogenicity of Newcastle disease (ND) virus, isolated from ND outbreak in vaccinated chickens, was evaluated through experiments. The pathogenicity indexes (mean death time (MDT); 58 hr, intracerebral pathogenicity index (ICPI); 1.7 and intravenous pathogenicity index (IVPI); 2.51) indicated that the ND virus was velogenic. The ND virus caused lymphocytic necrosis in the spleen with fibrinous exudation and proliferation of macrophages, sinusoidal fibrin exudation in the liver, proliferation of macrophages in the lung, lymphocytic necrosis and depletion in the bursa of Fabricius, cecal tonsils and thymus, necrosis of bone marrow, tracheitis, conjunctivitis and necrosis of feather epithelial cells in specific-pathogen-free chickens. Immunohistochemically, ND virus antigens were seen in the lesions mentioned above. The ND virus could not induce the encephalitis and pancreatitis that were observed in the natural case of ND in vaccinated chickens. There was no clinical disease in vaccinated chickens after the challenge of the ND virus. In diluted ND vaccine experiments, chickens vaccinated with a high dilution of vaccine and then challenged with the ND virus showed clinical sign and mortality with pancreatic focal necrosis. Vaccine diluted with fresh tap water had no effect on protection against the challenge of the ND virus. This study suggests that improper vaccination may be involved in outbreaks of ND in vaccinated chickens.
No-Reference Quality Prediction of Distorted/Decompressed Images Using ANFIS

Assessing quality of distorted/decompressed images without reference to the original image is difficult because extracted features are not exact and complex relationship exists between image features and its visual quality. The paper aims at assessing the quality of distorted/decompressed images without any reference to the original image by developing a fuzzy inference system (FIS). Five benchmark images are decompressed with varied codebook size and divided into different regions. Several statistical features of these regions and mean opinion score (MOS) based quality of images are applied as input and output, respectively of the FIS rule generation process. The parameters of the FIS are tuned to improve accuracy in quality prediction by implementing an adaptive network based fuzzy inference system (ANFIS). The error between the computed output of the FIS (predicted quality) and the supplied target value (quality obtained under ideal conditions of decompression) is minimized using supervised learning algorithm. Quality of decompressed and various noise incorporated test images are predicted without reference to the original image producing output comparable with other no reference techniques. Results are validated with the objective and subjective image quality measures.
Sequential logic optimization for low power using input-disabling precomputation architectures

Precomputation is a recently proposed logic optimization technique which selectively disables the inputs of a logic circuit, thereby reducing switching activity and power dissipation, without changing logic functionality. In sequential precomputation, output values required in a particular clock cycle are selectively precomputed one clock cycle earlier, and the original logic circuit is "turned off" in the succeeding clock cycle. We target a general precomputation architecture for sequential logic circuits, and show that it is significantly more powerful than the architecture previously treated in the literature. The very power of this architecture makes the synthesis of precomputation logic a challenging problem. We present a method to automatically synthesize precomputation logic for this architecture. Up to 66% reduction in power dissipation is possible using the proposed architecture. For many examples, the proposed architecture result in significantly less power dissipation than previously developed methods.
A Study on Word Similarity using Context Vector Models

There is a need to measure word similarity when processing natural languages, especially when using generalization, classification, or example-based approaches. Usually, measures of similarity between two words are defined according to the distance between their semantic classes in a semantic taxonomy. The taxonomy approaches are more or less semantic-based that do not consider syntactic similarities. However, in real applications, both semantic and syntactic similarities are required and weighted differently. Word similarity based on context vectors is a mixture of syntactic and semantic similarities. In this paper, we propose using only syntactic related co-occurrences as context vectors and adopt information theoretic models to solve the problems of data sparseness and characteristic precision. The probabilistic distribution of co-occurrence context features is derived by parsing the contextual environment of each word, and all the context features are adjusted according to their IDF (inverse document frequency) values. The agglomerative clustering algorithm is applied to group similar words according to their similarity values. It turns out that words with similar syntactic categories and semantic classes are grouped together.