Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Urban participatory spaces. Participatory budgeting as a driver for the enforcement of the right to the city

Being developed in the first months of the project it does not entail field research methodologies, but relies on the literature review of scientific articles, books and case studies on the key topics of Urban Participatory Democracy, Democratic Innovation, Civic Technology and Collaborative Platforms. Its exploratory purpose is reflected in the open conclusions that postulate a new set of research hypothesis to be tested in future field research.
Tracking Climate Change Opinions from Twitter Data

The Fifth Assessment Report (AR5) of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) released in 2014 states that warming of the climate system is \unequivocal," and it is \extremely likely" that human inuence has been the dominant cause. However, public perceptions of anthropogenic climate change have varied widely, and indeed may have been signicantly inuenced by a disproportionate set of non-scientic opinion makers. While the statistics of extremes such as heat waves and heavy rainfall have been scientically attributed to climate change, such attributions are not possible for single extreme events. Nevertheless, articles in social science and climate journals, including Nature Climate Change, have suggested that exposure to extreme weather events can directly inuence opinions about climate change. Greenhouse-gas reduction policies, resilience to natural hazards, and adaptation decisions ultimately rely significantly on having adequate public support, but conducting real-time surveys of public perceptions can be dicult, expensive, and occasionally even impossible. The role of the micro-blogging site Twitter (http://twitter.com) has turned the Web into a major repository of topical comments, and hence a potential source of information for social science research. This paper attempts to understand whether Twitter data mining can complement and supplement insights about climate change perceptions, especially how such perceptions may change over time upon exposure to climate related hazards. A combination of techniques drawn from text mining, hierarchical sentiment analysis and time series methods is employed for this purpose. Future research is motivated in these areas, while potential pitfalls are discussed.
Green/red cyanobacteriochromes regulate complementary chromatic acclimation via a protochromic photocycle

Cyanobacteriochromes (CBCRs) are cyanobacterial members of the phytochrome superfamily of photosensors. Like phytochromes, CBCRs convert between two photostates by photoisomerization of a covalently bound linear tetrapyrrole (bilin) chromophore. Although phytochromes are red/far-red sensors, CBCRs exhibit diverse photocycles spanning the visible spectrum and the near-UV (330–680 nm). Two CBCR subfamilies detect near-UV to blue light (330–450 nm) via a “two-Cys photocycle” that couples bilin 15Z/15E photoisomerization with formation or elimination of a second bilin–cysteine adduct. On the other hand, mechanisms for tuning the absorption between the green and red regions of the spectrum have not been elucidated as of yet. CcaS and RcaE are members of a CBCR subfamily that regulates complementary chromatic acclimation, in which cyanobacteria optimize light-harvesting antennae in response to green or red ambient light. CcaS has been shown to undergo a green/red photocycle: reversible photoconversion between a green-absorbing 15Z state (15ZPg) and a red-absorbing 15E state (15EPr). We demonstrate that RcaE from Fremyella diplosiphon undergoes the same photocycle and exhibits light-regulated kinase activity. In both RcaE and CcaS, the bilin chromophore is deprotonated as 15ZPg but protonated as 15EPr. This change of bilin protonation state is modulated by three key residues that are conserved in green/red CBCRs. We therefore designate the photocycle of green/red CBCRs a “protochromic photocycle,” in which the dramatic change from green to red absorption is not induced by initial bilin photoisomerization but by a subsequent change in bilin protonation state.
Síntesis de información: desarrollo y evaluación de un modelo interactivo

En esta tesis se desarrolla un modelo interactivo de acceso a la informacion orientado a la tarea de "Sintesis de Informacion", definida como el proceso de extraer, organizar y relacionar entre si las piezas de informacion contenidas en un conjunto de documentos relevantes, con el fin de obtener un informe sin informe que satisfaga una necesidad de informacion compleja, En primer lugar, se realiza en esta tesis una revision del estado del arte en cuanto a tecnicas de resumen automatico, tarea que subsume a la Sintesis de Informacion. Se revisan tambien los esquemas de interaccion entre usuario y maquina en sistemas de acceso a la informacion, y metodologia de evaluacion. En segundo lugar, se desarrolla un marco de trabajo compuesto por un corpus de informes generados manualmente, ISCORPUS, y una metodologia de evaluacion, QARLA, adaptada a nuestro problema. En tercer lugar, se realiza una serie de estudios empiricos sobre el papel de los conceptos clave del asunto tratado en el informe, con vistas al desarrollo y evaluacion de un modelo interactivo. Desde el analisis de ISCORPUS, se concluye que la tarea de sintesis de Informacion, es basicamente extractiva, y presenta diferencias importante dependiendo del tipo de tema tratado. Podemos distinguir entre los asuntos que evolucionan a lo largo del tiempo, (por ejemplo, "el rol del Gobierno Espana en la guerra de Irak", y los asuntos que tratan diferentes instancias de un mismos tipo de evento por ejemplo, "campanas europeas contra el racismo". QARLA es un marco de evaluacion de sistemas de resumen desarrollado en el contexto de este trabajo. La entrada al marco consiste en un con junto de resumenes de referencia generados manualmente, un conjunto de resumenes de referencia generados automaticamente, y un conjunto de metrica de similitud. QARLA proporciona una medida para evaluar la calidad de cualquier conjunto de metricas de similitud, una medida para evaluar la calida
Quantifying the contributions of three types of information to the prediction of criminal conviction using the receiver operating characteristic

Background Quantifying the contributions that different types of information make to the accurate prediction of offending offers the prospects of improved practice and better use of resources. Aims To quantify the contributions made by three types of information – demographic data alone, demographic and criminal record and demographic, criminal record and legal class of disorder – to the prediction of criminal conviction in patients. Method All 425 patients discharged from the three special (high secure) hospitals in England and Wales over 2 years were followed for 10.5 years. The contribution of each type of information was described in terms of the area under the receiver operating characteristic curve (AUC) and the number needed to detain (NND). Results The AUC values using the three types of information were 0.66, 0.72 and 0.73 respectively. Prediction based on the full model using an optimal probability cut-off implies an NND of 2. The AUCs for serious offences were 0.67, 0.69 and 0.75 respectively. Conclusions For long-term prediction of conviction on any charge, information on legal class adds little to the accuracy of predictions made using only a patient's age, gender and criminal record. In the prediction of serious offences alone the contribution of legal class is significant.
The Role of Firm Ownership Type and Earnings Management on Auditor Choice and Audit Fee of Non-Financial Firms

In the past decade, there were cases questioning firm’s auditor choice like Enron, Tyco International, and WorldCom. Auditor choice (big 4 vs non-big 4) is a proxy of audit quality which audit fee capable to be proxy too. The research purpose is to analyze the impact of firm ownership type and earnings management to auditor choice and audit fee of nonfinancial firms listed on the Indonesia Stock Exchange (IDX). This research employed quantitative approach using binary logistic regression for auditor choice and multiple linier regression, Ordinary Least Square method for audit fee. The research sample is 609 firms for auditor choice and 566 firms for audit fee. Our findings show that firm ownership and earnings do not have significant relationship with auditor choice but have significant relationship with audit fee. State owned firm is more likely to pay lower audit fee and firm with higher earnings management will pay higher audit fee. This study examines implications which are firm ownership type only divided to 2 categories (state owned firm and non-state-owned firm), time period of this research is limited for only 3 years (2015 – 2017), and limited control variables to explain the relationship between variables. Keywords—firm ownership type; earnings management; auditor choice; audit fee of non-financial firms; Indonesian stock exchange
Statistical Study on Crash Frequency Model Using GNB Models of Freeway Sharp Horizontal Curve Based on Interactive Influence of 3 Explanatory Variables

Crash prediction of the sharp horizontal curve segment (SHCS) of a freeway is an important tool in analyzing safety of SHCSs and in building a crash prediction model (CPM). The design and crash report data of 88 SHCSs from different institutions were surveyed and three negative binomial (NB) regression models and three generalized negative binomial (GNB) regression models were built to prove that the interactive influence of explanatory variables plays an important role in fitting goodness. The study demonstrates the effective use of the GNB model in analyzing the interactive influence of explanatory variables and in predicting freeway basic segments. Traffic volume, highway horizontal radius, and curve length have been formulated as explanatory variables. Subsequently, we performed statistical analysis to determine the model parameters and conducted sensitivity analysis. Among the six models, the result of model 6, which considered interactive influence, is much better than those of the other models by fitting rules. We also compared the actual results from crashes of 88 SHCSs with those predicted by models 1, 3, and 6. Results demonstrate that model 6 is much more reasonable than models 1 and 3.
An Efficient Caching scheme to maintain consistency in Hybrid P 2 P system

The paper aims on how efficiently the performance of cache memory can be maintained in disturbed network and also in P2P networks. A Technique of distributed cache invalidation mechanism (DCIM), it is client-based cache consistency scheme is implemented on top of a previously existing architecture, namely COACS, here in COACS a special nodes cache the queries and the addresses of the nodes that store the responses to these queries. DCIM uses a pull-based algorithm that implements adaptive time to live (TTL), piggybacking, and perfecting, and provides near strong consistency capabilities. Cached data items are assigned adaptive TTL values that correspond to their update rates at the data source, where items with expired TTL values are grouped in validation requests to the data source to refresh them, whereas unexpired ones but with high request rates are perfected from the
Measuring and improving patient safety culture: still a long way to go

Patrick Waterson. Published by Ashgate Publishing Ltd. 2014. ISBN: 978-1-4094-4814-3 Patient safety culture (PSC) has become a hot topic within the healthcare safety community. PSC papers now appear by the hundreds; hospitals across the USA and Canada are mandated to survey culture; and numerous translations and validations in other countries have occurred. However, it is important to consider whether we are really gaining anything from all this surveying. PSC surveys have been compared with ‘describing the water to a drowning man’. 1 That is, although PSC surveys are instrumental in helping organisations to identify opportunities to improve safety, they typically do not inform solutions. Plus, sometimes it does feel like we are drowning in PSC surveys. PSC: Theory, Methods and Applications , edited by Patrick Waterson, examines the field of PSC and highlights the pervasive use of surveys and questionnaires in the current landscape. In contrast to other high-risk industries, healthcare researchers and practitioners seem to have embraced only a small subset of methods that could be used to measure PSC. PSC is commonly defined according to the following nuclear industry definition: “The safety culture of an organisation is the product of individual and group values, attitudes, perceptions, competencies, and patterns of behaviour that determine the commitment to, and the style and proficiency of, an organisation's health and safety management”. 2 Using this definition, which describes values, attitudes and perceptions, and competencies and patterns of behaviour, it appears the healthcare industry has only focused on measuring the first half of the definition (ie, values, attitudes and perceptions) but has neglected measurement of the second half (ie, competencies and patterns of behaviour). PSC surveys and questionnaires have been invaluable for subjectively measuring and raising awareness about PSC. However, it seems we are missing an important opportunity to objectively measure competencies and patterns of behaviour that determine PSC in healthcare. Competencies and …
Nurse engagement: Examining the role of resilience

Work engagement within nursing workforce has become an increasingly significant factor and a prerequisite for high-quality health care performance, thus influencing the success of the organization.As the nursing profession is regarded as an emotionally demanding work environment, nurses as boundary-spanners of healthcare institutions need to have greater resilience.This study aimed to explore the relationship between resilience and work engagement.The sample comprised of 305 staff nurses working in two public hospitals in Peninsular Malaysia. Statistical results using regression analysis indicated that resilience was positively related to work engagement. Nursing management should develop resilience among nurses to enhance their work engagement.
Antioxidant and antimicrobial properties of five medicinal Libyan plants extracts

Five Libyan medicinal plants Thapsia garganica, Hammada scoparia, Euphorbia serrata, Hyoscyamus albus and Retama rateam were selected to evaluate their biological activities. Their total phenolic and flavanoid contents were assessed. The antioxidant activity was estimated using 2, 2-di- phenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) as free radical scavenger. Their crude extracts showed reducing potential proportional to their concentration. The correlation coefficient (R2) between antioxidant activity and their total phenolics and flavanoids content is 0.77 and 0.98 respectively. Crude aqueous, methanolic as well as alkaloids extracts of the five plants were tested against a number of G+ve and G-ve sensitive resistant (e.g MRSA) bacteria beside some fungal species. The aqueous extracts displayed weak antibacterial activity whereas methanolic extracts were profoundly effective against both G+ve and G-ve bacteria. The extracts of E. serrata and H. scoparia were highly effective against E. coli in particular. The alkaloid-rich extracts of H. albus and H. scoparia induced remarkable bacteriostatic and fungistatic effects. The bioactive ingredients of H. scoparia, E. serrata and R. rateam extracts are shown to be potential sources of natural antioxidant and antimicrobial ingredients favoring their possible use in industrial pharmacology on large scale.
Actinobacteria from sediment samples of Arabian Sea and Bay of Bengal: Biochemical and physiological characterization

Actinobacteria isolated from the sediment samples of Arabian Sea and Bay of Bengal were used for the study. Morphological and biochemical characterization of the isolates revealed Streptomyces (76%) as the dominant genus followed by Nocardiopsis (24%). Among the carbon sources tested, the hexose sugar glucose and pentose sugar rhamnose were utilized by all the isolates and the least preferred carbon sources were sorbitol (85.22%), lactose (81.3%) and xylose (76.96%). Acid production from carbohydrates varied significantly among the isolates. Hydrolytic enzyme profile revealed that most of the marine actinomycete isolates were capable of gelatinase production (99.13%) followed by DNase (96.09%), lipase (86.96%), phosphatase (84.78%), chitinase (63.48%), pectinase (22.17%) and ligninase (15.22%) producing forms. Melanin production was exhibited by 4% of the Streptomyces isolates. The present study has unraveled the metabolic potential of marine Streptomyces and Nocardiopsis, expanding the scope for the discovery of novel metabolites of marine origin.
Reaction constraints for the pi-calculus: a language for the stochastic and spatial modeling of cell-biological processes

For cell-biological processes, it is the complex interaction of their biochemical components, affected by both stochastic and spatial considerations, that create the overall picture. Formal modeling provides a method to overcome the limits of experimental observation in the wet-lab by moving to the abstract world of the computer. The limits of the abstract world again depend on the expressiveness of the modeling language used to formally describe the system under study. In this thesis, reaction constraints for the pi-calculus are proposed as a language for the stochastic and spatial modeling of cell-biological processes. The goal is to develop a language with sufficient expressive power to model dynamic cell structures, like fusing compartments. To this end, reaction constraints are augmented with two language constructs: priority and a global imperative store, yielding two different modeling languages, including non-deterministic and stochastic semantics. By several modeling examples, e.g. of Euglena's phototaxis, and extensive expressiveness studies, e.g. an encoding of the spatial modeling language BioAmbients, including a prove of its correctness, the usefulness of reaction constraints, priority, and a global imperative store for the modeling of cell-biological processes is shown. Thereby, besides dynamic cell structures, different modeling styles, e.g. individual-based vs. population-based modeling, and different abstraction levels, as e.g. provided by reaction kinetics following the law of Mass action or the Michaelis-Menten theory, are considered.
Antecedents of Innovation Capability: The Role of Transformational Leadership and Organizational Learning

The paper aims to test the mediating role of organizational learning (OL) between transformational leadership (TL) and innovation. Based on the literature review, we developed a research model proposing that TL enhances innovation capability through its positive effects on four components of OL: Knowledge acquisition, knowledge dissemination, knowledge interpretation, and organization memory. Structural equations modeling (SEM) is applied to examine the influence of independent factors on dependent ones via data collected from 76 Chinese firms. The results indicated that aspects of OL act as the mediators between TL and innovation capability. Especially, the findings highlight the important role of TL practice to enhance OL and the knowledge dissemination’s significant impacts on innovation capability. The paper has provided theoretical and managerial initiatives on theory of leadership and innovation that might help firms identify a right pathway to promote their innovation capability aimed at adapting more effectively to the changes of business environment.
Behavioral and Physiological Significance of Minimum Resting Metabolic Rate in King Penguins

Because fasting king penguins (Aptenodytes patagonicus) need to conserve energy, it is possible that they exhibit particularly low metabolic rates during periods of rest. We investigated the behavioral and physiological aspects of periods of minimum metabolic rate in king penguins under different circumstances. Heart rate (fH) measurements were recorded to estimate rate of oxygen consumption during periods of rest. Furthermore, apparent respiratory sinus arrhythmia (RSA) was calculated from the fH data to determine probable breathing frequency in resting penguins. The most pertinent results were that minimum fH achieved (over 5 min) was higher during respirometry experiments in air than during periods ashore in the field; that minimum fH during respirometry experiments on water was similar to that while at sea; and that RSA was apparent in many of the fH traces during periods of minimum fH and provides accurate estimates of breathing rates of king penguins resting in specific situations in the field. Inferences made from the results include that king penguins do not have the capacity to reduce their metabolism to a particularly low level on land; that they can, however, achieve surprisingly low metabolic rates at sea while resting in cold water; and that during respirometry experiments king penguins are stressed to some degree, exhibiting an elevated metabolism even when resting.
Soft Landings based Design Management as a tool to enhance Sustainability : a case study of non-residential buildings in the UK

This thesis charts the rise of sustainable buildings and traces the evolution of design management from a process used in design to its current position in the construction industry in the UK. The established fact that design plays a vital role in achieving sustainability in building presents itself from different perspectives. For projects to achieve their sustainability targets, the industry must understand the issues surrounding sustainability. The industry can look to Soft Landings to be the next step in the evolution of design management. With the industry having to deal with ever stringent targets from policy makers, and the uncertainty surrounding the decision of the United Kingdom to leave the European Union, how can Soft Landings be positioned to be effective in closing the performance gap in non-residential buildings? 'Intellectual inquisitiveness' should lead us to ask how we can get the best out of the current processes. The thesis looks at the working processes of Soft Landings projects at the design stage to discover how the interactions between the design team and other team members can foster collaborative working. It also aims to develop a framework for quality communication and information flow. Using case studies and interviews with the professionals involved in the projects, the research uncovers important elements for achieving sustainability. Analysing the data using cross comparison analysis, the thesis is able to unveil the layers surrounding the design process to get the elemental issues. By recognising where the weaknesses lie in information flow, this thesis strengthens the areas where adjustments will be effective. Discovering that the key to sustainable buildings do not lie in complex technological attachments but in the basic interactions between teams. The research concludes that although the framework for Soft Landings is comprehensive and can enhance the sustainability of buildings when used in projects, it does not adequately address communication between teams especially during the design process. The teams must not only be prepared to share information, they must also be prepared for the flow of quality information. From the case studies, it is apparent that the construction companies are not fully prepared to embrace Soft Landings as proposed by the government. Instead they pick aspects that suit them as a company. This can be as a result of inadequate information and unpins the reason for this research.