Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
The socio-economic impact of government's urban renewal initiatives: The case of Alexandra Township

I DECLARATION . III DEDICATION . IV ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS . V LIST OF ACRONYMS . VI TABLE OF CONTENTS . VII LIST OF FIGURES . IX LIST OF TABLES . IX CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION . 1 1.1 INTRODUCTION . 1 1.2 BACKGROUND TO THE RESEARCH . 4 1.3 PROBLEM STATEMENT . 5 1.4 RESEARCH OBJECTIVES . 6 1.4. 1 Research questions . 6 1.5 SIGNIFICANCE OF THE RESEARCH . 7 1.6 OUTLINE OF THE RESEARCH STUDY . 7 CHAPTER 2: LITERATURE REVIEW . 8 2.1 INTRODUCTION . 8 2.2 THE EVOLUTION OF ALEXANDRA TOWNSHIP . 9 2.3 DEFINITIONS OF URBAN RENEWAL . 10 2.4 URBAN RENEWAL RELATED CONCEPTS AND MODELS . 12 2.5 THEORETICAL CONCEPTS UNDERPINNING URBAN RENEWAL / DEVELOPMENT . 14 2.6 NEOLIBERALISM, NEO MARXISM AND URBAN RENEWAL IN SOUTH AFRICA . 20 2.7 THE IMPACT OF URBAN RENEWAL DESIGNS AND PROGRAMMES . 22 2.7. 1 Design-­‐led urban renewal . 23 2.7. 2 Transit oriented urban renewal . 23 2.7. 3 Property led urban renewal . 24 2.7. 4 Social housing-­‐led urban renewal . 25 2.7. 5 Refurbishment or Rehabilitation Led Urban Renewal . 26 2.8 URBAN RENEWAL PROJECTS INTRODUCED IN ALEXANDRA . 27 2.9 CONCLUSION . 31 CHAPTER 3: RESEARCH METHODOLOGY . 33 3.1 INTRODUCTION . 33 3.2 RESEARCH DESIGN . 33 3.3 SUITABILITY OF THE QUALITATIVE APPROACH . 34 3.4 THE RESEARCH STEPS . 36 3.4. 1 The research setting . 36 3.4. 2 The research population and sample for focus groups . 37 3.4. 3. Selection of sample . 37 3.5 DATA COLLECTION . 38 3.5. 1 Pilot study and focus groups . 39 3.5. 2 Interview guide and support questionnaire . 41 3.5. 3 Interview questions . 41 3.6 RELIABILITY AND VALIDITY . 43 3.7 DATA ANALYSIS . 43 3.8 CONCLUSION . 44
Toward Geometric Deep SLAM

We present a point tracking system powered by two deep convolutional neural networks. The first network, MagicPoint, operates on single images and extracts salient 2D points. The extracted points are "SLAM-ready" because they are by design isolated and well-distributed throughout the image. We compare this network against classical point detectors and discover a significant performance gap in the presence of image noise. As transformation estimation is more simple when the detected points are geometrically stable, we designed a second network, MagicWarp, which operates on pairs of point images (outputs of MagicPoint), and estimates the homography that relates the inputs. This transformation engine differs from traditional approaches because it does not use local point descriptors, only point locations. Both networks are trained with simple synthetic data, alleviating the requirement of expensive external camera ground truthing and advanced graphics rendering pipelines. The system is fast and lean, easily running 30+ FPS on a single CPU.
A Role for the Cytoplasmic DEAD Box Helicase Dbp21E2 in Rhodopsin Maturation and Photoreceptor Viability

Abstract: The Dbp21E2 (DEAD box protein 21E2) is a member of a family of DEAD box helicases active in RNA processing and stability. The authors used genetic mosaics to identify mutants in Dbp21E2 that affect rhodopsin biogenesis and the maintenance of photoreceptor structure. Analysis of a green fluorescent protein (GFP)-tagged Rh1 rhodopsin construct placed under control of a heat shock promoter showed that Dbp21E21 fails to efficiently transport Rh1 from the photoreceptor cell body to the rhabdomere. Retinal degeneration is not dependent on the Rh1 transport defects. The authors also showed that GFP- and red fluorescent protein (RFP)-tagged Dbp21E2 proteins are localized to discrete cytoplasmic structures that are not associated with organelles known to be active in rhodopsin transport. The molecular genetic analysis described here reveals an unexpected role for the Dbp21E2 helicase and provides an experimental system to further characterize its function.
Light-weight semantic segmentation for compound images

The eye structure of insects, which is called a compound eye, has interesting advantages. It has a large field of view, low aberrations, compact size, short image processing time, and an infinite depth of field. If we can design a compound eye camera which mimics the compound eye structure of insects, compound images with these interesting advantages can be obtained. In this paper, we consider the design of a compound camera prototype and low complexity semantic segmentation scheme for compound images. The prototype has a hemisphere shape and consists of several synchronized single-lens reflex camera modules. Images captured from camera modules are mapped to compound images using multi-view geometry to emulate a compound eye. In this way, we can simulate various configurations of compound eye structures, which is useful for developing high-level applications. After that, a low complexity semantic segmentation scheme for compound images based on a convolutional neural network is proposed. The experimental result shows that compound images are more suitable for semantic segmentation than typical RGB images.
Aristotle on the Category of Relation

Chapter 1 Preface Chapter 2 Acknowledgment Chapter 3 Part One: The Exegesis: The Critic's Charges: Introduction Aristotle's Meta-ontology Aristotle's Category Theory Aristotle's Philosophy of Language, Logic, and Science Treatment of Relation in the Corpus Chapter 4 Categories 7: Aristotle's First Account of Relatives The Four Sets of Examples The Marks of Relatives The aporia Regarding Substance Aristotle's Second Account of Relatives The Being Component The Holding Somehow Component Is L Chapter 5 Metaphysics V.15: The First Classification Scheme Numerical Relatives Functional Relatives Intentional Relatives Te Second Classification Scheme Things Relative By Their Nature Accidental Relatives Summary Chapter 6 Part Two: The Problems and Solutions: Interpreting Aristotle's Relatives: Introduction Ackrill's Interpretation of Relatives Mignucci's Interpretation of Relatives Morales's Interpretation of Relatives Disparity Between the Commentat Chapter 7 Epistemological Issues: Aristotle's Substance Argument Overview of the Knowing Definitely Criterion Ackrill's Interpretation of the Knowing Definitely Criterion Mignucci's Interpretation of the Knowing Definitely Criterion Morales's Interpretati Chapter 8 Conclusion Chapter 9 Notes Chapter 10 Bibliography Chapter 11 Index
Inside-Out Red Cell Membrane Vesicles: Preparation and Puirification

Plasma membranes purified from human red cells were Converted into small vesicleS by disruption in alkaline buffer of low ionic strength. Most of these vesicles were inside-out. The presence of divalent cations prevented this inversion. The inside-out vesicles were separatcd from right-side-out vesicles by centrifugration to equilibrium in dextran density gradients.
Thiol‐exchange in DTSSP crosslinked peptides is proportional to cysteine content and precisely controlled in crosslink detection by two‐step LC‐MALDI MSMS

The lysine‐specific crosslinker 3,3′‐dithiobis(sulfosuccinimidylpropionate) (DTSSP) is commonly used in the structural characterization of proteins by chemical crosslinking and mass spectrometry and we here describe an efficient two‐step LC‐MALDI‐TOF/TOF procedure to detect crosslinked peptides. First MS data are acquired, and the properties of isotope‐labeled DTSSP are used in data analysis to identify candidate crosslinks. MSMS data are then acquired for a restricted number of precursor ions per spot for final crosslink identification. We show that the thiol‐catalyzed exchange between crosslinked peptides, which is due to the disulfide bond in DTSSP and known to possibly obscure data, can be precisely quantified using isotope‐labeled DTSSP. Crosslinked peptides are recognized as 8 Da doublet peaks and a new isotopic peak with twice the intensity appears in the middle of the doublet as a consequence of the thiol‐exchange. False‐positive crosslinks, formed exclusively by thiol‐exchange, yield a 1:2:1 isotope pattern, whereas true crosslinks, formed by two lysine residues within crosslinkable distance in the native protein structure, yield a 1:0:1 isotope pattern. Peaks with a 1:X:1 isotope pattern, where 0 < X < 2, can be trusted as true crosslinks, with a defined proportion of the signal [2X/(2 + X)] being noise from the thiol‐exchange. The thiol‐exchange was correlated with the protein cysteine content and was minimized by shortening the trypsin incubation time, and for two molecular chaperone proteins with known structure all crosslinks fitted well to the structure data. The thiol‐exchange can thus be controlled and isotope‐labeled DTSSP safely used to detect true crosslinks between lysine residues in proteins.
A stable plasmid carrying the yeast Leu2 gene and containing only yeast deoxyribonucleic acid

The plasmid pSLe1 is a deletion derivative of the yeast-Escherichia coli hybrid plasmid pJDB219, obtained by HindIII digestion, ligation, and transformation directly into Saccharomyces cerevisiae. pSLe1 has only yeast sequences; it contains one of the inverted repeated sequences of plasmid 2muDNA and the LEU2 gene. pSLe1 is stably maintained in yeast cells without selective pressure. pSLe1 is about half as large as 2muDNA, but pSLe1 does not displace the normal 2muDNA.
Supply Chain Management: Cognitive Demand & Readiness Assessment

This thesis is based on an internship experience in JDA Software. JDA is the leading supply chain software provider. It was founded in 1985 and it is globally headquartered in Scottsdale, AZ. JDA helps companies optimize delivery to customers by enabling them to predict and shape demand, fulfill faster and more intelligently and improve customer experiences and loyalty. The scope of this thesis is to demonstrate how new technologies are affecting the Supply Chain industry and, in particular, how Machine Learning is impacting the Demand Planning process. In this thesis an analysis of Cognitive Demand solution, JDA’s reaction to this wave of changes, is performed focusing on: its definition, its weaknesses and strengths, its architecture and the ecosystem of partners involved, a market and competitors analysis and the results obtained from the Proof of Concept. A model for understanding the level of maturity of a company’s Demand Planning Process is developed. The readiness in implementing JDA Cognitive Demand solution is assessed through the “Cognitive Demand Readiness Assessment”, based on 85 questions concerning different focus areas. This tool allows companies to identify the gaps between the level of their actual process and the desired one and provides them a roadmap to fill these gaps.
Conversion of chlorobiphenyls into phenylhexadienoates and benzoates by the enzymes of the upper pathway for polychlorobiphenyl degradation encoded by the bph locus of Pseudomonas sp. strain LB400

Metabolism of 21 chlorobiphenyls by the enzymes of the upper biphenyl catabolic pathway encoded by the bph locus of Pseudomonas sp. strain LB400 was investigated by using recombinant strains harboring gene cassettes containing bphABC or bphABCD. The enzymes of the upper pathway were generally able to metabolize mono- and dichlorinated biphenyls but only partially transform most trichlorinated congeners investigated: 14 of 15 mono- and dichlorinated and 2 of 6 trichlorinated congeners were converted into benzoates. All mono- and at least 8 of 12 dichlorinated congeners were attacked by the bphA-encoded biphenyl dioxygenase virtually exclusively at ortho and meta carbons. This enzyme exhibited a high degree of selectivity for the aromatic ring to be attacked, with the order of ring preference being non- > ortho- > meta- > para-substituted for mono- and dichlorinated congeners. The influence of the chlorine substitution pattern of the metabolized ring on benzoate formation resembled its influence on the reactivity of initial dioxygenation, suggesting that the rate of benzoate formation may frequently be determined by the rate of initial attack. The absorption spectra of phenylhexadienoates formed correlated with the presence or absence of a chlorine substituent at an ortho position.
Adolescents‘ Self-Efficacy to Overcome Barriers to Physical Activity Scale

This paper describes a revised measure of self-efficacy to overcome barriers to moderate and vigorous physical activity in a sample of 484 high school students in Toronto, Ontario. The students had a mean age of 15.3 years. Principal axis factoring with oblique rotation yielded five factors: self-efficacy to overcome internal, harassment, physical environment, social environment, and responsibilities barriers. Two problematic items were removed, which resulted in a 22-item measure. Subsequent analyses were conducted on responses to this shortened measure. Confirmatory factor analysis supported the five-factor model and demonstrated age- and sexinvariance. The subscales had good internal consistency reliability. Structural regressions demonstrated a strong relationship between the resulting factors and a physical activity measure (energy expenditure), showing predictive validity.
Facile synthesis and enhanced visible-light photocatalysis of graphitic carbon nitride composite semiconductors.

The semiconductor heterojunction has been an effective architecture to enhance photocatalytic activity by promoting photogenerated charge separation. Here, graphitic carbon nitride (CN) and B-modified graphitic carbon nitride (CNB) composite semiconductors were fabricated by a facile calcination process using cheap, sustainable, and easily available sodium tetraphenylboron and urea as precursors. The synthetic CN-CNB-25 semiconductor with a suitable CNB content showed the highest visible-light activity. Its degradation ratio for methyl orange and phenol was more than twice that of CN and CNB and its H2 evolution rate was ∼3.4 and ∼1.8 times higher than that of CN and CNB, respectively. It also displayed excellent stability and reusability. The enhanced activity of CN-CNB-25 was attributed predominantly to the efficient separation of photoinduced electrons and holes. This paper describes a visible-light-responsive CN composite semiconductor with great potential in environmental and energy applications.
Contribution of engineered electrostatic interactions to the stability of cytosolic malate dehydrogenase.

Protein engineering is a promising tool to obtain stable proteins. Comparison between homologous thermophilic and mesophilic enzymes from a given structural family can reveal structural features responsible for the enhanced stability of thermophilic proteins. Structures from pig heart cytosolic and Thermus flavus malate dehydrogenases (cMDH, Tf MDH), two proteins showing a 55% sequence homology, were compared with the aim of increasing cMDH stability using features from the Thermus flavus enzyme. Three potential salt bridges from Tf MDH were selected on the basis of their location in the protein (surface R176-D200, inter-subunit E57-K168 and intrasubunit R149-E275) and implemented on cMDH using site-directed mutagenesis. Mutants containing E275 were not produced in any detectable amount, which shows that the energy penalty of introducing a charge imbalance in a region that was not exposed to solvent was too unfavourable to allow proper folding of the protein. The salt bridge R149-E275, if formed, would not enhance stability enough to overcome this effect. The remaining mutants were expressed and active and no differences from wild-type other than stability were found. Of the mutants assayed, Q57E/L168K led to a stability increase of 0.4 kcal/mol, as determined by either guanidinium chloride denaturalization or thermal inactivation experiments. This results in a 15 degrees C shift in the optimal temperature, thus confirming that the inter-subunit salt bridge initially present in the T.flavus enzyme was formed in the cMDH structure and that the extra energy obtained is transformed into an increase in protein stability. These results indicate that the use of structural features of thermophilic enzymes, revealed by a detailed comparison of three-dimensional structures, is a valid strategy to improve the stability of mesophilic malate dehydrogenases.
Adaptive Topic Follow-Up on Twitter

Twitter provides a strictly limited API that makes it difficult for a simple search using pre-defined textual patterns to provide satisfying coverage of the topic of interest. This paper discusses a tweet acquisition system, that queries Twitter API using a set of key phrases, then analyzes the retrieved tweets. In order to achieve better coverage of the searched topic, the system employs an adaptive query generation mechanism that iteratively enriches the set of textual relevant patterns based on the previously collected tweets using an explore-exploit strategy. The paper also demonstrates an application called Topic Follow-up on Twitter (TFT) that is built on top of the acquisition system and aims at linking tweets with online articles. It first extracts a set of key phrases from the submitted news article and then utilizes the acquisition and analysis components of the system. Using this application, we will show how the adaptive searching mechanism of the tweet acquisition system improves the coverage of the topic of interest. Video: http://bit.ly/2kqkikB.
Pseudoephedrine inhibits T-cell activation by targeting NF-κB, NFAT and AP-1 signaling pathways

Pseudoephedrine (PSE) is a stereoisomer of ephedrine that is commonly used as a nasal decongestant in combination with other anti-inflammatory drugs for the symptomatic treatment of some common pathologies such as common cold. Herein, we describe for the first time the effects of PSE on T-cell activation events. We found that PSE inhibits interleukin-2 (IL-2) and tumor necrosis factor (TNF) alpha-gene transcription in stimulated Jurkat cells, a human T-cell leukemia cell line. To further characterize the inhibitory mechanisms of PSE at the transcriptional level, we examined the transcriptional activities of nuclear factor kappa B (NF-κB), nuclear factor of activated T cells (NFAT), and activator protein-1 (AP-1) transcription factors and found that PSE inhibited NF-κB-dependent transcriptional activity without affecting either the phosphorylation, the degradation of the cytoplasmic NF-κB inhibitory protein, IκBα or the DNA-binding activity. However, phosphorylation of the p65/RelA subunit was clearly inhibited by PSE in stimulated cells. In addition, PSE inhibited the transcriptional activity of NFAT without interfering with the calcium-induced NFAT dephosphorylation event, which represents the major signaling pathway for its activation. NFAT cooperates with c-Jun, a compound of the AP-1 complex, to activate target genes, and we also found that PSE inhibited both JNK activation and AP-1 transcriptional activity. These findings provide new mechanistic insights into the potential immunomodulatory activities of PSE and highlight their potential in designing novel therapeutic strategies to manage inflammatory diseases.
Anti‐gravity treadmills are effective in reducing knee forces

Lower body positive pressure (LBPP) treadmills permit significant unweighting of patients and have the potential to enhance recovery following lower limb surgery. We determined the efficacy of an LBPP treadmill in reducing knee forces in vivo. Subjects, implanted with custom electronic tibial prostheses to measure forces in the knee, were tested on a treadmill housed within a LBPP chamber. Tibiofemoral forces were monitored at treadmill speeds from 1.5 mph (0.67 m/s) to 4.5 mph (2.01 m/s), treadmill incline from −10° to +10°, and four treadmill chamber pressure settings adjusted to decrease net treadmill reaction force from 100% to 25% of the subject's body weight (BW). The peak axial tibiofemoral force ranged from 5.1 times BW at a treadmill speed of 4.5 mph (2.01 m/s) and a pressure setting of 100% BW to 0.8 times BW at 1.5 mph (0.67 m/s) and a pressure setting of 25% BW. Peak knee forces were significantly correlated with walking speed and treadmill reaction force (R2 = 0.77, p = 0.04). The LBPP treadmill might be an effective tool in the rehabilitation of patients following lower‐extremity surgery. The strong correlation between tibiofemoral force and walking speed and treadmill reaction forces allows for more precisely achieving the target knee forces desired during early rehabilitation. © 2012 Orthopaedic Research Society. Published by Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Orthop Res 31: 672–679, 2013
A Loop Antenna with Parallel Wires for Circular Polarization—Its Application to Two Types of Microstrip-Line Antennas

We propose a novel loop antenna having parallel wires. The antenna is analyzed using the method of moments. It is found that when the distance between the parallel wires is appropriately chosen, the antenna radiates a circularly polarized (CP) wave. The rotational sense of the CP radiation depends on the feed location at the junction of the loop and parallel wires. On the basis of these radiation characteristics, we design two types of loop-line antennas whose radiation mechanisms are different from each other.
Effect of stretching on agonist–antagonist muscle activity and muscle force output during single and multiple joint isometric contractions

Eight moderately active male subjects where tested for peak force in an isometric knee extension test and peak force and rate of force development in an isometric squat test. Both tests where performed at a 100° knee angle and average integrated electromyography (IEMG) was measured from the vastus medialis (VM), vastus lateralis (VL) and biceps femoris (BF) muscles. Subjects performed the two conditions, stretching (S) or control (C) in a randomized order. Subjects where tested for baseline strength measures in both the isometric knee extension and isometric squat and then either stretched or sat quietly for 10 min. Following S or C subjects where then tested at six time points. Following S peak force in the isometric knee extension was significantly (P≤0.05) less than C at 1, 2, 8 and 16 min post. No significant difference in peak force was found between S and C in the isometric squat. However, following S the rate of force development in the isometric squat was significantly less than C at immediately post. No significant differences where observed in IEMG of the VM or VL between S and C in either the isometric knee extension or isometric squat. However, IEMG significantly decreased in the BF at 1 min post after S in comparison with C in both the isometric knee extension and isometric squat. Stretching appears to decrease muscle force output in a single joint isometric contraction and rate of force development in a multiple joint isometric contraction. Possible changes in agonist–antagonist muscle activity patterns need to be further examined.