Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Trends and gaps in place-making in the context of urban development and tourism

Purpose Many scholars have addressed the concept of place-making, yet there is still little formal knowledge about how major societal changes have influenced place-making. The fall of the Berlin Wall in 1989 is an earthshaking event that changed the world, with regard to geopolitics and the internationalisation of our cities and places, thus generating many urban and tourism developments. Therefore, this paper aims to analyse how the term “place-making” has been variously defined and developed as a concept since the time of the fall. Furthermore, it intends to assess whether such analysis can reveal potential competition and synergy for places between tourism and urban developments. Design/methodology/approach To address these two questions, a systematic quantitative literature review of research published between 1991 and 2016 has been used, providing a 25 years overview that reveals the current trends in the research on this topic and highlights the gaps in the existing literature. Findings Findings concerns the variety of definitions, demonstrating the complexity of place-making; four emerging topics (place-making and globalisation; participation; conflicts/challenges; and trendy strategies); and a lack of synergy between tourism and urban development regarding place-making. Research limitations/implications The major limitation to this research is the language criterion, restricted to English, thus automatically eliminating articles written in any other languages. Practical implications This paper can help key stakeholders to re-assess the place-making strategies in light of the findings. Social implications This research demonstrates the emergence of new trends in place-making that need to be addressed to fulfil societal demands and own changes. It can be used as a basis to start reflection and further development for communities and a wide variety of stakeholders. Originality/value The originality of this research resides in the 25-year overview that displays gaps and trends around place-making.
3D Garment Digitisation for Virtual Wardrobe Using a Commodity Depth Sensor

A practical garment digitisation should be efficient and robust to minimise the cost of processing a large volume of garments manufactured in every season. In addition, the quality of a texture map needs to be high to deliver a better user experience of VR/AR applications using garment models such as digital wardrobe or virtual fitting room. To address this, we propose a novel pipeline for fast, low-cost, and robust 3D garment digitisation with minimal human involvement. The proposed system is simply configured with a commodity RGB-D sensor (e.g. Kinect) and a rotating platform where a mannequin is placed to put on a target garment. Since a conventional reconstruction pipeline such as Kinect Fusion (KF) tends to fail to track the correct camera pose under fast rotation, we modelled the camera motion and fed this as a guidance of the ICP process in KF. The proposed method is also designed to produce a high-quality texture map by stitching the best views from a single rotation, and a modified shape from silhouettes algorithm has been developed to extract a garment model from a mannequin.
Superorganismality and caste differentiation as points of no return: how the major evolutionary transitions were lost in translation

More than a century ago, William Morton Wheeler proposed that social insect colonies can be regarded as superorganisms when they have morphologically differentiated reproductive and nursing castes that are analogous to the metazoan germ‐line and soma. Following the rise of sociobiology in the 1970s, Wheeler's insights were largely neglected, and we were left with multiple new superorganism concepts that are mutually inconsistent and uninformative on how superorganismality originated. These difficulties can be traced to the broadened sociobiological concept of eusociality, which denies that physical queen–worker caste differentiation is a universal hallmark of superorganismal colonies. Unlike early evolutionary naturalists and geneticists such as Weismann, Huxley, Fisher and Haldane, who set out to explain the acquisition of an unmated worker caste, the goal of sociobiology was to understand the evolution of eusociality, a broad‐brush convenience category that covers most forms of cooperative breeding. By lumping a diverse spectrum of social systems into a single category, and drawing attention away from the evolution of distinct quantifiable traits, the sociobiological tradition has impeded straightforward connections between inclusive fitness theory and the major evolutionary transitions paradigm for understanding irreversible shifts to higher organizational complexity. We evaluate the history by which these inconsistencies accumulated, develop a common‐cause approach for understanding the origins of all major transitions in eukaryote hierarchical complexity, and use Hamilton's rule to argue that they are directly comparable. We show that only Wheeler's original definition of superorganismality can be unambiguously linked to irreversible evolutionary transitions from context‐dependent reproductive altruism to unconditional differentiation of permanently unmated castes in the ants, corbiculate bees, vespine wasps and higher termites. We argue that strictly monogamous parents were a necessary, albeit not sufficient condition for all transitions to superorganismality, analogous to single‐zygote bottlenecking being a necessary but not sufficient condition for the convergent origins of complex soma across multicellular eukaryotes. We infer that conflict reduction was not a necessary condition for the origin of any of these major transitions, and conclude that controversies over the status of inclusive fitness theory primarily emanate from the arbitrarily defined sociobiological concepts of superorganismality and eusociality, not from the theory itself.
On a robust PID controller parameters optimization applied to a mass-spring system

Hinfin synthesis is often used to realize robust and high performance controllers. This synthesis allows to have full order Hinfin controller. The ability to formulate it as a convex optimization problem makes it relatively easy to solve using semi-definite programming techniques. The Hinfin controller order is often much higher than that of the plant model. However, implementing such controllers for high order systems is a rather complex task. Hence, the reduced order Hinfin controller synthesis is becoming of great interest for practical applications. Contrary to the full-order Hinfin controller synthesis case, the Hinfin optimization problem of static output feedback controllers cannot be reparameterized as a convex optimization problem. The cone complementarity linearization algorithm is used to overcome the nonconvexity problem due to the constraint on the controller order. The proposed algorithm is applied to the tuning of SISO (single-input single-output) PID (proportional plus integral plus derivative) controller parameters for the control of a mass-spring system.
Cross-Asset Information Synergy in Mutual Fund Families

Despite common wisdom that equities and bonds are segmented, the organization structure of fund families can offset frictions regarding cross-asset segmentation. We find that actively-managed equity funds and corporate bond funds linked within a mutual fund family exhibit a significant co-movement in holdings of commonly-held firms' equities and bonds. Such cross-holdings facilitate information spillover, manifesting itself in the co-movement. Synthesizing cross-asset information can predict future equity returns and create profits for fund families as well as general investors. Our findings accentuate the importance of collaboration between equity funds and bond funds within fund families.
Optimal Design of a Wide Area Measurement System for Improvement of Power Network Monitoring Using a Dynamic Multiobjective Shortest Path Algorithm

—Wide area measurement system (WAMS) usually contains three dependent infrastructures called management, measurement, and communication. For optimal operation of a power system, it is necessary to design these infrastructures suitably. In this paper, measurement and communication infrastructures in a wide area network are designed independently from a management viewpoint, considering an adequate level of system observability. In the ﬁrst step, optimal placement of measurement devices is determined using an integer linear programming (ILP) solution methodology while taking into account zero-injection bus effects. In the next step, new dynamic multiobjective shortest path (MOSP) programming is presented for the optimal design of communication infrastructure. The best architecture design is introduced in terms of optical ﬁber power ground wire (OPGW) coverage for the suggested central control bus and the number of phasor measurement units (PMUs). The applicability of the proposed model is ﬁnally examined on several IEEE standard test systems. The simulation results show better performance of the proposed method compared with other conventional methods. The numerical results reveal that applying the proposed method could not only reduce the OPGW coverage cost, the number of PMUs, and the number of communication links but could also improve the system technical indexes such as latency as subsidiary results of the optimization process.
Dopamine attenuates evoked inhibitory synaptic currents in central amygdala neurons

The central nucleus of the amygdala (CeA) plays a critical role in regulating the behavioral, autonomic and endocrine response to stress. Dopamine (DA) participates in mediating the stress response and DA release is enhanced in the CeA during stressful events. However, the electrophysiological effects of DA on CeA neurons have not yet been characterized. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to identify and characterize the effect of DA application on electrophysiological responses of CeA neurons in coronal brain sections of male Sprague–Dawley rats. We used whole‐cell patch‐clamp electrophysiological techniques to record evoked synaptic responses and to determine basic membrane properties of CeA neurons both before and after DA superfusion. DA (20–250 μm) did not significantly alter membrane conductance over the voltage range tested. However, DA significantly reduced the peak amplitude of evoked inhibitory synaptic currents in CeA neurons. Pretreatment with the D2 receptor antagonist eticlopride failed to significantly block the inhibitory effects of DA. In contrast, pretreatment with the D1 receptor antagonist SCH‐23390 significantly reduced the effects of DA on evoked inhibitory neurotransmission in these neurons. Moreover, bath superfusion of the specific D1 receptor agonist SKF‐39393, but not the D2 receptor agonist quinpirole, significantly reduced peak amplitude of evoked inhibitory synaptic events. DA reduced the frequency of miniature IPSCs without altering the amplitude, while having no effect on the amplitude of IPSCs elicited by pressure application of GABA. These results suggest that DA may modulate inhibitory synaptic transmission in CeA through D1 receptor activation primarily by a presynaptic mechanism.
Application of feature extractive algorithm to bankruptcy prediction

This study uses the feature selection algorithm proposed by Setiono and Liu (1997) to select the most relevant features for the bankruptcy prediction problem. The method uses a feedforward neural network with one hidden layer to decide which features to be removed. Our data consists of 139 matched pair of bankrupt and nonbankrupt US firms for the period 1983-1994. The results of this study indicate that the final neural network obtained with reduced number of inputs gives significantly better prediction results than the one that uses all initial features.
Start Right–Eat Right Award Scheme: Implementing Food and Nutrition Policy in Child Care Centers

The Start Right–Eat Right award scheme implemented in Western Australia has been used to provide the incentive to bring about improvement in food service in line with government policy and regulations in the child care industry. Theories of organizational change were used to identify processes and strategies to support the industry in translating policy into practice. A baseline survey of food service management practices, as well as process evaluation, informed action and identified barriers. Impact evaluation demonstrated that the award scheme could bring about improvements in the quality of food service; 80% of centers made changes to their menus as a result of participating. Two years postlaunch, 40% of centers have registered in the scheme. The diffusion of innovation theory is used to explain uptake and discuss results. The success of the scheme was based on four factors: an understanding of the industry, collaboration between the child care industry and government, supporting resources, and incentives.
Local overexpression of the myostatin propeptide increases glucose transporter expression and enhances skeletal muscle glucose disposal

Insulin resistance (IR) in skeletal muscle is a prerequisite for type 2 diabetes and is often associated with obesity. IR also develops alongside muscle atrophy in older individuals in sarcopenic obesity. The molecular defects that underpin this syndrome are not well characterized, and there is no licensed treatment. Deletion of the transforming growth factor-β family member myostatin, or sequestration of the active peptide by overexpression of the myostatin propeptide/latency-associated peptide (ProMyo) results in both muscle hypertrophy and reduced obesity and IR. We aimed to establish whether local myostatin inhibition would have a paracrine/autocrine effect to enhance glucose disposal beyond that simply generated by increased muscle mass, and the mechanisms involved. We directly injected adeno-associated virus expressing ProMyo in right tibialis cranialis/extensor digitorum longus muscles of rats and saline in left muscles and compared the effects after 17 days. Both test muscles were increased in size (by 7 and 11%) and showed increased radiolabeled 2-deoxyglucose uptake (26 and 47%) and glycogen storage (28 and 41%) per unit mass during an intraperitoneal glucose tolerance test. This was likely mediated through increased membrane protein levels of GLUT1 (19% higher) and GLUT4 (63% higher). Interestingly, phosphorylation of phosphoinositol 3-kinase signaling intermediates and AMP-activated kinase was slightly decreased, possibly because of reduced expression of insulin-like growth factor-I in these muscles. Thus, myostatin inhibition has direct effects to enhance glucose disposal in muscle beyond that expected of hypertrophy alone, and this approach may offer potential for the therapy of IR syndromes.
BACH1 Is a Specific Repressor of HMOX1 That Is Inactivated by Arsenite*

Intracellular heme is a redox active molecule that can be detrimental to cells at high concentrations or under oxidizing conditions. To prevent accumulation, the inducible enzyme heme oxygenase-1 (HMOX1) catalyzes degradation of heme. In the absence of elevated intracellular heme or oxidative stress, the basic region leucine zipper transcriptional regulator BACH1 binds HMOX1 antioxidant response elements and represses transcription. Conversely, increased intracellular heme or sulfhydryl oxidation inactivate BACH1, permitting transcriptional induction of HMOX1. Here, we investigate the effect of BACH1 inactivation on the induction of HMOX1 and as a mechanism for broader gene induction. We show that BACH1 is inactivated at low micromolar arsenite concentrations and that BACH1 inactivation is necessary and sufficient for transcriptional induction of HMOX1. Because BACH1 is thought to interact with antioxidant response element motifs, we further examined the role of BACH1 as a regulator of inducible antioxidant gene expression by assessing the global profile of gene expression following BACH1 knockdown using small interfering RNA. The loss of BACH1 function in human keratinocytes results almost exclusively in HMOX1 induction, suggesting that BACH1 may function as a rheostat regulating levels of intracellular free heme.
Nanoparticulate delivery of agents for induced elastogenesis in three‐dimensional collagenous matrices

The degradation of elastic matrix in the infrarenal aortic wall is a critical parameter underlying the formation and progression of abdominal aortic aneurysms. It is mediated by the chronic overexpression of matrix metalloprotease (MMP)‐2 and MMP‐9, leading to a progressive loss of elasticity and weakening of the aortic wall. Delivery of therapeutic agents to inhibit MMPs, while concurrently coaxing cell‐based regenerative repair of the elastic matrix represents a potential strategy for slowing or arresting abdominal aortic aneurysm growth. Previous studies have demonstrated elastogenic induction of healthy and aneurysmal aortic smooth muscle cells and inhibition of MMPs, following exogenous delivery of elastogenic factors such as transforming growth factor (TGF)‐β1, as well as MMP‐inhibitors such as doxycycline (DOX) in two‐dimensional culture. Based on these findings, and others that demonstrated elastogenic benefits of nanoparticulate delivery of these agents in two‐dimensional culture, poly(lactide‐co‐glycolide) nanoparticles were developed for localized, controlled and sustained delivery of DOX and TGF‐β1 to human aortic smooth muscle cells within a three‐dimensional gels of type I collagen, which closely simulate the arterial tissue microenvironment. DOX and TGF‐β1 released from these nanoparticles influenced elastogenic outcomes positively within the collagen constructs over 21 days of culture, which were comparable to that induced by exogenous supplementation of DOX and TGF‐β1 within the culture medium. However, this was accomplished at doses ~20‐fold lower than the exogenous dosages of the agents, illustrating that their localized, controlled and sustained delivery from nanoparticles embedded within a three‐dimensional scaffold is an efficient strategy for directed elastogenesis. Copyright © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Health-related attitudes and risk factors for sexually transmitted infections of Chinese women who have sex with women.

BACKGROUND Previous studies have shown evidence of health-related risk behaviors among women who have sex with women (WSW), such as sex with men, multiple bisexual partners, and drug use. Women who have sex with women have also been known to avoid routine physical examinations and conceal their same-sex history from physicians, which can affect their ability to receive an accurate diagnosis and treatment. No previous research has targeted women who have sex with women in China. We sought to describe women who have sex with women in China and explore risk factors for their reproductive tract infections (RTI)/sexually transmitted infections (STI). METHODS Participants were recruited through outreach in venues and online for a cross-sectional study. Data were collected using interviews and laboratory tests. RESULTS We recruited 224 women who have sex with women. In the year preceding their participation in the study, 92% (206/224) of women reported sexual relations with women. The RTI rates were: gonorrhea (15.8%), chlamydia (3.5%), syphilis (0.5%), bacterial vaginosis (14.4%), hepatitis B virus (HBV) (0.9%), hepatitis C virus (HCV) (0.5%), and candidiasis (6.9%). No HIV or herpes simplex virus (HSV) positive cases were detected. Factors associated with gonorrhea infection were non-Beijing local residency (odds ratio (OR) = 2.1, 95% confidence interval (CI): 1.2 - 3.8) and genital-genital contact (OR = 3.1, 95%CI: 1.3 - 7.2); factors associated with curable STI (excluding bacterial vaginosis, candidiasis, HBV and HCV) were non-Beijing local residency (OR = 1.9; 95%CI: 1.2 - 3.0) and bleeding during or after sex (OR = 18.1; 95%CI: 5.2 - 62.6); and the factor associated with RTI (including all the infections tested) was bleeding during or after sex (OR = 37.8, 95%CI: 11.2 - 127.4). CONCLUSIONS Behaviors that may cause RTI/STI exist among Chinese women who have sex with women. Researchers should consider these behaviors when planning corresponding prevention and interventions.
Effects of Infrastructure, Safety and Academic Qualities on Demand for Educational Tourism in Malaysia

This study explores critically major determinants of inbound educational tourism demand in Malaysia between 2002 and 2014 by employing dynamic panel system Generalised Method of Moment (GMM). The study found academic reputation as the main driving factor of educational tourism followed by economic capacity of country of origin and the quality of higher education. The findings of this study provide some insights for the policymakers to plan their promotional strategies to attract a greater number of international students to Malaysia to pursue their higher education.
Twenty years of Medicare and Medicaid: Covered populations, use of benefits, and program expenditures

Marian Gornick is Director, Division of Beneficiary Studies, in the Office of Research, Health Care Financing Administration. She has been involved in research studies relating to Medicare and Medicaid since the programs were first implemented. Jay N. Greenberg is on the faculty of the Heller Graduate School, Brandeis University. Dr. Greenberg serves as the Associate Director for Research of the school's Health Policy Center. Paul W. Eggers is Chief, Program Evaluation Branch, in the Office of Research, Health Care Financing Administration (HCFA). Dr. Eggers’ research activities involve the evaluation of the impact of HCFA programs on the beneficiaries. Allen Dobson is Director, Office of Research, Health Care Financing Administration. Dr. Dobson is responsible for directing the planning and development of the Agency's research agenda.
Enhancing the employee engagement through the organizational climate (a study of school of business and management)

Higher education is critical to economic success and long-term sustainability of Indonesia; a country in the South-East Asia region that is facing several challenges of economic growth and human capital capability, by employee engagement term. This study aims at determining the impact and the influence of the organizational climate on employee engagement. The study was from 50 educational staffs (staff, managers and school administrator) in the School of Business and Management.The employees are in the engaged state, whether they have deliver best performance, put out the best ideas, have a sincere commitment to the success of the organization and are willing to stay with the organization in the long term. The methodology used in this study is a mixed method, which to obtain more comprehensive objective analysis.The results show that organizational climate is one of the determining factors of employee engagement. Meanwhile, when it addresses partially from the eighth dimension that is in the organizational climate, there are the dimensions of rewards and punishments, risk-taking and identity of the organization that have a significant effect in creating employee engagement. Corresponding author: Dematria Pringgabayu Email addresses for corresponding author: demabayu5@gmail.com First submission received: 23rd May 2017 Revised submission received: 25th September 2017 Accepted: 20th October 2017