Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Property-Led Redevelopment in Post-Reform China: A Case Study of Xintiandi Redevelopment Project in Shanghai

ABSTRACT: Urban redevelopment in China has experienced great transformation. Government-backed redevelopment has been replaced by privately funded and property-led redevelopment. This article discerns the impetus of ongoing property-led redevelopment. A case study of the Xintiandi project in Shanghai reveals how property-led redevelopment actually works. Pro-growth coalitions between local government and developers are formed. Despite its role as capital provider, the private sector is still regulated by the government due to its negligible influence on local governance. The government controls the direction and pace of urban redevelopment through policy intervention, financial leverages, and governance of land leasing. Property-led redevelopment is driven by diverse motivations of different levels of the government, e.g. transforming urban land use functions, showing off the entrepreneurial capability of local government, and maximizing negotiated land benefits. Driven by profit seeking, some thriving urban neighborhoods are displaced by high-value property development, and suffer from uneven redevelopment.
Community-based Ecological Resistance: The Bergama Movement in Turkey

The Bergama community has resisted gold-mining activity in Turkey for more than ten years. First, the characteristics of community-based resistance movements are outlined in order to provide theoretical tools to be used in the analysis of the Bergama movement. Then are investigated how the elements of the Bergama movement, such as the perceived threat, the philosophy behind the struggle, the actors themselves, their demands, targets, strategies and tactics, are incorporated into a political project to defend and sustain the symbiotic relationship between the community and the environment. The paper also shows the ways in which the movement has expanded its geographical scale, and discusses its political and economic consequences for other local movements, capital accumulation and environmental conservation.
Utilization of healthcare services by people living with HIV/AIDS in Europe

Our objective was to compare the utilization of healthcare/support services for people with HIV infection in Europe. Between August 1996 and September 1997 self-administered anonymous questionnaires were distributed by reference HIV treatment centres and HIV support organizations. The questionnaire was completed by 1366 people living with HIV/AIDS. A small number of people had received influenza or pneumococcal vaccinations (34% and 19% respectively). Many patients did not receive dental care (48% of participants from the southern countries) and only 72% of the women had a gynaecological examination. More participants from the south reported insufficient access to healthcare/support services, particularly for nursing care (19%), psychological support (33%), nutritional advice (45%), access to support organizations (36%), and legal advice (46%). In conclusion, many people living with HIV/AIDS in Europe do not benefit from certain annual medical procedures proposed by international guidelines and consider themselves to have insufficient access to health/support services.
Aberrant Eukaryotic Translation Initiation Factor 4E-Dependent mRNA Transport Impedes Hematopoietic Differentiation and Contributes to Leukemogenesis

ABSTRACT The eukaryotic translation initiation factor 4E (eIF4E) acts as both a key translation factor and as a promoter of nucleocytoplasmic transport of specific transcripts. Traditionally, its transformation capacity in vivo is attributed to its role in translation initiation in the cytoplasm. Here, we demonstrate that elevated eIF4E impedes granulocytic and monocytic differentiation. Our subsequent mutagenesis studies indicate that this block is a result of dysregulated eIF4E-dependent mRNA transport. These studies indicate that the RNA transport function of eIF4E could contribute to leukemogenesis. We extended our studies to provide the first evidence that the nuclear transport function of eIF4E contributes to human malignancy, specifically in a subset of acute and chronic myelogenous leukemia patients. We observe an increase in eIF4E-dependent cyclin D1 mRNA transport and a concomitant increase in cyclin D1 protein levels. The aberrant nuclear function of eIF4E is due to abnormally large eIF4E bodies and the loss of regulation by the proline-rich homeodomain PRH. We developed a novel tool to modulate this transport activity. The introduction of IκB, the repressor of NF-κB, leads to suppression of eIF4E, elevation of PRH, reorganization of eIF4E nuclear bodies, and subsequent downregulation of eIF4E-dependent mRNA transport. Thus, our findings indicate that this nuclear function of eIF4E can contribute to leukemogenesis by promoting growth and by impeding differentiation.
Assessing Subsidies and Indirect Taxes in Iran: A Social Welfare Perspective

Government fiscal policy can be said to be pro-poor if it benefits the poor more than the nonpoor. This research, by using the concept of social welfare, identifies which goods and services should be subsidized or taxed to maximize social welfare. For this purpose, the concept of the elasticity of the Atkinson social welfare with respect to prices is used to derive a price reform index to assess indirect taxes and subsidies. The results of this research, conducted in Iran’s urban and rural areas during 2003–2007, indicate that increasing the price of food items hurts the poor more than the rich. Subsidizing food items (excluding beverages and tobacco) has been pro-poor while an increase in the price of items like healthcare, transportation, communication and education hurt the rich more than the poor wherein the rich benefit more from subsidies to these items than the poor. In light of these results, a review of subsidies and taxes on the above-mentioned items is warranted to reduce inequality and improve welfare.
Algorithms and representations for reinforcement learning (עם תקציר בעברית, תכן ושער נוסף: אלגוריתמים וייצוגים ללמידה מחיזוקים.; אלגוריתמים וייצוגים ללמידה מחיזוקים.)

Machine Learning is a field of research aimed at constructing intelligent machines that gain and improve their skills by learning and adaptation. As such, Machine Learning research addresses several classes of learning problems, including for instance, supervised and unsupervised learning. Arguably, the most ubiquitous and realistic class of learning problems, faced by both living creatures and artificial agents, is known as Reinforcement Learning. Reinforcement Learning problems are characterized by a long-term interaction between the learning agent and a dynamic, unfamiliar, uncertain, possibly even hostile environment. Mathematically, this interaction is modeled as a Markov Decision Process (MDP). Probably the most significant contribution of this thesis is in the introduction of a new class of Reinforcement Learning algorithms, which leverage the power of a statistical set of tools known as Gaussian Processes. This new approach to Reinforcement Learning offers viable solutions to some of the major limitations of current Reinforcement Learning methods, such as the lack of confidence intervals for performance predictions, and the difficulty of appropriately reconciling exploration with exploitation. Analysis of these algorithms and their relationship with existing methods also provides us with new insights into the assumptions underlying some of the most popular Reinforcement Learning algorithms to date.
Quality Management of University Education in Nigeria: an Appraisal

Quality management in education is about all the various organized activities that culminate in the production of a given output that conforms to set standard. It is geared towards high standards and a zero tolerance level for wastage in the educational enterprise. This paper examined quality management of University education in Nigeria. The roles of the National Universities Commission (NUC) in maintaining quality management in University Education were highlighted. The appraisal revealed that there were constraints to quality management in Nigerian Universities leading the author to recommend possible solution.
Gel‐based mass spectrometric analysis of hippocampal transmembrane proteins using high resolution LTQ Orbitrap Velos Pro

Membrane proteins (MPs) play diverse important roles for physical interactions, cell communication, molecular transport, and signal transduction. Membrane proteins comprise approximately 25∼35% of the genome in living organisms, but there are difficulties in the analysis at the protein chemical level, in particular due to low abundance and limited solubility. Sequence information on membrane proteins and their complexes would be beneficial to elucidate their function. Proteins were extracted from pooled whole mouse brains, enriched membrane fractions were prepared using either two commercially available kits or 6‐aminocaproic acid under denaturing or native conditions followed by gel‐based proteomic approaches using blue native (BN‐) and SDS‐PAGE with subsequent in‐gel digestion with several proteases, chymotrypsin, trypsin followed by nano‐LC‐ESI‐MS/MS analysis on LTQ Orbitrap Velos Pro. By combining three different extraction methods and two separation methods, 28.39% of proteins were identified as either “integral” or “anchored/integral” MPs based on UniProtKB database searches. MPs with more than six transmembrane domains (TMDs) were identified more efficiently from BN‐PAGE separation although a higher number of proteins was identified from SDS‐PAGE separation. Comparative analysis of MPs containing TMDs via gel‐based LC‐MS/MS using BN‐PAGE and SDS‐PAGE may be useful to increase the number of identified membrane proteins in brain. All MS data have been deposited in the ProteomeXchange with identifier PXD000311 (http://proteomecentral.proteomexchange.org/dataset/PXD000311).
The Effects of Different Parameterizations of Markov-Switching in a CIR Model of Bond Pricing

We examine several discrete-time versions of the Cox, Ingersoll and Ross (CIR) model for the term structure, in which the short rate is subject to discrete shifts. Our empirical analysis suggests that careful consideration of which parameters of the short-term interest rate equation that are allowed to be switched is crucial. Ignoring this issue may result in a parameterization that produces no improvement (in terms of bond pricing) relative to the standard CIR model, even when there are clear breaks in the data.
Vertical ground reaction force analysis during gait with unstable shoes

Introduction Footwear is no longer just an accessory but also a protection for the musculoskeletal system, and its most important characteristic is comfort.Objectives This study aims to identify and to analyze the vertical ground reaction force in barefoot women and women with unstable shoes.Methodology Five women aged 25 ± 4 years old and mass of 50 ± 7 kg participated in this study. An AMTI force plate was used for data acquisition. The 10 trials for each situation were considered valid where the subject approached the platform with the right foot and at the speed of 4 km/h ± 5%. The instable shoe of this study is used in the practice of physical activity.Results The results showed that the first peak force was higher for the footwear situation, about 5% and significant differences between the barefoot and footwear situation. This significant difference was in the first and second peaks force and in the time of the second peak.Conclusion The values showed that the footwear absorbs approximately 45% of the impact during gait.
Incorporating price responsiveness into environmental lifecycle assessment

Lifecycle assessment(LCA) is a technique which is becoming increasingly important in environmental and energy policy discussions. Indicators like net energy and net carbon value of an energy source which figure in these discussions rely heavily on this technique. LCA today assumes linear technologies and produces outcomes that are numbers such as how many units of energy are needed to produce say a liter of ethanol fuel from a ton of corn. But as basic economics suggests, under reasonable conditions of some substitution between ∗PhD candidate, Energy and Resources Group, University of California Berkeley, email:deepak@berkeley.edu †Professor, Department of Agriculture and Resource Economics and Member of Giannini Foundation, University of California Berkeley, email: zilber@are.berkeley.edu 1 inputs and processes in production, this ratio is not a number but a function of prices. Changes in the price of economic goods is therefore likely to change the LCA outcome. Current LCA models are able to account for these changes only through explicit modification of the factor intensities used by the model. In this paper we illustrate the sensitivity of environmental indicators to economic conditions and then introduce a framework which can be used to predict LCA outcomes as a function of economic conditions. The main benefit of this approach is that LCA is more suitable for simulation of impact a carbon tax or other policies which in one way or another ultimately alter the relative prices of commodities.
CD19 as a therapeutic target in a spontaneous autoimmune polyneuropathy

Spontaneous autoimmune polyneuropathy (SAP) in B7‐2 knock‐out non‐obese diabetic (NOD) mice is mediated by myelin protein zero (P0)‐reactive T helper type 1 (Th1) cells. In this study, we investigated the role of B cells in SAP, focusing on CD19 as a potential therapeutic target. We found that P0‐specific plasmablasts and B cells were increased in spleens of SAP mice compared to wild‐type NOD mice. Depletion of B cells and plasmablasts with anti‐CD19 monoclonal antibody (mAb) led to attenuation of disease severity when administered at 5 months of age. This was accompanied by decreased serum immunoglobulin (Ig)G and IgM levels, depletion of P0‐specific plasmablasts and B cells, down‐regulation/internalization of surface CD19 and increased frequency of CD4+ regulatory T cells in spleens. We conclude that B cells are crucial to the pathogenesis of SAP, and that CD19 is a promising B cell target for the development of disease‐modifying agents in autoimmune neuropathies.
Noninvasive ventilation in children: a review.

OBJECTIVE To assess the use of noninvasive ventilation (NIV) in children and its application in the acute and chronic setting of pediatric respiratory failure. SOURCES Search of pertinent articles within PubMed, Cochrane and Ovid MEDLINE databases from 1950 to 2007, using the keywords pediatrics, noninvasive ventilation and positive airway pressure. SUMMARY OF THE FINDINGS There is a paucity of published data on pediatric NIV. The majority of the data available are case reports or small case series, with a number of small, randomized studies reported. CONCLUSION Although the use of NIV is increasingly recognized in pediatrics, there are currently still no generally accepted guidelines for its use. In the chronic setting, its use has mainly been proven in obstructive sleep apnea and respiratory failure secondary to neuromuscular disorders. It would appear that the major challenge is ensuring compliance, and this can be enforced by patient/caregiver education, use of a suitable interface, heated humidifiers and by minimizing the side effects of NIV. In the setting of acute respiratory failure, it would appear from available data that success is usually predicted by the rapidity of response. Patients placed on NIV should be monitored closely and this mode of ventilation should be reviewed if there is a lack of response within a few hours after commencement of therapy.
Enterprising futures or dead-end jobs? Women, self employment and social exclusion.

Purpose – Since the late 1980s, much attention has been afforded to the notion of social exclusion and how governments might address this problem. One such solution has been the encouragement of self employment amongst those considered to be socially excluded with the aim of creating opportunity for individuals, generating new jobs and contributing to local economic regeneration. The purpose of this paper is to critically evaluate the relationship between entrepreneurship and social exclusion by considering the potential for benefit dependent lone mothers to enter self employment in order to escape disadvantage.Design/methodology/approach – A theoretical paper which draws upon the concepts of gender, enterprise and social exclusion which are then linked through an analysis of the possibilities which self employment may offer benefit dependent lone mothers to undertake an economically viable activity.Findings – From the arguments explored here, it would appear that self employment is limited in terms of me.
Heparin suppresses sgk, an early response gene in proliferating vascular smooth muscle cells

Vascular smooth muscle cell (VSMC) hyperplasia plays a central role in chronic and acute vascular pathology including arteriosclerosis and restenosis following vascular surgery. The glycosaminoglycans of the heparan sulfate class, including heparin, inhibit VSMC proliferation in animals and in culture. Heparin binds to high affinity sites on the cell surface, selectively modulates mitogenic signal transduction pathway(s), and rapidly alters transcription of several genes. To further explore the molecular mechanisms responsible for this growth inhibition, we have employed the differential display technique to identify heparin‐regulated genes. Here we demonstrate that heparin inhibits the expression of the early response gene sgk (serum and glucocorticoid‐regulated kinase). The expression of sgk is not inhibited by chondroitin sulfate, a nonantiproliferative glycosaminoglycan, suggesting that sgk suppression may play a functional role in the antiproliferative effect of heparin. This idea is strengthened by the finding that heparin does not inhibit sgk expression in VSMCs resistant to the antiproliferative effect of heparin or in vascular endothelial cells which are unresponsive to heparin. Expression of sgk mRNA diminishes with increasing concentrations of heparin. Finally, sgk expression is not suppressed by other growth inhibitors such as transforming growth factor‐β1 (TGF‐β1) and interferon‐β (IFN‐β), suggesting separate and distinct effects of these growth inhibitors on the mitogenic pathway. J. Cell. Physiol. 173:371–379, 1997. © 1997 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
The US stock market and the global economic crisis

The question whether the US equity market is overvalued is important from a policy perspective because a significant derating could interact adversely with the realisation of risks of recession. A simple dividend based model suggests that the market is two or three times overvalued. Allowing for stock buybacks, takeovers for cash and temporary unsustainable earnings growth leave the market overvalued by 20–30 per cent. The ‘New Economy’ view that recessions are things of the past and that technical change justifies permanently higher earnings growth is implausible. An influential argument that the traditional premium earned by equities over bonds is too high is itself theoretically special. Similarly the recent relationship between US inflation and the risk premium has not held at other times and places, while the fact that most wealth is held by middle-aged people with limited time horizons supports a larger premium. Our best guess is that the current premium is 1.7 per cent p.a. which is near the lower end of the historical range although equity investors do not appear to be prepared for lower returns in the face of the possibility of global recession in the next 12–18 months. The risk that a US market adjustment might aggravate such a recession in the US itself is a basis for reconsidering central banks' disregard of asset prices in setting monetary policy.
Global Governance and Labor Rights: Codes of Conduct and Anti-Sweatshop Struggles in Global Apparel Factories in Mexico and Guatemala

Monitoring systems have recently arisen to verify compliance with corporate codes of conduct for labor. This article places codes in the context of broader debates on global governance and argues for an empowered participatory approach to international labor standards focusing on enabling rights. Based on ethnographic research in Mexico and Guatemala on the implementation of codes in the apparel sector and their use in cross-border organizing campaigns, it explores the effect of monitoring on worker empowerment and working conditions in global factories. The analysis highlights institutional designs and political strategies capable of contributing to the protection of international labor rights.
Denitrification of Spent Regenerated Brine Using Molasses

Spent BRINE from the regeneration of exhausted resins has to be properly treated before its disposal. The heterotrophic denitrification of regenerated brine was studied in present work. Molasses which served as a carbon source has until now not been applied during brine denitrification. The nitrate and nitrite consumptions were observed according to different ratios between total organic carbon and nitrate (TOC / NO3 ratios) and the influence of NaCl was studied during batch experiments. This work ascertained that molasses is a very good source of carbon, and no addition of other nutrients is necessary. The complete nitrate removal from regenerated brine could be achieved using molasses.
Scalable Logit Gaussian Process Classification

We propose an efficient stochastic variational approach to Gaussian Process (GP) classification building on Pólya-Gamma data augmentation and inducing points, which is based on closed-form updates of natural gradients. We evaluate the algorithm on real-world datasets containing up to 11 million data points and demonstrate that it is up to two orders of magnitude faster than the state-of-the-art while being competitive in terms of prediction performance.
Role of pitch slope and duration in synthesized Mizo tones

This paper reports the results of an attempt to synthesize the lexical tones of the Mizo language. Firstly, the study reported in this paper attempts to confirm the findings of previous acoustic studies on Mizo tones. Secondly, using the parameters defined in the previous acoustic studies, the work reported in this paper synthesized Mizo tones and then confirmed the acceptability of the synthesized tones from native speakers of Mizo. The work reported in this paper confirms that (a) mean fundamental frequency (F0) alone cannot be a parameter to recognize Mizo tones; (b) mean F0 and tone slope (Fd) information integrated into synthesized Mizo tones elicit better identification and acceptance and (c) durational information is important for correct identification of rising tones in Mizo.