Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Urban climate governance : the role of local authorities

Dit proefschrift onderzoekt de rol van lokale autoriteiten, en hun interacties met belanghebbenden, om klimaatmitigatie en -adaptatie in steden te besturen. Hiervoor is in dit proefschrift een conceptueel kader ontwikkeld dat gebaseerd is op de governance capaciteiten die lokale overheden bezitten; de wijze van sturing die zij inzetten om klimaatverandering bespreekbaar te maken en de invloed van lokale autoriteiten op verticale en horizontale actoren in een multi-level governance systeem. De belangrijkste onderzoeksvraag van deze studie is: Hoe besturen vooroplopende stedelijke autoriteiten klimaatsverandering, en hoe kunnen de effecten daarvan worden verbeterd?
Graph-Based Visual Saliency

A new bottom-up visual saliency model, Graph-Based Visual Saliency (GBVS), is proposed. It consists of two steps: first forming activation maps on certain feature channels, and then normalizing them in a way which highlights conspicuity and admits combination with other maps. The model is simple, and biologically plausible insorfar as it is naturally parallelized. This model powerfully predicts human fixations on 749 variations of 108 natural images, achieving 98% of the ROC area of a human-based control, whereas the classical algorithas of Itti & Koch ([2], [3], [4]) achieve only 84%.
Registro de imágenes de rango basado en similaridad entre regiones Range image registration by means similarity between regions

Range image registration is an intermediate step in the reconstruction of three-dimensional models process. Range sensors obtain a set of range images, and need to be registered mainly due to the partial nature of the acquisition process. We propose a rough registration method for triangular meshes based on matching regions using the Shape-Index like a topological descriptor, and the use of Earth Mover’s Distance (EMD) metrics as a measure of similarity between regions. The main advantage of this method since it is independent of the initial pre-alignment and spatial transformation, it allows obtaining an adequate registration regardless of the original position of each view.
Pathogenese und Diagnostik beim Pankreaskarzinom

Die maligne Transformation einer „gesunden“ Pankreaszelle hin zu einem invasiven Karzinom beruht nach aktuellem Kenntnisstand zumindest in einem Teil der Fälle auf einem Progressionsmodel analog der Sequenz beim Kolonkarzinom. Der Prozess geht beim duktalen Pankreaskarzinom von verschiedenen Vorläuferläsionen aus. Die wichtigsten sind die intraepithelialen Neoplasien (PanIN) sowie die intraduktalen muzinösen Neoplasien (IPMNs) und muzinös zystischen Neoplasien (MCNs).
Ageing in place(s): cases to introduce solution-focused design methodology for ageing innovation

This paper presents our reflection on a series of action research projects. The authors, a design researcher and a sociologist, conducted three collaborative research projects with three design schools with a view to engaging local people from those cities in design activities. During the projects we worked with local older volunteers in London, built relationships with local residents in a new town in Hong Kong and created interactions with a group of intellectuals within a university campus in Beijing. In this paper, we focus on one of the central questions posed in the project: How people design their own lives and how their insights can eventually become innovative services for all? How these experiences can become knowledge that will benefit design education as well as design competence? Through conducting different design activities with different actors, our aim was to sensitise people especially retirees to their valuable designing effort in their living strategies. The objective of this paper is to reflect on our continuing development in exploring the solution-focused approach to the process of design participation. We believe that design participation is not a political stance but is arrived at through methodological necessity. Our attempt was to objectify and substantiate people’s ingenuity towards their own lives/living strategies and analyse three forms of designerly ways to enable older people to co-design products-services-programmes for our future selves.
Alternative flood irrigation strategies that improve water conservation in citrus

Citrus production in Texas is concentrated in the Lower Rio Grande Valley (LRGV). This area is well known for its high quality horticultural crops due to the close proximity to the Rio Grande River and climate. The majori-ty of citrus groves are irrigated in this region using traditional flood (TFd) irrigation practices. The purpose of this study was to compare an alternative form of flood irrigation practice called border flood (BFd) that channels water faster down the tree row. In this research study, water was metered to evaluate total water applied in a replicated field study comparing TFd water use to that of BFd. The water savings results observed in this research study were very similar to on-farm demonstration investigations of water use comparing TFd and BFd irrigators. It was found that using BFd irrigation method saved about 36% of water compared to TFd irrigation practices. This amount of water savings is nearly equivalent to the amount of water saved by current growers using more expen-sive drip and microjet sprinkers systems. The results of this study suggest that citrus growers can implement mod-est changes to their cultural practices by raising berms between rows and, in turn, save water.
Functionalized Nanomaterials for Inhibiting ATP-Dependent Heat Shock Proteins in Cancer Photothermal/Photodynamic Therapy and Combination Therapy

Phototherapies induced by photoactive nanomaterials have inspired and accentuated the importance of nanomedicine in cancer therapy in recent years. During these light-activated cancer therapies, a nanoagent can produce heat and cytotoxic reactive oxygen species by absorption of light energy for photothermal therapy (PTT) and photodynamic therapy (PDT). However, PTT is limited by the self-protective nature of cells, with upregulated production of heat shock proteins (HSP) under mild hyperthermia, which also influences PDT. To reduce HSP production in cancer cells and to enhance PTT/PDT, small HSP inhibitors that can competitively bind at the ATP-binding site of an HSP could be employed. Alternatively, reducing intracellular glucose concentration can also decrease ATP production from the metabolic pathways and downregulate HSP production from glucose deprivation. Other than reversing the thermal resistance of cancer cells for mild-temperature PTT, an HSP inhibitor can also be integrated into functionalized nanomaterials to alleviate tumor hypoxia and enhance the efficacy of PDT. Furthermore, the co-delivery of a small-molecule drug for direct HSP inhibition and a chemotherapeutic drug can integrate enhanced PTT/PDT with chemotherapy (CT). On the other hand, delivering a glucose-deprivation agent like glucose oxidase (GOx) can indirectly inhibit HSP and boost the efficacy of PTT/PDT while combining these therapies with cancer starvation therapy (ST). In this review, we intend to discuss different nanomaterial-based approaches that can inhibit HSP production via ATP regulation and their uses in PTT/PDT and cancer combination therapy such as CT and ST.
Pengenalan dan Pelatihan Musik Perkusi pada Anak-Anak Kelurahan Tanalodu Kota Bajawa Kabupaten Ngada

Kegiatan pengenalan dan pelatihan musik perkusi pada anak-anak Kelurahan Tanalodu Kabupaten Ngada dalam masa pelaksanaan Kuliah Kerja Nyata, telah dilakukan dengan tujuan untuk menumbuhkan dan memperkuat musikalitas pada diri anak-anak, kepekaan dan kerja sama tim untuk menghasilkan harmonisasi dari bunyi perkusi yang dihasilkan, dan mempersiapkan anak-anak untuk terlibat membawakan acara dalam memeriahkan peringatan Hari Ulang Tahun ke 78 Kemerdekaan Republik Indonesia tingkat Kelurahan Tanalodu. Alat yang digunakan yaitu ember bekas, botol plstik bekas, jerigen bekas, kayu stick, tempurung kelapa, pianica. Bahan yaitu lagu-lagu kebangsaan Indonesia Metode yang dilakukan dalam pelaksanaan kegiatan pengabdian ini yaitu praktek dan pentas. Prakterk latihan music perkusi dilakukan bersama anak-anak setiap sore di aula Kantor Lurah Tanalodu. Hasil kegiatan yaitu anak-anak dapat memainkan alat musik perkusi sesuai dengan jenis alat yang disukai dan patuh mendengar serta mengikuti arahan. Anak-anak juga dapat mementaskan musik perkusi hasil pelatihan pada momentum memeriahkan Hari Ulang Tahun ke 78 Kemerdekaan Republik Indonesia di Aula Kantor Lurah Tanalodu kabupaten Ngada, yang disaksikan oleh orang tua dari anak-anak dan juga warga. Terdapat perubahan yang besar dan nyata pada diri anak-anak peserta pelatihan yaitu dari tidak tahu menjadi tahu dan terampil bermain musik perkusi.
Impactor Spacecraft Encounter Sequence Design for the Deep Impact Mission

On July 4, 2005, another first in space exploration was achieved. NASA’s Deep Impact spacecraft (s/c) released a small, 350 kg Impactor s/c designed to target comet Tempel 1, estimated to be 14 km x 5 km x 5 km in size at the time of release. With a closing speed of approximately 10.3 km/s, the Impactor s/c autonomously guided itself to impact and captured 40 cm resolution images, the highest resolution images ever of the surface of a cometary nucleus, just moments before the collision. The objective of the Impactor s/c was to impact in an illuminated area viewable from the Flyby s/c. This paper describes the Impactor encounter sequence design, execution and contingency planning that contributed to the successful outcome in which all objectives were met.
Targeting V-ATPase Isoform Restores Cisplatin Activity in Resistant Ovarian Cancer: Inhibition of Autophagy, Endosome Function, and ERK/MEK Pathway

Ovarian cancer (OVCA) patients often develop tolerance to standard platinum therapy that accounts for extensive treatment failures. Cisplatin resistant OVCA cells (cis-R) display enhanced survival mechanisms to cope with therapeutic stress. In these cells, increased autophagy process assists in chemoresistance by boosting the nutrient pool under stress. To improve the treatment response, both protective autophagy inhibition and its overactivation are showing efficacy in chemosensitization. Autophagy requires a tightly regulated intracellular pH. Vacuolar ATPases (V-ATPases) are proton extruding nanomotors present on cellular/vesicular membranes where they act as primary pH regulators. V-ATPase ‘a2' isoform (V0a2), the major pH sensing unit, is markedly overexpressed on the plasma membrane and the early endosomes of OVCA cells. Previously, V0a2 inhibition sensitized cis-R cells to platinum drugs by acidifying cytosolic pH that elevated DNA damage. Here, we examined how V0a2 inhibition affected endosomal function and the autophagy process as a possible factor for cisplatin sensitization. Clinically, V0a2 expression was significantly higher in tissues from drug nonresponder OVCA patients compared to treatment responders. In vitro V0a2 knockdown in cis-R cells (sh-V0a2-cisR) significantly reduced the tumor sphere-forming ability and caused complete disintegration of the spheres upon cisplatin treatment. The apoptotic capacity of sh-V0a2-cisR improved substantially with potentiation of both intrinsic and extrinsic apoptotic pathway when treated with cisplatin. Unlike the chemical V-ATPase inhibitors that acutely induce autophagy, here, the stable V0a2 inhibition dampened the protective autophagy process in sh-V0a2-cisR cells with downregulated expression of proteins beclin-1, ATG-7, and LC3B and low autophagosome numbers compared to control cis-R cells. These cells showed downregulated ERK/MEK pathway that is known to repress autophagy. Interestingly, upon cisplatin treatment of sh-V0a2-cisR, the autophagy initiation proteins (LC3B, ATG7, and Beclin 1) were found upregulated as a stress response compared to the untreated cells. However, there was a concomitant downstream autophagosome accumulation and an enhanced P62 protein levels indicating the overall block in autophagy flux. Mechanistically, V0a2 knockdown caused defects in early endosome function as the transferrin internalization was impaired. Taken together, this study provides a novel insight into the mechanism by which V-ATPase-isoform regulates autophagy that assists in chemoresistance in ovarian cancer. We conclude that V-ATPase-V0a2 is a potent target for developing an effective treatment to enhance patient survival rates in ovarian cancer.
Using Service Quality and Destination Attractiveness to Encourage Pro-Tourism Behaviour

This study aims at identifying the drivers of residents’ pro-tourism behaviours. First, it investigates the influence of service quality and destination attractiveness (DA) on attitudes towards tourism and destination image (DI). Second, it examines the impact of tourist attitudes on destination loyalty (DL) and pro-tourism behaviour. Finally, it investigates the influence of DI on destination loyalty and pro-tourism behaviour. A descriptive study is conducted using a survey of 205 Albaha residents. The findings indicate that service quality has a positive influence on the DI. Additionally, the results show that DA is positively associated with attitude towards tourism. Furthermore, they demonstrate that attitudes towards tourism have a positive relationship with pro-tourism behaviour. Finally, the empirical findings reveal that DI is positively associated with DL. This study aids in the identification of the determinants of residents’ pro-tourism behaviour by the government and organizations involved in the tourism industry. The research's conclusions will direct practitioners of tourism marketing's efforts to promote tourism activities in Saudi Arabia.
The response of the general circulation to imposed forcings

Among the most societally important trends in observations and models are poleward shifts in global circulation features. In order to investigate the magnitude and mechanisms of such circulation shifts, we explore the general circulation response to imposed forcings, using the Geophysical Fluid Dynamics Laboratories Atmospheric Model version 2.1. Present-day simulations exhibit robust poleward shifts in zonal mean circulation features, compared to a preindustrial control, as do future simulations compared to presentday. These responses vary by season, and the response to combined forcings is wellapproximated by the sum of the individual responses. Results suggest that warming sea surface temperatures are the main driver of circulation change over both hemispheres. This work also projects that the southern hemisphere jet will continue to shift poleward, albeit more slowly during the summer due to expected ozone recovery in the stratosphere. The relationship between shifts in the position of the eddy-driven jet and of the Hadley cell edge are examined. From year to year, the eddy-driven jet shifts more than the Hadley cell edge, with a ratio of approximately 1.5:1 between the two depending on season, hemisphere, and simulation. Furthermore, the mean position of the Hadley cell edge explains a substantial portion of the variability of this ratio. The author attributes this to the varying susceptibility of the Hadley cell to the influence of midlatitude eddies. Finally, the transient response to suddenly imposed forcings is examined. For both direct radiative forcings and sea surface warming, broad tropospheric and stratospheric temperature changes can be seen almost immediately. Once zonal winds near the tropopause accelerate a few days later, zonal winds and eddies respond throughout the rest of the troposphere, shifting the surface circulation. The transient changes in the Ferrel cell center and the Hadley cell edge appear simultaneous, illustrating the need for consideration of both tropical and extratropical processes in the theory for the latitude of either the Hadley cell edge or the eddy-driven jet.
Les zones marines protégées des côtes françaises de Méditerranée

Presentation de l'inventaire exhaustif de ces zones; pour chacune on precise: dates et references des textes de creation, caracteristiques geographiques, interdictions et statut administratif. Comparaison entre ces zones. Definition des caracteristiques, techniques ideales d'une reserve sous-marine; proposition d'une simplification de leurs statuts, de leur regroupement sous la tutelle d'une seule administration et d'un systeme de financement
The Role of Leader Image and Innovation on Teacher Performance by Involving Teacher Work Motivation as a Moderating Variable in Cilegon City State Elementary Schools

Kepemimpinan transaksional tidak tepat diterapkan di dunia Pendidikan yang lebih mengutamakan prestasi Pendidikan bukan atas dasar imbalan. Tujuan penelitian adalah untuk mengoptimalkan motivasi sebagai variable mediasi dan mengembangkan kinerja guru. Jenis penelitian adalah kuantitatif dengan cara menyebarkan kuesioner pada guru sekolah dasar di kota Cilegon, dan data yang terkum[pul sebanyak 155 responden. Teknik analisis data dibantu alat statistic structural equation modelling (SEM) untuk mengotimalkan hubungan antar variable, dan pengaruh langsung dan pengaruh tidak langsung. Hasil penelitian antara lain: 1) ada pengaruh yang signifikan antara citra pemimpin terhadap kinerja guru. 2) ada pengaruh yang signifikan antara Citra pemimpin terhadap motivasi guru. 3) ada pengaruh yang signifikan antara Pengaruh inovasi terhadap kinerja guru. 4) tidak ada pengaruh antara inovasi terhadap motivasi guru. 5) tidak ada pengaruh yang signifikan antara motivasi guru terhadap kinerja guru. 6) ada pengaruh mediasi motivasi antara citra pemimpin terhadap kinerja guru. 7) ada pengeruh mediasi motivasi antara inovasi dan kinerja guru. Simpulan, keberlanjutan kinerja guru dapat dikembangkan melalui peningkatan motivasi pada guru, terus berinovasi dan menjaga citra pemimpin sebagai pemimpin.
Informed Trading and the Dynamics of Client-dealer Connections in Corporate Bond Markets

Using a unique non-anonymous dataset, covering virtually all secondary market trades in the UK corporate bond market, we show that clients outperform when they trade with more dealers. The effect is stronger for informationally sensitive clients (holding CDS positions on the issuer), assets (high-yield bonds), and during informationally intensive days (macro/rating announcements). The results are consistent with clients varying the number of dealers they trade with to conceal private information. Various tests support our information-based interpretation, ruling out alternative explanations related to uninformed demand and supply. Identifying clients who simultaneously trade in government and corporate bonds reveals that the informational role of connections is larger and more persistent in the corporate bond market. Using a Kyle (1989)-type model, we show that both the degree of inter-dealer competition and the magnitude of private information could, in theory, explain the strength of the performance-connection relation. The empirical evidence supports the mechanism related to the magnitude of private information, while the inter-dealer competition channel is rejected by the data. <br>
Spatiotemporal Forecasting of Opioid-related Fatal Overdoses: Towards Best Practices for Modeling and Evaluation

To inform public health interventions, researchers have developed models to forecast opioid-related overdose mortality. However, these efforts often have limited overlap in the models and datasets employed, presenting challenges to assessing progress in this field. Furthermore, common error-based performance metrics, such as root mean squared error, are not directly suitable to assess a key modeling purpose: the identification of priority areas for public health interventions. We recommend a new intervention-aware performance metric and establish a set of baseline models with competitive performance. To show how model and metric choice vary across locations, we explore two distinct geographies: Cook County, Illinois and the state of Massachusetts. We introduce a new, intervention-aware evaluation metric: the Percentage of Best Possible Reach (%BPR). The top-performing models based on error-based metrics recommend fixed-budget interventions in areas that do not always reach the most possible overdose events. In Massachusetts the top models, as ranked by our proposed %BPR metric, could have reached 18 additional fatal overdoses per year in our 2020-2021 test period compared to models favored by error-based metrics, assuming the ability to intervene in 100 census tracts out of the 1620 in Massachusetts. We release open code and data for others to build upon.
Accuracy, Utility and Applicability of the WHOOP Wearable Monitoring Device in Health, Wellness and Performance - a systematic review

Introduction: The WHOOP wearable device is gaining popularity in clinical and performance applications with the ability to track sleep and heart rate parameters and provide feedback on recovery and strain. With the claims on potential benefits, a critical evaluation of the underlying scientific literature and the accuracy of these devices is imperative. Methods: Authors systematically reviewed studies examining the accuracy and clinical applications of the WHOOP device. Results: The WHOOP appears to have acceptable accuracy for two-stage sleep and heart rate metrics, but depending on the study, room for improvement for four-stage sleep and heart rate variability identification. There are numerous preliminary studies looking at the WHOOPs ability to track and/or influence sleep and exercise behaviours at the cohort and/or population level. The impact of athletic performance and/or objective sleep is limited based on existing studies. Discussion: The clinical application for the WHOOP, given the acceptable accuracy levels, continues to expand. Uses have included impact on sports performance, correlation with medical conditions (i.e. cognitive dysfunction), sleep and health behaviours in various populations. Limitations of existing accuracy trials include variable design and reporting metrics, while results from non-accuracy trials require further clinical validation for response rate and effect size. Conclusion: The WHOOP wearable device has acceptable accuracy for sleep and cardiac variables to be used in clinical studies where a baseline can be established and, ideally, other clinical outcomes and gold standard tools can be employed.
Effect of APOE ε4 and its modification by sociodemographic characteristics on cognitive measures in South Asians from LASI‐DAD

The ε4 allele of the apolipoprotein E (APOE) gene is the most significant genetic risk factor for dementia in nearly all human populations. However, the effects of APOE ε4 on late‐life cognitive function and its potential modification by sociodemographic factors have not been extensively studied in South Asians. We investigated the effects of APOE ε4 and its interaction with sociodemographic characteristics on cognitive measures in 2,607 South Asians from the Diagnostic Assessment of Dementia for the Longitudinal Aging Study of India (LASI‐DAD).