Patterns of Stationary Activities in the Elevated Pedestrian Networks of High-Density Asian Cities: The case of Mong Kok, Hong Kong

Urban areas are increasingly failing to provide citizens with adequate and quality public open spaces. In this regard, Hong Kong characterises an extreme condition with 2.7-2.8 m2 of open space per capita. The burden of this scarcity falls most heavily on economically disadvantaged social groups, such as migrant domestic workers. In this context, grade separation pedestrian systems that were originally designed for mobility purposes, can provide space for sociability-oriented stationary uses. This study finds that the density of stationary activities in a typical elevated pedestrian network is as high as 1.2 person/m2.Keywords: Skywalk; Behavioural mapping; Stationary uses; Hong KongeISSN: 2398-4287 © 2019. The Authors. Published for AMER ABRA cE-Bs by e-International Publishing House, Ltd., UK. This is an open-access article under the CC BYNC-ND license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/). Peer–review under responsibility of AMER (Association of Malaysian Environment-Behaviour Researchers), ABRA (Association of Behavioural Researchers on Asians) and cE-Bs (Centre for Environment-Behaviour Studies), Faculty of Architecture, Planning & Surveying, Universiti Teknologi MARA, Malaysia.DOI: https://doi.org/10.21834/e-bpj.v4i12.190

The Patterns of Stationary Activities during COVID-19 Distancing Relaxation: The elevated pedestrian network of Mong Kok, Hong Kong

COVID-19 is expected to impact the low-income groups' use of public space and related quality of life beyond the current pandemic outbreak. To what extent may the current pandemic affect the use of public space once some restrictions will be lifted? This study focuses on the migrant domestic workers’ spatio-temporal changes in the patterns of public space use during social distancing relaxation period in Hong Kong. The findings highlight increase of individual leisure activities, decrease of density around informal food-production and of gathering group, comparatively to the pre-pandemic situation. Keywords: Covid-19, public space, migrant domestic workers, behavioural mapping eISSN: 2398-4287© 2020. The Authors. Published for AMER ABRA cE-Bs by e-International Publishing House, Ltd., UK. This is an open access article under the CC BYNC-ND license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/). Peer–review under responsibility of AMER (Association of Malaysian Environment-Behaviour Researchers), ABRA (Association of Behavioural Researchers on Asians) and cE-Bs (Centre for Environment-Behaviour Studies), Faculty of Architecture, Planning & Surveying, Universiti Teknologi MARA, Malaysia. DOI: https://doi.org/10.21834/ebpj.v5i15.246

Γ-Convergence of free discontinuity problems

We study the Γ-convergence of sequences of free-discontinuity functionals depending on vector-valued functions u which can be discontinuous across hypersurfaces whose shape and location are not known a priori. The main novelty of our result is that we work under very general assumptions on the integrands which, in particular, are not required to be periodic in the space variable. Further, we consider the case of surface integrands which are not bounded from below by the amplitude of the jump of u. We obtain three main results: compactness with respect to Γ-convergence, representation of the Γ-limit in an integral form and identification of its integrands, and homogenisation formulas without periodicity assumptions. In particular, the classical case of periodic homogenisation follows as a by-product of our analysis. Moreover, our result covers also the case of stochastic homogenisation, as we will show in a forthcoming paper

Beta-agonist stimulation ameliorates the phenotype of spinal and bulbar muscular atrophy mice and patient-derived myotubes

Spinal and bulbar muscular atrophy (SBMA) is a neuromuscular disease characterized by the loss of lower motor neurons. SBMA is caused by expansions of a polyglutamine tract in the gene coding for androgen receptor (AR). Expression of polyglutamine-expanded AR causes damage to motor neurons and skeletal muscle cells. Here we investigated the effect of β-agonist stimulation in SBMA myotube cells derived from mice and patients, and in knock-in mice. We show that treatment of myotubes expressing polyglutamine-expanded AR with the β-agonist clenbuterol increases their size. Clenbuterol activated the phosphatidylinositol-3-kinase (PI3K)/Akt/mechanistic target of rapamycin (mTOR) pathway and decreased the accumulation of polyglutamine-expanded AR. Treatment of SBMA knock-in mice with clenbuterol, which was started at disease onset, ameliorated motor function and extended survival. Clenbuterol improved muscle pathology, attenuated the glycolytic-to-oxidative metabolic alterations occurring in SBMA muscles and induced hypertrophy of both glycolytic and oxidative fibers. These results indicate that β-agonist stimulation is a novel therapeutic strategy for SBMA

Pedestrian access to transit in evolution: unfolding the spatialization of rapid-transit planning

This article retraces the impact of evolving hegemonic rapid transit planning and design strategies on pedestrian integration between stations and neighbourhoods, using Hong Kong as a longitudinal case. Mixed-methods research, triangulating documentary analysis, spatial analysis, and in-depth interviews, identified six typologies across three historical phases. The findings demonstrate that pedestrian access to transit is spatially heterogeneous, shaping the evolution of the station area from a connecting structure into an interconnecting infrastructure. Unfolding the historical interplay of hegemonic forces in the production of pedestrian spaces, this study innovatively bridges the research gap between planning policies and fine-grained urban design features.City University of Hong KongHong Kong Polytechnic Universit

Trumpet sounds emitted by male sperm whales in the Mediterranean Sea

Sperm whale trumpets are sounds only occasionally documented, with a well recognisable and stereotyped acoustic arrangement. This study investigated the acoustic features of the trumpets and the context in which these sounds were recorded, using acoustic data collected over 22 years, in the Pelagos Sanctuary area (North-Western Mediterranean Sea). Analysed trumpets (n = 230), recorded at the beginning of a dive after the whale fluke-up, comprised a series of acoustic units organized in short sequences. Acoustic parameters were derived for the entire trumpet and for each distinguishable unit in a trumpet. Overall, trumpet durations and their initial frequencies were higher in recordings collected when multiple whales were visually or acoustically detected in the observation area. The identity of 68 whales was assessed through photo-identification, with 29 individuals producing trumpets within and between years. The variability of the acoustic parameters appeared to be higher within the same individuals rather than between different individuals, suggesting an individual plasticity in composing and arranging units in a trumpet. Different click patterns were observed before and after the trumpets, with more complex sequences when (1) other whales were visually/acoustically detected, and (2) individuals were in suitable foraging sites (i.e., canyon areas). Trumpets were commonly followed or preceded by click patterns suited for communication, such as codas and/or slow clicks. Significant relations between the trumpet emission and the male-only long-range communication click pattern (i.e. slow clicks) emerged, supporting the hypothesis that a trumpet is a sound emitted by maturing/mature males in feeding grounds. This study provides the first evidence that trumpets were conserved in the sperm whale acoustic repertoire at the decadal timescale, persisting across years and individuals in the same area. This persistence may be functionally specific to foraging activities performed by males in a well-established feeding area