Blurring the boundaries between fact and fiction: serial killers in the context of dark tourism

Serial killers fascinate people and books, films, TV series and other types of entertainment increasingly cater to this interest providing sensationalized media coverage. The theory suggests that the boundaries are blurred considerably between fact and fiction, even for the serial killers themselves. For many people, serial killers are both frightening and attractive enough to motivate them to go on tours and visit sites, museums and other attractions that are associated with them. This paper explores the motivation for consuming true and fictional crime including murders and serial killing with an emphasis on literature, films, TV series as well as tourism. A content analysis of the websites of walking tours, museums and other attractions connected to fictional and real serial killers was undertaken, as well as a questionnaire with a niche sample of respondents who commented on their experience and perceptions of serial killers within a dark tourism context. The results suggest that while tourists tend to prefer real serial killers to fictional ones, only a small number of tourists actually engage in this form of dark tourism. Their motivations tend to be more connected to education or entertainment rather than a morbid obsession with death or tragedy

The Role of Gastronomic Tourism in Rural Development

This chapter analyses the role of gastronomic tourism in rural development using specific case studies from Hungary. Rural development could be defined as a process of improving and protecting the economic and social wellbeing of rural communities

Residents’ quality of life in smart cities : a systematic literature review

DATA AVAILABILITY STATEMENT: Material is available upon request.Despite its popularity in urban studies, the smart city (SC) concept has not focused sufficient attention on citizens’ quality of life (QoL) until relatively recently. The aim of this study is, therefore, to examine the concept of QoL in SCs using a systematic review of 38 recent articles from 2020–2022. This includes definitions and concepts, indicators and domains that are used to measure QoL, and the typical research methods that are used to collect data. The review analyses some of the main themes that emerge from the field of SCQoL which include smart urban governance, sustainability, smart living, participation, and social inclusion. The findings from this SC and QoL research can help city planners to prioritize which domains are the most important or meaningful for citizens and which services to invest in. It has been suggested that smart living is the most important domain of a SC. However, various studies have found that citizens experience SC initiatives holistically and that QoL is quite dependent on context in terms of priorities. Therefore, citizen participation strategies should be tailored and adapted to each respective context. SC governance also needs to be more long-term and strategic with real evidence that citizens are involved in decision making and problem solving and are not just passive recipients.https://www.mdpi.com/journal/landHistorical and Heritage StudiesSDG-11:Sustainable cities and communitie

The relative importance of culture in urban tourism : implications for segmentation

PURPOSE : This paper aims to contribute to urban tourism segmentation studies by examining the role of culture as a motivation for city visits, different preferences for activities and the demographic factors that influence activity choices. This study also compares the memorability of the trip across the segments identified based on their undertaken activities. DESIGN/METHODOLOGY/APPROACH : This paper draws on questionnaire data that was collected from 614 tourists in Budapest, Hungary. Tourist segmentation was based on a two-step procedure: principal component analysis and Hierarchical Cluster Analysis. Multinomial logistic regression was applied to reveal the effect of different demographic and travel-related characteristics on the segments. FINDINGS : The research revealed that cultural activities are still the most important motivation for urban tourists and that cultural tourists constitute the biggest segment (43%). They show a preference for heritage sites, museums and galleries rather than performing arts and festivals. Multinomial logistic regression showed that party tourists can be differentiated from cultural tourists and city break tourists predominantly by age and travel status. Older age groups and women are more likely to be interested in heritage sites, museums and galleries. Party tourists found their experience significantly more memorable than any other group and were much more likely to re-visit and recommend. RESEARCH LIMITATIONS/IMPLICATIONS : Overall, this study provides useful information for destination management organisations and city agencies about which activities to promote and how to segment and potentially target tourists. This study did not include lifestyle and personality factors, secondary and complementary attractions or cultural proximity and distance. ORIGINALITY/VALUE : There have been relatively few recent studies on urban cultural tourism segmentation, especially in whole destinations rather than at individual attractions, it was therefore considered timely to re-visit this area of research. This paper reinforces the importance of segmentation studies in tourism and analyses the changing motivations and activity preferences of urban cultural tourists over time.https://www.emerald.com/insight/publication/issn/2752-6666hj2023Historical and Heritage Studie

Loss of Dnmt3b function upregulates the tumor modifier Ment and accelerates mouse lymphomagenesis

DNA methyltransferase 3B (Dnmt3b) belongs to a family of enzymes responsible for methylation of cytosine residues in mammals. DNA methylation contributes to the epigenetic control of gene transcription and is deregulated in virtually all human tumors. To better understand the generation of cancer-specific methylation patterns, we genetically inactivated Dnmt3b in a mouse model of MYC-induced lymphomagenesis. Ablation of Dnmt3b function using a conditional knockout in T cells accelerated lymphomagenesis by increasing cellular proliferation, which suggests that Dnmt3b functions as a tumor suppressor. Global methylation profiling revealed numerous gene promoters as potential targets of Dnmt3b activity, the majority of which were demethylated in Dnmt3b–/– lymphomas, but not in Dnmt3b–/– pretumor thymocytes, implicating Dnmt3b in maintenance of cytosine methylation in cancer. Functional analysis identified the gene Gm128 (which we termed herein methylated in normal thymocytes [Ment]) as a target of Dnmt3b activity. We found that Ment was gradually demethylated and overexpressed during tumor progression in Dnmt3b–/– lymphomas. Similarly, MENT was overexpressed in 67% of human lymphomas, and its transcription inversely correlated with methylation and levels of DNMT3B. Importantly, knockdown of Ment inhibited growth of mouse and human cells, whereas overexpression of Ment provided Dnmt3b+/+ cells with a proliferative advantage. Our findings identify Ment as an enhancer of lymphomagenesis that contributes to the tumor suppressor function of Dnmt3b and suggest it could be a potential target for anticancer therapies

Parent-of-origin-specific allelic associations among 106 genomic loci for age at menarche.

Age at menarche is a marker of timing of puberty in females. It varies widely between individuals, is a heritable trait and is associated with risks for obesity, type 2 diabetes, cardiovascular disease, breast cancer and all-cause mortality. Studies of rare human disorders of puberty and animal models point to a complex hypothalamic-pituitary-hormonal regulation, but the mechanisms that determine pubertal timing and underlie its links to disease risk remain unclear. Here, using genome-wide and custom-genotyping arrays in up to 182,416 women of European descent from 57 studies, we found robust evidence (P < 5 × 10(-8)) for 123 signals at 106 genomic loci associated with age at menarche. Many loci were associated with other pubertal traits in both sexes, and there was substantial overlap with genes implicated in body mass index and various diseases, including rare disorders of puberty. Menarche signals were enriched in imprinted regions, with three loci (DLK1-WDR25, MKRN3-MAGEL2 and KCNK9) demonstrating parent-of-origin-specific associations concordant with known parental expression patterns. Pathway analyses implicated nuclear hormone receptors, particularly retinoic acid and γ-aminobutyric acid-B2 receptor signalling, among novel mechanisms that regulate pubertal timing in humans. Our findings suggest a genetic architecture involving at least hundreds of common variants in the coordinated timing of the pubertal transition

Effects of antiplatelet therapy on stroke risk by brain imaging features of intracerebral haemorrhage and cerebral small vessel diseases: subgroup analyses of the RESTART randomised, open-label trial

Background Findings from the RESTART trial suggest that starting antiplatelet therapy might reduce the risk of recurrent symptomatic intracerebral haemorrhage compared with avoiding antiplatelet therapy. Brain imaging features of intracerebral haemorrhage and cerebral small vessel diseases (such as cerebral microbleeds) are associated with greater risks of recurrent intracerebral haemorrhage. We did subgroup analyses of the RESTART trial to explore whether these brain imaging features modify the effects of antiplatelet therapy

De novo variants in the RNU4-2 snRNA cause a frequent neurodevelopmental syndrome.

Around 60% of individuals with neurodevelopmental disorders (NDD) remain undiagnosed after comprehensive genetic testing, primarily of protein-coding genes1. Large genome-sequenced cohorts are improving our ability to discover new diagnoses in the non-coding genome. Here we identify the non-coding RNA RNU4-2 as a syndromic NDD gene. RNU4-2 encodes the U4 small nuclear RNA (snRNA), which is a critical component of the U4/U6.U5 tri-snRNP complex of the major spliceosome2. We identify an 18 base pair region of RNU4-2 mapping to two structural elements in the U4/U6 snRNA duplex (the T-loop and stem III) that is severely depleted of variation in the general population, but in which we identify heterozygous variants in 115 individuals with NDD. Most individuals (77.4%) have the same highly recurrent single base insertion (n.64_65insT). In 54 individuals in whom it could be determined, the de novo variants were all on the maternal allele. We demonstrate that RNU4-2 is highly expressed in the developing human brain, in contrast to RNU4-1 and other U4 homologues. Using RNA sequencing, we show how 5 splice-site use is systematically disrupted in individuals with RNU4-2 variants, consistent with the known role of this region during spliceosome activation. Finally, we estimate that variants in this 18 base pair region explain 0.4% of individuals with NDD. This work underscores the importance of non-coding genes in rare disorders and will provide a diagnosis to thousands of individuals with NDD worldwide