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Probiotic coadministration with soy beverages has been shown to have favorable results in human health. This study aims to conduct a systematic review of randomized clinical trials to examine the effect of probiotic soy beverages (PSB) on human health aspects such as lipid profile, oxidative stress and kidney function.

The study was conducted based on Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analysis guidelines. Relevant articles were extracted from PubMed, SCOPUS, Web of Science, Science Direct and Google Scholar up to April 2024. This paper searched all databases using the following keywords: (“Soy milk” OR “Soy beverage” OR “Fermented soy milk” OR “Soy Fermented Beverages”) AND (“Probiotic” OR “Probiotics”). The literature search did not consider language, age and publication date restrictions.

A total of 2,183 subjects were included in this review. PSB beneficially decreased low-density lipoprotein cholesterol and total cholesterol levels and increased high-density lipoprotein cholesterol. PSB beneficially affected superoxide dismutase, glutathione peroxidase, glutathione reductase and glutathione. PSB decreased serum creatinine and increased estimated glomerular filtration rate. Cystatin-C and progranulin decreased significantly in the PSB group. PSB had no significant effect on anthropometric indices, while decreased systolic and diastolic blood pressure.

This study provides a brief overview of the effect of PSB on lipid profile, oxidative stress, inflammation and kidney function for the first time.

An increasing effort to reinforce cultural and social activities in creative placemaking is observed. Despite extensive previous studies, works of literature ignored the necessary group-specific indicators and processes in creative placemaking. In successful placemaking, the vital attributes of a place as a social platform should be identified and intensified in the initiatives taken. As such, this study aims to examine the functions of urban design social attributes in generating meaningful creative placemaking initiatives.

A survey was performed, which involved 340 visitors in the inner city of Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, from one case study (a strategic social event initiative called RIUH) on users’ preference toward the social attributes of place and the factors influencing preference. Field observations were carried out to understand the social activities and pattern of engagement.

The preference study revealed that urban design social attributes encompassed the essential inclusiveness, value, diversity and vitality of place because of high preference and a significant difference among groups.

Understanding users’ preferences has emphasized the relevance of each urban design social attribute in accommodating different user opportunity groups, ultimately inducing a positive social impact in creative placemaking.

This study demonstrated the success of creative placemaking in urban development from the social dimension. It provides an understanding that the priority of creative practices should be redirected toward a more in-depth approach in addressing individuals, social capacity, involvement and well-being through the optimization of benefits and other creative placemaking values.

The housing policies targeting low-income households have not been effective to address the housing needs of target groups in Iran over the past four decades. According to the World Bank’s data on population living in slums (% of urban population) in Iran in 2018 was 25% which is slightly higher than the rate 23% of upper-middle-income countries. This study aims to understand what major revisions are required in the process of housing policymaking to have more effective policies.

The authors conduct one-to-one interviews with 41 housing experts and apply discourse analysis and interpretive–structural modeling to achieve the goals.

The panel of experts argue that the success of housing policies in Iran depends on the following: all academic disciplines should be included in the process of housing policymaking process; land policymaking should be modified; housing policy is a regional issue, and it should be designed and implemented differently in each province; main modifications are required in the tax and tenancy system; and new policies are required to push vacant houses into the rental market.

This study is a prescriptive study based on a general trend (four decades).