SIRIS-Lab/unlabelled-sti-corpus huggingface dataset:
Biological invasion costs reveal insufficient proactive management worldwide

The global increase in biological invasions is placing growing pressure on the management of ecological and economic systems. However, the effectiveness of current management expenditure is difficult to assess due to a lack of standardised measurement across spatial, taxonomic and temporal scales. Furthermore, there is no quantification of the spending difference between pre-invasion (e.g. prevention) and post-invasion (e.g. control) stages, although preventative measures are considered to be the most cost-effective. Here, we use a comprehensive database of invasive alien species economic costs (InvaCost) to synthesise and model the global management costs of biological invasions, in order to provide a better understanding of the stage at which these expenditures occur. Since 1960, reported management expenditures have totalled at least US$95.3 billion (in 2017 values), considering only highly reliable and actually observed costs - 12-times less than damage costs from invasions ($1130.6 billion). Pre-invasion management spending ($2.8 billion) was over 25-times lower than post-invasion expenditure ($72.7 billion). Management costs were heavily geographically skewed towards North America (54%) and Oceania (30%). The largest shares of expenditures were directed towards invasive alien invertebrates in terrestrial environments. Spending on invasive alien species management has grown by two orders of magnitude since 1960, reaching an estimated $4.2 billion per year globally (in 2017 values) in the 2010s, but remains 1-2 orders of magnitude lower than damages. National management spending increased with incurred damage costs, with management actions delayed on average by 11 years globally following damage reporting. These management delays on the global level have caused an additional invasion cost of approximately $1.2 trillion, compared to scenarios with immediate management. Our results indicate insufficient management - particularly pre-invasion - and urge better investment to prevent future invasions and to control established alien species. Recommendations to improve reported management cost comprehensiveness, resolution and terminology are also made.
Book Review: Matt Andrews, 2013. The Limits of Institutional Reform in Development: Changing Rules for Realistic Solutions. Cambridge, England: Cambridge University Press.

Matt Andrews has written a timely and important book that crystallizes thinking he and others have been developing over several years, and is underpinned by rigorous theoretical and empirical analysis. It is to be hoped that the lessons of the book will not be lost on the governments of developing nations, and more especially on agencies such as the World Bank, who need to adjust their development models to reflect the radically new approach to reform set out in the book. Andrews uses vivid language and colorful examples to highlight his important messages, and make them relevant to practitioners as well as scholars. The book deserves a wide readership.
Research on Chinese College English Teachers’ Classroom Code-switching: Beliefs and Attitudes

This article documents the beliefs and attitudes of Chinese college English teachers towards classroom code-switching. The findings suggest that teachers’ code-switching is commonplace in class, although most of them still hold negative attitude toward it. Besides, students’ ability is regarded as the most significant factor affecting teachers’ code-switching, and the first language (L1) is mainly used to teach grammar and abstract words. The conclusion is that, in Chinese English as a foreign language (EFL) context, classroom code-switching should be conducted on the basis of maximal use of the target language, and the L1 can only be judiciously employed to serve difficult and abstruse subject matters.
Stock assessment of jumbo squid Dosidicus gigas in northwest Mexico

The population dynamics of jumbo squid Dosidicus gigas from northwest Mexico was evaluated for the period 1974-2012 using Schaefer’s model, where model parameters were estimated with the catch maximum sustainable yield method (Catch-MSY) using two prior intrinsic population increase rate (r) range values (1.0 to 2.0 and 1.5 to 2.0). Estimated parameters with both prior r ranges were 1.23 and 1.68 yr -1 for r and 243,836 and 190,468 ton for carrying capacity (k), respectively. Corresponding management quantities were 75,147 and 80,098 ton for the maximum sustainable yield (MSY) and 121,918 and 95,234 ton for the biomass at MSY (BMSY). Estimated jumbo squid biomass dropped below the BMSY after 2003, and near to 0.2 k in 2012. The Schaefer’s model showed that declines in estimated biomass were preceded by catches that exceeded the MSY. Strong El Nino-Southern Oscillation events can change the availability of jumbo squid in northwest Mexico through migratory processes and phenotype changes in maturation size, but stock biomass variability is most likely to be caused by fishing.
Clinical validation and production upscaling of a novel product for healing of pressure ulcers, leg ulcers and diabetic foot ulcers.

A chronic wound (such as Leg Ulcer (LU), Pressure Ulcer (PU) and Diabetic Foot Ulcer (DFU) can be defined as one that has failed to proceed through an orderly and timely reparative process to produce anatomic and functional integrity within a period of 3 months or that has proceeded through the repair process without establishing a sustained and anatomic and functional result. Chronic wounds may require several years to heal, and some remain unhealed for decades. During this time, patients can experience severe pain, significant emotional and physical distress, reduced mobility and social isolation.

LU, PU and DFU are a major healthcare cost for all developed countries. The main driver for growth in cost is the treatment of chronic and complex wounds in the aging population, complicated by the increase in diabetes and other metabolic disorders.  LUs account for $50Bn of global wound care burden in 2015 and are to reach $53Bn in 2020. DFUs account for $52Bn – and are to reach $56Bn by 2020. Further, PUs account for $41Bn of global wound care burden in 2015 – and are to reach $47Bn by 2020.

We have developed an innovative wound dressing, DermaRep™, that is based on biomaterial derived from Eggshell Membrane (ESM) – a by-product readily available in the egg industry.  The purified form of ESM is called Purified Eggshell Membrane Protein (PEP). 

DermaRep™ is disruptive and will become the benchmark in the wound healing market as it directly addresses the healthcare needs by providing a novel wound care product that is significantly more effective than current Standard of Care (SoC, relatively non-expensive silicon, foam and hydrocolloid dressings) and at least as effective as existing State of the Art (SoA) collagen-based dressings.
A Model for the Characterization and Selection of Beeswaxes for Use as Base Substitute Tissue in Photon Teletherapy

This paper presents a model for the characterization and selection of beeswaxes for use as base substitute tissue for the manufacture of objects suitable for external radiotherapy using megavoltage photon beams. The model of characterization was divided into three distinct stages: 1) verification of aspects related to the origin of the beeswax, the bee species, the flora in the vicinity of the beehives and procedures to detect adulterations; 2) evaluation of physical and chemical properties; and 3) evaluation of beam attenuation capacity. The chemical composition of the beeswax evaluated in this study was similar to other simulators commonly used in radiotherapy. The behavior of the mass attenuation coefficient in the radiotherapy energy range was comparable to other simulators. The proposed model is efficient and enables convenient assessment of the use of any particular beeswax as a base substitute tissue for radiotherapy.
A Bernoulli filter approach to detection and estimation of hidden Markov models using cluttered observation sequences

Hidden Markov Models (HMMs) are powerful statistical techniques with many applications, and in this paper they are used for modeling asymmetric threats. The observations generated by such HMMs are generally cluttered with observations that are not related to the HMM. In this paper a Bernoulli filter is proposed, which processes cluttered observations and is capable of detecting if there is an HMM present, and if so, estimate the state of the HMM. Results show that the proposed filter is capable of detecting and estimating an HMM except in circumstances where the probability of observing the HMM is lower than the probability of receiving a clutter observation.
Hikikomori du jeune : accueillir et prendre en charge le fardeau de la famille

L’enfermement à domicile du jeune, qu’il soit associé ou non à un diagnostic psychiatrique, est un problème mondial qui reste longtemps invisible. Le phénomène est de mieux en mieux connu, entre autres à la faveur de la généralisation de la notion d’hikikomori. Cela désigne une conduite qui tend à se répéter, et qui finit par englober tous les membres de la famille autour des enjeux d’attachement et de séparation/individuation. C’est un auto-sabotage plutôt involontaire que choisi. Les symptômes psychiatriques qui y sont ou non associés ne peuvent rendre compte du retentissement majeur sur la qualité de vie du jeune et sur le fardeau ressenti par l’entourage. Le travail avec les familles discuté dans cet article témoigne d’une expérience clinique développée ces dernières années autour des consultations de familles dans une situation de hikikomori. Soulager le fardeau familial par des entretiens de guidance est au cœur de ce travail. Cela permet de se dégager de la culpabilité et de la honte, d’en finir avec les parents de l’enfance, et de sortir de l’isolement en faisant intervenir des tiers. Ces propositions sont discutées à la lumière des recherches provenant d’autres équipes, en majorité japonaises. Un réseau de professionnels s’est structuré avec l’association francophone AFHIKI pour réfléchir à l’adaptation de ces types de réponses à notre contexte culturel. Si des études sur les familles avec une situation de hikikomori existent depuis longtemps au Japon, elles commencent à voir le jour dans d’autres pays, notamment l’Espagne et l’Italie et mériteraient d’être mieux développées en France. Home confinement of a young person is a global problem whether or not it is associated with a psychiatric disorder. It is a maladaptive behavior that tends to repeat itself and finally involves the whole family in a shared difficulty of attachment/separation. Relieving the family burden using parental guidance could help to break the cercle vicious of guilt and shame among family members. Many studies on the features of families in hikikomori situations are cited in the article, mostly from Japanese authors. Constrained family culture, misunderstanding between the young person and his family, and dependency to parental figures are far more important today than in previous works where the poor quality of family relations were stressed. Studies about families in hikikomori situations are now beginning to emerge in non-Japanese countries, notably in Spain and Italy. It would be interesting to develop such research stream in France. This article also presents our clinical experience in responding to requests for consultations from families with a hikikomori situation, in developing a professional network via the AFHIKI association, and in animating a family exchange group about hikikomori.
Groundwater Assessment in a Coal Measures Sequence Using Borehole Magnetic Resonance

Hydraulic behaviour of an aquifer is defined in terms of the volumes of water present, both producible and not (specific yield and specific retention), and the productivity of the water (hydraulic conductivity). These parameters are typically evaluated using pumping tests, which provide zonal average properties, or more rarely on core samples, which provide discrete point measurements. Both methods can be costly and time-consuming, potentially limiting the amount of characterisation that can be conducted on a given project, and a significant measurement scale difference exists between the two. Borehole magnetic resonance has been applied in the oil and gas industry for the evaluation of bound and free fluid volumes, analogous to specific retention and specific yield, and permeability, analogous to hydraulic conductivity, for over twenty years. These quantities are evaluated continuously, allowing for cost-effective characterisation, and at a measurement scale that is intermediate between that of core and pumping tests, providing a convenient framework for the integration of all measurements. The role of borehole magnetic resonance measurements in hydrogeological characterisation is illustrated as part of a larger hydrogeological study of a coal measures unit and associated overburden. Borehole magnetic resonance has been used for aquifer and aquitard identification, and to provide continuous estimates of hydraulic properties. These results have been compared and reconciled with pumping test and core data, considering the scale differences between measurements. Finally, an integrated hydrogeological description of the target rock units has been developed.
A unified online directed acyclic graph flow manager for multicore schedulers

Numerous Directed-Acyclic Graph (DAG) schedulers have been developed to improve the energy efficiency of various multi-core systems. However, the DAG monitoring modules proposed by these schedulers make a priori assumptions about the workload and relationship between the task dependencies. Thus, schedulers are limited to work on a limited subset of DAG models. To address this problem, we propose a unified online DAG monitoring solution independent from the connected scheduler and able to handle all possible DAG models. Our novel low-complexity solution processes online the DAG of the application and provides relevant information about each task that can be used by any scheduler connected to it. Using H.264/AVC video decoding as an illustrative application and multiple configurations of complex synthetic DAGs, we demonstrate that our solution connected to an external simple energy-efficient scheduler is able to achieve significant improvements in energy-efficiency and deadline miss rates compared to existing approaches.
Centric recipocating compressor

Acknowledging that energy prices define competitiveness of many industries and compressors represent energy-hungry core manufacturing technology, Otechos aims to offer market leading energy-efficient compressor technology for industrial applications, being the natural choice for industries seeking environmental friendly solutions with low total cost of ownership.
With a new, premium type industrial compressor (CRC) for air and gases, based on our patent pending Centric Reciprocating Technology (CR-T), we will disrupt the existing, fast growing market for industrial compressors by offering end-customers 30% less energy consumption than existing technology, yielding improved competitiveness through reduced total cost of ownership while offering substantial environmental benefits. It not only meets key purchasing criteria, it defines a new standard. 
By offering the CRC as core component in turnkey compressor solutions delivered by strategic partners, Otechos, with its entrepreneurial and competent management team, will draw strengths from existing market channels and international partnerships. Initial penetration will focus on CRC application in nitrogen production generators for marine and oil & gas. New partnerships, to be initiated in phase 1, will open up the global potential in the broader €25,6 billion (2020) compressor market offering a CAGR of 7,1%.  The P/L forecast shows a highly profitable business from year 3, following an investment of €2,3 mill and initial penetration of UK, Germany and Norway.
As a bonus, the core technology CR-T has unique characteristics that makes it applicable in other areas as OTTO-type engines, pump technologies and gas / steam expander machines. Hence multiple business opportunities surface beyond compressor applications.  Phase 1 will detail the rich potential of the patent pending technology and enhance the business plan.
Sulfur-Based solutions for the selective functionalization of organic substrates

The increasing demand of complex organic molecules, either by their biological activity or technical interest, and the need for the development of sustainable chemical processes are opening a new period in Organic Synthesis, which is mainly focused on the discovery of novel transformations that more intensively explore concepts such as atom-economy and redox-neutrality. As part of this trend, the development new reagents capable to transfer new functional groups at the desired positions of advanced synthetic intermediates is winning a crucial role. Areas such as crop science and drug discovery make extensive use of this working methodology for the identification of new targets.
Several families of “Group Transfer Reagents” are known, the most prominent ones being arguably those based on hypervalent I(III) structures. However, their transfer ability is confined to a restricted number of functionalities, and in addition, their implementation in industrial processes is seriously limited by their highly reactive nature. Hypervalent iodine (III) compounds are known to be potentially explosive and for this reason, they usually require working in relatively small scale and under restricted safety conditions. 
To circumvent these drawbacks, I present in SULFOSOL a novel and general approach for the straightforward preparation of electrophilic group transfer reagents based on the use of sulphur-containing platforms. The low prize and chemical stability of these reagents make their use feasible at any step of a synthetic sequence, and render them highly appealing for large-scale applications. In addition, the combination of these new reagents with the power of actual metal catalysis will lead to an array of useful synthetic routes that will decisively enrich the toolbox of the synthetic chemist.
Green synthesis of gold nanoparticles by the marine microalga<i>Tetraselmis suecica</i>

The application of green-synthesis principles is one of the most impressive research fields for the production of nanoparticles. Different kinds of biological systems have been used for this purpose. In the present study, AuNPs (gold nanoparticles) were prepared within a short time period using a fresh cell extract of the marine microalga Tetraselmis suecica as a reducing agent of HAuCl4 (chloroauric acid) solution. The UV-visible spectrum of the aqueous medium containing AuNPs indicated a peak at 530 nm, corresponding to the surface plasmon absorbance of AuNPs. The X-ray diffraction pattern also showed a Bragg reflection related to AuNPs. Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy was performed for analysis of surface functional groups of AuNPs. Transmission electron microscopy and particle-size-distribution patterns determined by the laser-light-scattering method confirmed the formation of well-dispersed AuNPs. The most frequent size of particles was 79 nm.
Problems In The Applıcation Of Science And Technology Course Curriculum’s In 2005 And Solution Suggestıons Wıth Teacher’s Opinion

The 1957 is a milestone for science education. The technology producing race that has began with sending first spacecraft into space by Russians, many coun- tries focus on developing science curricula in order to train effective human power. To keep up with these developments; in 2005 constructivist educational philoso- phy based program has been put into practice, which is one of the greatest reform movements in history of the Republic of Turkey. Effectiveness of a training pro- gram depends on the successful implementation. In this context, the purpose of this study, to reveal the difficulties encountered during the implementation of science and technology curriculum that has been put into practice in 2005, and to develop solutions to these challenges within the framework of teachers' views. Research is a case study based on the scan model. The research took place in 2010-2011 with the participation of 48 science and technology teacher. To this end, 5-point likert-type scale consisting of 48 items and 4 open-ended questions were developed by re- searchers. The Cronbach's alpha coefficient was measured as 0.932. Data that was gained from scale was classified as taking into account the sub-dimensions that are content, teaching-learning and assessment. Obtained quantitative data's percentage, frequency, arithmetic mean and standard deviation values were determined and de- picted by using SPSS 16.0 package program. The qualitative data that are gained from open-ended questions was been subjected to content analysis. Based on the findings, Teachers faced with fewer problems in terms of the gains and content of the new program; on the other hand, in terms of teaching-learning process and assessment they faced with more problems relatively. Within the scope of research; on the basis of opinions from teachers, pro- posals for solutions were presented.
AlpStore: Strategies to use a variety of mobile and stationary storages to allow for extended accessibility and the integration of renewable energies

Sun, water and biomass are a natural capital of the Alpine Space. It is a must to use them for the production of energy. Besides intelligent grids, storage systems will be key enablers for a future mostly renewable energy supply.
Electric vehicles (EV) will be integral elements of the future energy system. Their batteries can be charged with excessive power from intermittent energy sources and electricity can be fed into the grid to meet peak loads. Beyond short term balancing with EVs, stationary batteries can serve long term balancing needs.  They can give EV batteries a “second life” and improve overall economy of electric mobility. Other media such as gas or compressed air will add more choices. Partners in 7 countries create master plans for the deployment of storages. Pilot tests will show the feasibility of mobile and stationary storage in public infrastructure, business parks, enterprises and smart homes. From there guidelines for planners and decision makers will be derived.
Coagulation of highly turbid suspensions using magnesium hydroxide: effects of slow mixing conditions

Laboratory experiments were carried out to study the effects of slow mixing conditions on magnesium hydroxide floc size and strength and to determine the turbidity and total suspended solid (TSS) removal efficiencies during coagulation of highly turbid suspensions. A highly turbid kaolin clay suspension (1,213 ± 36 nephelometric turbidity units (NTU)) was alkalized to pH 10.5 using a 5 M NaOH solution; liquid bittern (LB) equivalent to 536 mg/L of Mg(2+) was added as a coagulant, and the suspension was then subjected to previously optimized fast mixing conditions of 100 rpm and 60 s. Slow mixing speed (20, 30, 40, and 50 rpm) and time (10, 20, and 30 min) were then varied, while the temperature was maintained at 20.7 ± 1 °C. The standard practice for coagulation-flocculation jar test ASTM D2035-13 (2013) was followed in all experiments. Relative floc size was monitored using an optical measuring device, photometric dispersion analyzer (PDA 2000). Larger and more shear resistant flocs were obtained at 20 rpm for both 20- and 30-min slow mixing times; however, given the shorter duration for the former, the 20-min slow mixing time was considered to be more energy efficient. For slow mixing camp number (Gt) values in the range of 8,400-90,000, it was found that the mixing speed affected floc size and strength more than the time. Higher-turbidity removal efficiencies were achieved at 20 and 30 rpm, while TSS removal efficiency was higher for the 50-rpm slow mixing speed. Extended slow mixing time of 30 min yielded better turbidity and TSS removal efficiencies at the slower speeds.