SIRIS-Lab/unlabelled-sti-corpus huggingface dataset:
The role of microbial and invertebrate activities in shaping alpine soil respiration: current state and future scenarios

The belowground production of CO2 in soil (soil respiration, SR) represents an important terrestrial carbon source. Being correlated with soil temperature, SR is expected to exacerbate climate change. In addition, SR is expected to change considerably and in a patchy manner especially within the Alpine area, reflecting the effects of altitude, land use and climatic conditions. Previous studies measuring SR along altitudinal gradients, however, struggled with strong differences in environmental influences and with distinct unique faunal and microbial communities among samples.
The grand ambition of ACTI-RESP is to provide in-depth knowledge and quantitative information on how microbial and invertebrate communities are influenced by altitude, land use and climate change, and on how microbial activity shapes SR. To quantify the pure effect of altitude and to investigate the effects of climate and land use, I will combine field observations and a manipulative experiment within terraXcube, a facility allowing manipulations of multiple conditions including air pressure to mimic different elevations.
Thereby, I aim to further test the advantages of studying intracellular DNA (iDNA) as opposed to the generally studied environmental DNA (eDNA). Being composed by considerable amounts of extracellular DNA, eDNA does not only contain information about intact and active cells (intracellular DNA, iDNA) but also about extracellular DNA from species that might not be recently present. Here, I will study microbial agents actually shaping SR by extracting iDNA, by performing qPCR and 16S rRNA sequencing and by comparing the results to eDNA as well as RNA-based results.
In doing so, I aim to 
- define climate change-related alterations in SR
- jointly examine soil invertebrates and microorganisms
- firstly describe the pure altitude effect on microbial SR, activity and community patterns
- test iDNA quantification as a proxy for microbial activity and SR
International Communal Network

The operation “ICNW-International Communal Network” focuses on the exchange of experience and promotion of best practice with regard to the development of rural municipalities and a corresponding transfer of know-how to new Member States and Accession Countries. The project aims to establish international co-operation and synergies between rural municipalities and regional communal institutions in the fields of “Development Strategies for Municipalities and Land Use Planning”, “Communal Infrastructure in Rural Municipalities” and “Municipality and Economy in Rural Areas“. Overall objective / Objectif général The overall objective of the operation is to improve the effectiveness of policies and instruments for local and regional development and cohesion in rural areas through the exchange of information and experience. More specifically, the operation wants to support rural municipalities in developing local strategies and land use planning and embedding these into planning concepts beyond the local dimension. Further aims are to support infrastructure investments (e.g. water, waste water and waste disposal) through providing know-how on technical, organisational and financial solutions (e.g. cost sharing and PPP models, etc.) and the improvement of SME-related and economic development policies and measures. Expected results / Résultats attendus The operation will result in the strengthening of the strategic development capacities of network partners, mostly local authority associations, who will act as relay stations for their member municipalities, to which they will disseminate acquired know-how. Authorities will benefit by learning how to build and project an attractive and competitive image involving the local population and entrepreneurs in brand development and marketing, and strengthening local and regional economic development.
Hearing protection device with situational awareness and alerts for the industrial sector

The industrial sector exposes workers to very high levels of environmental noise that causes serious health problems such as hearing loss, tinnitus, stress, cardiovascular disease, etc. Many of these health problems are easy to avoid, however once they have occurred, they are irreversible. Moreover, there is a direct relationship between loud noises and labour accidents in the industry, since loud sounds are lowering situational awareness. Current Hearing Protection Devices (HPD) have many disadvantages. Firstly, many HPD are bulky, difficult to wear, incompatible with other Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) and hinder manoeuvrability. Secondly, they overprotect workers, which results in worker isolation and further increases the risk of occupational accidents. Many HPDs have a “hear-through” function using an external microphone, electronics and loudspeakers, but the reproduced sound is unnatural, speech is difficult to understand, and they lack the 3-dimensional experience which results in poor situational awareness. To solve the aforementioned problems, we are developing Minuendo® Industry which the world’s first HPD that automatically adjusts noise attenuation to safe and suitable sound levels and thus avoids overprotection. At the same time, Minuendo® Industry preserves a natural sound experience without any distortion. This patent-pending adjustment technology allows for a natural acoustic path and the system gives a smart alert in case of danger. Furthermore, the form factor is comfortable, together with exceptionally long battery life. The global Intelligent Hearing Protection Device market was valued at €366M in 2018 and is expected to be €1.18B by the end of 2025, growing at a CAGR of 15.9%. We aim to obtain 2.2% of the market through established distribution network and direct sales by 2026. The proposed project is highly profitable and generates accumulated sales of 75.12 MM€, IRR of 83.79%, ROI = 6 by 2026, with a payback period of 2 years.
Modification of a Polyethersulfone Matrix by Grafting Functional Groups and the Research of Biomedical Performance

A new method for the functional modification of polyethersulfone (PES) is described in this paper in which PES was sulfonated by chlorosulfonic acid firstly and then chlorinated by phosphorus pentachloride. Thereby, chlorosulfonic groups (-SO2Cl) were introduced in PES successfully, and the degree of the chlorosulfonation was about 15%. Since the chlorosulfonic group is reactive enough towards the amino group (-NH2), the conformation of chlorosulfonic-based covalent bonding functional route could further extend the PES application area with versatile functionality. In this article, hydroxyl (-OH), carboxyl (-COOH), amino (-NH2) and methyl (-CH3) groups were grafted onto a PES matrix through the reaction of chlorosulfonic groups and the amino groups. The functional groups have effects on protein adsorption and cell behavior. The membrane modified with an amino group was in favor of cell adhesion and proliferation, and the membrane modified with hydroxyl and methyl did not so well as the membrane modified with an amino group, which will give guidance for biomaterial modification.
Amélioration de la capacité de production de «Himax Pharma» Ltd.

La présente proposition de projet vise à accroître la capacité de l’entreprise existante de «Himax Pharma» EOOD à Sofia, pour la production de «formulations posologiques solides» et de «médicaments poudreux», en achetant et en mettant en service de nouveaux équipements pharmaceutiques: Broyeur pour les matériaux de poudre-1 pcs., Mélangeur pour les matériaux de poudre-1 pcs., Ligne automatique pour l’emballage primaire de poudres pour suspensions orales-1 pcs., machine de carton-1 pcs., machine à sachet-1 pcs., Système automatisé pour le lavage de l’inventaire-1 pcs. La société offre à ses clients des médicaments de haute qualité, divisés en trois groupes principaux de produits: «produits liquides», «formes posologiques solides» et «produits en poudre». Avec ce projet, l’entreprise augmentera la production des produits actuellement fabriqués en complétant son parc technologique par de nouvelles machines haute performance dans les unités de préparation de substances actives et auxiliaires et de mélange de matières premières selon la formulation approuvée, pour les «formes posologiques solides» et les «produits poudreux». En outre, dans les unités d’emballage secondaires (carding) et les analyses de laboratoire, une grande partie des opérations manuelles actuellement réalisées sera entièrement automatisée, ce qui permettra de gagner du temps pour achever le cycle de production et augmenter la capacité de production. De cette manière, l’entreprise optimisera le processus de production en améliorant son efficacité et commencera à produire plus que les produits actuellement produits: «formes posologiques solides» et «produits poudreux», avec lesquels la capacité de «Himax Pharma» EOOD pour la production de «formulaires posologiques solides» augmentera de plus de 33,1 % (de 63,4 mille pièces à 84,5 k pcs) et de «produits poudreux» de plus de 33,7 % (de 2.130 mln. à 2,849 m pcs.). Le projet est mis en œuvre dans le domaine de l’industrie pour une vie saine et la biotechnologie de la stratégie d’innovation pour une spécialisation intelligente.
Is there no such thing as childhood? new childhoods in britain and turkey between 1976 and 1997

This project will focus on changing ideas about childhood in Turkey and in Britain in the late twentieth century, an era characterised with the erosion of traditional safety nets, increased inequality, and social insecurity. Based on a comparative critical discourse analysis of the news coverage of children in selected national newspapers and using theoretical frameworks from childhood studies, the project will discuss how the actual transformations of childhood have translated into ideas about childhood, and analyse how these were reflected, shaped, and diffused by the news media in each country. 
Which social, political, cultural, and demographic changes brought by the 1980s and the 1990s were given a prominent place in the public agenda? Who were the idealised children included in the category of childhood, and who were the outcasts that did not fit this ideal? How were concepts such as children’s culpability, parental liabilities, and social responsibilities to children negotiated? In addressing these research questions, the objectives of this project are to compare the conceptualisations of childhood in these distinct examples, investigate the distinctive characteristics of “new childhood” paradigms, map shared patterns that cut across and travel through contextual and local differences. 
To achieve that, this research project proposes to analyse the idea of childhood within a framework of social and historical change in the wider sense. Such an intersectional and relational lens allows us to make sense of different childhoods, comprehend not only their plurality but also their shared origins, and illuminate not only the diverse ideas about childhood, but also the common discourses that frame them. The investigation of these ideas and discourses within a comparative frame of analysis has the potential to culminate in an original contribution to the literature on the manifestations of shared global processes in specific localities.
Combinatorics with an analytic structure

Combinatorics, and its interplay with geometry, has fascinated our ancestors as shown by early stone carvings in the Neolithic period. Modern combinatorics is motivated by the ubiquity of its structures in both pure and applied mathematics.
The work of Hochster and Stanley, who realized the relation of enumerative questions to commutative algebra and toric geometry made a vital contribution to the development of this subject. Their work was a central contribution to the classification of face numbers of simple polytopes, and the initial success lead to a wealth of research in which combinatorial problems were translated to algebra and geometry and then solved using deep results such as Saito's hard Lefschetz theorem. As a caveat, this also made branches of combinatorics reliant on algebra and geometry to provide new ideas. 

In this proposal, I want to reverse this approach  and extend our understanding of geometry and algebra guided by combinatorial methods. In this spirit I propose new combinatorial approaches to the interplay of curvature and topology, to isoperimetry,  geometric analysis, and  intersection theory, to name a few.  In addition, while these subjects are interesting by themselves, they are also designed to  advance classical topics, for example, the diameter of polyhedra (as in the Hirsch conjecture), arrangement theory (and the study of arrangement complements), Hodge theory (as in Grothendieck's standard conjectures), and realization problems of discrete objects (as in Connes embedding problem for type II factors).

This proposal is supported by the review of some already developed tools, such as relative Stanley--Reisner theory (which is equipped to deal with combinatorial isoperimetries), combinatorial Hodge theory (which extends the ``K\""ahler package'' to purely combinatorial settings), and discrete PDEs (which were used to construct counterexamples to old problems in discrete geometry).
Robot laser beam manipulator

An appts. for manipulating a laser beam (F) in a given direction (X1), for use in robot systems for cutting or welding. A flat mirror (4), whose position is adjustable (X4,X6) deflects the laser' beam through a given angle alpha away from X1. A second parabolic mirror (8) deflects the beam through a second angle beta towards X1. A third flat mirror (12) whose position is adjustable (X12, X14) deflects the beam through a given angle gamma to achieve alignment with X1. The interaction of the laser beam with a surface under treatment (P) produces fumes which are removed by a gas flow.
Parameterisation of production of linear hydromotors

Linear hydromotors are one of the most common types of hydromotors ever. They are an irreplaceable link to any hydraulic circuit. The main objective of the project will be to analyse the current state of linear hydromotors, further propose a suitable solution for parameterisation of the production technology of the given component for HyTech CR spol. s r.o. The proposed procedure should reduce the total production time and thus the production costs of the whole process, which will lead to satisfaction not only from the manufacturer, but also of the customer.
Role of protein motions on proton transfer pathways in human carbonic anhydrase II

We report here a theoretical study on the formation of long-range proton transfer pathways in proteins due to side chain conformational fluctuations of amino acid residues and reorganization of interior hydration positions. The proton transfer pathways in such systems may be modeled as fluctuating hydrogen-bonded networks with both short- and long-lived connections between the networked nodes, the latter being formed by polar protein atoms and water molecules. It is known that these fluctuations may extend over several decades of time ranging from a few femtoseconds to a few milliseconds. We have shown in this article how the use of a variety of theoretical methods may be utilized to detect a generic set of pathways and assess the feasibility of forming one or more transient connections. We demonstrate the application of these methods to the enzyme human carbonic anhydrase II and its mutants. Our results reveal several alternative pathways in addition to the one mediated by His-64. We also probe at length the mechanism of key conformational fluctuations contributing to the formation of the detected pathways.
Protecting, Transforming, and Projecting the Single Market. Open Strategic Autonomy and Digital Sovereignty in the EU’s Trade and Digital Policies

In recent years, the EU has reformulated its trade and digital policies under the banners of open strategic autonomy and digital sovereignty, respectively. The existing literature has only begun to explain this departure from the market-centered and efficiency-oriented rhetoric that has dominated European policymaking for the last decades. In this paper, we argue that the discursive turn towards autonomy and sovereignty is part of a larger recasting of the European project, which we understand as the evolving compromise between a neoliberal, a neo-mercantilist, and a socially-oriented faction. Through a combination of document analysis, interviews, and discourse network analysis, we show that a changing global environment has provided an opening to challenge the existing, neoliberally dominated consensus. We further show how open strategic autonomy and digital sovereignty are used as coalition magnets in mobilizing support for a more assertive, capable, and interventionist Europe able to protect and promote its interests and values in an increasingly digitalized and geopoliticized world.
The impact of the Asian financial crisis on bank efficiency: The 1997 experience of Malaysia and Thailand

In the mid-1990s, the East Asian countries experienced severe financial crisis that were followed by deep economic downturns. A variety of methodologies have been used to understand the nature of the Asian financial crisis. However, the impact of the 1997 Asian financial crisis on the efficiency of the financial industry has yet to be studied. By employing the Data Envelopment Analysis (DEA) approach the present study attempts to examine for the first time the impact of the 1997 Asian financial crisis on the efficiency of the Malaysian and Thailand banking sectors, two of the East Asian countries that were severely affected by the crisis. The study focuses on three major approaches vis., intermediation, value added and operating approaches. The results clearly bring forth the high degree of inefficiency in the Malaysian and Thailand banking sectors, particularly a year after the crisis. We find that the Malaysian banking sector has exhibited a higher TE levels during the post crisis period under the intermediation and value added approaches, while TE seems to be lower under the operating approach. The empirical findings suggest that the Thailand banking sector has exhibited a lower TE level during the post crisis period under all approaches. Copyright © 2009 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Inovação no setor musical: Uma análise da trajetória tecnológica da indústria fonográfica dos EUA no século XXI

The world industry has been going through several phonographic transformations throughout its history, mainly due to changes in the control of the processes of its production chain.In this sense, the article presents a vision of the initiative, based on the neoshumpeterian perspective, and how this overview can be used to understand what can be present in the US music industry from an overview of the 21st century.From an exploratory analysis overview based primarily on the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA).It should be noted that the choice of the industry is established by the fact that this is the most important in the world, both in terms of production and distribution.From the incorporation of the internet, the sector has a fundamental role in the current context of music production and distribution.With the internet, music is no longer a product linked to physical media, a product distributed digitally and, what initially became free, became a bigger problem for the sector, however, as the long trajectory identified a new reality of the US industry, based on pagan subscription services (streamings), which has been altering the sector's sales revenues.
A New Half-Bridge Winding Compensation-Based Power Conditioning System for Electric Railway with LQRI

Facing the challenges brought by the negative sequence current (NSC) pollution in power supply system of electric railway, a new topology named half-bridge winding compensation-based railway power conditioner (HBWCRPC) without auxiliary step-down transformer is proposed to suppress the NSC injected into the public networks. It has the advantages of high integration, low losses, and more functions. The compensation principle is discussed, and its physical interpretation is presented. Besides, the mechanism of the voltage perturbation and its various representations in steady state are analyzed. Considering the complexity of voltage perturbation, an optimal control method is adopted to improve the robustness of the control system, and a linear quadratic regulator with integral action, which is applicable for this system, is designed. Finally, simulation and experiment results validate the HBWCRPC system and its control method.
Standard operating procedure reduces interoperator variation and improves accuracy when measuring packed cell volume

To evaluate whether a standard operating procedure (SOP) for canine packed cell volume (PCV) measurement reduces operator-dependent variation and improves accuracy within a veterinary teaching hospital environment.Clinical staff and final-year undergraduate veterinary students were recruited to perform PCV measurements in blinded duplicate samples. Participants were randomly allocated to perform this with or without an SOP. Participants' results were compared against a reference, generated by the authors following the World Health Organization guidelines.The study population comprised 18 clinical staff and 39 students. Three clinical staff and seven students displayed errors consistent with inaccurate reading, only one of whom had access to the SOP. Five students and two clinical staff had errors attributable to incorrect preparation, with only one having access to the SOP. Interoperator variation was significantly less using the SOP. Using the SOP, 95 per cent of the results were within 0.0125 l/l of the reference value, in comparison with within 0.09 l/l without SOP. Interoperator variation was significantly less in the SOP group (P=0.0025).Using the SOP resulted in less variation and more accurate results. This confirms that PCV measurement with an SOP can truly be a 'waived' test.
Theoretical and experimental investigations on the three-stage Stirling-type pulse tube cryocooler using cryogenic phase-shifting approach and mixed regenerator matrices

Abstract Theoretical analyses and experimental verification for a three-stage Stirling-type pulse tube cryocooler (SPTC) expected to operate at 5–12 K are conducted. Cryogenic phase-shifting and mixed regenerator matrices are employed to improve the performance at the third stage. Simulations of the phase relationship, dynamic pressure and mass flow rate are presented with third-stage phase-shifters at 40 K, 50 K and 293 K, respectively. Mixed regenerator matrices of conventional stainless steel meshes and rare-earth materials such as Er 3 Ni, HoCu 2 and Er 0.6 Pr 0.4 are optimized theoretically. Different ratios and combinations are analyzed and compared, and the quantitative analyses by the entropy analysis are made. A three-stage SPTC without external precooling is developed based on the theoretical analyses, and experiments were conducted. The results show a good agreement between simulations and experiments. With an overall input electric power of 370 W, the three-stage SPTC has experimentally reached a no-load temperature of 6.82 K and achieved a cooling capacity of 112 mW at 10 K.
L’approche « Lived religion » appliquée à la pratique de la piété populaire mariale à Kinshasa

Résumé - L’effervescence de la piété populaire en RD Congo en général et à Kinshasa en particulier ne requiert plus aucune autre forme de démonstration. Face aux questions existentielles qui troublent sa quiétude, le catholique congolais et kinois doublement identifié comme Muntu et chrétien se sent de facto écartelé entre le recours aux fétiches et le recours aux sacramentaux de la piété populaire, qui n’est pas si monochrome, comme le démontre l’approche Lived religion. Si d’une part ce recours aux objets matériels soulève la question de la médiation du sacré dans la foi chrétienne, le grand problème reste celui de la mentalité fétichiste sous-jacente dans l’usage des sacramentaux.