SIRIS-Lab/unlabelled-sti-corpus huggingface dataset:
Evolutionary Optimisation Techniques to Estimate Input Parameters in Environmental Emergency Modelling

Parameter estimation in environmentalmodelling is essential for input parameters, which are difficult or impossible to measure. Especially in simulations for disaster propagation prediction, where hard real-time constraints have to be met to avoid tragedy, the additionally introduced computational burden of advanced global optimisation algorithms still hampers their use in many cases and poses an ongoing challenge. In this chapter we demonstrate how modifications of a Genetic Algorithm (GA) are able to decrease time-consuming fitness evaluations and hence to speed up parameter calibration. Knowledge from past observed catastrophe behaviour is used to guide the GA during various phases towards promising solution areas resulting in a fast convergence. Together with parallel computing techniques it becomes a viable estimation approach in environmental emergency modelling. Encouraging results were obtained in predicting forest fire spread.
A Drug Utilization Study of Cognition Enhancers in Dementia in a Tertiary Care Hospital in Mumbai

Cognitive decline is one of the important factors undermining the quality of life in geriatric patients. Although the WHO has declared 'Dementia' as a priority health condition.Cognitive neuropharmacology is still in its infancy and there is no general consensus on the use of cognition enhancing (CE) drugs in humans. Since drug utilization data of CEs in dementia are scarce, we conducted a study to describe the observed patterns of CE drug use, compare it to the current recommendations and conduct a preliminary cost analysis.A prospective cross sectional drug utilization study of 100 prescriptions of patients of both sexes and all ages suffering from dementia attending the Neurology and Psychiatry clinics was undertaken as per the WHO - DUS and the STROBE guidelines.In all, the 100 prescriptions contained 322 drugs, out of which, 168 were CE drugs. 38.2% of the drugs were prescribed by generic names. Donepezil, Memantine, Piracetam, Rivastigmine and Gallantamine were prescribed to 76%, 34%, 8%, 6% and 0%, respectively. The PDD/DDD ratio of Donepezil and Memantine were 1.36 and 0.94, respectively. The average cost per prescription was INR 626.29 or USD 9.5.Principles of rational prescribing were followed. Donepezil and Memantine were the most commonly prescribed drugs and hence should be included in the hospital drug schedule. Piracetam should not be prescribed because of doubtful benefits and high cost. Antipsychotics should be used in geriatric dementia patients very judiciously. A major part of the total cost per prescription was borne by the patient.
Network for traditions and heritage in music

The project Apollo Lands aims to promote musical innovation through the creation of a network capable of supporting contamination between musical genres, combining historical bands and street bands with contemporary elements, in order to weld the link between tradition and modern contexts and increase the value of the community for the development of musical entrepreneurship. The objective of the project is to organize the exchange of skills, as well as to support integration and cross-border cooperation in the field of musical and street bands. Thanks to Apollo Lands project, it will be opened three Music Centres, where aggregation of artists, entrepreneurs, associations and other stakeholders from the world of music will organize several activities like exchange knowledge about music, musical researches and matching between musicians, performers and managers of theatres.
Type material designation and species description; addendum to “Distinctive Collembola Communities in the Mesovoid Shallow Substratum: Entomobryomorpha of the Sierra de Guadarrama National Park (Central Spain)”

Désignation du matériel type et description d'espèce; addendum à « Communautés distinctes de collemboles dans le milieu souterrain superficiel: Entomobryomorpha du parc national de la Sierra de Guadarrama (centre de l'Espagne)». Les spécimens identifiés comme Entomobrya intermedia Brook, 1883 par Katz et al. (2015) ont été proposés comme une nouvelle espèce des États-Unis, Entomobrya katzi Jordana & Baquero n. sp. (Baquero et al. 2021). Cependant, le matériel type n'avait pas été désigné. Ici, nous fournissons une diagnose et désignons le matériel type pour Entomobrya katzi Jordana & Baquero n. sp.
An impact evaluation of a fund to finance innovation in SMEs

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to estimate the impact of one productive development program (PROPYME) in a developing nation like Costa Rica. This program seeks to increase the capacity of small and medium-sized firms (SMEs) to innovate. Design/methodology/approach Impacts have been estimated assuming that beneficiary firms are trying to maximize their profits and that PROPYME aims to increase these firms productivity. The impacts were measured in terms of three result variables real average wages employment demand and the probability of exporting. A combination of fixed effects and propensity score matching techniques was used in estimations to correct for any selection bias. The authors worked with panel data companies treated and untreated for the period 2001-2011. Findings PROPYME’s beneficiaries performed better than other firms in terms of labor demand and their probability of exporting. In addition, the dose and the duration of the effects of the treatment (timing effects) are important. Originality/value The authors study the impact in ways that go beyond the average treatment effects on the treated (ATT) usually estimated in the existing literature. Specifically, the research focusses on the identification of the timing or dynamic effects (i.e. how long should we wait to see results?) and treatment intensity (dosage effects).
Social and political economics: theory and evidence

In this project, I will study how individual and social motives interact to drive individual decisions, a question that has fallen between the cracks of different social-science approaches. I will use a common theoretical framework to approach an important, but badly understood, general question: do social motives reinforce or weaken the effect of changes in individual motives? By modifying this common framework to different applications, I will consider its predictions empirically in different large data sets with individual-level information. The planned applications include four subprojects in the social, political, and economic spheres: (i) decisions in China on the ethnicity of children in interethnic marriages and matching into such marriages, (ii) decisions on tax evasion in the U.K. and Sweden, (iii) decisions to give political campaign contributions in the U.S., and (iv) decisions about fertility in Sweden. I may also spell out the common lessons from the results on the interaction between individual and social motives in monograph format intended for a broader audience.
Subjective assessment for super recognition: an evaluation of self-report methods in civilian and police participants

Metacognition about face recognition has been much discussed in the psychological literature. In particular, the use of self-report to identify people with prosopagnosia (“face blindness”) has contentiously been debated. However, no study to date has specifically assessed metacognition at the top end of the spectrum. If people with exceptionally proficient face recognition skills (“super-recognizers,” SRs) have greater insight into their abilities, self-report instruments may offer an efficient means of reducing candidate lists in SR screening programs. Here, we developed a “super-recognizer questionnaire” (SRQ), calibrated using a top-end civilian sample (Experiment 1). We examined its effectiveness in identifying SRs in pools of police (Experiment 2) and civilian (Experiment 3) participants, using objective face memory and matching tests. Moderate effect sizes in both samples suggest limited insight into face memory and target-present face matching ability, whereas the only predictor of target-absent matching performance across all samples was the number of years that an officer had been in the police force. Because the SRQ and single-item ratings showed little sensitivity in discriminating SRs from typical perceivers in police officers and civilians, we recommend against the use of self-report instruments in SR screening programs.
Overpressure characteristics and classification of the tight gas reservoirs in upper Triassic Xujiahe formation in the middle section of west Sichuan Depression,China

The upper Triassic Xujiahe formation is the main gas production interval in west Sichuan Depression,has two main characteristics of ultra-tight and overpressure.Most of the gas reservoirs are found in the positive tectonic units in the middle section of west Sichuan Depression.Pressure tests result and drilling and logging data have shown that the overpressure character differs in different intervals of Xujiahe formation;the pressure coefficient is higher in the cap rock than in the reservoirs,and higher in the upper Xujiahe formation than in the lower.Different gas reservoirs have different vertical overpressure characteristics.The Xujiahe gas reservoirs in the middle section of west Sichuan Depression are classified into 4 pressure associations according to typical pressure development characteristics,i.e.Xinchang type,Hexingchang type,Yazihe type and Dayi type,which respectively represent different levels of pressure and hydrocarbon preservation conditions,and have different implications in gas exploration.
Secondary markets for mobile data: Feasibility and benefits of traded data plans

The growing volume of mobile data traffic has led many Internet service providers (ISPs) to cap their users' monthly data usage, with overage fees for exceeding their caps. In this work, we examine a secondary data market in which users can buy and sell leftover data caps from each other. China Mobile Hong Kong recently introduced such a market. While similar to an auction in that users submit bids to buy and sell data, it differs from traditional double auctions in that the ISP serves as the middleman between buyers and sellers. We derive the optimal prices and amount of data that different buyers and sellers are willing to bid in this market and then propose an algorithm for ISPs to match buyers and sellers. We compare the optimal matching for different ISP objectives and derive conditions under which an ISP can obtain higher revenue with the secondary market: while the ISP loses revenue from overage fees, it can assess administration fees and take the differences between the buyer and seller prices. Finally, we use one year of usage data from 100 U.S. mobile users to illustrate that the conditions for a revenue increase can hold in practice.
Strategies of critique in International Relations: From Foucault and Latour towards Marx

Critique is back on the scholarly agenda. Since the financial crisis, critique has been debated in philosophy and sociology with renewed rigour. International Relations is currently picking up on these developments. Yet, the critique of capitalism is largely absent in International Relations. This article argues that the theoretical resources deployed among ‘radical’ International Relations help explain this phenomenon. In order to rectify this, the article aims to resituate Marx at the centre of the debate about critique. Based on a discussion of the understandings of critique by Michel Foucault and Bruno Latour, the article shows that their conscious focus on the small and the contingent has prevented a more totalizing strategy of critique from taking hold. The article illustrates this unwillingness to situate social life in our capitalist social whole by zooming in on ‘resistant’ intervention scholarship. Speaking to the nature of International Relations more broadly, in a second step, the article shows that this lack of ‘totalizing’ analysis has been present in International Relations and International Political Economy since their inception. Taking into account Marxian and Critical Theoretical understandings of totality, the article outlines a totalizing strategy of critique. This strategy has two components: it takes capitalism as such seriously; and it offers a methodology to implement this substantial shift using Marx’s dynamic method of ‘concretization’.
How the third wave of global judicial (and social) activism is filling ecological governance gaps and challenging the liability-remedy paradigm.

This project conceptualises the worldwide progressive transformation of human rights litigation into more ecocentric litigation and the emerging but important role of (activist) courts in addressing ecological governance gaps. In addition, it will inquire how this greening of social litigation challenges the legal concept of attribution of liability in transnational lawsuits and influences access to effective remedy for victims of transnational ecological harms. The main hypothesis is that ecocentric lawsuits mostly seek to nudge the choice architects of ecological governance, i.e. policymakers and global value chain (GVCs) coordinating firms, to implement effective actions for the sustainability of ecosystems while not necessarily seeking concrete remedies for victims. Although the effectiveness of this activism could be questioned by considering that only a minority of transnational ecological conflicts become lawsuits, ecocentric case law has nevertheless the ability to nudge ecologically responsible behaviour of policymakers and firms. The project will inquire how this instrumentalist use of the judiciary may hide the necessary debate on the quality of ecocentric case law as courts lack technical knowledge on ecological and economic issues and on the type of remedies actual or potential victims (e.g. future generations) can obtain from ecocentric judgments. The combination of  systematic (quantitative and qualitative) empirical analysis of global data should lead to a high gain project that sheds light on the transformation of social claims, on the synergies among social and judicial activism and soft law production and implementation, on the institutional quality of courts to understand global ecological and economic conflicts, on the patterns of innovative ecocentric case law, on whether triggering courts contributes to filling ecological governance gaps, and on whether this has (or not) a waterfall effect on access to remedy for victims of ecological harm.
Regional policy instruments and approaches for improving access to finance and speeding up investments in sustainable energy.

The EU, its Member States and EU regions have defined ambitious energy strategies, setting firm targets for an increased share of renewable energy sources, more energy efficiency and less carbon emissions in order to make Europe’s energy supply sustainable and future proof.

An important obstacle for wide-spread introduction of renewable energy production capacity and energy efficiency measures is the fact that actors (public and private) willing to invest in sustainable energy hardware and infrastructure often have difficulties to attract financial means to support their investments. The private financial sector (banks, investors) is often hesitant to invest in sustainable energy. Public funding is an alternative or complementary source for these investments. But the financial volume of national financial support schemes in most EU countries is limited and they often lack continuity or are difficult to acquire.

These limitations of the funding ‘market’ are holding back realisation of
the targets set by EU regions in their sustainable energy strategies. Regions with the ambition to be leaders in sustainable energy must therefore themselves create innovative instruments and facilities to generate these financial flows and investments in their territory. 

Regions4GreenGrowth is an initiative of EU regions who have defined high sustainable energy ambitions and now encounter this obstacle. The overall objective of the project is to equip these regions with regional policy instruments, mechanisms and approaches to improve access to finance for and speed up investments in sustainable energy projects (e.g. renewable energy generation capacity, energy efficiency measures) in their territories.

The partners in this project are Flevoland province (NL, lead partner), Norrbotten and Västernorrland regions (SE), Maramures County and Prahova Energy Agency (RO), Abruzzo and Lazio regions (IT), Valencian Institute of Business Competitiveness (ES), Patras Science
Park representing Western Greece region (EL), Euro Perspectives Foundation representing Gabrovo region (BG), Noord-Brabant province (NL), Assembly of European Regions (FR), Észak – Alföld regional development agency (HU) and Oldham Council representing Greater Manchester Region (UK).

Project activities include the collection and documenting of effective policy instruments in this field from partners and other actors. During Peer Reviews the partners will tackle the specific challenges of each partner region and present them with tailor made packages of policies and instruments to speed up sustainable energy investments. And a specific method for creating a public-private cooperation structure for investments in sustainable energy, developed by Flevoland, will be passed on to the partners in a Master Classes series, and implemented in 3 partner regions. Project achievements will be documented in a Guide on methods and implemented Good Practice and widely disseminated.
Fuels from electricity: de novo metabolic conversion of electrochemically produced formate into hydrocarbons

For biorefined fuels to fully replace fossil carbons, we must identify feedstock sources which are essentially unlimited in capacity and scalability and are independent of agriculture and forestry land use. Here, we propose to use electricity – preferably produced from renewable sources and at off pick hours – as the sole energy source for microbial growth and the conversion of CO2 into fuels. We aim to tackle the shortcoming of previous technologies by using completely soluble formate as a mediator between electrical current and living cells. Within an integrated electrobioreactor, CO2 will be reduced to formate at a very high rate, and the formate will be consumed by an engineered E. coli to produce propane and isobutene, gaseous hydrocarbons that are easy to separate from the liquid broth. Both propane and isobutene can be further converted into a range of products, including excellent fuel substitutes (e.g., isooctane), using conventional chemical engineering methodologies. Our approach comprises a truly interdisciplinary effort. Material scientists will design novel electrode compositions and structures, which will be used by electrochemists to optimize electrochemical formate production at high efficiency and current density. Metabolic engineers will adapt E. coli for growth on formate via two synthetic formate assimilation pathways, specifically designed to fit the metabolism of this model bacterium. Synthetic pathways for propane and isobutene biosynthesis will be implemented in the formatotrophic strains. Process engineers will construct a unique electrobioreactor to support simultaneous formate production and consumption. Experts in environmental assessment will analyze the benefits of the suggested technology, and the project vision and results will be disseminated to the scientific community and general public. The technology put forward in this proposal could have a transformative effect on the way we produce our chemicals and fuels.
Comparison of biological reactors (biofilter, biotrickling filter and modified RBC) for treating dichloromethane vapors

BACKGROUND: Bioreactors used for waste gas and odor treatment have gained acceptance in recent years to treat volatile organic compounds (VOCs). Different types of bioreactors (biofilter, biotrickling filter and rotating biological reactor) have been used for waste gas treatment. Most studies reported in the literature have used one of these systems to treat several types of inorganic and organic gases either individually or in mixtures. Each of these reactors has some advantages and some limitations. Though biodegradation is the main process for the removal of pollutants, the mechanisms of removal and the microbial communities may differ among these bioreactors. Consequently their performance or removal efficiency may also be different.

RESULTS: At low loading rate (<35 g m−3 h−1), all three bioreactors showed comparable removal efficiencies and elimination capacity, but at higher loading rates, rotating biological contactors (RBC) showed a better performance with higher removal efficiency (40–50%) than both the biofilter and biotrickling filter (20–40%). The biofilter showed a sharp drop in removal efficiency and elimination capacity at high loading rates.

CONCLUSIONS: The modified RBC had no clogging problems and no increase in pressure drop when compared with the other bioreactors. It can thus handle pollutant load for a longer period of time. This is the first study attempting to compare the performance of three different bioreactors for removal of the same VOC under different conditions. Copyright © 2010 Society of Chemical Industry
SIZING METHODS AND COMPOSITIONS FOR CARBON DIOXIDE DRY CLEANING

A method for dry-cleaning articles such as fabrics and clothing in carbon dioxide while concurrently applying a sizing agent to the articles comprises contacting an article to be cleaned with a liquid dry cleaning composition for a time sufficient to clean the fabric. The liquid dry-cleaning composition comprises a mixture of carbon dioxide, a surfactant, a sizing agent. An organic co-solvent is preferably included. After the contacting step, the article is separated from the liquid dry cleaning composition. The method is preferably carried out at ambient temperature. Preferred sizing agents are low molecular weight hydrocarbon resins. The surfactant is preferably one that does not contain a CO2-philic group. The organic co-solvent is preferably an alkane and has a flash point above 140 DEG F.