Mapping the biosphere: exploring species to understand the origin, organization and sustainability of biodiversity

The time is ripe for a comprehensive mission to explore and document Earth's species. This calls for a campaign to educate and inspire the next generation of professional and citizen species explorers, investments in cyber-infrastructure and collections to meet the unique needs of the producers and consumers of taxonomic information, and the formation and coordination of a multi-institutional, international, transdisciplinary community of researchers, scholars and engineers with the shared objective of creating a comprehensive inventory of species and detailed map of the biosphere. We conclude that an ambitious goal to describe 10 million species in less than 50 years is attainable based on the strength of 250 years of progress, worldwide collections, existing experts, technological innovation and collaborative teamwork. Existing digitization projects are overcoming obstacles of the past, facilitating collaboration and mobilizing literature, data, images and specimens through cyber technologies. Charting the biosphere is enormously complex, yet necessary expertise can be found through partnerships with engineers, information scientists, sociologists, ecologists, climate scientists, conservation biologists, industrial project managers and taxon specialists, from agrostologists to zoophytologists. Benefits to society of the proposed mission would be profound, immediate and enduring, from detection of early responses of flora and fauna to climate change to opening access to evolutionary designs for solutions to countless practical problems. The impacts on the biodiversity, environmental and evolutionary sciences would be transformative, from ecosystem models calibrated in detail to comprehensive understanding of the origin and evolution of life over its 3.8 billion year history. The resultant cyber-enabled taxonomy, or cybertaxonomy, would open access to biodiversity data to developing nations, assure access to reliable data about species, and change how scientists and citizens alike access, use and think about biological diversity information.

The EXTRIP (EXtracorporeal TReatments In Poisoning) workgroup: Guideline methodology

Extracorporeal treatments (ECTRs), such as hemodialysis and hemoperfusion, are used in poisoning despite a lack of controlled human trials demonstrating efficacy. To provide uniform recommendations, the EXTRIP group was formed as an international collaboration among recognized experts from nephrology, clinical toxicology, critical care, or pharmacology and supported by over 30 professional societies. For every poison, the clinical benefit of ECTR is weighed against associated complications, alternative therapies, and costs. Rigorous methodology, using the AGREE instrument, was developed and ratified. Methods rely on evidence appraisal and, in the absence of robust studies, on a thorough and transparent process of consensus statements. Twenty-four poisons were chosen according to their frequency, available evidence, and relevance. A systematic literature search was performed in order to retrieve all original publications regardless of language. Data were extracted on a standardized instrument. Quality of the evidence was assessed by GRADE as: High = A, Moderate = B, Low = C, Very Low = D. For every poison, dialyzability was assessed and clinical effect of ECTR summarized. All pertinent documents were submitted to the workgroup with a list of statements for vote (general statement, indications, timing, ECTR choice). A modified Delphi method with two voting rounds was used, between which deliberation was required. Each statement was voted on a Likert scale (1-9) to establish the strength of recommendation. This approach will permit the production of the first important practice guidelines on this topic.

Academic and clinical preparation in speech-language pathology and audiology: a global training consortium

ABSTRACT: Purpose: To describe a research-based global curriculum in speech-language pathology and audiology that is part of a funded cross-linguistic consortium among 2 U.S. and 2 Brazilian universities. Method: The need for a global curriculum in speechlanguage pathology and audiology is outlined, and different funding sources are identified to support development of a global curriculum. The U.S. Department of Education’s Fund for the Improvement of Post-Secondary Education (FIPSE), in conjunction with the Brazilian Ministry of Education (Fundacao Coordenacao de Aperfeicoamento de Pessoal de Nivel Superior; CAPES), funded the establishment of a shared research curriculum project, “Consortium for Promoting Cross-Linguistic Understanding of Communication Disabilities in Children” for East Tennessee State University and the University of Northern Iowa and 2 Brazilian universities (Universidade Federal de Santa Maria and Universidade de São Paulo-Baurú). Results: The goals and objectives of the research-based global curriculum are summarized, and a description of an Internet-based course, “Different Languages, One World,” is provided Conclusion: Partnerships such as the FIPSE–CAPES consortium provide a foundation for training future generations of globally and research-prepared practitioners in speechlanguage pathology and audiology.

Introducing the CTA concept

The Cherenkov Telescope Array (CTA) is a new observatory for very high-energy (VHE) gamma rays. CTA has ambitions science goals, for which it is necessary to achieve full-sky coverage, to improve the sensitivity by about an order of magnitude, to span about four decades of energy, from a few tens of GeV to above 100 TeV with enhanced angular and energy resolutions over existing VHE gamma-ray observatories. An international collaboration has formed with more than 1000 members from 27 countries in Europe, Asia, Africa and North and South America. In 2010 the CTA Consortium completed a Design Study and started a three-year Preparatory Phase which leads to production readiness of CTA in 2014. In this paper we introduce the science goals and the concept of CTA, and provide an overview of the project.

Structural design, manufacturing and testing of the new wing for the CSIR's Modular UAS in composite materials

In the framework of an international collaboration with South Africa CSIR, the structural design, manufacturing and testing of the new wing for the Modular UAS in composite materials has been performed.

La dimensione esterna della politica migratoria dell'UE

Conformemente ai trattati, l'UE sviluppa una politica comune in materia di asilo, immigrazione e controllo delle frontiere esterne, fondata sulla solidarietà e sul rispetto dei diritti fondamentali e, a tal fine, avvia relazioni strategiche con i Paesi terzi e le Organizzazioni internazionali. Un fenomeno “senza frontiere”, quale quello migratorio, esige del resto un'azione coerente e coordinata sia sul piano interno sia su quello esterno. La messa in atto di quest'ultima, tuttavia, si scontra con difficoltà di rilievo. Innanzitutto, l'UE e i suoi Stati membri devono creare i presupposti per l'avvio della collaborazione internazionale, vale a dire stimolare la fiducia reciproca con i Paesi terzi, rafforzando la propria credibilità internazionale. A tal fine, le istituzioni, gli organi e gli organismi dell'UE e gli Stati membri devono impegnarsi a fornire un modello coerente di promozione dei valori fondanti, quali la solidarietà e il rispetto dei diritti fondamentali, nonché a coordinare le proprie iniziative, per individuare, insieme ai Paesi terzi e alle Organizzazioni internazionali, una strategia d'azione comune. In secondo luogo, l'UE e gli Stati membri devono adottare soluzioni volte a promuovere l'efficacia della collaborazione internazionale e, più precisamente, assicurare che la competenza esterna sia esercitata dal livello di governo in grado di apportare il valore aggiunto e utilizzare la forma collaborativa di volta in volta più adeguata alla realizzazione degli obiettivi previsti. In definitiva, l'azione esterna dell'UE in materia di politica migratoria necessita di una strategia coerente e flessibile. Se oggi la coerenza è garantita dalla giustiziabilità dei principi di solidarietà, di rispetto dei diritti fondamentali e, giustappunto, di coerenza, la flessibilità si traduce nel criterio del valore aggiunto che, letto in combinato disposto con il principio di leale cooperazione, si pone al centro del nuovo modello partenariale proposto dall'approccio globale, potenzialmente idoneo a garantire la gestione efficace del fenomeno migratorio.

The search for the neutron electric dipole moment

A permanent electric dipole moment of the neutron violates time reversal as well as parity symmetry. Thus it also violates the combination of charge conjugation and parity symmetry if the combination of all three symmetries is a symmetry of nature. The violation of these symmetries could help to explain the observed baryon content of the Universe. The prediction of the Standard Model of particle physics for the neutron electric dipole moment is only about 10e−32 ecm. At the same time the combined violation of charge conjugation and parity symmetry in the Standard Model is insufficient to explain the observed baryon asymmetry of the Universe. Several extensions to the Standard Model can explain the observed baryon asymmetry and also predict values for the neutron electric dipole moment just below the current best experimental limit of d n < 2.9e−26 ecm, (90% C.L.) that has been obtained by the Sussex-RAL-ILL collaboration in 2006. The very same experiment that set the current best limit on the electric dipole moment has been upgraded and moved to the Paul Scherrer Institute. Now an international collaboration is aiming at increasing the sensitivity for an electric dipole moment by more than an order of magnitude. This thesis took place in the frame of this experiment and went along with the commissioning of the experiment until first data taking. After a short layout of the theoretical background in chapter 1, the experiment with all subsystems and their performance are described in detail in chapter 2. To reach the goal sensitivity the control of systematic errors is as important as an increase in statistical sensitivity. Known systematic efects are described and evaluated in chapter 3. During about ten days in 2012, a first set of data was measured with the experiment at the Paul Scherrer Institute. An analysis of this data is presented in chapter 4, together with general tools developed for future analysis eforts. The result for the upper limit of an electric dipole moment of the neutron is |dn| ≤ 6.4e−25 ecm (95%C.L.). Chapter 5 presents investigations for a next generation experiment, to build electrodes made partly from insulating material. Among other advantages, such electrodes would reduce magnetic noise, generated by the thermal movement of charge carriers. The last Chapter summarizes this work and gives an outlook.

Monitoring and Assessment of Desertification and Land Degradation: Knowledge Management, Institutions and Economics: White Paper of the DSD Working Group 3

The White Paper is a review of leading scientific knowledge on the role of knowledge management, institutions and economics in monitoring and assessment of land degradation and desertification. It provides key recommendations for more effective policies and actions for combating desertification both withn the UNCCD and beyond. This White Paper is the result of an international collaboration and consultation led jointly by the Association of DesertNet International and the United Nations University - Institute for Water, Environment and Health (UNU-INWEH), of the Dryland Science for Development Consortium (DSD). The findings were presented at the First UNCCD Scientific Conference held during the COP-9 in Buenos Aires, 2009.

Publication and non-publication of clinical trials: longitudinal study of applications submitted to a research ethics committee

BACKGROUND: Not all clinical trials are published, which may distort the evidence that is available in the literature. We studied the publication rate of a cohort of clinical trials and identified factors associated with publication and nonpublication of results. METHODS: We analysed the protocols of randomized clinical trials of drug interventions submitted to the research ethics committee of University Hospital (Inselspital) Bern, Switzerland from 1988 to 1998. We identified full articles published up to 2006 by searching the Cochrane CENTRAL database (issue 02/2006) and by contacting investigators. We analyzed factors associated with the publication of trials using descriptive statistics and logistic regression models. RESULTS: 451 study protocols and 375 corresponding articles were analyzed. 233 protocols resulted in at least one publication, a publication rate of 52%. A total of 366 (81%) trials were commercially funded, 47 (10%) had non-commercial funding. 346 trials (77%) were multi-centre studies and 272 of these (79%) were international collaborations. In the adjusted logistic regression model non-commercial funding (Odds Ratio [OR] 2.42, 95% CI 1.14-5.17), multi-centre status (OR 2.09, 95% CI 1.03-4.24), international collaboration (OR 1.87, 95% CI 0.99-3.55) and a sample size above the median of 236 participants (OR 2.04, 95% CI 1.23-3.39) were associated with full publication. CONCLUSIONS: In this cohort of applications to an ethics committee in Switzerland, only about half of clinical drug trials were published. Large multi-centre trials with non-commercial funding were more likely to be published than other trials, but most trials were funded by industry.

The AEgIS experiment at CERN for the measurement of antihydrogen gravity acceleration

The Antihydrogen Experiment: Gravity, Interferometry, Spectroscopy (AEgIS) experiment is conducted by an international collaboration based at CERN whose aim is to perform the first direct measurement of the gravitational acceleration of antihydrogen in the local field of the Earth, with Δg/g = 1% precision as a first achievement. The idea is to produce cold (100 mK) antihydrogen ( ¯H) through a pulsed charge exchange reaction by overlapping clouds of antiprotons, from the Antiproton Decelerator (AD) and positronium atoms inside a Penning trap. The antihydrogen has to be produced in an excited Rydberg state to be subsequently accelerated to form a beam. The deflection of the antihydrogen beam can then be measured by using a moir´e deflectometer coupled to a position sensitive detector to register the impact point of the anti-atoms through the vertex reconstruction of their annihilation products. After being approved in late 2008, AEgIS started taking data in a commissioning phase in 2012. This paper presents an outline of the experiment with a brief overview of its physics motivation and of the state-of-the-art of the g measurement on antimatter. Particular attention is given to the current status of the emulsion-based position detector needed to measure the ¯H sag in AEgIS.

Análisis bibliométrico de las publicaciones científicas argentinas en la categoría Agriculture, Multidisciplinary de la base de datos Web of Science (1997-2009)

El propósito del trabajo ha sido caracterizar el área de Agriculture, Multidisciplinary en Argentina, revisándose a nivel institucional, a través de la base de datos Web of Science, los trabajos realizados por investigadores en Instituciones argentinas y publicados en revistas internacionales con factor de impacto entre 1997 y 2009. En el contexto de América Latina, se han publicado 7795 trabajos de todos los tipos documentales y 7622 del tipo artículo o revisión en 49 revistas, y a nivel de Argentina se han encontrado 531 artículos o revisiones publicados en 31 revistas, la mayoría en inglés (80,23%), pero también en español (15,25%) y en portugués (4,33%). Por otro lado, se han analizado las Instituciones desde el punto de vista cuantitativo y cualitativo mediante diversos indicadores bibliométricos, como el Factor de Impacto Ponderado, el Factor de Impacto Relativo y la ratio número de citas frente a número de documentos, encontrándose que entre las instituciones más productivas destacan el Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas por el número de documentos y el Centro de Investigación y Desarrollo en Criotecnología de Alimentos por el Factor de Impacto Ponderado y por la ratio citas frente a documentos. Se observa una escasa colaboración internacional.

Lo local y lo global en la producción científica argentina con visibilidad en Scopus, 2008-2012 : Dimensiones nacionales e internacionales de la investigación

En Argentina, desde comienzos del presente siglo, las políticas científicas y tecnológicas explícitas evidencian un claro interés en la producción de conocimientos orientados a la resolución de problemas sociales, productivos y medioambientales de carácter local. Desde la bibliometría se vienen realizando estudios sobre la producción científica de los países, existiendo varios antecedentes que enfocan la atención en la producción científica argentina. Sin embargo, son incipientes y escasos los trabajos sobre la producción científica enfocada a temas locales. Los objetivos de esta investigación son analizar y describir la relación entre lo local y lo global en la producción científica argentina con visibilidad en Scopus en el período 2008-2012, y comparar indicadores de publicación, colaboración y liderazgo desde las dimensiones nacionales e internacionales de las prácticas de comunicación científica. Los resultados muestran ;que una cuarta parte de la producción está orientada a temas locales, con destacada presencia de contribuciones en Ciencias sociales, Economía y Administración, Ciencias agrícolas y biológicas, Ciencias de la tierra y relacionadas con el ambiente. Un alto porcentaje de esta producción se publica en revistas extra-regionales. Hay un mayor predominio de investigación en colaboración nacional y sin colaboración en los temas locales. Sin embargo casi un tercio de la producción se realizó en colaboración internacional, con diferencias porcentuales según las disciplinas. Por último, destaca el alto porcentaje de producción liderada por investigadores de instituciones argentinas en todas las disciplinas, tanto en los temas locales como globales

Lo local y lo global en la producción científica argentina con visibilidad en Scopus, 2008-2012 : Dimensiones nacionales e internacionales de la investigación

En Argentina, desde comienzos del presente siglo, las políticas científicas y tecnológicas explícitas evidencian un claro interés en la producción de conocimientos orientados a la resolución de problemas sociales, productivos y medioambientales de carácter local. Desde la bibliometría se vienen realizando estudios sobre la producción científica de los países, existiendo varios antecedentes que enfocan la atención en la producción científica argentina. Sin embargo, son incipientes y escasos los trabajos sobre la producción científica enfocada a temas locales. Los objetivos de esta investigación son analizar y describir la relación entre lo local y lo global en la producción científica argentina con visibilidad en Scopus en el período 2008-2012, y comparar indicadores de publicación, colaboración y liderazgo desde las dimensiones nacionales e internacionales de las prácticas de comunicación científica. Los resultados muestran ;que una cuarta parte de la producción está orientada a temas locales, con destacada presencia de contribuciones en Ciencias sociales, Economía y Administración, Ciencias agrícolas y biológicas, Ciencias de la tierra y relacionadas con el ambiente. Un alto porcentaje de esta producción se publica en revistas extra-regionales. Hay un mayor predominio de investigación en colaboración nacional y sin colaboración en los temas locales. Sin embargo casi un tercio de la producción se realizó en colaboración internacional, con diferencias porcentuales según las disciplinas. Por último, destaca el alto porcentaje de producción liderada por investigadores de instituciones argentinas en todas las disciplinas, tanto en los temas locales como globales

Lo local y lo global en la producción científica argentina con visibilidad en Scopus, 2008-2012 : Dimensiones nacionales e internacionales de la investigación

En Argentina, desde comienzos del presente siglo, las políticas científicas y tecnológicas explícitas evidencian un claro interés en la producción de conocimientos orientados a la resolución de problemas sociales, productivos y medioambientales de carácter local. Desde la bibliometría se vienen realizando estudios sobre la producción científica de los países, existiendo varios antecedentes que enfocan la atención en la producción científica argentina. Sin embargo, son incipientes y escasos los trabajos sobre la producción científica enfocada a temas locales. Los objetivos de esta investigación son analizar y describir la relación entre lo local y lo global en la producción científica argentina con visibilidad en Scopus en el período 2008-2012, y comparar indicadores de publicación, colaboración y liderazgo desde las dimensiones nacionales e internacionales de las prácticas de comunicación científica. Los resultados muestran ;que una cuarta parte de la producción está orientada a temas locales, con destacada presencia de contribuciones en Ciencias sociales, Economía y Administración, Ciencias agrícolas y biológicas, Ciencias de la tierra y relacionadas con el ambiente. Un alto porcentaje de esta producción se publica en revistas extra-regionales. Hay un mayor predominio de investigación en colaboración nacional y sin colaboración en los temas locales. Sin embargo casi un tercio de la producción se realizó en colaboración internacional, con diferencias porcentuales según las disciplinas. Por último, destaca el alto porcentaje de producción liderada por investigadores de instituciones argentinas en todas las disciplinas, tanto en los temas locales como globales

Chinese energy and climate policies after Durban: save the Kyoto Protocol

Nowadays, one of the urgent issues regarding global climate change is to discuss the future of the second period of the Kyoto Protocol. However, the divergence of views and opinions among parties in the last Conference of the Parties of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, held in Durban in December 2011, is still large. One of the bones of contention is whether the emerging developing countries, like China, should make commitments and legally bind themselves to a Green House Gas (GHG) reduction target in near future. As the largest GHG emitting country, China and its energy and climate policies will play an important role in global climate change and will also significantly influence the other countries? policies and the global climate negotiation. In this paper, we review the current differences among parties in the Durban Conference, and we analyze the recent situation, barriers, and future policies in China. Finally we highlight the impact and potential effect of Clean Development Mechanisms in avoiding China?s barriers regarding climate change. Results show that China is making a great effort to mitigate climate change by establishing and reforming its energy and climate policies in order to achieve a low-carbon development. At the same time, more innovation and international collaboration is needed in China to achieve this goal.