nils-herrmann/clean_scirepeval huggingface dataset:
Reduced functional segregation between the default mode network and the executive control network in healthy older adults: A longitudinal study
Venue: NeuroImage

The effects of age on functional connectivity (FC) of intrinsic connectivity networks (ICNs) have largely been derived from cross sectional studies. Far less is known about longitudinal changes in FC and how they relate to ageing related cognitive decline. We evaluated intra and inter network FC in 78 healthy older adults two or three times over a period of 4years. Using linear mixed modeling we found progressive loss of functional specialization with ageing, evidenced by a decline in intra network FC within the executive control (ECN) and default mode networks (DMN) In contrast, longitudinal inter network FC between ECN and DMN showed a u shaped trajectory whereby functional segregation between these two networks initially increased over time and later decreased as participants aged. The rate of loss in functional segregation between ECN and DMN was associated with ageing related decline in processing speed. The observed longitudinal FC changes and their associations with processing speed remained after correcting for longitudinal reduction in gray matter volume. These findings help connect ageing related changes in FC with ageing related decline in cognitive performance and underscore the value of collecting concurrent longitudinal imaging and behavioral data.
Exact Sampling with Integer Linear Programs and Random Perturbations
Venue: AAAI

We consider the problem of sampling from a discrete probability distribution specified by a graphical model. Exact samples can, in principle, be obtained by computing the mode of the original model perturbed with an exponentially many i.i.d. random variables. We propose a novel algorithm that views this as a combinatorial optimization problem and searches for the extreme state using a standard integer linear programming (ILP) solver, appropriately extended to account for the random perturbation. Our technique, GumbelMIP, leverages linear programming (LP) relaxations to evaluate the quality of samples and prune large portions of the search space, and can thus scale to large tree width models beyond the reach of current exact inference methods. Further, when the optimization problem is not solved to optimality, our method yields a novel approximate sampling technique. We empirically demonstrate that our approach parallelizes well, our exact sampler scales better than alternative approaches, and our approximate sampler yields better quality samples than a Gibbs sampler and a low dimensional perturbation method.
Advances in Fmoc solid phase peptide synthesis
Venue: Journal of peptide science an official publication of the European Peptide Society

Today, Fmoc SPPS is the method of choice for peptide synthesis. Very high quality Fmoc building blocks are available at low cost because of the economies of scale arising from current multiton production of therapeutic peptides by Fmoc SPPS. Many modified derivatives are commercially available as Fmoc building blocks, making synthetic access to a broad range of peptide derivatives straightforward. The number of synthetic peptides entering clinical trials has grown continuously over the last decade, and recent advances in the Fmoc SPPS technology are a response to the growing demand from medicinal chemistry and pharmacology. Improvements are being continually reported for peptide quality, synthesis time and novel synthetic targets. Topical peptide research has contributed to a continuous improvement and expansion of Fmoc SPPS applications.
Regulation of exercise blood flow: Role of free radicals.
Venue: Free radical biology medicine

During exercise, oxygen and nutrient rich blood must be delivered to the active skeletal muscle, heart, skin, and brain through the complex and highly regulated integration of central and peripheral hemodynamic factors. Indeed, even minor alterations in blood flow to these organs have profound consequences on exercise capacity by modifying the development of fatigue. Therefore, the fine tuning of blood flow is critical for optimal physical performance. At the level of the peripheral circulation, blood flow is regulated by a balance between the mechanisms responsible for vasodilation and vasoconstriction. Once thought of as toxic by products of in vivo chemistry, free radicals are now recognized as important signaling molecules that exert potent vasoactive responses that are dependent upon the underlying balance between oxidation reduction reactions or redox balance. Under normal healthy conditions with low levels of oxidative stress, free radicals promote vasodilation, which is attenuated with exogenous antioxidant administration. Conversely, with advancing age and disease where background oxidative stress is elevated, an exercise induced increase in free radicals can further shift the redox balance to a pro oxidant state, impairing vasodilation and attenuating blood flow. Under these conditions, exogenous antioxidants improve vasodilatory capacity and augment blood flow by restoring an "optimal" redox balance. Interestingly, while the active skeletal muscle, heart, skin, and brain all have unique functions during exercise, the mechanisms by which free radicals contribute to the regulation of blood flow is remarkably preserved across each of these varied target organs.
Redox signaling: An evolution from free radicals to aging.
Venue: Free radical biology medicine

Redox biology has evolved from studies of the pathology that involves oxidants to an understanding of how oxidants participate in normal as well as aberrant signal transduction. Although the concept that signal transduction involved changes in the redox state dates from the 1930s, the modern history of redox biology began with the discovery of superoxide dismutase by McCord and Fridovich. The initial focus was on free radicals and damage of macromolecules, which remains an important topic. But, over time it was realized that hydroperoxides, especially H2O2 produced by NADPH oxidases, and electrophiles derived from lipid peroxidation or metabolism, played essential roles in physiologically relevant signaling. The mechanisms through which H2O2 and other electrophiles signal became an important area of study that provided insight into how these reactive molecules were involved in major signaling pathways and regulation of transcription factors. Thus, the field of redox signaling that is the overlap of signal transduction with redox biology was established. Alterations in redox signaling are observed in aging, but we also now know that redox signaling is essential in physiological homeostasis and that sustained deviation from redox homeostasis results in disease. This is a review of the history of redox biology from a personal perspective of nearly fifty years working in this field that hopefully provides some insights for the reader.
Accelerated crystallization of zeolites via hydroxyl free radicals
Venue: Science

Radically faster synthesis Zeolite synthesis normally proceeds under basic conditions that allow the oxide bridges between aluminum and silicon atoms to break and reform. Feng et al. show that the formation of hydroxyl radicals, either by irradiation with ultraviolet light or with the Fenton reagent, can speed up the formation of the crystallized zeolite by about a factor of 2. Science, this issue p. 1188 Hydroxyl radicals generated with ultraviolet light or Fenton reagents can approximately double the rate of zeolite synthesis. In the hydrothermal crystallization of zeolites from basic media, hydroxide ions (OH catalyze the depolymerization of the aluminosilicate gel by breaking the Si,Al O Si,Al bonds and catalyze the polymerization of the aluminosilicate anions around the hydrated cation species by remaking the Si,Al O Si,Al bonds. We report that hydroxyl free radicals *OH) are involved in the zeolite crystallization under hydrothermal conditions. The crystallization processes of zeolites such as Na A, Na X, NaZ 21, and silicalite 1 can be accelerated with hydroxyl free radicals generated by ultraviolet irradiation or Fenton's reagent.
Public Private Participation in Energy Infrastructure in Middle East and North African Countries: The Role of Institutions for Renewable Energy Sources Diffusion

Investment in infrastructure, although historically dominated by public intervention, are experiencing a growing role for public and private partnership. This trend traced a steady increase since the start of privatization and liberalization process that took place in most OECD countries in the 90s and peaked in 2012. Middle East and North African (MENA) countries are hungry for infrastructural investment, but looking at the consolidated global trends in energy investment, it emerges that its performance is particularly poor in attracting private participation. However, Morocco was able to figure among the top destination countries for energy investment. Together with Jordan they represent the only two countries able to attract energy investment in the region mostly in renewable energy technology. Evidence shows that Morocco and Jordan are those that perform better in terms of political stability score and rule of law score according to the World Bank. The institutional and political endowment in MENA countries appear to be inappropriate to secure the level of infrastructural investment in the energy sector, in particular when dominated by long lead times and irreversibility. In this context, renewable energy sources investment offer a valid alternative, when the necessary pre conditions are put in place and when the regulatory design is able to offset, at least partially, the higher country risk that investor are likely to face.
ZONGYI XING et al: OPTIMIZATION OF VIBRATION DAMPING FOR THE POWER ASSEMBLY SUSPENSION

In this paper, modelling and simulation calculation were carried out on the suspension system of a MPV (MultiPurpose Vehicle) via ADAMS software. Multiple simulation calculations were carried out by revising the model parameters repeatedly, and finally a model consistent with the data of idling vibration experiment was obtained. On the basis of the revised model, a mathematical model for the optimization design of vibration damping for the power suspension system of MPV was built, with the inherent frequency constraints of the suspension system, the vibration displacements and the turning angle constraints of the power assembly system along X axle and Y axle as the constraint conditions, the rigidities of the suspension components in the 3 main directions as well as the installation angles of the left and right front suspensions of the engine as the design variables, the 6degree of freedom decoupling of the suspension system as the objective function. The optimization design of vibration damping for the suspension system of the engine was completed by means of ant colony algorithm. Simulation analysis was carried out on the dynamic response of the optimized model in terms of time domain and frequency domain, and relevant data and curves were obtained. The simulation results show that the optimized model can control the highest order inherent frequency of the suspension system within the range required by the design, and can make the decoupling rate along Z axle and axle reach over 90% Meanwhile, the transmissibility of the optimized suspension system was calculated, which concludes that the optimized transmissibility is reduced. The results before and after the optimization indicate that the optimized suspension system has good vibration damping effect.
Bi objective vibration damping optimization for congested location pricing problem
Venue: Comput. Oper. Res.

This paper presents a bi objective mathematical programming model for the restricted facility location problem, under a congestion and pricing policy. Motivated by various applications such as locating server on internet mirror sites and communication networks, this research investigates congested systems with immobile servers and stochastic demand as M/M/m/k queues. For this problem, we consider two simultaneous perspectives; (1) customers who desire to limit waiting time for service and (2) service providers who intend to increase profits. We formulate a bi objective facility location problem with two objective functions: (i) maximizing total profit of the whole system and (ii) minimizing the sum of waiting time in queues; the model type is mixed integer nonlinear. Then, a multi objective optimization algorithm based on vibration theory (so called multi objective vibration damping optimization (MOVDO) is developed to solve the model. Moreover, the Taguchi method is also implemented, using a response metric to tune the parameters. The results are analyzed and compared with a non dominated sorting genetic algorithm (NSGA II) as a well developed multi objective evolutionary optimization algorithm. Computational results demonstrate the efficiency of the proposed MOVDO to solve large scale problems. A bi objective mathematical model is presented for a location queuing pricing problem.This paper considers M/M/m/K queuing system at each facility while M/M/1 is usual in the literature.Unlike previously published papers which consider the same price at all facilities we consider different prices.We developed a multi objective vibration damping optimization to find Pareto solutions.Taguchi method is also implemented using a response metric to tune the parameters.
COMBINING PUBLIC DOMAIN AND PROFESSIONAL PANORAMIC IMAGERY FOR THE ACCURATE AND DENSE 3D RECONSTRUCTION OF THE DESTROYED BEL TEMPLE IN PALMYRA

This paper exploits the potential of dense multi image 3d reconstruction of destroyed cultural heritage monuments by either using public domain touristic imagery only or by combining the public domain imagery with professional panoramic imagery. The focus of our work is placed on the reconstruction of the temple of Bel, one of the Syrian heritage monuments, which was destroyed in September 2015 by the so called "Islamic State" The great temple of Bel is considered as one of the most important religious buildings of the 1st century AD in the East with a unique design. The investigations and the reconstruction were carried out using two types of imagery. The first are freely available generic touristic photos collected from the web. The second are panoramic images captured in 2010 for documenting those monuments. In the paper we present a 3d reconstruction workflow for both types of imagery using state of the art dense image matching software, addressing the non trivial challenges of combining uncalibrated public domain imagery with panoramic images with very wide base lines. We subsequently investigate the aspects of accuracy and completeness obtainable from the public domain touristic images alone and from the combination with spherical panoramas. We furthermore discuss the challenges of co registering the weakly connected 3d point cloud fragments resulting from the limited coverage of the touristic photos. We then describe an approach using spherical photogrammetry as a virtual topographic survey allowing the co registration of a detailed and accurate single 3d model of the temple interior and exterior.
Temple syndrome as a result of isolated hypomethylation of the 14q32 imprinted DLK1/MEG3 region
Venue: American journal of medical genetics. Part A

We present a Caucasian female, who was diagnosed at 13 years of age with Temple syndrome (formerly referred to as "maternal UPD 14 phenotype" due to an epigenetic loss of methylation at IG DMR/MEG3 DMR at the chromosome 14q32 imprinted locus. Clinical features were typical and included intra uterine growth retardation (IUGR) low birth weight, hypotonia, and poor feeding in the neonatal period; and failure to thrive and developmental delay particularly in relation to speech in early childhood. Premature puberty, with short stature and truncal obesity, but normal intelligence, were the key features in teenage years. To date only eight patients with Temple syndrome due to an epigenetic error have been described and the etiology of the methylation defect is currently undetermined. In view of a tendency towards central obesity, patients are at potential risk of early onset type 2 diabetes mellitus, as well as cardiovascular disease and they, therefore, require appropriate monitoring.
The implementation of an intercultural competence syllabus to prepare study abroad students for global communication

This study presents the outcome of the implementation of a process oriented model of an intercultural competence (IC) and English as a lingua franca (ELF) awareness development syllabus to prepare government sponsored Turkish international sojourners for global communication in English L1 countries. Based on social constructivist research methodology, both, qualitative and quantitative data were used in the study that came from three major sources. The qualitative data included field notes obtained from a class of 10 study abroad English preparatory students and interviews conducted with the preparatory school administrators, and the quantitative data came from pre tests and post tests which demonstrated a considerable shift in the attitudes of the participants of the experimental group with a boost in their ELF awareness and intercultural sensitivity compared to their control group counterparts. The outcome of the study underlines the significance of IC and ELF awareness development during language preparatory programmes prior to sojourn.
Iterated Tabu Search and Variable Neighborhood Descent for packing unequal circles into a circular container
Venue: Eur. J. Oper. Res.

This paper presents an Iterated Tabu Search and Variable Neighborhood Descent (ITS VND) algorithm for packing unequal circles into a circular container (PUCC) The algorithm adapts the Tabu Search procedure of Iterated Tabu Search algorithms and proposes a Tabu Search and Variable Neighborhood Descent (TS VND) procedure. We observe there are strong complementarities between the small circles and the large vacant places, and propose the insert neighborhood to match up the small circles with the large vacant places. Although the insert neighborhood is inefficient and time consuming, it is an important supplement to the classic swap neighborhood as it could arrange the small circles properly. Predicated on these features, we employ the insert neighborhood only at chosen local minima of the swap neighborhood that shows promise for an improvement. The traditional Tabu Search procedure is then transformed into a hybrid procedure composed of two alternative parts, namely Variable Neighborhood Descent and Tabu Search respectively. Besides this reformed procedure, ITS VND also incorporates other new features, such as an adaptive evaluation function, a novel method for accelerating the neighborhood exploration, and the "collision accidents" criterion for evaluating how intensively the area near the current solution has been explored. The computational results on three well established benchmark sets show that the proposed algorithm not only has a good discovery capability but also can provide good results within a reasonable time. For a total of 84 benchmark instances, the proposed algorithm improves the best known results on 23 instances, matches 60, and only misses one.
Convergences of a stage structured predator prey model with modified Leslie Gower and Holling type II schemes

A stage structured predator prey model (stage structure for both predator and prey) with modified Leslie Gower and Holling II schemes is studied in this paper. Using the iterative technique method and the fluctuation lemma, sufficient conditions which guarantee the global stability of the positive equilibrium and boundary equilibrium are obtained. Our results indicate that for a stage structured predator prey community, both the stage structure and the death rate of the mature species are the important factors that lead to the permanence or extinction of the system.
Dynamics of a modified Leslie Gower predator prey model with Holling type II schemes and a prey refuge
Venue: SpringerPlus

We propose a modified Leslie Gower predator prey model with Holling type II schemes and a prey refuge. The structure of equilibria and their linearized stability is investigated. By using the iterative technique and further precise analysis, sufficient conditions on the global attractivity of a positive equilibrium are obtained. Our results not only supplement but also improve some existing ones. Numerical simulations show the feasibility of our results.
On the uniqueness of weak solution for the 2 D Ericksen Leslie system

In this paper, we prove the uniqueness of weak solutions to the two dimensional full Ericksen Leslie system with the Leslie stress and general Ericksen stress under the physical constrains on the Leslie coefficients. This question remains unknown even in the case when the Leslie stress is vanishing. The main technique used in the proof is Littlewood Paley analysis performed in a very delicate way. Different from the earlier result in  we introduce a new metric and explore the algebraic structure of the molecular field.
Non native English Language Teachers Perceptions of Professional Development: Implications for Career Stages

This study explored English language teachers perceptions of professional development and professional development practices. The data were gathered through semi structured interviews, from six non native teachers who were in different career stages. Inductive content analysis showed that teachers described professional development as the use of various resources and use of skills and knowledge while their professional development activities included attending courses and seminars, following professional publications and collaborating with colleagues Although both the definitions and practices can be considered as traditional, the results indicated that teachers were aware that they needed to keep up with rapid progress and change in teaching and education.
Evaluation of rainfall spatial correlation effect on rainfall runoff modeling uncertainty, considering 2 copula
Venue: Arabian Journal of Geosciences

Lack of accuracy of rainfall runoff simulation (RRS) remains critical for some applications. Among various sources of uncertainty, precipitation plays a particular role. Rainfall rates as the main input data of RRS are of the first factors controlling the accuracy. In addition to the depth, spatial and temporal distributions of rainfall impact the flood discharge. Most of the previous studies on RRS uncertainty have ignored rainfall spatial distribution, where in large catchments, it is necessary to be modeled explicitly. Karoon III is one most important basin of the Iran because of the Karoon III dam in the outlet. In the present work, effect of spatial correlation of rainfall on HEC HMS (SMA) continuous RRS uncertainty is evaluated using 2variate copula (2copula) Monte Carlo simulation (MCS) approach was used to consider the rainfall spatial dependence. To reduce the computational expense, sampling efficiency and convergence for MCS, Latin hypercube sampling (LHS) was used. Copula functions consider wide range of marginal probability distribution functions (PDFs) eliminating limits of regular join PDFs. For this aim, two scenarios were investigated. In the first scenario, sub basin rainfall was considered independent, and in the second scenario, 2copula was adopted to model spatial correlation of rainfall. Dimensionless rainfall depths were calculated for each sub basin, and the PDFs were determined. The generated random dimensionless rainfalls were reweighted and multiplied by watershed's mean rainfall value. Stochastic Climate Library was used to generate continuous daily rainfalls. Sampling from dimensionless rainfalls using LHS algorithm, 100 runs of calibrated model simulated 100 flows for each day following MCS, and 80 certainty bound was calculated. Results showed that considering dependence decreased 18 of the maximum uncertainty bound width, so the methodology could be recommended for decreasing predicted runoff error.