nils-herrmann/clean_scirepeval huggingface dataset:
Comparative Exergetic Analysis of Two Biodiesel Production Routes

Biofuels, such as biodiesel has obtained more and more relevance in the national scenario, because of the current concerns related to the burning of fossil fuels, besides of laws in force that determine the increase of biodiesel blend in common diesel each year. Thus, in this study a comparative exergetic analysis was carried out between the biodiesel production from soybean oil via basic homogeneous catalysis, case 1, where sodium hydroxide (NaOH) was used as a catalyst, and by means of supercritical alcohol, case 2, in which methanol was led to critical state. For that, two production plants were simulated in Aspen HYSYS® V9 software accepting the same amount of main feedstock, in this case soybean oil. After the simulations, the exergetic efficiency of each process was calculated through to a global control volume (CV), having as result 94.01 and 93.50 % to the Case 1 and 2, respectively. These results confirm the feasibility of biodiesel production and the little exergetic difference was caused principally by the conditions of temperature and pressure that were imposed in the methanol supercritical case.

Field of study: Engineering
Optimization of Polymerase Chains Reaction Amplification for ssDeoxyribonucleic Acid Library using Capillary Electrophoresis with Laser-induced Fluorescence Detector

Polymerase chain reaction (PCR) amplification is one of the vital steps for selecting aptamers from random DNA libraries via systematic evolution of ligands exponential enrichment (SELEX) technology. The influencing factors on PCR amplification were investigated and optimized based on the changes of dsDNA product, ss-dsDNA by-products and primers, which were monitored by capillary electrophoresis with laser-induced fluorescence (CE-LIF) detector. Results show that PCR amplification profiles are remarkably different when a homogeneous DNA or a random DNA library was used as template, while random DNA library was used as template, the yield of products reached its maximum at the eighteenth cycle in this study. Other influencing factors including the number of initial templates, annealing temperature of PCR, concentration of DNA polymerase were also studied. It is suggested that the optimization of PCR amplification conditions might be necessary for guaranteeing the efficiency of SELEX with random DNA libraries as template. For the N39 DNA libraries in the present study, the optimum conditions were as follows: the number of initial templates was 105 molecules, the concentration of DNA polymerase was 0.05 U μL−1, the annealing temperature in PCR was 70°C, and the cycle number was 18. The results from the present study might be helpful for screening aptamers with high efficacy from DNA libraries by SELEX.

Field of study: Chemistry
Design of interlock system for C-ADS injector I

An interlock control system based on a new redundant Programmable Logic Controller (PLC) and PROFINET protocol is developed as one of the key systems in China Accelerator Driven Sub-critical System (C-ADS) injector I for machine control and personnel protection. Signals from critical accelerator components are sent to this system for safety protection. Fault-tolerance and redundancy for high reliability are considered through the whole design, and reliability analysis of both redundant and non-redundant systems is done to meet the strict requirement. A control interface of Experimental Physics and Industrial Control System (EPICS) is developed and successfully used online.

Field of study: Physics
Beach management in Florida: Assessing stakeholder perceptions on governance

Comprehensive analyses of governance processes and stakeholder perceptions of beach management in Florida and many other coastal areas are lacking. Based on exploratory interviews and literature reviews, a survey instrument was administered that quantitatively queried seven primary stakeholder groups on fundamental issues regarding the management of Florida's beaches. Stakeholders expressed complex opinions including a mixture of both satisfaction and dissatisfaction with management of beaches in the state. There was a lack of consensus on multiple issues with considerable concern about several management issues including reactive, not proactive approaches, incomplete stakeholder representation and limited control of coastal construction. There were also concerns about the long term emphasis on engineering (seawalls, groins and breakwaters) relative to other management options (land use policies). Both political processes and availability of finances were often cited as primary reasons for Florida beach management challenges (39% and 44% of stakeholders respectively). The data also suggested polarization regarding the long term priorities of beach management in several questions including beach nourishment projects and planning for Sea Level Rise (SLR). Primary elements influencing satisfaction/dissatisfaction were the management of natural resources, politics, institutional coordination, public hearing effectiveness and control of coastal construction.

Field of study: Environmental science
An Objective Structured Clinical Examination to Assess Competency Acquired During an Introductory Pharmacy Practice Experience

To evaluate the use of an objective structured clinical examinations (OSCE) to assess clinical competency acquired during an off-campus introductory pharmacy practice experience (IPPE).  Third-year pharmacy students completed an IPPE in transitions of care and completed 24 experiential contact hours at one of 17 practice sites. Students were assessed using two OSCEs, the first occurring prior to beginning an off-site IPPE (pre-experience OSCE) and the second occurring after completion of the off-site IPPE (post-experience OSCE). Each OSCE consisted of 10 stations and covered five graded competency domains. The primary outcome was the degree of change in student performance from the pre-experience OSCE to the post-experience OSCE. Secondary outcomes included changes in each graded domain, OSCE pass rate, and failure conversion rate.  Of 111 students, 109 completed both the pre- and post-experience OSCE. Significant improvements were observed in overall score and cohort pass rate. Overall scores improved from 80 for the pre-experience OSCE to 87 for the post-experience OSCE. The OSCE pass rate also improved from 47% to 84%.  Although preceptor evaluations have traditionally served as the primary summative assessment for IPPE and APPE, this study indicates that OSCEs may be a reliable alternative to assess clinical competency acquired from off-site practice experiences.

Field of study: Education, Medicine
A novel structurally characterized haloacid dehalogenase superfamily phosphatase from Thermococcus thioreducens with diverse substrate specificity.

The haloacid dehalogenase (HAD) superfamily is one of the largest known groups of enzymes and the majority of its members catalyze the hydrolysis of phosphoric acid monoesters into a phosphate ion and an alcohol. Despite the fact that sequence similarity between HAD phosphatases is generally very low, the members of the family possess some characteristic features, such as a Rossmann-like fold, HAD signature motifs or the requirement for Mg2+ ion as an obligatory cofactor. This study focuses on a new hypothetical HAD phosphatase from Thermococcus thioreducens. The protein crystallized in space group P21212, with unit-cell parameters a = 66.3, b = 117.0, c = 33.8 Å, and the crystals contained one molecule in the asymmetric unit. The protein structure was determined by X-ray crystallography and was refined to 1.75 Å resolution. The structure revealed a putative active site common to all HAD members. Computational docking into the crystal structure was used to propose substrates of the enzyme. The activity of this thermophilic enzyme towards several of the selected substrates was confirmed at temperatures of 37°C as well as 60°C.

Field of study: Chemistry
Discussion on convergence of Legendre polynomial for numerical solution of integral equations

In this article, a numerical solution of Fredholm integral equation of the second kind will be discussed, for this result, we choose Legendre polynomials as basis functions and collocation method to estimate a solution for an unknown function in this equation. Convergence of this method and rate of convergence will be investigated. Finally, some numerical examples will be stated to show the accuracy of this method.

Field of study: Mathematics
New method for determination of the duration of picosecond laser pulses based on coherent anti-Stokes Raman scattering

A new method was developed for the determination of the duration of picosecond laser pulses applicable to a wide spectral range, including the blue and ultraviolet wavelengths. The autocorrelation function of the pulse intensity was determined by the coherent anti-Stokes Raman scattering (CARS) method.

Field of study: Engineering, Physics
Thermodynamics of high-temperature superconducting materials

In this paper, the problem of thermodynamic stability of new high-temperature superconductors is discussed. This problem can only be solved with the help of thermodynamic investigations, including experimental studies of thermodynamic properties and calculations of equilibria, which require a considerable amount of thermodynamic data. Now such a set of data is only available for the phases in the Y-Ba-Cu-0 system. In this system, phase equi- libria have been calculated and the stability regions of the super- conducting compounds and solutions established. It has been found that the 123, 247 and 124 superconductors are thermodynamically unstable under application conditions. The methods of theoretical and experimental investigations and available thermodynamic properties of phases are briefly reviewed.

Field of study: Chemistry
Episodicity within a mid-Cretaceous magmatic flare-up in West Antarctica: U-Pb ages of the Lassiter Coast intrusive suite, Antarctic Peninsula, and correlations along the Gondwana margin

Long-lived continental margin arcs are characterized by episodes of large-volume magmatism (or flare-ups) that can persist for ∼30 m.y. before steady-state arc conditions resume. Flare-up events ar ...

Field of study: Geology
A Survey on Environmental Monitoring Systems using Wireless Sensor Networks

Air pollution is considered as crucial for people’s comfort, health, and safety. Monitoring the air pollution is crucial in both environments (indoors and outdoors), and can be accomplished using a small number of inexpensive sensing unities, distributed over an area of interest to measure the level of various critical gases including CO , H 2 S , and NO 2 . The deployment of Wireless Sensor Network offers an alternative solution through scattering a large number of disposable sensor nodes over an area of interest. Scientists may directly retrieve the sensed data from sensor field through a web server application. This paper provides a comprehensive review on the available solutions that support the wireless sensor network environmental monitoring. The existing systems are intensively studied and categorized into: indoor, outdoor, and greenhouse environmental monitoring systems

Field of study: Computer science
Strontiumgehalte in Süddeutschen Malmkalken

ZusammenfassungKurven der Strontiumgehalte an Profilen süddeutscher Malmkalke zeigen einen bemerkenswert gleichsinnigen Verlauf über große regionale Verbreitung. Dies hat seine Ursache darin, daß die Strontiumgehalte, wie gezeigt werden kann, an die Gehalte an nichtkarbonatischen Rückständen gebunden sind. Zur Deutung dieses Befundes wird eine Hypothese entwickelt, die besagt, daß das Strontium bei der Umwandlung von Aragonit in Calcit an Tonminerale adsorbiert wurde. In einer noch unbewiesenen Verallgemeinerung gestattet dies die Verteilung von Strontium in Sedimenten allgemein zu skizzieren.AbstractCurves of strontium contents from profiles of Upper Jurassic limestones in Southern Germany are remarkably similar over great distances. The reason for it is that the strontium is mostly adsorbed by the clay minerals. It is assumed that this strontium was set free during the early transformation of aragonite to calcite. On the basis of this hypothesis and a further extrapolation an attempt is made to outline the principles of the distribution of strontium in sediments.RésuméLes courbes de teneur en strontium dans des séries du Jurassique supérieur de l'Allemagne du Sud présentent des grandes analogies d'une coupe à l'autre. On observe en outre que le strontium est lié aux résidus non carbonatés de la roche. Pour expliquer ce résultat, on suppose que le strontium a été adsorbé sur les minéraux argileux au moment de la transformation de l'aragonite en calcite. Cela permet d'esquisser la distribution générale du strontium dans les sédiments.Краткоесодержание Автором изучено распределение стронция в известняках мальма южной Германии. Он утверждает, что стронций, главным образом, находится в глинистой фракции.

Field of study: Environmental science
Biology of brain tumor stem cells.

of Neurosurgical Focus, highlights how tumor-initiating brain tumor stem cells (BTSC) rely upon many of the same cell cycle regulatory mechanisms, developmental programs, and germinal niches as normal neural stem cells. Functional similarities include multipotency, self-renewal, and migratory capacity. The shared properties of these normal and abnormal cells suggest a unified lineage, although the directionality of this relationship remains unknown. One persistent challenge is our inability to recognize these cells. To date, there exists no marker that specifically identifies normal neural stem cells. Similarly, although CD133 has been popularized as a BTSC marker, CD133-negative BTSCs are also capable of brain tumor initiation. We agree that further characterization of BTSCs is of tremendous interest and may facilitate targeting of potent cellular populations in brain tumors. Any discussion, however, of the implications (if any) of brain tumor therapy for normal neural stem and progenitor cells would first require evidence demonstrating the functional significance of these cells in humans. Moreover, exploiting the therapeutic potential of BTSCs will require additional insight into the fundamental mechanisms governing normal neural stem and progenitor cells, a phenotypically diverse population that varies in spatial and temporal distribution throughout postnatal life. Attention should also be paid to species-specific properties, as findings do not all necessarily translate directly to the human system.

Field of study: Medicine
An Algorithm for Energy Deposition at Interfaces

A method of analysis is presented which reproduces well the results of electron Monte Carlo calculations of dose enhancement profiles in silicon and polyethylene adjacent to gold irradiated with 10-300 keV x-rays. A simple physical derivation of the coefficients employed in our analysis is then given. In the resulting model, only data from standard compilations of x-ray absorption coefficients and continuous electron slowing down ranges are necessary for evaluating the dose enhancement profiles. This permits estimates of dose profiles in material combinations that have not yet been studied using Monte Carlo methods. The limitations and implications of these results are discussed and potentially useful areas of future effort indicated.

Field of study: Physics
Spectral analysis of unbounded Jacobi operators with oscillating entries

We describe the spectra of Jacobi operators J with some irregular entries. We divide R into three “spectral regions” for J and using the subordinacy method and asymptotic methods based on some particular discrete versions of Levinson’s theorem we prove the absolute continuity in the first region and the pure pointness in the second. In the third region no information is given by the above methods, and we call it the “uncertainty region”. As an illustration, we introduce and analyse the O&P family of Jacobi operators with weight and diagonal sequences {wn}, {qn}, where wn = n+rn, 0 < α < 1 and {rn}, {qn} are given by “essentially oscillating” weighted Stolz D sequences, mixed with some periodic sequences. In particular, the limit point set of {rn} is typically infinite then. For this family we also get extra information that some subsets of the uncertainty region are contained in the essential spectrum, and that some subsets of the pure point region are contained in the discrete spectrum. 0.  In this work we are concerned with spectral properties of a new family of unbounded self-adjoint Jacobi operators acting in `2(N). Most papers dealing with unbounded Jacobi operators are restricted to “regular” sequences of weights and diagonals. However, recently, several works concerning the “irregular” case have appeared: see e.g. [10], [7], [11], , , [18]. The irregular sequences in those works were mostly given as periodic perturbations (modulations) of regular ones, but also more irregular behaviour of the entries has been studied lately in , ,  and . The main goal of studying various kinds of deformations of regular unbounded entries is to illustrate and understand the somewhat delicate influence of such deformations on spectral properties of the operator. This general idea of deformations allowed several examples with new spectral properties to be constructed. In particular, in  concrete classes of weights defining Jacobi operators having a few gaps in the essential spectrum were found.

Field of study: Mathematics
Periodic inspection on crop sprayers: results according to age of sprayers.

The objectives of the IPP Project--Periodic Inspection on Crop Sprayers--are to develop methods for sprayer certification, analyze quality on spray operation, propose an inspection system for crop sprayers in Brazil, improve environmental quality on spray operation, and reduce costs on chemical control for plant protection systems. Periodic inspections on crop sprayers are performed in several countries and are compulsory in most of them, and it is becoming an important tool for improvement and optimization of use of chemicals. The IPP Project in Brazil is funded by FAPESP--Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo. The results so far showed that all the sprayers presented failures. However, most of them could be approved with minor services. As an example, 56.6% of the sprayers with more than 2 years of use presented leaks, 47% of them had damaged hoses and 80.5% presented bad tips (nozzles). These results indicate the need for better procedures of use and maintenance of sprayers, justifying the periodic inspection system.

Field of study: Agricultural and Food sciences
VERTICAL CURVE OF DIE CAVITY AND CONFORMAL MAPPING IN SPECIAL-SHAPED EXTRUSION

By Complex Mapping theory, doing mutual numerical calculation to finite odd and even interpolation points on the non-circle cross-section profile of special-shaped products, the conformal mapping function which can mutually transform cross-section region into unit dish region is set up. Translating the extrusion forming of special-shaped products into two-dimension problem, plastic stream function is determined, and the mathematical models of die cavity surface with various vertical curves are built up. Using the upper bound method, three types of vertical curves and their optimized parameters of die cavity are compared. Taking ellipse-shaped products as examples, their analysis and optimization are carried out.

Field of study: Engineering
Palaeoenvironmental reconstruction: evidence for seasonality at Allia Bay, Kenya, at 3.9 million years

In an earlier study, stress lines in primate teeth were found to occur on a recurrent basis, probably corresponding to seasonal fluctuations in environmental parameters, such as food availability (Macho et al.,  (1996) 57–70). In the present study this approach was extended to the study of teeth of extant and extinct mammals, with the specific aim to determine the pattern of seasonality at the Australopithecus anamensis -bearing site at Allia Bay, Kenya. It was found that extant and extinct species, who share similar dietary/ecological adaptations, are comparable in their patterns of stress. Typical browsers/mixed feeders were found to exhibit three recurrent disturbances per year, whereas grazers usually only exhibit two. The average spacing between lines is also comparable between extant and extinct species. Hence, while the severity and predictability of the seasons probably fluctuated during crucial periods of hominin evolution, there is little doubt that all hominins lived in a seasonal environment. At Allia Bay, the pattern of stress lines found in mammals suggests that the environmental conditions in which A. anamensis lived may have been comparable to those found in the Masai Mara today.

Field of study: Environmental science, Geography
ID: 65: An activating STAT5 mutation is sufficient for Peripheral T Cell Lymphoma formation

STAT5 transcription factors are essential regulators of differentiation, survival and proliferation during hematopoiesis. Hyperactive STAT5 signaling requires enhanced tyrosine phosphorylation (pYSTAT5), which is found in most hematopoietic cancers and is associated with negative prognosis. Importantly, recurrent gain-of-function STAT5 variants have been detected in different diseases with Peripheral T Cell Lymphoma (PTCL) phenotype. We used cS5F, a hyperactive point mutant of STAT5A (S710F), to generate a mouse model expressing the transgene under the vav-promoter from hematopoietic stem cells (HSC). High pYSTAT5 levels in vav-cS5hi mice led to an aggressive expansion of CD8+ T cells being lethal between 25 and 45 weeks of age. The PTCL-like disease was associated with lymphadenopathy, splenomegaly and T cell infiltrations into various organs. The CD8+ T cells were polyclonal, transplantable and expressed CD25, CD44 and CD62L activation markers. Furthermore, the number of active cycling HSCs increased. The expression profile determined by RNA-seq correlated closely with human PTCL. Our results support the concept that enhanced STAT5 signaling drives PTCL and STAT5 represents a target in these life-threatening malignancies. Therefore, we aim to test the effect of a new STAT5 inhibitor on PTCL cell lines.

Field of study: Medicine
A Kinetic Model for the Low Temperature Curing of an Unsaturated Polyester Resin with Single and Dual Initiators

A kinetic model has been developed for the prediction of reaction and gel time in the curing behaviour of an unsaturated polyester resin initiated by methyl ethyl ketone peroxide (MEKP), acetylacetone peroxide (AAP) and the MEKP/AAP dual initiator system. The curing behaviour was examined by gel time and pseudo-adiabatic exotherm measurements. We demonstrated that at room temperature and for a constant concentration of promoter, the logarithm of the reaction time (t) for each conversion can be described as a linear function of the logarithm of (Io% + R), namely ln t = a - b ln (Io% + R), where Io% is the initial content (wt%) of one of initiators and R is a constant dependent on the sum of the initial initiator contents, initiator molar masses and their kinetic parameters. It was also established that there is a linear relationship of the type ln((MEKP)o%/(AAP)o%)=A+Btgel between the ratio of the initial initiator contents and the gel time when MEKP and AAP mixtures were used as dual initiator systems for room temperature curing, with a constant concentration of promoter.

Field of study: Materials science