nils-herrmann/clean_scirepeval huggingface dataset:
Dietary and environmental implications of Early Cretaceous predatory dinosaur coprolites from Teruel, Spain

Coprolites from the Early Cretaceous vertebrate bone-bed at Arino in Teruel, Spain, were analyzed geochemically and palynologically. They contain various inclusions, such as small bone fragments, abundant plant remains, pollen, and spores. We attribute the coprolites to carnivorous dinosaurs based partly on their morphology together with the presence of bone fragments, and a high content of calcium phosphate (hydroxylapatite) with calcite. Well-preserved pollen and spore assemblages were identified in all coprolite samples and a slightly poorer assemblage was obtained from the adjacent sediments, both indicating an Early Cretaceous (Albian) age. This shows that the coprolites are in situ and also confirms previous age determinations for the host strata. The depositional environment is interpreted as a continental wetland based on the palynoflora, which includes several hydrophilic taxa, together with sparse occurrences of fresh-water algae, such as Ovoidites, and the absence of marine palynomorphs.Although the coprolites of Arino samples generally are dominated by pollen produced by Taxodiaceae (cypress) and Cheirolepidiaceae (a family of extinct conifers), the sediment samples have a slightly higher relative abundance of fern spores. The distribution of major organic components varies between the coprolite and sediment samples, which is manifest by the considerably higher charcoal percentage within the coprolites. The high quantities of charcoal might be explained by a ground-dwelling species, feeding on smaller vertebrates that complemented its diet with plant material from a paleoenvironment were wild fires were a part of the ecosystem. The state of preservation of the spores and pollen is also more detailed in the coprolites, suggesting that encasement in calcium phosphate may inhibit degradation of sporopollenin.

Field of study: Environmental science, Geography
Study of Pattern-matching Based on Greedy Principle

In the process of string,one of the most important operations is the pattern-matching,with the key problem how to improve the searching efficiency.To support efficient string matching,we propose a methodology exploring pattern feature with the most optimum strategy on the basis of greedy principle.According to the feature values of the characters in the string,all the characters are matched descending.On analysing the difference and/or consistence weight between the neighbor substrings with feature and/or strategy optimization,four algorithms are proposed in details.Extensive experiments are conducted to show that our methodology offers significant performance advantages over other existing string matching methods,especially on efficiency、adaptability and extendibility.

Field of study: Computer science
A Note on the Problem of Determining the Most Effective Predictor Variables in Multiple Regression

A PROBLEM that often troubles educators is de termining which variables most effectively predict a certain criterion such as grades. Oftentimes a number of predictor variables are considered and the primary aim is to select as few of these as pos sible for prediction purposes without losing too much predictive power. Several possible approach es to resolving such a problem do not always lead to the same solution. A convenient solution is sometimes found through logical analysis, while other times variables are selected that are most practically feasible. When the problem is consid ered statistically, it is a matter of determining the least number of predictor variables that account for most of the variance in the criterion variable. Fre quently this becomes a question of determining which combination of perhaps two or three predic tor variables appears to be the most useful combi nation of the original six or seven predictors con sidered. Although procedures for handling such a problem statistically are described in many statistics text books, several important points in relation to the application of these procedures seem to be in need of clarification. Specifically, application of such procedures can lead to conflicting results unless caution is exercised in defining the problem. The oretically the problem could be stated in a number of ways, but for illustration purposes this paper will concentrate upon only two of these. First, a solution might be sought by eliminating predictor variables from the total multiple corre lation coefficient for all variables included in the problem, with the aim being not to reduce the size of this R significantly (or the amount of variance accounted for). Those variables that remained af ter this elimination process would be used for pre diction purposes. A second solution to the same multiple regression problem could be found by start ing with a single variable and adding other variables that contribute significant amounts of variance until the best combination is identified. An example will illustrate the divergent outcomes that can be obtained due to the different definitions employed. In solving for these solutions, letus use a set of hypothetical multiple correlation coefficients for eight predictor variables as shown in Table 1.

Field of study: Education
New convenient synthesis of substituted 6,9-dihydropyrido[3′,2′:4,5]thieno[3,2-b]pyridines and 6,9-dihydropyrido[3′,2′:4,5]thieno[3,2-d]pyrimidines

Abstract1,4-Dihydro-3-cyano-2-pyridinethiolates react with 2-bromo-l-(4-bromophenyl)ethylidenemalononitrile or N-cyanochloracetanudine to give 6, 9-dihydropyrido[3′, 2': 4, 5]thieno[3. 2-b]pyridines or 6, 9-dihydropyrido-[3′.2′:4.5Jthieno(3,2-d]pyrimidines, respectively.

Field of study: Chemistry
Molecular phylogenetic profiling of prokaryotic communities in guts of termites with different feeding habits.

Termites are an important group of terrestrial insects that harbor an abundant gut microbiota, many of which contribute to digestion, termite nutrition and gas (CH(4), CO(2) and H(2)) emission. With 2200 described species, termites also provide a good model to study relationships between host diet and gut microbial community structure and function. We examined the relationship between diet and gut prokaryotic community profiles in 24 taxonomically and nutritionally diverse species of termites by using nucleic acid probes targeting 16S-like ribosomal RNAs. The relative abundance of domain-specific 16S-like rRNAs recovered from gut extracts varied considerably (ranges: Archaea (0-3%); Bacteria (15-118%)). Although Bacteria were always detectable and the most abundant, differences in domain-level profiles were correlated with termite diet, as evidenced by higher relative abundances of Archaea in guts of soil-feeding termites, compared to those of wood-feeding species in the same family. The oligonucleotide probes also readily distinguished gut communities of wood-feeding taxa in the family Termitidae (higher termites) from those of other wood-feeding termite families (lower termites). The relative abundances of 16S-like archaeal rRNA in guts were positively correlated with rates of methane emission by live termites, and were consistent with previous work linking high relative rates of methanogenesis with the soil (humus)-feeding habit. Probes for methanogenic Archaea detected members of only two families (Methanobacteriaceae and Methanosarcinaceae) in termite guts, and these typically accounted for 60% of the all archaeal probe signal. In four species of termites, Methanosarcinaceae were dominant, a novel observation for animal gut microbial communities, but no clear relationship was apparent between methanogen family profiles and termite diet or taxonomy.

Field of study: Biology, Environmental science
Gender and Welfare in Mexico: The Consolidation of a Postrevolutionary State by Nichole Sanders (review)

Mexico’s greatest hegemon is the PRI, the official party that dominated politics for much of the twentieth century. It has been roundly critiqued for its role in eroding the social inclusion and material redistribution upon which it was founded in revolutionary days. But this innovative study by Nichole Sanders of one of its most wide-reaching agencies, the Ministry of Public Assistance (SAP) (changed to Ministry of Health and Welfare, or SSA, in 1943), nuances the traditional historiographical characterization of theMexican state as moving steadily away fromwelfare-based reform over the twentieth century. Through a sophisticated and consistent application of gender analysis, Sanders writes an institutional history of the SAP/SSA that sheds light on the relationships among transnational health and hygiene professionals, middle-class women, government agents, and the urban and rural poor. Sanders argues that, through welfare expansion that drew in elements from the middle class, “benevolent ladies,” and private investment, the PRI was able to keep these critical sectors vested in the party and secure its claims to legitimacy.

Field of study: History
Conditional maximum likelihood timing recovery: estimators and bounds

This paper is concerned with the derivation of new estimators and performance bounds for the problem of timing estimation of (linearly) digitally modulated signals. The conditional maximum likelihood (CML) method is adopted, in contrast to the classical low-SNR unconditional ML (UML) formulation that is systematically applied in the literature for the derivation of non-data-aided (NDA) timing-error-detectors (TEDs). A new CML TED is derived and proved to be self-noise free, in contrast to the conventional low-SNR-UML TED. In addition, the paper provides a derivation of the conditional Cramer-Rao bound (CRB/sub c/), which is higher (less optimistic) than the modified CRB (MCRB) [which is only reached by decision-directed (DD) methods]. It is shown that the CRB, is a lower bound on the asymptotic statistical accuracy of the set of consistent estimators that are quadratic with respect to the received signal. Although the obtained bound is not general, it applies to most NDA synchronizers proposed in the literature. A closed-form expression of the conditional CRB is obtained, and numerical results confirm that the CML TED attains the new bound for moderate to high E/sub s//N/sub o/.

Field of study: Engineering
MODELING ALACHLOR MOVEMENT UNDER SPILL CONDITIONS USING LEACHMP

The simulation model LEACHMP was used in a detailed study of the effect of concentration on alachlor 
movement. Alachlor concentrations in soil and leachate from the concentration/degradation studies of Lesikar (1992) 
were used to evaluate model performance. LEACHMP overestimated movement of the center of pesticide mass for 3 and 
30 kg active ingredient per hectare (kgai/ha) application rates and underestimated that movement for the 3000 kgai/ha 
rate. Based on normalized objective function values for pesticide distribution, the estimated concentration for each layer 
deviated by 100 to 200% of the average measured concentration. In contrast, LEACHMP underestimated the mass of 
pesticide in the profile for 3 and 30 kgai/ha rate columns and overestimated the mass of pesticide in the soil profile for the 
3000 kgai/ha rate. The simulation model underestimated the quantity of alachlor leached from the soil columns especially 
at the higher application rates.

Field of study: Agricultural and Food sciences
Reticulated platelets: the birth of a new test for thrombopoiesis

In this current era of medicine the introduction of new tests is increasingly difficult. It is no longer enough to demonstrate that a test works, or even that it can be clinically useful. It must also be “cost effective,” and the criteria by which this is established are often unclear. Those of us who work in the clinical laboratory often approach new tests with a feeling of trepidation. There are many examples of useful and important tests that have taken years to slowly achieve acceptance. It is thus refreshing that the assay of reticulated platelets has come rapidly onto the scene and, by all of the information that we currently have, appears to be both important and cost effective. It has behind it the force of logic, and of medical necessity. In addition, it is relatively inexpensive, and shows promise of being easily automated. It is very likely that it will become a routine part of the hematological laboratory in the next few years.

Field of study: Biology, Medicine
Improved Molecular Diagnosis of McCune–Albright Syndrome and Bone Fibrous Dysplasia by Digital PCR

McCune–Albright syndrome (MAS) is a rare congenital disorder characterized by the association of endocrine and nonendocrine anomalies caused by somatic activating variants of GNAS. The mosaic state of variants makes the clinical presentation extremely heterogeneous depending on involved tissues. Biological samples bearing a low level of mosaicism frequently lead to false-negative results with an underestimation of causative molecular alterations, and the analysis of biopsies is often needed to obtain a molecular diagnosis. To date, no reliable analytical method for the noninvasive testing of blood is available. This study was aimed at validating a novel and highly sensitive technique, the digital PCR (dPCR), to increase the detection rate of GNAS alterations in patients with a clinical suspicion of MAS and, in particular, in blood. We screened different tissues (blood, bone, cutis, ovary, and ovarian cyst) collected from 54 MAS patients by different technical approaches. Considering blood, Sanger was unable to detect mutations, the allele-specific PCR and the co-amplification at lower denaturation temperature had a 9.1% and 18.1% detection rate, respectively, whereas the dPCR reached a 37.8% detection rate. In conclusion, the dPCR resulted in a cost-effective, reliable, and rapid method allowing the selective amplification of low-frequency variants and able to improve GNAS mutant allele detection, especially in the blood.

Field of study: Biology
Snow Particle Morphology in the Seasonal Snow Cover

Snow precipitation degenerates rapidly once it reaches the ground. A wide variety of particle types develop in seasonal snow covers. thus leading to a wide range of snow properties. The most common varieties of particles are shown here. The physical processes responsible for the growth and development of these particles are described in general terms, although these processes are not understood as well as the processes of crystal growth in the atmosphere. The heat and mass flows associated with the development of these crystals in the snow cover are complicated because of snow's complex geometry.

Field of study: Environmental science
China's Dominance Hypothesis and the Emergence of a Tri�?Polar Global Currency System

This paper assesses whether the international monetary system is already tri-polar and centred around the US dollar, the euro and the Chinese renminbi (RMB). It focuses on what we call China’s" dominance hypothesis", i.e. whether the renminbi is already the dominant currency in Asia, exerting a large influence on exchange rate and monetary policies in the region, a direct reference to the old "German dominance hypothesis" which ascribed to the German mark a dominant role in Europe in the 1980s-1990s. Using a global factor model of exchange rates and a complementary event study, we find evidence that the RMB has become a key driver of currency movements in emerging Asia since the mid-2000s, and even more so since the global financial crisis. These results are consistent with China’s dominance hypothesis and with the view that the international monetary system is already tri-polar. However, we also find that China’s currency movements are to some extent affected by those in the rest of Asia.

Field of study: Economics
Continuous cultivation and flotation of Hansenula polymorpha and Saccharomyces cerevisiae in an integrated pilot plant reactor-flotation column-system

In a 300-1 stirred tank reactor provided with a foam separator, Hansenula polymorpha and Saccharomyces cerevisiae were cultivated continuously in the absence of antifoam agents, and the cells were recovered continuously from the cultivation medium in a flotation column, 3.6 m high, 10 cm inner diameter, which was directly connected to the reactor. The following flotation performances were attained: cell concentration in the foam liquid CS = 45.3 g l−1, cell concentration in the flotation residue CR = 1.03 g l−1 at a cell concentration in the medium (feed) CP = 5.4 g l−1 with H. polymorpha;, and CS = 139.2 g l−1, CR = 0.00 g l−1 at CP = 4.8 g l−1 with S. cerevisiae, both of them cultivated at C-limitation, and CS = 115.6 g l−1, CR = 0.05 g l−1, at CP = 2.18 g l−1 with H. polymorpha at P-limitation (0.11 g l−1 KH2PO4). Practically all cells were recovered from the medium and the following enrichments were attained: CS/CP = 8.4 (C-limitation with H. polymorpha), CS/CP = 29.1 (C-limitation with S. cerevisiae), CS/CP = 53.1 (P-limitation: 0.11 g l−1 KH2PO4 with H. polymorpha). With laboratory- and pilot-scale equipment, comparable results were attained.

Field of study: Biology, Engineering
Influence of Surface Processing on the Biocompatibility of Titanium

Surface conditioning of titanium middle ear implants results in an improved biocompatibility, which can be characterized by the properties of fibroblasts cultured on conditioned surfaces. Titanium has been established as a favorable biomaterial in ossicular chain reconstruction. The epithelization of the surface of the implants is important for their integration and stable positioning in the middle ear. Mouse fibroblast cells were cultured on platelets made from pure Grade 2 titanium. Platelets that had been etched along their production process were compared to unetched platelets. The DNA in the cell nuclei was stained with DAPI and the actin filaments of the cytoskeleton were stained with FITC-conjugated phalloidin in order to analyze the cells grown on etched and unetched platelets by fluorescence microscopy. SEM (scanning electron microscopic) images were used to compare the surface structure of etched and unetched titanium platelets. There was a statistically significant increase of the area covered by the cytoplasm and increased actin expression by fibroblasts grown on the etched titanium platelets. In addition, the area of the platelets covered by nuclei on the etched platelets exceeded on average the one on unetched platelets, although this difference was not significant. The SEM pictures comparing unetched and etched titanium platelets showed a clear difference in surface structure. Surface conditioning of titanium implants improved the epithelization by fibroblasts and consequently etched titanium should be the preferred biomaterial for reconstructive middle ear surgery.

Field of study: Materials science
The impact of parent behavior-management training on child depressive symptoms.

The present study tested the impact of a parent behavior-management intervention on child depressive and internalizing symptoms. One hundred eighty-one children were randomly assigned to receive a videotape modeling parenting intervention, the Incredible Years, or to a wait-list control group. Children who received the intervention were more likely to have lower mother-rated mood and internalizing symptoms at post-treatment, compared with children in a wait-list control group. The effect sizes observed in the present intervention fell in the small-to-medium range for the sample as a whole, and some evidence supported the authors' hypothesis that effects would be strongest for children with baseline internalizing symptoms in the clinical range. Subsequent analyses also revealed that perceived changes in parenting effectiveness mediated the effect of treatment on children's post-treatment internalizing symptoms. The finding was consistent with study hypotheses and social learning explanations of child internalizing symptoms that guided selection of putative mechanisms. Implications for counseling psychologists and for designing interventions and prevention strategies for children with internalizing symptoms are discussed.

Field of study: Psychology
Elevated CO2 alters the feeding behaviour of the pea aphid by modifying the physical and chemical resistance of Medicago truncatula.

Elevated CO(2) compromises the resistance of leguminous plants against chewing insects, but little is known about whether elevated CO(2) modifies the resistance against phloem-sucking insects or whether it has contrasting effects on the resistance of legumes that differ in biological nitrogen fixation. We tested the hypothesis that the physical and chemical resistance against aphids would be increased in Jemalong (a wild type of Medicago truncatula) but would be decreased in dnf1 (a mutant without biological nitrogen fixation) by elevated CO(2). The non-glandular and glandular trichome density of Jemalong plants increased under elevated CO(2), resulting in prolonged aphid probing. In contrast, dnf1 plants tended to decrease foliar trichome density under elevated CO(2), resulting in less surface and epidermal resistance to aphids. Elevated CO(2) enhanced the ineffective salicylic acid-dependent defence pathway but decreased the effective jasmonic acid/ethylene-dependent defence pathway in aphid-infested Jemalong plants. Therefore, aphid probing time decreased and the duration of phloem sap ingestion increased on Jemalong under elevated CO(2), which, in turn, increased aphid growth rate. Overall, our results suggest that elevated CO(2) decreases the chemical resistance of wild-type M. truncatula against aphids, and that the host's biological nitrogen fixation ability is central to this effect.

Field of study: Environmental science
Adsorption hysteresis in porous materials

Adsorption hysteresis exhibits a wide range of phenomena dependent on the nature of both the adsorbent and the adsorptive, and on the tenperature. some of these features are described and an outline is given of their interpretation in terms of the physical processes involved. Particular attention is paid to the changes in the size and shape of hysteresis loops brought about by changes in tenperature, which are discussed in terms of hysteresis phase diagram . Hysteresis critical temperatures' are identified and linked to recent theories of capillary condensation.

Field of study: Chemistry
Vibrational Analysis of an Alfalfa Mat in a Forage Harvester

THEORETICAL equations for the application of viscous damping to forage compression and shearing mechanics were developed. Experiments were carried out with whole alfalfa to determine the effects of the mat length (distance from the upper feed roll vertical center line to the shear bar) on the compression energy. From the high speed motion pictures taken, measurements of the heights of the material and time were made and plotted. Energy for compression was calculated from the measurements. Based on the data, energy for compression can be reduced by designs which reduce the mat length.

Field of study: Agricultural and Food sciences
Early Proterozoic deformation in the western Superior province, Canadian Shield

Late Archean granitic plutons (∼2700 to 2665 Ma; U-Pb zircon) of the Superior structural province are cut by a variety of brittle discontinuities, including joints, fractures, and faults, the latter of which show evidence of cataclasis and meter to tens of meters displacements. Fluid circulation, alteration of wall rocks, and neomineralization of epidote, actinolite, and chlorite occurred under greenschist facies conditions in these structures at the time of their formation. The Rb-Sr ages of host rocks are ∼2650 Ma, and the fracture-zone materials are 2300 Ma, indicating that most of this activity occurred long after Archean plutonism and was concentrated in Early Proterozoic time. The brittle structures formed in response to horizontal compression on a regional scale, possibly caused by tectonic processes at margins of the craton. The structures are seen as important clues to the tectonic evolution of the Superior province.

Field of study: Geology