nils-herrmann/clean_scirepeval huggingface dataset:
TNF and CD95 promote IL-8 gene transactivation via independent elements in colon carcinoma cells.

The pro-inflammatory cytokine interleukin-8 (IL-8) is produced by HT29 colon epithelial cells following engagement of either CD95 or tumour necrosis factor (TNF) receptors. While the IL-8 promotor elements activated by TNF are well characterised, those responsible for induction of IL-8 by CD95 are unknown. We examined the pathway for CD95 induced IL-8 secretion using two luciferase reporter constructs; the first comprising approximately 500 bp of the IL-8 promotor that includes the nuclear factor kappa B (NFkappaB), C/EBP and AP-1 sites known to be involved in TNF mediated IL-8 induction; the second that encompasses these elements but extends approximately 1.1 kb further upstream. Although IL-8 mRNA and protein were produced in response to either TNF or CD95 ligation, only TNF induced an increase in the reporter activity of the promoter constructs. Nevertheless, IL-8 induction by CD95 resulted primarily from increased transcription and not from an increase in IL-8 mRNA stability. These results suggest that promoter elements/enhancers involved in CD95 mediated IL-8 induction are distinct from those used by TNF and not contained within the 1.6 kb region immediately upstream of the initiation codon.

Field of study: Medicine
Guidelines for the Use of SI Units in Technical Writing and Presentations

Beginning in 1975, the American Meteorological Society (AMS) adopted a strong International System of Units (SI) policy for its publications. AMS policy on SI units is explained in the Authors' Guide, published in 1983. This article serves as a review and update on the use of SI units in technical writing. Authors should use SI-unit guidelines both in submission of journal articles as well as in “camera- ready” publications for the AMS. These guidelines, based on agreements among many international and national standards organizations, will help avoid confusion in the use of SI units and terminology. Footnotes are used to reflect current AMS editorial policy.

Field of study: Environmental science
ELASTO-PLASTIC DYNAMIC ANALYSIS OF DUAL FUNCTIONAL SHEAR WALL WITH BUILT-IN SLITS

Based on previous experimental study, an analytical model is proposed for dual functional shear wall with built-in slits. The analytical results are found to agree well with the experimental data. With the dual aseismic structural model and the Takeda slip hysteresis model, the seismic responses of dual functional shear wall with built-in slits are studied by elasto-plastic dynamic analysis method. It is shown that the dual functional shear wall with built-in slits has a better aseismic behavior than the corresponding shear wall with built-in slits.

Field of study: Engineering
Agreement on the Perception of Moral Character

This study tested for inter-judge agreement on moral character. A sample of students and community members rated their own moral character using a measure that tapped six moral character traits. Friends, family members, and/or acquaintances rated these targets on the same traits. Self/other and inter-informant agreement was found at the trait level for both a general character factor and for residual variance explained by individual moral character traits, as well as at the individual level (judges agreed on targets’ “moral character profiles”). Observed inter-judge agreement constitutes evidence for the existence of moral character, and raises questions about the nature of moral character traits.

Field of study: Psychology
Research on Algorithm Based on SLIQ Decision Tree

Proposes an improved SLIQ decision tree classification algorithm,overcomes the shortcomings of the original SLIQ algorithm which needs to calculate numerous GINI indexes of each decision tree node.Introduces the concept of the Density of Data Distribution(D3),and improves the SLIQ algorithm with GINI index based on the ED3.Then adopts the new SLIQ in synthetic evaluation.The result in the example demonstrates that the number of the GINI index is reduced in the improved algorithm while searching the optimal split scheme,and cuts down the cost of sort and the optimal split point,simplifies the size of decision tree.

Field of study: Computer science
Differential microRNA Expression in Porcine Endometrium Involved in Remodeling and Angiogenesis That Contributes to Embryonic Implantation

In western swine breeds, up to 30% of embryonic losses occur during early pregnancy, and the majority of embryonic losses happens during implantation. In this period, maternal recognition of pregnancy begins to occur and blastocysts undergo dramatic morphologic changes. As with other species, changes in the uterine environment plays an important role in the process of embryo implantation in pigs. Erhualian (ER) pigs, one of the Chinese Taihu swine breeds, are known to have the highest litter size in the world. Experiments demonstrated that the greater embryonic survival on gestation day (GD) 12 in Chinese Taihu pigs is one important factor that contributes to enhanced litter size. This is largely controlled by maternal genes. In this study, endometrial samples were collected from pregnant Landrace×Large Yorkshire (LL) sows (parity 3) and ER sows (parity 3) on GD12 and the expression profiles of microRNAs (miRNAs) in the endometrium were compared between ER and LL using miRNA-seq technology.  A total of 288 miRNAs were identified in the pig endometrium, including 202 previously known and 86 novel miRNAs. The Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes pathway analysis revealed that highly abundant miRNAs might affect endometrial remodeling. Comparison between LL and ER sows revealed that 96 known miRNAs were differentially expressed between the two groups (including 78 up-regulated and 18 down-regulated miRNAs in ER compared to LL). Bioinformatics analysis showed that the target genes of some differentially expressed miRNAs were involved in pathways related to angiogenesis, proliferation, apoptosis, and tissue remodeling, which play critical roles in implantation by regulating endometrial structural changes and secretions of hormones, growth factors, and nutrients. Furthermore, the results demonstrated that insulin-like growth factor-1 protein expression was directly inhibited by miR-206. The lower expression of miR-206 in ER compared to LL might facilitate the angiogenesis of the endometrium during embryo implantation.  The identified miRNAs that are differentially expressed in the endometrium of ER and LL pigs will contribute to the understanding of the role of miRNAs in embryonic implantation and the molecular mechanisms of the highest embryonic survival in Chinese ER pigs.

Field of study: Biology
Oxygen nonstoichiometry of B-site doped LaCrO3

Recently, B-site doping in the perovskite-type oxides has often been carried out to control various properties. One of the perovskite-type oxides, doped LaCrO 3 , is the candidate for the interconnector for Solid Oxide Fuel Cells (SOFC). For its stability under reducing atmospheres, B-site doped LaCrO 3 is also one of the candidates for the anode of SOFC. The oxygen nonstoichiometry, δ , in B-site doped LaCrO 3- δ was measured as a function of oxygen partial pressure at 973 K to 1373 K. The observed values of δ were different by the different B-site dopants, and also different from those of A-site doped LaCrO 3 . It was shown that only 10 mol% of dopant in B-site drastically affects the redox property of LaCrO 3 . Defect model for B-site controlled LaCrO 3 was interpreted by assuming the reaction, 2Cr Cr X  + V O ••  + 1/2O 2 (g)⇔2Cr Cr •  + O O X .

Field of study: Materials science
A modified two dimensional analytical model for short-channel fully depleted SOI MESFET's

Analytical modeling of channel potential of SOI MESFET can be obtained by solving Poisson's equation to derive an expression for channel potential. Superposition method is an accurate technique for solving Poisson's equation, in which the solution of the 2-D Poisson's equation is represented as the sum of the 1-D Poisson's equation and a 2-D Laplace's equation solutions. In the existing models applying this method, the authors tried to solve 2-D Laplace's equation by using approximations  or modifying the boundary conditions  producing inaccurate results. In this report, a new methodology is applied to develop a modified analytical model for the channel potential of fully depleted SOI MESFET's, in which the drawbacks of the previous models are significantly eliminated. Using this model, the subthreshold performance of the device including channel potential, threshold voltage, drain current, and subthreshold swing under various conditions have been studied, plotted, and compared with TCAD simulation and experimental results. It is concluded the proposed model has been improved in term of accuracy compared to other existing models.

Field of study: Engineering
Interplay between the thermal evolution of an orogenic wedge and its retro-wedge basin: An example from the Ukrainian Carpathians

The Carpathian-Pannonian region is made up of the wide extensional Pannonian Basin surrounded by the Carpathian mountain belt. The Pannonian Basin formed in the Miocene by extension in a retro-wedge position while thrusting was still active at the Carpathian front. The Ukrainian region is an ideal area to reconstruct the relationship between the Pannonian Basin and the Carpathians, due to the relatively simple structural setting and to the progressive but neat transition between the two domains. This study uses low-temperature thermochronometry and vitrinite reflectance analysis to investigate the effect of the opening of the Pannonian Basin on the thermal and burial-exhumation histories of the Ukrainian Carpathians. The results show heating and burial maxima in the central units of the wedge (up to ~170 °C and 6 km, respectively), tapering out toward both the innermost and the outermost thrust sheets. Cooling and exhumation occurred by means of a first rapid stage between ca. 12 and 5 Ma (exhumation rates of up to ~1 mm/yr), followed by a slower stage from ca. 5 Ma to the present (exhumation rates within 0.5 mm/yr). Timing and spatial pattern of exhumation are compatible with post-thrusting erosion enhanced by isostatic uplift. The extent of exhumation progressively decreases toward the Pannonian Basin, characterized by a thinned crust. No further significant influence of the Pannonian Basin opening on the thermal and burial history of the Ukrainian Carpathians may be inferred based on our results, whereas the comparison of the tectonothermal evolution of the two domains suggests that they are both controlled by the same lithospheric processes.

Field of study: Geology
Two-color X-ray free-electron laser consisting of broadband and narrowband beams.

A simple scheme is proposed and experimentally confirmed to generate X-ray free-electron lasers (XFELs) consisting of broadband and narrowband beams with a controllable intensity ratio and a large photon-energy separation. This unique two-color XFEL beam will open new opportunities for investigation of nonlinear interactions between intense X-rays and matter.

Field of study: Physics
Andreev bound states in superconducting films and confined superfluid 3He

This paper reviews confinement-driven phase transitions in superconductors and Bardeen–Cooper–Schrieffer superfluids, and the appearance in thin films of new phases that break the time-reversal or translational symmetry. The origins of the new phases are closely tied to the Andreev scattering processes involving particle-hole conversions that create surface quasiparticle states with energies inside the superconducting gap. Restructuring of the low-energy spectrum in the surface region of several coherence lengths ξ0 results in large spatial variations of the superconducting order parameter. In confined geometry, such as slabs, films, pores or nano-dots, with one or more physical dimensions D∼10ξ0, the Andreev bound states can dominate properties of a superconductor, leading to modified experimental signatures. They can significantly change the energy landscape, and drive transitions into new superconducting phases. The new phases are expected in a variety of materials, from singlet d-wave superconductors to multi-component triplet superfluid 3He, but properties of the new phases will depend on the symmetry of the parent state. I will highlight the connection between the Andreev surface states and confinement-stabilized phases with additional broken symmetries, describe recent progress and open questions in the theoretical and experimental investigation of superfluids in confined geometry. This article is part of the theme issue ‘Andreev bound states’.

Field of study: Physics
Influence of E-Procurement Practices on Management of Public Secondary School Resources in Mandera County, Kenya

E-procurement practices are essential components in the management of public secondary school resources. However, lack of financial accountability, inefficiency, lack of controls and imprudent use of resources in Mandera County has continued to affect management of secondary schools. Thus, this study analyzed the influence of e-procurement practices on management of public secondary school resources in Mandera County, Kenya. Mixed methods approach was used and thus the study adopted concurrent triangulation design. The study established that e-procurement practices influence management of public secondary school resources. In conclusion, e-procurement practices influence management of secondary school resources. Thus, the study recommends that schools should ensure that there is an appropriate focus on good practice in procurement and that there is a significant procurement procedure in place to ensure compliance with all relevant guideline. Schools should adopt integrated tendering methods which are meant to guarantee financial prudence and efficient use of school resources.  E-procurement practices, management of secondary school resources, adoption and use of e-procurement

Field of study: Education
Factors that led to the implementation of the efficiency frontier approach in health economic evaluation in Germany: do not avoid the elephant in the room. Comment on Klingler et al. (Health Policy 109 (2013) 270-280).

Klingler et al. claim that the following factors led to he adoption of the efficiency frontier (EF) approach in ermany: the rejection of a fixed threshold, focusing on linical benefit instead of cost-effectiveness as decision arameter, (avoiding) healthcare rationing, methodologial doubts regarding quality-adjusted life years (QALYs), nd associating QALYs with healthcare rationing . In our opinion, the authors may overlook the factual aim f the EF-approach: justification of setting ceiling prices nstead of making reimbursement decisions. Furthermore, he role of a judicial review – a crucial veto point in the erman regulatory space – has not been discussed. Both ill briefly be explained below.

Field of study: Medicine, Political science
FSHR and LHR Expression and Signaling as Well as Maturation and Apoptosis of Cumulus-Oocyte Complexes Following Treatment with FSH Receptor Binding Inhibitor in Sheep

Currently, it remains unknown whether FSH receptor binding inhibitor (FRBI) influences follicular development and reproduction functions in humans and animals. The present study aimed to investigate FRBI effects on in vitro maturation (IVM) and apoptosis of cumulus-oocyte complexes (COCs) of sheep, to determine the effect of FRBI on mRNA and protein levels of FSHR and LHR in COCs, and to elucidate the signal pathway of FRBI effects.  COCs were in vitro cultured for 24h in the IVM media supplemented with varying concentrations of FRBI (0, 10, 20, 30 and 40µg/mL) and FSH (10IU/mL). The harvested COCs were observed under an inverted microscope and maturation rates of COCs were determined. Real time RT-PCR and Western blotting were utilized to detect mRNA and protein levels of FSHR and LHR. The concentrations of FSH, LH and caspase-3 were determined using especial ELISA kits for sheep, respectively.  Maturation rates of COCs decreased gradually as FRBI concentrations increased from 0 to 40µg/mL, reaching a bottom value of 23.76% of the FRBI-4 group. The maximal apoptosis rate was detected in the FRBI-4 group. IP3 contents of FRBI-3 and FRBI-4 groups were reduced as compared to control group (CG) and FSH groups (P<0.05). Levels of FSHR protein of FRBI-3 and FRBI-4 groups as well as LHR protein of FRBI-4 group were significantly less than that of CG and FSH group. FSH contents of four FRBI treatment groups were gradually decreased along with the supplementation doses of FRBI. Caspase-3 contents of FRBI groups were reduced with a maximum reduction of the FRBI-2 group.  Our results revealed supplement of FRBI into IVM media could dose-dependently decrease the maturation rate and increase apoptosis rate of sheep COCs. A lower dose of FRBI treatment slightly promoted IP3 production, but a higher dose of FRBI reduced IP3 production. FRBI suppressed the mRNA and protein expression levels of FSHR and LHR in sheep COCs. Our study will help to therapy effectively ovarian diseases, improve ovarian and follicular functions, and further to promote fertility of humans and animals.

Field of study: Biology, Chemistry
PRL-1, a protein tyrosine phosphatase, is expressed in neurons and oligodendrocytes in the brain and induced in the cerebral cortex following transient forebrain ischemia.

Protein tyrosine phosphorylation is thought to play an important role in the regulation of neural function. We reported previously that CL100, a cytoplasmic type protein tyrosine phosphatase (PTP), was induced after transient forebrain ischemia. In the present study, changes in the mRNA levels after ischemia of PRL-1, a cytoplasmic type PTP and immediate-early gene similar to CL100, was examined. In situ hybridization histochemistry showed that PRL-1 mRNA was expressed in normal adult rats in neurons and oligodendrocytes in widespread regions including the cerebral cortex, hippocampus and cerebellum. PRL-1 mRNA was expressed in the developing brains on embryonic days 15 and 19 and postnatal day 1. Northern blot analysis showed that PRL-1 mRNA was induced from 6 h to 9 h after reperfusion in the cerebral cortex of postischemic rats. These findings suggest that PRL-1 plays a role in neurons and oliogodendrocytes, and that expression of PRL-1 mRNA is regulated by a mechanism different from those of other immediate-early genes such as c-fos and c-jun.

Field of study: Biology
Lymphocytotoxic antibodies in patients with inflammatory bowel disease and their spouses--evidence for a transmissible agent.

Serum lymphocytotoxic antibodies (LCA) were detected in twenty-seven out of fifty-three (51%) patients with inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) and in twenty-three out of their fifty-three (43%) unaffected spouses. The prevalence of LCA in both groups was significantly increased (P less than 0.001) compared to that in age- and sex-matched controls (11%) or in control spouses (6%). Concordant expression of LCA occurred in sixteen out of the fifty-three (30%) patient-spouse pairs compared to only one out of the fifty-three (2%) control-spouse pairs (P less than 0.001). In contrast to the LCA results, heterophile antibody titres were similarly distributed in all four study groups. It is suggested that LCA may represent markers of infectious agents in IBD and that their occurrence in unaffected close contacts of patients may indicate transmission of such agents to these subjects.

Field of study: Biology, Medicine
On fitted modifications of Runge-Kutta-Nyström pairs

Modification of only four coefficients of the standard Runge–Kutta–Nystrom pairs is enough for producing a method of the same orders that integrates exactly the harmonic oscillator as model problem. These new coefficients are O ( λ 2 ) perturbations of the initial ones, with λ the frequency of the problem. Theoretical investigation for the possibilities of order reduction is given. Numerical results over standard pairs of orders 6(4) and 8(6) justify our efforts.

Field of study: Mathematics
Foreign Physics Graduate Students in the United States

The proportion of foreign citizens among first‐year physics graduate students in the US has now reached 42%. up from 17% in 1971. This dramatic increase has drawn attention to a wide range of issues, including the following:▸ The very small number of US‐born students who seek higher degrees in physics. Fewer than 800 US citizens a year, from a population of over 230 million, complete PhDs in physics.▸ The balance between theorists and experimenters in physics. Half of the growing number of new foreign‐student PhDs are theorists, yet for every physicist hired to do theoretical work, three are hired to do experimental work. What will happen when large numbers of theorists graduate in the next five years?

Field of study: Physics
Predicting The Effects Of Hay Swath Manipulation On Field Drying

Empirical models were developed to predict the field drying rate of tedded and inverted hay windrows. Drying was largely influenced by solar radiation. The tuming and fluffing action of the tedder increased the drying rate by 31% on average with an additional increase due to spreading of the windrows. Inversion provided a 15% increase with an additional small increase when the windrow was widened. Simulation indicated that tedding under good weather reduced hay drying time by 2 to 8 h and inversion by 1 to 4 h depending on crop density. Occasionally, this would mean baling a day earlier and reducing the risk of rained-on hay..

Field of study: Agricultural and Food sciences
Racing under uncertainty: Boundary value problem approach

This paper explores the continuous time and continuous space model of racing under uncertainty put forward by Budd, Harris, and Vickers  and allows for potentially asymmetric players. To prove the existence of Markov perfect equilibria, I use a boundary value problem formulation which is novel to the dynamic competition literature. In addition, by providing a new and intuitive definition of the pivot of an equilibrium, I show that equilibrium strategies exhibit the discouragement effect similar to that of Harris and Vickers  but under a more general class of the cost functions.

Field of study: Economics
Influence of form and quantity of selenium on the development and survival of an insect herbivore.

Even plants classified as 'nonaccumulators' can sequester concentrations of sodium selenate, sodium selenite, selenocystine and selenomethionine that can strongly influence insect development and survival. These forms of selenium (Se), tested in diet-incorporation bioassays, proved toxic to larvae of a generalist insect herbivore at relatively low levels. Sodium selenite was the most toxic form tested against Spodoptera exigua (Hübner), with an LC(50) of 9.14 microg g(-1) wet wt (21.11 microg g(-1) dry wt). Selenocystine was intermediate with an LC(50) of 15.2 microg g(-1) wet wt. The least toxic forms, sodium selenate and selenomethionine, had LC(50)s below 50 microg g(-1) dry wt, the upper level for tissues of plants classified as nonaccumulators. Ingestion of some forms of Se also affected growth and development. Increasing concentrations of sodium selenate and sodium selenite decreased pupal weight and added significantly to the time needed for development to the pupal and adult stages. The time required to complete the larval stage increased by over 25% and the time from egg to adult emergence was extended by 22% to nearly 30%. Selenocystine and selenomethionine did not significantly increase developmental times, even at concentrations that killed 90% or more of the test populations. Analyses of relative growth rate, relative growth index, and an analysis of covariance technique for measuring growth indicated that the form of Se affected growth rates, growth inhibition responses of the larvae, and toxicological effects. Thus, quantity and the form of Se accumulating in plants grown on Se-contaminated sites are likely to influence the population dynamics of insect herbivores. The implications of these results for the ecology of contaminated sites are discussed.

Field of study: Environmental science