nils-herrmann/clean_scirepeval huggingface dataset:
Impact of the Montreal Protocol on automotive air conditioning

This Paper considers the impact of the Montreal Protocol on automotive air conditioning. It looks at the general design features of automotive air conditioning systems and their R12 consumption and emission. Potential controls for reducing R12 emission and consumption are outlined, including air conditioning system measures. It is concluded that the Montreal Protocol will definitely have a heavy impact on automotive air conditioning because of the high R12 consumption rate in the USA and Japan. Viewed in the light of the world-wide ties between the automobile industry and its suppliers, this impact will affect the parties concerned everywhere in the world.

Field of study: Engineering
Effects of alpha-lipoic acid supplementation on inflammation, oxidative stress, and serum lipid profile levels in patients with end-stage renal disease on hemodialysis.

We examined the effects of alpha-lipoic acid (ALA) supplementation on inflammation, oxidative stress, and serum lipid profile levels in hemodialysis (HD) patients.



This was a double-blinded, randomized, placebo-controlled clinical trial.



The present study involved HD centers in Tabriz, Iran.



Participants included 63 patients with end-stage renal disease (43 men and 20 women; age range: 22-79 years) undergoing maintenance HD.



HD patients were randomly assigned into the supplemented group (n = 31), receiving a daily dose of ALA (600 mg), or a control group (n = 32), receiving placebo for 8 weeks.



High sensitivity C-reactive protein (hsCRP), malondialdehyde, total antioxidant status, total cholesterol, triglyceride, high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C), and low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C) were measured at baseline and after 8 weeks of supplementation.



At the end of intervention, 11 patients were excluded from the study. HsCRP levels decreased by 18.7% in the supplemented group after 8 weeks of supplementation, and the reduction was significant in comparison with the placebo group (P < .05); this finding was also significant after adjusting for baseline values of hsCRP. The mean malondialdehyde and total antioxidant status levels did not change significantly in the 2 groups during the study. The mean high-density lipoprotein cholesterol concentrations increased significantly in the supplemented group at the end of the study (P < .05); however, this improvement was not statistically significant as compared with the placebo group. No significant alterations were observed in the other lipid profile parameters within each group during the study.



ALA supplementation significantly reduced hsCRP levels, which is a risk factor for cardiovascular disease in HD patients.

Field of study: Medicine
SiC/Al Composite Prepared by High Energy Ball Milling Method

SiC particle reinforced pure aluminum matrix composite was prepared using high energy ball milling method.The effects of the mass fraction of SiC particles on the mechanical properties of the composite were studied.The results indicate that the hardness,yield strength and tensile strength of the composite increase,but the elongation decreases with the increase of the weight fraction of the SiC particles.The fracture morphology indicates that SiC/Al composite shows both ductile and brittle fracture characteristics,and along with increasing the weight fraction of the SiC particles,and the ductile fracture feature decreases.

Field of study: Materials science
Water deprivation enhances fear conditioning to contextual, but not discrete, conditional stimuli in rats.

Water-deprived and nondeprived rats were fear conditioned with a discrete tone conditional stimulus (CS) and an aversive footshock unconditional stimulus (US). Twenty-four and 48 hr following conditioning, conditional fear to the tone CS and the context cues of the conditioning chamber, respectively, were assessed by measuring freezing behavior. Water deprivation had no effect on baseline responding to either tone or contextual stimuli. Following either 1 or 3 tone-shock pairings, however, water deprivation selectively enhanced conditional freezing to the contextual cues of the training chamber; conditional freezing to the tone was unaffected by water deprivation. These results are consistent with the view that water deprivation affects fear conditioning via an influence on the hippocampus.

Field of study: Biology, Psychology
When a habitat freezes solid: microorganisms over-winter within the ice column of a coastal Antarctic lake.

A major impediment to understanding the biology of microorganisms inhabiting Antarctic environments is the logistical constraint of conducting field work primarily during the summer season. However, organisms that persist throughout the year encounter severe environmental changes between seasons. In an attempt to bridge this gap, we collected ice core samples from Pony Lake in early November 2004 when the lake was frozen solid to its base, providing an archive for the biological and chemical processes that occurred during winter freezeup. The ice contained bacteria and virus-like particles, while flagellated algae and ciliates over-wintered in the form of inactive cysts and spores. Both bacteria and algae were metabolically active in the ice core melt water. Bacterial production ranged from 1.8 to 37.9 μg CL(-1) day(-1). Upon encountering favorable growth conditions in the melt water, primary production ranged from 51 to 931 μg CL(-1) day(-1). Because of the strong H(2) S odor and the presence of closely related anaerobic organisms assigned to Pony Lake bacterial 16S rRNA gene clones, we hypothesize that the microbial assemblage was strongly affected by oxygen gradients, which ultimately restricted the majority of phylotypes to distinct strata within the ice column. This study provides evidence that the microbial community over-winters in the ice column of Pony Lake and returns to a highly active metabolic state when spring melt is initiated.

Field of study: Biology, Environmental science
Expression of the Long Form Leptin Receptor mRNA in Rat Ovary

Expression of the long form Leptin receptor mRNA in rat ovary were studied by use of hybridization in situ in 5 SD female rats. The results showed that long form Leptin receptor mRNA was mainly expressed in the corpus lateum cell and the grain cell around corpus lateum, primary follicles, growth follicles and mature follicles of rat ovary. The snuff color grains of ObRb mRNA were distributed densely in the corpus lateum cell, but no distribution in the other position.

Field of study: Agricultural and Food sciences
Entrainment in pacemakers characterized by a V-shaped PRC.

The behaviour of a class of pacemakers characterized by a V-shaped PRC has been determined, for all possible frequencies and amplitudes of stimulation. The analytical study of the phase transition equation reveals that all rhythmic stimuli, but for a set of measure zero, give rise to entrainment. The ratio between firing and stimulation frequencies is a generalized Cantor function of the ratio between spontaneous and stimulation frequencies. A procedure to compute the detailed input/output pattern that underlies each entrainment ratio is given. Finally, the neurophysiological assumptions and implications of the results obtained are discussed.

Field of study: Biology, Mathematics
Anti-Ro 52 positive dermatomyositis presenting as rapidly progressive interstitial lung disease.

Dermatomyositis is frequently accompanied by interstitial lung disease. This varies greatly in severity, from an asymptomatic imaging finding to a fatal rapidly progressive disease. We present a successfully treated case of rapidly progressive anti-Ro 52 positive dermatomyositis-related interstitial lung disease with accompanying images. 



Figure 1. 
( A ) Plain radiograph showing widespread inflammatory changes in both lungs. ( B , C ) Computed Tomography demonstrating ground-glass …

Field of study: Medicine
The Late Cambrian (Steptoean; Furongian) trilobite Pseudokingstonia Palmer, 1965 in North America

The poorly known Late Cambrian (Steptoean; Furongian) genus Pseudokingstonia Palmer is revised using new material from the type area in west-central Utah. Previously undocumented features of pygidial morphology, including patterns of segmentation of the axis and pleural fields, and articulating flanges on the anterior margin, confirm that the genus is closely related to the dameselloidean Cheilocephalus Berkey and that together they constitute the family Cheilocephalidae Shaw. Pseudokingstonia is diagnosed by a high degree of cranidial and, especially, pygidial effacement, an exceedingly short anterior border on the cranidium, and steeply sloping pygidial borders. In addition to the Great Basin of Nevada and Utah, the genus is also known from Alberta, Arkansas, and Pennsylvania, and all occurrences are confined to the lower half of the late Steptoean Elvinia Zone.

Field of study: Environmental science
Voices Unfettered: Recent Writings on and by Early Modern Englishwomen

Sheila T. Cavanagh. Cherished Torment: The Emotional Geography of Lady Mary Wroth's Urania.  0-8207-0320-6. S. P. Cerasano and Marion Wynne-Davies, eds. Readings in Renaissance Women's Drama: Criticism, History, and Performance 1594-1998. London and New York: Routledge, 1998. xiv +322 pp. bibl. index. $100 (cl), $28.95 (pbk).  0-415-16442-7 (cl), 0-415-16443-5 (pbk). Danielle Clarke and Elizabeth Clarke, eds. "This double voice": Gendered Writing in Early Modern England. London and New York: St. Martin's Press Inc., 2000. 224 pp. $59.95 ISBN: 0-333-67745-5. Constance Aston Fowler. The Verse Miscellany of Constance Aston Fowler: A Diplomatic Edition. Ed. Deborah Aldrich-Watson. (Medieval and Renaissance Texts Society, 210.) Tempe: Arizona Center for Medieval and Renaissance Studies, 2000. lxii + 200 pp. append, illus. bibl. index. $40. ISBN: 0-86698-252-3. Helen Hackett. Women and Romance Fiction in the English Renaissance. Cambridge and New York:  2000. viii + 235 pp. bibl.  0-521-64145-4. Anne Vaughan Lock. The Collected Works of Anne Vaughan Lock. Ed. Susan M. Felch. (Medieval and Renaissance Texts and Studies, 185.) Tempe: Arizona Center for Medieval and Renaissance Studies, 1999. xii + 268 pp. illus. bibl. index.  0-86698-227-2. Jane Sharp. The Midwives Book: Or the Whole Art of Midwify Discovered. Ed. Elaine Hobby. (Women Writers in English 1350-1850.) New York and Oxford: . xlii + 323 pp. $49.95 (cl), $19.95 (pbk).  0-19508653-8 (cl), 0-9508653-8 (pbk). Anna Trapnel. The Cry of a Stone. Ed. and intro. Hilary Hinds. (Medieval and Renaissance Texts and Studies, 220.) Tempe: Arizona Center for Medieval and Renaissance Studies, 2000. xlvii +123 pp. bibl. index.  0-86698-262-0. Betty S. Travitsky. Subordination and Authorship in Early Modern England: The Case of Elizabeth Cavendish Egerton and Her "Loose Papers. " (Medieval and Renaissance Texts and Studies, 208.) Tempe: Arizona Center for Medieval and Renaissance Studies, 1999. xii + 290 pp. illus. $30. ISBN: 0-86698-250-7.

Field of study: History
Performance of a day time star sensor for a stabilized balloon platform

A modified version of a CCD (charge-coupled device) star tracker originally designed for use on the ROSAT X-ray astronomy satellite has been built for use on a three-axis-stabilized balloon platform. The first flight of this star sensor was planned for May 1988 from the NASA balloon base at Palestine, Texas. Descriptions are given of the star sensor head, flight electronics, and steering system. The expected performance of this instrument is described along with the preflight results, which confirm its performance.

Field of study: Physics
Limited knowledge of demand and oligopoly equilibria

In a standard model of oligopoly with differentiated products, the existence of an equilibrium at which the first-order conditions for profit maximisation are simultaneously satisfied for all firms is proved and this is done without imposing any restrictions on the demand functions. This is an equilibrium in the following sense: although some firms may not necessarily be maximising their profits, nevertheless if each firm's knowledge of demand is limited to the linear approximation of its own demand curve, then it will believe that it is indeed maximising its profits.

Field of study: Economics
Effects of stream restoration by legacy sediment removal and floodplain reconnection on water quality

The effectiveness of many stream restorations in improving water quality is unmeasured. In the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States, activity by European settlers resulted in upland erosion and deposition of sediments 1–3 m in thickness in stream valleys. Subsequently, streams incised those legacy sediments creating steep, exposed banks, infrequent floodplain inundation, and water tables disconnected from floodplains. Legacy sediment removal (LSR) and floodplain reconnection (FR) proposes water quality improvement by restoration to a hydrological state closer to pre-European. We investigated water quality at nine sites, six restored with LSR/FR and three comparison sites. Nitrogen baseflow concentrations and fluxes were elevated in urban and agricultural watersheds with little apparent effect due to restoration. Denitrification appeared to be constrained by carbon availability. Ion concentrations were elevated in all watersheds compared to a forested reference and represent a substantial ecological stressor for the post-restoration aquatic community. Storm event data from one site suggest small reductions in nutrient and sediment loads across the restored reach. High-frequency time series indicate that restoration effects are not observable at larger scales. The effects of restoration, particularly for denitrification, may not be observable for years and can be obscured by weather and climate-driven variability.

Field of study: Environmental science
TNF gene expression in monocytes of low and high responder individuals.

Individuals with a consistently lower immune response may be more susceptible to infection but less prone to autoimmune disease or severe sepsis. The molecular mechanisms determining the low responder status are, however, unclear. We have screened 60 male donors for tumour necrosis factor (TNF) protein levels after stimulation of monocytes with lipopolysaccharide (LPS). Among these we identified three donors each that consistently had a level of less than 20% (low responders; LR) or of more than 80% (high responders; HR) of the maximum response seen in this population. Northern blot analysis of TNF mRNA after LPS stimulation revealed lower transcript levels in LR. Half life determination after actinomycin D blockade showed a similar decay rate for LR and HR and after blockade of degradation by cycloheximide treatment mRNA levels increased but LR remained lower compared to HR. These data indicate that the lower TNF mRNA levels in LR are not due to a more rapid mRNA degradation but rather a result of lower transcription. Transcripts for interleukin 6 (IL-6) were also low in LPS-stimulated monocytes of LR. Because expression of the LPS receptor CD14 was similar in LR and HR monocytes, our data suggest that differences in signal transduction account for the LR and HR phenotype.

Field of study: Medicine
Ethnic Diversity and Democratic Stability: The Case of Irish Americans

Sustaining a stable political system in a multiethnic society while remaining committed to democratic norms is a problem. The difficulty lies in the fact that ethnic groups tend not to get along. This may be a rather simplistic way of stating the problem of ethnic conflict, but history has a way of proving its basic validity with depressing frequency. Incorporating several ethnic groups into a single political system means incorporating the basic problem of ethnic conflict as well, and this can place considerable strain on the political system in question. Such a system carries the seeds of instability within its constituent parts, and unless it can control the potential for ethnic conflict dwelling within it, such a system will fly apart. A commitment to democratic norms can be a liability for this kind of political system. Group loyalties dividing a multiethnic society can undermine a common identity, national culture, or consensus on democratic values. The intensity often characterizing ethnic confrontations can make political compromise impossible, and the discrimination often practiced by dominant groups to perpetuate group inequalities can spark violent, destabilizing confrontations. Conventional wisdom claims that often the only way to unite diverse ethnic groups into a single political system is through coercion. Like the Soviet Union or Marshal Tito's Yugoslavia, a stable political order must be imposed from above. Indeed, the historical record for ethnically diverse democracies is weak; multiethnic states have traditionally required force to hold them together. ' At best, those wishing to unite diverse

Field of study: Political science
3,4-oxo-isopropylidene-shikimic acid inhibits adhesion of polymorphonuclear leukocyte to TNF-alpha-induced endothelial cells in vitro.

To examine the effect of 3,4-oxo-isopropylidene-shikimic acid (ISA) on human polymorphonuclear leukocyte (PMN) adhesion to human umbilical vein endothelial cells (HUVEC) and explore its mechanism.



Adhesion of PMN to HUVEC was measured by rose bengal staining assay. Cell-ELISA and RT-PCR methods were used to examine the expression of adhesion molecules ICAM-1. Cell viability was detected with MTT assay.



ISA (1-100 micromol/L) effectively reduced PMN adhesion to TNF-alpha-induced HUVEC with the inhibitory rate from 17.2 % to 53.5 %, and exerted no effect on PMN adhesion to normal HUVEC. Adhesion molecule ICAM-1 surface protein and mRNA expression induced by TNF-alpha (400 kU/L) were significantly inhibited by ISA. In addition, the cell viability of HUVEC was unchanged 48 h after treatment with ISA.



ISA inhibited TNF-alpha-stimulated PMN-HUVEC adhesion and expression of ICAM-1.

Field of study: Biology, Chemistry, Medicine
PSICA: Decision trees for probabilistic subgroup identification with categorical treatments

Personalized medicine aims at identifying best treatments for a patient with given characteristics. It has been shown in the literature that these methods can lead to great improvements in medicine compared to traditional methods prescribing the same treatment to all patients. Subgroup identification is a branch of personalized medicine, which aims at finding subgroups of the patients with similar characteristics for which some of the investigated treatments have a better effect than the other treatments. A number of approaches based on decision trees have been proposed to identify such subgroups, but most of them focus on two‐arm trials (control/treatment) while a few methods consider quantitative treatments (defined by the dose). However, no subgroup identification method exists that can predict the best treatments in a scenario with a categorical set of treatments. We propose a novel method for subgroup identification in categorical treatment scenarios. This method outputs a decision tree showing the probabilities of a given treatment being the best for a given group of patients as well as labels showing the possible best treatments. The method is implemented in an R package psica available on CRAN. In addition to a simulation study, we present an analysis of a community‐based nutrition intervention trial that justifies the validity of our method.

Field of study: Computer science
Bias in the Estimator of Kendall's Rank Correlation When Extreme Pairs are Removed from a Sample

This article obtains the average effect on the estimator of Kendall's rank correlation coefficient when extreme pairs are removed from a sample. Formulas, which are functions of Sterling numbers of the second kind, are derived for this bias. The exact bias, and an approximation, are tabulated for n = 3(1) 19.

Field of study: Mathematics
Effects of plantation patterns on photosynthetic characteristics and quality of tea

In this paper,we studied the photosynthetic characteristics and quality of tea tree under different plantation patterns.The net photosynthetic rate curve showed single peak under the pattern Ⅰ(Chestnut cultivation density of 4 m×4 m under intercropping tea,shading degree 50%-60%),and it showed double peaks in the pat-tern Ⅲ(pure tea plantation,shading degree 0) and pattern Ⅱ(Chestnut cultivation density of 4 m×8 m under intercropping tea,shade degree 30%-40%),which is an obvious "midday depression" phenomenon.The net pho-tosynthetic rate and peak value dropped with the shading rising under different patterns.The light compensation point of tea tree under pattern Ⅰ and pattern Ⅱ respectively reduced by 11.95% and 27.41% compared to pattern Ⅲ.It showed that tea tree can reduce the light compensation point,light saturation point under the weak light so as to improve weak light utilization for its growth.Tea bud length,100-bud weight,water content of tea all present pat-tern Ⅰ﹥pattern Ⅱ﹥pattern Ⅲ.In spring,it was significantly higher under pattern Ⅰ and pattern Ⅱ than pattern Ⅲ by 58.14% and 36.04%.The catechin content was lower under pattern Ⅰ and pattern Ⅱ than pattern Ⅲ by 12.97% and 6.4% in spring,31.57% and 36.84% in summer.The caffeine content was higher under pattern Ⅰ and pattern Ⅱ than pattern Ⅲ by 31.18% and 29.83%.The contents of amino acid,catechin and caffeine were higher in spring than in summer.

Field of study: Agricultural and Food sciences
Matching, delay-reduction, and maximizing models for choice in concurrent-chains schedules.

Models of choice in concurrent-chains schedules are derived from melioration, generalized matching, and optimization. The resulting models are compared with those based on Fantino's (1969, 1981) delay-reduction hypothesis. It is found that all models involve the delay reduction factors (T - t2L) and (T - t2R), where T is the expected time to primary reinforcement and t2L, t2R are the durations of the terminal links. In particular, in the case of equal initial links, the model derived from melioration coincides with Fantino's original model for full (reliable) reinforcement and with the model proposed by Spetch and Dunn (1987) for percentage (unreliable) reinforcement. In the general case of unequal initial links, the model derived from melioration differs from the revised model advanced by Squires and Fantino (1971) only in the factors affecting the delay-reduction terms (T - t2L) and (T - t2R). The models of choice obtained by minimizing the expected time to reinforcement depend on the type of feedback functions used. In particular, if power feedback functions are used, the optimization model coincides with that obtained from melioration.

Field of study: Biology, Psychology
Annealing studies on Pd/n-GaAs Schottky diodes

Pd/n-GaAs Schottky diodes were fabricated by using either spin-on or evaporated Pd sources. Initial electrical characteristics of both types of Schottky diode revealed little difference in their respective diode parameters. Capacitance-voltage (C-V) measurements gave a barrier height of 0.85+or-0.01 eV for spin-on Pd diodes as compared with a barrier height of 0.88+or-0.01 eV for evaporated Pd devices. The ideality factor for both diodes was found to be close to unity. Elevated temperature aging studies at temperatures up to 200 degrees C for 1000 h, produced little or no change in diode parameters. On the other hand annealing at 250 degrees C for times up to 1000 h resulted in a gradual degradation of diode parameters. This degradation in diode parameters was significantly more rapid during a 400 degrees C anneal. Using a failure criterion of a sixfold increase in reverse saturation current Jsriv, an Arrhenius plot was constructed by plotting log time to failure versus 1000/T, where T is the aging temperature. The resulting plots were linear indicating a single failure mechanism being dominant at all temperatures. The room temperature (300 K) median life, for a sixfold increase in Jsriv, of Pd/n-GaAs Schottky diodes from spin-on and evaporated Pd sources was found to be 105 h and 4*103 h, respectively.

Field of study: Materials science