nils-herrmann/clean_scirepeval huggingface dataset:
GS3: scalable self-configuration and self-healing in wireless sensor networks

We present GS3, a distributed algorithm for scalable self-configuration and self-healing in multi-hop wireless sensor networks. The algorithm enables network nodes in a 2D plane to configure themselves into a cellular hexagonal structure where cells have tightly bounded geographic radius and the overlap between neighboring cells is low. The structure is self-healing under various perturbations, such as node joins, leaves, deaths, movements, and state corruptions. For instance, the structure slides as a whole if nodes in many cells die at the same rate. Moreover, its configuration and healing are scalable in three respects: first, local knowledge enables each node to maintain only limited information with respect to a constant number of nearby nodes; second, local self-healing guarantees that all perturbations are contained within a tightly bounded region with respect to the perturbed area and dealt with in the time taken to diffuse a message across the region; third, only local coordination is needed in both configuration and self-healing.

Field of study: Computer science
Gas volume fraction metering with U tube in low pressure annular-mist and wispy annular two-phase flow

A measurement model of gas volume fraction(GVF) was deduced based on the energy equation,and the relationship of friction pressure drop between two vertical sections of U tube was considered.The measurement errors were investigated through experiment under low pressure annular-mist and wispy annular two-phase flow.The effects of gas mass friction,gas volume friction and flux density on gas volume fraction were analyzed and gas volume fraction was corrected with flux density.This correction improved the accuracy of gas volume fraction,and the correction method was verified through another independent test.

Field of study: Chemistry, Environmental science
Public health actions to improve palliative care in Germany: results of a three-round Delphi study.

In previous studies, key targets for public health initiatives to improve palliative care in Germany were defined. The aim of this study was the identification and prioritisation of actions to achieve these targets.



A three-round Delphi study with 107 stakeholders acting on the meso and macrolevel of the healthcare system was undertaken. First round: proposing actions for each of the key targets; second round: assessment of the actions regarding their relevance; third round: ranking of the actions.



37 actions were generated (first round) of which 14 actions were rated as relevant (second round). In the third round, the action ranked highest was "close collaboration between specialist palliative care services, general practitioners and community nursing services", followed by "Implementing specialist palliative care in the community consequently" and "Strengthening generalist palliative care through training and education of general practitioners and nursing services".



The range and the ranking of the actions provide an empirical basis to improve palliative care in Germany on different levels of policy, education and clinical practice. A focus should be on strengthening the collaboration between primary health care providers and specialist palliative care services.

Field of study: Medicine, Political science
Finding Your “Spanish Voice” Through Popular Media: Improving Students’ Confidence and Fluency

This article shares an innovative course design that incorporates cultural connections and comparisons, interpersonal communication, and a relaxing classroom environment to facilitate learning and language development. By using authentic texts as the medium for learning, it provides a case example of an upper-division curriculum that focused on cognitive skills, elicited conversational dialogues, exposed and promoted the use of different registers, and tapped students’ existing schema around stimulating topics to foster engagement, reflection and enthusiasm. We advance that a curriculum that focuses on the affective domain over discrete academic or grammatical objectives can develop students’ sense of linguistic creativity and language ownership, thus improving their confidence and level of competency in the target language.

Field of study: Education
BRIEF COMMUNICATIONS: Method for altering the Q factor of a laser by a glass plate

An analysis is made of a method for altering the Q factor of a laser resonator containing Brewster plates. The method is based on introduction of an additional plate, again oriented at the Brewster angle, and its rotation about the longitudinal axis of the resonator. It is shown that the plane of polarization of the output radiation exhibits a ''pulling'' effect which gives rise to a different dependence of the losses on the angle of rotation of the new plate than that predicted by earlier calculations.

Field of study: Engineering, Physics
INTEGRATIVE DYNAMIC MODEL OF THE SHIP HULL AND EQUEPMENTS SUBJECTED TO FAR FIELD UNDERWATER EXPLOSION

An integrative dynamic model for the ship hull and the shipboard equipment dynamic response due to far field underwater explosion is developed. The model incorporates the Dynamic Design Analysis Method (DDAM) into the Taylor Plate Theory, and enables the shipboard equipment dynamic response analysis to be performed more efficiently. The model is formulated by assuming the ship hull to be a flat plate with an N-mass deck and shipboard equipment attached to the hull. A one-dimensional analysis is used to represent the explosion wave in water. The pressure wave is assumed to be a decaying exponential function. The model can predict the ship hull and the shipboard equipment shock response based on the underwater explosion charge weight, stand off distance, the Ship's Tonnage, principal dimensions, approximate ship hull structure and shipboard equipment mass and support stiffness parameters. The analytical results based on the model are compared to that of scaled ship model underwater explosion experiment results. In general, the spectrum values of the hull motion are similar in shape and magnitude to the experiment.

Field of study: Engineering
Identification and temporal decrease of 137Cs and 134Cs in groundwater in Minami-Soma City following the accident at the Fukushima Dai-ichi nuclear power plant.

The Fukushima Dai-ichi Nuclear Power Plant (FDNPP) accident on March 11, 2011, caused severe radioactive contamination in Fukushima Prefecture. In order to clarify the safety of drinking water, we have conducted radiocesium monitoring of public tap water and groundwater in Minami-Soma City, which is 10-40 km north of the nuclear power plant. The source of tap water for Minami-Soma City is groundwater, which is treated by rapid filtration before distribution in two of the three treatment plants. The tap water was collected from six stations during 2012-2016 and groundwater was collected from 11 stations with wells between 5 and 100 m deep during 2014-2016. Radiocesium contamination of groundwater has been considered unlikely in Japan because of the small vertical migration velocity of radiocesium in Japanese soil. However, radiocesium was detected in public tap water after 2012, and the maximum 137Cs concentration of 292 mBq L-1 was observed in 2013. In all the well water, radiocesium was detected between 2014 and 2015, at concentrations similar to those observed in tap water in the same period. In tap water and groundwater, radiocesium was decreased to below the detection limit in 2016 except for four stations. Radiocesium concentration in shallow water reached a maximum between 2013 and 2015, 2-4 years after the FDNPP accident, and then decreased. The results are interpreted that dissolved 137Cs migrated in the soil and reached aquifers of various depth.

Field of study: Environmental science
Laser Scanning Method for Guidance of Field Machinery

Alaser scanning device for guidance of field machinery was designed, constructed and tested. Triangulational positioning is effected with the aid of a single laser source a single detection unit and two scanning mirrors. Test results were better than the predicted theoretical accuracy. This technology is applicable — with minor changes — for measurement of a 400m x 400m field with accuracy better than 15 cm.

Field of study: Agricultural and Food sciences
Cellular autoreactivity against heat shock protein 60 in renal transplant patients: peripheral and graft‐infiltrating responses

Autoreactivity to heat shock protein 60 (Hsp60) has been implicated in the pathogenesis and regulation of chronic inflammation, especially in autoimmune diseases. In transplantation, there is a lack of information regarding the cytokine profile and specificity of cells that recognize self‐Hsp60 as well as the kinetics of autoreactivity following transplantation. We studied the cellular reactivity of peripheral and graft‐infiltrating lymphocytes against Hsp60 in renal transplant patients. Cytokine production induced by this protein in peripheral blood mononuclear cells indicated a predominance of interleukin (IL)‐10 during the late post‐transplantation period, mainly in response to intermediate and C‐terminal peptides. Patients with chronic rejection presented reactivity to Hsp60 with a higher IL‐10/interferon (IFN)‐γ ratio compared to long‐term clinically stable patients. Graft‐infiltrating T cell lines, cocultured with antigen‐presenting cells, preferentially produced IL‐10 after Hsp60 stimulation. These results suggest that, besides its proinflammatory activity, autoreactivity to Hsp60 in transplantation may also have a regulatory role.

Field of study: Biology, Medicine
Synthesis and conduction properties of Na + superionic conductors of sodium samarium silicophosphates

Phosphorus induced Na 5 SmSi 4 O 12 -type sodium superionic conductors were prepared by sol-gel processes with metal alkoxides. The formation region of Na 5 SmSi 4 O 12 -type materials was different from that of glass-ceramics. The ionic conductivities of the sol-gel-derived samples were equal to those of the glass-ceramics in the order of 10 −2 –10 −1 S/cm at 300 °C. The sample with the Na 3.75 Sm 0.75 Si 3 O 9 composition sintered at 1000 °C for 12 h showed the highest ionic conductivity of 4.82 × 10 − 2 S/cm at 300 °C. The grain sizes of the specimens were 3–6 μm and the grain growth was promoted as sintering time increased.

Field of study: Materials science
PCA 25-ft Stand of the Sea on Oahu, Hawaii

An ancient calcareous beach deposit is exposed in several quarries on Oahu, Hawaii, 25 ft (7.5 m) above mean sea level and is overlain by a reef of the 95-ft (29-m) stand of the sea of Yarmouth interglacial age. A solution unconformity separates the two deposits, indicating that the sea fell lower than 25 ft after the beach rock was deposited.

Field of study: Geology
Structure-based analysis of VDAC1: N-terminus location, translocation, channel gating and association with anti-apoptotic proteins.

Structural studies place the VDAC1 (voltage-dependent anion channel 1) N-terminal region within the channel pore. Biochemical and functional studies, however, reveal that the N-terminal domain is cytoplasmically exposed. In the present study, the location and translocation of the VDAC1 N-terminal domain, and its role in voltage-gating and as a target for anti-apoptotic proteins, were addressed. Site-directed mutagenesis and cysteine residue substitution, together with a thiol-specific cross-linker, served to show that the VDAC1 N-terminal region exists in a dynamic equilibrium, located within the pore or exposed outside the β-barrel. Using a single cysteine-residue-bearing VDAC1, we demonstrate that the N-terminal region lies inside the pore. However, the same region can be exposed outside the pore, where it dimerizes with the N-terminal domain of a second VDAC1 molecule. When the N-terminal region α-helix structure was perturbed, intra-molecular cross-linking was abolished and dimerization was enhanced. This mutant also displays reduced voltage-gating and reduced binding to hexokinase, but not to the anti-apoptotic proteins Bcl-2 and Bcl-xL. Replacing glycine residues in the N-terminal domain GRS (glycine-rich sequence) yielded less intra-molecular cross-linked product but more dimerization, suggesting that GRS provides the flexibility needed for N-terminal translocation from the internal pore to the channel face. N-terminal mobility may thus contribute to channel gating and interaction with anti-apoptotic proteins.

Field of study: Biology, Computer science
A two layers monodomain model of cardiac electrophysiology of the atria

Numerical simulations of the cardiac electrophysiology in the atria are often based on the standard bidomain or monodomain equations stated on a two-dimensional manifold. These simulations take advantage of the thinness of the atrial tissue, and their computational cost is reduced, as compared to three-dimensional simulations. However, these models do not take into account the heterogeneities located in the thickness of the tissue, like discontinuities of the fiber direction, although they can be a substrate for atrial arrhythmia (Hocini et al., Circulation 105(20):2442–2448, 2002; Ho et al., Cardiovasc Res 54(2):325–336, 2002; Nattel,  2002). We investigate a two-dimensional model with two coupled, superimposed layers that allows to introduce three-dimensional heterogeneities, but retains a reasonable computational cost. We introduce the mathematical derivation of this model and error estimates with respect to the three-dimensional model. We give some numerical illustrations of its interest: we numerically show its convergence for vanishing thickness, introduce an optimization process of the coupling coefficient and assess its validity on physiologically relevant geometries. Our model would be an efficient tool to test the influence of three-dimensional fiber direction heterogeneities in reentries or atrial arrhythmia without using three-dimensional models.

Field of study: Biology, Mathematics
An Asking Strategy of Pumped Storage Power Plant

In generation market,both the ancillary services required by the electric grid system and the electricity can be supplied by a pumped storage plant.Studies on its generation cost are useful for aiding the price bidding.The cost for purchasing electricity is a part of the whole cost.Optimization of the asking strategy can reduce the cost.With all generation plant virtually regarded as an equivalent one,the method of least squares is used for parameter estimation.Furthermore,the optimization problem of multi-block electricity purchase is formulated and solved by langrarge relaxation.With a simulation example,the method is tested efficient.

Field of study: Engineering, Physics
Studies on Seedborne Nature and Management of Alternaria alternata and A. brassicae in Pigeonpea

Four pigeonpea accessions (ICP 12108, ICP 13446, ICP 13448 and ICP 13271) that had shown 90% seed infection by Alternaria spp. during the seed health testing in 2005 at Plant Quarantine Laboratory (Patancheru, Andhra Pradesh, India) were used for detecting the seedborne nature of Alternaria spp. Seeds of accession ICPL 87051 was used as the resistant control (3% infection). Tricyclazole 75% at 2 g/kg seed, iprodione 25%+carbendazim 25%, thiram and benomyl+thiram (1:1) each at 3 g/kg seed were used for seed dressing. Two species of Alternaria, A. alternata and A. brassicae, were detected in seeds of the 4 accessions. Seed colonization ranged from 76 to 85% by A. alternata and from 15 to 23% by A. brassicae across the susceptible accessions, whereas the infection in the resistant control was only 3% by A. alternata and there was no infection of A. brassicae. The overall seed germination ranged from 18 to 29% in infected seeds across the genotypes, whereas it was 81% in the resistant control. There was a significant negative correlation between germination and infection (r=0.90). Component plating revealed that seed coat recorded 100% infection by both the species of Alternaria in all 3 genotypes (ICP 12108, ICP 13271 and ICP 13446). A. alternata infection in cotyledons varied from 76 to 86%, and in embryos from 3 to 8%, except in ICP 12108 and ICPL 87051. A. brassicae infection in seed cotyledon ranged from 3 to 9% whereas in embryo it was 2% only in ICP 13446. The iprodione 25%+carbendazim25% and mixture of benomyl and thiram proved the most effective in reducing the internal seedborne infection by Alternaria spp. Iprodione 25%+carbendazim25% showed the maximum seed germination.

Field of study: Biology
Integrating Special Children in Scotland: a P.L. 94-142 Is Needed

In Scotland educational legislation has traditionally been so lacking in detail and force that authorities in the Regions have been able to interpret the law in widely differing ways — from a Region which pursues a policy of integrating handicapped children into the educational mainstream to another which continues to build separate special schools for the handicapped. The paper describes the developments in the Regions and draws comparisons with the United States practice. A call is made for more positive governmental guidance in Scotland than is currently the case.

Field of study: Education
Once weekly pimozide versus fluphenazine decanoate as maintenance therapy in chronic schizophrenia.

In a double blind trial, 28 male chronic schizophrenic in-patients received either pimozide, given once weekly, or fluphenazine decanoate, given mostly once fortnightly. There was no difference in relapse rates over nine months. However, three-quarters of the patients on pimozide who completed the trial developed at least mild tardive dyskinesia. All patients on pimozide lost weight, the average loss being 5.4 kg (12 lbs). Plasma pimozide levels suggested satisfactory drug compliance. Plasma prolactin levels confirmed that in the pimozide group there was fluctuating dopamine receptor antagonism, while in the fluphenazine group average plasma prolactin levels throughout most of the interval between injections were at the upper limit of normal.

Field of study: Medicine, Psychology
Telekin suppresses human hepatocellular carcinoma cells in vitro by inducing G2/M phase arrest via the p38 MAPK signaling pathway

Telekin, isolated from the Chinese herb Carpesium divaricatum, has shown anti-proliferation effects against various cancer cells, including hepatocellular carcinoma cells. In this study, we investigated the anti-proliferation mechanisms of telekin in human hepatocellular carcinoma HepG2 cells in vitro.HepG2 cells were treated with telekin. Cell viability was evaluated using MTT assay. Flow cytometry was used to measure cell cycle profiles, ROS level and apoptosis. The protein expression levels were analyzed with Western blotting.Telekin (3.75–30 μmol/L) dose-dependently inhibited the viability of HepG2 cells and induced l apoptosis. Furthermore, the treatment induced cell cycle arrest at G2/M phase, accompanied by significantly increased the phosphorylation of Cdc25A and Cdc2, and decreased Cyclin B1 level. Moreover, the treatment significantly stimulated ROS production, and increased the phosphorylation of p38 and MAPKAPK-2 in the cells. Pretreatment with the antioxidant NAC (2.5, 5, and 10 mmol/L), or the p38 MAPK inhibitor SB203580 (2.5 and 5 μmol/L) dose-dependently attenuated these telekin-induced effects in the cells.Telekin suppresses hepatocellular carcinoma cells in vitro by inducing G2/M phase arrest via activating the p38 MAPK pathway.

Field of study: Biology, Chemistry, Medicine
First-principles Study of Structural, Elastic and Electronic Properties of Al_2Ca Phase in Mg-Al-Ca Under Pressure

The structural, elastic and electronic properties of Al2 Ca phase under pressure were determined by using CASTEP program based on the density functional theory. The calculated structural parameters at 0GPa agree well with experimental and other theoretical data. The calculated elastic properties show that the bulk modulus B, shear modulus G and Young's modulus E increase with increasing pressure, and the hardness increases. The pressure of Al2 Ca phase is below 30 GPa and the ductility and plasticity can be improved as the pressure increasing. The calculations of the density of states(DOS)show that the structural stability of Al2 Ca becomes weaker with pressure increasing from 0 to 50 GPa, but the structure remains stable and there is no induced structural phase transformation.

Field of study: Materials science
Modeling sepsis progression using hidden Markov models

Characterizing a patient's progression through stages of sepsis is critical for enabling risk stratification and adaptive, personalized treatment. However, commonly used sepsis diagnostic criteria fail to account for significant underlying heterogeneity, both between patients as well as over time in a single patient. We introduce a hidden Markov model of sepsis progression that explicitly accounts for patient heterogeneity. Benchmarked against two sepsis diagnostic criteria, the model provides a useful tool to uncover a patient's latent sepsis trajectory and to identify high-risk patients in whom more aggressive therapy may be indicated.

Field of study: Computer science
Carbon payback times for crop-based biofuel expansion in the tropics: the effects of changing yield and technology

Biofuels from land-rich tropical countries may help displace foreign petroleum imports for many industrialized nations, providing a possible solution to the twin challenges of energy security and climate change. But concern is mounting that crop-based biofuels will increase net greenhouse gas emissions if feedstocks are produced by expanding agricultural lands. Here we quantify the ‘carbon payback time’ for a range of biofuel crop expansion pathways in the tropics. We use a new, geographically detailed database of crop locations and yields, along with updated vegetation and soil biomass estimates, to provide carbon payback estimates that are more regionally specific than those in previous studies. Using this cropland database, we also estimate carbon payback times under different scenarios of future crop yields, biofuel technologies, and petroleum sources. Under current conditions, the expansion of biofuels into productive tropical ecosystems will always lead to net carbon emissions for decades to centuries, while expanding into degraded or already cultivated land will provide almost immediate carbon savings. Future crop yield improvements and technology advances, coupled with unconventional petroleum supplies, will increase biofuel carbon offsets, but clearing carbon-rich land still requires several decades or more for carbon payback. No foreseeable changes in agricultural or energy technology will be able to achieve meaningful carbon benefits if crop-based biofuels are produced at the expense of tropical forests. S Supplementary data are available from stacks.iop.org/ERL/3/034001

Field of study: Environmental science
Nature of the Angular Unconformity between the Paleozoic Metasedimentary Rocks and the Mesozoic Metavolcanic Rocks in the Eastern Sierra Nevada, California

Two major wall-rock sequences, the Paleozoic metasedimentary rocks and the Mesozoic metavolcanic rocks, in the eastern Sierra Nevada, California, are separated by an angular unconformity rather than by a fault as has been proposed by other investigators. The unconformity is parallel to formation contacts in the younger metavolcanic rocks and crosscuts formation contacts in the older metasedimentary rocks. Locally, basal conglomerate with pebbles derived from the older metasedimentary rocks occurs just above the unconformity. The older metasedimentary rocks consist mostly of former marl, chert, and mudstone; they contain three generations of superposed structures. The younger metavolcanic rocks consist mostly of former andesite flows, tuff, and graywacke; these contain only the younger two generations of superposed structures. The sinuous trace of the unconformity is primarily the result of superposed deformations of regional scale which occur in most roof pendants of the eastern Sierra Nevada.

Field of study: Geology