nils-herrmann/clean_scirepeval huggingface dataset:
Nanoscale Probing of Localized Surface Phonon Polaritons in SiC Nanorods with Swift Electrons

Surface phonon polaritons hold much potential for subwavelength control and manipulation of light at the infrared to terahertz wavelengths. Here, aided by monochromatic scanning transmission electron microscopy - electron energy loss spectroscopy technique, we study the excitation of optical phonon modes in SiC nanorods. Surface phonon polaritons are modulated by the geometry and size of SiC nanorods. In particular, we study the dispersion relation, spatial dependence and geometry and size effects of surface phonon polaritons. These experimental results are in agreement with dielectric response theory and numerical simulation. Providing critical information for manipulating light in polar dielectrics, these findings should be useful for design of novel nanoscale phonon-photonic devices.

Field of study: Physics
Sum-Rate Maximization for Active Channels With Unequal Subchannel Noise Powers

In this paper, an active channel, between a source and a destination, refers to a parallel channel where the source transmits power over different subchannels as well as the powers of the subchannels can be adjusted. We herein study the sum-rate maximization for an active channel subject to two constraints, one on the source total transmit power and one on the total channel power. Although this maximization is not convex, we use Karush-Kuhn-Tucker (KKT) conditions to develop a computationally efficient algorithm for optimal source and channel power allocation. To do so, we first show how KKT conditions can be used to determine the number of subchannels that can be active in order for the source power constraint to be feasible. Indeed, we show that not all subchannels but only a subset of them may receive transmit power from the source. Then, for any feasible number of active subchannels, we obtain the optimal source power allocation. In fact, we prove that for any feasible number of active subchannels, there is only one or two solutions for the optimal source power allocation. As such, the optimal solution can be obtained by comparing a finite number of points in the feasible set and by introducing the point, which yields the best sum-rate performance, as the optimal solution. Our analysis and simulation results show that active channels can offer a significantly higher sum-rate compared to their passive counterparts, which rely on water-filling scheme for source power allocation across subchannels.

Field of study: Engineering
The law of equal opportunities or unintended consequences?: The impact of unisex risk assessment in consumer credit

Gender is prohibited from use in decision-making in many countries. This does not necessarily benefit females, as this paper shows by analysing a unique proprietary dataset on car loans from an EU bank. The results suggest that inclusion of Gender as a dummy variable is statistically significant, but does not alter the predictive accuracy of the model. Yet the proportions of accepted women/men depend on whether Gender is included. The paper explores the association between predictors in the model with Gender, to demonstrate the omitted variable bias and how other variables proxy for Gender. It points to inconsistencies of the existing regulations in the context of automated decision-making.

Field of study: Mathematics
Effects of high, low, and thinning rates of alternative reinforcement on response elimination and resurgence.

A common treatment for operant problem behavior is alternative reinforcement. When alternative reinforcement is removed or reduced, however, resurgence of the target behavior can occur. Shahan and Sweeney (2011) developed a quantitative model of resurgence based on behavioral momentum theory that suggests higher rates of alternative reinforcement result in faster response elimination and greater resurgence when removed, whereas lower rates of alternative reinforcement result in slower response elimination but are followed by less resurgence. Thus, the present study was designed to examine whether faster target response elimination and less resurgence could be achieved by beginning with a high rate of alternative reinforcement and gradually thinning it such that a low rate is ultimately removed during a simulated treatment lapse. Results showed that high rates of alternative reinforcement were more effective than low or thinning rates at target response suppression but resulted in resurgence when discontinued. Low and thinning rates, on the other hand, were less effective at response suppression but target responding did not increase when alternative reinforcement was discontinued. The quantitative model cannot currently account for the finding that lower-rate alternative reinforcement may not effectively disrupt behavior relative to an extinction only control. Relative advantages of high, low, thinning, or no alternative reinforcement are discussed with respect to suppression of target response rate during treatment, resurgence when alternative reinforcement is removed, and alternative response persistence, while taking into account differences between this animal model and modern applied behavior analytic treatments.

Field of study: Biology, Psychology
Mixture Toxicity of Nickel and Microplastics with Different Functional Groups on Daphnia magna.

In recent years, discarded plastic has become an increasingly prevalent pollutant in aquatic ecosystems. These plastic wastes decompose into microplastics, which pose not only a direct threat to aquatic organisms but also an indirect threat via adsorption of other aquatic pollutants. In this study, we investigated the toxicities of variable and fixed combinations of two types of microplastics [one coated with a carboxyl group (PS-COOH) and the other lacking this functional group (PS)] with the heavy metal nickel (Ni) on Daphnia magna and calculated mixture toxicity using a toxic unit model. We found that toxicity of Ni in combination with either of the two microplastics differed from that of Ni alone. Furthermore, in general, we observed that immobilization of D. magna exposed to Ni combined with PS-COOH was higher than that of D. magna exposed to Ni combined with PS. Collectively, the results of our study indicate that the toxic effects of microplastics and pollutants may vary depending on the specific properties of the pollutant and microplastic functional groups, and further research on the mixture toxicity of various combinations of microplastics and pollutants is warranted.

Field of study: Environmental science
Effects of a high O2 dynamic-controlled atmosphere technology on the browning of postharvest white mushroom (Agaricus bisporus) in relation to energy metabolism

Browning is one of the main problems in senescence of mushrooms, and it is also one of the most important attributes accounting for the loss of the quality and reduction in market value. In order to study the relationship between the energy metabolism and the browning of white mushroom under high O2 dynamic-controlled atmosphere (HO-DCA), mushrooms were stored in 100% O2 (SCA1), 80% O2 + 20% CO2 (SCA2), 100% O2 for three days and then transferred into the treatment of 80% O2 + 20% CO2 (HO-DCA) at 2 ± 1 ℃ and air as control. In this study, adenosine triphosphate (ATP) content, energy charge level, sensory evaluation, browning of surface and flesh, cell membrane integrity, exogenous ATP, polyphenol oxidase (PPO) and peroxidase (POD) activity and genes encoding PPO of the white mushroom were investigated. These were all closely related to the browning of products. The optimal storage condition of the HO-DCA treatment could delay the browning of pericarp and flesh tissues of the mushrooms, inhibit PPO activity and reduce the relative expression levels of the three genes encoding PPO. Meanwhile, it maintained moderate POD activity, good sensory properties and cell membrane integrity in a certain extent and thus slowed down the senescence of mushrooms. Results indicated that there was a positive correlation between the ATP content and whitening index (r = 0.901). In addition, HO-DCA maintained a higher ATP level, prolonged the storage time to 28 days and it might be an ideal strategy for preserving the quality of mushroom during storage.

Field of study: Agricultural and Food sciences
Research on Corrosion Behavior of High Strength Steel at Synergistic Effect of Temperature, Dissolved Oxygen and pH Value

The synergistic effect of temperature, dissolved oxygen and p H value on corrosion behavior of X80 pipeline steel in simulated Ku'erle soil solution was investigated by potentiodynamic polarization and orthogonal testing. The results show that there are great influences of the temperature, dissolved oxygen and p H value on the corrosion behavior for X80 pipeline steel. With the increase of temperature, the corrosion current density of X80 steel increases gradually. With oxygen content reducing, the corrosion current density of the sample is significantly reduced. With the increase of p H value, the corrosion current density of the sample shows a gradual decrease trend. The corrosive influence of dissolved oxygen on the X80 steel was maximal, while the temperature corrosive effect on metal is relatively minimal.

Field of study: Materials science
Quantitative method of estimating ground-water supplies

The water that comes from beneath the surface of the earth has from time immemorial been regarded by man as a mysterious boon—cold, clear, and presumably pure; wonderfully refreshing to the hot and weary wayfarer; essential, perhaps, to the very life of the community, yet without cost and generally regarded as inexhaustible; coming from some dark orifice in the earth, its source unknown and unknowable; a great blessing freely and mysteriously bestowed on man by some benevolent but capricious Providence. When, very rarely, in times of unusual drought, this mysterious blessing, which was regarded to be perennial and inexhaustible as the air itself, was cut off and the spring or well went dry, the occurrence was a calamity, in the face of which man stood helpless in fear and awe. When at last the geologist appeared, with his methods for beholding what is beneath the earth’s surface, concealed from . . .

Field of study: Geology
Mobility label based network: Hierarchical mobility management and packet forwarding architecture

Scalability of the network layer mobility management solution is one of the most important requirements for the mobility control plane. Mobility Label Based Network (MLBN) is a new approach to the network layer mobility management problem that relies solely on MPLS to provide both macro- and micro-mobility for IPv4 and IPv6 mobile hosts and routers. This new approach does not rely on the existing IP mobility management protocols such as Mobile IP and is based on the combination of Multi-Protocol BGP (MP-BGP) and MPLS. In the context of the MLBN the scalable control plane should be capable of efficient Mobility Label distribution while allowing the MPLS-based forwarding plane to deliver mobile traffic in an optimal manner. This paper presents a hierarchical mobility management system capable of both macro- and micro-mobility support without the use of Mobile IP and its derivatives and allows scalable Mobility Label distribution and MPLS label stack based packet forwarding in support of optimal traffic delivery between the communicating mobile users.

Field of study: Computer science
Variations in the cosmic-ray rigidity spectrum during events of January 2005

Variations in the cosmic-ray (CR) rigidity spectrum during events of January 2005 have been investigated on the basis of the ground-based observations of the CR intensity performed at the world network of stations using spectrographic global survey. The parameters of the CR rigidity spectrum reflecting the electromagnetic characteristics of heliospheric fields during the events under study have been determined in the combined analysis of ground-based and satellite measurements of protons with energies from several megaelectronvolts to several tens of gigoelectronvolts. The CR variations in a wide energy range are explained on the basis of the analysis performed.

Field of study: Physics
Characters of (relatively) integrable modules over affine Lie superalgebras

In the paper we consider the problem of computation of characters of relatively integrable irreducible highest weight modules L over finite-dimensional basic Lie superalgebras and over affine Lie superalgebras $${\mathfrak{g}}$$g. The problem consists of two parts. First, it is the reduction of the problem to the $${\overline{\mathfrak{g}}}$$g¯-module F(L), where $${\overline{\mathfrak{g}}}$$g¯ is the associated to L integral Lie superalgebra and F(L) is an integrable irreducible highest weight $${\overline{\mathfrak{g}}}$$g¯-module. Second, it is the computation of characters of integrable highest weight modules. There is a general conjecture concerning the first part, which we check in many cases. As for the second part, we prove in many cases the KW-character formula, provided that the KW-condition holds, including almost all finite-dimensional $${\mathfrak{g}}$$g-modules when $${\mathfrak{g}}$$g is basic, and all maximally atypical non-critical integrable $${\mathfrak{g}}$$g-modules when $${\mathfrak{g}}$$g is affine with non-zero dual Coxeter number.

Field of study: Mathematics
Freedom in bioinformatics

1 Institut de Biologie Integrative et des Systemes, Universite Laval, Quebec City, QC, Canada 2 Departement de Biochimie, de Microbiologie et de Bio-informatique, Faculte des Sciences et de Genie, Universite Laval, Quebec City, QC, Canada 3 Centre de Recherche de l’Institut Universitaire de Cardiologie et de Pneumologie de Quebec, Quebec City, QC, Canada *Correspondence: antony.vincent.1@ulaval.ca

Field of study: Biology
Enumeration of Salmonella spp., Salmonella Typhi and Salmonella Typhimurium in fruit juices.

Salmonella has caused foodborne illnesses globally and it has been a rising threat on fresh produce. The objective of this study was to determine the prevalence and concentration of Salmonella spp., Salmonella Typhi and Salmonella Typhimurium in freshly prepared fruit juice sold at hawker stalls. Analysis was conducted by employing most probable number-polymerase chain reaction (MPN-PCR). A total of 50 freshly prepared fruit juices were examined and the prevalence of Salmonella spp., Salmonella Typhi and Salmonella Typhimurium in the fruit juices were 34%, 20% and 10%, respectively, with an estimated microbial load varying from 0 to 42 MPN/g. Of the five different fruits, carrot juice had the highest prevalence of Salmonella spp. (60%) and Salmonella Typhi (40%). However, Salmonella Typhimurium was detected in apple (30%), orange (10%) and starfruit juice (10%). Factors contributing to the presence of Salmonella were cross-contamination and poor sanitation practice. Besides, negligence on temperature and storage time also led to the growth of Salmonella. Proper monitoring and risk assessment are needed in order to establish control measures to ensure the quality and safety of fruit juices in Malaysia.

Field of study: Agricultural and Food sciences
Docking of the Central Metasedimentary Belt to Laurentia in geon 12: evidence from the 1.17–1.16 Ga Chevreuil intrusive suite and host gneisses, Quebec

The Chevreuil intrusive suite (1.17-1.16 Ga) represents a chronological field marker of regional extent that intruded the Central Metasedimentary Belt in the western Grenville Province of Quebec after peak metamorphism. Style and site of magma emplacement, and extent of deformation of Chevreuil plutons and dykes permit unravelling of the early Grenvillian evolution of the belt with respect to cratonal North America. The suite comprises a series of vertically layered gabbro stocks and monzonite-diorite-gabbro sheet intrusions, and a swarm of microdiorite dykes that cut across gneisses. The dykes display systematic variations in extent of deformation across the belt. We targeted U-Pb geochronology on gneisses within the identified strain windows; they preserve the record of a ca. 1.20 Ga high pressure-temperature (P-T) metamorphic event. The sheet intrusions define magmatic corridors all along, and concordant with, the western, northern, and eastern tectonic boundaries of the belt. The concordant and elonga...

Field of study: Environmental science
Experimental investigations on a toroidal screw pinch

High-β Deuterium plasmas in a temperature range of 0.1–1 keV were produced in the fast toroidal screw pinch experiment ISAR IV (Bmax≈33 kG,Iz max≈100–150 kA, coil diameter 12 cm, aspect ratio 5). The experimentally determined growth rates of the appearing instabilities—especially them=1 mode—are compared with two simple models and a more exact numerical calculation. This comparison and direct measurements of the magnetic field distribution show that the constant pitch model of Bobeldijk1 is a suitable first approximation for the normal screw pinch. Using a delay of thez and θ-bank as a first simple method of field programming this constant pitch profil could be varied in different directions. The results are discussed in more detail and confirm the theoretical picture of stability behaviour of the high-β screw pinch.

Field of study: Physics
Achievement of pencil-beam radiation from a TM_(01) mode circular waveguide source using multi-sector dielectric lens

A method of improving radiation from TM_(01) model conical horn is presented.Drielectric lens consisted of a number of sectors locates on aperture plane of conical horn, and thickness of each sector is choosed appropriately,then the conical horn can radiate circular polarization pattern with a boresight peak. Radiation fields of the horn are given by analytic formulae and the analytic results agree well with that of numerical simulations,the peak pattern gain of the horn with multi-sector dielectric lens is about 19.6 dB,bandwidth is approximately 15.8%(reflect coefficient S_(11)0.2),and aperture efficiency is 31.8% at 5 GHz.

Field of study: Physics
Analysis on Welding Residual Stress for Aluminum Alloy Plate

The residual stress field is the main study problem in the transient heating input process of aluminum alloy welding.Taking 400 mm ×140 mm ×10 mm of 5052 aluminum as the subjects,a reference axis was defined.The design scheme about resistance strain film in aluminum plate surface,drilling depth for 2.5 mm holes used Φ2 mm drill in strain film center.YJ-26 type static resistance strain analyzer was used to measure three element releasing strain,the maximum and minimum principal stress were calculated.Each point equivalent stress was calculated according to the fourth strength theory formula.The residual stress distribution curves were choiced on the path for comparison after dynamic process and welding the numerical simulation.The change rule of welding residual stress were gotten.The study results have very good guidance significance for making rational welding technological parameters in actual production.

Field of study: Materials science
The Circulating MicroRNA-206 Level Predicts the Severity of Pulmonary Hypertension in Patients with Left Heart Diseases

MicroRNA-206 (miR-206), a muscle-specific miRNA, regulates the growth of cardiac myocytes and pulmonary artery smooth muscle cells. However, it remains unknown whether miR-206 is involved in pulmonary hypertension (PH) due to left heart diseases (PH-LHD). This study was designed to investigate the correlation between miR-206 and PH in patients with LHD.  In 82 consecutively enrolled LHD patients, we examined the serum levels of miR-206 and analyzed its correlations with pulmonary artery systolic pressure (PASP) and cardiac function. Another 36 age- and sex-matched subjects served as healthy controls.  The patients were divided into the LHD group (n=47, PASP<50 mmHg) and the PH-LHD group (n=35, PASP≥50 mmHg). The level of miR-206 was significantly decreased in the PH-LHD group compared with that of the LHD and healthy control groups. In addition, the miR-206 level was correlated with PASP (r=-0.305, p<0.001) but not with systemic blood pressure. Univariate analyses showed that miR-206, brain natriuretic peptide (BNP), left ventricular ejection fraction and left atrial longitudinal diameter (LAD) were significantly related to PASP. Multivariate regression analysis identified miR-206 as an independent predictive factor for PH. MiR-206 alone (cut-off <0.66) demonstrated a sensitivity of 68.60% and a specificity of 65.80% in predicting PH. Moreover, the combination of miR-206, BNP and LAD (cut-off 0.21) showed a sensitivity of 97.10% and a specificity of 80.30% in predicting PH in LHD patients.  A decreased circulating miR-206 level was associated with increased PASP in LHD patients. Thus, the level of miR-206, especially combined with BNP and LAD, might be helpful in the detection of PH in LHD patients.

Field of study: Biology, Chemistry
Estimates for Bellman functions related to dyadic-like maximal operators on weighted spaces

We provide some new estimates for Bellman type functions for the dyadic maximal opeator on $R^n$ and of maximal operators on martingales related to weighted spaces. Using a type of symmetrization principle, introduced for the dyadic maximal operator in earlier works of the authors we introduce certain conditions on the weight that imply estimate for the maximal operator on the corresponding weighted space. Also using a well known estimate for the maximal operator by a double maximal operators on different m easures related to the weight we give new estimates for the above Bellman type functions.

Field of study: Mathematics
A TROPICAL PACIFIC PREDICTION SYSTEM OF INTERMEDIATE COMPLEXITY: ROLE OF THE VERTICAL STRUCTURE VARIABILITY

An intermediate ocean-atmosphere coupled model of the tropical Pacific is used to investigate the sensitivity of the seasonal forecasts to the configuration of the oceanic vertical structure. The models consist in a three baroclinic mode tropical Pacific Ocean model and a Gill (1980)'s tropical atmosphere. The predictive skill of the model using a simple nudging method for the initialization is first presented from 1970 and compared to the results of other prediction system of similar complexity, which emphasizes the modulation of the skill on decadal timescales. It is then demonstrated that the skill is critically dependant on the energy distribution on the baroclinic mode, higher-order mode contributions being favored at some period and not at others. Linear Green’s function are used to assimilate satellite observations (SST and wind) and derive the optimized set of parameters that determines the vertical structure in the model for a particular period of time. The scheme is first tested for the period prior to the development of the 1997 El Nino. It is shown that substantial improvement in forecasting the event is realized for an increase of the relative contribution of the higher-order modes through the model parameters setting. Assimilation experiments of satellite data for the September 2003-February 2004 period are carried for producing initial conditions for the coupled model. Results of forecasts runs for 2004 are presented and discussed.

Field of study: Biology, Environmental science