nils-herrmann/clean_scirepeval huggingface dataset:
Factors Influencing Expression of Symptoms in Corcyra cephalonica by Entomopathogenic Nematode, Heterorhabditis indica

Influence of environmental factors on expression of symptoms in Corcyra cephalonica (Rice Moth) larvae infected with Heterorhabditis indica was studied. Good symptom expression was noticed when maximum humidity was above 82%, minimum humidity was above 60%, maximum temperature below 39.7°C and minimum temperature ranged between 23.2- 26.8°C. Humidity was recorded to be the critical factor in expression of symptoms. At minimum humidity of less than 28.5%, number of infected insects expressing symptoms had reduced to zero. Nematode population development and build-up was very poor in symptomless insect larvae. Only secondary colonies of bacterial symbiont Photorhabdus luminescens were obtained from non-symptomatic larvae while larvae showing symptoms yielded more number of primary phage bacterial colonies.

Field of study: Biology
A Single-Event-Hardened Phase-Locked Loop Fabricated in 130 nm CMOS

A radiation-hardened-by-design phase-locked loop (PLL)-designed and fabricated in 130 nm CMOS-is shown to mitigate single-event transients (SETs). Two-photon-absorption (TPA) laser tests were used to characterize the error signatures of the PLL and to perform single-event upset (SEU) mapping of the PLL sub-components. Results show that a custom, voltage-based charge pump reduces the error response of the PLL over conventional designs by more than two orders of magnitude as measured by the number of erroneous PLL clock pulses following a single-event. Additionally, SEU mapping indicates a 99% reduction in the vulnerable area of the radiation-hardened-by-design (RHBD) charge pump over a conventional design. Furthermore, the TPA experiments highlight the importance of the voltage-controlled oscillator in the overall SET response of the PLL implementing the RHBD charge pump.

Field of study: Physics
Confrontation assays and mycotoxin treatment reveal antagonistic activities of Trichoderma and the fate of Fusarium mycotoxins in microbial interaction.

Mycotoxins are toxic fungal metabolites, contaminating cereal grains in field or during processing and storage periods. These environmental contaminants pose great threats to humans and animals' health due to their toxic effects. Type A trichothecenes, fumonisins and fusaric acid (FA) are commonly detected mycotoxins produced by various Fusarium species. Trichoderma spp. are promising antagonists in agriculture for their activities against plant pathogens, and also regarded as potential candidates for bioremediation of environmental contaminants. Managing toxigenic fungi by antagonistic Trichoderma is regarded as a sustainable and eco-friendly strategy for mycotoxin control. However, the metabolic activities of Trichoderma on natural occurring mycotoxins were less investigated. Our current work comprehensively explored the activities of Trichoderma against type A trichothecenes, fumonisins and FA producing Fusarium species via co-culture competition and indirect volatile assays. Furthermore, we investigated metabolism of type A trichothecenes and FA in Trichoderma isolates. Results indicated that Trichoderma were capable of bio-transforming T-2 toxin, HT-2 toxin, diacetoxyscirpenol and neosolaniol into their glycosylated forms and one Trichoderma strain could bio transform FA into low toxic fusarinol. These findings proved that Trichoderma isolates could manage toxigenic Fusarium via direct competition and volatile-mediated indirect inhibition. In addition, these antagonists possess defensive systems against mycotoxins for self-protection, which enriches our understanding on the interaction mechanism of Trichoderma spp. on toxigenic fungus.

Field of study: Environmental science
[Influence of dexamethasone and epinephrine on glycogen content and cytosol glucocorticoid receptors in hyperthyroid rat liver].

The influence of hyperthyroidism on the action of drugs affecting rat liver glycogen content and its mechanism were investigated. The thyroid-induced hyperthyroidism of rat served as the model. In normal rats, dexamethasone (5 mg.kg-1, ip) increased the content of liver glycogen and decreased the Bmax of glucocorticoid receptors (GCR) in liver cytosol. These effects were minimized or even disappeared in hyperthyroid rat models. On the other hand, in normal rats, epinephrine (0.20 mg.kg-1, ip) decreased the content of liver glycogen. This effect was potentiated in hyperthyroid rat models. Epinephrine did not affect the Bmax of GCR in liver cytosol of normal and hyperthyroid rats. These results suggested that hyperthyroidism may be one of the causes effecting the individual differences of drug action, and that the influence of hyperthyroidism on the glycogen-increasing action of dexamethasone correlated well with the changes in glucocorticoid receptor. The mechanism of the influence of hyperthyroidism on the glycogen-decreasing action of epinephrine is to be further explored.

Field of study: Biology, Chemistry, Medicine
Low-temperature confinement of SIC-superthin film and superfine particles

Studies on phase transition of a model ionic conductor thin film sandwiched with insulators are theoretically carried out in terms of the interacting lattice gas model, and become a possibility if a low-temperature confinement of superionic conductors is realized. Due to a number of defects existing in the interface region, the defect-induced phase transition is promoted, giving rise to the order-disorder phase transition front. This suggests that a sandwiched superionic conductor thin film or superionic fine particles can be realized well below the bulk superionic transition temperature.

Field of study: Materials science
Physiological and isotopic (delta(13)C and delta(18)O) responses of three tropical tree species to water and nutrient availability.

Water-use efficiency and stable isotope composition were studied in three tropical tree species. Seedlings of Tectona grandis, Swietenia macrophylla and Platymiscium pinnatum were grown at either high or low water supply, and with or without added fertilizer. These three species previously exhibited low, intermediate and high whole-plant water-use efficiency (TE) when grown at high water supply in unfertilized soil. Responses of TE to water and nutrient availability varied among species. The TE was calculated as experiment-long dry matter production divided by cumulative water use. Species-specific offsets were observed in relationships between TE and whole-plant (13)C discrimination (Delta(13)C(p)). These offsets could be attributed to a breakdown in the relationship between Delta(13)C(p) and the ratio of intercellular to ambient CO(2) partial pressures (c(i)/c(a)) in P. pinnatum, and to variation among species in the leaf-to-air vapour pressure difference (v). Thus, a plot of v.TE against c(i)/c(a) showed a general relationship among species. Relationships between delta(18)O of stem dry matter and stomatal conductance ranged from strongly negative for S. macrophylla to no relationship for T. grandis. Results suggest inter-specific variation among tropical tree species in relationships between stable isotope ratios (delta(13)C and delta(18)O) and the gas exchange processes thought to affect them.

Field of study: Environmental science
Isolation of cobalt hyper-resistant mutants of Saccharomyces cerevisiae by in vivo evolutionary engineering approach.

Cobalt is an important element with magnetic properties used in various industrial applications, but is also needed for biological activity. Very little is known about the cellular response of living systems to cobalt stress. Towards investigating this mechanism, we isolated individual Saccharomyces cerevisiae cells resistant to high cobalt concentrations up to 8 mmoll(-1), by employing four different 'in vivo' evolutionary engineering strategies: selection under constant or gradually increasing stress levels, and selection under continuous or pulse exposure to cobalt stress. Selection under continuous exposure to gradually increasing cobalt stress levels yielded the most resistant cell population to cobalt. However, the resistance was highly heterogeneous within the mutant populations ranging from 3- to 3700-fold survival rate of isolated individuals to 8 mmoll(-1) CoCl2 in the most resistant population. Moreover, cobalt-resistant individual colonies were associated with 2-4-times lower intracellular cobalt contents as compared to wild-type, and with cross-resistance to metals such as nickel, zinc, manganese, but not to copper and chromium ions. Contrary to mutants evolved under continuous exposure to cobalt, those isolated by pulse exposure strategy also exhibited resistance to heat shock and hydrogen peroxide stress. Taken together, this study reinforced the fact that evolutionary engineering is useful in selecting strains with very specific phenotypes, and further illustrated the importance of the strategy chosen to isolate the best evolved strain.

Field of study: Biology, Engineering
Dynamics of one-dimensional spiking neuron models

In this paper we make a rigorous mathematical analysis of one-dimensional spiking neuron models in a unified framework. We find that, under conditions satisfied in particular by the periodically and aperiodically driven leaky integrator as well as some of its variants, the spike map is increasing on its range, which leaves no room for chaotic behavior. A rigorous expression of the Lyapunov exponent is derived. Finally, we analyse the periodically driven perfect integrator and show that the restriction of the phase map to its range is always conjugated to a rotation, and we provide an explicit expression of the invariant measure.

Field of study: Biology, Mathematics
Effect of Control on Information Systems Development Performance: A Meta-Analysis

Control modes are critical for promoting information systems development (ISD) performance, however the relationship is elusive. Further, control is typically discussed in terms of the use of portfolios of control comprised of both formal (outcome and behavior) and informal (clan and self) mechanisms. Yet, the extent to which formal and informal controls individually relate to both performance and each other is still not fully established. This research utilizes meta-analysis to examine these relationships. The results indicate that control does enhance performance, although the strength of the relationship varies across types of control and different measures of performance. The results also show a significant relationship between formal and informal control modes, providing support for views of complementarities between modes within portfolios of control. It appears, however, that only clan control is positively associated with formal control. Building on these findings we suggest future directions for the study of control in ISD.

Field of study: Computer science
Synthesis and photo-luminescent properties of six novel benzodioxazole derivatives containing stilbenyl

Six novel benzo[1-2,4-5]dioxazole derivatives containing stilbenyl were designed and synthesized from substituted aromatic aldehyde/ketone and 2,6-bis(4-chloromethyl phenylene)benzo[1-2,4-5]dioxazole through the Wittig-Horner reaction,and their chemical structures were determined by spectra and elemental analysis.The effects of their chemical structures on the fluorescent properties and fluorescence quantum yield were investigated,and analytical results showed that three target compounds had blue light emitting characteristics and two target compounds could give off green light.

Field of study: Chemistry, Environmental science
Marta Cacho Casal.Francisco Pacheco y suLibro de retratos. Colección Internacional Alfonso E. Pérez Sánchez 1. Seville: Fundación Focus-Abengoa; Madrid: Marcial Pons, 2011. 376 pp. + 30 color pls. €30. ISBN: 978–84–92820–55–9.


Field of study: History
Purification, crystallization and X-ray analysis of swine vesicular disease virus.

Swine vesicular disease virus (SVDV) is the etiological agent of swine vesicular disease, a highly contagious disease in pigs, and is related to coxsackie B virus. Crystalline arrays of SVDV can be observed in the cytoplasm of cells 4.5 h after inoculation to porcine kidney cells (IBRS-2 cells). Crystals of the JX/78 strain of SVDV were obtained from virus in two wells of crystallization conditions and present preliminary X-ray data to 3.6 A resolution.

Field of study: Chemistry
Real-time task scheduling by multiobjective genetic algorithm

Real-time tasks are characterized by computational activities with timing constraints and classified into two categories: a hard real-time task and a soft real-time task. In hard real-time tasks, tardiness can be catastrophic. The goal of hard real-time tasks scheduling algorithms is to meet all tasks' deadlines, in other words, to keep the feasibility of scheduling through admission control. However, in the case of soft real-time tasks, slight violation of deadlines is not so critical. In this paper, we propose a new scheduling algorithm for soft real-time tasks using multiobjective genetic algorithm (moGA) on multiprocessors system. It is assumed that tasks have precedence relations among them and are executed on homogeneous multiprocessor environment. The objective of the proposed scheduling algorithm is to minimize the total tardiness and total number of processors used. For these objectives, this paper combines adaptive weight approach (AWA) that utilizes some useful information from the current population to readjust weights for obtaining a search pressure toward a positive ideal point. The effectiveness of the proposed algorithm is shown through simulation studies.

Field of study: Computer science, Engineering
High-efficiency, broadband, and wide-angle all-dielectric quarter wave plate based on anisotropic electric and magnetic dipole resonances.

Metadevices based on dielectric nanostructure with excitation of electric and magnetic resonances have shown high efficiency for polarization control compared with conventional manipulation methods, as well as plasmonic structure metadevices. Since both the electric and magnetic dipole (MD) resonances can be precisely adjusted by optimizing geometric parameters of the resonators to meet the desired wavelength, this paper proposes an approach to implement the high transmittance metadevices operating at preferred wavelengths. By employing this method, we demonstrate an all-dielectric quarter wave plate (QWP) metasurface with high transmittance (>85%) and high polarization conversion efficiency (>0.88) in a broad telecom waveband. At the same time, conversion efficiency is nearly unaffected for incident angles within 75°. With features of high transmittance, wide angle, and invertible linear to circular polarization conversion, the all dielectric QWP can be a good replacement for plasmonic metasurface devices and offers a further step in developing polarization and phase manipulation metadevices.

Field of study: Physics
Periodic Mechanical Stress INDUCES Chondrocyte Proliferation and Matrix Synthesis via CaMKII-Mediated Pyk2 Signaling

Periodic mechanical stress can promote chondrocyte proliferation and matrix synthesis to improve the quality of tissue-engineered cartilage. Although the integrin β1–ERK1/2 signal cascade has been implicated in periodic mechanical stress-induced mitogenic effects in chondrocytes, the precise mechanisms have not been fully established. The current study was designed to probe the roles of CaMKII and Pyk2 signaling in periodic mechanical stress-mediated chondrocyte proliferation and matrix synthesis.  Chondrocytes were subjected to periodic mechanical stress, proliferation was assessed by direct cell counting and CCK-8 assay; gene expressions were analyzed using quantitative real-time PCR, protein abundance by Western blotting.  Mechanical stress, markedly enhanced the phosphorylation levels of Pyk2 at Tyr402 and CaMKII at Thr286. Both suppression of Pyk2 with Pyk2 inhibitor PF431396 or Pyk2 shRNA and suppression of CaMKII with CaMKII inhibitor KN-93 or CaMKII shRNA blocked periodic mechanical stress-induced chondrocyte proliferation and matrix synthesis. Additionally, either pretreatment with KN-93 or shRNA targeted to CaMKII prevented the activation of ERK1/2 and Pyk2 under conditions of periodic mechanical stress. Interestingly, in relation to periodic mechanical stress, in the context of Pyk2 inhibition with PF431396 or its targeted shRNA, only the phosphorylation levels of ERK1/2 were abrogated, while CaMKII signal activation was not affected. Moreover, the phosphorylation levels of CaMKII- Thr286 and Pyk2- Tyr402 were abolished after pretreatment with blocking antibody against integrinβ1 exposed to periodic mechanical stress.  Our results collectively indicate that periodic mechanical stress promotes chondrocyte proliferation and matrix synthesis through the integrinβ1–CaMKII–Pyk2–ERK1/2 signaling cascade.

Field of study: Biology, Chemistry
Catalytic Ozonation in Arrayed Zinc Oxide Nanotubes as Highly Efficient Mini-Column Catalyst Reactors (MCRs): Augmentation of Hydroxyl Radical Exposure.

Reactor design is significant to catalytic ozonation for an efficient mass transfer and exposure of the powerful but short-lived hydroxyl radicals (HO•). Herein, five groups of zinc oxide nanotube arrays with pore sizes from 168 to 10 nm were produced as mini-column catalyst reactors (MCRs) for internal catalytic ozonation, whose performance was comparatively studied on the kinetics of ozone transfer, consumption, and radical probe interaction. Using an RCT value describing HO• exposure, all the MCRs with sufficient ozone transfer featured an RCT level of at least 3.2 × 10-6, which is substantially higher than most values in referenced works (10-9∼10-6) and that for microscale reactors in our work (∼10-8). Furthermore, the HO• exposure dramatically increased with diminishing pore size, causing an elevated RCT up to 8.0 × 10-5 for the smallest MCR with 10 nm pore. The interphase formed in this flow-through system might have enriched HO• radicals produced via surface, and for a smaller MCR, the effect would be greater with a more confined microfluidic region. Investigations on electron paramagnetic resonance and the treatment of ozone-recalcitrant organics corroborated the nanoscale effect of MCR on augmentation of HO• exposure. This study offers a new way to design nanotube reactors for internal HO•-based heterogeneous catalysis.

Field of study: Environmental science
Use of Free Responses and Cluster Analysis to Determine Stereotypes of Eight Groups

A two-part study contrasted the utility of free-response and checklist methodologies for ascertaining ethnic and gender stereotypes. Descriptions of data collection, organization, and cluster and entropy analyses are provided. Results indicate that important differences emerge between data resulting from free-response methodology and those obtained with traditionally employed adjective checklists. These differences include the generation of a large percentage of physical descriptors and within-ethnic-group gender differences in stereotype content. A major finding is the generation of a large number of distinct responses coupled with low-frequency use of any particular response. Study 2 specifically examined whether free-response data are more schematic than checklist data. Results indicate that free-response data have a greater dependency and may thus be indicative of schematic response. This schematic response may, in turn, indicate more automatic processing than is evident with data from checklist methodologies.

Field of study: Psychology
Simplistic Rambles on Independence

Independence as defined by Webster the state or quality of being independent; freedom from the influence, control, or determination of another or others. As we move "forward" from the pioneer days to these modern technological times, has the great spirit of the independent settler regressed? In a similar vein, is our practice space being invaded?  Is our independence being restricted? Again: but this time more aggressively and by more powerful forces. While, as a physician, I believe being independent is essential for therapeutic decision making; it is never without responsibility or the consequence. Any party affecting the treatment process must also share the liability. This is a negative freedom process. In medicine we rationalize that it is very desirable, if not essential, we be free from external influences so that we can be unencumbered in patient care decisions. However, we do vacillate in defining what is considered interference or even dictatorial as compared to educational or tutorial. It seems, to us, that the latter two are considered benign influences as they are primarily for updating medical knowledge and technology aimed at improving patient care. While the former two, in physicians' minds, are construed as being motivated more by financial and power gains than patient care benefits. Should anyone group have the right to decide, independently, diagnostic, therapeutic, and financial aspects of medical care? Physicians are specifically trained and licensed to perform the first two, i.e., diagnosis and treatment: we do not claim any other expertise. However, we do acknowledge that there are other aspects of health care outside of the strictly medical sphere. All members of the

Field of study: Medicine, Philosophy
Examining the Behaviour of Individual UK Consumer Prices

This article examines how UK consumer prices behave, using two databases with millions of price observations: the microdata that underpin official Consumer Prices Index data and a database of supermarket prices. Prices do not change continuously but our key finding is the marked heterogeneity in the data. That is not consistent with standard microeconomic foundations that typically form the basis of macroeconomic policy models. Declining hazard functions and the distribution of price changes also argue against representative agent models. Our results suggest further work is needed to find a model of price‐setting that genuinely corresponds to how individual UK consumer prices behave.

Field of study: Economics
SHAPE OPTIMIZATION OFARIGID INCLUSIN INAN ELATIC PLANE UNDER CONCENTRATED LOADS

The shape optimization of a rigid inclusion in an elastic plane under concentrated loads is considered. The conformal mapping technique and extended Schwarz principle integrated with the analysis of singularity of complex stress functions are adopted. A number of examples of the rigid inclusion with different shapes, such as elliptical, triangular and square inclusion, to account for a wide range of shape variations are discussed. Numerical results and graphs are presented, showing that the maximum interface stresses vary with the shape of inclusion. The shape resulting in minimum interface principal stress is obtained. Some suggestions are made in regard to the design of the shape of rigid inclusion.

Field of study: Engineering
Spectral density of the radiation excited by the field of a β particle in a diamondlike nanofilm

The generation of photon polaritons by a field of a moving β particle is numerically simulated. These polaritons are localized in a crystal nanofilm with a diamondlike structure. Expressions for the spectral density of the radiation excited by the field of a charged particle in a quasi-two-dimensional film are deduced.

Field of study: Physics