nils-herrmann/clean_scirepeval huggingface dataset:
The effects of differential training procedures on linked perceptual class formation.

When the stimuli in one perceptual class (A') become related to the stimuli in another perceptual class (B'), the two are functioning as a single linked perceptual class. A common linked perceptual class would be the sounds of a person's voice (class A') and the pictures of that person (class B'). Such classes are ubiquitous in real world settings. We describe the effects of a variety of training procedures on the formation of these classes. The results could account for the development of naturally occurring linked perceptual classes. Two perceptual classes (A' and B') were formed in Experiment 1. The endpoints of the A' class were called anchor (Aa) and boundary (Ab) stimuli. Likewise, the anchor and boundary stimuli in the B' class were represented as Ba and Bb. In Experiment 2, the A' and B' classes were linked by the establishment of one of four cross-class conditional discriminations: Aa-->Ba, Aa-->Bb, Ab-->Ba, or Ab-->Bb. Results were greatest after Aa-->Bb training, intermediate after Aa-->Ba and Ab-->Ba training, and lowest after Ab-->Bb training. Class formation was influenced by the interaction of the anchor/boundary values and the sample/comparison functions of the stimuli used in training. Experiment 3 determined whether class formation was influenced by different sets of two cross-class conditional discriminations: Aa-->Ba and Ab-->Bb, or Aa-->Bb and Ab-->Ba. Both conditions produced equivalent results. Similarities were attributable to the use of anchor stimuli as samples and boundary stimuli as comparisons in each training condition. Finally, the results afterjoint Aa-->Ba and Ab-->Bb training were much greater than those produced by summing the results of Aa-->Ba training alone and Ab-->Bb training alone. This same synergy was not observed after joint Aa-->Bb and Ab-->Ba training or either alone.

Field of study: Biology, Psychology
Cognitive functioning, ASP, and family history of alcoholism in young men at risk for alcoholism.

Previous research has suggested that individuals with a family history of alcoholism may have cognitive deficits that predate, and possibly predispose, to the onset of alcoholism. However, these deficiencies may result from other factors, e.g., comorbid psychopathology. The current study investigated the neuropsychological functioning of young adult males at high risk for alcohol abuse due to a family history of alcoholism (FH) and/or a personal history of antisocial personality disorder (ASP). A family history of alcoholism (FH+) alone was not associated with neuropsychological impairment. Subjects with ASP, however, exhibited some difficulty with higher level motor control and with verbal concept formation compared with nonASP subjects. No clear pattern of FH x ASP interaction was evident in the measures examined. These findings suggest that previous findings suggesting cognitive deficiencies in FH+ individuals may have been related to a failure to consider co-morbid ASP. The deficits exhibited by the ASP subjects may reflect both reduced inhibitory control and a deficiency in higher level verbal skills. These deficiencies may leave ASP individuals less capable of utilizing higher level language skills to regulate behavior.

Field of study: Medicine
Extracting characters from real vehicle licence plates out-of-doors

Most applications of automatic vehicle identification systems are outdoors and are consumer-orientated. The recognition rate, the system reliability and the processing speed are very important. A system for extracting characters from licence plates has been presented. The system can successfully extract characters from licence plates in any part of a captured image without the need to consider the luminance of the surroundings or the size and inclination of the licence plate or the colour of the vehicle. Moreover, the processing time of this system is satisfactory for several applications. The proposed system depends only on the completeness of a character and so is tolerant of skewed plates and complex backgrounds. In a real parking lot, an extraction rate of 95.6% was obtained by applying the system to 228 vehicles.

Field of study: Computer science
Revisión: Envasado activo de los alimentos / Review: Active food packaging

A great technological development for food packaging has been developed over the past few decades to satisfy consumer demands relating to more natural forms of preservation, and methods to control packaging and storage for assurance and food safety. Active packaging is, certainly, one of the most important innovations in this field. Active packages are designed to perform a role other than to provide an inert barrier between the product and the outside environment, using the possible interactions between food and package in a positive way to improve product quality and acceptability. Active food packaging is a heterogeneous concept involving a wide range of possibilities which globally can be grouped in two main goals: (i) to extend shelf life, and (ii) to facilitate processing and consumption of foods. In the first case, active packaging solutions include the systems studied to control the mechanisms of deterioration inside the package (i.e. oxygen scavengers, moisture absorbers or antimicrobial agents). In relation to the second goal, active packaging allows us to match the package to the properties of the food, to reduce costs of processing, or even to perform some processing operations in-package or to control the product history and quality. This paper reviews the different applications of active packaging and their commercial use, together with some legal aspects and future trends.

Field of study: Agricultural and Food sciences
X-ray beamlines for structural studies at the NSRRC superconducting wavelength shifter.

Using a superconducting-wavelength-shifter X-ray source with a photon flux density of 10(11)-10(13) photons s(-1) mrad(-1) (0.1% bandwidth)(-1) (200 mA)(-1) in the energy range 5-35 keV, three hard X-ray beamlines, BL01A, BL01B and BL01C, have been designed and constructed at the 1.5 GeV storage ring of the National Synchrotron Radiation Research Center (NSRRC). These have been designed for structure-related research using X-ray imaging, absorption, scattering and diffraction. The branch beamline BL01A, which has an unmonochromatized beam, is suitable for phase-contrast X-ray imaging with a spatial resolution of 1 microm and an imaging efficiency of one frame per 10 ms. The main beamline BL01B has 1:1 beam focusing and a medium energy resolution of approximately 10(-3). It has been designed for small-angle X-ray scattering and transmission X-ray microscopy, used, respectively, in anomalous scattering and nanophase-contrast imaging with 30 nm spatial resolution. Finally, the branch beamline BL01C, which features collimating and focusing mirrors and a double-crystal monochromator for a high energy resolution of approximately 10(-4), has been designed for X-ray absorption spectroscopy and high-resolution powder X-ray diffraction. These instruments, providing complementary tools for studying multiphase structures, have opened up a new research trend of integrated structural study at the NSRRC, especially in biology and materials. Examples illustrating the performances of the beamlines and the instruments installed are presented.

Field of study: Physics
SI113, a Specific Inhibitor of the Sgk1 Kinase Activity that Counteracts Cancer Cell Proliferation

Published observations on serum and glucocorticoid regulated kinase 1 (Sgk1) knockout murine models and Sgk1-specific RNA silencing in the RKO human colon carcinoma cell line point to this kinase as a central player in colon carcinogenesis and in resistance to taxanes.  By in vitro kinase activity inhibition assays, cell cycle and viability analysis in human cancer model systems, we describe the biologic effects of a recently identified kinase inhibitor, SI113, characterized by a substituted pyrazolo[3,4-d]pyrimidine scaffold, that shows specificity for Sgk1.  SI113 was able to inhibit in vitro cell growth in cancer cells derived from tumors with different origins. In RKO cells, this kinase inhibitor blocked insulin-dependent phosphorylation of the Sgk1 substrate Mdm2, the main regulator of p53 protein stability, and induced necrosis and apoptosis when used as a single agent. Finally, SI113 potentiated the effects of paclitaxel on cell viability.  Since SI113 appears to be effective in inducing cell death in RKO cells, potentiating paclitaxel sensitivity, we believe that this new molecule could be efficiently employed, alone or in combination with paclitaxel, in colon cancer chemotherapy.

Field of study: Biology, Chemistry
High surface area TiO2 nanospheres as a high-rate anode material for aqueous aluminium-ion batteries

Aluminium-ion batteries are promising electrochemical energy storage systems in replacement of Li-ion batteries owing to the low cost, non-toxicity, safety and three-electron transfer nature of Al-intercalation process. Anatase titanium dioxide has been suggested as a potential anode material for aqueous Al-ion batteries. In this work, TiO2 nanospheres (TiO2-NSs) with highly mesoporous morphology and large specific surface area (179.9 m2 g− 1) were synthesized via hydrolysis of titanium glycolate precursor and subsequent hydrothermal treatment and calcination in an argon atmosphere. The structure and morphology of the prepared TiO2-NSs were characterized by X-ray diffraction, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, transmission electron microscopy and nitrogen adsorption-desorption. The high surface area TiO2-NSs provide large electrode/electrolyte interface and good electrolyte-holding characteristic, leading to shorten the diffusion path of electrons and ions to the active material, which results in the better high-rate performance. The TiO2-NSs anode exhibited a high initial discharge capacity of 183 mAh g− 1 at a current rate of 0.15 C and a superior rate performance with a capacity of 108 mAh g− 1 even at a discharge current rate of 6.0 C, which are much higher than those of TiO2-P25 electrode.

Field of study: Materials science
β7 Integrin expression is not required for the localization of T cells to the intestine and colitis pathogenesis

β7 Integrins have been shown to have an important role in the localization of T cells to the intestine. Utilizing two different experimental mouse models of inflammatory bowel disease (IBD), this study was undertaken to determine if β7 integrin expression is critical for T cell localization to the intestine and colitis pathogenesis. Transfer of CD4+ CD45RBhigh cells into immunodeficient mice results in colitis. To examine the role of β7 integrins, donor cells were obtained from β7 integrin gene‐deficient animals and disease induction was examined following transfer into severe combined immunodeficiency (SCID) mice. Additionally, β7 integrin gene‐deficient animals were crossed to IL‐2‐deficient mice and the onset of spontaneous colitis that normally occurs in IL‐2‐deficient animals was examined. No differences in the onset or severity of spontaneous colitis was noted in animals that were deficient in both β7 integrin and IL‐2. In contrast, the onset of colitis in recipients of T cells from β7 integrin‐deficient donors was delayed significantly. In mice receiving β7 integrin negative cells, the initial lack of colitis appeared to correlate with fewer numbers of CD3+β7 integrin –/– donor lymphocytes present in the host colon. The eventual development of disease, however, was associated with increased numbers of donor β7 integrin –/– lymphocytes. These results show that β7 integrin expression is not absolutely required for T cell localization to the intestine and colitis pathogenesis.

Field of study: Biology, Medicine
Determination of Seven N-Nitrosamines in Eutrophic Drinking Water after Chlorination by High Performance Liquid ChromatographyTandem Mass Spectrometry

A method based on solid phase extraction-liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry for determination of 7 nitrosamines( NAms)( NDMA,NMEA,NDEA,NDPA,NDBA,NPyr,NPip) in eutrophic drinking water was presented. The detection limits for NAms were 5. 0,14,8.  9 ng / L,respectively,and correlation coefficients for all NAms were over 0. 999. The recoveries ranged from 80% to 120% except NDBA,which was about 60% and RSDs for all NAms were between 1. 4% and12. 6%. Matrix effects were evaluated by the ratio of the slope of matrix-matched and solvent-based calibration curves. The matrix effects in algae suspension ranged from 0. 79 to 0. 94 for 7 NAms,and the range of matrix effects in disinfected algae suspension for other was 0. 63- 0. 96 except NDMA( 0. 36). The method was applied to determine nitrosamines in tap water,eutrophic drinking water landscape water and algae suspension after chlorination and chloramination.

Field of study: Chemistry
‘God’s Friend, the Whole World’s Enemy’

Piracy holds a special place within the field of international law because of the universal jurisdiction that applies. This article reconsiders the role of piracy in the development of universal jurisdiction. While usually a connection is established between Cicero’s ‘enemy of all’ and modern conceptions of pirates, it is argued that ‘enemy of the human species’ or ‘enemy of humanity’ is a medieval creation, used by Bartolus, which must be understood in the wake of the Renaissance of the twelfth century and the increased interest for the study of Roman Law. The criminalization of the pirate in the late Middle Ages must be understood not only as a consequence of royal power claiming a monopoly of violence at sea. Both the Italian city-states and the Hanse may have preceded royal power in criminalizing pirates. All the while, political motives in doing so were never absent.

Field of study: Philosophy
Bird community responses to afforested eucalyptus plantations in the Argentine pampas

Land-use change driven by human population growth and economic activity will continue to impact both natural habitats and land currently being used for food, fiber, and fuel production. The effects of this conversion on economically important ecological services will in large part depend on how native biodiversity responds to these changes. We investigated how agriculture-related land use change influences the avian community in northeastern Argentina by examining common agricultural land uses (pasture/annual crops, young and mature large-scale eucalyptus plantations, mixed-use farms with citrus, blueberry and small stands of eucalyptus) and remnant native espinal savannas. In this region, afforested eucalyptus plantations represent a new land-use change from the land cover of pasture with intermixed annual crops that has dominated the region. In this mosaic, we used point counts to assess how avian diversity and community structure differed between land uses. Bird species richness was lowest in older plantations and highest in the espinal savanna, with the other land uses having intermediate richness. Abundance trends followed the same pattern, with low overall abundance in the plantations, intermediate levels for pasture/annual crops, and highest abundance in the espinal. Distinct bird community assemblages were strongly associated with each land use, and between young and mature eucalyptus stands. Birds can be useful indicators for biodiversity as a whole, and the depopulated and depauperate avian community within the eucalyptus plantations will likely lead to reduced provision of many ecosystem services in this region if the spatial extent of plantations continues to expand.

Field of study: Environmental science
Thermobaric synthesis, structure, and properties of DyxCu3V4O12

The perovskite-like compound DyxCu3V4O12 (x = 0.67–0.75) is synthesized under high pressure (P = 4.0–9.0 GPa) and temperature (T = 1000°C). Its crystal structure is determined (Im-3 space group, Z = 2, a = 7.29348(7) Å) by means of powder X-ray diffraction. The basic lengths and bond angles are defined. It is found that the high-pressure phase of DyxCu3V4O12 is characterized by metallic conductivity and paramagnetic properties.

Field of study: Physics
Infective endocarditis in patients with pyogenic spondylodiscitis: implications for diagnosis and therapy.

OBJECTIVEThe incidence of patients with pyogenic spinal infection is increasing. In addition to treatment of the spinal infection, early diagnosis of and therapy for coexisting infections, especially infective endocarditis (IE), is an important issue. The aim of this study was to evaluate the proportion of coexisting IE and the value of routine transesophageal echocardiography (TEE) in the management of these patients.METHODSThe medical history, laboratory data, radiographic findings, treatment modalities, and results of TEE of patients admitted between 2007 and 2017 were analyzed.RESULTSDuring the abovementioned period, 110 of 255 total patients underwent TEE for detection of IE. The detection rate of IE between those patients undergoing and not undergoing TEE was 33% and 3%, respectively (p < 0.0001). Thirty-six percent of patients with IE needed cardiac surgical intervention because of severe valve destruction. Chronic renal failure, heart failure, septic condition at admission, and preexisting heart condition were significantly associated with coexisting IE. The mortality rate in patients with IE was significantly higher than in patients without IE (22% vs 3%, p = 0.002).CONCLUSIONSTEE should be performed routinely in all patients with spondylodiscitis.

Field of study: Medicine
Taconian and Acadian transpression between the internal Humber Zone and the Gaspé Belt in the Gaspé Peninsula: tectonic history of the Shickshock Sud fault zone

The Shickshock Sud fault has a history of Ordovician (Taconian), Silurian (Salinic), and Devonian (Acadian) movements. Taconian deformation involving ductile dextral oblique-slip faulting is recorded in Cambrian rocks in the footwall of the Shickshock Sud fault. Metabasalt and metaarkose at amphibolite grade are converted into phyllonite and mylonitic schist. Shear bands, asymmetric garnet porphyroclasts, CS fabrics, and mica-fish textures indicate dextral shearing. The regional sense of shear is top to west and southwest on generally southeast dipping shear zones. Hornblende of metabasalt yielded an 40Ar/39Ar age of 455.9 ± 2 Ma, and muscovite from the mylonitic schist yielded an 40Ar/39Ar age of 454.3 ± 0.9 Ma, which indicate metamorphism and deformation during the Taconian orogeny. Evidence for Silurian activity is indicated by the Salinic unconformity to the south related to normal block-faulting. Deformation features in the Ordovician and SilurianDevonian rocks in the hanging wall were predominantl...

Field of study: Environmental science
Increase of insulin-like growth factor (IGF)-1, IGF binding protein-2 and -4 mRNAs following cerebral contusion.

The insulin-like growth factor (IGF) system has a role in repair following hypoxic-ischemic injury in many tissues including the brain. To study the involvement of the IGF system following head trauma, we used a rat contusion model, which produces a focal lesion of the cerebral cortex. Molecules in the IGF system were analyzed using in situ hybridization at different times following impact. We observed a dramatic up-regulation of insulin-like growth factor binding protein-2 (IGFBP-2) mRNA in cortical areas adjacent to the injury 24 h after impact, with a peak 10-fold increase engaging most of the ipsilateral cortex 2 and 3 days post-contusion. Seven days after the contusion, IGFBP-2 expression was only moderately up-regulated and again concentrated around the injury. IGFBP-4 mRNA levels increased 4-fold ipsilateral to the site of injury, with retained pattern of cortical expression. IGFBP-3, IGFBP-5 and IGFBP-6 mRNA all displayed distinct expression patterns in the brain but no significant changes were observed following injury. In contrast, IGF-1 mRNA levels were very low prior to contusion, but increased markedly at the site of injury with a peak at day 3. We were unable to detect any changes in the type 1 IGF-receptor or IGF-2 mRNA following contusion. The neuropeptide cholecystokinin (CCK) mRNA was clearly up-regulated following contusion, with an even distribution over the ipsilateral cortex. The expression pattern of molecules in the IGF system post-contusion differs in part to changes observed following hypoxic-ischemia or ischemia alone, perhaps reflecting different regulatory mechanisms depending on the type of injury.

Field of study: Biology
Variational Beam Search for Online Learning with Distribution Shifts

We consider the problem of online learning in the presence of sudden distribution shifts as frequently encountered in applications such as autonomous navigation. Distribution shifts require constant performance monitoring and re-training. They may also be hard to detect and can lead to a slow but steady degradation in model performance. To address this problem we propose a new Bayesian meta-algorithm that can both (i) make inferences about subtle distribution shifts based on minimal sequential observations and (ii) accordingly adapt a model in an online fashion. The approach uses beam search over multiple change point hypotheses to perform inference on a hierarchical sequential latent variable modeling framework. Our proposed approach is model-agnostic, applicable to both supervised and unsupervised learning, and yields significant improvements over state-of-the-art Bayesian online learning approaches.

Field of study: Computer science
The New Indian Novel in English: A Study of the 1980s (review)

Midnight's Children, Clear Light of Day, Trotter-nama, The Great Indian Novel, Shadow Lines, to name a few Indian novels of the last decade, have ushered in a new phase in the development of the genre. As Kirpal points out in her introduction, these novels break away from the earlier narrative tradition established by such writers as R. K. Narayan, Raja Rao, MuIk Raj Anand, and Manohar Malgaonkar. The new novels are, for Kirpal, characterized by their "lack of staidness" and "solemnity"; they are determined to experiment with new forms and "to break with shibboleths." Kirpal and many of the contributors to this collection identify Midnight's Children (1981) as the starting point of this narrative revolution that combines postmodernism and the Indian oral narrative tradition. Kirpal brings together twenty-seven essays by twenty-two scholars (most of whom are Indian) in this collection that surveys a wide range of novels. The collection is divided into three sections: "The Old Masters," "The Middle Generation," and "Towards A Poetics of The New Indian Novel." The last section is rather disappointing; the contributors are unable to free themselves of the overpowering presence of Rushdie (four out of the seven essays in this section focus on him). Despite this preoccupation with Rushdie, little that is new is said about his works. Sometimes the essays tend to be rather basic in their enumeration of the obvious characteristics of Rushdie's work. However, Feroza Jussawalla's essay on The Satanic Verses in this section is interesting for its discussion of Rushdie's "Joycean word-play" that "is less an exploration of artisitc techniques than a cover for political or racial attitudes that the author holds." The preoccupation with Rushdie also infects "The Middle Generation" section of this collection (three essays). Essays on Anita Desai's Clear Light of Day and In Custody also dominate this book (five essays). Yet, significant novels like I. Allan Sealy's Trotter-nama (1988), Shashi Tharoor's The Great Indian Novel (1989), and Anita Desai's Baumgartner's Bombay (1988) are left unrepresented; the complex narratives of Tharoor and Sealy definitely require significant critical attention. Despite these omissions, this collection of essays should be praised for its range of authors and novels. At least one essay is devoted to the following authors: Amitav Ghosh, Nayantara Sahgal, Shashi Deshpande, Namita Gokhale,

Field of study: Art