nils-herrmann/clean_scirepeval huggingface dataset:
Mercuric reductase genes (merA) and mercury resistance plasmids in High Arctic snow, freshwater and sea-ice brine.

Bacterial reduction in Hg(2+) to Hg(0) , mediated by the mercuric reductase (MerA), is important in the biogeochemical cycling of Hg in temperate environments. Little is known about the occurrence and diversity of merA in the Arctic. Seven merA determinants were identified among bacterial isolates from High Arctic snow, freshwater and sea-ice brine. Three determinants in Bacteriodetes, Firmicutes and Actinobacteria showed < 92% (amino acid) sequence similarity to known merA, while one merA homologue in Alphaproteobacteria and 3 homologues from Betaproteobacteria and Gammaproteobacteria were > 99% similar to known merA's. Phylogenetic analysis showed the Bacteroidetes merA to be part of an early lineage in the mer phylogeny, whereas the Betaproteobacteria and Gammaproteobacteria merA appeared to have evolved recently. Several isolates, in which merA was not detected, were able to reduce Hg(2+) , suggesting presence of unidentified merA genes. About 25% of the isolates contained plasmids, two of which encoded mer operons. One plasmid was a broad host-range IncP-α plasmid. No known incompatibility group could be assigned to the others. The presence of conjugative plasmids, and an incongruent distribution of merA within the taxonomic groups, suggests horizontal transfer of merA as a likely mechanism for High Arctic microbial communities to adapt to changing mercury concentration.

Field of study: Biology, Environmental science
A NUMERICAL STUDY OF THE THERMOHYDRODYNAMIC PERFORMANCE OF JOURNAL BEARINGS CONSIDERING THE EFFECTS OF COUPLE STRESS AND CAVITATION

Based on the couple stress fluid model and Elrod’s cavitation algorithm, a numerical model of the thermo-hydrodynamic lubrication of journal bearings is built up. The midified Reynolds equation and the midified energy equation of oil film together with the heat transfer equation of the bush are solved. The effects of couple stress on the thermohydrodynamic performance of a finite journal bearing are investigated. It is found that the couple stress fluids, compared with the Newtonian fluids, not only produce an obvious increase in load capacity and a decrease in friction coefficient, but also yield a change in the side leakage flow and the temperature field of oil and bush.

Field of study: Engineering
Effects of daytime carbon dioxide concentration on dark respiration in rice

Rising atmospheric carbon dioxide concentration ([CO2]) has generated considerable interest in the response of agricultural crops to [CO2]. The objectives of this study were to determine the effects of a wide range of daytime [CO2] on dark respiration of rice (Oryza sativa L. cv. IR-30). Rice plants were grown season-long in naturally sunlit plant growth chambers in subambient (160 and 250), ambient (330), or super-ambient (500, 660 and 900 μmol CO2 mol−1 air) [CO2] treatments. Canopy dark respiration, expressed on a ground area basis (Rd) increased with increasing [CO2] treatment from 160 to 500 μmol mol−1 treatments and was very similar among the superambient treatments. The trends in Rd over time and in response to increasing daytime [CO2] treatment were associated with and similar to trends previously described for photosynthesis. Specific respiration rate (Rdw) decreased with time during the growing season and was higher in the subambient than the ambient and superambient [CO2] treatments. This greater Rdw in the subambient [CO2] treatments was attributed to a higher specific maintenance respiration rate and was associated with higher plant tissue nitrogen concentration.

Field of study: Environmental science
Electron mobility in p-type epitaxially grown Hg1-xCdxTe

The electron minority carrier mobility is an important parameter because of its effect on the diffusion length for determining the performance of semiconductor infrared detectors. The suppression of the diffusion current of a photodiode with magnetic field has been used to determine the electron mobility in epitaxially grown p-type Hg1-xCdxTe (CMT). This technique enables the mobility to be measured in the active region of a photodiode. Results have been obtained as a function of temperature for material covering a wide range of acceptor concentrations from 2*1015 cm-3 to 2*1017 cm-3. The mobility in the more highly doped samples is considerably lower than is found in low-doped n-type material and this can largely be accounted for by ionized impurity scattering. A semi-empirical formula is derived and is shown to give reasonable agreement with the experimental results. The deduced mobility can be combined with a measurement of the diffusion length to calculate the effective minority carrier lifetime in the active region of the diode. This has been compared with the lifetime measured by photoconductive decay in separate samples of the same material.

Field of study: Materials science
A novel in vitro permeability assay using three-dimensional cell culture system.

Three-dimensional (3D) cell culture systems are well-known to better represent the in vivo environment and they are applied to many areas of research. Spheroid model is one of the systems of 3D cell culture and here in our research, a permeability assay utilizing the spheroids was developed. Number of cells forming the spheroids, initial compound concentration, and incubation time were optimized to provide the best assay performance. After development of the assay, it was evaluated with 22 commercially available compounds. The developed Caco-2 3D spheroid permeability assay demonstrated a reasonable correlation with human absorption values. The parallel artificial membrane permeability assay (PAMPA) was also performed for the same set of compounds and the results were compared with those of the 3D permeability assay. The correlation with human absorption values was shown to be improved with the 3D permeability assay. The successful development of the Caco-2 3D spheroid permeability assay also suggests the potential application of the 3D cell culture systems to other areas of pharmacokinetic research.

Field of study: Biology, Engineering
Variational Gaussian Process Dynamical Systems

High dimensional time series are endemic in applications of machine learning such as robotics (sensor data), computational biology (gene expression data), vision (video sequences) and graphics (motion capture data). Practical nonlinear probabilistic approaches to this data are required. In this paper we introduce the variational Gaussian process dynamical system. Our work builds on recent variational approximations for Gaussian process latent variable models to allow for nonlinear dimensionality reduction simultaneously with learning a dynamical prior in the latent space. The approach also allows for the appropriate dimensionality of the latent space to be automatically determined. We demonstrate the model on a human motion capture data set and a series of high resolution video sequences.

Field of study: Computer science
Conflict handling Styles and Employees’ Commitment at the Pharmaceutical Companies in Jordan

This study aimed at studying the conflict handling styles impact on employees’ affective, normative and continuance commitment, at the Pharmaceutical companies in Jordan, its population consisted of all the 14 Pharmaceutical companies in Jordan that are members of the Jordanian association of pharmaceutical manufacturers (JAPM). The respondents to this research and unit of analysis were specified as all the managers who belong to different managerial levels. The rationale for choosing managers is that they have adequate knowledge to answer the study questionnaire and tend to provide unbiased answers. The researcher applied (Rahim, 1983a) organizational Conflict Inventory–II (ROCI–II) to assess the conflict handling styles, and adopted (Meyer & Allen, 1997). The employee commitment construct was to measure employees’ commitment, 253 questionnaires were distributed, out of which 215 were retrieved, and 30 questionnaires did not meet the criteria of statistical analysis, therefore, only 185 were valid for conducting data analysis. The results of the study have shown that conflict handling styles affect employees’ affective, normative and continuance commitment at the Pharmaceutical companies in Jordan.

Field of study: Business
Slits as adjustable pinholes for coherent X-ray scattering experiments.

The combination of accurate translation stages with carefully polished slit blades leads to slits that have many advantages as pinholes for coherent X-ray scattering experiments. The size is adjustable and can be made as small as 0.5 mum. Setting up is easy, while the blade thickness (1 mm tungsten) also makes the slits useful for hard X-rays. A relation between the slit-sample distance and the minimum beam size, together with the corresponding slit size, is derived. This shows that a micrometer-sized beam can be achieved with this type of slits.

Field of study: Physics
Die Sedimentation in der Romanche-Tiefe (Ein Beitrag zur Erklärung der Entstehung des Tiefseesandes im Atlantischen Ozean)

ZusammenfassungAn Hand von Tatsachen, die sich bei der sedimentologischen Untersuchung der von der Schwedischen „Albatross“-Tiefseeexpedition aus der Romanche-Tiefe gehobenen Lotkerne ergaben, werden Betrachtungen über den Sedimentationsverlauf in dieser Tiefe angestellt. Besondere Aufmerksamkeit wird dem in diesen Sedimenten vorkommenden Sand geschenkt. Es wird versucht, wahrscheinlich zu machen, daß die tektonisch bedingten Bewegungen des Ozeanbodens, die zeitlich und räumlich zu großen Tiefenunterschieden führen können, als eine der wesentlichsten Ursachen der Sandanhäufungen in den Sedimenten der Tiefsee zu betrachten sind. Teile des Ozeanbodens, wie z. B. der Atlantische Rücken, haben über dem Meeresspiegel hervorgeragt. Der Sand muß durch subaerische und nur z. T. durch subaquatische Verwitterung entstanden sein und danach durch Rutschungen und/oder Suspensionsströme Verlagerung auf eine relativ kurze Strecke erlitten haben. Die Möglichkeit eines allzu langwegigen horizontalen Transportes der grobklastischen Sedimente entlang dem Tiefseeboden wird in Frage gestellt.

Field of study: Environmental science
Multiple functions of photosystem II.

The most important function of photosystem II (PSII) is its action as a water-plastoquinone oxido-reductase. At the expense of light energy, water is split, and oxygen and plastoquinol are formed. In addition to this most important activity, PSII has additional functions, especially in the regulation of (light) energy distribution. The downregulation of PSII during photoinhibition is a protection measure. PSII is an anthropogenic target for many herbicides. There is a unique action of bicarbonate on PSII. Decrease in the activity of PSII is the first effect in a plant under stress; this decreased activity can be most easily measured with fluorescence. PSII is a sensor for stress, and induces regulatory processes with different time scales: photochemical quenching, formation of a proton gradient, state transitions, downregulation by photoinhibition and gene expression.

Field of study: Biology, Chemistry, Physics
Work Life Balance Analysis Among Banking Sector Employees (Case Study in Bank X Branch Office Padang Indonesia)

Juggling two activities in different places such as in the office and at home is an obligatory duty for banking sector employees in their daily basis. On one hand, banking employee is a part of service organization and earns income. On the other, banking employee is a part of family as one of their responsibilities.There are several definitions about Work Life Balance. However, the one proposed by Fisher (2003), which was developed by Banu & Duraipandian (2014), classified this definition into five dimensions which are Work Place Support (WPS), Work Life Interference Personal Life (WIPL), Personal Life Interference Work (PLIW), Satisfaction with Work Life Balance (SWLB), and Improved Effectiveness at Work Life Balance (IEWLB).Result of this study is in accordance with prior research (Duraipandian, 2014) that measured Working Life Balance to 387 IT professionals in Chennai India. WPS  significantly influenced WIPL and PLIW.  It was also found that WIPL significantly had a negative influence on SWLB, but PLIW not significanly had a negative influence on SWLB . Lastly, SWLB significantly had a positive influence on the increasing effectivity of SWLB (IEW).This study discovered the majority of Bank X employees had gained satisfaction from Work Life Balance. However, there were still several indicators that potentially caused unbalance such as overtime and time base.There was also found that Bank X  employees in Padang did not experience any kind of stress despite a high level of work burden and there was no sign of physical disease as the result from stress implication.  Work  Place Support, Personnal Life, Satisfaction, Work Life Balance

Field of study: Education
Determination of Trace Inorganic Mercury in Mineral Water by Flow Injection On-line Sorption Preconcentration-Cold Vapor Atomic Fluorescence Spectrometry

Flow injection on-line sorption preconcentration and separation in a knotted reactor (KR) was coupled to cold vapor atomic fluorescence spectrometry for the determination of trace mercury in mineral water. Mercury was preconcentrated by on-line formation of mercury diethyldithiocarbamate complex (Hg-DDTC) and absorption of the resulting neutral complex on the inner walls of a knotted reactor. A 20% (v/v) HNO 3 solution heated by Electromagnetic induction heating technique was used as eluent to remove the absorbed Hg-DDTC from the KR, and then the vapor mercury generated by mixing the resulting solution and KBH 4 was determined on-line by cold vapor atomic fluorescence spectrometry. The 20% HNO 3 was used as both the efficient eluent and the required acidic medium for subsequent mercury vapor generation. Using 20% HNO 3 instead of conventional organic solvent as eluent, the proposed method is simple, easy operational and environmental friendly. Under the optimal experimental conditions, the sample throughput was approximately 30 per hour with the enhancement factor of 35. The detection limit of mercury was 2.0 ng l −1 . The precision (RSD, n = 11) was 2.2% at the 0.1 μg l −1 Hg 2+ level.

Field of study: Chemistry
Moorefield–Batesville Stratigraphy and Sedimentation in Arkansas

The oldest upper Mississippian strata above the Boone Formation in north Arkansas carry a Goniatites s.s.cephalopod fauna. Of the half–dozen formation names thus far applied to these beds, only two (Moorefield and Batesville) appear to be widely applicable. The previous lack of detailed lithofacies data has prevented consistent treatment of even these units. Available data invalidate the interpretation that the Moorefield Formation of Oklahoma is an extension of the Arkansas Moorefield, although the two may be correlative in time. The Moorefield and Batesville Formations are, respectively, the lower shale and overlying sandstone intervals in a complexly interstratified, inter-tongued, carbonate reef-terrigenous clastic deposit. The present study outlines specific areas in which each of the two formations can be mapped under a particular lithic aspect. It further delineates other areas where major lithofacies elements blend (shale-limestone in the subsurface, sandstone-limestone in northwestern Arkansas, and sandstone-shale in north-central Arkansas). The arenaceous facies conforms to the original lithologic diagnosis of the Batesville Formation, whereas the argillaceous suite is essentially that of the original Moorefield Formation reference lithofacies. A period of post-Boone warping, uplift, and probable faulting comprised the tectonic setting for Moorefield-Batesville sedimentation. Thus, tectonic activity contributed to land-sea configurations and major lithospheric relief features and influenced marine current circulation. Lithologic character of terrigenous sediment derived from local positive areas, however, was largely determined by climatically controlled weathering and erosion processes, and, in spite of the relatively intense tectonic setting (for a cratonic borderland), the derivative sediments are mature.

Field of study: Geology
A Note on Heterogeneity, Inefficiency, and Indeterminacy with Ricardian Preferences

The main issue raised in this note is the nonequivalence between the infinite-horizon model where agents are infinitely lived and the successive generations model with altruistic finitely lived agents: in the presence of a nonnegative bequest requirement, endowment heterogeneity imposes a revision of the acritical adoption of the infinitely lived agent representation in modern macro-economics. By analysing nonstationary monetary equilibria in a reinterpretation of Townsend's “turnpike” model, this paper shows how the traditional issues of market inefficiency and indeterminacy of overlapping generations models carry over into modern macroeconomics through the natural finiteness of human lives despite “well behaved” Ricardian altruism. Journal of Economic Literature Classification Numbers: D31, D91, E13, E40.

Field of study: Economics
Technology in Language Education: Benefits and Barriers

Technology, especially e-learning technology, is being increasingly employed in instruction to enhance teaching and learning. This paper is a preliminary discussion of the advantages of and barriers to the use of technology in language instruction. Understanding the benefits and barriers of technology integration is a crucial step in integrating technology into education successfully. Lack of this knowledge may significantly impede stakeholders and educational centers from meeting the challenges of introducing and supporting the extensive use of technology by teachers in the classroom. Findings from empirical research in this area, as well as implications for language practitioners, are included in the discussion.  Language teaching, Technology, Barriers, Benefits.

Field of study: Education
Growth and physiological responses of cotton (Gossypium hirsutum L.) to elevated carbon dioxide and ultraviolet‐B radiation under controlled environmental conditions

Better understanding of crop responses to projected changes in climate is an important requirement. An experiment was conducted in sunlit, controlled environment chambers known as soil–plant–atmosphere–research units to determine the interactive effects of atmospheric carbon dioxide concentration [CO2] and ultraviolet-B (UV-B) radiation on cotton (Gossypium hirsutum L.) growth, development and leaf photosynthetic characteristics. Six treatments were used, comprising two levels of [CO2] (360 and 720 µmol mol−1) and three levels of 0 (control), 7.7 and 15.1 kJ m−2 d−1 biologically effective UV-B radiations within each CO2 level. Treatments were imposed for 66 d from emergence until 3 weeks after the first flower stage. Plants grown in elevated [CO2] had greater leaf area and higher leaf photosynthesis, non-structural carbohydrates, and total biomass than plants in ambient [CO2]. Neither dry matter partitioning among plant organs nor pigment concentrations was affected by elevated [CO2]. On the other hand, high UV-B (15.1 kJ m−2 d−1) radiation treatment altered growth resulting in shorter stem and branch lengths and smaller leaf area. Shorter plants at high UV-B radiation were related to internode lengths rather than the number of mainstem nodes. Fruit dry matter accumulation was most sensitive to UV-B radiation due to fruit abscission. Even under 7.7 kJ m−2 d−1 of UV-B radiation, fruit dry weight was significantly lower than the control although total biomass and leaf photosynthesis did not differ from the control. The UV-B radiation of 15.1 kJ m−2 d−1 reduced both total (43%) and fruit (88%) dry weights due to smaller leaf area and lower leaf net photosynthesis. Elevated [CO2] did not ameliorate the adverse effects of UV-B radiation on cotton growth and physiology, particularly the boll retention under UV-B stress.

Field of study: Environmental science
Bargaining with common values

This paper examines a bargaining model with asymmetric information in which the private valuations of the two bargaining agents are correlated. It shows that equilibria in such models typically exhibit a significant probability of a significant delay to agreement. The paper characterizes the unique perfect Bayesian equilibrium to the game in which an uninformed buyer makes offers to a privately informed seller. It also shows, by example, that in this framework bargainers may rationally break off negotiations even in the presence of commonly known gains from trade.

Field of study: Economics
TEM and HREM study of 3D silicon and platinum nanoscale assemblies in dielectric opal matrix

In this paper, regular systems of silicon and platinum assemblies have been fabricated in a three-dimensional (3D) void sublattice of synthetic opal. Silicon was introduced into opal pores by thermal CVD. The filling of the opal pores was varied by changing the parameters of the CVD process. The samples were also filled with platinum from a solution of platinum tetrachloride in ethanol in order to fabricate metal contact to silicon. A detailed TEM and HREM structural study of opal-Si and opal-Pt-Si composites was carried out using JEM4000EXII and JEM2010 electron microscopes. It was found that silica spheres in regular opal-Si composites are uniformly covered with a nanocrystalline silicon layer up to 25-30 nm thick. To form the Pt-Si contact, the silica spheres were coated with platinum before being embedded in silicon. The presence of a substructure in the silica spheres ensures a uniform distribution of platinum over the sphere surface.

Field of study: Materials science
Influence of Foundation Pit Excavation on Structural Safety of Adjacent Existing Tunnels

The existing subway tunnel will be deformed due to the excavation unloading of the adjacent foundation pit, which will affect the normal use and safety performance of the tunnel. Therefore, it is particularly important to evaluate the impact of foundation pit engineering on the structural safety of adjacent subway tunnels. The third phase of Tianjin Yellow River Hospital, with a depth of more than 5m, is close to Tianjin Metro Line 2. The results show that the displacement of soil around foundation pit and subway tunnel segment increases with the excavation process, but is less affected by floor load. In addition, the vertical displacement of subway tunnel segment is mainly affected by foundation pit dewatering, its axial force and bending moment remain stable in the construction process, and the crack checking result is within the allowable range. The results of this paper can provide an effective reference for the project impact assessment.

Field of study: Engineering
Learning Model Reparametrizations: Implicit Variational Inference by Fitting MCMC distributions

We introduce a new algorithm for approximate inference that combines reparametrization, Markov chain Monte Carlo and variational methods. We construct a very flexible implicit variational distribution synthesized by an arbitrary Markov chain Monte Carlo operation and a deterministic transformation that can be optimized using the reparametrization trick. Unlike current methods for implicit variational inference, our method avoids the computation of log density ratios and therefore it is easily applicable to arbitrary continuous and differentiable models. We demonstrate the proposed algorithm for fitting banana-shaped distributions and for training variational autoencoders.

Field of study: Computer science