nils-herrmann/clean_scirepeval huggingface dataset:
The Global Labour Market for Filipino and South African Seafarers in theMerchant Navy

This article examines how profound shifts in the global labour market for seafarers have impacted on the labour market for South African and Filipino seafarers in the merchant navy. The article contends that the shift towards flag of convenience (FoC) shipping in the global shipping industry is a business strategy by ship owners to circumvent high labour costs and fiscal regimes. However, despite the shift to FoC shipping, wage rates and unionisation levels remain high for both Filipino and South African seafarers. Through extensive surveys of seafarers as well as drawing on secondary literature, the article demonstrates that the globalisation of labour markets and industries does not always imply an erosion of the bargaining power of organised labour.

Field of study: Sociology
Dental Follicle Stem Cells Ameliorate Lipopolysaccharide-Induced Inflammation by Secreting TGF-β3 and TSP-1 to Elicit Macrophage M2 Polarization

Increasing evidence has demonstrated the novel roles of mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) in immunotherapy. However, difficulty in acquiring these cells and possible ethical issues limited their application. Recently, we have isolated a unique MSC population from dental follicles with potent stem cell-like properties. This study focused on the effects of dental follicle stem cells (DFSCs) on macrophage activation and polarization to determine their role in immunomodulation and to test if DFSCs are a promising cell source for MSC-based immunotherapy.  Rat acute lung injury (ALI) models induced by Lipopolysaccharide (LPS) were applied to test the immune-modulatory effects of DFSC/DFSC-CM in vivo. The pulmonary permeability was determined by the dry / wet weight ratios of the left upper lung lobe. The lung histopathological damage was graded on a 0 to 4+ scale. And the inflammatory cytokines in bronchoalveolar lavage fluid (BALF) were tested by ELISA. Then we established LPS-induced inflamed macrophage models in vitro. Inflammatory cytokine production and polarization marker expression were measured by RT-qPCR, ELISA, western blot and flow cytometric analysis in macrophages following DFSC-CM treatment. The paracrine factors in DFSC-CM were revealed by a RayBiotech Protein Array. Thereafter, neutralization studies were performed to confirm the potential immune regulators in DFSC-CM.  The DFSC/DFSC-CM not only attenuated histopathological damage and pulmonary permeability, but also downregulated pro-inflammatory cytokines MCP-1, IL-1, IL-6 and TNF-α, and upregulated anti-inflammatory cytokine IL-10 in BALF. Immunofluorescence staining revealed the increased expression of macrophage M2 marker Arg-1. Further in vitro study revealed that macrophages switched to an anti-inflammatory M2 phenotype when co-cultured with DFSC-CM, characterized by suppressed production of pro-inflammatory cytokines MCP-1, IL-1, IL-6, TNF-α and M1-polarizing markers iNOS and CD86; and increased expression of the anti-inflammatory cytokine IL-10 and the M2-polarizing markers Arg-1 and CD163. A RayBiotech Protein Array revealed 42 differentially expressed (> 2-fold) paracrine factors in DFSC-CM compared with the serum-free Ham’s F-12K medium, among which TGF-β3 and Thrombospondin-1 (TSP-1) were upregulated by 18- and 105-fold, respectively. Neutralization studies confirmed the immunoregulatory roles of TGF-β3 and TSP-1 in macrophage activation and polarization.  These results indicated that DFSCs can reprogram macrophages into the anti-inflammatory M2 phenotype, the paracrine factors TGF-β3 and TSP-1 may be one of the underlying mechanisms. This study supports the hypothesis that DFSCs are promising for MSC-based immunotherapy.

Field of study: Biology, Chemistry
Deep learning for multiple object tracking: a survey

Deep learning has been proved effective in multiple object tracking, which confronts the difficulties of frequent occlusions, confusing appearance, in-and-out objects, and lack of enough labelled data. Recently, deep learning based multi-object tracking methods make a rapid progress from representation learning to network modelling due to the development of deep learning theory and benchmark setup. In this study, the authors summarise and analyse deep learning based multi-object tracking methods which are top-ranked in the public benchmark test. First, they investigate functionality of deep networks in these methods, and classify the methods into three categories as description enhancement using deep features, deep network embedding, and end-to-end deep network construction. Second, they review deep network structures in these methods, and detail the usage and training of these networks for multi-object tracking problem. Through experimental comparison of tracking results in the benchmarks in total and by group, they finally show the effectiveness of deep networks for tracking employed in different manners, and compare the advantages of these networks and their robustness under different tracking conditions. Moreover, they analyse the limitations of current methods, and draw some useful conclusions to facilitate the exploration of new directions for multi-object tracking.

Field of study: Computer science
Strangeness production in relativistic heavy-ion collisions

Kaon production in relativistic heavy-ion collisions is studied. Particular attention is paid to situations in which high densities are obtained, such as in the Brookhaven AGS experiments with 14.6 GeV/nucleon Si on Au. Because of the explicit chiral-symmetry breaking terms in chiral Langrangians, kaons acquire an effective mass mK* which goes to zero at the critical baryon density. Well before such densities, mK* is sufficiently reduced to greatly facilitate kaon production through processes likeππ →K¯K. Previous expressions for the decreasing kaon mass were arrived at by linear chiral perturbation theory. Whereas we cannot systematically proceed to higher order, we use physical models to suggest how relevant quantities will behave in higher order. We present arguments that mK* effectively goes to zero in the present AGS experiments.

Field of study: Physics
Long-term results with a one-stage complex primary hypospadias repair strategy (the three-in-one technique).

Complex primary hypospadias repair that warrants urethral plate division is treated mostly in two steps, not necessarily in two surgeries. Our aim was to review long-term results with a one-stage strategy based on reconstruction of the urethral plate with buccal mucosa graft and onlay transverse preputial flap anastomosis protected by a tunica vaginalis flap (the three-in-one concept).



We were able to report on 35 patients operated for primary scrotal, penoscrotal and perineal hypospadias between March 2002 and June 2008. We reviewed all charts and had phone interviews with patients not seen for the last 24 months. We investigated parameters such as UTI occurrence, fistula, residual curvature, meatal stenosis, urethral diverticula, dehiscence, orchitis and parental perception.



Surgical complications occurred in 13 patients (37%): 4 meatal stenosis, 4 diverticula, 5 fistulae and 2 residual penile curvatures (total 42%). Meatal dilatation was successful in 2 cases, reflected in fistula resolution. The reoperation rate was 31.5% consisting mostly of simple procedures like fistula closure, meatotomy and penile curvature release, and complex diverticula repair in 4 cases. Parental perception was excellent for 57% (20 patients) and good or acceptable for the remaining. Mean follow-up was 4.6 years.



The one-step strategy is associated with 68.5% success in a single operation, whereas 31.5% will need a second repair. We recognize that meatal problems are mostly associated with fistulae and diverticula; therefore, we recommend a final acceptable proximal glandar opening that will not compromise the neourethra.

Field of study: Medicine
Microbial fluxes of free monosaccharides and total carbohydrates in freshwater determined by PAD-HPLC

A new sensitive pulsed amperometric detection (PAD) method for measurements of mono- and disaccharides in nM concentrations was used in combination with high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) to study fluxes of dissolved free and combined carbohydrates (DFCHO and DCCHO) in lake water. In a diel study concentrations of individual free saccharides typically were 5–50 nM, while total DFCHO concentrations ranged from 67 to 224 nM. No diel trends in concentration changes were obvious. At in situ light-dark conditions, dominant DFCHO were galactose, glucose, fructose and mannose/xylose. In addition to these saccharides, an increased abundance of melibiose and arabinose was measured in a parallel dark incubation. In a 118 h laboratory incubation of 1.0 μm filtered lake water, concentrations of DFCHO decreased from 194 nM (at 12 h) to a minimum of 54 nM (at 73 h). Dominant DFCHO were glucose, fructose and cellobiose. During the incubation DCCHO varied from 1.27 to 2.20 μM. Glucose, galactose and cellobiose made up 40, 30 and 10 mol-%, respectively, of the DCCHO. Fructose was degraded during hydrolysis of the DCCHO. A decline of DCCHO at 55 h was reflected in a simultaneous increase of DFCHO, but otherwise no similarities between the two saccharide pools were found. Incrased DCCHO concentrations and a high assimilation of glucose and fructose that was not reflected in a decline of their concentrations, both indicate that carbohydrates were produced during the experiment. Polysaccharides were probably excreted by the bacteria. Net assimilation of glucose and fructose sustained 14–19% (diel study) and 32% (long-term study) of the net bacterial carbon requirement.

Field of study: Biology, Environmental science
Coriandrum sativum changes the levels of lipid peroxides and activity of antioxidant enzymes in experimental animals.

The antiperoxidative effect of coriander seeds (Coriandrum sativum) was studied in rats administered high fat diet. Significant decrease in the levels of lipid peroxides, free fatty acids and glutathione was observed when compared to control group whereas the activity of antioxidant enzymes showed increase.

Field of study: Biology, Chemistry, Physics
El real tribunal de mineria de Lima 1785-1821

Estudio de dicho real tribunal desde su creacion (1785) a su abolicion (1821). Enmarcado dentro de la linea del reformismo ilustrado con elementos arcaicos e innovadores que por su contradiccion interior y el momento historico conflictivo en que se desenvuelve le van a conducir al fracaso el autor lo estudia institucionalmente y en su incidencia respecto al desarrollo de la mineria peruana y de los problemas que esta tiene planteados (financiacion preparacion tecnica politica minera y general creacion de bancos y companias).

Field of study: History
SU‐E‐J‐177: Improved Reconstruction Algorithm for Tomosynthesis Plus Few Discrete Projections

Investigations over the past few years have demonstrated some of the benefits and shortfalls of tomosynthesis in radiation therapy for patient positioning or dose tracking. Tomosynthesis generates excellent image quality in one reconstruction plane; however, there is a loss of edge and frequency information in the additional planes due to the spatial incompleteness of the projection data. In this study, we investigate the results of a new discrete frequency interpolation technique (DFIT), which is used to incorporate tomosynthesis limited arc projection data and three additional “filling” projections.  For the initial investigations, we simulated a Shepp‐Logan phantom with parallel beam geometry to generate 93 projections. 90 of these projections were over a tomosynthetic arc at one projection per degree. The remaining three projections were generated to fill in the next 90 degrees evenly (i.e. 22.5, 45, and 67.5 degrees from the end of the arc) to help “fill in” the incomplete data. Simple filtered backprojection (FBP) results show no improvement as FBP is designed for uniform distribution of projections. Per the projection slice theorem, the tomosynthesis data fills in a portion of the frequency plane. The remaining sparsely sampled area of the frequency plane is filled using linear interpolation from the end arc projections and the 3 discrete projections. The DFIT image is the sum of the FBP image and the inverse Fourier transform of the interpolated frequencies  The images by traditional FBP and DFIT are compared visually and using line profile plots. Additionally, contrast results are examined. The DFIT images show improved edge delineation in the usual tomosynthesis “blurred” direction and improves reconstructed contrast.  The addition of limited “filling” discrete projections and DFIT can be used to improve the reconstruction accuracy and quality of short arc imaging. Research supported by Nucletron, B.V.

Field of study: Medicine, Physics
Airblasts caused by large slope collapses

Large slope collapses have been known to trigger extreme rushes of air loaded with projectiles (airblasts) capable of causing destruction and fatalities far beyond run-out of the rock mass. An appraisal of the likelihood of a destructive airblast should be a component of landslide risk assessments. Yet there is an absence of risk studies directly examining landslide-related airblasts. In this work we back-analyze an unreported airblast in the Sikkim Himalayas (India) and several other airblasts documented around the world. We explore the conditions a large slope collapse should meet to trigger a significant airblast, and we establish a semi-empirical relationship linking the potential energy in a collapse with airborne trajectory and the extent of the related airblast. The collapse of thousands or millions of cubic meters falling from a significant height results in a sudden release of energy (1011J to 1013J) and a high degree of comminution of rocks, causing a violent displacement of air. Average wind speeds of airblasts following impacts with airborne trajectory can be double the speed of rock avalanches. The size of the damage zone depends on the potential energy of the falling rock mass and can be amplified or reduced depending on how confined the valley is where the airblast occurs.

Field of study: Geology
Effects of introducing survival behaviours into automated negotiators specified in an environmental and behavioural framework

With the rise of distributed e-commerce in recent years, demand for automated negotiation has increased. In turn, this has engendered a demand for ever more complex algorithms to conduct these negotiations. As the complexity of these algorithms increases, our ability to reason about and predict their behaviour in an ever larger and more diverse negotiation environment decreases. In addition, with the proliferation of internet-based negotiation, any algorithm also has to contend with potential reliability issues in the underlying message-passing infrastructure. These factors can create problems for building these algorithms, which need to incorporate methods for survival as well as negotiation.This paper proposes a simple yet effective framework for integrating survivability into negotiators, so they are better able to withstand imperfections in their environment. An overview of this framework is given, with two examples of how negotiation behaviour can be specified within this framework. Results of an experiment which is based on these negotiation algorithms are provided. These results show how the stability of a negotiation community is affected by incorporating an example survival behaviour into negotiators operating in an environment developed to support this framework.

Field of study: Computer science, Engineering
Spider web networks: a family of optimal, fault tolerant, hamiltonian bipartite graphs

In this paper, we propose a honeycomb mesh variation, called a spider web network. Assume that m and n are positive even integers with m>=4. A spider web network SW(m,n) is a 3-regular bipartite planar graph with bipartition C and D. We prove that the honeycomb rectangular mesh HREM(m,n) is a spanning subgraph of SW(m,n). We also prove that SW(m,n)-e is hamiltonian for any [email protected]?E and SW(m,n)-{c,d} remains hamiltonian for any [email protected]?C and [email protected]?D. These hamiltonian properties are optimal.

Field of study: Mathematics
Late-glacial and Holocene δ15N and δ13C variation from a Kenai Peninsula, Alaska peatland.

We use stable carbon and nitrogen isotopes from a Kenai Peninsula, Alaska fen spanning the late-glacial and Holocene to enhance our understanding of peatland hydrology and nutrient cycling. We find that isotopic values for carbon and nitrogen are lighter in the late-glacial and early Holocene (−28 to −34‰ and 0 to −4‰, respectively) than the remainder of the record. The light δ 13 C value corresponds with submerged and emergent aquatic vegetation during the late-glacial, suggesting high respired carbon input. Similarly, light δ 15 N values imply that nitrogen is derived from sediment and groundwater sources. Early Holocene δ 13 values ranging from −30‰ to −34‰ infer high recycled carbon uptake from methanogenesis, related to the warm climate and the wet swale environment. A shift to heavier δ 15 N and δ 13 C isotopic values ∼ 9600 cal yr BP coincides with a change in the lithology to Sphagnum- dominated peat, indicative of peat accumulation above the water table. A shift to lighter values from 5500 to 4200 cal yr BP coincides with a period of glacial recession related to warmer conditions, whereas a subsequent period of heavier values is correlative with glacial advance culminating at 3000 cal yr BP, suggesting that the hydrology of this peatland is closely linked with the glacial meltwater. δ 15 N remains near 0‰, relatively close to the atmospheric value of δ 15 N, throughout the Holocene, suggesting that the fen has been supported by N-fixation. We propose that groundwater on the Kenai lowlands was fed by subglacial meltwater, and the warm early Holocene summers resulted in high glacial ablation and groundwater recharge, sustaining a high Swanson Fen water table. Cooler temperatures resulted in a decrease of glacial meltwater input at the close of the early Holocene.

Field of study: Environmental science, Geography
Myofibrillar protein turnover. Synthesis rates of myofibrillar and sarcoplasmic protein fractions in different muscles and the changes observed during postnatal development and in response to feeding and starvation.

Measurement of rates of synthesis of skeletal-muscle proteins in adult rats shows that the faster overall rate of turnover in diaphragm and soleus muscles compared with several other, more glycolytic, muscles is also exhibited by the myofibrillar proteins, since the ratio of sarcoplasmic to myofibrillar protein synthesis is similar for all muscles. Further, throughout postnatal development, when the overall turnover rate falls with age, parallel changes occur for the myofibrillar proteins, as indicated by a constant ratio of sarcoplasmic to myofibrillar protein synthesis (2.06) in the steady state after overnight starvation. Only in the youngest (4 weeks old) rats is a slightly lower ratio observed (1.72). These results indicate that, when changes in the overall turnover rate of muscle proteins occur, the relative turnover of the two major protein fractions stays constant. However, measurements in the non-steady state during growth and after starvation for 4 days show that the relative synthesis rates of the two fractions change as a result of a disproportionate increase in myofibrillar protein synthesis during growth and decrease during starvation. Thus the synthesis rate of the slower-turning-over myofibrillar protein fraction is more sensitive to nutritional state than is that of the sarcoplasmic protein. It is suggested that such responses may help to maintain constant tissue composition during non-steady-state conditions of growth and atrophy.

Field of study: Biology, Computer science
A closed procedure based on follmann's test for the analysis of multiple endpoints

Closed test procedures are constructed based on Follmann's test (1996) and its nonparametric rank sum analog for testing multiple endpoints. These procedures are based on the stepwise closed test strategy of Lehmacher, Wassmer & Reitmeir (1991). The experimentwise type I error rate and power performance of the test procedures are compared to those of the Westfall and Young (WFY) bootstrap resampling closed procedure (1993) by simulation studies. The comparison focuses on one-sided alternatives. Both the Follmann-type and the bootstrap-WFY closed test procedures control the experimentwise type I error rate, and their power performances are similar.

Field of study: Mathematics
Evidence of Variscan and Alpine tectonics in the structural and thermochronological record of the central Serbo-Macedonian Massif (south-eastern Serbia)

The Serbo-Macedonian Massif (SMM) represents a composite crystalline belt within the Eastern European Alpine orogen, outcropping from the Pannonian basin in the north to the Aegean Sea in the south. The central parts of this massif (south-eastern Serbia) consist of the medium- to high-grade Lower Complex and the low-grade Vlasina Unit. Outcrop- and micro-scale ductile structures in this area document three major stages of ductile deformation. The earliest stage D1 is related to isoclinal folding, commonly preserved as up to decimetre-scale quartz–feldspar rootless fold hinges. D2 is associated with general south-eastward tectonic transport and refolding of earlier structures into recumbent metre- to kilometre-scale tight to isoclinal folds. Stages D1 and D2 could not be temporally separated and probably took place in close sequence. The age of these two ductile deformation stages was constrained to the Variscan orogeny based on indirect geological evidence (i.e. ca. 408-ca. 328). During this period, the SMM was involved in a transpressional amalgamation of the western and eastern parts of the Galatian super-terrane and subsequent collision with Laurussia. Outcrop-scale evidence of the final stage D3 is limited to spaced and crenulation cleavage, which are probably related to formation of large-scale open upright folds as reported previously. 40Ar/39Ar thermochronology was applied on hornblende, muscovite, and biotite samples in order to constrain the age of tectonothermal events and activity along major shear zones. These 40Ar/39Ar data reveal three major cooling episodes affecting the central SMM. Cooling below greenschist facies conditions in the western part of the Vlasina Unit took place in a post-orogenic setting (extensional or transtensional) in the early Permian (284 ± 1 Ma). The age of activity along the top-to-the-west shear zone formed within the orthogneiss in the Božica area of the Vlasina Unit was constrained to Middle Triassic (246 ± 1 Ma). This age coincides with widespread extension related to the opening of the Mesozoic Tethys. The greenschist facies retrogression in the Lower Complex probably occurred in the Early Jurassic (195 ± 1 Ma), and it was related to the thermal processes in the overriding plate above the subducting slab of the Mesozoic Tethys Ocean.

Field of study: Environmental science
Microbial diversity analysis of vineyard son the eastern foothills of the Helan Mountain region using high-throughput sequencing

The regions of Heilongjiang, Shandong, the Yellow River delta, Hebei, Shanxi, Gansu, Ningxia, the Yellow River old riverway, Xinjiang, and the Yunnan plateau are 10 well-known grape-producing regions with regional characteristics, with the grape cultivation area and output accounting for more than 80% of the country. The wine industry in Yinchuan in the Helan Mountain region of Ningxia has developed rapidly in recent years and is known as the “star region” and “new region” in the international wine industry. This recognition by the international wine industry continues to draw attention to the region.

Field of study: Agricultural and Food sciences