nils-herrmann/clean_scirepeval huggingface dataset:
Is science the driving force in the operation of environmental regimes? A case study of the Mediterranean Action Plan

This study examines the role of science in the operation of environmental regimes using the Barcelona Convention/Mediterranean Action Plan (MAP) as a case study. The ‘epistemic communities’ theory suggests that emergence of the Mediterranean Action Plan was largely driven by scientific experts. In order to test the hypothesis that this theory also explains the operation of the regime, we used three methods of analysis. Firstly, we attempted statistical analysis of environmental data available from MED POL, secondly we analysed policy documents prepared by MAP including meeting documents and scientific publications and finally we conducted interviews with scientists. We found that the scientific epistemic community theory is appropriate to explain the formation of MAP, but it cannot account for its current operation.

Field of study: Environmental science
Effects of Counseling and Ethnic Identity on Perceived Risk and Cancer Worry in African American Women

Improving breast screening behaviors in African American women is an important public health goal. To increase participation in screening, it is necessary to identify factors that contribute to reduced screening, including perceived risk and cancer worry. This paper presents predictors of changes perceived in risk and worry among African American women of differing ethnic identities as they undergo breast cancer risk counseling. Participants (n = 113) were recruited from community sources to a study of counseling for breast cancer risk. They completed a baseline assessment, randomly received breast cancer risk counseling or served as a control group, and completed a follow-up assessment. Counseling produced significant differences in perceived risk and cancer worry. Predictors of risk and worry changes, as a result of counseling, included income and ethnic identity. These data can guide better services for African American women and research into the complexity of the effects of ethnic identity on health.

Field of study: Psychology
Effects of sediment characteristics on the toxicity of chromium(III) and chromium(VI) to the amphipod, Hyalella azteca.

We evaluated the influence of sediment characteristics, acid-volatile sulfide (AVS) and organic matter (OM), on the toxicity of chromium (Cr) in freshwater sediments. We conducted chronic (28-42-d) toxicitytests with the amphipod Hyalella azteca exposed to Cr(VI) and Cr(III) in water and in spiked sediments. Waterborne Cr(VI) caused reduced survival of amphipods with a median lethal concentration (LC50) of 40 microg/L. Cr(VI) spiked into test sediments with differing levels of AVS resulted in graded decreases in AVS and sediment OM. Only Cr(VI)-spiked sediments with low AVS concentrations (< 1micromol/g) caused significant amphipod mortality. Waterborne Cr(III) concentrations near solubility limits caused decreased survival of amphipods at pH 7 and pH 8 but not at pH 6. Sediments spiked with high levels of Cr(III) did not affect amphipod survival but had minor effects on growth and inconsistent effects on reproduction. Pore waters of some Cr(III)-spiked sediments contained measurable concentrations of Cr(VI), but observed toxic effects did not correspond closely to Cr concentrations in sediment or pore waters. Our results indicate that risks of Cr toxicity are low in freshwater sediments containing substantial concentrations of AVS.

Field of study: Environmental science
Threshold for conjugation of speckle beams by a double phase conjugate mirror

We find the theoretical threshold for phase conjugation of a pump beam with speckle structure by a double photorefractive phase conjugate mirror based on transmitting and reflecting gratings of a diffusion type. For a speckle beam the nonlinear dependence of the profile of light-induced optical nonuniformity on the local intensity profile reduces the readout efficiency and raises the threshold by as much as a factor of 1.5.

Field of study: Engineering, Physics
Ethanol transcriptionally upregulates t-PA and u-PA gene expression in cultured human endothelial cells.

Epidemiological studies have suggested that moderate alcohol consumption reduces the risk of cardiovascular mortality. This cardioprotective benefit may be mediated, in part, by promoting fibrinolysis through changes in fibrinolytic components and/or activity, resulting in the decreased risk for thrombosis, coronary artery disease, and eventual myocardial infarction. Endothelial cells (ECs) play a pivotal role in maintaining normal hemostasis by regulating fibrinolysis through the synthesis of plasminogen activators (PAs), tissue-type plasminogen activator (t-PA), and urokinase-type plasminogen activator (u-PA). The studies described herein were conducted to determine whether a single brief preincubation (1 hr, 37 degrees C) of cultured human umbilical vein ECs (HUVECs) with low ethanol (0.1%, v/v), will upregulate t-PA and/or u-PA gene expression at the transcriptional level, using a combination of nuclear transcription run-on assays and transient transfections of cultured HUVECs with the pPA/luc promoter constructs. Nuclear run-on assays showed approximately 2- to 3-fold and approximately 6- to 7-fold increase in the transcription of new t-PA and u-PA mRNAs, respectively. In addition, transient transfections of cultured HUVECs with the pt-PA363/luc and pu-PA236/luc promoter constructs, using lipofectamine, demonstrated approximately 4- to 6-fold and approximately 6- to 9-fold increase in luciferase activity for t-PA and u-PA, respectively. These combined results demonstrate that low ethanol transcriptionally upregulates both t-PA and u-PA gene expression in cultured HUVECs and provides a molecular basis for the ethanol-induced increase in EC-mediated fibrinolytic activity that may underlie and contribute, in part, to the cardioprotective benefit associated with moderate alcohol consumption.

Field of study: Medicine
59Co and 75As NMR Investigation of Electron-Doped High Tc Superconductor BaFe1.8Co0.2As2 (Tc = 22 K)

We report an NMR investigation of the superconductivity in BaFe 2 As 2 induced by Co doping ( T c = 22 K). We demonstrate that Co atoms form an alloy with Fe atoms and donate carriers without creating localized moments. Our finding strongly suggests that the underlying physics of iron–pnictide superconductors is quite different from the widely accepted physical picture of high T c cuprates as doped Mott insulators. We also show a crossover of electronic properties into a low temperature pseudo-gap phase with a pseudo-gap Δ PG / k B ∼560 K, where χ spin ∼constant and resisitivty ρ∝ T . The NMR Knight shift below T c decreases for both along the c -axis and a b -plane, and is consistent with the singlet pairing scenario.

Field of study: Physics
CXC chemokine receptor 4 signaling upon co-activation with stromal cell-derived factor-1α and ubiquitin.

Recently, we reported that extracellular ubiquitin functions as another agonist of CXC chemokine receptor (CXCR)4. Whereas the cognate CXCR4 ligand, stromal cell-derived factor (SDF)-1α, is also a CXCR7 agonist, ubiquitin does not bind to CXCR7. Because both ligands are present in the extracellular environment, co-activation of CXCR4 appears to be physiologically relevant. CXCR4 mediated effects of ubiquitin, however, are not well understood and consequences of co-activation of CXCR4 with both ligands are unknown. Utilizing proximity ligation assays and flow cytometry, we detected CXCR4, but not CXCR7, on the cell surface of THP-1 cells, which suggests that confounding effects of CXCR7 are unlikely. Time course and magnitude of reduction of cell surface CXCR4 expression were comparable after stimulation of THP-1 cells with both ligands. SDF-1α was more efficacious than ubiquitin to mobilize Ca(2+). Co-stimulation of THP-1 cells with both ligands resulted in synergistic effects on Ca(2+) fluxes at suboptimal ligand concentrations. Homologous desensitization of Ca(2+) fluxes was detectable with both ligands. SDF-1α pre-stimulation desensitized ubiquitin induced Ca(2+) fluxes, but not vice versa. Effects of SDF-1α and ubiquitin on cAMP levels, Akt and ERK1/2 phosphorylation and chemotactic responses were additive. The chemotactic activities of ubiquitin and SDF-1α were sensitive to AMD3100, pertussis toxin, U73122, LY94002 and U0126. These data suggest that CXCR4 activation with SDF-1α and ubiquitin results in partially synergistic effects on cellular signaling events and in differential effects on receptor desensitization. The ligand ratio that is present in the extracellular environment may contribute to the regulation of CXCR4 mediated functions.

Field of study: Medicine
Holocene climate history of coastal southwestern Australia using calcrete as an indicator

Sheets of groundwater calcrete in the stratigraphic sequences of beach/dune units deposited in the interval mid Holocene-present, record a history of variable Holocene climate. Studies of Holocene coastal-plain areas of the Perth Basin spanning a gradient of climate from humid to semi-arid show that calcrete today is clearly forming as a sheet just above the water table in the zone of capillary rise in humid environments, as thin, isolated lenses under distinct outliers of vegetation zones in subhumid environments, and not at all in semi-arid zones. However, such calcrete sheets are not widespread earlier in the Holocene at levels where former water table positions can be inferred at the various localities. Evidently, apart from small isolated lenses, calcrete sheets did not develop at most localities earlier in the Holocene. The very distinct sealevel history, and the corollary, a distinct water table history, of Holocene coastal plain sequences enable a reconstruction of calcrete history because each water table level should have a distinct calcrete sheet if it was developed. The evidence shows a mid to late Holocene period of relatively more arid conditions and an extension of more humid climates only in the past 2800 14C yrs.

Field of study: Environmental science, Geography
Identity Processes to Trigger Turnaround in Response to Organizational Decline

This article proposes a model of identity-related social processes that, when applied during organizational decline, is hypothesized to support turnaround and avoid organizational death. The social processes are retiring, reclaiming, reaffirming, regenerating, and reimagining identity attributes. Although this model is rooted in past studies and literature on organizational decline and organizational identity, empirical research is needed to validate or adjust the model. Future work could involve examination of identity negotiations within past cases of organizational decline and turnaround as well as devising and testing specific retiring, reclaiming, reaffirming, regenerating, and reimagining interventions.

Field of study: Business
On the (Fast) Algebraic Immunity of Boolean Power Functions

The (fast) algebraic immunity, including (standard) algebraic immunity and the resistance against fast algebraic attacks, has been considered as an important cryptographic property for Boolean functions used in stream ciphers. This paper is on the determination of the (fast) algebraic immunity of a special class of Boolean functions, called Boolean power functions. An n-variable Boolean power function f can be represented as a monomial trace function over finite field F2n , f(x) = Trn 1 (λxk), where λ ∈ F2n and k is the coset leader of cyclotomic coset Ck modulo 2 n − 1. To determine the (fast) algebraic immunity of Boolean power functions one may need the arithmetic in F2n , which may be not computationally efficient compared with the operations over F2. We prove that if λ = αk and α is a primitive element of F2n , or k is co-prime to 2n− 1, then the (fast) algebraic immunity of Boolean power function Trn 1 (λx k) is the same as that of Trn 1 (x k). This may help us determine the immunity of some Boolean power functions more efficiently. We show that Niho functions satisfy the co-prime condition, and verify that a number of odd variables Kasami functions also satisfy the co-prime condition.

Field of study: Computer science, Mathematics
Knowledge Does Not Correspond to Adherence of Renal Diet Restrictions in Patients With Chronic Kidney Disease Stage 3-5.

Nutrition plays a critical role in delaying the progression of chronic kidney disease (CKD); however, adherence to nutrition recommendation in patients with non-dialysis-dependent CKD (NDD-CKD) has been underexplored. The objective of this research is to determine patients with NDD-CKD adherence to nutrition recommendation, and whether knowledge of dietary recommendations impacts adherence.



Patients with NDD-CKD and a glomerular filtration rate <45 mL/min were recruited from an urban, outpatient nephrology clinic. To assess adherence, patients completed an online Food Frequency Questionnaire. Knowledge of renal diet restrictions and food sources of sodium, potassium, and phosphorus was assessed by a CKD Knowledge Questionnaire.



A total of 63 patients completed both the Food Frequency Questionnaire and CKD Knowledge Questionnaire. Patients were consuming excess protein (average intake of 1.16 g/kg; 65-81% of patients' intake above goal), sodium (average intake of 3,117 mg, 67-91% of patients' intake above goal), and phosphorus (average intake of 1,153 mg, 59-70% of patients' intake above goal). In patients without hyperkalemia, only 32-43% of patients consumed adequate potassium. People with hyperkalemia did not consume less potassium than those without hyperkalemia (2,327 vs. 2,564 mg, P = .36). Awareness of diet restriction was not associated with reduced intake of phosphorus (785 vs. 907 mg, P = .21), protein (54.4 vs. 57.0 g, P = .71), or potassium (1,793 vs. 2,076 mg, P = .27). Greater knowledge of nutrient food sources did not correlate to reduced intake of sodium (r = -0.078, P = .54) or phosphorus (r = -0.053, P = .68), or potassium in people with hyperkalemia (r = 0.025, P = .92).



Patients with NDD-CKD consume excess sodium, phosphorus, and protein, whereas potassium intake is inadequate in people without hyperkalemia. Greater knowledge of the renal diet was not associated with increased adherence to dietary restrictions. Instruction efforts should go beyond providing nutrient-based diet information, and instead emphasize healthy food patterns and incorporate counseling to promote behavior change.

Field of study: Medicine
Light and chlorophyll gradients within Cucurbita cotyledons

. Measurement of light within 10–14-d-old green and etiolated Cucurbita pepo cotyledons were made with fibre-optic microprobes to assess the influence of chlorophyll distribution and anatomical variations in mesophyll cell type (spongy versus palisade) on internal light pattern. More than 50% of the pigment in green cotyledons occurred in the upper (adaxial) 300 μm and this gradient strongly influenced the internal propagation of 680 nm light. When the upper (adaxial) surface was irradiated with 680 nm light, almost complete absorption occurred within the first 400 μm (palisade) of approximately 1200-μm-thick cotyledons. In contrast, when lower (abaxial) surfaces were irradiated with 680 nm light, penetration extended throughout the spongy mesophyll to about the 700 μm depth. Measurements of collimaled and scattered light gradients at 550, 680 and 750 nm indicated that collimaled light was rapidly scattered by mesophyll cells. In cotyledons irradiated on the upper surface, spongy mesophyll cells received only scattered light. Furthermore, comparisons of scattered light gradients obtained from cotyledons irradiated on upper and lower surfaces suggested that spongy mesophyll cells scatter light more effectively than palisade cells, probably due to the greater proportion of intercellular air spaces in spongy mesophyll tissue. These data also indicate that both the spectral quality and quantity of light incident on palisade versus spongy mesophyll cells differs, perhaps contributing to developmental and physiological differences between these two mesophyll cell types.

Field of study: Environmental science
A Miocene onset of the modern extensional regime in the Isparta Angle: constraints from the Yalvaç Basin (southwest Turkey)

The pre-Neogene Tauride fold-and-thrust belt, comprising Cretaceous ophiolites and metamorphic rocks and non-metamorphic carbonate thrust slices in southern Turkey, is flanked and overlain by Neogene sedimentary basins. These include poorly studied intra-montane basins including the Yalvaç Basin. In this paper, we study the stratigraphy, sedimentology and structure of the Yalvaç Basin, which has a Middle Miocene and younger stratigraphy. Our results show that the basin formed as a result of multi-directional extension, with NE–SW to E–W extension dominating over subordinate NW–SE to N–S extension. We show that faults bounding the modern basin also governed basin formation, with proximal facies close to the basin margins grading upwards and basinwards into lacustrine deposits representing the local depocentre. The Yalvac Basin was a local basin, but a similar, contemporaneous history recently reconstructed from the Altınapa Basin, ~100 km to the south, shows that multi-directional extension dominated by E–W extension was a regional phenomenon. Extension is still active today, and we conclude that this tectonic regime in the study area has prevailed since Middle Miocene times. Previously documented E–W shortening in the Isparta Angle along the Aksu Thrust, ~100 km to the southwest of our study area, is synchronous with the extensional history documented here, and E–W extension to its east shows that Anatolian westwards push is likely not the cause. Synchronous E–W shortening in the heart and E–W extension in the east of the Isparta Angle may be explained by an eastwards-dipping subduction zone previously documented with seismic tomography and earthquake hypocentres. We suggest that this slab surfaces along the Aksu thrust and creates E–W overriding plate extension in the east of the Isparta Angle. Neogene and modern Anatolian geodynamics may thus have been driven by an Aegean, Antalya and Cyprus slab segment that each had their own specific evolution.

Field of study: Environmental science
Method to measure the failure pressures of hollow glass microspheres with high aspect ratios

An experimental method, pressure loading by steps, was designed to measure the fracture and buckling failure pressures of hollow glass microspheres(HGM) for use in laser fusion experiments. The failure pressures of 3 kinds of HGM with out diameters of 350-550μm and wall thickness less than 1.1μm and the HGM glass's elastic moduli and tensile strengthes were measured experimentally. From these results, experimental formulae were obtained to evaluate the failure pressures of HGM in different out diameter and wall thickness without any test. Moreover, the experimental error sources and ways to improve them are discussed.

Field of study: Physics
Performance of post-processing algorithms for rainfall intensity using measurements from tipping-bucket rain gauges

Eight rainfall events recorded from May to September 2013 at Hong Kong International Airport (HKIA) have been selected to investigate the performance of post-processing algorithms used to calculate the rainfall intensity (RI) from tipping-bucket rain gauges (TBRGs). We assumed a drop-counter catching-type gauge as a working reference and compared rainfall intensity measurements with two calibrated TBRGs operated at a time resolution of 1 min. The two TBRGs differ in their internal mechanics, one being a traditional single-layer dual-bucket assembly, while the other has two layers of buckets. The drop-counter gauge operates at a time resolution of 10 s, while the time of tipping is recorded for the two TBRGs. The post-processing algorithms employed for the two TBRGs are based on the assumption that the tip volume is uniformly distributed over the inter-tip period. A series of data of an ideal TBRG is reconstructed using the virtual time of tipping derived from the drop-counter data. From the comparison between the ideal gauge and the measurements from the two real TBRGs, the performances of different post-processing and correction algorithms are statistically evaluated over the set of recorded rain events. The improvement obtained by adopting the inter-tip time algorithm in the calculation of the RI is confirmed. However, by comparing the performance of the real and ideal TBRGs, the beneficial effect of the inter-tip algorithm is shown to be relevant for the mid–low range (6–50 mm h−1) of rainfall intensity values (where the sampling errors prevail), while its role vanishes with increasing RI in the range where the mechanical errors prevail.

Field of study: Environmental science
Characterization of human IgG1 monoclonal antibody against gangliosides expressed on tumor cells.

A human IgG1.k monoclonal antibody (MAb) designated GMA1 was developed by fusing pooled lymph node lymphocytes from cancer patients with the human lymphoblastoid cell line, SHFP-1. The GMA1 MAb reacted with several melanoma and neuroblastoma cell lines. Normal tissue derived from human brain and tumor-cell lines derived from colon, ovary, and breast were not reactive. FACS analysis performed using live cells demonstrated that the antibody recognizes a cell-surface antigen. Enzyme immunoassay (EIA) and thin layer chromatography (TLC) immunostaining with purified gangliosides indicated that the antibody has specificity for the major tumor associated gangliosides GD3, GM3, and GD2. GMA1 heavy and light chain genes were isolated by RT-PCR and a recombinant derivative of this human antibody was expressed in Chinese hamster ovary (CHO) cells. High-level antibody synthesis and secretion was achieved using a vector designed to maximize expression. FACS analysis and TLC immunostaining indicated recombinant GMA1 reacted with human tumor cell lines and gangliosides GD3, GM3, GD2 in a manner similar to the antibody produced by the hybridoma cell line, demonstrating that the specificity of the antibody was not altered during molecular cloning.

Field of study: Biology
Sufficient Conditions for Idealised Models to Have No Adversarial Examples: a Theoretical and Empirical Study with Bayesian Neural Networks

We prove, under two sufficient conditions, that idealised models can have no adversarial examples. We discuss which idealised models satisfy our conditions, and show that idealised Bayesian neural networks (BNNs) satisfy these. We continue by studying near-idealised BNNs using HMC inference, demonstrating the theoretical ideas in practice. We experiment with HMC on synthetic data derived from MNIST for which we know the ground-truth image density, showing that near-perfect epistemic uncertainty correlates to density under image manifold, and that adversarial images lie off the manifold in our setting. This suggests why MC dropout, which can be seen as performing approximate inference, has been observed to be an effective defence against adversarial examples in practice; We highlight failure-cases of non-idealised BNNs relying on dropout, suggesting a new attack for dropout models and a new defence as well. Lastly, we demonstrate the defence on a cats-vs-dogs image classification task with a VGG13 variant.

Field of study: Computer science