nils-herrmann/clean_scirepeval huggingface dataset:
Evidences of microplastics in diverse fish species off the Western Coast of Pacific Ocean, Mexico

We examined the presence of microplastics (MPs) in the gut contents of six fish species (Calamus brachysomus, Paralabrax maculatofasciatus, Eucinostomus dowii, Balistes polylepis, Achirus mazatlanus and Mugil curema) procured from Magdalena bay, Pacific Coast, Mexico. A total of 64 MPs were extracted from 87 individual samples, amongst which E. dowii (30 particles) and P. maculatofasciatus (27 particles) species presented the highest number of MPs. Of these, the majority of the MPs were fibrous filaments mainly of size 100 μm. The colour distribution was white-transparent (43%) and blue (36%). SEM imaging revealed the impact of mechanical weathering and disintegration through the presence of angular and irregular edges in the fibers. Likewise, strong carbon and oxygen peaks in the EDX spectra verified the fibers to be plastics. Differences in the ingestion of MPs among species are mainly due to species-specific physiognomies, habitat, feeding strategies and the availability of plastics. The present study contributes with a baseline data and a first assessment of microplastics debris ingested by fishes of Magdalena bay, Mexico.

Field of study: Environmental science
High-volume air sampler for particle and gas sampling. 1. Design and gas sampling performance

A high-volume air sampler was developed to collect organic compounds in the gas and particulate phases at flows up to 1.4 m 3 /min. Quartz fiber or Teflon membrane filters can be employed; use of a backup filter allows correction for the direct adsorption of gaseous analytes to the filter. Most of the filtered air passes through two 1.27 cm thick polyethane foam sheets (PUFSs) in series; the remainder passes through two Tenax cartridges in series. The thin, filter-size (20 cm×25 cm) PUFSs permit high-flow rates with minimal pressure drop

Field of study: Environmental science
In vitro comparison of probiotic properties of Lactobacillus casei Zhang, a potential new probiotic, with selected probiotic strains

Since 2004, our research group has isolated 240 Lactobacillus strains from Koumiss, a traditional fermented alcoholic beverage prepared from mare's milk in Inner Mongolia, Xinjiang of China and Mongolia. Among these Lactobacillus strains a novel strain with potential probiotic properties, Lactobacillus casei Zhang, was screened out and studied extensively for its probiotic properties, health-promoting effects and fermentation characteristics. In vitro tests indicated that L. casei Zhang had high tolerance to simulated gastric, intestine juices and bile salts, similar to commercial probiotic strains such as Lactobacillus acidophilus NCFM, Lactobacillus rhamnosus GG, L. casei Shirota and Bifidobacterium animalis Bb12. Higher acid-production activity and proteolytic activity was observed in the fermented milk inoculated with L. casei Zhang during the refrigerated storage than in the samples inoculated with the selected commercial probiotics. The yogurt samples fermented with L. casei Zhang exhibited similarer viable count (1.0 × 10 9  cfu/mL) as the other samples after 28 d of refrigerated storage. The results suggested that L. casei Zhang showed good potential for application in functional foods and health-related products.

Field of study: Agricultural and Food sciences
Phosphorylation of unique domains of Src family kinases

Members of the Src family of kinases (SFKs) are non-receptor tyrosine kinases involved in numerous signal transduction pathways. The catalytic, SH3 and SH2 domains are attached to the membrane-anchoring SH4 domain through the intrinsically disordered “Unique” domains, which exhibit strong sequence divergence among SFK members. In the last decade, structural and biochemical studies have begun to uncover the crucial role of the Unique domain in the regulation of SFK activity. This mini-review discusses what is known about the phosphorylation events taking place on the SFK Unique domains, and their biological relevance. The modulation by phosphorylation of biologically relevant inter- and intra- molecular interactions of Src, as well as the existence of complex phosphorylation/dephosphorylation patterns observed for the Unique domain of Src, reinforces the important functional role of the Unique domain in the regulation mechanisms of the Src kinases and, in a wider context, of intrinsically disordered regions in cellular processes.

Field of study: Biology
The compression/absorption heat pump cycle—conceptual design improvements and comparisons with the compression cycle

Performance improvement of an industrial single-stage compression/absorption heat pump (CAHP) using an ammonia/water mixture as the working fluid has been studied theoretically. By allowing a higher absorber pressure (40 bar) than the highest design pressure of today's screw compressors (25 bar), higher COPs could be obtained. Longer falling-film tubes in the vertical shell-and-tube absorber and desorber also increased the COP. These two modifications together increased the COP of the CAHP by 10%. The improved design has a lower optimal absorber glide (temperature difference due to composition change in absorber) and reduced solution heat exchanger sizes. The study was performed with a constant total area. Furthermore, the CAHP performance was studied for five heating cases. Its performance was compared to that of a two-stage compression heat pump (CHP) using isobutane as working fluid, on the basis of approximately equal investment cost. It could be concluded that only heating cases where both the sink and the source temperature changes are high (>20 K) give superior performance for the CAHP.

Field of study: Engineering
Can Black Candidates Win Statewide Elections

While black office-holding has steadily increased at the local level, statewide successes have been few and far between. Edward Brooke, the two-term (1967-1979) Republican from Massachusetts, has been the only black senator in this century. Until Douglas Wilder's 1989 election in Virginia, no black had ever been elected governor. (In 1873, the black lieutenant-governor of Louisiana, P.B.S. Pinchbeck, was elevated to the post of acting governor for forty-three days.) Below these top offices, the dismal record continues. In 1979 there were six statewide black elected officials; by 1985 there were only three. One of these officials, Illinois State Comptroller Roland Burris, called the group "an endangered species."' Women and Hispanics have won more top-level statewide offices than blacks. There are currently three women governors and two senators; four Hispanic governors have been elected since 1974. In this century, there have been two Hispanic senators.2 A statewide base is a critical factor in attaining national leadership. Excluding generals and vice-presidents, most presidential nominees have previously served as senators or governors. The 1984 and 1988 Jesse Jackson campaigns raised interest in a black presidential candidacy. This article suggests that understanding

Field of study: Political science
4-Hydroxy-2-quinolones 7. Synthesis and biological properties of 1-R-3-(2-benzimidazolyl)-4-hydroxy-2-quinolones

Condensation of 1-R-3-carbethoxy-4-hydroxy-2-quinolones with o-phenylene diamine gives the corresponding 1-R-3-(2-benzimidazolyl)-4-hydroxy-2-quinolones. Data on a study of the antithyroid activity of the synthesized compounds is presented.

Field of study: Chemistry
Reaction of Nitromethane with Cinnamoyl Derivatives of Cyclic β-dicarbonyl Compounds. Application to the Synthesis of 2(3)-(4-aryl-pyrrolidin-2-ylidene)-1,3(2,4)-diones*

We have shown that reaction of nitromethane with cinnamoyl derivatives of five- and six-membered carbo- and heterocylic β-dicarbonyl compounds in the presence of 1,1,3,3-tetramethylguanidine proceeds according to the mechanism of 1,4-conjugate addition to the enone fragment of cinnamoyl moiety to give 2(3)-( 3-aryl-4-nitrobutanoyl)-substituted cyclic 1,3- or 2,4-diones in good to excellent yields. Chemoselective reduction of nitro function of the latter leads to synthetically useful and biologically interesting 2(3)-(4-arylpyrrolidin-2-ylidene) derivatives.

Field of study: Chemistry
Bladder capacity as a predictor of voided continence after failed exstrophy closure.

To evaluate potential predictors of voided continence among bladder exstrophy patients with a history of a failed closure.



The authors reviewed all patients who underwent a bladder neck reconstruction (BNR) with a history of one or more failed exstrophy closures between 1979 and 2007. The following data were collected for each patient: number of failures, site of surgery, mode of failure, presence of osteotomy, bladder capacity, need for additional procedures, and continence status.



Among patients who underwent successful reclosure following one or more failed closures, 52 patients underwent BNR, and 24 (46%) were continent at last follow-up. Bladder capacity was the only variable predictive of voided continence. The median bladder capacity at the time of BNR differed between those who achieved continence (100 mL) and those who did not (65 mL) (p = 0.005). ROC analysis showed an optimal pre-BNR bladder capacity cutoff for predicting future BNR success of between 80 and 100 mL.



As previously shown in patients with successful primary closure of exstrophy, these data suggest that bladder capacity also has predictive value in the success of BNR after failed exstrophy closure.

Field of study: Medicine
Leisure, lifestyle and status: a pluralist framework for analysis

In contrast to the Marxist view of society and leisure, with its basis of class division and conflict, analyses of leisure based on the pluralist defence of the liberal democratic market system seem to lack both a satisfactory classificatory system of society and an adequate sociological explanation of the dynamic forces shaping leisure and society. This leads in turn to an inadequate agenda for the study of leisure in its wider social context. This paper suggests that Weber's concepts of status, status groups and lifestyle offer a way forward for pluralist analysis. It examines how research on ‘status politics’, or the ‘politics of lifestyle concern’, and existing research on lifestyle might be incorporated into such an approach.

Field of study: Sociology
Optoelectronic and thermal characteristics of GaN-based monolithic light emitting diode arrays

We investigated the optoelectronic and thermal characteristics of InGaN/GaN monolithic light emitting diode (LED) arrays operating at λ~ 470 nm. The optical output power (Pout) and forward voltage (VF) were almost linearly increased with the number of LEDs for series arrays. In the case of parallel LED arrays, the maximum operating current was increased by increasing the number of devices, but the VF was kept almost constant. Around 235 mA, the maximum Pout of 55.6 mW was obtained for the 1 × 3 series LED array fabricated with a separation distance of 1000 µm, while the Pout was 20.4 mW for the 1 × 3 parallel LED array. From the measured light–current–voltage data, the maximum internal temperature (Tmax), i.e. a maximum value of internal temperature rise within the devices under operation, was theoretically determined using a three-dimensional steady-state thermal heat dissipation model based on the finite element method. Also, the temperature profiles were obtained for various separation distances and array sizes. At injection current of 220 mA, the Tmax was theoretically calculated as 325.6 K and 306.6 K for 1 × 3 series and parallel LED arrays with a 1000 µm separation distance, respectively. The Tmax was increased and decreased on decreasing the separation distance and substrate thickness, respectively, and its dependence on Tmax became more significant at higher injection current.

Field of study: Materials science
Parental Perspectives on Physical Education Services for Children With CHARGE Syndrome

For this study, the researchers used a grounded theory approach to explore the perspectives of parents with children who have CHARGE syndrome regarding their children's physical education experiences. Participants included 10 mothers of children with CHARGE syndrome ages 6 to 23 years old. The parents completed a demographic survey and participated in a semi-structured interview where they discussed their perspectives on their child’s physical education services. The interviews were audio-recorded, transcribed, and analyzed using an open coding analysis. Three independent themes were revealed: (a) holistic expectations, (b) multifaceted barriers, and (c) facilitators to quality physical education. The perspectives shared by parents indicated that parents do find physical education services, an important part of the educational program. However, the existing programs did not meet the parents’ expectations specific to programming for children with CHARGE syndrome.

Field of study: Education
Diversity of management practices required to ensure conservation of rare and locally threatened plant species in grasslands: a case study at a regional scale (Lorraine, France)

The Lorraine region, in northeast France, harbours 77 protected plantspecies whose main localities are in grasslands. About 80% of them are very rareor rare (less than 15 localities) in that territory and are threatened by changes inagriculture. These species occur in a large range of grassland habitats,reflecting variability of climatic, hydrological and edaphic parameters, butalso of agricultural practices. A more precise analysis of managementrequirements was carried out for seven of these species, Euphorbiapalustris, Aster amellus, Pulsatillaalba, Carex hordeistichos, Thalictrumminus ssp. majus, Botrychiummatricariifolium and Ophioglossum vulgatum, whichwere represented on a triangle whose corners correspond to grazing, cutting andno or very low exploitation. It confirmed the large diversity of managementpractices required to ensure conservation of rare and threatened grassland plantspecies, even at a local level. These appropriate conservation measures havetherefore to be carried out or, at least, monitored by specialized natureconservation organizations.

Field of study: Environmental science
Parameter estimation in a minimum-type model by the least-squares method - a monte carlo study

This paper deals with parameter estimation for a minimum-type distribution function - Two modifications of the least-squares method (LSM) pro­posed by Bain and Antle are investigated and compared by means of the Monte Carlo study. The first one is an estimation of θ1, θ2, a by solving the set of three equations defining the stationary point of the sum of squares. It is shown that the solution reduces to solving only one equation for the parameter α. It is demonstrated that there is a rather high probability of not obtain­ing a solution in the parameter space . The performance of LSM can be improved considerably when only two parameters - θ2 and α - are unknown. We investigate this using an independent method for obtaining an estimate for θ1.

Field of study: Mathematics
Robust 𝒽∞ filtering for continuous time varying uncertain systems with deterministic input signals

Many dynamical systems involve not only process and measurement noise signals but also parameter uncertainty and known input signals. When /spl Lscr//sub 2/ or /spl Hscr//sub /spl infin// filters that were designed based on a "nominal" model of the system are applied, the presence of parameter uncertainty will not only affect the noise attenuation property of the filter but also introduce a bias proportional to the known input signal, and the latter may be very appreciable. We introduce a finite-horizon robust /spl Hscr//sub /spl infin// filtering method that provides a guaranteed /spl Hscr//sub /spl infin// bound for the estimation error in the presence of both parameter uncertainty and a known input signal. This method is developed by using a game-theoretic approach, and the results generalize those obtained for cases without parameter uncertainty or without a known input signal. It is also demonstrated, via an example, that the proposed method provides significantly improved signal estimates.

Field of study: Engineering
Drying effects on archaeal community composition and methanogenesis in bromeliad tanks.

Tank bromeliads are highly abundant epiphytes in neotropical forests and form a unique canopy wetland ecosystem which is involved in the global methane cycle. Although the tropical climate is characterized by high annual precipitation, the plants can face periods of restricted water. Thus, we hypothesized that water is an important controller of the archaeal community composition and the pathway of methane formation in tank bromeliads. Greenhouse experiments were established to investigate the resident and active archaeal community targeting the 16S rDNA and 16S rRNA in the tank slurry of bromeliads at three different moisture levels. Archaeal community composition and abundance were determined using terminal restriction fragment length polymorphism and quantitative PCR. Release of methane and its stable carbon isotopic signature were determined in a further incubation experiment under two moisture levels. The relative abundance of aceticlastic Methanosaetaceae increased up to 34% and that of hydrogenotrophic Methanobacteriales decreased by more than half with decreasing moisture. Furthermore, at low moisture levels, methane production was up to 100-fold lower (≤0.1-1.1 nmol gdw(-1) d(-1)) than under high moisture levels (10-15 nmol gdw(-1) d(-1)). The rapid response of the archaeal community indicates that the pathway of methane formation in bromeliad tanks may indeed be strongly susceptible to periods of drought in neotropical forest canopies.

Field of study: Biology, Environmental science
Self-consistent DFT calculations of electronic states in superlattices and quantum wells with arbitrary compositional and doping profiles

A method is described for the self-consistent computation of electronic states of semiconductor superlattices and MQWS with arbitrary compositional and doping profiles within effective mass theory and the envelope function approximation. Non-parabolicity of bulk bands is accounted for by means of the Hellmann-Feynman theorem. Many-body effects are included within local density functional theory; the exchange-correlation potentials obtained using the Tanatar-Ceperley and Ceperley-Alder correlation energies for the two-dimensional and three-dimensional electron gas, respectively, are compared.

Field of study: Materials science
Pairing of Composite Fermions, Laughlin Correlations, and the Fractional Quantum Hall Hierarchy

A novel hierarchy of fractional quantum Hall (FQH) states in the lowest Landau level (LL) is proposed to explain recently observed FQH fractions such as , 3/8, or 4/11. Based on the analysis of their interaction pseudopotentials, it is argued that the Laughlin quasiparticles (particles/holes in a partially filled composite fermion LL) form pairs. These pairs are proposed to have Laughlin correlations with one another and to form condensed states at a sequence of fractions which includes all new fractions observed in experiment.

Field of study: Physics
Algorand: Scaling Byzantine Agreements for Cryptocurrencies

Algorand is a new cryptocurrency that confirms transactions with latency on the order of a minute while scaling to many users. Algorand ensures that users never have divergent views of confirmed transactions, even if some of the users are malicious and the network is temporarily partitioned. In contrast, existing cryptocurrencies allow for temporary forks and therefore require a long time, on the order of an hour, to confirm transactions with high confidence. Algorand uses a new Byzantine Agreement (BA) protocol to reach consensus among users on the next set of transactions. To scale the consensus to many users, Algorand uses a novel mechanism based on Verifiable Random Functions that allows users to privately check whether they are selected to participate in the BA to agree on the next set of transactions, and to include a proof of their selection in their network messages. In Algorand's BA protocol, users do not keep any private state except for their private keys, which allows Algorand to replace participants immediately after they send a message. This mitigates targeted attacks on chosen participants after their identity is revealed. We implement Algorand and evaluate its performance on 1,000 EC2 virtual machines, simulating up to 500,000 users. Experimental results show that Algorand confirms transactions in under a minute, achieves 125x Bitcoin's throughput, and incurs almost no penalty for scaling to more users.

Field of study: Computer science, Mathematics
PCR Based Diagnosis of Rice Tungro Bacilliform and Spherical Virus from Infected Plants and Insect Vectors

Rice tungro disease, one of the major constraints for rice production in South and Southeast Asia, is caused by a combination of two viruses: Rice tungro spherical virus (RTSV) and Rice tungro bacilliform virus (RTBV). The disease is characterized by typical symptoms produced in rice plants; however, reliance on symptoms for the detection of disease and presence of viral particles is not always correct. The present study was undertaken to utilize the polymerase chain reaction (PCR) and RT-PCR techniques to diagnose the RTBV and RTSV particles, respectively. Primers were designed from highly conserved regions of viral genomes to amplify the ORF-I and ORF-IV regions of RTBV and CP3 genetic region of RTSV. The detection method was standardized and validated using tungro-infected leaf samples collected from Cuttack (Odisha), Puducherry UT, Coimbatore, Kanyakumari (TN), Patancheru and Rajendranagar (Andhra Pradesh). Insect vectors (green leaf hopper, Nephotettix spp.) were collected from virus infected plants maintained in glass house. All the three primers used in PCR and RT-PCR were found reliable in detecting the virus particles in insects also.

Field of study: Biology
SU‐FF‐T‐78: Accuracy of Patient Positioning Using BrainLab ExactTrac 4.5

To investigate the accuracy of the latest BrainLab treatment couch (ExactTrac 4.5) based on stereoscopic X‐ray imaging and Infrared markers (IR).  BrainLab's ExactTrac treatment couch is being used for image guided intra‐cranial and spinal radiosurgery. The system uses two oblique x‐ray sources, embedded in the treatment room floor, coupled with ceiling mounted x‐ray detection panels to acquire 2 stereoscopic digital images. ExactTrac also offers an IR tracking mechanism consisting of two IR cameras that identify IR external fiduciary markers fixed on the patient's skin. The IR system monitors patient position in 6 dimensions (6D, X, Y, Z, Roll, Yaw and Pitch). To evaluate the effects of CT slice thickness used for treatment planning on the positioning accuracy, we acquired 5 sets of CTimages of a Rando phantom with slice thicknesses of 0.625, 1.25, 2.5, 3.7 and 5.0 mm using a GE helical scanner. Furthermore, we evaluated the reproducibility of phantom positioning using the IR tracking system due to random variability of the IR external markers placements within a 1 cm‐diameter circle from their correct positions.  Our ExactTrac stereoscopic X‐ray system positioned the phantom within 0.1 mm of the isocenter using either CT slice thicknesses of 0.625 or 1.25mm. Positional accuracy dropped to 0.5mm when CT slice thickness of 2.5 or 3.75 mm were used. The positional accuracy with CT slice thickness of 5.0 mm was within 2.5 mm. The average phantom positioning error due to misplacing the IR tracking markers was 0.79 mm.  The patient tracking error of the new ExacTrac is within 0.25 mm when CT slice thickness of 1.25 mm or less is used for planning with stereoscopic x‐ray imaging for positioning. The random placement of IR markers within a 1‐cm diameter circle yielded a positional error of 0.8mm.

Field of study: Medicine, Physics