nils-herrmann/clean_scirepeval huggingface dataset:
Urodynamic changes in patients with anterior urethral valves: before and after endoscopic valve ablation.

To retrospectively review a series of children with anterior urethral valves (AUV), with emphasis on patterns of urodynamic change and long-term outcome of endoscopic treatment.



We reviewed the medical records of eight patients who had undergone thorough radiological and urodynamic exams before and after treatment. The diagnosis of AUV was based on radiological imaging and confirmed by urethrocystoscopy. The valves were ablated through either transurethral fulguration or resection. The upper urinary tracts were studied by renal scan and ultrasonography before and after the procedure. Bladder function was assessed urodynamically 3 months after surgery. Uroflowmetry was performed as soon as the children were toilet trained.



Endoscopic ablation of AUV was successful in all cases and no surgical complications occurred. The initial symptoms resolved in all boys. VUR disappeared in two out of three patients, and five children had bladder trabeculation that was resolved after surgery. The final outcome was successful in seven patients (88%). The major urodynamic dysfunction was bladder hypercontractility that resolved following valve ablation. The mean maximum voiding detrusor pressure (P(detmax)) decreased from 213.2+/-17.9 cmH(2)O to 80.7+/-9.9 cmH(2)O, 6 months after treatment (P<0.001). None of the patients had low-compliant bladder, detrusor instability or myogenic failure. The voiding pattern in all toilet-trained patients was staccato and of an interrupted shape prior to surgery, but changed to a normal bell-shaped voiding pattern following valve ablation.



AUV should be considered in the differential diagnosis of patients presenting with infravesical obstruction. We recommend endoscopic valve ablation as the treatment of choice.

Field of study: Medicine
Impact of irregular geometries on low-k dielectric breakdown

Backend geometries on chips contain a wide variety of features. We are developing a full-chip reliability simulator for low-k dielectric breakdown that takes into account the vulnerable area, linewidth, vias, and line edge roughness. The simulator provides a link between test structure results and predictions of chip dielectric lifetime. However, these factors may not be sufficient for large chips with a wider variety of features. In this paper, we analyze data from backend dielectric test structures with irregular geometries to determine if more layout features need to be added to a full-chip reliability simulator for low-k dielectric breakdown.

Field of study: Engineering
Diffraction of X-ray free-electron laser femtosecond pulses on single crystals in the Bragg and Laue geometry.

A solution of the problem of dynamical diffraction for X-ray pulses with arbitrary dimensions in the Bragg and Laue cases in a crystal of any thickness and asymmetry coefficient of reflection is presented. Analysis of pulse form and duration transformation in the process of diffraction and propagation in a vacuum is conducted. It is shown that only the symmetrical Bragg case can be used to avoid smearing of reflected pulses.

Field of study: Physics
Static and Dynamic Facial Cues Differentially Affect the Consistency of Social Evaluations

Individuals are quite sensitive to others’ appearance cues when forming social evaluations. Cues such as facial emotional resemblance are based on facial musculature and thus dynamic. Cues such as a face’s structure are based on the underlying bone and are thus relatively static. The current research examines the distinction between these types of facial cues by investigating the consistency in social evaluations arising from dynamic versus static cues. Specifically, across four studies using real faces, digitally generated faces, and downstream behavioral decisions, we demonstrate that social evaluations based on dynamic cues, such as intentions, have greater variability across multiple presentations of the same identity than do social evaluations based on static cues, such as ability. Thus, although evaluations of intentions vary considerably across different instances of a target’s face, evaluations of ability are relatively fixed. The findings highlight the role of facial cues’ consistency in the stability of social evaluations.

Field of study: Psychology
Two-timing procedure for higher-order modulations of near-linear dispersive wave trains with an application to plasma waves

An asymptotic procedure is proposed to describe the slow modulations of dispersive wave trains when the dispersive effects and the nonlinear distorsion are of the same order of magnitude. For a model equation, the system of modulation equations is derived up to the second order. At this order of approximation, it is seen that the dispersion relation includes partial derivatives not only of the amplitude but also of the wave vector components. Under some assumptions, a partial differential equation is obtained for the complex amplitude. This equation reveals common features with the modified Korteweg-de Vries equation and with a nonlinear Schroedinger equation. At the first order, it reduces to the cubic Schroedinger equation which had been directly obtained by several authors. Finally, the theory is applied to a plasma wave example.

Field of study: Mathematics
Median Selection Subset Aggregation for Parallel Inference

For massive data sets, efficient computation commonly relies on distributed algorithms that store and process subsets of the data on different machines, minimizing communication costs. Our focus is on regression and classification problems involving many features. A variety of distributed algorithms have been proposed in this context, but challenges arise in defining an algorithm with low communication, theoretical guarantees and excellent practical performance in general settings. We propose a MEdian Selection Subset AGgregation Estimator (message) algorithm, which attempts to solve these problems. The algorithm applies feature selection in parallel for each subset using Lasso or another method, calculates the 'median' feature inclusion index, estimates coefficients for the selected features in parallel for each subset, and then averages these estimates. The algorithm is simple, involves very minimal communication, scales efficiently in both sample and feature size, and has theoretical guarantees. In particular, we show model selection consistency and coefficient estimation efficiency. Extensive experiments show excellent performance in variable selection, estimation, prediction, and computation time relative to usual competitors.

Field of study: Computer science
Involvement of glutathione in the reduction of captan-induced in vivo inhibition of monooxygenases and liver toxicity in the rat.

If given orally captan is relatively nontoxic, but it can be extremely toxic after parenteral exposure. Therefore, a single i.p. dose of captan (20 mg/kg) was given to male Sprague-Dawley rats and its effect on liver microsomal mixed function oxidases and certain serum enzymes (SDH, SGPT and SGOT) was studied. The single dose of captan caused marked depression of microsomal cytochrome P-450 and the activity of benzphetamine N-demethylase and aniline hydroxylase, and moderate elevation of the serum enzymes indicative of liver damage. However, reduced glutathione (100 mg/kg, i.p.) given prior to captan, appears to decrease the liver toxicity as measured by reduced inhibition of the microsomal enzymes and elevation of serum enzymes activity. The results suggest that glutathione and other compounds containing sulfhydryl groups may protect the subjects from captan-induced liver toxicity.

Field of study: Agricultural and Food sciences
THE INFLUENCE OF INSTRUCTIONAL RESOURCES ON ACADEMIC PERFORMANCE IN MIXED DAY SECONDARY SCHOOLS IN KISUMU EAST DISTRICT, KENYA

The purpose of this study was to find out how instructional resources influence academic performance in mixed day secondary schools in Kisumu East District. The objective of the study was to examine how the instructional resources affect the academic performance in mixed day secondary schools in Kisumu East District. The study was based on a conceptual framework showing how academic performance is influenced by instructional resources. 
Methods:  The study employed descriptive survey research design. The study population consisted of 32 Head teachers, 32 Heads of examination departments and 1045 form four students. Simple random sampling technique was used to select 10 head teachers, 10 heads of examination departments and 348 students. Questionnaire and in-depth interviews were used to collect data. Qualitative data obtained from in-depth interviews were transcribed and analyzed on an on-going process according to themes as they emerged. Quantitative data collected from closed-ended questionnaire items were tallied and presented using descriptive statistics in the form of bar graphs, percentages and frequencies. 
 The major findings of the study was that instructional resources  had positive and negative influence on the academic performance of students in mixed day secondary schools in Kisumu East District.  
Unique contribution to theory, practice and policy: Recommendation from the study includes further research should be done on the role of parents on the education of their children. Although educational policies play a big role in academic performance, Guidance and counseling, parental support helped to improve students’ performance. The findings of this study will be useful to the administrators, parents, teachers and students in improving academic performance in mixed day secondary schools 
 Influence, instructional resources,  academic  performance, mixed day secondary schools, Kenya, Kisumu East district

Field of study: Education
Do multineutrons exist

Following recent work in which events which may correspond to a bound tetraneutron (4n) were observed, it is pointed out that from the theoretical perspective the two-body nucleon–nucleon (NN) force cannot by itself bind four neutrons, even if it could bind a dineutron. Unrealistic modifications of the NN force or introduction of unreaslistic four-nucleon force would be needed in order to bind the tetraneutron. The existence of other multineutron systems is discussed.

Field of study: Physics
The Divine Spark of Syracuse. Ingrid D. Rowland. The Mandel Lectures in the Humanities. Waltham, MA: Brandeis University Press, 2019. xxviii + 126 pp. + 16 color pls. $19.95.

and complicated pieces of literature accessible to nonspecialist readers in effective ways. While, undoubtedly, much of the stylistic flair and artistic playfulness can never be adequately translated, Paul Gwynne’s highly readable prose version preserves the content and the urgency of Benci’s fast-paced narrative. As a reader not trained in the classical tradition, I found Gwynne’s commentary to be a helpful addition to his English text. While Gwynn devotes some attention to basic historical events, most of his remarks (398–681) pertain to matters of style. He provides detailed references to parallel passages in ancient epics in addition to highlighting more-recent poetic production that Benci would have been familiar with. This allows even nonspecialist readers to appreciate the playfulness and wit of Benci’s poetry. Situating a readable translation within a detailed network of classical and post-classical references seems, to this reader, to be an effective way of bringing nonspecialist readers as close to the original text as possible. Jesuit Neo-Latin poetry seems to be one of the few remaining frontiers of Jesuit scholarship. It is under-studied yet fascinating. It is also full of peculiar challenges, not least linguistically. But with masterful presentations of Jesuit Latin poetry such as this, it is now possible for Benci—and, hopefully soon, a range of other equally important authors—to become more prominent among Jesuit scholars.

Field of study: History
Thin Plate Splines Method for 3D Reconstruction of the Left Ventricle with Use a Limited Number of Ultrasonic Sections

This paper addresses the testing of thin plate splines (TPS) interpolation method for the left ventricle (LV) 3D-reconstruction based on a limited number of ultrasonic sections obtained during echocardiography to apply the global and regional cardiac structure and function. With the use of TPS technique, the LV inner and outer surfaces were reconstructed based on three short-axes and one long-axes sections of the LV standard transthoracic imaging. The LV 3D-reconstruction by means of the heart transesophageal examination was chosen as a reference point. To evaluate the accuracy of LV 3D-reconstruction on TPS approach, the mean relative error (R) of LV surfaces interpolation and the relative change of cardiac wall thickness (dH/H) during the end (passive) phase of LV diastolic filling as a measure of the myocardium diastolic stiffness were calculated. According to ~8% value of R and qualitative distribution of dH/H in LV wall regions, we concluded that the proposed method of LV 3D-reconstruction shows a sufficient accuracy for practical use and future development.

Field of study: Engineering
Intensified aridity of the Asian interior recorded by the magnetism of red clay in Altun Shan, NE Tibetan Plateau

The aridity history of monsoon-dominated areas has previously been traced by high-resolution studies of the well-known loess and red clay sequences on the Chinese Loess Plateau. However, the aridity process further west in China and the differences from the monsoon regime are unclear because no continuous aeolian sequences have been found in those areas. Here we describe and interpret an 88.4-m-thick Neogene aeolian sequence containing 40 visually-defined, brownish-red clay and gray caliche nodule layers in the eastern Xorhol Basin, northeast of the Tibetan Plateau. Magnetostratigraphic results show that the sequence was deposited between ~ 13 and 2.6 Ma. The sequence can be divided into two parts with different climate conditions according to magnetic susceptibility (MS): the lower part (13–11.5 Ma) indicates a more changeable climate with higher MS values (average 15 × 10− 8 m3 kg− 1) dominated by magnetite; the upper part (10.3–2.6 Ma) reflects a drier climate with lower, stable MS values (average 9.5 × 10− 8 m3 kg −1) mainly arising from hematite. Our results indicate that the intensified aridity of the Asian interior started between 11.5 Ma and 10.3 Ma, when MS decreased significantly due to outward growth of the Tibetan Plateau at around 12 Ma, together with ongoing global cooling and regression of the Neotethys Ocean during the Cenozoic.

Field of study: Environmental science, Geography
Berechnung der elastischen Konstanten des Vielkristalls aus den Konstanten des Einkristalls

ZusammenfassungMit Hilfe des Begriffes der elastischen Polarisierbarkeit können die elastischen Konstanten des makroskopisch isotropen Vielkristalls aus den Einkristallkonstanten exakt ausgerechnet werden. Im Falle des Aggregats aus kubischen Kristalliten, in dem die Bestimmung des Kompressionsmoduls trivial ist, folgt der Schubmodul aus einer Gleichung 3. Grades [Gl. (22)], in der Kombinationen der Einkristallhauptkonstanten als Koeffizienten auftreten. Die experimentellen Vergleichswerte weichen von den berechneten etwas ab, was beweist, daß die Experimente nicht den von der Theorie geforderten idealen Bedingungen genügt haben. Weitere Anwendungsmöglichkeiten der Methode werden besprochen.

Field of study: Physics
Current approaches to cerebroprotective treatment of premature newborns in reanimation and intensive care departments

: This work was conducted in the frames of a multicenter clinical trial. The aim was to study efficacy of cytoflavin (infusion solution) in the prevention and treatment of posthypoxic CNS lesions in premature newborns. The study included 120 premature newborns (gestation period 28-36 weeks) who was born in severe distress and needed the intensive therapy after primary reanimation measures. Cytoflavin was prescribed in the first 2-4 h after the delivery to 61 newborns. The control group included 59 newborns who did not receive the drug. To assess treatment efficacy, the determination of some plasma neurospecific proteins (GFAP, NSE, MBP) was carried out along with standard clinical/instrumental and laboratory monitoring. The results revealed the marked cerebroprotective effect of cytoflavin. The significantly higher rate of normalization of KOC, pO2, PCO2 and elimination of lactate acidosis that led to the reduction of severity and frequency of ischemic and hemorrhagic CNS lesions as well as lower levels of plasma neurospecific proteins were seen in the main group compared to the control one.

Field of study: Medicine, Psychology
Studies in detoxication. 55. The metabolism of alkylbenzenes: (a) glucuronic acid excretion following the administration of alkylbenzenes; (b) elimination of toluene in the expired air of rabbits.

Little is known about the metabolism in the animal body of monoalkylbenzenes other than toluene and ethylbenzene (cf. Williams, 1947). The information available suggests that the n-alkyl side chains undergo w-oxidation followed by $-oxidation of the terminology (Rules of Carbohydrate Nomenclature, ), glucosiduronic acids) andthe alcohols asnon-reducing glucuronides. These possibilities are shown below (where G= CAH9,0) for the case of n-propylbenzene.

Field of study: Biology, Computer science
Relationship between Fragmented QRS Complex and Aortic Stiffness in Chronic Hemodialysis Patients

This study aimed to evaluate the correlation between fragmented QRS complex (fQRS), aortic stiffness, and diastolic dysfunction in hemodialysis patients.  A sample of 56 patients who received hemodialysis treatment was stratified into 2 groups according to their electrocardiography (ECG) patterns with or without fQRS. Baseline characteristics and laboratory parameters of patients were documented. Conventional echocardiographic and Doppler echocardiographic procedures were performed in all patients. The mean early (Em) diastolic and late (Am) diastolic myocardial velocities were calculated. These tests were performed before dialysis. The Student t test, Mann-Whitney U test, χ2 test, Spearman correlation, and multivariate linear regression analysis were used to analyze parameters where appropriate.  Of the 56 patients under hemodialysis, fQRS in ECG was detected in 26 (46.4%). Echocardiographic evaluation showed that deceleration time (237.57 ± 40.10 ms; p = 0.030), isovolumic relaxation time (126.84 ± 15.62 ms; p < 0.001), early (E)/late (A) ventricular filling velocity (E/A) ratio (1.15 ± 0.40; p ≤ 0.001), and aortic stiffness index value (9.62 ± 4.53; p = 0.016) exhibited a statistical increase in hemodialysis patients with fQRS compared to patients without fQRS. E (58.23 ± 19.96 m/s; p = 0.004), and Em (5.96 ± 2.08 cm/s; p = 0.023) velocity levels were significantly lower in hemodialysis patients with fQRS than patients without fQRS. Aortic stiffness closely correlated with diastolic dysfunction (deceleration time r = 0.273, p = 0.042; isovolumic relaxation time r = 0.497, p < 0.001; E/A ratio r = -0.449, p = 0.001). On multivariate linear regression analysis, fQRS and aortic stiffness were independently associated in hemodialysis patients (β = 0.321, p = 0.049).  Increased aortic stiffness and left ventricular systolic dysfunction were observed more frequently in hemodialysis patients with fQRS than in patients without fQRS. fQRS is an important determinant of aortic stiffness in hemodialysis patients.

Field of study: Medicine
Balancing conservation goals and ecotourism development in coastal wetland management in Sri Lanka: A choice experiment

Understanding the tradeoff between tourism development and environmental conservation is essential for the sustainable management of ecotourism. Accordingly, we conducted a choice experiment (CE) using valuation workshops to estimate the preferences of foreign tourists for ecotourism development and biodiversity conservation in Rekawa coastal wetland in Southern Sri Lanka. Transforming preferences into marginal willingness to pay (MWTP), shows that guided-boat trips in Rekawa lagoon is the most important development attribute, followed by increased beach cleanup activities. The MWTP for smaller turtle-watching groups is much lower, but still significant. Tourists are also willing to pay for conservation in the form of efforts to reduce losses in biodiversity. The fact that the CE asks for contributions to future management and improvement fund, and because that many tourists do not intend to return to Rekawa, this implies that elicited values can be interpreted as either non-use or option values for those who intend to return.

Field of study: Environmental science
The Qualities of a Good Manager … What Does It Mean? Lessons Learned from the Undergraduate Business Students’ Perception in Kingdom of Morocco

Qualities required to provide managers of what make them effective in their actions and behavior within the organizational structure generate, perpetually, the interest of researchers and professionals. Notwithstanding the prevailing conceptions, with reference to the subject of our research, make no consensus between the different stakeholders involved, among others, the college business students. This article is seeking clarification of the business students’ perception about the qualities required to be a good manager. Methodologically, our research was based on a quantitative questionnaire distributed to 500 college business students in Kingdom of Morocco to highlight their appreciation of the qualities needed to be a good manager. Factor analysis was used to analyze the data. Categorization, in the light of the business students’ perception, was made to aggregate, in blocks, the qualities required to be acknowledged as a good manager. As results, five factors underlying the business students’ perception were found. However these factors, when confronted to the literature, explicit certain divergences that could be explained by the students cognitive process problems.

Field of study: Business
Implicit Finite-Difference Computations of Unsteady Transonic Flows about Airfoils

A computer code, LTRAN2, has been constructed that efficiently computes low-frequency unsteady transonic flows about airfoils in motion. The code solves the two-dimensional, nonlinear, low-frequency, smalldisturbance equation by an alternating-direction implicit (ADI) algorithm. The underlying theory of the governing equation and the construction of the solution algorithm are discussed. As a check on the code, solutions computed for the linear low-frequency small-disturbance equation are compared with known answers from linear theory. Then nonlinear results are presented, and Tijdeman's experimental observations of shock wave motions resulting from airfoil flap oscillations are qualitatively reproduced computationally. These computations compare favorably with those of Magnus and Yoshihara and are obtained in substantially less computer time.

Field of study: Physics