nils-herrmann/clean_scirepeval huggingface dataset:
Palaeoenvironmental conditions during the deposition of the Plio-Pleistocene sedimentary sequence of the Canoa Formation, central Ecuador: A stable isotope study

Stable isotope measurements were carried out on fossil fish otoliths, mollusc shells, benthic foraminifera and shark teeth collected from the sedimentary sequence of the Canoa Formation, coastal central Ecuador. The age of this sequence is not well defined, ranging from Late Pliocene to Early/Middle Pleistocene. The aim of this work was the reconstruction of the palaeoenvironmental conditions during the deposition of the Canoa Formation and the check of the consistency of these conditions with the hypothesis suggested by previous authors of a north–south diffusion of temperate-cold fish species from California, following the closure of the Panamic Seaway. The oxygen isotope results obtained from otoliths and molluscs reflect temperate to temperate-cold environmental conditions during the deposition of the lower section of the Canoa sequence. This situation in a coastal basin at equatorial latitude is in sharp contrast with the offshore tropical conditions suggested by the isotopic measurements carried out on fossil shark teeth (open ocean species) from the same sequence. The existence of coastal upwelling cells can reasonably explain the very homogeneous and temperate-cold conditions dominating the lower section of the Canoa sequence. The isotopic results obtained from the upper section of the sequence show an evolution towards warmer conditions or lighter δ18O values of seawater and, upwards, environmental conditions that seem to approach the modern conditions, which involve considerably higher water temperatures during the first semester of the year (influence of the Equatorial counter-current) and relatively low temperatures during the second semester [influence of the Humboldt (Peru) current]. The suggested palaeoenvironmental conditions are in good agreement with the hypothesis of a north–south diffusion of temperate-cold fish species from California, following the closure of the Panamic Seaway.

Field of study: Environmental science, Geography
A tale of four syndromes: familial adenomatous polyposis, Gardner syndrome, attenuated APC and Turcot syndrome.

Familial adenomatous polyposis (FAP), Gardner syndrome (polyposis, osteomas and epitheliomas), flat adenoma syndrome (attenuated APC) and Turcot syndrome (colorectal polyposis with brain tumours) are distinctive clinical syndromes. Each is caused by mutations in the adenomatous polyposis coli (APC) gene on chromosome 5q21, although Turcot syndrome may have other causes. A variety of APC mutations are recognized, which can be associated with the character and severity of the clinical syndromes.

Field of study: Medicine
Drinking, Social Abstaining, and Refusing Invitations: Demographic Differences Persist across College.

Alcohol use and misuse are prevalent on many college campuses. The current study examined participation in college environments where alcohol is present and being consumed. We documented students' alcohol consumption, social abstaining (i.e., attending an alcohol-present event, but not drinking), and refusing invitations to drinking events. We tested for differences by parental education, immigrant status, race-ethnicity, and gender. We charted longitudinal change across college.



First-year students attending a large public US university (n=681, 18% first generation college student, 16% first generation immigrant, 73% racial-ethnic minority group member, 51% women) were recruited and followed longitudinally for seven semesters. Each semester, students completed up to 14 daily surveys; responses were aggregated to the semester level (n=4,267).



Multi-level logistic regression models demonstrated that first generation college students were less likely to drink and refuse invitations to drinking events than students with a college educated parent (AORs .66, .72, respectively). Similarly, first generation immigrants were less likely to drink, socially abstain, and refuse invitations (AORs .58-.73). Compared to White students, Black and Asian American students were less likely to drink (AORs .55, .53) and refuse invitations to drinking events (AORs .68, .66). The proportion of days spent drinking increased across college and refusing invitations was the most common at the start and end of college.



First generation college students, first generation immigrant students, and Black and Asian students participated less in pro-drinking environments during college. These findings indicate that on drinking and non-drinking days students' participation in alcohol-present situations differed by background. Furthermore, our results indicate that the students who are most likely to refuse invitations to drinking events are the same students who drink most frequently.

Field of study: Medicine
Evidence of quantum Griffiths phase in Ni_{1-x}V_x nanoalloys

Metallic Ni$_{1-x}$V$_x$ alloys are known to exhibit a ferromagnetic to paramagnetic disordered quantum phase transition (QPT) at the critical concentration $x_c \sim$ 0.114 in bulk. Such a QPT is accompanied by a quantum Griffiths phase (QGP), the physical observables in which follow non-universal power-law temperature dependences, in a finite temperature range on the paramagnetic side of the transition. In the present work, we explore the occurrence of QGP in nanoparticles of this alloy system. Nanoalloys with $x$ in the neighbourhood of $x_c$ and mean diameter 18-33 nm were prepared by a chemical reflux method. Following a few microscopic and spectroscopic studies to determine the sizes, compositions and phases, dc magnetization measurements were also performed to seek out any signature of QGP in the nanoalloys. A paramagnetic-like increase of magnetization is observed to emerge below an $x$-dependent transition temperature $\rm{T_P} (\it{x})$ within the blocked ferromagnetic state of the nanoparticles, and is corroborated by a peak at $\rm{T_P} (\it{x})$ in the temperature dependence of resistivity. The magnetic susceptibility in this emergent phase follows a non-Curie power-law temperature dependence below 10 K for $0.09 \leq x \leq 0.14$, indicating the presence of a QGP in the nanoparticles within these temperature and composition ranges.

Field of study: Physics
Geographical evolution of Cuba

In Cuba there are mountains higher than any on the eastern side of North America; extensive plains as level as those of the Atlantic coast ; valleys formed at the baselevel of erosion, and deep canyons carved out by the youngest streams ; the remains of enormous beds of limestones mostly swept off the country, and coral reefs and mangrove islands extending the coastal plains into the sea ; sea-cliffs, caves and terraces of great and little elevation; drowned valleys deeper than the fiords of Norway indenting the margin of the insular mass; caverns innumerable and rivers flowing underground ; rifts through mountain ridges and rock-basins; tilted, bent and overturned strata, dislocated and faulted in modern times, so as to make youthful mountain ranges ; metamorphic rocks and rocks igneous, and these again altered to secondary products ; old baselevel plains or these modified and reaching across the island, . . .

Field of study: Geology
Macroscopic description of current induced switching due to spin-transfer

We develop a macroscopic description of the current-induced torque due to spin transfer in a layered system consisting of two ferromagnetic layers separated by a nonmagnetic layer. The description is based on i) the classical spin diffusion equations for the distribution functions used in the theory of CPP-GMR, ii) the relevant boundary conditions for the longitudinal and transverse components of the spin current in the situation of quasi-interfacial absorption of the transverse components in a magnetic layer. The torque is expressed as a function of the usual parameters derived from CPP-GMR experiments and two additional parameters involved in the transverse boundary conditions. Our model is used to describe qualitatively normal and inverse switching phenomena studied in recent experiments. We also present a structure for which we predict only states of steady precession above a certain critical current. We finally discuss the limits of a small angle between magnetic moments of the ferromagnetic layers and of vanishing imaginary part of the mixing conductance.

Field of study: Physics
Placing Bounds on Extreme Temperature Response of Maize to Improve Crop Model Intercomparison

Plant water availability is a key factor that determines maize yield response to excess heat. Lack of available data has limited researchers' ability to estimate this relationship at regional and global scales. Using a new soil moisture data set developed by running a crop growth simulator over historical data we demonstrate how current estimates of maize yield sensitivity to high temperature are misleading. We develop an empirical model relating observed yields to climate variables and soil moisture in a high maize production region in the United States to develop bounds on yield sensitivity to high temperatures. For the portion of the region with a relatively long growing season, yield reduction per °C is 10% for high water availability and 32.5% for low water availability. Where the growing season is shorter, yield reduction per °C is 6% for high water availability and 27% for low water availability. These results indicate the importance of using both water availability and temperature to model crop yield response to explain future climate change on crop yields.

Field of study: Environmental science
Psychological Separation, Attachment Security, Vocational Self-Concept Crystallization, and Career Indecision: A Structural Equation Analysis

Structural equation modeling was used to test theoretically based models in which psychological separation and attachment security variables were related to career indecision and those relations were mediated through vocational self-concept crystallization. In contrast to previous studies, which have found either weak or no support for a relation between separation or attachment security variables and career indecision, results based on a sample of 350 college students indicated that some components of separation and attachment security did relate to career indecision in a theoretically supportable direction. Results also revealed that regardless of whether global or component career indecision measures were used, separation and attachment security effects on indecision were at least partially mediated through vocational self-concept crystallization. The strongest mediated relations were observed for the effects of attachment anxiety and maternal separation.

Field of study: Psychology
Adoption barriers of network layer protocols: The case of host identity protocol

With increasing societal dependence on the Internet and new application areas emerging, the need for securing communications and identifying communication partners is expected to increase. However, the original Internet architecture is lacking these functionalities, and most of the protocols proposed to fix these issues have not been widely deployed. Often one of the reasons for such failure is that protocol designers have insufficient understanding of the potential adopters' economic incentives so one may end up designing protocols based on false or inaccurate assumptions. In this paper, we analyze the Host Identity Protocol (HIP) from this viewpoint. Based on 19 expert interviews, we identify six main reasons why HIP has not been widely deployed yet. Most importantly, (1) the demand for the functionalities of HIP has been low. Where demand would have existed, substitute solutions have been favored because (2) they were earlier on the market, (3) they have relative advantage due to some design choices of HIP, (4) HIP lacks early adopter benefits necessitating costly coordination among multiple stakeholders in public deployment scenarios, and (5) people have misconceptions about the deployability of HIP. Additionally, (6) the research-mindedness of HIP developers has lead to strategic mistakes and non-optimal design choices from the perspective of deployment. We also suggest strategies that HIP developers could take to foster the adoption of HIP. Besides providing value to HIP developers, the results propose some new adoption barriers and deployment strategies that could be taken into account when designing new protocols. Finally, the article also provides a template that could be followed when studying the feasibility of other protocols.

Field of study: Computer science
STUDY ON PROBABILISTIC SHEAR STRENGTH MODEL FOR DEEP FLEXURAL MEMBER

Bayesian theory is widely used in various fields, for its advantages that not only the model information and data information, but also transcendental information is used adequately. A shear model for reinforced concrete deep flexural members based on influence parameters is developed by using Bayesian multivariate statistical theory and 271 test results collected. The model is simplified through a removal process of Bayesian parameters. The performance of the developed probabilistic model is confirmed by comparison with the shear strengths predicted by the shear models in codes of GB 50010-2010, ACI318-08, CSA and EC2. Good agreements between the shear strengths obtained by the simplified model is achieved, based on Bayesian and test results. And the results updating Bayesian dynamics are closer to the tests than the codes. The simplified model can be used in calculating shear strength for deep flexural members.

Field of study: Engineering
Polymorphisms of human cytomegalovirus UL148A, UL148B, UL148C, UL148D genes in clinical strains

To describe the features of HCMV UL148A, UL148B, UL148C and UL148D open reading frames (ORF) and the variable sites within the frames in clinical strains.  PCR was per- formed to amphfy these ORFs in 22 clinical strains. PCR amplification products were sequenced directly and ana- lyzed.  The nueleotide diversity of UL148A, UL148B, UL148C and UL148D ORFs in studied strains is 0.5% to 8.3%, 0.5% to4.6%, 0.5% to 3.0% and 0.6% to 8.5%, respectively; the amino acid diversity of their putative proteins is 1.3% to6.3%, 1.3% to 5.0%, 1.3% to 3.9% and 1.7% to8.1%, respective- ly, compared to the Merlin strain. The modification sites of UL148A, UL148B, UL148C and UL148D predicted proteins from strains in unpassaged urine samples were conserved, except for strain U96, compared with that of the Merlin strain. By phylogenetie and statistical analysis, the UL148A and UL148D sequences of clinical strains were classified into three groups.  Compared to the UL148A, UL148B and UL148D ORFs, the UL148C ORF was relatively conserved, as well as the amino acid sequence of the UL148C putative protein. Isolates that have been passaged several times in human embryonic lung fibroblasts showed some changes of modification sites, however. A discrete linkage was found between the groups of UL148A gene and those of UL148D gene.

Field of study: Biology
A Review on Digital Image Watermarking Techniques

Due to the rapid expansion in internet technology copyright protection and data authenticity are two major problems in handling digital multimedia. Watermarking is a very important field for copyrights of various electronic documents and media. A variety of techniques have been proposed for copyright protection of digital images which include spatial domain and transform domain watermarking. This paper aims to provide some basic concepts of digital image watermarking techniques and comparisons between them.

Field of study: Engineering
Two Important Points Worth Emphasized for Running Vocational Colleges Better

More attention has been paid to vocational colleges in the society, as soon as they come into being. How to adapt themselves to meeting the market? Or further development through surviving competition? It is one of the most important issues that all the vocational colleges have to face with. Key to run those kinds of schools better depend on enhancement of market-orientatad ideas, strengthening the doctrine "education means offering service". Some effective mechanism are supposed to be adopted, what is more, the modern conception of "Human-centred idea" in running schools needs to be embodied through vocational education practice.

Field of study: Education
A Systematic Review of Replicative Self-Determination Intervention Studies

Current federal legislation emphasizes the use of programs, interventions, strategies, and activities that have been demonstrated through research to be effective. One way to increase the quantity and quality of research that guides practice is to conduct replication research. The purpose of this study was to undertake a systematic review of the replication research focused on self-determination conducted between 2007 and 2017. Using methods used by Cook and colleagues, we identified 80 intervention studies on topics related to self-determination, of which 31 were coded as replications. Intervention study trends, rate of replication studies, percentage of agreements between findings of original and replication studies, amount of author overlap, and types of research designs used are reported along with recommendations for future research.

Field of study: Education
Plasma sheath transducer for axisymmetric re- entry vehicles

F aerodynamic stability, the center of gravity must be forward of the center of pressure Frequently, conical and other axisymmetric re-entry vehicles require highdensity ballast (e g , lead) located as far forward as possible to achieve stability Ballast preempts useful payload This note describes a transducer that serves two functions: it substitutes for ballast, and it provides useful information concerning the plasma sheath The transducer described herein is similar to one developed for measurement of electrical conductivityvelocity all in arc plasma jets and rocket exhausts l It is an extension of a transducer described by Shercliff and by Lehde and Lang 3 It consists of three circular coils with a common axis The two outer coils are driven at audio frequencies and are connected so that the magnetic fields are opposing Between the primary coils is a sensing coil The voltage that appears at the terminals of the sensing coil can be related to a U of the flowThe transducer will be located at the forward tip of the re-entry vehicle, if it is to serve as ballast In the stagnation region and just beyond the sonic line, the flow is changing rapidly The question is, how is the sensing coil voltage related to the flow properties? This note answers this question and briefly describes an experiment conducted in an arc plasmajet A re-entry vehicle with ablation cooling is considered The tip of the vehicle requires a thick layer of ablation material as shown in Fig 1 The coil arrangement is also shown in Fig 1 Calculations were made for the geometry illustrated The emf induced in the sensing coil is

Field of study: Physics
Compact and lightweight mid-infrared laser spectrometer for balloon-borne water vapor measurements in the UTLS

We describe the development, characterization, and first field deployments of a quantum cascade laser direct absorption spectrometer (QCLAS) for water vapor measurements in the upper troposphere and lower stratosphere (UTLS). The instrument is sufficiently small ( 30 × 23 × 11 cm3 ) and lightweight (3.9  kg ) to be carried by meteorological balloons and used for frequent soundings in the UTLS. The spectrometer is a fully independent system, operating autonomously for the duration of a balloon flight. To achieve the required robustness, while satisfying stringent mass limitations, the concepts for optics and electronics have been fundamentally reconsidered compared to laboratory-based spectrometers. A significant enhancement of the mechanical and optical stability is achieved by integrating a newly designed segmented circular multipass cell which allows for 6  m optical path length in a very compact fashion. The H2O volume mixing ratio is retrieved by calibration-free evaluation of the spectral data, i.e., only relying on SI-traceable measurements and absorption line parameters. The open-path design reduces the risk of contamination and allows for fast response and thus high vertical resolution. Laboratory-based characterization experiments show an agreement within 2 % of reference measurements and a precision of 0.1 % under conditions comparable to the UTLS. The instrument successfully performed two balloon-borne test flights up to 28  km altitude. In the troposphere, the retrieved spectroscopic data show an excellent agreement with the accompanying measurements by a frost point hygrometer (CFH). At higher altitude, the quality of the spectral data remained unchanged, but outgassed water vapor within the instrument enclosure was hindering an accurate measurement of the atmospheric water vapor. Despite this limitation, these test flights demonstrated the operation of a compact laser spectrometer in the UTLS aboard a low-volume meteorological balloon, opening the perspective for future highly resolved, accurate, and cost-efficient soundings.

Field of study: Environmental science
Influence of Interactive Videoconferencing on the Performance of Pharmacy Students and Instructors

The purpose of this study was to investigate the effects that IVC (interactive videoconferencing) have on pharmacy students’ academic, performance and pharmacy instructors’ teaching evaluations. All doctor of pharmacy students enrolled in the University of Georgia College of Pharmacy’s Pharmacotherapy II and Clinical Pharmacokinetics II courses in 1998 (n=61) were included in the study. Twenty-six of the students were at the College’s satellite campus at the Medical College of Georgia (MCG) and 35 of the students were at the main campus at the University of Georgia (UGA). Live lectures were provided to students at the instructor’s home site (either UGA or MCG) and telecast to students at the other site via IVC. Students were asked to evaluate each instructor in the courses by completing a 6-item teaching evaluation form. There were no differences in students’ performance based on whether they received their lecture live or by IVC, however, a difference was found in the teaching evaluation scores in approximately 27 percent (n=4) of the instructors based on whether students received their lectures live or via IVC (P<0.0014). Although, lectures by IVC do not adversely affect students’ academic performance, they may adversely affect instructors’ teaching performance as assessed by students.

Field of study: Education, Medicine
Inmigración y racismo: contribuciones a la historia de los extranjeros en México ed. by Pablo Yankelevich (review)

Coordinated by Pablo Yankelevich, this collection constitutes a significant step in the scholarship of immigrant communities in Mexico and Latin America. The volume presents a myriad of contributions with wide variations in focus, disciplinary field, and scope. The first two essays analyze immigration laws, institutional racism, eugenics and Pan-American ideologies in Latin America. David Scott-Fitzgerald and David CookMartin provide a detailed view of the legal context for the arrival of immigrant waves into the region, while Andrés Reggiani focuses on the ideological debates and policies shaping the intersections of eugenics, immigration, and population growth. Both essays contribute to the general understanding of immigration policies that implementing racial and ethnic hierarchies among European and non-European immigrants, as well as between Christians and non-Christians. By “choosing” to interpret policies to privilege one group above another, countries in the region ultimately shaped their immigration laws on universal principles, at the same time implementing their policies with selective enforcement according to racial hierarchies and ideals of the nation-state.

Field of study: History