nils-herrmann/clean_scirepeval huggingface dataset:
‘Stressing the probable, postponing the improbable’: Hizballah in the shadow of the al‐Aqsa Intifada

Early June 2000, the outskirts of the village of Ghajar in the eastern area of South Lebanon: a squad of Hizballah guerrillas was sitting in the shadow of a tree, sheltering from the harsh glare of the sun. Barely 100 meters away, behind a fence and a few sandbags, Israeli soldiers were manning a light machine gun, vigilantly observing the scene. The two archenemies of the Middle East: so close, the situation so volatile, yet so calm. Nothing happened. The notorious Hizballah guerrillas were chatting peacefully, sitting in a ring, like a soccer team taking a break. At that moment, observing the serenity and the fixed positions of the antagonists, one could assume this to be the final triumph for Hizballah. Two weeks earlier, the Israeli army had unilaterally withdrawn its forces from South Lebanon. All along the border zone, Hizballah personnel were overlooking Israeli settlements without taking hostile action. In the aftermath of the withdrawal, no atrocities were committed by Islamist guerrillas against those in South Lebanon suspected of aiding and abetting Israel and the South Lebanese Army. For years the Israeli political and military establishment had justified the necessity of maintaining its presence in Lebanon, in spite of the mounting material and human costs, by arguing that the occupation of a 'security zone' was necessary to prevent Hizballah from harassing Israeli civilians of the north. Now this argument was being put to the test and Hizballah was confounding the skeptics. Yet observers remained puzzled. What was Hizballah up to? Were the guerrillas just biding their time before continuing their jihad in order to 'liberate Jerusalem' from its Israeli occupiers, or would Hizballah, as a domestic political movement, concern itself primarily with Lebanese politics, hoping to reap the popular dividends of its triumph in national elections? For the skeptics, Hizballah's belligerent stance and persisting guerrilla campaign on the slopes of the Shebaa farms, in addition to the abduction of Israeli soldiers in the same vicinity soon after the withdrawal followed by allegations of involvement in cross-border operations, confirmed a perception of a movement unyielding in its quest to bring about the destruction of the Jewish state.

Field of study: History, Sociology
Influence of quadrupolar deformability on phonon dispersion in silver and copper halides

The quadrupolar deformability (QD) shell model is extended to calculate the phonon dispersion relation of silver and copper halides (AgCl, AgBr, AgI, CuCl, and CuBr). The QD is derived explicitly from the virtual d–s excitation of Ag and Cu ions induced by the crystal-field change of neighboring anions. The eight parameters (four short-range force constants, four shell parameters) are so economically determined that the QD shell model well reproduces the experimental phonon dispersion relations of these compounds. The QD shell model leads to the remarkable deviation from the Cauchy relation for elastic constants. We found that this QD effect is stronger in AgCl and AgBr than in AgI, CuCl and CuBr.

Field of study: Materials science
Frequency estimation performance of several weighted Burg algorithms

The frequency estimation performance of a set of weighted Burg algorithms is investigated for single complex and real sinusoids in noise. It is demonstrated that in the complex case, an extension of Ibrahim's (1987, 1989) modification of Kaveh and Lipert's (1983) optimum tapered Burg algorithm meets the Cramer-Rao lower bound for a sufficiently high signal-to-noise ratio and a sufficiently large model order. This is in contrast with the original Burg method. In the case of a real sinusoid, the same algorithm most closely approaches this bound, making it the technique of choice for both applications. Spectral resolution is addressed briefly.

Field of study: Engineering
Multi-domain authentication for IMS services

This article proposes a novel unified IP Multimedia Subsystem (IMS) authentication architecture that extends the scope of IMS by allowing it to offer users different IMS-based services even beyond their own domain. The architecture reduces the burden of both end users and service providers by a Single Sign-On (SSO) feature. We describe how we have implemented our proposed authentication architecture for a tentative IMS service, Movie-on-Demand (MoD), by creating SIP proxies with additional SAML and HTTP message-handling intelligence and integrating them with an open-source implementation of a full IMS environment, from client to Application Server (AS). The relation between call setup time and network latency has been mathematically modelled. The developed mathematical model is validated by deploying a simplified implementation in the public Internet and observing call setup time and delay. The proposed architecture is further extended for a generalized scenario where the identity provider (IdP) could be managed by a third-party other than the IMS core operator. The authentication architecture proposed in this paper creates opportunities for operators to build partnerships with the service providers, and thus supports the emergence of new business models.

Field of study: Computer science
Numerical simulation of steady supersonic flow over spinning bodies of revolution

A recently reported parabolized Navier-Stokes code has been employed to compute the supersonic flowfield about a spinning cone and spinning and nonspinning ogive cylinder and boattailed bodies of revolution at moderate incidence. The computations were performed for flow conditions where extensive measurements for wall pressure, boundary-layer velocity profiles, and Magnus force had been obtained. Comparisons between the computational results and experiment indicate excellent agreement for angles of attack up to 6 deg. At angles greater than 6 deg discrepancies are noted which are tentatively attributed to turbulence modeling errors. The comparisons for Magnus effects show that the code accurately predicts the effects of body shape for the selected models.

Field of study: Physics
Remifentanil mimics cardioprotective effect of ischemic preconditioning via protein kinase C activation in open chest of rats

To examine whether the protective effect of remifentanil preconditioning (RPC) on postischemic hearts is mediated by protein kinase (PKC) activation in comparison with ischemic preconditioning (Male Sprague-Dawley rats were anesthetized and their chests were opened. The experiment was performed with chelerythrine (CHE, 2 mg/kg), GF109203X (0.05 mg/kg) protein kinase C (PKC) inhibitors administered before RPC (remifentanil 6 μg.kg-1·min−1× 3 cycle) or IPC, respectively. Infarct size (IS), as a percentage of the area at risk (AAR), was determined by triphenyltetrazolium staining.In groups subjected to IPC and RPC the IS/AAR were significantly reduced (IS/AAR from 52.7%± 5.5% to 12.9%± 3.4%, P<0.01 vs CON and 16.2%± 6.4%, P>0.01 vs CON), respectively. CHE and GF, both PKC inhibitors, administered 5 min before RPC or IPC completely abolished the cardioprotective effect of RPC (IS/AAR: CHE+RPC 51.2%± 5.0%, GF+RPC 53.6%± 6.1%, P>0.05 vs CON) or IPC (CHE+IPC 53.7%± 4.3%, GF+IPC 54.1%± 6.2%, P>0.05 vs CON). The difference was not significant in any of the hemodynamic parameters between control and treatment groups during ischemia and reperfusion.Remifentanil confers myocardial protection against ischemic injury through a mechanism that is similar to IPC and involves PKC activation.

Field of study: Biology, Chemistry, Medicine
Mercury levels in eggs, tissues, and feathers of herring gulls Larus argentatus from the German Wadden Sea Coast.

The relationships between mercury levels in eggs, tissues, and feathers of male and female herring gulls caught at their nests at a colony on the German Wadden Sea Coast were investigated, and an assessment of mercury intake and excretion of these birds was made. Samples of the liver, ovary, pectoral muscle, and body feathers, as well as the primary feather (in some cases), and eggs were taken from 37 adult herring gulls. Analysis of total mercury in all samples showed that body-feather and tissue levels were independent of sex. There was, however, a significant difference between levels of mercury in the primary feathers of male and female birds. Egg levels were not correlated to pectoral muscle, ovary, or feather levels although they were positively correlated with mercury levels in the liver. Liver levels were in turn correlated with mercury levels in the ovary. The ratio of mean feather to mean egg concentration ranged from 3.7 to 5.5 according to which feather was used. It was estimated that herring gulls from the Wadden coast ingested between 825 and 1337 microg of mercury in the year prior to analysis. It was also estimated that female birds may excrete over 20% more mercury via their eggs than could be excreted by male birds.

Field of study: Environmental science
Two-dimensional model for OBIC studies on misfit dislocations in GaAs−(In,Ga)As heterostructures

Misfit dislocations in strained GaAs/(In,Ga)As heterostructures have been studied by high-resolution optical beam induced current (OBIC) imaging. A decrease of the OBIC signal is observed when the focused laser beam crosses a dislocation line. The OBIC contrast is calculated by solving the diffusion equation in a two-dimensional system perpendicular to the misfit dislocation lines. It is shown that the calculated OBIC contrast is in qualitative agreement with the experimental signal when it is assumed that a local increase of recombination rate is present around the dislocation lines.

Field of study: Materials science
A New Threshold Function De-Noising Method Based on Wavelet Transform

Based on the wavelet threshold denoising method which is proposed by D.L.Dohono and I. M.Johnstone, puts forward a new threshold function. The new threshold function has many advantages over the classical soft or hard threshold function. It is clear in physics meaning and simple in expression. The results show that this improved method is effective in remov-ing white noise,gives better RMSE performance and SNR gains than the soft or hard thresholdmethods,makes it possible to embody the advantages of thewavelet threshold de-noising method more fully.

Field of study: Computer science
Evaluation and Society

Evaluation research requires a different paradigm than classical experimental research. It requires a paradigm in which it is possible to use the multiple objectives of different groups as the framework within which decisions about data gathering are made. It requires decision-oriented rather than conclusion-oriented research, although experiments and other forms of data generation can be used. This article discusses the unique characteristics of evaluation research and the decision theoretic (Maut-Bayesian) paradigm which fulfills these special requirements.

Field of study: Psychology
Regulation of the cyclooxygenase-2 system by interleukin-1beta through mitogen-activated protein kinase signaling pathways: a comparative study of human neuroglioma and neuroblastoma cells.

Glial activation and inflammation following brain injury may initiate and maintain the process of neurodegeneration. Both glia and neurons synthesize proinflammatory mediators such as interleukin 1 beta (IL-1beta), cytosolic phospholipase A2 (cPLA2), cyclooxygenase-2 (COX-2), and prostaglandins. The molecular mechanisms by which IL-1beta regulates inflammatory genes such as cPLA2 and COX-2 in glial and neuronal cells are poorly understood. We have studied IL-1beta-mediated gene regulation in an established glial and neuronal human cell lines. We report that IL-1beta induced cPLA2 and COX-2 mRNA and protein expression and subsequent prostaglandin E2 (PGE2) release in a time-dependent manner in H4 neuroglioma cells. Both SB203580 and PD98059 [p38 and p42/44 mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPKs) inhibitors, respectively] reduced IL-1beta-induced PGE2 production, while only SB203580 reduced both cPLA2 and COX-2 expression. Similarly, in SKNSH neuroblastoma cells, both SB203580 and PD98059 reduced IL-1beta-induced PGE2 release, with no detectable COX-2 and cPLA2 protein expression in these cells. Our results indicate that the signaling mechanisms of p38 and p42/44 MAPKs play a role in IL-1beta-mediated PGE2 release in both of these cell lines, with differences upstream at the level of cPLA(2)/COX-2 expression. IL-1beta-induced cPLA2 and COX-2 gene expression is modulated through the p38 MAPK pathway in both neuroglioma and neuroblastoma cells. Understanding the signaling mechanisms involved in IL-1beta-mediated inflammatory processes in both glia and neuronal cells may provide potential targets for therapeutic intervention for neurological disorders.

Field of study: Biology
Interaction of Neferine with Bovine Serum Albumin

The interaction between neferine(NF)and bovine serum albumin(BSA)was studied under a pH 7.40 Tris-HCl buffer system by multiple spectroscopic techniques.It is shown that NF has a powerful ability to quench the albumin's fluorescence in a static mode.The fluorescence quenching data were analyzed according to Stern-Volmer equation and Line weaver-Burk equation.The binding constant obtained was 1.70×104 L/mol at 293 K and ΔH°=-20.2 kJ/mol,ΔS°=12.0 J/(K·mol).The main sorts of binding force of NF-BSA were hydrophobic interaction and electrostatic action.The distance between donor and acceptor in BSA-NF was 2.59 nm based on the Frster energy transfer theory.Results of technique of circular dichroism etc show the binding can cause conformation change of BSA.In the mean time,effects of bioactive components from traditional Chinese medicine(glycyrrhetinic acid)and fatty acids on the binding were evaluated.

Field of study: Chemistry
The different elements of the Urinary Tract Dilation (UTD) Classification System and their capacity to predict findings on mercaptoacetyltriglycine (MAG3) diuretic renography.

The UTD Classification System risk stratifies postnatal UTD into three groups: low risk (UTD P1), intermediate risk (UTD P2), and high risk (UTD P3). In the original consensus document, a functional scan is not recommended for UTD P1 and is left to the discretion of the clinician for UTD P2 and P3.



This study aims to understand which patients with postnatal urinary tract dilation would benefit from a functional study. We investigated how different elements of the UTD classification system predict differential renal function (DRF) and diuretic half-life (T½) on MAG3 scan in infants undergoing evaluation for prenatally detected UTD.



This is a multicenter retrospective chart review of infants 6 months of age or younger evaluated for prenatal UTD, correlating their first MAG3 scan and first postnatal renal ultrasound (RUS). Multivariable logistic regression was used to find UTD elements predictive of DRF < 40% and/or T½ > 20 min.



A total of 517 patients met study criteria. Median age at time of RUS and MAG3 renal scan was 48 days (IGR 31-81) and 63 days (IQR 45-98), respectively. DRF < 40% was found in 6% of kidneys with UTD P2 and 35% of kidneys with UTD P3. T½ > 20 min was found in 31% of kidneys with UTD P2 and 79% of kidneys with UTD P3. An abnormal ureter (OR 2.7, 95% CI 1.2-6.0) and parenchymal thinning (OR 16, 95% CI 5.8-41.4) were significant at predicting DRF < 40%. Parenchymal thinning (OR 3.0, 95% CI 1.5-6.1) also predicted T½ > 20 min, as did each cm increase in the anterior-posterior renal pelvic diameter (APRPD) (OR 4.8, 95% CI 3.0-7.7).



The UTD system discriminates well and correlates with the likelihood of finding adverse features on diuretic renography. Patients in the UTD P3 high-risk category had a significantly higher incidence of decreased differential renal function and delayed drainage than those in UTD P1 and P2. Of the individual components of the UTD Classification system, the presence of parenchymal thinning was the most important factor in predicting both decreased differential renal function and delayed drainage.



Given the high incidence of poor function and delayed drainage seen in the UTD P3 group, we believe a functional study should be recommended in the evaluation of these patients. Our findings support leaving the performance of a functional study at the discretion of the physician for UTD P2.

Field of study: Medicine
Sensitivity analysis for a system of parametric general quasi-variational-like inequality problems in uniformly smooth Banach spaces

In this paper, using the concept of P-@h-proximal-point mapping introduced by Kazmi and Bhat [11], we study the existence and sensitivity analysis of the solution set of a system of parametric general quasi-variational-like inequality problems in uniformly smooth Banach spaces. Further under suitable conditions, we discuss the Lipschitz continuity of the solution set with respect to the parameters. The approach used in this paper may be treated as an extension and unification of approaches for studying sensitivity analysis for various important classes of variational inequalities given in [1,2,4,12,14-16,21-24].

Field of study: Mathematics
Age and depositional environment of the Xiaheyan insect fauna, embedded in marine black shales (Early Pennsylvanian, China)

The Early Pennsylvanian Xiaheyan entomofauna (Ningxia, China) is among the earliest assemblages of winged insects known so far, and therefore provides an essential input on deciphering the early diversification of this group. Despite its evolutionary significance, both the age and depositional environment remained poorly constrained. Here, we present high-resolution documentation of litho- and biofacies, biostratigraphy and geochronology of the up to 100 m thick type section. Accordingly, the insect-bearing strata are of latest Bashkirian (latest Duckmantian) to middle Moscovian (Bolsovian) age. The sediments, lithostratigraphically assigned to the Yanghugou Fm., represent a regressional marine sequence formed at the southern margin of the Qilian Inland Sea. Intercalations of crevasse channels and splays that laterally interlock with marine black shales and bioclastic limestones point to deposition in an interdelta bay. Ground-touching waves provoked the erosion of muds at shallow depths leading to mass mortalities among mollusc communities due to rising anoxia, turbidity and water turbulence. In addition, bottom currents transported mud intraclasts towards the basin, where sinking insects that reached the bay via winds and surface currents were buried sub-contemporaneously with bivalves below the storm wave base. Observed differences in insect preservation and assemblage composition across the sequence are found to correlate with lithology and are best explained by distance from land, and the action of events inducing insect carcasses to sink, such as storms. The proposed taphonomic model represents a new fossilization pathway from land to sea and provides new directions for prospecting Paleozoic deposits in the search for insects.

Field of study: Environmental science, Geography
Physico-chemical properties and stability of pigment from purple sweet potato

The solubility in different solvents and the absorbance spectrum of purple sweet potato pigment(PSPP) from Ipomoea batatas Lam were observed,and the effects of pH value,temperature,lighting,H2O2,Vc and Fe3+,Al3+,Zn2+,Cu2+ on PSPP stability were investigated.The result showed that PSPP is water soluble pigment.At the range of pH value from 1.0 to 3.0,PSPP water solution has a bright color and PSPP keeps sta-ble very well.With the increase of pH value,its degradation index increases.When temperature is over 60℃,the stability of PSPP decreases quickly.After accepting 8 day's successive lighting,the retention rate of PSPP was 87%.The pigment has a low stability to H2O2 and Vc.And the A13+,Zn2+ could improve the stability of PSPP,but Fe3+ could damage it.

Field of study: Agricultural and Food sciences
A performance assessment of an office space with displacement, personal, and natural ventilation systems

This paper presents the results of a field study concerning indoor conditions in an office space in Grieskirchen, Upper Austria. The office is equipped with a displacement ventilation (DV) as well as personal ventilation (PV) systems. The space can also be naturally ventilated through the manual operation of windows (NV). The main objective of the study was to assess the functionality of the mentioned ventilation systems with regard to indoor air quality and thermal comfort. The configuration of the indoor climate control system in this office allows for the performance evaluation of the ventilation systems through different methods. In fact, the monitored data and short-term user surveys provide a basis to document the indoor conditions and their implications for the occupants. Our study also illustrated the utility of calibrated CFD models toward a better understanding of the airflow phenomena and estimation of the airflow velocity as an input data for calculation of predicted mean vote (PMV) values. The results suggest that the combined operation of the above mentioned systems provides in general acceptable indoor environmental conditions. However, optimal operation of the systems installed requires the continuous and comprehensive monitoring of indoor conditions, systems states, and occupants’ feed-back.

Field of study: Engineering
Inflow-outflow boundary conditions for two-dimensional acoustic waves in channels with flow

An analysis of the number and form of the required inflow-outflow boundary conditions for the full two-dimensional time-dependent nonlinear acoustic system in subsonic mean flow is performed. The analysis is performed in a rectangular channel with rigid walls and is extendable to more complicated geometries and wall conditions. The explicit predictor-corrector method of MacCormack is used to integrate the acoustic system coupled with the derived boundary conditions. The methodology is tested on both uniform and sheared mean flows with plane and nonplanar sources

Field of study: Physics
A three‐dimensional model of CO2 transport in airspaces and mesophyll cells of a silver birch leaf

A realistic numerical three-dimensional (3D) model was constructed to study CO2 transport inside a birch leaf. The model included chloroplasts, palisade and spongy mesophyll cells, airspaces, stomatal opening and the leaf boundary layer. Diffusion equations for CO2 were solved for liquid(mesophyll) and gaseous(air) phases. Simulations were made in typical ambient field conditions varying stomatal opening, photosynthetic capacity and temperature. Doubled ambient CO2 concentration was also considered. Changes in variables caused non-linear effects in the total flux, especially when compared with the results of double CO2 concentration. The reduction in stomatal opening size had a smaller effect on the total flux in doubled concentrations than ambient CO2. The reduced photosynthetic capacity had a similar effect on the flux in both cases. The palisade and spongy mesophyll cells had unequal roles mainly due to the light absorption profile. Results from the 3D simulation were also compared to the classical one-dimensional resistance approach. Liquid and gas phase resistances were estimated and found strongly variable according to changes in temperature and degree of stomatal opening. For the birch leaves modelled, intercellular airspace resistance was small (2% of the total resistance in saturating irradiance conditions at 25 °C at stomatal opening diameter of 4 µm) whereas the liquid phase resistance was significant (23% for mesophyll and chloroplasts in the same ‘base case’). The absorption of CO2 into water at cell surfaces caused additional (strongly temperature dependent) resistance which accounted for 36% of the total resistance in the base case.

Field of study: Environmental science