nils-herrmann/clean_scirepeval huggingface dataset:
Screening, identification and production of polyhydroxyalkanoates (PHAs)by sucrose utilizing microbes isolated from soil environments

Polyhydroxyalkanoates (PHAs) and their derivatives are polyester and can be used as a substitute for synthesized plastic. Increasing the industrial interest of biopolymer of PHAs, sucrose utilizing microbes from soil collected from sugarcane plantation were screened for evaluation of their ability to accumulate PHAs. Among 72 isolates were picked and transferred to mineral salt medium (MSM) containing sucrose as a sole carbon source, 33 strains can be grown on sucrose agar medium and were further studied to observe PHAs accumulation in their cells using microscopic technique. The results revealed that 3 isolates had positive for PHAs producing strains. Only one strain presented a strong Sudan Black and Nile blue A staining and was identified by 16S rDNA nucleotide sequence homology. From its morphology and physical properties, the isolated strain showed closely related to Hydrogenophaga pseudoflava (99% identify). To consider PHAs production by the isolated strain, grown on media containing 20 gL -1 sucrose and 1 gL -1 ammonium sulphate at pH 7 under controlled temperature of 35°C. Maximum dry cell weight (DCW) and maximum PHAs production were obtained at 3.61 gL -1 and 2.41 gL -1 after 36 and 42 hours of batch fermentation. The sucrose uptake in culture medium measured by total organic carbon (TOC) analyzer was 14.73 g within 48 hours. The highest PHAs inclusions in microbial cell was 68.15 % (g PHAs/g DCW) giving maximum PHAs yield (YP/S) of 0.17 (g PHAs/g Sucrose) and a productivity of 0.057 g PHAsL -1 h -1 . The extracted PHAs were compared with the analytic PHAs and were confirmed to be PHAs by several standard techniques. This study highlights the potential of the bacterial diversity in the soil environment and this characteristic may be an exploitable application for the industrial production of PHAs.

Field of study: Biology, Engineering
Fitting heteroscedastic regression models

In heteroscedastic regression models assumptions about the error distribution determine the method of consistent estimation of parameters. For example, consider the case where the model specifies the regression and dispersion functions for the data but robustness is of concern and one wishes to use least absolute error regressions. Except in certain special circumstances, parameter estimates obtained in this way are inconsistent. In this article we expand the heteroscedastic model so that all of the common methods yield consistent estimates of the major model parameters. Asymptotic theory shows the extent to which standard results on the effect of estimating regression and dispersion parameters carry over into this setting. Careful attention is given to the question of when one can adapt for heteroscedasticity when estimating the regression parameters. We find that in many cases such adaption is not possible. This complicates inference about the regression parameters but does not lead to intracta...

Field of study: Mathematics
High thermoelectric performance of the distorted bismuth(110) layer.

The thermoelectric properties of the distorted bismuth(110) layer are investigated using first-principles calculations combined with the Boltzmann transport equation for both electrons and phonons. To accurately predict the electronic and transport properties, the quasiparticle corrections with the GW approximation of many-body effects have been explicitly included. It is found that a maximum ZT value of 6.4 can be achieved for n-type systems, which essentially stemmed from the weak scattering of electrons. Moreover, we demonstrate that the distorted Bi layer retains high ZT values in relatively broad regions of both temperature and carrier concentration. Our theoretical work emphasizes that the deformation potential constant characterizing the electron-phonon scattering strength is an important paradigm for searching high thermoelectric performance materials.

Field of study: Physics
Continued Use of Mobile Technology Mediated Services: A Value Perspective

This study incorporates insights from services marketing and information systems (IS) usage research, and proposes a service value perspective of continued use of Mobile Technology Mediated Services (MTMS). Our study illustrates that customers strongly recognize the value of MTMS in building utilitarian and hedonic benefits, which influences their intentions to continue using the service. Our study shows that, when assessing value of MTMS, customers are less concerned with effort-based cost for the service use. Instead, the effort-based cost is recognized as a negative predictor of utilitarian and hedonic benefits of MTMS usage. Accounting for the dual role of MTMS patrons as a service customer and a user of IT artifacts, our study contributes to IS theory by incorporating the value perspective into IS usage literature in the service context. The findings provide practical guidelines for MTMS managers to develop value-based strategies for business survival and marketing extension.

Field of study: Computer science
The Meinicke Klarungs Reaction: The Development of an Improved Test

1. By the introduction of certain radical modifications, an improved flocculation test, based on the Meinicke-Klarungs reaction, has been described.

2. Simplification of the serum-reacting, colloid-electrolytic system by reducing the number of elements operating, e.g., the elimination of free acids from the balsam of Tolu resulting in the abolition of the use of sodium carbonate, has made it possible to effect a better control of the factors on which depend sensitivity and specificity.

3. A method of standardizing the antigen has been formulated which is independent of the use of syphilitic and non-syphilitic sera.

4. A method of absorption of free acids from natural Tolu balsam by light magnesium carbonate has been described.

5. The recommended standard of purity of the solvents used in the preparation of the heart extract is regarded as essential in obtaining a uniform product.

Field of study: Medicine, Psychology
Dynamics of an electron beam with a virtual cathode in a vircator without a magnetic field and with drift space filled by neutral gas

The physical processes in a vircator without an external magnetic field and with a drift space filled by neutral gas are studied. Three typical dynamic regimes are found: (1) the suppression of virtual cathode oscillations, (2) pulse generation, in which the suppression and resumption of virtual cathode oscillations are observed, and (3) continuous virtual cathode generation. The frequency dynamics of the vircator’s output radiation is investigated for the last case, and it is shown that the generation frequency of the vircator can rise when the gas pressure exceeds a certain critical value.

Field of study: Physics
Colonial states as intelligence states: Security policing and the limits of colonial rule in france's muslim territories, 1920–40 1

At the heart of most colonial states lay a contradiction. On the one hand, colonial state institutions defined themselves in opposition to indigenous networks of power associated with the pre-colonial period, whether based on ethnicity, tribal kinship or religious affiliation. On the other hand, few colonial states had sufficient bureaucratic substance to operate separately of indigenous society. This paper suggests that a more catholic vision of the parameters and purpose of state intelligence gathering may aid our understanding of how colonial states endured. These intelligence activities were multifaceted. They were designed, on the one hand, to provide sufficient information about local social organization to enable government to function. On the other hand, intelligence gatherers were also intelligence disseminators. Those same agencies of the colonial state that amassed information about indigenous populations also sought to control the movement of knowledge within local society in order to mould popular opinion, or, at the very least, shape the views of influential elites. Only then could local authorities set about influencing these differing forums of opinion to European advantage. In this sense, the paper argues, colonial states were ‘intelligence states’.

Field of study: Sociology
Impairment of vagal function in reflux oesophagitis.

Autonomic nervous function in reflux oesophagitis was assessed by measuring the response of the lower oesophageal sphincter to abdominal compression, gastric secretory response to insulin-induced hypoglycaemia and pulse rate variability with respiration. Rise in intra-abdominal pressure normally causes an increase in lower oesophageal sphincter pressure through a vagally mediated mechanism. In 59 of 83 patients with reflux oesophagitis the sphincter response was subnormal, and this was commoner in older patients but was unrelated to the presence of a hiatal hernia. During oesophageal acid perfusion, the onset of pain, but not that of disordered motility, was delayed in those with an abnormal sphincter response suggesting impairment of afferent autonomic function. Efferent gastric vagal function, assessed by the gastric secretory response to insulin induced hypoglycaemia and expressed as a ratio of the maximal acid output after pentagastrin, was subnormal in 15 of 27 patients with reflux oesophagitis. Pulse rate variability with deep respiration, an indicator of one aspect of non-alimentary vagal function, was subnormal in 18 of 62 patients with reflux oesophagitis. There was no correlation between abnormalities in these three tests of vagal function or with the severity of oesophagitis. These findings suggest that vagal impairment is common in reflux oesophagitis. As impairment of vagal function is not confined to the alimentary system it is unlikely to be simply a consequence of reflux oesophagitis and may be important in the pathogenesis of gastro-oesophageal reflux.

Field of study: Medicine
Efficacy of interventions to reduce coercive treatment in mental health services: umbrella review of randomised evidence

Coercive treatment comprises a broad range of practices, ranging from implicit or explicit pressure to accept certain treatment to the use of forced practices such as involuntary admission, seclusion and restraint. Coercion is common in mental health services.  To evaluate the strength and credibility of evidence on the efficacy of interventions to reduce coercive treatment in mental health services.  Systematic literature searches were conducted in MEDLINE, Cochrane Central, PsycINFO, CINAHL, Campbell Collaboration, and Epistemonikos from January 2010 to January 2020 for meta-analyses of randomised studies. Summary effects were recalculated using a common metric and random-effects models. We assessed between-study heterogeneity, predictive intervals, publication bias, small-study effects and whether the results of the observed positive studies were more than expected by chance. On the basis of these calculations, strength of associations was classified using quantitative umbrella review criteria, and credibility of evidence was assessed using the GRADE approach.  A total of 23 primary studies (19 conducted in European countries and 4 in the USA) enrolling 8554 participants were included. The evidence on the efficacy of staff training to reduce use of restraint was supported by the most robust evidence (relative risk RR = 0.74, 95% CI 0.62–0.87; suggestive association, GRADE: moderate), followed by evidence on the efficacy of shared decision-making interventions to reduce involuntary admissions of adults with severe mental illness (RR = 0.75, 95% CI 0.60–0.92; weak association, GRADE: moderate) and by the evidence on integrated care interventions (RR = 0.66, 95% CI 0.46–0.95; weak association, GRADE: low). By contrast, community treatment orders and adherence therapy had no effect on involuntary admission rates.  Different levels of evidence indicate the benefit of staff training, shared decision-making interventions and integrated care interventions to reduce coercive treatment in mental health services. These different levels of evidence should be considered in the development of policy, clinical and implementation initiatives to reduce coercive practices in mental healthcare, and should lead to further studies in both high- and low-income countries to improve the strength and credibility of the evidence base.

Field of study: Medicine, Psychology
The Production and Acceleration of Metal Ions in the Harwell Variable Energy Cyclotron

The range of ions accelerated by the V.E.C. has recently been extended to metal ions. For example, a 5 to 10 ?A beam of 48 MeV 58Ni6+ is now available and has been used by a customer. This beam has become possible as a result of success in adapting the normal ion source for the production of metal ions. The problem was to add to the ion source a controlled source of metal vapour without increasing the size of the ion source or adding separate oven heaters and controls. This has been achieved by inserting a graphite liner into the existing ion source chimney, the metal being embedded in the liner and out of direct contact with the arc. Provided the arc power exceeds a few kilowatts, the metal becomes molten and the vapour diffuses through the graphite into the arc which then becomes self-sustaining. With nickel (the most widely tested so far), intensity at full radius of between 10 and 20 ?A of 6+ ions and 1?A of 8+ ions is readily obtained and source life averages about 4 hours. Other metals such as cobalt, iron, chromium and copper give similar results.

Field of study: Physics
Self-Disclosure among Police and College Students

The relationship between self-disclosure and Criminal Justice personnel was studied. The subjects were Criminal Justice, Arts and Science, and Business undergraduate students. All subjects were given Jourard's Self-disclosure Scale. Subjects were asked to indicate their disclosure to four target persons: mother, father, male friend, and female friend. When analyzed in three separate repeated measures of analyses of variance data suggested no significant differences between Criminal Justice majors and the other college groups on self-disclosure. However, Criminal Justice majors with no police experience or little police experience disclosed more than Criminal Justice majors with extensive police experience. Older respondents disclose significantly less than do younger respondents.

Field of study: Psychology
The search for genes contributing to the low level of response to alcohol: patterns of findings across studies.

Alcoholism is a complex genetically influenced disorder in which multiple phenotypes [e.g., disinhibition, alcohol-metabolizing patterns, and the low level of response (LR) to alcohol] contribute to the risk. A low LR to alcohol is one of the more thoroughly studied risk phenotypes; data indicate that LR relates to the risk status, predicts future alcoholism, and has a heritability as high as 60%. This article reviews data from animal and human studies regarding the LR to alcohol, searching for a convergence of results that might lead to the identification of relevant genes.



A literature search was performed regarding animal and human genetic studies focusing on genes that might affect the LR to alcohol as a risk factor for alcoholism. The goal was to synthesize these results and highlight potential patterns.



Focusing on both genetic linkage and association studies, a number of chromosomal regions and genes potentially relevant to findings across two or more sources were identified. The genes of potential interest fell into several categories, including second-messenger systems (e.g., G proteins, adenylyl cyclase, and protein kinases); neurotransmitters or drug-related receptors (e.g., gamma-aminobutyric acid-A, glutamate, serotonin, and cannabinoid and opioid receptors); genes that affect alcohol metabolism; and genes that might relate to an overlap in the risk for alcoholism and some psychiatric conditions (e.g., catechol-O-methyltransferase regarding schizophrenia and bipolar disorder).



The review identifies several genes that may contribute to a low LR to alcohol and, thus, to an increased risk for alcohol use disorders. The chromosomal regions and genes highlighted here may form the basis for more focused genetic studies of alcohol use disorders, with the goals of developing more specific and effective prevention and treatment approaches.

Field of study: Medicine
Temporary Pipeline System Arrangement and Process Control for 600MW Transformation Unit Steam Blowing

According to the regulation of "Coal energy saving and emission reduction upgrade, transformation plan action (2014-2020)" in China, aiming at the severe situation of the national energy conservation and emission reduction. We did a unit steam blowing for a power plant which has did a high efficient subcritical parameter rehabilitation. We did a detailed program for the unit steam blowing, overcome the small space for the temporary system pipe. With the strict control of the boiler operating parameters, we successfully complete the unit steam blowing work and fully guarantee the quality.

Field of study: Engineering
Contrasting tectonothermal domains and faulting in the Potomac terrane, Virginia–Maryland—discrimination by 40Ar/39Ar and fission-track thermochronology

New 4 0 Ar/ 3 9 Ar data reveal ages and thermal discontinuities that identify mapped and unmapped fault boundaries in the Potomac terrane in northern Virginia, thus confirming previous interpretations that it is a composite terrane. The rocks of the Potomac terrane were examined along the Potomac River, where it has been previously subdivided into three units: the Mather Gorge, Sykesville, and Laurel Formations. In the Mather Gorge Formation, at least two metamorphic thermal domains were identified, the Blockhouse Point and Bear Island domains, separated by a fault active in the late Devonian. Early Ordovician (ca. 475 Ma) cooling ages of amphibole in the Bear Island domain reflect cooling from Taconic metamorphism, whereas the Blockhouse Point domain was first metamorphosed in the Devonian. The 4 0 Ar/ 3 9 Ar data from muscovites in a third (eastern) domain within the Mather Gorge Formation, the Stubblefield Falls domain, record thrusting of the Sykesville Formation over the Mather Gorge Formation on the Plummers Island fault in the Devonian. The existence of two distinctly different thermal domains separated by a tectonic boundary within the Mather Gorge argues against its status as a formation. Hornblende cooling ages in the Sykesville Formation are Early Devonian (ca. 400 Ma), reflecting cooling from Taconic and Acadian metamorphism. The ages of retrograde and overprinting muscovite in phyllonites from domain-bounding faults are late Devonian (Acadian) and late Pennsylvanian (Alleghanian), marking the time of assembly of these domains and subsequent movement on the Plummers Island fault. Our data indicate that net vertical motion between the Bear Island domain of the Mather Gorge complex and the Sykesville Formation across the Plummers Island fault is east-side-up. Zircon fission-track cooling ages demonstrate thermal equilibrium across the Potomac terrane in the early Permian, and apatite fission-track cooling ages record tilting of the Potomac terrane in the Cretaceous or later with the west side up at least 1 km.

Field of study: Geology
Using Self-Organizing Maps to Explore Patterns in Species Richness and Protection

The combination of species distributions with abiotic and landscape variables using Geographic Information Systems can prioritize areas for biodiversity protection by identifying areas of high richness, although the number of variables and complexity of the relationships between them can prove difficult for traditional statistical methods. The use of these methods, which commonly assume linearity and low correlation between independent variables, can obscure even strong relationships and patterns. Self-Organizing Maps (SOM) is a heuristic statistical tool based on machine learning methods that can be used to explore patterns in large, complex datasets for linear and nonlinear patterns. Here we use SOM to visualize broad patterns in species richness by taxonomic group (birds, mammals, reptiles, and amphibians) and 78 habitat, landscape and environmental variables using data from the Gap analysis project for West Virginia, USA. Soil and habitat variables demonstrated clear relationships with species richness; areas with high species richness occurred in areas with high soil richness. Landscape metrics were less important, although habitat diversity and evenness indices were positively related to species richness in some taxonomic groups. Current coverage of protected areas (e.g., National Forests and state parks) appeared to be insufficient to cover most of the areas of high species richness, especially for reptiles; many of the polygons with the highest richness were not covered by these areas. The identification of polygons with high richness and low protection can be used to focus conservation efforts in those areas.

Field of study: Environmental science
Effects of lactoferrin and lactoferricin on lymphocyte proliferation

Lactoferrin and its peptide were reported have many biological activities. Lactoferrin and its peptide from different sources showed great differences in many activities. The purpose of this study was to examine and compare the effects of four kinds of lactoferrin(native human, camel, bovine and sheep) and pepsin hydrolysates on the proliferation of mouse spleen lymphocytes, and provide scientific basis for the development and application of lactoferrin and its peptide. The experimental results showed that four kinds of lactoferrin all had inhibition effect of proliferation of spleen lymphocyte induced by Con A. The inhibitory effect of camel lactoferrin was strongest. While four lactoferrin polypeptides played a promoting role in certain concentration range on spleen lymphocyte proliferation induced by Con A, otherwise the opposite. The effect of four lactoferrin polypeptides on spleen lymphocyte proliferation induced by Con A had no significant difference between group comparison.

Field of study: Agricultural and Food sciences