nils-herrmann/clean_scirepeval huggingface dataset:
Structure and kinematics of a major tectonic contact, Michipicoten greenstone belt, Ontario

The Michipicoten greenstone belt, Ontario, experienced a complex history of folding, faulting, and fabric development. Near Wawa, a major east-west contact, here named the Steep Hill Falls (SHF) contact, extends entirely across the belt. The SHF contact is both an angular unconformity and a fault and is interpreted to be a regionally significant tectonic contact separating distinct northern and southern terranes, both of which include volcanic rocks of probable island-arc origin. The amount of horizontal transport involved in bringing the two terranes together along the SHF contact is not known. Mapping and structural analysis suggest that regionally significant horizontal displacements took place, with movement vectors that changed with time. Early faults, folds, and fabrics imply north-south to northeast-southwest (with respect to present directions) convergence, with a vergence reversal occurring during this complex event. The most likely models infer early south vergence and later north vergence. Transecting the earliest structures are younger (but still Archean) northeast-striking steep cleavages with associated upright folds that may relate to northwest-southeast assembly of the Superior Province craton. The craton assembly event thus involved a transport direction at a high angle to that inferred for the earlier assembly of the Michipicoten greenstone belt.

Field of study: Environmental science
Competition for shrinking window of low salinity groundwater

Groundwater resources are being stressed from the top down and bottom up. Declining water tables and near-surface contamination are driving groundwater users to construct deeper wells in many US aquifer systems. This has been a successful short-term mitigation measure where deep groundwater is fresh and free of contaminants. Nevertheless, vertical salinity profiles are not well-constrained at continental-scales. In many regions, oil and gas activities use pore spaces for energy production and waste disposal. Here we quantify depths that aquifer systems transition from fresh-to-brackish and where oil and gas activities are widespread in sedimentary basins across the United States. Fresh-brackish transitions occur at relatively shallow depths of just a few hundred meters, particularly in eastern US basins. We conclude that fresh groundwater is less abundant in several key US basins than previously thought; therefore drilling deeper wells to access fresh groundwater resources is not feasible extensively across the continent. Our findings illustrate that groundwater stores are being depleted not only by excessive withdrawals, but due to injection, and potentially contamination, from the oil and gas industry in areas of deep fresh and brackish groundwater.

Field of study: Environmental science
The formation of 2-hydroxypropylmercapturic acid from 1-halogenopropanes in the rat.

1. 2-Hydroxypropylmercapturic acid, i.e. N-acetyl-S-(2-hydroxypropyl)-l-cysteine, has been isolated, as the dicyclohexylammonium salt, from the urine of rats dosed with 1-bromopropane. 2. The formation of the same metabolite from 1-chloropropane, 1-iodopropane, 1,2-epoxypropane and 1-chloropropan-2-ol has been demonstrated by chromatographic examination of the urine excreted by rats after they had been dosed with these compounds. 3. (+)- and (-)-Dicyclohexylammonium 2-hydroxypropylmercapturate have been prepared by fractional crystallization of the mixture of isomers obtained by two methods: the reaction of 1,2-epoxypropane with l-cysteine followed by acetylation, and the reduction of 2-oxopropylmercapturic acid. 4. The following compounds have also been prepared: S-(3-hydroxypropyl)-l-cysteine, (+)- and (-)-S-(2-hydroxypropyl)-l-cysteine, dicyclohexylammonium 3-hydroxypropylmercapturate, (+)- and (-)-dicyclohexylammonium 2-hydroxy-1-methylethylmercapturate, and (+)- and (-)-dicyclohexylammonium 1-(ethoxycarbonyl)ethylmercapturate.

Field of study: Biology, Computer science
Evaluation of dose prediction errors and optimization convergence errors of deliverable-based head-and-neck IMRT plans computed with a superposition/convolution dose algorithm.

The purpose of this study is to evaluate dose prediction errors (DPEs) and optimization convergence errors (OCEs) resulting from use of a superposition/convolution dose calculation algorithm in deliverable intensity-modulated radiation therapy (IMRT) optimization for head-and-neck (HN) patients. Thirteen HN IMRT patient plans were retrospectively reoptimized. The IMRT optimization was performed in three sequential steps: (1) fast optimization in which an initial nondeliverable IMRT solution was achieved and then converted to multileaf collimator (MLC) leaf sequences; (2) mixed deliverable optimization that used a Monte Carlo (MC) algorithm to account for the incident photon fluence modulation by the MLC, whereas a superposition/convolution (SC) dose calculation algorithm was utilized for the patient dose calculations; and (3) MC deliverable-based optimization in which both fluence and patient dose calculations were performed with a MC algorithm. DPEs of the mixed method were quantified by evaluating the differences between the mixed optimization SC dose result and a MC dose recalculation of the mixed optimization solution. OCEs of the mixed method were quantified by evaluating the differences between the MC recalculation of the mixed optimization solution and the final MC optimization solution. The results were analyzed through dose volume indices derived from the cumulative dose-volume histograms for selected anatomic structures. Statistical equivalence tests were used to determine the significance of the DPEs and the OCEs. Furthermore, a correlation analysis between DPEs and OCEs was performed. The evaluated DPEs were within +/- 2.8% while the OCEs were within 5.5%, indicating that OCEs can be clinically significant even when DPEs are clinically insignificant. The full MC-dose-based optimization reduced normal tissue dose by as much as 8.5% compared with the mixed-method optimization results. The DPEs and the OCEs in the targets had correlation coefficients greater than 0.71, and there was no correlation for the organs at risk. Because full MC-based optimization results in lower normal tissue doses, this method proves advantageous for HN IMRT optimization.

Field of study: Medicine, Physics
Advancing the Physics of Cosmic Distances: Conference Summary

Knowing the distance of an astrophysical object is key to understanding it. However, at present, comparisons of theory and observations are hampered by precision (or lack thereof) in distance measurements or estimates. Putting the many recent results and new developments into the broader context of the physics driving cosmic distance determination is the next logical step, which will benefit from the combined efforts of theorists, observers and modellers working on a large variety of spatial scales, and spanning a wide range of expertise. IAU Symposium 289 addressed the physics underlying methods of distance determination across the Universe, exploring the various approaches employed to define the milestones along the road. The meeting provided an exciting snapshot of the field of distance measurement, offering not only up-to-date results and a cutting-edge account of recent progress, but also full discussion of the pitfalls encountered and the uncertainties that remain. One of the meeting's main aims was to provide a roadmap for future efforts in this field, both theoretically and observationally.

Field of study: Physics
Approach to 3D face reconstruction through local deep feature alignment

Here, the authors propose an end-to-end method based on deep learning to reconstruct three-dimensional (3D) face models from given face images. In the training stage, the authors propose to extract the feature representations from the 3D sample faces and corresponding 2D sample images through the proposed local deep feature alignment (LDFA) algorithm, and estimate an explicit mapping from the 2D features to their 3D counterparts for each local neighbourhood, then the authors learn a feed-forward deep neural network for each neighbourhood whose parameters are initialised with the parameters obtained in the locality-aware learning process and the explicit mapping. In the testing stage, the authors only need to feed a given face image to the deep neural network corresponding to the nearest sample image and receive the outputted 3D face model. Extensive experiments have been conducted on both non-face and face data sets. The authors find that the LDFA algorithm performs better than several popular unsupervised feature extraction algorithms, and the 3D reconstruction results obtained by the proposed method also outperform the comparison methods.

Field of study: Computer science
Species distribution models for conservation planning in fire‐prone landscapes

Species distribution models are an essential tool for biodiversity conservation, with important applications such as spatial prioritisation of conservation actions and elucidating relationships between environmental predictors and species responses. These models are most useful to conservation managers when they include factors that can be readily manipulated, such as fire. In this study, we collated a comprehensive dataset of mammal records from a fire-prone region in south-east Australia where mammals have suffered declines in recent decades. We used species distribution modelling to (1) determine the relative influence of climate, fire, vegetation and topography on ground-dwelling mammal distributions; (2) determine species responses to time since fire, and; (3) provide spatial predictions of habitat suitability for conservation planning. Climate was the predominant driver of habitat suitability for most species, although other factors were influential in some cases. Time since fire was an important factor driving the distribution of only two of 16 modelled species which were more likely to be recorded in recently burnt vegetation. Habitat suitability varied spatially among species however multi-species habitat suitability was highest in the drier and hotter eastern section of the landscape, highlighting a key area for conservation efforts. The outputs from our models can be used for practical conservation actions such as finding new populations or identifying sites for reintroductions. We conclude that presence-only species distribution models are useful for determining species fire responses, complementing more systematic methods, and that including dynamic variables, such as time since fire, can increase their conservation relevance.

Field of study: Environmental science
Microstructure and Mechanical Properties of Low Carbon Bainite Steel Cooling in Air

The microstructure and mechanical properties of steel 22Mn2SiVBS after austenizating at 1280 ℃ were studied.The results show that the fine grain granular bainite and little remain austenite can be obtained when 22Mn2SiVBS steel is cooled in air.The strength and hardness is higher,but the toughness is lower after heat treatment.

Field of study: Materials science
The natural history of low grade non-Hodgkin's lymphoma and the impact of a no initial treatment policy on survival.

The natural history of low grade lymphoma and the influence of a 'no initial treatment' policy on survival were studied retrospectively in a group of 153 patients with stage II-IV low grade non-Hodgkin's lymphoma. The median follow-up was 85 months (range 45-229 months) and median survival of 50 months (range 14-220 months). Favourable outcome was significantly associated with the absence of B symptoms and a centroblastic/centrocytic (cb/cc) diffuse and follicular histological subtype and was inversely associated with increasing age. No significant differences in survival were found according to patient gender, site or stage of disease or whether the patients were participants in a clinical trial. Importantly, there was no survival disadvantage amongst the 56 patients who were initially untreated compared to those receiving other treatment modalities: initially untreated patients had a median survival of 75 months; 56 per cent were alive at 5 years and the median treatment free interval was 33 months. This favourable outcome persisted even after adjustment for other important prognostic variables. Further studies are needed to identify the characteristics of those patients with indolent disease in whom treatment may be deferred without adversely affecting survival.

Field of study: Medicine
Does Rational Learning Lead to Nash Equilibrium in Finitely Repeated Games

A stage game is played for many periods. Each player maximizes discounted expected payoffs, given updated beliefs about opponent's strategies. For the case of infinitely repeated games, Kalai and Lehrer [8, 9] show that, under absolute continuity, rational learning leads to Nash equilibrium. Absolute continuity, however, does not ensure convergence to approximate Nash equilibrium play in games of long (but finite) horizon. I show that asymptotic continuity is equivalent to absolute continuity in infinitely repeated games and ensures convergence to Nash equilibrium in finite horizon games. These results unify the learning theory in finitely and infinitely repeated games.Journal of Economic LiteratureClassification Number: D83 Learning.

Field of study: Economics
Do alternative irrigation strategies for rice cultivation decrease water footprints at the cost of long-term soil health?

The availability of water is a growing concern for flooded rice production. As such, several water-saving irrigation (WSI) practices have been developed to reduce water requirements. Alternate wetting and drying (AWD) and mid-season drainage (MSD) have been shown to potentially reduce water requirements while maintaining rice yields when compared to continuous flooding (CF). With the removal of permanently anaerobic conditions during the growing season, WSI can also reduce COalt;subagt;2alt;/subagt; equivalent (COalt;subagt;2eqalt;/subagt;) emissions, helping reduce the impact of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. However, the long-term impact of WSI on soil organic carbon (SOC) – used here as an indicator of soil health and fertility – has not been explored. We therefore conducted a meta-analysis to assess effects of AWD and MSD on (i) SOC, and (ii) GHG emissions. Despite an extensive literature search, only 12 studies were found containing data to constrain the soil C balance in both CF and WSI plots, highlighting the limited understanding of long-term impacts of WSI on soil health and GHG emissions. AWD and MSD were found to reduce emissions of CHalt;subagt;4alt;/subagt; by 52.3% and increased those of COalt;subagt;2alt;/subagt; by 44.8%. COalt;subagt;2eqalt;/subagt; emissions were thereby reduced by 16.5% but the soil-to-atmosphere flux of carbon increased by 24% when compared to CF. AWD and MSD were also found to have a negative effect on both SOC, reducing concentrations by 5.2%, and soil organic nitrogen, potentially depleting stocks by more than 100kg N/ha per year. While negative effects of AWD and MSD on rice yield may not be visible in short-term experiments, care should be taken when assessing the long-term sustainability of these irrigation practices because WSI can decrease soil fertility. Strategies need to be developed for assessing the more long-term effects of these irrigation practices by considering trade-offs between water savings and other ecosystem services.

Field of study: Environmental science
Electrical Properties of Single-Walled/Multi-Walled Carbon-Nanotubes Filled Polycarbonate Nanocomposites

The work focused on development of flexible and light weight polycarbonate based nanocomposites containing single-walled carbon nanotubes (SWCNTs) and multi-walled carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs) prepared by solution method for electronic applications. X-ray diffractometry (XRD), transmission electron microscopy (TEM) and scanning electron microscopy (SEM) were used for the characterization. XRD confirmed the presence of CNTs in the nanocomposites. TEM and SEM both revealed the dispersion of CNTs in the matrix. Percolation threshold was found to occur at 0.5 vol.% for SWCNTs and 4 vol.% for MWCNTs filled polycarbonate nanocomposites. The electrical conductivity, relative dielectric constant and dissipation factor of the nanocomposites were increased abruptly above percolation threshold. The maximum achieved electrical conductivity and the relative dielectric constant of the nanocomposites was found 10−4 S/cm and 108, respectively in both the nanocomposites. The best achieved combination of relative dielectric constant and dissipation factor was found in 1 vol.% SWCNT-PC nanocomposite. The relative dielectric constant of the nanocomposites was almost temperature independent from room temperature to 200°C.

Field of study: Materials science
Coping with Loneliness

This study identifies a set of strategies that people use to cope with loneliness and examines causal attributions for loneliness as predictors of coping behavior. Subjects were 128 adults who completed a questionnaire including the NYU Loneliness Scale, two attributional measures, and a modification of the Ways of Coping Scale. A distinction was made between problem-focused and emotion-focused coping strategies. Internal attributions for loneliness were found to be related to the intensity of coping efforts, but not to the type of strategy used (that is, problem-focused vs. emotion-focused).

Field of study: Psychology
A novel microfluidic chip for on-line monitoring of lactate

Based on optical absorption of color solution, a microfluidic chip with functions of mixing on chip and optical fibres detecting was developed to on-line monitoring the lactate during the cell and tissue culture.The channel width that decides the optical transmittance has been optimized to 250 μm through the optical design software(Zemax),and the full-mixing position and optical fibre detecting position of the channel in microfludic chip used for mixing lactate and its reagent has been decided by simulation with computational fluid dynamics(CFD) software.Therefore,a microfluidic chip comprised by polydimethylsiloxane(PDMS) and slide,with the function of mixing on chip and on-line monitoring by optical fibres,has been achieved through microeletro-mechanical system(MEMS) processing.The experiments show that mixing of lactate and its reagent on chip and the on-line monitoring of lactate can be realized and the LOD of this chip is up to 0.52 mmol/L(47 mg/L),the response time is 130 s when the lactate concentration varies from 1 mmol/L to 5 mmol/L.This kind of microfluidic chip can meet the need for on-line monitoring of lactate.

Field of study: Chemistry
Dose-dependent activation of Ca2+-activated K+ channels by ethanol contributes to improved endothelial cell functions.

Regular moderate alcohol (EtOH) intake seems to protect against both coronary artery disease and ischemic stroke, whereas the risk increases with heavy EtOH consumption. Effects of EtOH on endothelial cell function may be relevant to these disparate effects. Potassium channels play an important role in the regulation of endothelial cell functions. Therefore, we investigated whether Ca-activated K channels (BKCa) are modulated by EtOH. Furthermore, we examined whether EtOH-induced changes of endothelial nitric oxide (NO) formation and cell proliferation are due to BKCa activation.



The patch-clamp technique was used to investigate BKCa activity in cultured human umbilical vein endothelial cells (HUVEC). NO formation was analyzed by using the fluorescence dye 4,5-diaminofluorescein. Endothelial proliferation was examined by using cell counts and measuring [H]thymidine incorporation.



EtOH dose-dependently (10-150 mmol/liter) modulated BKCa-activity, with the highest increase of open-state probability at a concentration of 50 mmol/liter (n = 13; p < 0.05). Inside-out recordings revealed that this effect was due to direct BKCa activation, whereas open-state probability was not changed in cell-attached recordings after pertussis toxin preincubation. EtOH (10 and 50 mmol/liter) caused a significant increase of NO levels, which was blocked by the highly selective BKCa inhibitor iberiotoxin (100 nmol/l; n = 30; p < 0.05). Higher concentrations of EtOH (100 and 150 mmol/liter) significantly reduced NO synthesis (n = 30; p < 0.05). Both methods revealed a significant increase of HUVEC proliferation, which was inhibited by iberiotoxin (n = 30; p < 0.05). At a concentration of 150 mmol/liter, EtOH caused a significant reduction of endothelial proliferation.



EtOH directly activates BKCa in HUVEC, leading to an increase of endothelial proliferation and production of NO. These results indicate a possible beneficial effect of low-dose EtOH on endothelial function, whereas higher concentrations must be considered as harmful.

Field of study: Medicine
Subversive Pleasures, Losing Games: Basque Soccer Madness

The following article addresses the socio-cultural significance of a unique recruiting philosophy in the first division Spanish soccer Liga: the Basque-only policy of Athletic Bilbao. The Basque club is one of three clubs (besides Real Madrid FC and Barcelona FC) in Spain that have never been relegated to the second division throughout their centenarian history. Athletic contributed to Spanish soccer history in three ways: by importing the game from England through Bilbao's commercial relations; through the numerous records, victories and world-class players it has produced; and by maintaining a unique recruiting philosophy. The article discusses the various characteristics, consequences and impasses of ethnicised recruitment in a globalised competition that thrives on athlete migration. First, it situates the Basque club within the socio-political matrix of 20th-century Spain, Basque Country and Bilbao. Second, it describes the Basque-only philosophy of the club, and how conceptions of Basque identity have changed over time. The article pays attention to the 2010 World Cup victory of the Spanish selection, as it confronted Basques with a decision of identification: whether to cheer or not to cheer the Spanish selection, seen by many as the symbol of an impostor state. Third, the article addresses the impasses of the self-limiting recruiting philosophy: the necessity to suffer mediocre sports performance, and the symbolic obligation to carry on despite that suffering. Finally, the article discusses the community-making effect of a philosophy that renders Athletic's losing game a source of transgressive self-enjoyment – one that becomes part of a historical discourse of auto-exoticisation.

Field of study: Sociology
A Constant Time Full Hardware Implementation of Streamlined NTRU Prime

This paper presents a constant time hardware implementation of the NIST round 2 post-quantum cryptographic algorithm Streamlined NTRU Prime. We implement the entire KEM algorithm, including all steps for key generation, encapsulation and decapsulation, and all enand decoding. We focus on optimizing the resources used, as well as applying optimization and parallelism available due to the hardware design. We show the core enand decapsulation requires only a fraction of the total FPGA fabric resource cost, which is dominated by that of the hash function, and the enand decoding algorithm. For the NIST Security Level 3, our implementation uses a total of 1841 slices on a Xilinx Zynq Ultrascale+ FPGA, together with 14 BRAMs and 19 DSPs. The maximum achieved frequency is 271 MHz, at which the key generation, encapsulation and decapsulation take 4808 μs, 524 μs and 958 μs respectively. To our knowledge, this work is the first full hardware implementation where the entire algorithm is implemented.

Field of study: Computer science, Mathematics