nils-herrmann/clean_scirepeval huggingface dataset:
Diffraction characteristics of polarizing beam splitters based on subwavelength dielectric grating

A novel approach to the design of the polarizing beam splitters based on the subwavelength dielectric grating is presented. Using rigorous coupled-wave theory and matrix LU decomposition, the Rayleigh anomaly and the effects of the grave depth, the duty cycle, the incident angle and the incident wavelength on the diffraction efficiency were investigated. The results show that at the incident wave length of 1 550 nm, the grating period of l0/2, the Rayleigh incident angle of 30°, the grave depth of 0.9l0 and the duty cycle of 0.5, using Rayleigh anomaly the TE polarization and TM polarization diffraction efficiency of 0-order reached nearly 100% at the same time.

Field of study: Physics
The Great Financial Crisis and Functional Distribution of Income

This article provides a post-Keynesian analysis of economic growth and discusses the effects of austerity measures on demand in countries where growth is wage-led. It finds that growth is predominantly wage-led in both the United States and the Eurozone, although it is profit-led in some European Union countries. Profit-led growth may flourish under austerity measures, whereas wage-led growth requires economic stimuli (and reforms) to address an economic downturn. The dominant policies of addressing the great financial crisis currently are austerity measures to deleverage balance sheets, incidental interventions to save banks, and market reforms. However, these policies ignore the effects of the functional distribution of income on growth and are not likely to turn the tide in economies where growth is wage-led. Distribution of income cannot be left to marketmechanisms alone. A decent society requires a government policy of income distribution.

Field of study: Economics
Failure of a negative exercise test to reassure patients with chest pain.

Seventy-two patients with chest pain and negative exercise tests were observed. Twenty-one (29 per cent) became pain free but 51 (71 per cent) continued to complain of chest pain. Patients with persistent pain were significantly more anxious and depressed at presentation and later compared with those who had become pain free. Anxiety and particularly depression, at presentation and later, were significantly associated with severe symptoms. Patients with chest pain associated with neurosis and depression are not reassured by physiological stress testing because their physical symptoms are a feature of underlying psychiatric disease.

Field of study: Medicine
[Vertebrobasilar transient ischemic attacks in young and middle aged patients].

A complex clinical, neurological, laboratory, ultrasound and neuroimaging examination of 70 patients, aged 31-59 years, suffering from vertebrobasilar transient ischemic attack (TIA) was carried out in order to determine clinical and pathogenetic peculiarities of the disease in young and middle aged patients. The hemodynamically significant atherosclerotic lesion of the large cerebral arteries (LCA) as a cause of TIA was observed more rarely in the young and middle age groups than in elderly and aged people. Heart valves lesion was the main cause of cerebral cardioembolism in young and middle aged patients with TIA. A greater number of cases with other established causes of the disease (dissections, kinking of vertebral arteries, hemorheological microocclusion) were revealed. An undetermined pathogenesis of the disease mostly due to the inability to choose the main pathogenetic mechanism out of other potential mechanisms, e.g., the association of arterial hypertension with kinking, the hypoplasia or anomaly of the entrance of vertebral artery into the transverse channel, was observed in these groups more often than in elderly and aged people. The clinical picture of TIA in young and middle aged patients with hemodynamically significant atherosclerotic lesion of LCA had the highest similarity with that in elderly and aged ones. In case of cardioembolic pathogenesis, it was characterized by the markedly less severe signs of the disease and in case of the disease due to isolated arterial hypertension--by the lower rate of vascular white matter abnormalities on neuroimaging. A relatively higher rate of symptoms attributed to the manifestation of hypertensive crisis during the attack was observed in young and middle aged patients with TIA due to isolated arterial hypertension comparing with other pathogenetic variants of the disease. The clinical picture of TIA due to other established causes was depended on the main pathogenetic mechanism of the disease.

Field of study: Medicine, Psychology
In Vitro Method To Assess Soil Arsenic Metabolism by Human Gut Microbiota: Arsenic Speciation and Distribution.

Arsenic (As) speciation and distribution are two important factors in assessing human health risk from As-contaminated soil. In this study, we used the combination of physiologically based extraction test (PBET) and Simulator of Human Intestinal Microbial Ecosystem (SHIME) to determine soil As metabolism by human gut microbiota. The results showed that the percentage of soil arsenate [As(V)] transformation reached 22.1-38.2%, while that of arsenite [As(III)] attained 66.5-92.0%; 30.1-56.4% of As(V) transformed was attached to the soil solid phase. In comparison to sequential extraction results, almost all amorphous Fe/Al-oxide-bound As was liberated in the colon phase. An X-ray absorption near-edge structure (XANES) showed that the As(III) percentage in the soil solid phase reached 16.6-26.9% and reached 73.4% (soil 1) in the colon phase. Additionally, plenty of As(III) and different extents of methylation were also observed in colon extraction solution. As bioaccessibility in the colon phase was 1.8-2.8 times that in the small intestinal phase. Our results indicated that human gut microbiota increased As bioaccessibility, and large amounts of As(III) were adsorbed onto the soil solid phase as a result of microbial reduction. Determining As speciation and distribution in extraction solution and soil solid phases will allow for an accurate assessment of the risk to human health upon soil As exposure.

Field of study: Environmental science
Antimicrobial and Osseointegration Properties of Nanostructured Titanium Orthopaedic Implants

The surface design of titanium implants influences not only the local biological reactions but also affects at least the clinical result in orthopaedic application. During the last decades, strong efforts have been made to improve osteointegration and prevent bacterial adhesion to these surfaces. Following the rule of “smaller, faster, cheaper”, nanotechnology has encountered clinical application. It is evident that the hierarchical implant surface micro- and nanotopography orchestrate the biological cascades of early peri-implant endosseous healing or implant loosening. This review of the literature gives a brief overview of nanostructured titanium-base biomaterials designed to improve osteointegration and prevent from bacterial infection.

Field of study: Materials science
Efficiency of fast-electron-beam excitation of molecular electronic states of hydrogen in a hydrogen laser

An analysis is made of the efficiency of the excitation of molecular laser states in the vacuum ultraviolet by a beam of fast electrons. The efficiency is calculated for the whole laser cavity during one pulse. It is assumed that the electron energy is utilized optimally in a system in which the electrons are completely decelerated. Characteristics of specific collision processes are assumed and allowance is made for the secondary electrons of different generations. The total excitation efficiency of the laser states by the primary and secondary electrons is about 30%, and it approaches the limit for the quantum-mechanical system of a hydrogen laser (~50%).

Field of study: Engineering, Physics
RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT OF THE SHEAR WALL NONLINEAR MACRO-ELEMENT

Since the elastoplastic damage occurs in the plastic stage of shear walls under a severe earthquake,the accurate modeling of the inelastic response of shear walls is primary to assess the aseismic safety and performance-based aseismic design.A structural elastoplastic analysis program MEASP which bases on macro elements is developed with object oriented language and the multiple-vertical-line-element model(MVLEM) is implemented in MESAP.The nonlinear macro element MVLEM is adopted to simulate the nonlinear behavior of shear walls designed according to Chinese code under a cyclic reverse loading test,and according to incorporating material constitutive relations as well as the uniaxial spring constitutive relation proposed by Fischinge.The hysteretic curve agrees well with the test,which indicates that the MVLEM is suitable to simulate the strong nonlinear behavior of shear walls accurately.

Field of study: Engineering
Steady-state photochemistry (Pschorr cyclization) and nanosecond transient absorption spectroscopy of twisted 2-bromoaryl ketones

The steady-state as well as transient absorption spectroscopy of a series of 2-bromo-aryl ketones have been comprehensively examined to gain insights concerning (i) the transient phenomena (absorption spectral attributes as well as lifetimes), (ii) rates of C–Br homolysis, and (iii) the behavior of 2-aroylaryl radicals thus generated. The X-ray crystal structure analyses of selected ketones in which the mesomeric effects operate differently reveal that the two aryl rings are drastically twisted about the C=O bond. The twisting manifests itself in the spectral features of the transients, attributed to triplet–triplet (T–T) absorptions, such that they are not readily comparable in some cases to the transients of parent diaryl ketones that lack the 2-bromo group. By associating triplet decays with C–Br cleavage rates, the absolute rate data have been determined for diverse 2-bromoaryl ketones. With the exception of 2-bromo ketones containing meta-methoxy substituents, all other ketones are found to undergo efficient C–Br bond cleavage with rates of ca.  Based on solvent-dependent variation of the lifetimes (longer lifetimes in polar solvents), intramolecular charge transfer has been proposed. The preparative photochemistry and transient phenomena permit invaluable inferences as to the reactivity of 2-aroylaryl radicals in general. Quantum yield determinations and product analyses reveal that highly electrophilic aryl radicals undergo radical recombination, in a poor hydrogen-donating solvent, almost exclusively (>90 %) in the absence of incentive for stabilization via conversion to π-conjugated hydrofluorenyl radicals. Of course, when the latter is feasible, Pschorr cyclization leads to productive photochemical outcome. Moderately electrophilic radicals that lack stabilization via conversion to hydrofluorenyl radicals lend themselves to intramolecular 1,5-hydrogen shifts in conjunction with the formation of dehalogenated diaryl ketones and cyclized fluorenones (Fls) or its analogs.

Field of study: Chemistry
Secretion of β chemokine from the adult rat astrocytes stimulated by LPS, proinflammatory cytokines and immunoregulatory cytokines

To investigate factor(s) regulating astrocyte chemokine expression, we examined the induction of β chemokine mRNA expression in adult rat astrocytes.  By in situ hybridization, we determined the β family chemokine mRNA expression in the astrocytes which were cultivated in vitro and stimulated with different agents.  Astrocyte derived MCP 1, RANTES, MIP 1α and MIP 1β mRNA were easily induced by IFN γ. TNF α induced RANTES and MIP 1β mRNA expression, and LPS induced MIP 1α and MIP 1β mRNA expression in astrocytes. LPS induced MCP 1 and RANTES mRNA expression by astrocytes were antagonized by TGF β and IL 10. TGF β and IL 10 also down regulated MCP 1 mRNA expression induced by TNF α, and IL 10, but not TGF β, inhibited MIP 1β mRNA expression induced by TNF α.  The results of this in vitro study suggest that β chemokine mRNA expression by adult rat astrocytes can be induced by LPS or proinflammatory cytokines, while regulatory cytokines, such as TGF β and IL 10, down regulate the induction of astrocyte derived β family chemokine mRNA expression induced by LPS, IFN γ and TNF α.

Field of study: Biology
Boric acid: a simple molecule of physiologic, therapeutic and prebiotic significance

Boric acid, H 3 BO 3 , is a weak acid and at physiological pH is in the form of an uncharged small molecule. Behaving as a Lewis acid, it forms complexes with amino- and hydroxy acids, carbohydrates, nucleotides and vitamins through electron donor-acceptor interactions. These interactions are believed to be beneficial for human health. Synthetic bis- chelate complexes of boric acid with organic biomolecules are therefore considered for nutritional and/or pharmaceutical applications. The use of boric acid for BNCT has gained attention due to the short biological half-life, solubility, plasma circulation and the non-selective soft tissue accumulation properties of this simple molecule. Complexation of boric acid with sugars is of particular importance in understanding the role of boron as a carrier for nucleotides and carbohydrates. A potential and catalytic role of boric acid in peptide and nucleic acid synthesis and in the stabilization of sugar molecules by acting as a complexing agent have been demonstrated. Its possible role as a phosphorylation chaperone in a prebiotic world has been recently suggested. This contribution reviews the highlights in the physiologic, therapeutic and prebiotic significance of boric acid in the last decade.  boric acid; borate ester; borate complex; prebiotic chemistry.

Field of study: Chemistry
Determination of chlorinated furanones, hydroxyfuranones, and butenedioic acids in chlorine-treated water and in pulp bleaching liquor

Compounds with structural similarities to the potent bacterial mutagen 3-chloro-4-(dichloromethyl)-5-hydroxy-2(5H)-furanone, MX, have been synthesized and quantitatively determined in extracts of chlorination-stage bleaching liquors (CBL) from pulp mills, chlorine:treated aqueous solution of fulvic acids, chlorinated natural humic water, and chlorine-disinfected drinking water. In addition, a preliminary screening of the mutagenic potency of the compounds was performed. The compounds were found in the extracts with the exception of a few compounds not detected in the drinking water extracts. The compounds induced mutagenicity in Ames tester strain TA100 in tests performed without metabolic activation

Field of study: Environmental science
Évolution estuarienne d'une rivière régularisée en climat sub-boréal : la rivière aux Outardes (côte nord du golfe du St-Laurent, Québec)

The sedimentological evolution of the Riviere aux Outardes estuary was modified considerably during and after the construction of the hydroelectric dams on the river. Prior to 1965, the dominant river discharge was 1350 m3/s and the flood peak reached 2700 m3/s. Between 1965 and 1975, during the building activities, it fell to 430 m3/s and since 1955 it remained steady at 555 m3/s. Now, the variations range from 1300 m3/s during discharge periods to 0 m3/s during some filling periods. The most significant variations in the river discharge related to the creation of the reservoirs have modified the sedimentary equilibria and it is the aim of the present study to improve our understanding of the flow of the non-cohesive materials in the estuary.Before regulation, the sedimentary processes were dominated by seasonal variations of the river regime: the floods flushed out the fine material from the estuary. Between 1965 and 1975, the river discharge decreased, and the tidal wedge moved upstream. The erosion ra...

Field of study: Environmental science
Institutional Change and Electric Power in the City of Chicago

depended on a privately owned utility for electricity. The utility, Commonwealth Edison (Edison), operates under a franchise from the city that grants it the right to provide power to Chicago. This particular institutional arrangement for the provision of electric power is, of course, common throughout the United States. But in recent years, Chicago and a number of other cities have begun to explore alternative arrangements as their franchises with the private utilities expire [Rudolph and Ridley 1986; Romo 1989]. These alternative institutional arrangements under consideration have included municipalization of the local distribution system with city purchase of electric power from several utilities on the wholesale market, municipalization of all the utility's operations in the city and acquisition of sufficient generating capacity to serve the city's needs, introduction of competition in electric supply by permitting more than one utility to place its facilities on public property or rights of way within the city, opening up the franchise to competitive bidding instead of simply negotiating with the existing supplier, or simply extraction of concessions from the utility as a condition for franchise renewal.

Field of study: Economics
Hydrologic Characterization of Repository Sites in Fractured Rock

The history of the development of techniques for determining equivalent rock mass permeability from discrete fracture data is reviewed. These techniques began with conceptual models which considered all fractures to be infinitely long. Because fractures are in fact finite, the equivalent permeability tensor computed by this approximation may not be applicable. Recent studies of the definition of an equivalent permeability tensor for networks of fractures with finite lengths are reviewed, and field techniques which show promise for obtaining in situ measurements of fracture length are presented.

Field of study: Physics
Intermetallic growth studies on Sn-Ag-Cu lead-free solder joints

Solid-state intermetallic compound (IMC) growth behavior plays an important role in solder joint reliability of electronic packaging assemblies. The morphology and growth of interfacial IMC compounds between 95.5Sn-3.8Ag-0.7Cu Pb-free solders and nickel/gold (Ni/Au) surface finish on BGA solder joint specimen is reported. Digital imaging techniques were employed in the measurement of the average IMC growth thickness. The IMC growth behavior subjected to isothermal aging exposure at 125°C, thermal cycling (TC), and thermal shock (TS) with upper soak temperatures of 125°C are compared. An equivalent isothermal aging time is proposed for comparison of IMC layer growth data. It was noted that IMC layer growth under thermal cycling and thermal shock aging gives an acceleration factor of 1.4 and 2.3 based on the equivalent isothermal aging time.

Field of study: Materials science
MCP-1 and MIP-1α expression in a model resembling early immune response to dengue.

Dengue virus has become endemic in most tropical urban areas throughout the world, and DHF has appeared concomitantly with this expansion. The intensity of dengue virus replication during the early stages of infection could determine clinical outcomes; therefore, it is important to understand the impact of dengue virus infection on the earliest immune defense against microbial infection, which also strongly regulates the adaptive immune responses. This study was aimed at evaluating the expression of the CC-chemokines MIP-1α/CCL3 and MCP-1/CCL2 in peripheral blood leukocytes using an ex vivo model resembling dengue infection in vivo, in subjects with a well characterized dengue immune background, due to the exceptional Cuban epidemiological situation in dengue. The expression of IFNγ, TNFα and IL10 was also evaluated, giving insight about the role of MCP-1 and MIP-1α in the interplay between innate and adaptive immunity. From individuals with different dengue immune background after dengue virus challenge, increased and different expression of the chemokines and cytokines studied was verified in peripheral blood mononuclear cells, thus demonstrating that the previous immunity to a dengue virus serotype has a strong influence on the early immune response after dengue re-infection.

Field of study: Medicine
Un procédé économique pour l'amélioration du confort thermique en zone tropicale séche: la ventilation forcée par de l'air extérieur éventuellement humidifiéAmelioration of thermal comfort in dry tropical climate by use of an economic process: direct evaporative cooling

Resume On presente les caracteristiques principales du climat tropical sec. On souligne, a partir des donnees climatiques et des revenus locaux, le besoin existant en equipements de climatisation economiques. On montre que la ventilation forcee par de l'air exterieur humidifie permet d'atteindre un confort thermique acceptable toute l'annee dans cette zone. On presente les resultats d'un test effectue avec un ventilohumidificateur realise localement a un cout compatible avec le pouvoir d'achat local. On preconise d'associer des mesures de climatisation passive a l'utilisation de ce procede pour un meilleur confort thermique.

Field of study: Engineering
New Quassinoids from the Roots of Eurycoma longifolia

A new C19-skeleton quassinoid, named longilactone and three new quassinoids, 13,21-dihydroeurycomanone, 13β,21-dihydroxyeurycomanone and 14,15β-dihydroxyklaineanone were isolated from the roots of Eurycoma longifolia and their structures were established by the spectral evidences.

Field of study: Chemistry