nils-herrmann/clean_scirepeval huggingface dataset:
Multi-scale contrast-based saliency enhancement for salient object detection

To achieve more complete and more uniformly highlighted salient object regions, this study presents a computational saliency enhancement model that incorporates the properties of multi-scale and logarithmic response into the local and global contrasts. A distinct feature of the authors model is a novel saliency enhancement operator. This operator can effectively enhance the saliency of object interior regions while simultaneously reducing blur on object boundaries caused by multiple scales. Their model is a general one that can make flexible tradeoffs between precision and recall. Detailed comparisons with 12 state-of-the-art methods show that their method can obtain satisfactory salient object regions that are closer to the human-labelled results. In addition, their method provides superior results in precision–recall, F-measure and mean absolute error.

Field of study: Computer science
Late Jurassic biogeochemical microenvironments associated with microbialite-coated unionids (Bivalvia), Asturias (N Spain)

The Vega Formation (Upper Jurassic, Asturias, Spain) contains two Kimmeridgian outcrops – the Abeu and Huerres sections – with bivalves coated with carbonate microbialites (oncoids). The bivalve shells in the Abeu section were replaced early by calcite, while those of the Huerres section were dissolved and the moulds filled by late diagenetic cements. For the Abeu shells, there was a loss of Sr and a gain of Mg, Fe and Mn during the replacement process, but much of the original organic matter was retained. Part of the S present can be linked to this organic matter, and part to the sulphate that replaced the carbonate groups in the calcite. The thin microbialites inside the shells of some of the Huerres bivalves have allowed us to estimate the influence of the growth rate on the incorporation of trace elements in calcite. With an approximately six times lower growth rate, the internal microbialite incorporates less Mg and S and more Fe and Mn than the external one, while maintaining the Sr content. The trace element content (Mg, S, Sr, Fe and Mn) of the Huerres and Abeu microbialites are similar; these coatings may therefore have been formed in the same type of freshwater but in different microenvironments. Given the substantial sulphate content of the microbialites from both sections, this freshwater probably came from hot springs. However, the high Fe/Mn ratio of the Abeu microbialites suggests a reducing environment during their formation. Indeed, δ18O and δ13C data confirm that the Abeu and Huerres microbialites were formed in different microenvironments: the positive covariance for δ18O and δ13C of the Abeu microbialites and replaced shells (r2 = 0.83) and the wide range of variation for δ18O (2.80‰) together suggest that the microbialite crusts grew in isolated ponds where evaporation was dominant. In the Huerres microbialites the positive covariance for δ18O and δ13C (r2 = 0.59) and the narrow range of variation for δ18O (0.74‰) indicate that the Huerres section was formed in a more open environmental system where degassing predominated over evaporation.

Field of study: Environmental science, Geography
Annular circular aperture: intensity maxima and minima on the optical axis.

The positions of the first three minima (zeros) and secondary maxima of the intensity on the optical axis for a diffraction-limited optical system with annular circular exit pupil are calculated for several values of obscuration ratio. The permissible depth of focus of these systems and the intensity maxima and minima on the optical axis for a diffraction-limited optical system with a multiple annular circular exit pupil are also given.

Field of study: Physics
Dosimetry of pulsed clinical proton beams by a small ionization chamber.

Response of a micro volume (0.01 ml) ionization chamber has been studied with pulsed proton beams which are used for clinical purposes and has been compared with those of some JARP ionization chambers (0.6 ml). All chambers used had been calibrated by standard 60Co beams at the Electrotechnical Laboratory (ETL) and exposure calibration factors, Nx, were obtained on advance. Two methods are used to compensate the general recombination which occurs during pulsed beam irradiations: theoretical correction by a Boag's formulation and a modified two-voltage technique. An evaluation of absolute absorbed dose-to-water is performed on the basis of the protocol provided by ICRU report 59. The results imply that, to a first approximation, both chambers indicate the almost same result within 2% when unknown chamber-dependent parameters of the micro chamber are tentatively assumed to be identical to those of the JARP chamber for the calibration with 60Co beams. The about 1.5% discrepancy observed in the response of both chambers is not discussible due to presumably 1-2% uncertainty of the protocol of ICRU report 59 which does not include any chamber-dependent corrections for the perturbation effects in proton beams.

Field of study: Medicine, Physics
Activity and distribution of learning-related neurons in monkey (Macaca fuscata) prefrontal cortex.

The involvement of monkey (Macaca fuscata) prefrontal cortex (PFC) neurons in motor output decisions was studied by recording single neuron activity during 3 tasks: (a) go-left, go-right, or no-go decisions, (b) operant bar press feeding based on discrimination of food and nonfood, and (c) either delayed matching-to-sample (DMS) or DMS with response delay. Combinations of single neuron responses during the 3 tasks suggested 7 types of PFC neurons that were related to attention, choice, task-unique memory, reward anticipation, laterality, initiation of movement, and suppression of movement. The authors suggest that responses of PFC neurons do not depend on physical properties of the stimuli, but on their behavioral significance. PFC neurons might be important for appropriate behavior in response to external stimuli and internal or motivational factors.

Field of study: Biology, Psychology
Poly(vinyl)alcohol/1-butyl-3-methylimidazolium hydrogen sulfate solid polymer electrolyte: Structural and electrical studies

Proton conducting polymer electrolyte membranes consisting of poly(vinyl)alcohol and 1-butyl-3-methylimidazolium hydrogen sulfate ionic liquid are prepared by solution cast technique. The membranes are found to be free-standing and mechanically stable for the 40, 60 and 80 wt.% concentration of ionic liquid. The membranes have been characterized by X-ray diffraction, differential scanning calorimetry, thermogravimetric analysis, complex impedance spectroscopy and cyclic voltammetry. The crystallinity and melting point of the membranes are found to decrease with increasing concentration of ionic liquid. The membrane with 80 wt.% ionic liquid has been found to be completely amorphous. The highest ionic conductivity has been found to be ~ 10− 3 S cm− 1 at room temperature for the membrane with 80 wt.% ionic liquid. The variation of ionic conductivity with temperature follows Arrhenius type behavior in the temperature range of 40–130 °C. The membranes show protonic conduction as established by cyclic voltammetry and complex impedance spectroscopic studies. The electrochemical window of the membranes has been found to be ~ 3.4 V.

Field of study: Materials science
The morphogroups of small agglutinated foraminifera from the Devonian carbonate complex of the Prague Synform, (Barrandian area, Czech Republic)

Agglutinated foraminifera from the Lower and lower part of the Middle Devonian, predominantly limestones of the Prague Synform (Barrandian area), were classified into five morphogroups: morphogroup ED1 was divided to morphotype ED1a which is represented by foraminifera with straight tubular or branched tests. Irregularly coiled forms are separated to morphotype ED1b; ED2 morphogroup includes genera with planoconvex tests which can be divided into morphotype ED2a, characterized by planoconvex meandering tests, and morphotype ED2b with subglobular tests; the ED3 morphogroup contains genera with discoidal (flattened) planispirally coiled forms; the ED4 group consists of globular forms, whilst simple globular forms without marked tubular projections are representatives of morphotype ED4a, and globular morphotypes ED4b with apertures on marked neck-like projections; and morphogroup ED5 is represented by very rare multilocular morphotypes. The absence of the deep infaunal morphogroups is characteristic. The morphogroup distribution has been strongly affected by oxygen concentration, the energy of the environment, nutrient availability and post-mortem processes. Intervals with diversified and abundant foraminiferal assemblages can be correlated with positive δ 13 C excursions and also with the deposition of nodular limestones. The Devonian assemblages from the Prague Synform were compared with isochronous assemblages from other regions. Though the taxonomical composition of the Early Devonian assemblages from these areas are rather different, the morphogroup composition is highly comparable, and globally indicates similar life and feeding strategies of the Early Devonian foraminifera.

Field of study: Environmental science, Geography
A reusable toolset for software dependency analysis

Software maintenance is costly because of the many complex inter-relationships in a large software system; an understanding of these program dependencies is fundamental to efficient software change. This paper describes a general purpose tool set that has been developed to capture and analyze software dependencies. The tools are designed to serve as reusable components. They may be used not only to aid programmers directly in understanding programs but also as a basis from which other specialized tools can be constructed. The tools use the concept of a dependency graph as a basic abstraction to simplify the understanding of software relationships. Definitional, calling, functional and data-flow dependencies are analyzed. An external dependency graph for each function is developed to encapsulate the effects of function calls. A prototype of the dependency analysis toolset has been implemented to analyze C language code and seems to be quite useful, although some design and efficiency deficiencies were encountered that would need to be corrected in any “industrial strength” version. Dependency queries can be used directly in designing and verifying software changes and also serve as a basis for other maintenance tools. For example, a graphic program browser was constructed in only one man-month, illustrating the use of the toolset as a reuseable component to build more sophisticated tools.

Field of study: Computer science, Engineering
Perceptions of a Quality Program and Relationships with Work Perceptions and Job Attitudes

Numerous organizations have incorporated quality-oriented interventions to improve effectiveness; however, little systematic research has concerned how employees' perceptions about such interventions influence perceptions of work characteristics or job-related attitudes. The present study of 113 professional and support staff in a large petrochemical company suggested that perceptions about management's commitment to the success of the intervention was related to perceptions of reduced role stress, more positive relationships with management and more positive job-related attitudes.

Field of study: Psychology
Reducing vortex density in superconductors using the ‘ratchet effect’

A serious obstacle impeding the application of low- and high-temperature superconductor devices is the presence of trapped magnetic flux,: flux lines or vortices can be induced by fields as small as the Earth's magnetic field. Once present, vortices dissipate energy and generate internal noise, limiting the operation of numerous superconducting devices,. Methods used to overcome this difficulty include the pinning of vortices by the incorporation of impurities and defects, the construction of flux ‘dams’, slots and holes, and magnetic shields, which block the penetration of new flux lines in the bulk of the superconductor or reduce the magnetic field in the immediate vicinity of the superconducting device. The most desirable method would be to remove the vortices from the bulk of the superconductor, but there was hitherto no known phenomenon that could form the basis for such a process. Here we show that the application of analternating current to a superconductor patterned with an asymmetric pinning potential can induce vortex motion whose direction is determined only by the asymmetry of the pattern. The mechanism responsible for this phenomenon is the so-called ‘ratchet effect’, and its working principle applies to both low- and high-temperature superconductors. We demonstrate theoretically that, with an appropriate choice of pinning potential, the ratchet effect can be used to remove vortices from low-temperature superconductors in the parameter range required for various applications.

Field of study: Physics
Atomic and Electronic Structures of Co-Related Point Defects in CoSb3

Co-vacancies (VCo) and Co-interstitials (Coi) have been suggested to play key roles in p-type doping in CoSb3 under Sb-rich and Co-rich conditions, respectively. Based on density-functional theory calculations, we report detailed atomic and electronic structures of the Co-related point defects in CoSb3. The Co-vacancy is found to induce increases in the long and short bond lengths of the nearby Sb4 rings, generating Sb4-π-like acceptor states inside the band gap. Co-interstitial is found to have a sevenfold coordination number in the lowest energy configuration, and gives a single 3d-like acceptor state slightly above the valence-band maximum. The sevenfold Co-interstitials can be paired with an additional Coi–Coi bond, and by the pairing, the 3d-like acceptor state becomes deep inside the band gap, and new donor states are found to emerge inside the band gap.

Field of study: Materials science
Shape-induced magnetic anisotropy in dilute magnetic alloys

Recently, with the opportunities provided by nanolithography, finite-size effects in dilute magnetic alloys have been the subject of extensive experimental studies. While some experiments [1, 2, 3] revealed a considerable decrease of the logarithmic Kondo anomaly in the resistivity of thin films and narrow wires already for the μm scale, other measurements  showed an almost constant Kondo anomaly for wires with widths ranging down to 40 nm. The apparent discrepancy between the results of different groups makes the subject controversial and far from conclusive .

Field of study: Physics
Extraction process of Alfalfa saponins with ultrasound

Alfalfa saponins were prepared according to a L 9(3 4) orthogonal test plan.The relationship between extracting conditions and yield of saponins extracted from Alfalfa was investigated.The results show that the processing conditions affected the yield,and the effect of each condition decreased in the following order,ultrasonic time,material/extraction solution ratio,ultrasonic power and ultrasonic temperature.Under the above optimum condition,the saponins extracted from Alfalfa yielded 1.975%.

Field of study: Agricultural and Food sciences
Fluoxetine inhibited extracellular matrix of pulmonary artery and inflammation of lungs in monocrotaline-treated rats

To investigate the effects of the selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor (SSRI) fluoxetine on extracellular matrix (ECM) remodeling of the pulmonary artery and inflammation of the lungs in pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH) induced by monocrotaline in rats.MCT-induced chronic PAH was established in Wistar rats. After treatment with fluoxetine for 3 weeks, pulmonary hemodynamic measurement and morphological investigation of lung tissues were undertaken. The main components of the ECM, elastin and collagen, were detected using Van Gieson stain and Orcein stain, respectively, or using Victoria-ponceau's double stain. The ECM proteolytic enzymes matrix metalloproteinase (MMP)-2 and MMP-9, and the tissue inhibitors of metalloproteinase (TIMP)-1 and TIMP-2, were detected by Western blot. Inflammation of lung tissue was assayed using lung morphology and inflammatory cytokine expression.Fluoxetine (2 and 10 mg/kg) significantly inhibited MCT-induced PAH, attenuated pulmonary arterial muscularization and ECM remodeling, and decreased MMP/TIMP expression. Fluoxetine also suppressed inflammatory responses in lung tissue and inhibited the expression of the inflammatory cytokines interleukin-1β (IL-1β), tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α), monocyte chemotactic protein (MCP-1) and intercellular adhesion molecule-1 (ICAM-1).Conclusion:Fluoxetine inhibited MCT-induced ECM remodeling of the pulmonary artery and inflammation of lung tissue. These effects were related to its inhibition on MMPs/TIMPs and cytokine productions.

Field of study: Biology, Chemistry, Medicine
Computing the appearance of physical reality

The role of theoretical physics is to investigate, represent and thereby explain the nature of physical reality. We claim that this goal is unattainable using current standard mathematical models of physics, not just for practical reasons, but as a matter of logical necessity. Standard models of quantum theory and relativistic spacetime are logically equivalent to models in which the nature of classically observable motions is a form of necessary illusion. Consequently, no standard deductions as to the nature of space, time and motion can be deemed sound.

Field of study: Mathematics
Identifying Psychological Contract Breaches to Guide Improvements in Faculty Recruitment, Retention, and Development

To identify pharmacy faculty members’ perceptions of psychological contract breaches that can be used to guide improvements in faculty recruitment, retention, and development.  A list of psychological contract breaches was developed using a Delphi procedure involving a panel of experts assembled through purposive sampling. The Delphi consisted of 4 rounds, the first of which elicited examples of psychological contract breaches in an open-ended format. The ensuing 3 rounds consisting of a survey and anonymous feedback on aggregated group responses.  Usable responses were obtained from 11 of 12 faculty members who completed the Delphi procedure. The final list of psychological contract breaches included 27 items, after modifications based on participant feedback in subsequent rounds.  The psychological contract breach items generated in this study provide guidance for colleges and schools of pharmacy regarding important aspects of faculty recruitment, retention, and development.

Field of study: Education, Medicine
Diagenetic overprint on negative δ13C excursions across the Permian/Triassic boundary: A case study from Meishan section, China

The Meishan Section D from China is the global stratotype section and point (GSSP) of the Permian-Triassic boundary (PTB). The succession has been divided into 115 beds with the PTB being placed in the middle of Bed 27. In this section and the laterally equivalent Section A, the diagenetic features of Beds 24 to 62 are examined in this study to determine if the negative shift in δ13Ccarb across the Permian-Triassic boundary is diagenetic in origin or not. Bed 24 is formed of skeletal packstones, whereas Beds 25 to 62 are formed of claystones or argillaceous dolomitic limestones. The dolomite crystals are typically < 30 μm long, subhedral to euhedral, and held in a very fine groundmass formed of calcite and clay minerals. The cathodoluminescent features and backscattered images show that the dolomite crystals are zoned, with a non-luminescent low-calcium calcian dolomite (LCD) core being encased successively by an irregular dull-orange calcite zone, a euhedral bright-orange high-calcium calcian dolomite (HCD) cortex, and an outermost ferroan-HCD zone. Available evidence indicates that the zoned dolomite crystals formed episodically. The dolomite crystals, following their initial syndepositional formation with euhedral LCD cores and HCD cortices, were subsequently modified by calcitization mediated by meteoric water and overgrowth of Fe-rich HCD during burial. 
 
The limestones in Bed 24 display δ13C values ranging from + 1.72 to + 2.92‰, δ18O values from − 7.74 to − 4.84‰. In Beds 25 to 62, the bulk samples have δ13C values from − 0.76 to + 1.28‰ and δ18O values from − 8.58 to − 3.99‰. There is a positive correlation between these isotopic compositions and dolomite content. It is estimated that the first-formed dolomite and the precursor limestones have δ13C value of + 2.19‰ and δ18O value of − 1.14‰. The dramatic negative δ13C excursions of calcite in Beds 26 and 28 are related to meteoric diagenesis, whereas the negative δ13C excursions of bulk samples in the dolomite-bearing beds are ascribed to the diagenetic modifications that post-dated the initial formation of dolomite. The results show that the δ13C signals recorded in the GSSP that spans the PTB are a mixture of original and diagenetic signals. For the dolomite-bearing bulk samples, diagenesis contributes ~ 1.7‰ to the negative shift in the δ13C. Hence, diagenetic alteration needs to be considered before using δ13Ccarb to estimate the dissolved inorganic carbon in the ancient oceans and to calculate the global carbon cycle.

Field of study: Environmental science, Geography
Research on Fault Tolerance of Evolvable Hardware

A compensation fault tolerance model based on evolvable hardware is proposed,it separates the failed system and reconfigurable hardware to avoid the risk of destruction which exists in self-reconfiguration fault tolerance.It generates corresponding circuits by the adaptability of evolvable hardware to compensate for failed circuit,so as to achieve fault tolerance.The experimental results prove that the proposed fault tolerance model achieves great fault-tolerant capability with little redundancy.Moreover,it costs less recovery time than self-reconfiguration fault tolerance,which conducive to realize real time tolerance.

Field of study: Computer science
Sparse and Non-Negative BSS for Noisy Data

Non-negative blind source separation (BSS) has raised interest in various fields of research, as testified by the wide literature on the topic of non-negative matrix factorization (NMF). In this context, it is fundamental that the sources to be estimated present some diversity in order to be efficiently retrieved. Sparsity is known to enhance such contrast between the sources while producing very robust approaches, especially to noise. In this paper, we introduce a new algorithm in order to tackle the blind separation of non-negative sparse sources from noisy measurements. We first show that sparsity and non-negativity constraints have to be carefully applied on the sought-after solution. In fact, improperly constrained solutions are unlikely to be stable and are therefore sub-optimal. The proposed algorithm, named nGMCA (non-negative Generalized Morphological Component Analysis), makes use of proximal calculus techniques to provide properly constrained solutions. The performance of nGMCA compared to other state-of-the-art algorithms is demonstrated by numerical experiments encompassing a wide variety of settings, with negligible parameter tuning. In particular, nGMCA is shown to provide robustness to noise and performs well on synthetic mixtures of real NMR spectra.

Field of study: Engineering