nils-herrmann/clean_scirepeval huggingface dataset:
Inferential Procedures for the Generalized Gamma Distribution

The maximum likelihood estimators of the parameters of the generalized gamma distribution are shown to have the property that are distributed independently of a and b. Similar properties are also obtained for some Weibull-type statistics. These results are applied in particular to the problem of discriminating between the Weibull model and the generalized gamma model, and several test statistics are considered. In general, the Weibull model is quite flexible and, unless the sample size is quite large, is perhaps a preferable assumption because of the computational complexity and other difficulties encountered with the generalized gamma distribution.

Field of study: Mathematics
Novel Function of QM Protein of Shrimp (Penaeus Japonicus) in Regulation of Phenol Oxidase Activity by Interaction with Hemocyanin

Since it was proposed to be a tumor suppressor in 1991, the QM protein has attracted intensive studies in plants, animals and fungi. Up to date, however, the function of QM protein remains unknown. In this investigation, it was found that the shrimp QM gene (designated as PjQM) was significantly up-regulated in virus- resistant shrimp, suggesting that the PjQM was involved in shrimp immunity. The GST pull-down assays showed that the PjQM protein interacted with shrimp hemocyanin and myosin, indicating that the PjQM protein might participate in prophenoloxidation (proPO) activation system of shrimp immunity. As revealed by RNAi assays, it was demonstrated for the first time that the QM protein could regulate the activity of phenol oxidase, a key enzyme in the proPO activation system of invertebrate immunity. This discovery showed a novel aspect of QM protein in arthropod immune response, which contributed a better understanding to the still poorly understood molecular events involved in innate immunity of arthropods.

Field of study: Biology, Chemistry
Membranes with Fluctuating Topology: Monte Carlo Simulations

Much of the phase behavior observed in self-assembling amphiphilic systems can be understood in the context of ensembles of random surfaces. In this article, it is shown that Monte Carlo simulations of dynamically triangulated surfaces of fluctuating topology can be used to determine the structure and thermal behavior of sponge phases, as well as the sponge-to-lamellar transition in these systems. The effect of the saddle-splay modulus, $\overline{\ensuremath{\kappa}}$, on the phase behavior is studied systematically for the first time. Our data provide strong evidence for a positive logarithmic renormalization of $\overline{\ensuremath{\kappa}}$; this result is consistent with the lamellar-to-sponge transition observed in experiments for decreasing amphiphile concentration.

Field of study: Physics
How is adaptation, resilience, and vulnerability research engaging with gender?

The gendered dimensions of climate change have received increasing interest in climate change adaptation, resilience, and vulnerability (ARV) research. Yet concerns have been expressed that engagement with 'gender' in this work has been tokenistic. In this context, we ask: how is climate change ARV research engaging with gender? To answer this question, we develop an assessment framework capturing key attributes of engagement and use it to evaluate peer reviewed ARV articles with a focus on gender published since 2006 (n = 123). Results indicate an increase in ARV studies with a gender focus over this period, with the level of gender engagement also increasing. There are a relatively equal numbers of studies categorized as engaging gender at a high, medium, and low level, with studies from Sub-Saharan Africa consistently exhibiting high levels of gender engagement. Gender focused ARV has a strong focus on examining female experiences, with few studies explicitly focusing on men, and no work accounting for those identifying outside the gender binary.

Field of study: Environmental science
The Effects of Thermophysical Properties and Environmental Conditions on Fire Performance of Intumescent Coatings on Glass Fibre-Reinforced Epoxy Composites

Intumescent coatings are commonly used as passive fire protection systems for steel structures. The purpose of this work is to explore whether these can also be used effectively on glass fibre-reinforced epoxy (GRE) composites, considering the flammability of the composites compared to non-flammable steel substrate. The thermal barrier and reaction-to-fire properties of three commercial intumescent coatings on GRE composites have been studied using a cone calorimeter. Their thermophysical properties in terms of heating rate and/or temperature dependent char expansion ratios and thermal conductivities have been measured and correlated. It has been suggested that these two parameters can be used to design coatings to protect composite laminates of defined thicknesses for specified periods of time. The durability of the coatings to water absorption, peeling, impact, and flexural loading were also studied. A strong adhesion between all types of coatings and the substrate was observed. Water soaking had a little effect on the fire performance of epoxy based coatings. All types of 1 mm thick coatings on GRE helped in retaining ~90% of the flexural property after 2 min exposure to 50 kW/m2 heat flux whereas the uncoated laminate underwent severe delamination and loss in structural integrity after 1 min.

Field of study: Materials science
A response-initiated fixed-interval schedule of reinforcement.

On a tandem fixed-ratio one fixed-interval schedule, the first response after reinforcement initiates a fixed interval of time and the first response after the interval has elapsed is reinforced. Pigeons trained with that schedule of food reinforcement paused after reinforcement for a period of time that approximated the fixed-interval duration for values of that duration ranging from 3.75 to 60 sec. Cumulative records revealed response patterns best described as break-and-run.

Field of study: Biology, Psychology
EUS-assisted thrombin injection for ectopic bleeding varices--a case report and review of the literature.

Ectopic varices (EV) represent dilated porto-systemic collaterals located at sites other than the gastro-oesophageal junction. They mainly develop in cirrhotic patients following oesophageal variceal band ligation and more rarely secondary to abdominal surgical procedures or to abdominal venous thrombosis secondary to inflammation.1 Bleeding from EV is unusual and represents <5% of all variceal bleeds. Norton et al .2 reviewed 169 cases of bleeding from EV; 26% were from ileostomy varices in primary sclerosing cholangitis patients, 17% in the duodenum, 17% in the jejunum or ileum, 14% in the colon, 8% in the rectum, 9% in the peritoneum. Duodenal varices most commonly complicate portal or splenic vein thrombosis.2

A 49-year-old male was diagnosed with coeliac disease 3 years prior to presentation. He was receiving iron supplements for severe iron deficiency anaemia; however, several investigations including, repeated upper and lower gastrointestinal (GI) endoscopies failed to identify a cause.

Prior to transfer to our Unit, he was admitted to his regional hospital with melaena and a Hb of 66 g/l. An upper gastrointestinal endoscopy (UGIE) identified a polypoid mass in the second part of the duodenum (D2). Biopsies were taken but resulted in profuse bleeding requiring 6 U of red cell concentrate (RCC).

A repeat endoscopy in our hospital showed a ‘C shaped’ non-bleeding polypoid lesion at the junction of D2/3 which was characterized further by endoscopic ultrasound (EUS); this was a vascular lesion at D2/3; the splenic vein was dilated and tortuous …

Field of study: Medicine
Rilmenidine prevents blood pressure increase in rats with compromised nitric oxide production.

To search tools of high blood pressure in the model of nitric oxide (NO)-defective hypertension, and the study focused on the effect of rilmenidine, agonist of imidazoline receptors, which was suggested to modulate central sympathetic outflow.



Three experimental groups, each consisting of 7 rats, were used: (I) rats with inhibition of NO synthase (NOS) by N(G)-nitro-L-arginine methyl ester (L-NAME) 40 mg.kg(-1).d(-1) for 4 weeks in drinking water, (II) rats with inhibited NOS as in group I , plus agonist of imidazoline receptors rilmenidine 3 mg.kg(-1).d(-1) for 4 weeks by gavage, and (III) control rats. Systolic blood pressure was measured weekly noninvasively. At the end of experiment aortic ring isometric tension was followed, NOS expression (aorta, left ventricle), and NOS activity (left ventricle and brain) were determined.



In the group I systolic blood pressure increased significantly, aortic ring relaxation to acetylcholine was significantly attenuated. Rilmenidine administered simultaneously with L-NAME (group II) prevented the increase of blood pressure which did not differ significantly from control values; aortic ring relaxation to acetylcholine did not differ from control. No change in NOS expression (aorta and left ventricle) was found in groups I and II. Significant decline in NOS activity (left ventricle and brain) was found in groups I and II.



Rilmenidine has a remarkable role in NO-defective hypertension, possibly by inhibiting central sympathetic outflow and by affecting receptors in vascular smooth muscle also. The prime cause of hypertension in this experimental model--the compromised production of NO due to inhibition of NOS--was not affected by rilmenidine.

Field of study: Biology, Chemistry, Medicine
Tax Reform and Progressivity

The established theory of tax progressivity cannot handle basic tax reform questions, such as whether an increase in personal allowances makes the tax system more progressive, because the core results assume that tax liability is never zero. This paper generalises the core theory to allow for zero tax payments, and applies the new framework to the analysis of allowances, income-related deductions and tax credits. Log concavity of the tax schedule--a property quite distinct from any existing notion of progressivity--emerges as the critical determinant of whether the distribution of the tax burden becomes more progressive as allowances are increased.

Field of study: Economics
Toward Understanding Amines and Their Degradation Products from Postcombustion CO2 Capture Processes with Aerosol Mass Spectrometry

Amine-based postcombustion CO2 capture (PCCC) is a promising technique for reducing CO2 emissions from fossil fuel burning plants. A concern of the technique, however, is the emission of amines and their degradation byproducts. To assess the environmental risk of this technique, standardized stack sampling and analytical methods are needed. Here we report on the development of an integrated approach that centers on the application of a high-resolution time-of-flight aerosol mass spectrometer (HR-ToF-AMS) for characterizing amines and PCCC-relevant species. Molecular characterization is achieved via ion chromatography (IC) and electrospray ionization high-resolution mass spectrometry (ESI-MS). The method has been optimized, particularly, by decreasing the AMS vaporizer temperature, to gain quantitative information on the elemental composition and major nitrogen-containing species in laboratory-degraded amine solvents commonly tested for PCCC applications, including ethanolamine (MEA), methyldiethanolamine (MDEA), and piperazine (PIP). The AMS-derived nitrogen-to-carbon (N/C) ratios for the degraded solvent and product mixtures agree well with the results from a total organic carbon and total nitrogen (TOC/TN) analyzer. In addition, marker ions identified in the AMS spectra are used to estimate the mass contributions of individual species. Overall, our results indicate that this new approach is suitable for characterizing PCCC-related mixtures as well as organic nitrogen species in other sample types. As an online instrument, AMS can be used for both real-time characterization of emissions from operating PCCC plants and ambient particles in the vicinity of the facilities.

Field of study: Environmental science
Effect of two-photon radiation absorption on second harmonic generation in crystals

A theoretical analysis is made of the effect of two-photon radiation absorption on second harmonic generation in crystals. The cases of simultaneous absorption of fundamental-frequency radiation and second-harmonic quanta and of simultaneous absorption of two second-harmonic quanta are studied. Graphs of the dependences of the conversion efficiency on the two-phonon absorption coefficient are plotted for these cases. Second harmonic generation in lithium metaniobate crystals is analyzed as an example.

Field of study: Engineering, Physics
Learning formation energy of inorganic compounds using matrix variate deep Gaussian process

Future advancement of engineering applications is dependent on design of novel materials with desired properties. Enormous size of known chemical space necessitates use of automated high throughput screening to search the desired material. The high throughput screening uses quantum chemistry calculations to predict material properties, however, computational complexity of these calculations often imposes prohibitively high cost on the search for desired material. This critical bottleneck is resolved by using deep machine learning to emulate the quantum computations. However, the deep learning algorithms require a large training dataset to ensure an acceptable generalization, which is often unavailable a-priory. In this paper, we propose a deep Gaussian process based approach to develop an emulator for quantum calculations. We further propose a novel molecular descriptor that enables implementation of the proposed approach. As demonstrated in this paper, the proposed approach can be implemented using a small dataset. We demonstrate efficacy of our approach for prediction of formation energy of inorganic molecules.

Field of study: Computer science
Subgap states in p-channel tin monoxide thin-film transistors from temperature- dependent field-effect characteristics

This paper experimentally investigates the subgap density of states (DOS) in p-type tin monoxide (SnO) thin-film transistors (TFTs) for the first time by using temperature-dependent field-effect measurements. As the temperature increases, the turn-on voltage moves in the positive direction, and the off-current and subthreshold slope continuously increase. We found that the conductivity of the SnO TFT obeys the Meyer–Neldel (MN) rule with a characteristic MN parameter of 28.6 eV−1 in the subthreshold region, from which we successfully extracted the subgap DOS by combing the field-effect method and the MN relation. The extracted subgap DOS from fabricated p-type SnO TFTs are exponentially distributed in energy, and exhibit around two orders of magnitude higher values compared to those of the n-type amorphous indium–gallium–zinc oxide TFTs.

Field of study: Materials science
Reducing greenhouse gas emissions for climate stabilization: framing regional options.

The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) has stated that stabilizing atmospheric CO2 concentrations will require reduction of global greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions by as much as 80% by 2050. Subnational efforts to cut emissions will inform policy development nationally and globally. We projected GHG mitigation strategies for Minnesota, which has adopted a strategic goal of 80% emissions reduction by 2050. A portfolio of conservation strategies, including electricity conservation, increased vehicle fleet fuel efficiency, and reduced vehicle miles traveled, is likely the most cost-effective option for Minnesota and could reduce emissions by 18% below 2005 levels. An 80% GHG reduction would require complete decarbonization of the electricity and transportation sectors, combined with carbon capture and sequestration at power plants, or deep cuts in other relatively more intransigent GHG-emitting sectors. In order to achieve ambitious GHG reduction goals, policymakers should promote aggressive conservation efforts, which would probably have negative net costs, while phasing in alternative fuels to replace coal and motor gasoline over the long-term.

Field of study: Environmental science
Lamphone: Real-Time Passive Sound Recovery from Light Bulb Vibrations

Recent studies have suggested various side-channel attacks for eavesdropping sound by analyzing the side effects of sound waves on nearby objects (e.g., a bag of chips and window) and devices (e.g., motion sensors). These methods pose a great threat to privacy, however they are limited in one of the following ways: they (1) cannot be applied in real time (e.g., Visual Microphone), (2) are not external, requiring the attacker to compromise a device with malware (e.g., Gyrophone), or (3) are not passive, requiring the attacker to direct a laser beam at an object (e.g., laser microphone). In this paper, we introduce "Lamphone," a novel side-channel attack for eavesdropping sound; this attack is performed by using a remote electro-optical sensor to analyze a hanging light bulb’s frequency response to sound. We show how fluctuations in the air pressure on the surface of the hanging bulb (in response to sound), which cause the bulb to vibrate very slightly (a millidegree vibration), can be exploited by eavesdroppers to recover speech and singing, passively, externally, and in real time. We analyze a hanging bulb’s response to sound via an electro-optical sensor and learn how to isolate the audio signal from the optical signal. Based on our analysis, we develop an algorithm to recover sound from the optical measurements obtained from the vibrations of a light bulb and captured by the electro-optical sensor. We evaluate Lamphone’s performance in a realistic setup and show that Lamphone can be used by eavesdroppers to recover human speech (which can be accurately identified by the Google Cloud Speech API) and singing (which can be accurately identified by Shazam and SoundHound) from a bridge located 25 meters away from the target room containing the hanging light bulb.

Field of study: Computer science, Mathematics
The State of Doctoral Education in Social Sciences in Uganda: Experiences and Challenges of Doctoral Training at Mbarara University of Science and Technology 2003 - 2010

This paper discusses the challenges and experiences which social science students in Africa undergo to complete the PhD program.  Focusing on Mbarara University of Science and Technology, the paper present that many students who register on the PhD program in Africa, are unable to complete the program in the stipulated time.   The paper identifies that the challenges which students face can be divided into two categories; institutional and individual students and the supervisors.  At the institutional level it involves the nature and the context of the program.  This involves lack of resources to support an overall learning environment.  At the individual level, the challenges include student and supervisor challenges which they face at individual levels and how they affect completion. To get to discuss these issues, I held one focus group discussion with 7 students enrolled for the PhD program and 1 fresh graduate of PhD at the Faculty of development studies Mbarara University of science and Technology, critical literature review and a review of some of the external supervisors reports for the PhD students who have made an attempt to submit their final dissertations. Basing on the data from the sources identified above, the paper concludes that for students to complete the PhD program, the above challenges need to be addressed especially by establishing training programs in the region and creation of a better learning environment for the PhD students. The issues discussed in this paper and solutions provided provides a basis for improving the training programs in Universities. It is argued in this paper that solutions to completing PhD programs especially in the social sciences will depend on strengthening foundational courses especially in Methodology and theories and most importantly critical thinking.  Research, University, Post graduate Training,

Field of study: Education
Teenage Pregnancy in Canada and Quebec: The role of prevention in reducing teenage pregnancy.

In 1987, there were 36 694 known pregnancies in Canada among women aged 15 to 19. Although the Canadian teenage pregnancy rate decreased from 1980 to 1987, it remains three times higher than that of the industrialized country with the lowest rate. Health professionals, social workers, and educators can have an important role in preventing teenage pregnancy.

Field of study: Medicine
ASSOCIATIVE CONCEPT LEARNING IN ANIMALS: ISSUES AND OPPORTUNITIES.

Though you stand on the top of the ladder of life, youmust not kick out that ladder from under your feet. You must not deny your relatives, the other animals. Their history is your history, and if you kick them to the bottom of the abyss, to the bottom of the abyss you go yourself. By them you stand or fall. What you repudiate in them you repudiate in yourself — a pretty spectacle, truly, of an exalted animal striving to disown the stuff of life out of which it is made, striving by use of the very reason that was developed by evolution to deny the possession of evolution that developed it. Thismay be good egotism, but it is not good science. (London, 1910, p. 508)

Field of study: Biology, Psychology
Hope after tariff increase? / Hoop ná tariefverhoging? : as we see it / soos ons dit sien

The Southern African Poultry Association's recent successful application for increased tariffs has given hope to those who suffer as a result of cheap imports. However, according to recent reports, no one in the poultry industry seems to be overjoyed. This is because the average percentage point tariff increase is only 8,75.
Die Suider-Afrikaanse Pluimvee vereniging se onlangse suksesvolle aansoek om verhoogde tariewe het hoop gegee aan die wat onder goedkoop invoere gebuk gaan. Volgens onlangse berigte, is rolspelers in die pluimveebedryf nie juis oorstelp van vreugde nie. Dit is omdat die gemiddelde persentasiepunt-tariefverhoging net 8,75 is.

Field of study: Agricultural and Food sciences
Phonon effects in molecular transistors

A rate equation formalism is used to determine the effect of electron-phonon coupling on the conductance of a molecule. Interplay between the phonon-induced renormalization of the density of states on the quantum dot and the phonon-induced renormalization of the dot-lead coupling is found to be important. Whether or not the phonons are able to equilibrate in a time rapid compared to the transit time of an electron through the dot is found to affect the conductance. Observable signatures of phonon equilibration are presented.

Field of study: Physics