nils-herrmann/clean_scirepeval huggingface dataset:
A2a Adenosine Receptor Mediates PKA-Dependent Glutamate Release from Synaptic-like Vesicles and Ca2+ Efflux from an IP3- and Ryanodine-Insensitive Intracellular Calcium Store in Astrocytes

The mechanism underlying transmitter release from astrocytes is not fully understood. The present study examined A2a adenosine receptor-mediated glutamate release and intracellular Ca2+ rise in cultured rat hippocampal astrocytes.  Intracellular amino acids were measured with HPLC. Glutamate release from astrocytes and intracellular Ca2+ mobilizations were monitored in the NADH imaging, FM1-43 imaging, and fura-2 imaging. The siRNA to silence the A2a adenosine receptor-targeted gene was constructed and transfected into cells.  Glutamate was condensed in ‘synaptic-like vesicle’ fractions. In the NADH imaging, CGS21680, an agonist of A2a adenosine receptors, increased NADH fluorescent signals, that reflects glutamate release, and the effect was inhibited by DMPX, an inhibitor of A2a adenosine receptors, H-89, a PKA inhibitor, vesicular transport inhibitors, or botulinum toxin-A, an exocytosis inhibitor. In the FM1-43 imaging to see vesicular recycling, CGS21680 decreased FM1-43 fluorescent signals, that was also prevented by DMPX, H-89, vesicular transport inhibitors, or botulinum toxin-A. CGS21680 increased intracellular Ca2+ concentrations both in Ca2+-containing and -free extracellular solution. The Ca2+ rise was inhibited by DMPX, H-89, or the vesicular transport inhibitor brefeldin A, but it was not affected by inhibitors for phospholipase C, IP3 receptor, and ryanodine receptor. CGS21680-induced glutamate release and intracellular Ca2+ rise were prevented by knocking-down A2a adenosine receptor.  The results of the present study show that A2a adenosine receptor/PKA promotes glutamate release from synaptic-like vesicles and stimulates Ca2+ efflux from an IP3- and ryanodine-insensitive intracellular calcium store.

Field of study: Biology, Chemistry
Allowance for the polarization of optical fields in statistical identification of objects on the basis of their images

A new algorithm is derived for identification with the aid of additional information on the field polarization. The efficiency of the new algorithm is compared with the original one and it is shown that, other conditions being equal, the probability of identification with the aid of polarization is always higher and its advantage over the scalar case increases on increase in the number of resolution elements of the image.

Field of study: Engineering, Physics
Proton conductivity in Al-montmorillonite pillared clays

Pillared clays (PILCs) are materials derived from smectite clay minerals (2:1 phyllosilicates) in which an interlayer formation of metal oxides, acting as pillars, produces a permanent separation between the silicate layers. It is assumed that protons are generated during the thermal treatment necessary for the pillar oxide formation, as it is the case for Al-montmorillonite PILCs. We have applied the electrochemical impedance technique with the aim of studying the proton conductivity of these pillared materials. Enhancement of electrical conductivity has been observed upon adsorption of oxyethylene compounds (crown-ethers and PEO) into the PILC galleries.

Field of study: Materials science
Trilobite diversity in Avalonia prior to the end Ordovician extinction — the peak before the trough

The trilobite biodiversity curve for Avalonia differs markedly from the global and other regional patterns in having the peak of diversity immediately prior to the Hirnantian extinction event rather than in the Caradoc or even earlier. This reflects both the very wide spectrum of biofacies represented in this part of the succession in Avalonia and the immigration of taxa resulting from the closure of the Iapetus and Tornquist oceans. Detailed analysis of the faunas demonstrates that Avalonia exemplifies the many factors involved in provincial breakdown and their influence on biodiversity. Furthermore, it emphasises the need to understand the palaeoenvironmental context within which such changes took place. Over 90 trilobite genera are known from the mid-Ashgill (Cautleyan and Rawtheyan stages) of Avalonia with half of these making their first appearance on this microcontinent in that interval. The wide environmental spectrum reflected in the rock record not only includes the return of the deepest water (cyclopygid–atheloptic) biofacies but also marks the first recorded development in Avalonia of the pure carbonate illaenid–cheirurid association which was first established in low latitude Laurentia much earlier in the Ordovician. Its appearance in Avalonia may reflect a combination of the drift of the microcontinent towards tropical latitudes and a possible warming event. Recruitment into this and other environments was overwhelmingly from low latitudes with the largest cohort having its earlier history in Laurentia. Setting aside the ‘new’ pure carbonate environment, the marked rise in diversity and concomitant provincial breakdown resulted from the insinuation of immigrant taxa into existing communities across the shelf and upper slope rather than from any substantial replacement of the established incumbents. The peak of diversity in the mid-Ashgill made the climatically triggered Hirnantian extinction all the more dramatic in Avalonia.

Field of study: Environmental science, Geography
Association of delayed time in the emergency department with the clinical outcomes for critically ill patients.

Previous studies have shown the association of waiting time in the emergency department with the prognosis of critically ill patients, but these studies linking the waiting time to clinical outcomes have been inconsistent and limited by small sample size.



To determine the relationship between the waiting time in the emergency department and the clinical outcomes for critically ill patients in a large sample population.



A retrospective cohort study of 13,634 patients.



We used the Medical Information Mart for Intensive Care III database. Multivariable logistic regression was used to determine the independent relationships of the in-hospital mortality rate with the delayed time and different groups. Interaction and stratified analysis were conducted to test whether the effect of delayed time differed across various subgroups.



After adjustments, the in-hospital mortality in the ≥6 hours group increased by 38.1% (OR 1.381, 95% CI 1.221-1.562). Moreover, each delayed hour was associated independently with a 1.0% increase in the risk of in-hospital mortality (OR 1.010, 95% CI 1.008-1.010). In the stratified analysis, ICU types, length of hospital stay, length of ICU stay, SAPS II, and diagnostic category were found to have interactions with ≥6 hours group in in-hospital mortality.



In this large retrospective cohort study, every delayed hour was associated with an increase in mortality. Furthermore, clinicians should be cautious of patients diagnosed with sepsis, liver/renal/metabolic diseases, internal hemorrhage, and cardiovascular disease, and if conditions permit, they should give priority to transferring to the corresponding ICUs.

Field of study: Medicine
Paleoproterozoic (ca. 1.9 Ga) megascopic life on land in Western Australia

Controversial hairpin-shaped trace fossils (Myxomitodes stirlingensis) and discoid fossils (Cyclomedusa davidi) are here reinterpreted in a reassessment of sedimentology and paleosols of the 1.9 ± 0.1 Ga Stirling Range Formation of Western Australia. Paleosols in the Stirling Range Formation were recognized from complex cracking patterns (peds and cutans), chemical and mineralogical zonation (soil horizons), and poikiloblastic crystals (desert roses). Redox profiles of the paleosols are evidence of well-drained profiles of a coastal plain under a low oxygen (433 ± 116 ppmv) and carbon dioxide (564 ± 64 ppmv) atmosphere. Gypsum pseudomorphs in paleosols that are deeply weathered chemically, represent a persistence of acid sulfate weathering, better known in Archean paleosols before the Great Oxidation event at 2.45 Ga. Chemical composition of the paleosols is evidence of a humid (1478 ± 182 mm mean annual precipitation) temperate (11.3 ± 0.5 °C mean annual temperature) paleoclimate. Their paleoenvironmental setting was a coastal plain on a passive tectonic margin. Megafossils were found on paleosols of western red sandstones of the Stirling Range Formation, not in gray shales and sandstones of marine facies to the east. Trace fossils (Myxomitodes stirlingensis) and discoid fossils are both found at the surface of well drained paleosols, and so were not metazoan trails, nor sea jellies. Myxomitodes was more likely a grex (“slug”) trail of soil slime molds, and the Cyclomedusa discoids, were probably microbial colonies. Pervasive microfilamentous structures in the paleosol surface are additional evidence of Paleoproterozoic microbial earth ecosystems.

Field of study: Environmental science, Geography
TH‐E‐BRB‐07: Treatment Planning Performance of High Intensity Flattening‐Filter‐ Free Beams for Head‐And‐Neck Cancer: IMRT versus VMAT

To evaluate the performance of high‐intensity flattening‐filter‐free (FFF) beams in terms of planning efficiency and dosimetric merits for head‐ and‐neck cancers treated with IMRT and VMAT techniques.  Ten patients with Stage III–IV squamous cell carcinoma of the head and neck were planned with fixed‐field IMRT and VMAT using 6MV flattened, 6MV FFF and 10MV FFF beams. Seven equi‐spaced fields and two axial arcs were used for IMRT and RapidArc, respectively. Prescription doses to the primary and nodal targets were, respectively, 70 and 54 Gy over 35 fractions. Identical dose constraints are used for IMRT and RapidArc plans. Planning times and plan qualities were assessed for IMRT versus RapidArc with flattened and FFF beams.  Target doses showed moderately better uniformity and conformity in IMRT plans than in RapidArc plans. While IMRT plans also exhibited some superiority in OAR sparing compared to RapidArc, the improvement is not clinically significant for most patients. The mean time for a single planning iteration was 15.7 minutes for IMRT and 55.0 minutes for RapidArc using an Eclipse workstation with 2.27 GHz Dual Quad‐Core CPUs. The average MU is 682 for RapidArc and 2636 for IMRT. The average MUs for IMRT plans varied greatly among 6MV flattened, 6MV FFF and 10 MV FFF beams requiring 1513, 2580 and 3816 MU, respectively. In RapidArc plans, however, this variation is less than 20% for the three beams.  Both IMRT and RapidArc produced clinically acceptable treatment plans with flattened and FFF beams for head‐and‐neck cancers. Fixed‐field IMRT plans showed moderate dosimetric advantage over RapidArc plans but required almost four times the MU. Among IMRT plans, FFF beams required 2–3 times the MU of flattened beams.

Field of study: Medicine, Physics
Role engineering: From design to evolution of security schemes

This paper presents a methodology to design the RBAC (Role-Based Access Control) scheme during the design phase of an Information System. Two actors, the component developer and the security administrator, will cooperate to define and set up the minimal set of roles in agreement with the application constraints and the organization constraints that guarantee the global security policy of an enterprise. In order to maintain the global coherence of the existing access control scheme, an algorithm is proposed to detect the possible inconsistencies before the integration of a new component in the Information System.

Field of study: Computer science, Engineering
Design of a teaching plan for multiple Ping-Pong ball training.

This multiple ball training plan is designed according to such 4 stages in the Ping-Pong technique forma-tion pattern as generalization,differentiation,solidification and automation.Complicated tactic and technique com-bined training,move training,training for difficult techniques that are usually hard to grasped in one-on-one train-ing,athlete’s physical,mental and volitive capacity exercises,are implemented in the entire multi-ball teaching and training via the use of such 3 training means as "multi-point plus multi-ball","interactive multi-point plus multi-ball" and "single training with multi-ball",intensified training is carried out in an action specific way by means of ball supply,and the said problems are settled one by one.

Field of study: Education
Investigation of the influence of departure to circular fringes imaging

This paper discusses the principle of imaging with circular interference fringes and the processing method with matched filter, it also calculated the point spread function. It gives two digital relations by simulation: between the main-side lobe ratio and the phase, and between the departure and the phase. The conclusion is that suitable departure helps to improve the resolution of the imaging, and not to bring any unreasonable side lobe that influences the point spread function.

Field of study: Physics
A Solar and Galactic Cosmic Ray Satellite Experiment

A cosmic ray instrument for NASA's OGO-F spacecraft is described. The experiment consists of three charged particle detector systems which are designed to measure the spectra and chemical composition of galactic and solar cosmic rays over selected energy intervals. Two of the detector systems, the ?E-Range and ?E-?erenkov telescopes, will measure the galactic flux and smaller solar flare fluxes, while a third detector system, the Flare telescope, will measure larger fluxes The three telescopes identify particle energy and type by various techniques. Energy loss and range, which provide the identification of protons (1 to 300 MeV), alpha particles (4 to 1200 MeV) and electrons (1 to 500 MeV), are measured in a stack of silicon solid state detectors and tungsten absorbers in the ?E-Range telescope, while the identification of protons (350 to 1000 MeV), alpha particles (1400 to 4000 MeV) an, nuclei through oxygen is provided in the ?E-?erenkov telescope by energy loss measurements in silicon solid state detectors and a velocity measurement in a quartz & ?erenkov radiator. The Flare telescope employs a double energy loss measurement in silicon detectors for the identification of protons (17 to 100 MeV) and alpha particles (70 to 400 MeV). The design of the instrument is optimized for maximum use of the available data rate with minimum weight, volume and power requirements.

Field of study: Physics
Radiometric Ages of Intrusive Rocks in the Little Belt Mountains, Montana

Radiometric ages indicate that most, if not all, of the major intrusions in the Little Belt Mountains, central Montana, were emplaced during the Eocene epoch, between 48 and 54 m.y. ago. In the Hughesville area, igneous activity continued, or was episodic until 42 m.y. ago. As a result of the continued igneous activity, radiometric ages in the Hughesville area can be interpreted either as primary ages or as reset ages.

Field of study: Geology
On efficiency and validity of previous Homeplug MAC performance analysis

The Medium Access Control protocol of Power Line Communication networks (defined in Homeplug and IEEE 1901 standards) has received relatively modest attention from the research community. As a consequence, there is only one analytical model that complies with the standardised MAC procedures and considers unsaturated conditions. We identify two important limitations of the existing analytical model: high computational expense and predicted results just prior to the predicted saturation point do not correspond to long-term network performance. In this work, we present a simplification of the previously defined analytical model of Homeplug MAC able to substantially reduce its complexity and demonstrate that the previous performance results just before predicted saturation correspond to a transitory phase. We determine that the causes of previous misprediction are common analytical assumptions and the potential occurrence of a transitory phase, that we show to be of extremely long duration under certain circumstances. We also provide techniques, both analytical and experimental, to correctly predict long-term behaviour and analyse the effect of specific Homeplug/IEEE 1901 features on the magnitude of misprediction errors. Our simplified analysis is then used to model the priority resolution scheme defined in Homeplug/IEEE 1901. We show that previous tendencies found in simulations and in an off-the-shelf testbed are correctly captured in our framework. We also show that resorting to the traffic differentiation provided by the different contention parameters alone solves the starvation faced by lower-access category traffic.

Field of study: Computer science
An extension of Liénard’s graphical construction

and this latter equation is ordinarily interpreted as specifying a field of directions in the x — v (phase) plane; the direction, dv/dx, at point P = (x0, v0) is the slope of the solution curve through that point evaluated at P and is, from (2), equal to —j(x0))/va . The classical Li6nard construction [1, pp. 31-36] deals only with the particular case where j(x) is linear in x. Under this hypothesis and with proper scaling of the coordinates x and v, we may write (2) in the standard Lienard form:

Field of study: Mathematics
MAD phasing using the (Ta6Br12)2+ cluster: a retrospective study.

The crystal structure of cytokinin-specific binding protein (CSBP) containing four independent molecules with 4 x 155 = 620 residues in the asymmetric unit of the P6(4) unit cell has been solved by three-wavelength MAD using 1.8 angstroms resolution data recorded from a crystal derivatized with the dodecabromohexatantalum cation (Ta6Br12)2+. The diffraction data contained a very strong anomalous signal (allowing successful phasing even using peak SAD data alone) despite the fact that the five (Ta6Br12)2+ clusters found in the asymmetric unit have low occupancy (about 0.3). The derivative structure has been successfully refined to R = 0.158, providing interesting details on the geometry of the (Ta6Br12)2+ cluster, its interactions with the protein and on the backsoaking of a cytokinin ligand that was originally part of a CSBP-cytokinin complex in the native crystals used for (Ta6Br12)2+ derivatization. A simulation analysis of the phasing power of the (Ta6Br12)2+ ions at artificially imposed resolution limits shows that it is not possible to resolve the individual Ta atoms if the dmin limit of the data is higher than 2.9 angstroms. Additionally, for successful Ta identification the (Ta6Br12)2+ complex should be specifically bound and ordered. Good binding at the protein surface is facilitated by the presence of acidic groups, indicating higher pH buffer conditions to be preferable. In addition, the water channels in the crystal should be sufficiently wide (at least 11 angstroms) to allow free diffusion of the (Ta6Br12)2+ ions on soaking. A retrospective look at the initial molecular-replacement calculations provides interesting insights into how the peculiar packing mode and strong bias of the molecular-replacement-phased electron-density maps had hindered successful solution of the structure by this method.

Field of study: Chemistry
Loss Estimation of Litchi Fruit due to Pericarp Browning

The loss estimation of litchi fruit due to pericarp browning is an important step of the litchi pericarp browning control.The loss estimationof the Lanzhu litchi fruit due to pericarp browning was investigated in this paper and a theoretic basis for the litchi pericarp browning control was established.Based on the investigation of the Lanzhu litchi pericarp browning,the impact of the pericarp browning on the sensory quality and sale price of litchi fruit were analyzed.When the pericarp browning reached level Ⅲ,the significant impact on the sensory quality and sale price of litchi fruit was found.According to the relationship between the different browning level and loss rate,the best estimation models for fresh flavor,total soluble solids,economic loss rate of Lanzhu litchi was established,which were logistic model FALR=62.279 8/[1+EXP(5.086 8-1.241 0 X)],logistic model TSSLR=37.120 6/[1+EXP(5.474 0-1.689 7 X)]and linear model ELR=-24.671 0+19.347 0 X.Using the models,the daily quantitative loss estimation of Lanzhu litchi at room temperature in Fujian Province was analyzed and the results showed that longer storage time would lead to higher economic loss of Lanzhu litchi.

Field of study: Agricultural and Food sciences
Palynological evidence for Holocene environmental change in the Changjiang (Yangtze River) Delta, China

Holocene vegetation changes in response to climate fluctuations and human impacts are reviewed on the basis of pollen analyses from borehole cores taken from the Changjiang (Yangtze River) delta, China, and other previously reported data. During the earliest Holocene (10,930−9000 cal yr BP), the climate was warm and wet, allowing thermophilous hardwoods to occupy mid- and low-elevations surrounding a palaeo-Changjiang estuary. The climate became gradually cooler, and cool-tolerant conifers, grasses and ferns became dominant until 7600 cal yr BP, when the estuary became a delta. A mid-Holocene climatic optimum occurred between 7600 and 4800 cal yr BP, when evergreen and broadleaved deciduous trees flourished at mid- and low-elevations surrounding the delta front-prodelta. After this time, climate became cooler again until 1340 cal yr BP. During this period, evergreen and broadleaved deciduous trees were replaced by conifers and grasses inhabiting the inter/subtidal flat-delta front. This development of conifer–grassland vegetation was shortly interrupted between 3860 and 3200 cal yr BP when thermophilous tree cover increased and open vegetation with scattered conifers was reduced. Since 1340 cal yr BP, the vegetation has been similar to that at present under warm, wet conditions. Human impacts are recognized by the first appearance of Fagopyrum and a sudden increase in herb pollen at 4500 and 1340 cal yr BP, respectively.

Field of study: Environmental science, Geography
UKF Based Nonlinear Filtering Using Minimum Entropy Criterion

A novel filter for nonlinear and non-Gaussian systems is proposed in this paper. The unscented Kalman filter is designed to give a preliminary estimation of the state. An additional RBF-network is added to the UKF innovation term to compensate for the non-Gaussianity of the whole system. The Renyi's entropy of the innovation is introduced and parameters of the RBF-network are updated using minimum entropy criterion at each time step. It has been shown that the proposed algorithm has a high accuracy in estimation because entropy can characterize all the randomness of the residual while UKF only cares for the mean and the covariance. It has been proved that with properly chosen bandwidth Σ, the minimum entropy problem of the innovation is convex. Therefore, the proposed adaptive nonlinear filter will be globally convergent and the misadjustment will be proportional to the step size μ. The effectiveness of the proposed method is shown by simulation.

Field of study: Engineering