nils-herrmann/clean_scirepeval huggingface dataset:
Radiance-based retrieval bias mitigation for the MOPITT instrument: the version 8 product

The MOPITT (Measurements of Pollution in the Troposphere) satellite instrument has been making nearly continuous observations of atmospheric carbon monoxide (CO) since 2000. Satellite observations of CO are routinely used to analyze emissions from fossil fuels and biomass burning, as well as the atmospheric transport of those emissions. Recent enhancements to the MOPITT retrieval algorithm have resulted in the release of the version 8 (V8) product. V8 products benefit from updated spectroscopic data for water vapor and nitrogen used to develop the operational radiative transfer model and exploit a new method for minimizing retrieval biases through parameterized radiance bias correction. In situ datasets used for algorithm development and validation include the NOAA (National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration) and HIPPO (HIAPER Pole-to-Pole Observations) datasets used for earlier MOPITT validation work in addition to measurements from the ACRIDICON-CHUVA (Aerosol, Cloud, Precipitation, and Radiation Interactions and Dynamics of Convective Cloud Systems – Cloud processes of the main precipitation systems in Brazil: A contribution to cloud resolving modeling and to the GPM (Global Precipitation Measurement)), KORUS-AQ (The Korea-United States Air Quality Study), and ATom (The Atmospheric Tomography Mission) programs. Validation results illustrate clear improvements with respect to long-term bias drift and geographically variable retrieval bias. For example, whereas bias drift for the V7 thermal-infrared (TIR)-only product exceeded 0.5 % yr −1 for levels in the upper troposphere (e.g., at 300 hPa), bias drift for the V8 TIR-only product is found to be less than 0.1 % yr −1 at all levels. Also, whereas upper-tropospheric (300 hPa) retrieval bias in the V7 TIR-only product exceeded 10 % in the tropics, corresponding V8 biases are less than 5 % (in terms of absolute value) at all latitudes and do not exhibit a clear latitudinal dependence.

Field of study: Environmental science
Renal tract abnormalities missed in a historical cohort of young children with UTI if the NICE and AAP imaging guidelines were applied.

In a historical cohort of children with a urinary tract infection (UTI) who had already undergone all the imaging procedures, the aim was to determine renal tract abnormalities which would have been missed had we implemented the new guidelines from the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence in the United Kingdom (NICE) or the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP).



After a UTI episode, forty-three children (28 females, 65%) aged between 2 months and 2 years presenting at two general hospitals with a febrile UTI before 2008 underwent all the recommended imaging studies predating the new guidelines. Hydronephrosis was defined and graded according to the Society for Fetal Urology (SFU) classification. Hydronephrosis grade II (mild pelvicalyceal dilatation), grade III (moderate dilatation), and grade IV (gross dilatation with thinning of the renal cortex), duplication, vesicoureteral reflux (VUR) grade II and above, renal scarring and reduced renal uptake (<45%) on technetium-99m-labeled dimercaptosuccinic acid (DMSA) scintigraphy were considered significant abnormalities. We calculated the proportion of abnormalities which would have been missed had the new guidelines been used instead.



The median of age was 7.6 months (mean 8.7, range 2-24 months), with the majority (n = 37, 86%) being under 1 year of age. Ultrasound (US) showed hydronephrosis in 14 (32%), all grade II. A voiding cystourethrogram (VCUG) was performed in all and showed VUR ≥ grade II in 16 (37%), including eight children (19%) where it was bilateral. DMSA scan showed scarring in 25 children (58%) of whom 11 (26%) had bilateral scars. Reduced differential renal uptake was present in 10 children (23%). Of the 29 children with normal US, 18 (62%) had renal scarring and nine (31%) had VUR ≥ grade II. The NICE guidelines would have missed 63% of the children with VUR ≥ grade II, including a high proportion of grades IV and V VUR, 44% of the children with renal scarring, and 20% of the children with decreased renal uptake, including some children with bilateral renal scarring and with decreased renal uptake. The AAP guidelines would have missed 56% of the children with VUR ≥ grade II, including a high proportion of grades IV and V VUR, and all children with renal scarring as well as those with decreased renal uptake.



The prevalence of renal tract abnormalities missed by the new guidelines is high. They should be used with full awareness of their limitations.

Field of study: Medicine
Relationship between membrane sterol composition and responsiveness to 12-O-tetradecanoylphorbol 13-acetate in HL-60 human promyelocytic leukaemia cell lines.

We have examined the sterol composition and metabolism of promyelocytic leukaemia cell lines (HL-60) after treatment with 12-O-tetradecanoylphorbol 13-acetate (TPA). A variant cell line (Blast II cells) which is resistant to TPA was used as control. Analysis of the sterols of TPA-sensitive cells radiolabelled with [3H]leucine, [14C]acetate or [14C]pyruvate showed a high incorporation into cholesterol and a low incorporation in lanosterol + dihydrolanosterol. The inverse relationship was observed in TPA-resistant cells. Experiments with other cellular variants representing TPA-sensitive and TPA-resistant classes gave similar results. Analysis of the cellular sterol composition by gas chromatography confirmed that TPA-resistant cells are particularly rich in lanosterol/dihydrolanosterol. TPA treatment enhanced the incorporation of [14C]pyruvate into the sterol fraction of both cell types. This was accompanied by an alteration of incorporation into several lipids, particularly phospholipids. Pulse-chase studies with [14C]acetate revealed that TPA induced the release of radioactive lipids into the medium from HL-60 and Blast II cells. However this treatment released phospholipids from the TPA-sensitive cells and sterols and fatty acids from the TPA-resistant cells. We conclude that the sterol composition can regulate specific biochemical processes in the membrane and can be considered as a factor that plays a role in the responsiveness of HL-60 cells to TPA.

Field of study: Biology, Computer science
Sudden death of entanglement induced by polarization mode dispersion.

We study the decoherence of polarization-entangled photon pairs subject to the effects of polarization mode dispersion, the chief polarization decoherence mechanism in optical fibers. We show that fiber propagation reveals an intriguing interplay between the concepts of entanglement sudden death, decoherence-free subspaces, and nonlocality. We define the boundaries in which entanglement-based quantum communications protocols relying on fiber propagation can be applied.

Field of study: Physics
Conodont-Based Correlations of Lower and Middle Ordovician Strata in Western Newfoundland

Lower and Middle Ordovician conodont faunas from the Table Head Formation and the Cow Head Group in western Newfoundland to a large extent, or in some cases exclusively, contain forms that occur in the Balto-Scandian sequence, thus facilitating a correlation between the northern Applachians and Balto-Scandia. The lower boundary of the Table Head Formation probably lies within strata corresponding to the British Didymograptus bifidus Zone and corresponds to a level tentatively regarded as at the base of the Aluoja Substage. The upper boundary of the middle Table Head corresponds to a rather high level in the Lasnamagi Stage (in the upper part of the Didymograptus murchisoni Zone). The upper Table Head consists of black graptolitiferous shales, which have not been searched for conodont elements. Studies of conodonts from the Table Head, the Cow Head Group, and the uppermost part of the St. George Formation, and comparisons with published and nonpublished accounts of conodonts from the Fort Pena, the Joins and the Levis Formations, indicate that the North American bifidus Zone is at least partly equivalent to the British bifidus Zone, hence supporting the correlation suggested by Berry (1960).

Field of study: Geology
In vitro effect of profenofos, fenvalerate and dimilin on protein and RNA biosynthesis by rabbit liver and muscle tissues.

The present study was carried out to investigate the effect of Curacron (profenofos), Sumicidin (fenvalerate) and Dimilin (difluobenzuron) on the in vitro rate of protein and RNA synthesis by rabbit liver and muscle tissues. The synthesis of protein and RNA were significantly stimulated in the liver and inhibited in the muscle by graded doses of these insecticides. Profenofos showed maximum effect on protein synthesis in both tissues at a dose of 0.2 microgram/mL, while the maximum effect on RNA synthesis occurred at 0.2 microgram/mL, while the maximum effect on RNA synthesis occurred at 0.2 microgram mL in the liver and at 2 micrograms/mL in the muscle. Fenvalerate caused maximum stimulation in both liver protein and RNA synthesis at a dose of 2 micrograms/mL, and maximum inhibition in the muscle at 10 and 0.2 micrograms/mL for protein and RNA synthesis respectively. The maximum effect of Dimilin on both tissues was reached at 5 micrograms/mL for protein synthesis and at 0.2 microgram/mL for RNA synthesis. The effect of Dimilin on RNA synthesis was more pronounced in both tissues than its effect on protein synthesis, but this trend was reversed in the case of profenofos and fenvalerate. Present data also showed antagonism between these insecticides on the rate of protein and RNA synthesis.

Field of study: Agricultural and Food sciences
LETTERS TO THE EDITOR: Permissible heating of a medium and specific ultraviolet output energy of an optically pumped I2 laser

An experimental investigation was made of an optically pumped ultraviolet I2 laser and the permissible heating of a laser medium containing I2 was analyzed. It was found that prolonged (1–2 msec) lasing of I2 was possible and that the specific output energy was 100 J/g when the active medium had the composition CF4:I2 and its density was 3 amagat.

Field of study: Engineering, Physics
Dopaminergic innervation of forebrain by ventral mesencephalon in organotypic slice co-cultures: effects of GDNF.

Numerous studies have verified the ability of glial cell line-derived neurotrophic factor (GDNF) to protect or rescue neurons in models of Parkinson's disease. However, the role of GDNF in the development of dopaminergic (DA) neurons remains unclear. We investigated the hypothesis that GDNF is a target protein for the DA neurons of the mesencephalon forming the nigrostriatal pathway in an in vitro rat model. Organotypic slice cultures were prepared from tissue isolated from postnatal rat pups including but not limited to the substantia nigra (SN), striatum, and cerebral cortex. These cultures were maintained for up to 100 days in vitro. In the absence of exogenous GDNF, DA neurons from the SN grew into the striatum but not the cerebral cortex or hippocampus as determined by immunostaining for tyrosine hydroxylase. The addition of exogenous GDNF increased the survival of DA neurons and also enhanced the number of dopaminergic processes innervating the striatum. GDNF also induced DA innervation of the cerebral cortex but not hippocampus. In conclusion, our studies indicate that the normal pattern of innervation by DA neurons of the mesencephalon can be recapitulated with organotypic co-cultures and that this pattern can be altered by GDNF.

Field of study: Biology
Radiometric Ages and Stratigraphic Sequence of Volcanic and Plutonic Rocks, Southern Nye and Western Lincoln Counties, Nevada

The geochronology of Tertiary igneous events at the Nevada Test Site and adjacent area is outlined by 36 recently determined K-Ar ages, together with other published K-Ar ages. The first evidence of Tertiary igneous activity is the ash-fall bedded tuffs in the Horse Spring Formation. One such tuff has been dated as 29 m.y. old (late Oligocene). Other ash-flow tuffs and lavas formed during the Miocene and Pliocene, according to radiometric age determinations. The youngest ash-flow tuff in this area is about 6 m.y. old. Great volumes of ash and lava were spewed forth 13 to 11 m.y. ago to form the Paintbrush and Timber Mountain Tuffs. Sixteen replicate age determinations on minerals from four densely welded ash-flow tuffs from these formations gave a pooled standard deviation of about ± 2 percent error, provided anomalous ages were rejected on the basis of rock alteration or analytical difficulties. In the Air Force Gunnery Range, just north of the test site, K-Ar ages suggest that the oldest ash flows, the Monotony Tuff, were emplaced 27.6 m.y. ago (late Oligocene) and were followed by outpourings of lava and ash throughout most of the Miocene. Youngest dated lava is about 13 m.y. old. In the southern Egan and northern Seaman Ranges of central Nevada, the Needles Range (?) Formation has an averaged K-Ar age of about 30 m.y., which compares closely with 29.2 m.y., the average of four earlier K-Ar ages determined by other investigators on known Needles Range Formation in eastern Nevada and western Utah. K-Ar ages given by micas from two exposed plutons in the Nevada Test Site suggest emplacement of these plutons at about 93 m.y. ago (early Late Cretaceous), although earlier emplacement in the Mesozoic would be more consistent with Pb-α ages.

Field of study: Geology
Experiments on the generation of internal waves in a stratified fluid

This paper presents an overview of the results of an experimental study of internal gravity waves produced as a result of the motion of a self-propelled vehicle through a fluid in which the density varies with depth. Two ambient density profiles are considered: one for which the characteristic vertical length scale of the density change is large compared to the vehicle diameter, and a second in which this scale is smaller than the diameter. The most significant results show a strong coupling between wake turbulence and short, random internal waves. In the presence of sharp density gradients, the experiments reveal the onset of nonlinear influences on propagation, leading to the formation of solitary waves. Comparisons with theory are also presented.

Field of study: Physics
Dehydro‐β‐amino Acid Containing Peptides as Promising Sequences for Drug Development

In the course of a program devoted to the synthesis of small peptidic molecules mimicking the RGD (Arg-Gly-Asp) motif, the allylic animation of enantiomeric ally pure carbonates with 4-substituted benzylamines afforded dehydro-p-amino esters through an S(N)2' mechanism. The reaction performed with 4-aminobenzylamine occurred with complete chemoselectivity, as the aliphatic amine was much more reactive than the aromatic one. This allowed useful precursors of biologically active compounds to be obtained, avoiding extra protection-deprotection steps. The same reaction performed on glycine-derived amides gave similar results, allowing a novel type of RGD mimetic to be prepared, whose ability to inhibit cell adhesion was found to be very promising.

Field of study: Chemistry
Profiling of CH 4 background mixing ratio in the lower troposphere with Raman lidar: a feasibility experiment

We present the results of methane profiling in the lower
troposphere using LILAS Raman lidar from the Lille University observatory
platform (France). The lidar is based on a frequency-tripled Nd:YAG laser, and nighttime
profiling up to 4000 with 100 m height resolution is possible for methane.
Agreement between the measured photon-counting rate in the CH4 Raman
channel in the free troposphere and numerical simulations for a typical
 CH4 background mixing ratio (2 ppm) confirms that CH4 Raman
scattering is detected. The mixing ratio is calculated from the ratio of
methane (395.7 nm) and nitrogen (386.7 nm) Raman backscatters, and within the
planetary boundary layer, an increase of the CH4 mixing ratio, up to a
factor of 2, is observed. Different possible interfering factors, such as
leakage of the elastic signal and aerosol fluorescence, have been taken into
consideration. Tests using backscattering from clouds confirmed that the
filters in the Raman channel provide sufficient rejection of elastic
scattering. The measured methane profiles do not correlate with aerosol
backscattering, which corroborates the hypothesis that, in the planetary boundary layer, not
aerosol fluorescence but CH4 is observed. However, the fluorescence
contribution cannot be completely excluded and, for future measurements, we
plan to install an additional control channel close to 393 nm, where no strong
Raman lines exist and only fluorescence can be observed.

Field of study: Environmental science
SYNTHESIS OF 1-AMINONAPHTHO[1,2,3- cd ]INDOL-6(2 H )-ONES

A novel method has been developed for preparing N -substituted 1-aminonaphtho[1,2,3- cd ]indol-6(2 H )-ones by nucleophilic substitution of the nitro group in 1-nitronaphtho[1,2,3- cd ]indol-6(2 H )-ones. Authors: L. M. Gornostaev and O. I. Kargina English Translation in Chemistry of Heterocyclic Compounds , 2012, 48 (8), pp 1177-1180 http://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s10593-012-1118-8

Field of study: Chemistry
Numerical study of metal oxide hetero-junction solar cells with defects and interface states

Further to our previous work on ideal metal oxide (MO) hetero-junction solar cells, a systematic simulation has been carried out to investigate the effects of defects and interface states on the cells. Two structures of the window/absorber (WA) and window/absorber/voltage-enhancer (WAV) were modelled with defect concentration, defect energy level, interface state (ISt) density and ISt energy level as parameters. The simulation showed that the defects in the window layer and the voltage-enhancer layer have very limited effects on the performance of the cells, but those in the absorption layer have profound effects on the cell performance. The interface states at the W/A interface have a limited effect on the performance even for a density up to 1013?cm?2, while those at the A/V interface cause the solar cell to deteriorate severely even at a low density of lower than 1???1011?cm?2. It also showed that the back surface field (BSF) induced by band gap off-set in the WAV structure loses its function when defects with a modest concentration exist in the absorption layer and does not improve the open voltage at all.

Field of study: Materials science
The lower permian freshwater carbonates of the Slawkow graben, Southern Poland: Sedimentary facies context and stable isotope study

During early Permian times the post-Hercynian rift valley known as the Slawkow graben was filled with typical continental molasse deposits including fanglomerates and olistolites, playa flat sediments with evaporites, volcaniclastics and carbonates deposited in small spring-fed basins (oasis environment). Lithofacies variability, lithofacies relationships, sedimentary structures and paleokarst data indicate a highly changeable sedimentary environment controlled by climate, syndepositional faulting, and accompanying volcanism. Differential uplift resulted in a high-relief topography, the basin-margin mountains probably having a relative altitude of up to 1000 m. The stable isotopic composition ( δ 13 C, δ 18 O) of the spring-related carbonates indicate seasonal temperature differences of up to 15°C, a value that is close to the average annual temperature amplitude in the present-day subtropical zone. Other environmental indicators (e.g. red beds, evaporites, braided-stream sediments) corroborate the isotopic interpretation. A longer-term 6–7 year cycle, reflected in δ 18 O-composition of the carbonate, is attributed to rainfall fluctuations.

Field of study: Environmental science, Geography
A Stereoselective Synthesis of the Carbon Backbone of Phoslactomycin B

A convergent synthesis of the entire carbon framework of phoslactomycin B is disclosed. An initial route aimed to create the C-8 tetrasubstituted stereocentre through regioselective intermolecular coupling between an internal alkyne and an allyl silyl ether, adopting Trost's protocol, followed by [2,3] sigmatropic rearrangement. But this was not successful. In a second approach, a propargylic sulfide was rearranged to give an unsaturated ketone. This was then treated with lithio acetonitrile to create the C-8 stereocentre selectively. The C-4 and C-5 stereocentres were introduced by a non-Evans syn-aldol reaction using Crimmins's protocol. The C-9 and C-11 carbinol centres were created by asymmetric transfer hydrogenation. The (Z,Z)-diene moiety was introduced by partial reduction of a diyne following Hansen's modification of the Boland reduction reaction.

Field of study: Chemistry
Naturalistic Observation in Assessment of Behavioral Marital Therapy

The purpose of the present study was to gather preliminary naturalistic observations on the effects of behavioral marital therapy. A second purpose was to gather preliminary data on the importance of the sequence of components of a behavioral marital treatment involving communication training and training in negotiation and contracting. Marital satisfaction of seven couples participating in a marital intervention program was assessed with questionnaires and home observations during a baseline period, after a didactic education phase, after training in communication, and after training in negotiation and contracting. Four couples received communication skills training prior to training in negotiation and contracting; three couples received these components in the reverse order. A 1-yr. follow-up of marital satisfaction was also conducted. Significant increases were noted in self-reported marital satisfaction throughout the program although there was no significant relationship between outcome and the sequence of the two main treatment components. Data from naturalistic observation showed decreases in the rate of both negative and positive behaviors in marital interaction over the course of therapy.

Field of study: Psychology
Experimental limitations in impedance spectroscopy: Part III. Effect of reference electrode geometry/position

Experiments and computer simulations on Pt/YSZ specimens in various electrode configurations were performed to investigate the effect of reference electrode geometry/position on the accuracy of impedance measurements. The internal, Luggin probe-type, geometry is the preferred reference electrode configuration as it accurately measures both electrolyte and electrode impedances. External, ‘pseudoreference’, electrodes sample an averaged effective potential and can register inaccurate electrolyte resistances, sometimes with distorted electrode arcs. A symmetric configuration can accurately measure the impedance of an electrode; however, the electrolyte resistance will not scale linearly according to sample dimensions, as one might expect. An asymmetric configuration exhibits both non-linear partitioning of electrolyte resistance and distortions in the electrode impedance arc under certain circumstances. The reliability of three-electrode measurements is very sensitive to aspect ratio and electrode configuration.

Field of study: Materials science