nils-herrmann/clean_scirepeval huggingface dataset:
Transcriptomic and Proteomic Tools in the Study of Hg Toxicity: What Is Missing?

Mercury is a hazardous substance that has unique neurodevelopmental toxic effects in humans. However, the precise sequence of molecular events that culminate in Hg-induced neuropathology is still unknown. Though the omics studies have been generating an enormous amount of new data about Hg toxicity, our ability to interpret such a large quantity of information is still limited. In this opinion article, we will reinforce the necessity of new high throughput and accurate analytical proteomic methodologies, especially, thiol and selenol-proteome. Overall, we posit that improvements in thiol- and selenol-proteomic analyses will be pivotal in identifying the primary cellular targets of Hg. However, a better understanding of the complex cascades and molecular pathways involved in its toxicity will require extensive complementary studies in more complex systems.

Field of study: Biology
Strong coupling between surface plasmons and excitons in an organic semiconductor.

We report on the observation of a strong coupling between a surface plasmon and an exciton. Reflectometry experiments are performed on an organic semiconductor, namely, cyanide dye J aggregates, deposited on a silver film. The dispersion lines present an anticrossing that is the signature of a strong plasmon-exciton coupling. Mixed states are formed in a similar way as microcavities polaritons. The Rabi splitting characteristic of this coupling reaches 180 meV at room temperature. The emission of the low energy plasmon-exciton mixed state has been observed and is largely shifted from the uncoupled emission.

Field of study: Physics
Synthesis of macroheterocyclic analogs of dibenzocrown ethers. 5. 16- and 17-Membered oxaazacrown ethers

Macrocyclic diamides are synthesized by condensation of 1,5-bis(2-aminophenyl)-1,5-dioxapentane and 1,6-bis(2-aminophenyl)-1,6-dioxahexane with the dichlorides of glutaric, diglycolic, thiodiglycolic, and N-tosyliminodiacetic acids under high dilution conditions. Reduction with diborane gives the 16- and 17-membered dibenzodiazacrown ethers. The structure of the compounds synthesized is confirmed by IR,NMR (1H and 13C), and mass spectral data.

Field of study: Chemistry
The German Business Cycle in the 1920 's: A Comment and Reply

IN a recent issue of this Review, an article by Malcolm Falkus contested a previous article of mine on the origins of the German economic downturn in i929.1 The point at issue is whether the decline of American foreign lending at the end of the i920's was the precipitating factor in the German downturn. I claimed that it was not and called for-but did not furnish-an explanation resting on domestic factors. Falkus demurred, attempting to resurrect the traditional story which asserted that the decline in capital inflow was the cause of the German downturn. The stories that appear in my article and in Falkus's article are quite different, and they are based largely on different kinds of evidence. There is, however, one critical point in the argument where we both employed the same kind of evidence. As this is a major point in the development of the argument, and as Falkus's use of evidence is unjustifiably incorrect, a comment on this point seemed necessary. Other points in the discussion will have to await further research. In my article, I assigned a central role in the origin of the German depression to inventory fluctuations. I then said that, "Recent research into the determinants of inventory investment in the United States has failed to uncover any significant or consistent relationship between credit conditions and inventory investment."2 After a few caveats about the use of this finding in a discussion about Germany, I concluded, "It is therefore entirely unreasonable to hypothesize a relationship between inventories and credit conditions in Germany in the late i920'S strong enough to explain the change in the former by changes in the latter."3 Falkus, in contrast, asserts that, "as emphasized by contemporaries, monetary stringency was inducing industries to cut back inventories [in i928-9]."4 His evidence for this extremely important assertion is meagre-and largely incorrect as we shall see. Falkus's evidence comes in three parts. First, there is a citation to the contemporary opinion mentioned in the passage just quoted. While contemporary opinion should never be ignored, we now know that contemporary observers in the late i920's were as often wrong about the nature of current economic events as they were right. Second, Falkus asserts that the levels of income and of

Field of study: Economics, History
Perturbation techniques in the theory of lubrication

Perturbation techniques are a very useful tool also in the theory of lubrication. Two typical situations are rigorously discussed in this paper: the bifurcation for the "shoe-bearing" and the asymptotic analysis for a finite gas slider bearing of narrow geometry. Furthermore the mathematical basis of a new application of the Reynolds equation is briefly treated.  This paper deals with various perturbation problems arising in the theory of lubrication. The main analytic tool of this branch of fluid mechanics is the Reynolds equation ,  which reads ^-vp) = 6U(pH) x. (1.1) In (1.1), P( X), X = (x, y) is the pressure in a thin film of lubricating fluid of density p and viscosity fi. H{ X) is the film thickness and U the ^-component of the velocity of the moving surface. A bifurcation problem motivated by the study of the so-called "shoe-bearing" is examined in Section 2. For this kind of bearing the thickness of the film is not fixed because the upper surface (the shoe) is freely pivoted; thus the equilibrium positions under load need not be unique. The occurrence of bifurcation is proved with elementary analytic means. In Section 3 we are concerned with a singular perturbation problem for the nonlinear Reynolds equation of gas-lubrication. We take into account the width of the occurring boundary layer and prove a result of convergence previously stated without proof by Diprima and Shepherd (see ).  Received March 21, 1985. ^1986 Brown University 97

Field of study: Mathematics
Advanced numerical prototyping methods in modern engineering applications

Numerical prototyping methods based on numerical simulations and optimization are nowadays a key success factor for cost effectively and timely development, manufacturing of competitive products and processes. The typical numerical prototyping procedures are based on a sequence of numerical simulations/experiments done in an iterative form in order to achieve usually sub-optimal designs. These experiments are usually selected according to the knowledge and experience of an engineer or defined according to experimentally orientated methodologies. The current paper describes part of our preliminary research results of numerical prototyping, specialty focusing on the optimized numerical DOE approach, which leads to substantial reduction of numerical experiments for the specified accuracy of the response surface model.

Field of study: Engineering
Shrinkage estimation of a mean vector in a two-sample problem

Let X 1 X 2 be two p-variate (p ≥ 3) normal random observations and U be a chi-square random variable, where X 1 ∼ N p (μ1,σ 2Σ1)X 2 ∼ N p (μ2,σ 2Σ2), and Assume that X 1 X 2, and U are mutually independent. We wish to estimate the mean vector μ1 based on X 1 X 2, and U when Σ1 is known, but σ 2 and Σ2 are unknown. Two families of minimax estimators are proposed in spite of the fact that independent estimates of σ 2Σ2 are unavailable.

Field of study: Mathematics
Theoretical bounds on estimation error for meta-learning

Machine learning models have traditionally been developed under the assumption that the training and test distributions match exactly. However, recent success in few-shot learning and related problems are encouraging signs that these models can be adapted to more realistic settings where train and test distributions differ. Unfortunately, there is severely limited theoretical support for these algorithms and little is known about the difficulty of these problems. In this work, we provide novel information-theoretic lower-bounds on minimax rates of convergence for algorithms that are trained on data from multiple sources and tested on novel data. Our bounds depend intuitively on the information shared between sources of data, and characterize the difficulty of learning in this setting for arbitrary algorithms. We demonstrate these bounds on a hierarchical Bayesian model of meta-learning, computing both upper and lower bounds on parameter estimation via maximum-a-posteriori inference.

Field of study: Computer science
XAFS study of silver clusters in zeolites.

The EXAFS measurements on Ag K-edge have been carried out at 298K on completely Ag+-exchanged zeolite 4A(Ag-4A) with different dehydration treatments. Ill the Fourier trmislbnns F(r) of EXAFS spectra there appear two distinct peaks. By two-shell curve-fitting analysis it is tbund that the Ag ion-ti-amework oxygen and Ag-Ag contact distances decrease as the color of Ag4A changes fi-om white (fidly hydrated) to brown (fitlly dehydrated). The coordination number of Ag atom (Ag °) around a central Ag °, 9.0 + 0.5, tbr brown Ag-.4A suggests a tbnnation of a silver cluster with Ag o -Ag o contact distance of 2.81 A.

Field of study: Physics
Designed for learning: A case study in rethinking teaching and learning for a large first year class

This paper presents a case study in which the principles of scholarship were applied to designing an approach to learning suitable for large classes. While this case study describes an Australian first year Business Law unit, the findings presented in this paper would be relevant to a wide range of teachers faced with large enrollments in first year higher education courses. In the present case, the teacher had the challenge of teaching very large first year classes comprising students from diverse linguistic and cultural backgrounds, many of whom were enrolled in the course not from choice but because it was compulsory for their degree. In this paper the authors describe how the teaching of the course was designed to enhance and encourage student learning. The authors’ focus is on implementation of first year curriculum design principles; use of computer-based tutorials and audience response systems; and a team approach to teaching. The teaching practices discussed in this paper are underpinned by references to relevant literature and contextualized within an ethics approved research project. The findings presented in this paper are likely to be of interest to teachers of law, teachers of large classes, and to curriculum and academic developers.

Field of study: Education
Osteoclasts Lose Innate Inflammatory Reactivity to Metal and Polymer Implant Debris Compared to Monocytes/Macrophages

Long-term aseptic failures of joint replacements are generally attributed to implant debris-induced inflammation and osteolysis. This response is largely mediated by immune and bone cells (monocytes/macrophages and osteoclasts, respectively), that in the presence of implant debris (e.g. metal particles and ions), release pro-inflammatory cytokines such as IL-1β, TNF-α, and IL-6. The relative degree to which implant debris can illicit inflammatory response(s) from osteoclasts vs monocytes/macrophages is unknown, i.e. are osteoclasts a viable target for anti-inflammatory therapy for implant debris? We investigated relative monocyte versus osteoclast inflammatory responses in a side-by-side comparison using implant debris from the perspective of both danger signaling (IL-1β) and pathogenic recognition (TNF-α) reactivity (Challenge Agents: Cobalt-alloy, Titanium-alloy, and PMMA particles, 0.9-1.8um-dia ECD and Cobalt, and Nickel-ions 0.01-0.1mM, all with and without LPS priming). Human monocytes/macrophages reacted to implant debris with >100 fold greater production of cytokines compared to osteoclast-like cells. Particulate Co-alloy challenge induced >1000 pg/ml of IL-1β and TNF-α, in monocytes and <50pg/mL IL-1β and TNF-α in osteoclasts. Cobalt ions induced >3000pg/mL IL-1β and TNF-α in monocytes/macrophages and <50pg/mL IL-1β and TNF-α in osteoclasts. The paracrine effect of supernatants from debris-treated monocytes/macrophages was capable of inducing greater osteoclastogenesis (TRAP+, p<0.06) and inflammation than direct debris challenge on osteoclasts. Our results indicate that as monocytes/macrophages differentiate into osteoclasts, they largely lose their innate immune reactivity to implant debris and thus may not be as relevant a therapeutic target as monocytes/macrophages for mitigating debris-induced inflammation.

Field of study: Medicine
BRIEF COMMUNICATIONS: Influence of the width of a spectral line on the excitation of stimulated scattering in resonators

An analysis is made of the influence of the width of the pump line on the stimulated scattering in Fabry–Perot and ring resonators which are tuned both to the pump frequency and to the frequency of the Stokes component. It is shown that the excitation threshold of the stimulated scattering in dispersion-free media is independent of the width of the pump line, because of the parametric interaction between the modes, whereas in media with a considerable dispersion the threshold is Δωp/Δωsp greater than the stimulated emission threshold under monochromatic pumping conditions (the subscripts "p" and "sp" refer to the pump wave and to the spontaneous Raman scattering). Analytic expressions are given for the amplitudes of the pump and Stokes fields at the excitation threshold and under steady-state conditions.

Field of study: Engineering, Physics
Microbial communities in a dynamic In Vitro model for the human ileum resemble the human ileal microbiota.

The important role for the human small intestinal microbiota in health and disease has been widely acknowledged. However, the difficulties encountered in accessing the small intestine in a non-invasive way in healthy subjects have limited the possibilities to study its microbiota. In this study, a dynamic in vitro model that simulates the human ileum was developed, including its microbiota. Ileostomy effluent and fecal inocula were employed to cultivate microbial communities within the in vitro model. Microbial stability was repetitively achieved after 10 days of model operation with bacterial concentrations reaching on average 107 to 108 16S rRNA copy numbers/ml. High diversities similar to those observed in in vivo ileum samples were achieved at steady state using both fecal and ileostomy effluent inocula. Functional stability based on Short Chain Fatty Acid concentrations was reached after 10 days of operation using fecal inocula, but was not reached with ileostomy effluent as inoculum. Principal Components and cluster analysis of the phylogenetic profiles revealed that in vitro samples at steady state clustered closest to two samples obtained from the terminal ileum of healthy individuals, independent of the inoculum used, demonstrating that the in vitro microbiota at steady state resembles that of the human ileum.

Field of study: Biology, Environmental science
The multifaceted roles of FLOWERING LOCUS T in plant development.

One of the key developmental processes in flowering plants is the differentiation of the shoot apical meristem into a floral meristem. This transition is regulated through the integration of environmental and endogenous stimuli, involving a complex, hierarchical signalling network. In arabidopsis, the FLOWERING LOCUS T (FT) protein, a mobile signal recognized as a major component of florigen, has a central position in mediating the onset of flowering. FT-like genes seem to be involved in regulating the floral transition in all angiosperms examined to date. Evidence from molecular evolution studies suggests that the emergence of FT-like genes coincided with the evolution of the flowering plants. Hence, the role of FT in floral promotion is conserved, but appears to be restricted to the angiosperms. Besides flowering, FT-like proteins have also been identified as major regulatory factors in a wide range of developmental processes including fruit set, vegetative growth, stomatal control and tuberization. These multifaceted roles of FT-like proteins have resulted from extensive gene duplication events, which occurred independently in nearly all modern angiosperm lineages, followed by sub- or neo-functionalization. This review assesses the plethora of roles that FT-like genes have acquired during evolution and their implications in plant diversity, adaptation and domestication.

Field of study: Environmental science
Learned tolerance to ethanol-induced c-Fos expression in rats.

With c-Fos immunoreactivity as a marker for neural activity, we examined whether environmental cues associated with ethanol injection influence the expression of tolerance to ethanol-induced c-Fos activation. Over 24 training days, male Long-Evans rats received ethanol injection (2.5 g/kg) in one environment and saline injection in a different environment. Relative to rats that received ethanol for the first time, ethanol-induced c-Fos expression in the paraventricular nucleus of the hypothalamus (PVN) and the locus coeruleus (LC) was significantly reduced in rats that had received multiple prior ethanol administrations. However, tolerance was partially reversed when ethanol was given in the saline-paired, rather than the ethanol-paired, environment. Results suggest that tolerance to ethanol, as indexed by c-Fos expression in the PVN and the LC, is mediated in part by Pavlovian conditioned responses to cues that predict ethanol administration.

Field of study: Biology, Psychology
The Relationship between public spending on health and economic growth in Algeria: Testing for Co-integration and Causality

This paper investigated the causality and co-integration relationships between public health expenditure and economic growth in Algeria during 1974-2014 using annual data. This paper concentrated on time series co-integration and causality in VECM framework. The findings revealed that there is a long-run causality from public health expenditure to economic growth, while it is not observed any short-run causality from expenditure health to economic growth. The lack of strong link from health to economic growth is not necessarily a reason to reallocate health investment away from the health sector. The improvements in health status will be worth the effort even if they turn out to have little effect on growth.

Field of study: Business
Guilds and middle-class welfare, 1550–1800: provisions for burial, sickness, old age, and widowhood.

Guilds provided for masters' and journeymen's burial, sickness, old age, and widowhood. Guild welfare was of importance to artisans, to the functioning of guilds, to the myriad of urban social relations, and to the political economy. However, it is an understated and neglected aspect of guild activities. This article looks at welfare provision by guilds, with the aim of addressing four questions. Firstly, for which risks did guild welfare arrangements exist in the Netherlands between 1550 and 1800, and what were the coverage, contributions, benefit levels, and conditions? Secondly, can guild welfare arrangements be regarded as insurance? Thirdly, to what extent and how did guilds overcome classic insurance problems such as adverse selection, moral hazards, and correlated risks? Finally, what was the position of guild provision in the Dutch political economy and vis-a-vis poor relief?

Field of study: Economics, History
K-Ar dating constraints on the tectonothermal evolution of the external Humber zone, southern Quebec Appalachians

In the external Humber zone, the emplacement episodes of allochthonous nappes and related low-grade metamorphism are mainly based on paleontological ages from the St. Lawrence Lowlands. In fact, Late Ordovician flysches are affected by thrusting, and it is not clear if the nappe imbrication is the result of the Taconian or the Acadian deformation. Along the Chaudiere River transect, fourteen shales and phyllites of Cambrian to Ordovician age were sampled for determination of the KAr values of their < 2 µm-size fractions. To interpret the KAr data, mineral composition and clay mineral crystallinity of the < 2 µm-size fractions and maturation of the organic matter were determined. In addition, the intensity of deformation was characterized by describing the rock texture at macroscopic and microscopic scale. The combined approach used in this study emphasized that nearly all KAr dates are mixed or partly reset values. However, it can be stated that in the Quebec Promontory nappe and part of the Chaudiere ...

Field of study: Environmental science
Thyrotrophin (TSH) binding sites on Yersinia enterocolitica recognized by immunoglobulins from humans with Graves' disease.

Antibodies against the gram negative enteric bacterium Yersinia enterocolitica have been found in a high proportion of persons with autoimmune thyroid disorders, especially in those with Graves' disease or hyperthyroidism (Shenkman & Bottone, 1981). There is strong evidence that Graves' disease is caused by receptor autoantibodies which mimic the bioeffects of thyroid stimulating hormone (TSH) on the thyroid (Manley, Knight & Adams, 1982). Recently, saturable binding sites for TSH were demonstrated in Y. enterocolitica under non-physiological conditions (Weiss et al., 1983). We have characterized TSH binding sites on Y. enterocolitica under physiological conditions and studied their interaction with Graves' immunoglobulins (Ig's). Saturable and specific binding of receptor-purified 125I-TSH to lysozyme/EDTA-treated Y. enterocolitica (serotype 03) was demonstrated under both non-physiological and physiological conditions. Scatchard binding plots were linear indicating a single class of binding site (Kd 1 X 10(-7) M, maximum of 30,000 binding sites per cell). In the presence of Graves' Ig's the binding of 125I-TSH to Y. enterocolitica was significantly inhibited. Graves' Ig's also precipitated a protein of relative molecular mass (Mr) 64,000 from Triton-solubilized, 125I-labelled Y. enterocolitica, similar in size to one of the proteins precipitated by Graves' Ig's from human thyroid membranes. These findings are consistent with the hypothesis that thyroid autoimmunity may be triggered by bacterial infection via a mechanism involving crossreactivity at the level of the TSH receptor. They also suggest that elements of mammalian endocrine systems are highly conserved and have a function in prokaryotes.

Field of study: Biology, Medicine
Automatic Tracking for Regional Myocardial Motion by Correlation Method with Connecting Multiple ROIs

In this paper, we propose a new automatic tracking method for 2-D motion of Regional myocardial motion in high-frame rate echocardiography by using the correlation method with connective multiple ROIs. Several automatic tracking methods by means of correlation method and image gradient method are proposed. However, these method tend to fail to track the motion of object because of a considerable speckle noise contained in echocardiography. The proposed method in this paper is a combination method of maximization for correlation of brightness distribution and optimization the geometric location of ROIs. We compared tracking accuracies of conventional method and proposed method in evaluation test. Results of these tests shows that proposed method is able to derive more accurate trajectories from echocardiography than conventional method.

Field of study: Computer science