bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Efficient simulation of hydrodynamic bearings using the SBFEM with eigenvalue problem derivatives
Authors: Pfeil Simon , Gravenkamp Hauke , Woschke Elmar 
Published: December 2024

AbstractThis work presents a semi-analytical solution of the Reynolds equation under Gümbel conditions for hydrodynamic bearings in rotordynamic simulations. The algorithm is based on the SBFEM (scaled boundary finite element method) in combination with eigenvalue problem derivatives. The pressure field is discretized by standard finite elements along the circumferential coordinate, while an exact analytical formulation is used in the axial direction. This transforms the partial differential equation into a system of ordinary differential equations and leads to an eigenvalue problem. The computation of the continuously changing eigenvalues and eigenvectors is achieved by accurate Taylor approximations so that the repeated call of a numerically expensive eigensolver can be avoided. The algorithm is incorporated into a time integration scheme for the dynamic analysis of a simple system, consisting of a rotor with two degrees of freedom in a hydrodynamic bearing. Thereby, the method is verified, and its numerical efficiency is demonstrated. For a bearing with a slenderness ratio (length-to-diameter ratio) of 1, the computational time is reduced to $$8.8\%$$

8.8
%

compared to a standard FVM (finite volume method) solution.
Novel maximum transient frequency deviation estimation in island grids using performance and correction indices based on field tests
Authors: Grall Dominik , Brankovic Darko , Renner Herwig , Schürhuber Robert 
Published: December 2024

AbstractPreparation for a potential blackout has gained increasing significance in recent years. As a result, the blackstart and islanding capabilities of power plants within the distribution and transmission grid become more important. Due to the high level of organisational and monetary effort required, such blackstart and grid restoration functionalities are infrequently trained in real-world scenarios and data is mostly derived from simulations. This paper analyzes some of the few existing field tests concerning load-frequency response. The study aims to compare different grid configurations, participating power plants, turbine types, and ramp-up processes. Key findings are explained using two novel indices: the Turbine Type Performance Index (TTPI), which serves as a comparative index for the turbine controller performance, system rotational energy, and load-frequency response. The second index, the Load Behavior Correction Index (LBCI), ensures the conversion of non-instantaneous power changes to instantaneous power steps and thus enables the estimation of the maximum transient frequency deviation with the direct connection of induction machines via a defined TTPI. The primary advantage of this paper’s findings is to provide a fast estimation of the maximum transient frequency deviation resulting from defined load steps based on the given rotational energy of the system.
Factors associated with awareness of chronic kidney disease, and impact of awareness on renal prognosis
Authors: Hattori Akiko , Imaizumi Takahiro , Toda Takuya , Sakurai Daisuke , Takai Nami , Miki Takahiro , Maekawa Michitaka , Kato Sawako , Hagiwara Yuta , Yoshida Yasuko , Maruyama Shoichi 
Published: December 2024

Abstract
Background
Chronic kidney disease (CKD) awareness could help prevent disease progression through modifiable risk factors. However, few patients with CKD are aware of their disease. We aimed to investigate the factors associated with CKD awareness and impact of CKD awareness on renal prognosis.

Methods
We investigated the proportion of participants with CKD who answered ‘aware of CKD’ in the questionnaire among those undergoing health check-ups from 2013 to 2022. Participants included working-age employees and their dependents covered by health insurance associations for large and medium-sized companies. The outcome was defined as the change from ‘unaware’ to ‘aware’ of CKD; multivariable logistic regression analysis assessed the association of urine tests or nutritional guidance with CKD awareness. A control group was randomly selected from the unaware group and matched for age, sex, estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR), urinary protein categories, and follow-up period. Changes in eGFR slopes before and after awareness were compared using linear mixed-effects models.

Results
Of the 13,489 participants, 2.8% were aware of CKD at baseline; of the 1,614 with CKD-related disease codes, only 19.6% were aware. The odds ratios of urine tests or nutritional guidance in relation to awareness occurrence were 1.98 (1.29–3.05) and 3.01 (1.38–6.53), respectively. The difference in the eGFR slope improvement from before to after CKD awareness was + 0.92 mL/min/1.73 m2 per year (0.18–1.67; P = 0.015) in the aware group.

Conclusion
Our findings suggest that urine tests and nutritional guidance may promote CKD awareness, which may help slow its progression.
2021 trends in the treatment of patients with strabismus in Japan
Authors: Kunimi Keiko , Goseki Toshiaki , Nishina Sachiko , Negishi Takashi , Sato Miho 
Published: December 2024

Abstract

Purpose
To clarify the actual status of strabismus surgery and botulinum toxin (BTX) therapy in Japan in the year 2021.

Study design
Cross-sectional study.

Methods
We conducted a national survey of strabismus treatment in 2021 using a questionnaire consistent with a previous 2013 survey, incorporating additional questions about BTX therapy.

Results
Among the 378 responding institutions, strabismus surgery or BTX therapy, or both, was performed at 185 institutions (49%; total cases, 10,767). In 151 (40%), 32 (8%), and 2 (1%) institutions, surgery only, surgery and BTX therapy, and BTX therapy only were performed, respectively. The distribution of institutions where strabismus surgery was performed consisted of 4 prefectures, accounting for 48% of the total, whereas no strabismus surgery was performed at any institution in 3 prefectures. Although the highest percentage of patients (23%) was aged between 10 and 19 years, 48.2% of the patients were aged 20 years or older, and 17% of them were aged 60 years or older. Exotropia (XT) was the most common type of strabismus (55%) followed by esotropia (ET) (24%). In terms of complex surgeries, 80.2% (more than 100 cases) were performed at institutions with more than 100 cases. Of the 34 institutions where BTX therapy was performed, 52% were performed at a single institution, and 18% were performed at 2 institutions where no strabismus surgery was performed. Patients with scarring in the extraocular muscles, such as thyroid eye disease, were the most treated, followed by those with ET, who were mainly given injection treatment.

Conclusion
Institutions where strabismus surgery and BTX therapy could be performed were concentrated and limited.
Matrix-less spectral approximation for large structured matrices
Authors: Barbarino Giovanni , Claesson Melker , Ekström Sven-Erik , Garoni Carlo , Meadon David , Speleers Hendrik 
Published: December 2024

AbstractSequences of structured matrices of increasing size, such as generalized locally Toeplitz sequences, arise in many scientific applications and especially in the numerical discretization of linear differential problems. We assume that the eigenvalues of a matrix $$X_n$$

X
n

, belonging to a sequence of such kind, are given by a regular expansion. Under this working hypothesis, we propose a method for computing approximations of the eigenvalues of $$X_n$$

X
n

for large n and we provide a theoretical analysis of its convergence. The method is called matrix-less because it does not operate on the matrix $$X_n$$

X
n

but on a few similar matrices of smaller size combined with an interpolation-extrapolation strategy. The working hypothesis and the performance of the proposed eigenvalue approximation method are benchmarked on several numerical examples, with a special attention to matrices arising from the discretization of variable-coefficient differential problems.
Exploring behaviour of socio-economic metabolic flows to promote environmentally sustainable consumption patterns in Sri Lankan households
Authors: Konara Konara Mudiyanselage Gayani Kaushal , Tokai Akihiro 
Published: December 2024

AbstractWhile households depend on various material and energy inflows from outside their boundaries, their behaviour has changed over the years with rapid economic development and urbanisation. Therefore, monitoring these resource inflows and outflows and understanding how they relate to household consumption patterns are crucial to uplifting environmentally sustainable policies and practices. With limited studies available, this study aims to contribute to the household metabolism literature by exploring energy, water, food flows, and related emissions of Sri Lankan households during the past decade. Metabolic flows were quantified by converting household expenditure survey data of 20,000 households into physical quantities. Inputs, outputs, and the metabolic processes were then demonstrated using resource flow diagrams and evaluated using environmental sustainability indicators. Results indicate declining intensities of energy and food consumption and inclining intensities of water consumption and emissions during the past decade. Traced consumption patterns across metabolic flows reveal extensively linear metabolic flows with comparatively pro-environmental patterns in resources extraction. Lack of proper disposal/recycle measures for food waste and wastewater has jeopardized the circularity of metabolic flows, causing irreversible environmental deterioration. Policy implications call for changes in energy mix to reduce dependency on energy imports, promoting energy-efficient appliances and the use of clean energy sources for cooking, reinforcing accountability for groundwater consumption, tackling the disparities in the availability of pipe-borne water, and streamlining of waste management system with efficient source separation and treatment practices.
Impact of author characteristics on outcomes of single- versus double-blind peer review: a systematic review of comparative studies in scientific abstracts and publications
Authors: Giannakakos Vasiliki P. , Karanfilian Troy S. , Dimopoulos Antonios D. , Barmettler Anne 
Published: December 2024

Abstract
The purpose of this systematic review was to assess the role of double-blind (DB) peer review on bias against authors when compared to single-blind (SB) peer review in scientific publications. Using the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) guidelines, a search of databases including Pubmed, Embase, and Web of Science, without language or date restrictions, was conducted to identify original research studies comparing peer-review outcomes between DB and SB methods based on any of the following author characteristics: gender, race, geographic location, personal prestige, institutional prestige. Studies were ranked Level I, II, or III for quality of evidence based on a modified version of the Oxford Center for Evidence-Based Medicine 2011 Levels of Evidence. Of 29 studies included, five level I studies, the highest quality evidence, showed that in SB peer review, the following author characteristics were associated with more positive outcomes: male gender, White race, location of the US or North America, well-published or known in their field, or affiliation with prestigious institutions. The evidence of whether DB peer review resulted in better outcomes for authors lacking these characteristics was more discordant, possibly due to lack of effective blinding or due to unblinded editor decisions. However, if bias reduction is defined as elimination of advantages afforded to only certain types of authors, DB peer review should be considered.
Ionic dissolution and structural evolution of chrysotile and lizardite at the mineral–water interface: reactions in sulfuric acid solution
Authors: Zhao Dingran , Sun Hongjuan , Peng Tongjiang , Zeng Li 
Published: December 2024

Abstract
Serpentine is widely distributed in the regolith and occurs in different types (chrysotile, lizardite, antigorite). The physical and chemical processes such as composition dissolution and structure evolution of serpentine occur constantly under the action of aqueous solutions. Based on the similarities and differences of polysomic structures and properties of chrysotile (tubular shapes) and lizardite (flat structural layers), the mineral–water interfacial reaction of these two minerals was carried out in a sulfuric acid solution with a concentration of 1 mol L–1. The mineral samples were characterized by powder X-ray diffraction, Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy, scanning and transmission electron microscopy, Brunauer–Emmett–Teller surface area analysis, magic angle spinning nuclear magnetic resonance, and inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry. The Si, Mg, and Fe dissolution concentrations, dissolution rates, and dissolution rules and structural changes of chrysotile and lizardite were studied and compared. The results show that H+ is more aggressive toward lizardite in sulfuric acid solution. The dissolution rate of Si, Mg, and Fe was faster, the dissolution concentration was greater, and structural changes occurred preferentially in lizardite. Specifically, Mg dissolved first in the octahedral sheets, and Si and Fe dissolved later in the tetrahedral sheets. After the water interfacial reaction with the sulfuric acid solution, the ion dissolution rates of both chrysotile and lizardite were Mg > Fe > Si. In summary, this work investigates the mineral–water interfacial reaction of chrysotile and lizardite in sulfuric acid media from different crystal structures and demonstrates that the crystal structure has a significant effect on the acid reactivity of lizardite minerals. Furthermore, the crystal chemistry patterns for the structural dissociation of different two-dimensional structural units were studied. This work provides a mineralogical basis for the study of the mechanisms of ion migration and crystal-structure evolution of serpentine under acidic media.
Teaching language attitudes through digital storytelling projects
Authors: George Angela , Barrios Hortensia 
Published: December 2024

AbstractThis article addresses the teaching and learning of language attitudes within the context of a combined graduate/undergraduate Applied Linguistics course. Throughout the course, students critically discussed academic and research articles related to language attitudes towards some of the languages spoken by the students in the course (French, Spanish and Mandarin) and participated in a guided digital storytelling workshop. This article addresses the following research questions: (1) how do students embody their language attitudes through reflective storytelling? and (2) what do students gain in terms of learning outcomes from digital storytelling projects related to language attitudes? Common themes that emerged include (1) learning from others’ stories, (2) thinking creatively, (3) providing a platform for their voice, and (4) learning the connections between identity, language, and heritage. Digital storytelling can be used in other linguistics or problem-based courses as an alternative to final papers, with guidance that facilitates new understanding through collection of knowledge.
Redefining equality in European contract law: protecting consumer interests in a post-consumer society
Authors: Mak Vanessa 
Published: December 2024

AbstractConsumers have in law been defined as the weaker parties in a transaction. Contract laws have integrated consumer protection with a view to balancing the interests of the parties, ensuring equal bargaining power and to some extent substantive fairness in contractual relations. Rules of consumer protection have therefore, from a contract lawyer’s perspective, been construed as expressions of a general principle of equality. The principle of equality, conceived in this way, complements the general principle of autonomy underlying contract law, which embodies the idea that parties should have the capacity for self-realisation. Does this construction of consumer contract law still hold in EU consumer markets transformed by the rise of online platforms and the overall move towards an economy based on services and experiences rather than the sale of physical goods? Or do we need to redefine the ways in which the principle of equality is expressed in European contract law in order to correct for new inequalities arising between consumers and businesses? This article aims to answer that question against the backdrop of established insights of the ways in which the rationality of European contract law differs from that of national, doctrinal private law systems. It concludes that the rules laid down in instruments such as the Unfair Commercial Practices Directive (UCPD) and the Unfair Contract Terms Directive (UCTD) can protect consumers against exploitative practices. However, problems arise in cases where the interest at stake go beyond economic interests and concern also non-economic interests, such as data protection or freedom of expression, or do not have a market exchange value. Solutions can be pursued, it is submitted, by the European legislator and the European Court of Justice, potentially using the EU Charter of Fundamental Rights as a catalyst for reform.
Exploring the legal making of the European digital economy
Authors: Hiltunen Miikka 
Published: December 2024

AbstractMuch existing social commentary and scholarship around the regulation of the European digital economy is focused on how societies could better regulate that economy and its associated harms. Such analyses often portray a problematically viewed order as ungoverned, or not effectively governed, by law. Instead, I argue for more (re)descriptive analyses on how our pre-existing legal structures powerfully create order in the European digital economy. I explain why we should explore the productive connections between pre-existing European legal arrangements and socio-technical order, and discuss what such exploration could entail. The article covers three complementary ways in which legal arrangements are productively connected to sociotechnical order: as tools of ordering to address problems and promote values; as tools that can also enable projects unintended and unforeseen by policymakers; and as constitutive of technologies and other forms of order. It provides concrete examples of these productive connections from various contemporary struggles within the governance of the European digital economy. I argue that focusing on the analysis of productive connections may shed light on how pre-existing legal arrangements are baked into and shaped by the European socio-technical order. As the current order of the European digital economy is characterised by massive inequalities, these analyses can also direct our attention to how our pre-existing legal arrangements can produce and reproduce inequalities and oppression. Analyses of pre-existing legal arrangements might produce different attributions of responsibility and possibilities of contestation than analyses of legal deficiency.
A 1.8 kW high power all-fiber Raman oscillator
Authors: Fan Chenchen , Hao Xiulu , Li Yang , Fu Min , Chen Zilun , Yao Tianfu , Leng Jinyong , Zhou Pu 
Published: December 2024

Abstract
Fiber Bragg grating-based Raman oscillators are capable of achieving targeted frequency conversion and brightness enhancement through the provision of gain via stimulated Raman scattering across a broad gain spectrum. This capability renders them an exemplary solution for the acquisition of high-brightness, specialized-wavelength lasers. Nonetheless, the output power of all-fiber Raman oscillators is typically limited to several hundred watts, primarily due to limitations in injectable pump power and the influence of higher-order Raman effects, which is inadequate for certain application demands. In this study, we introduce an innovative approach by employing a graded-index fiber with a core diameter of up to 150 μm as the Raman gain medium. This strategy not only enhances the injectable pump power but also mitigates higher-order Raman effects. Consequently, we have successfully attained an output power of 1780 W for the all-fiber Raman laser at 1130 nm, representing the highest output power in Raman fiber oscillators with any configuration reported to date.
Advance Directives to Manage Fears and Anxieties of Transgender People via Dementia Planning
Authors: Simmons Ames 
Published: December 2024

AbstractAs increasing proportions of our global population age, transgender people are experiencing higher rates of dementia, and many are afraid to enter long-term care. Structural interventions such as advance directives may help mitigate fears around entering long-term care by managing specific anxieties that transgender people may have about dementia, loss of decision-making capacity, and discrimination in long-term care settings.
The Big Chill: Opportunities for, and Challenges to, Advanced Biopreservation of Organs for Transplantation
Authors: Capron Alexander M. , Pruett Timothy L. , Childress James F. 
Published: December 2024

AbstractThe application of advanced biopreservation to organs donated for transplantation may make possible their indefinite storage and thereby improve the utility and equity they provide to patients. The technology is still at a preclinical stage, with many difficult, scientific issues that remain to be answered. At the moment, however, the actual capabilities of the technology are too indefinite to begin formulating the statutes, regulations, and ethical guidance that will be needed to obtain the benefits expected from its use.
Conflicts of Interest in Clinical Practice: Cleveland Clinic Policy and Experience
Authors: Derwin Kathleen A. , Anand Cory , Rose Susannah L. , Dweik Raed 
Published: December 2024

AbstractThe Cleveland Clinic Innovation Management and Conflict of Interest (“IM&COI”) Program implemented a policy on Conflicts of Interest in Clinical Practice in 2013. The policy requires review of financial interests greater than $20,000 in a year, or more than 5% equity in a company, when the clinician is prescribing or using products of the company with which they have a relationship. The IM&COI Committee developed definitions for low, medium and high levels of annual compensation and risk and uses a “Matrix” to guide disclosure based on these factors.
Dating the beginning of urbanization in Central Mexico: a high-resolution chronology of the Middle Formative Period at Tlalancaleca
Authors: Murakami Tatsuya , Jurado Alexander , Kabata Shigeru 
Published: December 2024

AbstractResearch by the Tlalancaleca Archaeological Project (PATP) has corroborated modifications to the Middle Formative chronology in Puebla-Tlaxcala (Lesure et al. 2006, 2014) using Bayesian modeling on 26 radiocarbon dates from Tlalancaleca. The present study is the first to evaluate the region’s Middle Formative chronology with radiocarbon dates from superposed stratigraphy. Nine Bayesian models were constructed with different combinations of radiocarbon dates and OxCal’s phase and sequence functions to determine the beginning and end of the Texoloc phase. Results place the Tlatempa-Texoloc transition at around 650 cal BC and the Texoloc-Tezoquipan transition at around 500 cal BC. The OxCal Interval function supports a timespan of approximately 150 years for the duration of the Texoloc phase. These results suggest the process of initial urbanization in Central Mexico was a rapid one.