bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Effects of (Mg1/3Sb2/3)4+ substitution on the structure and microwave dielectric properties of Ce2Zr3(MoO4)9 ceramics
Authors: Zhou Xu , Liu Lintao , Sun Jiajia , Zhang Ningkang , Sun Huazhang , Wu Haitao , Tao Wenhong 
Published: July 2021

AbstractCe2[Zr1−x(Mg1/3Sb2/3)x]3(MoO4)9 (0.02 ⩽ x ⩽ 0.10) ceramics were prepared by the traditional solid-state method. A single phase, belonging to the space group of $$R⩈erline 3 c$$

R

3
¯

c

, was detected by using X-ray diffraction at the sintering temperatures ranging from 700 to 850 °C. The microstructures of samples were examined by applying scanning electron microscopy (SEM). The crystal structure refinement of these samples was investigated in detail by performing the Rietveld refinement method. The intrinsic properties were calculated and explored via far-infrared reflectivity spectroscopy. The correlations between the chemical bond parameters and microwave dielectric properties were calculated and analyzed by Phillips-van Vechten-Levine (P-V-L) theory. Ce2[Zr0.94(Mg1/3Sb2/3)0.06]3(MoO4)9 ceramics with excellent dielectric properties were sintered at 725 °C for 6 h (εr = 10.37, Q×f = 71,748 GHz, and τf = −13.6 ppm/°C, εr is the dielectric constant, Q×f is the quality factor, and τf is the temperature coefficient of resonant frequency).
Enhanced electromagnetic wave absorption property of binary ZnO/NiCo2O4 composites
Authors: Du Bin , Cai Mei , Wang Xuan , Qian Junjie , He Chao , Shui Anze 
Published: July 2021

AbstractNowadays, metal oxide-based electromagnetic wave absorbing materials have aroused widely attentions in the application of telecommunication and electronics due to their selectable mechanical and outstanding dielectric properties. Herein, the binary ZnO/NiCo2O4 nanoparticles were successfully synthesized via hydrothermal reaction and the electromagnetic wave absorption properties of the composites were investigated in detail. As a result, benefiting from the dielectric loss, the as-obtained ZnO/NiCo2O4-7 samples possessed a minimum reflection loss value of −33.49 dB at 18.0 GHz with the thickness of 4.99 mm. This work indicates that ZnO/NiCo2O4 composites have the promising candidate applications in electromagnetic wave absorption materials in the future.
Pomegranate-type Si/C anode with SiC taped, well-dispersed tiny Si particles for lithium-ion batteries
Authors: Wu Pengfei , Shi Benyang , Tu Huibin , Guo Changqing , Liu Anhua , Yan Guan , Yu Zhaoju 
Published: July 2021

AbstractSevere volume expansion and inherently poor lithium ion transmission are two major problems of silicon anodes. To address these issues, we proposed a pomegranate-type Si/C composite anode with highly dispersed tiny silicon particles as the core assisted by small amount of SiC. Skillfully exploiting the high heat from magnesiothermic reduction, SiC can assist the good dispersion of silicon and provide good interface compatibility and chemical stability. The silicon anchored to the carbon shell provides multipoint contact mode, that together with the carbon shell frame, significantly promoting the transfer of dual charge. Besides, the pomegranate-type microcluster structure also improves the tap density of the electrode, reduces the direct contact area between active material and electrolyte, and enhances the electrochemical performance.
The relationship of nutritional risk with diet quality and health outcomes in community-dwelling older adults
Authors: Bloom Ilse , Pilgrim Anna , Jameson Karen A. , Dennison Elaine M. , Sayer Avan A. , Roberts Helen C. , Cooper Cyrus , Ward Kate A. , Robinson Sian M. 
Published: July 2021

Abstract
Objectives
To identify early nutritional risk in older populations, simple screening approaches are needed. This study aimed to compare nutrition risk scores, calculated from a short checklist, with diet quality and health outcomes, both at baseline and prospectively over a 2.5-year follow-up period; the association between baseline scores and risk of mortality over the follow-up period was assessed.

Methods
The study included 86 community-dwelling older adults in Southampton, UK, recruited from outpatient clinics. At both assessments, hand grip strength was measured using a Jamar dynamometer. Diet was assessed using a short validated food frequency questionnaire; derived ‘prudent’ diet scores described diet quality. Body mass index (BMI) was calculated and weight loss was self-reported. Nutrition risk scores were calculated from a checklist adapted from the DETERMINE (range 0–17).

Results
The mean age of participants at baseline (n = 86) was 78 (SD 8) years; half (53%) scored ‘moderate’ or ‘high’ nutritional risk, using the checklist adapted from DETERMINE. In cross-sectional analyses, after adjusting for age, sex and education, higher nutrition risk scores were associated with lower grip strength [difference in grip strength: − 0.09, 95% CI (− 0.17, − 0.02) SD per unit increase in nutrition risk score, p = 0.017] and poorer diet quality [prudent diet score: − 0.12, 95% CI (− 0.21, − 0.02) SD, p = 0.013]. The association with diet quality was robust to further adjustment for number of comorbidities, whereas the association with grip strength was attenuated. Nutrition risk scores were not related to reported weight loss or BMI at baseline. In longitudinal analyses there was an association between baseline nutrition risk score and lower grip strength at follow-up [fully-adjusted model: − 0.12, 95% CI (− 0.23, − 0.02) SD, p = 0.024]. Baseline nutrition risk score was also associated with greater risk of mortality [unadjusted hazard ratio per unit increase in score: 1.29 (1.01, 1.63), p = 0.039]; however, this association was attenuated after adjustment for sex and age.

Conclusions
Cross-sectional associations between higher nutrition risk scores, assessed from a short checklist, and poorer diet quality suggest that this approach may hold promise as a simple way of screening older populations. Further larger prospective studies are needed to explore the predictive ability of this screening approach and its potential to detect nutritional risk in older adults.
Predictors of short- and long-term mortality among acutely admitted older patients: role of inflammation and frailty
Authors: Zanetti Michela , Marzaro Giovanna , De Colle Paolo , Toigo Gabriele , Bianchini Dario , Nastri Mariapaola , Suriano Cristina , Barazzoni Rocco , Sanson Gianfranco 
Published: July 2021

Abstract
Background
Frailty, demographic and clinical variables linked to incident diseases (e.g., dehydration, inflammation) contribute to poor outcomes in older patients acutely hospitalized. Their predictivity on short-, intermediate- and long-term mortality in a comprehensive model has been scarcely investigated.

Aims
To test the performance of a predictive tool considering frailty and inflammation as well as age, sex and impaired hydration status on 1-year mortality in acutely admitted older patients.

Methods
Retrospective observational study including 529 medical patients (age 84.6 ± 7.3 years). At hospital admission, frailty was assessed by the Multidimensional Prognostic Index (MPI). The Glasgow Prognostic Score (GPS) was used to grade systemic inflammation. Serum osmolarity was calculated to assess hydration.

Results
After adjusting for age, sex, GPS and osmolarity, the severe-risk MPI was a strong predictor for 1-year mortality (OR 4.133; 95% CI 2.273–7.516; p < 0.001). Age > 85 years, male sex, GPS-2 and serum osmolarity > 300 mOsm/L were independent predictors of mortality in the same multivariable model. The MPI alone showed a moderate discrimination power (AUC 0.678; 95% CI 0.628–0.729; p < 0.001) on 1-year mortality, which increased by 12.5% after the addition of the above predictors in the fully adjusted regression model (AUC 0.763; 95% CI 0.719–0.807; p < 0.001). The severe-risk MPI adjusted for the same factors was also an independent predictor of mortality after 60 and 180 days since hospital admission.

Discussion
Inflammation and impaired hydration are potentially modifiable risk factors for severe outcomes in older acutely hospitalized patients. A model combining GPS, age, gender, and plasma osmolarity improved the accuracy of MPI at admission in predicting long-term mortality.
Analysis of rail potential and stray current in MVDC railway electrification system
Authors: Aatif Salman , Hu Haitao , Rafiq Fezan , He Zhengyou 
Published: July 2021

AbstractIn contrast to the conventional direct current railway electrification system (DC-RES), the medium voltage direct current (MVDC)-RES is considered promising for long-distance high-speed corridors. In the MVDC-RES, traction substations (TSSs) are placed much farther and train loads are much heavier than in the conventional DC-RES. Hence, the MVDC-RES brings a drastic change in catenary voltage, TSS spacing, and train loading, which affects rail potential and stray current. In this connection, this work performs some significant quantitative analysis of rail potential and stray current in the MVDC-RES environment. An MVDC simulation model is proposed and different grounding schemes are analyzed for a single-train and two TSSs scenario as well as for a multi-train multi-TSS scenario. According to the simulation and analysis, the maximum values of rail potential and stray current at MVDC-RES distances and the maximum safe distance between adjacent TSSs are determined.
Study on the operating parameters of the 10 kW SOFC-CHP system with syngas
Authors: Li Biao , Lyu Zewei , Zhu Jianzhong , Han Minfang , Sun Zaihong 
Published: July 2021

AbstractSolid oxide fuel cell combined with heat and power (SOFC-CHP) system is a distributed power generation system with low pollution and high efficiency. In this paper, a 10 kW SOFC-CHP system model using syngas was built in Aspen plus. Key operating parameters, such as steam to fuel ratio, stack temperature, reformer temperature, air flow rate, and air preheating temperature, were analyzed. Optimization was conducted based on the simulation results. Results suggest that higher steam to fuel ratio is beneficial to the electrical efficiency, but it might decrease the gross system efficiency. Higher stack and reformer temperatures contribute to the electrical efficiency, and the optimal operating temperatures of stack and reformer when considering the stack degradation are 750 °C and 700 °C, respectively. The air preheating temperature barely affects the electrical efficiency but affects the thermal efficiency and the gross system efficiency, the recommended value is around 600 °C under the reference condition.
Understanding the Impact of Street Patterns on Pedestrian Distribution: A Case Study in Tianjin, China
Authors: Sheng Qiang , Jiao Junfeng , Pang Tianyu 
Published: July 2021

AbstractThis paper investigates the impact of street pattern, metro stations, and density of urban functions on pedestrian distribution in Tianjin, China. Thirteen neighborhoods are selected from the city center and suburbs. Pedestrian and vehicle volumes are observed through detailed gate count from 703 street segments in these neighborhoods. Regression models are constructed to analyze the impact of the street pattern, points of interest (POIs), and vehicle and metro accessibility on pedestrian volumes in each neighborhood and across the city. The results show that when analyzing all neighborhoods together, local street connectivity and POIs had a strong influence on pedestrian distribution. Proximity to metro stations and vehicle accessibility had a minor impact. When analyzing each neighborhood separately, both local- and city-scale street patterns affect pedestrian distributions. These findings suggest that the street pattern provides a base layer for metro stations to attract both the emergence of active urban functions and pedestrian movement.
Gazelle Hunting Strategies in the Early Ahmarian: Close-Range Visuospatial Characteristics of Site Locations Indicate Spatially Focused Hunting Strategies on Gazella sp. During the Early Ahmarian
Authors: Sauer Florian , Schoenenberg Jonathan 
Published: July 2021

AbstractVisual conditions around Palaeolithic sites determine how the landscape was perceived by prehistoric hunter-gatherers. By placing the site in different landscapes, different visual foci were encoded in the locational characteristics of the different places. For the Early Ahmarian sites in the Levant, it can be shown that visual characteristics differ significantly with the combination of large ungulate prey exploited at the respective location. A Higuchi viewshed approach was combined with total viewsheds of the study area to introduce a human scale into the viewshed modelling. While diverse prey locations in the Mediterranean biome provide an overview over the landscape, specialised prey locations in the steppe biomes of the Irano-Turanian and Saharo-Arabian biome have their focus on the immediate vicinity of the sites. This correlates with the placement of sites in the context of highly humid environments which can be best exemplified with the site of Al-Ansab 1 in the escarpments of the Jordanian Rift Valley. Here, the environmental conditions acted as a magnet, focusing gazelles on the migration between different environments.
Research directions in policy modeling: Insights from comparative analysis of recent projects
Authors: Ronzhyn Alexander , Wimmer Maria A. 
Published: July 2021

Abstract
With the increased availability of data and the capacity to make sense of these data, computational approaches to analyze, model and simulate public policy evolved toward viable instruments to deliberate, plan, and evaluate them in different areas of application. Such examples include infrastructure, mobility, monetary, or austerity policies, policies on different aspects of societies (health, pandemic, skills, inclusion, etc.). Technological advances along with the evolution of theoretical models and frameworks open valuable opportunities, while at the same time, posing new challenges. The paper investigates the current state of research in the domain and aims at identifying the most pressing areas for future research. This is done through both literature research of policy modeling and the analysis of research and innovation projects that either focus on policy modeling or involve it as a significant component of the research design. In the paper, 16 recent projects involving the keyword policy modeling were analyzed. The majority of projects concern the application of policy modeling to a specific domain or area of interest, while several projects tackled the cross-cutting topics (risk and crisis management). The detailed analysis of the projects led to topics of future research in the domain of policy modeling. Most prominent future research topics in policy modeling include stakeholder involvement approaches, applicability of research results, handling complexity of models, integration of models from different modeling and simulation paradigms and approaches, visualization of simulation results, real-time data processing, and scalability. These aspects require further research to appropriately contribute to further advance the field.
Bayesian model uncertainty quantification for hyperelastic soft tissue models
Authors: Zeraatpisheh Milad , Bordas Stephane P.A. , Beex Lars A.A. 
Published: July 2021

Abstract
Patient-specific surgical simulations require the patient-specific identification of the constitutive parameters. The sparsity of the experimental data and the substantial noise in the data (e.g., recovered during surgery) cause considerable uncertainty in the identification. In this exploratory work, parameter uncertainty for incompressible hyperelasticity, often used for soft tissues, is addressed by a probabilistic identification approach based on Bayesian inference. Our study particularly focuses on the uncertainty of the model: we investigate how the identified uncertainties of the constitutive parameters behave when different forms of model uncertainty are considered. The model uncertainty formulations range from uninformative ones to more accurate ones that incorporate more detailed extensions of incompressible hyperelasticity. The study shows that incorporating model uncertainty may improve the results, but this is not guaranteed.
Efficiency of COVID-19 Testing Centers in Iran: A Data Envelopment Analysis Approach
Authors: Seddighi Hamed , Baharmand Hossein , Morovati Sharifabadi Ali , Salmani Ibrahim , Seddighi Saeideh 
Published: July 2021

AbstractObjective:The purpose of this study is to investigate the efficiency of the Iranian Red Crescent Society (IRCS) in managing their nonmonetary resources involved in coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) response.Methods:For this purpose, the data envelopment analysis approach was used to measure the efficiency, considering the number of personnel and vehicles and screened passengers as the input and output parameters, respectively. It was examined the efficiency of 10 IRCS’s branches given 17 d of screening operation. For the analysis, the DEA SolverPro software 15a version was used.Results:The results show that only 1 branch had been fully efficient in using the resources, while 5 branches showed less than 50% efficiency. This study reveals that it is unnecessary to use a fixed number of volunteers at different stations with different passenger numbers.Conclusions:Using resources without efficient planning can lead to direct costs such as food, transportation, and maintenance, as well as indirect costs such as burnout, fatigue, and stress when responding to the COVID-19 pandemic. This analysis should support IRCS’s managers to move their valuable resources from inefficient to efficient centers to increase the screening rate and reduce the fatigue of aid workers for the next pandemic rounds.
RQ Innovative Efficiency and Firm Value
Authors: Cooper Michael , Knott Anne Marie , Yang Wenhao 
Published: July 2021

AbstractWe introduce and test a firm-level innovation-efficiency measure new to the finance literature. The measure, termed the research quotient (RQ), defined as the firm-specific output elasticity of research and development (R&D), was first developed in the management literature. RQ has a low correlation with existing innovation input, output, and efficiency measures. We test RQ in a number of innovation tests common to the finance literature and find that RQ is robust in all tests of firm value, even after controlling for previous innovation measures. The results suggest that RQ may serve as a relevant complementary measure of a company’s innovation.
Deposit-Lending Synergies: Evidence from Chinese Students at U.S. Universities
Authors: Yang Jun 
Published: July 2021

AbstractThis paper exploits an influx of Chinese students to U.S. universities from 2000 through 2018 to study synergies between banks’ deposit-taking and lending activities. Banks that are more recognizable by Chinese students experience higher deposit inflows and increase their local credit supply. This credit supply expansion only occurs in information-sensitive credit markets: small business loans and second lien mortgages. Such increase concentrates in nontradable sectors and is more pronounced at locations where managers have more autonomy. The results indicate that deposits from local consumers convey private information about the local credit market, which helps banks in information-sensitive lending.
The Legon School of International Relations
Authors: Tieku Thomas Kwasi 
Published: July 2021

AbstractThe article explores the Legon School of International Relations (LSIR) which is the research, teaching, and academic programming of International Relations (IR) at the University of Ghana, Legon. The LSIR came out of attempts to decolonise knowledge production, dissemination, and academic programing in Ghana in early 1960s. The article shows that the LSIR is decolonial in theoretical perspective, grounded in southern epistemologies, relational in ontology, qualitative in methodology, practice-based, and it is equity-oriented. Although the LSIR scholarship as a package is distinctive, some of its ideas overlap with the work of several contemporary IR communities in the West. The article highlights implications of the LSIR story for the IR communities in the West and the value of paying close attention to the works of IR centres of scholarship in Africa.
EXAMINING THE RELATIVE EFFECTS OF TASK COMPLEXITY AND COGNITIVE DEMANDS ON STUDENTS’ WRITING IN A SECOND LANGUAGE
Authors: Xu Ting Sophia , Zhang Lawrence Jun , Gaffney Janet S. 
Published: July 2021

AbstractWhile many studies have investigated the effect of task complexity on L2 writing, little has been reported on the effects of intended task complexity manipulations on task-generated cognitive demands in L2 writing. This study, therefore, was designed to examine the relative effects of task complexity and cognitive demands on students’ L2 writing. Two argumentative writing tasks were manipulated with varying numbers of elements and reasoning demands to be distinguished either as a simple or complex writing task. Self-ratings and dual-task methodology were adopted to validate the manipulations of task complexity. Thirty-one L2 learners, in the single-task group, were asked to complete two writing tasks and a post-task questionnaire. Participants in the dual-task conditions (30 in Experimental 1 and 31 in Experimental 2) were required to simultaneously complete the primary writing tasks and the secondary tasks. Results from self-ratings and dual-task experiments supported the efficacy of the task complexity manipulations.
Policy and Practice Note: Policy, Safety, and Regulation with Regard to Ontario Home Care Clients and Personal Support Workers
Authors: Hopwood Pamela , MacEachen Ellen 
Published: July 2021

AbstractIn light of COVID-19 and elevated concerns for the health of older Canadians receiving care, this Policy and Practice Note explores the confluence of the current home care policy landscape and the organisation of personal support worker (PSW) work, and highlights the need to consider governance of PSW work generally, and in-home and community care especially. PSWs are currently not professionally regulated, nor is there a central site documenting location, education, or any form of verification of the PSW workforce. Home care PSWs often provide physical care in isolated settings with no in-person supervision. In home and community health care, complaints about PSWs can be scattered among different service providers or client files not linked to or searchable by PSW name. This policy note explores how these factors and the currently unregulated status of PSWs affect home care safety in general as well as in the context of COVID-19, Ontario’s decentralised home care system, and efforts towards professional regulation.