bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Exploring the relationship between students' learning satisfaction and self-efficacy during the emergency transition to remote learning amid the coronavirus pandemic: A cross-sectional study
Authors: Aldhahi Monira I. , Alqahtani Abdulfattah S. , Baattaiah Baian A. , Al-Mohammed Huda I. 
Published: July 2021

AbstractThe overarching objective of this study was to assess learning satisfaction among students and to determine whether online-learning self-efficacy was associated with online learning satisfaction during the emergency transition to remote learning. This cross-sectional study involved a survey distributed to 22 Saudi Arabian universities. The survey used in this study consisted of an online learning self-efficacy (OLSE) questionnaire and an electronic learning (e-learning) satisfaction questionnaire. A total of 1,226 respondents voluntarily participated in and completed the survey. Students in medical fields made up 289 (23.6%). A Kruskal–Wallis H test and a chi-square test were used to compare the student’s satisfaction based on the educational variables. Spearman’s correlation and multiple linear regression analyses were performed to assess the association between self-efficacy and satisfaction. The findings revealed degrees of satisfaction ranging between high satisfaction and dissatisfaction. The majority of students (51%) expressed high satisfaction, and 599 students (49%) reported experiencing a low level of satisfaction with e-learning. A comparison of groups with low and high satisfaction scores revealed a significant difference in the OLSE. High satisfaction was positively correlated with the OLSE domains: time management, technology, and learning. The OLSE regression analysis model significantly predicted satisfaction. It showed that the model, corrected for education level and grade point average of the students, significantly predicted e-learning satisfaction (F = 8.04, R2 = 0.59, p = .004). The study concluded that students’ satisfaction with the e-learning experience is influenced by e-learning self-efficacy. The study’s findings lead to the practical implications and identify the need to improve the remote learning, time management and technology self-efficacy to enhance students’ satisfaction.
Theory and Implementation of Coupled Port-Hamiltonian Continuum and Lumped Parameter Models
Authors: Argus Finbar J. , Bradley Chris P. , Hunter Peter J. 
Published: July 2021

AbstractA continuous Galerkin finite element method that allows mixed boundary conditions without the need for Lagrange multipliers or user-defined parameters is developed. A mixed coupling of Lagrange and Raviart-Thomas basis functions are used. The method is proven to have a Hamiltonian-conserving spatial discretisation and a symplectic time discretisation. The energy residual is therefore guaranteed to be bounded for general problems and exactly conserved for linear problems. The linear 2D wave equation is discretised and modelled by making use of a port-Hamiltonian framework. This model is verified against an analytic solution and shown to have standard order of convergence for the temporal and spatial discretisation. The error growth over time is shown to grow linearly for this symplectic method, which agrees with theoretical results. A modal analysis is performed which verifies that the eigenvalues of the model accurately converge to the exact eigenvalues, as the mesh is refined. The port-Hamiltonian framework allows boundary coupling with bond-graph or, more generally, lumped parameter models, therefore unifying the two fields of lumped parameter modelling and continuum modelling of Hamiltonian systems. The wave domain discretisation is shown to be equivalent to a coupling of canonical port-Hamiltonian forms. This feature allows the model to have mixed boundary conditions as well as to have mixed causality interconnections with other port-Hamiltonian models. A model of the 2D wave equation is coupled, in a monolithic manner, with a lumped parameter model of an electromechanical linear actuator. The combined model is also verified to conserve energy exactly.
Enhanced coverage by integrating site interdependencies in capacitated EMS location models
Authors: Grot Matthias , Becker Tristan , Steenweg Pia Mareike , Werners Brigitte 
Published: July 2021

AbstractIn order to allocate limited resources in emergency medical services (EMS) networks, mathematical models are used to select sites and their capacities. Many existing standard models are based on simplifying assumptions, including site independency and a similar system-wide busyness of ambulances. In practice, when a site is busy, a call is forwarded to another site. Thus, the busyness of each site depends not only on the rate of calls in the surrounding area, but also on interactions with other facilities. If the demand varies across the urban area, assuming an average system-wide server busy fraction may lead to an overestimation of the actual coverage. We show that site interdependencies can be integrated into the well-known Maximum Expected Covering Location Problem (MEXCLP) by introducing an upper bound for the busyness of each site. We apply our new mathematical formulation to the case of a local EMS provider. To evaluate the solution quality, we use a discrete event simulation based on anonymized real-world call data. Results of our simulation-optimization approach indicate that the coverage can be improved in most cases by taking site interdependencies into account, leading to an improved ambulance allocation and a faster emergency care.
Lignin from termite frass: a sustainable source for anticorrosive applications
Authors: Kulkarni Prateek , Ponnappa Charitha B. , Doshi Partha , Rao Padmalatha , Balaji Seetharaman 
Published: July 2021

AbstractThe present study reports a sustainable source of lignin, from termite frass. Lignin was extracted using Klason’s method and subjected to polarization studies to check the inhibition efficiency and measured the electrochemical performance of the coated sample on the carbon steel using electrochemical impedance spectroscopy. The anticorrosive property was determined in a simulated corrosive environment (0.1 M NaOH and 0.5 M NaOH). The morphological analysis of the surface of both bare metal and the lignin-coated ones, before and after exposure to the corrosive environment, was recorded using atomic force microscopy (AFM), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), and energy-dispersive X-Ray spectroscopy (EDX). The lignin showed maximum inhibition efficiency at 600 ppm in 0.5 M NaOH solution. Moreover, the lignin coated on carbon steel exhibited about 70% corrosion inhibition efficiency as recorded by potentiodynamic polarization studies and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy. The AFM and SEM analyses further corroborated the protection of the metal surface from corrosion when coated with lignin. Hence, the study suggests lignin from termite frass as a sustainable biological source suitable for anticorrosive applications.
Graphic abstract
Enhancing properties of PC/PA blends via compatibilization of olefin-maleic-anhydride copolymer based additives in masterbatch form
Authors: Kovács T. , Simon-Stőger L. , Heller B. , Varga Cs. 
Published: July 2021

AbstractPolymer blending has been a simple and efficient way for designing and controlling the performance of polymeric materials using easily available types. Both polycarbonate and polyamide have excellent mechanical properties and thermal stability but their disadvantages such as limited chemical or water resistance can be eliminate by tailoring them. Main difficulties in processing of PC/PA blends are the poor compatibility and high moisture adsorption capacity of the two raw materials complicating processing and also deteriorating mechanical properties of the products. Compatibilizing additives such as olefin-maleic-anhydride copolymer based compounds used in the experimental work can help to overcome the abovementioned difficulties. To determine the processing conditions of the raw materials several drying temperatures have been tested and thermal degradation has been examined by FT-IR spectroscopy. Experimental compatibilizing additives based on an olefin-maleic-anhydride copolymer have been investigated to enhance mechanical properties of the blends prepared by extrusion moulding. Mechanical, rheological, SEM and FT-IR measurements have been performed and at least one additive has been found to be efficient in improving selected properties.
Insectivorous songbirds as early indicators of future defoliation by spruce budworm
Authors: Germain Marion , Kneeshaw Daniel , De Grandpré Louis , Desrochers Mélanie , James Patrick M. A. , Vepakomma Udayalakshmi , Poulin Jean-François , Villard Marc-André 
Published: July 2021

AbstractContextAlthough the spatiotemporal dynamics of spruce budworm outbreaks have been intensively studied, forecasting outbreaks remains challenging. During outbreaks, budworm-linked warblers (Tennessee, Cape May, and bay-breasted warbler) show a strong positive response to increases in spruce budworm, but little is known about the relative timing of these responses.ObjectivesWe hypothesized that these warblers could be used as sentinels of future defoliation of budworm host trees. We examined the timing and magnitude of the relationships between defoliation by spruce budworm and changes in the probability of presence of warblers to determine whether they responded to budworm infestation before local defoliation being observed by standard detection methods.MethodsWe modelled this relationship using large-scale point count surveys of songbirds and maps of cumulative time-lagged defoliation over multiple spatial scales (2–30 km radius around sampling points) in Quebec, Canada.ResultsAll three warbler species responded positively to defoliation at each spatial scale considered, but the timing of their response differed. Maximum probability of presence of Tennessee and Cape May warbler coincided with observations of local defoliation, or provided a one year warning, making them of little use to guide early interventions. In contrast, the probability of presence of bay-breasted warbler consistently increased 3–4 years before defoliation was detectable.ConclusionsEarly detection is a critical step in the management of spruce budworm outbreaks and rapid increases in the probability of presence of bay-breasted warbler could be used to identify future epicenters and target ground-based local sampling of spruce budworm.
Make applied phenomenology what it needs to be: an interdisciplinary research program
Authors: Burch Matthew 
Published: July 2021

AbstractOnce a marginal affair, applied phenomenology is now a vast and vibrant movement. With great success, however, comes great criticism, and critics have been harsh, accusing applied phenomenology’s practitioners of everything from spewing nonsense to assailing down-to-earth researchers with gratuitous jargon. In this article, I reconstruct the most damning criticisms as a dilemma: Either applied phenomenology merely describes experience, in which case it offers nothing distinctive, or it involves the kind of analysis characteristic of classical phenomenology, in which case it’s only of interest to a small number of philosophers; either way, we should explore the experiential dimension by other means. Notwithstanding the enormous body of research in applied phenomenology, few authors have tried to explain what makes it an independent intellectual enterprise distinct from pure phenomenology, and none has defused this dilemma. Here I try my hand at both. After considering eight major approaches to applied phenomenology that fail to defuse the dilemma, I propose an approach that, I argue, does the job, one that understands applied phenomenology as a research program that brings the phenomenological method and the resources of at least one other discipline to bear on problems beyond the scope of any monodisciplinary approach.
Evidence for generalized quantifier semantics in the interpretation of the English neuter singular pronoun
Authors: Elbourne Paul 
Published: July 2021

AbstractThe English pronounitcan anaphorically take on the meaning of a salient generalized quantifier when it occurs in subject position followed by an elided Verb Phrase and (optionally) a VP-level operator. The extent to which theories of pronoun interpretation will have to be altered to take account of this finding will depend on whether the phenomenon is unique to English or part of a crosslinguistic pattern.
The Six Ages of the World and Biblical Genealogy in Anglo-Saxon Encyclopaedic Notes
Authors: Gallagher John Joseph 
Published: July 2021

AbstractIn the early medieval period, history was commonly organised into six epochs lasting roughly one thousand years each, according to certain calculations of the world’s age. The idea of the six ages emerged from and was consolidated by allegorical interpretations of the Hexameron in which the material endurance of the world was thought to mirror the initial length of its Creation. This historical schematisation enjoyed widespread currency in Anglo-Saxon England, even after Bede had proved that the world was not, in fact, approaching 6,000 years. This article analyses how thetoposof the six ages is used and adapted within a hitherto understudied group of related encyclopaedic notes in three Anglo-Saxon manuscripts. How these texts relate to and differ from the wider corpus of encyclopaedic texts on this subject is also charted. The following study investigates the ways in which encyclopaedic texts on the six ages were adapted, expanded and transmitted, and the religious and political motivations driving such changes. This article offers the first in-depth analysis of this particular group of texts, foregrounding the sophistication of micro-texts that explain the six ages. Overall, this study emphasises the pedagogical, theological and historiographical applications of this concept in early medieval English thought.
Machine Learning, Architectural Styles and Property Values
Authors: Lindenthal Thies , Johnson Erik B. 
Published: July 2021

AbstractThis paper couples a traditional hedonic model with architectural style classifications from human experts and machine learning (ML) enabled classifiers to estimate sales price premia over architectural styles, both at the building and the neighborhood-level. We find statistically and economically significant price differences for houses from distinct architectural styles across an array of specifications and modeling assumptions. Comparisons between classifications from ML models and human experts illustrate the conditions under which ML classifiers may perform at least as reliable as human experts in mass appraisal models. Hedonic estimates illustrate that the impact of architectural style on price is attenuated by properties with less well-defined styles and we find no evidence for differential price effects ofRevivalorContemporaryarchitecture for new construction.
Differentiated Entry or “Me-Too” Entry in Bertrand and Cournot Oligopoly
Authors: Brander James A. , Spencer Barbara J. 
Published: July 2021

AbstractWhen would an oligopolistic entrant imitate an incumbent’s product (“me-too” entry), rather than horizontally differentiate? We allow an entrant's product choice to vary endogenously with the cost of product differentiation. Such endogenity of product differentiation significantly affects the comparison of Bertrand and Cournot duopoly. We find that if Bertrand entry occurs, products are differentiated, whereas there is a substantial region in which Cournot entry involves a homogenous product. Bertrand prices may be higher than Cournot prices; and, if product differentiation costs are low enough to induce Cournot differentiated entry, then Bertrand industry profit equals or exceeds Cournot industry profit.
Efficacy of two commercial synthetic pyrethroids (cypermethrin and deltamethrin) on Amblyomma variegatum and Rhipicephalus microplus strains of the south-western region of Burkina Faso
Authors: Ouedraogo Achille S. , Zannou Olivier M. , Biguezoton Abel S. , Patrick Kouassi Yao , Belem Adrien M. G. , Farougou Souaibou , Oosthuizen Marinda , Saegerman Claude , Lempereur Laetitia 
Published: July 2021

AbstractSince 2011, period of the livestock invasion by the cattle tick Rhipicephalus microplus in Burkina Faso (BF), tick-control problems were exacerbated. Based on farmer’s reports, most commonly used commercial acaricides were found to be ineffective in Western South part of the country. To investigate the occurrence and extent of such acaricidal ineffectiveness, we performed the standardized larval packet test (LPT) with commercial deltamethrin (vectocid) and cypermethrin (cypertop), on two cattle tick species, the native Amblyomma variegatum and the invasive R. microplus. The resistance ratios (RR) were computed with susceptible Hounde strain of Rhipicephalus geigyi as reference. The R. microplus population showed resistance to the two acaricides tested with the highest lethal concentration (LC) values, and different resistance ratios higher than 4 (deltamethrin: RR50 = 28.18 and RR90 = 32.41; cypermethrin: RR50 = 8.79 and RR90 = 23.15). In the contrary, A. variegatum population was found to be highly susceptible to acaricides tested with low lethal concentrations and resistance ratio values (deltamethrin: RR50 = 0.5 and RR90 = 0.48; cypermethrin: RR50 = 0.68 and RR90 = 0.79). These data demonstrate high synthetic pyrethroid resistance in R. microplus strain, leading to conclude that the acaricide ineffectiveness in tick populations control remains a concern in BF.
Portable X-ray Fluorescence (PXRF) Analysis of Total Metal(loid)s and Sequential Extraction of Bioavailable Arsenic in Agricultural Soils of Animas Watershed
Authors: Jha Gaurav , Ulery April L. , Lombard Kevin , VanLeeuwen Dawn , Brungard Colby , Dari Biswanath , Sihi Debjani 
Published: July 2021

AbstractThe Animas River provides irrigation water in northwestern New Mexico and the Navajo Nation. Concerns regarding the river water quality arose on August 5, 2015, when approximately 11.35 million liters of heavy metal contaminated water was accidentally released from the Gold King Mine into the Animas River. This study sought to determine the total concentrations of 7 heavy metal(loid)s (As, Pb, and Zn as metals of concern and Fe, Mn, Ca, and Cu as metals of interest) using portable X-ray fluorescence (PXRF) in two agricultural fields and compare these values to Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) regional screening levels (RSL). Total concentrations of 6 out of 7 metals were below the RSL; only As exceeded the soil screening value of 7.07 mg kg−1 at some locations in the agricultural fields. We also determined water-soluble (WS) and exchangeable fractions (Ex) of As that might be available for agricultural crop uptake using sequential extractions. The WS-As ranged from 0.014 to 0.074 mg kg−1 and Ex-As ranged from 0.135 to 0.248 mg kg−1 and thus were less than 1 and 3% of the total As concentration respectively (ranging from 5.62 to 14.79 mg kg−1) and not considered a threat for plant tissue accumulation. While the concentrations of As observed in the agricultural fields may have exceeded screening levels, the As was not apparently plant available and its risk to crops was determined to be low.
The Impact of COVID-19 on Drug Use and Harm Reduction Programming in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) Region: a Regional Consultation of Stakeholders and People Who Use Drugs
Authors: Van Hout Marie Claire , Haddad Patricia , Aaraj Elie 
Published: July 2021

AbstractThe Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region has witnessed a slow but steady increase in the harm reduction response since 2016. It is likely that such gains are threatened by the impact of COVID-19. Very little is known about the health response and situation of people who use drugs (PWUD) during the pandemic in the region. A mixed method study was conducted by the MENA Harm Reduction Association (MENAHRA) to assess the situation of PWUD and impacts on harm reduction services during COVID-19. Twelve countries and two regional viewpoints responded to the survey. A virtual focus group was held with the MENA Network of People who Use Drugs (MENANPUD) focal points (n = 11). The study highlights how COVID-19 aggravated existing marginalization and stigmatization of PWUD and other key populations in the MENA region, with government level resourcing severely impacted by COVID-19. It further illustrates the commitment by harm reduction non-governmental organizations (NGOs) in diversifying their response, particularly through mobile outreach to drug hot spots, and the reliance of technology to support awareness raising, telemedicine, and medicine supplies. Positive shifts are observed in harm reduction policy by governments in some MENA countries and the continued commitment to support PWUD communities by existing harm reduction NGOs. Continued advocacy for and implementation of harm reduction responses at the domestic and regional levels should be underpinned by inclusion in state health emergency planning and disease control efforts, awareness raising around innovation and telemedicine to support health and NGO support systems and medicine supply chains, resourcing of NGOs, and provision of economic support for PWUD, disease surveillance, and research.
The Effects of One-Anastomosis Gastric Bypass on Fatty Acids in the Serum of Patients with Morbid Obesity
Authors: Pakiet Alicja , Haliński Łukasz P , Rostkowska Olga , Kaska Łukasz , Proczko-Stepaniak Monika , Śledziński Tomasz , Mika Adriana 
Published: July 2021

Abstract
Purpose
Obesity is associated with alterations in serum fatty acid profiles. One-anastomosis gastric bypass is a type of bariatric surgery used in the treatment of morbid obesity. The aim of this study was to establish if, between 6 and 9 months after this procedure, the fatty acid composition in the serum of patients normalizes to values similar to the healthy, lean population.

Materials/Methods
The study included 46 patients that underwent surgical treatment for obesity with one-anastomosis gastric bypass. The serum fatty acid composition was determined using gas chromatography-mass spectrometry. Principal component analysis was conducted to detect the differences between fatty acid profiles in patients pre- and post-surgery, and in 29 control nonobese subjects.

Results
Patients with morbid obesity were characterized by lowered levels of beneficial odd- and branched-chain fatty acids and polyunsaturated fatty acids. While the odd- and branched-chain fatty acid amounts normalized 6–9 months after bariatric treatment, the polyunsaturated fatty acid levels did not. Moreover, the total fatty acid profiles of patients pre- and post-bariatric surgery were still markedly different than those of lean, healthy controls.

Conclusion
Following one-anastomosis gastric bypass, there are some beneficial changes in serum fatty acids in treated patients, possibly due to weight loss and dietary regimen changes. However, they may be insufficient to restore the proper levels of other fatty acids, which may need to be additionally supplemented.

Graphical abstract