nils-herrmann/clean_scirepeval huggingface dataset:
Short-term impact of co-payment level increase on the use of medication and patient-reported outcomes in Finnish patients with type 2 diabetes.

A new reimbursement scheme for non-insulin medications used for treatment of hyperglycemia in type 2 diabetes (T2D) was implemented in Finland on January 1, 2017. The aim of the study was to evaluate the impact of this co-payment increase (i.e. + 35 percentage points) on patient-reported satisfaction for diabetes care, diabetes medication use, and financial difficulties. Baseline data were collected in 114 pharmacies, where patients with T2D were asked to fill in a questionnaire in November 2016. Follow-ups were conducted at 6 and 12 months. In total, 955 participants with T2D attended the baseline examination. During the follow-up, satisfaction with diabetes care decreased significantly (p < 0.001). Use of insulin increased (OR 1.16, 95 % CI 1.06-1.27) whereas use of metformin and DPP-4 inhibitors decreased (metformin: OR 0.80, 95 % CI 0.70‒0.90; DPP-4 inhibitors: OR 0.82, 95 % CI 0.73‒0.93). Financial difficulties with the purchase of diabetes medications were reported more often both at 6 (OR 2.44, 95 % CI 1.96-3.03) and at 12 months (OR 2.70, 95 % CI 2.18-3.35) than at baseline. These negative short-term effects require future studies. If persistent, the long-term effects of lower treatment satisfaction and increased financial difficulties may imply impaired metabolic control and increased diabetes complication risk and health care costs. Patient perspective should be taken into account in future policy making.

Field of study: Medicine, Political science
Simultaneous dual-frequency radio observations of S5 0716+714: A search for intraday variability with the Korean VLBI Network

This study aims to search for the existence of intraday variability (IDV) of BL Lac object S5 0716+714 at high radio frequencies for which the interstellar scintillation effect is not significant. Using the 21-m radio telescope of the Korean VLBI Network (KVN), we present results of multi-epoch simultaneous dual-frequency radio observations. Single-dish observations of S5 0716+714 were simultaneously conducted at 21.7 GHz ( K -band) and 42.4 GHz ( Q -band), with a high cadence of 30–60 min intervals. We observed four epochs between December 2009 and June 2010. Over the whole set of observation epochs, S5 0716+714 showed significant inter-month variations in flux density at both the K - and Q -bands, with modulation indices of approximately 19% for the K -band and approximately 36% for the Q -band. In all epochs, no clear intraday variability was detected at either frequency. The source shows monotonic flux density increase in epochs 1 and 3 and monotonic flux density decrease in epochs 2 and 4. In the flux density increasing phases, the flux densities at the Q -band increase more rapidly. In the decreasing phase, no significant flux density difference is seen at the two frequencies. The situation could be different close to flux density peaks that we did not witness in our observations. We find an inverted spectrum with mean spectral indices, ( S ν ∝ ν − α ), of –0.57 ± 0.13 in epoch 1 and −0.15 ± 0.11 in epoch 3. On the other hand, we find relatively steep indices of +0.24 ± 0.14 and +0.17 ± 0.18 in epochs 2 and 4, respectively. We conclude that the frequency dependence of the variability and the change of the spectral index are caused by source-intrinsic effects rather than by any extrinsic scintillation effect.

Field of study: Physics
A Cross-Sectional Study of Moral Development in the South African Context

This study has two aims, to examine aspects of Kohlberg's claims of universality within a unique research context and to explore differences in moral development between black and white South Africans. 81 participants from four different age groups were administered Form A of Kohlberg's moral judgement interviews. Analysis supported the age-relatedness of Kohlberg's stages of moral development and provided some support for the notion that the stages should be evident in various cultures. A significant difference in moral development between black and white groups in the 19- to 28-yr. age group was found. Further, black and white groups had different concerns when justifying moral choices. The results were discussed in the context of the South African system, which until recently has been one of institutionalised racial division.

Field of study: Psychology
Linking changes in snow cover with microbial nitrogen cycling functional gene abundance and expression in agricultural soil.

In eastern Canada, climate change-related warming and increased precipitation may alter winter snow cover, with potential consequences for soil conditions, nitrogen (N) cycling, and microbes. We conducted a 2-year field study aimed at determining the influence of snow removal, snow accumulation, and ambient snow in a potato-barley crop system on the abundance and expression of denitrifier (nirS, nirK, nosZ) and nitrifier (ammonium oxidizing archaeal (AOA) and bacterial (AOB) amoA) genes. Denitrifier and nitrifier abundance and expression results were compared to N2O production, soil atmosphere accumulation, and surface fluxes. In the first winter, nirK abundance was lowest while AOB abundance was greatest in snow accumulation treatments. In the second winter, greatest abundances were observed in the ambient snow treatment, which had greatest N2O accumulation and spring thaw fluxes, suggesting a link between microbial populations and biogeochemical functioning. Treatment effects on gene expression were limited, but greatest AOA, AOB, and nosZ expression was measured near 0°C and above 15°C, indicating that activity was promoted by freeze-thaw conditions and at summer temperatures. Overall, effects of changing snow depth on denitrifier and nitrifier abundance were not solely due to change in soil temperature, but also to soil moisture and/or interactions between these parameters.

Field of study: Biology, Environmental science
Gain-Enhanced Metamaterial Absorber-Loaded Monopole Antenna for Reduced Radar Cross-Section and Back Radiation

This paper proposes a gain-enhanced metamaterial (MM) absorber-loaded monopole antenna that reduces both radar cross-section and back radiation. To demonstrate the proposed idea, we designed a wire monopole antenna and an MM absorber. The MM absorber comprised lumped elements of subwavelength unit cells and achieved 90% absorbance bandwidth from 2.42–2.65 GHz. For low-profile configurations, the MM absorber was loaded parallel to and 10 mm from the monopole antenna, corresponding to 0.09 λ0 at 2.7 GHz. The monopole antenna resonated at 2.7 GHz with a 3.71 dBi peak gain and 2.65 GHz and 6.46 dBi peak gain, before and after loading the MM absorber, respectively. Therefore, including the MM absorber increased peak gain by 2.7 dB and reduced back radiation by 15 dB. The proposed antenna radar cross-section was reduced by 2 dB compared with a monopole antenna with an artificial magnetic conductor.

Field of study: Materials science
[Effect of phoratoxin B on electrical and mechanical activities of the rat papillary muscle].

The effect of phoratoxin B(PH-TX), a small basic protein isolated from mistletoe, on transmembrane potentials and contraction of papillary muscles was studied using conventional intracellular microelectrodes. PHTX depolarized the resting potential, decreased the initial depolarizing phase of the action potential and the corresponding Vmax and lengthened the action potential duration. PHTX increased the amplitude of the contraction. The data suggest that PHTX effect is similar to that of cytotoxic or cardiotoxin molecules and may be related to a reversible blockade of Na, K-ATPase.

Field of study: Biology, Chemistry, Medicine
Digital holographic imaging and classification of microplastics using deep transfer learning.

We devise an inline digital holographic imaging system equipped with a lightweight deep learning network, termed CompNet, and develop the transfer learning for classification and analysis. It has a compression block consisting of a concatenated rectified linear unit (CReLU) activation to reduce the channels, and a class-balanced cross-entropy loss for training. The method is particularly suitable for small and imbalanced datasets, and we apply it to the detection and classification of microplastics. Our results show good improvements both in feature extraction, and generalization and classification accuracy, effectively overcoming the problem of overfitting. This method could be attractive for future in situ microplastic particle detection and classification applications.

Field of study: Physics
Two iterative algorithms for stochastic algebraic Riccati matrix equations

In this paper, two iterative algorithms are proposed to solve stochastic algebraic Riccati matrix equations arising in the linear quadratic optimal control problem of linear stochastic systems with state-dependent noise. In the first algorithm, a standard Riccati matrix equation needs to be solved at each iteration step, and in the second algorithm a standard Lyapunov matrix equation needs to be solved at each iteration step. In the proposed algorithms, a weighted average of the estimates in the last and the previous steps is used to update the estimate of the unknown variable at each iteration step. Some properties of the sequences generated by these algorithms under appropriate initial conditions are presented, and the convergence properties of the proposed algorithms are analyzed. Finally, two numerical examples are employed to show the effectiveness of the proposed algorithms.

Field of study: Mathematics
Effect of gas type and flow rate on Cu free air ball formation in thermosonic wire bonding

The development of novel Cu wires for thermosonic wire bonding is time consuming and the effects of shielding gas on the electrical flame off (EFO) process is not fully understood. An online method is used in this study for characterizing Cu free air balls (FABs) formed with different shielding gas types and flow rates. The ball heights before ( H FAB ) and after deformation ( H def ) are responses of the online method and measured as functions of gas flow rate. Sudden changes in the slopes of these functions, a non-parallelity of the two functions, and a large standard deviation of the H FAB measurements all identify FAB defects. Using scanning electron microscope (SEM) images in parallel with the online measurements golf-club shaped and pointed shaped FABs are found and the conditions at which they occur are identified. In general FAB defects are thought to be caused by changes in surface tension of the molten metal during EFO due to inhomogeneous cooling or oxidation. It is found that the convective cooling effect of the shielding gas increases with flow rate up to 0.65 l/min where the bulk temperature of a thermocouple at the EFO site decreases by 19 °C. Flow rates above 0.7 l/min yield an undesirable EFO process due to an increase in oxidation which can be explained by a change in flow from laminar to turbulent. The addition of H 2 to the shielding gas reduces the oxidation of the FAB as well as providing additional thermal energy during EFO. Different Cu wire materials yield different results where some perform better than others.

Field of study: Engineering
Pre-Wisconsinan glacial stratigraphy, chronology, and paleomagnetics of west-central Wisconsin

Detailed evaluation of pedogenic, geologic, and paleomagnetic properties has enabled the identification of several pre-Wisconsinan stratigraphic units in west-central Wisconsin. The older unit is the Pierce Formation, consisting of the Hersey Member, which contains gray, calcareous, loam-textured till, and the Kinnickinnic Member, which contains rhythmically bedded lacustrine sediments deposited in a complex network of proglacial lakes. Paleomagnetic and pedogenic data from the Pierce Formation suggest that the Hersey Member was deposited during either the Emperor reversed event or the Matuyama reversed polarity epoch and that deposition of the Kinnickinnic Member spanned either the Emperor-Brunhes or the Matuyama-Brunhes boundary ∼460,000 or 730,000 B.P., during Pre-Illinoian time. The younger, pre-Wisconsinan unit is the River Falls Formation, which contains a reddish-brown, sandy-clay-loam-textured till and associated sand and gravel. Soil-profile development and regional correlation indicate that this unit is Illinoian in age. These results contradict previously published studies which suggested that tills of the Hersey Member and the River Falls Formation were deposited by the same Wisconsinan ice advance and that no pre-Wisconsinan sediment is present in western Wisconsin.

Field of study: Geology
Preparation of different CeO_2 precursors with precipitator urea

CeO_2 precursors were prepared by the homogeneous precipitation method, hydrothermal synthesis method and hydrothermal precipitation coupling method using urea as a precipitator.The results indicated that urea was a reserve resource of CO~ 2- __3.CeO_2 precursors were orthorhombic Ce_2O(CO_3) _2·H_2O, hexagonal Ce(OH)(CO_3) , orthorhombic CeO(CO_3)_2·H_2O respectively when the homogeneous precipitation method, hydrothermal synthesis method and hydrothermal precipitation coupling method were used.The synthesis technology had a great effect on the precursors.Different precursors were synthesized through various processes and mechanisms.When heated up to the temperature of 500℃, the precursors were all finally changed into face centred cubic CeO_ 2 powders.

Field of study: Chemistry, Environmental science
An analysis of rats' drinking-tube contacts under tandem and fixed-interval schedules of food presentation.

Rats' lever presses and drinking-tube contacts were studied under fixed-interval schedules of food presentation and under a tandem schedule composed of three fixed intervals. One group of rats was exposed first to the tandem schedule, next to fixed-interval schedules of comparable interpellet intervals, and once again to the tandem schedule; a second group of rats was exposed first to a fixed-interval and then to the tandem schedule. Under the tandem schedule, lever presses occurred at a higher rate and were more uniformly distributed in time than under the fixed-interval schedule. Tube contacts emitted by rats exposed first to a fixed-interval schedule consisted mostly of tongue contacts, which occurred at a high rate shortly after food; tube contacts emitted by rats exposed first to the tandem schedule consisted mostly of paw contacts, which occurred at a lower rate at times other than shortly after food. Changing the schedule from fixed interval to tandem decreased the frequency of tongue contacts for all rats. Under schedules of food presentation with comparable interpellet intervals, the schedule of food presentation, rather than the rate of food delivery per se, determined the topography and temporal locus of drinking-tube contacts.

Field of study: Biology, Psychology
Properties of the πη,$ \eta{^\prime}$,σ, f0(980) and a0(980) mesons and their relevance for the polarizabilities of the nucleon

The signs and values of the two-photon couplings FMγγ of mesons (M) and their couplings gMNN to the nucleon as entering into the t -channel parts of the difference of the electromagnetic polarizabilities (α - β) and the backward angle spin polarizabilities γπ are determined. The excellent agreement achieved with the experimental polarizabilities of the proton makes it possible to make reliable predictions for the neutron. The results obtained are αn = 13.4±1.0 , βn = 1.8±1.0 (10-4fm^3), and γ(n)π = 57.6±1.8 (10-4fm^4). New empirical information on the flavor wave functions of the f0(980) - and the a0(980) -meson is obtained.

Field of study: Physics
Comparative Study on Viscoelastic Evaluation Methods of Polymer Materials Based on Ultrasonic Method

Rubber, as a kind of macromolecular material often used in large ships, aviation, aerospace, and other fields, has remarkable viscoelasticity at room temperature. Therefore, it is of great significance to evaluate the viscoelastic properties of polymer composites. In this paper, four kinds of rubber materials are taken as research objects. Based on the principle of ultrasonic detection, the viscoelastic evaluation of the sample materials is carried out through experiments and simulations. On the basis of previous research, the surface reflection method (SRM) and the bottom reflection method (BRM) are compared in depth. First, the spectrum of received signals is analyzed, and the storage elastic modulus, loss elastic modulus, attenuation coefficient and loss tangent value are obtained. Secondly, the results of the BRM and the SRM are compared and analyzed in the frequency domain of –6 dB. The results show that both the SRM and BRM are feasible in the evaluation of the viscoelasticity of the material, and the variation trends observed for the above-mentioned parameters in the effective frequency domain are consistent, especially at the center frequency. Finally, aiming at the mode transformation of the acoustic wave around the ultrasonic sensor, the practical performance of the surface reflection method is optimized by increasing the diameter of the ultrasonic sensor.

Field of study: Materials science
Alpha 2A-adrenoreceptor blockade improves sepsis-induced acute lung injury accompanied with depressed high mobility group box-1 levels in rats.

To investigate the effects of α2A-adrenoreceptor blockade on acute lung injury (ALI) and high mobility group box-1 protein (HMGB1) expression in a rat model of sepsis.



Sepsis was induced in male rats by cecal ligation and puncture (CLP). Thirty adult male Sprague-Dawley rats were equally randomized to the Sham group, the CLP group, and the CLP+maleate group. Five hours after CLP, rats received an intraperitoneal injection of BRL-44408 maleate or the same volume of vehicle. Serum levels of TNF-α, IL-6, IL-10, HMGB1, and norepinephrine were measured at baseline, 6, 18, and 24h after CLP. Lung TNF-α, IL-6, IL-10, immunohistochemical and western blotting analysis of HMGB1, nuclear factor (NF)-κB activation, myeloperoxidase (MPO) activity, histological scores, and wet-to-dry weight ratio were determined 24h after CLP. In additional CLP and CLP+maleate groups, the 7 day survival rate was evaluated.



Compared with the CLP group, serum TNF-α at 6h, HMGB1 at 18 and 24h, and norepinephrine at 6 and 18 h after CLP decreased in the CLP+maleate group. Lung TNF-α, IL-6, and HMGB1 expressions decreased at 24h after CLP. NF-κB activation, MPO activity, histological scores, and wet-to-dry weight ratio were lower in the CLP+maleate group than the CLP group. There was no significant difference in 7 day survival rate between the CLP and CLP+maleate groups.



The α2A-adrenoreceptor blockade by a specific antagonist maleate improves sepsis-induced acute lung injury accompanied with depressed HMGB1 expression in rats. The mechanism seemed to be mediated partly through downregulation of the signal transductions of the NF-κB pathway.

Field of study: Medicine
Hydrogenation of theΒ and γ isomers of 1,4-bis(4′-hydroxy-1′,2′, 5′-trimethyl-4′-piperidyl)-1,3-butadiyne

The kinetics of the hydrogenation of the Β and γ isomers of 1,4-bis(4′-hydroxy-1′, 2′, 5′-trimethyl-4′-piperidyl)-1, 3-butadiyne in methanol and ethanol on the catalysts Raney nickel, platinized carbon, and palladium on supports has been studied. It has been shown that the rates of hydrogenation of the Β and γ isomers differ on all the catalysts. In the presence of platinum and nickel, hydrogenation takes place as far as the saturated compound, and in the presence of palladium to the diene.

Field of study: Chemistry
Independent and Interactive Effects of OPRM1 and DAT1 Polymorphisms on Alcohol Consumption and Subjective Responses in Social Drinkers

The current study examined independent and interactive effects of polymorphisms of the mu opioid receptor gene (OPRM1, A118G) and variable number tandem repeats of the dopamine transporter gene (DAT1, SLC6A3) on alcohol consumption and subjective responses to alcohol in 127 young, healthy, social drinkers.



Participants completed an in-person assessment, which included self-reported alcohol drinking patterns and blood sampling for DNA, and in a second visit, a cumulative alcohol dosing procedure with subjective ratings across multiple time points and breath alcohol contents (0.03 to 0.1%). DNA was analyzed for OPRM1 AA versus AG/GG (*G) genotypes, DAT1 10-repeat allele (A10) versus 9 or lesser alleles (A9), and ancestral informative markers.



There were significant epistatic interactions between OPRM1 and DAT1 genotypes. Subjective High Assessment Scale scores after alcohol consumption were highest in *G and A9 carriers, and lowest in *G and A10 carriers. Negative subjective effects were also highest in *G and A9 carriers. Effects were similar in a sensitivity analysis limited to Caucasian subjects. There were independent and epistatic interactions on drinking. The OPRM1 *G allele was independently associated with fewer heavy drinking days. The A9 allele was associated with a greater number of drinking days, which was attenuated in carriers of the *G allele.



These findings highlight the biological importance of interactions between these 2 genes and interactions between brain opioid and dopamine systems.

Field of study: Medicine
Climate change impacts on endemic, high-elevation lichens in a biodiversity hotspot

Previous studies of the impacts of climate change on lichens and fungi have focused largely on alpine and subalpine habitats, and have not investigated the potential impact on narrowly endemic species. Here, we estimate the impacts of climate change on high-elevation, endemic lichens in the southern Appalachians, a global diversity hotspot for many groups of organisms, including lichens. We conducted extensive field surveys in the high elevations of the region to accurately document the current distributions of eight narrowly endemic lichen species. Species distribution modeling was used to predict how much climatically suitable area will remain within, and north of, the current range of the target species under multiple climate change scenarios at two time points in the future. Our field work showed that target species ranged from extreme rarity to locally abundant. Models predicted over 93 % distributional loss for all species investigated and very little potentially suitable area north of their current distribution in the coming century. Our results indicate that climate change poses a significant threat to high-elevation lichens, and provide a case study in the application of current modeling techniques for rare, montane species.

Field of study: Environmental science
Barrier height modification and mechanism of carrier transport in Ni/in situ grown Si3N4/n-GaN Schottky contacts

In situ growth of an ultra-thin (up to 2.5 nm) Si3N4 film on the top of n-GaN is shown to reduce remarkably the height of the barrier formed by deposition of Ni-based Schottky contact. The reduction is interpreted in terms of polarization dipole induced at the Si3N4/n-GaN interface and Fermi level pinning at the Ni/Si3N4 interface. Detailed study of temperature-dependent current-voltage characteristics enables identification of the electron transport mechanism in such Schottky diodes under forward bias: thermal/field electron emission over the barrier formed in n-GaN followed by tunneling through the Si3N4 film. At reverse bias and room temperature, the charge transfer is likely controlled by Poole-Frenkel ionization of deep traps in n-GaN. Tunneling exponents at forward and reverse biases and the height of the Ni/Si3N4 Schottky barrier are evaluated experimentally and compared with theoretical predictions.

Field of study: Materials science