nils-herrmann/clean_scirepeval huggingface dataset:
Ionic conductivity of amorphous lithium lanthanum titanate thin film

Amorphous lithium lanthanum titanate (LLT) thin films were prepared by the pulsed laser deposition (PLD) method. By X-ray diffraction measurement of the films, it was confirmed that the crystal structure of the as-prepared thin films was amorphous. The temperature dependence of the ionic conductivity of the amorphous LLT thin film was measured from 300 to 475 K over the frequency region 100 Hz to 10 MHz. The value 0.35 eV was estimated as the activation energy of Li+ ionic conduction in the film in the temperature region 300–475 K. It was revealed that the transfer ratio of Li+ ion for the ionic conduction of the amorphous LLT thin film is over 94%, and the amorphous LLT thin film shows super-ionic conduction at and above room temperature. The conductivity of the LLT thin film was an order of magnitude higher than that of its polycrystalline precursor, mainly due to absence of grain boundary elements and its structural disorder.

Field of study: Materials science
Phasing-Out of Paper Based Cheques in the UK Will Benefit Financial Institutions, Individuals and Businesses

Paper-based cheques have been in use for about 350 years. And it has been played a very important role in people’s lives (Barrow, 2009). While the use of paper based cheques is continue to decline in the world. In many countries, such as Netherlands and Sweden, people there have already stopped using paper based cheques, or there are only small amount of people using cheques. This trend also exists in UK. The UK Payments Council has decided to modernise the payment system and also set a date for the abolition of paper based cheques. The UK Payments Council claimed that the phasing-out of paper based cheques in the UK would benefit financial institutions, individuals and businesses. This essay will firstly look at the current situation of the use of paper based cheques in UK. Following this, it will discuss the alternative payments methods. Then the timelines for paper based cheques to phase out would be illustrated. Finally, it will discuss the benefits for benefit financial institutions, individuals and businesses separately.

Field of study: Business
Tax-Based Incomes Policies: A Commentary for the Future

During the 1 970s incomes policies were a lively issue. In the United States there was a wage-price freeze and in Britain, a wage-price policy, followed by a social contract. Proposals for tax-based incomes policies (TIP) received much attention in journals and even a brief appearance as a proposal "floated" by the White House in 1977.1 More recently we have experienced a decline in inflation, growing severity of recessions, and much smaller increases (even some decreases) in negotiated wage bargains. Thus interest in TIP has declined as the need for incomes policies has seemed less urgent. Nevertheless, the structural issues that TIP attempted to address have not changed, and if TIP had virtues in the 1970s, TIP is again going to seem a sensible proposal when a greater degree of prosperity returns to the economies of the developed nations. Modern states are most unlikely to have anything like full employment without inflation unless they adopt incomes policies.2

Field of study: Economics
Spawning habitat enhancement in the European bullhead (Cottus gobio), an endangered freshwater fish in degraded lowland rivers

Due to river regulation, the natural habitat of the European bullhead (Cottus gobio) has been degraded and often there is an apparent lack of suitable spawning substrates (hard objects like stones). Addition of artificial structures to degraded habitats may be a very promising tool for habitat enhancement. In this study, we evaluated the use of ceramic tiles as artificial spawning substrates in canalised and (remaining) meandering parts of anthropogenically perturbated lowland rivers in Flanders (northern part of Belgium). Furthermore, we examined whether water depth and velocity were important determinants for the choice of tiles in these different river trajectories. Tiles were successfully used by the bullhead as spawning substrates. In the meandering parts of the river, the number of egg deposits was significantly positively correlated with water depth, while in canalised river parts, water depth and velocity were of no importance for tile usage. In general, supplementation of rivers with artificial substrates like tiles may be a promising, inexpensive and easy-to-use enhancement technique for degraded bullhead spawning habitat.

Field of study: Environmental science
Maritime Spatial Planning supported by Infrastructure for Spatial Information in Europe (INSPIRE)

The implementation of Directive 2007/2/EC - INSPIRE can improve and actually strengthen the information management and data infrastructures needed for setting up Maritime Spatial Planning (MSP) processes. Evidence for this comes from three parallel analyses: links between the MSP Framework Directive and INSPIRE components and implementation; the availability of marine and maritime data through the INSPIRE Geo-Portal; and the adequacy of using an INSPIRE data model for mapping maritime spatial plans. The first item identifies INSPIRE as a relevant instrument not only for data collection, but additionally for increasing transparency of the MSP processes, using already operational national and European data infrastructure. The marine/maritime data availability analysis highlights a significant difference in data sharing within European marine regions. Finally, the INSPIRE data model is adequate for mapping maritime activities and for the integration of sea and land planning in an overview of cross-border planning for a given sea region.

Field of study: Environmental science
Probable positive effects of the photobiomodulation as an adjunctive treatment in COVID-19: A systematic review

Background
 COVID-19, as a newly-emerged viral infection has now spread all over the world after originating in Wuhan, China. Pneumonia is the hallmark of the disease, with dyspnea in half of the patients and acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) in up to one –third of the cases. Pulmonary edema, neutrophilic infiltration, and inflammatory cytokine release are the pathologic signs of this disease. The anti-inflammatory effect of the photobiomodulation (PBM) has been confirmed in many previous studies. Therefore, this review study was conducted to evaluate the direct effect of PBM on the acute lung inflammation or ARDS and also accelerating the regeneration of the damaged tissues. The indirect effects of PBM on modulation of the immune system, increasing the blood flow and oxygenation in other tissues were also considered.
 
 Methodology
 The databases of PubMed, Cochrane library, and Google Scholar were searched to find the relevant studies. Keywords included the PBM and related terms, lung inflammation, and COVID-19 -related signs. Studies were categorized with respect to the target tissue, laser parameters, and their results.
 
 Results
 Seventeen related papers were included in this review. All of them were in animal models. They showed that the PBM could significantly decrease the pulmonary edema, neutrophil influx, and generation of pro-inflammatory cytokines (tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α), interleukin 1 beta (IL-1β), interleukin 6 (IL-6), intracellular adhesion molecule (ICAM), reactive oxygen species (ROS), isoform of nitric oxide synthase (iNOS), and macrophage inflammatory protein 2 (MIP-2)).
 
 
 Our findings revealed that the PBM could be helpful in reducing the lung inflammation and promoting the regeneration of the damaged tissue. PBM can increase the oxygenation indirectly in order to rehabilitate the affected organs. Thus, the infra-red lasers or light-emitting diodes (LEDs) are recommended in this regard.

Field of study: Medicine
Application of the group contribution volume translated Peng-Robinson equation of state to new commercial refrigerant mixtures.

This work evaluates the performance of the group contribution volume translated Peng-Robinson model when predicting the vapor-liquid equilibrium and single phase densities of 28 commercial refrigerant mixtures with low global warming potential and zero ozone depletion potential. Cubic equations of state, and particularly the Peng-Robinson equation of state, are widely used in the refrigeration industry due to their easy applicability for new substances, and their low computational time, although generally lower prediction accuracies must be expected compared to multiparameter equations of state. The group contribution volume translated Peng-Robinson equation of state combines the Peng-Robinson equation of state with a new attraction term, improved mixing rules using a group contribution approach, and volume translation. The results are compared with the estimates obtained using the non translated Peng-Robinson equation of state, and a multiparameter equation of state.

Field of study: Engineering
[A simple method for predicting equality of absorption and elimination rate constants].

A new method is proposed by which one can predict whether absorption rate constant (Ka) and elimination rate constant (Ke) are equal in the one-compartment open model with first-order processes. The method used only blood drug concentration-time data in the terminal segment of concentration versus time curve is described as follows. We defined Ai as Ai = 2/(tn + 1 + tn) + ln(cn/cn + 1)/(tn + 1 - tn) (i = 1,2,3,...) where n is the number of sampling sequence, cn and cn + 1, tn and tn + 1 are any two consecutive blood drug concentration (c)-time (t) data in the terminal segment of c-t curve, respectively. If Ai was equal or approximate, Ka and Ke might be equal or approach each other. In addition, both Ka and Ke were equivalent to the arithmetic mean of Ai. If Ai was reduced gradually while (tn + 1 + tn)/2 was increased, Ka might not be equal to Ke.

Field of study: Biology, Chemistry, Medicine
The Evolution of Spanish Governance during the Early Bourbon Period in Peru: The Juan Santos Atahualpa Rebellion and the Missionaries of Ocopa

In 1742, a highland Andean named Juan Santos led a group of mainly Asháninka and Yanesha warriors against a handful of isolated Franciscan missions in the central high jungle of Peru. Over the next ten years the rebellion smoldered, occasionally sparking to life, as Santos's forces pushed the missionaries based out of the College of Santa Rosa de Ocopa (near Jauja, Peru) back to the highlands. The uprising culminated in a brief foray into the highlands, but never effectively reached beyond the security of the densely vegetated high jungle, known locally as the central montaña region. Despite its modest accomplishments, the rebellion secured autonomy for the combatant nations during the rest of the colonial period.

Field of study: History
Deuteron Coulomb Excitation in Peripheral Collisions with a Heavy Ion

We develop and test an ab initio time-dependent Basis Function (tBF) method to solve non-perturbative and time-dependent problems in quantum mechanics. For our test problem, we apply this method to the Coulomb excitation of the deuteron by an impinging heavy ion. In the tBF method applied to deuterium, we employ wave functions for its bound and excited states to calculate its transition probabilities and the r.m.s. radius during the scattering process. For comparison, corresponding results based on first-order perturbation theory are also provided. For the Coulomb excitation process in a weak and time-varying Coulomb field, where higher-order effects are negligible, we obtain good agreement of the results based on these two methods. The tBF method is then applied to the Coulomb excitation process with stronger external field. The higher-order effects, such as those appearing in the reorientation of the polarization of the deuteron system, are analyzed.

Field of study: Physics
Assessment of hydrochemical backgrounds and threshold values of groundwater in a part of desert area, Rajasthan, India.

Natural background levels (NBLs) and threshold values (TVs) are crucial parameters for identification and the quantification of groundwater pollution, and the evaluation of pollution control measures. The cumulative probability distribution technique was used for the evaluation of NBLs for 36 samples collected during two climate conditions in the part of the desert area from Rajasthan, India. The NBLs for Na+, Cl-, SO42-, HCO3-, NO3- and F- ions were assessed and compared with the natural and anthropogenic processes. The TVs were also calculated for Na+, Cl-, SO42-, HCO3-, NO3- and F- ions, and compared with the drinking limits of the Bureau of Indian Standards. Additionally, the pollution percentage (%) at the individual well was estimated and identified the polluted zones. Results indicate that most of the polluted areas were situated in the southern part, which was influenced by the natural and anthropogenic factors. The sodium concentrations above the TVs, in indicating the saline nature of water. Chloride threshold value above the drinking water limit was mainly observed in the dry season, related to intensive evaporation and industrial waste, which leads to groundwater quality degradation. The NO3- concentration (∼56% samples) above the TVs indicates extensive use of nitrate fertilizers and sewage effluent. The values of total dissolved solids (TDS) shows the suspicious scenario as about 84% of the samples in the dry period and about 89% in the wet season exceeding the drinking limit. Assessment of background concentrations and threshold values on regional and local scale assigns the basis for the identification of groundwater pollution, and helpful for better water quality guidelines to protecting of water resources.

Field of study: Environmental science
A Critique of Pure Economics

The title of this piece tells it all. It is not that our author does not believe in markets but that he thinks they have many natural limitations. He welcomes them when empirical evidence suggests that they work. But in this fine and necessary criticism of conventional "rational-person" economics, he finds fifteen curses—yes, he calls them curses—that markets must deal with to work as the textbooks say they do.

Field of study: Economics
[An overview on swine influenza viruses].

Swine influenza viruses (SIVs) are respiratory pathogens of pigs. They cause both economic bur den in livestock-dependent industries and serious global public health concerns in humans. Because of their dual susceptibility to human and avian influenza viruses, pigs are recognized as intermediate hosts for genetic reassortment and interspecies transmission. Subtypes H1N1, H1N2, and H3N2 circulate in swine populations around the world, with varied origin and genetic characteristics among different continents and regions. In this review, the role of pigs in evolution of influenza A viruses, the genetic evolution of SIVs and interspecies transmission of SIVs are described. Considering the possibility that pigs might produce novel influenza viruses causing more outbreaks and pandemics, routine epidemiological surveillance of influenza viruses in pig populations is highly recommended.

Field of study: Biology
Relativistic quark models

The application of relativistic constituent quark models to the evaluation of the electromagnetic properties of the nucleon and its resonances is addressed. The role of the pair creation process in the Feynmann triangle diagram is discussed and the importance both of choosing the light-front formalism and of using a Breit frame where the plus component of the four-momentum transfer is vanishing, is stressed. The nucleon elastic form factors are calculated free of spurious effects related to the loss of rotational covariance. The effect of a finite constituent size is considered and the parameters describing the constituent form factors are fixed using only the nucleon data up to Q**2 ~ 1 (GeV/c)**2; a constituent charge radius of ~ 0.45 fm is obtained in this way. Above Q**2 ~ 1 (GeV/c)**2 our parameter-free predictions are in good agreement with the experimental data, showing that soft physics may be dominant up to Q**2 ~ 10 (GeV/c)**2. Our new results for the longitudinal and transverse helicity amplitudes of the N - P_{11}(1440) transition are presented.

Field of study: Physics
Application of Ecological Models to Risks Related to Being Overweight among Nurses

This paper provides a discussion of environmental strategies to improve health behaviors of nurses. Behavioral choices, partly due to social and environmental factors, influence risk of chronic disease. Strategies that modify environments are critical components of public health interventions, particularly those concerned with improving diet and physical activity. Nurses' health behaviors may be especially important, due to their influence as models when caring for patients. Modifications in work environments may enable nurses to acquire and maintain healthy behaviors.

Field of study: Psychology
Role of myocardial contractility and autonomic control in the hypotensive response to a limited access ethanol paradigm in SHRs.

Previous experimental studies that evaluated the chronic hemodynamic effect of ethanol employed the continuous exposure protocol of ethanol, which does not mimic the pattern of alcohol consumption in humans. This study dealt with the long-term hemodynamic and cardiovascular autonomic effects of ethanol, in a limited-access regimen in telemetered spontaneously hypertensive rats (SHRs).



Changes in blood pressure (BP), heart rate (HR), myocardial contractility (dP/dt(max)), and spectral cardiovascular autonomic profiles during the ethanol exposure period (2.5 or 5% w/v, 8 h/d, 8:30 am till 4:30 pm) were followed for 12 weeks.



Compared with control pair-fed SHRs, body weight and urine output, osmolality, and potassium levels were decreased in SHRs receiving 5% but not 2.5% ethanol. Blood pressure showed progressive falls during ethanol-feeding periods with a maximum effect observed at week 5. The peak hypotensive effect was maintained thereafter in SHRs receiving 5% ethanol in contrast to steady rises in BP in the 2.5% ethanol group to near-control levels by the conclusion of the study. Heart rate was slightly but significantly increased by ethanol 5% whereas dP/dt(max) showed persistent reductions. Power spectral analysis showed that ethanol attenuated the baroreflex gain of HR as suggested by the reductions in index alpha, the spectral index of spontaneous baroreflex sensitivity (BRS).



It is concluded that limited access ethanol drinking in SHRs elicited hypotension that was concentration dependent and mediated, at least partly, through reductions in myocardial contractility. Baroreflex sensitivity attenuation by ethanol appeared to have limited the tachycardic response to ethanol and perhaps its capacity to offset the evoked hypotension.

Field of study: Medicine
The mechanism for inhibiting acidification of variable charge soils by adhered Pseudomonas fluorescens.

Acidification in variable charge soils is on the rise due to increased acid deposition and use of nitrogenous fertilizers. The associated low pH and cation exchange capacity make the soils prone to depleted base cations and increased levels of Al3+. Consequently, Al toxicity to plants and soil infertility decrease crop yield. This study was designed to investigate the effect of Pseudomonas fluorescens on the acidification of two Ultisols. The simulated acidification experiment demonstrated that the pH of bacteria-treated soil was higher than that of control under similar conditions, suggesting that the adhered bacteria inhibited soil acidification. This observation was attributed to the association of organic anions (RCOO- or RO-) on bacteria with H+ to form neutral molecules (RCOOH or ROH) and reducing the activity of H+ in solution. The bacteria also inhibited the increase in soil soluble Al and exchangeable Al during soil acidification. The adhesion of bacteria on the soils increased soil effective cation exchange capacity (ECEC) and exchangeable base cations at each pH compared to control. The release of exchangeable base cations from bacteria-treated soil, and the decrease in soil ECEC and exchangeable base cations with decreasing pH confirmed that protonation of organic anions on adhered bacteria was mainly responsible for the inhibition of soil acidification. The change of zeta potential of the bacteria with pH and the ART-FTIR analysis at various pH provided more evidence for this mechanism. Therefore, the bacteria in variable charge soils played an important role in retarding soil acidification.

Field of study: Environmental science
Synaptic inputs from rods and cones to horizontal cells in the tiger salamander retina.

Synaptic inputs from rods and cones to horizontal cells (HCs) were studied in the flatmounted isolated retinas of the tiger salamander. Voltage-intensity relations, spectral sensitivities and response waveforms of the rod, the cone, and the HC under dark- and light-adapted conditions were examined. HCs receive mixed inputs from rods and cones in both dark- and light-adapted retinas. The relative rod/cone input in HC_s depends on the intensity of stimulus and background illumination, and it varies from HC to HC.

Field of study: Chemistry
Analysis of Volatile Compounds in Algal Bloom Water by Gas Chromatography-Mass Spectrometry and Sniffering

Volatile constituents of algal bloom water were investigated by headspace solid phase microextraction(HS-SPME) coupled with gas chromatography-mass spectrometry(GC-MS).The compounds were quantified by normalization method based on chromatographic peak areas.HS-SPME parameters including different SPME fibers,extraction temperature and time were optimized.In our case,carboxen/polydimethyl-siloxane(CAR/PDMS) fiber was finally used for the extraction at 45 ℃ for 25 min.Aliquot of 82 volatile compounds were identified.The predominant components were butyric acid,isopentanoic acid,acetic acid,dimethyltrisulfide,n-hexanoic acid,o-cresol,propanoic acid,2,3-dithiobutane,pentanoic acid,beta cyclocitral,methyl thiobutyrate,3-methylindole,isopentyl alcohol,methanethiol,1-butanol etc.The GC-MS/GC-sniffering method was employed to perform the identification of the off-flavor compounds.18 kinds of smelly compounds were contained in algal bloom,in which dimethyltrisulfide,2,3-dithiobutane,and beta cyclocitral were significantly increased in the later period of algal blooms outbreak.

Field of study: Chemistry
Characterization and Analysis of Porosities in High Pressure Die Cast Aluminum by Using Metallography, X-Ray Radiography, and Micro-Computed Tomography

Mechanical performance of cast aluminum alloys is strongly affected by the defects formed during solidification. For example, fractography studies of the fatigue specimens have shown that fatigue failure in aluminum castings containing defects is almost always initiated from defects, among which pores are most detrimental. However, elimination of these pores is neither always economically nor technically possible. This work characterizes defects in high pressure die cast aluminum alloy as an illustrative material, but the methods used can be applicable to other types of castings and defects. The defects were evaluated using metallography as well as micro-computed tomography techniques. The variability of defects between the specimens of two sizes as well as different porosity levels are studied statistically. The distributions of defects based on location within the specimens are also analyzed. Moreover, the maximum defect size within the specimens are estimated using extreme value statistics, which can be used as an input to fatigue life prediction models. Extreme value statistics is applied on both 2D and 3D defect data. The accuracy of each approach is verified by comparing the estimated maximum defect size within the specimens with the maximum observed defects on fracture surfaces of fatigue specimens.

Field of study: Materials science