Quantitative Investigation Research Articles

Decoding Scholarcy website: A Study on its Research Summarization Efficiency

The development of artificial intelligence (AI) has revolutionized various facets of education, particularly the research domain. With the rapid growth of scholarly literature, the need for an efficient tool for summarization has become increasingly paramount. This study proposes a quantitative investigation into the efficiency of Scholarcy (www.scholarcy.com), an AI-powered summarizer used to aid researchers in summarizing academic literature. Thirty-five postgraduate students were involved in a survey research design. After five weeks of using Scholarcy, participants were asked to complete a survey questionnaire via their email addresses to give feedback on this tool. The results indicated a positive reception when postgraduates found this AI summarizer convenient and useful for reading academic papers. On the other hand, the participants identified several drawbacks when using it including concerns about summary quality, the absence of a mobile application, and high cost, along with suggestions for further application. With the highlights of both benefits and limitations, the study hopes to contribute valuable insights into the development of AI-powered summarization tools in the future.

The Morphometric and Hydrological Analysis of the Largest Valley Basin in the Western Plateau of Iraq

The study was carried out to see whether it would be possible to use remote sensing and Geographic Information System (GIS) to create a morphometric geodatabase for the largest valley basin in the western Plateau (Houran Valley), Iraq. ArcGIS V.10.8 measured morphological or hydrological features using a digital elevation model (DEM). These properties are considered a crucial database for planning for dry or wet river basins and valleys, saving time, money, and resources compared to extensive regional research. A quantitative investigation of the morphological characteristics determined that the longitudinal drain density was 0.1698 km/Km2, indicative of both high soil permeability and an arid to semi-arid desert environment. The basin is in an early geomorphological stage, and the linear structures determined the design of its drainage network according to the circulation ratio of 0.08566. area's geological structure has considerable changes in hardness, as indicated by the elongation ratio of 0.112, which would facilitate the use of water in the process of the area's sustainable development.

A quantitative investigation in a territory of Italy on citizens' attitudes towards medicines through the COVID-19 pandemic: the importance of possible indirect effects caused by the pandemic.

The COVID-19 pandemic has greatly influenced many aspects of everyday life, particularly that of the general population health. In order to better understand the potential impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic on people's attitudes toward medicines use, a quantitative investigation was conducted in a territory of Sardinia region, Italy. Stratification of the random multilevel population sample was based on gender, age range, and territory. The methodological strategy to verify the potential approach changes towards medicines due to the COVID-19 pandemic consisted of oral interviews with adult citizens and unrecognizability preservation. Investigation, also supported by a study completed before the insurgence of the pandemic about taking medicines, interrupting treatments without consulting, and reading the information leaflet, allowed to explore citizens' attitudes before and during pandemic, and changing. The most relevant findings are the tendency towards a higher occurrence of self-interruption of treatments and an increased interest in the information leaflet (package leaflet), but not an increased self-administration of medicines. These results indicate new indirect effects of the COVID-19 pandemic that could exert an additional impact on the state of citizens' health and health systems. The study, with reference to prophylactic medical treatments and based on some considerations concerning the pandemic from its insurgence to today, also provides solutions for related problems for the present or future periods of health emergencies.

Quantitative photothermal investigation of nonradiative recombination parameters in GaAs/InAs(QD)/GaAs quantum dot structures using a three-layer laser beam deflection model

In this paper, we developed a theoretical model for the photothermal deflection technique in order to investigate the electronic parameters of three-layer semiconductor structures. This model is based on the resolution of thermal and photogenerated carrier diffusion-wave equations in different media. Theoretical results show that the amplitude and phase of the photothermal deflection signal is very sensitive to the nonradiative recombination parameters. The theoretical model is applied to one layer of InAs quantum dots (QDs) inserted in GaAs matrix InAs/GaAs QDs in order to investigate the QD density effects on nonradiative recombination parameters in InAs through fitting the theoretical photothermal beam deflection signal to the experimental data. It was found that the minority carrier lifetime and the electronic diffusivity decrease as functions of increasing InAs QD density. This result is also related to the decrease in the mobility from 21.58 to 4.17 (±12.9%) cm2/V s and the minority carrier diffusion length from 0.62 (±5.8%) to 0.14 (±10%) μm, respectively. Furthermore, both interface recombination velocities S2/3 of GaAs/InAs (QDs) and S1/2 of InAs (QDs)/GaAs increase from 477.7 (±6.2%) to 806.5 (±4%) cm/s and from 75 (±7.8%) to 148.1 (±5.5%) cm/s, respectively.

Research the lubrication characteristics on the modified main thrust roller of the slewing bearings

The load capacity and lubrication performance of the slewing bearing are fairly sensitive to edge effects at both ends of the main thrust rollers. Therefore, quantitative investigations of the edge effect at both ends of slewing bearing is practically important. In this study, an elastic fluid lubrication model of the slewing bearing that considered the external load and internal structural parameters is established. A modification function of rollers is included in a finite long-line contact elastic fluid lubrication model to perform the dynamic analysis. The simulated oil film’s thickness and pressure distributions are compared under different working conditions. And the edge effect is eliminated by modifying the rollers’ construction. The results indicate that under the large eccentric load, the speed of the slewing bearing must be decreased to ensure elastic fluid lubrication performance. A genetic algorithm that used to discover the optimal modification length shows the best busbar of the main thrust roller is 12 μm, which could decrease the vibration amplitude of the unmodified roller by 8.13%. This result gives a significant way for slewing bearing’s structural design.

Impacted mandibular third molars: a comparison of orthopantomography and cone-beam computed tomography imaging in predicting surgical difficulty.

This study investigated the predictive value of orthopantomography (OPG) for the difficulty of extracting impacted mandibular third molars, in comparison with cone-beam computed tomography (CBCT). In this descriptive quantitative investigation, two oral and maxillofacial radiologists evaluated OPG and three-dimensional CBCT images according to the Pell-Gregory and Winter classifications. The results for the classification were compared using the chi-square test, and the prediction of difficulty was assessed using the Pederson scale, with a significance level of p< 0.05. The study included 30 patients (14 men and 16 women), providing a total of 53 samples of impacted mandibular third molars. Of these, 30 (56.6%) were from the right side and 23 (43.4%) from the left. There was a statistically significant difference between the OPG and CBCT images concerning their relation to the mandibular ramus (p< 0.05). However, evaluations based on occlusal lines and angulation showed no significant differences (p> 0.05). According to the Pederson scale, significant differences were observed between OPG and CBCT in predicting extraction difficulty (p< 0.05). CBCT offered a more accurate assessment of the surgical difficulty associated with mandibular third molars than OPG. OPG views frequently failed to adequately visualize the region of the mandibular ramus, influencing the perceived difficulty of mandibular third molar surgery. In certain cases, the use of CBCT imaging is crucial.

The Influence of Interactive Animation Media on Students' Interest in Learning in View of Learning Results in Class IV Science Subjects at SD Inpres Kuanino 3

The use of visual and auditory elements into the learning process may enhance its effectiveness, captivate students, and facilitate their comprehension and engagement with the topic. Educators have the power to enhance classroom instruction by doing things like creating a sense of intrinsic motivation and offering post-lesson assessments. The objective of this research was to find out whether fourth graders at SD Inpres Kuanino 3 were more engaged in studying IPAS when they used animated interactive media. The experimental quay approach is used in this quantitative investigation. A total of 49 participants were included in the study, and the sampling method utilised was nonprobability saturation sampling. Data collecting approaches involving observation, testing and documentation. The data was examined by means of a t-test and hypothesis testing. Using a t-test, the researchers found that there was a 17.59 point difference between the experimental and control groups' average post-test scores: 82.59&gt; 65.00. In addition, the sig value is revealed by the Independent Sample T-Test, which tests hypotheses. H0 is rejected while Ha is accepted when the two-sided p-value is less than 0.05. Students in SD Inpres Kuanino 3's fourth grade were shown to be much more engaged in learning when animated interactive media were used.

Auditing citation polarization during the early COVID-19 pandemic

Abstract The recent pandemic stimulated scientists to publish a significant amount of research that created a surge of citations of COVID-19-related publications in a short time, leading to an abrupt inflation of the journal impact factor (IF). By auditing the complete set of COVID-19-related publications in the Web of Science, we reveal here that COVID-19-related research worsened the polarization of academic journals: The IF before the pandemic was proportional to the increment of IF, which had the effect of increasing inequality while retaining the journal rankings. We also found that the most highly cited studies related to COVID-19 were published in prestigious journals at the onset of the epidemic. Through the present quantitative investigation, our findings caution against the belief that quantitative metrics, particularly IF, can indicate the significance of individual papers. Rather, such metrics reflect the social attention given to a particular study.

Enhancement of turbulent heat transfer by using CuO nano-particle and twisted tape

AbstractA computational model is developed to investigate the convective heat transfer properties and the fluid flow characteristics of cupric oxide - water nano-fluid in a horizontal circular pipe aiming to provide insights into optimizing heat transfer in such systems. A twisted tape with varied twist ratios is inserted. This quantitative investigation used five Reynolds number from 4,000 to 12,000 under a uniform heat flux scenario of 25,000 W m−2. All experiments were performed as a single-phase fluid with cupric oxide values of 0, 0.4, 1, and 2% by volume. By reducing the twist ratio and increasing volume concentration, the average heat transfer coefficient of cupric oxide-water nano-fluid was improved. For a twist ratio of 4D, the maximum heat transfer improvement was 228% greater than the plain pipe. The presence of twisted tape with modest step ratios causes the friction factor to grow.

Traversing the boundaries in landscapes of practice: A mixed methods study of interprofessional education centered on inpatients in an acute hospital setting

Healthcare requires practitioners to successfully negotiate boundaries between communities of practice (CoP) in a clinical landscape of practice (LoP), with development of interprofessional identity important in promoting successful interprofessional collaboration. Interprofessional education (IPE) centered around acute hospital inpatients offers a potential pathway to encourage boundary negotiation and interprofessional identity development. This study aimed to explore interprofessional student teams and their interactions with patients in an acute hospital setting, while investigating if such interactions encouraged interprofessional collaboration and the development of an interprofessional identity. Pivoting around acute hospital inpatients, four interprofessional workshops occurred involving senior medicine, nursing and physiotherapy students. We utilized a concurrent mixed methods design, with qualitative predominating. Qualitative reflexive thematic analysis of post-workshop semi-structured focus groups was supported by quantitative investigation using a validated pre-test post-test international socialisation and valuing scale. Using the landscapes of practice theory lens, we noted that the central role of acute hospital inpatients in the IPE workshops enabled healthcare students to develop knowledgeability of the clinical LoP, in line with the three modes of identification of LoP, namely Engagement, Imagination and Alignment. Following the IPE workshops, where acute inpatients played the pivotal role, students demonstrated a statistically significant increase in interprofessional collaborative practice in terms of the overall interprofessional socialisation and valuing scale and its subscales of value, ability, and comfort in working with each other. Our findings indicate that IPE centered around acute hospital inpatients is a beneficial and effective way to successfully implement IPE in the undergraduate curriculum.

Impact of Wettability on CO2 Dynamic Dissolution in Three-Dimensional Porous Media: Pore-Scale Simulation Using the Lattice Boltzmann Method.

Understanding the dissolution behavior of supercritical CO2 (scCO2) in porous media is crucial for efficient CO2 storage. However, the precise modeling of dynamic dissolution behavior at this pore scale remains a huge challenge, and the impact of wettability on this process still needs to be clarified. In this study, the influence of rock wettability on CO2 dynamic dissolution in the three-dimensional porous media is investigated using the lattice Boltzmann method (LBM). The LBM is coupled with scCO2-water two-phase flow, solute transport, and heterogeneous and homogeneous reactions. The size, number, and dissolution pattern of scCO2 bubbles during the dissolution process are observed under strongly water-wet, weakly water-wet, intermediate-wet, and mixed-wet conditions. The CO2(aq) concentration and pH are investigated, followed by a quantitative investigation of the impact of wettability on the specific interface area and the mass transfer coefficient. An empirical relationship between the specific interface area and scCO2 saturation is established. The findings reveal that under weakly water-wet and intermediate-wet conditions, the sizes of scCO2 clusters and monomers are small and mostly distributed at the dead end of the pores. In contrast, under strongly water-wet and mixed-wet conditions, the clusters are larger and interconnected, and distributed in the center of the pore. This results in a greater scCO2-water interface area, consequently enhancing the dissolution rate. Furthermore, a strong linear correlation is observed between scCO2 saturation and specific interface area. It is noted that as the hydrophilicity of the rock increases, the mass transfer coefficient initially rises and then declines.

The reference window for reduced perturbation of the reference wave in electrical biasing off-axis electron holography

The perturbation of the reference wave due to electric stray fields represents a major challenge in quantitative electron holographic investigations. By introducing a focused-ion-beam-milled rectangular hole, the reference window, in an area of nearly constant electrostatic potential of the sample, this perturbation can be significantly reduced. The edge of the window forms a closed conducting loop, acting similarly to a Faraday cage, shielding the influence of the stray field on the reference wave to some extent. In this work, the shielding effect of the reference window is systematically investigated by comparing electron holograms of an electrically biased coplanar capacitor, as a well-known reference sample, with finite element simulations. It is shown that the introduction of the reference window into electrical biasing samples both suppresses unknown lateral phase distortions substantially and in addition improves the agreement of the experimentally observed phase slope with that expected by simulation significantly, particularly for small object-reference wave distances. Consequently, a slight adjustment of the sample geometry results in an improved reproducibility of electron holographic electrical biasing experiments, which is a significant step towards quantitative evaluation.

Evaluation of microplate handling accuracy for applying robotic arms in laboratory automation

An inexpensive single-arm robot is widely utilized for recent laboratory automation solutions. The integration of a single-arm robot as a transfer system into a semi-automatic liquid dispenser without a transfer system can be realized as an inexpensive alternative to a fully automated liquid handling system. However, there has been no quantitative investigation of the positional accuracy of robot arms required to transfer microplates. In this study, we constructed a platform comprising aluminum frames and digital gauges to facilitate such measurements. We measured the position repeatability of a robot arm equipped with a custom-made finger by repeatedly transferring microplates. Further, the acceptable misalignment of plate transfer was evaluated by adding an artificial offset to the microplate position using this platform. The results of these experiments are expected to serve as benchmarks for the selection of robot arms for laboratory automation in biology. Furthermore, all information for replicating this device will be made publicly available, thereby allowing many researchers to collaborate and accumulate knowledge, hopefully contributing to advances in this field.

Ras El Hanout: a theriac of therapeutic plants and spices - Qualitative and quantitative ethnobotanical investigation in the city of Meknes (Morocco)

Ras El Hanout: a theriac of therapeutic plants and spices - Qualitative and quantitative ethnobotanical investigation in the city of Meknes (Morocco)

Quantitative investigation of the effect of mechanical and geometrical factors of a laboratory-scale bioreactor using a vibrating agitator on mammalian cell culture indices.

Mammalian cell cultures in laboratories are performed in static and dynamic methods, and cell growth indices are higher in dynamic mode. In this study, a lab-scale stirred bioreactor using a vibrating disc and a suitable setup has been introduced for dynamic cell culture, which creates proper mixing at low shear stress. 15 experiments have been done by Raji cell in batch mode using Box-Behnken design to quantitatively investigate the effect of mechanical and geometrical factors of this bioreactor on cell culture indices. Three structural factors, including disc diameter, vibration amplitude, and the height of the disc placement have been selected as the main factors. Three cell growth indices including the specific growth rate, the maximum cell concentration, and productivity have been considered as biological responses. Resulting models predict the value of each index under different settings of the factors with good accuracy. Results show that the disc diameter has the greatest effect among the investigated factors. Also, the specific growth rate, the natural logarithm of the maximum cell concentration, and productivity are about 0.033(1/h), 13.2, and 5133(cells/hmL), respectively by using a 25 (mm) disc with a vibration amplitude of 2.5 up to 3 (mm), and a placement height of 40 up to 60 (mm).

Analysing Game Data to Evaluate Children’s Learning Progress with the EDURINO App

Game data offers a unique way to examine children’s learning progress in a gameplay context. Despite its relevance in evaluating the efficacy of game-based learning, this area is less researched than engagement and usability study. This paper presents a quantitative investigation of EDURINO, an educational gaming app targeting children aged 4-8. We implemented learning metrics to track children’s performance in EDURINO games. Specifically, the measurements included standardised variables from educational and experimental psychology, such as error count and duration. Here we reported data from a total of 18 EDURINO minigames in Literacy and Maths. Game data was collected by the learning metrics tracking system. A total of 66,463 players’ data was analysed using generalised linear mixed models with the lm4 package in R. Overall, children have shown improvements while playing the EDURINO app. We examined the relationships between children’s game performance, player demographics and game-specific features and discovered different patterns. First, the significant main effects of age and gender indicated that EDURINO’s educational content was developmentally sensitive and age appropriate. Second, children made fewer errors and spent less time when they were in the later rounds within a game or have played the same game more than once. Third, higher difficulty level undermined game performance. Worth noting is that the effect of game-specific factors varied among different educational content, and such discrepancy could be attributed to the nature of game design. When presented with engaging and interactive content, children may have chosen to deliberately make mistakes for fun effects. These findings are discussed in relation to game-based assessment for learning in EdTech research and industry. We also considered the interpretation of learning progress in EDURINO’s gameplay context while highlighting the need for further efficacy research.

Liquidity and Profitability in the Colombian Oil and Natural Gas Extraction Sector: Analysis 2011 – 2021

The dynamics brought about by the adoption of the International Financial Reporting Standards have a direct impact on the various Colombian economic sectors; highlighting the Oil and Natural Gas Extraction sector as one of the most important in terms of wealth generation and exports of the nation. For this reason, the present study was directed in order to analyze the indicators of Liquidity and Profitability in the Colombian oil sector between 2011 and 2021. For the development of the study, a quantitative investigation is proposed with a documentary base where it is carried out an analysis of secondary sources from the Superintendence of Companies from which financial data of the Oil and Natural Gas Extraction sector in Colombia is taken, on which a descriptive processing is carried out and subsequently a correlational analysis between the liquidity and profitability indicators. The results show a level of correlation between the liquidity indicators, referring to the Current Ratio and Acid Test, and those of Profitability, Return on Total Assets, and Return on Equity. It is concluded that the correlation between these variables would be explained by the rates and sales volumes of said sector; which constantly carries out transactions of high sums of money accompanied by multiple policies and methods to ensure the transaction and thus not unbalance the receipt of income by the industry.

Log-Cholesky filtering of diffusion tensor fields: Impact on noise reduction

Diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) is a powerful neuroimaging technique that provides valuable insights into the microstructure and connectivity of the brain. By measuring the diffusion of water molecules along neuronal fibers, DTI allows the visualization and study of intricate networks of neural pathways.DTI is a noise-sensitive method, where a low signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) results in significant errors in the estimated tensor field. Tensor field regularization is an effective solution for noise reduction.Diffusion tensors are represented by symmetric positive-definite (SPD) matrices. The space of SPD matrices may be viewed as a Riemannian manifold after defining a suitable metric on its tangent bundle. The Log-Cholesky metric is a recently developed concept with advantages over previously defined Riemannian metrics, such as the affine-invariant and Log-Euclidean metrics. The utility of the Log-Cholesky metric for tensor field regularization and noise reduction has not been investigated in detail.This manuscript provides a quantitative investigation of the impact of Log-Cholesky filtering on noise reduction in DTI. It also provides sufficient details of the linear algebra and abstract differential geometry concepts necessary to implement this technique as a simple and effective solution to filtering diffusion tensor fields.

Experimental Investigation of Chloride Ion Monitoring in Concrete Considering the Coupling Effect of Temperature and Humidity

Ag/AgCl electrodes have acquired significant research attention due to their crucial role in the electrochemical monitoring of chloride ion concentration. However, the electrode potential is susceptible to changes in temperature and humidity, and comprehensive investigations regarding the influence of moisture are lacking. Existing studies on Ag/AgCl electrodes have been qualitative, primarily focusing on analyzing the trend of electrode potential to detect variations in Cl- concentration. This study proposes an experimental method that enables precise control of temperature and humidity within concrete. The effects of temperature and humidity coupling on Ag/AgCl electrode potential in a concrete environment and a fundamental model were established correlating Ag/AgCl electrode potential with temperature, humidity, and chloride ion concentration, thereby enhancing the sensing accuracy. The developed model corrected errors from temperature and humidity coupling effects on the Ag/AgCl electrode potential. A quantitative investigation on using Ag/AgCl electrodes for monitoring Cl- concentration was conducted, facilitating their application in engineering and the development of non-destructive monitoring systems for chloride ions in concrete structures.

Relationship of CO2 adsorption performance and physicochemical property of biochar prepared by different types of biomass waste

The physicochemical property of biochar prepared by biomass waste is crucial for CO2 adsorption performance. However, the quantified relationship between the physicochemical property and CO2 adsorption capacity for biochar is still unclear. In this study, biochar samples with different physicochemical properties were prepared from six representative biomass of sewage sludge, chicken manure, apple and prickly ash branch, corn and rice straw. The quantitative investigation was conducted and the relationship between the physicochemical properties and CO2 adsorption capacity of biochar was analysed using Pearson correlation analysis method. The results showed that the biochar prepared from prickly ash branch at 800 °C pyrolysis exhibited a better CO2 adsorption capacity of 154.44mg/g and larger specific surface area of 160.83 m2/g, compared with other biochars. According to the quantitative data about physicochemical properties of twenty-four kinds of biochar samples, the correlations between CO2 adsorption capacity and microcrystalline structure, surface functional groups, nitrogen content and specific surface area were obtained. The CO2 adsorption capacity showed a significant positive correlation with the specific surface area (SBET),stacking height of aromatic layers (Lc), number of aromatic layers (N) and nitrogen content, and the correlation order was SBET >N >Lc = nitrogen content. Moreover, the CO2 adsorption capacity showed a negative correlation with diameter of aromatic planes (La), C=O, O-H and index of aromaticity (Aal/Aar), and the order of correlation was C=O > O-H >La >Aal/Aar. The effect mechanism of physicochemical properties on CO2 adsorption of biochar was that microcrystalline structure had an influence on CO2 adsorption by van der Waals force, and nitrogen, oxygen-containing functional groups, and so on by Lewis acid-base interaction and hydrogen bonding.