Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
COVID-19 P ANDEMIC I NCREASED N URSING H OMES ’ R ELIANCE ON C ONTRACT S TAFF TO A DDRESS S TAFFING S HORTAGES IN 2020

• Nursing homes used 24% more contract staff in 2020 than in 2019. • Stakeholders confirmed that nursing homes relied more on contract staff due to the COVID-19 pandemic increasing staff turnover. • The increased use of contract staff during the first year of the pandemic (2020) varied by the characteristics of the facility and its resident population: Nonprofit chains increased their use of contract staff more than for-profit chains, for-profit nonchains, and nonprofit nonchains. 1-star (lowest quality) nursing homes employed the highest levels of contract nurse staffing prior to the start of the pandemic and increased their contract nurse staffing levels the most during the pandemic. Before the pandemic, nursing homes with fewer racial-ethnic minority residents used the most contract staff and increased their use of contract nurses the least in 2020. • Competition for nursing staff from other health care settings and nonhealth care industries (e.g., retail, service) grew throughout 2020, increasing the need for contract staffing, raising the cost of contract staff, and threatening the stability of the long-term care nursing workforce.
BiSON data preparation: a correction for differential extinction and the weighted averaging of contemporaneous data

The Birmingham Solar Oscillations Network (BiSON) has provided high-quality high-cadence observations from as far back in time as 1978. These data must be calibrated from the raw observations into radial velocity and the quality of the calibration has a large impact on the signal-to-noise ratio of the final time series. The aim of this work is to maximise the potential science that can be performed with the BiSON data set by optimising the calibration procedure. To achieve better levels of signal-to-noise ratio we perform two key steps in the calibration process: we attempt a correction for terrestrial atmospheric differential extinction; and the resulting improvement in the calibration allows us to perform weighted averaging of contemporaneous data from different BiSON stations. The improvements listed produce significant improvement in the signal-to-noise ratio of the BiSON frequency-power spectrum across all frequency ranges. The reduction of noise in the power spectrum will allow future work to provide greater constraint on changes in the oscillation spectrum with solar activity. In addition, the analysis of the low-frequency region suggests we have achieved a noise level that may allow us to improve estimates of the upper limit of g-mode amplitudes.
AGE DETERMINATION FOR 346 NEARBY STARS IN THE HERSCHEL DEBRIS SURVEY

DEBRIS is a flux-limited survey of nearby stars (spectral types A–M) for evidence of debris disks with the Herschel Space Observatory. One goal of the survey is to determine disk incidence as a function of various stellar parameters. Understanding debris disk evolution depends on knowledge of the precise age of stars around which these debris disks are found. However, finding ages for field stars is notoriously difficult. Furthermore, in an unbiased sample like DEBRIS, one is working with stars across many spectral types. This requires a multi-method approach to age determination. In this paper, we outline several methods of age determination broken down by spectral type, including some strengths and limitations of each method. In total, we were able to calculate ages for 263 of 274 F-, G-, and K-type stars, and all 83 A-type stars in the DEBRIS sample.
Magnetic properties of Mn impurities on GaAs (110) surfaces

We present a computational study of individual and pairs of substitutional Mn impurities on the (110) surface of GaAs samples based on density functional theory. We focus on the anisotropy properties of these magnetic centers and their dependence on on-site correlations, spin-orbit interaction and surface-induced symmetry-breaking effects. For a Mn impurity on the surface, the associated acceptor-hole wavefunction tends to be more localized around the Mn than for an impurity in bulk GaAs. The magnetic anisotropy energy for isolated Mn impurities is of the order of 1 meV, and can be related to the anisotropy of the orbital magnetic moment of the Mn acceptor hole. Typically Mn pairs have their spin magnetic moments parallel aligned, with an exchange energy that strongly depends on the pair orientation on the surface. The spin magnetic moment and exchange energies for these magnetic entities are not significantly modified by the spin-orbit interaction, but are more sensitive to on-site correlations. Correlations in general reduce the magnetic anisotropy for most of the ferromagnetic Mn pairs.
Band mass anisotropy and the intrinsic metric of fractional quantum Hall systems

It was recently pointed out that topological liquid phases arising in the fractional quantum Hall effect (FQHE) are not required to be rotationally invariant, as most variational wavefunctions proposed to date have been. Instead, they possess a geometric degree of freedom corresponding to a shear deformation that acts like an intrinsic metric. We apply this idea to a system with an anisotropic band mass, as is intrinsically the case in many-valley semiconductors such as AlAs and Si, or in isotropic systems like GaAs in the presence of a tilted magnetic field, which breaks the rotational invariance. We perform exact diagonalization calculations with periodic boundary conditions (torus geometry) for various filling fractions in the lowest, first and second Landau levels. In the lowest Landau level, we demonstrate that FQHE states generally survive the breakdown of rotational invariance by moderate values of the band mass anisotropy. At 1/3 filling, we generate a variational family of Laughlin wavefunctions parametrized by the metric degree of freedom. We show that the intrinsic metric of the Laughlin state adjusts as the band mass anisotropy or the dielectric tensor are varied, while the phase remains robust. In the n=1 Landau level, mass anisotropy drives transitions between incompressible liquids and compressible states with charge density wave ordering. In n>=2 Landau levels, mass anisotropy selects and enhances stripe ordering with compatible wave vectors at partial 1/3 and 1/2 fillings.
Strain effects in monolayer iron-chalcogenide superconductors

Successful fabrication of one monolayer FeSe on SrTiO3 represented a real breakthrough in searching for high-Tc Fe-based superconductors ([]). Motivated by this important discovery, we studied the effects of tensile strain on one monolayer and bulk iron-chalcogenide superconductors (FeSe and FeTe), showing that it produces important magnetic and electronic changes in the systems. We found that the magnetic ground state of bulk and monolayer FeSe is the block-checkerboard phase, which turns into the collinear stripe phase under in-plane tensile strain. FeTe, in both bulk and monolayer phases, shows two magnetic transitions upon increasing the tensile strain: from bicollinear in the ground state to block-checkerboard ending up to the collinear antiferromagnetic phase which could bring it in the superconducting state. Finally, the study of the mechanical properties of both FeSe and FeTe monolayers reveals their enormous tensile strain limits and opens the possibility to grow them on different substrates.
A novel fractal block-coding technique for digital images

An approach to digital image coding, rooted in iterated transformation theory (ITT) and referred to as ITT-based coding, is proposed. It is a fractal block-coding method which relies on the assumption that image redundancy can be efficiently exploited through block self-transformability. The coding-decoding system is based on the construction, for any given original image to encode, of an image transformation of a special kind which (when iterated on any initial image) produces a sequence of images that converges to a fractal approximation of the original. The requirements on the transformation are that (i) it is contractive in the metric space of images endowed with the L/sub 2/ metric, (ii) it leaves the original image approximately invariant, and (iii) its complexity is smaller than that of the original image. The fully automated ITT-based system has comparable performance, in terms of signal-to-noise-ratio and bit rate, to state-or-the-art vector quantizers, with which it shares some features. <<ETX>>
Stereotype threat? Effects of inquiring about test takers’ gender on conceptual test performance in physics

It has been found that activation of a stereotype, for example by indicating one’s gender before a test, typically alters performance in a way consistent with the stereotype, an effect called “stereotype threat. ” On a standardized conceptual physics assessment, we found that asking test takers to indicate their gender right before taking the test did not deteriorate performance compared to an equivalent group who did not provide gender information. Although a statistically significant gender gap was present on the standardized test whether or not students indicated their gender, no gender gap was observed on the multiple-choice final exam students took, which included both quantitative and conceptual questions on similar topics.
Electrooptic Response of Chiral Nematic Liquid Crystals with Oblique Helicoidal Director

Electrically induced reorientation of liquid crystals (LCs) is a fundamental phenomenon widely used in modern technologies. We observe experimentally an electro-optic effect in a cholesteric LC with a distinct oblique-helicoidal director deformation. The oblique helicoid, predicted in late 1960-ies, is made possible by recently developed dimer materials with an anomalously small bend elastic constant. Theoretical, numerical, and experimental analysis establishes that both the pitch and the cone angle of the oblique helicoid increase as the electric field decreases. At low fields, the oblique helicoid with the axis parallel to the field transforms into a right-angle helicoid (the ground state of field-free cholesteric) with the axis perpendicular to the field.
X-ray spectral variability of Seyfert 2 galaxies

Context. Variability across the electromagnetic spectrum is a property of active galactic nuclei (AGN) that can help constrain t he physical properties of these galaxies. Nonetheless, the way in which the changes happen and whether they occur in the same way in every AGN are still open questions. Aims. This is the third in a series of papers with the aim of studying the X-ray variability of different families of AGN. The main purpose of this work is to investigate the variability patte rn(s) in a sample of optically selected Seyfert 2 galaxies. Methods. We use the 26 Seyfert 2s in the Veron-Cetty and Veron catalog with data available from Chandra and/or XMM-Newton public archives at different epochs, with timescales ranging from a few hours to years. All the spectra of the same source were simultaneously fitted, and we let di fferent parameters vary in the model. Whenever possible, short-term variations from the analysis of the light curves and/or long-term UV flux variations were studied. We divided the s ample into Compton-thick and Compton-thin candidates to account for the degree of obscuration. When transitions between Compton-thick and thin were obtained for different observations of the same source, we classified it as a changin g-look candidate. Results. Short-term variability at X-rays was studied in ten cases, but variations are not found. From the 25 analyzed sources, 11 show long-term variations. Eight (out of 11) are Compton-thin, one (out of 12) is Compton-thick, and the two changing-look candidates are also variable. The main driver for the X-ray changes is related to the nuclear power (nine cases), while variations at sof t energies or related to absorbers at hard X-rays are less common, and in many cases these variations are accompanied by variations in the nuclear continuum. At UV frequencies, only NGC 5194 (out of six sources) is variable, but the changes are not related to the nucleu s. We report two changing-look candidates, MARK 273 and NGC 7319. Conclusions. A constant reflection component located far away from the nuc leus plus a variable nuclear continuum are able to explain most of our results. Within this scenario, the Compton-thick candidates are dominated by reflection, which supp resses their continuum, making them seem fainter, and they do not show variations (except MARK 3), while the Compton-thin and changing-look candidates do.
Entrepreneurial intention and resilience: An experiment during the Covid‐19 lockdown

Abstract We study what profiles of individuals were the most likely to give up their entrepreneurial project at the beginning of the Covid‐19 crisis. To do so, we run an experiment during the first lockdown in the United Kingdom. Our results show that the first months of the crisis have a sharp screening effect: 63% of prospective entrepreneurs postpone or cancel their project in May 2020. Taste for risk or competition does not characterize those who stick to their project. Instead, low opportunity costs to continue and concern for one's own interest instead of cooperation are common among entrepreneurs who persist.
Variation of the diameter of the Sun as measured by the Solar Disk Sextant (SDS)

The balloon-borne Solar Disk Sextant (SDS) experiment has measured the angular size of the Sun on seven occasions spanning the years 1992 to 2011. The solar half-diameter -- observed in a 100-nm wide passband centred at 615 nm -- is found to vary over that period by up to 200 mas, while the typical estimated uncertainty of each measure is 20 mas. The diameter variation is not in phase with the solar activity cycle; thus, the measured diameter variation cannot be explained as an observational artefact of surface activity. Other possible instrument-related explanations for the observed variation are considered but found unlikely, leading us to conclude that the variation is real. The SDS is described here in detail, as is the complete analysis procedure necessary to calibrate the instrument and allow comparison of diameter measures across decades.
On the p-converse of the Kolyvagin-Gross-Zagier theorem

Let $A/\mathbb{Q}$ be an elliptic curve having split multiplicative reduction at an odd prime $p$. Under some mild technical assumptions, we prove the statement: $$rank_{\mathbb{Z}}A(\mathbb{Q})=1 \ \ and\ \ \ \#\Big(\underline{III}(A/\mathbb{Q})[p^\infty]\Big)<\infty\ \ \implies\ \ \mathrm{ord}_{s=1}L(A/\mathbb{Q},s)=1,$$ thus providing a "$p$-converse" to a celebrated theorem of Kolyvagin-Gross-Zagier.
Chemodynamical evolution of the Milky Way disk - I. The solar vicinity

[Abridged] In this first paper of this series, we present a new approach for studying the chemo-dynamical evolution in disk galaxies, which consists of fusing disk chemical evolution models with compatible numerical simulations of galactic disks. This method avoids known star formation and chemical enrichment problems encountered in simulations. Here we focus on the Milky Way, by using a detailed thin-disk chemical evolution model and a simulation in the cosmological context, with dynamical properties close to those of our Galaxy. We show that, due to radial migration from mergers at high redshift and the central bar at later times, a sizable fraction of old metal-poor high-[alpha/Fe] stars reaches the solar vicinity. This naturally accounts for a number of recent observations related to both the thin and thick disks, despite the fact that we use thin-disk chemistry only. Although significant radial mixing is present, the slope in the age-metallicity relation is only weakly affected, with a scatter compatible with recent observational work. While we find a smooth density distribution in the [O/Fe]-[Fe/H] plane, we can recover the observed discontinuity by selecting particles according to kinematic criteria used in high-resolution samples to define the thin and thick disks. We outline a new method for estimating the birth place of the Sun and predict that the most likely radius lies in the range 4.4 < r < 7.7 kpc (for a location at r = 8 kpc). A new, unifying model for the Milky Way thick disk is offered, where both mergers and radial migration play a role at different stages of the disk evolution. We show that in the absence of early-on massive mergers the vertical velocity dispersion of the oldest stars is underestimated by a factor of ~2 compared with observations. We can, therefore, argue that the Milky Way thick disk is unlikely to have been formed through a quiescent disk evolution.
Magnetic field growth in young glitching pulsars with a braking index

In the standard scenario for spin evolution of isolated neutron stars, a young pulsar slows down with a surface magnetic field B that does not change. Thus the pulsar follows a constant B trajectory in the phase space of spin period and spin period time derivative. Such an evolution predicts a braking index n = 3 while the field is constant and n > 3 when the field decays. This contrasts with all nine observed values being n < 3. Here we consider a magnetic field that is buried soon after birth and diffuses to the surface. We use a model of a growing surface magnetic field to fit observations of the three pulsars with lowest n: PSR J0537-6910 with n = -1.5, PSR B0833-45 (Vela) with n = 1.4, and PSR J1734-3333 with n = 0.9. By matching the age of each pulsar, we determine their magnetic field and spin period at birth and confirm the magnetar-strength field of PSR J1734-3333. Our results indicate that all three pulsars formed in a similar way to central compact objects (CCOs), with differences due to the amount of accreted mass. We suggest that magnetic field emergence may play a role in the distinctive glitch behaviour of low braking index pulsars, and we propose glitch behaviour and characteristic age as possible criteria in searches for CCO descendants.
The and hard

Wilfrid Sellars’ denunciation of the Myth of the Given was meant to clarify, against empiricism, that perceptual episodes alone are insufficient to ground and justify perceptual knowledge. Sellars showed that in order to accomplish such epistemic tasks, more resources and capacities, such as those involved in using concepts, are needed. Perceptual knowledge belongs to the space of reasons and not to an independent realm of experience. Dan Hutto and Eric Myin have recently presented the Hard Problem of Content as an ensemble of reasons against naturalistic accounts of content. In a nutshell, it states that covariance relations—even though they are naturalistically acceptable explanatory resources—do not constitute content. The authors exploit this move in order to promote their preferred radical enactivist and anti-representationalist option, according to which, basic minds—the lower stratum of cognition—do not involve content. Although it is controversial to argue that the Hard Problem of Content effectively dismisses naturalistic theories of representation, a central aspect of it—the idea that information as covariance does not suffice to explain content—finds support among the defenders of classical cognitive representationalism, such as Marcin Miłkowski. This support—together with the acknowledgment this remark about covariance is a point already made by Sellars in his criticism of the Myth of the Given—has a number of interesting implications. Not only is it of interest for the debates about representationalism in cognitive science, where it can be understood as an anticipatory move, but it also offers some clues and insights for reconsidering some issues along Sellarsian lines—a conflation between two concepts of representation that is often assumed in cognitive science, a distinction between two types of relevant nor-mativities, and a reconsideration of the naturalism involved in such explanations.
EFFECT OF SOYBEAN MILK AND TRIS EGG YOLK BASED EXTENDER ON SEMEN QUALITY PARAMETERS OF THARPARKAR BULL

About 40 (n=10) ejaculates were taken from four Tharparkar Bulls (A, B, C, D) having age of 4-5 years, after the collection, ejaculates were examined for initial evaluation i.e. volume, color, pH, motility, wave motion, viability, morphology, membrane integrity and sperm concentration. Ejaculate having ≥ 70% motility, morphology, membrane integrity and viability were processed and extended into Tris based extender (Control) and Soyabean extender with 3, 6, 9, 12, 15ml concentration of soybean milk. frozen thawed samples were evaluated for motility, morphology, viability and membrane integrity. samples diluted in tris extender resulted in48.50±1.2 motility, 65.00±1.5 morphology, 67.25±3.4 viability and 63.75±2.9 membrane integrity. However, In Soyabean based extender at the quantity of9 ml frozen samples improved semen quality parameters 57.75±1.1 motility, 73.00±3.4 morphology, 72.25±0.3 viability and 70.25±1.3 membrane integrity. After lab-based evaluation, samples diluted with Tris and optimized concentration of 9 ml of Soyabean based extender were inseminated into 20 cows (n=10 each group). Pregnancy was followed after 60 days of AI (Artificial Insemination) Semen diluted with Soya bean-based extender resulted in improved conception rate up to 60%. It was concluded that the soyabean based extender improved the cooled and frozen thawed semen quality of Tharparkar bull semen.
On the formation of cD galaxies and their parent clusters

In order to study the mechanism of the formation of cD galaxies, we search for possible dependencies between the K-band luminosity of cD galaxies and the parameters of their host clusters which we select to have a dominant cD galaxy, corresponding to a cluster morphology of Bautz–Morgan type I (BM I). As a comparison sample we use cD galaxies in clusters where they are not dominant, which we define here as non-BM I (NBMI) type clusters. We find that for 71 BM I clusters the absolute K-band luminosity of cD galaxies depends on the cluster richness, but less strongly on the cluster velocity dispersion. Meanwhile, for 35 NBMI clusters the correlation between cD luminosity and cluster richness is weaker, and is absent between cD luminosity and velocity dispersion. In addition, we find that the luminosity of the cD galaxy hosted in BM I clusters tends to increase with the cD's peculiar velocity with respect to the cluster mean velocity. In contrast, for NBMI clusters the cD luminosity decreases with increasing peculiar velocity. Also, the X-ray luminosity of BM I clusters depends on the cluster velocity dispersion, while in NBMI clusters such a correlation is absent. These findings favour the cannibalism scenario for the formation of cD galaxies. We suggest that cD galaxies in clusters of BM I type were formed and evolved preferentially in one and the same cluster. In contrast, cD galaxies in NBMI-type clusters were either originally formed in clusters that later merged with groups or clusters to form the current cluster, or are now in the process of merging.