Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Status of Infectious Diseases in Free-Ranging European Brown Hares (Lepus europaeus) Found Dead between 2017 and 2020 in Schleswig-Holstein, Germany

The European brown hare (Lepus europaeus) is a quite adaptable species, but populations have been decreasing for several decades in different countries, including Germany. To investigate infectious diseases as possible influences on observed population decline in the German federal state Schleswig-Holstein, 118 deceased free-ranging European brown hares were collected between 2017 and 2020 and underwent detailed postmortem examination with extended sampling. Infectious diseases were a major cause of death (34.7%). The number of juveniles found exceeded the adult ones. The main pathomorphological findings were hepatitis (32.8%), pneumonia (22.2%), nephritis (19.1%), liver necrosis (12.9%), and enteritis (40.7%). An unusual main finding was steatitis (20.9%) of unknown origin. Animals were mainly emaciated and showed high infection rates with Eimeria spp. (91.3%) and Trichostrongylus spp. (36.2%). European Brown Hare Syndrome Virus reached an epidemic status with few fatal infections (4.2%) and high seroprevalence (64.9%), whereas the prevalence of Rabbit Haemorrhagic Disease Virus 2 was very low (0.8%) in hares in Schleswig-Holstein. Pathogens such as Yersinia pseudotuberculosis (5.9%), Pasteurella multocida (0.8%), and Staphylococcus aureus (3.4%) only caused sporadic deaths. This study illustrates the wide distribution of various infectious pathogens with high mortality and even zoonotic potential. Infectious diseases need to be considered as an important influence on population dynamics in Schleswig-Holstein.
Evaluation of Cycling Safety and Comfort in Bad Weather and Surface Conditions Using an Instrumented Bicycle

Understanding how vulnerable road users (cyclists and pedestrians) behave enables the construction of better roadways with adapted geometric and surface design which leads to improve cycling safety and comfort. This study examines the behavior of cyclists using an instrumented city bicycle that allows collecting exact data about bicycle dynamics, trajectory, and speed, as well as essential information to study the behavior of the cyclists, their reaction to the different features of the road surface and geometric design, and their interaction with other road users such as pedestrians, vehicles and other cyclists. 22 cyclists participated in an experiment following a predetermined route in Stockholm, Sweden. The route consisted of a circuit with different types of cycling facilities in order to study the different interactions (cyclist-car and cyclist-pedestrian), the circuit was divided into 3 zones: the first is mixed traffic, the second is a separate cycling lane and the third is shared pedestrian-cycling path. The results show significant data to evaluate cycling safety and comfort in snowy weather conditions and the perception-reaction behavior of cyclists; accordingly, the infrastructure-related risks were evaluated from subjective and objective points of view. In this paper, we propose a new concept to evaluate cycling behavior. This concept allows us to evaluate cyclists’ behavior through the calculation of Behavioral Risk Indicator (BRI) based on different risk factors owing to weather, road and traffic conditions, interaction with other road users and reaction to infrastructure drawbacks. The applications of the proposed concept allow us to evaluate the risks caused by multiple traffic factors and infrastructural drawbacks and study cyclist–bicycle–road interactions and their influences on cycling safety. In addition, the concept provides a new foundation for establishing cycling safety measures that could be applied to improve the infrastructure and reduce traffic accidents in order to attract more people to ride bicycles.
How to Choose a Theory: Science for Nonscientists

To represent science as a reasonable activity may be a useful objective in courses for nonscientists. To do so requires teaching, among other things, the characteristics of a scientific theory and the criteria by which one theory is preferred to another. A scientific theory is based on purely speculative hypotheses from which conclusions can be deduced which are in agreement with observations. The theory is justified by these conclusions, and not by its hypotheses which may be implausible. To be acceptable, a theory must agree with observations, it should also be inflexible and comprehensive. These propositions have been derived from, and find their application in, a course on the theories of the solar system. The Copernican theory supplanted the Ptolemaic by virtue of being more comprehensive although less plausible, and these qualities were intensified in the modifications which Kepler and Newton carried out.
Organizational and Resident Characteristics of Nursing Homes Associated With Partial and Complete Implementation of the Preferences for Everyday Living Inventory

Abstract Background and Objectives Person-centered care practices are essential to providing high-quality care for nursing home (NH) residents. A key component of implementing person-centered care is the assessment and fulfillment of residents’ preferences. However, few NHs consistently assess and implement residents’ preferences into care. From 2015 to 2019, the Ohio Department of Medicaid added the Preference for Everyday Living Inventory (PELI), a scientifically validated tool to assess residents’ preferences, as a quality indicator to improve the person centeredness of Ohio’s NHs. In this study, we sought to identify the associations between resident and organizational characteristics and PELI implementation in Ohio NHs. Research Design and Methods We constructed an NH-level database that merged data from the Ohio Biennial Survey of Long-Term Care Facilities, Ohio Medicaid Cost Reports, the Certification and Survey Provider Enhanced Reports data, the WWAMI Rural Health Research Center, and the Minimum Data Set. Freestanding NHs were included if they were owned by a for-profit or not-for-profit organization, and had data collected in 1 of 2 years (n = 1,320; year 2015, n = 814; year 2017, n = 506). Descriptive statistics and multiple logistic regression were used to understand the relationships between resident demographics, NH organizational characteristics, and partial versus complete PELI implementation. Results Most NHs (71.2%) reported complete implementation of the PELI over 2 years with implementation increasing over time. There was a relationship between complete PELI implementation and for-profit status, higher number of beds, higher Medicare funding, higher certified nursing assistants and activity staff hours, and urban location. Discussion and Implications This work has important implications for the implementation of person-centered care interventions in NHs and our understanding of what NH characteristics are related to successful implementation. The next steps should include a continued, detailed assessment of PELI implementation and an exploration of the potential impact of PELI implementation on residents, staff, and organizational outcomes.
Approximation by Polynomials with Coefficients ±1

Abstract In response to a question of R. Kenyon, we prove that the set of polynomials with coefficients ±1, evaluated at a fixed real number θ, is dense in R for a.e. θ∈( 2 , 2). For θ∈(1, 2 ], a more complete result can be obtained by elementary methods.
Intershell conductance in multiwall carbon nanotubes

In the past decade the interest in molecular electronic devices has escalated. The synthesis of molecular crystals has improved, providing single crystals or thin films with mobility comparable with or even higher than amorphous silicon. Their mechanical flexibility admits new types of applications and usage of electronic devices. Some of these organic crystals also display magnetic effects. Furthermore, the fullerene and carbon nanotube allotropes of carbon are prominent candidates for various types of applications. The carbon nanotubes, in particular, are suitable for molecular wire applications with their robust, hollow and almost one-dimensional structure and diverse band structure. In this thesis, we have theoretically investigated carbon based materials, such as carbon nanotubes, pentacene and spiro-biphenalenyl neutral radical molecular crystals. The work mainly deals with the electron structure and the transport properties thereof. The first studies concerns effects and defects in devices of finite carbon nanotubes. The transport properties, that is, conductance, are calculated with the Landauer approach. The device setup contains two metallic leads attached to the carbon nanotubes. Structural defects as vacancies and bending are considered for single-walled carbon nanotubes. For the multi-walled carbon nanotubes the focus is on inter-shell interaction and telescopic junctions. The current voltage characteristics of these systems show clear marks of quantum dot behaviour. The influence of defects as vacancies and geometrical deformations are significant for infinite systems, but in these devices they play a minor role. The rest of the studies concern molecular crystals, treated with density-functional theory (DFT). Inspired by the enhance of the electrical conductivity obtained experimentally by doping similar materials with alkali metals, calculations were performed on bundles of single-walled carbon nanotubes and pentacene crystals doped with potassium. The most prominent effect of the potassium intercalation is the shift of Fermi level in the nanotube bands. A sign of charge transfer of the valence electrons of the potassium atoms. Semi-conducting bundles become metallic and metallic bundles gain density of states at the Fermi level. In the semi-conducting pristine pentacene crystals structural transitions occur upon doping. The herringbone arrangement of the pristine pentacene molecules relaxes to a more π-stacked structure causing more dispersive bands. The charge transfer shifts the Fermi level into the lowest unoccupied molecular orbital band and turns the crystal metallic. Finally, we have studied molecular crystals of spiro-biphenalenyl neutral radicals. According to experimental studies, some of these materials show simultaneous electrical, optical and magnetical bistability. The electronic properties of these crystals are investigated by means of DFT with a focus on the possible intermolecular interactions of radical spins.
Analysis of a machine repair problem with an unreliable server and phase type repairs and services

In this paper we study a machine repair problem in which a single unreliable server maintains N identical machines. The breakdown times of the machines are assumed to follow an exponential distribution. The server is subject to failure and the failure times are exponentially distributed. The repair times of the machine and the service times of the repairman are assumed to be of phase type. Using matrix‐analytic methods, we perform steady state analysis of this model. The time spent by a failed machine in service and the total time in the repair facility are shown to be of phase type. Several performance measures are evaluated. An optimization problem to determine the number of machines to be assigned to the server that will maximize the expected total profit per unit time is discussed. An illustrative numerical example is presented. © 2003 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Naval Research Logistics 50: 462–480, 2003
The cat maps: quantum mechanics and classical motion

The relationship between the hyperbolic automorphisms of the unit 2-torus and their quantum counterparts is studied. An exact and explicit representation of the quantum density of states in terms of the periodic orbits of the classical motion is derived. This is then used to obtain exact formulae for certain statistics of the distribution of the eigenvalues of the quantum propagator. It is shown that these statistics are strongly dependent upon the arithmetical nature of the dimensionless Planck's constant. The authors investigate their semiclassical form and, using results concerning the distribution of the long period orbits, find that they do not correspond to those of any of the universality classes previously studied. Finally, formulae are derived which relate properties of the quantum eigenfunctions to the periodic orbits.
Role of Radiotherapy in Patients With Relapsed Medulloblastoma

During the last three decades, the management of medulloblastoma (MBL) has made enormous progress with a multidisciplinary approach, incorporating surgery, radiotherapy (RT), and chemotherapy. Despite this improvement, 20%–30% of patients with MBL remain at risk of disease recurrence, with its relapse being possibly fatal. To date, the salvage treatment for relapse remains challenging, and various approaches have been suggested for the retreatment. In this review, I have described the characteristics of patients with relapsed MBL, patterns of relapse and the most commonly prescribed treatment. Further, I have reviewed the studies on re-irradiation and its associated issues to conclusively suggest the RT recommendations for patients with relapsed MBL.
Research on commodity image detection based on improved YOLOv5

In order to solve the problem of false detection and missing detection caused by different shapes and scales of commodities in commodity image detection, a commodity image detection algorithm based on improved YOLOv5 was proposed. Firstly, the algorithm optimizes the extraction features of Backbone by adding Transformer structure to Backbone network of YOLOv5. Then, the original PANet structure of Neck network is replaced by BiFPN structure, and the coordinate attention mechanism is introduced, so that the new network model (CA-BIFPN) can detect and locate the position of goods in the image more accurately. In order to verify the effectiveness of the improved method, a comparative experiment is conducted with YOLOv5. Experimental data show that the improved YOLOv5 algorithm proposed in this paper achieves multi-scale target detection, and the mAP reaches 99.5% on the self-made dataset, which is 0.2% higher than the original YOLOVv5 algorithm.
Doing Science in Ecology. Does river flow show a path?

Rivers are submitted to deep and irreversible changes concerning their physical integrity (habitat simplification and loss) and water quantity (forcing of the global water cycle). The horizontal and hierarchical structure of river networks facilitates that impacts caused at the local scale may become relevant at higher scales, and therefore we face impacts which trespass the background of river ecologists. While we have progressed by incorporating many aspects of physical, chemical, and biological components of river ecosystems, the new challenges ahead imposed by global change complicate achieving operational predictions. I propose enhancing our connection to other experts, such as chemists, engineers, or land planners, to expand our current paradigms. I see that enforcing multidisciplinary collaboration is deemed essential to disentangle challenges that humankind has regarding river ecosystems. I assume that this will return as a progress and improvement of common scientific knowledge and applicability, stronger and more valuable for the sake of the conservation of our rivers.
Algorithms, credit scoring, and the new proposals of the EU for an AI Act and on a Consumer Credit Directive

ABSTRACT Credit scoring is one of the main applications of Artificial Intelligence technology in the financial world. However, there are scarcely any regulations which deal with AI. The new proposal of an AI Act of the EU Commission may change this landscape in a significant way. The article deals with the impact of the proposed AI Act regarding credit scoring, considering also existing banking regulation and its overlaps with the proposed AI Act. Finally, the new proposal of a Consumer Credit Directive will be also dealt showing some frictions between the AI Act and the proposed Consumer Credit Directive.
Detection and Classification of Melanoma by Analysis of Skin Lesions Using Teledermatology

One of the worst kinds of skin cancer is called melanoma. Melanoma may be automatically diagnosed from dermoscopy images using image analysis algorithms, which involve segmenting lesions, basic processing, extracting dermoscopic characteristics, and identifying illnesses. The proposed skin lesion analysis method intends to enhance early melanoma detection to reduce mortality and wasteful biopsies. For classification of the ISIC archive dataset, we use the K-Means clustering algorithm and thresholding for lesion segmentation; the Sobel operator and the median filter for preprocessing; the GLCM and LBP features for feature extraction; and the Support Vector Machine (SVM) classifier. The obtained results achieved 93.28% accuracy. As well as transferring the clinical images to a dermatologist via a networking app (such as WhatsApp) for examination at a separate time and place to follow up on patients during the presence of the pandemic or those who live in remote areas.
Lipoprotein Metabolism, Protein Aggregation, and Alzheimer’s Disease: A Literature Review

Alzheimer’s disease (AD) is the most common form of dementia. The physiopathology of AD is well described by the presence of two neuropathological features: amyloid plaques and tau neurofibrillary tangles. In the last decade, neuroinflammation and cellular stress have gained importance as key factors in the development and pathology of AD. Chronic cellular stress occurs in degenerating neurons. Stress Granules (SGs) are nonmembranous organelles formed as a response to stress, with a protective role; however, SGs have been noted to turn into pathological and neurotoxic features when stress is chronic, and they are related to an increased tau aggregation. On the other hand, correct lipid metabolism is essential to good function of the brain; apolipoproteins are highly associated with risk of AD, and impaired cholesterol efflux and lipid transport are associated with an increased risk of AD. In this review, we provide an insight into the relationship between cellular stress, SGs, protein aggregation, and lipid metabolism in AD.
NUCLEAR REACTIONS IN STARS AND NUCLEOGENESIS

It was once thought that the stars and the interstellar matter had a uniform chemical composition except for some of the lighter elements, which were destroyed by thermonuclear reactions in stellar interiors. This view has caused astronomers and physicists to look for extreme physical conditions in which all the matter in the universe was gathered together at high density and raised to a high temperature sufficient to produce the observed abundances of the elements by the nuclear reactions that take place under these conditions. However, in recent years it has become apparent not only that thermonuclear reactions in stellar interiors can produce large abundance changes in even the heaviest elements,» but also that there are intrinsic differences in the chemical compositions of different classes of stars before thermonuclear reactions have started in them. Stars classed as extreme Population II objects—subdwarfs and members of globular clusters— usually have a much smaller ratio of metals to hydrogen than does the sun, the factor of decrease being commonly about 10 or 20. In certain rare objects this factor may be much larger still. On the other hand, in the Oand B-type stars of extreme Population I the ratio of metals to hydrogen has commonly increased over that in the sun by factors of 2 to 4. Light and heavy elements
Proteomic Mediators of Overall Cardiovascular Health on All-Cause Mortality

Measures of cardiovascular health (CVH) assessed by a combination of behavioral and biological factors has shown protective associations with all-cause mortality. The mechanisms underlying these associations have not been fully elucidated. In this study, we characterized the plasma proteomics profile of CVH and tested whether specific proteins mediated the associations between CVH and all-cause mortality in participants of the InCHIANTI study. Of the 1301 proteins tested, 92 proteins were associated with CVH (22 positively, 70 negatively). Proteins most strongly associated with CVH included leptin (LEP), fatty acid binding protein 3 (FABP3), Angiopoietin-2 (ANGPT2), and growth-differential factor 15 (GDF15). Of the 92 CVH-associated proteins, 33 proteins significantly mediated the associations between CVH and all-cause mortality, with percent mediation ranging from 5 to 30%. The most significant mediating proteins were GDF15 and insulin-like growth factor 2 (IGFBP2). Proteins associated with better CVH were enriched for proteins that reflect the suppression of the complement coagulation and GH/IGF pathways.
Nanotherapeutic and Stem Cell Therapeutic Strategies in Neurodegenerative Diseases: A Promising Therapeutic Approach

Abstract Neurodegeneration is characterized by progressive, disabling, and incurable neurological disorders with the massive loss of specific neurons. As one of the most promising potential therapeutic strategies for neurodegenerative diseases, stem cell therapy exerts beneficial effects through different mechanisms, such as direct replacement of damaged or lost cells, secretion of neurotrophic and growth factors, decreased neuroinflammation, and activation of endogenous stem cells. However, poor survival and differentiation rates of transplanted stem cells, insufficient homing ability, and difficulty tracking after transplantation limit their further clinical use. The rapid development of nanotechnology provides many promising nanomaterials for biomedical applications, which already have many applications in neurodegenerative disease treatment and seem to be able to compensate for some of the deficiencies in stem cell therapy, such as transport of stem cells/genes/drugs, regulating stem cell differentiation, and real-time tracking in stem cell therapy. Therefore, nanotherapeutic strategies combined with stem cell therapy is a promising therapeutic approach to treating neurodegenerative diseases. The present review systematically summarizes recent advances in stem cell therapeutics and nanotherapeutic strategies and highlights how they can be combined to improve therapeutic efficacy for the treatment of neurodegenerative diseases.
Low threshold current density distributed feedback quantum cascade lasers with deep top gratings

The authors report on pulsed and continuous-wave operation of single mode tunable distributed feedback quantum cascade lasers at λ∼7. 7μm. A deep top grating and a thin heavily doped InP layer beneath the grating are formed in the upper cladding to obtain simultaneously a strong feedback effect and a low waveguide loss. A “three-well vertical transition” active region is used with a low doped injector. In pulsed operation, a very low threshold current density of 970A∕cm2 and a peak power of 75mW are achieved at 300K. Reliable single mode emission with a side mode suppression ratio of ∼30dB is achieved in a large temperature range (155–320K) with a tuning range of 90nm. The lasers operate in continuous-wave mode up to 130K.
Magnetic studies of the two-dimensional, S=1/2 Heisenberg antiferromagnets (5CAP)2CuCl4 and (5MAP)2CuCl4

The magnetic materials (5CAP)2CuCl4 and (5MAP)2CuCl4 form effective square planar lattices of CuCl42− anions. The Cu2+ ions have weak antiferromagnetic interactions in the plane through Cl–Cl contacts. These planes are well separated by the 5MAP and 5CAP organic groups. High temperature susceptibility measurements give J=0.57 K for (5CAP)2CuCl4 and J=0.38 K for (5MAP)2CuCl4. χ(T,H=0) for these materials has a rounded maximum at Tpeak=1.1 K for (5CAP)2CuCl4 and Tpeak=0.62 K for (5MAP)2CuCl4. A kink in χ(T,H=0) for the (5MAP)2CuCl4 suggests a phase transition to three-dimensional long range order at TC=0.44 K. Measurements of χ(T,H) show that the saturation field HC for the transition to a fieldinduced saturated state is 3.78 T for (5CAP)2CuCl4 and 2.17 T for (5MAP)2CuCl4. Thus these materials are excellent model systems in which to explore the full H–T phase diagram of the two-dimensional S=1/2 Heisenberg antiferromagnet.