bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Route to stable dispersion-managed mode-locked Yb-doped fiber lasers with near-zero net cavity dispersion
Authors: Yan Dongyu , Liu Bowen , Guo Jie , Zhang Meng , Chu Yuxi , Song Youjian , Hu Minglie
Published: September 2020

We numerically investigate the stability of a dispersion-managed mode-locked Yb-doped fiber laser of near-zero net cavity dispersion. The instability is primarily due to the filtering effect of the chirped fiber Bragg grating. The size of the unstable region is dependent on the modulation depth of the saturable absorbers. At modulation depth higher than 30%, stable mode-locking can operate throughout the dispersion region. Based on the simulation results, stable mode-locking around zero cavity dispersion is experimentally viable by a SESAM with a 34% modulation depth. The fiber laser can generate laser pulses with a 17-nm spectral bandwidth and a 139-fs dechirped pulse duration.
Highly coherent multi-octave polarization-maintained supercontinuum generation solely based on ZBLAN fibers
Authors: Ali Rezvani Seyed , Ogawa Kazuhiko , Fuji Takao
Published: September 2020

We present a highly stable polarization-maintained supercontinuum (SC) using a setup solely based on ZBLAN (ZrF4-BaF2-LaF3-AlF3-NaF) fibers. The pumping source consists of a femtosecond master oscillator fiber amplifier based on thulium-doped ZBLAN fibers. It provides multi-watts of output power with the center wavelength of 1920 nm at 1 MHz repetition rate. The SC generated by pumping an elliptical core passive single-mode ZBLAN fiber spans from 350 nm to 4.5 µm and exhibits high stability. We characterized the SC pulse using sum-frequency cross-correlation frequency resolved optical gating.
Association of bovine uterine involution disturbances with serum neuropeptide concentrations
Authors: Abultdinova Aida , Jakupov Isatay , Roth Joachim , Failing Klaus , Wehrend Axel , Sickinger Marlene
Published: September 2020

Background and Aim: Puerperal diseases influence fertility and should be diagnosed as soon as possible. This study aimed to evaluate the applicability of serum concentrations of substance P (SP), vasoactive intestinal polypeptide (VIP), and interleukin (IL)1β in the early diagnosis of uterine involution disturbances.

Materials and Methods: Blood serum samples of 86 dairy cows from six different farms were harvested within the first 20 days after calving from cows with uterine involution disturbances and healthy controls, respectively. Serum concentrations for SP, VIP, and IL-1β were determined using commercially available ELISA test kits. Statistical analyses included timely changes in blood serum levels and group comparisons of healthy cows and cows with uterine disease.

Results: SP concentrations increased significantly within 20 days after calving (p<0.04) with no significant difference observed between the groups. Moreover, no significant differences were found between VIP and log IL-1β.

Conclusion: Results showed that none of the examined serum parameters seems suitable as indicator of uterine involution disorders. Due to the timely changes in serum concentrations of SP after calving, a correlation to diseases might not be precluded. Further research is needed as regards the establishment of normative values concerning this parameter.
Gender Glass Ceiling in Indonesia: Manifestation, Roots, and Theological Breakthrough
Authors: Dzuhayatin Siti Ruhaini
Published: September 2020

The Struggle for achieving gender equality has been undertaken in the international and national levels through the commitment of the United Nation (UN) on 30% women quota in politics and public positions. In reality, women are far lag behind due to the so-called ‘gender glass ceiling, a metaphor of ‘invisible barriers refer to ‘glass’ through which women can see higher positions but cannot reach them which is insinuated with ‘ceiling’. The root-causes are deeply rooted in cultural values and social practices whereby patriarchy and religion are dialectically amalgamated. Unless there is a theological breakthrough to a women-friendly interpretations, glass ceiling is unbreakable. This paper aims at examining the extend to which Islamic sholars, especially women in Islamic higher education in Indonesia, contribute to dismatling patriachal biases from religious traditions upholding the glass-ceiling. Before observing the initiatives taken to break the glass ceiling, the paper discusses the phenomenon of manifestation of the existence of the gender glass ceiling and the roots of why the ceiling has been so far upheld. The study reveals that there is a positive correlation between the rising theological discourses voiced by women religious scholars and the vertical mobility of women in public positions as the pathway by then the gender glass ceiling is broken. [Perjuangan kesetaraan gender dilakukan di tingkat internasional maupun nasional dengan komitmen Perserikatan Bangsa-Bangsa tentang kuota 30% bagi perempuan dalam politik dan publik. Pada kenyatannya, perempuan masih tertinggal jauh karena rintangan yang disebut ‘atap kaca’, suatu perumpamaan hambatan yang tidak seperti kaca, perempuan dapat melihat posisi lebih tinggi tetapi sulit menembusnya. Akar masalahnya ada pada nilai budaya dan praktik sosial dan teologi berkelindan. Tanpa ada terobosan teologis yang ramah perempuan, fenomena ‘atap kaca’ sulit dipecahkan. Studi ini menganalisis sejauh manakah kontribusi para intelektual Islam, terutama perempuan di perguruan tinggi Islam di Indonesia mampu menggeser bias dalam tradisi agama yang menguatkan ‘atap kaca’. Sebelum mengkaji upaya-upaya yang dilakukan untuk menggeser atau meruntuhkan atap kaca bias jender, tulisan ini mendiskusikan terlebih dahulu bentuk-bentuk manifestasi keberadaan atau berdirinya atap kaca bias jender dan akar atap tersebut. Dalam studi ini ditemukan korelasi positif antara meningkatnya diskursus teologis yang disuarakan perempuan dan meningkatnya mobilitas vertikal perempuan pada posisi publik yang diharapkan dapat memecahkan atap kaca gender tersebut.]
Saudi Arabia Charity and the Institutionalization of Indonesian Salafism
Authors: Jahroni Jajang
Published: September 2020

[This article primarily discusses the links between Saudi Arabian Islamic charity organizations and the development of Salafism in Indonesia and how these links facilitate the institutionalization of Salafi groups. It specifically deals with the issues of how Islamic charity help Salafi groups create their institutions and how the Salafis distribute these charities to their own members. It also describes how they managed to survive when the flow of Saudi funds was no longer reliable. The primary focus of this article is on the way Islamic charity and Islamic charity organizations respond to existing social and political conditions by engaging in social and political activism. International Islamic charity organizations have shaped the transformation of Islamic movements over the last decades. Indonesian Salafi groups have benefitted from charities in various ways and they have enabled Salafi groups to create their institutions in Indonesia. It is no exaggeration to say that Indonesian Salafi groups have become the major players in the distribution of Saudi Arabian charities in the country. This process is inescapably linked with politics which further shapes the transformation of Salafism in Indonesia.[Pembahasan utama artikel ini adalah menjelaskan keterhubungan antara lembaga amal Arab Saudi dengan perkembangan kelompok Salafi di Indonesia dan bagaimana hubungan ini memfasilitasi penguatan organisasi kelompok tersebut. Lebih khususnya adalah bagaimana lembaga amal Islam tersebut membantu mendirikan yayasan serta membagi dana tersebut kepada anggota-anggotanya. Selain itu juga menjelaskan bagaimana yayasan yang terbentuk itu bertahan ketika tidak lagi menerima sumbangan dari Arab Saudi. Intinya adalah tulisan ini menjelaskan cara kerja filantropi Islam dan organisasi amalnya merespon kondisi sosial dan politik dengan terlibat dalam aktifisme. Organisasi filantropi Islam internasional pada dasarnya telah membawa transformasi gerakan Islam lebih dari satu dekade terakhir. Kelompok Salafi Indonesia dengan berbagai cara telah mengambil keuntungan dari dana amal ini dan untuk menguatkan organisasi mereka di Indonesia. Tidak berlebihan jika disebut bahwa kelompok Salafi merupakan pemain utama dalam distribusi dana amal ini di Indonesia. Proses ini merupakan hal yang tak bisa dihindarkan dari kaitan politik dimana telah banyak berpengaruh pada trasnformasi Salafisme di Indonesia.]
The Intersubjective Type of Religiosity: Theoretical Framework and Methodological Construction for Developing Human Sciences in a Progressive Muslim Perspective
Authors: Abdullah Muhammad Amin
Published: September 2020

An everlasting and perpetual peace in the life of different religious adherents anywhere is the prime purpose of human beings. This article will discuss the methods and approaches of religious education in a contemporary multicultural society. Three approaches to the study of religion: dogmatic, critical, and ethical will be elaborated simultaneously. One cannot rely solely on one approach and neglects the two others without having their implications and consequences in the life of multi-religious society. In addition to the religious and Islamic studies perspectives, I will elaborate the issues based on philosophical concepts, i.e. subjective, objective, and intersubjective, as well. The subjective perspective is commonly based on ‘ulūm al-din, meanwhile the objective one is on social sciences. The combination between the two is called, in this paper, as an intersubjective pattern of religiosity. One of its distinctive features is its sensitivity towards and its ability to accommodate the presence of other communities whose rights are respected and guaranteed.[Kedamaian yang kekal dan abadi bagi semua pemeluk agama yang berbeda di berbagai aspek kehidupannya merupakan tujuan utama dari kemanusiaan. Artikel ini membahas beberapa metode dan pendekatan pendidikan agama pada masyarakat multikultural dewasa ini. Tiga pendekatan dalam pengkajian agama yang dogmatis, kritis dan etis akan dielaborasi secara simultan. Satu pendekatan tidak bisa berdiri sendiri dan menegasikan dua yang lain karena implikasinya dalam kehidupan masyarakat yang multireligius. Selain dalam perspektif keagamaan dan keislaman, artikel ini akan mengelaborasi persoalan di atas dengan pendekatan filosofis: subjektif, objektif, dan intersubjektif. Pendekatan subjektif umumnya didasarkan pada ulūm ad-dīn, sedangkan pendekatan objektif didasarkan pada ilmu-ilmu sosial. Perpaduan antara keduanya, dalam artikel ini, disebut dengan pola keagamaan yang intersubjektif. Salah satu kekhasan pola yang disebut terakhir ini adalah sensitifitasnya terhadap kehadiran kelompok lain dan kemampuannya mengakomodasi kelompok lain tersebut sebagai pemegang hak-hak yang harus pula dijamin dan dihormati.]
Pengembangan Sistem Informasi Industri Jasa Menjahit Online Berbasis Web Menggunakan Metode Waterfall
Authors: Oktavia Elsa , Yulindon Yulindon , Hidayat Rahmat
Published: September 2020

Information systems are currently increasing very rapidly, but it is unfortunate if the utilization is not yet optimal. Reviewing the data from literature studies and observations that have been made, many people need sewing services. The drastic increase in demand makes competition in the convection industry. Most of the work systems in the convection industry are done manually and are not economical. Product development also lacks creativity. Therefore, this researcher will use IT as marketing and design work, this can make processing time shorter and more optimal. Thus, customers will be facilitated in ordering ready-made clothes or clothes that match the customer's wishes by using a web application that only sends data on the size of the clothes or clothing model that the customer wants. This web-based application system can make it easier for customers to transact with the owner and transactions do not have to meet face to face. In addition, clothing sales and large-scale orders can be neatly organized and financial reports can be well structured and organized clearly. The results of this research will be in the form of research reports and web-based online sewing service information systems using the waterfall method.
Long-Term Residence Permit in the Czech Republic, Slovak Republic and the Republic of Poland
Authors: Bednářová Markéta , Lásková Eva
Published: September 2020

In all three Central European countries, long-term residence is defined as residence for a specific purpose of more than 90 days. The requirements for granting this type of residence are generally similar with differences in the individual types of purpose of this residence permit. The Polish Act contains a category that could be defined as ‘above-framework’, expanding the range of options that make it possible to obtain long-term residence. The Slovak legislation contains the purpose of “special activities”. In comparison with the Czech legislation, the range of possibilities for obtaining long-term residence in Slovakia is more extensive and less rigid. Specifically, in the case of long-term residence for the purpose of study, there is a fundamental difference in the legislation in the Czech Republic and Slovak Republic, where Slovak legislators include in the term “study” all university, secondary, and higher vocational education. The Polish Act mentions only university studies and doctoral studies. The administration related to the admission of a foreign student to a specific school in the territory is certainly more extensive and demanding in Poland, with both the minister and the voivode enter the process beyond the framework of standard state administration bodies. The arrangement of the Act reveals a fundamental difference in Poland, where the sequence and logic of the arrangement is different to the Czech or Slovak legislation, which is expressed in which institutions Poland focus greater attention and emphasis or importance. None of the countries completely leaves the issue of visas for aliens from third countries unregulated. Although the legislation is identical in many respects, there are differences between individual institutions and the periods for which a visa can be issued. However, the issue of alien law is, at first sight, very extensive and content-intensive in all the above Central European countries, as evidenced by the length of the legislation itself, the complexity of individual institutions, and specific complexity of the provisions.
Efficient construction of approximate ad-hoc ML models through materialization and reuse
Authors: Hasani Sona , Thirumuruganathan Saravanan , Asudeh Abolfazl , Koudas Nick , Das Gautam
Published: September 2020

Machine learning has become an essential toolkit for complex analytic processing. Data is typically stored in large data warehouses with multiple dimension hierarchies. Often, data used for building an ML model are aligned on OLAP hierarchies such as location or time. In this paper, we investigate the feasibility of efficiently constructing approximate ML models for new queries from previously constructed ML models by leveraging the concepts of
model materialization
and
reuse
. For example, is it possible to construct an approximate ML model for data from the year 2017 if one already has ML models for each of its quarters? We propose algorithms that can support a wide variety of ML models such as generalized linear models for classification along with K-Means and Gaussian Mixture models for clustering. We propose a cost based optimization framework that identifies appropriate ML models to combine at query time and conduct extensive experiments on real-world and synthetic datasets. Our results indicate that our framework can support analytic queries on ML models, with superior performance, achieving dramatic speedups of several orders in magnitude on very large datasets.
Strong consistency is not hard to get
Authors: Barthels Claude , Müller Ingo , Taranov Konstantin , Alonso Gustavo , Hoefler Torsten
Published: September 2020

Concurrency control is a cornerstone of distributed database engines and storage systems. In pursuit of scalability, a common assumption is that Two-Phase Locking (2PL) and Two-Phase Commit (2PC) are not viable solutions due to their communication overhead. Recent results, however, have hinted that 2PL and 2PC might not have such a bad performance. Nevertheless, there has been no attempt to actually measure how a state-of-the-art implementation of 2PL and 2PC would perform on modern hardware.

The goal of this paper is to establish a baseline for concurrency control mechanisms on thousands of cores connected through a low-latency network. We develop a distributed lock table supporting all the standard locking modes used in database engines. We focus on strong consistency in the form of strict serializability implemented through strict 2PL, but also explore read-committed and repeatable-read, two common isolation levels used in many systems. We do not leverage any known optimizations in the locking or commit parts of the protocols. The surprising result is that, for TPC-C, 2PL and 2PC can be made to scale to thousands of cores and hundreds of machines, reaching a throughput of over 21 million transactions per second with 9.5 million
New Order
operations per second. Since most existing relational database engines use some form of locking for implementing concurrency control, our findings provide a path for such systems to scale without having to significantly redesign transaction management. To achieve these results, our implementation relies on Remote Direct Memory Access (RDMA). Today, this technology is commonly available on both Infiniband as well as Ethernet networks, making the results valid across a wide range of systems and platforms, including database appliances, data centers, and cloud environments.
Distributed edge partitioning for trillion-edge graphs
Authors: Hanai Masatoshi , Suzumura Toyotaro , Tan Wen Jun , Liu Elvis , Theodoropoulos Georgios , Cai Wentong
Published: September 2020

We propose Distributed Neighbor Expansion (Distributed NE), a parallel and distributed graph partitioning method that can scale to trillion-edge graphs while providing high partitioning quality. Distributed NE is based on a new heuristic, called parallel expansion, where each partition is constructed in parallel by greedily expanding its edge set from a single vertex in such a way that the increase of the vertex cuts becomes local minimal. We theoretically prove that the proposed method has the upper bound in the partitioning quality. The empirical evaluation with various graphs shows that the proposed method produces higher-quality partitions than the state-of-the-art distributed graph partitioning algorithms. The performance evaluation shows that the space efficiency of the proposed method is an order-of-magnitude better than the existing algorithms, keeping its time efficiency comparable. As a result, Distributed NE can partition a trillion-edge graph using only 256 machines within 70 minutes.
Efficient main-memory top-K selection for multicore architectures
Authors: Zois Vasileios , Tsotras Vassilis J. , Najjar Walid A.
Published: September 2020

Efficient Top-
k
query evaluation relies on practices that utilize auxiliary data structures to enable early termination. Such techniques were designed to trade-off complex work in the buffer pool against costly access to disk-resident data. Parallel in-memory Top-
k
selection with support for early termination presents a novel challenge because computation shifts higher up in the memory hierarchy. In this environment, data scan methods using SIMD instructions and multithreading perform well despite requiring evaluation of the complete dataset. Early termination schemes that favor simplicity require random access to resolve score ambiguity while those optimized for sequential access incur too many object evaluations. In this work, we introduce the concept of
rank uncertainty
, a measure of work efficiency that enables classifying existing solutions according to their potential for efficient parallel in-memory Top-fc selection. We identify data reordering and layering strategies as those having the highest potential and provide practical guidelines on how to adapt them for parallel in-memory execution (creating the VTA and SLA approaches). In addition, we show that the number of object evaluations can be further decreased by combining data reordering with angle space partitioning (introducing PTA). Our extensive experimental evaluation on varying query parameters using both synthetic and real data, showcase that PTA exhibits between 2 and 4 orders of magnitude better query latency, and throughput when compared to prior work and our optimized algorithmic variants (i.e. VTA, SLA).
Scalable garbage collection for in-memory MVCC systems
Authors: Böttcher Jan , Leis Viktor , Neumann Thomas , Kemper Alfons
Published: September 2020

To support Hybrid Transaction and Analytical Processing (HTAP), database systems generally rely on Multi-Version Concurrency Control (MVCC). While MVCC elegantly enables lightweight isolation of readers and writers, it also generates outdated tuple versions, which, eventually, have to be reclaimed. Surprisingly, we have found that in HTAP workloads, this reclamation of old versions, i.e., garbage collection, often becomes the performance bottleneck.

It turns out that in the presence of long-running queries, state-of-the-art garbage collectors are too coarse-grained. As a consequence, the number of versions grows quickly slowing down the entire system. Moreover, the standard background cleaning approach makes the system vulnerable to sudden spikes in workloads.

In this work, we propose a novel garbage collection (GC) approach that prunes obsolete versions eagerly. Its seamless integration into the transaction processing keeps the GC overhead minimal and ensures good scalability. We show that our approach handles mixed workloads well and also speeds up pure OLTP workloads like TPC-C compared to existing state-of-the-art approaches.
Last-mile delivery made practical
Authors: Zeng Yuxiang , Tong Yongxin , Chen Lei
Published: September 2020

Last-mile delivery (LMD) refers to the movement of goods from transportation origins to the final destinations. It has widespread applications such as urban logistics, e-commerce, etc. One fundamental problem in last-mile delivery is route planning, which schedules multiple couriers' routes,
i.e.
, sequences of origins and destinations of the requests under certain optimization objectives. Prior studies usually designed heuristic solutions to two strongly NP-hard optimization objectives: minimizing the makespan (
i.e.
, maximum travel time) of couriers and total latency (
i.e.
, waiting time) of requesters. There is no algorithm with theoretical guarantees for either optimization objective in practical cases. In this paper, we propose a theoretically guaranteed solution framework for both objectives. It achieves both approximation ratios of 6ρ, where ρ is the approximation ratio of a core operation, called
k
LMD, which plans for one courier a route consisting of
k
requests. Leveraging a spatial index called hierarchically separated tree, we further design an efficient approximation algorithm for
k
LMD with ρ =
O
(log
n
), where
n
is the number of requests. Experimental results show that our approach outperforms state-of-the-art methods by averagely 48.4%-96.0% and 49.7%-96.1% for both objectives. Especially in large-scale real datasets, our algorithm has 29.3x-108.9x shorter makespan and 20.2x-175.1x lower total latency than the state-of-the-art algorithms.
Database processing-in-memory
Authors: Kepe Tiago R. , de Almeida Eduardo C. , Alves Marco A. Z.
Published: September 2020

The rapid growth of "big-data" intensified the problem of data movement when processing data analytics: Large amounts of data need to move through the memory up to the CPU before any computation takes place. To tackle this costly problem, Processing-in-Memory (PIM) inverts the traditional data processing by pushing computation to memory with an impact on performance and energy efficiency. In this paper, we present an experimental study on processing database SIMD operators in PIM compared to current x86 processor (i.e., using AVX512 instructions). We discuss the execution time gap between those architectures. However, this is the first experimental study, in the database community, to discuss the trade-offs of execution time and energy consumption between PIM and x86 in the main query execution systems: materialized, vectorized, and pipelined. We also discuss the results of a hybrid query scheduling when interleaving the execution of the SIMD operators between PIM and x86 processing hardware. In our results, the hybrid query plan reduced the execution time by 45%. It also drastically reduced energy consumption by more than 2x compared to hardware-specific query plans.
Incorporating super-operators in big-data query optimizers
Authors: Leeka Jyoti , Rajan Kaushik
Published: September 2020

The cost of big-data analytics is dominated by shuffle operations that induce multiple disk reads, writes and network transfers. This paper proposes a new class of optimization rules that are specifically aimed at eliminating shuffles where possible. The rules substitute multiple shuffle inducing operators (
Join, UnionAll, Spool, GroupBy
) with a single streaming operator which implements an entire sub-query. We call such operators
super-operators.

A key challenge with adding new rules that substitute sub-queries with super-operators is that there are many variants of the same sub-query that can be implemented via minor modifications to the same super-operator. Adding each as a separate rule leads to a search space explosion. We propose several extensions to the query optimizer to address this challenge. We propose a new abstract representation for operator trees that captures all possible sub-queries that a super-operator implements. We propose a new rule matching algorithm that can efficiently search for abstract operator trees. Finally we extend the physical operator interface to introduce new parametric super-operators.

We implement our changes in SCOPE, a state-of-the-art production big-data optimizer used extensively at Microsoft. We demonstrate that the proposed optimizations provide significant reduction in both resource cost (average 1.7x) and latency (average 1.5x) on several production queries, and do so without increasing optimization time.
Status of circulating bone turnover markers in elderly osteoporosis/osteopenia patients in comparison with healthy subjects
Authors: Tehrani Sadra Samavarchi , Moallem Maryam , Ebrahimi Reyhane , Hosseini Seyed Reza , Nooreddini Hajighorban , Parsian Hadi
Published: September 2020

Background

In the aging individuals, osteoporosis is a major health problem. Due to the various limitations of dual X-ray absorptiometry (DEXA) for diagnosis osteoporosis, serum-based biochemical markers have been suggested for the discrimination between the patients and healthy subjects.

Objective

To investigate the serum levels of bone turnover markers in elderly osteoporosis patients.

Methods

The serum samples from elderly subjects (osteoporosis (n = 28), osteopenia (n = 28), and healthy ones (n = 28) were collected from Amirkola Health and Ageing Project study. Furthermore, serum levels of bone formation and bone resorption markers as well as estrogen and progesterone were measured by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. Kruskal–Wallis test and receiver operating characteristic curve analysis were used for statistical analysis using SPSS.

Results

Levels of bone alkaline phosphatase (B-ALP) and procollagen type I N-terminal propeptide (PINP) differed between groups (P = 0.003 and 0.009, respectively). Furthermore, PINP and B-ALP levels had the best area under the curve, sensitivity, and specificity for the discrimination between patients with osteoporosis and healthy individuals.

Conclusion

In conditions in which we are not able to assess the bone mineral density by DEXA, analysis of the B-ALP and PINP levels may be a helpful tool.
Adjunctive favipiravir for severe COVID-19: a retrospective observational study of the first 41 patients in Thailand
Authors: Prasithsirikul Wisit , Pongpirul Krit , Sakornsakolpat Phuwanat , Burana Chuti , Phutrakool Phanupong , Pongpirul Wannarat A.
Published: September 2020

Background

Favipiravir is a promising drug for COVID-19, but evidence from a robust clinical trial is limited.

Objective

To describe the demographics, clinical characteristics, and various antiviral treatment regimens (with and without favipiravir) of patients with severe and nonsevere COVID-19.

Method

We conducted a retrospective observational study in all COVID-19 patients admitted at Bamrasnaradura Infectious Diseases Institute (BIDI) from January 8 to March 30, 2020. We compared the demographics, clinical characteristics, and various antiviral treatment regimens of 12 severe and 29 nonsevere COVID-19 patients in Thailand.

Results

Adjunctive favipiravir was given to only severe cases. The median length of hospitalization of patients either receiving favipiravir or not receiving favipiravir was not significantly different (P = 0.8549), but those who received adjunctive favipiravir became reverse transcriptase–polymerase chain reaction negative 2 days sooner than the other group (median: 6 days vs. 8 days; P = 0.1125).

Conclusion

The findings suggested that adjunctive favipiravir might not be effective for patients with severe COVID-19, but further studies with larger sample sizes are needed.
Borderline regularity for fully nonlinear equations in Dini domains
Authors: Adimurthi Karthik , Banerjee Agnid
Published: September 2020

In this paper, we prove borderline gradient continuity of viscosity solutions to fully nonlinear elliptic equations at the boundary of a

C

1
,
Dini

C^{1,\mathrm{Dini}}

-domain.
Our main result constitutes the boundary analogue of the borderline interior gradient regularity estimates established by P. Daskalopoulos, T. Kuusi and G. Mingione.
We however mention that, differently from the approach used there which is based on

W

1
,
q

W^{1,q}

estimates, our proof is slightly more geometric and is based on compactness arguments inspired by the techniques in the fundamental works of Luis Caffarelli.
Magnetic iron oxide/clay nanocomposites for adsorption and catalytic oxidation in water treatment applications
Authors: Fadillah Ganjar , Yudha Septian Perwira , Sagadevan Suresh , Fatimah Is , Muraza Oki
Published: September 2020

Physical and chemical methods have been developed for water and wastewater treatments. Adsorption is an attractive method due to its simplicity and low cost, and it has been widely employed in industrial treatment. In advanced schemes, chemical oxidation and photocatalytic oxidation have been recognized as effective methods for wastewater-containing organic compounds. The use of magnetic iron oxide in these methods has received much attention. Magnetic iron oxide nanocomposite adsorbents have been recognized as favorable materials due to their stability, high adsorption capacities, and recoverability, compared to conventional sorbents. Magnetic iron oxide nanocomposites have also been reported to be effective in photocatalytic and chemical oxidation processes. The current review has presented recent developments in techniques using magnetic iron oxide nanocomposites for water treatment applications. The review highlights the synthesis method and compares modifications for adsorbent, photocatalytic oxidation, and chemical oxidation processes. Future prospects for the use of nanocomposites have been presented.
A Finite Element Splitting Method for a Convection-Diffusion Problem
Authors: Thomée Vidar
Published: September 2020

For a spatially periodic convection-diffusion problem, we analyze a time stepping method based on Lie splitting of a spatially semidiscrete finite element solution on time steps of length k, using the backward Euler method for the diffusion part and a stabilized explicit forward Euler approximation on

m
≥
1

{m\geq 1}

intervals of length

k
/
m

{k/m}

for the convection part.
This complements earlier work on time splitting of the problem in a finite difference context.
Moving beyond language(s): a case study on a newcomer’s translanguaging practices
Authors: Degano Sarah , Kirsch Claudine
Published: September 2020

Numerous scholars have investigated translanguaging in students with a migration background by examining the deployment of their linguistic repertoire. By contrast, few studies have adopted a social semiotic perspective on translanguaging. Similarly, studies on newcomers in this field are scarce. Newcomers, especially those to the trilingual education system in Luxembourg, face significant language challenges. The present paper explores the ways in which Portuguese-speaking Harry combined the resources of his semiotic repertoire in science and French lessons in Year 4, and discusses different combinations of resources. Findings based on field notes and video-recordings of classroom activities show that the eleven-year-old engaged in learning by activating his prior knowledge and deploying his semiotic repertoire in resourceful ways. He mobilised features of five languages, coordinated linguistic, paralinguistic and extralinguistic resources, and aligned his resources to those of his peers. Furthermore, he reproduced the semiotic combinations of peers as well as the translanguaging practices in class. We show that a newcomer orchestrates his semiotic resources in complex ways to communicate, make meaning and engage in learning processes. Further research into the deployment of the semiotic repertoire at school is needed.
Bi-plurilingual formulation practices in conversational writing interactions
Authors: Stierwald Mona
Published: September 2020

The present article approaches the subject of oral formulation practices in multilingual and conversational writing interactions. Within the framework of pluriliteracy in the context of foreign language practice at university, special emphasis is placed on the manifestations of linguistic repairs as a mechanism, integrated in sequences of interactive formulation. By analyzing extracts of an interaction between three students according to the method of conversation analysis (CA), linguistic and interactional particulars of these repairs are identified, allowing for a first typology of formulation procedures with embedded repair operation.A second aim is to demonstrate in what way different languages are being used during the formulation process. By doing so, the question of how students draw on their plurilingual resources is discussed. The overall issue is addressed through a theoretical framework of functional language distribution in conversational writing.
Influence of polyvinyl alcohol–glutaraldehyde on properties of thermal insulation pipe from blast furnace slag fiber
Authors: Han Baochen , Du PeiPei , Zhang Yuzhu , Xing Hongwei , Wei Guangsheng , Wang Haiyang
Published: September 2020

The development of an environmentally friendly binder can immensely benefit and promote the BF slag fiber industry. Accordingly, in this study, fiber insulation pipes were prepared using water glass, polyvinyl alcohol (PVA), and PVA–glutaraldehyde (GA); moreover, their bulk density, moisture absorption capacity, and thermal conductivity coefficient were measured and compared. The results demonstrated that the values of these three parameters depend on the binder concentration and dosage under certain fiber quality, pipe sizes, and manufacturing process conditions. The best binder composition was proven to be that of PVA–GA, prepared using 3 wt% PVA and 5 wt% GA herein, which facilitated reduction in the bulk density and improvement of the waterproof properties and insulation performance of the slag fiber pipes.
Judicial Review (Departmentalism) vs Supremacy: The Connection to a 17th Century Debate and a Dilemma for Today
Authors: Kabala Boleslaw Z
Published: September 2020

Proponents of judicial supremacy argue that the interpretation of the Constitution by the Supreme Court is authoritative for the two other branches of government, while advocates of judicial review (or departmentalism) argue that authority to interpret the Constitution resides in each branch. Both sides offer historical examples in which their understanding prevailed. How to resolve this impasse? I argue that Hobbes and Spinoza can inform the debate. To do so, I first unpack the terms: what is the difference between judicial review or departmentalism and judicial supremacy? I then show that a renowned legal scholar, Larry Alexander, specifically invokes Hobbes in defense of judicial supremacy. For Alexander, the Supreme Court functions as a Hobbesian sovereign. Spinoza presents a clear alternative to the Hobbesian solution of avoiding a state of nature by concentrating power in a unitary sovereign, namely, via a strategy of diffusing power throughout society. But Spinoza’s solution is not yet a formal separation of powers. This conception of power can therefore clarify the assumptions made by advocates of both judicial review or departmentalism and judicial supremacy. I close by considering instances in American history when the application of departmentalist logic did not lead to a Hobbesian state of nature. And what are the lessons for today? I suggest that it is perhaps time to consider an analog to the Canadian/Israeli notwithstanding clause. But rather than adopting verbatim their legislative override, which effectively designates the legislative branch to be supreme, we could require two of the three independent and equal branches to decide contended constitutional questions. Such an American notwithstanding clause would respect the design of our federal government.
Surgical treatment of locally advanced thyroid cancer
Authors: Roka Rudolf
Published: September 2020

Operations in this area are demanding and require special experience in endocrine, thoracic and vascular surgery, an experienced anaesthesiologist, as well as the interdisciplinary cooperation with other medical specialists (nuclear medicine, oncology, radiology, otolaryngology). A reliable system of surgical guidelines has been developed from a few individual publications with special impact.
Finite 𝑝-groups all of whose 𝓐2-subgroups are generated by two elements
Authors: Zhang Lihua , Zhang Junqiang
Published: September 2020

Assume G is a finite p-group.
We prove that if all

𝒜
2

{\mathcal{A}_{2}}

-subgroups of G are generated by two elements, then so are all non-abelian subgroups of G.
By using this result, we classify the p-groups which have at least two

𝒜
1

{\mathcal{A}_{1}}

-subgroups and in which the intersection of every pair of distinct

𝒜
1

{\mathcal{A}_{1}}

-subgroups equals the intersection of all the

𝒜
1

{\mathcal{A}_{1}}

-subgroups.
It turns out that such p-groups are the finite p-groups all of whose non-abelian subgroups are generated by two elements, and the converse also almost holds.
Even character degrees and normal Sylow 2-subgroups
Authors: Pan Hongfei , Hung Nguyen Ngoc , Dong Shuqin
Published: September 2020

The Ito–Michler theorem on character degrees states that if a prime p does not divide the degree of any irreducible character of a finite group G, then G has a normal Sylow p-subgroup.
We give some strengthened versions of this result for

p
=
2

{p=2}

by considering linear characters and those of even degree.
Convergence of a series associated with the convexification method for coefficient inverse problems
Authors: Klibanov Michael V. , Nguyen Dinh-Liem
Published: September 2020

This paper is concerned with the convergence of a series associated with a certain version of the convexification method.
That version has been recently developed by the research group of the first author for solving coefficient inverse problems.
The convexification method aims to construct a globally convex Tikhonov-like functional with a Carleman weight function in it.
In the previous works, the construction of the strictly convex weighted Tikhonov-like functional assumes a truncated Fourier series (i.e. a finite series instead of an infinite one) for a function generated by the total wave field.
In this paper, we prove a convergence property for this truncated Fourier series approximation.
More precisely, we show that the residual of the approximate PDE obtained by using the truncated Fourier series tends to zero in

L
2

{L^{2}}

as the truncation index in the truncated Fourier series tends to infinity.
The proof relies on a convergence result in the

H
1

{H^{1}}

-norm for a sequence of

L
2

{L^{2}}

-orthogonal projections on finite-dimensional subspaces spanned by elements of a special Fourier basis.
However, due to the ill-posed nature of coefficient inverse problems, we cannot prove that the solution of that approximate PDE, which results from the minimization of that Tikhonov-like functional, converges to the correct solution.
Improved mechanical and viscoelastic properties of CNT-composites fabricated using an innovative ultrasonic dual mixing technique
Authors: Kundalwal Shailesh I. , Rathi Ankit
Published: September 2020

Carbon nanotube (CNT) acts as the most promising nanofiller due to its high aspect ratio and exceptional nanoscale-level properties. However, the dispersibility of CNTs in the conventional polymer matrices is a very critical issue in developing the high-strength and light-weight polymer-based nanocomposites. In this study, an attempt was made to develop cluster-free and uniform dispersion of multiwalled carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs) in the epoxy matrix using an innovative ultrasonic dual mixing technique. The effect of dispersion of MWCNTs on the mechanical and viscoelastic properties of MWCNT-epoxy nanocomposites was comprehensively studied. Our results reveal that the tensile strength and toughness of epoxy nanocomposites with 0.50 wt.% of MWCNTs improved by 21% and 46%, respectively, as compared to neat epoxy. The nanocomposite samples with the same CNT loading show maximum enhancements of 22% and 26% in the lap shear strength and storage modulus, respectively. The tensile fracture surface examination of MWCNT-epoxy nanocomposites using field emission scanning electron microscopy indicated the cluster-free and uniform dispersion of MWC-NTs in the epoxy matrix.
Exergy-Based Ecological Optimization of an Irreversible Quantum Carnot Heat Pump with Spin-1/2 Systems
Authors: Liu Xiaowei , Chen Lingen , Ge Yanlin , Feng Huijun , Wu Feng , Lorenzini Giulio
Published: September 2020

Based on an irreversible quantum Carnot heat pump model in which spin-1/2 systems are used as working substance, an exergy-based ecological function and some other important parameters of the model heat pump are derived. Numerical examples are provided to investigate its ecological performance characteristics. The influences of various irreversibility factors on the ecological performance are discussed. Performance comparison and discussion among maximum points of ecological function, heating load, and so on, are conducted. At last, three special cases are discussed.
A retrospective analysis of congenital anomalies in congenital hypothyroidism
Authors: Mazahir Fatima Ali , Khadora Manal Mustafa
Published: September 2020

Objectives

We evaluated the spectrum of diseases accompanying congenital hypothyroidism (CH) in the United Arab Emirates and compared them with internationally studied patterns.

Methods

The presented retrospective cross-sectional study took place in two government tertiary care centres. In total, 204 patients with a confirmed diagnosis of CH and a minimum period of follow-up of 1 year were included. Patients with Down syndrome, infants born at <35 weeks of gestation, and babies with TORCH (Toxoplasma gondii, Other viruses [HIV, measles, etc.], Rubella, Cytomegalovirus, and Herpes simplex) infections were subsequently excluded from the study.

Results

Of the subjects with CH, 39% had associated extrathyroidal anomalies (ETAs); among these, 25% had a single anomaly. A significant proportion of Arab males were affected by CH as compared to other ethnic groups. Dyshormonogenesis was the commonest aetiological cause (55%) of CH. Males with an ectopic lingual thyroid gland had significant ETAs as compared to females of the same cohort. The most common ETAs were congenital heart disease (16%), followed by urogenital tract anomalies (14%).

Conclusions

Detection of a high rate and variability of ETAs associated with CH necessitates the formulation of a structured screening programme including appropriate clinical, laboratory, and imaging tools to detect ETAs at an earlier stage.
Measuring spatial allocative efficiency in basketball
Authors: Sandholtz Nathan , Mortensen Jacob , Bornn Luke
Published: September 2020

Every shot in basketball has an opportunity cost; one player’s shot eliminates all potential opportunities from their teammates for that play. For this reason, player-shot efficiency should ultimately be considered relative to the lineup. This aspect of efficiency—the optimal way to allocate shots within a lineup—is the focus of our paper. Allocative efficiency should be considered in a spatial context since the distribution of shot attempts within a lineup is highly dependent on court location. We propose a new metric for spatial allocative efficiency by comparing a player’s field goal percentage (FG%) to their field goal attempt (FGA) rate in context of both their four teammates on the court and the spatial distribution of their shots. Leveraging publicly available data provided by the National Basketball Association (NBA), we estimate player FG% at every location in the offensive half court using a Bayesian hierarchical model. Then, by ordering a lineup’s estimated FG%s and pairing these rankings with the lineup’s empirical FGA rate rankings, we detect areas where the lineup exhibits inefficient shot allocation. Lastly, we analyze the impact that sub-optimal shot allocation has on a team’s overall offensive potential, demonstrating that inefficient shot allocation correlates with reduced scoring.
Zur Rolle der Freiheit in Kants (Moral-)Philosophie
Authors: Geismann Georg
Published: September 2020

The focus of this paper is on the concepts of practical and transcendental freedom, their relation to each other, and their role in Kant’s (moral) philosophy. It is argued that there is in this regard neither an inconsistency or contradiction between the Dialectic and the Canon of the first Critique nor a break between the first and the second Critique. The Canon’s claim that we cognize practical freedom through experience must by no means be understood as implying that Kant held a “naturalized” concept of freedom. The paper also reveals the preparatory role of the first Critique with respect to the moral philosophy that Kant, beginning in the Groundwork, presented in the following years.
Durkheim’s French Neo-Kantian Social Thought: Epistemology, Sociology of Knowledge, and Morality inThe Elementary Forms of Religious Life
Authors: Garlitz Dustin
Published: September 2020

This article presents Durkheim as a Neo-Kantian social thinker and a source of the theory of emotional contagion.The Elementary Forms of Religious Lifeis examined as Durkheim’s paradigm case of Neo-Kantianism. He is first considered among the intellectual context of French Neo-Kantianism and its figures Charles Renouvier, Émile Boutroux, and Octave Hamelin, all whom were influential in his formative years. Durkheim’s Neo-Kantianism inThe Elementary Forms of Religious Lifeis then juxtaposed to the Neo-Kantian legal philosophy of Emil Lask and Hans Kelsen. Agued is that Durkheim’s notions of distortion and emotional contagion are his leading contributions to Neo-Kantianism.