bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Comparative Study of CuO, Fe3O4 and CuFe2O4/CuO over Montmorillonite Clay: Green Synthesis, Characterization and Catalytic Activity
Authors: Atarod Monireh , Safari Javad
Published: July 2020

CuO, Fe3O4 and CuFe2O4/CuO over montmorillonite (MMT) clay were prepared with an eco‐friendly manner utilizing aqueous fruit extracts of the Terminalia chebula (T. chebula). FT‐IR and EDS spectra, XRD patterns and FE‐SEM images revealed the growth of nanoparticles on the layers of montmorillonite clay. The catalytic activity of as‐prepared nanocomposites was comparatively evaluated in the synthesis of aminotetrazole derivatives and resulted in the order of CuFe2O4/CuO/MMT>CuO/MMT>Fe3O4/MMT in their activity for the regioselective synthesis of aminotetrazoles. The combination of the acidic character of MMT clay along with the synergistic electronic effect between nanoparticles result in the superior catalytic activity of CuFe2O4/CuO/MMT which showcased the enormous potential of metallic supported nanocomposites in the catalysis field. The magnetic CuFe2O4/CuO/MMT nanocomposite was successfully reused and recovered for several times without consequential abate.
Synthesis of 2,3‐dihydrofurans via Lewis acid‐Catalyzed [4+1] Cycloaddition of Enynones with Sulfoxonium Ylides in Ionic Liquids: A Mild and Green Platform
Authors: Ding Haosheng , Lv Guanghui , Chen Yuncan , Luo Yi , Li Jianglian , Guo Li , Wu Yong
Published: July 2020

The zinc‐catalyzed [4+1] cycloadddition followed by intramolecular insertion reaction between enynones and sulfoxonium ylides for the synthesis of multisubstituted 2,3‐dihydrofurans in ionic liquids is described. This highly efficient and step‐economical reaction displays excellent functional group compatibility and stereoselectivity. The reaction media colud maintain high reaction activity even after six cycles.
Stress‐Actuated Spiral Microelectrode for High‐Performance Lithium‐Ion Microbatteries
Authors: Tang Hongmei , Karnaushenko Dmitriy D. , Neu Volker , Gabler Felix , Wang Sitao , Liu Lixiang , Li Yang , Wang Jiawei , Zhu Minshen , Schmidt Oliver G.
Published: July 2020

Miniaturization of batteries lags behind the success of modern electronic devices. Neither the device volume nor the energy density of microbatteries meets the requirement of microscale electronic devices. The main limitation for pushing the energy density of microbatteries arises from the low mass loading of active materials. However, merely pushing the mass loading through increased electrode thickness is accompanied by the long charge transfer pathway and inferior mechanical properties for long‐term operation. Here, a new spiral microelectrode upon stress‐actuation accomplishes high mass loading but short charge transfer pathways. At a small footprint area of around 1 mm2, a 21‐fold increase of the mass loading is achieved while featuring fast charge transfer at the nanoscale. The spiral microelectrode delivers a maximum area capacity of 1053 µAh cm−2 with a retention of 67% over 50 cycles. Moreover, the energy density of the cylinder microbattery using the spiral microelectrode as the anode reaches 12.6 mWh cm−3 at an ultrasmall volume of 3 mm3. In terms of the device volume and energy density, the cylinder microbattery outperforms most of the current microbattery technologies, and hence provides a new strategy to develop high‐performance microbatteries that can be integrated with miniaturized electronic devices.
Assessment of privacy and security perception of biometric technology case study of Kaduna state tertiary academic institutions
Authors: Olorunsola Olufunso Stephen , Ogwueleka Francisca Nonyelum , Evwiekpaefe Abraham E.
Published: July 2020

Biometric authentication technology are being increasingly used for many applications. Since such technology requires high level human interaction, effective implementation and acceptability of such system depends on users' perception, particularly, in the area of system safety and privacy. This study was conducted using a survey design accomplished through the use of a descriptive rating, Likert‐type survey instrument. Quantitative data were collected from participants in four tertiary academic institutions and Statistical Package for Social Science version 23 was used for data analysis. The survey focuses on three universities and a polytechnic situated in Kaduna metropolis. Deliberate sampling technique was used in selecting the four academic institutions, stratified random sampling technique was used in administering the survey instrument to 50 respondents from each institutions. The survey sampled 200 participants. Result from the study revealed the importance of considering users' perception before the implementation of biometric system. Major factors that significantly influence perception in this study are users' knowledge of biometric system and gender. Furthermore, 99.5% of the respondents show that public enlightenment and formulation of appropriate legal guidelines to back the use of biometric information will instil confidence in users of biometric technology.
Influence of production parameters on the fiber geometry and the mechanical behavior of ultra high performance fiber‐reinforced concrete
Authors: Maryamh Kasem , Hauch Konstantin , Redenbach Claudia , Schnell Jürgen
Published: July 2020

In this paper, the relationship between production parameters of ultra high performance fiber‐reinforced concrete (UHPFRC) and the spatial distribution and orientation of the steel fibers is investigated. UHPFRC specimens with varying fiber diameter, fiber volume fraction, and rheology of the mixture are produced. Additionally, casting is performed from the side or the middle of the formwork. Imaging by micro computed tomography allows for a statistical analysis of the spatial arrangement of the fibers in the test specimens. The flexural behavior and the load capacity of the specimens are analyzed by four point bending tests. The results of the bending tests are well explained by characteristics of the fiber systems determined from the image data.
Digitalization as “an Agent of Social Change” in a Supermarket Chain: Applying Blumer's Theory of Industrialization in Contemporary Society
Authors: Lehn Dirk vom
Published: July 2020

In this article I pursue Blumer's argument in Industrialization as an Agent of Social Change that social changes are the consequence of people's interpretation of technology. By examining oral history interviews with managers and other staff of the British supermarket chain Tesco I explore the relationship between “digitalization” and the organization of the business. The analysis reveals how the interviewees interpreted emerging computing technologies, and how the deployment of these technologies in the business impacted the material and ecological arrangement and the distribution of knowledge in the company. The article ends with a discussion of the relevance of Blumer's framework for contemporary studies of “digitalization” and social change.
Pragmatic approaches to transboundary river governance: Exploring pathways for co‐operation on shared water resources
Authors: Upadhyay Mukunda
Published: July 2020

Transboundary water governance policies include formulation, establishment, and implementation of progressive water policies, legal frameworks and institutional arrangements and the pragmatic involvement of not only the state actors but also the private actors along with the civil society whose participation in policy‐level discourses are pertinent and significant. Co‐operation on shared water resources could be achieved if continuous dialogues are ensured through consultative processes adopting the framework under community‐based water governance regimes. For this to happen, the community's involvement in policy‐level discourses is very important in exploring the possibilities of pragmatic steps that could be adopted for a greater welfare. Various governance issues concerning the availability of drinking water and its quality; disaster caused by floods and landslides and the overall impact of industrial pollution on the river ecosystem could be managed if major policies reach out to address the struggles and challenges faced by the various marginalized groups in riparian areas. This paper is an endeavor to unearth the possibilities of exploring transboundary water governance through the perspective of culture and how it can contribute to sustainability. In this, the most principal consideration to be acknowledged is that the lived experiences of riparian communities which should be considered as a key parameter in formulating water‐related policies internally and regionally.
Menstruation and Religion: Developing a Critical Menstrual Studies Approach
Authors: Cohen Ilana
Published: July 2020

Cohen develops a critical approach to menstruation and religion by showing how in both Judaism and Hinduism menstruation is part of larger purity systems concerned with defining the boundaries of identity and community. In so doing, Cohen moves beyond the question of how religious women meaningfully navigate compliance with menstrual practices and restrictions to draw attention to the ways religiously motivated menstrual practices create gendered roles and expectations and channel women’s sexuality for specific reproductive purposes. Through a comparative discussion of how the laws of Niddah in Judaism have evolved and a discussion of the different ways menstruation is linked to communicative states of being in Hinduism, Cohen explores how studying the intersection of menstruation and religion can contribute to better understanding how religious communities and cultures define and (re)produce themselves.
The Menstrual Mark: Menstruation as Social Stigma
Authors: Johnston-Robledo Ingrid , Chrisler Joan C.
Published: July 2020

In this theoretical paper, we argue that menstruation is a source of social stigma for women. The word stigma refers to any stain or mark that renders the individual’s body or character defective. This stigma is transmitted through powerful socialization agents in popular culture such as advertisements and educational materials. We demonstrate, in our review of the psychological literature concerning attitudes and experiences of predominantly American girls and women, that the stigmatized status of menstruation has important consequences for their health, sexuality, and well-being. We argue that the stigma of menstruation both reflects and contributes to women’s lower social status and conclude with suggestions for ways to resist the stigma.
The Menarche Journey: Embodied Connections and Disconnections
Authors: Piran Niva
Published: July 2020

In this chapter, Piran engages with girls at puberty through their narrated experiences of embodied connections to the physical and social world during menarche. Utilizing the theoretical frame of the Developmental Theory of Embodiment (Piran inJourneys of Embodiment at the Intersection of Body and Culture: The Developmental Theory of Embodiment, 2017), Piran focuses on experiences in three domains. First, she shows that girls’ temporary freedom of engagement in the physical territory alongside boys ends at menarche, compromising embodied joy, agency, and positive connection to the physical environment. Second, she examines how strongly enforced ‘femininity’-related discourses at menarche, which are further imposed by menstruation-related discourses, corset the way girls can inhabit their bodies. Third, Piran argues that menarche is a biological event that is associated with embodied demotion in social power and with disrupting relational networks. She concludes that positive embodiment at menarche depends on the availability of relational connections and norms that can counteract these adverse social experiences.
The Womb Wanders Not: Enhancing Endometriosis Education in a Culture of Menstrual Misinformation
Authors: Guidone Heather C.
Published: July 2020

Embedded in the centuries-old assertion that the womb was a nomadic entity wandering about the body causing hysteria and distress, persistent menstrual misinformation and misconceptions remain prevalent wherein pain disorders like endometriosis are concerned. Affecting an estimated 176 million individuals worldwide, endometriosis is a major cause of non-menstrual pain, dyspareunia, painful menses and reduced quality of life among individuals of all races and socioeconomic backgrounds. Wide-ranging symptoms may be dismissed as routine by both patients and practitioners alike due to lack of disease literacy, and lengthy diagnostic delays can exacerbate the negative impact of endometriosis on the physical, psychological, emotional and social well-being of those affected. This chapter identifies some of these challenges and explores how obstacles to best practice can be reduced in part through adoption of early educational campaigns which incorporate endometriosis as a major component of menstrual health education.
Introducing Menstrunormativity: Toward a Complex Understanding of ‘Menstrual Monsterings’
Authors: Persdotter Josefin
Published: July 2020

In this text, Persdotter advances critical menstrual studies by introducing and developing the concept ofmenstrunormativityas a way to understand the ways normativities around menstruation affect and discipline menstrual subjects. To do so, she works with the idea of a system of multiple and contradictory normativities that order and stratify menstruation. Persdotter makes four interlinked arguments regarding menstrunormativity: (1) normativities work in clustered, complex ways; (2) the cluster of normativities that surround menstruation produce an impossible ideal subjectivity (the imaginedmenstrunormate), which follows that we are all actuallymenstrual monsters; (3) normativities are continuously coproduced by everyone and everything, which means we are all, always, culpable in creating monsters; and (4) there is significant potential in embracing ourselves as both Dr. Frankenstein and as monsters, since such a viewpoint produces more opportunities for livable lives for menstruators and the menstrual countermovement alike.
Bleeding in Public? Rethinking Narratives of Menstrual Management from Delhi’s Slums
Authors: McCarthy Annie , Lahiri-Dutt Kuntala
Published: July 2020

McCarthy and Lahiri-Dutt illuminate the menstrual experiences of women living in informal settlements in India. Beginning with a critique of menstrual hygiene management (MHM) and water, sanitation, and hygiene (WASH) framings of women’s menstrual practices, they argue that these approaches ignore important spatial, social, and moral meanings attached to menstruating bodies in informal settlements. To substantiate their argument, McCarthy and Lahiri-Dutt take the reader into thejhuggīsand the lives of individual women who have migrated for work to the New Okhla Industrial Development Authority (NOIDA) area in Delhi, India. The authors show how, despite the congested and cramped conditions, women traverse the structural deficits of informal living to reconfigure notions of privacy and to navigate changing gender relations.
Menstrual Justice: A Missing Element in India’s Health Policies
Authors: Manorama Swatija , Desai Radhika
Published: July 2020

Proposing a novel framework of menstrual justice, the chapter argues that women’s health needs must be understood as the result of the complex interplay of their everyday gendered experiences of living, their biology, and their medical condition. The Indian state’s health policies fail women because they do not recognize that the marking of women as impure menstruating bodies is a cause of women’s health inequity from birth to death. This very denial by the state policy of women’s gendered experience of health is menstrual injustice. The chapter elaborates on this idea by establishing the links between women’s stigmatization as menstruating bodies, lack of control over their bodies, and ill-health, pointing to the high incidence of a variety of menstrual health problems in pre-menarche, during menstruation, perimenopause and postmenopause. The chapter then identifies the gender-specific biases, blind spots, gaps, and barriers in state policies that impede the security of women’s health across their life-cycles.
The Realities of Period Poverty: How Homelessness Shapes Women’s Lived Experiences of Menstruation
Authors: Vora Shailini
Published: July 2020

In this chapter, Vora focuses on the lived experiences of menstruation and homelessness. She offers an insight into the ways in which women experiencing homelessness understand and negotiate their leaky, menstrual bodies within contexts of limited financial and material resources. This study explores the scale of the personal, offering a phenomenological insight into the homeless experience of menstruators. Through personal interviews, Vora reveals that menstruation is regarded as a negative, emotional, and expensive experience. The participants are conscious of their doubly stigmatized status as homeless and menstruating, and they mobilize strategic rationalities to manage and conceal their menstrual status. Finally, Vora critically analyzes charitable initiatives that strive to alleviate the challenges faced when menstruating while homeless.
Monitoring Menstrual Health in the Sustainable Development Goals
Authors: Loughnan Libbet , Mahon Thérèse , Goddard Sarah , Bain Robert , Sommer Marni
Published: July 2020

This chapter offers a systematic overview of the strong but currently under-recognized relationship between menstrual health and the main monitoring framework of progress in global development 2015–2030: the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Looking at the overarching principles and intent of the SDG framework, and then goal by goal, the authors draw out particular SDG indicators to explain how monitoring met and unmet needs for menstrual health is essential to planning for SDG success. This chapter then describes some of the major data collection efforts that operate at-scale and could most readily provide new avenues for monitoring progress on menstrual health. The chapter concludes by outlining a way forward to strengthen monitoring and accountability for menstrual health during the SDG era.
Transnational Engagements: Menstrual Health and Hygiene—Emergence and Future Directions
Authors: Miller Victoria , Winkler Inga T.
Published: July 2020

These transnational engagements gather together voices of representatives from key organizations from around the world to reflect on and discuss the current state of menstrual hygiene and health programming. These experts assess a decade’s worth of efforts to dissolve menstrual-related barriers through implementing different programs. They assess both the risks and rewards of this work, and the roles that organizations, donors, governments, and the media play in changing perceptions and practices. Finally, they turn to approaches and solutions that will be required to productively move forward.
Introduction: Menstruation as Material
Authors: Hasson Katie Ann
Published: July 2020

The varying meanings attached to menstruation, the stories we tell about it, the ways we manage it, and even how we experience menstruation differ depending on time, place, culture, and individual embodiment. But menstruation itself should seem self-evident. Menstruation is a biological reality, after all—a material fact, a fluid produced by the body that can be seen and felt, a reality that gives rise to a range of materials and products designed to absorb or contain it. And yet, as the chapters in this section show, despite its seemingly obvious materiality, menstruation must nonetheless be made to “matter.”
Painting Blood: Visualizing Menstrual Blood in Art
Authors: Green-Cole Ruth
Published: July 2020

While there are isolated cases of reverence for menstruation, many societies impose a strict set of rules about the visualization of menstrual blood in art and visual culture. Green-Cole examines these hegemonic and patriarchal codes controlling discussion, commemoration, or visualization of menstruation, which have been internalized by millions of women worldwide as negative and shameful. One of the main tools used to maintain menstrual stigma is to erase the presence of the scene of menstruation in speech, image, and representation. Green-Cole argues that by publicly acknowledging menstruation and making it visible, the artworks discussed in this chapter are instrumental in undermining this stigma. She demonstrates how this process of undermining also changes what we assume to be the function and value of art. Finally, Green-Cole analyzes the ways in which artists have used paint to signify or stand in for blood as a challenge to the decorum of modernist formalism, which conveniently erased women’s issues.
Challenging the Menstruation Taboo One Sale at a Time: The Role of Social Entrepreneurs in the Period Revolution
Authors: Punzi Maria Carmen , Werner Mirjam
Published: July 2020

Punzi and Werner offer an incisive analysis of the role of social entrepreneurs in the so-called ‘period revolution.’ The authors explore not only the market strategies and social media messaging of social enterprises, but also how other activists in the menstrual equity movement question or support their work. Building on interviews with 35 social entrepreneurs, communication with current and former Femcare employees, and participant observation of menstrual activists, this study provides a 360-degree view of the surprising number of social entrepreneurs who have entered the menstrual products space, their efforts to innovate and disrupt the industry, and the opportunities and potential pitfalls they face.
Transnational Engagements: Smashing the Last Taboo—Caring Corporations in Conversation
Authors: Perianes Milena Bacalja
Published: July 2020

Bacalja Perianes delves into the relationship between capitalism and social change by focusing on how three companies balance profit-making with forging a menstrual health sector that promotes education, advocacy, gender equality, and women’s health. In the push to acquire new customers, companies wade into complex issues surrounding menstrual health needs in countries around the world. In light of efforts by social enterprises, start-ups, and large corporations to capitalize on the market and social opportunity of women’s bodies, Perianes asks the provocative question: Is this a good or bad trend? Does reframing consumption and consumer choice as activism actually undermine the effort needed to achieve gender equality? Or are we witnessing the rise of a new form of activism that works to achieve social change and improve the lives of women, girls, and their communities by means of business innovation?
Menstrual Trolls: The Collective Rhetoric of Periods for Pence
Authors: Conner Berkley D.
Published: July 2020

This chapter explores the protest strategies of Periods for Pence, a collective of Indiana menstruators and allies who organized in response to the passing of extreme antiabortion legislation, House Enrolled Act 1337, by then-Governor Mike Pence in 2016. Through an analysis of the group’s transcribed calls to Pence’s office, as well as various social media posts, Conner illustrates how Periods for Pence engaged in acts of narrative sharing, humor, and symbolic reversal to craft a cohesive account of varied experiences with menstruation. The study also draws on logics of menstruation to rhetorically re-moralize abortion as necessary. Conner concludes by demonstrating how critical study of menstruation-related activism asks scholars to rethink traditional conceptualizations of static “waves” of feminism and feminist rhetorical theorizing.
Navigating the Binary: A Visual Narrative of Trans and Genderqueer Menstruation
Authors: Frank S. E. , Dellaria Jac
Published: July 2020

Menstruation is often categorized as a function of the female body that affects women. Trans and genderqueer people contest this biological function as a social signal of gender/sex identity. The comics illustrate the gendered interactions trans and genderqueer people must navigate in their daily lives and visually explore four gendered/ sexed social spheres: (1) gender/sex identity, (2) public bathroom attendance, (3) product marketing and messaging, and (4) healthcare. Each of these arenas is permeated by the biologically and socially constructed gender/sex binary, and as a result trans and genderqueer menstruators confront preexisting constraints ranging from social interactions to the built environment. These micro social symbols of gender/sex distinction are symptoms of a larger gender regime in which gender/sex are interpreted, regulatd, and policed.
The Human Rights of Women and Girls with Disabilities: Sterilization and Other Coercive Responses to Menstruation
Authors: Steele Linda , Goldblatt Beth
Published: July 2020

Steele and Goldblatt argue that menstruation is a key site for discrimination and violence against women and girls with disabilities and that the law has been complicit in sustaining these injustices. The authors make this argument by exploring the law as it relates to sterilization and provide an overview of some of the legal dimensions of menstruation in relation to women and girls with disabilities. The authors offer Australia as a case study of the human rights challenges for this population. The study concludes with a call for critical menstruation studies scholarship to engage with the legal dimensions of menstruation in relation to women and girls with disabilities and consider how mainstream menstruation activism can address this population’s experiences and needs.
Hydrodynamics without boosts
Authors: Novak Igor , Sonner Julian , Withers Benjamin
Published: July 2020

Abstract

We construct the general first-order hydrodynamic theory invariant under time translations, the Euclidean group of spatial transformations and preserving particle number, that is with symmetry group ℝt×ISO(d)×U(1). Such theories are important in a number of distinct situations, ranging from the hydrodynamics of graphene to flocking behaviour and the coarse-grained motion of self-propelled organisms. Furthermore, given the generality of this construction, we are able to deduce special cases with higher symmetry by taking the appropriate limits. In this way we write the complete first-order theory of Lifshitz-invariant hydrodynamics. Among other results we present a class of non-dissipative first order theories which preserve parity.
Real and complex fundamental partial compositeness
Authors: Agugliaro Alessandro , Sannino Francesco
Published: July 2020

Abstract

We complete the analysis of the effective field theory at the electroweak scale for minimal models of fundamental partial compositeness. Specifically, we consider fermions in the complex and real representation of the gauge group underlying the composite Higgs dynamics, since the pseudo real representation was investigated earlier. The minimal models feature the cosets SU(4)×SU(4)/SU(4)D and SU(5)/SO(5) respectively for the complex and real representations. We determine the vacuum alignment, the electroweak precision constraints as well as additional collider constraints. We finally discuss the main differences among the different models of minimal partial compositeness.
Direct baryogenesis in the broken phase
Authors: Asaka Takehiko , Ishida Hiroyuki , Yin Wen
Published: July 2020

Abstract

We show a new mechanism for baryogenesis where the reheating temperature can be smaller than the electroweak scale. The baryon number symmetry is violated by a dimension nine operator which conserves a baryon parity. A high energy quark from the decay of a heavy particle, e.g. inflaton, modulus or gravitino, undergoes flavor oscillation, and is thermalized due to the scatterings with the ambient thermal plasma. We point out that the baryon asymmetry of our universe can be generated due to the scatterings via the baryon number violating operator. Our scenario can be tested in neutron-antineutron oscillation experiments as well as other terrestrial experiments.
Non-relativistic supersymmetry on curved three-manifolds
Authors: Bergshoeff E.A. , Chatzistavrakidis A. , Lahnsteiner J. , Romano L. , Rosseel J.
Published: July 2020

Abstract

We construct explicit examples of non-relativistic supersymmetric field theories on curved Newton-Cartan three-manifolds. These results are obtained by performing a null reduction of four-dimensional supersymmetric field theories on Lorentzian manifolds and the Killing spinor equations that their supersymmetry parameters obey. This gives rise to a set of algebraic and differential Killing spinor equations that are obeyed by the supersymmetry parameters of the resulting three-dimensional non-relativistic field theories. We derive necessary and sufficient conditions that determine whether a Newton-Cartan background admits non-trivial solutions of these Killing spinor equations. Two classes of examples of Newton-Cartan backgrounds that obey these conditions are discussed. The first class is characterised by an integrable foliation, corresponding to so-called twistless torsional geometries, and includes manifolds whose spatial slices are isomorphic to the Poincaŕe disc. The second class of examples has a non-integrable foliation structure and corresponds to contact manifolds.
Model-independent bounds on new physics effects in non-leptonic tree-level decays of B-mesons
Authors: Lenz Alexander , Tetlalmatzi-Xolocotzi Gilberto
Published: July 2020

Abstract

We present a considerably improved analysis of model-independent bounds on new physics effects in non-leptonic tree-level decays of B-mesons. Our main finding is that contributions of about ±0.1 to the Wilson coefficient of the colour-singlet operator Q2 of the effective weak Hamiltonian and contributions in the range of ±0.5 (both for real and imaginary part) to Q1 can currently not be excluded at the 90% C.L. . Effects of such a size can modify the direct experimental extraction of the CKM angle γ by up to 10° and they could lead to an enhancement of the decay rate difference ∆Γd of up to a factor of 5 over its SM value — a size that could explain the D0 dimuon asymmetry. Future more precise measurements of the semi-leptonic asymmetries $$ {a}_{sl}^q $$

a
sl
q

and the lifetime ratio τ (Bs)/τ (Bd) will allow to shrink the bounds on tree-level new physics effects considerably. Due to significant improvements in the precision of the non-perturbative input we update all SM predictions for the mixing obervables in the course of this analysis, obtaining: ∆Ms = (18.77 ± 0.86) ps−1, ∆Md = (0.543 ± 0.029) ps−1, ∆Γs = (9.1 ± 1.3) · 10−2 ps−1, ∆Γd = (2.6 ± 0.4) · 10−3 ps−1, $$ {a}_{sl}^q $$

a
sl
q

= (2.06 ± 0.18) · 10−5 and $$ {a}_{sl}^d $$

a
sl
d

= (−4.73 ± 0.42) · 10−4.
Magnetic susceptibility of QCD matter and its decomposition from the lattice
Authors: Bali Gunnar S. , Endrődi Gergely , Piemonte Stefano
Published: July 2020

Abstract

We determine the magnetic susceptibility of thermal QCD matter by means of first principles lattice simulations using staggered quarks with physical masses. A novel method is employed that only requires simulations at zero background field, thereby circumventing problems related to magnetic flux quantization. After a careful continuum limit extrapolation, diamagnetic behavior (negative susceptibility) is found at low temperatures and strong paramagnetism (positive susceptibility) at high temperatures. We revisit the decomposition of the magnetic susceptibility into spin- and orbital angular momentum- related contributions. The spin term — related to the normalization of the photon lightcone distribution amplitude at zero temperature — is calculated non-perturbatively and extrapolated to the continuum limit. Having access to both the full magnetic susceptibility and the spin term, we calculate the orbital angular momentum contribution for the first time. The results reveal the opposite of what might be expected based on a free fermion picture. We provide a simple parametrization of the temperature- and magnetic field-dependence of the QCD equation of state that can be used in phenomenological studies.
Hans Asperger und der Nationalsozialismus: Konturen einer Kontroverse
Authors: Czech H.
Published: July 2020

Hintergrund

Hans Asperger (1906–1980) bezeichnete 1938 als Erster eine Gruppe von Kindern mit charakteristischen psychologischen Merkmalen als „autistische Psychopathen“. Im Jahr 1944 publizierte er eine umfassende Arbeit zu diesem Thema, die ab den 1980er-Jahren internationale Anerkennung fand. Seither erlangte die Bezeichnung „Asperger-Syndrom“ zunehmende Verbreitung. Die Tatsache, dass Asperger zentrale Jahre seiner Karriere während der nationalsozialistischen (NS-)Herrschaft in Wien verbracht hatte, wurde gelegentlich im Hinblick auf eine mögliche Involvierung thematisiert. Es lagen aber kaum Dokumente vor, und letztlich setzte sich ein Narrativ durch, das Asperger eine aktiv widerständige Rolle gegen das NS-Regime zuschrieb.

Ziel der Arbeit

Hauptziel ist eine Überprüfung dieses apologetischen Narrativs. Basierend auf früheren Arbeiten des Autors bietet der Beitrag eine kritische, evidenzbasierte Untersuchung von Aspergers Leben, politischer Orientierung und beruflicher Laufbahn vor und während der NS-Zeit in Österreich.

Material und Methoden

Der Beitrag beruht auf einer Reihe von zeitgenössischen Publikationen und bisher unbekannten Archivdokumenten, einschließlich Aspergers Personalakten und von ihm verfasster Gutachten.

Ergebnisse

Asperger vollzog eine Anpassung an das NS-Regime und wurde für seine Loyalitätsbereitschaft mit Karrierechancen belohnt. Er trat mehreren NS-Organisationen bei (allerdings nicht der Nationalsozialistischen Deutschen Arbeiterpartei [NSDAP]), unterstützte öffentlich rassenhygienische Maßnahmen des Regimes wie z. B. die Zwangssterilisationen und kooperierte in mehreren Fällen mit der „Kindereuthanasie“.

Diskussion

Das Narrativ von Asperger als entschlossener Gegner des NS und mutiger Verteidiger seiner PatientInnen gegen die „Euthanasie“-Maßnahmen hält einer Überprüfung nicht stand. Asperger spielte insgesamt eine wesentlich problematischere Rolle als bisher bekannt.
Continuously Non-malleable Codes in the Split-State Model
Authors: Faust Sebastian , Mukherjee Pratyay , Nielsen Jesper Buus , Venturi Daniele
Published: July 2020

Non-malleable codes (Dziembowski et al., ICS’10 and J. ACM’18) are a natural relaxation of error correcting/detecting codes with useful applications in cryptography. Informally, a code is non-malleable if an adversary trying to tamper with an encoding of a message can only leave it unchanged or modify it to the encoding of an unrelated value. This paper introduces continuous non-malleability, a generalization of standard non-malleability where the adversary is allowed to tamper continuously with the same encoding. This is in contrast to the standard definition of non-malleable codes, where the adversary can only tamper a single time. The only restriction is that after the first invalid codeword is ever generated, a special self-destruct mechanism is triggered and no further tampering is allowed; this restriction can easily be shown to be necessary. We focus on the split-state model, where an encoding consists of two parts and the tampering functions can be arbitrary as long as they act independently on each part. Our main contributions are outlined below.

We show that continuous non-malleability in the split-state model is impossible without relying on computational assumptions.

We construct a computationally secure split-state code satisfying continuous non-malleability in the common reference string (CRS) model. Our scheme can be instantiated assuming the existence of collision-resistant hash functions and (doubly enhanced) trapdoor permutations, but we also give concrete instantiations based on standard number-theoretic assumptions.

We revisit the application of non-malleable codes to protecting arbitrary cryptographic primitives against related-key attacks. Previous applications of non-malleable codes in this setting required perfect erasures and the adversary to be restricted in memory. We show that continuously non-malleable codes allow to avoid these restrictions.
Using quantum optical sensors for determining the Earth’s gravity field from space
Authors: Müller Jürgen , Wu Hu
Published: July 2020

Quantum optical technology provides an opportunity to develop new kinds of gravity sensors and to enable novel measurement concepts for gravimetry. Two candidates are considered in this study: the cold atom interferometry (CAI) gradiometer and optical clocks. Both sensors show a high sensitivity and long-term stability. They are assumed on board of a low-orbit satellite like gravity field and steady-state ocean circulation explorer (GOCE) and gravity recovery and climate experiment (GRACE) to determine the Earth’s gravity field. Their individual contributions were assessed through closed-loop simulations which rigorously mapped the sensors’ sensitivities to the gravity field coefficients. Clocks, which can directly obtain the gravity potential (differences) through frequency comparison, show a high sensitivity to the very long-wavelength gravity field. In the GRACE orbit, clocks with an uncertainty level of $$1.0\times 10^{-18}$$

1.0
×

10

-
18

are capable to retrieve temporal gravity signals below degree 12, while $$1.0\times 10^{-17}$$

1.0
×

10

-
17

clocks are useful for detecting the signals of degree 2 only. However, it poses challenges for clocks to achieve such uncertainties in a short time. In space, the CAI gradiometer is expected to have its ultimate sensitivity and a remarkable stability over a long time (measurements are precise down to very low frequencies). The three diagonal gravity gradients can properly be measured by CAI gradiometry with a same noise level of 5.0 $${\mathrm{mE}/\sqrt{\mathrm{Hz}}}$$

mE
/

Hz

. They can potentially lead to a 2–5 times better solution of the static gravity field than that of GOCE above degree and order 50, where the GOCE solution is mainly dominated by the gradient measurements. In the lower degree part, benefits from CAI gradiometry are still visible, but there, solutions from GRACE-like missions are superior.
Is the ACS‐NSQIP Risk Calculator Accurate in Predicting Adverse Postoperative Outcomes in the Emergency Setting? An Italian Single‐center Preliminary Study
Authors: Scotton Giovanni , Del Zotto Giulio , Bernardi Laura , Zucca Annalisa , Terranova Susanna , Fracon Stefano , Paiano Lucia , Cosola Davide , Biloslavo Alan , de Manzini Nicolò
Published: July 2020

Background

The ACS‐NSQIP surgical risk calculator (SRC) is an open‐access online tool that estimates the chance for adverse postoperative outcomes. The risk is estimated based on 21 patient‐related variables and customized for specific surgical procedures. The purpose of this monocentric retrospective study is to validate its predictive value in an Italian emergency setting.

Methods

From January to December 2018, 317 patients underwent surgical procedures for acute cholecystitis (n = 103), appendicitis (n = 83), gastrointestinal perforation (n = 45), and intestinal obstruction (n = 86). Patients’ personal risk was obtained and divided by the average risk to calculate a personal risk ratio (RR). Areas under the ROC curves (AUC) and Brier score were measured to assess both the discrimination and calibration of the predictive model.

Results

The AUC was 0.772 (95%CI 0.722–0.817, p < 0.0001; Brier 0.161) for serious complications, 0.887 (95%CI 0.847–0.919, p < 0.0001; Brier 0.072) for death, and 0.887 (95%CI 0.847–0.919, p < 0.0001; Brier 0.106) for discharge to nursing or rehab facility. Pneumonia, cardiac complications, and surgical site infection presented an AUC of 0.794 (95%CI 0.746–0.838, p < 0.001; Brier 0.103), 0.836 (95%CI 0.790–0.875, p < 0.0001; Brier 0.081), and 0.729 (95%CI 0.676–0.777, p < 0.0001; Brier 0.131), respectively. A RR > 1.24, RR > 1.52, and RR > 2.63 predicted the onset of serious complications (sensitivity = 60.47%, specificity = 64.07%; NPV = 81%), death (sensitivity = 82.76%, specificity = 62.85%; NPV = 97%), and discharge to nursing or rehab facility (sensitivity = 80.00%, specificity = 69.12%; NPV = 95%), respectively.

Conclusions

The calculator appears to be accurate in predicting adverse postoperative outcomes in our emergency setting. A RR cutoff provides a much more practical method to forecast the onset of a specific type of complication in a single patient.
Presenting symptoms and time to diagnosis for Pediatric Central Nervous System Tumors in Qatar: a report from Pediatric Neuro-Oncology Service in Qatar
Authors: Maaz Ata U. R. , Yousif Tayseer , Saleh Ayman , Pople Ian , Al-Kharazi Khalid , Al-Rayahi Jehan , Elkum Naser , Malik Muzaffar
Published: July 2020

Introduction

There are no previous published reports on primary pediatric tumors of the central nervous system (CNS) in Qatar. We undertook this retrospective cohort study to review the diagnosis of CNS tumors in children in Qatar to analyze the presentation characteristics including symptoms, referral pathways, and time to diagnosis.

Methods

All children registered with Pediatric Neuro-Oncology service (PNOS) were included in the study. Data from the time of diagnosis (October 2007 to February 2020) were reviewed retrospectively. Presenting symptoms were recorded and pre-diagnosis symptom interval (PSI) was calculated from the onset of the first symptom to the date of diagnostic imaging.

Results

Of the 61 children registered with PNOS during the study period, 51 were included in the final analysis. Ten children were excluded because they were either diagnosed outside Qatar (n = 7) or were asymptomatic at the time of diagnosis (n = 3). The median age was 45 (range 1–171) months. Common tumor types included low-grade glioma (LGG) (47.1%) and medulloblastoma/primitive neuro-ectodermal tumors (PNET) (23.5%). Nine children had an underlying neurocutaneous syndrome. Thirty-eight patients (74.5%) had at least one previous contact with healthcare (HC) professional, but 27 (52%) were still diagnosed through the emergency department (ED). Presenting symptoms included headache, vomiting (36.2%), oculo-visual symptoms (20.6%), motor weakness (18.9%), seizures, ataxia (17.2% each), irritability, cranial nerve palsies (12% each), and endocrine symptoms (10.3%). Median PSI was 28 days (range 1–845 days) for all CNS tumors. Longest PSI was seen with germ cell tumors (median 146 days), supratentorial location (39 days), and age above 3 years (30 days). Tumor characteristics of biological behavior (high-grade tumor) and location (infratentorial) were significantly associated with shorter PSI, as were presenting symptoms of ataxia, head tilt, and altered consciousness.

Conclusions

Although overall diagnostic times were acceptable, some tumor types were diagnosed after a significant delay. The awareness campaign, such as the “HeadSmart” campaign in the United Kingdom (UK), can improve diagnostic times in Qatar. Further research is required to better understand the reasons for the delay.
Management of appendiceal mass and abscess in children; early appendectomy or initial non-operative treatment? A systematic review and meta-analysis
Authors: van Amstel Paul , Sluckin Tania C. , van Amstel Tim , van der Lee Johanna H. , de Vries Ralph , Derikx Joep P. M. , Bakx Roel , van Heurn L. W. Ernest , Gorter Ramon R.
Published: July 2020

Background

Appendiceal mass and abscess and its treatment are associated with significant morbidity and high costs. Still, the optimal treatment strategy is the point of debate. Therefore, this systematic review and meta-analysis aimed to compare overall complications between initial non-operative treatment (NOT) and early appendectomy (EA) in children with appendiceal mass and/or abscess.

Methods

Pubmed and Embase were searched. Only randomized controlled trials and prospective or historical cohort studies that compared NOT with EA in children with appendiceal mass or abscess in terms of complications were eligible for inclusion. Risk of bias was assessed. Primary outcome was the overall complication rate. Secondary, length of stay and readmission rate were investigated. A meta-analysis of overall complications associated with both treatment strategies was performed.

Results

14 of 7083 screened studies were selected, including 1022 children in the NOT group and 333 in the EA group. Duration of follow-up ranged between four weeks and 12 years. Risk of bias was moderate in four and serious in 10 studies. NOT was associated with a lower overall complication rate (risk ratio (RR) 0.37 [95% confidence interval (CI) 0.21–0.65]). However, NOT led to increased length of stay (mean difference varied between 0.2 and 8.4 days) and higher readmission rate (RR 1.75 [95%CI 0.79–3.89]), although not significantly. Interval appendectomy after NOT was performed as a routine procedure in all but one study. This study found a recurrence rate of 34% in a group of 38 patients during a follow-up period of 3.4 ± 1.7 years.

Conclusion

NOT may reduce the overall complication rate compared to EA, but the evidence is very uncertain. As evidence is scarce, and of low level, and heterogeneity between studies is substantial, the results should be interpreted with caution. Large prospective studies are needed to determine the optimal treatment strategy for children with appendiceal mass and/or abscess.
Investigation of interaction between biogenic selenium nanoparticles and human serum albumin using microwave plasma optical emission spectrometry operating in a single-particle mode
Authors: Borowska Magdalena , Pawlik Ewelina , Jankowski Krzysztof
Published: July 2020

Characterization of selenium nanoparticles and selenium nanoparticle–human serum albumin conjugates prepared in nanopowder form, their elemental composition, and particle size distribution were investigated with a microwave plasma optical emission spectrometry operating in a single-particle mode. This new analytical technique was used for the first time to examine the molecular interaction between selenium nanoparticles and human serum albumin regarding potential biomedical applications of selenium nanoparticles. Nanopowder sample was introduced to a helium plasma by pneumatic nebulization based on fluidized bed approach and measured with a time resolution of 20 ms. Both selenium nanoparticles and selenium nanoparticle–human serum albumin conjugates were characterized by observation of synchronous signals from different particle components. Plots of the time correlation between Se and C signals for all particles in selenium nanoparticles and selenium nanoparticle–human serum albumin conjugates samples differed from each other in degree of correlation and synchronicity of recorded signals. The interaction between selenium nanoparticles and human serum albumin was confirmed using Bradford assay. For selenium nanoparticles synthesized using yeast cells, the percentage of bound protein was only of 4%, whereas for selenium nanoparticles synthesized using yeast extract as a stabilizing agent it was 16%.

Graphic abstract
Distances of Stiffnesses to Symmetry Classes
Authors: Stahn Oliver , Müller Wolfgang H. , Bertram Albrecht
Published: July 2020

For a given elastic stiffness tetrad an algorithm is provided to determine the distance of this particular tetrad to all tetrads of a prescribed symmetry class. If the particular tetrad already belongs to this class then the distance is zero and the presentation of this tetrad with respect to the symmetry axes can be obtained. If the distance turns out to be positive, the algorithm provides a measure to see how close it is to this symmetry class. Moreover, the closest element of this class to it is also determined. This applies in cases where the tetrad is not ideal due to scattering of its measurement. The algorithm is entirely algebraic and applies to all symmetry classes, although the isotropic and the cubic class need a different treatment from all other classes.