bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
ℓ1-regularized maximum likelihood estimation with focused-spot illumination quadruples the diffraction-limited resolution in fluorescence microscopy
Authors: Xing Jian , Chen Simeng , Becker Stephen , Yu Jiun-Yann , Cogswell Carol
Published: December 2020

Super-resolution fluorescence microscopy has proven to be a useful tool in biological studies. To achieve more than two-fold resolution improvement over the diffraction limit, existing methods require exploitation of the physical properties of the fluorophores. Recently, it has been demonstrated that achieving more than two-fold resolution improvement without such exploitation is possible using only a focused illumination spot and numerical post-processing. However, how the achievable resolution is affected by the processing step has not been thoroughly investigated. In this paper, we focus on the processing aspect of this emerging super-resolution microscopy technique. Based on a careful examination of the dominant noise source and the available prior information in the image, we find that if a processing scheme is appropriate for the dominant noise model in the image and can utilize the prior information in the form of sparsity, improved accuracy can be expected. Based on simulation results, we identify an improved processing scheme and apply it in a real-world experiment to super-resolve a known calibration sample. We show an improved super-resolution of 60nm, approximately four times beyond the conventional diffraction-limited resolution.
Real-time OAM cross-correlator based on a single-pixel detector HOBBIT system
Authors: Dai Kunjian , Keith Miller J. , Johnson Eric G.
Published: December 2020

The creation and detection of spatial modes of light with transient orbital angular momentum (OAM) properties is of critical importance in a number of applications in sensing and light matter interactions. Most methods are limited in their frequency response as a result of their modulation techniques. In this paper, a new method is introduced for the coherent detection of transient properties of OAM using a single pixel detector system for the creation of an OAM spectrogram. This technique is based on the ideas utilized in acousto-optic based optical correlators with log-polar optical elements for the creation and detection of higher order bessel beams integrated in time (HOBBIT) at MHz data rates. Results are provided for beams with time varying OAM, coherent combinations, and transient scattering by phase objects.
Successive training of a generative adversarial network for the design of an optical cloak
Authors: Blanchard-Dionne Andre-Pierre , Martin Olivier J. F.
Published: December 2020

At the nanoscale level, optical properties of materials depend greatly on their shape. Finding the right geometry for a specific property remains a fastidious and long task, even with the help of modelling tools. In this work, we overcome this challenge by using artificial intelligence to guide a reverse engineering method. We present an optimization algorithm based on a deep convolution generative adversarial network for the design a 2-dimensional optical cloak. The optical cloak consists in a shell of uniform and isotropical dielectric material, and the cloaking is achieved via the geometry of this shell. We use a feedback loop from the solutions of this generative network to successively retrain it and improve its ability to predict and find optimal geometries. This generative method allows to find a global solution to the optimization problem without any prior knowledge of good cloaking geometries.
Avances y resistencias del profesorado ante el uso de los Smart Mobile Devices (SMDs) y los Social Network Sites (SNS)
Authors: Gutiérrez Ortega Mónica , García Tamarit Consuelo , Fandos Igado Manuel
Published: December 2020

Los dispositivos móviles inteligentes (SMD) y las redes sociales (SNS) han sido responsables de introducir amplias innovaciones en el campo de la educación. Las percepciones de los docentes sobre la utilidad educativa de los SMD y los SNS pueden ser un facilitador o una barrera para su uso en las aulas. La presente investigación pretende conocer, a través de un estudio predictivo, la utilidad percibida sobre los SMD y los SNS de los docentes españoles y analizar la influencia de las variables demográficas (edad, género y nivel educativo) sobre ella. La muestra comprende 2,659 profesores de toda España de niveles educativos no universitarios. Para la recogida de datos se ha empleado un cuestionario ad hoc previamente validado. Los resultados apuntan a que las variables sociodemográficas, la disponibilidad de recursos tecnológicos y la presencia en redes sociales pueden predecir la percepción del profesorado sobre su utilidad para los procesos de enseñanza-aprendizaje.
HONEY AS A THERAPEUTIC AGENT, AN INSIGHT INTO ITS ANTIMICROBIAL PROPERTIES.
Authors: ASARE FOSU
Published: December 2020

Traditionally, honey has been used as both food and medicine since ancient times worldwide. Due to its nutritious content and sweet flavor, honey has been in great demand worldwide with China being the leading producer. People apply honey on the wound without having any knowledge of
its antibacterial properties. Honey has proven to contain some antibacterial properties such as hydrogen peroxide, acidity, low moisture content, pH, etc. Bacteria are ubiquitous and their life has a close association with humans in their diet, food processing, etc. Some bacteria eg
Staphylococcus aureus, consist of the normal flora of humans making them partially harmless but some can be harmful and in turn cause infections. Clinically, antibiotics such as tetracycline, penicillin, amoxicillin lincomycin, etc. have been used in the treatment of bacterial infections but some bacteria eg Methicillin Resistant
Staphylococcus aureus have shown resistance to some antibiotics. Medical practitioners have opted for the use of honey in treating bacterial infections due to its antibacterial properties. Researches have proven that honey can kill or inhibit almost every bacteria and is very effective in wound treatment as compared to antibiotics. In light of this most medical practitioners prefer the use of honey in treating bacterial infections.
Amyloidosis: A Rare Cause of Severe Cholestasis and Acute Liver Failure
Authors: Kim Hyun Jae , Tomaszewski Marcel , Lam Eric C. , Xiong Wei , Moosavi Sarvee
Published: December 2020

Although hepatic involvement in light chain–associated amyloidosis is common, clinical manifestations of hepatic amyloidosis are rare. In most cases, hepatomegaly serves as a clue to diagnosis. We report a unique case of a 48-year-old man from China with jaundice and noncirrhotic portal hypertension, with rapidly progressive liver failure, in the absence of hepatomegaly, secondary to systemic light chain–associated amyloidosis associated with multiple myeloma.
Combined effects of Choquard and singular nonlinearities in fractional Kirchhoff problems
Authors: Wang Fuliang , Hu Die , Xiang Mingqi
Published: December 2020

The aim of this paper is to study the existence and multiplicity of solutions for a class of fractional Kirchho problems involving Choquard type nonlinearity and singular nonlinearity. Under suitable assumptions, two nonnegative and nontrivial solutions are obtained by using the Nehari manifold approach combined with the Hardy-Littlehood-Sobolev inequality.
More than text: Approaching ritual papyri from Oxyrhynchus as inscribed objects
Authors: Possiel Scott
Published: December 2020

Although papyri serve as critical forms of evidence for the study of ritual in the late antique Mediterranean, much about their function and significance in ritual performance remains unknown. This paper investigates this dimension of ritual texts through an examination of three papyri from Oxyrhynchus (P.Oxy. 4242, 2833, and 5304) – a horoscope, asortescollection, and a magical formulary. Pairing close readings with an object-centered approach to the study of ritual in the ancient world, this paper addresses the text of each papyrus as well as its visual and physical characteristics including size, columniation, layout, evidence of wear, and marginalia. This analysis illuminates not only the role of each papyrus within the practice of astrology, divination, or magic, but also its influence on ritual performance. By mediating the experience of ritual participants, these papyri exert object-agency. Therefore, this paper argues that such texts are not simply passive instruments consulted by practitioners but rather active participants and collaborators in the performance of ritual.
Rethinking Orphic ‘Bookishness’: Text and Performance in Classical Mystery Religion
Authors: McClay Mark F.
Published: December 2020

The mythical singer Orpheus was credited as the proto-founder of private Dionysiac initiations in Classical Greece, and written hexameter poems attributed to his authorship played an important role in these cults. Since at least the nineteenth century, classical scholars have identified this “bookish” orientation as a defining feature of Orphism. This article approaches Orphic texts using the analytical tools of “material religion” and argues that Orphic textuality is best understood as a medial extension of poetic performance. Like musical-poetic performers, ritual experts drew authority in part frommimêsisof legendary archetypes (Orpheus, Musaeus, Melampus, etc.), and part of the physical text’s function was to make this identification believable for performers in Orphic cults and other low-level genres. In the Derveni Papyrus, however, the book enables a rejection of performance-based expertise in favor of an authority based on textual exegesis.
Le culte deZeus Brontôn : l’espace et la morphologie du dieu de l’orage dans la Phrygie d’époque romaine
Authors: Chiai Gian Franco
Published: December 2020

This study aims at reconstructing the evolution of the character of the Anatolian storm-god in Phrygia from the Hittite period to the Roman imperial era, particularly taking into account the Greek votive dedications toZeus Brontôn.According to the Hittite and Luwian texts, the power of the storm-god was not only limited to the sky, but encompassed fertility, the order of the seasons and, because of his role as the protector of kingship, the social order. Because they favourited a female deity generically called Matar, the coming of the Phrygians seems to be linked to the degradation of the cult, which remained practiced by the lower strata of the population and in the countryside. It was only after the arrival of the Greeks in Hellenistic times and the identification of the local ancient storm-gods with Zeus that their worship became tangible and visible again. The impressive number of dedications, mostly dated between the second and third centuries CE, constitutes an excellent documentary base for studying the character of these local deities. In these epigraphic texts, the theonym Zeus was used as a generic name (Gesamtsbezeichnung) for several divine beings, only partially comparable to the Greek Olympian Zeus.
Lilie unter Dornen
Authors: Reuvekamp Silvia
Published: December 2020

The echoes of the Song of Songs in Hartmann’s ›Erec‹ culminate in the famous comparison of Enite with a lily among thorns. Against the background of the exegetical tradition, in which the lily stands for an exceptional love competence, it is shown that this comparison is much more important to an appropriate understanding of ›Erec‹ than has been commonly assumed. This example illustrates, moreover, how precisely vernacular-language authors make usage of sacred contents and how autonomously they create processes of literary meaning-making.
Ego sum illa Aethiopissa
Authors: Kohnen Rabea
Published: December 2020

This article connects Wolfram’s portrayal of the striking black heathen queen Belakane with contemporary thoughts on the colour black in general and more specifically with concepts of dark skin and race at Wolfram’s time taking their biblical and theological foundations and semantics in regard. Reading Belakanes skin colour as an index and her story as a nod to the biblical Queen of Sheba and her reception history in the commentary tradition on the ›Song of Songs‹, I argue to integrate artistic and courtly, scholarly and theological perspectives to understand and appreciate the idiosyncrasy of Wolfram’s ›Parzival‹ fully.
Reference intervals for venous blood gas measurement in adults
Authors: Ress Kirsty L. , Koerbin Gus , Li Ling , Chesher Douglas , Bwititi Phillip , Horvath Andrea R.
Published: December 2020

Objectives

Venous blood gas (VBG) analysis is becoming a popular alternative to arterial blood gas (ABG) analysis due to reduced risk of complications at phlebotomy and ease of draw. In lack of published data, this study aimed to establish reference intervals (RI) for correct interpretation of VBG results.

Methods

One hundred and 51 adult volunteers (101 females, 50 males, 18–70 years) were enrolled after completion of a health questionnaire. Venous blood was drawn into safePICO syringes and analysed on ABL827 blood gas analyser (Radiometer Pacific Pty. Ltd.). A non-parametric approach was used to directly establish the VBG RI which was compared to a calculated VBG RI based on a meta-analysis of differences between ABG and VBG

Results

After exclusions, 134 results were used to derive VBG RI: pH 7.30–7.43, partial pressure of carbon dioxide (pCO2) 38–58 mmHg, partial pressure of oxygen (pO2) 19–65 mmHg, bicarbonate (HCO3−) 22–30 mmol/L, sodium 135–143 mmol/L, potassium 3.6–4.5 mmol/L, chloride 101–110 mmol/L, ionised calcium 1.14–1.29 mmol/L, lactate 0.4–2.2 mmol/L, base excess (BE) −1.9–4.5 mmol/L, saturated oxygen (sO2) 23–93%, carboxyhaemoglobin 0.4–1.4% and methaemoglobin 0.3–0.9%. The meta-analysis revealed differences between ABG and VBG for pH, HCO3−, pCO2 and pO2 of 0.032, −1.0 mmol/L, −4.2 and 39.9 mmHg, respectively. Using this data along with established ABG RI, calculated VBG RI of pH 7.32–7.42, HCO3− 23 – 27 mmol/L, pCO2 36–49 mmHg (female), pCO2 39–52 mmHg (male) and pO2 43–68 mmHg were formulated and compared to the VBG RI of this study.

Conclusions

An adult reference interval has been established to assist interpretation of VBG results.
Corrosion study of copper in aqueous sulfuric acid solution in the presence of (2E,5E)-2,5-dibenzylidenecyclopentanone and (2E,5E)-bis[(4-dimethylamino)benzylidene]cyclopentanone: Experimental and theoretical study
Authors: Thaçi Veprim , Hoti Ramiz , Berisha Avni , Bogdanov Jane
Published: December 2020

The corrosion behavior of copper in 0.1 M aqueous sulfuric acid medium has been studied using potentiodynamic polarization measurements, quantum chemical calculations, and molecular dynamic simulations in the presence and absence of (2E,5E)-2,5-dibenzylidenecyclopentanone (M1) and (2E,5E)-bis[(4-dimethylamino)benzylidene]cyclopentanone (M2). The compounds were freshly prepared in high yields via the Claisen–Schmidt reaction between the cyclopentanone and the corresponding aryl aldehyde. The results from the potentiodynamic measurements imply thatM1andM2act as mixed inhibitors due to their adsorption on the copper surface. The more pronounced corrosion inhibition performance of theM2molecule in comparison toM1was related to the fact that this molecule contains two basic nitrogen atoms (in 4-dimethylamino group).
Applying Machine Learning Techniques for Performing Comparative Opinion Mining
Authors: Younis Umair , Asghar Muhammad Zubair , Khan Adil , Khan Alamsher , Iqbal Javed , Jillani Nosheen
Published: December 2020

In recent times, comparative opinion mining applications have attracted both individuals and business organizations to compare the strengths and weakness of products. Prior works on comparative opinion mining have focused on applying a single classifier, limited comparative opinion labels, and limited dataset of product reviews, resulting in degraded performance for classifying comparative reviews. In this work, we perform multi-class comparative opinion mining by applying multiple machine learning classifiers using an increased number of comparative opinion labels (9 classes) on 4 datasets of comparative product reviews. The experimental results show that Random Forest classifier has outperformed the comparing algorithms in terms of improved accuracy, precision, recall and f-measure.
On methods to reduce spurious currents within VOF solver frameworks. Part 1: a review of the static bubble/droplet
Authors: Inguva Venkatesh , Schulz Andreas , Kenig Eugeny Y.
Published: December 2020

In two-phase flows in which the Capillary number is low, errors in the computation of the surface tension force at the interface cause Front-Capturing methods such as Volume of Fluid (VOF) and Level-Set (LS) to develop interfacial spurious currents. To better solve low Capillary number flows, special treatment is required to reduce such spurious currents. Smoothing the phase indicator field to more accurately compute the curvature or adding interfacial artificial viscosity are techniques that can treat this problem. This study explores OpenFOAM, Fluent and StarCCM+ VOF solvers for the classical case of a static bubble/droplet immersed in a continuous aqueous phase, with the focus on the ability of these solvers to adequately reduce spurious currents. The results are expected to be helpful for practicing chemical engineers who use multiphase CFD solvers in their work.
Prenatal diagnosis of Kleefstra syndrome
Authors: Hatjis Christos G.
Published: December 2020

Objectives

To describe the prenatal diagnosis of Kleefstra syndrome (KS), a rare panethnic disorder characterized by mental and developmental delays, distinct facial features, congenital heart and urogenital defects, among others. KS is caused by haploinsusufficiency and loss of function of euchromatin histone methyltransferase 1 (EHMT1) due to deletions or mutations in the chromosomal region 9q34.3.

Case presentation

The prenatal diagnosis of KS in this case report includes the description of subtle fetal phenotypic abnormalities detected by the fetal ultrasound examination as well as the results of the amniotic fluid microarray analysis that confirmed a fetal denovo deletion in the chromosomal region 9q34.3. These results confirmed the prenatal diagnosis of KS.

Conclusions

This case is noteworthy because of the late development of very subtle ultrasound abnormalities that triggered prenatal diagnostic studies in amniotic fluid cells, including SNP microarray analysis, that defined the diagnosis of KS. It allowed us to obtain the necessary antepartum consultations with neonatology, other pediatric subspecialties and arrange for the patient’s appropriate place of delivery to optimize the fetal and neonatal outcome.
User’s determination of a proper method for quantifying fuel consumption of a passenger car with compression ignition engine in specific operation conditions
Authors: Skrúcaný Tomáš , Stopková Mária , Stopka Ondrej , Kalašová Alica , Ovčiarik Peter
Published: December 2020

The present research concerns itself with measuring and evaluating fuel consumption of compression ignition engine in passenger cars by a variety of methods and in different operating modes. The main objective is to compare different procedures for the cars’ fuel consumption experimental investigation in the point of view of their accuracy. The measurements were carried out on Citroen Berlingo motor vehicle. The very research is focused on implementing and evaluating the discussed consumption by three different methods, namely calculation from consumed fuel volume measured on fuel station flowmeter (pump stand), recording the data from an on-board computer and obtaining data from a specific application. Given that a certain driving style has a significant impact on fuel consumption, particular examinations were conducted in three operating modes, where the very journeys were made in order to measure the consumption in relation to an economic, a regular and a dynamic driving style. The vehicle being tested was driven on four specified routes that varied in their length, maximum permitted velocity on individual sections and number of intersections, or a citymotorway ratio. To this end, the experimental research resulted in putting toward recommendations and procedures, including appropriate methods, to ensure reliability of fuel consumption measurements with respect to the diverse operating modes of passenger cars.
Application of statistical analysis, Deng’s relevancy and BP neural network for predicting molten iron sulfur in COREX process
Authors: Zhou Heng , Tang Zhiyong , Wen Bingjie , Wang Shuyu , Yang Jiahui , Kou Mingyin , Wu Shengli , E Dianyu
Published: December 2020

The high and fluctuation property of sulfur content in hot metal (HM) is a prominent problem in COREX process. The precise prediction of sulfur content in HM of COREX can provide a theoretical basis and technical reference for stabilizing and reducing the sulfur content in HM. In this work, a three-layer back propagation (BP) neural network was developed to predict the sulfur content in HM of COREX. The main affecting factors regarded as input parameters of the model are determined by the statistical analysis, and the hysteretic heats corresponding to each input parameters are analyzed by calculating the Deng’s correlation degree. The final structure of the BP neural network model is 20-37-1. The results show that when the error of BP neural network model for predicting sulfur content in HM of COREX is ±0.1%, the hit rate is 86.7%. In order to further improve the prediction accuracy of the model, the time series process method is adopted to update the training samples in real time and optimize the model. When the prediction error of the improved model is ±0.1%, the hit rate increases to 96.7%. The improved BP model can provide technical guidance for judging the change of sulfur content in HM and subsequent operations.
Algorithms for solving scattering problems for the Manakov model of nonlinear Schrödinger equations
Authors: Frumin Leonid L.
Published: December 2020

We introduce numerical algorithms for solving the inverse and direct scattering problems for the Manakov model of vector nonlinear Schrödinger equation.
We have found an algebraic group of 4-block matrices with off-diagonal blocks consisting of special vector-like matrices for generalizing the scalar problem’s efficient numerical algorithms to the vector case.
The inversion of block matrices of the discretized system of Gelfand–Levitan–Marchenko integral equations solves the inverse scattering problem using the vector variant the Toeplitz Inner Bordering algorithm of Levinson’s type.
The reversal of steps of the inverse problem algorithm gives the solution of the direct scattering problem.
Numerical tests confirm the proposed vector algorithms’ efficiency and stability.
We also present an example of the algorithms’ application to simulate the Manakov vector solitons’ collision.
The circulant hash revisited
Authors: Araujo Filipe , Neves Samuel
Published: December 2020

At ProvSec 2013, Minematsu presented the circulant hash, an almost-xor universal hash using only the xor and rotation operations. The circulant hash is a variant of Carter and Wegman’sH3hash as well as Krawczyk’s Toeplitz hash, both of which are hashes based on matrix-vector multiplication over 𝔽2. In this paper we revisit the circulant hash and reinterpret it as a multiplication in the polynomial ring 𝔽2[x]/(xn+ 1). This leads to simpler proofs, faster implementations in modern computer chips, and newer variants with practical implementation advantages.
Attack on Kayawood protocol: uncloaking private keys
Authors: Kotov Matvei , Menshov Anton , Ushakov Alexander
Published: December 2020

We analyze security properties of a two-party key-agreement protocol recently proposed by I. Anshel, D. Atkins, D. Goldfeld, and P. Gunnels, called Kayawood protocol. At the core of the protocol is an action (called E-multiplication) of a braid group on some finite set. The protocol assigns a secret element of a braid group to each party (private key). To disguise those elements, the protocol uses a so-called cloaking method that multiplies private keys on the left and on the right by specially designed elements (stabilizers for E-multiplication).

We present a heuristic algorithm that allows a passive eavesdropper to recover Alice’s private key by removing cloaking elements. Our attack has 100% success rate on randomly generated instances of the protocol for the originally proposed parameter values and for recent proposals that suggest to insert many cloaking elements at random positions of the private key. Implementation of the attack is available on GitHub.
The cumulative impact of parity on the body mass index (BMI) in a non-selected Lower Saxony population
Authors: Brodowski Lars , Rochow Niels , Yousuf Efrah I. , Kohls Fabian , von Kaisenberg Constantin S. , Schild Ralf L. , Berlage Silvia , Hagenah Hans Peter , Voigt Manfred
Published: December 2020

Objectives

During the last decade obesity has been continuously rising in adults in industrial countries. The increased occurrence of perinatal complications caused by maternal obesity poses a major challenge for obstetricians during pregnancy and childbirth. This study aims to examine the association between parity, pregnancy, birth risks, and body mass index (BMI) of women from Lower Saxony, Germany.

Methods

This retrospective cohort study examined pseudonymized data of a non-selected singleton cohort from Lower Saxony’s statewide quality assurance initiative. Mothers were categorized according to BMI as normal weight (18.5 to <25 kg/m2) or obese (≥30 kg/m2).

Results

Most of the mothers in this study population were either in their first (33.9%) or second pregnancy (43.4%). The mean age of women giving birth for the first time was 28.3 years. Maternal age increased with increasing parity. The proportion of pregnant women with a BMI over 30 was 11% in primiparous women, 14.3% in second para, 17.3% in third para and 24.1% in fourth para or more women. Increasing parity was positively correlated with the incidence of classical diseases related to obesity, namely diabetes mellitus, gestational diabetes, hypertension, pregnancy-related hypertension and urinary protein excretion. An increased risk of primary or secondary cesarean section was observed in the obese women, particularly during the first deliveries.

Conclusions

There is a positive and significant correlation between parity and increased maternal BMI. The highest weight gain happens during the first pregnancy. The rate of operative deliveries and complications during delivery is increased in obese pregnant women.
Dynamics of a diffusive delayed competition and cooperation system
Authors: Wei Zhangzhi , Zhang Xin
Published: December 2020

In this manuscript, we first consider the diffusive competition and cooperation system subject to Neumann boundary conditions without delay terms and get the conclusion that the unique positive constant equilibrium is locally asymptotically stable. Then, we study the diffusive delayed competition and cooperation system subject to Neumann boundary conditions, and the existence of Hopf bifurcation at the positive equilibrium is obtained by regarding delay term as the parameter. By the theory of center manifold and normal form, an algorithm for determining the direction and stability of Hopf bifurcation is derived. Finally, some numerical simulations and summarizations are carried out for illustrating the theoretical analytic results.
A standard form in (some) free fields: How to construct minimal linear representations
Authors: Schrempf Konrad
Published: December 2020

We describe a standard form for the elements in the universal field of fractions of free associative algebras (over acommutativefield). It is a special version of the normal form provided by Cohn and Reutenauer and enables the use of linear algebra techniques for the construction of minimal linear representations (in standard form) for the sum and the product of two elements (given in a standard form). This completes “minimal” arithmetic in free fields since “minimal” constructions for the inverse are already known. The applications are wide: linear algebra (over the free field), rational identities, computing the left gcd of two non-commutative polynomials, etc.
Error term of the mean value theorem for binary Egyptian fractions
Authors: Xiao Xuanxuan , Zhai Wenguang
Published: December 2020

In this article, the error term of the mean value theorem for binary Egyptian fractions is studied. An error term of prime number theorem type is obtained unconditionally. Under Riemann hypothesis, a power saving can be obtained. The mean value in short interval is also considered.
Random walk on ellipsoids method for solving elliptic and parabolic equations
Authors: Shalimova Irina , Sabelfeld Karl K.
Published: December 2020

A Random Walk on Ellipsoids (RWE) algorithm is developed for solving
a general class of elliptic equations involving second- and zero-order derivatives. Starting with elliptic equations with constant coefficients,
we derive an integral equation which relates the solution in the center of an ellipsoid with the integral of the solution over an ellipsoid defined by the structure of the coefficients of the original differential equation. This integral relation is extended to parabolic equations where
a first passage time distribution and survival probability are given in explicit forms.
We suggest an efficient simulation method which implements the RWE algorithm by introducing
a notion of a separation sphere. We prove that the logarithmic behavior of the mean number of steps for the RWS method remains true for the RWE algorithm.
Finally we show how the developed RWE algorithm can be applied to solve elliptic and parabolic
equations with variable coefficients. A series of supporting computer simulations are given.
Die mit Mittelstreckenraketen ausgerüsteten Streitkräfte der UdSSR: Etappen ihrer historischen Entwicklung und Erlangung der Gefechtsbereitschaft
Authors: Jasakov Aleksandr
Published: December 2020

Der vorliegende Beitrag widmet sich der historischen Entwicklung der mit Mittelstreckenraketen ausgerüsteten Einheiten der Strategischen Raketentruppen der UdSSR zwischen 1956 und 1991. Damit soll deutlich gemacht werden, dass zu dieser Teilstreitkraft der Sowjetarmee nicht nur die Interkontinentalraketen gehörten, sondern auch die Fernlenkwaffen mittlerer Reichweite eine wichtige Rolle spielten, da mit ihnen gleichfalls strategische Fragen gelöst werden konnten, die für die Umsetzung der sowjetischen Nuklearwaffenstrategie von entscheidender Bedeutung waren. Zudem wird der Frage nachgegangen, welche Konzepte die Militärführung der Sowjetarmee beim Aufbau der Mittelstreckenraketen-Einheiten verfolgte und warum es wichtig war, von Anfang an auf eine rasche Entfaltung und hohe Gefechtsbereitschaft dieser Truppenteile bereits auch in Friedenszeiten zu setzen. Ferner wird skizziert, wie die politische Führung versuchte, die noch junge Waffengattung zur Lösung außenpolitischer Fragen einzusetzen und welche Rückwirkungen dies auf die Kampf- und Einsatzbereitschaft der Raketentruppen hatte.
Pseudo-Lucian’s Cnidian Aphrodite: A Statue of Flesh, Stone, and Words
Authors: Bottenberg Laura
Published: December 2020

The aim of this paper is to analyse a literary response to antiquity’s most alluring work of art, the Cnidian Aphrodite. It argues that the ecphrasis of the statue in theAmoresdevelops textual and verbal strategies to provoke in the recipients the desire to see the Cnidia, but eventually frustrates this desire. The ecphrasis thereby creates a discrepancy between the characters’ aesthetic experience of the statue and the visualisation and aesthetic experience of the recipients of the text. The erotic mechanisms of the ecphrasis, simultaneously arousing and frustrating the recipients’ desire, mirror the effect of the statue on its viewers and disclose the erotic programmatics of the whole dialogue. The analysis shows that theAmoressurpass the ongoing discourse on love from Plato’sPhaedrusto the ancient novel – and Achilles Tatius and Longus in particular. TheAmores, like the nude statue of the Cnidia, threaten to cross all bounds of decency in sexuality.
The Socio-Economic Impact of Raiding on the Eastern and Balkan Borderlands of the Eastern Roman Empire, 502 – 602
Authors: Sarantis Alexander
Published: December 2020

This paper compares the socio-economic impact of warfare on two frontier zones of the sixth-century eastern Roman empire: the central and northern Balkans; and the northern Syrian-Mesopotamian and Armenian borderlands in the East. The theme of war damage is central to historical and archaeological work on the Balkans but plays a comparatively marginal role in research on the East. And yet the eastern provinces were affected by more intensive raiding by larger armies, and at least as regularly as the Balkans. Much of the difference in perception is related to contemporary sources’ exaggerated coverage of ‘barbarian’ raiding on the Balkans, a region traditionally viewed as a neglected backwater by authors such as Procopius. Conversely, such sources portray warfare with the Sassanid Persians in the East through a ‘classicising’ lens, describing at greater length generals’ speeches, battles, campaigns and sieges. Another reason for the disparity in modern discussions of the two regions is the socio-economic recession in the northern Balkans toward the end of the sixth century. This can be at least indirectly linked to the effects of warfare between the empire and the Avar Khaganate and Slavic groups. Recovery from the devastation caused by these groups’ invasions could no longer be funded by the imperial authorities, who, by this stage, were struggling to finance wars on multiple fronts and were feeling the fiscal effects of repeated bouts of bubonic plague. Despite also suffering from this absence of central investment, eastern societies and economies enjoyed a greater degree of continuity in the final decades of the sixth century. This was because non-imperial sources of agricultural and commercial wealth in these areas encouraged elites to invest in recovery projects. Local elites’ and wider populations’ deep-rooted feelings of cultural, linguistic and religious attachment also played a role in their survival. These economic and cultural ties can in part be explained by the fact that, unlike the Balkans, these eastern provinces had enjoyed a long period of peace and stability in the fourth and fifth centuries.
The Roman Context of Early Islam
Authors: Meier Mischa
Published: December 2020

The article tries to contribute to a more concrete embedding of early Islam into the context of late antique, in particular late Roman history. It takes its starting point in a description of the phenomenon of liturgification as an overarching process of religious permeation and internalization that swept across Eastern Roman society since the second half of the sixth century and saved society from collapse. During the early seventh century, when the Romans suffered from immense territorial losses to the Persians, liturgification contributed to the survival of the Empire as well. Liturgification, however, radiated out into the territory of the immediate neighbors of the Romans, and thus also reached Arabia by various ways, not least via trade and military contacts, but probably above all through the mediation of the Ǧafnids, who energetically supported Christianization in their area of influence, which extended deep into the Arabian Peninsula. In this way, liturgification itself created the enabling space in which Islam could come into being. Therestitutio crucisby Heraclius in Jerusalem, March 21, 630, then lent these developments concrete reference points and impetus. It should be viewed as the culmination of a process that was driven in turn by liturgification and characterized especially by the grave threats that the Eastern Roman-Byzantine Empire faced in its war against the Persians in the early decades of the seventh century. It led to a reconceptualization of the imperial monarchy, which now attributed a messianic quality to the emperor in a highly eschatologically charged context. The emperor, in turn, first effectively tapped the representational potential of this quality in the act of restoring the relics of the True Cross in Jerusalem in 630. This brought about a situation of messianic rivalry, since the rise of the Prophet Muhammad – which was made possible in turn by the penetration of liturgification into Arabian territory – was based on claims similar to those that Heraclius had claimed for himself. The first attacks on Byzantine outposts in the years 629/30 may have been a direct response to the emperor’s self-representation in Jerusalem. They were the beginning of the Muslim armies’ excursions beyond the Arabian Peninsula and thus the beginning of the great Muslim-Arabian Empire that would come into being in the ensuing century. Against this background, therestitutio crucisproves to be vitally important as a turning point in developments both within the Byzantine Empire and beyond its borders.
Crystal structure of N,N′-bis(4-bromosalicylidene) ethylene-1,2-diaminopropan, C34H32Br4N4O4
Authors: Li Tianyu , Xu Xindi , Wang Man , Wang Xia , Wu Qiong
Published: December 2020

C34H32Br4N4O4, M

r
 = 880.27, monoclinic, P21/n (no. 14), a = 16.3126(5) Å, b = 6.9654(2) Å, c = 29.300(1) Å, β = 92.726(1)°, V = 3325.41(18) Å3, Z = 4, R

gt
(F) = 0.0349, wR

ref
(F
2) = 0.0799, T = 150(2) K.
Un-Framing and Re-Framing the Global: An Introduction
Authors: Kahn Hilary E. , Gille Zsuzsa
Published: December 2020

While Global Studies has been pursued for research and teaching purposes for a few decades, there is little agreement on what substantiates the field. The Framing the Global project tackles this question by arguing for a renewed engagement with the empirical. It asks global scholars to step back from the analytic, to return to a space where pre-conceived methods, theories, and disciplines do not guide our findings. In this way, scholars must engage in a pre-analytic un-framing before they can define the particularities of their global. Each author in this forum enters into the global through an entry point, a point of specific empirical significance – whether a diaspora, a classroom, a biennale circuit, the AIDS regime, or plastic buckets and masks – that guides the way they trace what is global. In addition to exploring the need for un-framing Global Studies, Kahn and Gille also explain how un-framing and re-framing might help us understand global pedagogies and pandemics, by demonstrating how critical an engagement with the empirical is for contemporary global challenges that require us to excavate our understandings and shatter concepts that predominate rather than engage.
Effects of lignin content and acid concentration on the preparation of lignin containing nanofibers from alkaline hydrogen peroxide mechanical pulp
Authors: Zhu Lulu , Xue Shiwen , Ren Hao , Zhao Jin , Zhai Huamin , Kong Fangong
Published: December 2020

The poplar alkaline hydrogen peroxide mechanical pulp (APMP) with the lignin content of 24.63 % was used as raw material, which with lignin content of 10.04 %, 6.33 %, 3.82 %, and 1.14 % were obtained by the acid sodium chlorite method for 1–4 hours respectively. Then, different lignin content APMP were micro-nano processing treated with acidolysis (6.5 M, 9.8 M) or ultra-granular grinding respectively. Afterwards, poplar bleached chemical pulp (BCP) was prepared micro-nano cellulose under the same conditions as the APMP. Then, compared the data of the particle size, specific surface area, fiber morphology and zeta potential of suspensions between micro-nano cellulose products. The results show that the presence of a small amount of lignin (1–4 %) in APMP does not affect the preparation of different scales nano cellulose under different acid concentration conditions. When the lignin content is reduced to below 2 %, the acidolysis is more uniform, stable, and well-dispersed compared to BCP products; when the APMP is processed by the ultra-granular grinding, the higher lignin content, the more obvious cutting effect in the fiber length direction. The characteristics and feasibility of the preparation of micro-nano cellulose by the acidolysis and ultra-granular grinding using APMP with varying degrees of delignification are compared.
Braided composite stent for peripheral vascular applications
Authors: Zheng Qingli , Dong Pengfei , Li Zhiqiang , Lv Ying , An Meiwen , Gu Linxia
Published: December 2020

Braided composite stent (BCS), woven with nitinol wires and polyethylene terephthalate (PET) strips, provides a hybrid design of stent. The mechanical performance of this novel stent has not been fully investigated yet. In this work, the influence of five main design factors (number of nitinol wires, braiding angle, diameter of nitinol wire, thickness and stiffness of the PET strip) on the surface coverage, radial strength, and flexibility of the BCS were systematically studied using computational models. The orthogonal experimental design was adopted to quantitatively analyze the sensitivity of multiple factors using the minimal number of study cases. Results have shown that the nitinol wire diameter and the braiding angle are two most important factors determining the mechanical performance of the BCS. A larger nitinol wire diameter led to a larger radial strength and less flexibility of the BCS. A larger braiding angle could provide a larger radial strength and better flexibility. In addition, the impact of the braiding angle decreased when the stent underwent a large deformation. At the same time, the impact of the PET strips increased due to the interaction with nitinol wires. Moreover, the number of PET strips played an important role in the surface coverage. This study could help understand the mechanical performance of BCS stent and provides guidance on the optimal design of the stent targeting less complications.
Spanish phraseology in formal and informal spontaneous oral language production
Authors: Rubio Enrique Gutiérrez
Published: December 2020

The study presented in this paper aims to perform a comprehensive analysis of the use of phraseological units (PUs) in contemporary Spanish according to two different levels of oral language production: (a) spontaneous informal (on the basis of conversations uttered among the contestants of the Spanish version of the reality showBig Brother), (b) spontaneous formal (on the basis of interviews performed on Spanish radio and TV programmes). The configuration of Spanish phraseology as it is used in formal and informal spontaneous oral language production will be investigated according to four variables: frequency distribution, typological distribution, stylistic distribution, and individual distribution. It will be shown that a) the more informal the discourse context, the higher the frequency of use of PUs, b) thatidioms(and notroutine formulaeorproverbs) are clearly dominant in both formal and informal oral contexts, c) that there are speakers in formal discourse contexts who often utter informal PUs, d) that vulgar vs. non-vulgar PUs – and not so much informal vs. non-informal PUs – is the main disagreement between formal and informal spontaneous oral contexts, and e) that using vulgar PUs more or less frequently would be a highly individual issue.
La phraséologie dans l’étude du français langue maternelle : des faits de langue d’Hippolyte-Auguste Dupont aux faits d’expression de Charles Bally
Authors: González-Rey Ma Isabel
Published: December 2020

The Phraséologie française élémentaire ou Nouveaux exercices de grammaire by Hippolyte-Auguste Dupont (1833) is, to our knowledge, the only work to use the word phraseology as a synonym for “Grammar of the French language”. It represents an exception not only to the school grammars of the nineteenth century, the century of schooling in France and school grammars, but also to the phraseological precepts of Charles Bally (1909). The analysis of this work, intended for the teaching of French as a mother tongue, will allow us to highlight two innovative aspects for the time: on the one hand, a very particular meaning of the word phraseology, namely that of the study of language through ordinary syntactic sentences, and, on the other hand, the place reserved for gallicisms, considered as “particular idioms” contrary to the general rules of grammar. The study of the opposition between these two groups of constructions in both Dupont’s and Bally’s work will lead us to contrast the facts of language in the former with the facts of expression in the latter.
The effect of selenium, zinc and copper on the excretion of urinary modified nucleobases in rats treated with prostate cancer cells
Authors: Bobrowska-Korczak Barbara , Skrajnowska Dorota , Giebultowicz Joanna , Kiss Anna Karolina
Published: December 2020

Given the strong associations between diet and cancer risk, there is considerable scientific interest in determining whether dietary factors associated with prostate cancer cell implantation may influence epigenetic alternations. The aim of the research was to assess impact of selected trace elements (selenium, zinc and copper) on the kinetics of changes (10-13-14-21 week of life cycle of rats) in the level of 7-methylguanine, 3-methyladenine, 1-methylguanine and 8-oxo-guanine in the urine of rats with implanted prostate cancer cells (LNCaP). Modified nucleobases were determined by validated high performance liquid chromatography coupled to mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS) method using multiple reaction monitoring (MRM) mode. In the presented model the implantation of rats with cancer cells did not affect the level of the examined biomarkers in the rats’ urine. The level of methyl derivatives was statistically significantly reduced with the age of the examined rats. The implantation of rats with cancer cells results in the appearance of tumors in 71% of the rats obtaining the standard diet and respectively in 25% of those supplemented with selenium. Supplementation with selenium affects both the effectiveness of tumor induction and the concentration of 7-MeG, 3-MeA, 1-MeG and 8-oxoG in urine of the examined rats. These findings show that modified nucleosides can play an important role in cancer prevention.
Predictable solution for reflected BSDEs when the obstacle is not right-continuous
Authors: Marzougue Mohamed , El Otmani Mohamed
Published: December 2020

In the present paper, we consider reflected backward stochastic differential equations when the reflecting obstacle is not necessarily right-continuous in a general filtration that supports a one-dimensional Brownian motion and an independent Poisson random measure. We prove the existence and uniqueness of a predictable solution for such equations under the stochastic Lipschitz coefficient by using the predictable Mertens decomposition.
Rethinking the Materiality of Biblical Texts: From Source, Tradition and Redaction to a Scroll Approach
Authors: Carr David M.
Published: December 2020

This article shows how attention to the dynamics surrounding production and revision of ancient Near Eastern scrolls can help scholars develop better models for the development and early use of the Bible. Though pioneers pursing such a scroll approach were confined to limited data in the Bible and rabbinic literature, we now have a wealth of data on scrolls from Egypt, Levantine sites like Deir ʿAlla, and Qumran. After discussing the use of scrolls for ancient literary compositions, the article illustrates how this information can reframe and inform analysis of the Pentateuch’s formation.