The Sociology of civilisations: Ibn Khaldun and a multi-civilisational world order

Due to advancements in telecommunications and transportation over the past century, the world is shrinking and physical boundaries are being eroded. The advent of globalization has facilitated the flow of ideas, values, goods, and people from one part of the world to another. This hyperbolic human activity has altered the structure of inter-civilizational relations and has spawned a spirited debate on how to create a multi-civilizational world order. This paper is critical of contemporary approaches on the subject that envisage the primacy of one civilization on the one hand and a clash among civilizations on the other. By examining Ibn Khaldun’s theory of ʿUmrān and the discipline of Fiqh, it argues that these concepts remain relevant for our understanding of the human condition today. While the theory of ʿUmrān analyzes political and economic relations at the macro-level, Fiqh tries to arrange societal relations at the microlevel. This paper also studies the Ottoman legacy since the Ottoman state was founded on Fiqh and the Millet system. It proved to be successful in preserving pluralistic communities based on principles of autonomy and mutual coexistence. Even though Ibn Khaldun was one of the pioneers in the field of civilizational studies, his seminal work is largely neglected in scholarly circles today, both Muslim and non-Muslim alike. The present inquiry seeks to address this shortcoming

Monitoring of hepatitis B virus surface antigen escape mutations and concomitantly nucleos(t)ide analog resistance mutations in Turkish patients with chronic hepatitis B

SummaryBackgroundThe hepatitis B virus (HBV) polymerase gene completely overlaps with the envelope gene. In the present study we aimed to monitor the prevalence and pattern of the typical mutations for hepatitis B surface antigen (HBsAg) escape, and concomitantly nucleos(t)ide analog (NUC) resistance mutations, in Turkish patients undergoing different antiviral therapies and in treatment-naïve patients with chronic hepatitis B (CHB).MethodsThe investigation was undertaken between March 2007 and August 2009 and involved a total of 142 patients under NUC therapy (88 males; mean age 42 years (range 13–68); hepatitis B e antigen (HBeAg) negativity in 94 patients; HBV DNA median log 4.3 log10 IU/ml (range 2.0–>6.0); alanine aminotransferase (ALT) median level 76.1 IU/ml (range 12–1082)) and 185 treatment-naïve CHB patients (120 males; mean age 39 years (range 1–76 years); HBeAg negativity in 132 patients; HBV DNA median log 3.5 log10 IU/ml (range 2.0–6.0); ALT median level 60.7 IU/l (range 8–874)).ResultsThe overall prevalence of typical HBsAg escape mutations found in the CHB patients was 8.3% (27/327). In the NUC therapy group the prevalence was 8.5% (12/142), with the following patterns: sY100C+sI110V, sL109I, sP120T, sP127T, sG130R+sG145X, sS132A+sY134N, sY134N+sG145R, sC137G, sD144E, sG145R. In the treatment-naïve group the prevalence was 8.1% (15/185), with the following patterns: sL109I, sI110V, sS117INST, sP120T, sP127T, sM133I, sC137L+sG145R, sS143L. However, NUC resistance mutations were found in 7.7% (11/142) of the patients on NUC therapy and 3.8% (7/185) of the treatment-naïve group patients. Interestingly, the treatment-naïve patients had preexisting drug resistance mutations related to lamivudine (rtL180M+rtM204I), adefovir (rtA181V, rtQ215S, rtI233V), entecavir (intermediate susceptibility with rtL180M+rtM204IHBV variant), telbivudine (rtL180M+rtM204I), and tenofovir (rtA194T).ConclusionsThe findings of this study show preexisting typical HBsAg escape and NUC resistance mutations are possible. The genetic arrangement of the HBV genome with polymerase and surface genes overlapping has substantial public health and diagnostic implications and relevance

Gödel-type metrics in Einstein-Aether theory II: nonflat background in arbitrary dimensions

It was previously proved that the Gödel-type metrics with flat three-dimensional background metric solve exactly the field equations of the Einstein-Aether theory in four dimensions. We generalize this result by showing that the stationary Gödel-type metrics with nonflat background in D dimensions solve exactly the field equations of the Einstein-Aether theory. The reduced field equations are the (Formula presented.) -dimensional Euclidean Ricci-flat and the (Formula presented.) -dimensional source-free Maxwell equations, and the parameters of the theory are left free except (Formula presented.). We give a method to produce exact solutions of the Einstein-Aether theory from the Gödel-type metrics in D dimensions. By using this method, we present explicit exact solutions to the theory by considering the particular cases: ((Formula presented.))-dimensional Euclidean flat, conformally flat, and Tangherlini backgrounds. © 2016, Springer Science+Business Media New York

OLPT CONDUCTIVITY IN WOLLASTONITE INLAID NR/SBR TYPE ELASTOMER BASED MATERIAL

The electrical properties of wollastonite inlaid NR/SBR type elastomer based material have been evaluated. Electrical properties of the samples were measured in the temperature range of 303 to 453 K and the frequency range of 100 Hz – 40 MHz. All electrically measured parameters were given anomalies at 385 K. Only one type of dielectric relaxation process have been observed for all measurements. Physical parameters characterizing the dielectric behavior have been obtained by fitting the experimental results in the modified Debye equation. The activation energy which is thermally activated by dielectric relaxation process have been calculated to be 0.58 eV. DC conductivity increasing by temperature has been explained with the help of VFT model whereas the AC one has been clarified by the OLPT model

Investigation of arenesulfonyl-2-imidazolidinones as potent carbonic anhydrase inhibitors

Deanship of Scientific Research at King Saud University [RGP-VPP-163

A combined estimator using TEC and b-value for large earthquake prediction

[EN] Ionospheric anomalies have been shown to occur a few days before several large earthquakes. The published works normally address examples limited in time (a single event or few of them) or space (a particular geographic area), so that a clear method based on these anomalies which consistently yields the place and magnitude of the forthcoming earthquake, anytime and anywhere on earth, has not been presented so far. The current research is aimed at prediction of large earthquakes, that is with magnitude M-w 7 or higher. It uses as data bank all significant earthquakes occurred worldwide in the period from January 1, 2011 to December 31, 2018. The first purpose of the research is to improve the use of ionospheric anomalies in the form of TEC grids for earthquake prediction. A space-time TEC variation estimator especially designed for earthquake prediction will show the advantages with respect to the use of simple TEC values. Further, taking advantage of the well-known predictive abilities of the Gutenberg-Richter law's b-value, a combined estimator based on both TEC anomalies and b-values will be designed and shown to improve prediction performance even more.Baselga Moreno, S. (2020). A combined estimator using TEC and b-value for large earthquake prediction. Acta Geodaetica et Geophysica Hungarica. 55(1):63-82. https://doi.org/10.1007/s40328-019-00281-5S6382551Abordán A, Szabó NP (2018) Metropolis algorithm driven factor analysis for lithological characterization of shallow marine sediments. Acta Geod Geophys 53:189–199. https://doi.org/10.1007/s40328-017-0210-zAkhoondzadeh M, Saradjian MR (2011) TEC variations analysis concerning Haiti (January 12, 2010) and Samoa (September 29, 2009) earthquakes. Adv Space Res 47(1):94–104. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.asr.2010.07.024Asencio-Cortés G, Morales-Esteban A, Shang X, Martínez-Álvarez F (2018) Earthquake prediction in California using regression algorithms and cloud-based big data infrastructure. Comput Geosci 115:198–210. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cageo.2017.10.011Baselga S (2018) Fibonacci lattices for the evaluation and optimization of map projections. Comput Geosci 117:1–8. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cageo.2018.04.012Baselga S (2019) TestGrids: evaluating and optimizing map projections. J Surv Eng 144(3):04019004Berényi KA, Barta V, Kis Á (2018) Midlatitude ionospheric F2-layer response to eruptive solar events-caused geomagnetic disturbances over Hungary during the maximum of the solar cycle 24: a case study. Adv Space Res 61(5):1230–1243. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.asr.2017.12.021Biswas A, Sharma SP (2017) Interpretation of self-potential anomaly over 2-D inclined thick sheet structures and analysis of uncertainty using very fast simulated annealing global optimization. Acta Geod Geophys 52:439–455. https://doi.org/10.1007/s40328-016-0176-2Borgohain JM, Borah K, Biswas R, Bora DK (2018) Seismic b-value anomalies prior to the 3rd January 2016, Mw = 6.7 Manipur earthquake of northeast India. J Asian Earth Sci 154:42–48. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jseaes.2017.12.013Buonsanto M (1999) Ionospheric storms—a review. Space Sci Rev 88:563–601. https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1005107532631Buskirk RE, Frohlich CL, Latham GV (1981) Unusual animal behavior before earthquakes: a review of possible sensory mechanisms. Rev Geophys 19:247–270. https://doi.org/10.1029/RG019i002p00247Dobrovolsky IR, Zubkov SI, Myachkin VI (1979) Estimation of the size of earthquake preparation zones. Pure appl Geophys 117:1025–1044. https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00876083Dogan U, Ergintav S, Skone S, Arslan N, Oz D (2011) Monitoring of the ionosphere TEC variations during the 17th August 1999 Izmit earthquake using GPS data. Earth Planets Space 63(12):1183–1192. https://doi.org/10.5047/eps.2011.07.020Florido E, Martínez-Álvarez F, Morales-Esteban A, Reyes J, Aznarte-Mellado JL (2015) Detecting precursory patterns to enhance earthquake prediction in Chile. Comput Geosci 76:112–120. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cageo.2014.12.002Florido E, Asencio-Cortés G, Aznarte JL, Rubio-Escudero C, Martínez-Álvarez F (2018) A novel tree-based algorithm to discover seismic patterns in earthquake catalogs. Comput Geosci 115:96–104. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cageo.2018.03.005Freund FT, Kulahci IG, Cyr G, Ling J, Winnick M, Tregloan-Reed J, Freund MM (2009) Air ionization at rock surfaces and pre-earthquake signals. J Atmos Sol Terr Phys 71(17–18):1824–1834. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jastp.2009.07.013Gopinath S, Prince PR (2018) Nonextensive and distance-based entropy analysis on the influence of sunspot variability in magnetospheric dynamics. Acta Geod Geophys 53:639–659. https://doi.org/10.1007/s40328-018-0235-yGrant RA, Halliday T (2010) Predicting the unpredictable; evidence of pre-seismic anticipatory behaviour in the common toad. J Zool 281:263–271. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1469-7998.2010.00700.xGrant RA, Halliday T, Balderer WP, Leuenberger F, Newcomer M, Cyr G, Freund FT (2011) Ground water chemistry changes before major earthquakes and possible effects on animals. Int J Environ Res Public Health 8:1936–1956. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph8061936Guo J, Yu H, Li W, Liu X, Kong Q, Zhao C (2017) Total electron content anomalies before Mw 6.0 + earthquakes in the seismic zone of southwest China between 2001 and 2013. J Test Eval 45(1):131–139. https://doi.org/10.1520/JTE20160032International GNSS Service (2019) IGS products. https://www.igs.org/products. Accessed 5 May 2019Kane RP (2005) Ionospheric foF2 anomalies during some intense geomagnetic storms. Ann Geophys 23:2487–2499. https://doi.org/10.5194/angeo-23-2487-2005Kulhanek O, Persson L, Nuannin P (2018) Variations of b-values preceding large earthquakes in the shallow subduction zones of Cocos and Nazca plates. J South Am Earth Sci 82:207–214. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jsames.2018.01.005Lin JW (2010) Ionospheric total electron content (TEC) anomalies associated with earthquakes through Karhunen–Loéve Transform (KLT). Terr Atmos Ocean Sci 21(2):253–265. https://doi.org/10.3319/TAO.2009.06.11.01(T)Lin JW (2011) Latitude-time total electron content anomalies as precursors to Japan’s large earthquakes associated with principal component analysis. Int J Geophys. https://doi.org/10.1155/2011/763527Liu JY, Chen YI, Chuo YJ, Chen CS (2006) A statistical investigation of preearthquake ionospheric anomaly. J Geophys Res 111:A05304. https://doi.org/10.1029/2005JA011333Liu JY, Chen YI, Chen CH, Liu CY, Chen CY, Nishihashi M, Li JZ, Xia YQ, Oyama KI, Hattori K, Lin CH (2009) Seismoionospheric GPS total electron content anomalies observed before the 12 May 2008 Mw7.9 Wenchuan earthquake. J Geophys Res 114:A04320. https://doi.org/10.1029/2008JA013698Nuannin P, Kulhanek O, Persson L (2005) Spatial and temporal b value anomalies preceding the devastating off coast of NW Sumatra earthquake of December 26, 2004. Geophys Res Lett 32:L11307. https://doi.org/10.1029/2005GL022679Pardalos PM, Romeijn HE (eds) (2002) Handbook of global optimization, vols. 1 & 2. Kluwer, DordretchPaul B, De BK, Guha A (2018) Latitudinal variation of F-region ionospheric response during three strongest geomagnetic storms of 2015. Acta Geod Geophys 53:579–606. https://doi.org/10.1007/s40328-018-0221-4Pulinets S, Boyarchuk K (2004) Ionospheric precursors of earthquakes. Springer, BerlinPulinets SA, Legen’ka AD, Gaivoronskaya TV, Depuev VKh (2003) Main phenomenological features of ionospheric precursors of strong earthquakes. J Atmos Sol Terr Phys 65:1337–1347. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jastp.2003.07.011Reyes J, Morales-Esteban A, Martínez-Álvarez F (2013) Neural networks to predict earthquakes in Chile. Appl Soft Comput 13:1314–1328. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.asoc.2012.10.014Şentürk E, Çepni MS (2018a) A statistical analysis of seismo ionospheric TEC anomalies before 63 Mw ≥ 5.0 earthquakes in Turkey during 2003–2016. Acta Geophys 66:1495–1507. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11600-018-0214-2Şentürk E, Çepni MS (2018b) Ionospheric temporal variations over the region of Turkey: a study based on long-time TEC observations. Acta Geod Geophys 53:623–637. https://doi.org/10.1007/s40328-018-0233-0Şentürk E, Çepni MS (2019) Performance of different weighting and surface fitting techniques on station-wise TEC calculation and modified sine weighting supported by the sun effect. J Spat Sci 64(2):209–220. https://doi.org/10.1080/14498596.2017.1417169Şentürk E, Livaoğlu H, Çepni MS (2019) A comprehensive analysis of ionospheric anomalies before the mw 7.1 Van earthquake on 23 October 2011. J Navig 72(3):702–720. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0373463318000826Shiuly A, Roy N (2018) A generalized VS–N correlation using various regression analysis and genetic algorithm. Acta Geod Geophys 53:479–502. https://doi.org/10.1007/s40328-018-0220-5U.S. Geological Survey (2019) Earthquake catalog. https://earthquake.usgs.gov/earthquakes/search/. Accessed 5 May 2019Warwick JW, Stoker C, Meyer TR (1982) Radio emission associated with rock fracture: possible application to the Great Chilean Earthquake of May 22, 1960. J Geophys Res Solid Earth 87:2851–2859. https://doi.org/10.1029/JB087iB04p02851Yao Y, Chen P, Wu H, Zhang S, Peng W (2012) Analysis of ionospheric anomalies before the 2011 M w 9.0 Japan earthquake. Chin Sci Bull 57(5):500–510. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11434-011-4851-yZakharenkova IE, Shagimuratov II, Krankowski A (2007a) Features of the ionosphere behavior before the Kythira 2006 earthquake. Acta Geophys 55(4):524–534. https://doi.org/10.2478/s11600-007-0031-5Zakharenkova IE, Shagimuratov II, Krankowski A, Lagovsky AF (2007b) Precursory phenomena observed in the total electron content measurements before great Hokkaido earthquake of September 25, 2003 (M = 8.3). Stud Geophys Geod 51(2):267–278. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11200-007-0014-

Rejoinder: Time-dynamic profiling with application to hospital readmission among patients on dialysis.

Standard profiling analysis aims to evaluate medical providers, such as hospitals, nursing homes, or dialysis facilities, with respect to a patient outcome. The outcome, for instance, may be mortality, medical complications, or 30-day (unplanned) hospital readmission. Profiling analysis involves regression modeling of a patient outcome, adjusting for patient health status at baseline, and comparing each provider's outcome rate (e.g., 30-day readmission rate) to a normative standard (e.g., national "average"). Profiling methods exist mostly for non time-varying patient outcomes. However, for patients on dialysis, a unique population which requires continuous medical care, methodologies to monitor patient outcomes continuously over time are particularly relevant. Thus, we introduce a novel time-dynamic profiling (TDP) approach to assess the time-varying 30-day readmission rate. TDP is used to estimate, for the first time, the risk-standardized time-dynamic 30-day hospital readmission rate, throughout the time period that patients are on dialysis. We develop the framework for TDP by introducing the standardized dynamic readmission ratio as a function of time and a multilevel varying coefficient model with facility-specific time-varying effects. We propose estimation and inference procedures tailored to the problem of TDP and to overcome the challenge of high-dimensional parameters when examining thousands of dialysis facilities

Impact of foot-and-mouth disease on mastitis and culling on a large-scale dairy farm in Kenya

Foot and mouth disease (FMD) is a highly transmissible viral infection of cloven hooved animals associated with severe economic losses when introduced into FMD-free countries. Information on the impact of the disease in FMDV-endemic countries is poorly characterised yet essential for the prioritisation of scarce resources for disease control programmes. A FMD (virus serotype SAT2) outbreak on a large-scale dairy farm in Nakuru County, Kenya provided an opportunity to evaluate the impact of FMD on clinical mastitis and culling rate. A cohort approach followed animals over a 12-month period after the commencement of the outbreak. For culling, all animals were included; for mastitis, those over 18 months of age. FMD was recorded in 400/644 cattle over a 29-day period. During the follow-up period 76 animals were culled or died whilst in the over 18 month old cohort 63 developed clinical mastitis. Hazard ratios (HR) were generated using Cox regression accounting for non-proportional hazards by inclusion of time-varying effects. Univariable analysis showed FMD cases were culled sooner but there was no effect on clinical mastitis. After adjusting for possible confounders and inclusion of time-varying effects there was weak evidence to support an effect of FMD on culling (HR = 1.7, 95% confidence intervals [CI] 0.88-3.1, P = 0.12). For mastitis, there was stronger evidence of an increased rate in the first month after the onset of the outbreak (HR = 2.9, 95%CI 0.97-8.9, P = 0.057)