code: public boolean isStartedBy(final T element) {
          if (element == null) {
              return false;
          }
          return comparator.compare(element, minimum) == 0;
      }
docs: <p>Checks whether this range starts with the specified element.</p>
  
  @param element  the element to check for, null returns false
  @return true if the specified element occurs within this range