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557,237 | Wearable computers typically differ from traditional mobile devices in that their usage and interaction location takes place on the user's body. In these contexts, gesture interfaces may become preferred over traditional input methods, as their small size renders touch-screens or keyboards less appealing. Nevertheless, they share many of the same social acceptability obstacles as mobile devices when it comes to gestural interaction. However, the possibility of wearable computers to be hidden from sight or integrated in other everyday objects, such as clothing, allow gesture input to mimic common clothing interactions, such as adjusting a shirt collar or rubbing one's front pant pocket. A major consideration for wearable computer interaction is the location for device placement and interaction. A study exploring third-party attitudes towards wearable device interaction conducted across the United States and South Korea found differences in the perception of wearable computing use of males and females, in part due to different areas of the body considered as socially sensitive. Another study investigating the social acceptability of on-body projected interfaces found similar results, with both studies labelling areas around the waist, groin, and upper body (for women) to be least acceptable while areas around the forearm and wrist to be most acceptable. | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki?curid=1400452 | 556,948 |
121,789 | In March 2016, the Pentagon announced that the total program costs had dropped 19.32%, from $30.574 billion to $24.668 billion "due primarily to revised estimates for unit costs of vehicles and kits based on realized savings", which accounted for a $3.7 billion decrease. A stretched out procurement "due to budget adjustments and revised assumptions regarding the maximum buy profile year" decreased costs by $1.28 billion, and several other changes – such as for cost estimation methodologies and indices – accounted for another $921 million decrease. The total cost estimates include "research and development, procurement, military construction, and acquisition-related operations and maintenance" associated with a program, the Pentagon said. These reflect actual costs so far and anticipated costs in the future, with all estimates in fully inflated then-year dollars. Scott Davis, program executive officer for Combat Support & Combat Service Support, stated that overall the JLTV program expects to cut about five years off of the total program and save about US$5.9 billion, as Oshkosh's final competitive bid was low enough so the Army decided to 'buy to budget' and get more platforms each year, which shrunk the total length of the contract and increased cost avoidances accrued each year. | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki?curid=9398801 | 121,740 |
258,266 | Delayed diagnosis of cervical spine injury has grave consequences for the victim. About one in 20 cervical fractures are missed and about two-thirds of these patients have further spinal-cord damage as a result. About 30% of cases of delayed diagnosis of cervical spine injury develop permanent neurological deficits. In high-level cervical injuries, total paralysis from the neck can result. High-level tetraplegics (C4 and higher) will likely need constant care and assistance in activities of daily living (ADLs), such as getting dressed, eating, and bowel/bladder care. Individuals with C5 injuries retain some function in their biceps, deltoids, and other muscles; they typically can perform many ADLs including feeding, bathing, and grooming but require total assistance with bowel/bladder care. The C6 level adds function in the extensor carpi radialis, longus, and other muscles allowing for wrist extension, scapular abduction, and wrist flexion; typically, these patients have modified independent feeding and grooming with adaptive equipment, independent with dressing, can use both a manual and power wheelchair but require assistance with some activities of daily living. The C7 level is where function is retained in the triceps allowing for arm extension; C7 is considered the key level at which most activities can be performed independently with a wheelchair and assistive devices; activities include feeding, grooming, dressing, light meal preparation, and transfers on level surfaces. Even in complete spinal cord injury, it is common for individuals to recover up to 1 level of motor function. | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki?curid=194950 | 258,132 |
581,941 | American chemist Harold Urey, who founded cosmochemistry, put forward a scenario in 1951, 1952, 1956, and 1966 based largely on meteorites. His model also used Chandrasekhar's stability equations and obtained density distribution in the gas and dust disk surrounding the primitive Sun. To explain that volatile elements like mercury could be retained by the terrestrial planets, he postulated a moderately thick gas and dust halo shielding the planets from the Sun. To form diamonds, pure carbon crystals, moon-sized objects, and gas spheres that became gravitationally unstable would have to form in the disk, with the gas and dust dissipating at a later stage. Pressure fell as gas was lost and diamonds were converted to graphite, while the gas became illuminated by the Sun. Under these conditions, considerable ionization would be present, and the gas would be accelerated by magnetic fields, hence the angular momentum could be transferred from the Sun. Urey postulated that these lunar-size bodies were destroyed by collisions, with the gas dissipating, leaving behind solids collected at the core, with the resulting smaller fragments pushed far out into space and the larger fragments staying behind and accreting into planets. He suggested the Moon was such a surviving core. | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki?curid=17052696 | 581,643 |
921,084 | 264 Squadron developed a counter against single-seat aircraft such as the Bf 109. By flying in an ever-descending Lufbery circle, Defiant crews sacrificed the advantage of height but eliminated the possibility of attack from underneath, while giving 360° of defensive fire. This tactic was used by 264 Squadron, but when the Defiants of 141 Sqn were committed to combat a few months later during the Battle of Britain, it chose to ignore their advice. On 19 July, seven out of nine 141 Squadron Defiants sent to cover a convoy off Folkestone were shot down by Bf 109s of JG 51, and the remaining two survived, one badly damaged, thanks only to the intervention of Hurricanes of 111 Sqn. The Hurricane pilots reported that the Defiants had shot down four Bf 109s. Although 264 Squadron claimed 48 kills in eight days over Dunkirk, the cost was high with 14 Defiants lost. Actual German losses were no more than 12–15 enemy aircraft; the turret's wide angle of fire meant that several Defiants could engage the same target at one time, leading to multiple claims. | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki?curid=523502 | 920,598 |
880,651 | The distances normally considered to be "long range" is weather- and caliber-dependent, and long range may be defined as stretching the distance which the firearm and ammunition is capable of making consistent hits. Generally some may claim that for the .22 LR cartridge any distances over 100 meters (109 yards) is considered long range. For centerfire intermediate rifle calibers, some might say that everything over 300 to 400 m is considered long range, while some may claim that long range "starts" at 500 m. At the longer ranges the bullets will have a longer flight time, and on days with good lighting and weather conditions one can even see a brief trail of wake behind a supersonic bullet, known as a bullet trace, due to turbulences creating visible refractive disturbances in the air. A bullet trace should not be confused with a vapor trail, which is sometimes observed when firing under rare conditions due to changes in air pressure around the bullet. While the bullet trace is usually only observable directly from behind the shooter, a vapor trail from a bullet is observable from any direction. Some believe you really get "the feel" of long range shooting when you have time to see the bullet fly towards the target, and then dive below or swing past, just when you were sure you would hit it. Weather conditions may also affect what is considered long range for a given firearm configuration. For instance a professional shooter may be able to repeatably hit a given size target, i.e. a 100 mm ring, at 1000 meters (0.1 mil target difficulty) in low and predictable wind, while the same 100 mm target may be near impossible to hit in heavy and varying wind at 200 meters (0.5 mil target difficulty). | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki?curid=44731706 | 880,187 |
1,525,285 | Coatings of biomolecules can be studied with grazing-incidence X-ray and neutron scattering. IsGISAXS ("grazing incidence small angle X-ray scattering") is a software program dedicated to the simulation and analysis of GISAXS from nanostructures. IsGISAXS only encompasses the scattering by nanometric sized particles, which are buried in a matrix subsurface or supported on a substrate or buried in a thin layer on a substrate. The case of holes is also handled. The geometry is restricted to a plane of particles. The scattering cross section is decomposed in terms of interference function and particle form factor. The emphasis is put on the grazing incidence geometry which induces a "beam refraction effect". The particle form factor is calculated within the distorted wave Born approximation (DWBA), starting as an unperturbed state with sharp interfaces or with the actual perpendicular profile of refraction index. Various kinds of simple geometrical shapes are available with a full account of size and shape distributions in the Decoupling Approximation (DA), in the local monodisperse approximation (LMA) and also in the size-spacing correlation approximation (SSCA). Both, disordered systems of particles defined by their particle-particle pair correlation function and bi-dimensional crystal or para-crystal are considered. | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki?curid=910107 | 1,524,424 |
793,821 | One must bear in mind that the human eye itself has an Abbe value V≈50.2 so the extremely expensive high-end optical glass types mentioned above would be of dubious value when used to make corrective lenses. Also, one would be very hard-pressed to find a laboratory that would be willing to acquire or shape custom eyeglass lenses from these materials, considering that such an order would most likely consist of just two different lenses that are specific to the wearer. In general, V values above that of Crown Glass and CR-39 are of dubious value, except in combinations of extreme prescriptions, very large lens sizes that cover a good portion of the face, high wearer sensitivity to dispersion, and occupations that involve work with very high contrast elements (e.g. reading dark print on very bright white paper, construction involving contrast of (dark) building elements against a cloudy white sky, a workplace with recessed can or other concentrated small area lighting shining on very bright white surfaces, etc.). | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki?curid=74836 | 793,396 |
785,842 | The development of MOS memory (metal–oxide–semiconductor memory) integrated-circuit chips, particularly high-density DRAM (dynamic random-access memory) chips with at least 1kb memory, made it practical to create a digital memory system with framebuffers capable of holding a standard-definition (SD) video image. This led to the development of the SuperPaint system by Richard Shoup at Xerox PARC during 1972–1973. It used a framebuffer displaying 640×480 pixels (standard NTSC video resolution) with eight-bit depth (256 colors). The SuperPaint software contained all the essential elements of later paint packages, allowing the user to paint and modify pixels, using a palette of tools and effects, and thereby making it the first complete computer hardware and software solution for painting and editing images. Shoup also experimented with modifying the output signal using color tables, to allow the system to produce a wider variety of colors than the limited 8-bit range it contained. This scheme would later become commonplace in computer framebuffers. The SuperPaint framebuffer could also be used to capture input images from video. | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki?curid=30797574 | 785,419 |
1,181,525 | The arrival of humans on the island 1,500 to 2,000 years ago has taken a significant toll, not only on the size of lemur populations, but also on their diversity. Due to habitat destruction and hunting, at least 17 species and 8 genera have gone extinct and the populations of all species have decreased. A couple of species once thought to have gone extinct have since been rediscovered. The hairy-eared dwarf lemur ("Allocebus trichotis") was only known from five museum specimens, most collected in the late 19th century and one in 1965. It was rediscovered in 1989 and has since been identified in five national parks, although it is very rare within its range. Likewise, the greater bamboo lemur ("Prolemur simus") was thought to be extinct as recently as the late 1970s, but a population was located near Ranomafana National Park in the late 1980s. Historically, it had a much wider geographic distribution, shown by subfossil remains, but today it remains one of the world's 25 most endangered primates. One distinctive morph (possibly a species or subspecies) of sifaka, has not been so fortunate, having been extirpated from all known localities. Unless trends change, extinctions are likely to continue. | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki?curid=26770557 | 1,180,901 |
259,394 | Rule 110, like the Game of Life, exhibits what Wolfram calls "class 4" behavior, which is neither completely random nor completely repetitive. Localized structures appear and interact in various complicated-looking ways. In the course of the development of "A New Kind of Science", as a research assistant to Wolfram in 1994, Matthew Cook proved that some of these structures were rich enough to support universality. This result is interesting because rule 110 is an extremely simple one-dimensional system, and difficult to engineer to perform specific behavior. This result therefore provides significant support for Wolfram's view that class 4 systems are inherently likely to be universal. Cook presented his proof at a Santa Fe Institute conference on Cellular Automata in 1998, but Wolfram blocked the proof from being included in the conference proceedings, as Wolfram did not want the proof announced before the publication of "A New Kind of Science". In 2004, Cook's proof was finally published in Wolfram's journal "Complex Systems" (Vol. 15, No. 1), over ten years after Cook came up with it. Rule 110 has been the basis for some of the smallest universal Turing machines. | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki?curid=54342 | 259,260 |
2,169,521 | A committed Christian, he was inspired to work at the Christian Medical College (CMCH), in Vellore, Tamil Nadu, India by a speech from Frank Lake. He was appointed professor of paediatrics at CMCH in 1953. As the only paediatrician in Vellore, Webb spent the next few years training and inspiring the next generation of paediatricians. In 1961, he recorded the pattern of liver disease in children of Vellore. As head of the paediatric department, his research was instrumental in discovering Japanese encephalitis to be the cause of encephalitis epidemic in Tamil Nadu and filariasis as the cause of tropical eosinophilia. In 1958-59 he was president of the Indian Pediatric Society which was merged into the Indian Academy of Pediatrics in 1963. Webb's wider focus in child health saw him establish community field virus laboratories and engage teams to study issues among children around Vellore, such as malnutrition. He was honoured in the 1971 Birthday Honours with an OBE. Webb returned to England after eighteen years at CMCH, the last few years of which he served as its director. | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki?curid=64203020 | 2,168,283 |
296,533 | On 22 March, six Combat Talon IIs (four from the 7th SOS) infiltrated 16 ODAs, four ODBs, battalion command elements, and Air Force Combat Control Teams to complete the fifteen-hour mission, the longest in U.S. Special Operations history. The insertion profile consisted of a four and one-half-hour low level flight at night through western and northern Iraq to Bashur and Sulaymaniyah airfields, often taking heavy ground fire from the integrated air defenses. The Talon IIs, at emergency gross weight limits, operated blacked-out, employed chaff and electronic countermeasures, flew as low as AGL, and carried their troops tethered to the floor of the cargo holds. Three of the Talons were battle-damaged, with one forced to seek permission to land at Incirlik Air Base. The operation became known informally as "Operation Ugly Baby". Major Jason L. Hanover was individually honored for commanding a mission that seized two austere airstrips during the operation. After airlanding their troops, the Talon IIs then had to fly back through the alerted defenses to recover to their launching point. | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki?curid=600765 | 296,373 |
260,874 | The 6.7 L Power Stroke debuted in the 2011 Ford Super Duty (F-250 through F-550) trucks, replacing the 6.4 L Power Stroke. The first Power Stroke engine to be developed and manufactured by Ford, it was designed in conjunction with AVL of Austria. During its development, Ford engineers codenamed this engine "Scorpion" because of the exhaust manifold and turbocharger being mounted in the engine's "valley." It features a compacted graphite iron (CGI) block for greater strength and reduced weight, reverse flow aluminum cylinder heads (the exhaust ports are located in the lifter valley) with dual water jackets, six head bolts per cylinder, and high-pressure common rail Bosch fuel system. The system delivers up to five injection events per cylinder per cycle using eight-hole piezo injectors spraying fuel into the piston bowl. This engine also supports B20 biodiesel, allowing fueling options of up to 20 percent biodiesel and 80 percent petroleum diesel. Garrett's single-sequential turbocharger features an industry-first double-sided compressor wheel mounted on a single shaft. The connecting rods are made by Mahle. | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki?curid=1008769 | 260,737 |
1,441,927 | IETE today is one of the prominent technical institution to provide education to working professionals in India and is fast expanding its wings across the country through its 60+ centres. Since 1953, IETE has expanded its educational activities in areas of electronics, telecommunications, computer science and information technology. IETE conduct programs by examination, leading to DipIETE equivalent to Diploma in Engineering, AMIETE equivalent to B Tech, and ALCCS equivalent to M Tech. IETE started Dual Degree, Dual Diploma and Integrated programs in December 2011. DipIETE is a three year, six semester course whereas AMIETE is a four year, eight semester course. IETE conducts examination for the above said courses, twice a year once in June and in December. Courses are divided into two sections, Section A and Section B. Courses of IETE are recognized by IISc, IIT, NIT, IIIT, IIM, CMI, TIFR, ISI, IIIT various Central and State Universities. IETE graduates are eligible to take national levels tests like GATE, CAT, JEST etc. for Masters as well as for PhD admissions in various leading technical institutions across the country. AMIETE by examination is recognized by the AICTE and MHRD, Government of India, as equivalent to B.E./B.Tech. IETE is a member of ECI. | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki?curid=21475911 | 1,441,114 |
1,267,760 | The name of the field relates to the main effect of interest: the enhancement of radiation pressure interaction between light (photons) and matter using optical resonators (cavities). It first became relevant in the context of gravitational wave detection, since optomechanical effects must be taken into account in interferometric gravitational wave detectors. Furthermore, one may envision optomechanical structures to allow the realization of Schrödinger's cat. Macroscopic objects consisting of billions of atoms share collective degrees of freedom which may behave quantum mechanically (e.g. a sphere of micrometer diameter being in a spatial superposition between two different places). Such a quantum state of motion would allow researchers to experimentally investigate decoherence, which describes the transition of objects from states that are described by quantum mechanics to states that are described by Newtonian mechanics. Optomechanical structures provide new methods to test the predictions of quantum mechanics and decoherence models and thereby might allow to answer some of the most fundamental questions in modern physics. | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki?curid=49916168 | 1,267,070 |
738,791 | The MBR process was introduced in the late 1960s, as soon as commercial-scale ultrafiltration (UF) and microfiltration (MF) membranes were available. The original process was introduced by Dorr-Oliver Inc. and it combined the use of an activated sludge bioreactor with a cross-flow membrane filtration loop. The flat sheet membranes used in this process were polymeric and featured pore sizes ranging from 0.003 to 0.01 μm. Although the idea of replacing the settling tank of the conventional activated sludge process was attractive, it was difficult to justify the use of such a process because of the high cost of membranes, the low economic value of the product (tertiary effluent) and the potential rapid loss of performance due to membrane fouling. As a result, the focus was on the attainment of high fluxes, and it was, therefore, necessary to pump the MLSS at high cross-flow velocity at significant energy demand (of the order 10 kWh/m product) to reduce fouling. Because of the poor economics of the first-generation MBRs, they only found applications in niche areas with special needs, such as isolated trailer parks or ski resorts. | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki?curid=16743975 | 738,400 |
1,501,716 | Recordings of multiple-unit neuronal activity from rabbit INP during eyeblink conditioning have been possible with chronic electrode implants, and have revealed a population of cells that discharge prior to the initiation of the learned eyeblink CR and fire in a pattern of increased response frequency that predicted and modeled the temporal form of the behavioral CR (McCormick et al., 1981; 1982; 1983; Thompson, 1983; 1986; Foy et al., 1984; McCormick & Thompson, 1984a; b; Berthier & Moore, 1990; Gould & Steinmetz, 1996). Similar results were found in the rat INP (Freeman & Nicholson, 2000; Stanton & Freemen, 2000; Rogers et al., 2001), thus demonstrating that underlying circuitry for this form of learning may be conserved across species. Although samples of single-unit activity from the INP and surrounding nuclei have revealed a multitude of response patterns during EBC (Tracy, 1995), many of the cells in the anterior dorsolateral INP significantly increase their firing rate in a precise temporal pattern that is delayed from CS onset and precedes CR onset (Foy et al., 1984; Berthier & Moore, 1990). This pattern of responding is indicative of a structure that is capable of encoding learning and/or executing learned behavioral responses. | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki?curid=487945 | 1,500,870 |
1,778,296 | Between 10,800 and 9500 BCE, the continental glaciers retreated north of the Great Lakes. Glacial lake outburst floods occurred during the melt outflow. Flooding disturbed archaeological layers of lithics and ceramics in the alluvium of the south branch of the Potomac at the Romney bridge replacement archaeological site. Early Lake Erie, which was Lake Michigan and Lake Erie combined, flowed west out from Little River (Great Black Swamp proglacial lake's drainage embayment) and the Wabash River, before changing direction to the east into Glacial Lake Iroquois. Earlier sediments built up event outbursts, near the Little River, more than once which altered the drainage direction and the remaining Great Black Swamp. 3000 years ago, Lake Michigan and Lake Erie assumed their present shapes. Lake Erie's water level was similar to Lake Nipioing phase of Lakes Michigan and Huron basins 5,000 years ago. By 3500 years ago, the level had lowered by four meters and by 2000 years ago the level had increased to possibly five meters above today's levels. The Hopewell culture arrived from the north in west central Ohio and Indiana at least 2000 years ago. Earlier trading peoples also from the north, a vanguard Armstrong variant, in southwest West Virginia mingled peacefully with Late Adena peoples. Cold-worked copper from the pits in Wisconsin Old Copper Complex region have been found in some Adena mounds. The Upper Ohio Valley was experiencing the Sub-Atlantic climatic phase (3000–1750 years ago) of warm and moist climatic conditions and stable stream levels upon the occurrence of the Hopewell culture. This climatic phase began after the much earlier appearance of indigenous Early Adena culture (1735 BCE) in West Virginia. | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki?curid=17254851 | 1,777,294 |
1,614,716 | In the past two decades the steel plate shear wall (SPSW), also known as the steel plate wall (SPW), has been used in a number of buildings in Japan and North America as part of the lateral force resisting system. In earlier days, SPSWs were treated like vertically oriented plate girders and design procedures tended to be very conservative. Web buckling was prevented through extensive stiffening or by selecting an appropriately thick web plate, until more information became available on the post-buckling characteristics of web plates. Although the plate girder theory seems appropriate for the design of an SPW structure, a very important difference is the relatively high bending strength and stiffness of the beams and columns that form the boundary elements of the wall. These members are expected to have a significant effect on the overall behaviour of a building incorporating this type of system and several researchers have focused on this aspect of SPWs. The energy dissipating qualities of the web plate under extreme cyclic loading has raised the prospect of using SPSWs as a promising alternative to conventional systems in high-risk seismic regions. A further benefit is that the diagonal tension field of the web plate acts like a diagonal brace in a braced frame and thus completes the truss action, which is known to be an efficient means to control wind drift. | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki?curid=15134330 | 1,613,810 |
1,407,107 | At the same time as it was beginning to prove its science, the company ignited a huge controversy with the proposal to create a research database - the Iceland Health Sector Database (or IHD for short) - containing copies of medical records from across the country's national health service. In December 1998, with lobbying from deCODE, the Icelandic Parliament passed the Act on Health Sector Database which permitted public bidding for the right of a company to create this health database and use it for commercial research and to support the national health system. The parliament shortly thereafter granted deCODE the right to create this database after the company made a successful bid to do so. Widely supported by the public and parliament, the IHD's openly commercial aims, and proposed inclusion of medical records data unless individuals opted out, unleashed vehement opposition played out in the local and international media, led by a group of Icelandic activists as well as a number of foreign bioethicists. Although the IHD was never built, the debate underscored the political challenges involved in enlisting an entire society in a scientific enterprise, especially one with the explicit aim of commercializing its discoveries. It also ensured that deCODE and its approach went from being a peripheral curiosity to one of the highest profile enterprises in the global effort to understand the human genome. | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki?curid=1494572 | 1,406,317 |
1,624,015 | Manpower focuses on evaluating and defining the right mix of personnel (sometimes referred to as "spaces") for people to operate, maintain and support a system. Manpower requirements should be based on task analysis and consider workload, fatigue, physical and sensory overload, environmental conditions (heat/cold) and reduced visibility. Manpower requirements are the highest cost driver for a system, and can account for up to 70% of the total lifecycle cost. Requirements are based on the full range of operations from a low operational tempo, peacetime scenario to continuous sustained operations, and should include consideration for surge operations capacity. In the manpower analysis process, labor-intensive "high driver tasks" should be examined, and targeted for engineering design changes to reduce the manpower requirement through automation, or improved usability in design. A top down functional analysis can be the basis for determinations of which functions can be eliminated, consolidated, or simplified to control manpower costs. | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki?curid=67470005 | 1,623,099 |
14,043 | From 1995 to 2005, Tyson wrote monthly essays in the "Universe" column for "Natural History" magazine, some of which were later published in his books "Death by Black Hole" (2007) and "Astrophysics for People in a Hurry" (2017). During the same period, he wrote a monthly column in "StarDate" magazine, answering questions about the universe under the pen name "Merlin". Material from the column appeared in his books "Merlin's Tour of the Universe" (1998) and "Just Visiting This Planet" (1998). Tyson served on a 2001 government commission on the future of the U.S. aerospace industry and on the 2004 Moon, Mars and Beyond commission. He was awarded the NASA Distinguished Public Service Medal in the same year. From 2006 to 2011, he hosted the television show "NOVA ScienceNow" on PBS. Since 2009, Tyson has hosted the weekly podcast "StarTalk". A spin-off, also called "StarTalk", began airing on National Geographic in 2015. In 2014, he hosted the television series "", a successor to Carl Sagan's 1980 series "". The U.S. National Academy of Sciences awarded Tyson the Public Welfare Medal in 2015 for his "extraordinary role in exciting the public about the wonders of science". | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki?curid=1972777 | 14,038 |
887,872 | MVD was first documented in 1967, when 31 people became ill in the German towns of Marburg and Frankfurt am Main, and in Belgrade, Yugoslavia. The outbreak involved 25 primary MARV infections and seven deaths, and six nonlethal secondary cases. The outbreak was traced to infected grivets (species "Chlorocebus aethiops") imported from an undisclosed location in Uganda and used in developing poliomyelitis vaccines. The monkeys were received by Behringwerke, a Marburg company founded by the first winner of the Nobel Prize in Medicine, Emil von Behring. The company, which at the time was owned by Hoechst, was originally set up to develop sera against tetanus and diphtheria. Primary infections occurred in Behringwerke laboratory staff while working with grivet tissues or tissue cultures without adequate personal protective equipment. Secondary cases involved two physicians, a nurse, a post-mortem attendant, and the wife of a veterinarian. All secondary cases had direct contact, usually involving blood, with a primary case. Both physicians became infected through accidental skin pricks when drawing blood from patients. A popular science account of this outbreak can be found in Laurie Garrett’s book "The Coming Plague". | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki?curid=58743 | 887,404 |
1,075,308 | ApoA-I Milano is a naturally occurring mutant of apoA-I, found in a few families in Limone sul Garda, Italy, and, by genetic + church record family tree detective work, traced to a single individual, Giovanni Pomarelli, in the 18th century. Described in 1980, it was the first known molecular abnormality of apolipoproteins. Paradoxically, carriers of this mutation have very low HDL-C (HDL-Cholesterol) levels, but no increase in the risk of heart disease, often living to age 100 or older. This unusual observation was what lead Italian investigators to track down what was going on and lead to the discovery of apoA-I Milano (the city, Milano, ~160 km away, in which the researcher's lab was located). Biochemically, apo A1 contains an extra cysteine bridge, causing it to exist as a homodimer or as a heterodimer with apo A-II. However, the enhanced cardioprotective activity of this mutant (which likely depends on fat & cholesterol efflux) cannot easily be replicated by other cysteine mutants. | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki?curid=9755479 | 1,074,754 |
1,176,900 | Critics have pointed out the supposed inconsistencies of the disposable soma theory due to the observed effects of caloric restriction, which is correlated with increased lifespan. Although it activates autophagy, according to classical disposable soma principles, with less caloric intake, there would less total energy to be distributed towards somatic maintenance, and decreased lifespan would be observed (or at least the positive autophagic effects would be balanced out). However, Kirkwood, alongside his collaborator Darryl P. Shanley, assert that caloric restriction triggers an adaptive mechanism which causes the organism to shift a higher proportion of resources to somatic maintenance, away from reproduction. This theory is supported by multiple studies, which show that caloric restriction typically results in impaired fertility, but leave an otherwise healthy organism. Evolutionarily, an organism would want to delay reproduction to when resources were more plentiful. During a resource-barren period, it would evolutionarily unwise to invest resources in progeny that would be unlikely to survive in famine. Mechanistically, the NAD-dependent deacetylase Sirtuin 1 (SIRT-1) is upregulated during low-nutrient periods. SIRT-1 increases insulin sensitivity, decreases the amount of inflammatory cytokines, stimulates autophagy, and activates FOXO, the aforementioned protein involved in activating stress response genes. SIRT-1 is also found to result in decreased fertility. | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki?curid=55895027 | 1,176,277 |
1,286,919 | Housed in the western part of the Arctic Ocean is the Beaufort Gyre, whose growing reservoir of freshwater is shrouded in mystery. In recent years, this increasing freshwater content (FWC) has been the focal point of many studies, particularly those concerning coupled ocean-atmosphere dynamics. The majority of the Arctic’s freshwater content resides in the Beaufort Gyre. Although biased toward the Northern Hemisphere summer months, observations from submarines, ships, and stations on drifting ice suggest that the gyre has been expanding over the past two decades. Researchers have employed coupled sea-ice-ocean general circulation models in order to thoroughly analyze these observations. Model results show that Ekman transport plays an integral role in the variability of freshwater in the gyre, and thus in the Arctic Ocean. The prevailing rotational direction of the Beaufort Gyre is clockwise, following the prevailing wind circulation of the Polar High. Coriolis veers moving objects to the right in the northern hemisphere and "to the right" is inwards in a clockwise rotating system. This is why anything floating, including fresher water, tends to move toward the centre of the system. Indeed, there is a slight bulge in the centre of the Beaufort gyre when it is rotating in its predominant clockwise direction. If, as is speculated, as the Arctic Ocean becomes a heat collector resulting in a low pressure, counter clockwise rotating system, the Beaufort Gyre can be expected to follow suit and send the fresher water outward to be captured by the transpolar current. This could well bring up the saltier, slightly warmer Atlantic water which lies under the floating, fresher Arctic water. | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki?curid=24672998 | 1,286,218 |
1,039,926 | A nematicide is a type of chemical pesticide used to kill plant-parasitic nematodes. Nematicides have tended to be broad-spectrum toxicants possessing high volatility or other properties promoting migration through the soil. Aldicarb (Temik), a carbamate insecticide marketed by Bayer CropScience, is an example of a commonly used commercial nematicide. It is important in potato production, where it has been used for control of soil-borne nematodes. Aldicarb is a cholinesterase inhibitor, which prevents the breakdown of acetylcholine in the synapse. In case of severe poisoning, the victim dies of respiratory failure. It is no longer authorised for use in the EU and, in August 2010, Bayer CropScience announced that it planned to discontinue aldicarb by 2014. Human health safety and environmental concerns have resulted in the widespread deregistration of several other agronomically important nematicides. Prior to 1985, the persistent halocarbon DBCP was a widely used nematicide and soil fumigant. However, it was banned from use after being linked to sterility among male workers; the Dow Chemical company was subsequently found liable for more than $600 million in damages. | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki?curid=951362 | 1,039,385 |
1,389,449 | The 2014–15 Kansas Jayhawks men's basketball team represented the University of Kansas in the 2014–15 NCAA Division I men's basketball season, which was the Jayhawks' 117th basketball season. The Jayhawks played their home games at Allen Fieldhouse. They were led by 12th year head coach Bill Self and were members of the Big 12 Conference. Despite losing 8 players, 5 who received substantial playing time, from the previous season, the Jayhawks still entered the season ranked 5th in the AP and Coaches poll, due in large part to a recruiting class ranked in the top 10 by Scout (4th), Rivals (3rd), and ESPN (9th). They finished the season 27–9, 13–5 in Big 12 play to finish win their 11th consecutive Big 12 regular season championship. They advanced to the championship game of the Big 12 tournament where they lost to Iowa State. They received an at-large bid to the NCAA tournament where they defeated New Mexico State in the second round before losing in the third round to cross state opponent, Wichita State. The Jayhawks 40–72 loss to Kentucky is the fewest points scored by Kansas in a game since the introduction of the shot clock in the 1985–86 season. | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki?curid=42456885 | 1,388,678 |
1,143,294 | The International Information Systems Security Certification Consortium 2020 Cyber Workforce study shows that the global cybersecurity industry still has over 3.12 million unfilled positions due to a skills shortage. Therefore, those with the correct skillset to implement NIST 800-88 in policies may come at a premium labor rate. In addition, staffing and funding need to adjust to meet policy needs to properly implement these sanitization methods in tandem with appropriate Data level categorization to improve data security outcomes and reduce data loss. In order to ensure the confidentiality of customer and client data, government and private industry must create and follow concrete data sanitization policies which align with best practices, such as those outlined in NIST 800-88. Without consistent and enforced policy requirements, the data will be at increased risk of compromise. To achieve this, entities must allow for a cybersecurity wage premium to attract qualified talent. In order to prevent the loss of data and therefore Proprietary Data, Personal Information, Trade Secrets, and Classified Information, it is only logical to follow best practices. | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki?curid=67273665 | 1,142,694 |
1,620,030 | Rashid Bashir finished his BSEE in Dec. 1987 from Texas Tech University, his MSEE from Purdue University in 1989, and his Ph.D. from Purdue in 1992. From Oct. 1992 to Oct. 1998, he worked at National Semiconductor Corporation in the Analog/Mixed Signal Process Technology Development Group. where he was promoted to Sr. Engineering Manager. He joined Purdue in Oct. 1998 as an Assistant Professor and was later promoted to Professor of Electrical and Computer Engineering and a Courtesy Professor of Biomedical Engineering and Mechanical Engineering. He was a visiting Scientist at Massachusetts General Hospital, Cambridge, MA & Research Fellow, Shriner's Hospital for Children, Cambridge, MA from 2006–2012. He was also Visiting Professor of Surgery at Harvard Medical School, Cambridge, MA, from 2006 to 2008. Since joining the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign in Oct. 2007, he was the Abel Bliss Professor of Electrical and Computer Engineering & Bioengineering, Director of the Micro and Nanotechnology Laboratory (a campus-wide clean room facility), and Co-Director of the campus-wide Center for Nanoscale Science and Technology, a "collaboratory" aimed at facilitating center grants and large initiatives around campus in the area of nanotechnology. From 2013 to 2017 he was the department head of Bioengineering at the University of Illinois at Urbana–Champaign. He is the Grainger Distinguished Chair in Bioengineering, and Dean of the Grainger College of Engineering at the University of Illinois at Urbana–Champaign. | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki?curid=38591647 | 1,619,115 |
1,165,853 | Charles Darwin first postulated an inertially-based navigation system in animals in 1873. Studies beginning in the middle of the 20th century confirmed that animals could return directly to a starting point, such as a nest, in the absence of vision and having taken a circuitous outwards journey. This shows that they can use cues to track distance and direction in order to estimate their position, and hence how to get home. This process was named "path integration" to capture the concept of continuous integration of movement cues over the journey. Manipulation of inertial cues confirmed that at least one of these movements (or "idiothetic") cues are information from the vestibular organs, which detect movement in the three dimensions. Other cues probably include proprioception (information from muscles and joints about limb position), motor efference (information from the motor system telling the rest of the brain what movements were commanded and executed), and optic flow (information from the visual system signaling how fast the visual world is moving past the eyes). Together, these sources of information can tell the animal which direction it is moving, at what speed, and for how long. In addition, sensitivity to the earth's magnetic field for underground animals (e.g., mole rat) can give path integration. | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki?curid=2905826 | 1,165,236 |
1,481,391 | On 11 March at 14:46 JST, in response to the earthquake, TEPCO successfully scrammed the reactor in Unit 1, shutting down all power-producing nuclear fission chain reactions. Evacuated workers reported violent shaking and burst pipes within the reactor building. At 15:37, the quake's tsunami inundated the plant and all electrical power to the facility was lost, leaving only emergency batteries. Some of the monitoring and control systems were still operational, though Unit 1's batteries had been damaged by the flood waters. At 15:42, TEPCO declared a "Nuclear Emergency Situation" for Units 1 and 2 because "reactor water coolant injection could not be confirmed for the emergency core cooling systems." The alert was temporarily cleared when water level monitoring was restored for Unit 1 but it was reinstated at 17:07 JST. Potentially radioactive steam was released from the primary circuit into the secondary containment area to reduce mounting pressure in the core. | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki?curid=38070727 | 1,480,557 |
1,884,537 | The Foundation Building and the Homestead are evidence of the original collection of College buildings erected in 1897. Sir Leslie Wilson Hall, constructed as a gymnasium in 1899, demonstrates the recreational facilities that have been part of the campus from its establishment, and which include also a swimming hole in Lockyer Creek and an associated changing rooms building; a fine 1927 timber grandstand; ovals constructed in 1931, 1959–60 and 1965; a War Memorial Swimming Pool (1954); and an airfield (1966). Morrison Hall, constructed in 1936, is a fine example of an interwar Hall of Residence and demonstrates the principal characteristics of a timber dormitory building designed for the Queensland climate. The Farm Square precinct, which includes Farm Square (commenced 1899), the Hayshed (1923), the Merv Young Field Facilities Building (former Woolshed) (1913–15), the Weighbridge, the Blacksmith's Shop (1933), the former Dairy Factory (now the printery) (1912), Crow's Silo (1941); the Shearing Shed (1941); the Wool Classing Shed (s); a number of other s buildings; and an early residence () are important in illustrating the way in which a working farm is combined with facilities for the practical instruction of students. | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki?curid=44321024 | 1,883,456 |
1,222,413 | Lithium tin Zintl phases, discovered by Eduard Zintl, have been studied as anode materials in lithium-ion energy storage systems for several decades. First reported in 1981 by Robert Huggins, the system has a multiphase discharge curve and stores approximately 1000 mAh/g (LiSn). Tin and its compounds have been extensively studied but, similar to silicon or germanium anode systems, issues associated with volume expansion (associated with gradual filling of p-orbitals and essential cation insertion), unstable SEI formation, and electronic isolation have been studied in an attempt to commercialize these materials. In 2013, work on morphological variation by researchers at Washington State University used standard electroplating processes to create nanoscale tin needles that show 33% lower volume expansion during charging. In 2015, the research team at University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign create a 3D mechanically stable nickel–tin nanocomposite scaffold as a Li-ion battery anode. This scaffold can accommodate the volume change of a high-specific-capacity during operation. And nickel–tin anode is supported by an electrochemically inactive conductive scaffold with an engineered free volume and controlled characteristic dimensions, so the electrode with significantly improved cyclability. | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki?curid=42601555 | 1,221,754 |
321,267 | EDI documents generally contain the same information that would normally be found in a paper document used for the same organizational function. For example, an EDI 940 ship-from-warehouse order is used by a manufacturer to tell a warehouse to ship a product to a retailer. It typically has a 'ship-to' address, a 'bill-to' address, and a list of product numbers (usually a UPC) and quantities. Another example is the set of messages between sellers and buyers, such as request for quotation (RFQ), bid in response to RFQ, purchase order, purchase order acknowledgement, shipping notice, receiving advice, invoice, and payment advice. However, EDI is not confined to just business data related to trade but encompasses all fields such as medicine (e.g., patient records and laboratory results), transport (e.g., container and modal information), engineering and construction, etc. In some cases, EDI will be used to create a new business information flow (that was not a paper flow before). This is the case in the Advanced Shipment Notification (ASN) which was designed to inform the receiver of a shipment, the goods to be received and how the goods are packaged. This is further complemented with the shipment's use of the shipping labels containing a GS1-128 barcode referencing the shipment's tracking number. | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki?curid=9790 | 321,095 |
1,000,427 | In 2005, Sir Richard Branson of the Virgin Group announced the creation of Virgin Galactic and his plans for a 9-seat capacity SpaceShipTwo named VSS "Enterprise". It has since been completed with eight seats (one pilot, one co-pilot and six passengers) and has taken part in captive-carry tests and with the first mother-ship WhiteKnightTwo, or VMS "Eve". It has also completed solitary glides, with the movable tail sections in both fixed and "feathered" configurations. The hybrid rocket motor has been fired multiple times in ground-based test stands, and was fired in a powered flight for the second time on 5 September 2013. Four additional SpaceShipTwos have been ordered and will operate from the new Spaceport America. Commercial flights carrying passengers were expected in 2014, but became cancelled due to the disaster during SS2 PF04 flight. Branson stated, "[w]e are going to learn from what went wrong, discover how we can improve safety and performance and then move forwards together." | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki?curid=455295 | 999,909 |
273,573 | The black-footed ferret was first listed as endangered in 1967 under the Endangered Species Preservation Act, and was re-listed on January 4, 1974, under the Endangered Species Act. In September 2006, South Dakota's ferret population was estimated to be around 420, with 250 (100 breeding adults consisting of 67 females and 33 males) in Eagle Butte, South Dakota, which is , less than 3% of the public grasslands in South Dakota, east of Rapid City, South Dakota, in the Buffalo Gap National Grassland bordering Badlands National Park, 130 ferrets northeast of Eagle Butte, SD, on Cheyenne River Indian Reservation, and about 40 ferrets on the Rosebud Indian Reservation. Arizona's Aubrey Valley ferret population was well over 100 and a second reintroduction site with around 50 animals is used. An August 2007 report in the journal Science counted a population of 223 in one area of Wyoming (the original number of reintroduced ferrets, most of which died, was 228), and an annual growth rate of 35% from 2003 to 2006 was estimated. This rate of recovery is much faster than for many endangered species, and the ferret seems to have prevailed over the previous problems of disease and prey shortage that hampered its improvement. , the total wild population of black-footed ferrets in the U.S. was well over 650 individuals, plus 250 in captivity. In 2008, the IUCN reclassified the species as "globally endangered", a substantial improvement since the 1996 assessment, when it was considered extinct in the wild, as the species was indeed only surviving in captivity. In 2016, NatureServe considered the species "Critically Imperiled". | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki?curid=234031 | 273,425 |
870,411 | The other expansion ports available on the A4 were serial and parallel ports, a PS/2 connector for an external keyboard, a headphone connector, and support for an Econet expansion (as opposed to an Econet port itself). No other provision for expansion was made beyond the fitting of the Econet card and a hard drive. The A4 effectively fit an A5000 into a portable case, having a motherboard "roughly half the size of a sheet of A4 paper", adding extra hardware for power management and driving the LCD, the latter employing an Acorn-designed controller chip using "time-domain dithering" to produce the different grey levels. Just as the processor could be slowed down to save power, so the 12 MHz RAM could be slowed to 3 MHz, with various subsystems also being switched off as appropriate, and with power saving being activated after "more than a second or so" of user inactivity. The A4's case itself was used by Olivetti and Triumph-Adler models, particularly the Triumph-Adler Walkstation which did integrate a built-in pointing device, this being described as an "all-but-unusable touchpad mouse-controller" by one reviewer. | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki?curid=63145 | 869,951 |
961,775 | In addition to being able to destroy infectious organisms through cell to cell contact via phagocytosis, microglia can also release a variety of cytotoxic substances. Microglia in culture secrete large amounts of hydrogen peroxide and nitric oxide in a process known as ‘respiratory burst'. Both of these chemicals can directly damage cells and lead to neuronal cell death. Proteases secreted by microglia catabolise specific proteins causing direct cellular damage, while cytokines like IL-1 promote demyelination of neuronal axons. Finally, microglia can injure neurons through NMDA receptor-mediated processes by secreting glutamate, aspartate and quinolinic acid. Cytotoxic secretion is aimed at destroying infected neurons, virus, and bacteria, but can also cause large amounts of collateral neural damage. As a result, chronic inflammatory response can result in large scale neural damage as the microglia ravage the brain in an attempt to destroy the invading infection. Edaravone, a radical scavenger, precludes oxidative neurotoxicity precipitated by activated microglia. | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki?curid=1552187 | 961,266 |
1,916,423 | SeSaM has been developed in order to overcome several of the major limitations encountered when working with standard mutagenesis methods based on simple error-prone PCR (epPCR) techniques. These epPCR techniques rely on the use of polymerases and thus encounter limitations which mainly result from the circumstance that only single, but very rarely consecutive, nucleic acid substitutions are performed and that these substitutions occur usually at specific, favored positions only. In addition, transversions of nucleic acids are much less likely than transitions and require specifically designed polymerases with an altered bias. These characteristics of epPCR catalyzed nucleic acid exchanges together with the fact that the genetic code is degenerated decrease the resulting diversity on the amino acid level. Synonymous substitutions lead to amino acid preservation or conservative mutations with similar physico-chemical properties such as size and hydrophobicity are strongly prevalent. By non-specific introduction of universal bases at every position in the gene sequence, SeSaM overcomes the polymerase bias favoring transitory substitutions at specific positions but opens the complete gene sequence to a diverse array of amino acid exchanges. | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki?curid=53738820 | 1,915,324 |
1,084,372 | The Gotthard Railway graphic timetable contains a great variety of information with regards to material and especially operational aspects in the year 1899, 17 years after the inauguration of the Gotthard tunnel and completion of the railway. The map key and captions to each column are to be found at the top of the page. Leading from left to right information is given on the location of each station's elevation in relation to sea level, the longitudinal profile, signal lights, tunnels and their length, for each route section on southbound journeys the greatest gradient, distances, employed telegraphs and their networking, signal bells and their connection, telephones, block stations, track layout of the respective station and their equipment, total usable length of the remaining tracks, the longest side track, station names and distances between them, distance to point of origin and between main stations. Departure and arrival times are displayed within the graphic timetable. | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki?curid=4109835 | 1,083,815 |
309,697 | With 10 minutes left, the Soviets increased their lead to 10 points. After that Americans finally started to press the Soviets. It helped them to cut the deficit to 1 point. Soviet players started to feel nervous. With less than a minute left, Doug Collins stole a Soviet pass at halfcourt and was fouled hard by Zurab Sakandelidze as he drove toward the basket, being knocked down into the basket stanchion. With three seconds remaining on the game clock, Collins was awarded two free throws and sank the first to tie the score at 49. Just as Collins lifted the ball to begin his shooting motion in attempting the second free throw, the horn from the scorer's table sounded, marking the beginning of a chain of events that left the game's final three seconds mired in controversy. Although the unexpected sound of the horn caused lead referee Renato Righetto to turn away from the free throw attempt and look over to the scorer's table, play was not stopped. Collins never broke his shooting motion and continued with his second free throw, scoring to put the U.S. ahead by a score of 50:49. Immediately following Collins' free throws, the Soviets inbounded the ball and failed to score. Soviet coaches claimed that they had requested a timeout before Collins' foul shots. The referees ordered the clock reset to three seconds, and the game's final seconds replayed. The horn sounded as a length-of-the-court Soviet pass was being released from the inbounding player, the pass missed its mark, and the American players began celebrating. Nevertheless, the final three seconds were replayed for a third time. This time, the Soviets' Alexander Belov and the USA's Kevin Joyce and Jim Forbes went up for the pass, and Belov caught the long pass from Ivan Edeshko near the American basket. Belov then laid the ball in for the winning points as the buzzer sounded. | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki?curid=2112059 | 309,530 |
1,029,602 | With the engine being used in higher-altitude fighter roles, a number of attempts were made to address the limited performance of the original supercharger. The BMW 801E was a modification of the D-2 using different gear ratios, of 6:1 at low speed and 8.3:1 at high speed, that tuned the supercharger for higher altitudes. Although takeoff power was unaffected, cruise power increased over 100 hp (75 kW) and "high power" modes for climb at nearly 1,500 to 1,650 PS; and combat were likewise improved by up to 150 hp (110 kW). The E model was also used as the basis for the BMW 801R, which included a much more complex and powerful two-stage four-speed supercharger, as well as die cast hydronalium cylinder heads, strengthened crankshaft and pistons, and chromed cylinders and exhaust valves; it was anticipated this version would produce over , or over with MW 50 methanol-water injection. | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki?curid=183150 | 1,029,068 |
1,242,989 | To prevent French claims, Governor Darling dispatched Major Edmund Lockyer, in 1827, in the brig Amity, to assume possession for the English crown of New Holland, at King George Sound, a natural strategic harbour. Two years later, Governor James Stirling, established Perth, as the capital of the Swan River Company settlement, beginning the human settlement geography of Western Australia. Stirling, as a naval man, chose three sites that were easily defensible as the major towns for the colony. Fremantle, situated beneath the Monument, was to be the port, Perth, surrounded by water on three sides, with the barracks defending its western entrance, was to be the capital, and Guildford, also surrounded by water to the west south and north (the loop of the Swan and Helena Rivers), was to be the agricultural centre. Similar easily defended sites were chosen in the case of Australind and Bunbury, and Augusta. No account was taken of the wishes or desires of the indigenous Aboriginal people, who were progressively excluded from traditional lands owned by them. | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki?curid=12228640 | 1,242,316 |
922,852 | The qualification system for the FIBA 3x3 World Cups for men and women differs radically from the system used for FIBA full-court competitions. According to "The New York Times", 3x3 has "an unusual qualifying system designed to grow the sport all year long as much as find the best teams for the World Cup." National team entries are based strictly on a country's official 3x3 ranking. The ranking system for national teams also considers individual player rankings. Even a national ranking that would ostensibly qualify a team for the World Cup is not sufficient to gain entry because FIBA currently mandates that the 20 men's and women's teams that participate in a given year's World Cups come from 30 countries, making it more difficult for individual nations to enter both genders into the World Cup. For example, the US women's team qualified for the 2018 World Cup while the men's team did not, even though the men were ranked higher than the women on the cutoff date. Participating in a FIBA-sanctioned 3x3 event can earn ranking points; according to a FIBA executive, "Andorra has heavy participation every weekend." The current concentration of ranking events in Europe makes it more difficult for non-European nations, especially the US, to qualify. The aforementioned FIBA executive, when asked about the prospect of the 2020 Olympic debut of 3x3 potentially lacking any participation from the US, admitted that "a lot of teams want to beat the US. Beating the US teams is an achievement." | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki?curid=34789037 | 922,366 |
1,326,743 | Auditory verbal agnosia is the inability to distinguish phonemes. In some patients with unilateral auditory verbal agnosia, there is evidence that the ability to acoustically process speech signals is affected at the prephonemic level, preventing the conversion of these signals into phonemes. There are two predominate hypotheses that address what happens within the language center of the brain in people that have AVA. One of the hypotheses is that an early stage of auditory analysis is impaired. The fact that AVA patients have the ability to read shows that both the semantic system and the speech output lexicon are intact. The second hypotheses suggests that there is either a complete or partial disconnection of the auditory input lexicon from the semantic system. This would suggest that entries in the lexicon can still be activated but they cannot go on to cause subsequent semantic activation. In relation to these two different hypotheses, researchers in one study differentiated between two different types of AVA. According to this study, one form of AVA is a deficit at the prephonemic level and is related to the inability to comprehend rapid changes in sound. This form of AVA is associated with bilateral temporal lobe lesions. Speech perception in patients with this form of AVA has been shown to improve significantly in understanding when the pace of speech is drastically slowed. The second type of AVA that the study discusses is a deficit in linguistic discrimination that does not adhere to a prephonemic pattern. This form is associated with left unilateral temporal lobe lesions and may even be considered a form of Wernicke's aphasia. Often individuals diagnosed with auditory verbal agnosia are also incapable of discriminating between non-verbal sounds as well as speech. The underlying problem seems to be temporal in that understanding speech requires the discrimination between specific sounds which are closely spaced in time. Note that this is not unique to speech; studies using non-speech sounds closely spaced in time (dog bark, phone ring, lightning, etc.) have shown that those with auditory verbal agnosia are unable to discriminate between those sounds in the majority of cases, though a few putative examples of speech-specific impairment have been documented in the literature. | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki?curid=3237319 | 1,326,016 |
12,470 | After completing his doctorate and a postdoc year with Dr. Robert Elderfield, Asimov was offered the position of associate professor of biochemistry at the Boston University School of Medicine. This was in large part due to his years-long correspondence with Dr. William Boyd, a former associate professor of biochemistry at Boston University, who first reached out to compliment Asimov on his story "Nightfall". Upon receiving a promotion to professor of immunochemistry, Boyd reached out to Asimov, requesting him to be his replacement. Unfortunately, the initial offer of professorship was withdrawn and Asimov was offered the position of instructor of biochemistry instead, which he accepted. He began work in 1949 with a $5,000 salary (), maintaining this position for several years. By 1952, however, he was making more money as a writer than from the university, and he eventually stopped doing research, confining his university role to lecturing students. In 1955, he was promoted to tenured associate professor. In December 1957, Asimov was dismissed from his teaching post, with effect from June 30, 1958, because he had stopped doing research. After a struggle which lasted for two years, he kept his title, he gave the opening lecture each year for a biochemistry class, and on October 18, 1979, the university honored his writing by promoting him to full professor of biochemistry. Asimov's personal papers from 1965 onward are archived at the university's Mugar Memorial Library, to which he donated them at the request of curator Howard Gotlieb. | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki?curid=14573 | 12,465 |
133,221 | The oral tradition of preliterate societies had several features, the first of which was its fluidity. New information was constantly absorbed and adjusted to new circumstances or community needs. There were no archives or reports. This fluidity was closely related to the practical need to explain and justify a present state of affairs. Another feature was the tendency to describe the universe as just sky and earth, with a potential underworld. They were also prone to identify causes with beginnings, thereby providing a historical origin with an explanation. There was also a reliance on a "medicine man" or "wise woman" for healing, knowledge of divine or demonic causes of diseases, and in more extreme cases, for rituals such as exorcism, divination, songs, and incantations. Finally, there was an inclination to unquestioningly accept explanations that might be deemed implausible in more modern times while at the same time not being aware that such credulous behaviors could have posed problems. | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki?curid=14400 | 133,168 |
1,592,590 | Incipient legislations have manifested in response to genetic exceptionalism, the heightened scrutiny expected of genomics research, such as the 2008 Genetic Information Nondiscrimination Act (GINA) in the United States; however, in many cases, the scope and accountability of formal legislation is rather uncertain, as the science seems to be proceeding at a much more rapid pace than the law, and specialized ethics committees have had to fill this necessary niche. Much of the criticism targets how policy fundamentally lacks an understanding of technical issues involved in genome sequencing and fails to address how in the event of a data breach, an individual's personal genome can not be replaced, complicating privacy protection even further. As computational genomics is such a technical field, the translation of expert language to policy is difficult - let alone translation to laymen language -, presenting a certain barrier to public perception about the capabilities of current genomic sequencing technologies which, ultimately, makes the discourse about protecting genetic privacy without impeding scientific advancement an even more difficult one to have. | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki?curid=55251966 | 1,591,693 |
1,986,344 | The segmentation pattern observed in the spinal nerves is in fact governed by the somatic mesoderm. In the embryonic stages of higher vertebrates including humans, the segmentation of these spinal nerves follows the directions from both the anterior (A, cranial) and posterior (P, caudal) sections of the somite mesoderm. The segmentation pattern observed in the peripheral nervous system (PNS) derives itself from the paraxial mesoderm. The paraxial mesoderm is arranged along the sides of the notochord and neural tube as repetitive structures called somites. In fact, somites are one of the first embryonic structures to display segmentation. Structures associated with the peripheral nervous system (PNS) such as dorsal root ganglia (DRG) develop a segmental alignment with the somites. In fact, the axons from the developing embryo neurons work under the direction of a variety of long-range and short-range cues. These cues are responsible for the determination of the trajectory of the neuron, and the mechanism of their development. Axons can follow various mechanisms including attractive/permissive or repulsive /inhibitory pathways of development. The confinement of the axons arising from the dorsal root ganglia (DRG), the neural crest cells and the motor neurons from ventral neural tube to the anterior portion of the mesodermal somite is a striking feature in higher vertebrates. | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki?curid=46273402 | 1,985,203 |
523,923 | A team of 750 engineers at Vikram Sarabhai Space Centre, National Aeronautical Laboratory, and Indian Institute of Science worked on the design and development of RLV-TD and the associated rocket. RLV-TD underwent 120 hours of wind tunnel, 5,000 hours of computational fluid dynamics and 1,100 runs of flight simulation tests. RLV-TD has mass of 1.75 tonnes, wingspan of 3.6 meters and overall length of 6.5 meters (excluding the rocket). The vehicle had 600 heat-resistant tiles on its undercarriage and it features delta wings and angled tail fins. Total cost of the project was . Future planned developments include testing an air-breathing propulsion system, which aims to capitalise on the oxygen in the atmosphere instead of liquefied oxygen while in flight. | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki?curid=50617447 | 523,651 |
1,605,241 | The Andes of Bolivia began to rise about 200 million years ago (mya) during the Jurassic. The western margin of what is now South America had been the place of several other orogenies before the Andes rose. It has been hypothesized that the central Andes gained its great height 26 to 14 mya as result of a compressive failure of the lithosphere beneath Bolivia and neighboring areas. The great heights of the Altiplano, Codillera Occidental and Cordillera Oriental are isostatically compensated by an up to 70 km deep crust. Climate has responded to the formation of this important topographic barrier. It is not clear, however, if the rise of the Andes simply caused the extreme aridity of Atacama Desert and adjacent parts of Bolivia or if a preexisting desert climate and associated low erosion rates allowed the mountains to build up to their current heights. A hypothesis holds that scarce sediment supply to the Atacama Trench caused by arid climate induced high shear stresses in the subduction process that enhanced the Andean mountain building. | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki?curid=27462051 | 1,604,337 |
838,733 | Tarski applied for a chair of philosophy at Lwów University, but on Bertrand Russell's recommendation it was awarded to Leon Chwistek. In 1930, Tarski visited the University of Vienna, lectured to Karl Menger's colloquium, and met Kurt Gödel. Thanks to a fellowship, he was able to return to Vienna during the first half of 1935 to work with Menger's research group. From Vienna he traveled to Paris to present his ideas on truth at the first meeting of the Unity of Science movement, an outgrowth of the Vienna Circle. In 1937, Tarski applied for a chair at Poznań University but the chair was abolished. Tarski's ties to the Unity of Science movement likely saved his life, because they resulted in his being invited to address the Unity of Science Congress held in September 1939 at Harvard University. Thus he left Poland in August 1939, on the last ship to sail from Poland for the United States before the German and Soviet invasion of Poland and the outbreak of World War II. Tarski left reluctantly, because Leśniewski had died a few months before, creating a vacancy which Tarski hoped to fill. Oblivious to the Nazi threat, he left his wife and children in Warsaw. He did not see them again until 1946. During the war, nearly all his Jewish extended family were murdered at the hands of the German occupying authorities. | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki?curid=59920 | 838,284 |
456,530 | The human visual system has a fixed capacity to detect detail from a distance. Our understanding of limitations with regard to visual detail recognition and identification from a distance is primarily based on the work of Dr. Hermann Snellen. Dr. Snellen developed the eye examination chart that bears his name (Snellen chart). From his findings and the work of others over the last hundred years, one arcminute is seen as the threshold beyond which critical detail cannot be identified by a person with normal vision. An arcminute is an angular measurement, which is equal to 1/60 of one degree of a circle. Normal vision is referenced as 20/20 or 6/6 vision in North America and Europe respectively. The visual acuity threshold has been identified as a constraint factor in the recommendations on the optimum viewing distance for HDTV, and also in formal research that comment on the subject of television and angular resolution. Assuming display is flat, with 1 arcminute as the constraint for seeing critical detail, in order not to miss any detail a viewer would need to be situated at a position where their view angle to a 1080p HDTV is approximately 31.2 degrees or greater (32 degrees for spherical display), for 2160p HDTV approximately 58.37 degrees or greater (64 degrees for spherical display) and for 4320p HDTV approximately 96.33 degrees or greater (128 degrees for spherical display). However, there is not always agreement that the Snellenian limit should be the constraining factor. | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki?curid=22510110 | 456,307 |
1,342,659 | The assumed position of the naris in hupehsuchians as explained above can be taken as evidence for possible ichthyosaurian affinities, as it is in the same general area as those of ichthyosaurs. Hupehsuchians do resemble earlier ichthyosaurs in outward appearance with slightly fusiform bodies and long, straight, non-lunate tails. Other features shared with ichthyosaurs include a supraoccipital similar to what is seen in early forms, a relatively long antorbital region, and a short transverse process for the ribs. Many more differences exist between hupehsuchians and ichthyosaurs, however. In hupehsuchians, the surfaces of the vertebral centra that articulate with one another are distinctively flat, or acelous, while in ichthyosaurs they are noticeably heterocelous (it is also important to note that the surfaces of centra in the possible early diapsid ancestors of hupehsuchians were amphicelous). However, there are some early ichthyosaurs and ichthyosaur relatives such as "Chaohusaurus" and "Utatsusaurus" that possess vertebrae that are not deeply heterocoelus and more closely resemble those of hupehsuchians. Unlike more derived ichthyosaurs, the centra of these two genera are about as long as they are high. In hupehsuchians, where the neural arches dominate the vertebral column, the height of the centra is reduced and the height to length ratio of the centra is smaller, meaning that they are also about as long as they are high. This may suggest that hupehsuchians may have evolved from an ichthyosaur relative. It has also been suggested that hupehsuchians were related to or members of Sauropterygia. Indeed, "Nanchangosaurus" was classified as a sauropterygian upon its initial description. | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki?curid=23819152 | 1,341,924 |
1,605,190 | In conditions of martial law, it was required to dramatically increase the volume of mined ore. Priority was given to the rich and accessible deposits of the Magnitnaya and Vysokaya mountains, which in 1943 accounted for 81.1% of all Ural iron ore. Intensive production at these fields led to their rapid depletion. To provide manganese in a short time, the Polunochnoye and Marsyatskoye fields were developed in the north of the modern Sverdlovsk Oblast. At the Magnitogorsk Combine, the smelting of armor steel in open-hearth furnaces was first mastered and extended to other plants. During the war years, the mastered the smelting of 19 new grades of steel, and for the first time applied stamping of breeches and planting of barrels on horizontal forging machines. At the Pervouralsk Novotrubny plant, reinforced with evacuated equipment from Ukrainian factories, during the war, 5 new workshops were built and the production of 129 types of pipes was mastered. At Uralvagonzavod, Uralmash, and the Chelyabinsk Tractor Plant, the production of tanks was launched in the shortest possible time. In Sverdlovsk, and Ust-Katav, from the framework of the evacuated equipment, the production of artillery pieces and shells was built, supplementing the potential of the Motovilikhinsky, Zlatoust, and Izhevsky arms factories. | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki?curid=66141214 | 1,604,287 |
634,395 | The history of Harcourt Butler Technical University dates back to the 1920s when there was a growing realization of the need for advancement in science and technology among the people of what was then called the United Provinces. Consequently, the Indian Industrial Commission, 1916–18, at its Nainital meeting proposed two institutions for engineering — one at Roorkee (at Roorkee, the Thompson College of Civil Engineering was established in 1847 by Colonel Proby Cautley, making Roorkee older than HBTI) and the other at Kanpur. To boost entrepreneurship, accelerate industrial development, create a sound environment for contemporary applied research, and inculcate scientific temper, an institute called Government Research Institute, Cawnpore was started in 1920. It was housed in the two rooms of what was called Bhoot Wali Kothi. The old majestic building is still intact at the northwest corner of the Company Bagh crossing, near Nawabganj. Dr. H. E. Annett, who was then the Principal of the Opium Research Laboratory, Cawnpore, of which the new institute was an adjunct, was appointed as the head. | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki?curid=6973986 | 634,057 |
765,759 | Two F-14Ds from VF-213 engaged several Iraqi aircraft challenging the no-fly zone on 5 January 1999. During the engagement, the F-14s were approached by a pair of MiG-23s that turned away before they were fired on. The F-14 aircrews then focused on a MiG-25 that continued to advance and launched two AIM-54C Phoenix missiles at it from very long distance. Both AIM-54s' rocket motors failed and the missiles did not hit their target. All of the Iraqi aircraft were able fly back out of the no-fly zone, although a MiG-23 was reported to have run out of fuel and crashed before reaching its base. This engagement marked the first time the U.S. Navy launched AIM-54s in combat. At the conclusion of VF-213's 1998–1999 cruise, the squadron had executed 19 strikes, dropped 20 laser-guided bombs with a 64-percent success rate, supported 11 combined strikes, flown 70 missions, logged 230 sorties with over 615 combat hours, and performed 45 reconnaissance missions imaging more than 580 targets. | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki?curid=5827657 | 765,349 |
544,647 | About of property was later purchased from McLean, just before his death, by the University of Toronto for about $650,000 in 1963, as part of the university's regional expansion. The groundskeeper of the land would continue to reside in the Highland Creek valley for the next 29 years. McLean's additions to the Miller Lash House, which would eventually become the residence of the campus's principal, were modernized and of surrounding land north of the estate were also acquired. The University of Toronto established the Scarborough College as part of the institution's collegiate university system and declared the campus a branch of the Faculty of Arts and Science. D. C. Williams was appointed as the principal of Scarborough College and the planned Erindale College, as well as vice-president of the university. The college's faculty, consisting of 16 members, was also established and headquartered at the main campus in Downtown Toronto. First classes were held at Birchmount Park Collegiate Institute and Old Biology Building at the St. George campus. Designed by John Andrews, the first building of the campus began construction the following year. Due to delays in construction after a strike among workers, the Scarborough College opened in temporary classes at the main campus to 191 full-time students in 1965. The first building was completed in time for the following academic year. | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki?curid=333619 | 544,365 |
878,239 | The definition of failure applied in clinical studies may affect the reported statistics. Demarco "et al" note: "Failed restorations or restorations presenting small defects are routinely treated by replacement by most clinicians. Because of this, for many years, the replacement of defective restorations has been reported as the most common treatment in general dental practice..." Demarco "et al" observe that when both repaired and replaced restorations were classified as failures in one study, the Annual Failure Rate was 1.9%. However, when repaired restorations were reclassified as successes instead of failures, the AFR decreased to 0.7%. Reclassifying repairable minor defects as successes rather than failures is justifiable: "When a restoration is replaced, a significant amount of sound tooth structure is removed and the preparation [i.e. hole] is enlarged". Applying the narrower definition of failure would improve the reported longevity of composite restorations: Composite restorations can often be easily repaired or extended without drilling out and replacing the entire filling. Resin composites will adhere to the tooth and to undamaged prior composite material. In contrast, amalgam fillings are held in place by the shape of the void being filled rather than by adhesion. This means that it is often necessary to drill out and replace an entire amalgam restoration rather than add to the remaining amalgam. | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki?curid=1881464 | 877,777 |
293,103 | In 2014, postdoctoral researchers in Boston organized the "Future of Research" Symposium to respond to a conversation about the state of biomedical research from the perspective of junior scientists. The meeting included panel discussions with academics concerned about the scientific enterprise, a video message from Massachusetts senator Elizabeth Warren, and workshops discussing training, funding, the structure of the biomedical workforce, and metrics and incentives in science which were used to generate recommendations in a white paper. Meetings organized by postdoctoral researchers in 2015 spread to New York University (NYU), Chicago and San Francisco and a second meeting in Boston discussed data collection, labor economics and evidence-based policy to advocate for changes to science, including the future of the PhD. | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki?curid=383540 | 292,945 |
227,816 | As a result of orders received during the first day of the Gulf of Tonkin Incident (2 August 1964), "Constellation" got underway and headed toward the Gulf of Tonkin. On 4 August, "Constellation" launched F-4B Phantom IIs to join aircraft from in providing air cover over the destroyers which were alleged by the Johnson administration to have been attacked by North Vietnamese torpedo boats. On 5 August both carriers launched Operation Pierce Arrow, a series of air strikes on a North Vietnamese oil facility and naval vessels. CVW-14 lost two aircraft, an A-1 Skyraider, piloted by Lieutenant (junior grade) Richard C. Sather, who was killed in action (KIA), and an A-4 Skyhawk flown by Lieutenant (junior grade) Everett Alvarez Jr., who became one of the United States' first prisoners of war (POW) of the Vietnam War. Operations returned to a more normal cycle for the remainder of the deployment, and "Constellation" returned to San Diego on 1 February 1965, ending a nearly nine-month cruise. "Connie" and CVW-14 were awarded a Navy Unit Commendation (NUC) for the early August operations. During the deployment, "Constellation" appears to have been under the direction of Commander Carrier Division 9. | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki?curid=204536 | 227,699 |
2,001,987 | Baumgardner earned a B.S. from Texas Tech University in 1968, a M.S. from Princeton University in 1970, and a Ph.D. in geophysics and space physics from the University of California at Los Angeles in 1983. He worked at the Los Alamos National Laboratory and in 2002 joined the staff of the Institute for Creation Research. As a professional scientist, Baumgardner is known for developing TERRA, a finite element code designed to solve problems in mantle convection. In 1994 he presented research at a geophysics conference stating that the slip-sliding geologic plates that cover the Earth might once have moved thousands of times faster than they do today. In 1997, "U.S. News & World Report" described him as "the world's pre-eminent expert in the design of computer models for geophysical convection". | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki?curid=11466687 | 2,000,839 |
2,203,392 | In many European countries where certain diseases have not been detected, (PRRS, TGE, swine fever, etc.) vaccines are not usually given. In organic pig production, respiratory diseases and lameness have been cited as the most common health detriments, and depending on the location, a lesser prevalence exists conventional production. Since antibiotics are not allowed to maintain the organic integrity of an animal, some producers will forgo antibiotics altogether, even with sick animals occurring in the system. However, according to USDA-NOP Guidelines, antibiotics and other treatments that no longer make the animal organic are required to maintain overall herd health. The use of antibiotics in herds with organic fattening pigs is lower compared to herds with conventional pigs. This is probably a result of the alternative system leading to a lower infection level, since no difference in mortality pigs could be discovered. As a large percentage of organic pork production systems are pasture-based, or not living on concrete, a degree of risk is present from soil based pathogenic exposure. There are options for producers, including organically approved bio-control agents, diatomaceous earth (DE), and acidified grain rations, among others. However, many of these contain anecdotal evidence only, and the study on pasture rotation to control parasitic infections is largely unknown and research is required. | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki?curid=41194738 | 2,202,138 |
170,683 | The first ship was laid down in May 1943, while the last was launched in April 1945. In that time the United States produced 58 "Allen M. Sumner"-class destroyers. The "Allen M. Sumner" class was an improvement of the previous , which were built from 1941 until 1944. In addition to three twin 5-inch/38 caliber gun mounts replacing the "Fletcher"s' five single mounts, "Sumner"s had twin rudders, giving them better maneuverability for ASW work when compared to "Fletcher"s. The 5-inch guns were guided by a Mark 37 Gun Fire Control System with a Mark 25 fire control radar linked by a Mark 1A Fire Control Computer stabilized by a Mark 6 8,500 rpm gyro. This fire control system provided effective long-range anti-aircraft (AA) or anti-surface fire. The "Allen M. Sumner"s also had larger set of short-range anti-aircraft armament than the "Fletcher"s, with 12 40 mm guns and 11 20 mm guns compared with the 10 40 mm and 7 20 mm complement typical of a late-war standard "Fletcher". The initial design retained the "Fletcher"s' heavy torpedo armament of 10 tubes in two quintuple mounts, firing the Mark 15 torpedo. As the threat from "kamikaze" aircraft mounted in 1945, and with few remaining Japanese warships to use torpedoes on, most of the class had the aft quintuple 21-inch torpedo tube mount replaced by an additional 40 mm quadruple mount for 16 total 40 mm guns. | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki?curid=948688 | 170,593 |
1,543,194 | "Climate change threatens natural resources and public health of tribal communities. Rising temperatures and increasing drought are likely to decrease the availability of certain fish, game, and wild plants on which the Navajo and other tribes have relied for generations. Water may be less available for domestic consumption, especially for those who are not served by either municipal systems or reliable wells, which includes about 30 percent of the people on the Navajo Nation, who must haul water to meet daily needs. Recurring drought and rising temperatures may also degrade the land itself. On the Arizona portion of the Navajo Nation, for example, the Great Falls Dune Field has advanced almost a mile in the last 60 years, threatening roads, homes, and grazing areas. Extreme heat may also create health problems for those without electricity, including about 40 percent of the people on the Navajo reservation. | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki?curid=54375088 | 1,542,321 |
1,517,493 | Drug delivery is a rapidly growing area that is now taking advantage of nanotube technology. Systems being used currently for drug delivery include dendrimers, polymers, and liposomes, but carbon nanotubes present the opportunity to work with effective structures that have high drug loading capacities and good cell penetration qualities. These nanotubes function with a larger inner volume to be used as the drug container, large aspect ratios for numerous functionalization attachments, and the ability to be readily taken up by the cell. Because of their tube structure, carbon nanotubes can be made with or without end caps, meaning that without end caps the inside where the drug is held would be more accessible. Right now with carbon nanotube drug delivery systems, problems arise like the lack of solubility, clumping occurrences, and half-life. However, these are all issues that are currently being addressed and altered for further advancements in the carbon nanotube field. The advantages of carbon nanotubes as nanovectors for drug delivery remain where cell uptake of these structures was demonstrated efficiently where the effects were prominent, showing the particular nanotubes can be less harmful as nanovehicles for drugs. Also, drug encapsulation has been shown to enhance water dispersibility, better bioavailability, and reduced toxicity. Encapsulation of molecules also provides a material storage application as well as protection and controlled release of loaded molecules. All of these result in a good drug delivery basis where further research and understanding could improve upon numerous other advancements, like increased water solubility, decreased toxicity, sustained half-life, increased cell penetration and uptake, all of which are currently novel but undeveloped ideas. | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki?curid=22444556 | 1,516,641 |
332,939 | During an accidental radiation leak that ended in an explosion, the apparatus became fused to Octavius's body. It was later revealed that the radiation (or possibly his own latent mutation) had mutated his brain so that he could control the movement of the arms using his thoughts alone. The tentacles have since been surgically removed from his body, although Octavius retains the power to control them telepathically from great distances. The accident also seemingly damaged his brain (although it was later suggested that what was interpreted as brain damage was, in fact, his mind rewiring itself to accommodate four extra limbs), and the scientist turned to a life of crime, first taking the hospital hostage and calling himself "Doctor Octopus" from the derogatory name that his co-workers had given him. Though Doctor Octopus himself is portly, in poor physical shape, and is near-sighted, with his harness attached he is physically more than a match for Spider-Man. The accident also made his eyes very sensitive to light, requiring him to wear glasses with shaded lenses. | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki?curid=315873 | 332,762 |
82,363 | Early research showed capsaicin to evoke a long-onset current in comparison to other chemical agonists, suggesting the involvement of a significant rate-limiting factor. Subsequent to this, the TRPV1 ion channel has been shown to be a member of the superfamily of TRP ion channels, and as such is now referred to as . There are a number of different TRP ion channels that have been shown to be sensitive to different ranges of temperature and probably are responsible for the human range of temperature sensation. Thus, capsaicin does not actually cause a chemical burn, or indeed any direct tissue damage at all, when chili peppers are the source of exposure. The inflammation resulting from exposure to capsaicin is believed to be the result of the body's reaction to nerve excitement. For example, the mode of action of capsaicin in inducing bronchoconstriction is thought to involve stimulation of C fibers culminating in the release of neuropeptides. In essence, the body inflames tissues as if it has undergone a burn or abrasion and the resulting inflammation can cause tissue damage in cases of extreme exposure, as is the case for many substances that cause the body to trigger an inflammatory response. | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki?curid=57421 | 82,329 |
1,185,895 | Engines of this type usually have multiple cylinders in an in-line arrangement, and may be single- or double-acting. A particular advantage of this type is that the valves may be operated by the effect of multiple camshafts, and by changing the relative phase of these camshafts, the amount of steam admitted may be increased for high torque at low speed, and may be decreased at cruising speed for economy of operation. Alternatively, designs using a more-complex cam surface allowed the varying of timing by shifting the entire camshaft longitudinally compared to its follower, allowing the admission timing to be varied. (The camshaft could be shifted by mechanical or hydraulic devices.) And, by changing the absolute phase, the engine's direction of rotation may be changed. The uniflow design also maintains a constant temperature gradient through the cylinder, avoiding passing hot and cold steam through the same end of the cylinder. | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki?curid=9730335 | 1,185,266 |
1,370,829 | Her childhood consisted of multiple hardships. At three years old, her mother died after giving birth to her third child, and her father deserted the family. Leta and her sisters were then raised by their maternal grandparents — Samuel Thomas Danley (1833–1898) and Mary (1838–1904) — on their farm. After ten years of absence, Leta's father remarried and forced the children to leave their grandparents and move to Valentine, Nebraska to live with him and their stepmother. Leta described the experience of living there as a "fiery furnace" due, in part, to the alcoholism that plagued the household and the verbal and emotional abuse inflicted upon the children by their stepmother. School was her only refuge from this abusive home life. Leta described her early education as a one-room school house where she received excellent education which was individualized. Leta attended Valentine High School where she excelled in the classroom and discovered her talent and passion for writing. Her overall intelligence, wit, and humor were made evident when she was hired at age fifteen to write. She wrote weekly columns in the town newspaper, "The Valentine Democrat." She graduated and left home in 1902 when she graduated from Valentine High School. | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki?curid=14276414 | 1,370,073 |
802,351 | Having an individual's genomic information can be significant in the process of developing drugs as they await approval from the FDA for public use. Having a detailed account of an individual's genetic make-up can be a major asset in deciding if a patient can be chosen for inclusion or exclusion in the final stages of a clinical trial. Being able to identify patients who will benefit most from a clinical trial will increase the safety of patients from adverse outcomes caused by the product in testing, and will allow smaller and faster trials that lead to lower overall costs. In addition, drugs that are deemed ineffective for the larger population can gain approval by the FDA by using personal genomes to qualify the effectiveness and need for that specific drug or therapy even though it may only be needed by a small percentage of the population., | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki?curid=2652481 | 801,922 |
353,482 | Particularly since the mid-1960s there have been advances in understanding of the physics of plant physiological processes such as transpiration (the transport of water within plant tissues), the temperature dependence of rates of water evaporation from the leaf surface and the molecular diffusion of water vapour and carbon dioxide through stomatal apertures. These developments, coupled with new methods for measuring the size of stomatal apertures, and the rate of photosynthesis have enabled precise description of the rates of gas exchange between plants and the atmosphere. Innovations in statistical analysis by Ronald Fisher, Frank Yates and others at Rothamsted Experimental Station facilitated rational experimental design and data analysis in botanical research. The discovery and identification of the auxin plant hormones by Kenneth V. Thimann in 1948 enabled regulation of plant growth by externally applied chemicals. Frederick Campion Steward pioneered techniques of micropropagation and plant tissue culture controlled by plant hormones. The synthetic auxin 2,4-dichlorophenoxyacetic acid or 2,4-D was one of the first commercial synthetic herbicides. | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki?curid=4183 | 353,299 |
1,084,440 | The femur was straight with an oval cross-section and was in length. The head of the femur was placed on a long "neck" and the lower condyles were well-defined. The tibia was straight, slightly shorter than the femur, and twisted along its axis. The fibula was long and narrowed towards its lower end. The metatarsus of the foot was short, massive, and consisted of five bones—four of which functioned as support elements and terminated in four toes. Functionally tetradactyl (four-toed) feet were unique to derived therizinosaurs; basal therizinosaurs and all other theropods had tridactyl feet in which the first toe was short and did not reach the ground. Externally, the metatarsus was similar to, though proportionally larger than, those of prosauropods, an early evolutionary grade of sauropodomorphs. The epiphyses on the upper metatarsals were hypertrophied (enlarged), a distinctive feature of the genus. The first toe was shorter than the others but was of equal functional importance; the second and third toes were equally long while the fourth was thinnest. The toe ungual was robust, sharply curved, flat at the side, and more pointed than those of prosauropods. The lower tubercle where the flexor ligaments attached was robust. While the lack of strong compression of the toe unguals distinguished "Segnosaurus" from "Erlikosaurus" from the same formation, the lack of compression was common among therizinosaurs and therefore not unique to "Segnosaurus". The cervical vertebrae were platycoelous and had large, massive centra (bodies) and low neural arches. The sacrum consisted of six, firmly fused vertebrae; the centra of these vertebrae were broadened and relatively elongated, and each centrum was slightly longer than their width. The neural spines here were not very long but surpassed the level of the ilia. The caudal (tail) vertebrae closest to the body were massive, high, and somewhat compressed from side to side. The neural arch was low with a small neural canal. The caudal vertebrae closer to the tip of the tail were platycoelous and had short, massive centra. The transverse processes of the caudal vertebrae and the ribs were robust and elongated. | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki?curid=636977 | 1,083,883 |
344,954 | Researchers believe one in 2,000 people in the UK is a carrier of the disease, linked to eating contaminated beef. The survey provides the most robust prevalence measure to date—and identifies abnormal prion protein across a wider age group than found previously and in all genotypes, indicating "infection" may be relatively common. This new study examined over 32,000 anonymous appendix samples. Of these, 16 samples were positive for abnormal prion protein, indicating an overall prevalence of 493 per million population, or one in 2,000 people are likely to be carriers. No difference was seen in different birth cohorts (1941–1960 and 1961–1985), in both sexes, and there was no apparent difference in abnormal prion prevalence in three broad geographical areas. Genetic testing of the 16 positive samples revealed a higher proportion of valine homozygous (VV) genotype on the codon 129 of the gene encoding the prion protein (PRNP) compared with the general UK population. This also differs from the 176 people with vCJD, all of whom to date have been methionine homozygous (MM) genotype. The concern is that individuals with this VV genotype may be susceptible to developing the condition over longer incubation periods. | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki?curid=12274475 | 344,773 |
347,553 | Located in the northwest corner, the Fine Arts Building was modeled in the neoclassical architectural style and built in 1941 with funds from the Public Works Administration, part of the New Deal initiated in the 1930s. The building covers an area about the size of a city block, and the interior features a giant mural by French-American artist Jean Charlot. At the time of its construction, it was the largest and most expensive academic building on campus. The Zell B. Miller Learning Center became the largest academic building in Central Campus when it was built in 2003 with a footprint of . With 26 classrooms and lecture halls and a total of 2,200 seats, the Learning Center is also "probably the most heavily used by students". In 2009, the building was renamed in honor of UGA alumnus Zell B. Miller who went on to serve as the 79th Governor of Georgia and later as the U.S. Senator from Georgia. Another heavily used building is the Dean Tate Student Center built in 1983 and expanded in 2009. The LEED Gold-certified building features a green roof and 75,000 gallon cistern to catch rainwater for use in irrigation and flushing toilets. The building was named after William Tate, the former dean of men. | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki?curid=378232 | 347,372 |
69,607 | Although quasars appear faint when viewed from Earth, they are visible from extreme distances, being the most luminous objects in the known universe. The brightest quasar in the sky is 3C 273 in the constellation of Virgo. It has an average apparent magnitude of 12.8 (bright enough to be seen through a medium-size amateur telescope), but it has an absolute magnitude of −26.7. From a distance of about 33 light-years, this object would shine in the sky about as brightly as the Sun. This quasar's luminosity is, therefore, about 4 trillion (4) times that of the Sun, or about 100 times that of the total light of giant galaxies like the Milky Way. This assumes that the quasar is radiating energy in all directions, but the active galactic nucleus is believed to be radiating preferentially in the direction of its jet. In a universe containing hundreds of billions of galaxies, most of which had active nuclei billions of years ago but only seen today, it is statistically certain that thousands of energy jets should be pointed toward the Earth, some more directly than others. In many cases it is likely that the brighter the quasar, the more directly its jet is aimed at the Earth. Such quasars are called blazars. | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki?curid=25239 | 69,580 |
360,852 | A plethora of anti-aircraft gun systems of smaller calibre was available to the German Wehrmacht combined forces, and among them the 1940-origin " Flakvierling" quadruple-20 mm-autocannon-based anti-aircraft weapon system was one of the most often-seen weapons, seeing service on both land and sea. The similar Allied smaller-calibre air-defence weapons of the American forces were also quite capable, although they receive little attention. Their needs could cogently be met with smaller-calibre ordnance beyond using the usual singly-mounted M2 .50 caliber machine gun atop a tank's turret, as four of the ground-used "heavy barrel" (M2HB) guns were mounted together on the American Maxson firm's M45 Quadmount weapon (as a direct answer to the "Flakvierling"), which were often mounted on the back of a half-track to form the Half Track, M16 GMC, Anti-Aircraft. Although of less power than Germany's 20 mm systems, the typical four or five combat batteries of an Army AAA battalion were often spread many kilometres apart from each other, rapidly attaching and detaching to larger ground combat units to provide welcome defence from enemy aircraft. | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki?curid=146640 | 360,664 |
1,015,645 | In early 2015 the AF-2 F-35A, the primary flight sciences loads and flutter evaluation aircraft, was flown by Lockheed Martin F-35 site lead test pilot David "Doc" Nelson in air-to-air combat maneuvers against F-16s for the first time and, based on the results of these and earlier flight-envelope evaluations, said the aircraft can be cleared for greater agility as a growth option. AF-2 was the first F-35 to be flown to 9g+ and −3g, and to roll at design-load factor. Departure/spin resistance was also proven during high angle-of-attack (AOA) testing which eventually went as high as 110 deg. AOA. "When we did the first dogfight in January, they said, ‘you have no limits,’" says Nelson. "It was loads monitoring, so they could tell if we ever broke something. It was a confidence builder for the rest of the fleet because there is no real difference structurally between AF-2 and the rest of the airplanes". "Pilots really like maneuverability, and the fact that the aircraft recovers so well from a departure allows us to say [to the designers of the flight control system laws], ‘you don’t have to clamp down so tight,’" says Nelson. | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki?curid=54719700 | 1,015,122 |
1,994,159 | On 29 December 2021, controllers successfully extended the Deployable Tower Assembly, a pipe-like column, which moved apart the two main segments of the observatory, the telescope with its mirrors and scientific instruments, and the "bus" holding electronics and propulsion. The assembly lengthened in a process that lasted six and a half hours, including many preparatory commands. Deployment created the needed distance between the JWST segments to allow extreme cooling of the telescope and room for the sunshield to unfold. On 30 December 2021, controllers successfully completed two more steps in unpacking the observatory. First, commands deployed the aft "momentum flap", a device that provides balance against solar pressure on the sunshield, saving fuel by reducing the need for thruster firing to maintain Webb's orientation. Next, mission control released and rolled up covers that protect the sunshield, exposing it to space for the first time. | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki?curid=71399656 | 1,993,016 |
755,328 | A consulting company in San Leandro, California, IMS Associates, Inc., wanted to purchase several Altair computers, but the long delivery time convinced them that they should build their own computers. In the October 1975 issue of "Popular Electronics", a small advertisement announced the IMSAI 8080 computer. The ad noted that all boards were "plug compatible" with the Altair 8800. The computer cost $439 as a kit. The first 50 IMSAI computers shipped in December 1975. The IMSAI 8080 computer improved on the original Altair design in several areas. It was easier to assemble: The Altair required 60 wire connections between the front panel and the motherboard (backplane.) The IMSAI motherboard had 18 slots. The MITS motherboard consisted of 4 slots segments that had to be connected together with 100 wires. The IMSAI also had a larger power supply to handle the increasing number of expansion boards used in typical systems. The IMSAI advantage was short lived because MITS had recognized these shortcomings and developed the Altair 8800B, which was introduced in June 1976. | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki?curid=144949 | 754,925 |
1,357,122 | Assessment of motor control may involve several health professionals depending on the affected individual's situation, and the severity of their condition. This may include physical therapists, physicians (including neurologists and psychiatrists) and rehabilitation physicians, orthotists, occupational therapists, and speech-language pathologists. Assessment is needed of the affected individual's goals, their function, and any symptoms that may be related to the movement disorder, such as pain. A thorough assessment then uses a clinical reasoning approach to determine why difficulties are occurring. Elements of assessment will include analysis of posture, active movement, muscle strength, movement control and coordination, and endurance, as well as muscle tone and spasticity. Impaired muscles typically demonstrate a loss of selective movement, including a loss of eccentric control (decreased ability to actively lengthen); this decreased active lengthening of a muscle is a key factor that limits motor control. While multiple muscles in a limb are usually affected in the Upper Motor Neuron Syndrome, there is usually an imbalance of muscle activity (muscle tone), such that there is a stronger pull on one side of a joint, such as into elbow flexion. Decreasing the degree of this imbalance is a common focus of muscle strengthening programs. Impaired motor control also typically features a loss of stabilisation of an affected limb or the head from the trunk, so a thorough assessment requires this to be analysed as well, and exercise to improve proximal stability may be indicated. | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki?curid=31848417 | 1,356,372 |
210,632 | In the early 20th century he was one of the minority of biologists who believed that natural selection was the main driving force of evolution, and that evolution occurred by small steps and not by saltation (jumps). These opinions are now standard.Though his time as an academic was quite brief, he taught and encouraged evolutionary biologists at the University of Oxford in the 1920s. Charles Elton (ecology), Alister Hardy (marine biology) and John Baker (cytology) all became highly successful, and Baker eventually wrote Huxley's Royal Society obituary memoir. Perhaps the most significant was Edmund Brisco Ford, who founded a field of research called ecological genetics, which played a role in the evolutionary synthesis. Another important disciple was Gavin de Beer, who wrote on evolution and development, and became Director of the Natural History Museum. Both these scholars had attended Huxley's lectures on genetics, experimental zoology (including embryology) and ethology. Later, they became his collaborators, and then leaders in their own right. | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki?curid=145837 | 210,525 |
1,671,475 | LIDAR scanning describes a survey method that uses laser-sampled points densely packed to scan static objects into a point cloud. This requires physical scanners and produces enormous amounts of data. In 2007 the band Radiohead used it extensively to create a music video for "House of Cards", capturing point cloud performances of the singer's face and of select environments in one of the first uses of this technology for volumetric capture. Director James Frost collaborated with media artist Aaron Koblin to capture 3D point-clouds used for this music clip, and while the final output of this work was still a rendered flat representation of the data, the capture and mindset of the authors was already ahead of its time. Point clouds, being distinct samples of three-dimensional space with position and color, create a high fidelity representation of the real world with a huge amount of data. However, viewing this data in real-time was not yet possible. | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki?curid=56687142 | 1,670,535 |
1,951,962 | Briefly put, the technique measures the density of electron holes the valence band in the direction of the momentum transfer vector q (Fig. 1), which is defined as the difference in momentum between the incoming q and outgoing q photons. The sample is rotated between subsequent measurement (by some angle θ) such that the momentum transfer vector traverses a plane in the crystal. Because holes are simply the inverse of the electron occupation, the occupied (electrons) and unoccupied (holes) orbitals in a given plane can be imaged. In practice, photons ~10keV are used in order to achieve a sufficiently large q (needed to access dipole forbidden transitions, see below Theoretical Basis). The scattered photons are detected at a constant energy, while the incident photon energy is swept above that over a range corresponding to the binding energy of the relevant excitation. For example, if the energy of the photons detected is 10keV, and the nickel 3"s" (binding energy of 111eV) excitation is of interest, then the incident photons are swept in a range around 10.111keV. In this manner the "energy transferred" to the sample is measured. The intensity of a core level electron excitation (such as 3"s"→3"d") is integrated for various directions of the momentum transfer vector q relative to the crystal being measured. An "s" orbital is the most convenient to utilize because it is spherical, and therefore the technique is sensitive only to the shape of the final wavefunction. As such, the integrated intensity of the resulting spectrum is proportional to the hole density in direction of q. | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki?curid=63805510 | 1,950,841 |
101,790 | Early in 1947, plans were made to establish a Uranium Unit under the Geological Survey of India, to focus on identifying and developing resources of uranium-bearing minerals. In June 1947, two months before Indian independence, Chakravarti Rajagopalachari, then Minister for Industry, Supply, Education and Finance in the Interim Government of India, established an Advisory Board for Research in Atomic Energy. Chaired by Bhabha and placed under the CSIR, the Advisory Board included Saha, Bhatnagar and several other distinguished scientists, notably Sir K. S. Krishnan, the co-discoverer of the Raman effect, geologist Darashaw Nosherwan Wadia and Nazir Ahmed, a student of Ernest Rutherford. A Joint Committee comprising the above scientists and three representatives of the Travancore government was set up to determine how best to utilise Travancore's resources of monazite. Following the independence and partition of India, Travancore briefly declared itself independent before acceding to the new Dominion of India in 1949 after a period of intense negotiations, while Ahmad departed for Pakistan, where he would eventually head that nation's atomic energy agency. | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki?curid=12902516 | 101,745 |
177,657 | Cimetidine is rapidly absorbed regardless of route of administration. The oral bioavailability of cimetidine is 60 to 70%. The onset of action of cimetidine when taken orally is 30 minutes, and peak levels occur within 1 to 3 hours. Cimetidine is widely distributed throughout all tissues. It is able to cross the blood–brain barrier and can produce effects in the central nervous system (e.g., headaches, dizziness, somnolence). The volume of distribution of cimetidine is 0.8 L/kg in adults and 1.2 to 2.1 L/kg in children. Its plasma protein binding is 13 to 25% and is said to be without pharmacological significance. Cimetidine undergoes relatively little metabolism, with 56 to 85% excreted unchanged. It is metabolized in the liver into cimetidine sulfoxide, hydroxycimetidine, and guanyl urea cimetidine. The major metabolite of cimetidine is the sulfoxide, which accounts for about 30% of excreted material. Cimetidine is rapidly eliminated, with an elimination half-life of 123 minutes, or about 2 hours. It has been said to have a duration of action of 4 to 8 hours. The medication is mainly eliminated in urine. | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki?curid=1018112 | 177,564 |
16,913 | Bachelor's degrees may take an average of five years (from four to five years) to complete depending on the course load and the program and they are awarded by colleges and universities. Medicine is from 6 to 7 years. Each college has its own curriculum and requirements with an emphasis of their choice, governed independently by each state of the republic. After finishing all the subjects the student require a final work, which means the completion of particular honours seminars, research and development or a written thesis in a particular field. Mexico's regulations established as an obligation in order to receive their license and title the fulfillment of a "social service" to the nation (usually for those who finished their studies in a public institution) as a remuneration to society in the form of social actions, the benefits, as students, were received during training. This requirement takes about six months to one year depending on the type of degree. Bachelor's degree should not be falsely related with its Spanish cognate "bachiller", which designate a prerequisite for matriculate in a career or bachelor studies. The official name for a bachelor's degree in Mexico is "licenciado" and such studies are referred as "licenciatura". | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki?curid=188874 | 16,908 |
1,421,734 | Induction of proliferation by the EpoR is likely cell type-dependent. It is known that EpoR can activate mitogenic signaling pathways and can lead to cell proliferation in erythroleukemic cell lines "in vitro", various non-erythroid cells, and cancer cells. So far, there is no sufficient evidence that "in vivo", EpoR signaling can induce erythroid progenitors to undergo cell division, or whether Epo levels can modulate the cell cycle. EpoR signaling may still have a proliferation effect upon BFU-e progenitors, but these progenitors cannot be directly identified, isolated and studied. CFU-e progenitors enter the cell cycle at the time of GATA-1 induction and PU.1 suppression in a developmental manner rather than due to EpoR signaling. Subsequent differentiation stages (proerythroblast to orthochromatic erythroblast) involve a decrease in cell size and eventual expulsion of the nucleus, and are likely dependent upon EpoR signaling only for their survival. In addition, some evidence on macrocytosis in hypoxic stress (when Epo can increase 1000-fold) suggests that mitosis is actually "skipped" in later erythroid stages, when EpoR expression is low/absent, in order to provide emergency reserve of red blood cells as soon as possible. Such data, though sometimes circumstantial, argue that there is limited capacity to proliferate specifically in response to Epo (and not other factors). Together, these data suggest that EpoR in erythroid differentiation may function primarily as a survival factor, while its effect on the cell cycle (for example, rate of division and corresponding changes in the levels of cyclins and Cdk inhibitors) "in vivo" awaits further work. In other cell systems, however, EpoR may provide a specific proliferative signal. | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki?curid=5827434 | 1,420,933 |
1,529,471 | In an attempt of saving the Catarina pupfish, small numbers were brought into captivity in 1987 and 1992, but the species proved very difficult to maintain. Colonies were established in aquariums in Mexico, Europe and the United States, but they gradually perished. By December 2012, only one colony remained: It consisted of about 20 fish at the Children's Aquarium at Fair Park in Dallas, Texas. In 2013, the last female in this colony died and only four eggs hatched, all male, resulting in functional extinction of the species. The last remaining males were then shipped individually to Chris Martin's laboratory at the University of California, Berkeley for hybridization with Cyprinodon alvarezi in an attempt to save a hybrid population. Hybridization was successful, producing all female F1 progeny as documented in an earlier study, but ultimately none of the backcross individuals survived more than a few weeks, most likely due to hybrid breakdown. In 2014, the last male individual of this colony died in Chris Martin's laboratory (photograph in inset) and with its demise the species was fully extinct. | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki?curid=12617844 | 1,528,607 |
1,050,090 | The crew of "Discovery" got to work preparing for landing following their wake up call. NASA did not activate either Edwards Air Force Base, or White Sands, as the weather looked favorable for both landing opportunities at Kennedy. The weather forecast at the Shuttle Landing Facility called for good visibility, with mostly sunny skies, although the headwinds would be evaluated, as they had been peaking at . Due to the sleep shifting done by the crew earlier in the mission to schedule the extra mission days, the landing was done on what is called a "descending" node entry. Unlike ascending node entries, this entry trajectory brought the shuttle diagonally across the United States for the first time since STS-107. The shuttle passed over Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, and angled down towards Florida. Once the orbiter reached Florida, Melroy performed a 195-degree right overhead turn along the heading alignment cone (HAC) in order to line up for a landing on Runway 33. The first landing opportunity began with a deorbit burn at 16:59 UTC and finished with a landing at 13:01 EST. The deorbit burns were done to slow the orbiter's speed and to drop it out of freefall orbit and on target for the designated runway. | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki?curid=2445038 | 1,049,544 |
1,725,883 | A Brain-computer interface (BCI) is a type of implant that allows for a direct connection between a patient's brain and some form of external hardware. Since the mid-1990s, the amount of research done on BCI's in both animal and human models has grown exponentially. Most brain-computer interfaces are used for some form of neural signal extraction, while some attempt to return sensation through an implanted signal. As an example of signal extraction, a BCI may take a signal from a paraplegic patient's brain and use it to move a robotic prosthetic. Paralyzed patients get a great amount of utility from these devices because they allow for a return of control to the patient. Current research for brain-computer interfaces is focused on determining which regions of the brain can be manipulated by an individual. A majority of research focuses on the sensorimotor region of the brain, using imagined motor actions to drive the devices, while some studies have sought to determine if the cognitive control network would be a suitable location for implantations. This region is a "neuronal network that coordinates mental processes in the service of explicit intentions or tasks," driving the device by intent, rather than imagined motion An example of returning sensation through an implanted signal would be developing a tactile response for a prosthetic limb. Amputees have no touch response in artificial limbs, but through an implant in their somatosensory cortex could potentially give them an artificial sense of touch. | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki?curid=49706798 | 1,724,912 |
1,222,105 | June graduated from the US Naval Academy in 1975 and earned his medical degree in from the Baylor College of Medicine in 1979. He spent his fourth year of medical school at the World Health Organization in Geneva, Switzerland, studying immunology and malaria with Dr. Paul Henri-Lambert, and completed clinical training in internal medicine and medical oncology from 1979 to 1983 at the National Naval Medical Center in Bethesda, Maryland. June conducted postdoctoral research in transplantation biology with E. Donnall Thomas and John Hansen at the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Center in Seattle from 1983 to 1986. After completing his training, he returned to Bethesda, where he founded the Immune Cell Biology Program at the Naval Medical Research Center and was head of the department of immunology from 1990 to 1995. He was also a professor of medicine and of cell and molecular biology at the Uniformed Services University for the Health Sciences. In 1999 June joined the University of Pennsylvania as a professor of molecular and cellular engineering at the University of Pennsylvania's school of medicine and investigator at the Abramson Family Cancer Research Institute, where he remains today. He is board-certified in internal medicine and oncology. | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki?curid=52482823 | 1,221,446 |
527,112 | A pilot Naval Reserve unit was established in September 1924 at St. John's College in Annapolis, Maryland. It let the Navy test the concept before establishing its regular units. In 1926, the U.S. Department of the Navy established the Naval Reserve Officer Training Corps. Its purpose was to produce a reserve of qualified officers who would be needed for a possible rapid expansion of the military in the case of an unforeseen emergency. A secondary objective was to acquaint college faculty and students with the Navy and its national importance. Sixty Naval Reserve Freshmen were accepted at each of the original units at the University of California, Berkeley, Northwestern University, University of Washington, Harvard University, Yale University, and Georgia Institute of Technology. Captain Chester W. Nimitz commanded the University of California NROTC unit. The first NROTC students received one uniform and (during their junior and senior years) a subsistence allowance totaling $210. They had the option of attending a fifteen-day training cruise each summer for which they would be paid seventy cents per day and a transportation allowance between their college and the ports of embarkation and debarkation. The St. John's College pilot unit disbanded by 1929, but the original six regular units are still active in 2014 (albeit with historical gaps at Harvard and Yale). | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki?curid=1881337 | 526,839 |
609,925 | In the 1930s-1950s, the first protein structures were solved by protein crystallography. These early structures suggested that a fixed three-dimensional structure might be generally required to mediate biological functions of proteins. These publications solidified the central dogma of molecular biology in that the amino acid sequence of a protein determines its structure which, in turn, determines its function. In 1950, Karush wrote about 'Configurational Adaptability' contradicting this assumption. He was convinced that proteins have more than one configuration at the same energy level and can choose one when binding to other substrates. In the 1960s, Levinthal's paradox suggested that the systematic conformational search of a long polypeptide is unlikely to yield a single folded protein structure on biologically relevant timescales (i.e. microseconds to minutes). Curiously, for many (small) proteins or protein domains, relatively rapid and efficient refolding can be observed in vitro. As stated in Anfinsen's Dogma from 1973, the fixed 3D structure of these proteins is uniquely encoded in its primary structure (the amino acid sequence), is kinetically accessible and stable under a range of (near) physiological conditions, and can therefore be considered as the native state of such "ordered" proteins. | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki?curid=2867718 | 609,614 |
524,976 | DsRed is isolated from "Discosoma" sea anemones, and is a tetrameric protein. Most red fluorescent proteins come from DsRed. DsRed has low photostability (resistance to change under the influence of radiant energy or light) and a slow maturation rate (time until half the protein is folded). mRFP1 is derived from DsRed and is a monomer so it is smaller, but its quantum yield and photostability are less than that of DsRed. mCherry and other mFruits have improved brightness and photostability over both DsRed and mRFP1. mCherry was developed through directed evolution from mRFP1 by Robert E Campbell. The mFruits in general were developed because while different colored proteins could be found from other anthozoans, the proteins would mostly be tetramers which would most likely have the same issues as DsRed. These tetramers would require derivations like those done to DsRed to be done in order to make them useful fusion partners. As a result, the mFruits were derived from mRFP1 by adjusting key amino acids in order to adjust the excitation and emission wavelengths. Different colors allow for the tracking of different cell types, transcriptional activity, and fusion in proteins. mCherry, out of all of the true monomers developed, has the longest wavelengths, the highest photostability, fastest maturation, excellent pH resistance, and is closest to mRFP1 in its excitation and emission maxima. However, mCherry has a lower quantum yield than mRFP1. | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki?curid=35058918 | 524,704 |
1,564,677 | The BSI standard was criticised on 22 October 2020 in an open letter by a group of 40 organizations, including Tesco, Aldi and the Environmental Services Association. The letter called upon the UK government to "follow the lead" of the European Union in banning oxo-degradable plastics, warning of the dangers of "microplastics [...] entering the food chain" and claiming that "degradable plastic alternatives will disrupt [Britain]'s recycling facilities". WRAP, a registered charity that was on the steering committee for the standard, responded to inquiries by declaring that its involvement should not be mistaken as an endorsement of the standard. However, WRAP maintained that littering was a "real issue" and that it would continue to encourage "developments in plastics technologies which have no negative impact on the ability for plastic to be effectively recycled and have no negative impacts to the natural environment". After a "small but significant anomaly" was found in the BSI consultation process, WRAP said in December 2020 that the committee was due to meet in January the next year to discuss details of the testing process for microplastics. | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki?curid=66122548 | 1,563,790 |
931,272 | In lithography, decreasing the wavelength of light source is the most efficient way to achieve higher resolution. Photoresists are most commonly used at wavelengths in the ultraviolet spectrum or shorter (<400 nm). For example, diazonaphthoquinone (DNQ) absorbs strongly from approximately 300 nm to 450 nm. The absorption bands can be assigned to n-π* (S0–S1) and π-π* (S1–S2) transitions in the DNQ molecule. In the deep ultraviolet (DUV) spectrum, the π-π* electronic transition in benzene or carbon double-bond chromophores appears at around 200 nm. Due to the appearance of more possible absorption transitions involving larger energy differences, the absorption tends to increase with shorter wavelength, or larger photon energy. Photons with energies exceeding the ionization potential of the photoresist (can be as low as 5 eV in condensed solutions) can also release electrons which are capable of additional exposure of the photoresist. From about 5 eV to about 20 eV, photoionization of outer "valence band" electrons is the main absorption mechanism. Above 20 eV, inner electron ionization and Auger transitions become more important. Photon absorption begins to decrease as the X-ray region is approached, as fewer Auger transitions between deep atomic levels are allowed for the higher photon energy. The absorbed energy can drive further reactions and ultimately dissipates as heat. This is associated with the outgassing and contamination from the photoresist. | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki?curid=23781 | 930,781 |
234,279 | A character repertoire is the full set of abstract characters that a system supports. The repertoire may be closed, i.e. no additions are allowed without creating a new standard (as is the case with ASCII and most of the ISO-8859 series), or it may be open, allowing additions (as is the case with Unicode and to a limited extent the Windows code pages). The characters in a given repertoire reflect decisions that have been made about how to divide writing systems into basic information units. The basic variants of the Latin, Greek and Cyrillic alphabets can be broken down into letters, digits, punctuation, and a few "special characters" such as the space, which can all be arranged in simple linear sequences that are displayed in the same order they are read. But even with these alphabets, diacritics pose a complication: they can be regarded either as part of a single character containing a letter and diacritic (known as a precomposed character), or as separate characters. The former allows a far simpler text handling system but the latter allows any letter/diacritic combination to be used in text. Ligatures pose similar problems. Other writing systems, such as Arabic and Hebrew, are represented with more complex character repertoires due to the need to accommodate things like bidirectional text and glyphs that are joined together in different ways for different situations. | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki?curid=5295 | 234,160 |
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