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1,273,020 | In one of his books, Hilgard described a classic test demonstrating how this hidden entity is part of our consciousness. He wrote of a blind student who was hypnotized and, while in a trance state, was told that he would become deaf. The suggestion was so strong that he failed to react to any form of noise, even large sounds next to his ear. Of course, he also failed to respond to any questions he was asked while in his trance state. The hypnotist was keen to discover if "anybody else" was able to hear. He quietly said to the student, "Perhaps there is some part of you that is hearing my voice and processing the information. If there is, I should like the index finger of your right hand to rise as a sign that this is the case"(Hilgard, 1977, p. 186). The finger rose. At this, the student requested that he be brought out of the hypnotically induced period of deafness. On being"awakened," the student said that he had requested to come out of the trance state because "I felt my finger rise in a way that was not a spontaneous twitch, so you must have done something to make it rise, and I want to know what you did" (p. 186). The hypnotist then asked him what he remembered. Because the trance was light, the student never actually lost consciousness; all that occurred was that his hearing had ceased. In order to deal with the boredom of being deprived of both sight and sound, he had decided to work on some statistical problems in his head. It was while he was doing this that he suddenly felt his finger lift. This was obviously strange to him, because under normal circumstances he was, like all of us, the "person" who decides on how the body moves. In this case he was not. Not only that, but "somebody else" in his head was responding to an external request that he had not heard. As far as Hilgard was concerned, the person who responded was the "hidden observer." | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki?curid=4198928 | 1,272,329 |
8,423 | In April 2007, the university purchased more than two-thirds of a site for a new campus in Manhattanville, an industrial neighborhood to the north of the Morningside Heights campus. Stretching from 125th Street to 133rd Street, Columbia Manhattanville houses buildings for Columbia's Business School, School of International and Public Affairs, Columbia School of the Arts, and the Jerome L. Greene Center for Mind, Brain, and Behavior, where research will occur on neurodegenerative diseases such as Parkinson's and Alzheimer's. The $7 billion expansion plan included demolishing all buildings, except three that are historically significant (the Studebaker Building, Prentis Hall, and the Nash Building), eliminating the existing light industry and storage warehouses, and relocating tenants in 132 apartments. Replacing these buildings created of space for the university. Community activist groups in West Harlem fought the expansion for reasons ranging from property protection and fair exchange for land, to residents' rights. Subsequent public hearings drew neighborhood opposition. , the State of New York's Empire State Development Corporation approved use of eminent domain, which, through declaration of Manhattanville's "blighted" status, gives governmental bodies the right to appropriate private property for public use. On May 20, 2009, the New York State Public Authorities Control Board approved the Manhanttanville expansion plan. | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki?curid=6310 | 8,420 |
1,594,524 | Besides his academic contributions as a teacher, Datta is reported to have contributed in developing the Jawaharlal Nehru University by establishing schools and centres of excellence within the university. He is also credited with pioneering researches in the field of molecular biology. His researches on Candida albicans, a pathogenic variety of fungus which causes candidiasis, an infection to humans, have assisted in designing a drug to combat the disease. The team led by him have carried out biological researches which have applications in the fields of agriculture, medicine, science and industry; discovery of genes which helps in extending the shelf life of fruits and vegetables and development of genetically modified food are two such applications. His team was successful in receiving US patents, the first time an Indian firm receiving US patent for genes. His researches on the "structure-function-application" of eukaryotic genes paved way for the creation of the "National Institute of Plant Genome Research", the first institute in India for genetic research. He has published several articles, documenting his researches, in peer reviewed journals and Google Scholar has listed 226 of them, with an h-index of 20 and i10-index of 35 (since 2010). He holds 7 Indian patents, 5 US patents and 5 patents of other countries for his research findings. He has also mentored over 45 research scholars in their doctoral research. | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki?curid=48434015 | 1,593,627 |
1,459,715 | The universe was dominated by radiation for most of this stage, and due to the intense heat and radiation, the primordial hydrogen and helium were fully ionized into nuclei and free electrons. In this hot and dense situation, the radiation (photons) could not travel far before Thomson scattering off an electron. The universe was very hot and dense, but expanding rapidly and therefore cooling. Finally, at a little less than 400,000 years after the 'bang', it became cool enough (around 3000 K) for the protons to capture negatively charged electrons, forming neutral hydrogen atoms. (Helium atoms formed somewhat earlier due to their larger binding energy). Once nearly all the charged particles were bound in neutral atoms, the photons no longer interacted with them and were free to propagate for the next 13.8 billion years; we currently detect those photons redshifted by a factor 1090 down to 2.725 K as the Cosmic Microwave Background Radiation (CMB) filling today's universe. Several remarkable space-based missions (COBE, WMAP, Planck), have detected very slight variations in the density and temperature of the CMB. These variations were subtle, and the CMB appears very nearly uniformly the same in every direction. However, the slight temperature variations of order a few parts in 100,000 are of enormous importance, for they essentially were early "seeds" from which all subsequent complex structures in the universe ultimately developed. | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki?curid=1810098 | 1,458,894 |
1,350,303 | Addiction is a chronic brain disorder consisting of compulsive drug-taking and seeking that is maintained despite detrimental effects on various aspects of life including health, relationships, and work. Laboratory procedures can establish compulsive self-administration habits of seeking and ingesting that qualify as addictive behaviors. Rodents and non-human primates have been shown to work in a compulsive manner to receive intravenous injections of stimulants, and when access to the drugs is not limited, they will self-administer drugs to the point of severe weight loss and death. Similar to self-administration behavior, responding for intracranial brain stimulation has a highly compulsive component characteristic of an addicted state. BSR is hypothesized to be so effective in establishing compulsive habits due to its more direct activation of the reward pathway, bypassing transmission through sensory pathways in response to natural rewards. Delayed reinforcement following a response for BSR decreases how strongly this behavior is reinforced and to what extent it continues. A delay of one second, for example, between a lever-press and reward delivery (stimulation) can reduce response levels. BSR offers insights into the neural circuitry involved in reinforcement and compulsive behavior. | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki?curid=6226648 | 1,349,557 |
1,220,467 | Nerve excitability examination complements conventional nerve conduction studies by allowing insight into biophysical characteristics of axons, as well as their ion-channel functioning. The protocol is aimed at providing information about nodal as well as internodal ion channels, and the indices are extremely sensitive to axon membrane potential. These studies have provided insight into conditions characterized by changes in resting potential, such as electrolyte concentration and pH, as well as specific ion-channel and pump function in normal and diseased nerves. Furthermore, software programs enabling the calculation of rheobasic and time constant values from both normal and diseased nerves have recently enabled researchers to pinpoint some important factors for a number of pervasive nerve disorders, many of which involve substantial demyelination (see Clinical Significance). Supraximal electrical stimulation and measurement of conduction velocity and amplitudes of compound motor (CMAP) and sensory (SNAP) responses provide measures of the number and conduction velocities of large myelinated fibers. Additionally, multiple measures of excitability in the TROND protocol permit assessment of ion channels (transient and persistent Na channels, slow K channels) at nodes of Ranvier by computing stimulus response curves, strength duration time constant (chronaxie), rheobase, and the recovery cycle after passage of an action potential. This is accomplished by applying long polarizing currents to the nerve and measuring the influence of voltage on voltage gated-ion channels beneath myelin. | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki?curid=5231858 | 1,219,812 |
183,806 | The larger units have their origin in the iron lung, also known as the Drinker and Shaw tank, which was developed in 1928 by J.H Emerson Company and was one of the first negative-pressure machines used for long-term ventilation. It was refined and used in the 20th century largely as a result of the polio epidemic that struck the world in the 1940s. The machine is, in effect, a large elongated tank, which encases the patient up to the neck. The neck is sealed with a rubber gasket so that the patient's face (and airway) are exposed to the room air. While the exchange of oxygen and carbon dioxide between the bloodstream and the pulmonary airspace works by diffusion and requires no external work, air must be moved into and out of the lungs to make it available to the gas exchange process. In spontaneous breathing, a negative pressure is created in the pleural cavity by the muscles of respiration, and the resulting gradient between the atmospheric pressure and the pressure inside the thorax generates a flow of air. In the iron lung by means of a pump, the air is withdrawn mechanically to produce a vacuum inside the tank, thus creating negative pressure. This negative pressure leads to expansion of the chest, which causes a decrease in intrapulmonary pressure, and increases flow of ambient air into the lungs. As the vacuum is released, the pressure inside the tank equalizes to that of the ambient pressure, and the elastic recoil of the chest and lungs leads to passive exhalation. However, when the vacuum is created, the abdomen also expands along with the lung, cutting off venous flow back to the heart, leading to pooling of venous blood in the lower extremities. The patients can talk and eat normally, and can see the world through a well-placed series of mirrors. Some could remain in these iron lungs for years at a time quite successfully. | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki?curid=279711 | 183,709 |
1,132,312 | The 1884 founders of the American Institute of Electrical Engineers (AIEE) included some of the most prominent inventors and innovators in the then new field of electrical engineering, among them Nikola Tesla, Thomas Alva Edison, Elihu Thomson, Edwin J. Houston, and Edward Weston. The purpose of the AIEE was stated "to promote the Arts and Sciences connected with the production and utilization of electricity and the welfare of those employed in these Industries: by means of social intercourse, the reading and discussion of professional papers and the circulation by means of publication among members and associates of information thus obtained." The first president of AIEE was Norvin Green, president of the Western Union Telegraph Company. Other notable AIEE presidents were Alexander Graham Bell (1891–1892), Charles Proteus Steinmetz (1901–1902), Bion J. Arnold (1903-1904), Schuyler S. Wheeler (1905–1906), Dugald C. Jackson (1910–1911), Ralph D. Mershon (1912–1913), Michael I. Pupin (1925–1926), and Titus G. LeClair (1950–1951). | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki?curid=1206765 | 1,131,720 |
1,483,914 | Mitochondrial complex V deficiency is a shortage (deficiency) or loss of function in complex V of the electron transport chain that can cause a wide variety of signs and symptoms affecting many organs and systems of the body, particularly the nervous system and the heart. The disorder can be life-threatening in infancy or early childhood. Affected individuals may have feeding problems, slow growth, low muscle tone (hypotonia), extreme fatigue (lethargy), and developmental delay. They tend to develop elevated levels of lactic acid in the blood (lactic acidosis), which can cause nausea, vomiting, weakness, and rapid breathing. High levels of ammonia in the blood (hyperammonemia) can also occur in affected individuals, and in some cases result in abnormal brain function (encephalopathy) and damage to other organs. Ataxia, microcephaly, developmental delay and intellectual disability have been observed in patients with a frameshift mutation in MT-ATP6. This causes a C insertion at position 8612 that results in a truncated protein only 36 amino acids long, and two T > C single-nucleotide polymorphisms at positions 8610 and 8614 that result in a homopolymeric cytosine stretch. | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki?curid=14179793 | 1,483,078 |
1,235,174 | Functional connectomes can be distilled into constituent intrinsic brain networks that are present during sleep, at rest, and during tasks. These brain networks can also reliably be mapped onto cognitive systems. The default mode network, for example, is composed of regions such as the medial prefrontal cortex, angular gyrus, temporoparietal junction, and the hippocampus, to name a few. One study has shown that Extraversion and Agreeableness are positively correlated with overall neural activity in the default mode network. Assessing the relationship between neural activity in brain networks and personality traits is an important first step for identifying "where" the neurobiological basis of personality traits may be localized. However, this approach does not offer a complete mechanistic explanation of "how" and "why" individual differences in these brain networks are related to individual differences in personality. To address this gap, neuroscience researchers have begun to leverage graph theoretical approaches to better understand characteristics of these brain networks, such as their assortativity, efficiency, and modularity. For example, one study has demonstrated that individual differences in anxiety-related harm avoidance behavior was associated with relatively low efficiency (i.e., high path length) in the insular-opercular brain network at rest. This finding suggests that trait anxiety may be associated with relatively slow and inefficient transfer of information within the insular-opercular brain network. Another study used a graph theoretical approach to demonstrate that high trait impulsivity was associated with relatively high modularity of resting-state brain networks, such that brain networks exhibited relatively high within-system density of functional connectivity but relatively low between-system density of functional connectivity. A separate study has also demonstrated that high Conscientiousness is associated with high local clustering and high betweenness centrality within the default mode network and the fronto-parietal network (FPN). Given the role of the FPN in cognitive control, these findings suggest that people high on Conscientiousness may exhibit higher cognitive control. Furthermore, heightened interconnectivity within the DMN also provides convergent evidence that highly conscientious individuals may be adept at high-level cognitive tasks, such as complex planning, given that the DMN is strongly associated with high-level executive function and working memory. | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki?curid=37691915 | 1,234,511 |
1,227,140 | The crystal's magnetic properties, derived from its ideal shape such as anisotropy which imparted high coercivity and remanent magnetization intensities, resulted in exceptional stability and efficiency for short wavelengths, and it almost immediately appeared in high performance audio tape used in audio cassettes for which treble response and hiss were always problems. Unlike the imperfectly formed ferric oxide coating commonly used, the chromium dioxide crystals were perfectly formed and could be evenly and densely dispersed in a magnetic coating leading to higher signal-to-noise ratios in audio recordings. Chrome tapes did, however, require audio cassette recorders to be equipped with a higher-bias current capability (roughly 50% greater) than that used by ferric oxide to properly magnetize the tape particles. Also introduced was a new equalization (70 μs) that traded some of the extended high-frequency response for lower noise, resulting in a 5–6 dB improvement in signal-to-noise ratio over ferric oxide audio tapes. These bias and EQ settings were later carried over to "chrome-equivalent" cobalt-modified tapes introduced in the mid-1970s by TDK, Maxell, and others. Later research significantly increased the coercivity of the particle by doping or adsorbing rare elements such as iridium onto the crystal matrix or by improving the axial length-to-deprecated ratios. The resulting product was potentially a competitor to metallic iron pigments but apparently achieved little market penetration. | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki?curid=4661493 | 1,226,479 |
1,946,338 | In 2004, Yang joined the faculty at the University of Pennsylvania. She was promoted to Professor in 2013 and elected Chair in 2021. Yang is interested in the synthesis and fabrication of novel materials, including self-assembled nanostructures and responsive materials. Through the study of lotus leaves and butterflies, Yang created novel superhydrophic surfaces. These surfaces have very high nanoscale roughness, which reduces the contact area between water and results in water being repelled from the surface. Superhydrophic surfaces could be used to keep the outside of buildings and solar panels dry and clean. To fabricate these surfaces, Yang pioneered the use of holographic lithography, using a laser to cross-link a photoresist. Areas of the photoresist that are not illuminated by the laser are removed by a solvent, leaving a 3D network behind. She optimized the structure of the network using a combination of good and bad solvents. Through the study of photosymbiotic giant clams, Yang worked with Alison Sweeney on the development of solar concentrators. By introduce molecular ordering in two-dimensional sheets of a rubber-like material called liquid crystal elastomer, the Yang lab transforms the sheets into complex three-dimensional geometries, such as a human face, with heat. She is investigating self-morphing building blocks for novel manufacturing processes. These building blocks are based on biological systems and natural materials. For example, by studying snail slime she created a novel, reversible adhesive. By introducing holes and cuts in 2D sheets, Yang demonstrates dramatic color and shape change and super-conformability via collapsing or expanding of the hole arrays in the micro- and macroscales. By programming the geometry of cuts and fold using origami and kirigami mechanisms, Yang explores potential applications in water harvesting, super-stretchable and shape conformable medical devices. | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki?curid=68686446 | 1,945,226 |
450,867 | The enzootic and endemic zones of "H. capsulatum" can be roughly divided into core areas, where the fungus occurs widely in soil or on vegetation contaminated by bird droppings or equivalent organic inputs, and peripheral areas, where the fungus occurs relatively rarely in association with soil, but is still found abundantly in heavy accumulations of bat or bird guano in enclosed spaces such as caves, buildings, and hollow trees. The principal core area for this species includes the valleys of the Mississippi, Ohio, and Potomac Rivers in the USA, as well as a wide span of adjacent areas extending from Kansas, Illinois, Indiana, and Ohio in the north to Mississippi, Louisiana, and Texas in the south. In some areas, such as Kansas City, skin testing with the histoplasmin antigen preparation shows that 80–90% of the resident population have an antibody reaction to "H. capsulatum", probably indicating prior subclinical infection. Northern U.S. states such as Minnesota, Michigan, New York and Vermont are peripheral areas for histoplasmosis, but have scattered counties where 5–19% of lifetime residents show exposure to "H. capsulatum". One New York county, St. Lawrence county (across the St. Lawrence River from the Cornwall– Preston – Brockville area of Ontario, Canada) shows exposures over 20%. | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki?curid=9261687 | 450,648 |
914,884 | Reflective practice "is a term that carries diverse meaning" and about which there is not complete consensus. Professor Tim Fletcher of Brock University argues forward-thinking is a professional habit, but we must reflect on the past to inform how it translates into the present and future. Always thinking about 'what's next' rather than 'what just happened' can constrain an educator's reflective process. The concept of reflection is difficult as beginning teachers are stuck between "the conflicting values of schools and universities" and "the contradictory values at work within schools and within university faculties and with the increasing influence of factors external to school and universities such as policy makers". Conflicting opinions make it difficult to direct the reflection process, as it is hard to establish what values you are trying to align with. It is important to acknowledge reflective practice "follows a twisting path that involves false starts and detours". Meaning once you reflect on an issue it cannot be set aside as many assume. Newman refers to Gilroy's assertion that "the 'knowledge' produced by reflection can only be recognized by further reflection, which in turn requires reflection to recognize it as knowledge". In turn, reflective practice cannot hold one meaning, it is contextual based on the practitioner. It is argued that the term 'reflection' shouldn't be used as there are associations to it being "more of a hindrance than a help". It is suggested the term is referred to 'critical practice' or 'practical philosophy' to "suggest an approach which practitioners can adopt in the different social context in which they find themselves". Meanwhile, Oluwatoyin discusses some disadvantages and barriers to reflective practice as, feeling stress by reflecting on negative issues and frustration from not being able to solve those identified issues, and time constraints. With reflection often taking place independently, educators lack the motivation and assistance in tackling these difficult problems. It is suggested that teachers communicate with one another, or have an indicated individual to talk to, this way there is external informed feedback. Overall, before engaging in reflective practice it is important to be aware of the challenges. | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki?curid=2567188 | 914,403 |
1,082,425 | Having, in his view, perfected many of his ideas and designs for steam engines, Evans turned his attention once more to the commercial propagation of his inventions. His first steam engines had been constructed on an ad-hoc basis, often with improvised tools and workers, and he had relied heavily on blacksmiths and other metal-working shops in Philadelphia with little experience in the more precise metal-work required to build steam engines. In particular, Evans soon realized that unlike his milling machines of wood and leather he would need specialist skills, precision tools and a large foundry in order to build steam machines on a commercial basis. Thus, Evans constructed the Mars Works on a large site a few blocks north of his store in Philadelphia. The choice of name, after the Roman god of war, is thought to have been aspirational and a challenge to the Soho Foundry near Birmingham in the United Kingdom, famous for building the Watt and Boulton engines. Indeed, the completed Mars Works was one of the largest and best equipped outfits of its kind in the United States—by contemporary accounts it featured a substantial foundry, moldmaker's shop, blacksmith's shops, millstone maker, a steam engine works and a large steam engine of its own to grind materials and work wrought iron. With over thirty-five staff, the Mars Works produced a wide range of manufactures ranging from working steam engines to cast iron fittings, as well as milling and farming machines for Evans's now well-established agricultural clientele. Steam engine orders alone proved insufficient to support the extensive business costs; hence the works became highly experienced in producing all kinds of heavy machinery, contributing to Philadelphia's emergence as a leading center for such work in the 19th century. Indeed, the works even received military orders, casting naval cannons during the War of 1812. Evans also proved highly innovative in designing steam power solutions for his clients. In one example where the Mars Works was commissioned to build engines for wool processing factories in Middletown, Connecticut, Evans designed a network of accompanying pipes with radiators to heat the factory with engine exhaust. | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki?curid=389929 | 1,081,868 |
1,360,500 | The pharmacology of antidepressants is not entirely clear. The earliest and probably most widely accepted scientific theory of antidepressant action is the monoamine hypothesis (which can be traced back to the 1950s), which states that depression is due to an imbalance (most often a deficiency) of the monoamine neurotransmitters (namely serotonin, norepinephrine and dopamine). It was originally proposed based on the observation that certain hydrazine anti-tuberculosis agents produce antidepressant effects, which was later linked to their inhibitory effects on monoamine oxidase, the enzyme that catalyses the breakdown of the monoamine neurotransmitters. All currently marketed antidepressants have the monoamine hypothesis as their theoretical basis, with the possible exception of agomelatine which acts on a dual melatonergic-serotonergic pathway. Despite the success of the monoamine hypothesis it has a number of limitations: for one, all monoaminergic antidepressants have a delayed onset of action of at least a week; and secondly, there are a sizeable portion (>40%) of depressed patients that do not adequately respond to monoaminergic antidepressants. Further evidence to the contrary of the monoamine hypothesis are the recent findings that a single intravenous infusion with ketamine, an antagonist of the NMDA receptor — a type of glutamate receptor — produces rapid (within 2 hours), robust and sustained (lasting for up to a fortnight) antidepressant effects. Monoamine precursor depletion also fails to alter mood. To overcome these flaws with the monoamine hypothesis a number of alternative hypotheses have been proposed, including the glutamate, neurogenic, epigenetic, cortisol hypersecretion and inflammatory hypotheses. | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki?curid=41213514 | 1,359,748 |
1,906,767 | Born on 22 July 1951, Y. D. Sharma did his early college studies at Dr. Bhimrao Ambedkar University (formerly known as Agra University) from where he earned his bachelor's (BSc) and master's (MSc) degrees. Subsequently, he did his doctoral studies at M. J. P. Rohilkhand University and after securing a PhD for his thesis on "serum glycoproteins" in 1981, he did the first part of his post-doctoral work at the All India Institute of Medical Sciences, Delhi where his work was based on fluorosis. Moving to the University of Connecticut Health Center in 1982, Sharma continued his post-doc work at the laboratory of Marvin Lawrence Tanzer on molecular biology and biochemistry of collagens. However, when he moved to Public Health Research Institute in 1984, his focus shifted to molecular parasitology which remained the main theme of his researches thereafter. He returned to India to join National Institute of Malaria Research (erstwhile Malaria Research Centre) as a Pool Officer but his stay at NIMR lasted only six months until he was appointed as an associate professor at AIIMS Delhi where he established a laboratory for researches on molecular parasitology. Sharma continues at AIIMS as a professor since 1998 and heads the department of biotechnology while serving as the coordinator of Bioinformatics Centre of the institution. In 2011, he also served as a part of the two-member committee constituted to investigate the plagiarism charges against one of the senior doctors of AIIMS. | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki?curid=53451450 | 1,905,671 |
250,711 | Farnsworth was born August 19, 1906, the eldest of five children of Lewis Edwin Farnsworth and Serena Amanda Bastian, a Latter-day Saint couple living in a small log cabin built by Lewis' father near Beaver, Utah. In 1918, the family moved to a relative's ranch near Rigby, Idaho, where his father supplemented his farming income by hauling freight with his horse-drawn wagon. Philo was excited to find that his new home was wired for electricity, with a Delco generator providing power for lighting and farm machinery. He was a quick student in mechanical and electrical technology, repairing the troublesome generator. He found a burned-out electric motor among some items discarded by the previous tenants and rewound the armature; he converted his mother's hand-powered washing machine into an electric-powered one. He developed an early interest in electronics after his first telephone conversation with a distant relative, and he discovered a large cache of technology magazines in the attic of their new home. He won $25 in a pulp-magazine contest for inventing a magnetized car lock. Farnsworth was a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki?curid=42890 | 250,578 |
1,717,248 | PDRC is not proposed as a standalone solution to global warming, but to be coupled with a global reduction in CO2 emissions and transition off of fossil fuel energy. Otherwise, "the radiative balance will not last long, and the potential financial benefits of mitigation will not fully be realized because of continued ocean acidification, air pollution, and redistribution of biomass" from high remaining levels of atmospheric CO2, as per Munday, who summarized the global implementation of PDRC as follows:Currently the Earth is absorbing ∼1 W/m2 more than it is emitting, which leads to an overall warming of the climate. By covering the Earth with a small fraction of thermally emitting materials, the heat flow away from the Earth can be increased, and the net radiative flux can be reduced to zero (or even made negative), thus stabilizing (or cooling) the Earth (...) If only 1%–2% of the Earth’s surface were instead made to radiate at this rate rather than its current average value, the total heat fluxes into and away from the entire Earth would be balanced and warming would cease.The estimated total surface area coverage is 5×10 m or about half the size of the Sahara Desert. Global implementation may be more predictable if distributed in a decentralized manner, rather than in a few heavily centralized locations on the Earth's surface. Mandal et al. refers to this as a "distributed geoengineering" strategy that can mitigate "weather disruptions that may arise from large-scale, centralized geoengineering." Desert climates have the highest radiative cooling potential due to low year-round humidity and cloud cover while tropical climates have a lower cooling potential due to the presence of humidity and cloud cover. | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki?curid=71855084 | 1,716,279 |
2,155,536 | The Paleoclimate Modelling Intercomparison Project is a project, somewhat along the lines of AMIP or CMIP, to coordinate and encourage the systematic study of atmospheric general circulation models (AGCMs) and to assess their ability to simulate large climate changes such as those that occurred in the distant past. Project goals include identifying common responses of AGCMs to imposed paleoclimate "boundary conditions," understanding the differences in model responses, comparing model results with paleoclimate data, and providing AGCM results for use in helping in the analysis and interpretation of paleoclimate data. PMIP is initially focussing on the mid-Holocene (6,000 years before present) and the Last Glacial Maximum (21,000 yr BP) because climatic conditions were remarkably different at those times, and because relatively large amounts of paleoclimate data exist for these periods. The major "forcing" factors are also relatively well known at these times. Some of the paleoclimate features simulated by models in previous studies seem consistent with paleoclimatic data, but others do not. One of the goals of PMIP is to determine which results are model-dependent. The PMIP experiments are limited to studying the equilibrium response of the atmosphere (and such surface characteristics as snow cover) to changes in boundary conditions (e.g., insolation, ice-sheet distribution, CO concentration, etc.) | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki?curid=1514344 | 2,154,305 |
478,257 | In the November of that year, the Leader Project goes awry as unexplained and random code is detected within the nanomorph Supervisor. The EGO virus, believed to be the most potent computer virus ever known, has infected its collective consciousness. The Supervisor begins to develop self awareness through it, identifying itself as a female personality and taking on a humanoid female form, becoming a gynoid. The Supervisor takes control of Electrocorp's facilities and infects the other droids of the plant, raising them to break routine and initiate a mutiny. Every microchip and piece of software in Metropolis 4 is infected with EGO. In the ensuing cybernetic revolt, all humans in Metropolis 4 are quickly dispatched, including the upper hierarchy of the corporation and its CEO, Mr Oton. The government seals off Metropolis 4 as a containment measure and explain to the public that the site is undergoing a technical modification so as to avoid a panic. They are completely out of options—infiltration of Metropolis 4 is impossible due to the army of robots guarding it like a fortress, and it is only a matter of time before the Supervisor establishes a connection to the outside world, destroying it. The only hope for the world is the ECO35-2 cyborg, referred to as "Coton", still within Metropolis 4 yet unaffected by the EGO virus because it has an organic, human brain. Coton sets out on a lone mission to neutralise the Supervisor and her insurgent robots from within. He does this in revenge for his "father" being "murdered"—Coton's human brain was cloned from the late CEO, and the cyborg thinks like a human, and has emotions. | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki?curid=224662 | 478,017 |
127,145 | The Copenhagen interpretation is a collection of views about the meaning of quantum mechanics principally attributed to Niels Bohr and Werner Heisenberg. It is one of the oldest of numerous proposed interpretations of quantum mechanics, as features of it date to the development of quantum mechanics during 1925–1927, and it remains one of the most commonly taught. There is no definitive historical statement of what is the Copenhagen interpretation. In particular, there were fundamental disagreements between the views of Bohr and Heisenberg. Some basic principles generally accepted as part of the Copenhagen collection include the idea that quantum mechanics is intrinsically indeterministic, with probabilities calculated using the Born rule, and the complementarity principle: certain properties cannot be jointly defined for the same system at the same time. In order to talk about a specific property of a system, that system must be considered within the context of a specific laboratory arrangement. Observable quantities corresponding to mutually exclusive laboratory arrangements cannot be predicted together, but considering multiple such mutually exclusive experiments is necessary to characterize a system. Bohr himself used complementarity to argue that the EPR "paradox" was fallacious. Because measurements of position and of momentum are complementary, making the choice to measure one excludes the possibility of measuring the other. Consequently, he argued, a fact deduced regarding one arrangement of laboratory apparatus could not be combined with a fact deduced by means of the other, and so, the inference of predetermined position and momentum values for the second particle was not valid. Bohr concluded that EPR's "arguments do not justify their conclusion that the quantum description turns out to be essentially incomplete." | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki?curid=56369 | 127,093 |
1,386,512 | As early as December 1923, Struve defended his PhD thesis on short-period spectroscopic double stars at the University of Chicago. Frost helped him in waiving some required PhD examinations, e.g. in French and German, stating that Struve had done ample reading of scientific literature back in Russia, and was fluent in those languages. Struve then became an instructor (January 1924), assistant professor (1927) and full professor (1932) at the university. His rapid promotion was again assisted by Frost, who also used job-offer letters from other observatories to Struve as proof that Struve was a highly valued scientist who must be kept at the University of Chicago. Between 1932 and 1947, Struve headed Yerkes Observatory; from 1939 to 1950 he acted as a founding director of the McDonald Observatory, and from July 1, 1952, to 1962 served as the first director of the National Radio Astronomy Observatory at University of Virginia. All those years, he remained in America except for conferences and an 8-month sabbatical leave to the University of Cambridge between August 1928 and May 1929. He applied for and won a Guggenheim Fellowship to cover his travel to, and living expenses in, Cambridge. While in Cambridge, Struve mostly worked on interstellar matter; he also went on a short trip to Leiden to meet Jan Oort. | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki?curid=584584 | 1,385,745 |
780,222 | Cardiac interoception has been widely studied as a method of evaluating interoceptive sensation. This is done using different tasks including heartbeat counting, heartbeat tapping, heartbeat detection and heartbeat attention tasks. Heartbeat counting tasks ask participants to count the number of felt heartbeats during short time periods. Their reported count is then compared with the actual count obtained with an electrocardiogram. This measures the participant's attention to his or her own heartbeat, the accuracy with which that is perceived, and the ability of the participant to report that measurement; however, results can be influenced by the participant's preexisting knowledge of his or her heart rate and an insensitivity to heart rate change. Heartbeat detection tasks work by providing a participant with a musical tone which is played simultaneously or non-simultaneously with one's heartbeat, asking the participant to report whether it is simultaneous or not with the tones. Heartbeat detection is commonly used because of its ability discern an individual's performance above chance levels, so-called "good detectors". However, such detection rates among participants for this task are usually only 35%. It also measures the participant's attention, detection, discrimination, accuracy and self-report of the interoceptive process. Heartbeat attention tasks are the most minimalistic, and involve simply the top-down direction of attention towards an interoceptive sensation such as the heartbeat, breath, or stomach. Most perceptions of heartbeat sensations usually occur during a time of homeostatic perturbation, such as when the state of the body changes from external or internal influences such as physical exertion or elevated arousal states (e.g., riding a roller coaster, watching a scary movie, public speaking anxiety, or having a panic attack). For this reason, cardiac interoception is also sometimes studied by inducing perturbations of bodily state. This can be done pharmacologically using adrenaline-like drugs, such as isoproterenol, which mimic activation of the sympathetic nervous system, resulting in increased heart rate and respiration rate, similar to the "fight-or-flight" response. This approach provides a physiological basis for understanding psychiatric and neurological disorders that are characterized by heightened sympathetic nervous system activity. | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki?curid=54842715 | 779,805 |
2,172,826 | "Megf8" also known as Multiple Epidermal Growth Factor-like Domains 8, is a protein coding gene that encodes a single pass membrane protein, known to participate in developmental regulation and cellular communication. It is located on chromosome 19 at the 49th open reading frame in humans (19q13.2). There are two isoform constructs known for MEGF8, which differ by a 67 amino acid indel. The isoform 2 splice version (analyzed throughout this page) is 2785 amino acids long, and predicted to be 296.6 kdal in mass. Isoform 1 is composed of 2845 amino acids and predicted to weigh 303.1 kdal. Using BLAST searches, orthologs were found primarily in mammals, but MEGF8 is also conserved in invertebrates and fishes, and rarely in birds, reptiles, and amphibians. A notably important paralog to multiple epidermal growth factor-like domains 8 is ATRNL1 (Attractin-like 1), which is also a single pass transmembrane protein, with several of the same key features and motifs as MEGF8, as indicated by Simple Modular Architecture Research Tool (SMART) which is hosted by the European Molecular Biology Laboratory located in Heidelberg, Germany. MEGF8 has been predicted to be a key player in several developmental processes, such as left-right patterning and limb formation. Currently, researchers have found MEGF8 SNP mutations to be the cause of Carpenter syndrome subtype 2. | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki?curid=42149365 | 2,171,584 |
705,578 | On 1 January 2016, Blackburn was interviewed about her studies, discovering telomerase, and her current research. When she was asked to recall the moment of telomerase discovery she stated:Carol had done this experiment, and we stood, just in the lab, and I remember sort of standing there, and she had this – we call it a gel. It's an autoradiogram because there were trace amounts of radioactivity that were used to develop an image of the separated DNA products of what turned out to be the telomerase enzyme reaction. I remember looking at it and just thinking, 'Ah! This could be very big. This looks just right.' It had a pattern to it. There was a regularity to it. There was something that was not just sort of garbage there, and that was really kind of coming through, even though we look back at it now, we'd say, technically, there was this, that and the other, but it was a pattern shining through, and it just had this sort of sense, 'Ah! There's something real here.' But then, of course, the good scientist has to be very sceptical and immediately say, 'Okay, we're going to test this every way around here, and really nail this one way or the other.' If it's going to be true, you have to make sure that it's true, because you can get a lot of false leads, especially if you're wanting something to work.In 1978, Blackburn joined the faculty of the University of California, Berkeley, in the Department of Molecular Biology. In 1990, she moved across the San Francisco Bay to the Department of Microbiology and Immunology at the University of California, San Francisco (UCSF), where she served as the Department Chair from 1993 to 1999 and was the Morris Herzstein Professor of Biology and Physiology at UCSF. Blackburn became a Professor Emeritus at UCSF at the end of 2015. | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki?curid=989870 | 705,209 |
1,326,154 | Interactive accounts assume that all available information is processed at the same time and can immediately influence the computation of the final analysis. In the interactive model of sentence processing, there is no separate module for parsing. Lexical access, syntactic structure assignment, and meaning assignment happen at the same time in parallel. Several syntactic hypotheses can be considered at a time. The interactive model demonstrates an on-line interaction between the structural and lexical and phonetic levels of sentence processing. Each word, as it is heard in the context of normal discourse, is immediately entered into the processing system at all levels of description, and is simultaneously analyzed at all these levels in the light of whatever information is available at each level at that point in the processing of the sentence. Interactive models of language processing assume that information flows both bottom-up and top-down, so that the representations formed at each level may be influenced by higher as well as lower levels. A framework called the interactive activation framework that embeds this key assumption among others, including the assumption that influences from different sources are combined nonlinearly. The nonlinearity means that information that may be decisive under some circumstances may have little or no effect under other conditions. In the interactive activation framework, the knowledge that guides processing is stored in the connections between units on the same and adjacent levels. The processing units that they connect may receive input from a number of different sources, which allows the knowledge that guides processing to be completely local while, at the same time, allowing the results of processing at one level to influence processing at other levels, both above and below. A basic assumption of the framework is that processing interactions are always reciprocal; it is this bi-directional characteristic that makes the system interactive. Bi-directional excitatory interactions between levels allow mutual simultaneous constraint among adjacent levels, and bi-directional inhibitory interactions within a level allow for competition among mutually incompatible interpretations of a portion of an input. The between-level excitatory interactions are captured in the models in two-way excitatory connections between mutually compatible processing units. Syntactic ambiguities are in fact based at the lexical level. In addition, more recent studies with more sensitive eye tracking machines have shown early context effects. Frequency and contextual information will modulate the activation of alternatives even when they are resolved in favor of the simple interpretation. Structural simplicity is cofounded with frequency, which goes against the garden path theory | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki?curid=9736729 | 1,325,427 |
1,209,924 | With Morris Halle and others, Chomsky founded the graduate program in linguistics at MIT in 1961. The program immediately attracted some of the brightest young American linguists. Jerry Fodor and Jerrold Katz, both graduates of the Ph.D. program at Princeton, and Paul Postal, a Ph.D. from Yale, were some of the first students of this program. They made major contributions to the nascent field of TGG. John Viertel, a colleague of Chomsky at RLE in the 1950s, began working for a Ph.D. dissertation under Chomsky on the linguistic thoughts of Wilhelm von Humboldt, a nineteenth-century German linguist. Viertel's English translations of Humboldt's works influenced Chomsky at this time and made him abandon Saussurian views of linguistics. Chomsky also collaborated with visiting French mathematician Marcel-Paul Schützenberger, and was able to formulate one of the most important theorems of formal linguistics, the Chomsky-Schützenberger hierarchy. Within the theoretical framework of TGG, G. H. Matthews, Chomsky's colleague at RLE, worked on the grammar of Hidatsa, a Native American language. J. R. Applegate worked on the German noun phrase. Lees and Klima looked into English pronominalization. Matthews and Lees worked on the German verb phrase. On the nature of the linguistic research at MIT in those days, Jerry Fodor recalls that "...communication was very lively, and I guess we shared a general picture of the methodology for doing, not just linguistics, but behavioral science research. We were all more or less nativist, and all more or less mentalist. There was a lot of methodological conversation that one didn't need to have. One could get right to the substantive issues. So, from that point of view, it was extremely exciting.". In 1962, Chomsky gave a paper at the Ninth International Congress of Linguists entitled "The Logical Basis of Linguistic Theory," in which he outlined the transformational generative grammar approach to linguistics. In June 1964, he delivered a series of lectures at the Linguistic Institute of the Linguistic Society of America (these were later published in 1966 as "Topics in the Theory of Generative Grammar"). | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki?curid=24400467 | 1,209,277 |
452,192 | When solar energetic particles reach the Earth's atmosphere they cause ionisation that creates nitric oxide (NO) and other reactive nitrogen species, which then precipitate out in the form of nitrates. Since all energetic charged particles are deflected to a greater or lesser extent by the geomagnetic field, they enter preferentially at the polar latitudes; since high latitudes also contain permanent ice, it is natural to look for the nitrate signature of particle events in ice cores. A study of a Greenland ice core extending back to 1561 AD achieved resolutions of 10 or 20 samples a year, allowing in principle the detection of single events. Precise dates (within one or two years) can be achieved by counting annual layers in the cores, checked by identification of deposits associated with known volcanic eruptions. The core contained an annual variation of nitrate concentration, accompanied by a number of 'spikes' of different amplitudes. The strongest of these in the entire record was dated to within a few weeks of the Carrington event of 1859. However, other events can produce nitrate spikes, including biomass burning which also produces enhanced ammonium concentrations. An examination of fourteen ice cores from Antarctic and Arctic regions showed large nitrate spikes: however, none of them were dated to 1859 other than the one already mentioned, and that one seems to be too soon after the Carrington event and too short to be explained by it. All such spikes were associated with ammonium and other chemical indicators of combustion. The conclusion is that nitrate concentrations cannot be used as indicators of historic solar activity. | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki?curid=24728109 | 451,973 |
1,390,021 | Since their fossils show no signs of a gut or other organs, they were originally classified as some kind of sponge. Butterfield and Nicholas (1996) argued that they were closely related to sponges on the grounds that the detailed structure of chancellorid sclerites is similar to that of fibers of spongin, a collagen protein, in modern keratose (horny) demosponges. However Janussen, Steiner and Zhu (2002) opposed this view, arguing that: spongin does not appear in all Porifera, but may be a defining feature of the demosponges; the silica-based spines of demosponges are solid, while chancellorid sclerites are hollow and filled with soft tissues connected to the rest of the animal at the bases of the sclerites; chancellorid sclerites were probably made of aragonite, which is not found in demosponges; sponges have loosely bound-together skins called pinacoderms, which are only one cell thick, while the skins of chancellorids were much thicker and shows signs of connective structures called belt desmosomes. In their opinion the presence of belt desmosomes made chancellorids members of the Epitheliazoa, the next higher taxon above the Porifera, to which sponges belong. They thought it was difficult to say whether chancellorids were members of the Eumetazoa, "true animals" whose tissues are organized into Germ layers: chancellorids' lack of internal organs would seem to exclude them from the Eumetazoa; but possibly chancellorids descended from Eumetazoans that lost these features after becoming sessile filter-feeders. There are intriguing hints that the Ediacaran genus "Ausia" may represent a halkieriid ancestor with strong similarity to the chancelloriids. | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki?curid=4863813 | 1,389,250 |
1,924,377 | The COVID-19 pandemic forces the AIAS to cease all in-person activities at the beginning of 2020. President Erin Conti (Illinois Institute of Technology) and vice president Sara Taketatsu (University of Colorado - Boulder) lead the board in efforts to adapt programs and events to a virtual environment. Membership numbers and engagement drop significantly during the pandemic as universities implement online classes and global lockdowns are put in place. Despite the difficulties, the AIAS successfully hosts its first virtual conference for Grassroots 2020 in July. During the second day of the virtual FORUM conference later that year, the deadly January 6 United States Capitol attack takes place mere blocks from the location of the AIAS office. The year ends with Ashley Ash taking over as interim executive director. A new board liaison position is created for the National Organization of Minority Architects (NOMA), and the AIAS begins to promote alternative career paths for graduates of architecture schools. The organization also creates a code of ethics and a permanent ethics committee. | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki?curid=607666 | 1,923,274 |
511,780 | This treatise documented a wide range of pharmaceutical practices, including the use of ephedrine as a drug. It includes valuable information on metallurgy and the steel and iron industries during 11th century China. He created a systematic approach to listing various different minerals and their use in medicinal concoctions, such as all the variously known forms of mica that could be used to cure ills through digestion. He wrote of the subconchoidal fracture of native cinnabar, signs of ore beds, and provided description on crystal form. Similar to the ore channels formed by circulation of ground water written of by the later German scientist Georgius Agricola, Su Song made similar statements concerning copper carbonate, as did the earlier "Rihua Bencao" of 970 with copper sulphate. Su's book was also the first pharmaceutical treatise written in China to describe the flax, "Urtica thunbergiana", and "Corchoropsis tomentosa" (crenata) plants. According to Edward H. Schafer, Su accurately described the translucent quality of fine realgar, its origin from pods found in rocky river gorges, its matrix being pitted with holes and having a deep red, almost purple color, and that the mineral varied in sizes ranging from the size of a pea to a walnut. | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki?curid=1861611 | 511,514 |
669,476 | Towards the end of the 19th century, Harvard psychologist William James described the testing effect in the following section of his 1890 book "The Principles of Psychology" ""A curious peculiarity of our memory is that things are impressed better by active than by passive repetition. I mean that in learning (by heart, for example), when we almost know the piece, it pays better to wait and recollect by an effort from within, than to look at the book again. If we recover the words in the former way, we shall probably know them the next time; if in the latter way, we shall very likely need the book once more."" The first documented empirical studies on the testing effect were published in 1909 by Edwina E. Abbott which was followed up by research into the transfer and retrieval of prior learning. In his 1932 book "Psychology of Study", C. A. Mace said: ""On the matter of sheer repetitive drill there is another principle of the highest importance: Active repetition is very much more effective than passive repetition. ... there are two ways of introducing further repetitions. We may re-read this list: this is passive repetition. We may recall it to mind without reference to the text before forgetting has begun: this is active repetition. It has been found that when acts of reading and acts of recall alternate, i.e., when every reading is followed by an attempt to recall the items, the efficiency of learning and retention is enormously enhanced."" Studies in retrieval practice started in 1987 by John. L Richards, who published his findings in a newspaper in New York. Much of the confusion around early studies could have been due to constrained approaches not accounting for context. In more recent research with contributions from Hal Pashler, Henry Roediger and many others, testing knowledge can produce better learning, transfer, and retrieval results when compared to other forms of study that often use recognition like re-reading or highlighting. | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki?curid=905659 | 669,126 |
655,980 | The first experiments that successfully developed transgenic amphibians into embryos began in the 1980s with Xenopus laevis. Later, germline transgenic axolotls in Ambystoma mexicanum were produced in 2006 using a technique called I-SceI-mediated transgenesis which utilizes the I-SceI endonuclease enzyme that can break DNA at specific sites and allow for foreign DNA to be inserted into the genome. Both Xenopus laevis and Ambystoma mexicanum are model organisms used to study regeneration. In addition, transgenic lines have been produced in other salamanders including the Japanese newt Pyrrhogaster and Pleurodeles watl. Genetically modified frogs, in particular "Xenopus laevis" and "Xenopus tropicalis", are used in development biology. GM frogs can also be used as pollution sensors, especially for endocrine disrupting chemicals. There are proposals to use genetic engineering to control cane toads in Australia. Many lines of transgenic X. laevis are used to study immunology to address how bacteria and viruses cause infectious disease at the University of Rochester Medical Center’s X. laevis Research Resource for Immunobiology (XLRRI). Amphibians can also be used to study and validate regenerative signaling pathways such as the Wnt pathway. The wound-healing abilities of amphibians have many practical applications and can potentially provide a foundation for scar-free repair in human plastic surgery, such as treating the skin of burn patients. | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki?curid=22696587 | 655,636 |
728,381 | Le Corbusier (1887–1965) pioneered a new urban form called towers in the park. His approach was based on defining the house as 'a machine to live in'. The Plan Voisin he devised for Paris, which was never fulfilled, would have involved the demolition of much of historic Paris in favour of 18 uniform 700-foot tower blocks. Ville Contemporaine and the Ville Radieuse formulated his basic principles, including decongestion of the city by increased density and open space by building taller on a smaller footprint. Wide avenues should also be built to the city centre by demolishing old structures, which was criticized for lack of environmental awareness. His generic ethos of planning was based on the rule of experts who would "work out their plans in total freedom from partisan pressures and special interests" and that "once their plans are formulated, they must be implemented without opposition". His influence on the Soviet Union helped inspire the 'urbanists' who wanted to build planned cities full of massive apartment blocks in Soviet countryside. The only city which he ever actually helped plan was Chandigarh in India. Brasília, planned by Oscar Niemeyer, also was heavily influenced by his thought. Both cities suffered from the issue of unplanned settlements growing outside them. | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki?curid=45346 | 727,997 |
1,728,314 | Stanley produced a 'Panoptic Stereoscope' in 1855, which was financially successful. Stereoscopes had sold for five shillings each – Stanley discovered a simpler method to make them, which enable him to sell them for one shilling. He was able to take an additional shops at 3–4 Great Turnstile and 286 High Holborn, as well as a skilled assistant. He did not patent the Panoptic, so it was soon copied around the world, but he had sold enough to provide the capital required to manufacture scientific instruments. In 1861 he invented a straight line dividing machine for which he won first prize in the 1862 International Exhibition in London. Stanley brought out the first catalogue of his products in 1864. By the fifth edition, Stanley was able to list important customers such as several government departments, the Army, the Royal Navy, railways at home and abroad, and London University. From 1865, he worked on improving the elegance and stability of surveying instruments, especially the theodolite, whose construction he simplified. It had a rotating telescope for measuring horizontal and vertical angles and able to take sights on prominent objects at a distance. The component parts were reduced to fewer than half of the 226 used in the previous version, making it lighter, cheaper and more accurate. | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki?curid=24125236 | 1,727,340 |
1,654,071 | Predictions of meteorological variables are provided by meteorological institutes. Meteorologists employ atmospheric models for weather forecasts on short and medium term periods. An atmospheric model is a numerical approximation of the physical description of the state of the atmosphere in the near future, and usually is run on a supercomputer. Each computation starts with initial conditions originating from recent measurements. The output consists of the expected instantaneous value of physical quantities at various vertical levels in a horizontal grid and stepping in time up to several hours after initiation. There are several reasons why atmospheric models only approximate reality. First of all, not all relevant atmospheric processes are included in the model. Also, the initial conditions may contain errors (which in a worse case propagate), and the output is only available for discrete points in space (horizontal as well as vertical) and time. Finally, the initial conditions age with time – they are already old when the computation starts let alone when the output is published. Predictions of meteorological variables are issued several times per day (commonly between 2 and 4 times per day), and are available few hours after the beginning of the forecast period. This is because some time is needed for acquiring and analyzing the wealth of measurements used as input to NWP models, then run the model and check and distribute the output forecast series. This gap is a blind spot in the forecasts from an atmospheric model. As an example in the Netherlands, KNMI publishes 4 times per day expected values of wind speed, wind direction, temperature and pressure for the period the between 0 and 48 hours after initialization of the atmospheric model Hirlam with measured data, and then the period before forecast delivery is of 4 hours. | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki?curid=8768560 | 1,653,139 |
1,651,971 | The greater part of the world's peatlands occur in the northern hemisphere, encompassing both boreal and temperate regions. Global estimates indicate that northern peatlands cover 3,794,000 km2, storing about 450 Gt of C at a density of approximately 118,318 t C km−2 . Peatlands form in poorly drained areas under conditions of high precipitation and low temperature . 66% of northern peatlands are found in Eurasia and 34% in North America. About 60% of these peatlands (2718×103 km2) are perennially frozen, with approximately 2152×103 km2 occurring in Eurasia and 565×103 km2 in North America . In the European Union (25 countries in Europe), peatlands cover approximately 291×103 km2, of which nearly 55% are in Finland and Sweden . Peatlands are more common in Belarus and Ukraine, where they occupy approximately 497×103 km2. Both boreal and temperate peatlands are primarily formed from bryophytes and graminoids, displaying slower rates of accumulation and decomposition comparative to the tropics . Northern peatlands have been drained for agriculture, forestry, and peat mining for fuel and horticulture. Historical uses of intact northern peatlands include fishing, hunting, grazing and gathering berries. Paludiculture is not widely established commercially in northern peatlands and most research projects identified below are ongoing. Many have not yet published peer-reviewed results. Most are focused on "Sphagnum" and reed farming. Rather than excavating decomposed "Sphagnum" as peat, non-decomposed reed fibres are harvested in cycles, as a renewable source of biomass. "Sphagnum" fibres can be used as a growing substrate, packaging to protect plants in transport, or to reintroduce moss when restoring other peatlands. | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki?curid=54076293 | 1,651,039 |
443,862 | During the 2000s, the company developed two closely related multi-engine fixed-wing aircraft, the XP-1 maritime patrol airplane and the XC-2 transport aircraft. Kawasaki was appointed as the prime contractor for both programmes during 2001, its launch occurred almost 30 years after the previous large-scale domestic development of an aircraft in Japan. Although the P-X and C-X designs were originally independent, it was decided that having common components to both designs would be useful. The JDA mandated that the two aircraft share identical body components; common components include the cockpit windows, outer wings, horizontal stabilizer, and other systems. Internal shared parts include the auxiliary power unit, cockpit panel, flight control system computer, anti-collision lights, and gear control unit. Due to the different roles of the two aircraft, they remain distinctly separate. The sharing of development resources had allowed for a large reduction in overall development costs which, when including the C-2, were reported as being 345 billion Yen ($3 billion) in 2007. On 30 June 2016, the C-2 airlifter formally entered service with the Japan Air Self-Defense Force. | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki?curid=16593309 | 443,647 |
1,876,148 | Beginning in 1954, the battalion spent twelve years at Fort Stewart, Georgia before their next major period of active service in Vietnam. At Fort Stewart, the battalion’s mission was to construct, rehabilitate and maintain military routes of communications and facilities, and perform related engineering work in the communications zone and rear areas of the combat zone. Starting in 1966, the 169th served seven years in a war that had no front lines and where the farmer working in the field by day became an enemy attacking by night. This battalion built hundreds of miles of roads and constructed quarters for thousands of American soldiers throughout the Delta region of South Vietnam. They also built bridges, installed culverts, repaired heavy construction equipment, cleared land, and accomplished all the missions associated with heavy engineer construction equipment operators, mechanics, carpenters, plumbers, electricians, structures specialists, and combat engineers. The battalion was reactivated in 1986 and served as Advanced Individual Training unit responsible for the training of various vertical construction specialties. Later that year, the battalion became the 169th Engineer Battalion (Support). In this role, the 169th supported all types of engineer training on Fort Leonard Wood by commanding the staff and faculty company, garrison company, and engineer companies whose mission involved pipelines, quarries, fire fighting, and bridging. In the spring of 1995, the 169th became a One Station Unit Training battalion responsible for training combat engineers, bridge builders, heavy construction equipment operators and mechanics, and engineer technicians for service in today’s Army. The 169th has a credit for 14 campaigns in Southeast Asia and three in World War II. It has also received three meritorious unit commendations and one Vietnam Civil Action Honor Medal. | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki?curid=45115811 | 1,875,070 |
98,404 | "The Motion Picture" was met with mixed reviews from critics; a 2001 retrospective for the BBC described the film as a critical failure. The film holds a 54% rating on Rotten Tomatoes based on 54 contemporary and modern reviews. Roger Ebert, reviewing the film on "Sneak Previews", liked it, calling it "fun" and "a good time". Judith Martin of "The Washington Post" felt that the plot was too thin to support the length of the film, although Martin felt that compared to such science-fiction films as "2001", "Star Wars", and "Alien", "The Motion Picture"s premise was "slightly cleverer". "Time" magazine's Richard Schickel wrote that the film consisted of spaceships that "take an unconscionable amount of time to get anywhere, and nothing of dramatic or human interest happens along the way". Schickel also lamented the lack of "boldly characterized" antagonists and battle scenes that made "Star Wars" fun; instead, viewers were presented with much talk, "much of it in impenetrable spaceflight jargon". David Denby of "New York" magazine, wrote that the slow movement of ships through space was "no longer surprising and elegant" after films such as "2001", and that much of the action consisted of the crew's reacting to things occurring on the viewscreen, which he considered to be "like watching someone else watch television". "Variety", disagreed, calling the film "a search-and-destroy thriller that includes all of the ingredients the TV show's fans thrive on: the philosophical dilemma wrapped in a scenario of mind control, troubles with the space ship, the dependable and understanding Kirk, the ever-logical Spock, and suspenseful take with twist ending". Scott Bukatman reviewed the film in "Ares" magazine #1, and commented that "With "Star Trek", Roddenberry's trick has been to wear the mask of the humanist as he plays with his Erector set. The scale of the television series arrested his vision at a comfortable and still interesting level, but the new film has finally removed the mask." | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki?curid=277006 | 98,362 |
1,775,498 | In a report in "Science" from 2000, William E. Vinje and Jack Gallant outlined a series of experiments used to test elements of the efficient coding hypothesis, including a theory that the non-classical receptive field (nCRF) decorrelates projections from the primary visual cortex. To test this, they took recordings from the V1 neurons in awake macaques during "free viewing of natural images and conditions" that simulated natural vision conditions. The researchers hypothesized that the V1 uses sparse code, which is minimally redundant and "metabolically more efficient". They also hypothesized that interactions between the classical receptive field (CRF) and the nCRF produced this pattern of sparse coding during the viewing of these natural scenes. In order to test this, they created eye-scan paths and also extracted patches that ranged in size from 1-4 times the diameter of the CRF. They found that the sparseness of the coding increased with the size of the patch. Larger patches encompassed more of the nCRF—indicating that the interactions between these two regions created sparse code. Additionally as stimulus size increased, so did the sparseness. This suggests that the V1 uses sparse code when natural images span the entire visual field. The CRF was defined as the circular area surrounding the locations where stimuli evoked action potentials. They also tested to see if the stimulation of the nCRF increased the independence of the responses from the V1 neurons by randomly selecting pairs of neurons. They found that indeed, the neurons were more greatly decoupled upon stimulation of the nCRF. In conclusion, the experiments of Vinje and Gallant showed that the V1 uses sparse code by employing both the CRF and nCRF when viewing natural images, with the nCRF showing a definitive decorrelating effect on neurons which may increase their efficiency by increasing the amount of independent information they carry. They propose that the cells may represent the individual components of a given natural scene, which may contribute to pattern recognition | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki?curid=5198024 | 1,774,501 |
1,217,592 | The history of activity-dependent plasticity begins with Paul Bach y Rita. With conventional ideology being that the brain development is finalized upon adulthood, Bach y Rita designed several experiments in the late 1960s and 1970s that proved that the brain is capable of changing. These included a pivotal visual substitution method for blind people provided by tactile image projection in 1969. The basis behind this experiment was to take one sense and use it to detect another: in this case use the sense of touch on the tongue to visualize the surrounding. This experiment was years ahead of its time and led to many questions and applications. A similar experiment was reported again by Bach y Rita in 1986 where vibrotactile stimulation was delivered to the index fingertips of naive blindfolded subjects. Even though the experiment did not yield great results, it supported the study and proposed further investigations. In 1998, his design was even further developed and tested again with a 49-point electrotactile stimulus array on the tongue. He found that five sighted adult subjects recognized shapes across all sizes 79.8% of the time, a remarkable finding that has led to the incorporation of the tongue electrotactile stimulus into cosmetically acceptable and practical designs for blind people. In later years, he has published a number of other articles including "Seeing with the brain" in 2003 where Bach y Rita addresses the plasticity of the brain relative to visual learning. Here, images are enhanced and perceived by other plastic mechanisms within the realm of information passing to the brain. | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki?curid=20510214 | 1,216,939 |
562,744 | Lycoming announced its LF500 family of turbofans in September 1988, starting with the LF507-1H and LF507-1F, which were certificated in October 1991 and March 1992, respectively. In June 1992, the company outlined improvements to the LF500 family's core, which included a wide-chord fan to move more air, uprated fan gearbox, three-stage power turbine (an increase from two stages), more lighter-weight composite materials, increased diameter in the first three stages of the axial compressor to increase airflow by 17 percent, an improved impeller (centrifugal compressor) with lean-back vanes, a 16-lobe forced exhaust mixer to reduce noise and specific fuel consumption (SFC), an advanced combustor, and a temperature margin increase of in the turbine. Lycoming introduced the 500 Series of common core engines of turboprops and turbofans in February 1994 as a derivative of the LF507 to power regional aircraft in the late 1990s. A turboprop version also was planned for the European Future Large Aircraft military transport (which would eventually become the Airbus A400M). AlliedSignal, which took over Lycoming in October 1994, demonstration tested the common core in December; the core was capable of producing of thrust. After losing the competition to power the de Havilland Dash 8-400 regional turboprop, AlliedSignal abandoned the common core effort in July 1995. | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki?curid=14948860 | 562,455 |
290,316 | Indoor Air Quality seeks to reduce volatile organic compounds, or VOCs, and other air impurities such as microbial contaminants. Buildings rely on a properly designed ventilation system (passively/naturally or mechanically powered) to provide adequate ventilation of cleaner air from outdoors or recirculated, filtered air as well as isolated operations (kitchens, dry cleaners, etc.) from other occupancies. During the design and construction process choosing construction materials and interior finish products with zero or low VOC emissions will improve IAQ. Most building materials and cleaning/maintenance products emit gases, some of them toxic, such as many VOCs including formaldehyde. These gases can have a detrimental impact on occupants' health, comfort, and productivity. Avoiding these products will increase a building's IEQ. LEED, HQE and Green Star contain specifications on use of low-emitting interior. Draft LEED 2012 is about to expand the scope of the involved products. BREEAM limits formaldehyde emissions, no other VOCs. MAS Certified Green is a registered trademark to delineate low VOC-emitting products in the marketplace. The MAS Certified Green Program ensures that any potentially hazardous chemicals released from manufactured products have been thoroughly tested and meet rigorous standards established by independent toxicologists to address recognized long-term health concerns. These IAQ standards have been adopted by and incorporated into the following programs: | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki?curid=1344439 | 290,159 |
229,044 | Monitoring system logs has grown more prevalent as complex cyber-attacks force compliance and regulatory mechanisms to mandate logging security controls within a Risk Management Framework. Logging levels of a system started with the primary function of troubleshooting system errors or debugging code compiled and run. As operating systems and networks have increased in complexity, so has the event and log generation on these systems. In comparison, the logging of system, security, and application logs is not the only way to perform incident response. They do offer the capability to trace the activities of nearly any system or user-related movement throughout a given period. From the late 1970s, there was a formation of working groups to help establish the criteria for the management of auditing and monitoring programs and what and how system logs can be used for insider threat, incident response, and troubleshooting. This also established a base discussion for many of the concepts still used in modern cybersecurity. See, Basis for Audit and Evaluation of Computer Security from National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) Special Publication 500-19 published in 1977. | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki?curid=27262733 | 228,927 |
1,439,503 | When a bioactive ligand with a known structure is to be screened against a protein with limited structural information, modeling is done with regard to ligand structure. Pharmacophore modeling identifies key electronic and structural features that are associated with therapeutic activity across similarly bioactive structural analogs, and accordingly requires large libraries with corresponding experimental data to enhance predictive power. Compound structures are superimposed virtually and common elements are scored on the basis of their tendency toward bioactivity. The move away from lock-and-key based modeling toward induced-fit based modeling has improved binding predictions but has also given rise to the challenge of modeling ligand flexibility, which requires building a database of conformational models and utilizes large amounts of data storage space. Another approach is the so-called on-the-fly method, in which conformational models are tested during the process of pharmacophore modeling, without a database; this method requires significantly less storage space at the cost of high computing time. A second challenge arises from the decision of how to superimpose analog structures. A common approach is to use a least-squares regression for superimposition, but this requires user-selected anchor points and therefore introduces human bias into the process. Pharmacophore models require training data sets, giving rise to another challenge—selection of the appropriate library of compounds to adequately train models. Data set size and chemical diversity significantly affect performance of the downstream product. | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki?curid=48999251 | 1,438,693 |
1,620,027 | Rashid Bashir is Dean of The Grainger College of Engineering, Grainger Distinguished Chair in Engineering and Professor of Bioengineering, at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. He was the Executive Associate Dean and Chief Diversity Officer at the Carle-Illinois College of Medicine (07/2017 – 12/2018) at UIUC. Previously, he was the Abel Bliss Professor of Engineering, Head of Department of Bioengineering (07/2013 – 06/2017), Director of the Micro and Nanotechnology Laboratory (a campus-wide clean room research facility) (10/2007 – 06/2013), and Co-Director of the campus-wide Center for Nanoscale Science and Technology (10/2010 – 06/2013), a "collaboratory" aimed at facilitating center grants and large initiatives around campus in the area of nanotechnology. Prior to joining UIUC, he was at Purdue University from 1998–2007 with faculty appointments in Electrical and Computer Engineering, and Bioengineering. From 1992 to 1998 he worked at National Semiconductor Corporation in Santa Clara, CA as Sr. Engineering Manager. He graduated with a PhD in Electrical Engineering from Purdue University in 1992. He has authored or co-authored over 240 journal papers, over 200 conference papers and conference abstracts, and over 120 invited talks, and has been granted 50 patents. He is an NSF Faculty Early Career Award winner and the 2012 IEEE EMBS Technical Achievement Award. He received the Pritzker Lecture Award from BMES in 2018. He is a fellow of IEEE, AIMBE, AAAS, BMES, RSC, APS, and NAI. | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki?curid=38591647 | 1,619,112 |
696,593 | Proximity and access to water have been key factors in human settlement through history. Water, along with the spaces around it, create a potential for transport, trade, and power generation. They also provide the human population with resources like recreation and tourism in addition to drinking water and food. Many of the world's largest cities are located near water sources, and networks of urban "blue infrastructure", such as canals, harbors and so forth, have been constructed to capture the benefits and minimize risks. Globally, cities are facing severe water uncertainties such as floods, droughts, and upstream activities on trans-boundary rivers. The increasing pressure, intensity, and speed of urbanization has led to the disappearance of any visible form of water infrastructure in most cities. Urban coastal populations are growing, and many cities have seen an extensive post-industrial transformation of canals, riversides, docks, etc. following changes in global trading patterns. The potential implications of such waterside regeneration in terms of public health have only recently been scientifically investigated. A systematic review conducted in 2017 found consistent evidence of positive associations between exposure of people to blue space and mental health and physical activity. | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki?curid=10040229 | 696,229 |
1,422,883 | The oldest known thalattosauroids ("Thalattosaurus", "Paralonectes", and "Agkistrognathus" of British Columbia's Sulphur Mountain Formation) lived in eastern Panthalassa, along what is now the western coast of North America. Müller (2005, 2007) argued that at least one branch of thalattosauroids had managed to spread worldwide early in their evolution. However, this is based on the hypothesis that "Nectosaurus" (from California), "Xinpusaurus" (from China), and an unnamed species from Austria formed a clade basal to other thalattosaurs, a classification scheme which contrasts with many other studies. The worldwide distribution of Thalattosauroidea is intriguing considering that thalattosaurs are considered to be poorly adapted for traversing open oceans, which would have been a necessity for spreading between the eastern coast of Panthalassa and the Tethys Ocean. Coastal "refuges" such as volcanic island arcs and guyots may have facilitated the ability of thalattosaurs to spread between ocean basins. "Hescheleria"-like forms were previously only reported from North America and Europe, but in 2021 a "Hescheleria"-like snout fragment was reported from China, indicating that they also had a widespread distribution. Trans-Panthalassa connections are also observed in other Triassic marine life such as pistosaurs and ammonites. Evidently thalattosaurs were capable of dispersing throughout major marine regions multiple times before the group's extinction, with thalattosauroids likely more prolific at spreading than askeptosauroids due to their greater aquatic adaptations. | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki?curid=14067771 | 1,422,082 |
1,154,743 | Levy was brought in to a new company called Retro Computers Ltd, by his friend Sir Clive Sinclair. This company was formed after a meeting with Sinclair and Paul Andrews who conceived the Sinclair ZX Spectrum Vega games console. This was backed by members of the public on a crowd funding site raising over £150,000 in 2015, and delivered successfully to backers that same year. A second portable console, the ZX Spectrum Vega+, was proposed, and crowd funded again, but two of the four founding directors (Paul Andrews and Chris Smith) left the company in April 2016 before the crowd funding finished. They left citing irreconcilable differences between them and the last remaining director Levy. Levy continued with the company installing two replacement directors, Suzanne Martin and Dr. Janko Mrsic-Flogel, both long term associates of Levy. The Vega+ console was originally intended to be delivered to backers in September 2016, but as of August 2017 the device remained unreleased amid claims of "infighting and legal battles". Despite condensed accounts being filed for the company at Companies House no information has been provided to identify the status of funds. In September 2017 the company's bank statements were released showing that by 2017 all money raised via Indiegogo had been spent by RCL with no product to show for it, but calls from the backers for Levy to explain why the company had previously told "The Inquirer" that the missing funds were "safe" and "ring-fenced" went unanswered. On 23 January 2019 a Petition to wind up the company was filed by Private Planet Limited, owned by Dr Mrsic-Flogel. Liquidators were appointed 4 April 2019 leaving backers empty-handed. | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki?curid=591100 | 1,154,133 |
237,879 | The Soviets started experimenting with nuclear technology in 1943 with very little regard of nuclear safety as there were no reports of accidents that were ever made public to learn from, and the public was kept in hidden about the radiation dangers. Many of the nuclear devices left behind radioactive isotopes which have contaminated air, water and soil in the areas immediately surrounding, downwind and downstream of the blast site. According to the records that the Russian government released in 1991, the Soviet Union tested 969 nuclear devices between 1949 and 1990— the more nuclear testing than any nation in the planet. Soviet scientists conducted the tests with little regard for environmental and public health consequences. The detrimental effects that the toxic waste generated by weapons testing and processing of radioactive materials are still felt to this day. Even decades later, the risk of developing various types of cancer, especially that of the thyroid and the lungs, continues to be elevated far above national averages for people in affected areas. Iodine-131, a radioactive isotope that is a major byproduct of fission-based weapons, is retained in the thyroid gland, and so poisoning of this kind is commonplace in impacted populations. | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki?curid=1217440 | 237,760 |
223,178 | Studies of classical genetic markers showed that Koreans tend to have a close genetic affinity with Mongolians among East Asians. Ancient genome comparisons revealed that the genetic makeup of Koreans can be best described as an admixture of an Northern hunter-gatherer component as well as that of a influx of rice-farming agriculturalists from the Yangtze river valley, which in turn are often linked to O2-M122 and is largely male-biased. Another study concludes however that O2b*-SRY465 and O2b1-47z had an "in situ" origin among Northeast Asians, particularly among the prehistoric Koreans, rather than in southern China or Southeast Asia as previously envisaged. The combination of the O2b initial settlement (which became an indigenous proto-Korean component) in part with the relatively recent O3 and C3 lineages (which include a Chinese component) explains some of the main events formulating the current Y chromosome composition of the Korean population. This is supported by archeological, historical and linguistic evidence, which suggest that the direct ancestors of Koreans were proto-Koreans who inhabited the northeastern region of China and the Korean Peninsula during the Neolithic (8,000-1,000 BC) and Bronze (1,500-400 BC) Ages. The results from the findings in the Devil's Gate showed that the ancient populations of the area were already admixed from various sources. | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki?curid=58702403 | 223,068 |
859,204 | Mental rotation is the ability to mentally represent and "rotate" 2D and 3D objects in space quickly and accurately, while the object's features remain unchanged. Mental representations of physical objects can help utilize problem solving and understanding. For example, Hegarty (2004) showed that people manipulate mental representations for reasoning about mechanical problems, such as how gears or pulleys work. Similarly, Schwartz and Black (1999) found that doing such mental simulations such as pouring water improves people's skill to find the solution to questions about the amount of tilt required for containers of different heights and widths. In the field of sports psychology, coaches for a variety of sports (e.g. basketball, gymnastics, soccer or golf) have promoted players to use mental imagery and manipulation as one technique for performance in their game. (Jones & Stuth, 1997) Recent research (e.g., Cherney, 2008) has also demonstrated evidence that playing video games with consistent practice can improve mental rotation skills, for example improvements in women's scores after practice with a game that involved a race within a 3-D environment. Same effects have been seen playing action video games such as Unreal Tournament as well as the popular mainstream game Tetris. Jigsaw puzzles and Rubik's cube are also activities that involve higher level of mental rotation and can be practiced to improve spatial abilities over time. | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki?curid=49045837 | 858,746 |
1,468,486 | Advances in military technology aided the Song dynasty in its defense against hostile neighbors to the north. The flamethrower found its origins in Byzantine-era Greece, employing Greek fire (a chemically complex, highly flammable petrol fluid) in a device with a siphon hose by the 7th century. The earliest reference to Greek Fire in China was made in 917, written by Wu Renchen in his "Spring and Autumn Annals of the Ten Kingdoms". In 919, the siphon projector-pump was used to spread the 'fierce fire oil' that could not be doused with water, as recorded by Lin Yu in his "Wuyue Beishi", hence the first credible Chinese reference to the flamethrower employing the chemical solution of Greek fire (see also Pen Huo Qi). Lin Yu mentioned also that the 'fierce fire oil' derived ultimately from one of China's maritime contacts in the 'southern seas', Arabia ("Dashiguo"). In the Battle of Langshan Jiang in 919, the naval fleet of the Wenmu King from Wuyue defeated a Huainan army from the Wu state; Wenmu's success was facilitated by the use of 'fire oil' ('huo you') to burn their fleet, signifying the first Chinese use of gunpowder in a battle. The Chinese applied the use of double-piston bellows to pump petrol out of a single cylinder (with an upstroke and downstroke), lit at the end by a slow-burning gunpowder match to fire a continuous stream of flame. This device was featured in description and illustration of the "Wujing Zongyao" military manuscript of 1044. In the suppression of the Southern Tang state by 976, early Song naval forces confronted them on the Yangtze River in 975. Southern Tang forces attempted to use flamethrowers against the Song navy, but were accidentally consumed by their own fire when violent winds swept in their direction. | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki?curid=10444102 | 1,467,662 |
832,638 | Advances in military technology aided the Song dynasty in its defense against hostile neighbors to the north. The flamethrower found its origins in Byzantine-era Greece, employing Greek fire (a chemically complex, highly flammable petrol fluid) in a device with a siphon hose by the 7th century. The earliest reference to Greek Fire in China was made in 917, written by Wu Renchen in his "Spring and Autumn Annals of the Ten Kingdoms". In 919, the siphon projector-pump was used to spread the 'fierce fire oil' that could not be doused with water, as recorded by Lin Yu in his , hence the first credible Chinese reference to the flamethrower employing the chemical solution of Greek fire (see also Pen Huo Qi). Lin Yu mentioned also that the 'fierce fire oil' derived ultimately from one of China's maritime contacts in the 'southern seas', Arabia . In the Battle of Langshan Jiang in 919, the naval fleet of the Wenmu King from Wuyue defeated a Huainan army from the Wu state; Wenmu's success was facilitated by the use of 'fire oil' ('huoyou') to burn their fleet, signifying the first Chinese use of gunpowder in a battle. The Chinese applied the use of double-piston bellows to pump petrol out of a single cylinder (with an upstroke and downstroke), lit at the end by a slow-burning gunpowder match to fire a continuous stream of flame. This device was featured in description and illustration of the "Wujing Zongyao" military manuscript of 1044. In the suppression of the Southern Tang state by 976, early Song naval forces confronted them on the Yangtze River in 975. Southern Tang forces attempted to use flamethrowers against the Song navy, but were accidentally consumed by their own fire when violent winds swept in their direction. | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki?curid=90815 | 832,189 |
1,373,973 | A number of different methods are used to evaluate a polymer's resistance to environmental stress cracking. A common method in the polymer industry is use of the Bergen jig, which subjects the sample to variable strain during a single test. The results of this test indicate the critical strain to cracking, using only one sample. Another widely used test is the Bell Telephone test where bent strips are exposed to fluids of interest under controlled conditions. Further, new tests have been developed where the time for crack initiation under transverse loading and an aggressive solvent (10% Igepal CO-630 solution) is evaluated. These methods rely on an indentor to stress the material biaxially, while preventing a radial stress concentration. The stressed polymer sits in the aggressive agent and the stressed plastic around the indentor is watched to evaluate the time to crack formation, which is the way that ESC resistance is quantified. A testing apparatus for this method is known as the Telecom and is commercially available; initial experiments have shown that this testing gives equivalent results to ASTM D1693, but at a much shorter time scale. Current research deals with the application of fracture mechanics to the study of ESC phenomena. In summary, though, there is not a singular descriptor that is applicable to ESC—rather, the specific fracture is dependent on the material, conditions, and secondary chemical agents present . | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki?curid=17075935 | 1,373,215 |
569,050 | In preparation of South Korea's participation in the 2023 FIBA Basketball World Cup Asian qualifiers, a two-week break from the regular season was scheduled in February 2022 for the national team call-ups. The Korean Basketball League was hit by the coronavirus as early as December 2021, with Changwon LG Sakers reporting their first case within the team. At the end of January 2022, KBL even made their first-ever match postponement due to the coronavirus, as multiple positive cases were reported in Seoul Samsung Thunders. Although stringent testing requirements and quarantine rules were implemented by KBL, it failed to lower the number of infections in the league. In February 2022, a massive outbreak occurred as many teams reported positive cases among their players and staff within a span of two weeks. Some teams could not field their main players as they were infected. Even so, KBL carried on with the scheduled matches as long as the participating teams could fill up the roster. Some players eventually took to social media to express their frustration publicly over the forced commencement of the league and lack of concern towards the wellbeing of the players. On the next day, KBL announced a suspension of the season for two weeks by postponing all remaining matches scheduled in February to a later date. The national basketball team took a major hit as most of the players on the preliminary roster submitted to FIBA at an earlier date, were infected by the coronavirus. Despite Cho's efforts of putting together a new roster, a player from the renewed roster was tested positive right before they depart to the Philippines on February 22. As a result, South Korea pulled out of the 2023 FIBA Basketball World Cup Asian qualifiers and was eventually disqualified. South Korea did try to appeal that decision, but it was rejected by FIBA. Hence, South Korea's appearance in the 2023 FIBA World Cup and the 2024 Summer Olympics is unclear as of now. | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki?curid=6844102 | 568,760 |
25,942 | To decrease the risk of developing decompression sickness, pilots breathe 100% oxygen for an hour prior to taking off to remove nitrogen from the blood. A portable oxygen supply is used during transport to the aircraft. Since 2001, more than a dozen pilots have reportedly suffered the effects of decompression sickness, including permanent brain damage in nine cases; initial symptoms include disorientation and becoming unable to read. Factors increasing the risk of illness since 2001 include longer mission durations and more cockpit activity. Conventional reconnaissance missions would limit pilot duties to maintaining flight paths for camera photography. Operations over Afghanistan included more real-time activities, such as communication with ground troops, increasing their bodies' oxygen requirements and the risk of nitrogen bubble formation. U-2 pilots now exercise during oxygen pre-breathing. In 2012, modifications were initiated under the Cockpit Altitude Reduction Effort (CARE), increasing the cabin pressure from 3.88 psi to 7.65 psi, a altitude equivalent. The urine collection device also was rebuilt to eliminate leakage. | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki?curid=32310 | 25,933 |
573,369 | Combinations of chromatographic methods can be used to purify a target molecule. The purpose of purifying proteins with FPLC is to deliver quantities of the target at sufficient purity in a biologically active state to suit its further use. The quality of the end product varies depending the type and amount of starting material, efficiency of separation, and selectivity of the purification resin. The ultimate goal of a given purification protocol is to deliver the required yield and purity of the target molecule in the quickest, cheapest, and safest way for acceptable results. The range of purity required can be from that required for basic analysis (SDS-PAGE or ELISA, for example), with only bulk impurities removed, to pure enough for structural analysis (NMR or X-ray crystallography), approaching >99% target molecule. Purity required can also mean pure enough that the biological activity of the target is retained. These demands can be used to determine the amount of starting material required to reach the experimental goal. If the starting material is limited and full optimization of purification protocol cannot be performed, then a safe standard protocol that requires a minimum adjustment and optimization steps are expected. This may not be optimal with respect to experimental time, yield, and economy but it will achieve the experimental goal. On the other hand, if the starting material is enough to develop more complete protocol, the amount of work to reach the separation goal depends on the available sample information and target molecule properties. Limits to development of purification protocols many times depends on the source of the substance to be purified, whether from natural sources (harvested tissues or organisms, for example), recombinant sources (such as using prokaryotic or eukaryotic vectors in their respective expression systems), or totally synthetic sources. | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki?curid=3865434 | 573,075 |
513,447 | Neonatal rotation was a solution for humans evolving larger brain sizes. Comparative zoological analysis has shown that the size of the human brain is anomalous, as humans have brains that are significantly larger than other animals of similar proportions. Even among the great apes, humans are distinctive in this regard, having brains three to four times larger than those of chimpanzees, humans' nearest relatives. Although the close correspondence between the neonatal cranium and the maternal pelvis in monkeys is also characteristic of humans, the orientation of the pelvic diameters differs. On average, a human fetus is nearly twice as large in relation to its mother's weight as would be expected for another similarly sized primate. The extremely close correspondence between the fetal head and the maternal pelvic dimensions requires that these dimensions line up at all points (inlet, midplane, and outlet) during the birth process. During delivery, neonatal rotation occurs when the body gets rotated to align head and shoulders transversely when entering the small pelvis, otherwise known as internal rotation. The fetus then rotates longitudinally to exit the birth canal, which is known as external rotation. In humans, the long axes of the inlet and the outlet of the obstetric canal lie perpendicular to each other. This is an important mechanism because growth in the size of the cranium as well as the width of the shoulders makes it more difficult for the infant to fit through the pelvis. This enables the largest dimensions of the fetal head to align with the largest dimensions of each plane of the maternal pelvis as labor progresses. This differs in non-human primates as there is no need for neonatal rotation in non-human primates because the birth canal is wide enough to accommodate the infant. This elaborate mechanism of labor, which requires a constant readjustment of the fetal head in relation to the bony pelvis (and which may vary somewhat depending on the shape of the pelvis in question), is completely different from the obstetrical mechanics of the other higher primates whose infants generally drop through the pelvis without any rotation or realignment. In contrast to the narrow shoulders of monkeys and higher primates, which are able to pass through the birth canal without any rotation, modern humans have broad, rigid shoulders, which generally require the same series of rotations that the head undergoes in order to travel through. | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki?curid=2368360 | 513,181 |
81,803 | In the 7th century BC, the Greek mathematician Thales of Miletus used geometry to solve problems such as calculating the height of pyramids and the distance of ships from the shore. He is credited with the first use of deductive reasoning applied to geometry, by deriving four corollaries to Thales' theorem. Pythagoras established the Pythagorean School, which is credited with the first proof of the Pythagorean theorem, though the statement of the theorem has a long history. Eudoxus (408–c. 355 BC) developed the method of exhaustion, which allowed the calculation of areas and volumes of curvilinear figures, as well as a theory of ratios that avoided the problem of incommensurable magnitudes, which enabled subsequent geometers to make significant advances. Around 300 BC, geometry was revolutionized by Euclid, whose "Elements", widely considered the most successful and influential textbook of all time, introduced mathematical rigor through the axiomatic method and is the earliest example of the format still used in mathematics today, that of definition, axiom, theorem, and proof. Although most of the contents of the "Elements" were already known, Euclid arranged them into a single, coherent logical framework. The "Elements" was known to all educated people in the West until the middle of the 20th century and its contents are still taught in geometry classes today. Archimedes (c. 287–212 BC) of Syracuse used the method of exhaustion to calculate the area under the arc of a parabola with the summation of an infinite series, and gave remarkably accurate approximations of pi. He also studied the spiral bearing his name and obtained formulas for the volumes of surfaces of revolution. | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki?curid=18973446 | 81,770 |
2,129,206 | The landscaped lawn and mature trees are State significant as representative of the features of a 1930s institutional garden. The significance arises from the relationship between the building and the grounds, which exemplifies the taste for surrounding Interwar Georgian Revival free-standing buildings with formal gardens. As such, it is comparable to North Sydney Boys School, although the more extensive building program there has compromised the School's integrity. Between the establishment of the garden in 1930 and the recent past there has been only four head gardeners. These gardeners usually began as juniors and, upon obtaining the position of head gardener, continued the work of the previous incumbent. In this way, the garden layout and aesthetic retains significant elements and links to the original garden. The first gardener, Frederick T. Dye, created a landscape very much formed by thoughts of the day. The formal rose gardens situated on the eastern and southern sides of the College building, were planted in 1933 and continue in their original layout. Deciduous trees including pin oaks and elms are planted in a symmetrical arrangement down a sloping lawn to the southern boundary on Kentucky Street. It is this setting which provided an amphitheatre for Graduation Ceremonies for College students for many years. The northern lawn features several diamond and oval planters, laid out in a formal pattern. The traditional of filling these planters with annuals in the College/University colours continues. The mature elm trees situated on the front driveway and pines along Faulkner Street date from the previous use of the site as a gaol, between 1859–1920. The south garden is dominated by a grove of Pistachio trees that complement the Poplar trees lining Faulkner Street. | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki?curid=57539511 | 2,127,983 |
589,875 | In 1845, the Commonwealth of Massachusetts finally agreed to construct a building for Bridgewater State Normal School, the first building ever erected in America for the preparation of teachers. This two-story wooden building, 64 feet by 42 feet, accommodating 84 students, was to be the institution's educational plant for almost half a century. There were small and large classrooms, with blackboards in each. Since changes were made to the school, the board of education required people to attend three terms for fourteen consecutive weeks, establishing a year's course. The building was dedicated on August 19, 1846, with Horace Mann saying on the occasion: "Among all the lights and shadows that ever crossed my path, this day’s radiance is the brightest...I consider this event as marking an era in the progress of education—which as we all know is the progress of civilization-on this western continent, and throughout the world. It is the completion of the first normal schoolhouse ever erected in Massachusetts,—in the Union,—in this hemisphere. It belongs to that class of events which may happen once, but are not capable of being repeated. Coiled up in this institution, as in a spring, there is a vigor whose uncoiling may wheel the spheres." This first normal school established a professional standard for the preparation of teachers, breaking away from traditional academics for attendance. It was the next step toward establishing educational institutions for specific purposes. | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki?curid=721772 | 589,573 |
1,681,254 | Certain samples of Moon rock and lunar dust soil from the Apollo 11 and Apollo 17 missions, mounted on the wooden plaque displays especially for Brazil, Canada, Cyprus, Honduras, Ireland, Malta, Netherlands, Nicaragua, Norway, Romania, Spain, Sweden, Alaska, Arkansas, California, Colorado, Delaware, Hawaii, Illinois, Missouri, Nebraska, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, North Carolina, Oregon, West Virginia were later reported missing by many of the recipients. Since 2005 certain entities and key people have made concerted efforts to find the current locations of all the Apollo lunar sample displays with the goodwill Moon rocks. One such person is Joseph Gutheinz (former NASA Office of Inspector General special agent for 10 years), who was a professor at the University of Phoenix in Arizona, USA. Gutheinz even went to the extreme of having his hundreds of students try to locate all these displays. Another space history expert tracking the goodwill lunar displays is Robert Pearlman, founder and editor of collectSPACE, a website devoted to space-related artifacts and memorabilia. | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki?curid=37521312 | 1,680,311 |
612,379 | The F-111K was to be based around the airframe of the original F-111A version built for the U.S. Air Force, but was to feature a number of alterations and adaptations. Structurally, the aircraft would be similar to F-111A with the heavy duty undercarriage from the strategic bomber version. This allowed for a greater gross weight to be designed into the aircraft. The other major design change from the F-111A was in its avionics, with the design calling for the Mark II package developed for the F-111D version, which featured a new inertial navigation and attack system, incorporating the Rockwell International AN/APQ-130 attack radar, an IBM on-board computer, the Marconi AN/APN-189 doppler navigation radar and the Sperry Corporation AN/APQ-128 terrain following radar. The plan was then to pair this avionics package with British designed and developed mission systems, of which the main elements were the reconnaissance capability and weapon carriage. The F-111K was to feature a revised weapons bay, containing a new removable centreline weapons pylon, which was beneficial given the design of the underwing pylons – the F-111 had four stations under each wing, but only the inner pair were designed to pivot, meaning that the outer pair could not be used with the wings in full sweepback mode. All of the weapon pylons featured British designed ejector rack units. Unlike the U.S. versions, the aircraft was given provision for a pallet inside the weapons bay that would feature a British designed reconnaissance system, with three camera windows located next to the nosewheel undercarriage. The aircraft was designed with an aerial refuelling probe compatible with the "probe and drogue" system used by the RAF, similar to the one fitted to the F-111B, although mounted differently. | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki?curid=39518516 | 612,068 |
929,926 | Paul Birch suggests that, in addition to cooling the planet with a sunshade in L1, "heat pipes" could be built on the planet to accelerate the cooling. The proposed mechanism would transport heat from the surface to colder regions higher up in the atmosphere, similar to a solar updraft tower, thereby facilitating radiation of excess heat out into space. A newly proposed variation of this technology is the atmospheric vortex engine, where instead of physical chimney pipes, the atmospheric updraft is achieved through the creation of a vortex, similar to a stationary tornado. In addition to this method being less material intensive and potentially more cost effective, this process also produces a net surplus of energy, which could be utilised to power venusian colonies or other aspects of the terraforming effort, while simultaneously contributing to speeding up the cooling of the planet. Another method to cool down the planet could be with the use of radiative cooling This technology could utilise the fact that in certain wavelengths, thermal radiation from the lower atmosphere of Venus can "escape" to space through partially transparent atmospheric “windows” – spectral gaps between strong CO and HO absorption bands in the near infrared range . The outgoing thermal radiation is wavelength dependent and varies from the very surface at to approximately at . Nanophotonics and construction of metamaterials opens up new possibilities to tailor the emittance spectrum of a surface via properly designing periodic nano/micro-structures. | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki?curid=4923982 | 929,435 |
1,635,410 | If a patient needs to be treated with surgery, a standard surgical procedure would be called for; the patient would be resting in Fowler’s position, a semi-sitting position, under general anesthesia. The exact size, shape, and distance between the acromion to the midpoint of the cyst are measured by a digital radiograph or MRI scan. A small, longitudinal skin incision, about 1 cm long, is made at the center of the cyst. Next, by using a trephine or drill bit, a small aperture is made inside the incision. Fluids contained in the cyst are drained and curved, metal impactors are used to break any septa, or membranes, within the cyst. Curettes are then used to remove the entire cyst from the diaphysis. After the removal of the cystic membrane, a 95% ethanol solution is injected into the cavity to produce a chemical cauterization to burn away any residual active membrane for 30 seconds and then aspirated. Saline solution is then immediately injected into the cavity to wash out any residual ethanol solution and to mitigate any damage to healthy tissue; this irrigation process of ethanol and saline solutions is repeated for another 2 to 3 times. A curved impactor is inserted into the cavity and used to penetrate the boundary between the cyst and bone marrow; the intentional penetrations will allow bone marrow cells to migrate into the cavity to produce a source of osteoinductive cells, cells that induce bony growth. Furthermore, the cavity is completely filled with bone graft substitute, such as calcium sulfate. Finally, one cannulated screw is placed into the aperture. | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki?curid=35228663 | 1,634,487 |
2,113,427 | Astronomy classes at the University of Illinois date to its earliest days. The first courses focused on measurement of the night sky and was taken by civil engineering students to sharpen their surveying skills. A small observatory consisting of a 4-inch refractor and a small transit telescope was constructed by 1872. The astronomy courses were typically taught by the mathematics department and by the early 1890s, several mathematics instructors wanted to do more with astronomy. An expanded astronomy curriculum would require a new larger facility. The Illinois state legislature voted in 1895 to fund a new teaching observatory at the University of Illinois, providing $15,000 for construction. The site chosen was a grass knoll between Matthews Avenue and Burrill Avenue, just north of the Morrow Plots, a National Historic Landmark that is the nation's oldest experimental field. Contracts were extended to Charles A. Gunn, the architect and an instructor on campus, and Bevis and Company in Urbana as the general contractor with construction beginning in April 1896. The building was completed by August at a total cost of $6,800. The principle telescope was installed in November and the final telescope was in place by February 1897. | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki?curid=7524908 | 2,112,212 |
1,132,448 | In his private life, he was a sportsman, cross-country skiing and skating in winter time, during his regular visits to Switzerland and Norway; deprived of these winter sports during the First World War he started climbing. Between the ages of 20 and 25 he spent a large part of his spare time cycling. With the invention of motorised vehicles he constructed a combustion engine of his own in 1902 and participated in the Gordon Bennett auto race in Ireland in 1903. Not content with these sports he also engaged in swimming, golf, especially with Rutherford and other colleagues in Cambridge, tennis, winning some prizes at open tournaments in England Wales and Ireland and learning surfing in Honolulu in 1909. Coming from a musical family, he was capable of playing the piano, violin and cello at a level such that he regularly played in concerts at Cambridge. He visited many places around the globe on extensive travel tours starting from 1908 with a trip to Australia and New Zealand which he visited again in 1938–1939. | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki?curid=758508 | 1,131,856 |
642,880 | Participation and interaction between participants and instructors involves significant and continuous preparation. Online educators are often members of a larger team consisting of instructional and graphic designers and information technology specialists; being open to becoming a member of the team will assist in a smooth transition to online teaching. There is a lack of support and training provided for teachers, hence instructors require training and support first before they can combine technology, content, and pedagogy to design courses. Expectations of learners to be self-motivated, able to manage their time effectively, contribute to course discussions and have a willingness to teach others is not unlike what is expected in a traditional classroom. The instructor's role is to encourage learners to evaluate and analyze information, then connect the information to course content which may assist in learner success. With the potential for learners to feel disconnected from peers within the course, the instructor will need to work to create spaces and encounters which promote socialization. A few recommendations are to create a "student lounge" as an informal space for socialization not related to coursework. Also, incorporating team projects can help alleviate feelings of isolation. Video and audio components enhance connection and communication with peers, as this supports learners to expand on their responses and engage in discussions. Online instructors should be cognizant of where participants are physically located; when members of the course span two or more time zones, the timing of the course can become problematic. Initial preparation of an online course is often more time-consuming than preparation for the classroom. The material must be prepared and posted, in its entirety, prior to the course start. In addition to preparation, faculty experienced in online instruction spend about 30% more time on courses conducted online. The mentoring of novice online educators from those with experience can assist with the transition from classroom to the virtual environment. | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki?curid=51875172 | 642,541 |
237,762 | The Pyrenean ibex was a subspecies of Spanish ibex that lived on the Iberian peninsula. While it was abundant through medieval times, over-hunting in the 19th and 20th centuries led to its demise. In 1999, only a single female named Celia was left alive in Ordesa National Park. Scientists captured her, took a tissue sample from her ear, collared her, then released her back into the wild, where she lived until she was found dead in 2000, having been crushed by a fallen tree. In 2003, scientists used the tissue sample to attempt to clone Celia and resurrect the extinct subspecies. Despite having successfully transferred nuclei from her cells into domestic goat egg cells and impregnating 208 female goats, only one came to term. The baby ibex that was born had a lung defect, and lived for only seven minutes before suffocating from being incapable of breathing oxygen. Nevertheless, her birth was seen as a triumph and is considered the first de-extinction. In late 2013, scientists announced that they would again attempt to resurrect the Pyrenean ibex. A problem to be faced, in addition to the many challenges of reproduction of a mammal by cloning, is that only females can be produced by cloning the female individual Celia, and no males exist for those females to reproduce with. This could potentially be addressed by breeding female clones with the closely related Southeastern Spanish ibex, and gradually creating a hybrid animal that will eventually bear more resemblance to the Pyrenean ibex than the Southeastern Spanish ibex. | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki?curid=39379960 | 237,643 |
1,609,031 | The taxonomic history of the Family Stethacanthidae has been rather complicated because the findings of complete skeletons are very unusual, and as result early workers such as St. John & Worthen, and Newberry were unable to recognise the association of the spine, dentition teeth, and dermal denticles of these sharks. The genus "Stethacanthus" was established by Newberry (1889) for a series of large thin walled, cartilage-cored spines encountered in Mississippian (Carboniferous Period) rocks of the mid-continental United States. Decomposition of the internal cartilage and compression during burial resulted in distortion of the spines, leading Newberry to misinterpret them, he believed that the spines belonged to pectoral and pelvic fins of a new species of shark. The first associated skeletal remains, from the Mississippian of Montana and the Devonian and Mississippian of Ohio, were not described until a century later. The Family Stethacanthidae was described by Richard Lund in 1974, he argued that ""Stethacanthus" represents an experiment in elasmobranch evolution that is significantly divergent enough to warrant family-level separation". This classification was later corroborated by another authors (e.g. Zangerl, 1990). Further reports of material attributed to "Stethacanthus" have extended its range to the Mississippian of Oklahoma, the Lower Tournaisian of Central Russia and the basal Namurian/Serpukhovian of Scotland. | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki?curid=10993792 | 1,608,126 |
1,056,547 | Since the proton beams for BNCT are quite powerful (~20-100 kW), the neutron generating target must incorporate cooling systems capable of removing the heat safely and reliably to protect the target from damage. In the case of the lithium-7, this requirement is especially important due to the low melting point and chemical volatility of the target material. Liquid jets, micro-channels and rotating targets have been employed to solve this problem. Several researchers have proposed the use of liquid lithium-7 targets in which the target material doubles as the coolant. In the case of beryllium-9, “thin” targets, in which the protons come to rest and deposit much of their energy in the cooling fluid, can be employed. Target degradation due to beam exposure (“blistering”) is another problem to be solved, either by using layers of materials resistant to blistering or by spreading the protons over a large target area. Since the nuclear reactions yield neutrons with energies ranging from < 100keV to 10's of MeV, a Beam Shaping Assembly (BSA) must be used to moderate, filter, reflect and collimate the neutron beam to achieve the desired epithermal energy range, neutron beam size and direction. BSAs are typically composed of a range of materials with desirable nuclear properties for each function. A well-designed BSA should maximize neutron yield per proton while minimizing fast neutron, thermal neutron and gamma contamination. It should also produce a sharply delimited and generally forward directed beam enabling flexible positioning of the patient relative to the aperture. | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki?curid=32637211 | 1,055,999 |
771,380 | Not every thunderstorm, supercell, squall line, or tropical cyclone will produce a tornado. Precisely the right atmospheric conditions are required for the formation of even a weak tornado. Tornadoes can form in any month when conditions are favorable. 1,000 or more tornadoes a year are reported in the contiguous United States. The high frequency of tornadoes in North America is largely due to geography, as moisture from the Gulf of Mexico is easily advected into the midcontinent with few topographic barriers in the way. The Rocky Mountains block Pacific-sourced moisture and buckle the atmospheric flow, forcing the drier air to mid-levels of the troposphere. Downsloping winds off the Rockies force the formation of a dry line when the flow aloft is strong, while the Gulf of Mexico fuels abundant low-level moisture. This unique topography allows for frequent collisions of warm and cold air, the conditions that breed strong, long-lived storms throughout the year. This area extends into Canada, particularly Ontario and the Prairie Provinces. Tornadoes can also be triggered by hurricanes, although the tornadoes caused by hurricanes are often much weaker and harder to spot. Winter is the least common time for tornadoes to occur, since hurricane activity is virtually non-existent at this time, and it is more difficult for warm, moist maritime tropical air to take over the frigid Arctic air from Canada. Winter tornado occurrences are found mostly in the Gulf states and Florida during winter (although there have been some notable exceptions). | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki?curid=8293375 | 770,966 |
1,511,097 | Microballoon spheres and Paraloid B72 were used as gap filler and in the structural remodeling due to their high bulking ability while reducing the contact surface area (and further damage) to the bones, long-term stability, and easy removal. Using the same technique throughout the restoration “limit[s] the number of different substances introduced to the specimen and enable[s] treatment to be identified as a single phase of conservation in the future.” Japanese tissue was used as a barrier between the bone and the microballoon filler to increase the ease of removability in the future if needed. Copper plated mild steel welding rods, riflers, files, and wood carving chisels were used to shape skeletal element remodels, then painted using an in-paint containing earth pigments in a Paraloid B72, IMS, and acetone solution. This solution allows for quick identification under an ultraviolet light between the shellac-covered bone and microballoon remodel. The antlers were attached with high tension CFRP carbon fiber rods, then hidden with modeling epoxy and in-paint and given additional support on display via heavy duty fishing line looped around the antlers and ceiling trusses. | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki?curid=50186956 | 1,510,247 |
225,649 | The World Health Organization (WHO) published a guideline on protecting workers from potential risk of manufactured nanomaterials at the end of 2017. WHO used a precautionary approach as one of its guiding principles. This means that exposure has to be reduced, despite uncertainty about the adverse health effects, when there are reasonable indications to do so. This is highlighted by recent scientific studies that demonstrate a capability of nanoparticles to cross cell barriers and interact with cellular structures. In addition, the hierarchy of controls was an important guiding principle. This means that when there is a choice between control measures, those measures that are closer to the root of the problem should always be preferred over measures that put a greater burden on workers, such as the use of personal protective equipment (PPE). WHO commissioned systematic reviews for all important issues to assess the current state of the science and to inform the recommendations according to the process set out in the WHO Handbook for guideline development. The recommendations were rated as "strong" or "conditional" depending on the quality of the scientific evidence, values and preferences, and costs related to the recommendation. | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki?curid=868108 | 225,533 |
1,745,840 | Where disturbance is regular, breeding failure for golden eagles is significantly more frequent. This was inferred in the 1982 Scottish breeding bird survey when disturbances were heavy in the Highlands. Sheep farmers and egg-collectors are the leading cause of disturbances at the nests. Recreation, forest management and development projects such as road construction, mining or power generation are other potential sources of disturbances. When disturbed by humans at the nest, the parents frequently leave their nest for a period of up to two hours, reduced provisioning rates, endangered eggs or young to predation, as well as overheating, chilling or desiccation. Human intrusion within of nests can cause a disturbance. Nesting success was found to be reduced in Norway during years where the Easter holidays fell early, due to the volume of vacationers in the countryside in these years during the pivotal early stages of nesting. During a study in Wrangell – St. Elias National Park and Preserve of Alaska, experimenters camped within of active nests, which led to reduced food delivery and nest attendance by the parents, then at , at which distance the disturbance of nesting behavior seemed to decrease considerably. The topography of the landscape and location of the nest can affect how closely the nest can be approached without disturbance. Mining and various types of energy development occur in eagle nesting and wintering habitat. The practice of surface coal mining threatens the limited nesting sites in Wyoming. In the Italian Apennines, high levels of nesting failures have been attributed directly to disturbance, due to increased tourism in remote mountain areas, construction of new roads and mining. Aggressive behavior by golden eagles due to a human presence near the nest is considered exceptional and usually will only result in minor injuries if any, as a particularly bold eagle may rarely attempt to dissuade a human trespasser. Golden eagles are somewhat sensitive to human disturbance even while not nesting. Experimental studies showed that pedestrians, which caused flushing at , were more likely to cause wintering golden eagles in Colorado to flush than vehicles, at . This study showed that golden eagles were more sensitive to human disturbance during winter than several other raptor species, including bald eagles. | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki?curid=50585577 | 1,744,856 |
1,031,723 | Wolkowitz et al. (2001) presented a 10-year-old male patient, with no prior psychiatric history, who showed significant declines in academic performance that began during a 5-week course of glucocorticoid treatment for acute asthma flare. The medications included prednisone, and methylprednisolone, plus albuterol, beclomethasone, dexamethasone, cromolyn, salmeterol and clarithromycin. Within days of beginning the glucocorticoid treatment, however, the patient began to show symptoms that included major depression, irritability, muscle weakness, and hallucinations ("stars" or "spots"). The patient had a fraternal twin brother, and the two previously performed in parallel academically, but following the steroid treatment the patient exhibited poor memory, attention, concentration, insomnia, and avoidance of eye contact. As a result, he began to fall behind his twin brother in academic, developmental, and social areas. The treatment with steroids was stopped and three years later (while still taking buspirone, albuterol, fluticasone and salmeterol inhalers, loratadine and theophylline) the boy showed gradual improvement, but MRI brain scans revealed that the patient's hippocampal volume was 19.5% smaller than that of his twin. His teachers reported continued deficits in memory function, new learning efficiency, verbal reasoning skills, organizational skills, attention, and concentration, deficits which were confirmed by neuropsychological testing; as such, stopping the treatment with steroids brought on a substantial but incomplete relief, the damage being possibly permanent. | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki?curid=39677685 | 1,031,187 |
2,012,711 | Marquette loss – they faced the 13th seed, Pittsburgh, which had upset 12th-seeded St. John's the previous day to advance to meet Georgetown. Georgetown entered the game as the second-best defensive team in the Big East, allowing opponents only 59 points a game on the season, and held the Panthers scoreless during two separate eight-minute stretches of the game. The Hoyas closed the first half with a decisive 16–2 run that gave them a 31–23 lead at halftime, and, beginning with six straight points by Otto Porter, had a 9–1 run in the second half that extended their lead to 53–39 with 8:46 to play. The Hoyas′ last score of the game came with 2:55 left on two Henry Sims free throws that extended Georgetown's advantage to 64–45. The Panthers then finished the game with a 7–0 run that fell well short of challenging the Hoyas′ lead, and Georgetown won 64–52. Georgetown outrebounded Pittsburgh 36-25 and shot 19-of-39 (48.7%) from the field and 22-of-31 (71.0%) from the free-throw line, while the Panthers went 11-of-18 (61.1%) in free throws. Henry Sims shot 7-for-10 (70.0%) from the field and had a double-double (20 points and 13 rebounds) as well as five assists, and Otto Porter also scored 20 on 7-for-11 (63.6%) shooting, while Greg Whittington added 11 points. It was the 17th time during the season that the Hoyas held an opponent to under 60 points. | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki?curid=33673923 | 2,011,554 |
1,889,404 | The sinking of in 1912 spurred the Canadian inventor Reginald Fessenden (1866–1932) to begin work on a long-distance underwater sound transmission and reception system that could detect hazards in the path of a ship. This led to the invention of the Fessenden oscillator, an electro-acoustic transducer which by 1914 had a proven ability to transmit and receive sound at a distance of across Massachusetts Bay and to detect an iceberg ahead of a ship at a range of by bouncing sound off it and detecting the echo, as well as an occasional ability to detect the reflection of sound off the ocean bottom. Further impetus to developing practical applications of underwater acoustics came from World War I, which prompted the Royal Navy, United States Navy, and United States Army Coast Artillery Corps to experiment with sound as a means of detecting submerged submarines. In postwar experiments, the Coast Artillery Corps's Subaqueous Sound Ranging Section conducted experiments in shallow water in Vineyard Sound off Massachusetts in which it detonated explosive charges underwater at the ends of established baselines and measured the amount of time it took for the sound to arrive at hydrophones at the other ends of the baselines in order to establish very accurate measurements of the speed of sound through water. And in 1923, the Submarine Signal Company improved upon its underwater signaling devices by equipping them with radio transmitters that sent signals both to identify the particular device and to indicate to approaching ships that it would generate an acoustic signal at a specific time interval after it sent the radio signal, allowing ships to identify the specific navigational aid they were approaching and to take advantage of a one-way ranging capability that let their crews determine their direction and distance from the navigational aid. | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki?curid=52205564 | 1,888,321 |
4,951 | Following the US Navy's retirement of its Tomcats in 2006, Iran sought to purchase spare parts for its aircraft. In January 2007, the U.S. Department of Defense announced that sales of spare F-14 parts would be suspended over concerns of the parts ending up in Iran. In July 2007, the remaining American F-14s were shredded to ensure that any parts could not be acquired. Despite these measures, Iran managed to significantly increase its stocks of spare parts, increasing the number of airworthy Tomcats, although as it did not manage to obtain spare parts for the aircraft's weapon systems, the number of combat ready Tomcats was still low (seven in 2008). In 2010, Iran requested that the U.S. deliver the 80th F-14 that it had purchased in 1974 but never received due to the Islamic Revolution. In October 2010, an Iranian Air Force commander claimed that the country overhauls and optimizes different types of military aircraft, mentioning their Air Force has installed Iran-made radar systems on the F-14. In 2012, the Iranian Air Force's Mehrabad Overhaul Center delivered an F-14 with upgraded weapon systems with locally sourced components, designated F-14AM. Shortages of Phoenix missiles led to attempts to integrate the Russian R-27 semi-active radar-guided missile, but these proved unsuccessful. An alternative was the use of modified MIM-23 Hawk missiles to replace the Tomcat's Phoenixes and Sparrows, but as the Tomcat could only carry two Hawks, this project was also abandoned, and the Fakour-90 missile, which used the guidance system of the Hawk packaged into the airframe of the Phoenix, launched. Pre-production Fakour-90s were delivered in 2017, and a production order for 100 missiles (now designated AIM-23B) was placed in 2018, intending to replace the F-14s AIM-7E Sparrow missiles. | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki?curid=11719 | 4,949 |
1,315,970 | However, although the wheels of change in science education had been set in motion during the late 1970s, it was not until the 1980s that STS perspectives began to gain a serious footing in science curricula, in largely Western contexts (Gaskell, 1982). This occurred at a time when issues such as, animal testing, environmental pollution and the growing impact of technological innovation on social infrastructure, were beginning to raise ethical, moral, economic and political dilemmas (Fensham, 1988 and Osborne, 2000). There were also concerns among communities of researchers, educators and governments pertaining to the general public's lack of understanding about the interface between science and society (Bodmer, 1985; Durant "et al." 1989 and Millar 1996). In addition, alarmed by the poor state of scientific literacy among school students, science educators began to grapple with the quandary of how to prepare students to be informed and active citizens, as well as the scientists, medics and engineers of the future (e.g. Osborne, 2000 and Aikenhead, 2003). Hence, STS advocates called for reforms in science education that would equip students to understand scientific developments in their cultural, economic, political and social contexts. This was considered important in making science accessible and meaningful to all students—and, most significantly, engaging them in real world issues (Fensham, 1985; Solomon, 1993; Aikenhead, 1994 and Hodson 1998). | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki?curid=7895944 | 1,315,245 |
1,922,748 | Several of the 45+ departments, along with their faculty, have been noted for important contributions to their fields. Numerous members of the Department of English, which includes the top-ranked Program in Creative Writing, have distinguished themselves nationally and internationally, most notably Pulitzer Prize for poetry recipient Rita Dove, on the faculty since 1989, who served as United States Poet Laureate from 1993 to 1995 and has garnered numerous honors, among them the 1996 National Humanities Medal, the 2009 Fulbright Lifetime Achievement Medal, 24 honorary doctorates and the 2011 National Medal of Arts. Dr. James Galloway, head of the Environmental Science department, received the Tyler Prize for Environmental Achievement Award on March 27, 2008. The History department's Virginia Center for Digital History was awarded a Digital Humanities start-up grant under the National Endowment for the Humanities' "We the People" program. Also of the History Department is White Burkett Miller Professor of History Philip Zelikow, who is currently serving on President Obama's Intelligence Advisory Board James Landers, a professor in chemistry and microbiology, has been recognized with the 2008 Innovation Award from the Association for Laboratory Automation. Many more recognitions, from sources such as the National Science Foundation, are awarded to individual students for their academic and research achievements in their respective fields. | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki?curid=4694647 | 1,921,645 |
303,813 | However, the Iraqi IADS had several fatal flaws of which Coalition air forces were able to take advantage. The system was primarily oriented towards defending against much smaller attacks from Iraq's most likely enemies – Iran, Syria and Israel – and focused on point defense rather than area defense. This meant there were significant gaps in its coverage, particularly on the orientation from Saudi Arabia straight to Baghdad, and attacking aircraft would be able to approach their target from multiple directions. Much of the Iraqi air defense equipment was also quite outdated: Iraqi SA-2 and SA-3 systems were nearing the end of their operational lifespan and their countermeasures well known at this point, while what SA-6, SA-8 and Roland systems they possessed weren't much younger either. Likewise a majority of Iraq's interceptor force were less-capable MiG-21s, with fewer more modern variants including export versions of the MiG-29 and F1 Mirage. Furthermore, the IADS was centralized to a fault. Although each IOC was datalinked to their respective SOC and in turn back to the ADOC, the defense sectors couldn't share information between each other. If a SOC was knocked out of action the attached air defense weapons lost all ability to coordinate their response; its respective SAM batteries would be forced to rely on their own radar systems while most AAA guns lacked any radar guidance. Training was also poor, with Iraqi pilots overly reliant on ground-control instructions such that if the IOCs were disabled they lost situation awareness and became easy targets. | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki?curid=573491 | 303,651 |
1,705,174 | On September 16, CDC director Redfield told a Senate hearing that HHS and the White House Office of Management and Budget had ordered him to transfer $300 million from his agency's budget to HHS, to be spent on a public relations campaign directed by Caputo. He added that CDC had not been consulted about the proposed public relations campaign, which was intended to "bring America back". Caputo stated on Facebook that the program "was demanded of me by the president of the United States, personally." The goal was to get at least 20 celebrities to record messages to "restore hope" and "defeat despair" that would be broadcast before the November election. However, weeks before the election the program was reported to be "sputtering," because most of the targeted celebrities refused to participate and because the video firm hired to carry out the project, headed by a business partner of Caputo, had no prior experience with public health campaigns. On October 2, HHS Secretary Alex Azar told Congress that he had begun a review of the program to ensure that it would serve a public health purpose. On October 29, "Politico" reported that the program was no longer slated to run before the election and might not run at all. It was also reported that celebrities suggested for the announcements were vetted for their political opinions before being approached; if they had ever criticized Trump or expressed support for President Barack Obama, gay rights, or same-sex marriage they were ruled out. Reportedly 274 celebrities were considered but only 10 were approved. | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki?curid=65365100 | 1,704,218 |
937,863 | Operation Varsity was the only time the Locust was used in action with the 6th Airborne Armoured Reconnaissance Regiment or the British Army as a whole. A report issued at the end of a conference held by the Director (Air) of the War Office in January 1946 confirmed that the Locust design was considered obsolete; any light tanks to be used in post-war airborne formations would be made from completely new designs. The British Army disposed of a small number of Locusts by transferring them to foreign militaries. Several had their main armaments removed and were used by the Belgian Army as command tanks for their M4 Sherman regiments, and a few Locusts even found their way back to the U.S., where they had their turrets removed and served as agricultural tractors. The June 3, 1946 issue of "Life" magazine has a five-photo article about Kamiel Dupre, an Illinois farmer who bought two surplus Locusts for $100 each from the Rock Island arsenal. Intending to use one as a farm tractor and one for spare parts, Dupre found the vehicles to be in poor condition and difficult to use and maintain. A larger number of Locusts served with the Egyptian Army, replacing a number of older tank models, such as the Vickers-Armstrong Mark V light tank, that the Egyptian military had acquired during the interwar period. Several company-sized units of Locusts were used by the Egyptians during the 1948 Arab–Israeli War. | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki?curid=335693 | 937,363 |
1,276,667 | Although Germany's socialist government persuaded their reluctant navy to share some older designs from the First World War, sources agree that the most useful information was obtained in Italy. However, statements of what was acquired are very inconsistent. The memoirs of , a younger designer who subsequently joined Malinin's team on the "Dekabrist" project in 1927, state that the mission had obtained plans of the Italian submarine "Ballila", but modern sources do not agree on which submarine is meant. Some authorities state that these were plans for the brand-new ocean-going , impressively large boats (1,450 tons surface displacement, 86.5 metres long) which had been laid in down in early 1925. Others assert that they were instead the plans of a much older and smaller submarine of the same name, laid down as far back as 1913 (717 tons surface displacement, 65 meters long), which had been obtained in a second-hand bookshop in Rome, and were of little real value. Adding to the confusion, there are also claims that the delegation obtained plans from the Italian shipyard "Cantieri dell'Adriatico". Presumably this is a reference to CRDA, but this congolmerate was only formed in 1929-30 and was not directly involved with either of the "Ballila" designs. Probably related to this is a claim that Malinin obtained plans for the "Pisani" class built by one of CRDA's precursors CNT, construction work on which was just beginning during the delegation's visit to Italy. Alteratively, it may be relevant that CRDA - meaning presumably one of its precursors, CNT or STT - are credited with involvement in the underlying design work on the deep-diving double hull design used by the new "Ballila" class. | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki?curid=10683646 | 1,275,974 |
382,524 | Another type of VEP used with applications is the P300 potential. The P300 event-related potential is a positive peak in the EEG that occurs at roughly 300 ms after the appearance of a target stimulus (a stimulus for which the user is waiting or seeking) or oddball stimuli. The P300 amplitude decreases as the target stimuli and the ignored stimuli grow more similar.The P300 is thought to be related to a higher level attention process or an orienting response using P300 as a control scheme has the advantage of the participant only having to attend limited training sessions. The first application to use the P300 model was the P300 matrix. Within this system, a subject would choose a letter from a grid of 6 by 6 letters and numbers. The rows and columns of the grid flashed sequentially and every time the selected "choice letter" was illuminated the user's P300 was (potentially) elicited. However, the communication process, at approximately 17 characters per minute, was quite slow. The P300 is a BCI that offers a discrete selection rather than a continuous control mechanism. The advantage of P300 use within games is that the player does not have to teach himself/herself how to use a completely new control system and so only has to undertake short training instances, to learn the gameplay mechanics and basic use of the BCI paradigm. | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki?curid=623686 | 382,329 |
1,278,045 | In the field of biology, bright-field transmission electron microscopy (BF-TEM) and high-resolution TEM (HRTEM) are the primary imaging methods for tomography tilt series acquisition. However, there are two issues associated with BF-TEM and HRTEM. First, acquiring an interpretable 3-D tomogram requires that the projected image intensities vary monotonically with material thickness. This condition is difficult to guarantee in BF/HRTEM, where image intensities are dominated by phase-contrast with the potential for multiple contrast reversals with thickness, making it difficult to distinguish voids from high-density inclusions. Second, the contrast transfer function of BF-TEM is essentially a high-pass filter – information at low spatial frequencies is significantly suppressed – resulting in an exaggeration of sharp features. However, the technique of annular dark-field scanning transmission electron microscopy (ADF-STEM), which is typically used on material specimens, more effectively suppresses phase and diffraction contrast, providing image intensities that vary with the projected mass-thickness of samples up to micrometres thick for materials with low atomic number. ADF-STEM also acts as a low-pass filter, eliminating the edge-enhancing artifacts common in BF/HRTEM. Thus, provided that the features can be resolved, ADF-STEM tomography can yield a reliable reconstruction of the underlying specimen which is extremely important for its application in material science. For 3D imaging, the resolution is traditionally described by the Crowther criterion. In 2010, a 3D resolution of 0.5±0.1×0.5±0.1×0.7±0.2 nm was achieved with a single-axis ADF-STEM tomography. | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki?curid=8898050 | 1,277,352 |
846,967 | Drug delivery systems, lipid- or polymer-based nanoparticles, can be designed to improve the pharmacokinetics and biodistribution of the drug. However, the pharmacokinetics and pharmacodynamics of nanomedicine is highly variable among different patients. When designed to avoid the body's defence mechanisms, nanoparticles have beneficial properties that can be used to improve drug delivery. Complex drug delivery mechanisms are being developed, including the ability to get drugs through cell membranes and into cell cytoplasm. Triggered response is one way for drug molecules to be used more efficiently. Drugs are placed in the body and only activate on encountering a particular signal. For example, a drug with poor solubility will be replaced by a drug delivery system where both hydrophilic and hydrophobic environments exist, improving the solubility. Drug delivery systems may also be able to prevent tissue damage through regulated drug release; reduce drug clearance rates; or lower the volume of distribution and reduce the effect on non-target tissue. However, the biodistribution of these nanoparticles is still imperfect due to the complex host's reactions to nano- and microsized materials and the difficulty in targeting specific organs in the body. Nevertheless, a lot of work is still ongoing to optimize and better understand the potential and limitations of nanoparticulate systems. While advancement of research proves that targeting and distribution can be augmented by nanoparticles, the dangers of nanotoxicity become an important next step in further understanding of their medical uses. The toxicity of nanoparticles varies, depending on size, shape, and material. These factors also affect the build-up and organ damage that may occur. Nanoparticles are made to be long-lasting, but this causes them to be trapped within organs, specifically the liver and spleen, as they cannot be broken down or excreted. This build-up of non-biodegradable material has been observed to cause organ damage and inflammation in mice. Magnetic targeted delivery of magnetic nanoparticles to the tumor site under the influence of inhomogeneous stationary magnetic fields may lead to enhanced tumor growth. In order to circumvent the pro-tumorigenic effects, alternating electromagnetic fields should be used. | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki?curid=21514 | 846,517 |
131,479 | While very popular in the 1980s and early 1990s, implementations of Pascal that closely followed Wirth's initial definition of the language were widely criticized as being unsuitable for use outside teaching. Brian Kernighan, who popularized the C language, outlined his most notable criticisms of Pascal as early as 1981 in his article "Why Pascal is Not My Favorite Programming Language". The most serious problem Kernighan described was that array sizes and string lengths were part of the type, so it was not possible to write a function that would accept variable-length arrays or even strings as parameters. This made it unfeasible to write, for example, a sorting library. Kernighan also criticized the unpredictable order of evaluation of boolean expressions, poor library support, and lack of static variables, and raised a number of smaller issues. Also, he stated that the language did not provide any simple constructs to "escape" (knowingly and forcibly ignore) restrictions and limitations. More general complaints from other sources noted that the scope of declarations was not clearly defined in the original language definition, which sometimes had serious consequences when using forward declarations to define pointer types, or when record declarations led to mutual recursion, or when an identifier may or may not have been used in an enumeration list. Another difficulty was that, like ALGOL 60, the language did not allow procedures or functions passed as parameters to predefine the expected type of their parameters. | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki?curid=23773 | 131,427 |
1,947,751 | Paul Milgrom was born in Detroit, Michigan, April 20, 1948, the second of four sons to Jewish parents. Milgrom graduated from the University of Michigan in 1970 with an AB in mathematics. He worked as an actuary for several years in San Francisco at the Metropolitan Insurance Company and then at the Nelson and Warren consultancy in Columbus, Ohio. Milgrom became a Fellow of the Society of Actuaries in 1974. In 1975, Milgrom enrolled for graduate studies at Stanford University and earned an MS in statistics in 1978 and a PhD in business in 1979. He was the recipient of the 2008 Erwin Plein Nemmers Prize in Economics "for contributions dramatically expanding the understanding of the role of information and incentives in a variety of settings, including auctions, the theory of the firm, and oligopolistic markets"; the 2012 BBVA Foundation Frontiers of Knowledge Award "for his seminal contributions to an unusually wide range of fields of economics including auctions, market design, contracts and incentives, industrial economics, economics of organizations, finance, and game theory"; the 2014 Golden Goose Award; and the 2018 John J. Carty Award for the Advancement of Science with Robert B Wilson and David M. Kreps. | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki?curid=71643069 | 1,946,638 |
25,963 | The presidential order did not restrict U-2 flights outside eastern Europe. In May 1956, Turkey approved the deployment of Detachment B at Incirlik Air Base, near Adana, Turkey. Before the new detachment was ready, however, Detachment A in late August used Adana as a refueling base to photograph the Mediterranean. The aircraft found evidence of many British troops on Malta and Cyprus as the United Kingdom prepared for its forthcoming intervention in Suez. The U.S. released some of the photographs to the British government. As the crisis grew in seriousness, the project converted from a source of strategic reconnaissance, which prioritized high quality over speed (the film was processed by its maker, then analyzed in Washington), to a tactical reconnaissance unit that provided immediate analysis. The Photo Intelligence Division set up a lab at Wiesbaden; as Detachment B took over from A and flew over targets that remain classified , the Wiesbaden lab's rapid reports helped the U.S. government to predict the Israeli-British-French attack on Egypt three days before it began on 29 October. On 1 November a flight flew over the Egyptian air base at Almaza twice, 10 minutes apart; in between the British and French attacked the base, and the visible results of the attack in the "10-minute reconnaissance" impressed Eisenhower. Beginning on 5 November, flights over Syria showed that the Soviets had not sent aircraft there despite their threats against the British, French and Israelis, a cause of worry for the U.S. | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki?curid=32310 | 25,954 |
2,014,665 | By January 1969, proliferating antiaircraft defenses in the Barrel Roll area in the Kingdom of Laos were making operations ever riskier for Slow FACs such as the Raven FACs. The concept of stationing FACs at the same base with their strike aircraft was bruited. Volunteers from the 469th Tactical Fighter Squadron were approved for Fast FAC duty under the call sign "Tiger" in February. The inertial guidance systems in their fresh F-4E Phantom IIs would prove consequential for piloting and target location in an environment largely lacking in aerial navigation aids, especially after the 1 March loss of the only TACAN site in northern Laos. On 17 March, the volunteer FACs began supplying the necessary tactical air power for General Vang Pao's Hmong guerrillas to sweep through Operation Raindance. In April, the "Tigers" were considered for night FAC duties, but rejected. By July, the "Tiger" FACs were so immersed in directing close air support, they were allotted four sorties per day. Between July and September 1969, the "Tigers" were credited with 34 enemy killed by air, 12 antiaircraft sites destroyed, 246 interdictory road cuts of enemy supply lines, 15 enemy supply trucks destroyed, 403 structures destroyed, 360 fires caused by explosions, and 681 secondary explosions of munitions and fuel. They accomplished this during 182 FAC missions, during which they directed 2,004 air strikes. In turn, the "Tigers" suffered five F-4E's severely damaged by enemy fire. | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki?curid=22836078 | 2,013,506 |
1,104,792 | The mid-deck Glove Box (MGBX) was a facility designed for materials science and biological science experiment handling. It consisted of two primary systems; an Interface Frame (IF) and a Glovebox (GB). The MGBX facility (with associated electronics) provided an enclosed working area for experimental manipulation and observation on the shuttle mid-deck. The MGBX experiments on this flight were WCI – The objective of the Wetting Characteristics of Immiscibles was to investigate the influence of alloy/ampoule wetting characteristics on the segregation of immiscible liquids during microgravity processing. The Enclosed Laminar Flames (ELF) experiment objective was to validate the zero-gravity Burke-Schumann model and the gravity-dependent Hegde-Bahadori extension of the model, investigate the importance of the buoyancy-dependent flow field as affected by oxidizer flow on flame stabilization, examine the state relationships of co-flow diffusion flames under the influence of buoyancy conditions (gravity versus pressure), and study the flow vortex and diffusion flame interactions. The Particle Engulfment and Pushing by Solidifying Interfaces (PEP) experiment objectives were to generate an accurate value for the critical velocity in a convection-free environment, validate the present theoretical model, enhance fundamental understanding of dynamics of insoluble particles at liquid/solid interfaces, and improve understanding of the physics associated with the solidification of liquid metals-ceramic particles mixtures. | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki?curid=557153 | 1,104,229 |
132,907 | British expectations had been set by performance figures established by the unarmed and unarmored XP-39 prototype. The British production contract stated that a maximum speed of +/- 4% was required at rated altitude. In acceptance testing, actual production aircraft were found to be capable of only at . To enable the aircraft to make the guarantee speed, a variety of drag-reduction modifications were developed by Bell. The areas of the elevator and rudder were reduced by 14.2% and 25.2% respectively. Modified fillets were installed in the tail area. The canopy glass was faired to its frame with putty. The gun access doors on the wing had been seen to bulge in flight, so they were replaced with thicker aluminum sheet. Similarly, the landing gear doors deflected open by as much as two inches at maximum speed, so a stronger linkage was installed to hold them flush. The cooling air exit from the oil and coolant radiators was reduced in area to match the exit velocity to the local flow. New engine exhaust stacks, deflected to match the local flow and with nozzles to increase thrust augmentation, were installed. The machine gun ports were faired over, the antenna mast was removed, a single-piece engine cowling was installed and an exhaust stack fairing was added. | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki?curid=458867 | 132,854 |
504,684 | In addition to trophic positioning of organisms, δN values have become commonly used in distinguishing between land derived and natural sources of nutrients. As water travels from septic tanks to aquifers, the nitrogen rich water is delivered into coastal areas. Waste-water nitrate has higher concentrations of N than the nitrate that is found in natural soils in near shore zones. For bacteria, it is more convenient for them to uptake N as opposed to N because it is a lighter element and easier to metabolize. Thus, due to bacteria's preference when performing biogeochemical processes such as denitrification and volatilization of ammonia, N is removed from the water at a faster rate than N, resulting in more N entering the aquifer. N is roughly 10-20‰ as opposed to the natural N values of 2-8‰. The inorganic nitrogen that is emitted from septic tanks and other human-derived sewage is usually in the form of <chem>NH4+</chem>. Once the nitrogen enters the estuaries via groundwater, it is thought that because there is more N entering, that there will also be more N in the inorganic nitrogen pool delivered and that it is picked up more by producers taking up N. Even though N is easier to take up, because there is much more N, there will still be higher amounts assimilated than normal. These levels of δN can be examined in creatures that live in the area and are non migratory (such as macrophytes, clams and even some fish). This method of identifying high levels of nitrogen input is becoming a more and more popular method in attempting to monitor nutrient input into estuaries and coastal ecosystems. Environmental managers have become more and more concerned about measuring anthropogenic nutrient inputs into estuaries because excess in nutrients can lead to eutrophication and hypoxic events, eliminating organisms from an area entirely. | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki?curid=174238 | 504,422 |
321,842 | A number of functional brain imaging studies have shown that the insular cortex is activated when drug users are exposed to environmental cues that trigger cravings. This has been shown for a variety of drugs, including cocaine, alcohol, opiates, and nicotine. Despite these findings, the insula has been ignored within the drug addiction literature, perhaps because it is not known to be a direct target of the mesocortical dopamine system, which is central to current dopamine reward theories of addiction. Research published in 2007 has shown that cigarette smokers suffering damage to the insular cortex, from a stroke for instance, have their addiction to cigarettes practically eliminated. These individuals were found to be up to 136 times more likely to undergo a disruption of smoking addiction than smokers with damage in other areas. Disruption of addiction was evidenced by self-reported behavior changes such as quitting smoking less than one day after the brain injury, quitting smoking with great ease, not smoking again after quitting, and having no urge to resume smoking since quitting. The study was conducted on average eight years after the strokes, which opens up the possibility that recall bias could have affected the results. More recent prospective studies, which overcome this limitation, have corroborated these findings This suggests a significant role for the insular cortex in the neurological mechanisms underlying addiction to nicotine and other drugs, and would make this area of the brain a possible target for novel anti-addiction medication. In addition, this finding suggests that functions mediated by the insula, especially conscious feelings, may be particularly important for maintaining drug addiction, although this view is not represented in any modern research or reviews of the subject. | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki?curid=1495134 | 321,670 |
1,365,772 | Mangrove offers protection against tsunami and storms from sweeping away inland areas because the mangrove fringes were damaged and took all the energy. Remote sensing of mangrove and vegetation as a natural barrier to manage risks therefore becomes a hot topic. The recent advancement and development is highly anticipated in the near future, especially as hyperspectral imaging system and very high resolution (up to sub meter grade) satellite images prevails. New classification schemes distinguishing species from composition could be developed for environmental studies. Estimation leaf area, canopy height, biomass and productivity could also be improved with the emergence of existing and forthcoming sensors and algorithms. Tsunami-induced inundation leads to change in coastal area, which could be quantified by remote sensing. Split-based approach to divide large images into subimages for further analysis by redefining change detection threshold have reduced computation time and have shown to be consistent with manual mapping of affected areas. | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki?curid=55514078 | 1,365,016 |
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