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810,450 | More than 70 fossil species of this genus have been recognized in India alone, with additional species from South America, Australia, Africa, Madagascar and Antarctica. Essentially, "Glossopteris" was restricted to the middle- and high-latitude parts of Gondwana during the Permian and was an important contributor to the vast Permian coal deposits of the Southern Hemisphere continents. Most northern parts of South America and Africa lack "Glossopteris" and its associated organs. However, in recent years a few disparate localities in Morocco, Oman, Anatolia, the western part of the island of New Guinea, Thailand and Laos have yielded fossils that are of possible glossopterid affinity. These peri-gondwanan records commonly occur together with Cathaysian or Euramerican plant species—the assemblages representing a zone of mixing between the strongly provincial floras of the Permian. Apart from those in India and the peri-gondwanan localities, a few other fossils from the Northern Hemisphere have been assigned to this group, but these are not identified with great certainty. For example, specimens assigned to "Glossopteris" from the far east of Russia in the 1960s are more likely to be misdentifications of other gymnosperms such as "Pursongia". Confident assignment of fossil leaves to "Glossopteris" normally requires their co-preservation with the distinctive segmented roots of this group (called "Vertebraria") or with the distinctive fertile organs. In 2018, "Glossopteris" leaves were reported from mid-Permian (Roadian – early Wordian) deposits in Mongolia, then located at high latitudes in the Northern Hemisphere, but these fossils were not found in association with other typical glossopterid organs, such as chambered roots or reproductive structures, so the phylogenetic affinities of these leaves remain uncertain. | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki?curid=1308662 | 810,018 |
983,965 | Stan Franklin (1995, 2003) defines an autonomous agent as possessing functional consciousness when it is capable of several of the functions of consciousness as identified by Bernard Baars' Global Workspace Theory . His brain child IDA (Intelligent Distribution Agent) is a software implementation of GWT, which makes it functionally conscious by definition. IDA's task is to negotiate new assignments for sailors in the US Navy after they end a tour of duty, by matching each individual's skills and preferences with the Navy's needs. IDA interacts with Navy databases and communicates with the sailors via natural language e-mail dialog while obeying a large set of Navy policies. The IDA computational model was developed during 1996–2001 at Stan Franklin's "Conscious" Software Research Group at the University of Memphis. It "consists of approximately a quarter-million lines of Java code, and almost completely consumes the resources of a 2001 high-end workstation." It relies heavily on "codelets", which are "special purpose, relatively independent, mini-agent[s] typically implemented as a small piece of code running as a separate thread." In IDA's top-down architecture, high-level cognitive functions are explicitly modeled (see and for details). While IDA is functionally conscious by definition, Franklin does "not attribute phenomenal consciousness to his own 'conscious' software agent, IDA, in spite of her many human-like behaviours. This in spite of watching several US Navy detailers repeatedly nodding their heads saying 'Yes, that's how I do it' while watching IDA's internal and external actions as she performs her task." IDA has been extended to LIDA (Learning Intelligent Distribution Agent). | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki?curid=195552 | 983,451 |
815,090 | The cases of Joachim Boldt and Yoshitaka Fujii in anaesthesiology focussed attention on the role that journals play in perpetuating scientific fraud as well as how they can deal with it. In the Boldt case, the Editors-in-Chief of 18 specialist journals (generally anaesthesia and intensive care) made a joint statement regarding 88 published clinical trials conducted without Ethics Committee approval. In the Fujii case, involving nearly 200 papers, the journal Anesthesia & Analgesia, which published 24 of Fujii's papers, has accepted that its handling of the issue was inadequate. Following publication of a Letter to the Editor from Kranke and colleagues in April 2000, along with a non-specific response from Dr. Fujii, there was no follow-up on the allegation of data manipulation and no request for an institutional review of Dr. Fujii's research. Anesthesia & Analgesia went on to publish 11 additional manuscripts by Dr. Fujii following the 2000 allegations of research fraud, with Editor Steven Shafer stating in March 2012 that subsequent submissions to the Journal by Dr. Fujii should not have been published without first vetting the allegations of fraud. In April 2012 Shafer led a group of editors to write a joint statement, in the form of an ultimatum made available to the public, to a large number of academic institutions where Fujii had been employed, offering these institutions the chance to attest to the integrity of the bulk of the allegedly fraudulent papers. | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki?curid=29537 | 814,656 |
518,724 | This site was selected on the basis of several criteria. The plutonium pilot facilities needed to be from the site boundary and any other installation, in case radioactive fission products escaped. While security and safety concerns suggested a remote site, it still needed to be near sources of labor, and accessible by road and rail transportation. A mild climate that allowed construction to proceed throughout the year was desirable. Terrain separated by ridges would reduce the impact of accidental explosions, but they could not be so steep as to complicate construction. The substratum needed to be firm enough to provide good foundations, but not so rocky that it would hinder excavation work. It needed large amounts of electrical power (available from the Tennessee Valley Authority) and cooling water. Finally, a War Department policy held that, as a rule, munitions facilities should not be located west of the Sierra or Cascade Ranges, east of the Appalachian Mountains, or within of the Canadian or Mexican borders. | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki?curid=4110093 | 518,455 |
223,338 | In other words, the 'limit' on what omnipotence 'can' do is not a "limit" on its actual agency, but an "epistemological boundary" without which omnipotence could not be "identified" (paradoxically or otherwise) in the first place. In fact, this process is merely a fancier form of the classic Liar Paradox: If I say, "I am a liar", then how can it be true if I am telling the truth therewith, and, if I am telling the truth therewith, then how can I be a liar? So, to think that omnipotence is an "epistemological" paradox is like failing to recognize that, when taking the statement, 'I am a liar' self-referentially, the statement is reduced to an actual failure to lie. In other words, if one maintains the supposedly 'initial' position that the necessary conception of omnipotence includes the 'power' to compromise both itself and all other identity, and if one concludes from this position that omnipotence is epistemologically incoherent, then one implicitly is asserting that one's own 'initial' position is incoherent. Therefore, the question (and therefore the perceived paradox) is meaningless. Nonsense does not suddenly acquire sense and meaning with the addition of the two words, "God can" before it. Lewis additionally said that, "Unless something is self-evident, nothing can be proved." This implies for the debate on omnipotence that, "as in matter, so in the human understanding of truth: it takes no true insight to destroy a perfectly integrated structure, and the effort to destroy has greater effect than an equal effort to build; so, a man is thought a fool who assumes its integrity, and thought an abomination who argues for it. It is easier to teach a fish to swim in outer space than to convince a room full of ignorant fools why it cannot be done." | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki?curid=46025 | 223,224 |
1,943,462 | Laminins, a family of extracellular matrix glycoproteins, are the major noncollagenous constituent of basement membranes. They have been implicated in a wide variety of biological processes including cell adhesion, differentiation, migration, signaling, neurite outgrowth and metastasis. Laminins are composed of 3 non identical chains: laminin alpha, beta and gamma (formerly A, B1, and B2, respectively) and they form a cruciform structure consisting of 3 short arms, each formed by a different chain, and a long arm composed of all 3 chains. Each laminin chain is a multidomain protein encoded by a distinct gene. Several isoforms of each chain have been described. Different alpha, beta and gamma chain isomers combine to give rise to different heterotrimeric laminin isoforms, which were formerly designated by Arabic numerals in the order of their discovery, e.g. alpha1beta1gamma1 heterotrimer was known as laminin 1, but the nomenclature now calls for using the numbers of each individual laminin subunit isoform, e.g. what was formerly Laminin 1 is now Laminin 111, and what was formerly Laminin 5 is now Laminin 332. The biological functions of the different chains and trimer molecules are largely unknown, but some of the chains have been shown to differ with respect to their tissue distribution, presumably reflecting diverse functions in vivo. This gene encodes the beta chain isoform laminin, beta 2. The beta 2 chain contains the 7 structural domains typical of beta chains of laminin, including the short alpha region. However, unlike beta 1 chain, beta 2 has a more restricted tissue distribution. It is enriched in the basement membrane of muscles at the neuromuscular junctions, kidney glomerulus and vascular smooth muscle. Transgenic mice in which the beta 2 chain gene was inactivated by homologous recombination, showed defects in the maturation of neuromuscular junctions and impairment of glomerular filtration. Alternative splicing involving a non consensus 5' splice site (gc) in the 5' UTR of this gene has been reported. It was suggested that inefficient splicing of this first intron, which does not change the protein sequence, results in a greater abundance of the un | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki?curid=14777045 | 1,942,351 |
98,970 | Also during the year 1973, the specimen MPC-D 100/45 was discovered by the Joint Soviet-Mongolian Paleontological Expedition at the Hermiin Tsav locality. Unlike the previous findings, MPC-D 100/45 is represented by a right hindlimb composed of a very fragmented femur with the lower end of the tibia, astragalus, calcaneum, tarsal IV, a functional tetradacyl feet (four-toed) compromising four partial metatarsals, partially preserved digits I and III, and nearly complete digits II and IV. These newer remains were described by the also Mongolian paleontologist Altangerel Perle in 1982. He regarded the referral of "Therizinosaurus" and Therizinosauridae to Chelonia (turtles order) to be unlikely, and hypothesized "Therizinosaurus" and "Segnosaurus"—at the time of this description regarded as a theropod dinosaur—to be particularly similar based on their respective scapulocoracoid morphology, only differing in size. Perle referred MPC-D 100/45 to "Therizinosaurus" given that this specimen was found near the location of MPC-D 100/15 and was virtually similar to the described pes for "Segnosaurus". In 1990, Barsbold and Teresa Maryanska agreed with Perle in that the hindlimb material from Hermiin Tsav he described in 1982 was therizinosaurian (then called segnosaurians) given that the metatarsus was stocky and the astragalus had a laterally arched ascending process (bony extension), but cast doubt with his referral of it to "Therizinosaurus" and the segnosaurian identity for this taxon since it was only known from the pectoral girdle and other forelimb elements, making direct comparisons between specimens impossible. They considered this specimen to represent a Late Cretaceous representative of the Segnosauria, but not "Therizinosaurus". | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki?curid=851586 | 98,927 |
1,080,538 | eNOS expression and activity are carefully controlled by multiple interconnected mechanisms of regulation present at the transcriptional, posttranscriptional, and posttranslational levels. Binding of transcription factors such as Sp1, Sp3, Ets-1, Elf-1, and YY1 to the NOS3 promoter and DNA methylation represents an important mechanism of transcriptional regulation. Posttranscriptionally, eNOS is regulated by modifications of the primary transcript, mRNA stability, subcellular localization, and nucleocytoplasmatic transport. Posttranslational modifications of eNOS include fatty acid acylation, protein-protein interactions, substrate, and co-factor availability, and degree of phosphorylation. Importantly, eNOS is attached by myristoylation and palmitoylation to caveolae, a pocket-like invagination on the membrane rich in cholesterol and sphingolipids. With the binding of eNOS to caveolae, the enzyme is inactivated due to the strong and direct interaction of eNOS with caveolin-1. The binding of calcium-activated calmodulin to eNOS displaces caveolin-1 and activates eNOS. However, more recent studies have questioned the hypothesis that caveolin-1 directly binds to eNOS, as the region of the caveolin-1 protein proposed to bind to eNOS may be inaccessible due to its location in the plasma membrane. As a result, the specifics of how caveolin-1 interacts with eNOS to regulate eNOS activity are still unclear. Moreover, eNOS activation is dynamically regulated by multiple phosphorylation sites at tyrosine, serine, and threonine residues. | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki?curid=13623162 | 1,079,982 |
482,834 | Gessner has been described as the father of modern scientific botany and zoology, and the father of modern bibliography. To his contemporaries he was best known as a botanist. Despite his traveling ways and the job of maintaining his own gardens, Gesner probably spent most of his time inside his own extensive library. He listed among his History of Animals sources more than 80 Greek authors and at least 175 Latin authors, as well as works by German, French, and Italian authors. He even attempted to establish a "universal library" of all books in existence. The project might sound strange to the modern mind, but Gessner invested tremendous energy in the project. He sniffed through remote libraries along with the collections of the Vatican Library and catalogs of printers and booksellers. By assembling this universal library of information, Gessner put together a database centuries before computers would ease such work. He cut relevant passages out of books, grouped the cuttings by general theme, subdivided the groups into more specific categories, and boxed them. He could then retrieve and arrange the cuttings as needed. In the words of science writer Anna Pavord, "He was a one-man search engine, a 16th-century Google with the added bonus of critical evaluation." | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki?curid=162270 | 482,590 |
1,995,580 | Since the start of the Industrial Revolution, coal mining in Georgia has led to many Carboniferous-aged fossil trackway discoveries. These discoveries frequently occur when the excavation of coal mines removes the rock underlying the trackway, leaving it exposed on the tunnel's ceiling. Several significant paleontological events occurred during the early 1960s. In 1961, unusually large blastoids were found near the state's border with Alabama on a Floyd County farm. In the fall of 1963, Warren Moore and his family discovered some fossil bones and molluscs in a limestone quarry at Ladds, in Bartow County. They reported their find to Shorter College. It turned out that the Moores had discovered an entirely new source of Pleistocene fossils. Shorter College collaborated with the Smithsonian on an excavation. The Moores themselves remained very active participants in uncovering the fossils, among others like local public school teachers, and the staff and students of Shorter College. The dig uncovered about forty different kinds of vertebrate animals. A notable discovery was a new kind of large fossil chipmunk called "Tamias aristus", which is related to a previously documented Georgian species. | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki?curid=37798993 | 1,994,437 |
1,497,222 | Aluminum based nanogalvanic alloys are characterized by the size of their galvanic microstructure and consist of particles with a mesh size of -325, which is equivalent to a diameter of around 50 microns. Since the grain size of the powders is in the nanometer scale and the particle size is tens of microns similar to conventional powders, no additional health hazards are associated with the handling of the nanogalvanic powders. The by-products of the powder reaction with water is non-toxic and occurs naturally. The aluminum based nanogalvanic alloys were also demonstrated to produce 1000 ml. of hydrogen gas per gram of aluminum in less than 1 minute and 1340 ml—100% of the theoretical yield at 295 K and 1 atm.—in 3 minutes without the need for hazardous or costly materials, or additional processes. These nanogalvanic structured powders can be manufactured by means of high energy ball milling at room temperature or at lower temperatures. The powders may be compacted in the form of tablets for ease of transportation, which would reduce reliance on high-pressure or liquid hydrogen cylinders traditionally used for shipment. Additionally, they are stable in the atmosphere at standard temperature, pressure, and humidity levels, allowing for convenient storage. | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki?curid=62763065 | 1,496,379 |
2,158,036 | The first EMACs with three metal atoms were synthesized in the early 1990s independently by the groups of Shie-Ming Peng (NTU) and F. Albert Cotton (Texas A&M), who coined the term "extended metal atom chains". The cobalt-containing molecule Co(dpa)Cl (dpa = 2,2'-dipyridylamide) was synthesized by both research groups, but each proposed a different structure: the group from Taiwan reported an unsymmetric structure with a long and a short Co-Co bond, whereas the Texas group identified a symmetric structure with equal Co-Co bond lengths. This disagreement sparked a controversy that lasted for years, until it was realized that both forms of the molecule actually exist simultaneously. While this debate led to the realization that the compound can be used as a molecular switch, it also created a new problem since none of the recognized types of isomerism could explain the existence of a molecule in two structural forms that differ only in the length of one or more bonds (and not in their stereochemistry or connectivity of the atoms). The problem was finally resolved through a quantum chemical study by Pantazis and McGrady, who showed that the two structural forms result from different electronic configurations. The Pantazis-McGrady model is currently used to understand the different electronic states and interpret the magnetic properties of EMACs. | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki?curid=17837667 | 2,156,804 |
965,077 | The Conference of Experts was characterized as "highly professional" and productive. By the end of August 1958, the experts devised an extensive control program, known as the "Geneva System," involving 160–170 land-based monitoring posts, plus 10 additional sea-based monitors and occasional flights over land following a suspicious event (with the inspection plane being provided and controlled by the state under inspection). The experts determined that such a scheme would be able to detect 90% of underground detonations, accurate to 5 kilotons, and atmospheric tests with a minimum yield of 1 kiloton. The US had initially advocated for 650 posts, versus a Soviet proposal of 100–110. The final recommendation was a compromise forged by the British delegation. In a widely publicized and well-received communiqué dated 21 August 1958, the conference declared that it "reached the conclusion that it is technically feasible to set up ... a workable and effective control system for the detection of violations of a possible agreement on the worldwide cessation of nuclear weapons tests." | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki?curid=30592 | 964,568 |
1,746,623 | The maxilla of "Bathygnathus "was found around 1845 in a community in the north of Prince Edward Island called French River. The bone was uncovered by a landowner named Donald McLeod in a layer of shale at the bottom of his well. This layer was part of a red sandstone formation that bears similarities to younger Triassic sandstones in the United Kingdom, leading geologists to think that the deposit dated back to the Triassic rather than the Permian. Canadian geologist John William Dawson purchased the fossil and was the first to recognize its significance. Dawson brought it to the attention of American paleontologist Joseph Leidy, who described it to the Philadelphia Academy of Natural Sciences in 1854. Leidy identified the bone as a lower jaw, a mistake that was not corrected until English paleontologist Richard Owen reinterpreted it as an upper jaw in 1876. Leidy erected the new genus and species "Bathygnathus borealis", which means "northern deep jaw" in Greek as a reference to the height of the jaw and its discovery in Canada. He identified it as belonging to a dinosaur, although he never called "Bathygnathus" a dinosaur in the paper (Dawson later described it as "a "carnivorous reptile"... one of that giant "reptile aristocracy" which constituted the highest animal type in the middle or secondary period of geologic time"). Leidy compared "Bathygnathus" with "Thecodontosaurus" from the Triassic red beds of the United Kingdom, one of the first dinosaurs to have been described scientifically. | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki?curid=4312346 | 1,745,637 |
1,528,515 | Jayant Udgaonkar, born on 22 March 1960 in the Indian state of Maharashtra, did his graduate studies in chemistry at St. Xavier's College, Mumbai during 1976–79 and secured his master's degree from the Indian Institute of Technology, Chennai in 1981. Moving to Cornell University, he completed his doctoral studies under the guidance of George P. Hess to obtain a PhD for his thesis on acetylcholine receptor in 1986 after which did his post-doctoral studies under Robert Lesh Baldwin at Stanford University during 1986–89. Returning to India, he joined National Centre for Biological Sciences of Tata Institute of Fundamental Research as a reader in 1990 and has been serving as a senior professor since 2007. In between, he held the positions of an associate professor (1995–98), Dean (1997–2008), Head of Administration (1997–2008), Head of Research (1997–2008), Head of Technical Services (1998–2000) and a professor (1998–2007) at the institute and served as an honorary faculty member at the Jawaharlal Nehru Centre for Advanced Scientific Research in 1999. On 1 November 2017, he became the second director of the Indian Institute of Science Education and Research, Pune, succeeding Prof. Krishna N. Ganesh. | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki?curid=52009954 | 1,527,651 |
2,100,059 | Structural, mechanical, electronic, and transport properties of advanced materials such as diamond, silicon, organic thin films and single molecules, metal/oxide and metal/organic interfaces, and energetic molecular crystals are of particular interest. All the problems addressed have a tight connection with experimental work being performed by MSL collaborators around the world. Although the dynamical interplay between experiment and theory is the key to success in developing an understanding of the fundamental physics and chemistry of materials, the goal is to use the powerful arsenal of atomic-scale modeling and analytic techniques to attack the problems that are difficult or impossible to study by experiment. For example, the behavior of matter at extreme conditions such as shock compression of materials is studied by molecular dynamics which allows us to investigate the phenomena at sub-nanometer length and sub-picosecond time scales. These time and length scales can not be experimentally studied at the same level of detail as done by theory/modeling. Research projects are currently conducted within the following key areas: | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki?curid=14076809 | 2,098,851 |
1,474,403 | Compared to our closest living relatives, chimpanzees and bonobos, Homo sapiens' skeletal muscle is on average about 1.35 to 1.5 times weaker when normalized for size. As little biomechanical difference was found between individual muscle fibers from the different species, this strength difference is likely the result of different muscle fiber type composition. Humans' limb muscles tend to be more biased toward fatigue-resistant, slow twitch Type I muscle fibers. While there is no proof that modern humans have become physically weaker than past generations of humans, inferences from such things as bone robusticity and long bone cortical thickness can be made as a representation of physical strength. Taking such factors into account, there has been a rapid decrease in overall robusticity in those populations that take to sedentism. For instance, bone shaft thickness since the 17th and 18th centuries have decreased in the United States, indicating a less physically stressful life. This is not, however, the case for current hunter gatherer and foraging populations, such as the Andaman Islanders, who retain overall robusticity. In general, though, hunter gatherers tend to be robust in the legs and farmers tend to be robust in the arms, representing different physical load (i.e., walking many miles a day versus grinding wheat). | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki?curid=32156908 | 1,473,572 |
684,151 | The Type 94 pistol is operated by a different mechanism than previous Japanese sidearms. Unlike previously designed Nambu pistols, the Type 94 operates with a concealed hammer and with a firing pin rather than a hammer. According to authors, Harry L. Derby and James D. Brown, the firing pin is inherently weak and is prone to breakage because of a recess cut provided for the crossbolt and is prone to breaking at this point. The sturdier hammer firing mechanism was developed and included in the Type 94 to replace the poor striker on the Type 14 Nambu. The locking system is a rising-block type which floats independently between the lugs underneath the chamber end of the barrel. The single coil mainspring is positioned around the barrel instead of to the rear of the barrel as found on other Nambu pistols. The grip is smaller than other Japanese pistols and is finished with smooth wood but according to author Jeff Kinard, are more comfortable for use by men with smaller hands. The magazine holds a maximum of six rounds because of the smaller grip and it is considered difficult to reload the weapon, with pressure from the bolt holding it inside the pistol. The magazine catch protrudes far enough to occasionally disengage when the pistol is placed on its left side on a hard surface. The magazine could also disengage if squeezed into or jarred in a holster. The manual safety lever is located on the left rear of the frame and has the "kanji" for "fire" and "safe" stamped onto the frame. The front blade sight on the muzzle of the Type 94 pistol and the rear fixed V were occasionally inaccurately positioned making them useless when the weapon is being aimed. The rear sight was reduced from a U-shape to a simple notch in 1944 with the front blade being left unchanged but less attention to detail being applied as World War II progressed. | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki?curid=1898395 | 683,794 |
2,148,873 | The K10 had two major test runs published. One of them was in 2010 in Haughton Crater, Canada (one of the most lunar-like surfaces on Earth), and the other run was where the K10 was created at the Ames Research Center. The 2010 research concluded that "Robotic follow up" is possible for future missions on the Moon or Mars by simulating a test mission, although remotely controlled from nearby. The 2013 experiment was a 100 minute real-time teleoperation of a K10 rover from the ISS, commandeered by astronaut Luca Parmitano. Considered a breakthrough in surface telerobotics, this experiment showed the true potential of executing a low-risk terrestrial survey mission from deep-space or in orbit. This test was the first time NASA's open-source Robot Application Programming Interface Delegate (RAPID) robot messaging system was used to control a robot from space. In addition to completing this, the test presents a potential future mission involving astronauts aboard NASA's Orion spacecraft traveling to the L2 Earth-Moon Lagrange point 65,000 km above the far side of the moon. From such a location, astronauts could operate a robot remotely to perform surface science work, such as deploying a radio telescope. | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki?curid=33065811 | 2,147,642 |
179,395 | In October 1979, CODA was able to secure the Canadian Olympic Association's (COA) support as Canada's official bid for the 1988 Winter Olympics over a competing bid by Vancouver by a vote of 27–9. Calgary's bid was bold because no one infrastructure existed there and everything would have to be built from scratch. CODA proposed constructing all new venues to overcome the city's lack of winter sports facilities with the argument that Canada's inventory of training facilities would grow significantly if Calgary was awarded the Games. The defeated Vancouver organizing group lamented that they lost to Calgary's "Big-ticket Games" idea, which was estimated to cost nearly three times what Vancouver was expected to pay to host the Winter Olympics. Vancouver's bid was based on already developed infrastructure, including the Pacific Coliseum and Whistler Blackcomb that would again serve as the basis for bids for the successful 2010 Winter Olympics bid and later the 2030 Winter Olympics Next, CODA spent two years building local support for the megaproject, selling memberships to approximately 80,000 of Calgary's 600,000 residents. Calgary had further secured million in funding from the federal ( million) and Alberta's governments while some civic leaders, including then-mayor Ralph Klein, crisscrossed the world to favour IOC delegates. Driven by the arrival of the National Hockey League's (NHL) newly renamed Calgary Flames from Atlanta in 1980, the city had already begun constructing a new NHL arena that would be later named the Olympic Saddledome. That course of action demonstrated to the IOC Calgary's determination in wanting to host the Winter Olympics. | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki?curid=187504 | 179,302 |
1,571,733 | The exact mechanisms of arthropod adhesion are still unknown for some species but this topic is of great importance to biologists, physicists and engineers. These highly specialized structures are not restricted to one particular area of the leg. They may be located on different parts, such as claws, derivatives of the pretarsus, tarsal apex, tarsomeres or tibia. From the scaling analysis, it has been suggested that animal lineages relying on the dry adhesion, such as lizards and spiders have a higher density of terminal contact elements compared to systems that use wet adhesive mechanisms such as insects. Since these effects are based on fundamental physical principles and highly related to the shape of the structure, they are also the same for artificial surfaces with similar geometry. Adhesion and friction forces per-unit-pad area were very similar in smooth and hairy systems when tested. Strong adhesion may be beneficial in many situations but it also can create difficulties in locomotion. Direction-dependence is an important and fundamental property of adhesive structures that are able to rapidly and controllably adhere during locomotion. Researchers are unsure whether direction-dependence is achieved through changes in contact area or through a change in shear stress. Friction and adhesion forces in most animal attachment organs are higher when they are pulled towards the body than when they push away from it. This has been observed in geckos and spiders but also in the smooth adhesive pads of ants, bush-crickets and cockroaches. Adhesive hairs of geckos are non-symmetrical and feature distally pointing setae and spatulae that are able to generate increased friction and adhesion when aligned with a proximal pull. The adhesive hairs of some beetles behave similarly to those of geckos. While directional-dependence is present in other animals, it has yet to be confirmed in insects with hairy adhesive pads. | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki?curid=46344435 | 1,570,845 |
1,517,958 | A number of obstacles to this process have been identified: barriers to growth via collisions, the radial drift of larger solids, and the turbulent stirring of planetesimals. As a particle grows the time required for its motion to react to changes in the motion of the gas in turbulent eddies increases. The relative motions of particles, and collision velocities, therefore increases as with the mass of the particles. For silicates the increased collision velocities cause dust aggregates to compact into solid particles that bounce rather than stick, ending growth at the size of chondrules, roughly 1 mm in diameter. Icy solids may not be affected by the bouncing barrier but their growth can be halted at larger sizes due to fragmentation as collision velocities increase. Radial drift is the result of the pressure support of the gas, enabling it to orbit at a slower velocity than the solids. Solids orbiting through this gas lose angular momentum and spiral toward the central star at rates that increase as they grow. At 1 AU this produces a meter-sized barrier, with the rapid loss of large objects in as little as ~1000 orbits, ending with their vaporization as they approach too close to the star. At greater distances the growth of icy bodies can become drift limited at smaller sizes when their drift timescales become shorter than their growth timescales. Turbulence in the protoplanetary disk can create density fluctuations which exert torques on planetesimals exciting their relative velocities. Outside the dead zone the higher random velocities can result in the destruction of smaller planetesimals, and the delay of the onset of runaway growth until planetesimals reach radii of 100 km. | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki?curid=48840652 | 1,517,101 |
949,069 | Transistors for logic, PLAs, and microcode are no longer scarce resources; only large high-speed cache memories are limited by the maximum number of transistors today. Although complex, the transistor count of CISC decoders do not grow exponentially like the total number of transistors per processor (the majority typically used for caches). Together with better tools and enhanced technologies, this has led to new implementations of highly encoded and variable-length designs without load–store limitations (i.e. non-RISC). This governs re-implementations of older architectures such as the ubiquitous x86 (see below) as well as new designs for microcontrollers for embedded systems, and similar uses. The superscalar complexity in the case of modern x86 was solved by converting instructions into one or more micro-operations and dynamically issuing those micro-operations, i.e. indirect and dynamic superscalar execution; the Pentium Pro and AMD K5 are early examples of this. It allows a fairly simple superscalar design to be located after the (fairly complex) decoders (and buffers), giving, so to speak, the best of both worlds in many respects. This technique is also used in IBM z196 and later z/Architecture microprocessors. | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki?curid=7622 | 948,565 |
1,223,384 | In 1890, he began research at the Kenwood Astrophysical Observatory, which Hale's father had built for him; he was professor of astrophysics at Beloit College (1891–93); associate professor at the University of Chicago until 1897, and full professor (1897–1905). He was coeditor of "Astronomy and Astrophysics", 1892–95, and after 1895 editor of the "Astrophysical Journal". He also served on the board of trustees for Science Service, now known as Society for Science & the Public, from 1921 to 1923.In 1908, he used the Zeeman effect with a modified spectroheliograph to establish that sunspots were magnetic. Subsequent work demonstrated a strong tendency for east-west alignment of magnetic polarities in sunspots, with mirror symmetry across the solar equator; and that the polarity in each hemisphere switched orientation from one sunspot cycle to the next. This systematic property of sunspot magnetic fields is now commonly referred to as the "Hale–Nicholson law," or in many cases simply "Hale's law." Hale spent a large portion of his career trying to find a way to image the solar corona without the benefit of a total solar eclipse, but this was not achieved until the work of Bernard Lyot. | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki?curid=623538 | 1,222,724 |
1,737,788 | The 2019–20 season featured Atalanta's Champions League debut; the club was drawn into Group C with Dinamo Zagreb, Ukrainian champion Shakhtar Donetsk, and English champion Manchester City. Following an agreement with both Milan clubs, Atalanta would play its home matches in the competition at San Siro, as the stadium in Bergamo was undergoing renovations to comply with UEFA standards. Atalanta began its Champions League campaign with three consecutive losses and 11 goals conceded, but managed to qualify for the knockout phase following a 1–1 home draw against Manchester City and victories against Dinamo Zagreb at home (2–0) and Shakhtar away (3–0), along with favorable results in other matches. Atalanta thus became the second ever club to advance after losing its first three matches. In the meantime, the club continued to enjoy success in Serie A, despite the double commitment that caused the club to drop points in the early part of the season; obtaining a 5–0 home win over Milan and a 7–0 away win over Torino, Atalanta's largest ever Serie A victory. A month later, in the Champions League round of 16, Atalanta defeated Spanish club Valencia 8–4 on aggregate; forward Josip Iličić scored all four of his side's goals in the second leg. The season then came to a halt due to the COVID-19 pandemic for three months, in which the Province of Bergamo was the epicenter in Italy. The outbreak in the region has been partially blamed on the attendance of Atalanta–Valencia, dubbed "Game Zero" by the Associated Press. The season resumed in late June and Atalanta eventually achieved a second consecutive third-place finish in the league and Champions League qualification. This campaign saw the club best its records for total points in a Serie A season (78), goals scored (98), and consecutive Serie A victories (9). On 12 August, the club faced French champion Paris Saint-Germain in the quarter-finals of the Champions League, though was eliminated following a 2–1 defeat. | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki?curid=66131596 | 1,736,811 |
788,631 | James Edwin Campbell was a poet, free-lance writer, and mathematician from Pomeroy, Ohio. Following Campbell was John H. Hill, who was a lawyer, teacher, administrator, and soldier, who oversaw the university's first commencement. He resigned to fight in the Spanish–American War and later returned as an instructor. James McHenry Jones was responsible for adding teacher education (a "normal" department), and is buried on campus. Before becoming the fourth president, Byrd Prillerman was a faculty member and one of those responsible for locating the school in the Kanawha Valley. During his tenure, academic programs were expanded and the institution was renamed the "West Virginia Collegiate Institute". John Warren Davis focused on recruiting the best black faculty members he could find and developing the curriculum. He persuaded noted historian Carter G. Woodson to assist him as Academic Dean. During his tenure, the school was first accredited by the North Central Association of Colleges and Schools in 1927, and became West Virginia State College in 1929. Davis is the longest-serving president, having served for thirty-four years. | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki?curid=1245250 | 788,207 |
1,971,645 | A wide range of techniques have been developed to investigate "C. teleta" developmental processes. In 2006, the first study using whole mount in situ hybridization was published. This technique allows investigation of the expression and localization of specific mRNAs within a fixed sample. Immunohistochemistry was later developed as a way to visualize specific cell types in fixed specimens. A microinjection protocol for uncleaved embryos and early cleavage stages was developed in 2010 and was used in a fate mapping study to investigate the ultimate fate of blastomeres. Other useful techniques for studying early development of the embryo are targeted deletion of single cells with an infrared laser and blastomere isolation experiments. Laser deletion was also utilized for the deletion of larval eyes at a later stage in development. The development of microinjection techniques allowed for introduction of different nucleic acid constructs that can be injected into an uncleaved zygote. This includes use of gene perturbation techniques such as Morpholino knockdown and CRISPR-Cas9 mutagenesis, and methods for living imaging such as mRNA injection. The development of each technique opens doors for new avenues of inquiry and experimentation and expands the number and complexity of questions "C. teleta" researchers can thoroughly investigate. | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki?curid=30545094 | 1,970,511 |
416,582 | New institutional economics, a field pioneered by Douglass North, stresses the need of a legal framework in order for capitalism to function optimally, and focuses on the relationship between the historical development of capitalism and the creation and maintenance of political and economic institutions. In new institutional economics and other fields focusing on public policy, economists seek to judge when and whether governmental intervention (such as taxes, welfare, and government regulation) can result in potential gains in efficiency. According to Gregory Mankiw, a New Keynesian economist, governmental intervention can improve on market outcomes under conditions of "market failure," or situations in which the market on its own does not allocate resources efficiently. Market failure occurs when an externality is present and a market either underproduces a product with a positive externality, or overproduces a product that generates a negative externality. Air pollution, for instance, is a negative externality that cannot be incorporated into markets as the world's air is not owned and then sold for use to polluters. So, too much pollution could be emitted and people not involved in the production pay the cost of the pollution instead of the firm that initially emitted the air pollution. Critics of market failure theory, like Ronald Coase, Harold Demsetz, and James M. Buchanan argue that government programs and policies also fall short of absolute perfection. In this view, market failures are often small, and government failures are sometimes large. It is therefore the case that imperfect markets are often better than imperfect governmental alternatives. While all nations currently have some kind of market regulations, the desirable degree of regulation is disputed. | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki?curid=1375342 | 416,379 |
1,851,896 | In the fall of 1854, the St. Johns' College Debating Society was organized, and the following year, on December 3, 1855, the first student stage production, "Henry IV", was presented, followed by "The Seven Clerks". The seminary was closed in 1859, and the property was sold to the Jesuits in 1860 for $40,000. A Congressional act creating instruction in military science and tactics at the college level resulted in St. John's bringing a cadet corps to campus. In 1865, Reverend William Moylan, S.J., was elected as the university's ninth president. Moylan, a native of Ireland, had taught at Fordham prior in 1851 before relocating to teach in San Francisco, California, returning to New York in 1864. From 1885 to 1890, a veteran of the 7th U.S. Cavalry, Lt. Herbert C. Squires, built a cadet battalion to a strength of 200, which would provide the foundation for the modern ROTC unit at Fordham. | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki?curid=53885358 | 1,850,835 |
2,184,540 | PROSUB provides for the reinforcement of the Brazilian Navy with four modern conventional propulsion submarines. The four submarines, S "Riachuelo" (S-40), S "Humaitá" (S-41), S "Tonelero" (S-42) and S "Angostura" (S-43) will compose the "Riachuelo"-class, being derived from the French "Scorpène"-class. However, the Brazilian submarines have major differences in relation to the French class, such as greater length and draft. The Navy justifies this disparity by saying that:the French model does not fully meet the requirements of the Brazilian Navy. With of coastline, the country requires a submarine capable of reaching the extremes, patrolling from north to south, and returning to its base without needing support. To cover greater distances, staying longer at sea, the submarine needs to be able to carry more fuel and supplies. And it is recommended that it also offer more comfort for the crew.The goal, expected by the Navy, is the capacity of concealment, generating the surprise effect. This type of submarine can be detected by sound waves emitted by sonar, but since sound propagation is interfered by several factors, shadow zones are produced, where the boat cannot be detected because it is confused with its surroundings. On the other hand, these submarines could be equipped with an Air Independent Propulsion (AIP) system, which uses ethanol and oxygen to move a steam turbine, but Brazil chose not to make use of this feature and instead opted for increased space for fuel, food, and additional bunks. | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki?curid=72168935 | 2,183,292 |
630,661 | Hotez has actively used his public profile on Twitter and other social media platforms to help combat misinformation about the COVID-19 pandemic. He has also appeared as an invited expert in a number of cable news and radio shows. In an interview with the American Medical Association, Hotez noted that communicating clear messages about the ongoing pandemic is of vital importance in an environment that is rife with confusing and misleading messages. "We’ve been hearing either the sky was falling or there was no problem... the reality is more nuanced than that and that requires some explanation based on scientific principles." Hotez has also warned that contrary to popular belief, more young adults than expected would be hospitalized due to the outbreak of COVID-19: "The message is that we’ve been trying to appeal to younger adults and have them shelter away and do the social distancing and explaining why they’re at risk for transmitting the virus to vulnerable populations." Hotez has also warned against optimistic COVID-19 vaccine timelines, arguing that rushing through the conservative timeline could cause problems, "potentially mak[ing] individuals worse and threaten[ing] vaccine development in the U.S." On August 7, 2020, he said in a television interview that the US can expect to be affected by COVID-19 for "years and years" even after Americans are vaccinated. In that interview, he also blamed the federal government for not taking action to contain the spread of the virus. | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki?curid=19730770 | 630,323 |
313,831 | When a continuum radiation source is used for AAS measurement it is indispensable to work with a high-resolution monochromator. The resolution has to be equal to or better than the half-width of an atomic absorption line (about 2 pm) in order to avoid losses of sensitivity and linearity of the calibration graph. The research with high-resolution (HR) CS AAS was pioneered by the groups of O’Haver and Harnly in the US, who also developed the (up until now) only simultaneous multi-element spectrometer for this technique. The breakthrough, however, came when the group of Becker-Ross in Berlin, Germany, built a spectrometer entirely designed for HR-CS AAS. The first commercial equipment for HR-CS AAS was introduced by Analytik Jena (Jena, Germany) at the beginning of the 21st century, based on the design proposed by Becker-Ross and Florek. These spectrometers use a compact double monochromator with a prism pre-monochromator and an echelle grating monochromator for high resolution. A linear charge-coupled device (CCD) array with 200 pixels is used as the detector. The second monochromator does not have an exit slit; hence the spectral environment at both sides of the analytical line becomes visible at high resolution. As typically only 3–5 pixels are used to measure the atomic absorption, the other pixels are available for correction purposes. One of these corrections is that for lamp flicker noise, which is independent of wavelength, resulting in measurements with very low noise level; other corrections are those for background absorption, as will be discussed later. | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki?curid=2637 | 313,662 |
973,672 | High-tech architecture attempts to embody a series of ideals that its practitioners felt were reflective of the "spirit of the age". Concerns over adaptability, sustainability, and the changing industrial world drove a shift in the way that many architects around the world approached the challenge of designing buildings. Norman Foster's HSBC Building was specifically designed to be built over a public plaza, so as not to take up more land in space conscious Hong Kong. Minoru Yamasaki's World Trade Center had centered around a five-acre, raised public plaza, completely devoid of cars, so pedestrians could walk freely through the complex. Additionally, the World Trade Center had led to the construction of a brand new PATH station, serving the rail commuters coming from New Jersey into New York. This approach to building, with the architect having just as much responsibility to the city surrounding their building as the building itself, was a key theme of many structures designed in the high-tech style. The appropriate utilization and distribution of space is often an integral component of high-tech theory, and as such these ideals are often found in concert with practical concerns over habitability and practicality of design. | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki?curid=4460840 | 973,162 |
1,324,798 | Insects play a large role in what is known about neurosecretion. In simpler organisms neurosecretion mechanisms regulate the heart, the process of metamorphosis, and directly influences the development of the gonadal function. In more advanced organisms the gonadal function is manipulated by the intermediary endocrine processes. Axons from neurosecretory cells trace to corpora cardiaca and corpora allata and produce and secrete a brain hormone which insect physiologists suspect is bound to a large carrier protein. Although the function is unknown, there are a multitude of these cells found in the ventral ganglia of the nerve cord. Neurosecretory cells, found in clusters in the medial and lateral parts of the brain, control corpora allata activity by producing juvenile hormone during the larval or nymphal instars, the phase between periods of molting in insects. The production of this hormone inhibits the insect during the conversion to maturity and reactivating once the fully-grown adult is prepared for reproduction. The 3rd International Symposium on Neurosecretion at the University of Bristol discussed the intracellular structure of the neurosecretory cells and the migration path to the target organs or vascular fluid areas by neurosecretory granules. More is being discovered on the identification of granules in hormones and the linking of their development with the organism’s physiologic state. | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki?curid=29477686 | 1,324,071 |
1,872,683 | The blades of wind turbine are complex structures that incorporate composite materials. As such, they have reportedly posed unique challenges for inspection challenges, possessing relatively thick spar cap structures and porous bond lines, varying core material, along with a multitude of possible manufacturing defects and forms of in-service damage. Techniques have improved as a greater understanding of how blades undergo structural aging; critical evaluations of such techniques have aimed to measure their sensitivity, accuracy, repeatability, speed, ease of data interpretation, and ease of deployment. Researchers at Sandia National Labs determined that a thorough combination of several inspections methods may be required for optimal inspection sensitivity and reliability for both near-surface and deep, subsurface damage. Blade inspection techniques have been performed using fields such as ultrasound, microwave, thermography, shearography, and optical. Some of these techniques can be applied via remotely-operated unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), reducing or eliminating the need for traditional manned inspections by trained climbers. | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki?curid=7792156 | 1,871,606 |
238,967 | The perceived causes of sexual orientation have a significant bearing on the status of sexual minorities in the eyes of social conservatives. The Family Research Council, a conservative Christian think tank in Washington, D.C., argues in the book "Getting It Straight" that finding people are born gay "would advance the idea that sexual orientation is an innate characteristic, like race; that homosexuals, like African-Americans, should be legally protected against 'discrimination;' and that disapproval of homosexuality should be as socially stigmatized as racism. However, it is not true." On the other hand, some social conservatives such as Reverend Robert Schenck have argued that people can accept any scientific evidence while still morally opposing homosexuality. National Organization for Marriage board member and fiction writer Orson Scott Card has supported biological research on homosexuality, writing that "our scientific efforts in regard to homosexuality should be to identify genetic and uterine causes... so that the incidence of this dysfunction can be minimized... [However, this should not be seen] as an attack on homosexuals, a desire to 'commit genocide' against the homosexual community... There is no 'cure' for homosexuality because it is not a disease. There are, however, different ways of living with homosexual desires." | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki?curid=51614 | 238,847 |
220,556 | Generally speaking, in the case of nuclear energy the cost of fuel has the lowest share in total energy costs of all fuel consuming energy forms (i.e. Fossil fuels, biomass and nuclear). Furthermore, given the immense energy density of nuclear fuel (particularly in the form of enriched uranium or high grade plutonium), it is easy to stockpile amounts of fuel material to last several years at constant consumption. Power plants that do not have online refuelling capabilities, as is the case for the vast majority of commercial power plants in operation, will refuel as seldom as possible to avoid costly downtime and usually plan refuelling shutdowns long in advance so as to allow maintenance and inspection to use the scheduled downtime as well. As such power plant operators tend to have long-term contracts with fuel suppliers that are – if at all – only minorly affected by the fluctuations of uranium prices. The effect on electricity price for end consumers is negligible even in countries like France, which derive a majority of their electric energy from nuclear power. Nonetheless, short term price developments like the 2007 uranium bubble, can have drastic effects on mining companies, prospection and the economic calculations as to whether a certain deposit is worthwhile for commercial purposes. | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki?curid=4913827 | 220,447 |
687,960 | Electrophysiological techniques take advantage of the fact that when a group of neurons in the brain fire together, they create an electric dipole or current. The technique of EEG measures this electric current using sensors on the scalp, while MEG measures the magnetic fields that are generated by these currents. In addition to these non-invasive methods, electrocorticography has also been used to study language processing. These techniques are able to measure brain activity from one millisecond to the next, providing excellent "temporal resolution", which is important in studying processes that take place as quickly as language comprehension and production. On the other hand, the location of brain activity can be difficult to identify in EEG; consequently, this technique is used primarily to "how" language processes are carried out, rather than "where". Research using EEG and MEG generally focuses on event-related potentials (ERPs), which are distinct brain responses (generally realized as negative or positive peaks on a graph of neural activity) elicited in response to a particular stimulus. Studies using ERP may focus on each ERP's "latency" (how long after the stimulus the ERP begins or peaks), "amplitude" (how high or low the peak is), or "topography" (where on the scalp the ERP response is picked up by sensors). Some important and common ERP components include the N400 (a negativity occurring at a latency of about 400 milliseconds), the mismatch negativity, the early left anterior negativity (a negativity occurring at an early latency and a front-left topography), the P600, and the lateralized readiness potential. | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki?curid=179092 | 687,602 |
400,176 | On 23 January 1963, the carrier departed Hampton Roads for warfare exercises in the Caribbean. In late February, she interrupted these operations to join a sea hunt for the Venezuelan freighter "Anzoátegui", which had been hijacked by a group of pro-Castro mutineers led by the second mate. After the mutineers had surrendered at Rio de Janeiro, the carrier returned to Norfolk on 23 March. "Intrepid" operated along the Atlantic Coast for the next year from Nova Scotia to the Caribbean perfecting her antisubmarine techniques. On 11 June 1964, she left Norfolk carrying midshipmen to the Mediterranean for a hunter-killer at sea training with the 6th Fleet. While in the Mediterranean, "Intrepid" aided in the surveillance of a Soviet task group. En route home her crew learned that she had won the coveted Battle Efficiency "E" for antisubmarine warfare during the previous fiscal year. In the fall of 1964, the carrier operated along the East Coast. In early September, "Intrepid" entertained 22 NATO statesmen as part of their tour of U.S. military installations. Between 18 and 19 October 1964, "Intrepid" was at Yorktown for ceremonies commemorating Lord Cornwallis's surrender 183 years before. The French Ambassador attended the ceremony and presented the U.S. with 12 cannon cast from molds found in the Bastille, replicas of those brought to American forces by Lafayette. | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki?curid=245903 | 399,977 |
1,194,832 | In these circumstances, Calcutta University was pleasantly surprised to receive the princely gifts of Sir Taraknath Palit, an eminent barrister and advocate of national education during the Anti-Partition movement(1905). In June and October 1912, he donated total assets of fourteen and a half lakh rupees which included his own dwelling house. His donations were made over to the university for the advancement of Science and Technology and were used to maintain the income of endowment of Physics and Chemistry Chair and also to institute scholarships to distinguished graduates of Calcutta University for higher studies. The university had to provide "from its own funds" suitable lecture rooms, libraries, museums, laboratories, workshops and other facilities for teaching and research. As the funds provided by the University was not fully adequate, Mookerjee approached the Government of India for financial support, which was rejected by Henry Sharp who was the joint secretary in department of education. The opposition of Sharp mainly emanated from his dislike of Calcutta University which he considered will become a non-political body with strong prejudice against the white men and the Europeans. He said, "To give this money to this place is to give money to the cause which will embarrass ourselves. The money will go to political ends rather than to truly educational ends." | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki?curid=62858858 | 1,194,192 |
275,050 | While formaldehyde is an essential ingredient of cellular metabolism in mammals, studies have linked prolonged inhalation of formaldehyde gases to cancer. Engineered wood composites have been found to emit potentially harmful amounts of formaldehyde gas in two ways: unreacted free formaldehyde and the chemical decomposition of resin adhesives. When exorbitant amounts of formaldehyde are added to a process, the excess will not have any additive to bond with and may seep from the wood product over time. Cheap urea-formaldehyde (UF) adhesives are largely responsible for degraded resin emissions. Moisture degrades the weak UF molecules, resulting in potentially harmful formaldehyde emissions. McLube offers release agents and platen sealers designed for those manufacturers who use reduced-formaldehyde UF and melamine-formaldehyde adhesives. Many oriented strand board (SB) and plywood manufacturers use phenol-formaldehyde (PF) because phenol is a much more effective additive. Phenol forms a water-resistant bond with formaldehyde that will not degrade in moist environments. PF resins have not been found to pose significant health risks due to formaldehyde emissions. While PF is an excellent adhesive, the engineered wood industry has started to shift toward polyurethane binders like pMDI to achieve even greater water resistance, strength, and process efficiency. pMDIs are also used extensively in the production of rigid polyurethane foams and insulators for refrigeration. pMDIs outperform other resin adhesives, but they are notoriously difficult to release and cause buildup on tooling surfaces. | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki?curid=276504 | 274,902 |
696,522 | Nicolas Evans and Stephen C. Levinson are two linguists who have written against the existence of linguistic universals, making a particular mention towards issues with Chomsky's proposal for a Universal Grammar. They argue that across the 6,000-8,000 languages spoken around the world today, there are merely strong tendencies rather than universals at best. In their view, these arise primarily due to the fact that many languages are connected to one another through shared historical backgrounds or common lineage, such as group Romance languages in Europe that were all derived from ancient Latin, and therefore it can be expected that they share some core similarities. Evans and Levinson believe that linguists who have previously proposed or supported concepts associated with linguistic universals have done so "under the assumption that most languages are English-like in their structure" and only after analyzing a limited range of languages. They identify ethnocentrism, the idea "that most cognitive scientists, linguists included, speak only familiar European languages, all close cousins in structure," as a possible influence towards the various issues they identify in the assertions made on linguistic universals. With regards to Chomsky's universal grammar, these linguists claim that the explanation of the structure and rules applied to UG are either false due to a lack of detail into the various constructions use when creating or interpreting a grammatical sentence, or that the theory is unfalsifiable due to the vague and oversimplified assertions made by Chomsky. Instead, Evans and Levinson highlight the vast diversity that exists amongst the many languages spoken around the world to advocate for further investigation into the many cross-linguistic variations that do exist. Their article promotes linguistic diversity by citing multiple examples of variation in how "languages can be structured at every level: phonetic, phonological, morphological, syntactic and semantic." They claim that increased understanding and acceptance of linguistic diversity over the concepts of false claims of linguistic universals, better stated to them as strong tendencies, will lead to more enlightening discoveries in the studies of human cognition. | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki?curid=893696 | 696,158 |
235,441 | The university has athletic facilities open to both their varsity teams as well as to their students. Opened in 2015, the Physical Activity and Wellness (PAW) Centre opened as a partnership between the Students' Union, Graduate Students Association, the Faculty of Kinesiology, Sport, and Recreation, University of Alberta, the Government of Alberta and the Hanson and Wilson Family. The PAW Centre encourages healthy lifestyles choices by offering a variety of activities related to wellness. Components include a new student fitness centre, sports-related research and lab facilities, a variety of student service spaces as well as the new home of the Steadward Centre, a high-caliber research and program delivery centre for people with disabilities. Foote Field is a multi-sport facility named after its benefactor, Eldon Foote. The sports facility is home to the varsity Golden Bears and Pandas track and field, football, soccer and rugby. Depending on the sporting event, the field's seating capacity ranges from 1,500 to 3,500. Foote Field also hosts the Canadian Athletics Coaching Centre, and had previously hosted events in international athletics competitions, such as the 2001 World Championships in Athletics. Other facilities include the Van Vliet Complex, named after Maury Van Vliet, the first director of the Faculty of Physical Education (Now the Faculty of Kinesiology, Sport, and Recreation). The facility holds physical activity spaces including; the Clare Drake Arena several gymnasium, an aquatic centre, fitness centres, and courts for racquetball and squash. The Saville Community Sports Centre is another multi-sport complex located on the university's campus. The centre is also home of the Golden Bears and Pandas basketball, curling, tennis and volleyball teams, and houses the Canadian Curling Association National Training Centre, Tennis Canada High Performance Tennis Development Centre, and Team Ortona Gymnastics. The university also operates the Universiade Pavilion, a multi-sport facility constructed for the 1983 Summer Universiade. | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki?curid=242057 | 235,322 |
894,180 | After a gestation period of 10–13 months, females give birth to litters of 1–6 (usually 2–3) pups. The number of offspring is not correlated with female size; each female produces an estimated average of 12 pups over her entire lifetime. Parturition occurs from May to August (autumn and winter) in French Polynesia, in July (summer) off Enewetak Atoll, and in October (summer) off Australia. Females give birth while swimming, making violent twists and turns of their bodies; each pup takes under an hour to fully emerge. The newborns measure long and have relatively longer caudal fins than adults. This shark develops slowly compared to other requiem sharks; newborns grow at a rate of per year while adults grow as a rate of per year. Sexual maturity is reached at a length of around and an age of 8–9 years, though mature males as small as long have been recorded from the Maldives, suggesting regional variation in maturation size. On the Great Barrier Reef, males live to 14 years and females to 19 years; the maximum lifespan of this shark may be upwards of 25 years. In 2008, a whitetip reef shark produced a single pup through possibly asexual means at the Nyiregyhaza Centre in Hungary; previous instances of asexual reproduction in sharks have been reported in the bonnethead ("Sphyrna tiburo") and the blacktip shark ("Carcharhinus limbatus"). | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki?curid=1011239 | 893,710 |
1,738,934 | Waring's mathematical style is highly analytical. In fact he criticised those British mathematicians who adhered too strictly to geometry. It is indicative that he was one of the subscribers of John Landen's "Residual Analysis" (1764), one of the works in which the tradition of the Newtonian fluxional calculus was more severely criticised. In the preface of "Meditationes Analyticae" Waring showed a good knowledge of continental mathematicians such as Alexis Clairaut, Jean le Rond d'Alembert, and Euler. He lamented the fact that in Great Britain mathematics was cultivated with less interest than on the continent, and clearly desired to be considered as highly as the great names in continental mathematics—there is no doubt that he was reading their work at a level never reached by any other eighteenth-century British mathematician. Most notably, at the end of chapter three of "Meditationes Analyticae" Waring presents some partial fluxional equations (partial differential equations in Leibnizian terminology); such equations are a mathematical instrument of great importance in the study of continuous bodies which was almost completely neglected in Britain before Waring's researches. One of the most interesting results in "Meditationes Analyticae" is a test for the convergence of series generally attributed to d'Alembert (the 'ratio test'). The theory of convergence of series (the object of which is to establish when the summation of an infinite number of terms can be said to have a finite 'sum') was not much advanced in the eighteenth century. | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki?curid=9723 | 1,737,957 |
246,408 | The USAF SR-71 Blackbird strategic reconnaissance aircraft made frequent use of air-to-air refueling. Indeed, design considerations of the aircraft made its mission impossible without aerial refueling. Based at Beale AFB in central California, SR-71s had to be forward-deployed to Europe and Japan prior to flying actual reconnaissance missions. These trans-Pacific and trans-Atlantic flights during deployment were impossible without aerial refueling. The SR-71's designers traded takeoff performance for better high-speed, high-altitude performance, necessitating takeoff with less-than-full fuel tanks from even the longest runways. Once airborne, the Blackbird would accelerate to supersonic speed using afterburners to facilitate structural heating and expansion. The magnitude of temperature changes experienced by the SR-71, from parked to its maximum speed, resulted in significant expansion of its structural parts in cruise flight. To allow for the expansion, the Blackbird's parts had to fit loosely when cold, so loosely, in fact, that the Blackbird constantly leaked fuel before heating expanded the airframe enough to seal its fuel tanks. Following the supersonic dash, and to stop the fuel leaks, the SR-71 would then rendezvous with a tanker to fill its now nearly empty tanks before proceeding on its mission. This was referred to as the "LTTR" (for "Launch To Tanker Rendezvous") profile. LTTR had the added advantage of providing an operational test of the Blackbird's refueling capability within minutes after takeoff, enabling a Return-To-Launch-Site abort capability if necessary. At its most efficient altitude and speed, the Blackbird was capable of flying for many hours without refueling. The SR-71 used a special fuel, JP-7, with a very high flash point to withstand the extreme skin temperatures generated during Mach 3+ cruise flight. While JP-7 could be used by other aircraft, its burn characteristics posed problems in certain situations (such as high-altitude, emergency engine starts) that made it less than optimal for aircraft other than the SR-71. | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki?curid=237949 | 246,281 |
17,288 | In his 1803 paper, "Fundamental Principles of Equilibrium and Movement", the French mathematician Lazare Carnot proposed that in any machine, the accelerations and shocks of the moving parts represent losses of "moment of activity"; in any natural process there exists an inherent tendency towards the dissipation of useful energy. In 1824, building on that work, Lazare's son, Sadi Carnot, published "Reflections on the Motive Power of Fire", which posited that in all heat-engines, whenever "caloric" (what is now known as heat) falls through a temperature difference, work or motive power can be produced from the actions of its fall from a hot to cold body. He used an analogy with how water falls in a water wheel. That was an early insight into the second law of thermodynamics. Carnot based his views of heat partially on the early 18th-century "Newtonian hypothesis" that both heat and light were types of indestructible forms of matter, which are attracted and repelled by other matter, and partially on the contemporary views of Count Rumford, who showed in 1789 that heat could be created by friction, as when cannon bores are machined. Carnot reasoned that if the body of the working substance, such as a body of steam, is returned to its original state at the end of a complete engine cycle, "no change occurs in the condition of the working body". | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki?curid=9891 | 17,283 |
1,570,800 | The scope of Spain's history with science and technology generally overlaps with the history of science and the history of technology of human history, particularly in Europe. Classifying the degree of scientific, technical or technological notability of certain movements or inventions are established by the established discipline of studies in Science, Technology and Society (STS). Whilst scientific and technical activities are as old as the human race, instances of integrating systematic knowledge, material resources, skills and technical procedures to transform a production process through the application of a defined methodology surfaced at the start the late modern period; in the case of Spain, this came tragically late, in contrast to the verve with which she had become one of the first to enter the early modern period. Few Spanish scientists (excepting those such as Servet, Cajal or Ochoa) were instrumental in the paradigm shifts characteristic of successive scientific revolutions. As a consequence, in Spain the study of the history of science concerns itself mainly with the effects these paradigms had on reaching Spain, and the same is true of technology transfers. Science and technology in Spain, in the 19th century until the beginning of the 20th century, was such a "marginal feature of its administrative and social structures", that this very marginality came to be used as a sort of Spanish national stereotype, spread and celebrated by some foreign media, rejected as being pejorative or belittling but on occasion seized on with haughty pride, as in Miguel de Unamuno's immortal phrase, repeatedly used and abused ever since, on both sides of the argument, to the extent of becoming a literary motif or cliché: | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki?curid=40134198 | 1,569,912 |
90,310 | The largest cloud seeding system is in the People's Republic of China. They believe that it increases the amount of rain over several increasingly arid regions, including its capital city, Beijing, by firing silver iodide rockets into the sky where rain is desired. There is even political strife caused by neighboring regions that accuse each other of "stealing rain" using cloud seeding. China used cloud seeding in Beijing just before the 2008 Olympic Games in order to have a dry Olympic season. In February 2009, China also blasted iodide sticks over Beijing to artificially induce snowfall after four months of drought, and blasted iodide sticks over other areas of northern China to increase snowfall. The snowfall in Beijing lasted for approximately three days and led to the closure of 12 main roads around Beijing. At the end of October 2009 Beijing claimed it had its earliest snowfall since 1987 due to cloud seeding. According to "research paper from Tsinghua University, the Chinese weather authorities used weather modification to ensure the sky was clear and lower air pollution" on July 1, 2021. The Chinese Communist party celebrated its centenary on July 1 with a major celebration. The celebration took place in Tiananmen Square. The paper was published on November 26, 2021 in a peer-review journal called Environment Science (via South China Morning Post). The research shows that the Chinese government used cloud-seeding techniques to force rainfall the evening before the celebration event. This rainfall lowered the amount of PM2.5 pollution by more than two-thirds. That helped improve the air quality at the time from “moderate” to “good”. | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki?curid=449660 | 90,270 |
4,993 | Early in development, it was suggested that Atreus be cut, or his role significantly reduced because of the many developmental challenges and their costs. Barlog stated the game could have worked without Atreus, but it would have been completely different, likening it to the 2013 film "All Is Lost". Barlog said that with just Kratos, it would have been "one character who talks to himself occasionally, but generally, it will be very silent and everyone will talk in old Norse, so that you won't understand anything anybody's saying." After hearing Barlog's case, Sony gave him the freedom to incorporate Atreus. Lead level designer Rob Davis also noted that Atreus allowed for "significant gameplay and storytelling opportunities that might not otherwise [have been] possible." After "God of War" was revealed at E3 2016, it drew comparisons to Naughty Dog's "The Last of Us" (2013), a game that also featured a father-child type story and gameplay. Barlog felt it was "fantastic" to be compared to that game and found it odd that some people considered the similarities a negative thing. Although he did not directly state they were influenced by "The Last of Us" in developing "God of War", he did say, "I think we're all inspired by each other." He did, however, use "The Last of Us" as an example to show the development team how an in-game companion could work without the game becoming an escort mission. | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki?curid=50810460 | 4,990 |
1,967,349 | Among other rhomaleosaurids, the material of "Atychodracon" has been mainly referred to two genera prior to its separation, namely "Rhomaleosaurus" and "Eurycleidus". Recent studies find little kinship between "Atychodracon" and true "Rhomaleosaurus" spp., aside from traits that are shared between most rhomaleosaurids. In fact, all phylogenetic analyses that included representatives of "Rhomaleosaurus" and specimens now referable to "Atychodracon", didn't find any close affinity. On the other hand, several phylogenetic analyses recovered "Eurycleidus" as the sister taxon of "Atychodracon" when both are included, which seems to imply a close kinship between the taxa, as originally suggested by Andrews (1922). Yet, this is not supported by all analyses, and despite the difficulty in directly comparing the two, several differences exist. The holotype of "Eurycleidus" lacks a skull, and the previously referable OUM J.28585 probably represents a new taxon, so little overlapping material exists between the holotypes of "Atychodracon" and "Eurycleidus". However the following differences are notable: in "Eurycleidus" the midline cleft on the bottom surface of the mandibular symphysis is not bordered by the splenials from the back, like in "Atychodracon". In "Eurycleidus", an additional large asymmetrical cleft separates the splenials on the midline. Unlike the straight preaxial margin of the humerus of "Atychodracon", it is concave in "Eurycleidus". Additionally, "Atychodracon" shows a more stout and robust humerus, and a reverse relation in the radius to ulna lengths (the former being shorter than the letter in "Eurycleidus"). These distinctions suggest that while "Atychodracon" is fairly closely related to "Eurycleidus", it represents a separate genus. | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki?curid=46526599 | 1,966,219 |
965,131 | The testimonies of the Joint Chiefs were seen as particularly effective in allaying concerns, as were the reassurances issued by Kennedy, who had acquired a reputation for resoluteness against the Soviet Union in the wake of the Cuban Missile Crisis. Additionally, a number of prominent Republicans came out in support of the deal, including Eisenhower, Eisenhower's vice president Richard Nixon, and Senator Everett Dirksen, who had initially been skeptical of the treaty. Eisenhower's science advisor and former PSAC head, George Kistiakowsky, endorsed the treaty. Former President Harry S. Truman also lent his support. Supporters of the deal mounted a significant pressure campaign, with active lobbying in favor by a range of civilian groups, including the United Automobile Workers/AFL–CIO, the National Committee for a Sane Nuclear Policy, Women Strike for Peace, and Methodist, Unitarian Universalist, and Reform Jewish organizations. Jerome Wiesner, the chairman of PSAC, later said that this public advocacy was a primary motivation for Kennedy's push for a test ban. Civil opposition to the deal was less prominent, though the Veterans of Foreign Wars announced opposition to the deal along with the International Council of Christian Churches, which rejected a "covenant with a godless power." Polling in late August 1963 indicated that more than 60% of Americans supported the deal while less than 20% opposed it. | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki?curid=30592 | 964,622 |
479,980 | Korea did not begin to use money until the Goryeo period when coins began to flow in during China's Song dynasty (960-1279 AD) were imported and began to circulate. Tribute was paid to Song China and China exported silk, books, spices, glasses, incense, precious stones and textiles, tea, medicine, and ceramics while Goryeo exported gold, silver, copper, ginseng, porcelain, pine nuts, and hanji paper back to the Chinese. The economy of ancient Gojoseon prospered due to improvements in agricultural technology (as iron tools were introduced from China) coupled with an abundance of natural resources like gold, silver, copper, tin, and zinc during the second half of the first millennium CE. Earlier Korean currencies was based on bartering as a means of exchanging goods and services. Fundamental commodities such as grain, rice, and cloth were used and later knives were introduced with settlers coming in from China during the Warring States Period (475 BC - 221 BC) based on archaeological evidence excavated at sites in the Pyongan and Cholla provinces. The Chinese also introduced coins to Korea when the Han dynasty invaded the north at the end of the 2nd century BCE. These coins became the official currency and were known as wuzhu in Chinese or oshuchon in Korean, meaning 'five-grain'. The oshuchon continued to be used by the two kingdoms of Goguryeo and Silla up to the 10th century CE. Modern archaeological evidence points out that they are commonly found in the tombs of the Nangnang (Lelang) region. During the Three Kingdoms period, the demand for coins increased as the Korean economy became more advanced and external trade expanded. | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki?curid=16234875 | 479,738 |
922,021 | Eight months later on August 7, 2008, Massachusetts Governor Deval Patrick signed a higher education bond bill with $100 million directed towards the construction of a new integrated sciences complex at the Morrissey Boulevard entrance of the university's campus, a second $100 million directed towards constructing a general academic building, and the following week, U.S. Senator Ted Kennedy from Massachusetts announced that he would accelerate his plans to construct the Edward M. Kennedy Institute for the United States Senate on Columbia Point next to his brother's presidential library. In 2009, the nearby Bayside Expo Center property was lost in a foreclosure to a Florida-based real estate firm, LNR/CMAT, and on May 19, 2010, the university purchased the property to use as campus facilities and to recoup 1,300 parking spaces. By 2013, with the construction of the EMK Institute underway on April 8, 2011, the construction of the Integrated Sciences Complex underway on June 8, 2011, renovations to the Clark Athletic Center's gymnasium from March to December 2012, construction for a second academic building (General Academic Building No. 1) underway on February 27, 2013, and a utility corridor and roadway network project begun in the spring of 2013, the university's campus became "a multi-site construction zone." | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki?curid=99867 | 921,535 |
930,909 | The exploration of outer space started in earnest with the launch of Sputnik 1 by the Soviet Union on 4 October 1957. This was the first man-made satellite orbiting the Earth. Subsequent successful launches, both in the Soviet Union (e.g., the Sputnik and Cosmos programs), and in the U.S. (e.g., the Explorer program), quickly led to the design and operation of dedicated meteorological satellites. These are orbiting platforms embarking instruments specially designed to observe the Earth's atmosphere and surface with a view to improve weather forecasting. Starting in 1960, the TIROS series of satellites embarked television cameras and radiometers. This was later (1964 onwards) followed by the Nimbus satellites and the family of Advanced Very High Resolution Radiometer instruments on board the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) platforms. The latter measures the reflectance of the planet in red and near-infrared bands, as well as in the thermal infrared. In parallel, NASA developed the Earth Resources Technology Satellite (ERTS), which became the precursor to the Landsat program. These early sensors had minimal spectral resolution, but tended to include bands in the red and near-infrared, which are useful to distinguish vegetation and clouds, amongst other targets. | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki?curid=3773230 | 930,418 |
643,106 | Sullivan served as Payload Commander on STS-45, the first Spacelab mission dedicated to NASA's Mission to Planet Earth. It lifted off in the "Discovery" on March 24, 1992. During this nine-day mission, the crew operated the twelve experiments that constituted the Atmospheric Laboratory for Applications and Science cargo. This was the first of several flights designed to study the composition of the mid-atmosphere and its variations over an eleven-year solar cycle, the regular period of energetic activity by the Sun. The mission also included the Shuttle Solar Backscatter Ultraviolet Instrument (SSBUV) to measure the ozone layer in concert with other measurements taken by satellites. The mission also carried the Oscar statuette for the Irving G. Thalberg Memorial Award that film maker George Lucas received on March 30, the presentation being made by the STS-45 crew from Earth orbit. Sullivan had special responsibility for a dose-response experiment that involved firing an electron pulse into the upper atmosphere and recording the luminosity induced with a special camera. "Discovery" landed at the Kennedy Space Center on April 2, 1992. | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki?curid=498730 | 642,767 |
1,856,683 | Also, in the 1990s Insoll completed a series of smaller research projects to assess Islamic archaeological remains in varied parts of sub-Saharan Africa which contributed to a major monograph, "The Archaeology of Islam in Sub-Saharan Africa" (2003). In 1994 whilst supporting Rachel MacLean in her PhD research in Rakai district, Uganda, he completed a survey of mosque architecture in Buganda, and of sites associated with the expedition of John Hanning Speke between 1861–63. In 1996, he undertook a survey of Dahlak Kebir in the Dahlak Islands, Eritrea, recording extensive quantities of surface scatters of trade ceramics, beads and glass, and a range of sites from Aksumite to Ottoman in date. In 1998, Insoll commenced the first modern excavations in Timbuktu, also in Mali. Excavations revealed material dating from the early eighteenth century onwards in a sequence of deposits of up to 5 m depth, and suggested earlier deposits were very deeply buried. Important information on later historical occupation was recovered including the use of a marine shell, "Marginella", currency and on connections with the Fulani Caliphate of Masina in the 19th century. | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki?curid=38891541 | 1,855,615 |
767,695 | Attention and concentration are assessed by several tests, commonly serial sevens test subtracting 7 from 100 and subtracting 7 from the difference 5 times. Alternatively: spelling a five-letter word backwards, saying the months or days of the week in reverse order, serial threes (subtract three from twenty five times), and by testing digit span. Memory is assessed in terms of immediate registration (repeating a set of words), short-term memory (recalling the set of words after an interval, or recalling a short paragraph), and long-term memory (recollection of well known historical or geographical facts). Visuospatial functioning can be assessed by the ability to copy a diagram, draw a clock face, or draw a map of the consulting room. Language is assessed through the ability to name objects, repeat phrases, and by observing the individual's spontaneous speech and response to instructions. Executive functioning can be screened for by asking the "similarities" questions ("what do x and y have in common?") and by means of a verbal fluency task (e.g. "list as many words as you can starting with the letter F, in one minute"). The mini-mental state examination is a simple structured cognitive assessment which is in widespread use as a component of the MSE. | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki?curid=1065357 | 767,283 |
973,824 | In 1840, the state of Maryland purchased the land that the university is located on today. At that time, it was known as the Stabler Estate, owned by the prominent Stabler family of Baltimore County. James P. Stabler, the chief engineer and superintendent of the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad was connected to the estate. The Baltimore Trade School, an orphan's home located on present day Giffen Hill, was established in that same year. The school continued to operate and farm the surrounding acreage up until World War II. The state later added the property to Spring Grove State Hospital, who farmed the land until the university's establishment. A few of the original structures were still in use by UMBC for some time, including the Hillcrest Building and a farmhouse. Located off of Walker Avenue, the Hillcrest Building was originally built in 1921 to house patients of Spring Grove State Hospital. The building was historically significant for it was the "first building constructed specifically for the care and treatment of mentally ill prisoners to be built at a state psychiatric hospital anywhere in the United States". In 1965, the structure was used as UMBC's administration building, and later used as the office of residential life and a student union. A common campus urban legend claims that the man that Hannibal Lecter was based on lived in a basement cell of the building. Hillcrest was demolished in 2007 due to toxicity concerns, leaving the farm silo on UMBC Boulevard to be oldest surviving structure on the university's campus. | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki?curid=375259 | 973,314 |
2,162,857 | Another component of an "intelligent" aircraft structure is the ability to sense and diagnose potential threats to its structural integrity. This differs from conventional non-destructive testing (NDT) by the fact that Structural Health Monitoring (SHM) uses sensors that are permanently bonded or embedded in the structure. Composite materials, which are highly susceptible to hidden internal flaws which may occur during manufacturing and processing of the material or while the structure is subjected to service loads, require a substantial amount of inspection and defect monitoring at regular intervals. Thus, the increasing use of composite materials for aircraft primary structure aircraft components increases substantially their life cycle cost. According to some estimates, over 25% of the life cycle cost of an aircraft or aerospace structure, which includes pre-production, production, and post-production costs, can be attributed to operation and support, involving inspection and maintenance. With sensing technology reducing in cost, size and weight, and sensor signal processing power continuously increasing, a variety of approaches have been developed allowing integration of such sensing options onto or into structural components. | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki?curid=37292180 | 2,161,622 |
1,326,345 | Despite the fact that PPIs have revolutionized the treatment of GERD, there is still room for improvement in the speed of onset of acid suppression as well as mode of action that is independent of an acidic environment and also better inhibition of the proton pump. Therefore, a new class of PPIs, "potassium-competitive acid blockers" (P-CABs) or "acid pump antagonists" (APAs), have been under development the past years and will most likely be the next generation of drugs that suppress gastric activity. These new agents can in a reversible and competitive fashion inhibit the final step in the gastric acid secretion with respect to K binding to the parietal cell gastric H/K ATPase. That is, they block the action of the H/K ATPase by binding to or near the site of the K channel. Since the binding is competitive and reversible these agents have the potential to achieve faster inhibition of acid secretion and longer duration of action compared to PPIs, resulting in quicker symptom relief and healing. The imidazopyridine-based compound SCH28080 was the prototype of this class, and turned out to be hepatotoxic. Newer agents that are currently in development include CS-526, linaprazan, soraprazan and revaprazan in which the latter have reached clinical trials. Studies remain to determine whether these or other related compounds can become useful. In June 2006, Yuhan obtained approval from the Korean FDA for the use of revaprazan (brand name Revanex) in the treatment of gastritis. Vonoprazan is marketed in Japan. | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki?curid=29482459 | 1,325,618 |
1,087,437 | The formation of a bivalent occurs during the first division of meiosis (in the Zygotene stage of meiotic prophase 1). In most organisms, each replicated chromosome (composed of two identical sister chromatids) elicits formation of DNA double-strand breaks during the leptotene phase. These breaks are repaired by homologous recombination, that uses the homologous chromosome as a template for repair. The search for the homologous target, helped by numerous proteins collectively referred as the synaptonemal complex, cause the two homologs to pair, between the leptotene and the pachytene phases of meiosis I. Resolution of the DNA recombination intermediate into a crossover exchanges DNA segments between the two homologous chromosomes at a site called a chiasma (plural: chiasmata). This physical strand exchange and the cohesion between the sister chromatids along each chromosome ensure robust pairing of the homologs in diplotene phase. The structure, visible by microscopy, is called a bivalent.Resolution of the DNA recombination intermediate into a crossover exchanges DNA segments between the two homologous chromosomes at a site called a chiasma (plural: chiasmata) . This physical strand exchange and the cohesion between the sister chromatids along each chromosome ensure robust pairing of the homologs in diplotene phase. The structure, visible by microscopy, is called a bivalent. An intricate molecular machinery is at the core of gene expression regulation in every cell. During the initial stages of organismal development, the coordinated activation of diverse transcriptional programs is crucial and must be carefully executed to shape every organ and tissue. Bivalent which promoters and poised enhancers are regulatory regions decorated with histone marks that are associated with both positive and negative transcriptional outcomes. Finally, we highlight the potential link between bivalency and cancer which could drive biomedical research in disease etiology and treatment.In eukaryotes gene machinery | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki?curid=6371716 | 1,086,878 |
832,714 | Hypothesized ways to gain options include AI systems trying to:“"... break out of a contained environment; hack; get access to financial resources, or additional computing resources; make backup copies of themselves; gain unauthorized capabilities, sources of information, or channels of influence; mislead/lie to humans about their goals; resist or manipulate attempts to monitor/understand their behavior ... impersonate humans; cause humans to do things for them; ... manipulate human discourse and politics; weaken various human institutions and response capacities; take control of physical infrastructure like factories or scientific laboratories; cause certain types of technology and infrastructure to be developed; or directly harm/overpower humans."”Researchers aim to train systems that are 'corrigible': systems that do not seek power and allow themselves to be turned off, modified, etc. An unsolved challenge is "reward hacking": when researchers penalize a system for seeking power, the system is incentivized to seek power in difficult-to-detect ways. To detect such covert behavior, researchers aim to create techniques and tools to inspect AI models and interpret the inner workings of black-box models such as neural networks. | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki?curid=50785023 | 832,265 |
1,716,343 | Multiple sclerosis, or MS, is the most prominent of the demyelinating diseases, affecting at least 30 in 100000 people worldwide on average. The ratio is much higher than that in certain areas of the world. While the early stages of multiple sclerosis are less discernible, the chronic stages can greatly reduce an individual's quality of life by limiting motor function. The demyelinating disease attacks the myelin of axons in the central nervous system through autoimmune defects. While remyelination is very efficient in the early stages of multiple sclerosis, it causes remyelination to fail in the more chronic stages. As axons are left bare, without myelin, their conduction velocity goes down due to a lack in increased potential between the Nodes of Ranvier. Not only does conduction go down, but a naked axon is also much more likely to degrade completely, resulting in complete loss of function for certain motor functions. The loss of axons because of lack of protection is what makes MS so debilitating. Degradation is considered to be worse than the effects of demyelination. Once an axon is degenerated, it cannot regenerate like myelin, thus making research to promote remyelination that much more important. MS is more severe in some people than others, most likely from their family genetics and the way that genes are expressed within them. The overall cause for multiple sclerosis itself is completely unknown. Altering important pathways in OPC differentiation such as Notch-1, Wnt, and LINGO1 may prove to be a possible treatment for this disease. Using antibodies to halt or promote certain parts of these pathways could be possible therapies to help increase OPC differentiation. As pathways are better understood, different parts of the pathways can be singled out as possible therapeutic areas to promote remyelination. | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki?curid=7138424 | 1,715,374 |
958,362 | Conformal mappings are invaluable for solving problems in engineering and physics that can be expressed in terms of functions of a complex variable yet exhibit inconvenient geometries. By choosing an appropriate mapping, the analyst can transform the inconvenient geometry into a much more convenient one. For example, one may wish to calculate the electric field, formula_23, arising from a point charge located near the corner of two conducting planes separated by a certain angle (where formula_24 is the complex coordinate of a point in 2-space). This problem "per se" is quite clumsy to solve in closed form. However, by employing a very simple conformal mapping, the inconvenient angle is mapped to one of precisely formula_25 radians, meaning that the corner of two planes is transformed to a straight line. In this new domain, the problem (that of calculating the electric field impressed by a point charge located near a conducting wall) is quite easy to solve. The solution is obtained in this domain, formula_26, and then mapped back to the original domain by noting that formula_27 was obtained as a function ("viz"., the composition of formula_28 and formula_27) of formula_24, whence formula_26 can be viewed as formula_32, which is a function of formula_24, the original coordinate basis. Note that this application is not a contradiction to the fact that conformal mappings preserve angles, they do so only for points in the interior of their domain, and not at the boundary. Another example is the application of conformal mapping technique for solving the boundary value problem of liquid sloshing in tanks. | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki?curid=50627 | 957,856 |
1,401,680 | Of these water is the principal, and was formerly believed to have percolated downwards from the Earth's surface to the heated rocks below, but is now generally admitted to be an integral part of the magma. Many peculiarities of the structure of the plutonic rocks as contrasted with the lavas may reasonably be accounted for by the operation of these gases, which were unable to escape as the deep-seated masses slowly cooled, while they were promptly given up by the superficial effusions. The acid plutonic or intrusive rocks have never been reproduced by laboratory experiments, and the only successful attempts to obtain their minerals artificially have been those in which special provision was made for the retention of the "mineralizing" gases in the crucibles or sealed tubes employed. These gases often do not enter into the composition of the rock-forming minerals, for most of these are free from water, carbonic acid, etc. Hence as crystallization goes on the residual melt must contain an ever-increasing proportion of volatile constituents. It is conceivable that in the final stages the still uncrystallized part of the magma has more resemblance to a solution of mineral matter in superheated steam than to a dry igneous fusion. Quartz, for example, is the last mineral to form in a granite. It bears much of the stamp of the quartz which we know has been deposited from aqueous solution in veins, etc. It is at the same time the most infusible of all the common minerals of rocks. Its late formation shows that in this case it arose at comparatively low temperatures and points clearly to the special importance of the gases of the magma as determining the sequence of crystallization. | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki?curid=3864143 | 1,400,893 |
1,127,727 | Before 1930 the Canadian Army was a small cadre of professional soldiers augmented by civilian volunteers and, in the Second World War, conscripts. It was basically a colonial institution that closely followed the traditions, doctrine and training routines of the British Army. After 1945, Canada began breaking loose from Britain in many regards, including the military. At issue was professionalization. The modernizing faction of the Army called for a very well-educated officer corps that was capable of interacting with political and diplomatic elites in Ottawa, and giving the military its own voice in national decisions. However, the traditionalist element emphasized the wisdom and preserving regimental traditions, and said leadership should be based on middle and upper-class status. Invariably, this meant senior officers of British descent, as opposed to French or Irish or other ethnic backgrounds. The tension between modernizers and traditionalists lead to stalemate, and a failure to develop modern management. The modernizers pointed to the failure of professional norms in the 1993 Somalia peacekeeping fiasco. In recent decades, the reformers have developed a "constabulary-realist" model of professionalism. | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki?curid=3110164 | 1,127,149 |
1,031,939 | In 1976, he suggested adapting CERN's Super Proton Synchrotron (SPS) to collide protons and antiprotons in the same ring – the Proton-Antiproton Collider. Using Simon van der Meers technology of stochastic cooling, the Antiproton Accumulator was also built. The collider started running in 1981 and, in early 1983, an international team of more than 100 physicists headed by Rubbia and known as the UA1 Collaboration, detected the intermediate vector bosons, the W and Z bosons, which had become a cornerstone of modern theories of elementary particle physics long before this direct observation. They carry the weak force that causes radioactive decay in the atomic nucleus and controls the combustion of the Sun, just as photons, massless particles of light, carry the electromagnetic force which causes most physical and biochemical reactions. The weak force also plays a fundamental role in the nucleosynthesis of the elements, as studied in theories of stars evolution. These particles have a mass almost 100 times greater than the proton. In 1984 Carlo Rubbia and Simon van der Meer were awarded the Nobel Prize "for their decisive contributions to the large project, which led to the discovery of the field particles W and Z, communicators of weak interaction". | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki?curid=44932 | 1,031,403 |
840,565 | Particle accelerators are a well-developed technology used in scientific research. They use electromagnetic fields to accelerate and direct charged particles along a predetermined path, and electrostatic "lenses" to focus these streams for collisions. The cathode ray tube in many twentieth-century televisions and computer monitors is a very simple type of particle accelerator. More powerful versions include synchrotrons and cyclotrons used in nuclear research. A particle-beam weapon is a weaponized version of this technology. It accelerates charged particles (in most cases electrons, positrons, protons, or ionized atoms, but very advanced versions can accelerate other particles such as mercury nuclei) to near-light speed and then directs them towards a target. The particles' kinetic energy is imparted to matter in the target, inducing near-instantaneous and catastrophic superheating at the surface, and when penetrating deeper, ionization effects that can destroy electronics. However, high-power accelerators are extremely massive (sometimes on the order of kilometers in length, like the LHC), with highly constricted construction, operation and maintenance requirements, and thus unable to be weaponized using present technologies. | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki?curid=2077685 | 840,115 |
1,773,941 | Clarke was a fellow of the ACM and the IEEE. He received a Technical Excellence Award from the Semiconductor Research Corporation in 1995 and an Allen Newell Award for Excellence in Research from the Carnegie Mellon Computer Science Department in 1999. He was a co-winner along with Randal Bryant, E. Allen Emerson, and Kenneth McMillan of the ACM Paris Kanellakis Award in 1999 for the development of symbolic model checking. In 2004 he received the IEEE Computer Society Harry H. Goode Memorial Award for significant and pioneering contributions to formal verification of hardware and software systems, and for the profound impact these contributions have had on the electronics industry. He was elected to the National Academy of Engineering in 2005 for contributions to the formal verification of hardware and software correctness. He was elected to the American Academy of Arts and Sciences in 2011. He received the Herbrand Award in 2008 in "recognition of his role in the invention of model checking and his sustained leadership in the area for more than two decades." In 2012, he received an honorary doctorate from TU Wien for his outstanding contributions to the field of informatics. He received the 2014 Bower Award and Prize for Achievement in Science from the Franklin Institute for "his leading role in the conception and development of techniques for automatically verifying the correctness of a broad array of computer systems, including those found in transportation, communications, and medicine." He was a member of Sigma Xi and Phi Beta Kappa. | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki?curid=15590926 | 1,772,944 |
369,359 | The 2ZZ-GE is a version built in Japan, in collaboration with Yamaha Motor Corporation. Bore x stroke is . It uses Multi-point Fuel Injection, VVTL-i, and features forged steel connecting rods. Compression ratio is 11.5:1, but necessitating "premium" gasoline (91 octane or above in the (R+M)/2 scale used in North America). Power output for this engine varies depending on the vehicle and tuning, with the Celica GT-S, Corolla T-Sport, Lotus Elise and Lotus Exige offering , whereas the American versions of the 2003 Matrix and Pontiac Vibe versions produce @ 7,600 rpm and @ 6800 rpm, with all later years offering anywhere from in 2004 to in 2006 due to a recurved powerband. The differing power figures from 2004 through 2006 are due to changes in dynamometer testing procedures. The Australian variant Corolla Sportivo produces at 7,600 rpm and of torque. Due to noise regulations, Toyota recalled them for a flash of the PCM to up their output to classify them in the more lenient "sports car" noise category. The Corolla Compressor and Lotus Exige S add a supercharger with intercooler to achieve , while the Exige 240R's supercharger increases output to . The addition of a non-intercooled supercharger to the Elise SC produces with a considerable weight saving. The supercharged engines are not labeled 2ZZ-GZE. | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki?curid=1332693 | 369,166 |
383,155 | The Barak 8 has a length of about 4.5 meters, a diameter of 0.225 meters at missile body, and 0.54 meters at the booster stage, a wingspan of 0.94 meters and weighs 275 kg including a 60 kg warhead which detonates at proximity. The missile has maximum speed of Mach 2 with a maximum operational range of 70 km, which was later increased to ~90km, which was later further increased to 100 km. Barak 8 features a dual pulse rocket motor as well as thrust vector control, and possesses high degrees of maneuverability at target interception range. A second motor is fired during the terminal phase, at which stage the active radar seeker is activated to home in on to the enemy track. Barak 8 has been designed to counter a wide variety of airborne threats, such as anti-ship missiles, aircraft, UAVs drones and supersonic missiles. When coupled with a modern air-defence system and multi-function surveillance track and guidance radars, such as the EL/M-2248 MF-STAR AESA on board "Kolkata"-class destroyers, Barak 8 enables the capability to simultaneously engage multiple targets during saturation attacks. | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki?curid=34496251 | 382,960 |
1,138,538 | The understanding of iatrochemists helped to drive new knowledge of how drugs work and treat medical conditions. Specifically, one English iatrochemist, Thomas Willis (1621–1675), considered the effect of diaphoretics (sweat-promoting drugs) as resulting from the mechanisms of the drug entering the blood and associating or disturbing blood and flow which produces a state of heat and sweat. He also hypothesized that the working of opiates came from an interaction with a salt in the body that created a painless and woozy feeling when it reached the brain. In his treatise "De fermentalione" (1659), Willis rejected the four Aristotelian elements of earth, air, fire and water, stating that they provided no special insight into "the more secret recesses of nature." Willis settled on a view on the organization of natural things based strictly on chemistry. Such a view, he wrote, "resolves all Bodies into Particles of Spirit, Sulphur, Salt, Water, and Earth ... Because this Hypothesis determinates Bodies into sensible parts, and cutts open things as it were to the life, it pleases us before the rest." Willis derived many of his conclusions from observations on distillation. It was eventually realized that these explanations were not accurate. | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki?curid=2419633 | 1,137,945 |
16,478 | The MLRS was conceived as the General Support Rocket System (GSRS). In December 1975, the U.S. Army Missile Command issued a request for proposal to industry to assist in determining the best technical approach for the GSRS. In March 1976, the Army awarded contracts to Boeing, Emerson Electric, Martin Marietta, Northrup and Vought to explore the concept definition of the GSRS. In September 1977, Boeing Aerospace and Vought were awarded contracts to develop prototypes of the GSRS. In 1978, the U.S. Army Aviation and Missile Command made changes to the program so that the GSRS could be manufactured in Europe. This was to allow European nations, who had been independently pursuing their own MLRS programs, to buy in to the program. In July 1979, the United States, West Germany, France and the United Kingdom signed a memorandum of understanding for joint development and production of GSRS. In November 1979, GSRS was accordingly redesignated the Multiple Launch Rocket System. Both competitors delivered three MLRS prototypes to the Army. The Army evaluated the MLRS prototypes from December 1979 – February 1980. The Army selected the Vought system in May 1980. Vought began low-rate initial production in early 1982. The first production models were delivered in August 1982. The first units were delivered to the 1st Infantry Division in early 1983. The first operational M270 battery was formed in March 1983, and the first unit was sent to West Germany that September. | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki?curid=932976 | 16,473 |
2,232,720 | Noll Glacier () is a glacier, nearly 20 nautical miles (37 km) long, draining northeast from Jones Nunatak in central Wilson Hills. The glacier turns northwest at Wegert Bluff and enters the lower part of Tomilin Glacier before the latter debouches into the sea. Mapped by United States Geological Survey (USGS) from surveys and U.S. Navy air photos, 1960–64. Named by Advisory Committee on Antarctic Names (US-ACAN) for Maj. Edmund P. Noll, United States Marine Corps (USMC), Cargo Officer and LC-130 Aircraft Commander with U.S. Navy Squadron VX-6 during Operation Deep Freeze 1968. Returning from the war in Vietnam in June 1966 he deployed to Antarctica in October that year completing deployments with VX6 for the 1966–67 and 1967–68 season on the ice. He commanded the winter fly-in in 1967 and was co-pilot on the rescue flight from the U,S, base at McMurdo to Haley Bay, the British base across the continent for which he was awarded a single mission AIR Medal. Major Noll completed his military service, retiring in 1988 as a colonel. | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki?curid=29409487 | 2,231,453 |
694,958 | Holland continued to improve his designs and worked on several experimental boats that were not accepted by the US Navy, including the "USS Plunger". He was eventually successful with a privately built type initially named "Holland VI", launched on 17 May 1897. This was the first submarine having power to run submerged for any considerable distance, and the first to combine electric motors for submerged travel and gasoline engines for use on the surface. She was purchased by the US Navy, on 11 April 1900, after rigorous tests and was commissioned on 12 October 1900 as USS "Holland". Seven more of her type were ordered with five built at the Crescent Shipyard in Elizabeth, New Jersey and two built at Union Iron Works in California. The company that emerged from under these developments was called The Electric Boat Company, founded on 7 February 1899. Isaac Leopold Rice became the company's first president, with Elihu B. Frost acting as vice-president and chief financial officer. This company eventually evolved into the major defence contractor General Dynamics. | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki?curid=71762 | 694,595 |
305,914 | The interpretation by Frey & Riess became the dominant one, but was challenged in 2004 by Sanders, who showed experimentally that, whereas an alternate movement might have caused excessive pitching, a simultaneous movement would have caused only a slight pitch, which could have been easily controlled by the hind flippers. Of the other axial movements, rolling could have been controlled by alternately engaging the flippers of the right or left side, and yaw by the long neck or a vertical tail fin. Sanders did not believe that the hind pair was not used for propulsion, concluding that the limitations imposed by the hip joint were very relative. In 2010, Sanders & Carpenter concluded that, with an alternating gait, the turbulence caused by the front pair would have hindered an effective action of the hind pair. Besides, a long gliding phase after a simultaneous engagement would have been very energy efficient. It is also possible that the gait was optional and was adapted to the circumstances. During a fast steady pursuit, an alternate movement would have been useful; in an ambush, a simultaneous stroke would have made a peak speed possible. When searching for prey over a longer distance, a combination of a simultaneous movement with gliding would have cost the least energy. In 2017, a study by Luke Muscutt, using a robot model, concluded that the rear flippers were actively employed, allowing for a 60% increase of the propulsive force and a 40% increase of efficiency. The stroke would have been at its most powerful using a slightly alternating gait, the rear flippers engaging just after the front flippers, to benefit from their wake. However, there would not have been a single optimal phase for all conditions, the gait likely having been changed as the situation demanded. | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki?curid=1398078 | 305,750 |
1,606,205 | Spray forming offers certain advantages over both conventional ingot metallurgy and more specialized techniques such as powder metallurgy. Firstly, it is a flexible process and can be used to manufacture a wide range of materials, some of which are difficult to produce by other methods, e.g. Al-5wt% Li alloys or Al-SiC, Al-AlO metal matrix composites (MMCs). The atomisation of the melt stream into droplets of 10-500 μm diameter, some of which, depending on diameter, cool quickly to the solid and semi-solid state provide a large number of nucleants for the residual liquid fraction of the spray formed material on the billet top surface. The combination of rapid cooling in the spray and the generation of a large population of solid nucleants in the impacting spray leads to a fine equiaxed microstructure, typically in the range 10–100 μm, with low levels and short length scales of internal solute partitioning. These microstructural aspects offer advantages in material strength because of fine grain size, refined distribution of dispersoid and/or secondary precipitate phases, as well as tolerance to impurity 'tramp' elements. This fine structure in the 'as sprayed' condition means homogenising heat treatments can often be avoided. Because of the complex solidification path (i.e. the rapid transition from superheated melt to solid, liquid or semi-solid droplet to temperature equilibration at semi-solid billet top and final slow cooling to fully solid) of the spray formed material, extended solubility of alloying elements and the formation of metastable and quasi-crystalline phases has also been reported. | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki?curid=4927657 | 1,605,301 |
959,055 | A study by Facebook and researchers at Cornell University, published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences in 2014, collected data from hundreds of thousands of Facebook users after temporarily removing certain types of emotional content from their News Feed. Many considered this a violation of the requirement for informed consent in human subjects research. Because the data was collected by Facebook, a private company, in a manner that was consistent with its Data Use Policy and user terms and agreements, the Cornell IRB board determined that the study did not fall under its jurisdiction. It has been argued that this study broke the law nonetheless by violating state laws regarding informed consent. Others have noted that speaking out against these research methods may be counterproductive, as private companies will likely continue to experiment on users, but will be dis-incentivized from sharing their methods or findings with scientists or the public. In an "Editorial Expression of Concern" that was added to the online version of the research paper, PNAS states that while they "deemed it appropriate to publish the paper... It is nevertheless a matter of concern that the collection of the data by Facebook may have involved practices that were not fully consistent with the principles of obtaining informed consent and allowing participants to opt out." | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki?curid=447842 | 958,549 |
455,153 | Construction began on the Smolensk NPP in the late 1970s. The NPP was originally intended to be constructed in two phases with units 1 and 2 starting in 1975 and 1976. Followed by units 3 and 4 in the mid-late 1980s. Unit 3 began construction in 1984. However, the construction of the fourth reactor was interrupted by the Chernobyl disaster and plans were cancelled in 1993. The three RBMK-1000 reactors of Smolensk NPP were commissioned in 1982-1990 (1 st – Dec 24 1982, 2nd – Mar 30 1985 and 3 rd - Jan 30 1990). The reactors of Smolensk NPP are the improved versions of RBMK with a number of innovative safety systems. In the past years Smolensk NPP has generated as much as 283bln kWh and has proved its high efficiency and safety. The plant has been repeatedly proclaimed the best NPP in Russia and awarded by "Rosenergoatom" with the award of "Concern for excellent performance and safety". The plant has no negative effect on the nearby environment – in the past years the radiation background in the area has not changed and is stably within norm. Collectively, the three units of the Smolensk NPP have produced electricity equivalent to that of 90,000,000 tons of coal and have prevented the emission of 6,000,000 tons of airborne contaminants. | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki?curid=20003674 | 454,931 |
964,237 | In a survey from 2020, researchers analyzed several frameworks that bring embodied cognition theory into clever classroom practices for the teaching and learning of mathematics. The embodied design-based research program identifies and classifies at least two forms of embodied designs: perception and action-based designs. In perception-based designs, the target is a/b concepts such as likelihood, slope, and proportional equivalence in geometrical similitude. The first step in this design involves asking students to use their naïve worldview to judge a set of material presented to them by their teacher, which affirms their naïve worldview. Afterward, teachers provide students with appropriate media and attempt to guide them to build models by following the formal procedure. In action-based designs, learners are presented with sensorimotor problems. Abrahamson and colleagues developed the "Mathematical Imagery Trainer" platform to explore this design. In one particular version of this platform, designed to teach proportions to learners, they moved two cursors with both hands to turn a screen green. The screen would only turn green when the height of right and left hands from the base had a particular ratio. Once learners discovered the strategy to solve this problem, the grid and numerals are added to the screen to shift learners from a qualitative to a quantitative understanding of the concept at hand. | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki?curid=33034640 | 963,728 |
496,471 | Otto Rössler, a German chemistry professor at the University of Tübingen, argues that micro black holes created in the LHC could grow exponentially.<ref name="ORInterview2008/06/25">Patorski, Gregor (10 September 2008). "Grösstes Verbrechen der Menschheit" (in German). "20 Minuten".</ref> On 4 July 2008, Rössler met with a CERN physicist, Rolf Landua, with whom he discussed his safety concerns. Following the meeting, Landua asked another expert, Hermann Nicolai, Director of the Albert Einstein Institute, in Germany, to examine Rössler's arguments. Nicolai reviewed Otto Rössler's research paper on the safety of the LHC and issued a statement highlighting logical inconsistencies and physical misunderstandings in Rössler's arguments. Nicolai concluded that "this text would not pass the referee process in a serious journal." Domenico Giulini also commented with Hermann Nicolai on Otto Rössler's thesis, concluding that "his argument concerns only the General Theory of Relativity (GRT), and makes no logical connection to LHC physics; the argument is not valid; the argument is not self-consistent." On , a group of German physicists, the Committee for Elementary Particle Physics (KET), published an open letter further dismissing Rössler's concerns and carrying assurances that the LHC is safe. Otto Rössler was due to meet Swiss president Pascal Couchepin in August 2008 to discuss this concern, but it was later reported that the meeting had been canceled as it was believed Rössler and his fellow opponents would have used the meeting for their own publicity. | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki?curid=18079182 | 496,215 |
2,032,515 | During her tenure at UMD, Abshire has focused her research on CMOS biosensors; adaptive integrated circuits (ICs) and IC sensors; hybrid microsystems incorporating CMOS, MEMS, optoelectronics, microfluidics, and biological components; low power mixed-signal ICs for a variety of applications, including cell-based sensing, high performance imaging, miniature robotics, spike sorting, adaptive data conversion, and closed loop control of MEMS and microfluidic systems. In 2017, Abshire was promoted to the rank of Full Professor in the A. James Clark School of Engineering's Electrical and Computer Engineering Department. She was elected a Fellow of the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) in 2018 for her "contributions to CMOS biosensors." During the COVID-19 pandemic, Abshire received funding for her project ""Tackling Chronic Pain: Machine Learning-Enabled Biomarker Discovery and Sensing"" with Reza Ghodssi and Behtash Babadi. She was later named a 2020-2021 ADVANCE Professor in order to "serve as strategic mentors and knowledge brokers for faculty within their college." | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki?curid=67579145 | 2,031,345 |
1,920,723 | The early study of hadrosaurid dietary adaptations and feeding behavior was summarized in a 1942 monograph by Richard Swann Lull and Nelda Wright. Unlike previous authors, they moved away from soft water plants as the major part of the diet, but retained the interpretation of an amphibious lifestyle. They drew attention to the extensive development of the hadrosaurid dental batteries, and compared their dental equipment to that of horses, noting the advantage the dinosaurs had in continual replacement of teeth. However, they found the purpose of the dental batteries uncertain: hadrosaur jaws were unlike those of any modern reptiles, and there did not appear to be an evolutionary pressure on hadrosaurids like grasses were for horses. Lull and Wright eliminated the soft plants as the primary choice of diet, and eliminated grasses on the grounds that the beak was unlike that of grazing birds like geese, and that the quantity of available grasses appeared insufficient to feed hadrosaurids. Instead, they proposed equisetaleans (horsetails) as the major food source, as these plants existed in the same times and places as hadrosaurids, are known to be rich in starch, and contain abrasive silica which would necessitate teeth that could be replaced. Softer land and water plants were proposed as secondary foods. Lull and Wright found that their proposed feeding ecology was comparable to that of a modern moose, which browses on trees and feeds on water plants in wetlands. They further interpreted the complex anatomy of hadrosaurid snouts and nasal passages as adaptations to feeding underwater, like moose. | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki?curid=23481302 | 1,919,620 |
1,463,474 | E-liquid exposure whether intentional or unintentional from ingestion, eye contact, or skin contact can cause adverse effects such as seizures and anoxic brain trauma. The nicotine in e-liquids readily absorbs into the bloodstream when a person uses an e-cigarette. Upon entering the blood, nicotine stimulates the adrenal glands to release the hormone epinephrine. Epinephrine stimulates the central nervous system and increases blood pressure, breathing, and heart rate. As with most addictive substances, nicotine increases levels of a chemical messenger in the brain called dopamine, which affects parts of the brain that control reward (pleasure from natural behaviors such as eating). These feelings motivate some people to use nicotine again and again, despite possible risks to their health and well-being. A 2015 study on the offspring of the pregnant mice, which were exposed to nicotine-containing e-liquid, showed significant behavioral alterations. This indicated that exposure to e-cigarette components in a susceptible time period of brain development could induce persistent behavioral changes. E-cigarette aerosols without containing nicotine could harm the growing conceptus. This indicates that the ingredients in the e-liquid, such as the flavors, could be developmental toxicants. | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki?curid=61711836 | 1,462,651 |
1,626,197 | Understanding the pathology of these neurodegenerative diseases and establishment of therapeutic interventions require recognition of the processes of induction and inhibition of gliogenesis and the regulating mechanisms coordinating the intricate system established from both actions. Cell replacement strategies are now intensely studied as a possible therapeutic intervention of glial associated neurodegenerative disorders and glial tumors. Similar to any novel strategy, however, set-backs and liabilities accompany the promises this technique withholds. For cell replacement to function efficiently and demonstrate robust results, introduced cells must be 1) generated in sufficient yield and 2) immunocompatible with the host and 3) able to sustain self-growth. New perspectives within stem cell biology and gliogenesis regulation have provided new insights within the past decade to begin addressing these challenges. Reprogramming terminally differentiated neural lineages back to neural stem cells permits regeneration of a multipotent self-lineage that can be redirected to cellular-fates affected during neurogenerative diseases, oligodendrocytes with MS patients or astrocytes in those affected with Alzheimer's, in the presence of proper environmental signals. | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki?curid=25260360 | 1,625,279 |
955,089 | McClintock's breakthrough publications, and support from her colleagues, led to her being awarded several postdoctoral fellowships from the National Research Council. This funding allowed her to continue to study genetics at Cornell, the University of Missouri, and the California Institute of Technology, where she worked with E. G. Anderson. During the summers of 1931 and 1932, she worked at the University of Missouri with geneticist Lewis Stadler, who introduced her to the use of X-rays as a mutagen. Exposure to X-rays can increase the rate of mutation above the natural background level, making it a powerful research tool for genetics. Through her work with X-ray-mutagenized maize, she identified ring chromosomes, which form when the ends of a single chromosome fuse together after radiation damage. From this evidence, McClintock hypothesized that there must be a structure on the chromosome tip that would normally ensure stability. She showed that the loss of ring-chromosomes at meiosis caused variegation in maize foliage in generations subsequent to irradiation resulting from chromosomal deletion. During this period, she demonstrated the presence of the nucleolus organizer region on a region on maize chromosome 6, which is required for the assembly of the nucleolus. In 1933, she established that cells can be damaged when nonhomologous recombination occurs. During this same period, McClintock hypothesized that the tips of chromosomes are protected by telomeres. | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki?curid=55188 | 954,584 |
1,492,864 | The Cell was initially developed as a lower-cost alternative to conventional column flotation cells for recovering fine particles, and was first used in the Mount Isa lead–zinc concentrator in 1988. Since then, use of the technology has spread to include coal flotation, base and precious metal flotation, potash flotation, oil sands flotation, molybdenum flotation, graphite flotation and cleaning solvent extraction liquors. Xstrata Technology, Glencore Xstrata's technology marketing arm, listed 328 Jameson Cell installations in May 2013. Cells have been installed by 94 companies in 27 countries. Today, the technology is the standard in the Australian Coal Industry where well over one hundred Cells have been installed to recover coal fines. It is mainly used in metals applications to solve final grade and capacity issues from conventional cell cleaner circuits. It has found a niche in transforming traditional circuit designs where its inclusion allows cleaner circuits to be designed with fewer cells in a smaller footprint, while achieving cleaner and/or higher grade concentrates. It has also made possible the recovery of previously discarded fine materials, such as coal and phosphate fines, thereby increasing the efficiency and extending the life of the world's non-renewable natural resources. | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki?curid=40142408 | 1,492,025 |
2,022,145 | The gunner's sight was modified over and over again and adapted to new kinds of ammunition. At first there were scales for the HEF shells (OF-412) with full and with reduced powder charge, for the APHE shell (BR-412) and for the coaxial machine gun. In 1964, Soviet designers started to work on an improved 3UBM6 hyper-velocity armour-piercing discarding sabot round (as opposed to APHE rounds the D-10 used before). In 1967, the 3BM6 HVAPDS round entered service. It was soon replaced by the 3BM8 projectile in 1968, with a tungsten carbide penetrator, giving it a 318 mm penetration against steel armour at point-blank range. The SABOT rounds were very effective due to their accuracy and high velocity, which gave the rounds a very flat flight trajectory. The tank gunners in the Soviet army were taught that they can hit a tank-sized target without having to input the range into the scales if firing a SABOT round with the target being at or on the outskirts of 1000 meter ranges. The effectiveness of this point-and-shoot method brought the combat efficiency of the T-54/55 a step closer to more modern tanks such as the Leopard 1 and T-64. | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki?curid=29784708 | 2,020,982 |
1,065,085 | Physicist Igor Kurchatov asked Khariton to become part of the Soviet atomic project in 1943, in Laboratory No. 2 of the Russian Academy of Sciences. In May 1945, as part of a team of physicists sent to Berlin to investigate Nazi atomic bomb research, Khariton found 100 tonnes of uranium oxide, which was transported back to Moscow; this reduced development time for domestic plutonium production. After the bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, a Special Committee was established including Kurchatov and Khariton. Khariton was made scientific director of KB-11 (design bureau-11) also known as Arzamas-16 and colloquially as the 'Installation', located in the closed city of Sarov, Nizhny Novgorod Oblast to develop Soviet nuclear weapons (the organisation is now known as the All-Russian Scientific Research Institute of Experimental Physics (VNIIEF). Khariton remained as its scientific director for 46 years. Along with other senior scientists, he was regarded as too important to fly and had his own private train carriage. He was elected as a corresponding member of the USSR Academy of Sciences in 1946, and as a full member in 1953. | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki?curid=475218 | 1,064,531 |
490,417 | Like coma, chronic coma results mostly from cortical or white-matter damage after neuronal or axonal injury, or from focal brainstem lesions. Usually the metabolism in the grey matter decreases to 50-70% of the normal range. The patient lacks awareness and arousal. The patient lies with eyes closed and is not aware of self or surroundings. Stimulation cannot produce spontaneous periods of wakefulness and eye-opening, unlike patients in vegetative state. In medicine, a coma (from the Greek κῶμα koma, meaning deep sleep) is a state of unconsciousness, lasting more than six hours in which a person cannot be awakened, fails to respond normally to painful stimuli, light, sound, lacks a normal sleep-wake cycle and does not initiate voluntary actions. Although, according to the Glasgow Coma Scale, a person with confusion is considered to be in the mildest coma. But cerebral metabolism has been shown to correlate poorly with the level of consciousness in patients with mild to severe injury within the first month after traumatic brain injury (TBI). | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki?curid=31315770 | 490,163 |
1,874,443 | It is agreed that the most important characteristic of opto-electronic systems is their noise robustness and insensitivity to electromagnetic fields. What is not considered, however, is that, in addition to the fiber optic line and the output actuator, such a system includes the source of light pulses on the transmitting side and the amplifier on the receiving side that are generally based on micro-circuitry. It is precisely these elements, with low trigger levels, that get damaged by pulse noise (interference, voltage spikes and discharges) of the high voltage power equipment, which negates the main advantage of opto-electronic systems. Moreover, the optical fibers themselves are subject to a severe negative effect of ionizing radiation and external mechanical impacts (which is critically important in military applications). The arrangement of input and output circuits of such systems needs to be widely spaced (requiring a lengthy optical fiber), which drives up the overall dimensions of interface unit. As such, the preferred use of an opto-electronic galvanic decoupling module in interface relays is not always warranted, and is merely the consequence of a stereotypical thinking of design engineers | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki?curid=52626653 | 1,873,366 |
1,237,586 | The Advanced Research Projects Agency (ARPA) was officially established on 7 February 1958, taking over service-control of space programs, with the intent to reduce interservice rivalry, raise the profile of space, and reduce unneeded redundancy. ARPA did not operate its own laboratories or personnel, but rather directed programs, assigning them to the different service components to perform the actual development. Projects transferred from the services to ARPA included Operation Argus, a Navy exoatmospheric nuclear detonation testing program, the Navy's Project Vanguard and other satellite and outer space programs, the High Performance Solid Propellants program, the Navy's Minitrack doppler fence, Army and Air Force ballistic missile defense projects, studies of the effects of space weapons employment on military electronic systems, Project Orion, an Air Force program on nuclear bomb-propelled space vehicles, and the WS-117L Advanced Reconnaissance System, which it split into three different programs: the Sentry reconnaissance component, the Missile Defense Alarm System (MIDAS) infrared sensor component, and the Discoverer program, which was a cover for the joint Air Force-Central Intelligence Agency Corona reconnaissance satellite. ARPA redistributed the sounding rockets and ground instrumentation for Project Argus to Air Force Special Weapons Command and the Air Force Cambridge Research Center, weapons systems to control hostile satellites, Project Orion, studies of the effects of space weapons employment on military electronic systems, the WS-117L programs, high energy and liquid hydrogen-liquid oxygen propellent, reentry studies, and Project SCORE (previously an Army satellite communications program) to Air Research and Development Command, the Pioneer lunar probe program to the Air Force Ballistic Missile Division, and the Saturn I, meteorological satellite, and inflatable sphere program to the Army Ordnance Missile Command. | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki?curid=66185637 | 1,236,922 |
21,835 | The United States Clean Air Act, passed in 1990, put mercury on a list of toxic pollutants that need to be controlled to the greatest possible extent. Thus, industries that release high concentrations of mercury into the environment agreed to install maximum achievable control technologies (MACT). In March 2005, the EPA promulgated a regulation that added power plants to the list of sources that should be controlled and instituted a national cap and trade system. States were given until November 2006 to impose stricter controls, but after a legal challenge from several states, the regulations were struck down by a federal appeals court on 8 February 2008. The rule was deemed not sufficient to protect the health of persons living near coal-fired power plants, given the negative effects documented in the EPA Study Report to Congress of 1998. However newer data published in 2015 showed that after introduction of the stricter controls mercury declined sharply, indicating that the Clean Air Act had its intended impact. | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki?curid=18617142 | 21,826 |
547,995 | Setting up a sequence of cameras to photograph the movement of a subject as it progresses in locomotion originally created chronophotographs. This could be done via tripwire or electrically timed shutter release attached to each individual camera. The photographer then paired together a sequence of twelve different wet-plate photographic prints of the subject in motion. The subject could range from a running horse to a human descending stairs, or inanimate objects being thrown, launched, or falling. To overlap the phases of movement on a single plate, like the work of Marey and Demeny, a photographer would fix a single plate by using strips of celluloid for each separate, irregular image. Marey also later developed a device, shaped in the manner of a gun as its purpose was to photograph short sequences of the natural movement of birds during their flight, which took twelve successive photographs on a set of discs. The disc contained 12 openings around its circumference. In front of this disc was a second disc pierced with a slit. Pressing the trigger of the gun began a mechanism to rotate the discs. The disc carrying the 12 frames rotated 1/12 of a revolution while the disc carrying the shutter slit revolved once, so that each of the 12 openings appeared in turn behind the lens and was exposed through the slit. [3] When printed, it gave the same effect as his layering process. (Eventually, Marey was able to photograph on actual rolls of film and project the frames in sequence.) Depending on the purpose of the chronophotograph, it could later be affixed to any of several devices either to be displayed in motion or to compare phases of motion in layers. | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki?curid=1425902 | 547,708 |
179,954 | Research continues into the best imaging method for detecting and staging endometrial cancer. As current diagnostic methods are invasive and inaccurate, researchers are looking into new ways to catch endometrial cancer, especially in its early stages. A study found that using a technique involving infrared light on simple blood test samples detected uterine cancer with high accuracy (87%), and could detect precancerous growths in all cases. In surgery, research has shown that complete pelvic lymphadenectomy along with hysterectomy in stage 1 endometrial cancer does not improve survival and increases the risk of negative side effects, including lymphedema. Other research is exploring the potential of identifying the sentinel lymph nodes for biopsy by injecting the tumor with dye that shines under infrared light. Intensity modulated radiation therapy is currently under investigation, and already used in some centers, for application in endometrial cancer, to reduce side effects from traditional radiotherapy. Its risk of recurrence has not yet been quantified. Research on hyperbaric oxygen therapy to reduce side effects is also ongoing. The results of the PORTEC 3 trial assessing combining adjuvant radiotherapy with chemotherapy were awaited in late 2014. | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki?curid=412809 | 179,860 |
1,423,868 | Having Flammer syndrome does not necessarily mean that an individual is sick. Most of those affected are and remain healthy. Certain diseases such as arteriosclerosis and its consequences are probably even rarer. Best known is the higher risk of normal tension glaucoma, a disease with an impaired regulation of blood flow in a large number of patients. If glaucomatous damage occurs despite normal eye pressure or if glaucomatous damage is progressive despite normalized intraocular pressure, frequently Flammer syndrome is the cause. In these eyes, an elevated pressure in the retinal veins has been observed. Glaucoma patients with Flammer syndrome show some specific clinical signs like increased frequency of optic disc haemorrhages, activated retinal astrocytes, elevated retinal venous pressure, optic nerve compartmentalization, and fluctuating diffuse visual field defects. The association of normal tension glaucoma with the syndrome has recently been confirmed by a group of Chinese researchers. In a 2016 review on the risk factors for normal tension glaucoma by ophthalmologists from Asia (where this form of glaucoma is much more prevalent than in Europe or North America), Flammer syndrome has been attributed to increase the likelihood of ganglion cell damage in these patients, with disc hemorrhages as a characteristic clinical sign. Migraine attacks, a common feature of Flammer syndrome, have been described as a risk factor for glaucoma progression, in open-angle glaucoma as well as in normal tension glaucoma. Flammer syndrome may also predispose to other eye diseases such as vascular occlusion (especially retinal vein occlusion) in relatively young people or central serous retinopathy. Muscle spasms and tension are common among individuals with Flammer syndrome. Tinnitus and sometimes even acute hearing loss can occur. There is currently insufficient data available on cases where Flammer syndrome is suspected like in the sudden, unexpected deaths of young athletes. People with retinitis pigmentosa seem to have Flammer syndrome quite frequently, and possible associations with the vascular factor endothelin-1 are under investigation. | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki?curid=44350580 | 1,423,066 |
98,343 | Most of the models in "The Motion Picture" were created by Magicam, a Paramount subsidiary. The main "Enterprise" model was eight feet long, to a scale of 1/120th scale size, or to . It took 14 months and $150,000 to build. Instead of standard fiberglass used for older models, the new "Enterprise" was constructed with lightweight plastics, weighing . The biggest design issue was making sure that the connective dorsal neck and twin warp nacelle struts were strong enough so that no part of the ship model would sag, bend, or quiver when the model was being moved, which was accomplished via an arc-welded aluminum skeleton. The completed model could be supported at one of five possible points as each photographic angle required. A second, model of the ship was used for long shots. While the hull surface was kept smooth, it was treated with a special paint finish that made its surface appear iridescent in certain light. Transparencies of the film's sets were inserted behind some windows, and as jokes, some featured Probert, other production staff members, and Mickey Mouse. The "Enterprise" was revised again after Abel & Associates were dismissed. | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki?curid=277006 | 98,301 |
2,159,345 | It is important to consider potential problems when selecting particular bones to study. If there is a weak optical contrast, it makes counting the arrested growth rings difficult and often inaccurate. There is also a possible presence of additional growth marks that are created to supplement weaker areas of growth. In these circumstances, alternative bones must be considered that may present more accurate data. Another case is the doubling of lines of arrested growth where two closely adjacent twin lines can be seen. However, when the pattern is widespread for several age classes in that species, then the twin LAGs can be counted as a single year growth. The most common issue to arise is the destruction of bone from biological processes, most frequently discovered in mammals and Birds. This causes age to be significantly underestimated. Over the lifespan of an individual, bone is constantly being reconstructed as specialised cells remove and deposit bone leading to a constant renewal of the bone material. The continuous resorption and deposition leaves gaps in the record of growth and missing bone tissue is a case at any stage of a vertebrate's life cycle; 'complete specimens that allow precise identification are extremely rare'. | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki?curid=9330285 | 2,158,113 |
465,883 | Around this same time, genetic and plant breeding experiments in maize began. Maize that has been self-pollinated experiences a phenomenon called inbreeding depression. Researchers, like Nils Heribert-Nilsson, recognized that by crossing plants and forming hybrids, they were not only able to combine traits from two desirable parents, but the crop also experienced heterosis or hybrid vigor. This was the beginning of identifying gene interactions or epistasis. By the early 1920s, Donald Forsha Jones had invented a method that led to the first hybrid maize seed that were available commercially. The large demand for hybrid seed in the U.S. Corn Belt by the mid 1930s led to a rapid growth in the seed production industry and ultimately seed research. The strict requirements for producing hybrid seed led to the development of careful population and inbred line maintenance, keeping plants isolated and unable to out-cross, which produced plants that better allowed researchers to tease out different genetic concepts. The structure of these populations allowed scientist such a T. Dobzhansky, S. Wright, and R.A. Fisher to develop evolutionary biology concepts as well as explore speciation over time and the statistics underlying plant genetics. Their work laid the foundations for future genetic discoveries such as linkage disequilibrium in 1960. | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki?curid=22346936 | 465,650 |
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