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Kopp's law can refer to either of two relationships discovered by the German chemist Hermann Franz Moritz Kopp (1817–1892). The Kopp–Neumann law, named for Kopp and Franz Ernst Neumann, states that the specific heat "C" per unit mass (in J·kg·K) for alloys can be calculated from the following equation: where "N" is the total number of alloy constituents, and "C" and "f" denote the specific heat and mass fraction of the "i"-th constituent. | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki?curid=7414275 |
Istakhri Abu Ishaq Ibrahim ibn Muhammad al-Farisi al-() (also "Estakhri", , i.e. from the Iranian city of Istakhr, b. - d. 957 AD [346AH]) was a 10th-century travel-author and geographer who wrote valuable accounts in Arabic of the many Muslim territories he visited during the Abbasid era of the Islamic Golden Age. There is no consensus regarding his origin. Some sources describe him as Persian, while others state he was Arab. The "Encyclopedia of Islam, Second Edition" states that his "biography is unknown, or almost so". The "Encyclopedia Iranica" states: "Biographical data are very meager. From his "nesbas" (attributive names) he appears to have been a native of Eṣṭaḵr in Fārs, but it is not known whether he was Persian". Istakhri's account of windmills is the earliest known. met the celebrated traveller-geographer Ibn Haukul, while travelling in the Indus Valley. and Haukul's magnum opus, "Kitab al-Surat al-Ard", incorporated the work of Istakhri. Istakhri's two surviving works are: An 8-volume edition of works by medieval Arab geographers, edited by the Dutch orientalist Michael Jan de Goeje in a series titled "Bibliotheca geographorum Arabicorum" was published by Brill, Lugduni-Batavora (Leiden) in the 1870s. An edition of Istakhri's MS text was produced for the first volume under the Latin title "Viae Regnorum descriptio ditionis Moslemicae" - "Description of Roads of the Kingdoms in Muslim territories". In 1927 the editor Theodore Noldeke produced a second edition. In 1845 the German orientalist A. D | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki?curid=7415674 |
Istakhri Mordtmann published a translation in Hamburg with the title "Das Buch der Länder von Schech Ebu Ishak el Farsi el Isztachri", with a foreword by C. Ritter. (Schriften der Akademie von Ham Bd. 1, Abth. 2). | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki?curid=7415674 |
Serrurier truss A is used in telescope tube assembly construction. The design was created in 1935 by engineer Mark U. Serrurier when he was working on the Mount Palomar Hale telescope. The design solves the problem of truss flexing by supporting the primary objective mirror and the secondary mirror by two sets of opposing trusses before and after the declination pivot. The trusses are designed to have an equal amount of flexure, which allows the optics to stay on a common optical axis. When flexing, the "top" truss resists tension and the "bottom" truss resists compression. This has the effect of keeping the optical elements parallel to each other. The net result is all of the optical elements stay in collimation regardless of the orientation of the telescope. Some designs end the truss members with a short flexible rod creating a more ideal "parallel motion flexure" system, to allow maximum parallelism of optical elements under gravitational load. Since truss members work primarily in tension and compression, there is no appreciable loss of stiffness due to the bending of the end flexures. Certain designs used by amateur telescope makers, specifically truss tube Dobsonians that use a single truss, are sometimes called "Serrurier truss" designs. These single truss designs are used for their rigidity and do perform the function of keeping the optical elements parallel, but since they lack the opposing truss that keeps optics on the same optical axis they are not technically "Serrurier trusses". Other examples of designs: | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki?curid=7423236 |
MARIACHI MARIACHI, the Mixed Apparatus for Radar Investigation of Cosmic-rays of High Ionization, is an apparatus for the detection of ultra-high-energy cosmic rays (UHECR) via bi-static radar interferometry using VHF transmitters. is also the name of the research project created and directed by Brookhaven National Laboratory (BNL) on Long Island, New York, initially intended to verify the concept that VHF signals can be reflected off the ionization patch produced by a cosmic ray shower. Project emphasis subsequently shifted to the attempted detection of radio wave reflections from a high energy ionization beam apparatus located at BNL's NASA Space Radiation Laboratory. Its inventors hope the apparatus will detect UHECR over much larger areas than previously possible, and that it will also detect ultra-high-energy neutrino flux. The ground array detectors are scintillator arrays that are built and operated by high school students and teachers. The project, being in essence a public outreach project for high school and undergraduate students more than a full-scale science experiment, has continued in a sporadic fashion since its conception in the late 2000s. For example, a high school in New York continued measurements for over 8 year period between 2008-2016; the results of these measurements were published 2016. Measurements have been performed by other instances (high schools, community colleges...) also | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki?curid=7425653 |
MARIACHI The main researcher behind is Helio Takai (Brookhaven National Laboratory, Stony Brook University, as of 2019 Pratt Institute). | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki?curid=7425653 |
Molecular biophysics is a rapidly evolving interdisciplinary area of research that combines concepts in physics, chemistry, engineering, mathematics and biology. It seeks to understand biomolecular systems and explain biological function in terms of molecular structure, structural organization, and dynamic behaviour at various levels of complexity (from single molecules to supramolecular structures, viruses and small living systems). This discipline covers topics such as the measurement of molecular forces, molecular associations, allosteric interactions, Brownian motion, and cable theory. Additional areas of study can be found on Outline of Biophysics. The discipline has required development of specialized equipment and procedures capable of imaging and manipulating minute living structures, as well as novel experimental approaches. typically addresses biological questions similar to those in biochemistry and molecular biology, seeking to find the physical underpinnings of biomolecular phenomena. Scientists in this field conduct research concerned with understanding the interactions between the various systems of a cell, including the interactions between DNA, RNA and protein biosynthesis, as well as how these interactions are regulated. A great variety of techniques are used to answer these questions | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki?curid=7430578 |
Molecular biophysics Fluorescent imaging techniques, as well as electron microscopy, X-ray crystallography, NMR spectroscopy, atomic force microscopy (AFM) and small-angle scattering (SAS) both with X-rays and neutrons (SAXS/SANS) are often used to visualize structures of biological significance. Protein dynamics can be observed by neutron spin echo spectroscopy. Conformational change in structure can be measured using techniques such as dual polarisation interferometry, circular dichroism, SAXS and SANS. Direct manipulation of molecules using optical tweezers or AFM, can also be used to monitor biological events where forces and distances are at the nanoscale. Molecular biophysicists often consider complex biological events as systems of interacting entities which can be understood e.g. through statistical mechanics, thermodynamics and chemical kinetics. By drawing knowledge and experimental techniques from a wide variety of disciplines, biophysicists are often able to directly observe, model or even manipulate the structures and interactions of individual molecules or complexes of molecules. Computational biology involves the development and application of data-analytical and theoretical methods, mathematical modeling and computational simulation techniques to the study of biological, ecological, behavioral, and social systems | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki?curid=7430578 |
Molecular biophysics The field is broadly defined and includes foundations in biology, applied mathematics, statistics, biochemistry, chemistry, biophysics, molecular biology, genetics, genomics, computer science and evolution. Computational biology has become an important part of developing emerging technologies for the field of biology. Molecular modelling encompasses all methods, theoretical and computational, used to model or mimic the behaviour of molecules. The methods are used in the fields of computational chemistry, drug design, computational biology and materials science to study molecular systems ranging from small chemical systems to large biological molecules and material assemblies. Membrane biophysics is the study of biological membrane structure and function using physical, computational, mathematical, and biophysical methods. A combination of these methods can be used to create phase diagrams of different types of membranes, which yields information on thermodynamic behavior of a membrane and its components. As opposed to membrane biology, membrane biophysics focuses on quantitative information and modeling of various membrane phenomena, such as lipid raft formation, rates of lipid and cholesterol flip-flop, protein-lipid coupling, and the effect of bending and elasticity functions of membranes on inter-cell connections. Motor proteins are a class of molecular motors that can move along the cytoplasm of animal cells. They convert chemical energy into mechanical work by the hydrolysis of ATP | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki?curid=7430578 |
Molecular biophysics A good example is the muscle protein myosin which "motors" the contraction of muscle fibers in animals. Motor proteins are the driving force behind most active transport of proteins and vesicles in the cytoplasm. Kinesins and cytoplasmic dyneins play essential roles in intracellular transport such as axonal transport and in the formation of the spindle apparatus and the separation of the chromosomes during mitosis and meiosis. Axonemal dynein, found in cilia and flagella, is crucial to cell motility, for example in spermatozoa, and fluid transport, for example in trachea. Some biological machines are motor proteins, such as myosin, which is responsible for muscle contraction, kinesin, which moves cargo inside cells away from the nucleus along microtubules, and dynein, which moves cargo inside cells towards the nucleus and produces the axonemal beating of motile cilia and flagella. "[I]n effect, the [motile cilium] is a nanomachine composed of perhaps over 600 proteins in molecular complexes, many of which also function independently as nanomachines...Flexible linkers allow the mobile protein domains connected by them to recruit their binding partners and induce long-range allostery via . Other biological machines are responsible for energy production, for example ATP synthase which harnesses energy from proton gradients across membranes to drive a turbine-like motion used to synthesise ATP, the energy currency of a cell | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki?curid=7430578 |
Molecular biophysics Still other machines are responsible for gene expression, including DNA polymerases for replicating DNA, RNA polymerases for producing mRNA, the spliceosome for removing introns, and the ribosome for synthesising proteins. These machines and their nanoscale dynamics are far more complex than any molecular machines that have yet been artificially constructed. These molecular motors are the essential agents of movement in living organisms. In general terms, a motor is a device that consumes energy in one form and converts it into motion or mechanical work; for example, many protein-based molecular motors harness the chemical free energy released by the hydrolysis of ATP in order to perform mechanical work. In terms of energetic efficiency, this type of motor can be superior to currently available man-made motors. Richard Feynman theorized about the future of nanomedicine. He wrote about the idea of a "medical" use for biological machines. Feynman and Albert Hibbs suggested that certain repair machines might one day be reduced in size to the point that it would be possible to (as Feynman put it) "swallow the doctor". The idea was discussed in Feynman's 1959 essay "There's Plenty of Room at the Bottom. These biological machines might have applications in nanomedicine. For example, they could be used to identify and destroy cancer cells | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki?curid=7430578 |
Molecular biophysics Molecular nanotechnology is a speculative subfield of nanotechnology regarding the possibility of engineering molecular assemblers, biological machines which could re-order matter at a molecular or atomic scale. Nanomedicine would make use of these nanorobots, introduced into the body, to repair or detect damages and infections. Molecular nanotechnology is highly theoretical, seeking to anticipate what inventions nanotechnology might yield and to propose an agenda for future inquiry. The proposed elements of molecular nanotechnology, such as molecular assemblers and nanorobots are far beyond current capabilities. Protein folding is the physical process by which a protein chain acquires its native 3-dimensional structure, a conformation that is usually biologically functional, in an expeditious and reproducible manner. It is the physical process by which a polypeptide folds into its characteristic and functional three-dimensional structure from random coil. Each protein exists as an unfolded polypeptide or random coil when translated from a sequence of mRNA to a linear chain of amino acids. This polypeptide lacks any stable (long-lasting) three-dimensional structure (the left hand side of the first figure). As the polypeptide chain is being synthesized by a ribosome, the linear chain begins to fold into its three-dimensional structure. Folding begins to occur even during translation of the polypeptide chain | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki?curid=7430578 |
Molecular biophysics Amino acids interact with each other to produce a well-defined three-dimensional structure, the folded protein (the right hand side of the figure), known as the native state. The resulting three-dimensional structure is determined by the amino acid sequence or primary structure (Anfinsen's dogma). Protein structure prediction is the inference of the three-dimensional structure of a protein from its amino acid sequence—that is, the prediction of its folding and its secondary and tertiary structure from its primary structure. Structure prediction is fundamentally different from the inverse problem of protein design. Protein structure prediction is one of the most important goals pursued by bioinformatics and theoretical chemistry; it is highly important in medicine, in drug design, biotechnology and in the design of novel enzymes). Every two years, the performance of current methods is assessed in the CASP experiment (Critical Assessment of Techniques for Protein Structure Prediction). A continuous evaluation of protein structure prediction web servers is performed by the community project CAMEO3D. Spectroscopic techniques like NMR, spin label electron spin resonance, Raman spectroscopy, infrared spectroscopy, circular dichroism, and so on have been widely used to understand structural dynamics of important biomolecules and intermolecular interactions. | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki?curid=7430578 |
Tui Regio (located at 20°S, 130°W) is a region on Titan, the Saturnian moon, in the southwest corner of Xanadu, named after Tui, a Chinese goddess of happiness, joy and water. Tui appears to lack the erosion channels that mark other highland regions on Titan, suggesting it may be geologically young. Patterns resembling lava flows have also been observed, suggesting cryovolcanism. | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki?curid=7433709 |
Pentamer A pentamer is an entity composed of five sub-units. In chemistry, it applies to molecules made of five monomers. In biochemistry, it applies to macromolecules, in particular to pentameric proteins, made of five proteic sub-units. In microbiology, a pentamer is one of the proteins composing the polyhedral protein shell that encloses the bacterial micro-compartments known as carboxysomes. In immunology, an MHC pentamer is a reagent used to detect antigen-specific CD8+ T cells. | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki?curid=7441542 |
Oregonite Oregonite, NiFeAs is a nickel iron arsenide mineral first described from Josephine Creek, Oregon, United States. crystallises in the hexagonal crystal system and has a Mohs hardness of 5. is known, apart from its type locality, from the Chirnaisky Massif, Russia, associated with hydrothermal nickel minerals (millerite, heazelwoodite) in a metamorphosed ultramafic; from the Skouriatissa mine, Cyprus, associated with VMS mineralisation; and from the Kidd Mine, Timmins, Ontario, Canada within serpentinite-hosted chromite deposits. | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki?curid=7448041 |
Enrico Clementi (born November 19, 1931 in Cembra, Italy) is an Italian chemist, a pioneer in computational techniques for quantum chemistry and molecular dynamics. Dr. Clementi received his Ph.D. in Chemistry from University of Pavia, where he was Collegio Cairoli student, in 1954 and joined IBM Research in 1961. At IBM he was first responsible for atomic calculations, then manager of a scientific computation department until 1974. As IBM Fellow (elected 1969), he led research and development in parallel computer architecture and fundamental research in chemistry, biophysics and fluid dynamics. In 1991 he retired from IBM to join Université Louis Pasteur in Strasbourg, France as Professor of Chemistry from 1992 until 2000. Dr Clementi's work has been recognized by awards and honours: IBM Fellow (1969), Fellow of the American Physical Society (1984), President of the International Society of Quantum Biology, Alexander von Humboldt award (2001), Member of the International Academy of Quantum Molecular Science. Bio at IAQMS Computer del futuro. Conversazione con (Interview Movie. 1987 at IBM Kingston) Enrico Clementi: Produced by Quantum Theory Project Dept. Chem. and Phys. Univ. Florida | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki?curid=7452269 |
Dao Vallis is a valley on Mars that appears to have been carved by water. It runs southwestward into Hellas Planitia from the southern slopes of the volcano Hadriacus Mons, and has been identified as an outflow channel. It and its tributary, Niger Vallis, extend for about . It is named after the Thai word for star, and it was proposed as a potential landing site for the 2012 Curiosity rover of the Mars Science Laboratory mission. In the fictional 2007 Canadian miniseries "Race to Mars", it is the landing site for "Gagarin", the lander. begins near a large volcano, Hadriacus Mons, so it is thought to have received water when hot magma melted huge amounts of ice in the frozen ground. Much of this water may have been released in very large "outburst floods". The partially circular depressions on the left side of the channel in the image below suggests that groundwater sapping also contributed water more gradually. | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki?curid=7452707 |
Ricardo Cirera Salse (Os de Balaguer, 1864-Barcelona, August 1932) was a geomagnetist who conducted the first geomagnetic survey of the Philippines and who founded the El Ebro Observatory in Roquetes (1904), Catalonia, Spain. He was also involved in the founding of the scientific journal Ibérica. | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki?curid=7455322 |
Suspensor Suspensors are anatomical structures found in certain fungi and plants. In fungi, suspensors are filamentous structural formations having the function of holding a zygospore between two strains of hyphae. In plants, suspensors are found in zygotes in angiosperms, connecting the endosperm to an embryo. Usually in dicots the suspensor cells divide transversally a few times to form a filamentous suspensor of 6-10 cells. The suspensor helps in pushing the embryo into the endosperm. The first cell of the suspensor towards the micropylar end becomes swollen and functions as a haustorium. The haustorium has wall ingrowths similar to those of a transfer cell. The last of the suspensors at the end of the embryo is known as hypophysis. Hypophysis later gives rise to the radicle and root cap. During embryo development in angiosperm seeds, normal development involves asymmetrical division of the unicellular embryo, inducing polarity. The smaller terminal cell divides to become the proembryo while the larger basal cell divides laterally to form the suspensor. The suspensor is analogous to a placental mammalian's umbilical cord. | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki?curid=7459884 |
Microgametogenesis is the process in plant reproduction where a microgametophyte develops in a pollen grain to the three-celled stage of its development. In flowering plants it occurs with a microspore mother cell inside the anther of the plant. When the microgametophyte is first formed inside the pollen grain four sets of fertile cells called sporogenous cells are apparent. These cells are surrounded by a wall of sterile cells called the tapetum, which supplies food to the cell and eventually becomes the cell wall for the pollen grain. These sets of sporogenous cells eventually develop into diploid microspore mother cells. These microspore mother cells, also called microsporocytes, then undergo meiosis and become four microspore haploid cells. These new microspore cells then undergo mitosis and form a tube cell and a generative cell. The generative cell then undergoes mitosis one more time to form two male gametes, also called sperm. | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki?curid=7462048 |
Gustav Mann (1836–1916) was a German botanist who led expeditions in West Africa and was also a gardener at the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew. Born in Hanover in 1836, he was chosen by William Jackson Hooker, Director of the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, to take part in William Balfour Baikie's expedition to West Africa. While there, he sent numerous specimens back to Kew. He married Mary Anne Stovell in 1863. Mann's exploration of the Cameroon Mountains is described by Sir Richard Burton in "Abeokuta and the Camaroon Mountains" vol. 2 Mann later collected specimens in Darjeeling, India, before retiring to Munich, Germany, in 1891. He died in 1916. Some 349 species of plants, the genera "Manniella" Hook.f. and "Manniophyton" Muell. Arg.; and Mann's Spring on the Cameroon Mountain bear his name. Mann, G., H. Wendland, Hooker, Sir J. D. "On the palms of western tropical Africa". R. Taylor, 1864, London. Mann, G. "List of Assam ferns". C. Wolf & Sohn, 1898?, München Mann, G. "Physiological Histology, Methods and Theory". Clarendon Press, 1902, Oxford For more information: | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki?curid=7474706 |
Nils Christian Stenseth (born 29 July 1949 in Fredrikstad, Norway) is a Norwegian biologist with a focus on ecology and evolution. He is the director of the Centre for Ecological and Evolutionary Synthesis (CEES) at the University of Oslo. He is also the Chief Scientist at the Norwegian Institute of Marine Research in Norway. In December 2006, CEES was given "Centre of Excellence" status by the Research Council of Norway. Stenseth finished his first degree in 1972 at the University of Oslo with main topics biology, zoology and mathematics. He then went on with his doctoral degree at the same university, studying under amongst others John Maynard Smith the University of Sussex, still working mostly on the theoretical aspects of evolution and ecology. Major publications from this period is his work on the Red Queen Hypothesis (Van Valen, 1973; Stenseth, 1979; Stenseth and Maynard-Smith, 1984) in addition to his work on population cycles of the Norwegian lemming. A dr.philos. since 1978, he was appointed as a professor of population ecology and zoology at the University of Oslo in 1980. He later turned to more empirical investigations, and as chair of CEES he continues to be a well-known and respected scientist within biology. He is an "ISI Highly Cited" researcher within Ecology/Environment. He was the vice-president/president of the Norwegian Academy of Science and Letters from 2009 to 2014 | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki?curid=7475253 |
Nils Christian Stenseth He is also a visiting scholar for the Chinese Academy of Sciences, a member of the Royal Norwegian Society of Sciences and Letters, the French Academy of Sciences and the Academia Europaea. He holds an honorary degree at the University of Antwerp. In 2019 he was awarded the ECI Prize of the International Ecology Institute. In 2020 he was awarded the Chinese International Science and Technology Cooperation Award. | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki?curid=7475253 |
Good Clinical Practice Directive The (Directive 2005/28/EC of 8 April 2005 of the European Parliament and of the Council) lays down principles and detailed guidelines for good clinical practice as regards conducting clinical trials of medicinal products for human use, as well as the requirements for authorisation of the manufacturing or importation of such products. The directive deals with the following items: | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki?curid=7482808 |
John Veron (born 1945), complete name John Edward Norwood Veron, credited in research as J. E. N. Veron, and in other writing as Charlie Veron, is a naturalist, taxonomist and specialist in the study of corals and reefs. He is believed to have discovered more than twenty percent of the world's coral species. John Edward Norwood Veron (known as "Charlie" due to his interest in the natural sciences at school) was born in 1945 in Sydney. He attended Barker College in Sydney. He won a Commonwealth scholarship as a gifted child and went on study at the University of New England. His main interests were in the natural world, especially marine life. He participated in the scuba club while at university. His honours thesis was on the behaviour of gliding possums. He took his M.Sc. with a study on the temperature regulation of lizards. Veron completed his PhD with a study on the neurophysiology of dragonflies. After taking his PhD in 1971, Veron was offered a postdoctoral position at James Cook University to study corals. Veron was the first full-time researcher on the Great Barrier Reef (1972) and the first scientist employed by the Australian Institute of Marine Science (1974). He participated in 67 expeditions to all the major reef provinces in the world. He credited "Red" Gilmartin and John W. Wells from Cornell University as key figures in clarifying his interest in taxonomy in the 1970's. Veron named about 20% of reef corals and built a taxonomic framework for corals that is used throughout the world | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki?curid=7485375 |
John Veron He founded the Orpheus Island Marine Station. He discovered and delineated the Coral Triangle. He introduced the concept of reticulate evolution to the marine world. He has many professional awards including: Veron has written many books and monographs about corals and coral reefs, including: Since 2008 he together with colleagues have been producing an open access website about coral taxonomy, biogeography and identification, "Corals of The World" (www.coralsoftheworld.org). The website includes a mapping program called Coral Geographic and an identification program called CoralID. He has campaigned extensively on climate change, mass bleaching of coral reefs, ocean acidification and related environmental issues. In 2009, Sir David Attenborough introduced Veron's lecture to the Royal Society. He was featured in the 2017 documentary Chasing Coral. | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki?curid=7485375 |
GSHHG (Global Self-consistent, Hierarchical, High-resolution Geography Database; formerly "Global Self-consistent, Hierarchical, High-resolution Shoreline Database" ("GSHHS")) is a high-resolution shoreline data set amalgamated from two data bases (the CIA world database WDBII, and the World Vector Shoreline database) in the public domain. The data have undergone extensive processing and are free of internal inconsistencies such as erratic points and crossing segments. The shorelines are constructed entirely from hierarchically arranged closed polygons. The four-level hierarchy is as follows: seashore, lakes, islands within lakes, ponds within islands within lakes. The data can be used to simplify data searches and data selections, or to study the statistical characteristics of shorelines and land-masses. It comes with access software and routines to facilitate decimation based on a standard line-reduction algorithm. GSHHS is developed and maintained by Dr. Paul Wessel at the University of Hawai'i, and Dr. Walter H. F. Smith at the NOAA Laboratory for Satellite Altimetry. "This article contains public domain text created by the U.S. Federal government, taken from the NOAA website at " | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki?curid=7487953 |
Zetatron A is a high-voltage vacuum tube device that generates a stream of neutrons. The stream can be continuous, or rapidly pulsed on and off. It was invented by Sandia National Laboratories, and is manufactured and marketed by the Thermo Electron Corporation. Applications include research, explosives detection, well logging and body fat analysis. | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki?curid=7494165 |
Rheoscope A rheoscope is an instrument for detecting or measuring the viscosity of a fluid. In the study of blood flow, a rheoscope is used to observe and measure the deformation of blood cells subject to different levels of fluid shear stress. | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki?curid=7497490 |
European Federation of Pharmaceutical Industries and Associations The (EFPIA) is a Brussels-based trade association founded in 1978 representing the research-based pharmaceutical industry operating in Europe. Through its membership of 33 national associations and 40 leading pharmaceutical companies, EFPIA represents 1,900 EU companies committed to researching, developing and manufacturing new medical treatments. Figures published in 2008 by the European Commission (Eurostat) show that the pharmaceutical industry is the industrial sector which invests most in research & development (R&D). In 2011, it invested an estimated €27,500 million in R&D in Europe. It directly employed 660,000 people and generated three to four times more employment indirectly (upstream and downstream). The key contribution of the research-based pharmaceutical industry to medical progress is to turn fundamental research into innovative treatments that are widely available and accessible to patients, with the goal of helping people live longer and be healthier. High blood pressure and cardiovascular disease can be controlled with anti-hypertensive medicines and cholesterol-lowering medicines, knee or hip replacements prevent patients from immobility, and some cancers can be controlled or even cured thanks to newer targeted medicines. Yet there remain huge challenges in many disease areas such as Alzheimer, multiple sclerosis, many cancers and orphan diseases | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki?curid=7499232 |
European Federation of Pharmaceutical Industries and Associations EFPIA also includes two specialised groups focusing on vaccines and biotechnology respectively: The industry's efforts are focused around four key areas - the AIMS - Roadmap of priorities Access, Innovation, Mobilization, Security programme. In 2010 the pharmaceutical industry invested about €27,800 million in R&D in Europe. After a decade of strong US market dominance, which led to a significant shift of economic and pharmaceutical research activity towards the US during the period 1995–2005, Europe is now also facing increasing competition from emerging economies. Today there is rapid growth in the market and research environment in emerging economies such as Brazil, China and India, resulting in further migration of economic and research activities outside of Europe to these fast-growing markets. The geographical balance of the pharmaceutical market – and ultimately the R&D base – is likely to shift gradually towards emerging economies. All new medicines introduced into the market are the result of lengthy, costly and risky research and development (R&D) conducted by pharmaceutical companies: There is rapid growth in the research environment in emerging economies such as China and India. The current tendency to close R&D sites in Europe and to open new sites in Asia will show dramatic effects to maintain the pharmaceutical discovery expertise in the EU. The United States still dominates the biopharmaceutical field, accounting for the three quarters of the world's biotechnology revenues and R&D spending | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki?curid=7499232 |
European Federation of Pharmaceutical Industries and Associations In 2007 North America accounted for 45.9% of world pharmaceutical sales against 31.1% for Europe. According to IMS Health data, 66% of sales of new medicines launched during the period 2004-2008 were generated on the US market, compared with 26% on the European market. Source: Eurostat EFPIA The Innovative Medicines Initiative (IMI) is a public-private partnership designed by the European Commission and EFPIA. It is a pan-European collaboration that brings together large biopharmaceutical companies, small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), patient organisations, academia, hospitals and public authorities. The initiative aims to accelerate the discovery and development of better medicines by removing bottlenecks in the drug development process. It focuses on creating better methods and tools that improve and enhance the drug development process, rather than on developing specific, new medicines. The European Commission and EFPIA have jointly established a new-non-profit European Community body. This organisation has a legal mandate to award research grants to European public-private collaborations conducting innovative research projects that focus on implementing the recommendation of the IMI Research Agenda. The IMI Research Agenda was established under the lead of industry following intensive consultations with a broad range of stakeholders from across Europe | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki?curid=7499232 |
European Federation of Pharmaceutical Industries and Associations It identifies the principal research bottlenecks in the biopharmaceutical R&D process and sets forth recommendations to overcome these bottlenecks by focusing on four areas: IMI will make Europe more attractive for biopharmaceutical R&D investments and boost the competitiveness of European life science R&D. By directly addressing the challenges facing the biopharmaceutical sector in Europe, IMI has the potential to: | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki?curid=7499232 |
Somnath Bharadwaj (born 28 October 1964) is an Indian theoretical physicist who works on Theoretical Astrophysics and Cosmology. Bharadwaj was born in India, studied at the Indian Institute of Technology in Kharagpur, and later received his PhD from the Indian Institute of Science. After having worked at the Harish-Chandra Research Institute, he is now a professor at IIT Kharagpur. He has made significant contributions to the dynamics of large-scale structure formation. In 2003, he was selected to be one of the professors from IIT whose class room lectures would be broadcast in the Eklavya Technology Channel. Bharadwaj was an invited speakers on Galaxy Formation at the prestigious Indo-US Frontier of Science symposium which was organized by the U.S. National Academy of Sciences in 2005. He is currently in the Editorial Board of the "Journal of Astrophysics & Astronomy" published by the Indian Academy of Sciences. | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki?curid=7503662 |
Peplomer A peplomer is a glycoprotein spike on a viral capsid or viral envelope. These protrusions bind only to certain receptors on the host cell. They are essential for both host specificity and viral infectivity. The tail fibers of some bacteriophages, especially the T4-like phages, are modified peplomers. Influenza virus has two kinds of peplomers: | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki?curid=7514440 |
Near-equatorial orbit A near-equatorial orbit is an orbit that lies close to the equatorial plane of the object orbited. Such an orbit has an inclination near 0°. On Earth, such orbits lie on the celestial equator, the great circle of the imaginary celestial sphere on the same plane as the equator of Earth. A geostationary orbit is a particular type of equatorial orbit, one which is geosynchronous. A satellite in a geostationary orbit appears stationary, always at the same point in the sky, to observers on the surface. Equatorial orbits are also advantageous for several reasons. Sites near the Equator, such as the Guiana Space Centre in Kourou, French Guiana, make good locations for spaceports as they have a fastest rotational speed of any latitude, 460 m/s. The added velocity reduces the fuel needed to launch spacecraft to orbit. Since Earth rotates eastward, only launches eastward take advantage of this boost of speed. Westward launches, in fact, are especially difficult from the Equator because of the need to counteract the extra rotational speed. Equatorial orbits offer other advantages, such as to communication: a spaceship in an equatorial orbit passes directly over an equatorial spaceport on every rotation, in contrast to the varying ground track of an inclined orbit. Furthermore, launches directly into equatorial orbit eliminate the need for costly adjustments to a spacecraft's trajectory | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki?curid=7520339 |
Near-equatorial orbit The maneuver to reach the 5° inclination of the Moon's orbit from the 28° N latitude of Cape Canaveral was originally estimated to reduce the payload capacity of the Apollo Program's Saturn V rocket by as much as 80%. | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki?curid=7520339 |
Cumulonimbus flammagenitus The cumulonimbus flammagenitus cloud (CbFg), also known as the pyrocumulonimbus cloud, is a type of cumulonimbus cloud that forms above a source of heat, such as a wildfire or volcanic eruption, and may sometimes even extinguish the fire that formed it. It is the most extreme manifestation of a flammagenitus cloud. According to the American Meteorological Society’s Glossary of Meteorology, a flammagenitus is "a cumulus cloud formed by a rising thermal from a fire, or enhanced by buoyant plume emissions from an industrial combustion process." Analogous to the meteorological distinction between cumulus and cumulonimbus, the CbFg is a fire-aided or –caused convective cloud, like a flammagenitus, but with considerable vertical development. The CbFg reaches the upper troposphere or even lower stratosphere and may involve precipitation (although usually light), hail, lightning, extreme low-level winds, and in some cases even tornadoes. The combined effects of these phenomena can cause greatly increased fire-spread and cause direct dangers on the ground in addition to 'normal' fires. The CbFg was first recorded in related to fire following the discovery in 1998 that extreme manifestations of this pyroconvection caused direct injection of large abundances of smoke from a firestorm into the lower stratosphere. The aerosol of smoke comprising CbFg clouds can persist for weeks, and with that, reduce ground level sunlight in the same manner as the “nuclear winter" effect | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki?curid=7527341 |
Cumulonimbus flammagenitus In 2002, various sensing instruments detected 17 distinct CbFg in North America alone. Alternate spellings and abbreviations for cumulonimbus flammagenitus that may be found in the literature include Cb-Fg, pyrocumulonimbus, pyro-cumulonimbus, pyroCb, pyro-Cb, pyrocb, and volcanic cb, having developed amongst different specialist groups In the media and in public communications, fire-driven examples are often referred to as fires 'making their own weather'. The World Meteorological Organization does not recognize the CbFg as a distinct cloud type, but instead classifies it simply as the cumulonimbus form of the flammagenitus cloud, and uses Latin as the root language for cloud names ('pyro' is of Greek origin). This was formalised in the 2017 update to the WMO International Cloud Atlas, which states that any Cumulonimbus that is clearly observed to have originated as a consequence of localised natural heat sources will be classified by any appropriate "species", "variety" and "supplementary feature", followed by "flammagenitus". On 6 August 1945, an intense cumulonimbus-like cloud was photographed above Hiroshima, long after the cloud generated by the atomic bomb had dissipated. The cloud was a result of the firestorm that had by then engulfed the city. Some 70,000–80,000 people, around 30% of the population of Hiroshima at the time, were killed by the blast and resultant firestorm | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki?curid=7527341 |
Cumulonimbus flammagenitus Volcanic eruption plumes are not generally treated as CbFg, although they are convectively driven to a large extent and for weaker eruptions may be significantly enhanced in height in convectively unstable environments. However, for some months after the climactic eruption of Mt Pinatubo in the Philippines in 1991, meteorological observers from the US military observed what they termed 'volcanic thunderstorms' forming near the summit: cumulus cloud complexes formed near the top of the buoyant ash plume, and frequently developed into cumulonimbus clouds (thunderstorms). The thunderstorms often drifted away from their source region at the top of the plume, producing sometimes significant amounts of localized rainfall, "mudfall," and ash fall. They also noted that thunderstorms formed over hot flows and secondary explosions even in the absence of any eruption. Further investigations confirmed that the volcano had clearly enhanced the convective environment, causing thunderstorms to form on average earlier in the day and more reliably than in surrounding areas, and that the presence of volcanic ash in cloud tops in the upper troposphere could be inferred from satellite imagery in at least one case. On 18 January 2003, a series of CbFg clouds formed from a severe wildfire, during the 2003 Canberra bushfires in Canberra, Australia. This resulted in a large fire tornado, rated F3 on the Fujita scale: the first confirmed violent fire tornado. The tornado and associated fire killed 4 people and injured 492 | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki?curid=7527341 |
Cumulonimbus flammagenitus On 7 February 2009, the Black Saturday bushfires killed 173 persons, destroyed over 2000 homes, burnt more than 450,000 ha, and resulted in losses of over four billion Australian dollars in Victoria, Australia. Multiple fire plumes produced a number of distinct CbFg, some of which reached heights of 15 km on that day and generated a large amount of lightning On 30 December 2019, two fire response vehicles were overturned by what was described as a 'fire tornado' originating from an active cumulonimbus flammagenitus cloud near Jingellic, New South Wales, Australia, on a day when multiple CbFg were recorded in the neighbouring State of Victoria to an altitude of at least 16 km. One of these vehicles was variously described as weighing between 8 and 12 tonnes. The incident resulted in one fatality and injuries to two others. | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki?curid=7527341 |
Cell notation or line notation in chemistry is a shorthand way of expressing a certain reaction in an electrochemical cell. The cell anode and cathode (half-cells) are separated by two bars or slashes representing a salt bridge, with the anode on the left and cathode on the right. Individual solid, liquid or aqueous phases within each half-cell are separated by a single bar. Concentrations of dissolved species, in each phase written in parentheses and the state of each phase (usually s (solid), l (liquid), g (gas) or aq. (aqueous solution)) is included in a subscript after the species name. Some examples of this notation are: This means that the left electrode (anode) is made of zinc, while the other one (right, cathode) is composed of a silver wire covered by a silver chloride layer which is not soluble. Both of the electrodes are immersed into aqueous media where zinc and chloride ions are present. This cell is very famous: the Daniell cell. If the electrodes are connected, a spontaneous reaction takes place. Zinc is oxidized, and copper ions are reduced. Sometimes the state of each species into the cell is written. For example, in the zinc cell (shown above), we can write that zinc, silver and silver chloride are solids, while zinc cation and chloride anion are in aqueous medium. So, the new notation will be: It is possible to express the ion concentration too. For example, in the Galvanic cell: In this case, all ions (sulfate, zinc and copper) are in a concentration equal to 1 mol/L. | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki?curid=7528864 |
Sergey Ognev Sergey Ivanovich Ognev () (17 November 1886 in Moscow – 20 December 1951 in Moscow) was a Russian scientist, zoologist and naturalist, remembered for his work on mammalogy. He graduated from Moscow University in 1910, the same year in which he published his first monograph. In 1928, he became a professor at the Moscow State Pedagogical University. He published a variety of textbooks in zoology and economy. His magnum opus, "Mammals of Russia and adjacent territories", was never completed. | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki?curid=7565093 |
Zénobe Gramme Zénobe Théophile Gramme (4 April 1826 – 20 January 1901) was a Belgian electrical engineer. He was born at Jehay-Bodegnée on 4 April 1826, the sixth child of Mathieu-Joseph Gramme, and died at Bois-Colombes on 20 January 1901. He invented the Gramme machine, a type of direct current dynamo capable of generating smoother (less AC) and much higher voltages than the dynamos known to that point. Gramme was poorly educated and semi-literate throughout his life. His talent was in handicraft and when he left school he became a joiner. After moving to Paris he took a job as a model maker at a company that manufactured electrical equipment and there became interested in technology. Having built an improved dynamo, Gramme, in association with Hippolyte Fontaine, opened a factory to develop the device. The business, called Société des Machines Magnéto-Électriques Gramme, manufactured the Gramme dynamo, Gramme ring, Gramme armature and other devices. In 1873 a Gramme dynamo was exhibited at the Vienna exhibition. He was made an officer of the National Order of the Legion of Honour in 1877. In 1888 he was awarded the last of the valuable Volta Prizes by the French government. In 1873 he and Hippolyte Fontaine accidentally discovered that the device was reversible and would spin when connected to any DC power supply. The Gramme machine was the first usefully powerful electrical motor that was successful industrially | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki?curid=7576622 |
Zénobe Gramme Before Gramme's inventions, electric motors attained only low power and were mainly used as toys or laboratory curiosities. In 1875, Nikola Tesla observed a Gramme machine at the Graz University of Technology. He conceived the idea of using it for alternating current but was unable to develop the idea at this time. In 1857 he married Hortense Nysten who was a widow and mother of a daughter, Héloïse. Hortense died in 1890. Gramme died at Bois-Colombes, France, on 20 January 1901 and was buried in Père Lachaise Cemetery. In the city of Liège there is a graduate school of engineering, l'Institut Gramme, named after him. In 2005 he ended up at the 23rd place in the election of "Le plus grand Belge" (The Greatest Belgian), the television show broadcast by the French-speaking RTBF and based on the BBC show 100 Greatest Britons. A958 "Zenobe Gramme", (1961–), a sailing ship of the Belgian Navy used for training, is named after him. | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki?curid=7576622 |
Basal sliding is the act of a glacier sliding over the bed due to meltwater under the ice acting as a lubricant. This movement very much depends on the temperature of the area, the slope of the glacier, the bed roughness, the amount of meltwater from the glacier, and the glacier's size. The movement that happens to these glaciers as they slide is that of a jerky motion where any seismic events, especially at the base of glacier, can cause movement. Most movement is found to be caused by pressured meltwater or very small water-saturated sediments underneath the glacier. This gives the glacier a much smoother surface on which to move as opposed to a harsh surface that tends to slow the speed of the sliding. Although meltwater is the most common source of basal sliding, it has been shown that water-saturated sediment can also play up to 90% of the basal movement these glaciers make. Most activity seen from basal sliding is within thin glaciers that are resting on a steep slope, and this most commonly happens during the summer seasons when surface meltwater runoff peaks. Factors that can slow or stop basal sliding relate to the glacier's composition and also the surrounding environment. Glacier movement is resisted by debris, whether it is inside the glacier or under the glacier. This can affect the amount of movement that is made by the glacier by a large percentage especially if the slope on which it lies is low | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki?curid=7580913 |
Basal sliding The traction caused by this sediment can halt a steadily moving glacier if it interferes with the underlying sediment or water that was helping to carry it. The Great Lakes were created due to basal movement. | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki?curid=7580913 |
Chiral shift reagent A chiral shift reagent is a reagent used in analytical chemistry for determining the optical purity of a sample. Some analytical techniques such as HPLC and NMR, in their most commons forms, cannot distinguish enantiomers within a sample, but can distinguish diastereomers. Therefore, converting a mixture of enantiomers to a corresponding mixture of diastereomers can allow analysis. One method involves the reaction of a chiral derivatizing agent (CDA) with a mixture of enantiomers to produce diastereomers via covalent attachment. One of the most common CDA is Mosher's acid. Another method involves non-covalent interactions. NMR shift reagents such as EuFOD, Pirkle's alcohol, and TRISPHAT take advantage of the formation of diastereomeric complexes between the shift reagent and the analytical sample. | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki?curid=7587223 |
Abdul Karim (soil scientist) Abdul Karim ( 1922 – December 22, 1973) was a widely published Bangladeshi soil scientist. Karim passed the matriculation examination in 1939 from Homna High School and Higher Secondary School Certificate examination in 1942 from Dhaka College. He obtained BS and MS degrees in Chemistry from University of Dhaka in 1945 and 1946 respectively. He lectured in this field at the same university. A UNESCO fellowship enabled him to obtain a PhD in soil science at the University of Adelaide. After receiving a doctorate there in 1951 he returned to Dhaka University's newly formed Department of Soil Science, becoming department head in 1963. He was the first head of the Agricultural Chemistry Department at the Bangladesh Agricultural University. He also served as Dean of the Faculty of Agriculture. Karim worked in the fields of biogas technology, new sources for edible oils and new techniques for glass production. | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki?curid=7592582 |
Natural transfer The natural transfer (hypothesis or theory), in reference to the HIV/AIDS pandemic, states that humans first received HIV by contact with primates, presumably from a fight with a Chimpanzee during hunting or consumption of primate meat, and became contaminated with simian immunodeficiency virus (SIV). According to the 'Hunter Theory', the virus was transmitted from a chimpanzee to a human when a bushmeat hunter was bitten or cut while hunting or butchering an animal. The resulting exposure of the hunter to blood or other bodily fluids of the chimpanzee could have resulted in infection. A contrasting hypothesis regarded as disproven is the oral polio vaccine (OPV) AIDS hypothesis. | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki?curid=7598228 |
Hawera Observatory is situated in King Edward Park, Hāwera, New Zealand, and is administered and maintained by the Hawera Astronomical Society, which meets at the observatory on the second Wednesday of the month from February to December. Also, by arrangement, open nights (weather permitting) are held for local groups as well as members. The observatory was founded by amateur astronomer and telescope maker, George Mortimer Townsend, who also co-founded the Hawera Astronomical Society in 1926. | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki?curid=7606221 |
Sapas Mons is a large volcano located in the Atla Regio region of Venus. Sapas is named after the Canaanite sun goddess. It measures about across and high. Its flanks show numerous overlapping lava flows. The dark flows on the lower right of the radar image are thought to be smoother than the brighter ones near the central part of the volcano. Many of the flows appear to have been erupted along the flanks of the volcano rather than from the double summit. This type of flank eruption is common on large volcanoes on Earth, such as the Hawaiian volcanoes. The summit area has two flat-topped mesas, whose smooth tops give a relatively dark appearance in the radar image. Also seen near the summit are groups of pits, some as large as one kilometer (0.6 mile) across. These are thought to have formed when underground chambers of magma were drained through other subsurface tubes and lead to a collapse at the surface. A impact crater northeast of the volcano is partially buried by the lava flows. Little was known about Atla Regio prior to the "Magellan" probe. The new data, acquired in February 1991, show the region to be composed of at least five large volcanoes such as Sapas Mons, which are commonly linked by complex systems of fractures or rift zones. If comparable to similar features on Earth, Atla Regio probably formed when large volumes of molten rock upwelled from areas within the interior of Venus known as 'hot spots.' | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki?curid=7619919 |
Western Ethiopian Shield The is a small geological shield along the western border of Ethiopia. Its plutons were formed between 830 and 540 million years ago. | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki?curid=7624036 |
Indian Shield The is part of the Indian Craton and occupies two-thirds of the southern Indian peninsula. The shield has remained relatively stable since its formation, over 3500 million years ago. It is delimited on the west, south and east by the present day coastline and Phanerozoic sediment cover. On the north, it is bounded by the Proterozoic Province. In the northeast, it is bounded by the Godavari graben preserving the Precambrian pakhal rocks and Gondwana sediments. The important components that make up the shield are: | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki?curid=7624069 |
Platform (geology) In geology, a platform is a continental area covered by relatively flat or gently tilted, mainly sedimentary strata, which overlie a basement of consolidated igneous or metamorphic rocks of an earlier deformation. Platforms, shields and the basement rocks together constitute cratons. Platform sediments can be classified into the following groups: a "protoplatform" of metamorphosed sediments at the bottom, a "quasiplatform" of slightly deformed sediments, a "cataplatform", and an "orthoplatform" at the top. The Mesoproterozoic Jotnian sediments of the Baltic area are examples of a "quasiplatform". The post-Ordovician rocks of the South American Platform are examples of an orthoplatform. | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki?curid=7624870 |
TAP Pharmaceuticals was formed in 1977 as a joint venture between the two global pharmaceutical companies, Abbott Laboratories and Takeda Pharmaceutical Co. and was dissolved in 2008; its two most successful products were proton-pump inhibitor lansoprazole (Prevacid) and the prostate cancer drug, leuprorelin (Lupron). The intention of the joint venture was to get products that Takeda had discovered developed, approved, and marketed in the US and Canada. The company was established at a time when Japanese pharmaceutical companies were seeking partnerships to access the US market. These efforts were supported by the Japanese government at the time to help the national economy compete in higher technology, as countries like South Korea, Taiwan were beginning to catch up with Japan in commodity production. Japanese pharmaceutical companies were especially strong in the fields of generating analogs of known cephalosporin antibiotics, cancer drugs, and cardiovascular drugs. The first products TAP file new drug applications for, were two cephalosporins, cefmenoxime (Cefmax) and cefsulodin (Cefonomil), estazolam for sleep disorders, and leuprorelin; leuprorelin was the first one approved, in 1985. In 1998 Takeda established its own US R&D and sales force, for the diabetes drug pioglitazone (Actos) | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki?curid=7625133 |
TAP Pharmaceuticals In 2000, TAP's withdrew its new drug application for apomorphine (branded as "Uprima") as a treatment for erectile dysfunction after an FDA review panel raised questions about the drug's safety, due to many clinical trial subjects fainting after taking the drug. In 2001, the US Department of Justice, states attorneys general, and TAP Pharmaceutical Products settled criminal and civil charges against TAP related to federal and state medicare fraud and illegal marketing of the drug leuprorelin. TAP paid a total of $875 million, which was a record high at the time. The $875 million settlement broke down to $290 million for violating the Prescription Drug Marketing Act, $559.5 million to settle federal fraud charges for overcharging Medicare, and $25.5 million reimbursement to 50 states and Washington, D.C., for filing false claims with the states' Medicaid programs. The case arose under the False Claims Act with claims filed by Douglas Durand, a former TAP vice president of sales, and Joseph Gerstein, a doctor at Tufts University's HMO practice. Durand, Gerstein, and Tufts shared $95 million of the settlement. When the settlement was announced, the Department of Justice also announced that seven people were indicted on criminal charges by a grand jury; the DoJ also said that four doctors had already pled guilty for receiving kickbacks. As of 2003 around 12 TAP employees had been indicted and were contested the charges, and one had pled guilty | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki?curid=7625133 |
TAP Pharmaceuticals Abbott and Takeda agreed to end the partnership in 2008, with Abbott keeping the rights to leuprorelin, which had sales in 2007 of $600 million and a patent expiring in 2015 and the approximately 300 employees who worked on the product, and Takeda keeping the rights to lansoprazole, which had sales of $2.3 billion in 2007 but was facing imminent generic competition, along with 800 employees in the U.S. and all the drugs in the TAP pipeline. Takeda was also obligated to pay Abbott about $1.5 billion over several years. By 2008, Takeda's own sales in the US outside of TAP had grown to $3 billion, mostly from sales of pioglitazone which by then was the best-selling diabetes drug in the world. | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki?curid=7625133 |
Ronald Gillespie Ronald James Gillespie, (born August 21, 1924, in London) is a chemistry professor at McMaster University specializing in the field of molecular geometry. In 2007 he was awarded the Order of Canada. He was educated at the University of London obtaining a B.Sc. in 1945, a Ph.D. in 1949 and a D.Sc. in 1957. He was assistant lecturer and then lecturer in the Department of Chemistry at University College London in England from 1950 to 1958. He moved to McMaster University, Hamilton, Ontario, Canada in 1958 and is now emeritus professor. He was elected as a Fellow of the Royal Society of Canada in 1965 and a Fellow of the Royal Society of London in 1977. Gillespie has done extensive work on expanding the idea of the Valence Shell Electron Pair Repulsion (VSEPR) model of Molecular Geometry, which he developed with Ronald Nyholm (and thus is also known as the Gillespie-Nyholm theory), and setting the rules for assigning numbers. He has written several books on this VSEPR topic in chemistry. With other workers he developed LCP theory, (ligand close packing theory), which for some molecules allows geometry to be predicted on the basis of ligand-ligand repulsions. Gillespie has also done extensive work on interpreting the covalent radius of fluorine. The covalent radius of most atoms is found by taking half the length of a single bond between two similar atoms in a neutral molecule | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki?curid=7625463 |
Ronald Gillespie Calculating the covalent radius for fluorine is more difficult because of its high electronegativity compared to its small atomic radius size. Gillespie's work on the bond length of fluorine focuses on theoretically determining the covalent radius of fluorine by examining its covalent radius when it is attached to several different atoms. | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki?curid=7625463 |
Atomic ratio The atomic ratio is a measure of the ratio of atoms of one kind (i) to another kind (j). A closely related concept is the atomic percent (or at.%), which gives the percentage of one kind of atom relative to the total number of atoms. The molecular equivalents of these concepts are the molar fraction, or molar percent. Mathematically, the "atomic percent" is where "N" are the number of atoms of interest and "N" are the total number of atoms, while the "atomic ratio" is For example, the "atomic percent" of hydrogen in water (HO) is , while the "atomic ratio" of hydrogen to oxygen is . Another application is in radiochemistry, where this may refer to isotopic ratios or isotopic abundances. Mathematically, the "isotopic abundance" is where "N" are the number of atoms of the isotope of interest and "N" is the total number of atoms, while the "atomic ratio" is For example, the "isotopic ratio" of deuterium (D) to hydrogen (H) in heavy water is roughly (corresponding to an "isotopic abundance" of 0.00014%). In laser physics however, the "atomic ratio" may refer to the doping ratio or the doping fraction. | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki?curid=7626743 |
Spin diffusion describes a situation wherein the individual nuclear spins undergo continuous exchange of energy. This permits polarization differences within the sample to be reduced on a timescale much shorter than relaxation effects. is a process by which magnetization can be exchanged spontaneously between spins. The process is driven by dipolar coupling, and is therefore related to internuclear distances. has been used to study many structural problems in the past, ranging from domain sizes in polymers and disorder in glassy materials to high-resolution crystal structure determination of small molecules and proteins. In Solid State NMR, spin diffusion plays a major role in Cross Polarization (CP) experiments. As mentioned before, by transferring the magnetization (and thus the population) from nuclei with different values for the spin-lattice relaxation ("T"), the overall time for the experiment is reduced. Is a very common practice when the sample contains hydrogen. Another desirable effect is that the signal to noise ratio (S/N) is increased until a theoretical factor γ/γ, being γ the gyromagnetic ratio. | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki?curid=7628518 |
Non-exact solutions in general relativity are solutions of Albert Einstein's field equations of general relativity which hold only approximately. These solutions are typically found by treating the gravitational field, formula_1, as a background space-time, formula_2, (which is usually an exact solution) plus some small perturbation, formula_3. Then one is able to solve the Einstein field equations as a series in formula_3, dropping higher order terms for simplicity. A common example of this method results in the linearised Einstein field equations. In this case we expand the full space-time metric about the flat Minkowski metric, formula_5: and dropping all terms which are of second or higher order in formula_3. | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki?curid=7637545 |
Pancake dome A pancake dome, also known as a lava dome, is an unusual type of volcano found on the planet Venus. They are widely scattered on that planet and often form groups or clusters, though with smaller numbers of pancake domes in each group than is typical for the more common shield volcanos. They are commonly found near coronae and "tesserae" (large regions of highly deformed terrain, folded and fractured in two or three dimensions, believed to be unique to Venus) in the lowland plains. Pancake domes are between 10 and 100 times larger than volcanic domes formed on Earth. Pancake domes have a broad, flat profile similar to shield volcanoes and are thought to form from one large, slow eruption of viscous silica-rich lava. They usually have a central pit- or bowl-like feature similar to a volcanic crater, but it is thought that these pits form after the eruption as the lava cools and emits gas rather than being a vent from which the lava originated. The surface of pancake domes are covered with patterns of small cracks and faults. | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki?curid=7641495 |
Calculated Ignition Index The (CII) is an index of the ignition quality of residual fuel oil. The running of all internal combustion engines is dependent on the ignition quality of the fuel. For spark-ignition engines the fuel has an octane rating. For diesel engines it depends on the type of fuel, for distillate fuels the cetane numbers are used. Cetane numbers are tested using a special test engine and the existing engine was not made for residual fuels. For residual fuel oil two other empirical indexes are used CII and Calculated Carbon Aromaticity Index (CCAI). Both CII and CCAI are calculated from the density and kinematic viscosity of the fuel. Formula for CII: Where: D = density at 15°C (kg/m³) V = viscosity (cST) T = viscosity temperature (°C) CII was designed to give out numbers in the same order as the cetane index for distillate fuels. | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki?curid=7656652 |
Analog models of gravity are attempts to model various phenomena of general relativity (e.g., black holes or cosmological geometries) using other physical systems such as acoustics in a moving fluid, superfluid helium, or Bose–Einstein condensate; gravity waves in water; and propagation of electromagnetic waves in a dielectric medium. These analogs (or analogies) serve to provide new ways of looking at problems, permit ideas from other realms of science to be applied, and may create opportunities for practical experiments within the analogue that can be applied back to the source phenomena. have been used in hundreds of published articles in the last decade. The use of these analogues can be traced back to the very start of general relativity, with Einstein and Newton. | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki?curid=7670122 |
Isidis Planitia is a plain located inside a giant impact basin on Mars, centered at ; is partly in the Syrtis Major quadrangle and partly in the Amenthes quadrangle. It is the third biggest obvious impact structure on the planet after the Hellas and Argyre basins – it is about in diameter. Isidis was likely the last major basin to be formed on Mars, having formed approximately 3.9 billion years ago during the Noachian Period. Due to dust coverage, it typically appears bright in telescopic views, and was mapped as a classical albedo feature, Isidis Regio, visible by telescope in the pre-spacecraft era. A study reported in "Icarus" described the complex geologic history of parts of Isidis, especially areas near the Deuteronilus contact. This contact is the supposed edge of a vast Martian ocean. The researchers found evidence of a Late Hesperian/Early Amazonian Sea in the area. The sea would have quickly frozen over. Eskers formed under the ice. Just to the west of Isidis is Syrtis Major Planum, a low-relief shield volcano that is a prominent dark albedo feature of Mars, which formed after the basin. The westernmost extent s bounded by a subregion, Northeast Syrtis with diverse geology. Around the Isidis basin magnesium carbonate was found by MRO. This mineral indicates that water was present and that it was not acidic, pH conditions more favorable for the evolution of life. The name "Isidis Planitia" follows the earlier name Isidis Regio ("Isis' Region"). Isis is the Egyptian goddess of heaven and fertility | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki?curid=7670555 |
Isidis Planitia The Beagle 2 lander was about to land in the eastern part of in December 2003, when contact with the craft was lost. In January 2015, NASA reported the Beagle 2 had been found on the surface in (location is about ). High-resolution images captured by the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter identified the lost probe, which appears to be intact. (see discovery images here) | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki?curid=7670555 |
Experiment on Rapidly Intensifying Cyclones over the Atlantic The Experiment on Rapidly Intensifying Cyclones over the Atlantic, or ERICA, is a scientific field project that started in the winter of 1988/1989. Its aims were to better understand the processes involved in rapid cyclogenesis, and so improve understanding and forecasting of the situations that cause it. | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki?curid=7680741 |
Propantes is a pothole on the mountain of Parnon within the borders of the Paliochori community of the Municipality of Leonidio in Greece. The entrance is about three by seven metres wide. The entrance shaft drops to -289m without the need for a re-belay, making it the deepest daylight shaft in mainland Greece. The shaft was first explored using modern caving single rope techniques in the early 1980s by a Polish team and the exploration repeated soon after by veteran Greek caver Petros Romanas. All subsequent visits for many years halted at the deepest point leading off the main shaft at -310m. Between 1998 and 2001, the depth of the pothole was surveyed to -316m following exploration carried out by SELAS caving club of Greece. This exploration followed leads in the form of windows coming off the main shaft. In 2005 and 2006, teams from SELAS continued the exploration in the main shaft beyond the squeeze which had halted previous exploration at -316m. The current surveyed depth of the cave is -360m with leads still to be explored. The pothole appears on many on-line deep cave lists (usually something reserved for caves deeper than -400m) as it had originally been erroneously reported as being deeper than the 400m required to be published in these lists. Exploration is ongoing. The pothole has been known since antiquity and was used during the second world war and subsequent civil war in Greece as a convenient place of execution. | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki?curid=7693501 |
S4 Index The formula_1 Index is a standard index used to measure ionospheric disturbances. It is defined as the ratio of the standard deviation of signal intensity to the average signal intensity. This parameter is displayed in real time by many institutions: | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki?curid=7694775 |
Jakob Sederholm Jakob Johannes Sederholm (20 July 1863 – 26 June 1934) was a Finnish petrologist most associated with his studies of migmatites. Troubled by illness throughout his life, Sederholm originally chose to study geology to allow him to work outdoors. After studying first in Helsinki (where he was a student of Fredrik Johan Wiik), then in Stockholm and Heidelberg, Sederholm returned to Finland to work for the Geological Survey of Finland. In 1893 he assumed the role of director of this institution, a post he occupied until his death forty years later. Working on local Precambrian basement rocks, Sederholm instigated a map-making programme that, between 1899 and 1925, published many maps and descriptions of their geological history. Gneisses in the areas he studied (the so-called Baltic Shield) were often of mixed composition, with layers of granitic rock being interleaved with metamorphic rock. Sederholm termed these as migmatites, and viewed them as the product of the intrusion of igneous magma into metamorphic rocks at depth. During his career Sederholm received both the Murchison Medal from the Geological Society of London (1928) and the Penrose Medal from the Geological Society of America (also 1928). The mineral sederholmite is named in his honour. Aside from his geological work, Sederholm was a member of the Diet of Finland, and undertook missions from this to the League of Nations. He was also a member and chairman (twice) of the Economic Society of Finland | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki?curid=7709768 |
Jakob Sederholm In the 1974 historical novel "Centennial", James Michener listed Sederholm among those scientists who made early estimates of the age of the Earth. Sederholm's estimate was 40 million years. | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki?curid=7709768 |
Diffuse element method In numerical analysis the diffuse element method (DEM) or simply diffuse approximation is a meshfree method. The diffuse element method was developed by B. Nayroles, G. Touzot and Pierre Villon at the Universite de Technologie de Compiegne, in 1992. It is in concept rather similar to the much older smoothed particle hydrodynamics. In the paper they describe a "diffuse approximation method", a method for function approximation from a given set of points. In fact the method boils down to the well-known moving least squares for the particular case of a global approximation (using all available data points). Using this function approximation method, partial differential equations and thus fluid dynamic problems can be solved. For this, they coined the term diffuse element method (DEM). Advantages over finite element methods are that DEM doesn't rely on a grid, and is more precise in the evaluation of the derivatives of the reconstructed functions. | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki?curid=7714496 |
Reproducing kernel particle method In applied mathematics, the reproducing kernel particle method is a meshfree computational method introduced in Liu et al. as an improvement of smoothed-particle hydrodynamics. | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki?curid=7714627 |
Walter Lawry Waterhouse MC (31 August 1887 – 9 December 1969) was an Australian agricultural scientist, a fellow of the Australian Academy of Science and Clarke Medallist. Walter Waterhouse was born in West Maitland, New South Wales, the son of educator John Waterhouse and the grandson of Wesleyan minister Jabez Waterhouse. In 1924, he married Dorothy Blair Hazlewood, granddaughter of Rev. David Hazlewood, a Wesleyan Methodist missionary who is renowned for translating the Old Testament into Fijian. Walter was educated at Sydney Boys' High School, where his father was headmaster, and later at Hawkesbury Agricultural College where he gained a diploma in 1907. Sometime during the period of 1906–10 Walter was headmaster at the Methodist Mission Boys High School at Daviulevu in Fiji. There is a photograph of him from this time at Australian Museum image "M. Whan, J.H.L. and W.L. Waterhouse, Davuilevu, Fiji" He enlisted in World War I, and was awarded the Military Cross. In 1918 Waterhouse studied at the Imperial College of Science and Technology, London, and obtained its diploma in 1921. He developed varieties of wheat which resisted rust. He was awarded the Clarke Medal by the Royal Society of New South Wales in 1943. A full biography of W.L.W. can be found at AAS Biographical Memoirs. Further biographical particulars are available at "Encyclopedia of Australian Science". | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki?curid=7722823 |
Biseriate is a botanical term applied to both plantae and fungi, meaning 'arranged in two rows'. The term can refer to any number of structures found within these kingdoms, from arrangement of leaves to the placement of spores. It becomes useful in taxonomy for placing a species within a certain genus, family, or even order, based upon morphology, when making an initial choice or when DNA evidence is inconclusive. | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki?curid=7723926 |
Henry S. Valk (born 1929) is Professor Emeritus of Physics at the Georgia Institute of Technology. Valk attended George Washington University where he received his B.S. in physics in 1953 and M.S. in mathematics in 1954. He then earned his Ph.D. at Washington University in St. Louis in 1957. Before joining the faculty at the Georgia Institute of Technology, Valk was a professor of physics at the University of Nebraska. While at Georgia Tech, Valk became Dean of the College of Science and Liberal Studies, which has since split into the College of Sciences, the College of Computing, and the Ivan Allen College of Liberal Arts. H. Valk, and M. Alonso, "Quantum Mechanics" Krieger Publishing Company, Melbourne 1986 | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki?curid=7731580 |
Oncogenomics is a sub-field of genomics that characterizes cancer-associated genes. It focuses on genomic, epigenomic and transcript alterations in cancer. Cancer is a genetic disease caused by accumulation of DNA mutations and epigenetic alterations leading to unrestrained cell proliferation and neoplasm formation. The goal of oncogenomics is to identify new oncogenes or tumor suppressor genes that may provide new insights into cancer diagnosis, predicting clinical outcome of cancers and new targets for cancer therapies. The success of targeted cancer therapies such as Gleevec, Herceptin and Avastin raised the hope for oncogenomics to elucidate new targets for cancer treatment. Besides understanding the underlying genetic mechanisms that initiate or drive cancer progression, oncogenomics targets personalized cancer treatment. Cancer develops due to DNA mutations and epigenetic alterations that accumulate randomly. Identifying and targeting the mutations in an individual patient may lead to increased treatment efficacy. The completion of the Human Genome Project facilitated the field of oncogenomics and increased the abilities of researchers to find oncogenes. Sequencing technologies and global methylation profiling techniques have been applied to the study of oncogenomics. The genomics era began in the 1990s, with the generation of DNA sequences of many organisms. In the 21st century, the completion of the Human Genome Project enabled the study of functional genomics and examining tumor genomes. Cancer is a main focus | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki?curid=7737653 |
Oncogenomics The epigenomics era largely began more recently, about 2000. One major source of epigenetic change is altered methylation of CpG islands at the promoter region of genes (see DNA methylation in cancer). A number of recently devised methods can assess the DNA methylation status in cancers versus normal tissues. Some methods assess methylation of CpGs located in different classes of loci, including CpG islands, shores, and shelves as well as promoters, gene bodies, and intergenic regions. Cancer is also a major focus of epigenetic studies. Access to whole cancer genome sequencing is important to cancer (or cancer genome) research because: Access to methylation profiling is important to cancer research because: The first cancer genome was sequenced in 2008. This study sequenced a typical acute myeloid leukaemia (AML) genome and its normal counterpart genome obtained from the same patient. The comparison revealed ten mutated genes. Two were already thought to contribute to tumor progression: an internal tandem duplication of the FLT3 receptor tyrosine kinase gene, which activates kinase signaling and is associated with a poor prognosis and a four base insertion in exon 12 of the NPM1 gene (NPMc). These mutations are found in 25-30% of AML tumors and are thought to contribute to disease progression rather than to cause it directly. The remaining 8 were new mutations and all were single base changes: Four were in families that are strongly associated with cancer pathogenesis (PTPRT, CDH24, PCLKC and SLC15A1) | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki?curid=7737653 |
Oncogenomics The other four had no previous association with cancer pathogenesis. They did have potential functions in metabolic pathways that suggested mechanisms by which they could act to promote cancer (KNDC1, GPR124, EB12, GRINC1B) These genes are involved in pathways known to contribute to cancer pathogenesis, but before this study most would not have been candidates for targeted gene therapy. This analysis validated the approach of whole cancer genome sequencing in identifying somatic mutations and the importance of parallel sequencing of normal and tumor cell genomes. In 2011, the genome of an exceptional bladder cancer patient whose tumor had been eliminated by the drug everolimus was sequenced, revealing mutations in two genes, "TSC1" and "NF2". The mutations disregulated mTOR, the protein inhibited by everolimus, allowing it to reproduce without limit. As a result, in 2015, the Exceptional Responders Initiative was created at the National Cancer Institute. The initiative allows such exceptional patients (who have responded positively for at least six months to a cancer drug that usually fails) to have their genomes sequenced to identify the relevant mutations. Once identified, other patients could be screened for those mutations and then be given the drug. In 2016 To that end, a nationwide cancer drug trial began in 2015, involving up to twenty-four hundred centers. Patients with appropriate mutations are matched with one of more than forty drugs | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki?curid=7737653 |
Oncogenomics In 2014 the Center for Molecular Oncology rolled out the MSK-IMPACT test, a screening tool that looks for mutations in 341 cancer-associated genes. By 2015 more than five thousand patients had been screened. Patients with appropriate mutations are eligible to enroll in clinical trials that provide targeted therapy. Genomics technologies include: Bioinformatics technologies allow the statistical analysis of genomic data. The functional characteristics of oncogenes has yet to be established. Potential functions include their transformational capabilities relating to tumour formation and specific roles at each stage of cancer development. After the detection of somatic cancer mutations across a cohort of cancer samples, bioinformatic computational analyses can be carried out to identify likely functional and likely driver mutations. There are three main approaches routinely used for this identification: mapping mutations, assessing the effect of mutation of the function of a protein or a regulatory element and finding signs of positive selection across a cohort of tumors. The approaches are not necessarily sequential however, there are important relationships of precedence between elements from the different approaches. Different tools are used at each step. Operomics aims to integrate genomics, transcriptomics and proteomics to understand the molecular mechanisms that underlie the cancer development. Comparative oncogenomics uses cross-species comparisons to identify oncogenes | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki?curid=7737653 |
Oncogenomics This research involves studying cancer genomes, transcriptomes and proteomes in model organisms such as mice, identifying potential oncogenes and referring back to human cancer samples to see whether homologues of these oncogenes are important in causing human cancers. Genetic alterations in mouse models are similar to those found in human cancers. These models are generated by methods including retroviral insertion mutagenesis or graft transplantation of cancerous cells. Mutations provide the raw material for natural selection in evolution and can be caused by errors of DNA replication, the action of exogenous mutagens or endogenous DNA damage. The machinery of replication and genome maintenance can be damaged by mutations, or altered by physiological conditions and differential levels of expression in cancer (see references in ). As pointed out by Gao et al., the stability and integrity of the human genome are maintained by the DNA-damage response (DDR) system. Un-repaired DNA damage is a major cause of mutations that drive carcinogenesis. If DNA repair is deficient, DNA damage tends to accumulate. Such excess DNA damage can increase mutational errors during DNA replication due to error-prone translesion synthesis. Excess DNA damage can also increase epigenetic alterations due to errors during DNA repair. Such mutations and epigenetic alterations can give rise to cancer. DDR genes are often repressed in human cancer by epigenetic mechanisms | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki?curid=7737653 |
Oncogenomics Such repression may involve DNA methylation of promoter regions or repression of DDR genes by a microRNA. Epigenetic repression of DDR genes occurs more frequently than gene mutation in many types of cancer (see Cancer epigenetics). Thus, epigenetic repression often plays a more important role than mutation in reducing expression of DDR genes. This reduced expression of DDR genes is likely an important driver of carcinogenesis. Nucleotide sequence context influences mutation probability and analysis of mutational (mutable) DNA motifs can be essential for understanding the mechanisms of mutagenesis in cancer. Such motifs represent the fingerprints of interactions between DNA and mutagens, between DNA and repair/replication/modification enzymes. Examples of motifs are the AID motif WRCY/RGYW (W = A or T, R = purine and Y = pyrimidine) with C to T/G/A mutations, and error-prone DNA pol η attributed AID-related mutations (A to G/C/G) in WA/TW motifs. Another (agnostic) way to analyze the observed mutational spectra and DNA sequence context of mutations in tumors involves pooling all mutations of different types and contexts from cancer samples into a discrete distribution. If multiple cancer samples are available, their context-dependent mutations can be represented in the form of a nonnegative matrix. This matrix can be further decomposed into components (mutational signatures) which ideally should describe individual mutagenic factors | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki?curid=7737653 |
Oncogenomics Several computational methods have been proposed for solving this decomposition problem. The first implementation of Non-negative Matrix Factorization (NMF) method is available in Sanger Institute Mutational Signature Framework in the form of a MATLAB package. On the other hand, if mutations from a single tumor sample are only available, the DeconstructSigs R package and MutaGene server may provide the identification of contributions of different mutational signatures for a single tumor sample. In addition, MutaGene server provides mutagen or cancer-specific mutational background models and signatures that can be applied to calculate expected DNA and protein site mutability to decouple relative contributions of mutagenesis and selection in carcinogenesis. Synthetic lethality arises when a combination of deficiencies in the expression of two or more genes leads to cell death, whereas a deficiency in only one of these genes does not. The deficiencies can arise through mutations, epigenetic alterations or inhibitors of one of the genes. The therapeutic potential of synthetic lethality as an efficacious anti-cancer strategy is continually improving. Recently, the applicability of synthetic lethality to targeted cancer therapy has heightened due to the recent work of scientists including Ronald A. DePinho and colleagues, in what is termed 'collateral lethality'. Muller et al. found that passenger genes, with chromosomal proximity to tumor suppressor genes, are collaterally deleted in some cancers | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki?curid=7737653 |
Oncogenomics Thus, the identification of collaterally deleted redundant genes carrying out an essential cellular function may be the untapped reservoir for then pursuing a synthetic lethality approach. Collateral lethality therefore holds great potential in identification of novel and selective therapeutic targets in oncology. In 2012, Muller et al. identified that homozygous deletion of redundant-essential glycolytic ENO1 gene in human glioblastoma (GBM) is the consequence of proximity to 1p36 tumor suppressor locus deletions and may hold potential for a synthetic lethality approach to GBM inhibition. ENO1 is one of three homologous genes (ENO2, ENO3) that encodes the mammalian alpha-enolase enzyme. ENO2, which encodes enolase 2, is mostly expressed in neural tissues, leading to the postulation that in ENO1-deleted GBM, ENO2 may be the ideal target as the redundant homologue of ENO1. Muller found that both genetic and pharmacological ENO2 inhibition in GBM cells with homozygous ENO1 deletion elicits a synthetic lethality outcome by selective killing of GBM cells. In 2016, Muller and colleagues discovered antibiotic SF2312 as a highly potent nanomolar-range enolase inhibitor which preferentially inhibits glioma cell proliferation and glycolytic flux in ENO1-deleted cells. SF2312 was shown to be more efficacious than pan-enolase inhibitor PhAH and have more specificity for ENO2 inhibition over ENO1 | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki?curid=7737653 |
Oncogenomics Subsequent work by the same team showed that the same approach could be applied to pancreatic cancer, whereby homozygously deleted SMAD4 results in the collateral deletion of mitochondrial malic enzyme 2 (ME2), an oxidative decarboxylase essential for redox homeostasis. Dey et al. show that ME2 genomic deletion in pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma cells results in high endogenous reactive oxygen species, consistent with KRAS-driven pancreatic cancer, and essentially primes ME2-null cells for synthetic lethality by depletion of redundant NAD(P)+-dependent isoform ME3. The effects of ME3 depletion were found to be mediated by inhibition of de novo nucleotide synthesis resulting from AMPK activation and mitochondrial ROS-mediated apoptosis. Meanwhile, Oike et al. demonstrated the generalizability of the concept by targeting redundant essential-genes in process other than metabolism, namely the SMARCA4 and SMARCA2 subunits in the chromatin-remodeling SWI/SNF complex. Some oncogenes are essential for survival of all cells (not only cancer cells). Thus, drugs that knock out these oncogenes (and thereby kill cancer cells) may also damage normal cells, inducing significant illness. However, other genes may be essential to cancer cells but not to healthy cells. Treatments based on the principle of synthetic lethality have prolonged the survival of cancer patients, and show promise for future advances in reversal of carcinogenesis | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki?curid=7737653 |
Oncogenomics A major type of synthetic lethality operates on the DNA repair defect that often initiates a cancer, and is still present in the tumor cells. Some examples are given here. BRCA1 or BRCA2 expression is deficient in a majority of high-grade breast and ovarian cancers, usually due to epigenetic methylation of its promoter or epigenetic repression by an over-expressed microRNA (see articles BRCA1 and BRCA2). BRCA1 and BRCA2 are important components of the major pathway for homologous recombinational repair of double-strand breaks. If one or the other is deficient, it increases the risk of cancer, especially breast or ovarian cancer. A back-up DNA repair pathway, for some of the damages usually repaired by BRCA1 and BRCA2, depends on PARP1. Thus, many ovarian cancers respond to an FDA-approved treatment with a PARP inhibitor, causing synthetic lethality to cancer cells deficient in BRCA1 or BRCA2. This treatment is also being evaluated for breast cancer and numerous other cancers in Phase III clinical trials in 2016. There are two pathways for homologous recombinational repair of double-strand breaks. The major pathway depends on BRCA1, PALB2 and BRCA2 while an alternative pathway depends on RAD52. Pre-clinical studies, involving epigenetically reduced or mutated BRCA-deficient cells (in culture or injected into mice), show that inhibition of RAD52 is synthetically lethal with BRCA-deficiency. Mutations in genes employed in DNA mismatch repair (MMR) cause a high mutation rate | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki?curid=7737653 |
Oncogenomics In tumors, such frequent subsequent mutations often generate “non-self” immunogenic antigens. A human Phase II clinical trial, with 41 patients, evaluated one synthetic lethal approach for tumors with or without MMR defects. The product of gene "PD-1" ordinarily represses cytotoxic immune responses. Inhibition of this gene allows a greater immune response. When cancer patients with a defect in MMR in their tumors were exposed to an inhibitor of PD-1, 67% - 78% of patients experienced immune-related progression-free survival. In contrast, for patients without defective MMR, addition of PD-1 inhibitor generated only 11% of patients with immune-related progression-free survival. Thus inhibition of PD-1 is primarily synthetically lethal with MMR defects. ARID1A, a chromatin modifier, is required for non-homologous end joining, a major pathway that repairs double-strand breaks in DNA, and also has transcription regulatory roles. ARID1A mutations are one of the 12 most common carcinogenic mutations. Mutation or epigenetically decreased expression of ARID1A has been found in 17 types of cancer. Pre-clinical studies in cells and in mice show that synthetic lethality for ARID1A deficiency occurs by either inhibition of the methyltransferase activity of EZH2, or with addition of the kinase inhibitor dasatinib. Another approach is to individually knock out each gene in a genome and observe the effect on normal and cancerous cells | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki?curid=7737653 |
Oncogenomics If the knockout of an otherwise nonessential gene has little or no effect on healthy cells, but is lethal to cancerous cells containing a mutated oncogene, then the system-wide suppression of the suppressed gene can destroy cancerous cells while leaving healthy ones relatively undamaged. The technique was used to identify PARP-1 inhibitors to treat BRCA1/BRCA2-associated cancers. In this case, the combined presence of PARP-1 inhibition and of the cancer-associated mutations in BRCA genes is lethal only to the cancerous cells. The Cancer Genome Project is an initiative to map out all somatic mutations in cancer. The project systematically sequences the exons and flanking splice junctions of the genomes of primary tumors and cancerous cell lines. COSMIC software displays the data generated from these experiments. As of February 2008, the CGP had identified 4,746 genes and 2,985 mutations in 1,848 tumours. The Cancer Genome Anatomy Project includes information of research on cancer genomes, transcriptomes and proteomes. Progenetix is an oncogenomic reference database, presenting cytogenetic and molecular-cytogenetic tumor data. Oncomine has compiled data from cancer transcriptome profiles. The integrative oncogenomics database IntOGen and the Gitools datasets integrate multidimensional human oncogenomic data classified by tumor type. The first version of IntOGen focused on the role of deregulated gene expression and CNV in cancer. A later version emphasized mutational cancer driver genes across 28 tumor types | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki?curid=7737653 |
Oncogenomics All releases of IntOGen data are made available at the IntOGen database. The International Cancer Genome Consortium is the biggest project to collect human cancer genome data. The data is accessible through the ICGC website. The BioExpress® Oncology Suite contains gene expression data from primary, metastatic and benign tumor samples and normal samples, including matched adjacent controls. The suite includes hematological malignancy samples for many well-known cancers. Specific databases for model animals include the Retrovirus Tagged Cancer Gene Database (RTCGD) that compiled research on retroviral and transposon insertional mutagenesis in mouse tumors. Mutational analysis of entire gene families revealed that genes of the same family have similar functions, as predicted by similar coding sequences and protein domains. Two such classes are the kinase family, involved in adding phosphate groups to proteins and the phosphatase family, involved with removing phosphate groups from proteins. These families were first examined because of their apparent role in transducing cellular signals of cell growth or death. In particular, more than 50% of colorectal cancers carry a mutation in a kinase or phosphatase gene. Phosphatidylinositold 3-kinases (PIK3CA) gene encodes for lipid kinases that commonly contain mutations in colorectal, breast, gastric, lung and various other cancers. Drug therapies can inhibit PIK3CA. Another example is the BRAF gene, one of the first to be implicated in melanomas | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki?curid=7737653 |
Oncogenomics BRAF encodes a serine/threonine kinase that is involved in the RAS-RAF-MAPK growth signaling pathway. Mutations in BRAF cause constitutive phosphorylation and activity in 59% of melanomas. Before BRAF, the genetic mechanism of melanoma development was unknown and therefore prognosis for patients was poor. Mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) mutations are linked the formation of tumors. Four types of mtDNA mutations have been identified: Point mutations have been observed in the coding and non-coding region of the mtDNA contained in cancer cells. In individuals with bladder, head/neck and lung cancers, the point mutations within the coding region show signs of resembling each other. This suggests that when a healthy cell transforms into a tumor cell (a neoplastic transformation) the mitochondria seem to become homogenous. Abundant point mutations located within the non-coding region, D-loop, of the cancerous mitochondria suggest that mutations within this region might be an important characteristic in some cancers. This type of mutation is sporadically detected due to its small size ( < 1kb). The appearance of certain specific mtDNA mutations (264-bp deletion and 66-bp deletion in the complex 1 subunit gene ND1) in multiple types of cancer provide some evidence that small mtDNA deletions might appear at the beginning of tumorigenesis. It also suggests that the amount of mitochondria containing these deletions increases as the tumor progresses | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki?curid=7737653 |
Oncogenomics An exception is a relatively large deletion that appears in many cancers (known as the "common deletion"), but more mtDNA large scale deletions have been found in normal cells compared to tumor cells. This may be due to a seemingly adaptive process of tumor cells to eliminate any mitochondria that contain these large scale deletions (the "common deletion" is > 4kb). Two small mtDNA insertions of ~260 and ~520 bp can be present in breast cancer, gastric cancer, hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) and colon cancer and in normal cells. No correlation between these insertions and cancer are established. The characterization of mtDNA via real-time polymerase chain reaction assays shows the presence of quantitative alteration of mtDNA copy number in many cancers. Increase in copy number is expected to occur because of oxidative stress. On the other hand, decrease is thought to be caused by somatic point mutations in the replication origin site of the H-strand and/or the D310 homopolymeric c-stretch in the D-loop region, mutations in the p53 (tumor suppressor gene) mediated pathway and/or inefficient enzyme activity due to POLG mutations. Any increase/decrease in copy number then remains constant within tumor cells. The fact that the amount of mtDNA is constant in tumor cells suggests that the amount of mtDNA is controlled by a much more complicated system in tumor cells, rather than simply altered as a consequence of abnormal cell proliferation | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki?curid=7737653 |
Oncogenomics The role of mtDNA content in human cancers apparently varies for particular tumor types or sites. 57.7% (500/867) contained somatic point putations and of the 1172 mutations surveyed 37.8% (443/1127) were located in the D-loop control region, 13.1% (154/1172) were located in the tRNA or rRNA genes and 49.1% (575/1127) were found in the mRNA genes needed for producing complexes required for mitochondrial respiration. Some anticancer drugs target mtDNA and have shown positive results in killing tumor cells. Research has used mitochondrial mutations as biomarkers for cancer cell therapy. It is easier to target mutation within mitochondrial DNA versus nuclear DNA because the mitochondrial genome is much smaller and easier to screen for specific mutations. MtDNA content alterations found in blood samples might be able to serve as a screening marker for predicting future cancer susceptibility as well as tracking malignant tumor progression. Along with these potential helpful characteristics of mtDNA, it is not under the control of the cell cycle and is important for maintaining ATP generation and mitochondrial homeostasis. These characteristics make targeting mtDNA a practical therapeutic strategy. Several biomarkers can be useful in cancer staging, prognosis and treatment. They can range from single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs), chromosomal aberrations, changes in DNA copy number, microsatellite instability, promoter region methylation, or even high or low protein levels. | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki?curid=7737653 |
Chemical technologist Chemical technologists and technicians (abbr. chem techs) are workers who provide technical support or services in chemical-related fields. They may work under direct supervision or may work independently, depending on their specific position and duties. Their work environments differ widely and include, but are not limited to, laboratories and industrial settings. As such, it is nearly impossible to generalize the duties of chem techs as their individual jobs vary greatly. Biochemical techs often do similar work in biochemistry. Chemical technologists are more likely than technicians to participate in the actual "design" of experiments, and may be involved in the interpretation of experimental data. They may also be responsible for the operation of chemical processes in large plants, and may even assist chemical engineers in the design of the same. Some post-secondary education is generally required to be either a chemical technician or technologist. Occasionally, a company may be willing to provide a high school graduate with training to become a chemical technician, but more often, a two-year degree will be required. Chemical technologists generally require completion of a specific college program—either two year or four year— in chemical, biochemical, or chemical engineering technology or a closely related discipline. They usually work under or with a scientist such as a chemist or biochemist | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki?curid=7746249 |
Chemical technologist Chemical or biochemical technicians often work in clinical (medical) laboratories conducting routine analyses of medical samples such as blood and urine. Industries which employ chem techs include chemical, petrochemical, and pharmaceutical industries. Companies within these industries can be concerned with manufacturing, research and development (R&D), consulting, quality control, and a variety of other areas. Also, chem techs working for these companies may be used to conduct quality control and other routine analyses, or assist in chemical and biochemical research including analyses, industrial chemistry, environmental protection, and even chemical engineering. As a general rule, chemical technologists are more likely to be provided with greater autonomy and more complex responsibilities than chemical technicians. The most common work done by chemical technicians is in R&D. They often work in a laboratory environment under the supervision of a chemist or a chemical engineer. They may typically assist in setting up and conducting chemical experiments, and may operate lab equipment under supervision. They are expected to maintain established quality control standards. They may also compile records for analytical studies, and sometimes are involved in writing reports on studies. National certification for chemical technologists and technicians is required in some countries. | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki?curid=7746249 |
Theodore Thomson Flynn (11 October 1883 - 23 October 1968) was an Australian marine biologist and a professor in both Tasmania and the United Kingdom. Flynn was born in Coraki, New South Wales, Australia, the son of Jessie B. (née Thomson) and John Flynn. He became a biology lecturer at the University of Tasmania in 1909, becoming professor in 1911 and teaching there until 1930. He married his wife, Lily Mary (Marelle) Young on 23 January 1909. Flynn then moved to Northern Ireland where he served as the Chair of Zoology at Queen's University of Belfast from 1931-1948. After the Belfast Blitz Flynn was the Chief Casualty Officer for the city. He was the father of film actor Errol Flynn, and named one new species that he discovered – Gibbonsia erroli – after his son. Theodore Flynn died in Liss, Hampshire, England. | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki?curid=7776573 |
Synopses of the British Fauna is a series of identification guides, published by The Linnean Society and The Estuarine and Coastal Sciences Association. Each volume in the series provides and in-depth analysis of a group of animals and is designed to bridge the gap between the standard field guide and more specialised monograph or treatise. The series is now published by The Field Studies Council on behalf of The Linnean Society and The Estuarine and Coastal Sciences Association. The series is designed for use in the field and is kept as user friendly as possible with technical terminology kept to a minimum and a glossary of terms provided, although the complexity of the subject matter makes the books more suitable for the more experienced practitioner. On 11 March 1943, at a meeting of The Linnean Society in Burlington House, TH Savoy presented his "Synopsis of the Opiliones" (Harvestmen). It was so well received that a decision was made there and then to publish it as the first of a series of "ecological fauna lists". Re-launched by Dr Doris Kermack in the mid-1960s, the New Series of "Synopses of the British Fauna" went from strength to strength. From number 13, the series had been jointly sponsored by The Estuarine and Coastal Sciences Association and Dr RSK Barnes became co-editor. From 1993, the series has been published by The Field Studies Council and benefits from association with the extensive testing undertaken as part of the AIDGAP project. The series contains the following volumes, many of which are out of print | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki?curid=7777698 |
Synopses of the British Fauna Many of the volumes have been updated and reprinted under slightly different names to reflect either taxonomic changes or advances in the understanding of a group. | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki?curid=7777698 |
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