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Belgian Society of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology The (BMB) is a Belgian non-profit organization, concerned with biochemistry and molecular biology. The BMB was created, based on an initiative of Marcel Florkin, so a Belgian society could join the new International Union of Biochemistry. The first charter of the society was drafted by Edouard J. Bigwood, Jean Brachet, Christian de Duve, Marcel Florkin, Lucien Massart, Paul Putzeys, Laurent Vandendriessche and Claude Lièbecq. The first general assembly was held on 12 January 1952, and the first President of the society was Marcel Florkin, with Claude Lièbecq as secretary and treasurer. | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki?curid=8425153 | 161,364 |
History of Sony In 1975, Sony launched the Betamax, which took part and lost in the video format war. Walkman, the first stereo cassette player, was launched in 1979. The year 1981 is considered as a starting point of the digital revolution with Sony launching the world's first Compact Disc player, the Sony CDP-101, with a Compact Disc (CD) itself, a new data storage format Sony and Philips co-developed. In that year, a 3.5-inch floppy disk structure was introduced by Sony and it soon became the defacto standard. Sony is also the company that produced the first color video camera using a CCD, the XC-1. The Sony Mavica, released in 1981, is a prototype of the world's first commercial electronic still camera. Sony played a significant role in the tech industry in the second half of the 20th Century alongside Hewlett-Packard and IBM. Steve Jobs, fascinated by the company's innovative products, culture and work environment, was a big fan of Sony and regarded the company being in a league of their own, apart from the other comparable competitors. In 1991, Sony released the first commercial lithium-ion battery jointly with Asahi Kasei and had been the leader in the rechargeable battery industry until a massive defective battery scandal occurred in 2006. Sony introduced Memory Stick, a flash memory storage format, in 1998, a year earlier than the announcement of SD card. The Sony's format is considered as a yet another failed standard from the company | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki?curid=6200915 | 125,994 |
Transposable element Because interspersed repeats block gene conversion, they protect novel gene sequences from being overwritten by similar gene sequences and thereby facilitate the development of new genes. TEs may also have been co-opted by the vertebrate immune system as a means of producing antibody diversity. The V(D)J recombination system operates by a mechanism similar to that of some TEs. TEs can contain many types of genes, including those conferring antibiotic resistance and ability to transpose to conjugative plasmids. Some TEs also contain integrons, genetic elements that can capture and express genes from other sources. These contain integrase, which can integrate gene cassettes. There are over 40 antibiotic resistance genes identified on cassettes, as well as virulence genes. Transposons do not always excise their elements precisely, sometimes removing the adjacent base pairs; this phenomenon is called exon shuffling. Shuffling two unrelated exons can create a novel gene product or, more likely, an intron. Transposable elements can be harnessed in laboratory and research settings to study genomes of organisms and even engineer genetic sequences. Use of transposable elements can be split into two categories: as a genetic tool and for genetic engineering. "De novo" repeat identification is an initial scan of sequence data that seeks to find the repetitive regions of the genome, and to classify these repeats | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki?curid=30651 | 155,173 |
Universal testing machine Machines range from very small table top systems to ones with over 53 MN (12 million lbf) capacity. | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki?curid=7079877 | 55,897 |
Participatory design In Britain 'the idea that the public should participate was first raised in 1965' (Taylor, 1998, p. 86). However the level of participation is an important issue. At a minimum public workshops and hearings have now been included in almost every planning endeavour. Yet this level of consultation can simply mean information about change without detailed participation. Involvement that 'recognises an active part in plan making' (Taylor, 1998, p. 86) has not always been straightforward to achieve. has attempted to create a platform for active participation in the design process, for end users. was actually born in Scandinavia and called "cooperative design". However, when the methods were presented to the US community 'cooperation' was a word that didn't resonate with the strong separation between workers and managers - they weren't supposed to discuss ways of working face-to-face. Hence, 'participatory' was instead used as the initial Participatory Design sessions weren't a direct cooperation between workers and managers, sitting in the same room discussing how to improve their work environment and tools, but there were separate sessions for workers and managers. Each group was participating in the process, not directly cooperating. (in historical review of Cooperative Design, at a Scandinavian conference). In Scandinavia, research projects on user participation in systems development date back to the 1970s | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki?curid=966255 | 235,771 |
Supramolecular catalysis TSAs do not necessarily represent real transition states and so a catalyst obtained from screening could just be the best receptor for a TSA but is not necessarily the best catalyst. To circumvent this problem, catalytic activity needs to be measured directly and also quickly. To develop a high-throughput screen, substrates could be designed to change color or release a fluorescent product upon reaction. For example, Crabtree and coworkers utilized this method in screening for a hydrosylation catalysts for alkene and imine. Unfortunately the prerequisite for such substrates narrow down the range of reactions for study. In contrast to traditional combinatorial synthesis where a library of catalysts were first generated and later screened (as in the two above approaches), dynamic combinatorial library approach utilizes a mixture of multicomponent building blocks that reversibly form library of catalysts. With out a template, the library consists of a roughly equal mixture of different combination of building blocks. In the presence of a template which is either a starting material or a TSA, the combination that provides the best binding to the template is thermodynamically favorable and thus that combination is more prevalent than other library members. The biased ratio of the desired catalyst to other combinatorial products could then be frozen by terminating the reversibility of the equilibrium by means such as change in temperature, pH, or radiation to yield the optimal catalyst. For example, Lehn et al | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki?curid=41267493 | 28,949 |
Fundamental series The next series involving transitions between F and G subshells is known as the FG series. Frequencies of the lines in the series are given by this formula: formula_1 "R" is the Rydberg correction, formula_2 is the series limit, represented by "3D", and formula_3 is represented by "mF". A shortened formula is then given by formula_4 with values of m being integers from 4 upwards. The two numbers separated by the "−" are called terms, that represent the energy level of an atom. The limit of the fundamental series is the same as the 3D level. The terms can have different designations, mF for single line systems, mΦ for doublets and mf for triplets. Lines in the fundamental series are split into compound doublets, due to the D and F subshells having different spin possibilities. The splitting of the D subshell is very small and that of the F subshell even less so, so the fine structure in the fundamental series is harder to resolve than that in the sharp or diffuse series. The quantum defect for lithium is 0. The fundamental series lines for sodium appear in the near infrared. The fundamental series lines for potassium appear in the near infrared. The fundamental series lines for rubidium appear in the near infrared. The valence electron moves from the 4"d" level as the 3"d" is contained in an inner shell. They were observed by R von Lamb. Relevant energy levels are 4"p"4"d" "j"=5/2 19,355.282 cm and "j"=3/2 19,355.623 cm, and the first "f" levels at 4"p"4"f" "j"=5/2 26,792.185 cm and "j"=7/2 26,792.169 cm. | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki?curid=47182539 | 45,801 |
Panspermia Though these results may seem to negate the original panspermia hypothesis, the type of microorganism making the long journey is inherently unknown and also its features unknown. It could then be impossible to dismiss the hypothesis based on the hardiness of a few earth-evolved microorganisms. Also, if shielded against solar UV, spores of "Bacillus subtilis" were capable of surviving in space for up to 6 years, especially if embedded in clay or meteorite powder (artificial meteorites). The data support the likelihood of interplanetary transfer of microorganisms within meteorites, the so-called lithopanspermia hypothesis. | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki?curid=23678 | 154,378 |
Transformer types A pulse transformer is a transformer that is optimised for transmitting rectangular electrical pulses (that is, pulses with fast rise and fall times and a relatively constant amplitude). Small versions called "signal" types are used in digital logic and telecommunications circuits, often for matching logic drivers to transmission lines. Medium-sized "power" versions are used in power-control circuits such as camera flash controllers. Larger "power" versions are used in the electrical power distribution industry to interface low-voltage control circuitry to the high-voltage gates of power semiconductors. Special high voltage pulse transformers are also used to generate high power pulses for radar, particle accelerators, or other high energy pulsed power applications. To minimize distortion of the pulse shape, a pulse transformer needs to have low values of leakage inductance and distributed capacitance, and a high open-circuit inductance. In power-type pulse transformers, a low coupling capacitance (between the primary and secondary) is important to protect the circuitry on the primary side from high-powered transients created by the load. For the same reason, high insulation resistance and high breakdown voltage are required. A good transient response is necessary to maintain the rectangular pulse shape at the secondary, because a pulse with slow edges would create switching losses in the power semiconductors | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki?curid=10657439 | 388,755 |
Human–robot interaction While humans have the flexibility and the intelligence to consider different approaches to solve the problem, choose the best option among all choices, and then command robots to perform assigned tasks, robots are able to be more precise and more consistent in performing repetitive and dangerous work. Together, the collaboration of industrial robots and humans demonstrates that robots have the capabilities to ensure efficiency of manufacturing and assembling. However, there are persistent concerns about the safety of human-robot collaboration, since industrial robots have the ability to move heavy objects and operate often dangerous and sharp tools, quickly and with force. As a result, this presents a potential threat to the people who work in the same workspace. A rehabilitation robot is an example of a robot-aided system implemented in health care. This type of robot would aid stroke survivors or individuals with neurological impairment to recover their hand and finger movements. In the past few decades, the idea of how human and robot interact with each other is one factor that has been widely considered in the design of rehabilitation robots. For instance, human-robot interaction plays an important role in designing exoskeleton rehabilitation robots since the exoskeleton system makes direct contact with humans’ body. Nursing robots are aimed to provide assistance to elderly people who may have faced a decline in physical and cognitive function, and, consequently, developed psychosocial issues | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki?curid=3186372 | 370,784 |
Lithuanian National Association Hall Lithuanian National Association Hall, also known as the Tri-Cities Opera, is a historic clubhouse located at Binghamton, Broome County, New York. It was built in 1917, is a two-story, steel and timber frame building with a flat roof, clad in yellow brick. It features a broad central Romanesque arch on the second floor. The building measures approximately 50 feet wide by approximately 115 feet deep. The building housed the Lithuanian National Association until 1964, when it was sold to the Tri-Cities Opera. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2015. | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki?curid=49439819 | 333,022 |
Polar seas Blooming of Phytoplankton happens in summer, because of the decreased salinity (sea ice melt-water), lower mixing, higher stratification, higher temperature and more bio available light. Ice is very important in structuring environment. It regulates the physics, chemistry and biology of the water column, air-sea exchange, and is also an important habitat. There is an expected rise in the exploration and development of the Polar Seas due to an increasing demand for fuel and commodities. The emergence of China and India's economy is considered one of the main drivers of this phenomenon due to an unprecedented appetite for raw materials and fuel. Presently, there are still no exact figures that define the oil and gas reserves in the Polar Seas. Initial explorations, however, have resulted in the identification of its potential. For example, Canada's explorations discovered gas and oil in several Arctic locations such as Beaufort, High Arctic (Arctic Islands), Labrador, and Newfoundland. The Arctic Islands alone has an estimated 4.3 billion barrels of oil reserve while those locations that fall within the Alaskan continental shelf have potential recoverable reserves worth $18 billion. There are now 46 nations that are parties to cooperation and treaties covering the polar regions. Several of these, either individually or with partners, conduct research and explorations in the Arctic and Antarctic seas. These activities are governed by international environmental protocols | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki?curid=21200802 | 146,648 |
Genetic architecture The researchers in this study suggested that there are a large number of contributing loci that are related to various psychiatric disorders. Additionally, they, like many others, suggested that the genetic risk of psychiatric disorders involves the combined effects of many common variants with small effects - in other words, the small effects of a wide number of variants at specific loci add together to produce a large, combined effect on the overall phenotype of the individual. They also acknowledged the presence of large but rare mutations that have a large effect on phenotype. This study showcases the intricacy of genetic architecture by providing an example of many different SNPs and mutations working together, each with a varying effect, to generate a given phenotype. Other studies regarding genetic architecture are many and varied, but most use similar types of analyses to provide specific information regarding loci involved in producing a phenotype. A study of the human immune system in 2015 uses the same general concepts to identify several loci involved in the development of the immune system, but, like the other studies outlined here, failed to consider other aspects of genetic architecture, such as environmental influences. Unfortunately, many other aspects of genetic architecture remain difficult to quantify | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki?curid=1505166 | 149,400 |
Diesel exhaust The polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) in the exhaust stimulate nerves in the lungs, causing reflex coughing, wheezing and shortness of breath. The rough surfaces of these particles makes it easy for them to bind with other toxins in the environment, thus increasing the hazards of particle inhalation. A study of particulate matter (PM) emissions from transit buses running on ULSD and a mixture of biodiesel and conventional diesel (B20) was reported by Omidvarborna and coworkers, where they conclude PM emissions appeared lower in cases of mixed diesel/biodiesel use, where they were dependent on the engine model, cold and hot idle modes, and fuel type, and that heavy metals in PM emitted during hot idling were greater than those from cold idling; reasons for PM reduction in biodiesel emissions were suggested to result from the oxygenated structure of biodiesel fuel, as well as arising from changes in technology (including the use of a catalytic converter in this test system). Other studies concluded that while in certain specific cases (i.e. low loads, more saturated feedstocks, ...), NOx emissions can be lower than with diesel fuel, in most cases NOx emissions are higher, and the NOx emissions even go up as more biofuel is mixed in. Pure biodiesel (B100) even ends up having 10-30% more NOx emissions compared to regular diesel fuel | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki?curid=1202358 | 442,529 |
Dewcell Dewcells, dewcels or dew cell are instruments used for determining the dew point. They consist of a small heating element surrounded by a solution of lithium chloride. As the LiCl absorbs moisture from the air, conduction across the heating element increases, current in it increases, and heat increases, evaporating moisture from the salt solution. At a certain temperature the amount of moisture absorbed by the salt solution equals the amount evaporated (equilibrium). Inside the dewcell core a thermistor composite (or other temperature measurement device) changes electrical resistance with the temperature created by the heating. A front end processor provides a reference voltage, measures the output of the network, and calculates the dew point. | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki?curid=3893638 | 4,379 |
Protein precipitation Salting out is a spontaneous process when the right concentration of the salt is reached in solution. The hydrophobic patches on the protein surface generate highly ordered water shells. This results in a small decrease in enthalpy, Δ"H", and a larger decrease in entropy, Δ"S," of the ordered water molecules relative to the molecules in the bulk solution. The overall free energy change, Δ"G", of the process is given by the Gibbs free energy equation: Δ"G" = Free energy change, Δ"H" = Enthalpy change upon precipitation, Δ"S" = Entropy change upon precipitation, "T" = Absolute temperature. When water molecules in the rigid solvation layer are brought back into the bulk phase through interactions with the added salt, their greater freedom of movement causes a significant increase in their entropy. Thus, Δ"G" becomes negative and precipitation occurs spontaneously. Kosmotropes or "water structure stabilizers" are salts which promote the dissipation / dispersion of water from the solvation layer around a protein. Hydrophobic patches are then exposed on the protein's surface, and they interact with hydrophobic patches on other proteins. These salts enhance protein aggregation and precipitation. Chaotropes or "water structure breakers," have the opposite effect of Kosmotropes. These salts promote an increase in the solvation layer around a protein | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki?curid=8253098 | 287,217 |
Hynds Lodge The Boy Scouts of America was very popular in Cheyenne by 1922 and their leadership approached him to help raise money for a cabin. Instead, Hynds paid for the cabin himself. The cabin was completed in the summer of 1922 and measures 36' x 35'. The lodge was operated by the Young Men's Literary Club for the Boy Scouts until 1935, when the City of Cheyenne took over. Many civic organizations have used it since, including the Boy Scouts. Major repair efforts were made in 1966. In 1971, the lodge and its land were leased to the Wyoming Recreation Commission by the City of Cheyenne. | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki?curid=34309304 | 336,198 |
Cathedral of Ani The cathedral is long and wide. Originally standing high, it was Ani's tallest structure. It is very large by the standards of Armenian architecture. Architecture historian Murad Hasratyan suggests that its relatively large size and rich ornaments symbolize the revived Armenian statehood under the Bagratids. Christina Maranci suggested what she describes as an "extremely tentative" hypothesis that the relatively large proportion of the cathedral may have been a "reflection of Trdat's memory of the vast continuous spaces" of Hagia Sophia in Constantinople, the dome of which he repaired. However, it is considered small if judged by a European standard, wrote H. F. B. Lynch and added, "it is nevertheless a stately building. It bears the imprint of that undefinable quality, beauty, and can scarcely fail to arouse a thrill of delight in the spectator." Luigi Villari wrote in his 1906 book on travels in the Caucasus: "From a distance it seems to be merely a plain rectangular structure with no architectural pretensions. But on closer inspection it proves to be a building of really great beauty and of the most perfect proportions." The cathedral is widely considered a masterpiece of Armenian architecture. It is the largest and most impressive structure of Ani. Armen Kazaryan describes it as the most significant structure of the entire Bagratid period. The cathedral is known for its novel design features | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki?curid=8655037 | 367,497 |
Remember versus know judgements Such a feeling is indication that remembering will occur or is about to occur. The knew-it-all-along effect is a variant of the hindsight bias. It is the tendency for people to misremember and think that they knew more in the past than they actually did. In such situations it is difficult for us to remember what it was like when we did not have an understanding of something. For example, one might have a hard time teaching a concept to another individual because they can not remember what it is like to not understand the material. Hindsight bias is the phenomenon where people tend to view events as more predictable than they really are. This occurs because one's current knowledge influences the recollection of previous beliefs. In this phenomenon, what someone "knows" is affecting what they "remember". This inaccurate assessment of reality after it has occurred is also referred to as "creeping determinism". The hindsight bias has been found among a number of domains such as historical events, political elections and the outcome of sporting events. The hindsight bias is a common phenomenon that occurs regularly among individuals in everyday life and can be generated in a laboratory setting to help increase the understanding of memory and specifically memory distortions. | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki?curid=21312310 | 146,829 |
Avatar (2009 film) This extended re-release resulted in the film's run time approaching the current IMAX platter maximum of 170 minutes, thereby leaving less time for the end credits. Cameron stated that the nine minutes of added scenes cost more than a minute to produce and finish. During its 12-week re-release, "Avatar: Special Edition" grossed an additional $10.74 million in North America and $22.46 million overseas for a worldwide total of $33.2 million. 20th Century Fox Home Entertainment released the film on DVD and Blu-ray in the US on , 2010, and in the UK on . The US release was not on a Tuesday as is the norm, but was done to coincide with Earth Day. The first DVD and Blu-ray release does not contain any supplemental features other than the theatrical film and the disc menu in favor of and to make space for optimal picture and sound. The release also preserves the film's native 1.78:1 () format as Cameron felt that was the best format to watch the film. The Blu-ray disc contains DRM (BD+ 5) which some Blu-ray players might not support without a firmware update. "Avatar" set a first-day launch record in the U.S. for Blu-ray sales at 1.5 million units sold, breaking the record previously held by "The Dark Knight" (600,000 units sold). First-day DVD and Blu-ray sales combined were over four million units sold. In its first four days of release, sales of "Avatar" on Blu-ray reached 2.7 million in the United States and Canada – overtaking "The Dark Knight" to become the best ever selling Blu-ray release in the region | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki?curid=4273140 | 276,631 |
Net present value There are a few inherent assumptions in this type of analysis: More realistic problems would also need to consider other factors, generally including: smaller time buckets, the calculation of taxes (including the cash flow timing), inflation, currency exchange fluctuations, hedged or unhedged commodity costs, risks of technical obsolescence, potential future competitive factors, uneven or unpredictable cash flows, and a more realistic salvage value assumption, as well as many others. A more simple example of the net present value of incoming cash flow over a set period of time, would be winning a Powerball lottery of $500 million. If one does not select the "CASH" option they will be paid $25,000,000 per year for 20 years, a total of $500,000,000, however, if one does select the "CASH" option, they will receive a one-time lump sum payment of approximately $285 million, the NPV of $500,000,000 paid over time. See "other factors" above that could affect the payment amount. Both scenarios are before taxes. as a valuation methodology dates at least to the 19th century. Karl Marx refers to NPV as fictitious capital, and the calculation as "capitalising," writing: In mainstream neo-classical economics, NPV was formalized and popularized by Irving Fisher, in his 1907 "The Rate of Interest" and became included in textbooks from the 1950s onwards, starting in finance texts. | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki?curid=55345 | 466,292 |
Robert Brendel (c. 1821–1898) and his son Reinhold Brendel (c. 1861–1927) were botanical modelmakers in first Breslau then Grunewald Berlin. They produced accurate, large-scale models of plant structures. These were sold to technical universities teaching practical botany. | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki?curid=36520327 | 362 |
Stiffness It is noted that for a body with multiple DOF, the equation above generally does not apply since the applied force generates not only the deflection along its own direction (or degree of freedom) but also those along with other directions. For a body with multiple DOF, in order to calculate a particular direct-related stiffness (the diagonal terms), the corresponding DOF is left free while the remaining should be constrained. Under such a condition, the above equation can be used to obtain the direct-related stiffness for the degree of freedom which is unconstrained. The ratios between the reaction forces (or moments) and the produced deflection are the coupling stiffnesses. A description including all possible stretch and shear parameters is given by the elasticity tensor. The inverse of stiffness is "flexibility" or "compliance", typically measured in units of metres per newton. In rheology, it may be defined as the ratio of strain to stress, and so take the units of reciprocal stress, "e.g". 1/Pa. A body may also have a rotational stiffness, "k", given by where In the SI system, rotational stiffness is typically measured in newton-metres per radian. In the SAE system, rotational stiffness is typically measured in inch-pounds per degree. Further measures of stiffness are derived on a similar basis, including: The elastic modulus of a material is not the same as the stiffness of a component made from that material | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki?curid=475008 | 346,276 |
John Zaborszky (May 13, 1914 – February 11, 2008) was a noted Hungarian applied mathematician and a professor in the Department of Systems Science and Mathematics, Washington University. He received the Richard E. Bellman Control Heritage Award in 1986. Zaborszky earned a master's degree and PhD in 1937 and 1943, respectively, "under auspices of the Regent of Hungary" from the Technical University of Budapest. He continued as a docent at that institution and was chief engineer of the city's municipal power system before emigrating to America in 1947. He joined UMR as an assistant professor upon his arrival and in 1954 moved to St. Louis to join Washington University. In 1974, he founded and was first chairman of the Systems Science Department. He was elected to the National Academy of Engineering in 1984. | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki?curid=17132682 | 112,174 |
Mary Lou Soffa Mary Lou Ehnot Soffa is an American computer scientist noted for her research on compilers, program optimization, system software and system engineering. She is also noted for her leadership in broadening participation in computing. She is on the CRA-W Board and was co-Chair from 2000 to 2003. With Jan Cuny, she founded the CRA-W Graduate Cohort Program and the CRA-W Associate Professor Program. Soffa received a B.S. in Mathematics from University of Pittsburgh with honors magna cum laude and Phi Beta Kappa. She received an M.S. in Mathematics from Ohio State University and a Ph.D in Computer Science from the University of Pittsburgh. She then joined the Department of Computer Science at the University of Pittsburgh as an assistant professor in 1977. In 1983 she was promoted to associate professor and in 1990 to professor. She served as Dean of Graduate Studies of the College of Arts and Sciences from 1990 to 1995. In 2004 she was named chair of the Department of Computer Science at the University of Virginia, and the Owen R. Cheatham Professor of Sciences. She has directed 32 graduate students to completion, half of whom are women and two are minorities. She serves on ACM Council as member-at-large and on the ACM Publications Board. In 2012 she received the ACM-IEEE-CS Ken Kennedy Award at SC12, the international conference on high-performance computing. Her other notable awards include: | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki?curid=37669791 | 98,895 |
Air-Cobot The feature extraction using speeded up robust features (SURF) is also able to perform the inspection of certain elements having two possible states, such as pitot probes or static ports being covered or not covered. A pairing is performed between images of the element to be inspected in different states and that present on the scene. For these simple items to be inspected, an analysis during navigation is possible and preferable due to its time saving. After having positioned to perform a scan inspection, the pantograph elevates the 3D scanner at the fuselage. A pan-tilt unit moves the scan device to acquire the hull. By comparing the data acquired to the three-dimensional model of the aircraft, algorithms are able to diagnose any faults in the fuselage structure and provide information on their shape, size and depth. By moving the pan-tilt units of the laser range finders, it is also possible to obtain a point cloud in three dimensions. Technical readjustment between the model of the aircraft and the scene point cloud is already used in navigation to estimate the static placement of the robot. It is planned to make targeted acquisitions, simpler in terms of movement, to verify the absence of chocks in front of the landing gear wheels, or the proper closing of engine cowling latches. As the project name suggests, the mobile robot is a cobot – a collaborative robot | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki?curid=50692024 | 214,597 |
History of animation In 1879, Reynaud registered a modification to the praxinoscope patent to include the "Praxinoscope Théâtre", which utilized the Pepper's ghost effect to present the animated figures in an exchangeable background. Later improvements included the "Praxinoscope à projection" (marketed since 1882) which used a double magic lantern to project the animated figures over a still projection of a background. Eadweard Muybridge had circa 70 of his famous chronophotographic sequences painted on glass discs for the zoopraxiscope projector that he used in his popular lectures between 1880 and 1895. In the 1880s the images were painted onto the glass in dark contours. Later discs made between 1892 and 1894 had outlines drawn by Erwin F. Faber that were photographically printed on the disc and then coloured by hand, but these were probably never used in the lectures. The painted figures were largely transposed from the photographs, but many fanciful combinations were made and sometimes imaginary elements were added. Charles-Émile Reynaud further developed his projection praxinoscope into the Théâtre Optique with transparent hand-painted colorful pictures in a long perforated strip wound between two spools, patented in December 1888. From 28 October 1892 to March 1900 Reynaud gave over 12,800 shows to a total of over 500,000 visitors at the Musée Grévin in Paris. His "Pantomimes Lumineuses" series of animated films each contained 300 to 700 frames manipulated back and forth to last 10 to 15 minutes per film | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki?curid=323858 | 236,665 |
Aluminium oxides or aluminum oxides are a group of inorganic compounds with formulas including aluminium (Al) and oxygen (O). | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki?curid=23022534 | 19,347 |
E-government On the Federal Law "On providing state and municipal services" (2010), the strategy on development of Information Society in the Russian Federation, approved by the President (2008), the Federal target programme "Electronic Russia" (2002 – 2010 years), approved by the Government (2002), the State Programme "Information Society" (2010), the Procedure on development and approval of administrative regulations execution of public functions (public services), approved by the Government (2005), the concept of administrative reform in the Russian Federation in 2006 - 2010 respectively, approved by the Government (2005), on other orders, resolutions and acts in the Russian Federation was created electronic government (or e-government). The main target on creating e-government lies in the field of providing equal opportunities for all the Russians in spite of their living place and their incomes and make a more effective system of public administration. So e-government is created for reaching the useful system of public management accommodating the individual interests of every citizen by participation through ICTs in public policy-making. Nowadays Russian e-government includes such systems as: 1. The United interagency Interacting system using for providing of state and municipal services, exchange of information and data between participants of interagency interacting, quick approval of state and municipal decisions, etc. 2 | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki?curid=196649 | 235,050 |
Board on Science, Technology, and Economic Policy This diversification has been a key to STEP’s success and endurance, but the board is mindful that global competition and its effects on Americans’ employment and welfare remain the principal driver of its agenda. When, as now, public and political concern is ascendant, other institutions and others in the Academy are quickly drawn into this policy arena to compete for many of the same sources of financial support. Within the past 3 or 4 years alone nominally similar programs have been launched at the Council on Foreign Relations, Brookings Institution, Center for Strategic and International Studies, American Association for the Advancement of Science, and Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars and spun off from the Progressive Policy Institute. Since nearly all of STEP’s work is microeconomic, other ways to parse STEP’s portfolio are by industrial sector and by microeconomic policy. On the first dimension, STEP has focused intensively on semiconductors, software, computing (and its component technologies), and biotechnology and given considerable attention also to aviation, chemicals, pharmaceuticals, medical devices, telecommunications, metal fabrication, and finance. At the same time, STEP has done significant although by no means exhaustive work on the following microeconomic policies – tax, trade, standards, K-12 and graduate education, workforce training, intellectual property, economic statistics, and, of course, direct and indirect research and development support | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki?curid=12911652 | 184,550 |
Geysers on Mars Time-lapsed imagery performed by NASA confirms the apparent ejection of dark material following the radial growth of spider channels in the ice. Time-lapsed imaging of a single area of interest also shows that small dark spots generally indicate the position of spider features not yet visible; it also shows that spots expand significantly, including dark fans emanating from some of the spots, which increase in prominence and develop clear directionality indicative of wind action. Some branching ravines modify, some destroy and others create crust in a dynamic near-surface process that extensively reworks the terrain creating and destroying surface layers. Thus, Mars seems to have a dynamic process of recycling of its near surface crust of carbon dioxide. Growth process is rapid, happening in the space of a few days, weeks or months, a growth rate rather unusual in geology – especially for Mars. A number of geophysical models have been investigated to explain the various colors and shapes' development of these geysers on the southern polar ice cap of Mars. The strength of the eruptions is estimated to range from simple upsurges to high-pressure eruptions at speeds of or more, carrying dark basaltic sand and dust plumes high aloft. The current proposed models dealing with the possible forces powering the geyser-like system are discussed next. The surface atmospheric pressure on Mars varies annually around: 6.7–8.8 mbar and 7.5–9.7 mbar; daily around 6.4–6.8 mbar | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki?curid=18418502 | 140,063 |
IPAQ In June 2003, HP retired the h3xxx line of iPAQs and introduced the h1xxx line of iPAQs targeted at price conscious buyers, the h2xxx consumer line, and the h5xxx line, targeted at business customers. They were sold pre-installed with the Windows Mobile for Pocket PC 2003 Operating System. The h63xx series of iPAQs running the Phone Edition of Windows Mobile 2003, the hx47xx series and the rz17xx series, both running the Second Edition of Windows Mobile 2003 were introduced in August 2004. In August 2004, HP released the rz17xx and rx3xxx series of Mobile Media Companions. These devices were aimed at consumers, rather than the traditional corporate audience. Emphasis was placed on media features, like NEVO TV Remote and Mobile Media. They ran on Windows Mobile 2003SE. In February 2005, the iPAQ Mobile Messenger hw6500 series was introduced to selected media at the 3GSM conference in Cannes, France. It was replaced a year later by the hw6900 series, running on Windows Mobile 5. In 2007, the iPAQ rx4000 Mobile Media Companion PDA/media devices and rx5000 Travel Companion PDA/GPS devices were released. Both series of iPAQs work on the Windows Mobile 5 Operating System (WM5), as do the hx2000 and hw6900 series. The first HP Windows Mobile 6 device, the iPAQ 500 Series Voice Messenger, with the Windows Mobile 6 Standard Operating System (WM6), and numeric pad, was released in the same year | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki?curid=216454 | 246,690 |
Thor: Ragnarok is a 2017 American superhero film based on the Marvel Comics character Thor, produced by Marvel Studios and distributed by Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures. It is the sequel to "Thor" (2011) and "" (2013), and the 17th film in the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU). The film is directed by Taika Waititi from a screenplay by Eric Pearson and the writing team of Craig Kyle and Christopher Yost, and stars Chris Hemsworth as Thor alongside Tom Hiddleston, Cate Blanchett, Idris Elba, Jeff Goldblum, Tessa Thompson, Karl Urban, Mark Ruffalo, and Anthony Hopkins. In "Thor: Ragnarok", Thor must escape the alien planet Sakaar in time to save Asgard from Hela and the impending Ragnarök. A third "Thor" film was confirmed in January 2014, with Kyle and Yost beginning work on the screenplay. The involvement of Hemsworth and Hiddleston was announced that October. Waititi joined the film as director a year later, after "Thor: The Dark World" director Alan Taylor chose not to return. Ruffalo joined the cast reprising the role of Hulk from previous MCU films, which allowed elements of the 2006 comic storyline "Planet Hulk" to be adapted for "Ragnarok". The rest of the cast, including Blanchett as Hela, was confirmed in May 2016, with Pearson's involvement revealed at the start of filming that July. Principal photography took place in Brisbane and Sydney, Australia, with the film also having exclusive use of Village Roadshow Studios in Oxenford, concluding in October 2016 | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki?curid=41974555 | 283,271 |
Sputnik crisis The president made the argument that Sputnik was only a scientific achievement and not a military threat or change in world power. Eisenhower believed that Sputnik's weight "was not commensurate with anything of great military significance, and that was also a factor in putting it in [proper] perspective". In 1958, President Eisenhower declared three "stark facts" the United States needed to confront: The president followed this statement by saying that the United States needed to meet these challenges with "resourcefulness and vigor". Eisenhower's ability to project confidence about the situation was limited because his confidence was based on clandestine reconnaissance. As such, he failed to quell the fears that there was a shift in power between the Americans and Soviets. The perception of the Soviets as more modern than Americans was reinforced by Eisenhower's old-fashioned style. The launch of "Sputnik 1" also impacted Eisenhower's ratings in his polls, from which he eventually recovered. The media stirred a moral panic by writing sensational pieces on the event. In the first and second days following the event, "The New York Times" wrote that the launch of "Sputnik 1" was a major global propaganda and prestige triumph for Russian Communism. Not until after the people of the United States were exposed to a multitude of news reports did it become a "nation in shock". The media not only reported public concern, it also created the hysteria | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki?curid=203452 | 235,204 |
Metal The s-process stops at bismuth due to the short half-lives of the next two elements, polonium and astatine, which decay to bismuth or lead. The r-process is so fast it can skip this zone of instability and go on to create heavier elements such as thorium and uranium. Metals condense in planets as a result of stellar evolution and destruction processes. Stars lose much of their mass when it is ejected late in their lifetimes, and sometimes thereafter as a result of a neutron star merger, thereby increasing the abundance of elements heavier than helium in the interstellar medium. When gravitational attraction causes this matter to coalesce and collapse new stars and planets are formed. The Earth's crust is made of approximately 25% of metals by weight, of which 80% are light metals such as sodium, magnesium, and aluminium. Nonmetals (~75%) make up the rest of the crust. Despite the overall scarcity of some heavier metals such as copper, they can become concentrated in economically extractable quantities as a result of mountain building, erosion, or other geological processes. Metals are primarily found as lithophiles (rock-loving) or chalcophiles (ore-loving). Lithophile metals are mainly the s-block elements, the more reactive of the d-block elements. and the f-block elements. They have a strong affinity for oxygen and mostly exist as relatively low density silicate minerals. Chalcophile metals are mainly the less reactive d-block elements, and the period 4–6 p-block metals | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki?curid=19042 | 48,685 |
Computational anatomy In linear algebra the matrix groups (matrices with inverses) are the central structure, with group action defined by the usual definition of formula_27 as an formula_28 matrix, acting on formula_29 as formula_30 vectors; the orbit in linear-algebra is the set of formula_31-vectors given by formula_32, which is a group action of the matrices through the orbit of formula_33. The central group in computational anatomy defined on volumes in formula_1 are the diffeomorphisms formula_35 which are mappings with 3-components formula_36, law of composition of functions formula_37, with inverse formula_38. Most popular are scalar images, formula_39, with action on the right via the inverse. For sub-manifolds formula_22, parametrized by a chart or immersion formula_42, the diffeomorphic action the flow of the position Several group actions in computational anatomy have been defined. For the study of rigid body kinematics, the low-dimensional matrix Lie groups have been the central focus. The matrix groups are low-dimensional mappings, which are diffeomorphisms that provide one-to-one correspondences between coordinate systems, with a smooth inverse. The matrix group of rotations and scales can be generated via a closed form finite-dimensional matrices which are solution of simple ordinary differential equations with solutions given by the matrix exponential | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki?curid=48520204 | 328,513 |
Morse potential The Morse potential, named after physicist Philip M. Morse, is a convenient interatomic interaction model for the potential energy of a diatomic molecule. It is a better approximation for the vibrational structure of the molecule than the QHO (quantum harmonic oscillator) because it explicitly includes the effects of bond breaking, such as the existence of unbound states. It also accounts for the anharmonicity of real bonds and the non-zero transition probability for overtone and combination bands. The can also be used to model other interactions such as the interaction between an atom and a surface. Due to its simplicity (only three fitting parameters), it is not used in modern spectroscopy. However, its mathematical form inspired the MLR (Morse/Long-range) potential, which is the most popular potential energy function used for fitting spectroscopic data. The energy function is of the form Here formula_2 is the distance between the atoms, formula_3 is the equilibrium bond distance, formula_4 is the well depth (defined relative to the dissociated atoms), and formula_5 controls the 'width' of the potential (the smaller formula_5 is, the larger the well). The dissociation energy of the bond can be calculated by subtracting the zero point energy formula_7 from the depth of the well | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki?curid=762970 | 25,026 |
Postmodernism Generator The is a computer program that automatically produces "close imitations" of postmodernist writing. It was written in 1996 by Andrew C. Bulhak of Monash University using the Dada Engine, a system for generating random text from recursive grammars. A free version is also hosted online. The essays are produced from a formal grammar defined by a recursive transition network. Nassim Nicholas Taleb writes about "Monte Carlo generators" in his 2001 book "Fooled by Randomness" as a real instance of the reverse Turing test: a human can be declared unintelligent if his or her writing cannot be told apart from a generated one. It was mentioned by biologist Richard Dawkins in the conclusion to his article "Postmodernism Disrobed" (1998) for the scientific journal "Nature", reprinted in his book "A Devil's Chaplain" (2004). | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki?curid=17906130 | 117,834 |
Correspondence principle When the velocity vanishes, the energy expressed above is not zero, and represents the "rest" energy, When the body is in motion relative to the observer, the total energy exceeds the rest energy by an amount that is, by definition, the "kinetic" energy, Using the approximation we get, when speeds are much slower than that of light, or , which is the Newtonian expression for kinetic energy. | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki?curid=59863 | 433,170 |
Software rot Software rot, also known as bit rot, code rot, software erosion, software decay or software entropy is either a slow deterioration of software quality over time or its diminishing responsiveness that will eventually lead to software becoming faulty, unusable, or in need of upgrade. This is not a physical phenomenon: the software does not actually decay, but rather suffers from a lack of being responsive and updated with respect to the changing environment in which it resides. The "Jargon File", a compendium of hacker lore, defines "bit rot" as a jocular explanation for the degradation of a software program over time even if "nothing has changed"; the idea being this is almost as if the bits that make up the program were subject to radioactive decay. Several factors are responsible for software rot, including changes to the environment in which the software operates, degradation of compatibility between parts of the software itself, and the appearance of bugs in unused or rarely used code. When changes occur in the program's environment, particularly changes which the designer of the program did not anticipate, the software may no longer operate as originally intended. For example, many early computer game designers used the CPU clock speed as a timer in their games, but newer CPU clocks were faster, so the gameplay speed increased accordingly, making the games less usable over time. There are changes in the environment not related to the program's designer, but its users | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki?curid=1906495 | 422,408 |
HIV trial in Libya Omar Bagasra of Department of Biology, South Carolina Center for Biotechnology and Mohammad Alsayari of the South Carolina Center for Biotechnology The Case of the Libyan HIV-1 Outbreak Prof Omar Bagasra and his group discussed in detail the previous published reports and asked for examination of the CD4+ T lymphocytes of the infected children to exclude the possibility of their intentional infection with HIV. Their hypothesis is that the children were infected as part of an AIDS vaccine trial. 114 Nobel Laureates in the sciences co-signed an open letter to Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi calling for a fair trial. All of the defendants said they had been tortured. This was later confirmed by Saif al-Islam Gaddafi, son of the leader of Libya. He said that the confessions were extracted through torture with electric shocks and threats targeted at the medics' families, and confirmed that some of the children had been infected with HIV before the medics arrived in Libya. He said that the guilty verdict of the Libyan courts had been based on "conflicting reports", and said that Ashraf Ahmed al-Hadzhudzh has reportedly lost an eye, and one of his hands has been paralyzed. Snezhana Dimitrova declared that her hands were tied behind her back and she was hung from a door dislocating her shoulders, and that she was told to "confess or you will die here." Nasya Nenova testified that "We were alone there with those men who did everything they wanted to do." In May 2005 Human Rights Watch interviewed them in Jadida prison | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki?curid=1036546 | 461,394 |
Pro Tools In the same year, it was announced that Digidesign would have merged into the American multimedia company Avid, developer of the digital video editing platform Media Composer and one of Digidesign's major customers (25% of Sound Accelerator and Audiomedia cards produced was being bought by Avid). The operation was finalized in 1995. With a redesigned Disk I/O card, III was able to provide 16 tracks with a single NuBus card; the system could be expanded using TDM to up to three Disk I/O cards, achieving 48 tracks. To increase the processing power needed for a more extensive real-time audio processing, DSP Farm cards were introduced, each equipped with three Motorola 56001 chips running at 40 MHz; multiple DSP cards could be added for additional processing power (each card could handle the playback of 16 tracks). A dedicated SCSI card was still required to provide the required bandwidth to support multiple-card systems. With the launch of III, Digidesign launched the 888 interface, with eight channels of analog and digital I/O, and the cheaper 882 interface. The Session 8 system included a control surface with eight faders. A series of TDM plug-ins were bundled with the software, including dynamics processing, EQ, delay, modulation and reverb. In 1996, following Apple's decision to drop NuBus in favor of PCI bus, Digidesign added PCI support with the release of 3.21 | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki?curid=420787 | 204,623 |
Tungsten has also been used in Dense Inert Metal Explosives, which use it as dense powder to reduce collateral damage while increasing the lethality of explosives within a small radius. Tungsten(IV) sulfide is a high temperature lubricant and is a component of catalysts for hydrodesulfurization. MoS is more commonly used for such applications. oxides are used in ceramic glazes and calcium/magnesium tungstates are used widely in fluorescent lighting. Crystal tungstates are used as scintillation detectors in nuclear physics and nuclear medicine. Other salts that contain tungsten are used in the chemical and tanning industries. oxide (WO) is incorporated into selective catalytic reduction (SCR) catalysts found in coal-fired power plants. These catalysts convert nitrogen oxides (NO) to nitrogen (N) and water (HO) using ammonia (NH). The tungsten oxide helps with the physical strength of the catalyst and extends catalyst life. Applications requiring its high density include weights, counterweights, ballast keels for yachts, tail ballast for commercial aircraft, rotor weights for civil and military helicopters, and as ballast in race cars for NASCAR and Formula One. Depleted uranium is also used for these purposes, due to similarly high density. Seventy-five-kg blocks of tungsten were used as "cruise balance mass devices" on the entry vehicle portion of the 2012 Mars Science Laboratory spacecraft | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki?curid=30046 | 83,457 |
Space elevators in fiction This is a list of occurrences of space elevators in fiction. Some depictions were made before the space elevator concept became fully established. | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki?curid=3728892 | 233,593 |
Gene therapy This therapy also represents the beginning of cancer immunogene therapy, a treatment which proves to be effective due to the anti-tumor mechanism of IGF-I antisense, which is related to strong immune and apoptotic phenomena. In 1992 Claudio Bordignon, working at the Vita-Salute San Raffaele University, performed the first gene therapy procedure using hematopoietic stem cells as vectors to deliver genes intended to correct hereditary diseases. In 2002 this work led to the publication of the first successful gene therapy treatment for adenosine deaminase deficiency (ADA-SCID). The success of a multi-center trial for treating children with SCID (severe combined immune deficiency or "bubble boy" disease) from 2000 and 2002, was questioned when two of the ten children treated at the trial's Paris center developed a leukemia-like condition. Clinical trials were halted temporarily in 2002, but resumed after regulatory review of the protocol in the US, the United Kingdom, France, Italy, and Germany. In 1993 Andrew Gobea was born with SCID following prenatal genetic screening. Blood was removed from his mother's placenta and umbilical cord immediately after birth, to acquire stem cells. The allele that codes for adenosine deaminase (ADA) was obtained and inserted into a retrovirus. Retroviruses and stem cells were mixed, after which the viruses inserted the gene into the stem cell chromosomes. Stem cells containing the working ADA gene were injected into Andrew's blood | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki?curid=12891 | 259,554 |
Great Siege Monument The (), also known as the Monument to the Fallen of the Great Siege, is a monument commemorating the Great Siege of Malta located in Valletta, Malta. It consists of three bronze figures symbolizing Faith, Fortitude (or Valour), and Civilization, standing on top of a granite base. The monument is the work of the sculptor Antonio Sciortino, and it was inaugurated on 8 May 1927. The was sculpted by Antonio Sciortino in 1926, while he was in Rome. It was then cast in bronze using the lost-wax method, and the monument was inaugurated in Valletta on 8 May 1927. During the inauguration, Chief Justice Arturo Mercieca delivered his speech in Italian, while the priest, philosopher and poet Anastasio Cuschieri delivered a speech in Maltese, both in the presence of the British Lieutenant-Governor, Sir Thomas Alexander Vans Best. This illustrated the language question and the political tension of the time. The monument is located in Great Siege Square () along Valletta's main road, Republic Street () by the side of Saint John's Co-Cathedral. The monument originally faced Auberge d'Auvergne, which was replaced by the Courts of Justice building in the 1960s after the original building had been severely damaged in World War II. The appeared on three Maltese stamps issued in 1956, 1962 and 1972. It also featured on the 50 cents coin of the Maltese pound that was first minted in 1972 and was used for general circulation until it was replaced in 1986. The monument was restored between August and September 2010 | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki?curid=55700246 | 342,861 |
Mercury(I) chloride The overall coordination of each Hg atom is octahedral as, in addition to the two nearest neighbours, there are four other Cl atoms at 321 pm. Longer mercury polycations exist. Mercurous chloride forms by the reaction of elemental mercury and mercuric chloride: It can be prepared via metathesis reaction involving aqueous mercury(I) nitrate using various chloride sources including NaCl or HCl. Ammonia causes HgCl to disproportionate: Mercurous chloride is employed extensively in electrochemistry, taking advantage of the ease of its oxidation and reduction reactions. The calomel electrode is a reference electrode, especially in older publications. Over the past 50 years, it has been superseded by the silver/silver chloride (Ag/AgCl) electrode. Although the mercury electrodes have been widely abandoned due to the dangerous nature of mercury, many chemists believe they are still more accurate and are not dangerous as long as they are handled properly. The differences in experimental potentials vary little from literature values. Other electrodes can vary by 70 to 100 millivolts. Mercurous chloride decomposes into mercury(II) chloride and elemental mercury upon exposure to UV light. The formation of Hg can be used to calculate the number of photons in the light beam, by the technique of actinometry. By utilizing a light reaction in the presence of mercury(II) chloride and ammonium oxalate, mercury(I) chloride, ammonium chloride and carbon dioxide are produced. This particular reaction was discovered by J. M | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki?curid=1268216 | 248,991 |
Anatomical terms of neuroanatomy Specific terms are also used to describe the route of a nerve or nerve fibre: A chiasm () is used to describe different types of crossings of or within peripheral nerve fibres between the cerebral hemispheres. The major example in the human brain is the Optic chiasm. A decussation () refers to nerve fibers that cross the sagittal plane from one side of the central nervous system to the other, and connect "different" brain regions. There are two kinds: The first type is known also for invertebrates, whereas the second type only occurs in vertebrates. The second type is thought to be due to an axial twist. A commissure is a bilateral connection of axons connecting the left and right side of the same brain region. For example, nerve fibre tracts that cross between the two cerebral hemispheres, are the anterior commissure, posterior commissure, corpus callosum, hippocampal commissure, and habenular commissure. The spinal cord contains a commissure as well: the anterior white commissure. A ganglion can also have the form of crossing nerves, but a ganglion always contains synapses between neurons as well as their cell bodies. The other kinds of nerve crossings never contain synapses of cell bodies of neurons. The difference between a "chiasm" and a "decussation" is that the first refers to peripheral nerves whereas the latter refers to crossings inside central nervous system. A "commissure" connects the same brain region of each side whereas a "decussation" connects different brain regions | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki?curid=36771910 | 178,876 |
Workplace robotics safety is an aspect of occupational safety and health when robots are used in the workplace. This includes traditional industrial robots as well as emerging technologies such as drone aircraft and wearable robotic exoskeletons. Types of accidents include collisions, crushing, and injuries from mechanical parts. Hazard controls include physical barriers, good work practices, and proper maintenance. Many workplace robots are industrial robots used in manufacturing. According to the International Federation of Robotics, 1.7 million new robots are expected to be used in factories between 2017 and 2020. Emerging robot technologies include collaborative robots, personal care robots, construction robots, exoskeletons, autonomous vehicles, such as Google’s self-driving car project, and drone aircraft (also known as unmanned aerial vehicles or UAVs). Advances in automation technologies (e.g. fixed robots, collaborative and mobile robots, and exoskeletons) have the potential to improve work conditions but also to introduce workplace hazards in manufacturing workplaces.[1] Fifty-six percent of robot injuries are classified as pinch injuries and 44% of injuries are classified as impact injuries. A 1987 study found that line workers are at the greatest risk, followed by maintenance workers, and programmers. Poor workplace design and human error caused most injuries | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki?curid=56830451 | 129,808 |
World Is Not Enough (spacecraft propulsion) Later in 2016, the team experimented with several mining mechanisms that were adapted to the smaller size of a WINE spacecraft. The mining tests extracted water from lunar regolith simulant that contained ice. The tests also extracted water from asteroid regolith simulant that was physically dry (containing no water or ice), because it released the water that had been locked inside the crystalline structure of its phyllosilicate minerals. Phyllosilicates are abundant in carbonaceous asteroids. This extracted asteroidal water was found to contain large amounts of dissolved carbon dioxide, metals, and organic matter due to the bulk composition of the simulated asteroid, but the team did not consider this a hindrance to steam propulsion. Based on the results, they selected the PVEX corer for additional development in an integrated WINE prototype. The team successfully tested the integrated prototype on 31 December 2018 under simulated outer space conditions of vacuum and low temperature while harvesting frozen water from simulated asteroid regolith. Within minutes, the microwave-sized spacecraft extracted the water from hydrated artificial regolith and took off within the vacuum chamber using steam thrusters. The system components are expected to reach technology readiness level 5 (TRL 5) in 2019 | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki?curid=59645341 | 255,798 |
Turner Historic District The encompasses the 19th-century core of the small community of Cypert in rural Phillips County, Arkansas. Located at the junction of Arkansas Highway 318 and County Road 606, south-southwest of Marvell, the district includes a store and house, both built and operated by members of the Turner family, who were among the first to settle the area. The John L. Turner House, built in 1896, is unusual as a relatively high-style Queen Anne Victorian for such a remote rural area. The N. B. Turner & Son Store, built in 1892, is wood-frame structure with Folk Victorian styling. Both properties continue to be owned by members of the Turner family. The district was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2006. | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki?curid=44388160 | 360,759 |
Prokaryote Therefore, prokaryotes have a larger surface-area-to-volume ratio, giving them a higher metabolic rate, a higher growth rate, and as a consequence, a shorter generation time than eukaryotes. There is increasing evidence that the roots of the eukaryotes are to be found in (or at least next by) the archaean asgard group, perhaps Heimdallarchaeota (an idea which is a modern version of the 1984 eocyte hypothesis, "eocytes" being an old synonym for "crenarchaeota", a taxon to be found nearby the then unknown asgard group) For example, histones usually packaging DNA in eukarotic nuclei, have also been found in several archaean groups, giving evidence for homology. This idea might clarify the mysterious predecessor of eukaryotic cells (eucytes) which engulfed an alphaproteobacterium forming the first eucyte (LECA, last eukaryotic common ancestor) according to endosymbiotic theory. There might have been some additional support by viruses, called viral eukaryogenesis. The non-bacterial group comprising archaea and eukaryota has been called Neomura by Thomas Cavalier-Smith in 2002. However, in a cladistic view eukaryota "are" archaea in the same sense as birds "are" dinosaurs because they evolved from the maniraptora dinosaur group. In contrast, archaea "without" eukaryota appear to be a paraphyletic group, just like dinosaurs without birds | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki?curid=19172225 | 140,580 |
Ayodele Awojobi Ayodele Oluwatuminu Awojobi (12 March 1937 – 23 September 1984), also known by the nicknames "Dead Easy", "The Akoka Giant", and "Macbeth", was a Nigerian academic, author, inventor, social crusader and activist. He was considered a scholarly genius by his teachers and peers alike. He quickly advanced in his field to become the youngest professor in mechanical engineering at the University of Lagos, Nigeria in 1974. Earlier the same year, he became the first African to be awarded the degree of Doctor of Science (DSc) in mechanical engineering at the then Imperial College of Science and Technology, London (now Imperial College London) – a degree only exceptionally and rarely awarded to a scholar under the age of 40. His research papers, particularly in the field of vibration, are still cited by international research fellows in Engineering as lately as the year 2011, and are archived by such publishers as the Royal Society. Born in Oshodi, Lagos State, Awojobi's father, Chief Daniel Adekoya Awojobi, was a stationmaster at the Nigerian Railway Corporation who hailed from Ikorodu in Lagos State. His mother, Comfort Bamidele Awojobi (née Adetunji), was a petty trader who hailed from Modakeke, Ile-Ife, Osun State. Between 1942 and 1947, he attended St. Peter's Primary School, Faji, Lagos. It was while at his secondary school, the CMS Grammar School, Lagos, that his academic traits began to manifest | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki?curid=25092574 | 423,513 |
Computer security The LSG oversees policy-making in the economic, political, cultural, social and military fields as they relate to network security and IT strategy. This LSG also coordinates major policy initiatives in the international arena that promote norms and standards favored by the Chinese government and that emphasize the principle of national sovereignty in cyberspace. Berlin starts National Cyber Defense Initiative: On 16 June 2011, the German Minister for Home Affairs, officially opened the new German NCAZ (National Center for Cyber Defense) Nationales Cyber-Abwehrzentrum located in Bonn. The NCAZ closely cooperates with BSI (Federal Office for Information Security) Bundesamt für Sicherheit in der Informationstechnik, BKA (Federal Police Organisation) Bundeskriminalamt (Deutschland), BND (Federal Intelligence Service) Bundesnachrichtendienst, MAD (Military Intelligence Service) Amt für den Militärischen Abschirmdienst and other national organizations in Germany taking care of national security aspects. According to the Minister the primary task of the new organization founded on 23 February 2011, is to detect and prevent attacks against the national infrastructure and mentioned incidents like Stuxnet. Germany has also established the largest research institution for IT security in Europe, the Center for Research in Security and Privacy (CRISP) in Darmstadt. Some provisions for cybersecurity have been incorporated into rules framed under the Information Technology Act 2000 | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki?curid=7398 | 135,156 |
Open shop Although the National Labor Relations Act permits construction employers to enter into pre-hire agreements, in which they agree to draw their workforces from a pool of employees dispatched by the union, employers are under no legal compulsion to enter into such agreements. Non-union construction employers have also adopted the phrase "merit shop" to describe their operations. In many connotations, the terms are interchangeable, however it may be used differently by different sides of the open shop issue. The open shop is also the legal norm in those states that have adopted right-to-work laws. In those cases, employers are barred from enforcing union security arrangements and may not fire an employee for failure to pay union dues. In various Canadian provinces, certain 'open shop' organizations have formed. Many of these organizations claim that small contractors are not adequately protected by current labour legislation. As labour law is a provincial jurisdiction in Canada, the laws vary from province to province. However, there is some common ground. Despite opposition from open shop contractors, in Ontario, the Liberal government recently reinstituted the card-based certification system that was in place for most of the post-World War II period. Card-based certification was reinstated only for the construction industry. It allows workers to certify an exclusive bargaining agent on the basis of membership, sometimes known as "majority sign-up | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki?curid=1149606 | 461,868 |
Immortalised cell line An immortalised cell line is a population of cells from a multicellular organism which would normally not proliferate indefinitely but, due to mutation, have evaded normal cellular senescence and instead can keep undergoing division. The cells can therefore be grown for prolonged periods "in vitro". The mutations required for immortality can occur naturally or be intentionally induced for experimental purposes. Immortal cell lines are a very important tool for research into the biochemistry and cell biology of multicellular organisms. Immortalised cell lines have also found uses in biotechnology. An immortalised cell line should not be confused with stem cells, which can also divide indefinitely, but form a normal part of the development of a multicellular organism. There are various immortal cell lines. Some of them are normal cell lines (e.g. derived from stem cells). Other immortalised cell lines are the "in vitro" equivalent of cancerous cells. Cancer occurs when a somatic cell which normally cannot divide undergoes mutations which cause de-regulation of the normal cell cycle controls leading to uncontrolled proliferation. Immortalised cell lines have undergone similar mutations allowing a cell type which would normally not be able to divide to be proliferated "in vitro". The origins of some immortal cell lines, for example HeLa human cells, are from naturally occurring cancers | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki?curid=31100446 | 166,279 |
Regius Professor of Engineering (Edinburgh) While this Chair of Technology was abolished on Wilson's death in 1859, the growing importance of engineering studies at the University of Edinburgh was recognised by the founding of the Regius Chair of Engineering by Queen Victoria in1868 within the university's Faculty of Arts. The new chair was endowed by Sir David Baxter, of Dundee, and supplemented by annual funds from the UK parliament. Henry Charles Fleeming Jenkin was appointed from the Chair of Engineering at University College, London, to be its first incumbent. Fleeming (pronounced as "Fleming", so we are informed by his one-time student Robert Louis Stevenson, who wrote an affectionate memoir of him) Jenkin brought to the Regius Chair a notable combination of scientific knowledge, practical experience and business acumen. His reputation rested principally on his work on long-distance undersea telegraphy, and as a member of the committee which drew up the proposals for methods of electrical measurement, subsequently ratified as international electrical standards. In 1885 George Armstrong, a specialist in railway engineering, became the second Regius Professor, following his move from Yorkshire. Under his supervision, the Fulton Engineering Laboratory was established in 1889, "to provide systematic instruction on experimental methods ... and to familiarise students with the strength and other physical properties of the chief materials used by engineers | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki?curid=41116100 | 224,473 |
Charles Meneveau Meneveau, “Linear forcing in numerical simulations of isotropic turbulence: physical space implementations and convergence properties” (2005), Phys. Fluids, 17, 095106. E. Bou-Zeid, C. Meneveau & M.B. Parlange, “A scale-dependent Lagrangian dynamic model for large eddy simulation of complex turbulent flows” (2005), Phys. Fluids 17, 025105. Charlette, C. Meneveau, and D. Veynante, “A power-law flame wrinkling model for LES of premixed turbulent combustion. Part I: Non-dynamic formulation and initial tests” (2002), Comb. & Flame 131, p. 159-180. F. van der Bos, B. Tao, C. Meneveau and J. Katz, “Effects of small-scale turbulent motions on the filtered velocity gradient tensor as deduced from holographic PIV measurements” (2002), Phys. Fluids, 14, p. 2456-2474. B. Tao, J. Katz & C. Meneveau, “Statistical geometry of subgrid-scale stresses determined from holographic particle image velocimetry measurements” (2002), J. Fluid Mech., 467, p. 35-78. Jiang, T.R. Osborn & C. Meneveau, “The flow field around a freely swimming copepod in steady motion: Part I, theoretical analysis” (2002), J. Plankton Res. 24, p. 167-189. C. Meneveau & J. Katz, “Scale-invariance and turbulence models for large-eddy simulation” (2000), Annu. Rev. Fluid Mech. 32, 1-32. S. Cerutti, C. Meneveau & O.M. Knio, “Spectral and hyper eddy-viscosity in high Reynolds number turbulence” (2000), J. Fluid Mech. 421, 307-338. F. Porté-Agel, C. Meneveau & M.B | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki?curid=56495502 | 349,700 |
Comparison of stylesheet languages The original idea for XSL was to create an XML-based styling language directed toward paged display media. The mechanism they used to accomplish this task was to divide the process into two distinct steps. First, the XML document would be transformed into an intermediate form. The process for performing this transformation would be governed by the XSL stylesheet, as defined by the XSL specification. The result of this transformation would be an XML document in an intermediate language, known as XSL-FO (also defined by the XSL specification). However, in the process of designing the transformation step, it was realized that a generic XML transformation language would be useful for more than merely creating a presentation of an XML document. As such, a new working group was split off from the XSL working group, and the XSL Transformations (XSLT) language became something that was considered separate from the styling information of the XSL-FO document. Even that split was expanded when XPath became its own separate specification, though still strongly tied to XSLT. The combination of XSLT and XSL-FO creates a powerful styling language, though much more complex than CSS. XSLT is a Turing complete language, while CSS is not; this demonstrates a degree of power and flexibility not found in CSS. Additionally, XSLT is capable of creating content, such as automatically creating a table of contents just from chapters in a book, or removing/selecting content, such as "only" generating a glossary from a book | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki?curid=4295428 | 121,583 |
Tractor An implement generally would be mounted at the beginning of its season of use (such as tillage, planting or harvesting) and removed only when the likely use season had ended. The drawbar system was virtually the exclusive method of attaching implements (other than direct attachment to the tractor) before Harry Ferguson developed the three-point hitch. Equipment attached to the three-point hitch can be raised or lowered hydraulically with a control lever. The equipment attached to the three-point hitch is usually completely supported by the tractor. Another way to attach an implement is via a quick hitch, which is attached to the three-point hitch. This enables a single person to attach an implement quicker and put the person in less danger when attaching the implement. The three-point hitch revolutionized farm tractors and their implements. While the Ferguson system was still under patent, other manufacturers developed new hitching systems to try to fend off some of Ferguson's competitive advantage. For example, International Harvester's Farmall tractors gained a two-point "Fast Hitch", and John Deere had a power lift that was similar to, but not as flexible as, the Ferguson invention. Once the patent protection expired on the three-point hitch, it became an industry standard. Almost every tractor today features Ferguson's three-point linkage or a derivative of it | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki?curid=152692 | 434,087 |
Multi-master bus A multi-master bus is a computer bus in which there are multiple bus master nodes present on the bus. This is used when multiple nodes on the bus must initiate transfer. For example, direct memory access (DMA) is used to transfer data between peripherals and memory without the need to use the central processing unit (CPU). Some buses like I²C use multi-mastering inherently to allow any node to initiate a transfer with another node. | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki?curid=8477058 | 103,760 |
AdvertCity All megacorporations are also described with text that is procedurally generated and updated during gameplay as their situation changes; this describes their standing in the city, their relationships with other megacorps, their financial status and their sentiments towards the player. AdvertCity's official soundtrack is a full-length score, unusual in that it is presented in two "sides", one for meatspace and one for cyberspace, with each track on each side having a beatmatched equivalent on the other; when the player switches between meatspace and cyberspace, the music smoothly crossfades between the two soundtracks. A bespoke sound engine was developed for this purpose, with EBU R128 2011 support and HDR capability. The game is available on Windows, Linux and OS X. From its initial alpha launch, drew comment widely about its stark and "hyper-stylized" aesthetic. Critics frequently praised the dark neo-noir cyberpunk aesthetic of the game, as well as its tone, and referred to the vision of cyberspace as Gibson-inspired. Stylistically, reviewers appreciated the dystopian bleakness of the vision of the future in the game, mentioning that your adverts are the only splashes of colour on the cold and uniform city, and the surreal building-linked conception of cyberspace. Reviewers also praised the dark and cynical sense of humour throughout the game. Reviewers also expressed interest in the Oculus Rift support which was included in the game from the alpha stage | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki?curid=47155408 | 468,150 |
Twin paradox This is shown in the figures by red light paths. At some point, the images received by each twin change so that each would see 3 seconds pass in the image for every second of his own time. That is, the received signal has been increased in frequency by the Doppler shift. These high frequency images are shown in the figures by blue light paths. The asymmetry between the Earth and the space ship is manifested in this diagram by the fact that more blue-shifted (fast aging) images are received by the ship. Put another way, the space ship sees the image change from a red-shift (slower aging of the image) to a blue-shift (faster aging of the image) at the midpoint of its trip (at the turnaround, 5 years after departure); the Earth sees the image of the ship change from red-shift to blue shift after 9 years (almost at the end of the period that the ship is absent). In the next section, one will see another asymmetry in the images: the Earth twin sees the ship twin age by the same amount in the red and blue shifted images; the ship twin sees the Earth twin age by different amounts in the red and blue shifted images. The twin on the ship sees low frequency (red) images for 3 years. During that time, he would see the Earth twin in the image grow older by . He then sees high frequency (blue) images during the back trip of 3 years | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki?curid=31429 | 302,616 |
National Ambient Air Quality Standards They are designed to address visibility, damage to crops, vegetation, buildings, and animals. The EPA established the NAAQS according to Sections 108 and 109 of the U.S. Clean Air Act, which was last amended in 1990. These sections require the EPA "(1) to list widespread air pollutants that reasonably may be expected to endanger public health or welfare; (2) to issue air quality criteria for them that assess the latest available scientific information on nature and effects of ambient exposure to them; (3) to set primary NAAQS to protect human health with adequate margin of safety and to set secondary NAAQS to protect against welfare effects (e.g., effects on vegetation, ecosystems, visibility, climate, manmade materials, etc); and (5) to periodically review and revise, as appropriate, the criteria and NAAQS for a given listed pollutant or class of pollutants." The standards are listed in . Primary standards are designed to protect human health, with an adequate margin of safety, including sensitive populations such as children, the elderly, and individuals suffering from respiratory diseases. Secondary standards are designed to protect public welfare, damage to property, transportation hazards, economic values, and personal comfort and well-being from any known or anticipated adverse effects of a pollutant. A district meeting a given standard is known as an "attainment area" for that standard, and otherwise a "non-attainment area" | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki?curid=1621705 | 98,171 |
John Vernon Bartlett The machine uses pressurised bentonite slurry in a sealed bulkhead behind the cutting face to balance the water pressure in the ground and stabilises the tunnel while supporting rings are installed. The excavated soil is then separated from the slurry, which is recirculated to the cutting face. Bartlett's Bentonite tunnelling machine became the prototype for a whole new class of slurry tunnelling machines and by the end of the 1970s more than 1000 had been used worldwide. Lord Mair, when President of the Institution of Civil Engineers, said: "There can be no doubt that a major revolution in the worldwide tunneling industry was triggered by John Bartlett’s invention of the Bentonite Tunnelling Machine. It has enabled a rapid increase in tunnel construction around the world, particularly in urban areas, for water supply, sanitation, and transport – with remarkable benefit to humanity." The Sir Frank Whittle Medal is awarded to an engineer whose sustained achievements have had a profound impact upon their engineering discipline. Academy president Professor Dame Ann Dowling presented the award at the Royal Academy of Engineering's AGM in London to Bartlett on 18 September 2018. On receiving the award, John Bartlett said: "Civil Engineering today is a team game. I hope members of my team will enjoy sharing the recognition given by this award. Many thanks to those who put me forward." Bartlett also has a passion for ships | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki?curid=29769260 | 353,601 |
Mystery shopping " The UK government's Crown Commercial Service operated a Mystery Shopper scheme from February 2011 to November 2018, whose remit was to provide a route for suppliers to raise concerns about public procurement practice in England. The service was re-branded as the "Public Procurement Review Service" in November 2018 responding to feedback from suppliers and public bodies that the "mystery shopper" title did not properly reflect the role of the service. Additionally, since 2010, mystery shopping has become abundant in the medical tourism industry, with healthcare providers and medical facilities using the tool to assess and improve the customer service experience. In the UK, mystery shopping is increasingly used to provide feedback on customer services provided by local authorities, and other non-profit organizations such as housing associations and even churches. | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki?curid=2354987 | 478,783 |
Globe valve Globe valves may have a screw-in, union, or bolted bonnet. Screw-in bonnet is the simplest bonnet, offering a durable, pressure-tight seal. Union bonnet is suitable for applications requiring frequent inspection or cleaning. It also gives the body added strength. A bonnet attached with bolts is used for larger or higher pressure applications. The bonnet also contains the packing, a wearable material that maintains the seal between the bonnet and the stem during valves. The closure member of the valve, plugs are connected to the stem which is slid or screwed up or down to throttle the flow. Plugs are typically of the balance or unbalanced type. Unbalanced plugs are solid and are used with smaller valves or with low pressure drops across the valve. The advantages are simpler design, with one possible leak path at the seat and usually lower cost. The disadvantages are the limited size; with a large unbalanced plug the forces needed to seat and hold the flow often becomes impractical. Balanced plugs have holes through the plug. Advantages include easier shut off as the plug does not have to overcome static forces. However, a second leak path is created between the plug and the cage, and cost is generally higher. The stem serves as a connector from the actuator to the inside of the valve and transmits this actuation force. Stems are either smooth for actuator controlled valves or threaded for manual valves. The smooth stems are surrounded by packing material to prevent leaking material from the valve | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki?curid=1641770 | 437,521 |
Stopping and Range of Ions in Matter As the output, it lists or plots the three-dimensional distribution of the ions in the solid and its parameters, such as penetration depth, its spread along the ion beam (called straggle) and perpendicular to it, all target atom cascades in the target are followed in detail; concentration of vacancies, sputtering rate, ionization, and phonon production in the target material; energy partitioning between the nuclear and electron losses, energy deposition rate; The programs are made so they can be interrupted at any time, and then resumed later. They have an easy-to-use user interface and built-in default parameters for all ions and materials. Another part of the software allows calculating the electronic stopping power of any ion in any material (including gaseous targets) based on an averaging parametrization of a vast range of experimental data. Those features made SRIM immensely popular. However, it doesn't take account of the crystal structure nor dynamic composition changes in the material that severely limits its usefulness in some cases. Other approximations of the program include binary collision (i.e. the influence of neighboring atoms is neglected); the material is fully amorphous, i.e | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki?curid=23080387 | 341,765 |
Lò trấu The lò trấu ("rice husk stove") is a type of versatile fuel burning cook stove used in Vietnam since the 1950s. "Lò trấu" comes from lò (stove) and trấu (rice husk). A kitchen with this kind of stove is a bếp trấu, "husk kitchen." The timeline of the development of the lò trấu is unclear, however, it is known that the Lo Trau has been in use in Vietnam at least since the 1950s. The fixed version Lo Trau stove is thought to be strongly related to the "Castrol stove" design of the architect François de Cuvilliés in 1735 and similar European designs in the 1830s, with flue pipes connected to the chimney, oven holes into which concentric iron rings on which the pots were placed. Depending on the size of the pot or the heat needed, one could remove the inner rings. A recent innovation is the portable Lo Trau. Its compact design and efficient operation has been the target of a number of studies. Recently it has been distributed in the Negros area of the Philippines in The Southern Negros Sustainable Agriculture Demonstration Projects in the 1990s. This relatively late uptake of apparently long-used innovation means the potential of rice husk as fuel has been overlooked by many for a long time, as well as the obscurity of the Lo Trau designs to the wider world. The stove is started by burning easily ignited material such as bundle of coconut leaves, newspaper partially embedded in the rice husks or other fuels in the combustion chamber area | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki?curid=17603472 | 298,218 |
Bathurst Decauville Tramway The was a long narrow-gauge railway with a gauge of . It was hand-operated from 1907 to the mid 1950s in Bathurst, British Gambia (since 1973 Banjul, capital of the West African state of Gambia). The merchants of Bathurst wanted to install a Decauville tram system on the main streets of the city in collaboration with the colonial administration. The merchants wanted to transport goods faster and easier, and the colonial administration hoped to regulate the flow of traffic throughout the city by restricting it to officially approved tram lines. The first tram tracks were laid in 1907 on Wellington Street, which ran along the coast and housed the department stores. The merchants and the colonial administration agreed in December 1907 to share the costs 50/50. In 1908, however, the merchants decided to withdraw from the partial financing of tram maintenance and proposed that the Colonial Administration pay for maintenance by taxing its use, which the Colonial Administration did by issuing the 1908 Tram Regulations. Initially, it was estimated that £900 would be needed to lay the tracks and then £70 per year to maintain them, but after a year of laying the tracks the administration requested a further £1200. Without the capital that the merchants had originally promised it was not possible to raise enough money for the tram, so construction slowed down. In the absence of funds, the engineers tried to save costs by laying the rails on the road surface instead of placing them in concrete | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki?curid=61258851 | 315,667 |
Angle of repose The larvae of the antlions and the unrelated wormlions Vermileonidae trap small insects such as ants by digging conical pits in loose sand, such that the slope of the walls is effectively at the critical angle of repose for the sand. They achieve this by flinging the loose sand out of the pit and permitting the sand to settle at its critical angle of repose as it falls back. Thus, when a small insect, commonly an ant, blunders into the pit, its weight causes the sand to collapse below it, drawing the victim toward the center where the predator that dug the pit lies in wait under a thin layer of loose sand. The larva assists this process by vigorously flicking sand out from the center of the pit when it detects a disturbance. This undermines the pit walls and causes them to collapse toward the center. The sand that the larva flings also pelts the prey with so much loose, rolling material as to prevent it from getting any foothold on the easier slopes that the initial collapse of the slope has presented. The combined effect is to bring the prey down to within grasp of the larva, which then can inject venom and digestive fluids. The angle of repose plays a part in several topics of technology and science, including: | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki?curid=518397 | 195,256 |
Old Tolbooth, Edinburgh The Old Tolbooth was an important municipal building in the city of Edinburgh, Scotland for more than 400 years. The medieval structure, which was located at the northwest corner of St Giles' Cathedral and was attached to the west end of the Luckenbooths on the High Street in the Old Town, was first established in the 14th century by royal charter. Over the years it served a variety of purposes such as housing the Burgh Council, early meetings of the Parliament of Scotland and the Court of Session. The Tolbooth was also the burgh's main jail where, in addition to incarceration, physical punishment and torture were routinely conducted. From 1785 public executions were carried out. In 1817 the buildings, which had been rebuilt and renovated several times, were demolished. A deed in the chartulary of St Giles' Cathedral indicates there was already a pretorium (an earlier Latin term for a tolbooth) in Edinburgh as early as 1368. Following the burnings of Edinburgh by Edward II of England in 1323 and his son, Edward III, in 1335 during the Wars of Scottish Independence and again in 1385 when Richard II of England burned the town, major rebuilding and improvements were required. In 1386, Robert II granted Edinburgh a charter which gave the burgh an area of land by in the market place with licence to develop the site for the ornament and use of the city | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki?curid=30781201 | 352,449 |
Bond hardening While the stretched pulses are also chirped, it is not the chirp but the pulse duration that matters in this experiment, as corroborated by the symmetry of the map in respect to the zero position line. The pulse energy is kept constant, therefore the shortest pulses are also most intense producing most ions at the zero position. The proton TOF spectra allow one to measure the kinetic energy release (KER) in the dissociation process. Protons ejected towards the detector have shorter TOFs than protons ejected away from the detector because the latter have to be turned back by an external electric field applied to the interaction region. This forward-backward symmetry is reflected in the symmetry of the proton map in respect to zero KER (1.27 µs TOF). The most energetic protons come from the Coulomb explosion of the molecule, where laser field completely strips H from electrons and the two bare protons repel each other with strong Coulombic force, unimpeded by any chemical bond. The stripping process it not instantaneous but occurs in a stepwise fashion, on the rising edge of the laser pulse. The shorter the laser pulse, the quicker the stripping process and there is less time for the molecule to dissociate before the Coulomb force attains its full strength. Therefore, the KER is highest for the shortest pulses, as demonstrated by the outer curving "lobes" in Fig. 2 | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki?curid=40748127 | 28,533 |
Ceramic engineering Cemented (metal-bonded) carbide edges greatly increase the durability of hardened steel cutting tools. W.H. Nernst developed cubic-stabilized zirconia in the 1920s in Berlin. This material is used as an oxygen sensor in exhaust systems. The main limitation on the use of ceramics in engineering is brittleness. The military requirements of World War II encouraged developments, which created a need for high-performance materials and helped speed the development of ceramic science and engineering. Throughout the 1960s and 1970s, new types of ceramics were developed in response to advances in atomic energy, electronics, communications, and space travel. The discovery of ceramic superconductors in 1986 has spurred intense research to develop superconducting ceramic parts for electronic devices, electric motors, and transportation equipment. There is an increasing need in the military sector for high-strength, robust materials which have the capability to transmit light around the visible (0.4–0.7 micrometers) and mid-infrared (1–5 micrometers) regions of the spectrum. These materials are needed for applications requiring transparent armour. Transparent armour is a material or system of materials designed to be optically transparent, yet protect from fragmentation or ballistic impacts. The primary requirement for a transparent armour system is to not only defeat the designated threat but also provide a multi-hit capability with minimized distortion of surrounding areas | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki?curid=4480666 | 57,566 |
Employee relationship management (ERM) is considered to be a specific field of Human Resource Management. ERM is the process of adopting controlling methods and practices to regulate employee relations. One of the main goals associated with employee relationship management focuses on establishing and retaining productive relationships of employees within a company. A big component of ERM is effective organizational communication. This leads to the build of employee confidence, trust and loyalty. By effectively managing relationships, a company can determine whether or not a companies objectives are being met. has focused on enabling employees to collaborate on typical managerial tasks with their employers. By engaging inputs from both sides of the employment relationship, ERM platforms aim to align the interests of both parties, worker and employer, and inform day-to-day business functions under a streamlined workflow. In analyzing the concept of Employee Relationship Management, it is imperative that one understands the multiple components and functions of ERM to build strong employee-company relationships. These components and functions may include, but are not limited to: After considering these components and functions that are essential to comprehending ERM, one must look at this concept in relation to the employee life cycle. Strong employer-employee relations begin with the marketing of jobs to candidates and the way in which a company discusses what it is like to work for the company | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki?curid=34208511 | 467,304 |
Comparison of high-definition optical disc formats stated that it would support the Blu-ray format exclusively beginning on 1 June 2008, which, along with the demise of HD DVD the following month, ended development of hybrid discs permanently. The primary copy protection system used on both formats is the Advanced Access Content System (AACS). Other copy protection systems include: The Blu-ray specification and all currently available players support region coding. As of July 2008 about 66.7% of Blu-ray Disc titles are region-free and 33.3% use region codes. The HD DVD specification had no region coding, so a HD DVD from anywhere in the world will work in any player. The DVD Forum's steering committee discussed a request from Disney to add it, but many of the 20 companies on the committee actively opposed it. Some film titles that were exclusive to Blu-ray in the United States such as Sony's "xXx", Fox's "" and "The Prestige", were released on HD DVD in other countries due to different distribution agreements; for example, "The Prestige" was released outside the U.S. by once format-neutral studio Warner Bros. Pictures. Since HD DVDs had no region coding, there are no restrictions playing foreign-bought HD DVDs in an HD DVD player. | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki?curid=8725303 | 287,793 |
Kerak Castle When Saladin's brother, al-'Aldil was awarded control of the castle, he made it the site of one of his treasuries. Kerak would continue to serve as the home of a royal treasury for the remainder of the Ayyubid Dynasty. During some internal conflict by members of the Ayyubid Dynasty in the 1230s and 40s, Kerak was one of the three princedoms that was able to remain independent. The castle was retaken by the Egyptian Sultan al- Salih Ayyub in 1249. Kerak was so important to the Ayyubids that it is recorded that only the governors of Kerak and Damascus were allowed to carry their official correspondences on red paper. By 1263, Kerak was under the rule of the Mamluk Sultan Baybars. Under the Mamluks, Kerak continued to remain an important administrative centre. Ibn 'Abd al-Zahir stated that the castle held four ministries: the ministry of the army, the ministry of finance, the ministry of Kerak and the chancery. Due to the castle's importance, it also maintained a significant military force, which under the rule of al-Mughith, contained at least 700 horsemen. was besieged again in 1834 by a rebel leader of the peasants' revolt in Palestine. In 1840, Ibrahim Pasha of Egypt captured the castle and destroyed much of its fortifications. In 1844, his troops, who did not have control over the surrounding countryside, came under siege. They were eventually starved out and many were killed | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki?curid=4452511 | 357,290 |
Ryan Ranch The is a ranch on the east bank of the North Platte River in Carbon County, Wyoming, about south of Saratoga. One of the oldest ranches in the Platte Valley of central Wyoming, it was founded by Barton T. Ryan in 1874 and expanded by his son Cecil A. Ryan. The ranch headquarters comprises 17 structures arranged around a barnyard. The oldest structure is the 1875 homestead. Other buildings include sheds, shops, guest cabins, barns, trailers and a privy. Barton T. Ryan was born in Brookville, Indiana on July 29, 1838 and grew up in Burlington, Iowa. After Army service during the American Civil War he organized a cavalry unit in which he served for three years and eventually commanded. As part of his cavalry service he came under the command of General Alfred Sully in operations against the Sioux. After leaving the Army he operated a sawmill at Fort Reno. After Fort Reno was abandoned in 1868 Ryan moved the equipment to Fort Steele on the North Platte. In 1870 Ryan returned to Burlington to marry Mary Law Ridding. They returned to Fort Steele the same year and by 1874 had established a homestead at the ranch site. Ryan went into partnership with John W. Hugus and developed a herd of as many as 7000 cattle. He also continued to operate sawmills. In politics he was Carbon County Attorney in 1872, County Assessor in 1874 and County Commissioner in 1878. He was a member of the Rawlins and Saratoga Masonic lodges. The was placed on the National Register of Historic Places on March 29, 1978 | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki?curid=52550991 | 336,277 |
Pseudophysics is a pseudoscientific practice using the language of physics or discussing issues related to or pertinent to physics to promote ideas which are either incoherent or contradictory to known physics (experimental phenomenology). According to physicists, skeptics, and science writers, pseudophysics tends to be promoted by so-called "cranks", whose ideas lack peer review, lack falsifiable predictions, and/or blatantly contradict scientific facts and experimental results. Mathematical physicist John C. Baez famously invented a crackpot index to give an idea of what sort of claims and rhetoric were commonplace among pseudophysics proposals he had come across. | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki?curid=2220700 | 3,272 |
Pebble (watch) CNET praised the design, readability, and water-resistance of the Pebble Steel, but criticized the limit of eight user-installed apps and the lack of a heart-rate monitor. Later watches in the Pebble series were described similarly: as simple and effective but lacking some features of competitors like the Apple Watch. On February 24, 2015, Pebble announced the Pebble Time, their second-generation Pebble smartwatch via its Kickstarter campaign. The Pebble Time Steel is a stainless steel variant of the Pebble Time smartwatch, available in multiple finishes: silver, black or gold with either a leather or steel band. Pebble claims it has a 10-day battery life. The Pebble Time Round is also made of stainless steel and 2.5d gorilla glass with five finishes. Pebble claims it has a 2-day battery life, dramatically decreased because of the shape and size but still significantly longer-lasting than the Apple Watch's 16-hour life. Pebble's second generation comes with various improvements over its predecessors, such as a 64-colour e-paper display with Gorilla Glass a thinner and more ergonomic chassis, plastic casing and a microphone. The Pebble Time retains the seven-day battery life and water resistance found on the previous two Pebble watches. It has a 150mAh battery. Alongside the Pebble Time Steel, Pebble announced its open hardware platform called "Smartstraps" | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki?curid=35542603 | 230,647 |
Xenon arc lamp A xenon arc lamp is a highly specialized type of gas discharge lamp, an electric light that produces light by passing electricity through ionized xenon gas at high pressure. It produces a bright white light that closely mimics natural sunlight, with applications in movie projectors in theaters, in searchlights, and for specialized uses in industry and research to simulate sunlight, often for product testing. Xenon headlamps in automobiles are actually metal-halide lamps, where a xenon arc is only used during start-up to correct the color temperature. Xenon arc lamps can be roughly divided into three categories: continuous-output xenon short-arc lamps, continuous-output xenon long-arc lamps, and xenon flash lamps (which are usually considered separately). Each consists of a fused quartz or other heat resistant glass arc tube, with a tungsten metal electrode at each end. The glass tube is first evacuated and then re-filled with xenon gas. For xenon flashtubes, a third "trigger" electrode usually surrounds the exterior of the arc tube. The lifetime of a xenon arc lamp varies according to its design and power consumption, with a major manufacturer quoting average lifetimes ranging from 500 hours (7kW) to 1,500 (1kW). Interest in the xenon discharge was first aroused by P. Schulz in 1944, following his discovery of its near-continuous spectrum and high colour rendering white light | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki?curid=1798343 | 94,695 |
Relative humidity The enhancement factor is commonly used to correct the equilibrium vapor pressure of water vapor when empirical relationships, such as those developed by Wexler, Goff, and Gratch, are used to estimate the properties of psychrometric systems. Buck has reported that, at sea level, the vapor pressure of water in saturated moist air amounts to an increase of approximately 0.5% over the equilibrium vapor pressure of pure water. The term "relative humidity" is reserved for systems of water vapor in air. The term "relative saturation" is used to describe the analogous property for systems consisting of a condensable phase other than water in a non-condensable phase other than air. A gas in this context is referred to as saturated when the vapor pressure of water in the air is at the equilibrium vapor pressure for water vapor at the temperature of the gas and water vapor mixture; liquid water (and ice, at the appropriate temperature) will fail to lose mass through evaporation when exposed to saturated air. It may also correspond to the possibility of dew or fog forming, within a space that lacks temperature differences among its portions, for instance in response to decreasing temperature. Fog consists of very minute droplets of liquid, primarily held aloft by isostatic motion (in other words, the droplets fall through the air at terminal velocity, but as they are very small, this terminal velocity is very small too, so it doesn't look to us like they are falling, and they seem to be held aloft) | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki?curid=223970 | 448,668 |
Nickel–metal hydride battery A nickel metal hydride battery, abbreviated NiMH or Ni–MH, is a type of rechargeable battery. The chemical reaction at the positive electrode is similar to that of the nickel–cadmium cell (NiCd), with both using nickel oxide hydroxide (NiOOH). However, the negative electrodes use a hydrogen-absorbing alloy instead of cadmium. A NiMH battery can have two to three times the capacity of an equivalent size NiCd, and its energy density can approach that of a lithium-ion battery. Work on NiMH batteries began at the Battelle-Geneva Research Center following the technology's invention in 1967. It was based on sintered TiNi+TiNi+x alloys and NiOOH electrodes. Development was sponsored over nearly two decades by Daimler-Benz and by Volkswagen AG within Deutsche Automobilgesellschaft, now a subsidiary of Daimler AG. The batteries' specific energy reached 50 W·h/kg (180 kJ/kg), power density up to 1000 W/kg and a life of 500 charge cycles (at 100% depth of discharge). Patent applications were filed in European countries (priority: Switzerland), the United States, and Japan. The patents transferred to Daimler-Benz. Interest grew in the 1970s with the commercialisation of the nickel–hydrogen battery for satellite applications. Hydride technology promised an alternative, less bulky way to store the hydrogen. Research carried out by Philips Laboratories and France's CNRS developed new high-energy hybrid alloys incorporating rare-earth metals for the negative electrode | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki?curid=58251 | 59,127 |
Tågerup Church The north segment displays scenes of the entombing and the resurrection. The frescos in the nave are from the early 16th century and are attributed to the Brarup workshop. In the first bay, there are scenes of the Creation with the sun and a comet while God stands with the moon in his hands. There are fish and a shrimp in the foreground as well as a mermaid. To the south, God is creating animals including a goose, a dove, a crane and deer. In the south segment, Adam and Eve are created. The text reads "ADAM PRIMUS HOMO DAMPNAVIT SECULO POMO". The west segment presents the Admonition and the Fall while in the centre an angel stands with a hand organ. The text reads " HIC ADAM ET EVA DECELTI SUNT A DRACONE". The Banishment in the north segment is accompanied by a text reading "HIC EXPELLANTUR DE PARADISO AB ANGLO CUM FLIENTE GLADIO". Adam, in everyday clothing, has an axe in his belt and is about the till the earth. Eve is sitting with her children, one with a top and a whip. The frescos from the Brarup workshop are quite different in style from those of the Elmelunde Master. God is not stereotyped. Like those from Isenfjord, they have energy. Eve, when working, holds the spindle correctly. In the scenes of the Banishment, Adam and Eve take long strides in contrast to Elmelunde where they are passive and static. In the illustration of the Fall and the Banishment, there are scenes of the Inverted World: a man shears the tail of a horse while another puts horseshoes on a cat | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki?curid=40142349 | 335,015 |
Bertrand competition If both firms set the same price above unit cost and share the market, then each firm has an incentive to undercut the other by an arbitrarily small amount and capture the whole market and almost double its profits. So there can be no equilibrium with both firms setting the same price above marginal cost. This is due to the firms competing over goods and services that are considered substitutes; that is, consumers having identical preferences towards each product and only preferring the cheaper of the two. Also, there can be no equilibrium with firms setting different prices. The firms setting the higher price will earn nothing (the lower priced firm serves all of the customers). Hence the higher priced firm will want to lower its price to undercut the lower-priced firm. Hence the "only" equilibrium in the Bertrand model occurs when both firms set price equal to unit cost (the competitive price). Note that the Bertrand equilibrium is a "weak" Nash-equilibrium. The firms lose nothing by deviating from the competitive price: it is an equilibrium simply because each firm can earn no more than zero profits given that the other firm sets the competitive price and is willing to meet all demand at that price. Firm 1's optimum price depends on where it believes firm 2 will set its prices. Pricing just below the other firm will obtain full market demand (D), though this is not optimal if the other firm is pricing below marginal cost as that would entail negative profits | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki?curid=1462677 | 514,889 |
Ancient protein Using alternative reconstruction methods - for instance the Bayesian method that incorporates and averages over the level of uncertainty - could provide a comparable reference regarding ancestral stability. However, this method performs poor reconstructions and may not accurately reflect actual conditions. | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki?curid=56920215 | 180,159 |
BNCR mount The mount contains four pronged flanges only one of which contains a notch towards the center. This notch is used to align the mount to a locating pin located approximately 45 degrees clockwise from the top of the camera's lens mount. This radial indexing is of particular importance when shooting an anamorphic format (CinemaScope or Panavision, or equivalent). The mount is locked into place using a friction locking ring which, in conjunction with the four prongs of the flange, creates a very strong lens seating. The quality of this design has been a key influence in the design of the Arri PL and Panavision PV mounts, both of which are the main film camera mounts in use today, and both of which have four-pronged flanges oriented based on locating pin-notch combinations. The Arri PL mount in particular is very similar in appearance to the BNCR mount, the only immediately apparent difference being the ability to seat any of the four notched prongs against the locating pin. (The flange focal distance and diameter also differ.) With the slow obsolescence of the Mitchell cameras, which likely took so long because they were so well regarded in mechanical design aspects, such as their steady intermittent movement registration ("Compensating Link" movement) and strong mounts, the mounts have gradually become less common in the past two decades, but remained an option for third party cameras produced as recently as the 1980s. Many of the cameras are still in usage in fields such as animation | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki?curid=4513704 | 424,138 |
Invitation to treat If a shop mistakenly displays an item for sale at a very low price it is not obliged to sell it for that amount. For an offer to be capable of becoming binding on acceptance, the offer must be definite, clear, and objectively intended to be capable of acceptance. In England, auctions are governed by the Sale of Goods Act 1979 (as amended). Section 57(2) provides: “A sale by auction is complete when the auctioneer announces its completion by the fall of the hammer, or in other customary manner. Until the announcement is made any bidder may retract his bid”. S. 57(3) provides further: “An auction sale may be subject to a reserve price”. However, if the auction is held ""without reserve"" then the auctioneer is obliged to sell to the highest bidder. It is implicit from "Payne v Cave" (1789), an early case concerning auctions, that each bid is deemed to expire when others make higher bids; but some auctioneers (such as eBay) have lawfully amended this presumption so that, should a higher bidder withdraw his bid, they may accept a lower one. The tender process is a debated issue. In the case of "Spencer v Harding", the defendants offered to sell stock by tender, but the court held that there was no promise to sell to the highest bidder, merely an invitation for offers which they could then accept or reject at will | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki?curid=19555171 | 481,542 |
Automatic dependent surveillance – broadcast UAT is the only ADS-B link standard that is truly bidirectional: UAT users have access to ground-based aeronautical data (FIS-B) and can receive reports from proximate traffic (TIS-B) through a multilink gateway service that provides ADS-B reports for 1090ES-equipped aircraft and non-ADS-B equipped radar traffic. UAT equipped aircraft can also observe each other directly with high accuracy and minimal latency. Viable ADS-B UAT networks are being installed as part of the United States' NextGen air traffic system. In 2002 the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) announced a dual link decision using the 1090 MHz extended squitter (1090 ES) link for air carrier and private or commercial operators of high-performance aircraft, and universal access transceiver link for the typical general aviation user. In November 2012, the European Aviation Safety Agency confirmed that the European Union would also use 1090 ES for interoperability. The format of extended squitter messages has been codified by the ICAO. With 1090 ES, the existing Mode S transponder (TSO C-112 or a standalone 1090 MHz transmitter) supports a message type known as the extended squitter message. It is a periodic message that provides position, velocity, time, and, in the future, intent. The basic ES does not offer intent since current flight management systems do not provide such data (called trajectory change points) | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki?curid=18949160 | 118,414 |
History of condoms Compared to the 19th-century rubber condoms, however, skin condoms were initially cheaper and offered better sensitivity. For these reasons, skin condoms remained more popular than the rubber variety. However, by the end of the 19th century "rubber" had become a euphemism for condoms in countries around the world. For many decades, rubber condoms were manufactured by wrapping strips of raw rubber around penis-shaped molds, then dipping the wrapped molds in a chemical solution to cure the rubber. The earliest rubber condoms covered only the glans of the penis; a doctor had to measure each man and order the correct size. Even with the medical fittings, however, glans condoms tended to fall off during use. Rubber manufacturers quickly discovered they could sell more devices by manufacturing full-length one-size-fits-all condoms to be sold in pharmacies. Distribution of condoms in the United States was limited by passage of the Comstock laws, which included a federal act banning the mailing of contraceptive information (passed in 1873) as well as State laws that banned the manufacture and sale of condoms in thirty states. In Ireland the 1889 Indecent Advertisements Act made it illegal to advertise condoms, although their manufacture and sale remained legal. Contraceptives were illegal in 19th-century Italy and Germany, but condoms were allowed for disease prevention | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki?curid=18053246 | 289,649 |
Demographics of Japan Many farmers supplement their income with part-time jobs in nearby towns and cities. About 80 million of the urban population is heavily concentrated on the Pacific shore of Honshu. Metropolitan Tokyo-Yokohama, with its population of 35 million residents, is the world's most populous city. Japan faces the same problems that confront urban industrialized societies throughout the world: overcrowded cities and congested highways. Japan's population is aging faster than that of any other nation. The population of those 65 years or older roughly doubled in 24 years, from 7.1% of the population in 1970 to 14.1% in 1994. The same increase took 61 years in Italy, 85 years in Sweden, and 115 years in France. In 2014, 26% of Japan's population was estimated to be 65 years or older, and the Health and Welfare Ministry has estimated that over-65s will account for 40% of the population by 2060. The demographic shift in Japan's age profile has triggered concerns about the nation's economic future and the viability of its welfare state. The population consisted of 47,062,743 households, with 78.7% in urban areas (July 2000). High population density; 329.5 people per square kilometer for total area; 1,523 persons per square kilometer for habitable land. More than 50% of the population lives on 2% of the land. (July 1993). According to research in 2018, the population to land density ratio has gradually increased, now at 127 million per 337 km2 | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki?curid=15576 | 515,779 |
ESP Easy is a free and open source MCU firmware for the Internet of things (IoT). and originally developed by the LetsControlIt.com community (formerly known as ESP8266.nu community). It runs on ESP8266 Wi-Fi based MCU (microcontroller unit) platforms for IoT from Espressif Systems. The name "ESP Easy," by default, refers to the firmware rather than the hardware on which it runs. At a low level, the firmware works the same as the NodeMCU firmware and also provides a very simple operating system on the ESP8266. The main difference between firmware and NodeMCU firmware is that the former is designed as a high-level toolbox that just works out-of-the-box for a pre-defined set of sensors and actuators. Users simply hook up and read/control over simple web requests without having to write any code at all themselves, including firmware upgrades using OTA (Over The Air) updates. The firmware can be used to turn ESP8266 modules into simple multifunction sensor and actuator devices for home automation platforms. Once the firmware is loaded on the hardware, configuration of is entirely web interface based. firmware is primarily used on ESP8266 modules/hardware as a wireless Wi-Fi sensor device with added sensors for temperature, humidity, barometric pressure, light intensity, etc. The firmware also offers some low-level actuator functions to control relays. The firmware is built on the ESP8266 core for Arduino which in turn uses many open source projects. Getting started with takes a few basic steps | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki?curid=51616270 | 289,377 |
Packet switching With initial support from the State of Michigan and the National Science Foundation (NSF), the packet-switched network was first demonstrated in December 1971 when an interactive host-to-host connection was made between the IBM mainframe computer systems at the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor and Wayne State University in Detroit. In October 1972, connections to the CDC mainframe at Michigan State University in East Lansing completed the triad. Over the next several years, in addition to host-to-host interactive connections, the network was enhanced to support terminal-to-host connections, host-to-host batch connections (remote job submission, remote printing, batch file transfer), interactive file transfer, gateways to the Tymnet and Telenet public data networks, X.25 host attachments, gateways to X.25 data networks, Ethernet attached hosts, and eventually TCP/IP; additionally, public universities in Michigan joined the network. All of this set the stage for Merit's role in the NSFNET project starting in the mid-1980s. In 1965, Donald Davies of the National Physical Laboratory (United Kingdom) designed and proposed a national data network based on packet switching. The proposal was not taken up nationally, but by 1967, a pilot experiment had demonstrated the feasibility of packet switched networks. By 1969 Davies had begun building the Mark I packet-switched network to meet the needs of the multidisciplinary laboratory and prove the technology under operational conditions | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki?curid=43339 | 379,927 |
TUNEL assay New methods incorporate the dUTPs modified by fluorophores or haptens, including biotin or bromine, which can be detected directly in the case of a fluorescently-modified nucleotide (i.e., fluorescein-dUTP), or indirectly with streptavidin or antibodies, if biotin-dUTP or BrdUTP are used, respectively. The most sensitive of them is the method utlilizing incorporation of BrdUTP by TdT followed by immunocytochemical detection of BrdU. | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki?curid=2948757 | 66,075 |
Wage growth The employees in the fifth percentile (the bottom of the income distribution) have been experiencing the smallest growth by 0.8% due to the increased employment in 16 and 17-year-olds who get paid the national minimum wage of 4.20 pounds whereas people aged 25 years and older get 7.83 pounds. Due to the Global Financial Crisis (GFC), the United States also experienced a significant decline in wage growth like the other advanced countries. Despite the major recovery after the GFC, wage growth in the United States has failed to reach the growth achieved in pre-GFC and has been stagnated for a recent decade. Like the weak wage growth in Australia, the United States is also experiencing a struggle because of the recent significant development in globalisation and automation where the competition with lower-paid workers overseas and robots was created. The United States is one of the few countries that has been experiencing weak wage growth while achieving low unemployment rates as it has been significantly low for nearly two decades. One of the factors is because of the limiting official definition of unemployment as it leaves out students and people that are not looking for work but willing to work if there are job opportunities. Studies found that 70% of the people who are getting employed had not been included in the unemployed category | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki?curid=60912600 | 503,405 |
Stainless steel For example, duplex stainless steels are being used in digesters to convert wood chips into wood pulp. 6% Mo superaustenitics are used in the bleach plant and Type 316 is used extensively in the paper machine. Stainless steels are used extensively in these industries for their corrosion resistance to both aqueous, gaseous and high temperature environments, their mechanical properties at all temperatures from cryogenic to the very high, and occasionally for other special physical properties. Austenitic (300 series) stainless steel, in particular, Type 304 and 316 or sometimes 400 series is used, is the material of choice for the food and beverage industry. Stainless steels do not affect the taste of the product, they are easily cleaned and sterilized to prevent bacterial contamination of the food, and they are durable. Stainless steels are used extensively in cookware, commercial food processing, commercial kitchens, brewing beer, wine making, and meat processing. Acidic foods with high salt additions, such as tomato sauce, and highly salted condiments, such as soya sauce may require higher alloyed stainless steels such as 6% Mo superaustenitics to prevent pitting corrosion by chloride. The Allegheny Ludlum Corporation worked with Ford on various concept cars with stainless steel bodies from the 1930s through the 1970s to demonstrate the material's potential. The 1957 and 1958 Cadillac Eldorado Brougham had a stainless steel roof | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki?curid=27059 | 330,563 |
Intramolecular Heck reaction A wide variety of bases may be used, and the base is often employed in excess. Potassium carbonate is the most common base employed, and inorganic bases are generally used more often than organic bases. A number of additives have also been identified for the Heck reaction—silver salts may be used to drive the reaction down the cationic pathway, and halide salts may be used to convert aryl triflates via the neutral pathway. Alcohols have been shown to enhance catalyst stability in some cases, and acetate salts are beneficial in reactions following the anionic pathway. A solution of the amide (0.365 g, 0.809 mmol), Pd(PPh) (0.187 g, 0.162 mmol), and triethylamine (1.12 mL, 8.08 mmol) in MeCN (8 mL) in a sealed tube was heated slowly to 120°. After stirring for 40 hours, the reaction mixture was cooled to room temperature, and the solvent was evaporated. The residue was chromatographed (loaded with CHCl) to give the title product 316 (0.270 g, 90%) as a colorless oil; R 0.42 (EtOAc/petroleum ether 10:1); [α] +14.9 (c, 1.0, CHCl); IR 3027, 2930, 1712, 1673, 1608, 1492, 1343, 1248 cm; H NMR (400 MHz) δ 7.33–7.21 (m, 6 H), 7.07 (dd, J = 7.3, 16.4 Hz, 1 H), 7.00 (t, J = 7.5 Hz, 1 H), 6.77 (d, J = 7.7 Hz, 1 H), 6.30 (dd, J = 8.7, 11.4 Hz, 1 H), 5.32 (d, J = 15.7 Hz, 1 H), 5.04 (s, 1 H), 4.95 (s, 1 H), 4.93 (d, J = 11.1 Hz, 1 H), 4.17 (s, 1 H), 3.98 (d, J = 15.7 Hz, 1 H), 3.62 (d, J = 8.7 Hz, 1 H), 3.17 (s, 3 H), 2.56 (dd, J = 3.5, 15.5 Hz, 1 H), 2.06 (dd, J = 2.8, 15.5 Hz, 1 H); C NMR (100 MHz) δ 177.4, 172.9, 147 | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki?curid=27900214 | 71,906 |
Chemical coloring of metals Be sure to use protective clothing, gloves and safety glasses, work in a well-ventilated room or outdoors! "Black for silver" - the items are immersed in 2.5% solution of potassium or sodium sulphide, after the appearance of the colour they are well washed and protected by waxing or varnishing. "Green for copper and alloys" - the objects are painted or sprayed with a solution of 250 grams of ammonium carbonate / 250 grams of ammonium chloride / 1 liter of water, each layer is dried for 24 hours, after reaching the desired tone the material is waxed or varnished, as a ground color can be used brown or black. If the amount of chloride is reduced the color will be more bluish green, if the carbonate is reduced more yellow green. "Black for copper" - potassium or sodium polysulfide solution (2.5%), the objects are immersed in the solution, after colour is developed objects must be rinsed, dried and waxed or varnished. "Brown for copper" - the items are boiled in at least 3 days old solution of 12% copper sulphate and water, after the colour is developed, the material is rinSed, dried and waxed or varnished. "Black for iron" - coat the objects very thinly with linseed oil, then gradually heat them up to 300 - 400 ° C, repeat the process if necessary, this process can be used on any metal( except lead , tin and its alloys) that can be heated to the temperature mentioned. "Brown for iron" A 5% aqueous solution of ferric chloride is used | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki?curid=44890527 | 229,779 |
Euxinia Free sulfur exists deep in the water column and up to 6m in depth in the sediment. | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki?curid=53489192 | 45,135 |
Asilomar Conference on Recombinant DNA For experiments involving the creation and propagation of recombinant DNA molecules from DNAs of species that ordinarily did not exchange genetic information and generate novel biotypes, the experiments were to be performed in at least in a low risk containment facility. If the experiment increased the pathogenicity of the recipient species or result in new metabolic pathways in species, then moderate or high-risk containment facilities were to be used. In experiments where the range of resistance of established human pathogens to therapeutically useful antibiotics or disinfectants was extended, the experiments were to be undertaken only in moderate or high-risk containment facilities. When working with animal viruses, experiments that involved the linkage of viral genomes or genome segments to prokaryotic vectors and their propagation in prokaryotic cells were to be conducted only with vector-host systems that had demonstrated restricted growth capabilities outside the laboratory and in moderate risk containment facilities. As safer vector-host systems became available, such experiments could be performed in low risk facilities. In experiments designed to introduce or propagate DNA from non-viral or other low risk agents in animal cells, only low risk animal DNA could be used as vectors and the manipulations were to be confined to moderate risk containment facilities | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki?curid=8239144 | 14,559 |
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