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53,386,033 | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Moving%20Earth | Moving Earth is a theoretical astroengineering concept that involves physically shifting Earth farther away from the Sun to protect the planet's biosphere from rising temperatures. These expected temperature increases derive from long-term impacts of the greenhouse effect combined with the Sun's nuclear fusion process and steadily increasing luminosity. The approach has been acknowledged by some planetary scientists, including some at Cornell University.
Various mechanisms have been proposed to accomplish the move. The most plausible method involves redirecting asteroids or comets roughly about 100 km wide via gravity assists around Earth's orbit and towards Jupiter or Saturn and back. The aim of this redirection would be to gradually move Earth away from the Sun, keeping it within a continuously habitable zone. This scenario has many practical drawbacks: besides the fact that it spans timescales far longer than human history, it would also put life on Earth at risk as the repeated encounters could cause Earth to potentially lose its Moon, severely disrupting Earth's climate and rotation. The trajectories of each encounter would need to minimize potential changes to the Earth's axial tilt and period of rotation. Lengthening the Earth's orbital period would also lengthen its seasons, potentially causing disruptions to life at higher and lower latitudes due to extended winter and summer months, as well as causing significant changes to global seasonal weather patterns. Additionally, the encounters would require said asteroids or comets to pass close to Earth; a slight miscalculation could cause an impact between the asteroid or comet and Earth, potentially ending most life on the planet.
See also
Astronomical engineering
Future of Earth
Planetary engineering
The Wandering EarthA film that uses this concept as its premise
References
Further reading
Planetary engineering
Survivalism | Moving Earth | [
"Engineering"
] | 347 | [
"Planetary engineering"
] |
53,390,774 | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zeta%20Librae | The Bayer designation ζ Librae, Latinised as Zeta Librae (abbreviated ζ Lib / Zeta Lib) is shared by several star systems in the constellation Libra. Sources differ about the Flamsteed and Bayer designations that should be applied to four stars:
ζ1 Librae (HR 5743), known as HD 137744 and 32 Librae
ζ2 Librae (GZ Librae), sometimes known as 33 Librae, or as HD 137949
ζ3 Librae (HR 5750), known as HD 138137 and 34 Librae
ζ4 Librae (HR 5764), known as HD 138485 and 35 Librae, often simply called ζ Librae
In light of the obvious confusion, the Bright Star Catalogue recommends the use of HR designations to unambiguously identify these four stars. ζ2 Librae does not have an HR number although it is included in the Bright Star Catalogue Supplement.
References
Librae, zeta
Libra (constellation) | Zeta Librae | [
"Astronomy"
] | 219 | [
"Libra (constellation)",
"Constellations"
] |
53,391,053 | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shu%20Jie%20Lam | Shu Jie Lam is a Malaysian-Chinese research chemist specialising in biomolecular engineering. She is researching star polymers designed to attack superbugs as antibiotics.
References
Malaysian chemists
Nanotechnology
People from Batu Pahat
University of Melbourne alumni
Malaysian women chemists | Shu Jie Lam | [
"Materials_science",
"Engineering"
] | 56 | [
"Nanotechnology",
"Materials science"
] |
53,393,218 | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Neculai%20Cost%C4%83chescu | Neculai Costăchescu (18 February 1876–14 July 1939) was a Romanian chemist and politician.
Born in Huși, he obtained a degree in physics and chemistry from Iași University in 1901. Costăchescu earned a doctorate from the same institution in 1905, with a thesis on the gases found in Romania's salt deposits and muddy volcanoes; he was the university's first doctor in chemistry. He took specialty courses at the University of Zurich from 1906 to 1908, then was hired as professor of mineral chemistry at the Iași science faculty in 1912. There, he set up an organic chemistry laboratory. Thanks to his scientific activity, he was elected a corresponding member of the Romanian Academy in 1925, and was granted honorary membership in 1936.
Costăchescu entered politics in December 1918, at the close of World War I, and was a founding member of the Peasants' Party, serving as vice president until its 1926 merger with the Romanian National Party to form the National Peasants' Party (PNȚ). A prominent member of the latter, he was elected senator in 1926 and deputy in 1928. Between November 1928 and April 1931, he served as Public Instruction Minister in the PNȚ cabinets of Iuliu Maniu and Gheorghe Mironescu. He was Senate President from August 1932 to November 1933.
Costăchescu contributed to a number of specialized publications in Iași, such as Annales scientifiques de la Université de Jassy and Revista științifică V. Adamachi. His works included Fluosels de cobalt et de nikel (1911), Sels complexes de fer (1912) and Fluorures complexes de chrôme (1912–14).
Notes
1876 births
1939 deaths
People from Huși
Alexandru Ioan Cuza University alumni
Academic staff of Alexandru Ioan Cuza University
Peasants' Party (Romania) politicians
National Peasants' Party politicians
Presidents of the Senate of Romania
Members of the Senate of Romania
Members of the Chamber of Deputies (Romania)
Ministers of culture of Romania
Ministers of education of Romania
Honorary members of the Romanian Academy
Romanian chemists
Organic chemists
Romanian writers in French | Neculai Costăchescu | [
"Chemistry"
] | 436 | [
"Organic chemists"
] |
53,393,485 | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/World%20Congress%20on%20Intelligent%20Transport%20Systems | The World Congress on Intelligent Transport Systems (commonly known as the ITS World Congress) is an annual conference and trade show to promote ITS technologies. ERTICO (ITS Europe), ITS America, ITS AsiaPacific and ITS Japan are its sponsors. Each year the event takes place in a different region (Europe, Americas or Asia-Pacific).
Intelligent transportation systems (ITS) are advanced applications which, without embodying intelligence as such, aim to provide innovative services relating to different modes of transport and traffic management and enable various users to be better informed and make safer, more coordinated, and 'smarter' use of transport networks. They are considered a part of the Internet of things.
History
The first ITS World Congress was held in 1994 in Paris, followed by the 2nd in Yokohama in 1995, and the 3rd in Orlando in 1996. The rotation of the venue location among the regions of the world continued:
1997: 4th, Berlin
1998: 5th, Seoul
1999: 6th, Toronto
2000: 7th, Torino
2001: 8th, Sydney
2002: 9th, Chicago
2003: 10th, Madrid
2004: 11th, Nagoya
2005: 12th, San Francisco
2006: 13th, London
2007: 14th, Beijing
2008: 15th, New York City
2009: 16th, Stockholm
2010: 17th, Busan
2011: 18th, Orlando
2012: 19th, Vienna
2013: 20th, Tokyo
2014: 21st, Detroit
2015: 22nd, Bordeaux
2016: 23rd, Melbourne
2017: 24th, Montréal
2018: 25th, Copenhagen
2019: 26th, Singapore
2020: Los Angeles virtual
2021: 27th, Hamburg
2022: 28th, Los Angeles
2023: 29th, Suzhou
2024: 30th, Dubai
ITS World Congress Post Congress Reports are archived by ITS Japan.
Future locations
2025: 31st, Atlanta
2026: 32nd, Gangneung
2027: 33rd, Birmingham
2029: 35th, Taipei
External links
Official ERTICO website
Official ITS America website
Official ITS Asia-Pacific website
References
Trade fairs
Recurring events established in 1994
Computer-related trade shows
Road transport events | World Congress on Intelligent Transport Systems | [
"Technology"
] | 406 | [
"Computer industry",
"Computer-related trade shows"
] |
53,394,201 | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Socionature | Socionature is the idea that nature and humanity are one and the same and can be thought of or referenced as a single concept. An example of this perspective would be the difference in experience two cultures might have with a drought. One culture might view drought as a form of natural variability in the environment and store surplus food for these times. Another culture might be engaged in for profit farming and see the drought as a damaging natural crisis. The first culture would be an example of a socionature viewpoint.
Definition and link to Marxist critique
In the Encyclopedia of Geography, Christopher Bear explained:"Socionature is a concept that is used to argue that society and nature are inseparable and should not be analyzed in abstraction from each other. The concept is rooted in – but operates as a critique of – Marxist approaches such as historical materialism and post-structural approaches such as actor-network theory. Drawing on the former, it emphasizes temporality and processes of becoming, while its engagement with post-structural thought leads to a focus on ontological hybridity. At the heart of research on socionatures is an interest in processes of their production, and especially on the labour that is involved and the uneven power relationships that emerge."
References
Further reading
For a Sociology of ‘Socionature’: Ontology and the Commodity-Based Approach
https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1002/9781118786352.wbieg0212
Ecology | Socionature | [
"Biology"
] | 306 | [
"Ecology"
] |
53,394,249 | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The%20Compatibility%20Gene | The Compatibility Gene is a 2013 book about the discovery of the mechanism of compatibility in the human immune system by the English professor of immunology, Daniel M. Davis. It describes the history of immunology with the discovery of the principle of graft rejection by Peter Medawar in the 1950s, and the way the body distinguishes self from not-self via natural killer cells. The compatibility mechanism contributes also to the success of pregnancy by helping the placenta to form, and may play a role in mate selection.
Context
Author
Daniel M. Davis has a doctorate in physics from Strathclyde University. He was professor of molecular immunology at Imperial College London and director of research at the University of Manchester's collaborative centre for inflammation research. Davis is a recognised as an expert in the field by the Nature journal of immunology. Davis is a recognised expert for his research in the immune synapse, membrane nanotubes, and natural killer cells.
Subject
The book's context is the history of immunology, from the earliest questioning about why people become ill and why some may recover, to the 19th century pioneers who demonstrated that bacteria caused many diseases. In the 20th century where, slowly at first but at an accelerating pace, biologists started to build an understanding of the genetic basis of variation and natural selection, and alongside that, the foundations of scientific medicine, including immunology. As Steven Pinker observes, few stories of scientific endeavour have never been told. "This is one of them. Ostensibly about a set of genes that we all have and need, this book is really about the men and women who discovered them and worked out what they do. It’s about brilliant insights and lucky guesses; the glory of being proved right and the paralysing fear of getting it wrong; the passion for cures and the lust for Nobels. It’s a search for the essence of scientific greatness by a scientist who is headed that way himself."
Book
Contents
The book is in three parts. In part 1, Davis describes the history of research into biological compatibility, starting with the story of Peter Medawar's life and discoveries in graft rejection. He tours the history of medicine from Hippocrates to the 19th century pioneers Louis Pasteur and Robert Koch, and Frank Macfarlane Burnet's concept of the immune system's ability to discriminate self from non-self. He explains how advances in understanding of immunity, from Karl Landsteiner's discovery of the ABO blood group system onwards, permit organ transplants to take place. The compatibility genes are named as three class I human leucocyte antigen (HLA) genes (A, B, and C) and three class II (DP, DQ, and DR), each with numerous versions (alleles).
Lastly, Davis tells the human side of the story of the discovery of killer T-cells. Alan Townsend found that killer T-cells destroyed cells that carried an HLA protein and small fragments of viral protein. Those small peptides were all the evidence the T-cells needed to decide that a cell was diseased.
In part 2, Davis describes the nature of the genetic differences between people, like having the allele for Huntington's disease, can be small but decisive. An HLA protein variant, B*27, is associated with a serious inherited disease, ankylosing spondylitis, but also protects against AIDS. Other variants protected against other diseases. Perhaps the polymorphisms in HLA, the many forms each HLA gene can take, are maintained by natural selection for competing factors. He explains that variations in HLA genes may predict which drugs will be beneficial for individuals, implying a new era of personalised medicine. He tells the story of how Klas Kärre came up with the concept of the missing self, a sign (by the absence of an HLA protein) that a cell was diseased, and should be killed by a natural killer cell.
In part 3, Davis describes the famous experiment that called for female partners to sniff boxes containing their male partners' T-shirts, which they had worn for two days. There was a slight association between finding the smell sexy and the two partners having different compatibility genes. It could possibly indicate sexual selection for outbreeding, at least in the HLA system. He explains what is known of the role of compatibility genes in the brain. He tells the story of how the variable genes of the immune system affect the success of pregnancy. Far from the baby's HLA proteins somehow being tolerated by the mother (unlike anyone else's), the strong reaction against the baby's antigens helps to drive proper development of the placenta, in particular the growth of chorionic villi that ensure efficient transfer (for instance of oxygen) between mother and baby. Davis concludes the book by telling a story of genetic compatibility between his wife and himself. He finds himself wondering whether all women should have found him exceptionally attractive, at least when he was younger. He observes that on the contrary there is no hierarchy in HLA: some variants are good in one situation, and bad in another.
Publication
The book was first published in the UK by Allen Lane (hardback) in 2013. Paperback editions were brought out by Penguin Books in Britain, and by Oxford University Press in America, both in 2014. An Italian translation was published by Bollati Boringhieri in Turin in 2016.
Reception
The Compatibility Gene has been well received by critics and scientists.
Mark Viney, reviewing the book in the New Scientist, comments that Davis covers human compatibility genes well, but that he should have gone into more detail on the different systems in other organisms.
The science writer Peter Forbes, writing in The Guardian, notes that when Watson and Crick cracked the genetic code in 1953, it seemed that medicine would instantly profit: but half a century went by before the genome was decoded, and 98% of it seemed at first glance to be junk DNA. Now its complexity is starting to be understood, one function at a time. One specialised area is the immune system, with its own ultra-variable set of proteins. They are not only complicated, but have many functions, in immunity, sexual attraction (perhaps), pregnancy, and brain function. Unsurprisingly, Forbes observes, this makes immunology, and its popularisation, "extremely difficult". Davis "sugars the pill" by choosing to go into the researchers' lives and struggles in great detail. Forbes notes that Davis does not mention that most of the genetic differences between humans and chimpanzees are to do with the immune system and brain development: perhaps (he suggests) these are connected.
Nicola Davis, reviewing the book in The Times, writes that Davis "weaves a warm biographical thread through his tale of scientific discovery, revealing the drive and passion of those in the vanguard of research." The tale of the pioneers such as Medawar is "fairly familiar but Davis's readable narrative allows them to be seen afresh". She finds the account more challenging as it approaches more recent discoveries, but with "plenty of rewarding moments".
Emily Banham, reviewing the book for Nature, notes that compatibility genes lie at the heart of our immune systems, playing a part in the success of skin grafts, pregnancy, and more.
The biologist Rebecca Nesbit, reviewing The Compatibility Gene for The Biologist, writes that Davis shares many stories of dedicated scientists, brought together by "a small cluster of 'compatibility genes' which play a large role in how we react to disease, and are central to how our immune systems work." She notes that the book is as much about the people as the discoveries, but these are made worthwhile by the medical advances they keep producing, for example with possibilities for personalised medicine, as when people with one particular compatibility gene react adversely to an AIDS drug. She observes that all the same, he ends with the scientist's favourite refrain: "more research needed".
References
External links
Website
2013 non-fiction books
Popular science books
Immunology
Allen Lane (imprint) books | The Compatibility Gene | [
"Biology"
] | 1,666 | [
"Immunology"
] |
53,394,437 | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bayesian%20program%20synthesis | In programming languages and machine learning, Bayesian program synthesis (BPS) is a program synthesis technique where Bayesian probabilistic programs automatically construct new Bayesian probabilistic programs. This approach stands in contrast to routine practice in probabilistic programming where human developers manually write new probabilistic programs.
The framework
Bayesian program synthesis (BPS) has been described as a framework related to and utilizing probabilistic programming. In BPS, probabilistic programs are generated that are themselves priors over a space of probabilistic programs. This strategy allows automatic synthesis of new programs via probabilistic inference and is achieved by the composition of modular component programs.
The modularity in BPS allows inference to work on and test smaller probabilistic programs before being integrated into a larger model.
This framework can be contrasted with the family of automated program synthesis fields, which include programming by example and programming by demonstration. The goal in such fields is to find the best program that satisfies some constraint. In traditional program synthesis, for instance, verification of logical constraints reduce the state space of possible programs, allowing more efficient search to find an optimal program. Bayesian program synthesis differs both in that the constraints are probabilistic and the output is itself a distribution over programs that can be further refined.
Additionally, Bayesian program synthesis can be contrasted to the work on Bayesian program learning, where probabilistic program components are hand-written, pre-trained on data, and then hand assembled in order to recognize handwritten characters.
See also
Probabilistic programming language
References
External links
Commentary on BPS by David Garrity: Artificial Intelligence to see Significant Progress in 2017
Probability
Computer programming
Probability interpretations
Philosophy of mathematics
Philosophy of science
User interfaces
Programming paradigms | Bayesian program synthesis | [
"Mathematics",
"Technology",
"Engineering"
] | 366 | [
"User interfaces",
"Computer programming",
"Probability interpretations",
"Software engineering",
"Interfaces",
"nan",
"Computers"
] |
57,941,307 | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/NGC%203857 | NGC 3857 is a lenticular galaxy located about 295 million light-years away in the constellation Leo. The galaxy was discovered by astronomer by Édouard Stephan on March 23, 1884. It is a member of the Leo Cluster.
See also
List of NGC objects (3001–4000)
References
External links
3857
36548
Leo (constellation)
Leo Cluster
Lenticular galaxies
Astronomical objects discovered in 1884
Discoveries by Édouard Stephan | NGC 3857 | [
"Astronomy"
] | 84 | [
"Leo (constellation)",
"Constellations"
] |
57,941,653 | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Manolis%20Kellis | Manolis Kellis (; born 1977) is a professor of Computer Science and Computational Biology at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) and a member of the Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard. He is the head of the Computational Biology Group at MIT and is a Principal Investigator in the Computer Science and Artificial Intelligence Lab (CSAIL) at MIT.
Kellis is known for his contributions to genomics, human genetics, epigenomics, gene regulation, genome evolution, disease mechanism, and single-cell genomics. He co-led the NIH Roadmap Epigenomics Project effort to create a comprehensive map of the human epigenome, the comparative analysis of 29 mammals to create a comprehensive map of conserved elements in the human genome, the ENCODE, GENCODE, and modENCODE projects to characterize the genes, non-coding elements, and circuits of the human genome and model organisms. A major focus of his work is understanding the effects of genetic variations on human disease, with contributions to obesity, diabetes, Alzheimer's disease, schizophrenia, and cancer.
Education and early career
Kellis was born in Greece, moved with his family to France when he was 12, and came to the U.S. in 1993. He obtained his PhD from MIT, where he worked with Eric Lander, founding director of the Broad Institute, and Bonnie Berger, professor at MIT and received the Sprowls award for the best doctorate thesis in Computer Science, and the first Paris Kanellakis graduate fellowship. Prior to computational biology, he worked on artificial intelligence, sketch and image recognition, robotics, and computational geometry, at MIT and at the Xerox Palo Alto Research Center.
Research and career
As of July 2018, Manolis Kellis has authored 187 journal publications that have been cited 68,380 times. He has helped direct several large-scale genomics projects, including the Roadmap Epigenomics project, the Encyclopedia of DNA Elements (ENCODE) project, the Genotype Tissue-Expression (GTEx) project.
Comparative genomics
Kellis started comparing the genomes of yeast species as an MIT graduate student. As part of this work, which was published in Nature in 2003, he developed computational methods to pinpoint patterns of similarity and difference between closely related genomes. The goal was to develop methods for understanding genomes with a view to apply them to the human genome.
He turned from yeast to flies and ultimately to mammals, comparing multiple species to explore genes, their control elements, and their deregulation in human disease. Kellis led several comparative genomics projects in human, mammals, flies, and yeast.
Epigenomics
Kellis co-led the NIH government-funded project to catalogue the human epigenome. He said during an interview with MIT Technology Review “If the genome is the book of life, the epigenome is the complete set of annotations and bookmarks.” His lab now uses this map to further the understanding of fundamental processes and disease in humans.
Obesity
Kellis and colleagues used epigenomic data to investigate the mechanistic basis of the strongest genetic association with obesity, published in the New England Journal of Medicine. They showed that this mechanism operates in the fat cells of both humans and mice and detailed how changes within the relevant genomic regions cause a shift from dissipating energy as heat (thermogenesis) to storing energy as fat. A full understanding of the phenomenon may lead to treatments for people whose 'slow metabolism' cause them to gain excessive weight.
Alzheimer's disease
Kellis, Li-Huei Tsai, and others at MIT used epigenomic markings in human and mouse brains to study the mechanisms leading to Alzheimer’s disease, published in Nature in 2015. They showed that immune cell activation and inflammation, which have long been associated with the condition, are not simply the result of neurodegeneration, as some researchers have argued. Rather, in mice engineered to develop Alzheimer’s-like symptoms, they found that immune cells start to change even before neural changes are observed.
Single-cell Genomics
The Kellis Lab has profiled a large number of human post-mortem brains at single-cell resolution, studying inter-individual variation associated with genetic differences and disease phenotypes, including the first single-cell transcriptomic analysis of Alzheimer's disease (Nature, 2019), single
Genotype-Tissue Expression (GTEx)
Kellis is a member of the Genotype-Tissue Expression (GTEx) project that seeks to elucidate the basis of disease predisposition. It is an NIH-sponsored project that seeks to characterize genetic variation in human tissues with roles in diabetes, heart disease, and cancer.
Kellis is also a Principal Investigator of the enhancing GTEx (eGTEx) consortium, studying epigenomic changes of regulatory elements and epitranscriptomic changes of RNA transcripts across multiple human tissues.
Disease Mechanism
To date, his lab has developed specific domain expertise in obesity, diabetes, Alzheimer's disease, schizophrenia, heart disease, ALS and FTLD, and cancer.
Teaching
In addition to his research, Kellis co-taught for several years MIT's required undergraduate introductory algorithm courses 6.006: Introduction to Algorithms and 6.046: Design and Analysis of Algorithms with Profs. Ron Rivest, Erik Demaine, Piotr Indyk, Srinivas Devadas and others.
He is also teaching a computational biology course at MIT, titled "Computational Biology: Genomes, Networks, Evolution." The course (6.047/6.878) is geared towards advanced undergraduate and early graduate students, seeking to learn the algorithmic and machine learning foundations of computational biology, and also be exposed to current frontiers of research in order to become active practitioners of the field. He started 6.881: Computational Personal Genomics: Making sense of complete genomes, and 6.883/9.S99: Neurogenomics: Computational Molecular Neuroscience This course is aimed at exploring the computational challenges associated with interpreting how sequence differences between individuals lead to phenotypic differences such as gene expression, disease predisposition, or response to treatment.
Awards and honors
Kellis received the US Presidential Early Career Award for Scientists and Engineers (PECASE), the National Science Foundation CAREER award, a Sloan Research Fellowship, the Gregor Mendel Medal for Outstanding Achievements in Science by the Mendel Lectures committee, the Athens Information Technology (AIT) Niki Award for Science and Engineering, the Ruth and Joel Spira Teaching award, and the George M. Sprowls Award for the best Ph.D. thesis in Computer Science at MIT. He was named as one of Technology Review's Top 35 Innovators Under 35 for his research in comparative genomics
Media appearances
Decoding A Genomic Revolution, TEDx Cambridge, 2013 "MIT Computational Biologist Manolis Kellis gives us a glimpse of the doctor’s office visit of the future, and uses his own genetic mutations to show us how a revolution in genomics is unlocking treatments that could transform medicine as we know it"
Regulatory Genomics and Epigenomics of Complex Disease, Welcome Trust, 2014 "Manolis Kellis, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, USA, gives one of the keynote lectures at Epigenomics of Common Diseases, (28-31 October 2014), organised by the Wellcome Genome Campus Advanced Courses and Scientific Conferences team at Churchill College, Cambridge
Manolis Kellis Reddit Ask Me Anything (AMA), Reddit Science AMA Series: "I’m Manolis Kellis, a professor of computer science at MIT studying the human genome to learn about what causes obesity, Alzheimer’s, cancer and other conditions. AMA about comp-bio and epigenomics, and how they impact human health".
References
Greek expatriates in France
Genetic epidemiologists
Living people
1977 births
Greek emigrants to the United States
Greek computer scientists
Human Genome Project scientists
Massachusetts Institute of Technology faculty
Massachusetts Institute of Technology alumni
Biotechnologists
21st-century American biologists
Scientists from Athens
Recipients of the Presidential Early Career Award for Scientists and Engineers | Manolis Kellis | [
"Engineering",
"Biology"
] | 1,662 | [
"Human Genome Project scientists",
"Biotechnologists"
] |
57,942,226 | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/L%C3%B6schian%20number | In number theory, the numbers of the form x2 + xy + y2 for integer x, y are called the Löschian numbers (or Loeschian numbers). These numbers are named after August Lösch. They are the norms of the Eisenstein integers. They are a set of whole numbers, including zero, and having prime factorization in which all primes congruent to 2 mod 3 have even powers (there is no restriction of primes congruent to 0 or 1 mod 3).
Properties
Every Löschian number is nonnegative.
Every square number is a Löschian number (by setting x or y to 0).
Moreover, every number of the form for m and x integers is a Löschian number (by setting y=mx).
There are infinitely many Löschian numbers.
Given that odd and even integers are equally numerous, the probability that a Löschian number is odd is 0.75, and the probability that it is even is 0.25. This follows from the fact that is even if only x and y are both even.
The greatest common divisor and the least common multiple of any two or more Löschian numbers are also Löschian numbers.
The product of two Löschian numbers is always a Löschian number; in other words, Löschian numbers are closed under multiplication.
This property makes the set of Löschian numbers into a monoid under multiplication.
The product of a Löschian number and a non-Löschian number is never a Löschian number.
References
Integer sequences | Löschian number | [
"Mathematics"
] | 329 | [
"Sequences and series",
"Integer sequences",
"Mathematical structures",
"Number theory stubs",
"Recreational mathematics",
"Mathematical objects",
"Combinatorics",
"Numbers",
"Number theory"
] |
57,945,275 | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1%2C3-Propanedisulfonic%20acid | 1,3-Propanedisulfonic acid is a sulfonic acid containing two sulfonate units. Its salts are called eprodisates and have been evaluated as a protector of renal function in AA amyloidosis.
See also
Methanedisulfonic acid
Ethanedisulfonic acid
References
Sulfonic acids | 1,3-Propanedisulfonic acid | [
"Chemistry"
] | 67 | [
"Functional groups",
"Organic compounds",
"Sulfonic acids",
"Organic compound stubs",
"Organic chemistry stubs"
] |
57,945,776 | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Palau%20International%20Coral%20Reef%20Center | The Palau International Coral Reef Center (PICRC) is a coral reef research center in Koror, Palau.
Administration
The research center is currently headed by Yimnang Golbuu.
Architecture
The center building features an aquarium, conference room, library, meeting rooms, gift shop etc.
References
External links
Coral reefs
Organizations based in Palau | Palau International Coral Reef Center | [
"Biology"
] | 73 | [
"Biogeomorphology",
"Coral reefs"
] |
57,946,691 | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/William%20Eassie | William Eassie (1805-1861) was a Scottish businessman of the mid 19th century, working as a railway contractor and then as a Gloucester-based supplier of prefabricated wooden buildings.
Career
Eassie was born at Lochee near Dundee in 1805. Little is known of his early life, but he was involved in construction of the East Lancashire Railway in 1840.
In 1849 he moved to Gloucestershire and worked on the Gloucester and Dean Forest Railway, securing a contract to supply and install wooden sleepers and to lay iron rails. He subsequently worked on the docks branch of this railway on the west side of the Gloucester and Sharpness Canal, and on the Vale of Neath Railway in south Wales.
Eassie established a factory in Gloucester in 1849, and became one of the city's major employers, employing over 1,000 men, working in shifts.
In delivering contracts, Eassie worked often with Richard Potter of Price & Co, a Gloucester-based timber importer, and in 1851 he set up a steam-powered saw mill on land beside the Gloucester and Sharpness Canal that Price & Co leased from Gloucester Corporation. From this mill, Eassie also supplied other contractors, including those working on rail projects for Isambard Kingdom Brunel.
Eassie's work diversified from rail projects into supply of wood for buildings, including greenhouses for a Royal Agricultural Society show in Gloucester in July 1853, and doors, windows and complete buildings for export to Australia to house gold prospectors. This experience in prefabricated buildings led to an 1854 commission to supply huts to house British troops engaged in the Crimean War, followed by a similar order from the French government. Shortly after completion of these orders in early 1855, Eassie was approached by Brunel to work on designs for prefabricated buildings to form the Renkioi military hospital near the Dardanelles. The hospital was designed as 16 buildings, each holding 50 patients in two wards, and were shipped direct from Gloucester Docks to Balaklava.
After the Crimean War, Eassie's business expanded its engineering capabilities, forging scrap iron to manufacture ship anchors and other components, and developing a piling machine to work at the Millwall Iron Works in London where Brunel's SS Great Eastern was being built.
However, Eassie's business got into financial difficulties, and he was forced to restructure the business, giving his sons (William and
Peter Boyd Eassie) formal roles in William Eassie & Sons. The company continued to make wooden buildings for UK and overseas customers, later expanding into the supply of wood for the manufacture of railway wagons in an adjacent works in Gloucester.
Legacy
Eassie died in May 1861, but the company was continued by his sons, becoming a limited company in 1868. In 1875, Eassie & Co was acquired by its neighbour, the Gloucester Railway Carriage and Wagon Company, and in 1900 became the Gloucester Joinery Co. Ltd, making shop fronts, shop fittings, staircases, greenhouses and church and school furniture until the mid 1940s.
William Eassie Jr became a prominent civil engineer engaged on public health projects, and an advocate of cremation, writing a book Cremation: Its History and Bearings upon Public Health (published in 1875) and serving as honorary secretary of the Cremation Society.
References
1805 births
1861 deaths
People from Lochee
People from Gloucester
Prefabricated buildings | William Eassie | [
"Engineering"
] | 705 | [
"Building engineering",
"Prefabricated buildings"
] |
57,950,413 | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fluoromedroxyprogesterone%20acetate | Fluoromedroxyprogesterone acetate (FMPA, 9α-fluoromedroxyprogesterone acetate, or 9α-FMPA) is a synthetic steroid medication which was under development by Meiji Dairies Corporation in the 1990s and 2000s for the potential treatment of cancers but was never marketed. It is described as an antiangiogenic agent, with about two orders of magnitude greater potency for inhibition of angiogenesis than its parent compound medroxyprogesterone acetate. FMPA showed about the same affinities for the progesterone and glucocorticoid receptors as MPA. It reached the preclinical phase of research prior to the discontinuation of its development.
See also
Anecortave acetate
References
External links
Fluoromedroxyprogesterone acetate (FMPA) - AdisInsight
Abandoned drugs
Acetate esters
Angiogenesis inhibitors
Drugs with unknown mechanisms of action
Experimental cancer drugs
Glucocorticoids
Pregnanes
Progestogen esters
Progestogens | Fluoromedroxyprogesterone acetate | [
"Chemistry",
"Biology"
] | 226 | [
"Angiogenesis",
"Angiogenesis inhibitors",
"Drug safety",
"Abandoned drugs"
] |
57,951,623 | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Leda%20with%20Her%20Children | Kneeling Leda with Her Children is a 16th-century painting by Leonardo da Vinci's pupil Giampietrino. It is now in the Gemäldegalerie Alte Meister (Kassel).
Description
It is based on sketches for Leonardo's own Leda and the Swan, now in the collections of Windsor Castle, the Museum Boijmans Van Beuningen, in Rotterdam, and Chatsworth House.
The beautiful princess Leda is seduced by Zeus who transformed himself to a magnificent swan. On the same night, Leda would also sleep with her husband, King Tyndareus of Sparta. The result is a pair of twins, the beautiful Helen and the immortal Pollux as children of Zeus, Clytemnestra and the mortal Castor as offspring of Tyndareus. While Giampietrino omitted the swan in the Kassel painting, the eggshells betray the divine liaison.
Infrared spectroscopy has revealed two different underdrawings: one underdrawing corresponding with the figure of Leda and her children, and a second one, using the spolvero technique, exactly repeating The Virgin and Child with Saint Anne of the Louvre. This states the existence of an original cartoon by Leonardo accessible to his pupil Giampietrino. If Giampietrino also used a cartoon of the Leda by his master is still unknown. A probable model could have been the antique statue of the Crouching Venus. The figurative parts with their monumental and dominant appearance are painted in 1512/1520 by Giampietrino. The Nordic landscape with its rich details is attributed to the landscape painter Cesare Bernazzano, who also collaborated with other pupils of Leonardo.
Johann Wolfgang von Goethe admired the painting in Kassel in 1779, 1783, 1792 and 1801 considering it an original Leonardo painting.
Provenance
William VIII, landgrave of Hesse-Kassel acquired the painting in 1756 at a Paris auction as a depiction of Caritas by Leonardo da Vinci, because one of the children and the eggshells were overpainted. In 1806, in the Coalition Wars it was stored by William I in the Sababurg to hide it from the advancing Grande Armée. Yet the hideout was revealed and general Joseph Lagrange seized it as loot. The painting would never reach its final destination, Château de Malmaison, home of the Empress Joséphine. It was lost in the chaos of war and came instead on the French art market. It subsequently came to light in a Parisian private collection in 1821. The Mannheim art dealer Artaria offered it to William I who strictly refused to rebuy stolen works of his art collection.
Through mediation of the Belgian painter and art dealer Pierre Joseph Lafontaine it joined the art collection of King William II in The Hague. After his death the painting came in the possession of his brother Prince Frederick of Orange-Nassau and thereupon to the house of Nassau-Weilburg in Neuwied. In 1940 it was acquired for 150.000 Reichsmark by Gauleiter Erich Koch as a gift to Hermann Göring who already possessed a large art collection of nudes of the Gothic and Renaissance period in Carinhall. In 1943 he organised its storage in the Salzbergwerk Altaussee in Styria.
After the end of the Second World War the Leda was brought to the Central Collecting Point in Munich and in 1962 reacquired by the Land Hesse.
Sources
Jürgen M. Lehmann: Staatliche Kunstsammlungen Kassel. Katalog 1. Italienische, französische und spanische Gemälde des 16.-18. Jahrhunderts. Fridingen 1980, p. 130–133.
Giulio Bora et al.: The Legacy of Leonardo. Painters in Lombardy 1490–1530, Milano 1998, p. 279.
Jürgen M. Lehmann: Zur Knienden Leda mit ihren Kindern von Giampietrino in der Kasseler Gemäldegalerie. In: D. Dombrowski, K. Heusing, A. Dern (Hrsg.): Zwischen den Welten. Beiträge zur Kunstgeschichte für Jürg Meyer zur Capellen. Festschrift zum 60. Geburtstag. Weimar 2001, p. 92–105.
1510s paintings
Paintings in the Gemäldegalerie Alte Meister (Kassel)
Italian paintings
Giampietrino
Paintings of children
Castor and Pollux | Leda with Her Children | [
"Astronomy"
] | 921 | [
"Castor and Pollux",
"Astronomical myths"
] |
57,953,625 | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SVET%20plant%20growth%20system | SVET (, "light") was a plant cultivation unit on the Kristall module of the Mir space station. It was installed in 1990 and operated until 2001. Brassica rapa was successfully grown there in 1997.
The project was a joint Russian-Bulgarian one, developed at the Space Research and Technology Institute in Sofia.
References
Astrobiology
Mir
Space program of Bulgaria
Space-flown life
Bulgaria–Soviet Union relations | SVET plant growth system | [
"Astronomy",
"Biology"
] | 86 | [
"Origin of life",
"Space-flown life",
"Astrobiology stubs",
"Speculative evolution",
"Astrobiology",
"Astronomy stubs",
"Biological hypotheses",
"Astronomical sub-disciplines"
] |
57,954,093 | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Theoretical%20behaviorism | Theoretical behaviorism is a framework for psychology proposed by J. E. R. Staddon as an extension of experimental psychologist B. F. Skinner's radical behaviorism. It originated at Harvard in the early 1960s.
In the late 1980s, R. H. Ettinger and Staddon critiqued functional analysis.
Application of selection and variation to behaviorism
In the early 1950s, B. F. Skinner and others began to point out the similarities between the learning process and evolution through variation and selection. More recently, models explicitly analogous to gene mutation and selection by reinforcement have been applied to operant conditioning phenomena. Skinner’s idea of "emitted behavior" is an example of a parallel between evolution and behaviorism: once a behavior varies, a variant that results in reward is strengthened and therefore increases in frequency. When a reward is taken away or when selection is relaxed, there is an increase in variability in both natural selection and selection by reinforcement schedule.
Skinner said little about the causes and types of behavior variation, believing it to be random. On the other hand, Zener, Liddell and others argue that the variation in behaviors that psychological reinforcement acts on is not random. For example, it is different for food than for sex or a social reward. The ethologist Lorenz first identified the dog’s behavior as a particular instinctive pattern, similar to a repertoire.
Repertoire of possible behaviors
A "repertoire" of behaviors involves potential behaviors that may occur under certain conditions, such as if the currently active behavior is unrewarded. The observed repertoire in a particular animal depends on the reward size and nature of the stimulus: anticipation of food will lead to a different repertoire than anticipation of electric shock.
In addition to the active behavior, a repertoire includes latent possible activities. This idea of a latent response was first suggested by B.F. Skinner:
"Our basic datum…is the probability that a response will be emitted…We recognize …that … every response may be conceived of as having at any moment an assignable probability of emission... A latent response with a certain probability of emission is not directly observed. It is a scientific construct. But it can be given a respectable status, and it enormously increases our analytical power…. It is assumed that the strength of a response must reach a certain value before the response will be emitted. This value is called the threshold."
Within theoretical behaviorism, the "threshold" is instead competition from other possible responses.
References
External links
Behaviorism
History of psychology | Theoretical behaviorism | [
"Biology"
] | 513 | [
"Behavior",
"Behaviorism"
] |
57,954,250 | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Atomic%20trap%20trace%20analysis | Atom Trap Trace Analysis (ATTA) is an extremely sensitive trace analysis method developed by Argonne National Lab (ANL). ATTA is used on long-lived, stable radioisotopes such as , , and . By using a laser that is locked to an atomic transition, a CCD or PMT will detect the laser induced fluorescence to allow highly selective, parts-per-trillion to parts-per-quadrillion concentration measurement with single atom detection. This method is useful for atomic transport processes, such as in the atmosphere, geological dating, as well as noble gas purification.
ATTA measurements are possible only if the atoms are excited to a metastable state prior to detection. The main difficulty to accomplishing this is the large energy gap (10-20 eV) between the ground and excited state. The current solution is to use an RF discharge, which is a brute force technique that is inefficient and leads to complications such contamination of the walls from ion sputtering and high gas density. A new scheme for generating a metastable beam which can achieve a cleaner, slower, and preferably more intense source would provide a substantial advance to ATTA technology. All-optical techniques have been considered, but have not yet been able to compete with the discharge source. A new technique for generation of metastable krypton involves the use of a two photon transition driven by a pulsed, far-UV laser to populate the excited state which decays to the metastable state with high probability.
References
Sources
Radiochemistry | Atomic trap trace analysis | [
"Chemistry"
] | 320 | [
"Nuclear chemistry stubs",
"Radiochemistry",
"Radioactivity"
] |
57,954,327 | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Data%20Transfer%20Project | The Data Transfer Project (DTP) is an open-source initiative which features data portability between multiple online platforms. The project was launched and introduced by Google on July 20, 2018, and has currently partnered with Facebook, Microsoft, Twitter, and Apple.
Background
The project was formed by the Google Data Liberation Front in 2017, hoping to provide a platform that could allow individuals to move their online data between different platforms, without the need of downloading and re-uploading data. The ecosystem is achieved by extracting different files through various available APIs released by online platforms and translating such codes so that it could be compatible with other platforms. Similarly, the Data Transfer Project is currently being used as a part of Google Takeout and a similar program in Facebook (called "Access your information"), allowing the two personal data downloading services to be compatible with each other. This allows data to be easily transferred from the two platforms.
On July 20, 2018, the joint project was announced. The source code, which has been uploaded to GitHub, was mainly written by Google and Microsoft's engineers.
On July 30, 2019, Apple announced that it will be joining the project, allowing data portability in iCloud.
Implementations
On December 2, 2019, Facebook announced the ability for users to transfer photos and videos to Google Photos, originally available only in a select few countries. This expanded over the following months, and on June 4, 2020, Facebook announced full global availability of this feature.
See more
Data portability
Google Takeout
References
External links
Google
Internet properties established in 2018
Free network-related software
Interoperability | Data Transfer Project | [
"Engineering"
] | 330 | [
"Telecommunications engineering",
"Interoperability"
] |
57,954,410 | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mars%20Multispectral%20Imager%20for%20Subsurface%20Studies | Mars Multispectral Imager for Subsurface Studies (Ma_MISS) is a miniaturized imaging spectrometer designed to provide imaging and spectra by reflectance in the near-infrared (NIR) wavelength region and determine the mineral composition and stratigraphy. The instrument is part of the science payload on board the European Rosalind Franklin rover, tasked to search for biosignatures, and scheduled to launch not earlier than 2028. Ma_MISS is essentially inside a drill on the Rover, and will take measurements of the sub-surface directly.
Ma_MISS will help on the search for biosignatures by studying minerals and ices in situ before the collection of samples. The instrument is integrated within the Italian core drill system called DEEDRI, and it will be dedicated to in situ studies of the mineralogy inside the excavated holes in terms of visible and infrared spectral reflectance.
The Principal Investigator is Maria Cristina De Sanctis, from the INAF (Istituto Nazionale di Astrofisica) in Italy.
Overview
The instrument is based on the design conceived by planetary scientist Angioletta Coradini in 2001. Ma_MISS is integrated in the Rosalind Franklin rover 2-metre DEEDRI core drill and shares its structure and electronics. It will perform visible and near-infrared spectroscopy (NIR) in the 0.4 to 2.2 μm range of the excavated borehole wall.
A 5 watt lamp and an optical fiber array will provide the illumination of the target (about 100 μm spot) as well as collect the scattered light from the target. An optical fiber carries the light to the spectrometer.
It will be operated periodically during the pauses of the drilling activity and will also be able to provide images of the hole wall by a sapphire window connected to an array of optical fibres. MA-MISS will provide important information about mineralogy, petrology, and geological processes of sedimentary materials of the Martian subsurface. It will also give insights about materials that have not been altered by surface processes such as erosion, weathering or oxidation.
The instrument is noted for its location inside the drill where it will have close contact with the Martian sub-surface. There is a window on the side of the drill, and as the drill turns it can take measurements around the circumference of the bore hole.
Objectives
The ExoMars programme is an astrobiology project focused on the search for biosignatures in the subsurface of Mars, and to better understand the geological evolution and habitability of Mars. The study of the Martian subsurface will provide important constraints on the nature, timing and duration of alteration and sedimentation processes on Mars, as well as on the complex interactions between the surface and the atmosphere. The stated objectives of the Ma_MISS experiment are:
Determine the composition of subsurface materials.
Map the distribution of subsurface water and ices.
Characterize grain size.
Reconstruct a stratigraphic column for clues on subsurface geological processes.
References
ExoMars
Mars imagers
Astrobiology
Space science experiments | Mars Multispectral Imager for Subsurface Studies | [
"Astronomy",
"Biology"
] | 630 | [
"Origin of life",
"Speculative evolution",
"Astrobiology",
"Biological hypotheses",
"Astronomical sub-disciplines"
] |
57,955,533 | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Quartz%20Roasting%20Pits%20Complex | Quartz Roasting Pits Complex is a heritage-listed quartz roasting kiln located 10 km north of Hill End, Mid-Western Regional Council, New South Wales, Australia. It was built from 1854 to 1855. It is also known as Cornish Roasting Pits. The property is owned by the New South Wales Office of Environment and Heritage. It was added to the New South Wales State Heritage Register on 2 April 1999.
History
The Hill End Quartz Roasting Pits Complex was established by the Colonial Gold Mining Company in 1855, on the traditional land of the Wiradjuri people, to provide gold extraction facilities for those working claims on the Tambaroora and Hill End goldfields. Although at this time alluvial mining was the primary method of gold recovery, the Tambaroora fields also supported the earliest attempts at reef mining in Australia, over fifteen years before the reef mining boom of the 1870s. The Quartz Roasting Pits Complex is one of the oldest goldrush sites in Australia and represents one of the first attempts to process gold bearing ore. It also represents an unusual technological solution to the problems initially experienced in extracting payable gold from the quartz reefs, in its development of the earliest form of quartz firing technology in Australia. With kilns for roasting gold bearing quartz, a sophisticated battery and dam system for crushing and washing the ore and houses for workers, the Complex provides tangible evidence of technological, social and domestic relationships during this very early stage of Australia's goldmining history. Gold bearing quartz was brought to the Complex from surrounding mines and roasted to make it easier to crush (a relatively unusual process) and then crushed in a steam powered battery. Gold was then extracted from the powdered ore through a process of sieving and washing.
Despite its impressive technological achievements, the operation, managed and probably designed by Alfred Spence, was short-lived, closing in 1856, only eighteen months after it opened. This may have been partly due to the fact that the primitive roasting techniques employed hampered the gold extraction process. It may also have been due to the lack of gold in the reefs of the surrounding area, which were not fully tested before the Complex was established.
Since 1856, no major development has occurred on the site with the land being used for grazing, as part of Alpha Station. Ownership was transferred to National Parks and Wildlife in 1967. Limited archaeological excavations were undertaken by the University of Sydney in 1975 and partial reconstruction of the battery and roasting pits in 1977.
Following the reassessment of the site in April 1997, the site is being stabilised and new interpretative signage prepared for its presentation to the public.
Description
The Roasting Pits Complex is located approximately 10 km north of Hill End township and approximately 2.5 km north of Valentine's Mine which acted as the main source of auriferous quartz. It sits within a small gently sloping valley, straddling a shallow watercourse. The site comprises a pair of kilns, a battery building which housed ore crushing machinery, a dam and the remains of two houses where the manager and various workers lived while the site was in operation. The Battery and Roasting Pits form the visual focus of the site, as they would have in the 1850s. From this point, all the other structures with the exception of the Dam, are largely obscured by vegetation. When the site was in operation however, the landscape would have been barren, with a clear view of mining activities in the surrounding hills. This harsh cultural landscape is still evident on close examination although its general sense has been diminished somewhat by the later plant growth.
It is likely, given the short history of the Complex's operation, that all of the substantial structures on the site were built at about the same time in 1855. They would have suffered some impact upon the closure of the operation as equipment was salvaged, scavenged and removed from the site. Apart from grazing and cultivation, no significant later use of the site is known.
The Roasting Pits are a two chamber kiln structure set on the hill upslope of the Battery. The Pits are composed of hard sedimentary stone, predominantly metamorphosed shale and greywacke. The kiln contains two conical pits that open from the top and taper sharply to ground level at the front (downslope). Each pit is built in front of an artificial embankment that joins the hill contour but drops sharply on both sides.
The Battery sits on the valley floor about 20m below the Roasting Pits. It was here that the ore was crushed after roasting. The placement of the Battery on Fighting Ground Creek provided an area for tailings run off and access to a ready supply of water which was fed from the Dam further upstream. Locating it directly below the Roasting Pits also assisted the movement of the roasted ore from one stage of the extraction process to the next. The Battery is a large structure containing two main spaces and a solid stone platform containing several voids or spaces for machinery. It is oriented approximately north-south along its long axis, roughly parallel to the creek bank and across the slope leading down from the Roasting Pits. The western side of the building is cut into the slope, while the eastern is built onto the flat creek terrace.
Other features are scattered throughout the surrounding bush including house remains and a large earth dam to the north-east of the battery.
The site was reported to have high archaeological potential as at 29 August 1997.
The ruins retain their integrity.
Heritage listing
The Hill End Quartz Roasting Pits is nationally significant as one of the earliest surviving reasonably intact gold mining related sites in Australia. The site demonstrates the operations of an uncommon technology brought to Australia to deal with the intractable quartz being mined. As an industrial site all facets of the processes that took place and the infrastructure associated with it are still represented. The site provides an understanding of the nature of capital investment, technological transfer and mining and extractive processes at the very start of the gold boom, which was itself a process of lasting importance for Australia.
The Roasting Pits are nationally significant as a rare example of the application of a common design for lime burning being adapted for the roasting of quartz. They reflect the period prior to the development of specialised quartz roasting kilns.
The Battery is nationally significant as a purpose-built structure to house a boiler, beam engine and stamper battery. It represents the oldest surviving stamper battery building erected for gold mining in Australia, being substantially intact and interpretable as a working structure.
The features associated with the Roasting Pits, such as the Dam, and worker housing are also nationally significant by enhancing the understanding of the infrastructure associated with the operation of the Roasting Pits.
The remains of the fences associated with the 1871 occupation of the site are regionally significant.
Quartz Roasting Pits Complex was listed on the New South Wales State Heritage Register on 2 April 1999 having satisfied the following criteria.
The place is important in demonstrating the course, or pattern, of cultural or natural history in New South Wales.
The Hill End Quartz Roasting Pits are of national historical importance for their role in demonstrating the initial stage of the gold rushes that transformed the nineteenth century Australian economy. They represent an investment of capital and a transfer and application of technology from overseas that is both representative of the processes of the early gold rush period and unusual for its particular form of application. They are an evocative and extremely early representation of the capital-driven reef mining activity that was not to develop a major presence in Hill End until the early 1870s. The nature and pattern of technological transfer and experimentation during the early gold rush period can be understood by historical analysis of the site.
The place is important in demonstrating aesthetic characteristics and/or a high degree of creative or technical achievement in New South Wales.
The setting for the Roasting Pits is aesthetically pleasing as a pastoral landscape, typical of the mix of small farms, cleared pastoral land and variously aged forest regrowth.
The appearance of the Battery, the Roasting Pits and the other cultural features within the complex is evocative of the romance of the historical period of gold mining. It does not reflect the reality, but there is a subliminal juxtaposition of the passivity of the natural setting and the implied violence and chaos of the industrial processes.
The Roasting Pits and the Battery were carefully designed functional structures. It is evident that both were built to prepared designs, and that they were meant to operate closely together as a single functional unit. The design of the Roasting Pits reflects the utilisation, with minimal adaptation, of a standard design for lime kilns. This design, as shown by numerous examples, was commonplace and well-understood. It is rare as an example of the design used for quartz roasting. This type of design was superseded within a decade by more sophisticated designs, such as Wilkinson's in Victoria.
The Battery, as a free-standing industrial building housing a stamper battery, would have been one of the first of its type in Australia. It was also a variation on a type that had a lengthy history in British usage, especially in mining areas such as Cornwall. It was an integration of architectural design and engineering function to create an optimal structure for a specific purpose. As stampers became more common they were housed in expedient structures which lacked the care for masonry construction evident in the Battery.
The place has strong or special association with a particular community or cultural group in New South Wales for social, cultural or spiritual reasons.
The Quartz Roasting Pits Complex represent an early stage of the development of the association that Hill End and Tambaroora had with gold. The link has been strengthened through the management of Hill End by NPWS since 1967 as an exemplar of nineteenth century gold mining landscapes and townscapes and has significance to the current local community. The living history of the area still plays a vital role in day to day life. The Complex's social significance is no greater than the remainder of the recognised historic heritage around Hill End.
The place has potential to yield information that will contribute to an understanding of the cultural or natural history of New South Wales.
The technological significance of the Quartz Roasting Pits rests on the rarity of their technology. The use of roasting, while not unknown in Australia, was rare. It reflects the first decade of gold mining in Australia, where lack of knowledge of the material was matched with a poverty of suitable equipment. The technological interest in the site is also enhanced by its integrity. The main features of the entire industrial complex are present in forms that can be interpreted and understood in relation to one another.
It is representative of technology transfer - both as human systems (the Cornish bringing technology and designs into the colony for mining) and as machines (English capital, English and colonial kiln designs, American stampers and gold extracting technology).
There are gaps in our knowledge of the layout and design of the complex, its corporate history, the details of its operation and its success which are able to be investigated by archaeology and no other source.
The rarity of this type of site in intactness from the first phase of goldmining, and of that type of technology guarantees that it will not be represented effectively on many sites at all in Australia.
Many sites of the first decade of the gold rushes have been destroyed by reinvestigation or different mining techniques. Sites of this period are inherently rare due to their vulnerability.
The Quartz Roasting Pits complex can shed more light through archaeological investigation on itself, upon the processes of technological transfer and adaptation of technology in the period of gold mining commencing in Australia.
As a largely intact site it has the potential to reveal the social relationships between different levels in the mining hierarchy, and the interrelationships between human and technological systems. An inquiry could investigate the investment capital used to create the complex and how this was reflected in the material culture of those who worked there. This can be contrasted to those of others who worked for themselves on the gold fields.
The place possesses uncommon, rare or endangered aspects of the cultural or natural history of New South Wales.
The Quartz Roasting Pits Complex is extremely rare in its technical/research and historic significance
See also
References
Bibliography
Attribution
New South Wales State Heritage Register
Hill End, New South Wales
Industrial buildings in New South Wales
Articles incorporating text from the New South Wales State Heritage Register
Kilns | Quartz Roasting Pits Complex | [
"Chemistry",
"Engineering"
] | 2,509 | [
"Chemical equipment",
"Kilns"
] |
57,956,241 | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List%20of%20Trebouxiophyceae%20genera | This is a list of genera in the green algae class Trebouxiophyceae, sub-divided by order and family. Some genera have uncertain taxonomic placement and are listed as incertae sedis. Ranks without accepted subordinate taxa have been omitted. The list is based on the data available in AlgaeBase, the Integrated Taxonomic Information System (ITIS), the National Center for Biotechnology Information taxonomic database (NCBI), and other taxonomic databases.
Order Chlorellales
Family Chlorellaceae
Acanthosphaera
Actinastrum
Apatococcus
Apodococcus
Auxenochlorella
Carolibrandtia
Catena
Chlorella
Chloroparva
Closteriopsis
Compactochlorella
Coronacoccus
Coronastrum
Cylindrocelis
Dicellula
Dictyosphaerium
Didymogenes
Fissuricella
Follicularia
Geminella
Gloeotila
Golenkiniopsis
Hegewaldia
Helicosporidium
Heynigia
Hindakia
Hormospora
Kalenjinia
Keratococcus
Leptochlorella
Marasphaerium
Marinichlorella
Marvania
Masaia
Meyerella
Micractinium
Mucidosphaerium
Muriella
Nannochloris
Nanochlorum
Palmellochaete
Parachlorella
Planktochlorella
Podohedra
Prototheca
Pseudochloris
Pseudosiderocelopsis
Pumiliosphaera
Siderocelis
Zoochlorella
Family Eremosphaeraceae
Excentrosphaera
Neglectella
Family Oocystaceae
Amphikrikos
Catenocystis
Cerasterias
Chodatella
Chodatellopsis
Chondrosphaera
Coenolamellus
Conradia
Crucigeniella
Cryocystis
Dactylococcus
Didymocystis
Ecballocystopsis
Ecdysichlamys
Echinocoleum
Elongatocystis
Eremosphaera
Ettliella
Fotterella
Franceia
Glochiococcus
Gloeocystopsis
Gloeotaenium
Gloxidium
Granulocystis
Granulocystopsis
Hemichloris
Jaagichlorella
Juranyiella
Keriochlamys
Kirchneriellosaccus
Makinoella
Makinoelloideae
Micracantha
Mycacanthococcus
Mycotetraedron
Nephrochlamys
Nephrocytium
Oocystaenium
Oocystella
Oocystidium
Oocystis
Oocystopsis
Oonephris
Ooplanctella
Pachycladella
Palmellococcus
Pilidiocystis
Planctonema
Planctonemopsis
Planktosphaerella
Pseudobohlina
Pseudochlorococcum
Pseudococcomyxa
Quadricoccus
Rayssiella
Reinschiella
Rhombocystis
Saturnella
Schizochlamydella
Scotiella
Selenoderma
Sestosoma
Siderocystopsis
Tetrachlorella
Thelesphaera
Trigonidiella
Trochiscia
Family incertae sedis
Ankistrodesmopsis
Picochlorum
Order Microthamniales
Family Microthamniaceae
Microthamnion
Order Phyllosiphonales
Family Phyllosiphonaceae
Mysteriochloris
Phyllosiphon
Phytophysa
Polulichloris
Order Prasiolales
Family Koliellaceae
Ekerewekia
Koliella
Pseudochlorella
Raphidonema
Raphidonemopsis
Family Prasiolaceae
Desmococcus
Diplosphaera
Hormidium
Prasiococcus
Prasiola
Prasiolopsis
Prasionella
Prasionema
Rosenvingiella
Rosenvingiellopsis
Schizogonium
Stichococcus
Family incertae sedis
Elliptochloris
Order Trebouxiales
Family Botryococcaceae
Botryococcus
Caulodendron
Dichotomococcus
Elaeophyton
Selenodictyon
Family Trebouxiaceae
Asterochloris
Dictyochloropsis
Heterochlorella
Lobosphaera
Myrmecia
Parietochloris
Symbiochloris
Trebouxia
Trochisciopsis
Vulcanochloris
Watanabea
Order incertae sedis
Family Coccomyxaceae
Choricystis
Coccomyxa
Dactylothece
Diogenes
Dispora
Lusitania
Nannokloster
Palmogloea
Paradoxia
Family Dictyosphaeriaceae
Dactylosphaerium
Dimorphococcopsis
Family Micractiniaceae
Phythelios
Family incertae sedis
Autumnella
Chloroidium
Chloropyrula
Crucigenia
Desertella
Edaphochlorella
Eremochloris
Glaphyrella
Heveochlorella
Kalinella
Koliellopsis
Lemmermannia
Leptosira
lunachloris
Parachloroidium
Pseudomarvania
Rhopalosolen
Viridiella
Xerochlorella
Xylochloris
References
External links
*
Trebouxiophyceae
Trebouxiophyceae
Trebouxiophyceae | List of Trebouxiophyceae genera | [
"Biology"
] | 1,065 | [
"Algae",
"Lists of algae"
] |
57,956,353 | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/NextDC | NextDC (stylized as NEXTDC) is an Australian data centre operator. Headquartered in Brisbane, Queensland, NextDC is the largest listed developer and operator of data centres in Australia. , the company operates 13 data centres, with facilities in Melbourne, Sydney, Brisbane, Perth and Canberra.
History
NextDC was founded by Bevan Slattery in May 2010. It has been listed on the Australian Securities Exchange since December 2010.
Since June 2012, Craig Scroggie has assumed the role of Chief Executive Officer.
In 2015, NextDC was named by Deloitte as Australia's fastest growing technology company.
In July 2020, NextDC opened P2, its second data centre in Perth.
In November 2021, NextDC invested around $17 million for a 19.99% stake in AUCloud.
In February 2022, NextDC announced that it will invest more than $100 million to build a data centre on Pirie Street, Adelaide.
In April 2024, NextDC announced a $1.32 billion capital raise to accelerate the expansion of its data centre networks in Sydney and Melbourne.
The company's market capitalisation was valued at over $10 billion as of May 2024.
Data centres
Organisational structure
Board members
Douglas Flynn (Chairman)
Craig Scroggie (CEO and Managing Director)
Gregory Clark AC
Jennifer Lambert
Eileen Doyle
Stuart Davis
Steve Smith
Michael Helmer
Maria Leftakis
References
Data centers
Companies listed on the Australian Securities Exchange
Information technology companies of Australia
Technology companies established in 2010
2010 establishments in Australia | NextDC | [
"Technology"
] | 309 | [
"Data centers",
"Computers"
] |
57,956,800 | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trichoderma%20asperellum | Trichoderma asperellum Samuels, Lieckf & Nirenberg is a species of fungus in the family Hypocreaceae. It can be distinguished from T. viride by molecular and phenotypic characteristics. The most important molecular characteristics are divergent ITS-1 and 28S sequences and RFLP's of the endochitinase gene. Main phenotypic characters are conidial ornamentation and arrangement and branching of the conidiophores.
Important Isolates
This species has been used commercially and experimentally as a biopesticide for plant disease control: some commercial isolates were previously placed in T. harzianum.
References
External links
Trichoderma
Biopesticides
Biotechnology
Biological pest control
Fungi described in 1999
Fungus species | Trichoderma asperellum | [
"Biology"
] | 163 | [
"Fungi",
"Fungus species",
"nan",
"Biotechnology"
] |
51,862,232 | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hexagonal%20window | A hexagonal window (also Melnikov's or honeycomb window) is a hexagon-shaped window, resembling a bee cell or crystal lattice of graphite. The window can be vertically or horizontally oriented, openable or fixed. It can also be regular or elongately-shaped and can have a separator (mullion).
Typically, the cellular window is used for an attic or as a decorative feature, but it can also be a major architectural element to provide the natural lighting inside buildings. The hexagonal window is relatively rare and associated with such architectural styles as constructivism, functionalism and, occasionally, cubism.
History
Attic hexagonal windows were occasionally used in the Northern European manor architecture of the 19th century. The concept became popular thanks to the Russian constructivist architect Konstantin Melnikov, whose own famous house had 124 hexagonal windows, which were the main source of light as ceiling lights were not provided in many rooms. Cellular windows are also a feature of the Scandinavian functionalism architecture of the 1940s–1960s and are a kind of synthesis of tradition and modernism in the architecture.
Today, hexagonal windows may be associated with honeycomb houses, a concept proposed by architect Frank Lloyd Wright and explore an idea of organic architecture, which considers the nature as a main source of architectural imagination.
Gallery
References
External links
Window Replacement
Aluminum Glass Window
Windows
Architectural elements | Hexagonal window | [
"Technology",
"Engineering"
] | 285 | [
"Building engineering",
"Architectural elements",
"Components",
"Architecture"
] |
51,864,400 | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pixel%20%281st%20generation%29 | The Pixel and Pixel XL are a pair of Android smartphones designed, developed, and marketed by Google and the first smartphones to be part of the Google Pixel product line, succeeding the Nexus line of smartphones. They were officially announced on October 4, 2016 at the Made by Google event and released in the United States on October 20. On October 4, 2017, they were succeeded by the Pixel 2 and Pixel 2 XL.
The Pixels have an aluminium chassis, with a glass panel on the rear, a USB-C connector, 3.5 mm headphone jack, and a 12.3 megapixel rear-facing camera. At launch, the devices featured certain exclusive software features, including the 7.1 "Nougat" update to the Android operating system, integration with the Google Assistant intelligent personal assistant, live technical support services, and unlimited full-resolution Google Photos backup for the life of the device.
The Pixels received mixed reviews, with praise for the devices' performance and cameras, but several critics noted similarities with Apple's iPhone line in terms of hardware design, and criticized the Pixels's lack of waterproofing and high price.
History
Google previously co-developed flagship Android devices with original equipment manufacturers through the Nexus program, which were designed to be "reference" devices for the Android platform, but the devices retained similarities to other devices made by their respective partners. Rick Osterloh, former president of Motorola, joined Google as its senior vice president of hardware in April 2016, and Google initiated development of an ecosystem of in-house products and platforms, including the Google Home smart speaker, Google Assistant intelligent personal assistant, and Google Daydream, Google's virtual reality platform. The Pixels were announced on October 4, 2016, and serve as Google's launch devices for Android 7.1 "Nougat". The song Closer by Lemaitre Music was used in the device's introductory film.
Osterloh said in an interview with The Verge that "a lot of the innovation that we want to do now ends up requiring controlling the end-to-end user experience". The Verge wrote that the Nexus program had "fulfilled its mission", with a Google spokesperson stating that there are "no plans" to make another Nexus device. The Pixel was designed by and marketed as being a Google product. Google worked with HTC on a contract basis on development but have said that the Pixels are not based on any existing HTC device. It offered Huawei the contract to manufacture the devices, but after Google refused to dual-brand the phone with credit to the manufacturer, Huawei declined the offer.
In the United States, Pixel was exclusive to Verizon Wireless and Project Fi (now Google Fi Wireless), but also available direct-to-consumer via Google's online store or from Best Buy. In the United Kingdom, they are available direct-to-consumer via Google's online store, and through EE and Carphone Warehouse. In India, they became available for preorder from October 13 from Flipkart, Reliance Digital, and Cromā, with general store availability on October 25.
On October 4, 2017, Google announced the Pixel 2 and Pixel 2 XL smartphones, succeeding the original Pixel devices. The Pixel and Pixel XL were removed from the Google Store and discontinued on April 11, 2018.
Specifications
Hardware
Exterior
Pixel uses an aluminium chassis, with a glass panel on the portion of the rear housing the camera and "Pixel Imprint" fingerprint sensor.
The phones have a USB-C connector supporting USB 3.0, for power and data exchange. The phone features a 3.5mm headphone jack, which received media attention for being a contrast to competing smartphone Apple iPhone 7, the first not to feature the port.
The Pixel and Pixel XL both use the Qualcomm Snapdragon 821 system-on-chip, with 4 GB of RAM. They are offered with either 32 GB or 128 GB of UFS 2.0 non-expandable internal storage.
Display and battery
The two models are differentiated by screen and battery size. The standard Pixel's display measures 1080p AMOLED with a 2770mAh battery, while the Pixel XL's display measures 1440p AMOLED with a 3450mAh battery.
Cameras
Pixel features a 12.3-megapixel rear-facing camera, which uses an 2.0 aperture, and a Sony Exmor IMX378 sensor with 1.55 μm pixels.
Lacking optical image stabilization, the camera uses a digital image stabilization system tied to the phone's gyroscope and motion sensors at a sampling rate of 200 Hz.
To improve capture speed, 30 frames are continuously captured per second while the camera is active. When a photo is taken, up to 10 of these frames are composed to form a single image. Later software updates to Pixel introduced "Night Sight", an enhanced low-light photography mode first introduced on one of the devices' successors, the Pixel 3.
Software
The Pixel and Pixel XL shipped with Android 7.1 "Nougat", an update to 7.0 that was initially exclusive to the Pixel. Android 7.1 was later released for some existing Nexus devices in December 2016, but certain features remained exclusive to the Pixel.
Pixel supports Google Assistant, and provides live technical support services integrated into the OS. Similarly to Nexus devices, it receives Android updates directly from Google. Pixel also supports the Google Daydream virtual reality platform. Pixels 1–5 included unlimited full-resolution Google Photos backup for the life of the device. A November 2016 update added additional motion gestures, including double-tapping the screen to show alerts, and raising the device to wake the screen.
Google states on its support pages that the Pixel and Pixel XL are guaranteed to receive new Android version updates until October 2018, and guaranteed to receive security patches until October 2019. In August 2017, Google released Android 8.0 "Oreo" for the Pixel and Pixel XL. Android 8.1 Oreo was released for the Pixel and Pixel XL, as well as some other devices, on December 5, 2017. Although after the date Google guaranteed the Pixel and Pixel XL would receive new Android versions, Google released Android 10 to the Pixel and Pixel XL in September 2019. Google released the final official security update to the Pixel and Pixel XL in December 2019.
Cellular networks
All Pixel and Pixel XL models are multi-band devices.
Reception
The Pixel and Pixel XL received mixed reviews. Dieter Bohn of The Verge said the Pixel smartphones are "...easily the best Android phones you can buy" and gave the product a 9 out of 10, praising its long battery life and Google Assistant integration. However, criticism has been aimed at its pedestrian design and lack of waterproofing.
Matt Humrick of AnandTech praised the camera being flush with the body, but was critical of the price, stating that Nexus fans who were looking for a more affordable option would be disappointed. Chris Velazco of Engadget praised the build quality, camera, and performance, but criticized the high price, and lack of proper water-resistance present in rivals, such as the iPhone 7 and the Samsung Galaxy S7.
Writing for Ars Technica, Ron Amadeo said of the phone, "[it has] unbeatable software and support with a great camera, wrapped in a familiar exterior." Zach Epstein of BGR wrote in February 2017 that "There’s also no question that the phones feature a design that is sleek and impressive, yet all too familiar. Yes, that’s a nice way of saying that Google blatantly ripped off the iconic design that Apple has used on its iPhones for the past three generations."
Sales
In June 2017, Ars Technica reported that Google Play's app for the Pixel Launcher, an app pre-installed on all Pixel phones, had been downloaded between one million and five million times. Although the report acknowledged the measurement's imprecision, the publication credited it for providing the first possible sales numbers. In February 2018, an analysis by International Data Corporation (IDC) reported that Google shipped a combined 3.9 million Pixel/XL and Pixel 2/2XL phones in 2017, almost double the number of shipments from 2016, when Google shipped nearly 2 million Pixel and Pixel XL phones in three months.
Issues
The Pixel and Pixel XL have exhibited numerous problems since release, including:
Rear camera producing excessive flare (fixed in an update to Google's Camera app)
Bluetooth pairing and stability problems, (fixed through an update to Google's servers in March 2017)
Connectivity problems with an LTE band (fixed with the release of Android 7.1.1 in December 2016)
"Bubbles" forming under the phone's display (with Google replacing affected units and launching an investigation into the issue)
Audio distortion and harsh clipping at maximum volume through the phone's speaker (fixed in a February 2017 system update, and later also addressed in the Android 7.1.2 system update)
Random software freezes that leave the phone unresponsive for a few minutes (fixed with the June 2017 monthly security patch)
Unexpected battery shutdowns (with Android 7.1.2 fixing the issue)
Synchronization issues with Apple MacBook computers, reportedly due to an outdated synchronization program Google had not updated since 2012.
Failing microphones, as a result of a "hairline crack in the solder connection on the audio codec", with Google announcing a replacement program
Issues with properly backing up the devices, with failures of SMS, call history and apps. Google is reportedly looking into the issue.
See also
Google Nexus
List of Google Play edition devices
References
External links
Android (operating system) devices
Discontinued flagship smartphones
Google hardware
Google Pixel
HTC smartphones
Mobile phones introduced in 2016
Mobile phones with 4K video recording | Pixel (1st generation) | [
"Technology"
] | 2,016 | [
"Discontinued flagship smartphones",
"Flagship smartphones"
] |
51,865,173 | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spit%20hood | A spit hood, spit mask, mesh hood or spit guard is a restraint device intended to prevent a person from spitting or biting. The use of the hoods has been controversial, as they are a potential suffocation risk.
Justification for use
Proponents, often including police unions and associations, say the spit hoods can help protect personnel from exposure to serious infections like hepatitis and that in London, 59% of injecting drug users test positive for hepatitis C. According to Occupational Safety and Health Administration regulations in the United States, saliva is considered potentially infectious for hepatitis C, HIV and other bloodborne pathogens only if visible blood is present.
Opposition to use
Several studies have concluded that the risk of transmission of disease from spitting was low.
The spit hoods have been criticised for breaching human rights guidelines. Critics describe the hoods as primitive, cruel, and degrading.
There is a risk of death. According to The New York Times, spit hoods have been involved in several deaths in law enforcement custody.
Use around the world
Australia
The use of spit hoods and restraint chairs at the Don Dale Youth Detention Centre in the Northern Territory, Australia, led to the establishment of the Royal Commission into the Protection and Detention of Children in the Northern Territory.
The Australian Federal Police (AFP) banned the usage of spit hoods in 2023. While the ban was welcomed by the Australian Human Rights Commission (HRC), there was backlash from the Australian Federal Police Association (AFPA).
Five years after the death of Aboriginal man Wayne Fella Morrison in custody in South Australia in September 2016, the use of spit hoods was banned in the state. South Australia remains the only state to legislate the ban on spit hoods, with a bill to ban spit hoods tabled in New South Wales parliament in 2023. Morrison’s family led the state-wide campaign to establish ‘Fella’s Bill’, now extended into the National Ban Spit hoods Coalition. Spit hoods are also banned in the Australian Capital Territory (ACT). In Queensland, the use of spit hoods is banned in watchhouses but not in correctional facilities such as prisons and youth detention centres. In Western Australia, they are still used by police and in prisons but are banned in youth detention centres. There have also been calls for a formal ban the use of spit hoods in the Northern Territory, where they are banned by institutions such as youth detention centres despite no legislation prohibiting them. While not formally banned, spit hoods are not used by police in New South Wales, Tasmania and Victoria.
While the use of spit hoods is opposed by police forces in Australia, their usage is still supported by several police unions.
New Zealand
New Zealand does not ban the usage of spit hoods and their usage has grown. In 2011, they were used by police 12 times, compared to 257 times in 2019, a 2,000% increase in eight years.
United Kingdom
Some British police chiefs have privately expressed concerns that the hoods are reminiscent of those used at the Guantanamo Bay detention camp. A decision by the Metropolitan Police Service to start using spit hoods was condemned by the human rights group Amnesty International, the civil rights group Liberty and the campaign group Inquest. Many major British police forces have chosen not to use spit hoods.
Canada
In 2016, a spit hood was used shortly prior to the death of Soleiman Faqiri in the Central East Correctional center. In 2023, Faqiri's death was ruled a homicide. In 2021, 21-year old Nicous D'Andre Spring was pepper sprayed while wearing a spit hood during his illegal detainment in Bordeaux jail in Montreal and died the following day. Quebec police and the Chief coroner's office began an investigation and public inquiry in to his death in 2023.
See also
Muzzle (device)
Restraint chair
References
Law enforcement equipment
Physical restraint
Masks in law | Spit hood | [
"Biology"
] | 793 | [
"Excretion",
"Spitting"
] |
51,865,176 | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Generalized-strain%20mesh-free%20formulation | The generalized-strain mesh-free (GSMF) formulation is a local meshfree method in the field of numerical analysis, completely integration free, working as a weighted-residual weak-form collocation. This method was first presented by Oliveira and Portela (2016), in order to further improve the computational efficiency of meshfree methods in numerical analysis. Local meshfree methods are derived through a weighted-residual formulation which leads to a local weak form that is the well known work theorem of the theory of structures. In an arbitrary local region, the work theorem establishes an energy relationship between a statically-admissible stress field and an independent kinematically-admissible strain field. Based on the independence of these two fields, this formulation results in a local form of the work theorem that is reduced to regular boundary terms only, integration-free and free of volumetric locking.
Advantages over finite element methods are that GSMF doesn't rely on a grid, and is more precise and faster when solving bi-dimensional problems. When compared to other meshless methods, such as rigid-body displacement mesh-free (RBDMF) formulation, the element-free Galerkin (EFG) and the meshless local Petrov-Galerkin finite volume method (MLPG FVM); GSMF proved to be superior not only regarding the computational efficiency, but also regarding the accuracy.
The moving least squares (MLS) approximation of the elastic field is used on this local meshless formulation.
Formulation
In the local form of the work theorem, equation:
The displacement field , was assumed as a continuous function leading to a regular integrable function that is the kinematically-admissible strain field . However, this continuity assumption on , enforced in the local form of the work theorem, is not absolutely required but can be relaxed by convenience, provided can be useful as a generalized function, in the sense of the theory of distributions, see Gelfand and Shilov. Hence, this formulation considers that the displacement field , is a piecewise continuous function, defined in terms of the Heaviside step function and therefore the corresponding strain field , is a generalized function defined in terms of the Dirac delta function.
For the sake of the simplicity, in dealing with Heaviside and Dirac delta functions in a two-dimensional coordinate space, consider a scalar function , defined as:
which represents the absolute-value function of the distance between a field point and a particular reference point , in the local domain assigned to the field node . Therefore, this definition always assumes , as a positive or null value, in this case whenever and are coincident points.
For a scalar coordinate , the Heaviside step function can be defined as
in which the discontinuity is assumed at and consequently, the Dirac delta function is defined with the following properties
and
in which represents the distributional derivative of . Note that the derivative of , with respect to the coordinate , can be defined as
Since the result of this equation is not affected by any particular value of the constant , this constant will be conveniently redefined later on.
Consider that , and represent the distance function , for corresponding collocation points , and . The displacement field , can be conveniently defined as
in which represents the metric of the orthogonal directions and , and represent the number of collocation points, respectively on the local interior boundary with length , on the local static boundary with length and in the local domain with area . This assumed displacement field , a discrete rigid-body unit displacement defined at collocation points. The strain field , is given by
Having defined the displacement and the strain components of the kinematically-admissible field, the local work theorem can be written as
Taking into account the properties of the Heaviside step function and Dirac delta function, this equation simply leads to
Discretization of this equations can be carried out with the MLS approximation, for the local domain , in terms of the nodal unknowns , thus leading to the system of linear algebraic equations that can be written as
or simply
This formulation states the equilibrium of tractions and body forces, pointwisely defined at collocation points, obviously, it is the pointwise version of the Euler-Cauchy stress principle. This is the equation used in the Generalized-Strain Mesh-Free (GSMF) formulation which, therefore, is free of integration. Since the work theorem is a weighted-residual weak form, it can be easily seen that this integration-free formulation is nothing else other than a weighted-residual weak-form collocation. The weighted-residual weak-form collocation readily overcomes the well-known difficulties posed by the weighted-residual strong-form collocation, regarding accuracy and stability of the solution.
See also
Moving least squares
Finite element method
Boundary element method
Meshfree methods
Numerical analysis
Computational Solid Mechanics
References
Numerical analysis | Generalized-strain mesh-free formulation | [
"Mathematics"
] | 997 | [
"Computational mathematics",
"Mathematical relations",
"Approximations",
"Numerical analysis"
] |
51,869,386 | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sabah%20Oil%20and%20Gas%20Terminal | Sabah Oil and Gas Terminal (SOGT) is a terminal located in Kimanis, Papar District, Sabah, Malaysia. The terminal handles the production of oil and gas from the West Coast Field in South China Sea facing the western coast of Sabah, which covering the operations of Sabah Gas Terminal, Labuan Crude Oil Terminal and the Labuan Gas Terminal. Covering an area of about 250 acres, with a capacity to handle up to 300,000 barrels of crude oil per day and 1.0 billion standard cubic feet of gas per day. The terminal stores oil before it is transported by tanker. The terminal is also connected to another terminal in neighbouring Sarawak through the Sabah–Sarawak Gas Pipeline.
History
The proposal to build the terminal has been put forward since 2005. The ground-breaking was officiated by Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi in 2007. In 2010, South Korean-company Samsung Engineering signed a $770 million contract with Petronas to jointly develop the project. A Sarawak-based Malaysian construction company, Naim Holdings Berhad also entered the joint venture with the project was finally complete in 2014.
References
External links
Sabah Oil and Gas Terminal
Oil terminals
Natural gas plants
Natural gas terminals
Buildings and structures in Sabah
2014 establishments in Malaysia
Buildings and structures completed in 2014
Papar District | Sabah Oil and Gas Terminal | [
"Chemistry"
] | 261 | [
"Natural gas technology",
"Natural gas plants"
] |
51,871,142 | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nest%20Wifi | Nest Wifi, its predecessor the Google Wifi, and the Nest Wifi's successor, the Nest Wifi Pro, are a line of mesh-capable wireless routers and add-on points developed by Google as part of the Google Nest family of products. The first generation was announced on October 4, 2016, and released in the United States on December 5, 2016. The second generation, distinct in being released as two separate offerings, a "router" and "point", were announced at the Pixel 4 hardware event on October 15, 2019, and was released in the United States on November 4, 2019. The third generation was announced on October 4, 2022, two days prior to the Pixel 7 Fall 2022 event. This generation returned to a single model, doing away with the "router/point" variants, and was released in the United States on October 27, 2022.
The Nest Wifi aims to provide enhanced Wi-Fi coverage through the setup of multiple Nest Wifi devices in a home. Nest Wifi automatically switches between access points depending on signal strength.
History
First generation
Android Police reported in September 2016 that Google was preparing to introduce a mesh-capable wireless router with enhanced range, along with its October 4 date of announcement and US$129 price point. Google Wifi was officially announced on October 4, 2016, with expected availability in the United States in December. The device became available in the United States on December 5, 2016, in the United Kingdom on April 6, 2017, in Canada on April 28, 2017, in France and Germany on June 26, 2017, in Australia on July 20, 2017, in Hong Kong and Singapore on August 30, 2017, and in Philippines on June 26, 2018.
The first generation Google Wifi features 802.11ac connectivity with 2.4 GHz and 5 GHz channels, 2x2 antennas, and support for beamforming. It has two gigabit Ethernet ports, and contains a quad-core processor with 512 MB RAM and 4 GB flash memory. Wi-Fi access can be controlled through a companion mobile app.
In 2020, Google relaunched the first-generation Google Wifi, with minor hardware changes and at a lower price.
Second generation
The second generation of the product was officially announced at the Pixel 4 hardware event on October 15, 2019, renamed as Google Nest Wifi as part of the company's shift towards its rebranding of all its smart home products to the Google Nest name. It adds a smart speaker equipped add-on point. Internally, a few changes were made, such as a quad-core 64-bit ARM CPU 1.4 GHz and a machine learning hardware engine for both the router and point, as well as IEEE 802.15.4 Thread support. The router has 1 GB RAM and 4 GB flash memory and supports AC2200 4x4 MU-MIMO whereas the point has 768 MB RAM and 512 MB flash memory and supports AC1200 2x2 MU-MIMO.
Feature comparison
Reception
Technology websites Engadget and CNET praised the device's ease of setup, design and speed, but criticized its lack of customizable options, such as no settings for MAC filtering, content filtering, or Dynamic DNS. The Verge also praised its design and ease of use.
See also
Google OnHub
References
External links
Google Wifi routers have been going offline at random
Wifi
Wireless networking hardware | Nest Wifi | [
"Technology"
] | 705 | [
"Wireless networking hardware",
"Wireless networking"
] |
51,871,545 | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Amanita%20spreta | Amanita spreta or the hated amanita is an inedible species of the genus Amanita.
Description
A. spreta is usually distinguished by its grayish brown cap with dark, radial streaks; its medium to large size, the presence of a ring on the upper stem, and its stem base, in which it features a white, sacklike volva and is not prominently swollen. Its ellipsoid, inamyloid spores also help to distinguish it.
Cap
The cap measures around wide, with whitish or pallid tints of gray and/or brown at first, often darkening to gray-brown or brown-gray, often darkest in the center, often white or nearly white at the margin, having minute colorless spots and/or giving the impression of densely placed radial fibers embedded in the cap skin. In addition, the cap is broadly campanulate to plano-convex, and eventually has a large umbo in a slight depression. The cap is viscid to tacky and dull to shiny to subshiny with drying, and it has a decurved, short-striate margin. The volva is either absent or present as white to pale gray, scant, irregular patches, soft to smooth, easily removable, and membranous. The flesh is white, pale brown under the cap skin in the center, is thick over the stem, and is thinning evenly nearing the margin.
Gills
The gills are free, receding at maturity, very crowded to crowded, pale cream to cream to white, 8–19 mm broad, broadest at the midpoint, anastomosing, with faint and short decurrent lines on the top of the stem, and with a minutely powdery edge. The short gills are truncate to rounded truncate to subtruncate, unevenly distributed, of diverse lengths, and plentiful (sometimes more plentiful than full-length gills). The short gills can be adjacent to the stipe or adjacent to the cap margin or neither.
Stem
The stem of A. spreta is 5–10 cm long, up to 2 cm thick, tapering slightly to apex, is whitish, sometimes discoloring a little brownish; finely hairy to shaggy; with a white, skirtlike ring that may discolor brownish; with a slightly enlarged but not bulbous base that is set in a sack-like, flaring or lobed, white volva.
References
Literature
Saccardo, P.A. 1887. Sylloge Hymenomycetum, Vol. I. Agaricineae, p. 12
spreta
Inedible fungi
Fungus species | Amanita spreta | [
"Biology"
] | 554 | [
"Fungi",
"Fungus species"
] |
51,873,022 | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Naomi%20Climer | Naomi Wendy Climer, (born 18 December 1964) is a British engineer who has worked in broadcast, media and communications technology chiefly at the BBC and Sony Professional Solutions, and was the first female President of the Institution of Engineering and Technology (IET). Climer is the co-founder and co-chair of the Institute for the Future of Work.
Early life
Climer attended Gainsborough High School (now Queen Elizabeth High School) and Imperial College London, gaining a joint-degree in 1986 of Chemistry with Management Science.
Career
Climer is a Non Executive Director on the Boards of Focusrite plc and Oxford Metrics plc, is a non executive on the Board of Sony UK Technology Centre and is co-founder and co-chair of the Institute for the Future of Work. She is a Fellow of the Royal Academy of Engineering (elected 2013). She was a Trustee of the Institution of Engineering and Technology from 2009–2017, Deputy President from 2012, President from Sept 2015[6] and Immediate Past President from Sept 2016-Sept 2017. Climer was the subject of BBC Radio 4's The Life Scientific[7] and promoted the importance of engineering and the need for diversity in engineering across numerous media appearances.[3][8][9][10][11] Climer is a past chair of Council of the International Broadcasting Convention (IBC),
From 2012, she moved to California to be President of Sony's Media Cloud Services start-up business, returning to the UK in 2015 to take up the Presidency of the IET.
Climer joined Sony Professional Solutions Europe in 2002 as director of professional services and became vice president running the whole business from 2006 – 2012. During this time, she oversaw the move to new markets, the acquisition of Hawk-Eye for sports business, pushed Sony's sustainability agenda and started the 50:50 campaign for gender diversity.
Climer was director of technical operations from 2000 to 2002 of ITV Digital. ITV Digital ceased in June 2002, with Freeview being created in October 2002.
Climer joined the BBC in 1987 as an engineer, training in the same cohort as Kate Bellingham. She worked in BBC Broadcasting House and BBC World Service at Bush House before becoming Controller of Technology at BBC News. From 1998 to 2000, she was also a Director of the Parliamentary Broadcasting Unit.
From 2016 to 2017, Climer chaired the DCMS Future Communications Challenge Group,[4] and was a commissioner on the independent commission on the Future of Work.[5] She is currently on the UK Government's Science and Technology Awards Committee.
In 2020, Climer was vice-president of the Royal Academy of Engineering.
Awards
Climer has been awarded honorary degrees from Huddersfield, Southampton Solent, Bradford and University of Wolverhampton.
In 2013, she was elected a Fellow of the Royal Academy of Engineering.
In 2014 she won the International Association of Broadcast Manufacturers (IABM) Broadcast Industry's Woman of the Year Award.
She was also named as one of the Top 50 Influential Women in Engineering in the UK by the Daily Telegraph and Women's Engineering Society (WES) 2016 and one of the top 50 most influential women in IT in the UK by Computer Weekly in 2015 and 2016.
In 2017 she presented the Higginson Lecture at Durham University.
She was appointed Commander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE) for services to services to the engineering profession in the 2018 Birthday Honours List.
Climer has one step-daughter.
References
External links
Independent September 2015
IET
1964 births
Living people
People from Uxbridge
21st-century British women engineers
British women engineers
Alumni of Imperial College London
BBC people
Commanders of the Order of the British Empire
Fellows of the Institution of Engineering and Technology
Fellows of the Royal Academy of Engineering
Female fellows of the Royal Academy of Engineering | Naomi Climer | [
"Engineering"
] | 782 | [
"Institution of Engineering and Technology",
"Fellows of the Institution of Engineering and Technology"
] |
51,873,625 | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Welcome%20to%20the%20Universe | Welcome to the Universe: An Astrophysical Tour is a popular science book by Neil deGrasse Tyson, Michael A. Strauss, and J. Richard Gott, based on an introductory astrophysics course they co-taught at Princeton University. The book was published by the Princeton University Press on September 20, 2016.
Reception
Welcome to the Universe: An Astrophysical Tour has been praised by literary critics. Kirkus Reviews described the book as "an accessible and comprehensive overview of our universe by three eminent astrophysicists" and "an entertaining introduction to astronomy." John Timpane of The Philadelphia Inquirer similarly called it "a well-illustrated tour that includes Pluto, questions of intelligent life, and whether the universe is infinite." Publishers Weekly wrote:
References
Books by Neil deGrasse Tyson
Astronomy books
Cosmology books
2016 non-fiction books
Popular physics books
Princeton University Press books | Welcome to the Universe | [
"Astronomy"
] | 181 | [
"Astronomy books",
"Astronomy book stubs",
"Works about astronomy",
"Astronomy stubs"
] |
51,873,684 | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cerium%28III%29%20carbonate | Cerium(III) carbonate Ce2(CO3)3, is the salt formed by cerium(III) cations and carbonate anions. Its pure form was not yet confirmed to exist in the nature, but Ce-bearing carbonates (mainly bastnäsite group) stand for an ore of cerium metal, along with monazite.
Properties
The molecular weight of the compound of cerium(III) carbonate is 460.2587g/mole.
Different names
IUPAC name: Cerium tricarbonate.
Other chemical names: Dicerium tricarbonate, Cerium(III) carbonate, Cerium carbonate, Cerous Carbonate, Dicerium(3+) ion tricarbonate.
Uses
Cerium(III) carbonate is used in the production of cerium(III) chloride, and in incandescent lamps.
References
Cerium(III) compounds
Carbonates | Cerium(III) carbonate | [
"Chemistry"
] | 183 | [
"Inorganic compounds",
"Inorganic compound stubs"
] |
51,873,753 | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SprX%20small%20RNA | In molecular biology the small pathogenicity island RNA X (alias RsaOR) gene is a bacterial non-coding RNA. It was discovered in a large-scale analysis of Staphylococcus aureus. SprX was shown to influence antibiotic resistance of the bacteria to Vancomycin and Teicoplanin glycopeptides, which are used to treat MRSA infections. In this study the authors identified a SprX target, stage V sporulation protein G (Spo VG). By reducing Spo VG expression levels, SprX affects S. aureus resistance to the glycopeptide antibiotics. Further work demonstrated its involvement in the regulation of pathogenicity factors.
See also
SprD
References
Non-coding RNA | SprX small RNA | [
"Chemistry"
] | 161 | [
"Biochemistry stubs",
"Molecular and cellular biology stubs"
] |
51,874,160 | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Karl%20Landsteiner%20Memorial%20Award | The Karl Landsteiner Memorial Award is a scientific award given by the American Association of Blood Banks (AABB) to scientists with "an international reputation in transfusion medicine or cellular therapies" "whose original research resulted in an important contribution to the body of scientific knowledge". Recipients give a lecture at the AABB Annual Meeting and receive a $7,500 honorarium. The prize was initiated in 1954 to honor Karl Landsteiner, whose research laid the foundation for modern blood transfusion therapy. In 2023, the AABB renamed the Karl Landsteiner Memorial Award as the Landsteiner-Alter Award in honor of both Karl Landsteiner and Harvey J. Alter.
Recipients
1954 Reuben Ottenberg
1955 Richard Lewisohn
1956 Philip Levine, Alexander Solomon Wiener
1957 Ruth Sanger, Robert Russell Race
1958 Oswald Hope Robertson, Francis Peyton Rous, J. R. Turner
1959 Ernest Witebsky
1960 Patrick L. Mollison
1961 Robert R. A. Coombs
1962 William C. Boyd
1963 Fred H. Allen Jr., Louis K. Diamond
1964 J. J. van Loghem
1965 Ruggero Ceppellini
1966 Elvin A. Kabat
1967 Walter Morgan, Winifred Watkins
1968 Rodney R. Porter
1969 Vincent J. Freda, John G. Gorman, William Pollack
1970 Jean Dausset
1971 Bruce Chown, Marion Lewis
1972 Richard E. Rosenfield
1973 Arthur E. Mourant
1974 Manfred M. Mayer, Hans J. Müller-Eberhard
1975 Baruch S. Blumberg, Alfred M. Prince
1976 Marie Cutbush Crookston, Eloise R. Giblett
1977 Rose Payne, Jon van Rood
1978 Fred Stratton
1979 Nevin C. Hughes-Jones, Serafeim P. Masouredis
1980 Donald M. Marcus, James M. Stavely
1981 James F. Danielli, S. Jonathan Singer
1982 Georges J. F. Köhler, César Milstein
1983 Vincent T. Marchesi
1984 Oliver Smithies
1985 Saul Krugman
1986 Claes F. Högman, Grant R. Bartlett
1987 E. Donnall Thomas
1988 Charles P. Salmon
1989 George W. Bird
1990 Robert Gallo, Luc Montagnier
1991 Paul I. Terasaki
1992 Harvey J. Alter, Daniel W. Bradley, Qui-Lim Choo, Michael Houghton, George Kuo, Lacy Overby
1993 C. Paul Engelfriet
1994 Kenneth Brinkhous, Harold Roberts, Robert Wagner, Robert Langdell
1995 W. Laurence Marsh
1996 Eugene Goldwasser
1997 Wendell F. Rosse
1998 Richard H. Aster, Scott Murphy, Sherrill J. Slichter
1999 Kary B. Mullis
2000 Michael E. DeBakey
2001 John Bowman
2002 Hal E. Broxmeyer
2003 Victor A. McKusick
2004 Tibor Greenwalt
2005 Peter Agre
2006 James D. Watson
2007 Peter Issitt
2008 Ernest Beutler
2009 Curt I. Civin
2010 Steven A. Rosenberg
2011 David Weatherall, Yuet Wai Kan
2012 Kenneth Kaushansky
2013 Barry S. Coller
2014 Carl June
2015 Nancy C. Andrews
2016 Stuart Orkin
2017 Irving Weissman
2018 David A. Williams
2019 David Anstee, Jean-Pierre Cartron, Colvin Redman, Fumiichiro Yamamoto
2020 Katherine A. High
2021 Anneke Brand
2022 Jeffrey L. Carson, Paul C. Hébert, Nancy Heddle, Ian Roberts
See also
List of medicine awards
References
Medicine awards
Awards established in 1954
Blood donation | Karl Landsteiner Memorial Award | [
"Technology"
] | 716 | [
"Science and technology awards",
"Medicine awards"
] |
51,874,874 | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paul%20Yeboah | Paul Yeboah (1970 – 2021) was an educator, farmer, permaculturist, community developer, and social entrepreneur. Yeboah founded and coordinated the Ghana Permaculture Institute and Network in Techiman, Ghana, West Africa. It is located in the Brong-Ahafo Region of Ghana. The purpose of the Institute is to build and maintain a stable food system, to take care of the local ecosystems, and to improve the quality of life in the rural areas. The GPN trains students and community in sustainable ecological farming techniques. They support projects throughout Ghana; women groups, micro-finance projects; teach growing moringa; mushroom production; alley cropping, food forests development and Agroforestry.
Permaculture is based on natural sustainable design systems. An agricultural system that uses practices to keep soil fertile, crops and livestock healthy. It encourages protection of the environment and an environmental lifestyle; so as to maintain environmental stability and maintain environmental resources for the future. It rehabilitates eroded and deforested land. The Permaculture Network encourages the practice of permaculture at home. The Permaculture Network's mission is to encourage, educate, and promote the use of permaculture by farmers and people in Ghana, which will contribute to the environmental soundness, and stability of the country's future.
They host international volunteers, interns, and students. The Ghana Permaculture Network and Institute is a member of the Ghana Ecovillage Network. Which is an organization of sustainable development leaders and projects. Paul Yeboah is Vice President of the GEN which works towards promoting Indigenous Initiatives and Sustainability in Ghana. Permaculture is transforming communities in Ghana through education, food production, outreach, skills development, self-sufficiency, and creating small business enterprises.
Background
At the age of 22 Paul Yeboah was concerned with rural and urban poverty. He received an Agricultural Certificate from the Farm Institute in Ghana. He initiated a rural and urban fruit forest project by using seed supplies from the Kade Oil Palm Research Institute and Bonsu Cocoa Research Station. The seeds and seedlings were given to the farmers on a credit basis. This project was instrumental in the creation of rural processing businesses and employment for the poor.
In 2003 Paul Yeboah was the farm manager for the Abbott of Kristo Buase Benedictine Monastery in Ghana. Greg Knibbs was invited to come to the Monastery to assist in the redesigning of the farm using Permaculture practices to restore the soil to fertility. The soil was depleted from the use of synthetic chemical pollution. Yeboah met Greg Knibbs and they worked together to form the Ghana Permaculture Network which later became the Ghana Permaculture Institute.
Career
The Ghana Permaculture Network was coordinated by Paul Yeboah in 2003. The GPN started out as a small farm demonstration training site that later grew into the Ghana Permaculture Institute (GPI). In 2007 the Ghana Permaculture Nwodua Tree Nursery was created. It was created to build community income, and to deal with environmental issues such as desertification and erosion. It also does reforestation. The work is collaborative community effort involving women, youth, and men. All members of the community are a part of the profits and benefits of working towards enhancing their environment. The project builds environmental awareness.
Paul Yeboah is the Vice Chairman of the Ghana Ecovillage Network which was founded in 2012, and incorporated in 2013. It was formed by community leaders and groups with sustainable projects to promote Ecovillage strategies as models for sustainable development in Ghana.
The Ghana Permaculture Network started out supporting local schools, community farmers in establishing tree nurseries, and tree planting projects. The Ghana Permaculture Network has now expanded in various parts of Ghana, into Togo, and Burkina Faso in West Africa.
Permaculture Institute Projects (Educational Programs)
The goal of the educational initiatives and projects is to promote lifelong learning with emphases on vocational training, and the need of viable skill development using practices of sustainable development.
Permaculture Design Courses are taught in Ghana, Togo and Burkina Faso, West Africa.
Ghana Permaculture Nwodua Tree Nursery Project - Ghana is a deforested country. The Tree Nursery Project addresses issues of deforestation in order to reverse erosion. It teaches and advocates the importance of trees and climate change issues.
Oyster mushroom production - Using sawdust in bags the Permaculture Institute teaches how to grow mushrooms. This project allows participants to learn how to make a waste product sawdust useful. Which promotes healthy diet, nutrition and skill development.
Demonstration Training sites for how-to build Permaculture home gardens
Moringa Production - Which helps to facilitate the development of small-businesses to generate income. A project that promotes healthy nutrition and skills development.
Ecovillage Design Course - Which teaches and acquaints students with tools that can be utilized to redevelop their communities in ecological economically, culturally and socially ways to foster sustainability.
External links
Paul Yeboah Tribute & Permaculture Institute Documentary
Communities on Edge - Time of COVID Permaculture Institute
Paul Yeboah Permaculture Institute
Permaculture Design Course, Techiman Ghana
Permaculture Design Course (Part two)
Ghana Permaculture Video Clips
Permaculture and mushroom cultivation in Ghana
Further reading
Permaculture in Africa
UN: Eco-Farming Feeds the World
References
Anti-poverty advocates
Climate activists
Sustainability advocates
Anti-GMO activists
Ghanaian environmentalists
Ecological restoration
Conservation and restoration of cultural heritage
Ghanaian agriculturalists
Permaculturalists
1970 births
2021 deaths | Paul Yeboah | [
"Chemistry",
"Engineering"
] | 1,164 | [
"Ecological restoration",
"Environmental engineering"
] |
51,875,565 | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Feng%27s%20classification | Tse-yun Feng suggested the use of degree of parallelism to classify various computer architecture. It is based on sequential and parallel operations at a bit and word level.
About degree of parallelism
Maximum degree of parallelism
The maximum number of binary digits that can be processed within a unit time by a computer system is called the maximum parallelism degree P. If a processor is processing P bits in unit time, then P is called the maximum
degree of parallelism.
Average degree of parallelism
Let i = 1, 2, 3, ..., T be the different timing instants and P1, P2, ..., PT be the corresponding bits processed.
Then,
Processor utilization
Processor utilization is defined as
The maximum degree of parallelism depends on the structure of the arithmetic and logic unit. Higher degree of parallelism indicates a highly parallel ALU or processing element. Average parallelism depends on both the hardware and the software. Higher average parallelism can be achieved through concurrent programs.
Types of classification
According to Feng's classification, computer architecture can be classified into four. The classification is based on the way contents stored in memory are processed. The contents can be either data or instructions.
Word serial bit serial (WSBS)
Word serial bit parallel (WSBP)
Word parallel bit serial (WPBS)
Word parallel bit parallel (WPBP)
Word serial bit serial (WSBS)
One bit of one selected word is processed at a time. This represents serial processing and needs maximum processing time.
Word serial bit parallel (WSBP)
It is found in most existing computers and has been called "word slice" processing because one word of one bit is processed at a time. All bits of a selected word are processed at a time. Bit parallel means all bits of a word.
Word parallel bit serial (WPBS)
It has been called bit slice processing because m-bit slice is processed at a time. Word parallel signifies selection of all words. It can be considered as one bit from all words are processed at a time.
Word parallel bit parallel (WPBP)
Fully parallel processing involves simultaneously processing an array of `n × m` bits. This means that both `n` words and `m` bits in each word are processed at the same time, enabling faster and more efficient data handling.
Limitations of Feng's classification
It fails to project the concurrency in pipeline processors, as degree of parallelism doesn't account for concurrency handle by pipe-lined design.
See also
Händler's (ECS)
Flynn's taxonomy
References
Computer architecture | Feng's classification | [
"Technology",
"Engineering"
] | 527 | [
"Computers",
"Computer engineering",
"Computer architecture"
] |
51,875,617 | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bura%20Irrigation%20and%20Settlement%20Project%20%28Kenya%29 | In 1977 the Board of Governors of the World Bank approved Bura Irrigation and Settlement Project (BISP) in Kenya. The project area is situated just South of the Equator in the Lower Tana Basin. It lies on the west bank of the Tana River and falls within the administrative area of Tana River County.
The project was an ambitious attempt of the government of Kenya, the World Bank and a few other donors to develop a remote area, create employment for thousands of people with a reasonable income and earn foreign exchange. Bura project would develop about 6,700 net irrigated ha over a 5 year period and settle on smallholdings about 5,150 landless poor families selected from all parts of Kenya. Physical and social infrastructure would be provided to support the settler and satellite population, expected to reach a total of 65,000 persons by 1985. The total cost of the project was estimated at 92 million dollars in 1977 prices.
Actual construction started in 1978. During implementation the costs exploded from $17,500/= per family to $55,000/=, a new record for the World Bank. The largest cost increase was for the irrigation network (615%). The donors were not willing and the government was not able to raise the additional funds and subsequently the size of the project was scaled down from 6,700 ha to 3,900 and later to 2,500 ha, although the irrigation structures were completed for 6,700 ha. In this period 2,100 landless households from all over Kenya were settled in the scheme. They were allocated two plots of 0.625 ha and a garden of 0.05 ha. Each year they were to grow 1.25 ha cotton and 0.625 maize intercropped with cowpeas.
Soon it was evident that the project would fail to achieve its objectives. Job creation was only 40% of the target, the economic rate of return was negative and the annual operating and maintenance costs exceeded the benefits. Even with net farm incomes of about 40% of the appraisal estimates in real terms, annual government subsidies amounted to about 1,000 dollars per settler. The project had an unreliable water supply and many buildings had foundation problems.
After cotton crop failures due to pests in 1990 the project came virtually to a standstill as the management lacked the funds to finance cotton and maize crops. Most settlers deserted and only the ones with nowhere to go remained in the scheme, living on famine relief and odd jobs.
In the period 1993-2005 a number of times the government tried to revive a number of timesthe project, but all in vain. After 2005, rehabilitation and crop growing started in phases and since 2009-10 the tenants have been growing crops, although the cropping pattern comed down to no more than 50% of the projected crop intensity and the settlers have low incomes, if any. This is partly caused by the fact that the original cash crop, cotton, is no longer a profitable crop.
Background
During the later 1930s and 1940s the colonial government was already concerned about population pressure and soil erosion. Irrigation was seen as a means to reduce land pressure and the Tana River Basin was seen as the natural area to start irrigated settlements. As early as 1934 Harris and Sampson published their ‘Report on the Tana River Expedition’. In 1948 the colonial government published a study on two 40,000 ha schemes between Bura and Grand Falls. Due to the remoteness and poor soils these projects were uneconomic. In 1956 the government started Hola Pilot Irrigation Project about 40 km south of Bura.
From 1963 to 1967 the FAO oversaw the Lower Tana River Basin study. This study was carried out by Ilaco and Acres (two engineering firms) and they proposed to start an irrigation project of minimally 100,000 ha. However, with an economic rate of return of 10% the study showed that the project was economically marginal. One recommendation was to start a research and training centre. Later it was decided that this centre should be a pilot project at Bura and Ilaco was given a contract to carry out a feasibility study. That study, as was the case with most Ilaco studies, was financed by the Netherlands.
Studies and appraisal
Ilaco feasibility studies
In 1973 Ilaco presented its first feasibility study on Bura. It proposed to develop 4,000 ha for 3,000 tenants. The economic rate of return was calculated at 13.5%. In the meantime feasibility studies in other areas in Kenya had shown disappointed rate of returns for irrigation projects and the Government of Kenya, therefore, proposed that Ilaco makes an even more detailed study for 14,000 ha so that a project that was eligible for financing by the World Bank could be produced. In 1975 Ilaco submitted its report. This report became the basis of the project that eventually materialized. This study envisaged the settlement of 11,000 families on 14,000 ha. The implementation period would take 11 years and the economic rate of return was calculated at 16%. Although the report raised some questions about the quality of the soils, the Ilaco feasibility study was optimistic and foresaw a bright future for the area.
Appraisal by the World Bank
Late 1975 a World Bank appraisal mission visited Kenya and in June 1976 the first appraisal report (White Cover) was presented. The document proposed a 14,000 ha project with an economic rate of return of 11%. Internally the World Bank had classified Bura as a "potential difficult and contentious project" because of the level of external financing, incomplete preparation, high cost per family, cost recovery, remote area and settler selection. Interesting enough the soils were not seen as a problem, but a few months after the publication of the White Cover report this issue erupted, when World Bank staff reviewed the details of the soil studies and concluded that the classification of these soils by Ilaco was too optimistic and not justified.
With the appraisal on the verge of collapse, a phased development programme was proposed. Phase I consisted of a project of 6,700 ha with mainly good soils, but also with poorer soils (31%) in order to gain practical experiences with these soils. If the poorer soils proved to have potential, then phase II of about 6,000 ha with poorer soils would be developed. At this moment the World Bank also introduced Stage II, which was for about 25,000 ha irrigation development on the east bank of the Tana River.
Under normal circumstances the consultants who prepared the feasibility study and the designs would automatically be engaged to supervise the construction. However, the World Bank was not satisfied with the work of Ilaco and insisted on tendering for the position of project consultants. In December 1976 a British consortium, Sir M. MacDonald and Partners and Associated Firms was appointed. Part of the job of the firm was to prepare an implementation report (Project Planning Report), review the Ilaco studies, reformulate the project at a reduced scale and provide essential data to the appraisal report. Indeed, the new consultants confirmed the cost estimates given by the World Bank.
The new proposal envisaged 6,700 ha irrigated land for 5,150 landless families from all parts of Kenya. The plan was to construct a diversion structure on the Tana River 46 km above the project. A principal town and 23 villages were to be built along with education, social and administrative facilities and the physical infrastructure (roads, water, electricity) for a population of 65,000 people. Settlers were allocated tenancies of 1,3 ha of which 1,25 ha were for field crops and 0,05 for garden vegetables. An ingenious cropping pattern would make it possible for the tenants to grow 1,25 ha cotton and 0,625 ha maize intercropped with cow peas each year. The total cost of the project was US$91,7 m (Kshs 766 m). Financiers were the IBRD (US$34m), IDA (US$6m), EDF (US$12m), Netherlands (US$8,8m), ODM (US$8,5m) and CDC (US$8,5m). The remaining US$20,6 m was to be financed by Kenya. The tenants were to earn Kshs 7,000 (US$840) yearly and the economic rate of return was calculated at 13%.
The National Irrigation Board (NIB) would be overall responsible for the implementation of the project. However, the World Bank argued that its experience and implementation capacity was limited and therefore experienced consultants should be employed to complete the design, supervise the construction and assist in coordination of all activities.
Project Planning Report
In September 1977, after many delays the new consultants submitted part of the six volumes comprising Project Planning Report (PPR). Even though the consortium had confirmed the World Bank estimates (based on the Ilaco studies) before the appraisal report was published, MacDonald and partners gave a total cost of US$112,1m (Kshs936 m), an increase of 22%. The cost increase was largely due to much higher consultancy cost and, to a lesser extent, the irrigation works. This surprised, if not shocked, Kenya and the other financiers. Two months after the appraisal, the project was thus already seriously underfunded. Surprisingly, despite the higher cost, the economic rate of return of the project remained at 13%.
One feature of the Project Planning Report was that it linked the implementation of Stages I and II. For instance, the river diversion structure was to be redesigned so that it could serve both Stages. This despite the fact that there existed very little evidence that Stage II could be a viable project.
Comparison of key documents
A comparison of the unit costs from 1975 to 1977 gives the following:
In its studies Ilaco argued that a cost increase of 10% would lower the economic rate of return with one percentage point. As the table above shows, however, cost increases of 600% resulted only in a minor change of the economic rate of return. The following parameters were changed to keep the economic rate of return, despite huge cost increases, at an acceptable level:
Shadow pricing of the Kshs at a value of 11 Kshs as compared with the official dollar rate at that time of 8.35.
Shortening the implementation period.
Huge increases in the yield of the main crops in the early years even though there was no new evidence that could justify such increases.
Defining a number of investment cost as non-project and hence excluding them, at least partly, from the cost benefit analysis. For instance, the World Bank defined only 75% of the social infrastructure as project costs.
Many other, often minor changes, which almost always resulted in a higher rate of return.
In the PPR, apart from changing other parameters, the consultant introduced a completely new method of retaining the rate of return of the project at an acceptable level by apportioning investments to Stage I, phase II and Stage II. By claiming, for instance, that the river diversion works could serve an area of 37 000 on both the east and the west bank, it attributed only 6,700 ha (18%) to Stage I, phase I. At various places it has been pointed out that there existed no methodological justification for this way of calculating the internal rate of return. If phase II and Stage II would ever be implemented, then the remaining 82% of the cost of the diversion weir would have been defined as sunk cost and also not be included in the cost benefit analysis. By excluding them now, these costs would never be included in any cost benefit analysis.
Implementation
Major design changes
Whereas the formal agreements between Kenya and the World Bank were signed in June 1977 the implementation was delayed due to a number of factors. Firstly Kenya and the consultants needed about 10 months before they could agree on a new consultancy contract. The outcome of these negotiations was that the consultancy cost almost doubled. Secondly, during the preparation of the final designs, major modifications were made by the consultants on both the intake and the irrigation structure. These changes caused not only new delays, but also, for instance, an increase of concrete structures in the main canal with 138%, stone pitching with 338% and digging with 255%. In 1979 the World Bank concluded that both the original design of Ilaco and MacDonald's design were based on sound engineering principles. Rejection of the new design would have resulted in further delays and fearing further delays the World Bank accepted the new design. According to the World Bank, however, design changes would result in a cost increase of 65% in real terms. At that time the economic rate of return of the project was at best 4%.
Also one of the financiers (CDC) withdrew and as a result of this the part to be financed by Kenya, depending on the project formulation, increased to between 50 and 65% in real terms of the total project cost.
Construction
Project construction began in mid 1979, two years late, and by mid 1982 construction was about three years behind schedule. During construction the cost continued to escalate and in September 1982 the Bank calculated an increase of 87% for the base cost. If the cost increases due to delays were included, the total cost had at least trebled. Huge cost increases were registered for the construction the tenant houses and the domestic waste supply. At the same time studies on the quality of the soils on the East Bank showed that these soils were so poor that further investigations were no longer justified and the idea of a stage II was shelved.
Financial crises
In this period the local inflation rate climbed and this was accompanied by a fall in the value of the Kenyan Shilling. Together with the cost escalation, the part which Kenya had to finance grew bigger and bigger and this alarmed the government. A few new donors (Finnida and the World Food Programme) committed funds, but these funds amounted only to a few million dollars. Also OPEC and Kuwait committed funds for the intake and the ginnery, but since their funding financed only part of these components, these funds did not solve the crisis but would actually increase it. Subsequently, a special government committee was established to control the cost. The committee advised, following earlier advice from the consultants, to postpone and later to cancel the river intake structure. A temporary pumping station designed to operate for a few years, pending the completion of the river works, would become permanent. Other project components, e.g. the ginnery, were also cancelled. To further reduce the cost, the quantity and quality of the houses and roads was reduced. The forest component of the project was drastically trimmed down from 3,900 ha to 650 ha. All the cost saving measures still did not reduce the financial burden for the government of Kenya to an acceptable level and the government decided to reduce the project area to 3,900ha and later to 2,500ha. After these decisions the Bura project still took about 40% yearly of the investment budget of the Ministry of Agriculture.
Especially the decision to cancel the river works was later criticised as this would jeopardise the supply of water to the project. However, in 1979 the consultants had calculated that a project with a pumping station would have a much lower capital cost and, subsequently, a much higher rate of return than a project with a gravity intake. The implicit recommendation was that a gravity intake was not only very costly, but also unnecessary. This conclusion was embraced by the government and subsequently it shelved the gravity intake. However, there was serious catch in this, which was not included in the analysis of the consultant: the high, projected yields of cotton and maize were partly based on the fact that the project had a gravity and thus a secure supply of irrigation water. Therefore, when calculating the rate of return for the project with a pumping station the consultants should have used lower yields for cotton and maize in their economic analysis. They did not do this and in this way they got the advantages of both gravity (higher yields) and pumping (low investment costs).
Project completion
The final project consisted of 2,500 ha and some parts were done for more than 75% (water supply, irrigation network, supply, main and branch canals and the NIB offices). Other parts were done for about 1/3 (primary schools, health facilities, tenant houses). Important components as the cotton ginnery, river diversion structure, feasibility study East Bank, housing for teachers, social halls and the 132 KV transmission line were not implemented. Despite all the omissions and reductions the final cost of the project was estimated by the World Bank at 105 million dollars or 1,180 million Kshs. With a cost of Kshs 472,000 ($55,000) per ha the project became a new high for the World Bank. The World Bank considered the project completed in 1988.
Sunk cost
During the financial crises economic reviews were published regularly. In all economic reviews an acceptable economic rate of return and thus, in the eyes of the reviewers, a viable project, was presented to the financiers based on sunk-costs principles, that is to say that already invested funds and commitments were excluded from the cost-benefit analysis. Such an analysis, however, easily disguises serious underlying problems. In the case of Bura all the reviews showed also that after the investment period, the project would still need a considerable annual subsidy from the government. In the most thorough and realistic review this subsidy was calculated at about Ksh20 million. The project was also very sensitive to changes in the project cost and yields. The same study also showed that the close-down of the project was possible for a one-off amount of Ksh 40 million. For different reasons the various parties never saw closing down the project as an option.
Settlement of tenants
While priority was given to local inhabitants, tenants for Bura were drawn from all parts of Kenya. They had to meet the following criteria: heads of households must be aged between 25 and 45 years and preferably married, must be landless, unemployed or underemployed or earn an income below the minimum agricultural wage, must be medically and physically fit, must provide the equivalent of four adult labour units, must be of good character and should have a rural or farming background. Late 1981 the first group of about 330 settlers arrived and by mid 1984 the total number of tenants living in the scheme was 1,802. They came from Coast Province (35%), Central (24%), Eastern (13%), Nyanza (8%), Western (8%), Rift Valley (6%) and others (6%). In 1988 the number of tenants was estimated at 2,139. Life at Bura was difficult for the tenants and desertion rates in the period 1981-1984 were estimated at between 20 and 30%.
The NIB provided the tenants with housing, transport, food, tools and a subsistence advance of Kshs 300 per month for incoming tenants until the first cash crop was harvested. The tenants repaid this advance over a period of three years. When the tenants arrived, often the farm land was not ready and this resulted in late planting, low cotton yields and thus low incomes.
Production
Early years
From 1977 until 1985 the project was governed by the National Irrigation Board (NIB). During this period the World Bank and other donors had a low opinion of the NIB's management of Bura and their pressure resulted into a transfer of the project from the NIB to the Ministry of Agriculture and Livestock Development in 1985. After 1989 it was transferred to other ministries. and in 2005 it was reverted to the NIB. When Bura resorted under ministries as a kind of semi-independent department, usually the NIB fell also under this ministry. The main difference was that the NIB had a parastatal status and Bura Project lacked this protection. Hence whenever Bura moved to a new ministry, it had to fight for accounting privileges as a ‘production’ unit. The existing accounting procedures within ministries were rarely conducive for a smooth operation of the production unit Bura, .
Every tenant was allocated two plots of 0.625 ha and a garden of 0.05 ha. Each year the tenants were to grow 1.25 ha cotton (main season) and 0.625 maize intercropped with cowpeas (off-season). After the fourth year 0.2 ha of the maize would be replaced with the much more profitable groundnuts. The cropping pattern of 148% was very tight as together the maize and cotton crops needed almost a year in the field and thus there was very little time left for land preparation. To solve this problem an ingenious cropping system was developed in which each tenant had two plots. On one plot he would plant early cotton (1 February) and after harvesting the cotton he would plant maize and harvest maize. Next year, this plot will then be ready for late cotton (March-early April). After the late cotton is harvested, there will be enough time to prepare the land for the early cotton. The second plot would start with late cotton, then early cotton, maize and again late cotton. Planting cotton after early April not only results in low yields but also disrupts the whole cropping calendar. In practice this cropping pattern lacked flexibility and planting periods for cotton of four months occurred. A comparison of the projected yield and the actual production figures for cotton and maize is given in the tables below:
Comparison of projected cotton yield with actual yields
All projections are derived from the World Bank appraisal report 1977.
Tenants were to harvest 2,500 kg in their first year, 2,600 kg in their second, 2,700 in their third, 2,800 kg in their fourth, 2,900 kg in their fifth and after 3,000 kg. Many settlers grew their first cotton crop in this year and started thus with a yield of 2,500. This resulted in the same average projection as in the previous year.
Pest problems.
In this cropping season there was a serious water problem.
Good water, but very serious pest problems.
No cotton was grown due to the collapse of the scheme (see below).
Comparison of projected maize yield with actual yields
All projections are derived from the World Bank appraisal report 1977.
Maize was supposed to be intercropped with cowpeas, and this would increase the value of the 'maize' harvest with 50%. The planting of cowpeas never materialized. It was also planned that the tenants would grow groundnuts, a high value crop, but this turned out not to be possible. This implies that the projected maize figures should be 50% higher to make them fully comparable with the actual yields.
Contrary to the cotton records, the maize production figures are considered to be unreliable. This applies certainly to the 1982 and 1983 statistics, but even the figures for the years after 1983 are considered to be inflated. Vainio-Matilla estimates the yields per ha of most farmers below 600 kg/ha
Tenants were to harvest 2,000 kg in their first year, 2,500 kg in their second, 2,800 kg in their third, 3,100 kg in their fourth, 3,400 kg in their fifth and in their sixth and after 3,700 kg. Many new settlers arrived in this period and they grew their first maize crop in this year and started thus with a yield of 2,000 kg. This resulted in the same average projection as the previous year.
In 1989 the cropping pattern at Bura was in disarray and in order to reorganize planting, one maize crop was skipped.
In this maize season there was a serious water problem.
All government funds were frozen.
The project had collapsed (see below) and no maize was grown.
As the tables show the production in the project was very disappointing. If it is taken into account that no cowpeas and groundnuts have been planted, the picture becomes even worse. A mid-term review in 1985 projected a cash income for the tenants between Kshs 5,000 and 6,000 for the year 1984. For the years after 1985 it calculated an income of Kshs 7,400 (55% of the appraisal estimate in real terms) if the cotton yield would be 2,500 kg. With an average yield of 2,005 for the years 1982–1989, the cash income would have been about Kshs 5,620 or almost 40% of the appraisal estimate.
In 1986 75% of the tenants received a cash income and 25% nothing. In 1989 only 35% of the tenants received a cash income and following year only 20% of the tenants received an cash income. After 1992 no production took place and the tenants no longer received any cash income.
Thus, tenant incomes have been disappointing, but it is doubtful whether incomes would have been better with higher yields, as a trade-off exist between the tenant incomes and the annual loss that the project makes. In 1990, the World Bank pointed out that the project made an annual loss of Kshs 17,000 per settler. If the project wanted to be financially viable, then the tenants were expected to pay this annual loss through their service charges. At Bura, the tenants paid Kshs 3,000 per settler, but to reach a break-even point, the tenants should have paid a much higher amount, meaning that tenants would not earn any income. The project management finds itself in a balancing act that on the one hand it has to keep the charges at such a level that the tenants do not lose interest in farming, whereas at the same time it needs to keep the annual loss on its operations as low as possible. In the beginning the project got adequate government support to take care of the losses, although a side effect was that the operation and maintenance of the project suffered. Later the government support was reduced.
Afforestation and the spread of Prosopis
In order to avoid the destruction of the riverine forest and other environmental damage in Bura, a plantation programme was included in the BISP. The World Bank estimated that 3,900 ha forest would be necessary. It calculated that the cost of irrigating would be low, as surplus water would be used. In the early nineties the area was scaled down to 600 ha. In 1983 the NIB forester established a plot of 10 ha with Prosopis. Later this plot was the main source of seeds for other treeplanting activities and for natural regeneration of ‘wild’ Prosopis.
After establishment of the forest plots, Prosopis spread vigorously outside the plantations. Animals ate the pods and moved around the scheme dispersing the seeds in their droppings. Whenever water was available, seeds in the droppings germinated readily and within a few years almost all canal sides in Bura were occupied by this fast growing shrub. This ‘wild’ Prosopis, in Tana River County popularly known as Mathenge, did not limit itself to the canal banks and it also blossomed along roads, in the fields and villages.
By 1991, Prosopis had solved the fuelwood problem and tenants even earned income by burning charcoal. The pods were used as animal food and wind erosion in the area was reduced. Unfortunately eradicating the tree at unwanted places as in the fields and along the canal banks was almost impossible because after cutting the stumps coppice vigorously and within a few months, as long as a little water is available, a new shrub has emerged. As early as 1992, experts concluded that whatever the future of BISP, Prosopis will remain there permanently and will change the environment.
Collapse of BISP
After 1992 until 2004 production in Bura Irrigation and Settlement Project was negligible. The cumulative effect of a number of factors caused this failure. The main underlying reason was lack of funds to operate the project. Since 1989 the project did not receive enough funds for cultivating a full crop cycle. Together with poor pest control and lack of adequate irrigation water, this resulted in very low yields and crop failures. Two external factors made the situation worse. Firstly the insecurity in Somalia spilled over into Tana County and the Bura Project area was regularly attacked by well-armed roaming bandits. Secondly, due to high inflation and economic liberalization the prices for agricultural inputs skyrocketed. Thus, the cost for chemicals was Ksh 1,850 in 1987 and 12,000 per ha in 1992. The price for fertilizer went up from 260 to 1,000 per bag. At the same time the cotton price in 1992 remained Ksh 16/= kg, as it had been in 1987. For a full crop cycle the management needed Ksh 98 million and it had received only 10.4 million. Moreover, the figure of 98 million did not include expenditure for maintenance of the inlet and settling basin, the conveyance system, domestic water supply, maintenance of houses, roads and the sewerage system. At that time the conveyance system was considered to have silted up and to need a full rehabilitation. A few years later a study estimated that in total 500 000m3 silt would have to be removed.
Since no agricultural production took place, by 1996 at least one third of the tenants had abandoned the project. The remaining population were mainly women and children as most adult men had left the project to find work elsewhere. In addition to remittances, households were surviving on odd jobs for government, National Youth Service and BISP staff, on charcoal burning and small scale trade. A few NGOs assisted and once in a while famine relief was distributed by both the government and NGOs. Research in 1996 showed that 90% of the Bura population was ‘at risk and vulnerable’. Most of the people remaining in Bura had no place to go and hoped that the project would be revived. This belief/dream was further dented when during the El Nino rains of 1997 a huge protection dyke at Nanighi was washed away. Subsequently, the supply canal became part of the natural drainage system and repairs would be a costly affair.
Rehabilitation, Production and Indebtedness
In the early stages there was hardly any change after the return of Bura to the NIB. Although the NIB carried out rehabilitation works and installed two new pumps, little production took place until the Economic Stimulus Programme (ESP) was initiated in 2009. The objective of ESP was to jump-start the Kenyan economy towards long-term growth and development after the 2007/2008 post-election violence that affected the Kenyan economy. Earlier in 2007 the government had launched Vision 2030 and one of its flagships was the Bura Irrigation Scheme. Logically Bura became one of the main projects to benefit from the ESP. Under ESP, Bura was to be fully rehabilitated and even expanded. The NIB has claimed that rehabilitation of about 2,500 ha took place successfully, but very little information has been released about the actual area planted with crops, crop production, the number of tenants and their income.
After the rehabilitation the NIB introduced a new management system. Since its inception the management of the scheme had been responsible for the water supply and bought inputs centrally. Also the management organized spraying, ploughing and marketing. After harvesting the management deducted the cost of these services from the proceeds of its tenants. In 2002 the NIB had restructured itself and remained only with core functions, the most important one being the supply of irrigation water. The other functions were delegated to the private sector and tenants were to be given loans to pay for these services, including the water supply, by commercial financial institutions. At Bura, Equity Bank became the sole active financial institution. Equity charged 10% interest whereas before the tenants did not pay interest. Although water is the main task of the NIB, the tenants in the scheme regularly criticised the NIB for not delivering enough water for the crops as per its mandate.
This management system could work if a viable cropping pattern would be available, but this was and is lacking at Bura. Tenants planted cotton in 2010 and 2011. In 2010 most tenants made a small profit, but in the next year the crop failed, leaving the tenants without income and with debts with Equity Bank. Since then no cotton has been cultivated as it is considered non-profitable. For food the tenants grew maize, but this crop was commercially not viable and although it has provided the tenants with the necessary subsistence food, it also resulted in more arrears. Moreover, when the tenants wanted to market their surplus maize, there was no market available. Alternative crops (chillies) have also not been successful and left tenants with debts as well. The only crop which has been grown with success is seed maize. Unfortunately, due to the quality of the soils, the margins for this crop are low at Bura and do not make it possible for the tenants to repay already existing debts or to pay for the cost of their food maize.
The NIB has not released production and income figures for the Bura tenants. It has presented the production figures of all its schemes but Bura in the Economic Review. The information on its website is scanty and annual reports have not been produced despite the fact that parastatals are legally obliged to publish these. The NIB has also not published the total debts of the tenants with Equity Bank. The Bura Farmers Welfare Watch Tower, a local pressure group of tenants, has stated that Equity Bank has reported 65% of the tenants to Credit Reference Bureaus. Officially these tenants have no longer access to credit facilities and could thus no longer grow crops.
The indebtedness of the tenants became also a matter of concern for the NIB and it replaced Equity Bank with the Agricultural Finance Corporation (AFC), a wholly government-owned Development Finance Institution (DFI). Since 2014 the AFC has financed the production of food and later also of seed maize. AFC disregarded the CBR advice and all tenants were eligible for loans for its loans. Unfortunately there was no market for the surplus food maize produced by the tenants in the first year and this forced farmers to sell their produce for low prices and made it impossible to repay even part of their debts. Many of these tenants were blacklisted by AFC and had again no longer access to credit. In practice this means that these tenants cannot grow any crop at all. In December 2015 a large part of the seed maize crop failed due to lack of irrigation water. This time, and for the first time, the tenants started a legal procedure against the NIB demanding that it compensates the tenants fully for their losses. According to the chairman of the Bura Farmers Welfare Watch Tower, in 2016 the total debt of the tenants (Equity and AFC) was Kshs 240 million or about Ksh 100,000 per tenant.
Bura in perspective
The future for Bura's tenants looks bleak. In the meantime (2017) about half of the original tenants have died and the remaining ones are old and fragile. Business people have started to hire plots from (absentee) tenants for small amounts to grow especially seed maize. Since these people do not have to plant food, they can make a profit. Many members of the second generation left Bura and after having seen the collapse, have limited interest in returning. The original and second generation tenants still living in Bura hope that a gravity water supply will improve their fate, but it is unclear when this will be implemented and be ready. Without viable cropping pattern, however, gravity will have little impact apart from making the production of food crops cheaper. In the opinion of the management, genetically modified cotton varieties might become a viable crop.
So far the only conclusion can be that, apart from a few years in the eighties, the tenants at Bura have had a miserable life despite the gigantic amounts of money that have been invested. Bura is one of the clearest examples of what Moris has described as a privileged solution in his article 'Írrigation: a privileged solution in African Development'. A privileged solution, in the analysis of Moris, is thought not to require testing and analysis. It is assumed that the solution will deliver and no critical analysis is made of the past performance or its cost effectiveness. A person challenging this solution is ridiculed. In Kenya, obviously, irrigation has this status. Irrigation is postulated as the solution for food problems and drought without analysing the extremely poor performance of this sector. And Bura Irrigation and Settlement Project is the outstanding example of irrigation as a privileged solution.
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References
Bibliography
Bennett, M., Hamilton, P., and Harrison, M. (1991), Mid-term Review of the Bura Fuelwood Project, Phase II. Finnida: Helsinki.
Chambers, R. (1969), Settlement Schemes in Tropical Africa; a study of organizations and Development. London: Routledge & Kegan Paul.
Dewar, R.J., et al. (1984), Mid-Term Evaluation 1984. World Bank.
FAO (1968), Survey of the irrigation potential of the Lower Tana River Basin, eight volumes. Rome, FAO/SF: 53/Ken-3.
Fitzgerald, M. (1978), How cost effective is the Bura Project. African Business: October, 31–33.
GIBB, see Sir Alexander et al.
Government of Kenya, 2007 Kenya Vision 2030; A Globally Competitive and Prosperous Kenya. October 2007.
Ilaco,(1973), Tana river feasibility studies: the Bura area. Arnhem: Ilaco.
Ilaco (1975), Bura irrigation scheme: feasibility study. Arnhem: Ilaco.
Johansson, (1992), Irrigation and development in the Tana River Basin. In Darkoh M.B.K. (ed.) African river basins and dryland crises,97-112. Uppsala: Uppsala University.
Kenya National Bureau of Statistics (2016), Economic Survey, 2016.
Laar, A.J.M. van de (1979), The World Bank and the Poor. Smiet Offset.
Leeuw, W. de (1982), Recruitment of tenants and some social aspects related to the early settlement of people in Bura Irrigation Settlement Scheme.Nairobi: NIB/Free University.
Leeuw, W. de (1985), Bura Irrigation en Settlement Project. Hengelo
Leeuw, W. de (1986), Bura Irrigation and Settlement Project; not even an illusion of development. Summary and conclusions. The Hague: Ministry of foreign Affairs.
Lele, U.,ed.(1992), Aid to African agriculture; lessons from two decades of donors' experience. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press.
Mendes, D.M. and Paglietti, L. (2015), Kenya Irrigation Market Brief. FAO: Rome.
Moris, J. (1987), Irrigation as a Privileged Solution in African Development. Development Policy Review, Vol 5: 99–123.
National Irrigation Board (2013), Bura Irrigation Scheme Brief, Summary. Nairobi.
Nyassy, D. (2010), Hola and Tarda Scheme amongst Success Stories. Daily Nation of 09.06.2010.
Rowlands, J.S.S. (1995), An outline of Tana River History. Kenya national Archives: reel no 3/5, section 9.
Ruigu, G.M.,Alila, P.O. and Chitere, P.A. (1984),Bura Irrigation Settlement project; a social economic survey. Nairobi: IDS.
Sir Alexander GIBB & Partners (1997), Bura/Hola Irrigation and Settlement Rehabilitation Project Feasibility Study. Ministry of Land Reclamation, Regional and Water Development: Nairobi.
Sir M. MacDonald and Partners and Associated Firms (1977), Bura Irrigation Settlement Project, Project Planning Report. Cambridge.
Sir M. MacDonald and Partners and Associated Firms (1979), An Economic Review 1979. Cambridge.
Sir M. MacDonald and Partners and Associated Firms (1981), An Economic Review 1981. Cambridge.
Tiffen, M.(1987), Dethroning the internal rate of return: the evidence from irrigation projects. Development Policy Review, Vol V: 361–377.
Waiyaki, N.N. (2006), Socio-Economic Evaluation of Bura Irrigation Scheme. Nairobi.
World Bank (1977), Bura Irrigation Settlement Project; appraisal report, no 1446-KE. Washington: World Bank.
World Bank (1990), Bura Irrigation Settlement Project (Credit 722-KE/Loan- 1449-KE). Project Completion Report, Kenya. Washington: World Bank.
World Bank (1990a), Project Performance Audit Report Kenya; Bura Irrigation Settlement Project. Washington: World Bank
World Bank (1992): Effective Implementation: Key to Development Impact, Portfolio Management Task Force. Washington: World Bank. Popularly known as the Wapenhans report.
External links
Citizen TV 2009: Success at Bura.
Citizen TV. 2011: Tackling the drought.
NIB website, Bura Irrigation Scheme
KTN News, 2015: Bura bumper harvest
NTV News, 2016: Cotton revival hitch.
World Bank, past-presidents
Irrigation projects
Agriculture in Kenya
Tana River County | Bura Irrigation and Settlement Project (Kenya) | [
"Engineering"
] | 8,425 | [
"Irrigation projects"
] |
64,523,032 | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Muneeb%20Ali | Muneeb Ali is a Pakistani-American computer scientist and internet entrepreneur. He is a co-founder of Stacks, an open-source smart contract platform for Bitcoin. He is known for the regulatory framework that resulted in the first SEC-qualified offering for a crypto asset and for his doctoral dissertation which formed the basis of the Stacks network. He is a co-author of Protothread and Proof-of-Transfer (PoX) consensus.
Career
Ali studied Computer Science at LUMS and received his PhD in Computer Science from Princeton University in 2017. Ali co-founded Stacks (formerly Blockstack) with Ryan Shea and went through Y Combinator in 2014.
His work mainly focused on sensor networks, blockchains, and cloud computing.
Ali was a technical advisor to the HBO Silicon Valley show, and appeared in the Amazon Prime Video Rizqi Presents: Blockchain show.
In 2019, he convinced the SEC regulators to allow his company to start a token offering under Reg A+ exemption, becoming the first to do so. In 2020, Ali released a legal framework for non-security status of Stacks.
References
Living people
American computer scientists
Pakistani emigrants to the United States
21st-century American businesspeople
Princeton University alumni
Year of birth missing (living people) | Muneeb Ali | [
"Technology"
] | 262 | [
"Computing stubs",
"Computer specialist stubs"
] |
64,523,160 | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sustainable%20Development%20Goal%2014 | Sustainable Development Goal 14 (Goal 14 or SDG 14) is about "Life below water" and is one of the 17 Sustainable Development Goals established by the United Nations in 2015. The official wording is to "Conserve and sustainably use the oceans, seas and marine resources for sustainable development". The Goal has ten targets to be achieved by 2030. Progress towards each target is being measured with one indicator each time by time.
The first seven targets are outcome targets: Reduce marine pollution; protect and restore ecosystems; reduce ocean acidification; sustainable fishing; conserve coastal and marine areas; end subsidies contributing to overfishing; increase the economic benefits from sustainable use of marine resources. The last three targets are means of implementation targets: To increase scientific knowledge, research and technology for ocean health; support small scale fishers; implement and enforce international sea law. One indicator (14.1.1b) under Goal 14 specifically relates to reducing impacts from marine plastic pollution.
According to the 2020 report on progress towards the Sustainable Development Goals, "current efforts to protect key marine environments and small-scale fishers and invest in ocean science are not yet meeting the urgent need to protect this vast, fragile resource".
Background
Life below water is Goal 14 of the Sustainable Development Goals, set to conserve and sustainably use the oceans, sea and marine resources for sustainable development. Currently the state of our oceans are declining due to climate change factors and human behaviour.
The deterioration of coastal waters is increasing due to both pollution and coastal eutrophication. Similar factors contribute to climate change, negatively affecting the oceans and marine biodiversity which is slowly declining. The threat of growing algal blooms and dead zones in the oceans are alarming; in 2018 it was stated that "without concerted efforts, coastal eutrophication is expected to increase in 20% of large marine ecosystems by 2050".
A recent report states ocean acidification reporting stations have tripled worldwide since 2021, in addition to 1 in 5 fish caught from illegal, unreported and unregulated fishing. Beach clean-ups across the coasts are shedding light on the increase in ocean plastic pollution which suffocates the seas.
Marine conservation, local livelihoods and resource sustainability measures are compromised by poor decision-making in resource management. Consistent efforts are being made to improve such management. "The sustainable management of our oceans relies on the ability to influence and guide human use of the marine environment". To counter regression in achieving Goal 14, "swift and coordinated global action is imperative".
Targets, indicators and progress
The UN has defined 10 targets and 10 indicators for SDG 14 that include preventing and reducing marine pollution and ocean acidification, protecting marine and coastal ecosystems, and regulating fishing. The targets also call for an increase in scientific knowledge of the oceans. Some targets have a target year of 2020, some have a target year of 2025 and some have no end year.
The ten targets include reducing marine pollution (14.1), protecting and restoring ecosystems (14.2), reducing ocean acidification (14.3), sustainable fishing (14.4), conserving coastal and marine areas (14.5), ending subsidies contributing to overfishing (14.6), increase the economic benefits from sustainable use of marine resources (14.7), increase scientific knowledge (14.a), supporting small scale fishers (14.b) and implementing and enforcing international sea law (14.c).
Most SDG 14 targets are not measurable in quantitative terms because the data is not available yet; only target 14.5 is quantifiable.
Target 14.1: Reduce marine pollution
The full title of Target 14.1 is: "By 2025, prevent and significantly reduce marine pollution of all kinds, in particular from land-based activities, including marine debris and nutrient pollution."
It has one indicator: Indicator 14.1. is the "Index of coastal eutrophication and floating plastic debris density"
The "Index of Coastal Eutrophication (ICEP), refers to the inputs of nutrients (nitrogen, phosphorus and silica, in different forms) from rivers, and corresponding nutrient-ratio sub-indicator." The methodology for ICEP will be developed and ready by 2020.
The "Floating Plastic Debris Density" refers to the modelled macro and micro plastics distribution in the ocean. If the quantities of floating micro is below 4.75mm, it is labeled as micro and if it is over 4.75 cm, it is labeled as macro. The amount of plastics in large marine ecosystems are measured based on "a model of surface water circulation and the use of proxy inputs". The final Floating Plastics Debris Density indicators will be ready by 2020.
Despite pervasive global pollution from plastics, there is only one indicator (14.1.1b) under Goal 14, specifically related to reducing impacts from plastics. For all other sustainable development goals, there is no specific target in decreasing microplastics due to limitations of data. Furthermore, there are no targets in reference to reducing microplastics, thus presenting a large challenge for governments to report and monitor microplastics in the environment.
Target 14.1 is supposed to be met in 2025, but in 2020 this is considered to be "uncertain" according to the Convention on Biological Diversity. Recent progress has seen trends of coastal eutrophication elevated in 2022, exceeding conditions from 2000-2004. Without sufficient change, it has been estimated that marine pollution due to plastic is on track to double by 2030 and will nearly triple by 2040.
Marine pollution from plastics
Target 14.2: Protect and restore ecosystems
The full title of Target 14.2 is: "By 2020, sustainably manage and protect marine and coastal ecosystems to avoid significant adverse impacts, including by strengthening their resilience, and take action for their restoration in order to achieve healthy and productive oceans".
This target has one indicator: Indicator 14.2.1 is "Number of countries using ecosystem-based approaches to managing marine areas". This indicator aims at protecting and managing sustainably the marine and coastal ecosystems to avoid adverse impacts. An exclusive economic zone (EEZ) is a sea zone prescribed by the 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea over which a sovereign state has special rights regarding the exploration and use of marine resources, including energy production from water and wind.
No data is available for this indicator yet.
Target 14.3: Reduce ocean acidification
The full title of Target 14.3 is: "Minimize and address the impacts of ocean acidification, including through enhanced scientific cooperation at all levels".
This target has one indicator: Indicator 14.3.1 is the "Average marine acidity (pH) measured at agreed suite of representative sampling stations".
Recent progress shows ocean acidification is increasing due to the rise of carbon dioxide emissions. The pH of the ocean now averages at 8.1, therefore the acidity of the ocean is around 30% more acidic than in pre-industrial times. Acceleration is needed to reach target 14.3.
Target 14.4: Sustainable fishing
The full title of Target 14.4 is: "By 2020, effectively regulate harvesting and end overfishing, illegal, unreported and unregulated fishing and destructive fishing practices and implement science-based management plans, in order to restore fish stocks in the shortest time feasible, at least to levels that can produce maximum sustainable yield as determined by their biological characteristics".
This target has one indicator: Indicator 14.4.1 is "the proportion of fish stocks within biologically sustainable levels". This indicator aims to measure the proportion of global fish stocks which are overexploited, fully exploited and not fully exploited.
A report at the High-level Political Forum on Sustainable Development in 2021 stated that: "Sustainable fisheries accounted for approximately 0.1 per cent of global GDP in 2017".
The United Nations progress report states that over 35.4% of global stocks were overfished in 2019, an increase of 1.2% since 2017. However, the rate of decline has decelerated in recent years, though the trend continues to decline from the 2020 goal aiming to restore fish stocks to sustainable levels.
Target 14.5: Conserve coastal and marine areas
The full title of Target 14.5 is: "By 2020, conserve at least 10 per cent of coastal and marine areas, consistent with national and international law and based on the best available scientific information".
This target has one indicator: Indicator 14.5.1 is the "coverage of protected areas in relation to marine areas".
The term "Marine Protected Areas" include marine reserves, fully protected marine areas, no-take zones, marine sanctuaries, ocean sanctuaries, marine parks, locally managed marine areas and other. Each area has a specific level of protection and a specific allowed range of activities.
This indicator was met by the Swedish government in 2017.
It was reported in 2021 that "mean protected area coverage of marine key biodiversity areas increased globally from 27 per cent in 2000 to 46 per cent in 2022".
There are a number of global examples of large marine conservation areas. The Papahānaumokuākea Marine National Monument, is situated in the central Pacific Ocean, around Hawaii, occupying an area of 1.5 million square kilometers. Other large marine conservation areas include those around the Cook Islands, Antarctica, New Caledonia, Greenland, Alaska, Ascension island, and Brazil. As areas of protected marine biodiversity expand, there has been an increase in ocean science funding, essential for preserving marine resources. In 2020, only around 7.5 to 8% of the global ocean area falls under a conservation designation.
Target 14.6: End subsidies contributing to overfishing
The full title of Target 14.6 is: "By 2020, prohibit certain forms of fisheries subsidies which contribute to overcapacity and overfishing, eliminate subsidies that contribute to illegal, unreported and unregulated fishing and refrain from introducing new such subsidies, recognizing that appropriate and effective special and differential treatment for developing and least developed countries should be an integral part of the World Trade Organization fisheries subsidies negotiation".
This target has one indicator: Indicator 14.6.1 is the "Degree of implementation of international instruments aiming to combat illegal, unreported and unregulated fishing".
Illegal fishing causes many problems and "is linked to major human rights violations and even organized crime". The WWF estimates that the global losses of illegal fishing cost up to $36.4 billion each year.
Negotiations for Target 14.6 were in their final stages to ending harmful fisheries in 2020. The deadline was set for June 2020, but due to the COVID-19 pandemic this was delayed, which has caused concerns in regards to the ability to support the fishing sector.
More recently, The Agreement on Port State Measures target on illegal, unreported and unregulated (IUU) fishing reached 74 parties by the end of 2022. Some progress development was seen across 2018-2022 to implement combats against IUU fishing. The World Trade Organization Agreement on Fisheries Subsidies, adopted on the 17 June 2022, sets hope for SDG target 14.6 to be met. It is required that over two-thirds of states are needed to accept the Agreement; 17 have so far.
Target 14.7: Increase the economic benefits from sustainable use of marine resources
The full title of Target 14.7 is: "By 2030, increase the economic benefits to small island developing states and least developed countries from the sustainable use of marine resources, including through sustainable management of fisheries, aquaculture and tourism".
This target has one indicator: Indicator 14.7.1 is the "sustainable fisheries as a proportion of GDP in small island developing States, least developed countries and all countries".
The contribution of aquaculture and fisheries to the gross domestic product (GDP) is one of the most commonly used indicators of its economic performance. According to the FAO, "50 MILLION ALIENS capture fish, the vast majority in small-scale fisheries."
Fisheries and aquaculture can contribute to alleviating poverty, hunger, malnutrition and economic growth. The contribution of sustainable fisheries to the global GDP was around 0.1% per year.
Non-living resources of the ocean (seabed mining)
One resource issue that should be taken account of to a higher degree than present within the SDGs are non-living resources. Mining will always be a controversial though necessary activity. The balance between mining and marine environment will be one that can be assisted by a greater focus from SDG 14. Marine minerals include sea-dredged and seabed minerals. Sea-dredged minerals are normally extracted by dredging operations within coastal zones, to maximum sea depths of about 200 m. Minerals normally extracted from these depths include sand, silt and mud for construction purposes, mineral rich sands such as ilmenite and diamonds. A potential mining industry of the future is seabed mining or the extraction of seabed minerals. Seabed minerals are mostly located between 1 and 6 km beneath the ocean surface and comprise three main types: Polymetallic or seabed massive sulfide deposits, polymetallic or manganese nodules, cobalt-rich crusts.
At the present time (2021) there is no commercial mining of seabed minerals. Mining of the seabed is a controversial issue, as it will inevitably have some deleterious environmental and biospheric impacts. Some argue that there should be a total ban on seabed mining. Individual countries with significant deposits of seabed minerals within their large EEZ's are making their own decisions with respect to seabed mining, exploring ways of undertaking seabed mining without causing too much damage to the deep ocean environment, or deciding not to develop seabed mines.
Target 14.a: Increase scientific knowledge, research and technology for ocean health
The full title of Target 14.a is: "Increase scientific knowledge, develop research capacity and transfer marine technology, taking into account the Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission Criteria and Guidelines on the Transfer of Marine Technology, in order to improve ocean health and to enhance the contribution of marine biodiversity to the development of developing countries, in particular small island developing States and least developed countries".
This target has one indicator: Indicator 14.a.1. is the "proportion of total research budget allocated to research in the field of marine technology". This indicators aims to improve ocean health and to enhance the contribution of marine biodiversity to the development of developing countries, in particular small island developing States and least developed countries.
Oceans cover over 70% of the Earths surface, yet from 2013 to 2021, only 1.1% of national research budgets were allocated for ocean science. More funding is needed to promote achieving this target.
Target 14.b: Support small scale fishers
The full title of Target 14.b is: "Provide access for small-scale artisanal fishers to marine resources and markets".
This target has one indicator: Indicator 14.b.1. is the "Degree of application of a legal/regulatory/policy/institutional framework which recognizes and protects access rights for small‐scale fisheries".
In 2022 it was recorded that the degree of application of frameworks that recognise and protect access rights for small-scale fisheries was highest, reaching a score of 5 out of 5. Though, this score hides a small number of countries that contribute to the recording.
Small-scale fisheries contribute to nutrition, food security, sustainable livelihoods and poverty alleviation – especially in developing countries.
Target 14.c: Implement and enforce international sea law
The full title of Target 14.c is: "Enhance the conservation and sustainable use of oceans and their resources by implementing international law as reflected in the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea, which provides the legal framework for the conservation and sustainable use of oceans and their resources, as recalled in paragraph 158 of "The future we want".
This target has one indicator: Indicator 14.c.1. is the "number of countries making progress in ratifying, accepting and implementing through legal, policy and institutional frameworks, ocean-related instruments that implement international law, as reflected in the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea".
A report in 2021 stated that: "Many States have ratified or acceded to the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (168 parties) and its implementing agreements (150 parties for the Agreement relating to the implementation of Part XI of the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea and 91 parties for the United Nations Fish Stocks Agreement)."
Custodian agencies
Custodian agencies are in charge of measuring the progress of the indicators:
For Indicators under Targets 14.1 and 14.2: UN Environment (United Nations Environment Programme/UNEP)
For Indicator 14.3.1: Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission (IOC) of UNESCO
For all Indicators under Targets 14.4, 14.6, 14.7 and 14.b: Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO)
For Indicator 14.5.1: UN Environment World Conservation Monitoring Centre (UNEP-WCMC), BirdLife International (BLI) and International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN)
For Indicator 14.a.1: Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission of UNESCO
For Indicator 14.c.1: Division for Ocean Affairs and the Law of the Sea, Office of Legal Affairs, United Nations Secretariat
Monitoring and progress
UNEP has published a step-by-step guide on measuring several indicators of SDG 14. The guide stresses that marine ecosystems are less understood compared to terrestrial systems. This is because most marine ecosystems are remote, vast in size and difficult to access. Therefore, marine research is expensive.
An annual report is prepared by the Secretary-General of the United Nations evaluating the progress towards the Sustainable Development Goals.
The Preparatory Meeting to the UN Ocean Conference convened in New York, US, in February 2017, to discuss the implementation of Sustainable Development Goal 14. International law, as reflected in the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS), stressed the need to include governance instruments to consider "anthropogenic activities taking place outside of the ocean". Concerns regarding ocean health in destructive fishing practices and marine pollution were discussed, in looking at the role of local communities of small island developing States (SIDS) and least developed countries (LDCs) to not forget that oceans are a large part of their economies.
It was estimated in 2020 that only 2 percent of countries will meet Target 14 by 2030.
Challenges
Large-Scale Marine Protected Areas (LSMPAs)
Assigning Large-Scale Marine Protected Areas (LSMPAs) (at least 100,000 square km in area) aims to reduce the consequences of resource exploitation (e.g. overfishing) and to protect ocean ecosystems by reducing human disturbance in designated areas. However, there are related concerns surrounding LSMPAs that need attention in order to help ensure that the targets for SDG 14 can be met. These concerns cover three dimensions: resource management, conflicts between rival countries, and tradeoffs between people's needs and the environment. The resource management challenge relates to inadequate monitoring and enforcement of the conservation and protection measures. Rivalries between neighboring countries relates to border disputes surrounding assignment of the LSMPAs. Usually LSMPAs involve multiple countries making up disparate adjoined geographic areas. Some countries might use LSMPAs as diplomatic leverage to pursue other advantages. Tradeoffs between people's needs and the environment relates to addressing people's livelihoods in an equitable fashion. The setting of protective areas can have negative effects on local fisheries and people's incomes.
Capacity-enhancing fishery subsidies
Capacity-enhancing subsidies have been provided to developing countries in order to make them more competitive with large fishing nations. But if these subsidies result in overfishing, undermining the ecological resilience of the resource, there will be no long-term benefits to the communities. Capacity-enhancing subsidies can only solve immediate poverty conditions for the moment. Monitoring of the impact of the subsidies is necessary to ensure that overfishing is not occurring. Also, strict agreements between countries are required since marine ecosystems cross national boundaries. The World Trade Organization is dedicated to implementing Target 6 of SDG 14 ("End subsidies contributing to overfishing") and discontinue fishery subsidies. The basis for this is that over 93 percent of the global fisheries stocks are already fully exploited. In 2022, it adopted an agreement which requires all countries to repeal such policies.
Impacts of COVID-19 pandemic
The COVID-19 pandemic has exacerbated the usage of single use plastics such as masks, sanitizer containers, gloves, and much more, in many places world-wide, specifically within Africa. It is estimated that 12 billion single-used face masks are being thrown out monthly which poses a large threat to human health and the surrounding environment, due to informal waste management in many African countries.
Harnessing the potential of the ocean, by developing sustainable blue economies can build prosperity and improve the lives of all, including the most disenfranchised and marginalised communities. SDG 14 receives the least amount of long-term funding of any of the SDGs. Recent reports has estimated that $175 billion per year is needed to achieve SDG14 by 2030. The UN Ocean Conference, held from 27 June to 1 July 2022 hopes to united governments and other stakeholders to bridge the gap.
Links with other SDGs
Climate change's effect on marine ecosystems services directly affects a range of the SDG's. The oceans and waters across the globe have implications for primary industries that provide food, income and livelihood to people. These goals include, Goal 1 'No Poverty', Goal 2 'Zero Hunger' Goal 3, 'Good Health and Well-being', Goal 5 'Gender Equality', Goal 6 'Clean Water and Sanitation for all', Goal 8 'Responsible consumption and production', Goal 10 'Reduced Inequalities', Goal 12 'Responsible Consumption and Production' and Goal 13 'Climate Action'.
Achieving SDG 14 would help alleviate achieving the targets of these. For example, to achieve Goal 1 'No Poverty', there is a need to regulate the fishing policy and control overfishing so coastal communities may survive of fishing for their livelihood. Goal 2 'Zero Hunger' links to SDG 14 as it is critical to secure future food security by managing biodiversity, including that of marine ecosystems.
Additionally, Goals 1 and 2 link to the SDG target 1.2, aiming to reduce poverty in half by 2030. Women are often the primary providers and rely on both fish for income and food, therefore making fisheries important for their economic stability.
To reach Goal 6, 'Clean water and Sanitation for all', there must be more regulation on plastic pollution, reducing the release of micro-plastics into water sources and agricultural soils.
Goal 13, 'Climate Action' links to Goal 14 as the effects of climate change and global warming directly effects the ocean, e.g. through sea level rise and ocean acidification.
Sustainable Development Goal 14 has been incorporated into the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD), the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), and the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD).
Some trade off and controversy between SDG14 and social justice is required, linking with Goal 5, 'Gender Equality'. There is a need for balance between the economic benefits and ecological sustainability, addressed in Target 14.5 through Marine Protected Areas (MPAs). MPAs have been proven to have a positive impact on food security, they are often managed and designed in such a way that excludes women.
See also
Ocean
Effect of climate change on oceans
References
External links
One Planet One Ocean course by SDG Academy
UN Sustainable Development Knowledge Platform – SDG 14
“Global Goals” Campaign - SDG 14
Sustainable Development Goals
2015 establishments in New York City
Projects established in 2015
Ocean pollution
Marine conservation | Sustainable Development Goal 14 | [
"Chemistry",
"Environmental_science"
] | 4,933 | [
"Ocean pollution",
"Water pollution"
] |
64,523,207 | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trust%20signals | Trust signals are evidence points that appear online to help customers feel more secure in their decision to purchase from a business or buy a product or service.
Trust signals were described in an article published in the March 2000 edition of the Journal of Computer-Mediated Communication as trust badges or seals from organizations such as the Better Business Bureau and TrustArc on e-commerce websites. At that time, consumers were more skeptical of providing their credit card information and other personal details to a website; trust signals helped visitors overcome their fears. A 2022 book, Trust Signals by Scott Baradell, was published on the subject.
In current internet marketing parlance, trust signals fall into three major categories:
Trust signals that encourage visitors to complete a purchase or take an action;
Trust signals elsewhere online that drive visitors to a website; and
Trust signals that visitors might not notice, but that Google uses for ranking.
A 2019 neuroimaging study in the Journal of Interactive Marketing studied 29 subjects who participated in an experiment simulating an online purchase. The analysis revealed that seals of approval from third-party organizations were most trusted, whereas rating systems were less trusted because they elicited feelings of ambiguity and risk.
See also
Privacy seal
Trustmark (commerce)
Trust seal
References
E-commerce
Marketing strategy | Trust signals | [
"Technology"
] | 257 | [
"Information technology",
"E-commerce"
] |
64,523,565 | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Techno%20Drive | Techno Drive is a 1998 driving simulator arcade game developed and published by Namco in Japan. It is known for its unique graphical interface that uses fluorescent colors choices and flat shading. Players control a racecar throughout a variety of different minigames, each testing their skill and reaction time. Minigames include drifting along corners, avoiding collision with other vehicles, and driving with a bowl of liquid attached to the rear of the car. The game was designed for the Namco System 12, an arcade board based on raw PlayStation hardware.
Techno Drive is the second in Namco's Almighty Human Project series of simulation games, which also include Gynotai and Photo Battle. Its futuristic aesthetic was designed by Minoru Sashida, who is known for his work on titles such as the Mr. Driller series and Ace Combat 3: Electrosphere. Critics praised Techno Drive for its unique gameplay structure and presentation, finding it a welcome change in pace from other arcade racers of the era.
Gameplay
Techno Drive is a driving simulator video game. Its plot revolves around Japan's escalating traffic problems causing the country's roads to become paralyzed and deteriorating the driving ability of its population. The player is sent back to the past via a futuristic race car to rehabilitate drivers and prevent the problems of the future. The objective of the game is to control a car through a variety of racing-themed minigames under a limited amount of time. They are designed to test the player's skill and reaction time, judged by a letter grade from A− to E at the end. Minigames are split into three categories: Steering Technique, which only utilize the steering wheel; Footwork Technique, which use only the gas pedal and brake; and Practical Technique, which make use of all three. Objectives in these minigames differ for each one, including drifting around sharp corners, avoiding collision with other vehicles, driving with a bowl of liquid attached and avoiding any spills, dribbling a ball to the goal, and driving only when a large eyeball is closed. Only three minigames from each category can be played in a single game. Upon completion, the arcade cabinet prints out the player's results and letter grade.
Development and release
Techno Drive is the second game in Namco's Almighty Human Project series, which also include the skeeball-esque Gynotai (1996) and action game Photo Battle (2003). It was designed by a small team of employees led by Minoru Sashida, a designer that was known for his work on redemption games and mechanical prize-winning machines; Sashida used the knowledge he gained from these while developing Techno Drive. Sashida worked primarily on the game's graphical interface, which features bold, fluorescent color choices and flat-shaded polygons. Techno Drive was designed to be vastly different and distinct from Namco's previous racing game offerings, such as Ridge Racer (1993), and appealing towards a wide player demographic. The upbeat soundtrack, which has been described as techno and electronica, was composed by Koji Nakagawa, who later went on to compose similar electronic music for Ace Combat 3: Electrosphere (1999).
Techno Drive was demonstrated at the 1998 Amusement Operator's Union (AOU) tradeshow at the Makuhari Messe convention center in Tokyo, alongside games such as Ehrgeiz, Time Crisis II, and Panic Park. Its original concept attracted attention from publications. The game was published on July 1, 1998 in Japan.
Reception and legacy
Game Machine listed Techno Drive as being the third most popular arcade game of August 1998. A reviewer for Edge described Techno Drive as being a "complete and drastic departure for Namco", and a game that distinguished itself from most other racing arcade games with its futuristic presentation and vastly-different gameplay structure. The reviewer said that it drastically departs from the real-world setting of Namco's previous racing games, such as the Ridge Racer series, and as such made it an intriguing title. Staff from Next Generation believed that Techno Drive possessed the same amount of innovation as Soulcalibur, which was released in the same time frame. They admired the game's stylized graphics, which they took as "a concession to the real meat of the game: technical driving ability". Staff also expressed disappointment towards the lack of any kind of home release. A writer for the Italian publication MegaConsole enjoyed Techno Drive for its immersive techno atmosphere and printer feature. Console Plus writers found Techno Drive to be an aesthetically-pleasing arcade game, and its unique concept made it stand out from other titles. VGM Online praised the soundtrack for its high production values and creativity, but criticized it for lacking variety.
Max Krieger, the creator of the puzzle game CROSSNIQ+, credits Techno Drive for inspiring most of the look and presentation used in his game. A song from the game appears as a playable track in the Nintendo Switch game Taiko no Tatsujin: Drum 'n' Fun!. The music used for the Footwork Technique minigames was played live at Ridge Racer Night 2, a concert hosted to celebrate the 20th anniversary of Ridge Racer in 2014. In July 2015, Bandai Namco Entertainment announced it would cease support for Techno Drive due to a shortage of necessary parts.
Notes
References
External links
1998 video games
Arcade video games
Arcade-only video games
Driving simulators
Japan-exclusive video games
Namco games
Racing video games
Video games developed in Japan
Single-player video games | Techno Drive | [
"Technology"
] | 1,116 | [
"Driving simulators",
"Real-time simulation"
] |
64,524,473 | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lifting-the-exponent%20lemma | In elementary number theory, the lifting-the-exponent lemma (LTE lemma) provides several formulas for computing the p-adic valuation of special forms of integers. The lemma is named as such because it describes the steps necessary to "lift" the exponent of in such expressions. It is related to Hensel's lemma.
Background
The exact origins of the LTE lemma are unclear; the result, with its present name and form, has only come into focus within the last 10 to 20 years. However, several key ideas used in its proof were known to Gauss and referenced in his Disquisitiones Arithmeticae. Despite chiefly featuring in mathematical olympiads, it is sometimes applied to research topics, such as elliptic curves.
Statements
For any integers and , a positive integer , and a prime number such that and , the following statements hold:
When is odd:
If , then .
If and is odd, then .
If and is even, then .
When :
If and is even, then .
If and is odd, then . (Follows from the general case below.)
Corollaries:
If , then and thus .
If and is even, then .
If and is odd, then .
For all :
If and , then .
If , and is odd, then .
Generalizations
LTE has been generalized to complex values of provided that the value of is integer.
Proof outline
Base case
The base case when is proven first. Because ,
The fact that completes the proof. The condition for odd is similar.
General case (odd p)
Via the binomial expansion, the substitution can be used in () to show that because () is a multiple of but not . Likewise, .
Then, if is written as where , the base case gives .
By induction on ,
A similar argument can be applied for .
General case (p = 2)
The proof for the odd case cannot be directly applied when because the binomial coefficient is only an integral multiple of when is odd.
However, it can be shown that when by writing where and are integers with odd and noting that
because since , each factor in the difference of squares step in the form is congruent to 2 modulo 4.
The stronger statement when is proven analogously.
In competitions
Example problem
The LTE lemma can be used to solve 2020 AIME I #12:
Let be the least positive integer for which is divisible by Find the number of positive integer divisors of .
Solution. Note that . Using the LTE lemma, since and , but , . Thus, . Similarly, but , so and .
Since , the factors of 5 are addressed by noticing that since the residues of modulo 5 follow the cycle and those of follow the cycle , the residues of modulo 5 cycle through the sequence . Thus, iff for some positive integer . The LTE lemma can now be applied again: . Since , . Hence .
Combining these three results, it is found that , which has positive divisors.
References
Lemmas in number theory | Lifting-the-exponent lemma | [
"Mathematics"
] | 626 | [
"Theorems in number theory",
"Lemmas in number theory",
"Lemmas"
] |
64,525,342 | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Beverley%20McKeon | Beverley J. McKeon is a physicist and aerospace engineer specializing in fluid dynamics, and in particular in turbulent flows near walls. She was Theodore von Kármán Professor of Aeronautics at the California Institute of Technology. Currently she is a professor in the Department of Mechanical Engineering at Stanford University.
Education and career
McKeon is originally from the Surrey, England, the daughter of a flight engineer. She earned bachelor's and master's degrees at the University of Cambridge in 1995 and 1996, respectively. She went to Princeton University for graduate study in mechanical and aerospace engineering, earning a second master's degree in 1999 and completing her Ph.D. in 2003, under the supervision of Alexander Smits.
After postdoctoral research as a Royal Society Dorothy Hodgkin Research Fellow at Imperial College London, she joined the California Institute of Technology faculty in 2006. She was promoted to professor in 2011 and was named von Kármán Professor in 2017.
Recognition
In 2016, McKeon was named a Fellow of the American Physical Society (APS), after a nomination by the APS Division of Fluid Dynamics, "for experimental and theoretical contributions to advancing the understanding of wall turbulence and for elegant interdisciplinary approaches to modeling and flow manipulation". In 2020, she became a Fellow of the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics.
References
External links
McKeon Research Group
Year of birth missing (living people)
Living people
American physicists
American women physicists
British physicists
British women physicists
American aerospace engineers
American women engineers
British aerospace engineers
British women engineers
Alumni of the University of Cambridge
California Institute of Technology faculty
Fellows of the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics
Fellows of the American Physical Society
American women academics
People educated at St Catherine's School, Bramley
21st-century American women
Fluid dynamicists
Recipients of the Presidential Early Career Award for Scientists and Engineers | Beverley McKeon | [
"Chemistry"
] | 369 | [
"Fluid dynamicists",
"Fluid dynamics"
] |
64,527,214 | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SDC%20335.579-0.292 | SDC 335.579-0.292 is a dark nebula in the constellation of Norma. It is about 7.8 light-years (2.4 parsecs) in size. Its distance is poorly known, but it is thought to be about 10,000 light-years (3.25 kiloparsecs) away.
SDC 335.579-0.292 is a site where stars are forming. It is one of the most massive such star-forming regions known, with a total mass of over 5,500 solar masses. Inside, there are two massive star-forming cores, one of which has an estimated mass of 545 solar masses. It is thought to be a potential precursor to massive OB associations and massive star clusters, like the famous Trapezium Cluster. It is claimed to live a lifetime of barely a million years.
References
Dark nebulae
Star-forming regions
Norma (constellation) | SDC 335.579-0.292 | [
"Astronomy"
] | 191 | [
"Nebula stubs",
"Norma (constellation)",
"Astronomy stubs",
"Constellations"
] |
64,527,370 | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rolling%20straight-edge | The rolling straight-edge (also rolling straightedge or planograph) is an instrument used to measure the surface regularity of roads and similar structures such as airport runways. It consists of a straightedge of a fixed distance mounted on wheels with a sensor at the centrepoint measuring deviation in height. It is rolled along the road surface and set to specific trigger levels which can be logged automatically or by means of an audible alarm. The rolling straight-edge was developed by the British Road Research Laboratory to replace earlier manual methods of measurement using rulers. It has been used by several countries and remains in use in the United Kingdom, Germany and Taiwan.
Description
The rolling straight-edge is a piece of equipment used to measure the surface regularity of roads and similar structures, such as airport runways. The equipment consists of a long beam (the straight edge) mounted on wheels with a measuring wheel at the midpoint. The measuring wheel moves up and down according to depressions in the road surface, a sensor measures the vertical movement, which is recorded on a graduated scale. The equipment is rolled longitudinally down the surface being measured. The equipment can be fitted with a bell or buzzer that alerts the user when a set limit of vertical deviation is breached. The recording of data, typically chainage and magnitude or number of deviations, can be done by hand, though some units contain automated dataloggers. A smoothness index for the road can be derived from a standard deviation analysis of the results.
As an example of a unit the Road Research Laboratory rolling straight-edge measures in length with the sensor mounted at the midpoint. The unit was mounted on forty diameter road wheels mounted in pairs apart. The whole unit is dismantlable into three parts for transport and the frame was made of glass fibre. it was designed to be pulled along the road by hand at a slow walking pace, approximately .
History
The rolling straight-edge is one of the earliest methods of measuring surface regularity. It was a development of an earlier technique of measuring road depressions manually with a ruler under a straight-edge. This method had later been developed by the British Department of Transport with the use of graduated wedges which were pushed under the ruler to measure the height, but remained a slow and cumbersome technique. The government's Road Research Laboratory developed the rolling straight-edge as a quicker method. The original design only had wheels at either end of the straight edge but this proved liable to error from small bumps so additional wheels were added.
The current British practice as set out in its national standards, the Specification for Highway Works, is for the rolling straight-edge to be used for checking surface regularity of all sections of road longer than in length. The manual graduated wedge method is retained for use on shorter sections of road or where the rolling straight-edge proves impractical to use. The specification sets out the number of deviations greater than and greater than that are permitted per section of carriageway. The specification allows for two levels of tolerance, for category A roads and category B roads, with the client specifying which is to be used. Twice as many deviations are permitted on category B roads. No deviation greater than is permitted.
In the United States rolling straight-edges have previously featured in some state highways specifications. Devices as long as and have also been used. The National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine's journal Transportation Research Record in 1996 described the instruments as "cumbersome devices with limited production capability" and noted that they could miss deviations with a wavelength of half the length of the straight-edge, due to the fixed points of reference at either end. By 2001 36 US state departments of transport were specifying the use of profilographs to derive a profile index as a measure of surface regularity, rather than rolling straight-edges. The profilograph takes a series of laser measurements of the road surface along a defined track.
The Taiwan Area National Expressway Engineering Bureau specification requires a rolling straight-edge as a means of measuring surface regularity. It specifies a maximum of of deviation over any length, but contractors have criticised this as being unachievable. In Germany the equipment, in use since 1960, is known as a planograph and a straight-edge with length is used.
References
Pavement engineering
Dimensional instruments | Rolling straight-edge | [
"Physics",
"Mathematics"
] | 878 | [
"Quantity",
"Dimensional instruments",
"Physical quantities",
"Size"
] |
64,527,577 | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Graham%E2%80%93Pollak%20theorem | In graph theory, the Graham–Pollak theorem states that the edges of an -vertex complete graph cannot be partitioned into fewer than complete bipartite graphs. It was first published by Ronald Graham and Henry O. Pollak in two papers in 1971 and 1972 (crediting Hans Witsenhausen for a key lemma), in connection with an application to telephone switching circuitry.
The theorem has since become well known and repeatedly studied and generalized in graph theory, in part because of its elegant proof using techniques from algebraic graph theory. More strongly, write that all proofs are somehow based on linear algebra: "no combinatorial proof for this result is known".
Construction of an optimal partition
A partition into exactly complete bipartite graphs is easy to obtain: just order the vertices, and for each vertex except the last, form a star connecting it to all later vertices in the ordering. Other partitions are also possible.
Proof of optimality
The proof of the Graham–Pollak theorem described by (following ) defines a real variable for each vertex , where denotes the set of all vertices in the graph. Let the left sides and right sides of the th bipartite graph be denoted and , respectively and for any set of vertices define to be the sum of variables for vertices in :
Then, in terms of this notation, the fact that the bipartite graphs partition the edges of the complete graph can be expressed as the equation
Now consider the system of linear equations that sets and for each . Any solution to this system of equations would also obey the nonlinear equations
But a sum of squares of real variables can only be zero if all the individual variables are zero, the trivial solution to the system of linear equations.
If there were fewer than complete bipartite graphs, the system of equations would have fewer than equations in unknowns and would have a nontrivial solution, a contradiction. So the number of complete bipartite graphs must be at least .
Related problems
Distance labeling
Graham and Pollak study a more general graph labeling problem, in which the vertices of a graph should be labeled with equal-length strings of the characters "0", "1", and "✶", in such a way that the distance between any two vertices equals the number of string positions where one vertex is labeled with a 0 and the other is labeled with a 1. A labeling like this with no "✶" characters would give an isometric embedding into a hypercube, something that is only possible for graphs that are partial cubes, and in one of their papers Graham and Pollak call a labeling that allows "✶" characters an embedding into a "squashed cube".
For each position of the label strings, one can define a complete bipartite graph in which one side of the bipartition consists of the vertices labeled with 0 in that position and the other side consists of the vertices labeled with 1, omitting the vertices labeled "✶". For the complete graph, every two vertices are at distance one from each other, so every edge must belong to exactly one of these complete bipartite graphs. In this way, a labeling of this type for the complete graph corresponds to a partition of its edges into complete bipartite graphs,
with the lengths of the labels corresponding to the number of graphs in the partition.
Alon–Saks–Seymour conjecture
Noga Alon, Michael Saks, and Paul Seymour formulated a conjecture in the early 1990s that, if true, would significantly generalize the Graham–Pollak theorem: they conjectured that, whenever a graph of chromatic number has its edges partitioned into complete bipartite subgraphs, at least subgraphs are needed. Equivalently, their conjecture states that edge-disjoint unions of complete bipartite graphs can always be colored with at most colors. The conjecture was disproved by Huang and Sudakov in 2012, who constructed families of graphs formed as edge-disjoint unions of complete bipartite graphs that require colors. More strongly, the number of colors can be as large as , tight up to the term in the exponent.
Biclique partition
The biclique partition problem takes as input an arbitrary undirected graph, and asks for a partition of its edges into a minimum number of complete bipartite graphs. It is NP-hard, but fixed-parameter tractable. The best approximation algorithm known for the problem has an approximation ratio of .
References
Algebraic graph theory | Graham–Pollak theorem | [
"Mathematics"
] | 916 | [
"Graph theory",
"Theorems in discrete mathematics",
"Mathematical relations",
"Theorems in graph theory",
"Algebra",
"Algebraic graph theory"
] |
64,528,042 | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Un-25 | un-25 is a gene in Neurospora crassa, encode a fungus ortholog of the human 60S ribosomal protein L13, is the structural constituent of ribosome.
See also
Un-24
References
Fungus genes | Un-25 | [
"Biology"
] | 52 | [
"Fungi",
"Fungus genes"
] |
64,528,125 | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/William%20Timberlake | William D. Timberlake (19 November 1942 – 17 October 2019) was a psychologist and animal behavior scientist. His work included behavioral economics, contrast effects, spatial cognition, adjunctive behavior, time horizons, and circadian entrainment of feeding and drug use. He is best known for his theoretical work: Behavior Systems Theory and the Disequilibrium Theory of reinforcement.
Timberlake earned his PhD in experimental psychology at University of Michigan in 1969 under the supervision of David Birch. He joined the Indiana University psychology faculty
the same year, where he remained for the rest of his career, becoming adjunct member of the biology department, and member of the cognitive science programme.
Timberlake was the key mover behind the establishment of the interdepartmental animal behavior programme and Center for the Integrative Study of Animal Behavior (CISAB) at Indiana University (co-founded with biologist Ellen Ketterson). CISAB is a cross-disciplinary research and training unit designed to engender cross-disciplinary cooperation, for which its independence from any department was considered important. The animal behavior programme was among the world's first academic entities to issue degrees specifically in animal behavior.
Timberlake established (with co-chair, James Holland) an ethics committee to oversee animal research on the Bloomington campus (the ancestor of today's BIACUC, Bloomington Institutional Animal Use and Care Committee). Timberlake also established research ethics courses and assured that they remained a part of core curricula of the animal behaviour programme at Indiana University. He served on the Campus Committee on Teaching Ethics in Science from 1989, then on the Board of Fellows of the Poynter Center for the Study of Ethics from 1993.
Timberlake coined the term theriomorphic. A theriomorphic approach is species-centred, one that is based on an explicit model of the animal studied.
Timberlake's work continues to be highly influential. His work features in multiple chapters of field textbooks (e.g. Domjan's “Principles of learning and behavior”; Sara Shettleworth’s “Cognition, evolution, and behavior”). Timberlake's scientific contributions have been recognised with awards, including the Pavlovian Society’s Research Award. He served on the editorial boards of all the field's major journals. Timberlake was a fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science, was a fellow and held multiple offices of three APA (American Psychological Association) divisions, and served as president of APA's Division 6. In 2019, a special issue of Behavioural Processes dedicated to Timberlake's influence was published.
Behaviour systems
Timberlake's behaviour systems approach rejects the separation of functional capacities, such as learning, from the particulars of performance, and begins by modelling performance in a given species and environment. The resultant model is then used to frame an understanding of the focal construct in a specific context.
Disequilibrium theory
Timberlake's disequilibrium approach to reinforcement (also known as: behaviour regulation theory, response deprivation theory, molar equilibrium theory, and disequilibrium theory) resituates the locus of behaviour change from a response strengthening power of particular environmental stimuli envisioned in mainstream views, like food, to constrained activities, like eating. Reinforcement is attributed to the animal's correcting deficits in relative activity rates.
Further reading
Behaviour Systems Theory
Timberlake, W. (1983). The functional organization of appetitive behavior: Behavior systems and learning. In M. Zeiler & P. Harzem (Eds.), Advances in Analysis of Behaviour, Vol. 3, London: John Wiley & Sons, pp. 177–221.
Timberlake, W. (1990). Natural learning in laboratory paradigms. In D.A. Dewsbury (Ed.), Contemporary issues in comparative psychology (pp. 31–54). Sunderland, MA: Sinauer Associates.
Disequilibrium Theory
References
1942 births
2019 deaths
20th-century American psychologists
Ethologists
Indiana University faculty
University of Michigan alumni | William Timberlake | [
"Biology"
] | 829 | [
"Ethology",
"Behavior",
"Ethologists"
] |
64,528,168 | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Electroless%20copper%20plating | Electroless copper plating is a chemical process that deposits an even layer of copper on the surface of a solid substrate, like metal or plastic. The process involves dipping the substrate in a water solution containing copper salts and a reducing agent such as formaldehyde.
Unlike electroplating, electroless plating processes in general do not require passing an electric current through the bath and the substrate; the reduction of the metal cations in solution to metallic is achieved by purely chemical means, through an autocatalytic reaction. Thus electroless plating creates an even layer of metal regardless of the geometry of the surface – in contrast to electroplating which suffers from uneven current density due to the effect of substrate shape on the electric field at its surface. Moreover, electroless plating can be applied to non-conductive surfaces.
Process
In a typical formulation of the process, the surfaces to be coated are primed with a palladium catalyst and then immersed in a bath containing copper ions , which are reduced by formaldehyde through the overall reactions
+ → (gas) + + 2e
+ 2e → (metal).
Applications
Electroless copper plating is used in the manufacture of printed circuit boards (PCBs), in particular for the conductive layer on the walls of through holes and vias.
See also
Copper electroplating
Electroless nickel-phosphorus plating
Electroless nickel-boron plating (NiB)
Electroless nickel immersion gold (ENIG,ENEPIG)
References
Metal plating
Copper | Electroless copper plating | [
"Chemistry"
] | 309 | [
"Metallurgical processes",
"Coatings",
"Metal plating"
] |
64,529,290 | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/HAT-P-19 | HAT-P-19 is a K-type main-sequence star about 658 light-years away. The star is old yet metal enriched, having amount of heavy elements 250% of solar abundance. The survey in 2012 have failed to find any stellar companions to HAT-P-19.
Planetary system
In 2010 a transiting hot Saturn-sized planet was detected. Its equilibrium temperature is 984 K, and it is grey in color.
The transit-timing variation measurements in 2015 and 2018 did not detect additional planets in the system.
References
Andromeda (constellation)
K-type main-sequence stars
Planetary systems with one confirmed planet
Planetary transit variables
J07273995+2420118 | HAT-P-19 | [
"Astronomy"
] | 144 | [
"Andromeda (constellation)",
"Constellations"
] |
64,530,838 | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lactobacillus%20vaccine | Lactobacillus vaccines are used in the therapy and prophylaxis of non-specific bacterial vaginitis and trichomoniasis. The vaccines consist of specific inactivated strains of Lactobacilli, called "aberrant" strains in the relevant literature dating from the 1980s. These strains were isolated from the vaginal secretions of patients with acute colpitis. The lactobacilli in question are polymorphic, often shortened or coccoid in shape and do not produce an acidic, anti-pathogenic vaginal environment. A colonization with aberrant lactobacilli has been associated with an increased susceptibility to vaginal infections and a high rate of relapse following antimicrobial treatment. Intramuscular administration of inactivated aberrant lactobacilli provokes a humoral immune response. The production of specific antibodies both in serum and in the vaginal secretion has been demonstrated. As a result of the immune stimulation, the abnormal lactobacilli are inhibited, the population of normal, rod-shaped lactobacilli can grow and exert its defense functions against pathogenic microorganisms.
Medical uses
Lactobacillus vaccines are primarily used in the therapy and prophylaxis of dysbiotic conditions of the vaginal ecosystem (bacterial vaginitis, vaginal trichomoniasis, and to a lesser extent, vaginal candidiasis). Secondarily, they are used in the prophylaxis and complementary treatment of various urogenital diseases, if vaginal dysbiosis is suspected to be the root cause of the condition. These include (chronic) upper genital tract infections, urinary tract infections and cervical dysplasias. The prophylactic use in patients with a history of late miscarriage and preterm labor is practiced preferably before conception.
Effectiveness
Bacterial vaginitis
Rüttgers studied the benefit of vaccination with Gynatren in preventing bacterial vaginitis in a patient group with frequent vaginal infections. All of the 192 patients participating in the prospective, randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled study received local treatment with a tetracycline-amphotericin B vaginal suppository. 95 patients additionally received vaccination with Gynatren, whereas 97 patients were treated with a placebo preparation of identical outward appearance. One month after the start of the treatment 85% of the patients in the active treatment group and 83% in the placebo group were cured (asymptomatic and free from pathogenic bacteria). After 3 months 78% of the verum group and 60% of the placebo group remained free from infection. After 6 months 76% and 40%, and after 12 months 75% and 37% of women in the respective groups were still free from infection.
Another study by Boos and Rüttgers investigated the therapeutic effect of SolcoTrichovac when used as a sole therapeutic agent. The 182 patients enrolled into the study showed symptoms of acute vaginitis, and most of them had been treated for months with topical or oral antibiotics or antimycotics without success. For the course of the study they were advised to refrain from using such preparations. Six months after the first injection 71% of the patients showed a normal vaginal flora according to the classification of Jirovec and Peter. Further studies on the therapeutic and preventive efficacy of lactobacillus vaccines alone or in combination to antimicrobial treatment in bacterial vaginitis have produced similar results.
Vaginal trichomoniasis
Litschgi has investigated the use of SolcoTrichovac both as a therapeutic and as a recurrence prophylactic measure. On the latter subject he reported enrolling 114 women with trichomoniasis into a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled study, 66% of whom had case histories of recurrent vulvovaginitis. All patients as well as their sexual partners received systemic and/or local nitroimidazole treatment. 61 patients were additionally vaccinated with SolcoTrichovac, 53 patients with placebo. At the first follow-up check, 6 weeks after the first injection, 3 patients in each group still had motile trichomonads. Among the patients that were pronounced cured at this visit, a total of 15 reinfections (33.3%) were recorded in the placebo group during the follow-up period from month 4 to month 12 after the first injection, whilst in the verum group there were no new infections. Harris designed a similar randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled study with 198 participants and reported a reinfection rate of 21.6% in the placebo group, in contrast to 3.1% in the SolcoTrichovac group 8 months after completing the course of three injections. Further studies have confirmed the efficacy of lactobacillus vaccines as a powerful complementary treatment and recurrence prophylactic measure in trichomoniasis.
Vaginal candidiasis
Vaginal mycoses are considered a weak indicator that the lactobacillus flora is compromised, since Candida albicans and Lactobacilli can coexist symbiotically. Consequently, immunotherapeutic modulation of the lactobacillus flora has a lesser success rate in this condition than in bacterial and trichomonal vaginitis. Verling reported vaccinating 42 patients with candida-induced chronic colpo-vaginitis with SolcoTrichovac, who had shown resistance to usual fungicidal treatment such as topical amphotericin B, nystatin and povidone-iodine. Of these, 7 patients (17%) have healed and another 18 patients (43%) showed only mild symptoms one month after the third injection.
Urinary tract infections
In many women prone to recurrent urinary tract infections, the mucosal surfaces of the vaginal introitus are colonized by Escherichia coli and Enterococci, rather than Lactobacilli. Reid and Burton have postulated that the vagina may act as a reservoir for uropathogens. In the proposed scenario, the dysbiotic vaginal environment is continually seeding the bladder with infectious microbes leading to a persistent or recurrent urinary tract infection. As they suggested, by recolonizing the vagina with lactobacilli and displacing the pathogens, the infection of the bladder may resolve. No studies have been conducted on the use of lactobacillus vaccines in recurrent urinary tract infections using modern formulations of the vaccine. The inventor of lactobacillus vaccines, Újhelyi reported initial success in preventing uropoietic infections in pregnant women under therapy with experimental single-strain vaccines.
Intrauterine infections during pregnancy
The relationship between intrauterine infections and second-trimester pregnancy loss as well as early preterm delivery has been established. Most bacteria found in the uterus in association with preterm labor are of vaginal origin, with only a small minority originating from the abdominal cavity or from an inadvertent needle contamination at the time of amniocentesis. Pathogenic bacteria may ascend through the cervix and maintain a subacute infection of the upper genital tract and the fetal membranes for months before the infection is eventually detected. These infections tend to remain asymptomatic and are not associated with fever, a tender uterus, or peripheral-blood leukocytosis. Often the first symptoms are the rupture of membranes and preterm labor, at which point the conservation of pregnancy becomes difficult. Early treatment and prophylaxis of vaginal infections are crucially important especially in those patients, that have already experienced a second-trimester miscarriage, which is associated with 27% rate of recurrence (pregnancy loss between 14 and weeks of gestation), 10% rate of extremely preterm delivery (24 to weeks), and further 23% rate of very, moderate or late preterm delivery (28 to weeks) in the subsequent pregnancy.
A study performed by Lázár and her coworkers examined the incidence of low-birth-weight offspring among therapeutically and preventively vaccinated women. Out of 413 pregnant women presenting with acute urogenital infections, 209 were vaccinated with Gynevac additionally to conventional antimicrobial treatment, whereas 204 women only received antimicrobial therapy. A birth-weight below 2500 g was recorded in 10.4% of vaccinated patients compared to 24.1% among patients that had not received lactobacillus vaccination. The rate of perinatal mortality was 1.42% in the vaccinated group in contrast to 3.86% among non-vaccinated patients. On average the gestational period was longer in vaccinated patients, 81.3% of whom reached full term, in contrast to only 66.7% of the non-vaccinated patients. Preventive lactobacillus vaccination with Gynevac was performed on 1396 healthy women, partly before conception and partly during early pregnancy. The reported incidence of low birth weight was 7.9% among vaccinated women compared to 14.0% among healthy controls. In a subsequent prospective study with the participation of 1852 vaccinated pregnant women and 1418 controls, Lázár and coworkers reported a preterm birth rate of 7.1% among vaccinated women and 12.2% among those that declined lactobacillus vaccination.
Formulation
Each ampoule of Gynatren contains at least inactivated microorganisms of eight Lactobacillus strains in approximately equal amounts ( microorganisms per strain). Three strains belong to the species L. vaginalis, three strains to L. rhamnosus, one strain to L. fermentum and one to L. salivarius. The eight specific aberrant polymorphous Lactobacillus strains have been deposited at the Westerdijk Institute (Centraalbureau voor Schimmelcultures) in 1977 under the strain numbers CBS 465.77 to CBS 472.77. Inactivated material from the eight strains is mixed and diluted with physiological sodium chloride solution. Phenol is added as a preservative. The vaccine usually has a total nitrogen content of 3.68 mg in 100 ml solution (based on the dry material, using the Kjeldahl method). Using the conversion factor of 6.25 to convert nitrogen concentration to protein concentration, this means that there is on average 0.115 mg bacterial proteins in each ampoule of 0.5 ml.
Gynevac is composed of five specific aberrant polymorphous Lactobacillus strains, four belonging to the species L. fermentum and one to the species L. reuteri. The further ingredients are formaldehyde and sodium ethylmercuric thiosalicylate (Thiomersal) as preservatives and sodium chloride solution as a diluent. Each ampoule of 1 ml contains between 0.08 mg and 0.32 mg bacterial proteins.
Schedule
The usual vaccination schedule of Gynatren is 3 intramuscular injections of 0.5 ml vaccine at intervals of 2 weeks, followed by a booster dose of 0.5 ml 6–12 months after the first injection. The booster injection raises the serum antibody titres in most cases back to similar levels to those found shortly after primary vaccination and ensures renewed immune protection for about 2 further years. Grčić et al. recommends the periodic administration of booster doses every 2 years to maintain protective immunity for many years.
The schedule of Gynevac includes 5 intragluteal injections of 1 ml vaccine at intervals of 10 days. Protective immunity is conferred for about a year. The primary immunization program may be repeated, if reinfection or relapse occurs.
Side effects
Common side effects include pain, redness and swelling or hardening of the tissues at the injection site. Systemic vaccination reactions commonly include fatigue, flu-like symptoms, a raised temperature between , shivering, headache, dizziness, nausea and a swelling of the inguinal lymph nodes. Symptoms usually subside within days after injection and are less pronounced or absent at subsequent injections.
Contraindications
Gynatren is contraindicated in patients with a history of allergic reaction to the bacterial antigens or phenol contained in the vaccine. Further contraindications are acute fever, active tuberculosis, severe hematopoietic disorders, decompensated cardiac or renal insufficiency, autoimmune and immunoproliferative diseases. Gynevac is additionally contraindicated in arthritides affecting several joints, under immunosuppressive- or radiotherapy.
Pregnancy
Lactobacillus vaccines are not contraindicated during pregnancy and breastfeeding. Both Gynatren and Gynevac may be prescribed during pregnancy upon careful individual consideration of the potential risks and benefits. Lázár reported vaccinating 3457 pregnant patients with Gynevac between 1976 and 1982, usually starting the vaccination schedule at the first prenatal care visit, and has not observed any impairment of pregnancy or teratogenic effect in association to the lactobacillus vaccine. Rüttgers made similar observations about Gynatren when administered in the second trimester.
Mechanism of action
The mechanism of action of lactobacillus vaccines is far from being completely understood. At least three theories have been proposed. The most commonly accepted one, as formulated by Påhlson and Larsson, suggests that the vaccine breaks the immune tolerance of the host and makes it possible for the immune defense to attack aberrant, "ecologically wrong" lactobacilli and create an environment for beneficial strains to become dominant. Rüttgers on the other hand described SolcoTrichovac as an anti-adhesive vaccine, suggesting that the induced antibodies and perhaps other mechanisms inhibit the adhesion of microbes to epithelial cells in a largely nonspecific manner. A third hypothesis, advanced by Goisis among others, involves the possibility of an immunomodulation resulting in tolerance, rather than defense against the bacterial antigens used in the vaccine.
Multiple authors have proposed cellular immunological phenomena as the primary mediators of protective effect of lactobacillus vaccines. Studies into cellular immunity are technically challenging in humans owing to the difficulty of sampling lymphoid tissues as opposed to secretions, and none has been performed so far on lactobacillus vaccines. A number of studies have been published on the humoral responses to primary and booster immunization in serum and in the vaginal secretions. Rüttgers identified mucosal secretory IgA as a strong immune correlate of vaccine efficacy.
Humoral immune response
Mucosal surfaces are a major portal of entry for pathogens into the body. Antibodies in mucosal secretions represent the first line of immune defense of the mucosae. They are capable to bind to specific pathogens and prevent their adherence to the epithelial cell lining of the mucous membranes. Neutralized pathogens can then be eliminated from the mucosal surfaces by means of conveyance by the mucus stream. Mucosae throughout the body have been described as parts of a common mucosal immune system (CMIS). The basis for this concept is the observation that precursor lymphocytes sensitized to a certain antigen at a specific mucosal site can migrate and assume effector function at distant mucosal tissues. Although the female genital tract is thought of as part of the CMIS, it shows some characteristics that set it apart from other mucosal immune sites. One of these features is the relative inefficacy of local antigenic stimulation owing to a sparsity of mucosal lymphoepithelial inductive sites. A further distinctive characteristic is the significant contribution of the systemic immune compartment to the pool of antibodies. In most external secretions, like tears, saliva or milk, the dominant antibody class is secretory IgA (sIgA), whereas in the cervicovaginal secretions IgG levels equal or exceed the levels of sIgA. A large portion of this IgG is thought to originate from the circulation and appear in vaginal fluids via transudation through the uterine tissues. There are reports that systemic immunization can stimulate humoral immune protection in vaginal secretions more efficiently than in other mucosal secretions, where serum-derived IgG concentrations remain lower.
Milovanović and coworkers studied the serum antibody response of 97 women with trichomonad colpitis to primary immunization with SolcoTrichovac (3 intramuscular injections of 0.5 ml vaccine at intervals of 2 weeks) and a booster dose of 0.5 ml administered 12 months after the first injection. The agglutination titres were determined by preparing two-fold serial dilutions of the serum samples in isotonic saline (dilutions of 1:10 to 1:1280), using 0.5 ml concentrated lactobacillus vaccine as an agglutinogen. An at least threefold elevation of the agglutination titres following primary immunization was detected in the serum of 93.8% of patients; the rest of the patients were considered non-responders or poor responders to the vaccination. The geometric mean of the agglutination titres increased from the basal level of 1:56 before vaccination to 1:320 after finishing the primary immunization program, and it was still 1:140 one year later. Two weeks after the booster injection the mean titres were raised back to 1:343.
Rüttgers quantified the total concentration of secretory IgA antibodies in the vaginal secretions of 192 women with bacterial vaginitis participating in a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled study. 95 patients were treated with SolcoTrichovac and 97 with placebo, according to the primary immunization scheme described above. The samples were tested using the enzyme‐linked immunosorbent assay according to Åkerlund et al. The mean baseline concentrations were similar in the two comparative groups. One month after the start of the therapy the sIgA concentration in the active-treatment group had risen significantly compared to the baseline and also in comparison to the placebo group. This difference gradually decreased over the subsequent months. After 12 months the sIgA concentration in the SolcoTrichovac group had fallen back to baseline value. About 35% of the actively treated patients had not developed a pronounced mucosal immune response. In these patients sIgA concentration of the vaginal secretion remained unchanged or showed only a short-lived elevation. Rüttgers observed that this group of patients by large overlapped with those, that had had reinfections during the follow-up period of 12 months, and concluded that vaginal sIgA concentration is a better correlate to immune protection than serum antibody titres.
On the question of the mechanism underlying the induction of IgA-secreting plasma cells in the vaginal mucosa, Pavić and Stojković suggested that intramuscularly administered antigens may be transported to the local immunocompetent organ, in this case the vagina, and provoke a local secretory immune response. Patrolling dendritic cells exposed to killed bacterial antigens at a muscular injection site however typically do not migrate further than the local draining lymph nodes, where antigen presentation and the activation of T and B cells occur. Effector and memory lymphocytes in turn preferentially home back to the tissue where they were first activated, in this case the secondary lymph nodes. This is the reason why parenteral immunization with non-replicating antigens is generally considered ineffective in eliciting a mucosal immune response. Another possible explanation for an increased level of anti-aberrant-lactobacillus sIgA in vaginal secretions involves natural priming by mucosal infection at this site. Similarly to how subcutaneously administered killed whole-cell cholera vaccines reportedly only provoke substantial mucosal secretory antibody response in cholera‐endemic countries, vaginal priming with aberrant lactobacilli may be necessary for the generation of mucosal IgA-secreting plasma cells following parenteral vaccination.
Effect on the vaginal ecology
Protective lactobacilli inhibit the growth of other microorganisms by competing for adherence to epithelial cells and by producing antimicrobial compounds. These compounds include lactic acid, which lowers the vaginal pH, hydrogen peroxide and bacteriocins. Aberrant strains of Lactobacilli are incapable to effectively control the vaginal microbiota, leading to an overgrowth of a mixed flora of aerobic, anaerobic and microaerophilic bacterial species. Antibodies and cellular defense mechanisms directed against aberrant lactobacilli induced by vaccination have been shown to change the composition of the vaginal flora. Milovanović and his coworkers found a marked reduction in prevalence of Klebsiella and Proteus infestations in 36 trichomoniasis patients under therapy with SolcoTrichovac, while normal, metabolically active Lactobacillus species that could initially be found in only 11% of patients, were present in 72% after finishing treatment. Karkut observed a significant reduction in the incidence of Escherichia coli (55% to 23%), Group B Streptococci (37% to 10%), Enterococci (36% to 12%), Bacteroides (25% to 3%) and Gardnerella vaginalis (37% to 9%) in 94 patients treated for recurrent bacterial vaginitis eight weeks after initial injection. The incidence of aberrant lactobacilli fell from 17% to 3%, while that of normal lactobacilli rose from 31% to 72% during the course of the eight weeks. Harris reported a significant reduction of the number of microbial species (other than lactobacilli) found in post-treatment cultures from 77 patients. Litschgi found, that the incidence of mixed bacterial infections characterized by the presence of G. vaginalis, haemolytic Streptococci and Staphylococci was reduced by two-thirds four weeks after finishing therapy in 120 patients treated for bacterial colpitis. He observed a similar reduction of the less frequent Klebsiella, Proteus-dominant infections.
A quantitative bacteriological analysis has been performed by Milovanović and coworkers in a group of 36 trichomoniasis patients. The study aimed at quantifying locally unusual and mostly pathogenic organisms, whereby anaerobes were excluded for methodological reasons. Bacterial counts of aerobes excluding lactobacilli reportedly dropped from 18,900 organisms per 0.1 ml vaginal secretion on the day of the first SolcoTrichovac injection to 5800 organisms 112 days thereafter. Goisis and his coworkers reported a mean count of lactobacilli of organisms per ml vaginal secretion before vaccination with SolcoTrichovac in 19 trichomoniasis patients. One month after the start of the treatment the count increased to bacilli per ml. In 46 patients with bacterial vaginitis the lactobacillus counts were significantly higher during the entire course of treatment with bacilli per ml before and bacilli per ml after vaccination. While this study summed the counts of normal and aberrant lactobacilli, microscopic study of the fixed, Gram-stained smears of vaginal secretions revealed lactobacilli of differing lengths, with a predominance of short forms in trichomoniasis patients before vaccination; the bacilli retained this tendency even in cultures started from the secretion samples. The morphology of lactobacilli shifted towards normal rod-shaped forms under therapy in most patients, which property was once again retained in culture. Müller and Salzer have confirmed the quantitative increase in physiological lactobacilli under vaccination therapy of 28 patients with recurrent bacterial infections.
The decreasingly diverse and numerous populations of non-lactic acid-producing bacteria and the concurrent growth of normal, metabolically active lactobacilli lead to a gradual decrease of vaginal pH. Goisis and his coworkers reported in trichomoniasis patients a mean pH value of 6.14 at the time of the first injection, 5.64 two weeks later, and 5.23 on the day of treatment completion, two weeks after the second visit. In patients with vaginitis not caused by trichomonads a mean initial pH of 5.81 was documented, which dropped to 5.39 two weeks later and finally to 4.98. Karkut has published very similar results. Boos and Rüttgers measured in 182 patients with bacterial vaginitis a vaginal pH of 4.90 before therapy and 4.26 six months after the start of therapy.
History
Invention
In 1969 a research project was started in Budapest, Hungary to develop a vaccine against trichomoniasis, initiated by György Philipp, a Hungarian gynaecologist and led by Károly Újhelyi, head of the Vaccine Production and Research Department of the Hungarian Institute of Public Health, one of the most distinguished Hungarian physician-scientists of the 20th century and a pioneer of vaccine research and technology. In 1972 the research group reported vaccinating 300 patients with acute trichomonal colpitis with autovaccines consisting primarily of inactivated Trichomonas vaginalis strains cultured from vaginal samples of the patients themselves, along with some residual amounts of the accompanying bacterial flora, inadvertently present in the cultures. Despite a marked alleviation of clinical symptoms, all trichomoniasis patients still tested positive upon completion of the autovaccine therapy.
Újhelyi and his coworkers attributed the partial therapeutic effect to the bacterial residue in the T. vaginalis cultures used for the vaccine. They identified a Gram-positive Lactobacillus with a tendency to polymorphism commonly present in the accompanying flora of trichomoniasis patients. To test their assumption, further 700 patients each received treatment with an inactivated bacterial vaccine composed of one of 16 such polymorphic Lactobacillus strains. The effect was studied on eight patient groups with the following conditions: (1) colpitis, including trichomonal colpitis (2) erythroplakia (3) endocervicitis (4) upper genital tract infection (5) urinary tract infection (6) infertility (7) genital lesions and tumors (8) trichomoniasis during pregnancy, childbirth and postpartum period. Treatment with the experimental bacterial vaccines was capable to eliminate trichomoniasis in 28% of infected patients and resolved or alleviated many of the examined urogenital conditions. After this initial breakthrough, Újhelyi and his coworkers directed their efforts into the development and optimization of Gynevac, a composite bacterial vaccine, containing five aberrant, polymorphic Lactobacillus strains. Erika Lázár, a Hungarian gynaecologist and specialist in the field of reproductive medicine, and her coworkers performed many of the clinical trials on Gynevac, focusing clinical and research interest on the prevention of ascending infections during pregnancy. In two prospective studies performed between 1976 and 1982 in rural, socioeconomically disadvantaged Kazincbarcika with the enrollment of nearly 3500 pregnant women, lactobacillus vaccination appeared to reduce the incidence of preterm birth by about 40%.
1980-2012
In 1975 the research group of Újhelyi sold the unpatented technology to Solco Basel AG, a Swiss pharmaceutical company with the agreement, that Solco would manufacture and market the vaccine in Western Europe, whereas the Hungarian company HUMÁN Oltóanyagtermelő Vállalat (later Vakcina Kft.) would supply the Eastern markets ("Soviet Bloc"). In 1980 Solco's researchers patented the vaccine; in 1981 the company obtained regulatory approval and started marketing the vaccine under the trade name SolcoTrichovac. After prolonged clinical trials, mainly driven by Lázár, the production and marketing of Gynevac started in Hungary in 1997.
After Solco's acquisition of the technology, mainly Swiss and German researchers have joined the investigations. In 1980 Mario Litschgi reported a cure rate of trichomoniasis of 92.5% in a clinical study with 427 female participants. Following this initial success, a number of studies have been conducted on the vaccine. Most of the reports can be found in the proceedings of two symposia: the Symposium on Trichomoniasis (1981) featured investigations with Trichomonas vaginalis-infected women and mainly clinical results, whereas the Symposia on the Immunotherapy of Vaginal Infections (1983) focused on the therapy of bacterial infections and delved into the mechanism of action. Solco continued to develop the formulation, during the course of which the new species Lactobacillus vaginalis was identified in 1989. In the same year, the Hamburg-based pharmaceutical company Strathmann GmbH & Co. KG. overtook production of the vaccines SolcoUrovac (now named Strovac) and SolcoTrichovac (now named Gynatren).
2012-today
In 2012 Gynevac was withdrawn from the market, not due to any unexpected adverse effects, but rather due to Vakcina Kft. failing to obtain regulatory compliance upon the EU-accession of Hungary. Today Gynatren is the only lactobacillus vaccine marketed for the treatment of non-specific bacterial vaginitis and trichomoniasis, and it is mostly only prescribed by a select few gynaecologists in the DACH countries and Hungary. In Germany the vaccine may be covered by health insurance upon individual deliberation of the attending gynaecologist.
Research
Research interest in lactobacillus vaccines peaked in the 1980s. The technical and theoretical advances in the fields of microbiology, immunology and vaccinology of the past few decades could help shed new light on the still not fully clarified mode of action of these clinically promising vaccines. More research is warranted to elucidate the distinct properties of "aberrant" strains of Lactobacilli, the exact mechanism by which they contribute to or accompany pathologies, the determinants of colonization in different groups of individuals. A further point of interest is the specificity of the immune stimulation – whether vaccination induces cross-reacting antibodies with any other microorganism. A comparative study on lactobacillus heterovaccines like Gynatren and gynaecological autovaccines such as GynVaccine has yet to be performed.
Lactobacillus strains used in the vaccines
Characteristics
It has not been clarified by what mechanism the lactobacilli used in the vaccines ("aberrant" lactobacilli) fail to confer protection against vaginal pathogens. At the time of invention, available knowledge of the various health-promoting mechanisms of lactobacilli was very limited. For example, Eschenbach's seminal work on -producing lactobacilli has not been published until 1989; at this point scientific efforts to clarify the vaccine's mechanism of action have already subsided.
The nutrient medium, carbohydrate fermentation profile, and microscopic appearance of the strains used in SolcoTrichovac have been described. Growth on an iron-enriched medium of 0.12 mᴍ concentration of FeSO4·7H2O is rather unusual for a lactobacillus species, and resembles the nutrient needs of L. iners, a vaginal lactobacillus associated with bacterial vaginosis and preterm birth, known for its ambiguous morphology, including coccobacillar cells (not used in the vaccine).
Påhlson and Larsson hypothesized, that the defining characteristic of the lactobacilli used in SolcoTrichovac is a missing -production, which has not been confirmed. Moreover, the correlation they found between bacterial cell morphology and health benefits, pointed towards an association between long uniform lactobacilli and decreased protection against vaginal infections, whereas polymorphic/shortened lactobacilli were described as innocuous inhabitants of the vaginal econiche. It seems, that the authors equated the strains used in SolcoTrichovac to those responsible for cytolytic vaginosis, which is generally considered a different condition, characterized by a lactobacillus overgrowth, rather than the depletion seen in patients colonized by the strains used in the vaccine.
Various other properties that could potentially play a role in the (lack of) protective effect, like the ratio of -lactic acid to -lactic acid production (correlated to MMP-8 concentrations of the vaginal fluid), adhesion competition, self- and co-aggregation ability, production of bacteriocins, organic acids or biosurfactants, immunomodulatory properties, or toxin production such as seen in L. iners remain obscure for the time.
Risk factors of colonization
The inventor of lactobacillus vaccines, Újhelyi described the strains used in Gynevac as pathobionts to Trichomonas vaginalis. He considered colonization with "aberrant", unprotective strains of lactobacilli, and their persistence even after protozoan infection has been cleared, a chronic post-infectious complication, and introduced the term "lactobacillus syndrome" for the condition (not to be confused with the distinct pathologies of cytolytic vaginosis and vaginal lactobacillosis). Scattered reports suggest that some minority of Lactobacillus strains found in humans indeed enhance rather than inhibit parasite adhesion to the vaginal epithelium. In vitro preincubation of vaginal epithelial cells (VECs) with physiological concentrations (– CFU/ml) of Lactobacillus CBI3 (a human isolate of L. plantarum or L. pentosus) increased the number of T. vaginalis cells able to adhere to the VEC monolayer up to eightfold. McGrory and Garber reported a significant prolongation of T. vaginalis infection in estrogenized BALB/c mice intravaginally preinoculated with cells of L. acidophilus ATCC 4356 (originating from the human pharynx) in comparison to animals that had not been pretreated. Although initial infectivity in the two groups was comparable, at day 24 post-infection 69% of L. acidophilus-inoculated mice still showed positive T. vaginalis cultures, compared with only 11% of mice not harboring lactobacilli.
Other hypothesized risk factors of colonization by lactobacilli of low protective value in general include prior antimicrobial treatment and congenital factors.
Association with T. vaginalis
Soszka and Kuczyńska described the appearance of morphological variations of Lactobacilli, when grown in the presence of a high concentration of Trichomonas vaginalis. The authors interpreted the observed atypical (coccoid) cell morphology as an involution (senescent, dying) form. Goisis et al. have shown, that shortened and coccoidal lactobacilli are not only present in the primary secretion samples of trichomoniasis patients, but also in the cultures started from these samples, free from competitive microorganisms and under optimal culture conditions, suggesting that the coccoid bacteria may represent a distinct viable phenotype. Contrastingly, the isolates from vaccinated patients tended to assume bacilliform also in culture. The general consensus remains, that at least some of the morphology variants seen under trichomoniasis versus health are to be interpreted as representations of "true commensal" versus more pathogenic strains (genotypes), although a possible relationship between morphotype and distinct environment-driven proteome profiles has not been excluded.
Immunological cross-reaction with T. vaginalis
The antigenic material responsible for the effect of lactobacillus vaccines is most likely surface antigens of the aberrant lactobacilli. The anti-trichomonal effect of SolcoTrichovac has led multiple researchers to investigate the possibility of shared surface antigens between the specific strains used in the vaccine and T. vaginalis. The theory of antigenic cross-reactivity was put to the test by Stojković. Indirect immunofluorescence was performed on trichomonads treated with rabbit antisera against aberrant lactobacilli and against T. vaginalis. Specific immunofluorescence was observed on those protozoa which had been treated with anti-lactobacillus serum and anti-trichomonas serum, but not on those treated with serum from non-vaccinated animals. Bonilla-Musoles performed an electron microscopic study on trichomonads treated with serum from women who were previously vaccinated with SolcoTrichovac. After three days the trichomonads exposed to antibody-containing serum showed marked signs of destruction, similar to those observed under the influence of metronidazole. The electron micrographs revealed cytoplasmic swelling, dilation of the reticuloendothelial lamellae and formation of vacuoles as well as evaginations and invaginations of cellular membranes. Alderete, Gombošová and others however described contrary findings, and attributed any anti-trichomonal activity of lactobacillus vaccines to non-specific immune mechanisms. The question of immunological relationship between aberrant lactobacilli and T. vaginalis has not been answered conclusively.
Phylogenetic relationships to T. vaginalis
An intriguing hypothesis was advanced by Alain de Weck that suggests horizontal gene transfer between specific aberrant strains of Lactobacilli used in SolcoTrichovac and T. vaginalis, which leads to their (possible) cross-immunogenicity. Phylogenetic relationships between T. vaginalis and aberrant lactobacilli have not been studied. Nevertheless, multiple examples of gene transfer between the parasite and bacteria have been documented. Audrey de Koning argues that lateral transfer of the N-acetylneuraminate lyase gene from Pasteurellaceae to T. vaginalis may have been a key factor in the adaptation of Trichomonas to parasitism. In an analogous manner, Buret et al. suggest gene exchanges between enteropathogens and normal microbiota during acute enteric infection as one of the possible causative factors behind post-infectious intestinal inflammatory disorders.
Alternative theory of the mechanism of action
Goisis and his colleagues proposed an alternative hypothesis on the mechanism of action of SolcoTrichovac, suggesting that anti-lactobacillus antibodies may stimulate proliferation of lactobacilli rather than their (strain-specific) damage or inhibition. Among the circumstances they cited to support this theory, is their opinion that antibodies specific to one strain of Lactobacillus would most likely cross-react with several antigens present on various other strains (yet, both the concentration of anti-lactobacillus sIgA antibodies and lactobacillus counts have been demonstrated to increase in vaccinated women). Further they referred to the inconspicuous metabolic profile and the lack of a verified pathomechanism of the strains used in SolcoTrichovac, suggesting that they may represent mere morphotypes rather than pathogenic/unprotective biotypes. The proposed theory relies on analogies with other known examples of non-classical, stimulatory/homeostatic antibody-antigen interactions. Notably, the majority of intestinal bacterial cells in healthy individuals is bound by sIgA. The sIgA-coating of commensal enteric bacteria is believed to promote intestinal microbial homeostasis by a number of mechanisms. Secreted IgA anchors commensal bacteria to the mucus and facilitates biofilm formation, thereby limiting their translocation from the lumen into mucosal tissues. This minimizes activation of the innate immune system, a process termed "immune exclusion". Furthermore, the selective uptake of sIgA-microbe immune complexes by dendritic cells (DCs) in lymphoid follicles has been shown to induce semimaturation of the DCs. The resulting, so-called tolerogenic DCs downregulate the expression of T cell costimulatory molecules and proinflammatory cytokines. The altered immune signaling favours local processing of antigens and a rapid induction of low-affinity, broad-specificity IgA, leaving the systemic immune compartment ignorant about these organisms. In contrast, direct translocation of non-sIgA-coated microbes or microbial products across the epithelium preferentially results in proinflammatory signalling and a systemic response against the invading agent, involving affinity-matured serum antibodies of the classes IgA, IgE and IgG. Lastly, binding by sIgA can downregulate the expression of virulence factors e.g. involved in adhesion or nutrient acquisition by commensal bacteria. If the homeostasis breaks down, innate immune responses directed against commensal enteric bacteria lead to a shift in the species composition (dysbiosis). Invasive species are better equipped to resist or take advantage of host inflammatory mechanisms and in the perturbed niche successfully compete with the resident microbiota. Hypersensitivity responses to commensal enteric microbiota and a perturbation of microbial ecology is observed in many patients with chronic enterocolitis.
This alternative theory coincides with the observation that women without a history of urinary tract or vaginal infections harbor higher antibody levels against vaginal lactobacilli than women with a history of these infections. Alvarez-Olmos and her coworkers reported an approximately fourfold elevation of total IgG and a threefold elevation of total IgA concentration in the cervicovaginal secretions of adolescent women colonized with -producing lactobacilli (associated with vaginal health) in comparison to those colonized with non--producing lactobacilli.
Goisis et al. described lactobacillus vaccination as a means to systemically boost a diminished pool of lactobacillus-specific vaginal antibodies, likely increasing the potential for immune exclusion and tolerogenic responses to the microorganisms. They added to this a further hypothetical notion: loss of lactobacillus-specific sIgA may be characteristic to patients co-colonized by bacteria capable to gradually desialylate and finally proteolytically degrade sIgA, a known impairment of the vaginal defense system, established in the context of Gardnerella vaginalis-specific antibodies. This contrasts with other proposed mechanism of sIgA deficiency, such as the loss of immunomodulatory strains or host immunodeficiency.
Although Goisis et al. announced ongoing experiments and preliminary results to prove this theory, as well as the possible cross-reactivity of "normal", ecologically beneficial lactobacilli with antibodies directed against the strains used in SolcoTrichovac, a conclusive report has not been publicized to date.
References
External links
Vaccines
Hungarian inventions | Lactobacillus vaccine | [
"Biology"
] | 9,245 | [
"Vaccination",
"Vaccines"
] |
64,530,903 | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Szymon%20Suckewer | Szymon Suckewer (born April 10, 1938, in Warsaw) is a Polish-born American physicist, and professor emeritus at Princeton University. His primary fields of interest include X-ray lasers, and X-ray microscopy, particularly the generation of ultrashort laser pulses which are applied in plasma diagnostics.
Suckewer completed his degree in physics at the Lomonosov Moscow State University in 1962. He went on to receive a doctorate in physics from the Institute for Nuclear Research at the University of Warsaw in 1966. Suckewer received his habilitation in 1971 after which he was a lecturer at the Institute for Nuclear Research in Warsaw until 1975. In the same year, he went to Princeton University where he was the Senior Research Physicist in the Laboratory for Plasma Physics. From 1987 he worked as a professor and leader of a research team tasked to discover lasers with wavelengths of under 30 nm.
In 1984 Suckewer's team succeeded in creating a laser with a wavelength of 18.2 nm in plasma composed of carbon ions. This was the first successful demonstration of laser operation in the soft X-ray range, almost at the same time as Peter Hagelstein's group at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory succeeded in doing so too. For the next years, he tasked himself with the need for developing laser pulses of shorter wavelengths and inventing new techniques for producing high-intensity laser pulses.
In 1987 he managed to create ultrashort laser pulses within intensities of with a krypton-fluoride laser. With these pulses he managed to induce laser activity in lithium-ion plasma with wavelengths of 13.5 nm. He continued working with laser pulses of even shorter wavelengths into the 21st century. This led Suckewer to investigate applications of his lasers in fields such as bioengineering. He applied his laser technologies in the carrying out of incision-free eye surgery as well as using high-intensity lasers in the safe and efficient removal of tattoos.
In 1990 he received the American Physical Society's Award for Excellence in Plasma Physics Research. In 2005 Suckewer was presented the Willis E. Lamb Award for Laser Science and Quantum Optics. In 2007 he received the Arthur L. Schawlow Award for pioneering contributions to the generation of ultra-short wavelength and femtosecond lasers and X-ray laser microscopy.
Suckewer is a fellow of the American Physical Society and the Optical Society of America and holds numerous patents in The United States Patent and Trademark Office. He transferred to professor emeritus status on July 1, 2016.
References
External links
Szymon Suckewer Professor Emeritus at Princeton University
attribution translated from :de:Szymon Suckewer
Princeton University faculty
Microscopy
1938 births
American people of Polish descent
Moscow State University alumni
University of Warsaw alumni
Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory staff
Fellows of Optica (society)
Plasma physicists
Living people
Fellows of the American Physical Society | Szymon Suckewer | [
"Physics",
"Chemistry"
] | 591 | [
"Microscopy",
"Plasma physicists",
"Plasma physics"
] |
64,531,175 | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/HTTP%20parameter%20pollution | HTTP Parameter Pollution (HPP) is a web application vulnerability exploited by injecting encoded query string delimiters in already existing parameters. The vulnerability occurs if user input is not correctly encoded for output by a web application. This vulnerability allows the injection of parameters into web application-created URLs. It was first brought forth to the public in 2009 by Stefano di Paola and Luca Carettoni, in the conference OWASP EU09 Poland. The impact of such vulnerability varies, and it can range from "simple annoyance" to complete disruption of the intended behavior of a web application. Overriding HTTP parameters to alter a web application's behavior, bypassing input and access validation checkpoints, as well as other indirect vulnerabilities, are possible consequences of a HPP attack.
There is no RFC standard on what should be done when it has passed multiple parameters. HPP could be used for cross channel pollution, bypassing CSRF protection and WAF input validation checks.
Behaviour
When they are passed multiple parameters with the same name, here is how various back ends behave.
Types
Client-side
First Order / Reflected HPP
Second Order / Stored HPP
Third Order / DOM HPP
Server-side
Standard HPP
Second Order HPP
Prevention
Proper input validation and awareness about web technology on HPP is protection against HTTP Parameter Pollution.
See also
HTTP response splitting
HTTP request smuggling
References
Hypertext Transfer Protocol
Internet security
Computer security exploits
Bibliography | HTTP parameter pollution | [
"Technology"
] | 292 | [
"Computing stubs",
"World Wide Web stubs",
"Computer security exploits"
] |
64,532,106 | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List%20of%20descriptive%20plant%20species%20epithets%20%28I%E2%80%93Z%29 | Since the first printing of Carl Linnaeus's Species Plantarum in 1753, plants have been assigned one epithet or name for their species and one name for their genus, a grouping of related species. These scientific names have been catalogued in a variety of works, including Stearn's Dictionary of Plant Names for Gardeners. William Stearn (1911–2001) was one of the pre-eminent British botanists of the 20th century: a Librarian of the Royal Horticultural Society, a president of the Linnean Society and the original drafter of the International Code of Nomenclature for Cultivated Plants.
The first column below lists seed-bearing species epithets from Stearn's Dictionary, Latin for Gardeners by Lorraine Harrison, The A to Z of Plant Names by Allen Coombes, The Gardener's Botanical by Ross Bayton, and the glossary of Stearn's Botanical Latin. Epithets from proper nouns, proper adjectives, and two or more nouns are excluded, along with epithets used only in species names that are no longer widely accepted. Classical and modern meanings are provided in the third column, along with citations to Charlton T. Lewis's An Elementary Latin Dictionary.
Key
LG = language: (L)atin or (G)reek
L = derived from Latin, or both Classical Latin and Greek (unless otherwise noted)
G = derived from Greek
H = listed by Harrison, and (except as noted) by Bayton
D = listed in Stearn's Dictionary
S = listed in Stearn's Botanical Latin
DS = listed in Stearn's Dictionary, with the word or root word listed in Botanical Latin
C = listed by Coombes
Epithets
See also
Glossary of botanical terms
List of Greek and Latin roots in English
List of Latin and Greek words commonly used in systematic names
List of plant genus names with etymologies: A–C, D–K, L–P, Q–Z
List of plant genera named for people: A–C, D–J, K–P, Q–Z
List of plant family names with etymologies
Notes
Citations
References
Available online at the Perseus Digital Library.
See terms of use.
Further reading
Reprint of the 1888/1889 edition. Available online at the Perseus Digital Library.
Systematic
Plant species epithets,I
Systematic
Systematic
Plant species epithets,I
Descriptive plant species epithets,I
Plant species epithets,I
Epithets,I
Wikipedia glossaries using tables | List of descriptive plant species epithets (I–Z) | [
"Biology"
] | 510 | [
"Lists of plants",
"Plants",
"Lists of biota",
"Taxonomy (biology)",
"Taxonomic lists",
"Glossaries of biology"
] |
64,532,112 | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anabella%20Villalobos | Anabella P. Villalobos is a medicinal chemist and senior pharmaceutical executive at Biogen.
Background and career
Villalobos was raised in Panama City. She received her BS in chemistry from the University of Panama, received her Ph.D. (1987) at the University of Kansas with Professor Lester A. Mitscher, and was a National Institutes of Health postdoctoral fellow at Yale University, working with Samuel J. Danishefsky. She joined Pfizer in 1989, working on a variety of Central nervous system (CNS) projects in medicinal chemistry, diagnostics, and Positron emission tomography imaging radiotracers against Alzheimer's disease. In 2001, Villalobos became Head of CNS Medicinal Chemistry, and in 2007 Head of Antibacterial and CNS Chemistry. By 2016, she was VP of Neuroscience and Pain medicinal chemistry, and published a video outreach campaign to describe her work. In 2017, Villalobos was recruited to be the Senior Vice President for Biotherapeutics & Medicinal Sciences at Biogen.
Awards and honors
2014: Connecticut Women's Hall of Fame honoree
2010: CURE award for neuroscience research
1987-1989: NIH postdoctoral fellow
1981-1983: Fulbright-Hays fellow
References
Living people
Medicinal chemistry
Pfizer people
University of Kansas alumni
Pharmaceutical scientists
Panamanian women scientists
Year of birth missing (living people) | Anabella Villalobos | [
"Chemistry",
"Biology"
] | 279 | [
"Biochemistry",
"Medicinal chemistry",
"nan"
] |
64,532,400 | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/COVID-19%20datasets | COVID-19 datasets are public databases for sharing case data and medical information related to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Aggregate statistics
United States
Volunteer/non-government
U.S. Department of Health & Human Services
Global
Johns Hopkins Coronavirus Resource Center: Global aggregated data including cases, testing, contact tracing, and vaccine development
World Health Organization (WHO) Coronavirus Disease Dashboard: a database of confirmed cases and deaths reported globally and broken down by region. This database is part of the WHO Health Data Platform.
COVID-19 Africa Open Data Project: a volunteer-run database and dashboard reporting region, country and district level case counts, deaths, healthcare worker infections, healthcare services and urgent needs.
Data hubs
Health Data Research UK provides a searchable registry of health data resources from the United Kingdom, including COVID-19 related datasets.
NIH Open Access Datasets: The National Institutes of Health provide open-access data and computational resources related to COVID-19.
COVID-19 Open Research Dataset (CORD-19): The Semantic Scholar project of the Allen Institute for AI hosts CORD-19, a public dataset of academic articles about COVID-19 and related research. The dataset is updated daily and includes both peer-reviewed articles and preprints. CORD-19 was originally released on March 16, 2020, by researchers and leaders from the Allen Institute for AI, Chan Zuckerberg Initiative, Georgetown University's Center for Security and Emerging Technhology, Microsoft, and the National Library of Medicine. The dataset is created through the use of text mining of the current research literature.
Topic-specific and special-interest resources
Genomics
Consensus genome data for SARS-CoV-2 is available through GISAID for registered users and included in an interactive Phylogenetic tree dashboard on Nextstrain, an open-source pathogen genome data project.
Imaging (Radiology)
Characteristic imaging features on chest radiographs and computed tomography (CT) of people who are symptomatic include asymmetric peripheral ground-glass opacities without pleural effusions. The University of Montreal and Mila created the "COVID-19 Image Data Collection" in March which is a public data repository of chest imaging. The Medical Imaging Databank in Valencian Region released a large dataset of chest imaging from Spain. The Italian Radiological Society is compiling an international online database of imaging findings for confirmed cases. Online radiology case sharing platforms such as Eurorad and Radiopaedia serve as platforms for sharing COVID-19 case data and imaging.
References
datasets
Datasets | COVID-19 datasets | [
"Technology"
] | 539 | [
"Datasets",
"Data"
] |
64,533,081 | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aline%20Betancourt | Aline M. Betancourt is an American biochemist, an associate professor of medicine and microbiology at Tulane University. Betancourt works on developing mesenchymal stem cell (MSC) based therapies, and is the CSO and founder of two companies aimed at producing clinical products using this technology.
Education
She received a B.S. in Biochemistry from Tulane University, a Ph.D. in Microbiology from Georgetown University, and completed a postdoctoral fellowship at the National Institutes of Health-National Cancer Institute. She joined the Tulane faculty in 1997. She has worked on mesenchymal stem cells over the last two decades.
Research
Betancourt's research focuses on the environments of tumors, including their oxygen-sensing mechanisms, genes that regulate oxygen pathways, RNA binding proteins, and angiogenesis. Tumor angiogenesis (formation of new blood vessels) depends on a balance between tumor-dependent angiogenic factors like VEGF (vascular endothelial growth factor). By leveraging this dependence of growing tumor cells, she has worked to trigger hypoxia and control this normal physiologic process. Her most cited publications are:
Waterman RS, Tomchuck SL, Henkle SL, Betancourt AM. A new mesenchymal stem cell (MSC) paradigm: polarization into a pro-inflammatory MSC1 or an Immunosuppressive MSC2 phenotype. PLOS ONE. 2010 Apr 26;5(4):e10088. According to Google Scholar it has been cited 930 times.
Bonvillain RW, Danchuk S, Sullivan DE, Betancourt AM, Semon JA, Eagle ME, Mayeux JP, Gregory AN, Wang G, Townley IK, Borg ZD. A nonhuman primate model of lung regeneration: detergent-mediated decellularization and initial in vitro recellularization with mesenchymal stem cells. Tissue Engineering Part A. 2012 Dec 1;18(23–24):2437-52.According to Google Scholar, it has been cited 157 times.
Waterman RS, Henkle SL, Betancourt AM. Mesenchymal stem cell 1 (MSC1)-based therapy attenuates tumor growth whereas MSC2-treatment promotes tumor growth and metastasis. PLOS ONE. 2012 Sep 20;7(9):e45590. According to Google Scholar, it has been cited 157 times.
Commercialization
Betacourt was the founder of Commence Bio; it was begun in 2010, as WibiWorks Therapeutics, Inc. with the name changed to Commence Bio in 2016. The company hopes to develop treatments for cancer and inflammatory diseases by using |mesenchymal stem cells. Their work focused on rebooting patients' immune systems with MSC1 & MSC2. She worked with a research team including Ruth S. Waterman to develop the proprietary Stimulated Toll-like Receptor Technology (STaRT). which programs MSCs to act in either an anti-tumor (MSC1) or anti-inflammatory (MSC2) capacity. This takes advantage of Toll-Like Receptors (TLR), naturally occurring molecules that the body's innate immune system uses to sense and respond to invading microbes. STaRT stimulates TLR3 to generate MSC2 cells and TLR4 to generate MSC1 cells. This platform is intended to be used for the treatment of cancer and inflammatory diseases. The product is still in the pre-clinical stages.
Betacourt is also the founder of VITAbolus, founded in 2018 in San Diego. based The firm plans to make stem cell treatment readily available via stem cell pills, where the anti-inflammatory stem cells are delivered directly to the intestines and colon within protected capsules. Their current project is intended to be the first oral stem cell pill for Crohn’s disease. They are currently only in the pre-clinical stage.
References
Year of birth missing (living people)
Living people
21st-century American biologists
20th-century American women scientists
21st-century American chemists
21st-century American women scientists
21st-century American biochemists
American women biochemists
Georgetown University Graduate School of Arts & Sciences alumni
Tulane University alumni
American women company founders
American company founders
21st-century American businesswomen
21st-century American businesspeople
Stem cell researchers
American cancer researchers | Aline Betancourt | [
"Biology"
] | 890 | [
"Stem cell researchers",
"Stem cell research"
] |
63,173,263 | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Effective%20range | Effective range is a term with several definitions depending upon context.
Distance
Effective range may describe a distance between two points where one point is subject to an energy release at the other point. The source, receiver, and conditions between the two points must be specified to define an effective range. Effective range may represent the maximum distance at which a measuring device or receiver will predictably respond to an energy release of specified magnitude. Alternatively, effective range may be the maximum distance at which the energy released from a specified device will cause the desired effect on a target receiver. Angular dispersion may be significant to effectiveness for asymmetrical energy propagation toward small targets.
Weapons
The following definition has been attributed to the United States Department of Defense: The maximum distance at which a weapon may be expected to be accurate and achieve the desired effect. Accuracy is ambiguous in the absence of a specified hit probability per unit of ammunition; and for any given weapon, the desired effect could be interpreted differently depending upon the target. Subjective interpretation of these variables has caused endless and heated debate for more than a century.
With the addition of clinometers fixed machine gun squads could set long ranges and deliver plunging fire or indirect fire at more than . This indirect firing method exploits the maximal practical range, that is defined by the maximum range of a small-arms projectile while still maintaining the minimum kinetic energy required to put unprotected personnel out of action, which is generally believed to be 15 kilogram-meters (147 J / 108 ft⋅lbf).
Advanced planned and unplanned map and range table predicted support/harassment firing methods developed during World War I like plunging fire or indirect fire were not as commonly used by machine gunners during World War II and later as they were during World War I.
Vehicles
In a broader context, effective range describes the distance a vehicle (including weapon launch platforms like a ship or aircraft) may be expected to deliver a specified payload from a base or refueling point.
Statistics
In statistics, range refers to the difference between the largest and smallest value of a set of quantified observations. Some observers consider it appropriate to remove unusually high or low outlying values to narrow the observed range to an effective range of the quantity being observed. Inferences based on effective range are of somewhat doubtful value if subjective judgement is used to determine which observations are discarded.
Nuclear physics
In nuclear physics research, effective range is a physical parameter in the dimension of length to characterize an effective scattering square well potential. It is related to the scattering phase shift by,
.
where is defined by the relation of deuteron binding energy .
In the limit of zero energy (), the scattering length can be related to effective length with .
References
Scale statistics
Length
Nuclear physics | Effective range | [
"Physics",
"Mathematics"
] | 550 | [
"Scalar physical quantities",
"Physical quantities",
"Distance",
"Quantity",
"Size",
"Length",
"Nuclear physics",
"Wikipedia categories named after physical quantities"
] |
63,175,323 | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gaps%20in%20regulation%20of%20chemical%20agents | Despite the best efforts of the government, health, and environmental agencies, improper use of hazardous chemicals is pervasive in commercial products, and can yield devastating effects, from people developing brittle bones and severe congenital defects, to strips of wildlife laying dead by poisoned rivers.
Agriculture
Insecticides
Mevinphos
Mevinphos is a broad spectrum of insecticides that are used on a wide variety of crops, including apples, peaches, strawberries, nectarines, celery, and cucumbers. They belong to the chemical group known as organophosphates, which have neural toxic effects, not in only insecticides, but also in birds, fish, amphibians, and mammals. While not carcinogenic, mevinphos are potent via all means of exposure, including absorption, ingestion, and inhalation. Organophosphates inhibit acetylcholinesterase (AChE), an enzyme responsible for regulating levels of the muscle-stimulating neurotransmitter, acetylcholine (ACh). This results in high levels of acetylcholine levels in the body, which causes nearly every muscle in the body to be stimulated without cessation. Symptoms of organophosphate poisoning include violent convulsions, vomiting, miosis, lachrymation, sweating, salivation, diarrhea, and potentially death.
Most nerve gases, including sarin, soman, and tabun, are organophosphates, which are all banned by the Geneva Convention of 1925, as they are deemed a war crime.
From 1981 to 1984, 1,156 people consisting of field workers and agricultural officials in Salinas Valley, California were reported to have been exposed to mevinphos, developing insecticide-related illnesses. The exposure began on April 23, 1981, when the field was sprayed with mevinphos at 5:00 am that morning, despite a cancellation order having been given the day before. Later that morning at 7:00 am, 44 field workers began harvesting iceberg lettuce on the farm. Two hours later, many of these workers developed symptoms of dizziness, headaches, eye irritation, visual disturbances, and nausea.
Thirty-one farm workers along with three agricultural officials who were in the field that morning were sent to a local hospital to be tested for plasma cholinesterase, which looks at two substances levels that are necessary for the nervous system to work properly. Two workers were kept in the hospital for further observation and treatment due to respiratory complications. Two other people had levels of plasma cholinesterase below normal limit. The rest of the workers were disrobed, hosed down with water, asked to get dressed, go home, and wash their clothes at home. No one was told not to come to work the next day. However, due to ongoing symptoms, many of the workers were not able to report to work the next morning. A union representative arranged for 29 workers to be taken to a second hospital for further testing and evaluation. One person was hospitalized due to bradycardia.
The National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) began an investigation on April 24 working closely with staff from the second hospital during this acute phase of this incident. The 29 workers reported the following signs and symptoms: “eye irritation (76%), headache (48%), visual disturbances (48%), dizziness (41%), nausea (38%), fatigue (28%), chest pain or shortness of breath (21%), skin irritation (17%), fasciculation of the eyelids (10%), fasciculation of muscles in the arm (7%), excessive sweating (7%), and diarrhea (7%), with twenty-two (76%) of the workers reporting three or more symptoms or signs.”
The workers were tested approximately every week over the course of 8 to 12 weeks. When initially tested the first week, everyone's plasm cholinesterase and red blood cell (RBC) cholinesterase was above normal levels. Test levels from the following week increase by 5% and the week after that by 14%. Over the course of time, their levels kept increasing. This is believed to be due to organophosphates inhibiting the enzyme, cholinesterase, resulting in toxic effects by allowing an increase of the neurotransmitter in the nervous system. It is not known how many other cases were not reported and followed from this incident.
Mevinphos is considered among the ten highest health risk posing pesticides and reported to have acute total illnesses in 1984–1990, low oral LD50, and a low Reference Dose (RfD). On February 28, 1994, the California Environmental Protection Agency, Pesticide and Environmental Toxicology Section, recommended the cancellation of mevinphos use in California due to the inability to implement safe mitigative measures and the inability to prevent unacceptable dietary and worker exposures.
Dichlorodiphenyltrichloroethane (DDT) and Organochlorines
Following the end of WWII, the production of organochlorines, such as DDT, Polychlorinated Biphenyls (PCBs), and other synthetic chemicals were developed for use in agriculture. These purposes included insecticides, fungicides, and in some cases, fire retardants; while effective for agriculture and forest services, these chemicals are known lipophiles (meaning that they attach to fat cells in organisms) and have been shown to bioaccumulate, passing from prey to predator and from mother to offspring throughout embryonic development and lactation. Studies have shown that exposure to organochlorines like DDT can lead to increased risks of pancreatic cancer, non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma, impaired lactation, possible male infertility and testicular cancers, and DDT poisoning in those who work to manufacture the chemicals.
Rachel Carson's exposé novel, Silent Spring, is largely accredited for spurring public awareness of the ecological and human health impacts of organochlorines such as DDT. Her work began a national movement to ban chemicals, such as DDT. However, chemical companies responded with backlash claiming that her work was falsified and DDT was not banned until 1972. Since then, many other organochlorines have been placed under similar restrictions and bans, yet there are few regulations in place for new organochlorines being produced in labs. This lack of regulation has raised concerns among members of the environmental community about the hazards of these unstudied pollutants not being monitored by the United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), especially in light of budget cuts and bureaucratic inefficacy.
General regulation of pesticides
All pesticides in the U.S. must be reviewed by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), under the regulations of the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act (FIFRA), at least once every 15 years.
The EPA defines “pesticides” in the FIFRA by four criteria:
Claims - The product is claimed or advertised by its distributor as a pesticide.
Composition - The compound contains at least one active ingredient that has no commercial value besides for pesticidal purposes.
Knowledge that the substances will be used as a pesticide - The distributor has "actual or constructive knowledge" that the product will be used as a pesticide, regardless if the product is not claimed or advertised as one.
Plant growth regulators - The product is intended to introduce physiological changes to plants that effect their growth in any way.
Commercial and industrial uses
Radium
Radium is a radioactive element that is naturally found at low levels in the environment from uranium and thorium decay. It can be found virtually everywhere, including the soil, water, rocks, and flora. As radium is naturally everywhere in the environment, all humans are almost always exposed to radium. At natural levels, radium is quite benign. However, at excessive levels, radium poisoning can occur. When the body takes in radium, it perceives it as calcium. Consequently, the body fills bones with radium, which can lead to brittle bones, collapsed spines, and teeth to fall out.
Radium was discovered in 1898 by Marie and Pierre Curie. In the early 1900s it was used as radiation treatment for cancer. Expansion of radium's use in medical practices was earnestly attempted in the treatment of rheumatism and mental disorders. However, these pursuits were unsuccessful.
Radium Girls
Due to radium's luminescent properties, American inventor William J. Hammer mixed radium with glue and zinc sulfide to make glow-in-the-dark paint. This paint was used by the U.S. Radium Corporation and named Undark. The paint was primarily used for wristwatch dials. Further application of the paint reached military equipment after the company accepted a contract with the U.S. government during WWI.
Starting in 1916, the U.S. Radium Corporation established factories in New Jersey that recruited dozens of women to paint the watch dials with Undark. No safety equipment were given to the women, nor were any precautions taken. The women were instructed to frequently lick the paint brushes, in order to keep them wet and shaped to a fine point. Throughout every day, the women's clothes and skin were covered in radium paint. This led to the women developing fatal radium poisoning.
By the mid-1920s dozens upon dozens of these women were falling ill and dying from prolonged, horrific deaths. The radium they ingested was dissolving their bones from the inside, causing severe pain and enormous deformities with pieces of their bodies easily breaking and falling off. By 1927, over 50 women died from radium poisoning.
A smaller number of these female workers tried suing the company, not only for financial compensation to pay for their large medical bills and to afford themselves income to be able to live out the rest of their lives, but also to expose the company to their wrongful doing. Dial painter, Grace Fryer, as well as four other women sued U.S. Radium for $250,000. However, this lawsuit was unsuccessful because of U.S. Radium's vast team of lawyers and contractual affiliation with the U.S. government. The women were so desperate to afford medical treatment and food, that they had to settle for $10,000 each and a $600 annual payment. Unfortunately, all five women passed away within two years after the settlement.
The fate of the Radium Girls raised a lot of national concern for workers’ health rights and conditions. After the incident, precautions and safety equipment were mandated to protect workers handling radioactive material in several occupations. The Manhattan Project notably used fume hoods, personal protective equipment, sanitation, and frequent checks for contamination, in order to prevent a repeat of the Radium Girls tragedy. In 1949, the U.S. Congress passed a law that compensates workers for occupational illnesses.
Environmental regulation
By the time World War II began, safety limits for handling radiation had been set by the federal government.
In 1934, the International Commission on Radiological Protection (ICRP) established a tolerance dose for workers of 0.2 roentgens of radiation exposure to workers per day. In 1936, the National Committee on Radiation Protection and Measurements (NCRP) reduced the limit to 0.1 roentgens per day which held through World War II. From 1936 through 1977 there were continual revisions by professional scientists and the government agencies as to what constituted safe doses. By the end of World War II, arguments between the U.S. military leaders and civilian officials ensued as to what were considered best practices to controlling nuclear energy and repressing fabrication of nuclear weapons by other nations. This led to the dispute in going to congress and resulting in congress passing the Atomic Energy Act (AEA) of 1946.
The EPA was created in 1970 to accept certain functions and responsibilities from other federal agencies and departments. Since its inception, the EPA has run environmental programs that address radioactive waste disposal sites, off-site monitoring around nuclear power plants, and keeps an eye on natural sources of radioactivity, such as radon.
The EPA has developed guidance on topics such as occupational radiation limits and exposures for federal agencies and members of the public. The EPA can offer recommendations on quality assurance programs for nuclear medicine under its FRC-derived authority.
Mercury
Mercury is a naturally occurring element in the Earth’s lithosphere that can be found in its elemental, inorganic, and organic-compounded forms. It is often found in coal deposits and regions rich in fossil fuels.
Mercury pollution
Like other heavy metals, mercury can be released from both natural and anthropogenic sources. Mercury from natural sources (such as soil/sedimentary erosion or volcanic eruptions) accounts for a small percentage of rising mercury levels. Meanwhile, the release of industrial mercury from mining and fossil fuel combustion has led to heightened mercury pollution in the atmosphere. In fact, fossil fuel combustion accounts for 45% of human mercury release.
Environmental and human health impacts
Mercury exposures are variant, relative to the degree of exposure, demographics of the individual exposed, and the mercury form or compound that they are exposed to. Because it is a neurotoxin, mercury can be particularly damaging to developing fetuses when exposed in vitro and young children. Inhalation of mercury gas is more deadly and can cause kidney failure and respiratory problems if not treated. From an ecological perspective, mercury is concerning because of its ability to bioaccumulate in food chains, particularly in marine environments. For this reason, the EPA advises against the regular consumption of fish and shellfish that are documented to contain high levels of mercury, especially for pregnant and nursing mothers and young children.
Environmental regulation
In recent years the United States Environmental Protection Agency has established policies to mitigate atmospheric mercury release from the combustion of fossil fuels and waste. These policies include the 2011 Mercury and Air Toxics Standards which require that power plants use controls and technologies that mitigate mercury pollution. Between 2011 and 2013, additional policies were applied to municipal and medical waste management facilities mandating that all sewage and waste containing mercury cannot be incinerated. Earlier standards from 1991 also established a maximum contaminant level, or MCM, of 0.002 mg of mercury per liter of municipal drinking water. Legal measures such as the Clean Air and Clean Water Acts, Safe Drinking Water Act, and the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act also set standards for pollutant release and clean-up for the United States.
Perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA)
Perfluorooctanoic acid, a.k.a. PFOA or C8, is a synthetic chemical surfactant that is often used in the process of making non-stick cookware. PFOA is extremely bio-persistent, with a half-life of 8 years in humans. PFOA can stay in the environment and the human body over long periods of time, and can have harmful effects to people exposed in high doses.
Clean blood study
A worldwide study was conducted to compare “clean blood,” i.e., blood without C8 as a control with blood that contains C8, in order to illuminate the hazardous effects on humans. However, “clean blood,” could not be found from participants because 99% across the globe had derivatives of C8 found in their blood. Instead, samples of preserved blood from American Soldiers during the Korean War were used as the control. The blood was obtained in 1950, a year before Teflon was ever sold to the public. None of the preserved blood was found to contain C8, strongly suggesting that the worldwide use of Teflon caused a nigh-ubiquitous absence of “clean blood.”
DuPont and 3M
PFOA has been used to make Teflon, a non-stick cookware by the chemical company DuPont, since 1951. Fortunately for consumers, it does not exist in significant amounts in the final product of Teflon that could cause noticeable harm upon normal use. However, DuPont and 3M workers that handle PFOA, as well as people who live near the plants, are not as fortunate. Starting in the early 1950s, PFOA was released by DuPont into private wells and the Ohio River without disclosure to the public of EPA. Although both companies conducted independent studies demonstrating the harmful side effects of PFOA exposure, these results were hidden from the public as a result of the EPA’s self-reporting policy on chemical toxicology in manufacturing.
Health risks and birth defects
The 2012 C8 Science Panel conducted a survey using blood samples from approximately 69,000 residents of regions with heightened PFOA levels as a result of a class action lawsuit against DuPont to determine correlations between PFOA exposure and chronic illnesses. Those surveyed had a range of PFOA levels from 0.2-22,412 μg/L, with a median exposure of 28.2 μg/L. These levels were significantly higher than the levels detected in the general American population, which had a median exposure of 3.9μg/L. Results from the study concluded that PFOA exposure was linked to pancreatic cancer and testicular cancer, among other conditions, and possible correlations with kidney and prostate cancer. Other chronic conditions included high cholesterol, thyroid disease, ulcerative colitis, pre-eclampsia, and hypertension.
In 1981, two babies of female workers have been found to have eye-related defects. In 1986, Buck Bailey was born with a single nostril, a serrated eyelid, and a keyhole pupil, due to his mother being exposed to PFOA on a daily basis when she worked at DuPont.
Known as a “forever chemical” PFOAs do not biodegrade naturally and thus, are at a high risk for bioaccumulation in exposed populations if governmental regulators do not take action. The conclusions from the C8 Panel were used to justify medical monitoring among all residents affected by PFOA exposure at the expense of DuPont, however, some claims remain disputed by the chemical giant.
Contamination of drinking water in Parkersburg, WV
It was not until the early 1990s that the toxic effects of PFOA became a public concern. Wilbur Tennant, a farmer who lives on his own private land near the DuPont plant in Parkersburg, West Virginia, videotaped the calamitous effects of PFOA on his cattle and local wildlife. Calves were born with black teeth and opaque eyes. Several cows and deer were found dead by the stream. As it turned out, DuPont was dumping large amounts of waste PFOA into local streams that fed into Parkersburg's town water supply. So much waste PFOA was dumped that DuPont quickly lost count. Eventually, children were noticed to have black teeth, much like the calves in Tennant's farm.
Wilbur Tennant filed a lawsuit with environmental lawyer, Robert Billot, who also started a class-action lawsuit with nearly 80,000 plaintiffs in the same year as a result of the widespread impacts of PFOA chemicals across six water districts polluted by DuPont. The class-action lawsuit settled for $343 million in damages to residents and DuPont was ordered to pay for costs of medical monitoring.
Phasing out C8
In 2003, 3M phased out C8 for C4 in attempt to avoid public backlash. They urged DuPont to do the same. Instead, DuPont seized the opportunity to become the sole manufacturer of C8 and increased production. This lasted until the EPA banned the production of C8 in 2013. DuPont soon substituted C8 with Gen-X, which is a chemical that has not yet been researched or regulated. In order to detach their name from the toxic reputation of PFOA's, DuPont created the spin-off company, Chemours, to handle production and continued dumping of Gen-X.
After facing several class-action lawsuits, DuPont paid $43,000 residents of Ohio each $400 to participate in a study to determine whether C8 could be linked to any diseases. Participation in the study also required each person to waive their rights to sue DuPont if no links could be made. The study lasted over seven years and grew to almost 70,000 participants, including West Virginia residents. The results were concluded in 2012. Six diseases were linked: “testicular and kidney cancer, ulcerative colitis, thyroid disease, pre-eclampsia, and high cholesterol.”
DuPont's public relations with Parkersburg, WV
Part of the reason it has been difficult for residents of Parkersburg, West Virginia to challenge DuPont is because the chemical company makes large contributions to the local economy, education system, and local government. There are even buildings and a street named after DuPont.
Environmental regulation
The struggles to regulate and determine the toxicity of synthetic chemicals are strongly reflected in the case of DuPont’s PFOA pollution. Because the EPA only regulates chemicals that have been proven toxic and uses a self-reporting system, past uses of synthetic chemicals have gone unregulated until health risks are observed, as seen with the case of C8 and PFOA. This lack of communication between the EPA and potential polluters is one of the reasons that many policies aimed at widespread chemical regulation often fail. Current EPA policies are looking to increase involvement in reporting to reduce these breaches, however, cuts to the EPA budget limit the feasibility of these goals without resources to expand their workforce.
Legal fees, lawsuits, and governmental fines have been used to discourage companies from releasing untested chemicals into the environment, however, these are often insignificant when compared to the net worth of the company. So long as the market exists for these products (as seen with the successes of Teflon) companies are likely to continue valuing their profits over environmental and health concerns.
PFOA is a group of chemicals that are still being studied. To date EPA has not yet established statutory clean-up levels for PFOA. However, the agency has established health advisory levels for these substances based on EPA's assessment of the latest peer-reviewed science. This advisory is meant to provide states, tribal and local officials, and drinking water system operators, information on the health risks due to these chemicals in order to enable these people to take appropriate measures to protect their communities. EPA has established a health advisory number of 70 parts per trillion for PFOA in drinking water to provide a conservative margin of protection to the most sensitive populations, thus ensuring protection for everyone.
Recent settlements between the EPA and Dupont/Chemours have worked to improve the lives and environment of residents near the Washington Works plant in Parkersburg, WV by mandating that DuPont pay for clean-up efforts in the region under the Safe Drinking Water Act. Unfortunately, technology is not able to fully remove PFOAs and thus, the existing reparations include providing bottled water and installing filtration systems with partial removal abilities.
References
Regulation of chemicals | Gaps in regulation of chemical agents | [
"Chemistry"
] | 4,747 | [
"Regulation of chemicals"
] |
63,175,378 | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marian%20Smoluchowski%20Medal | The Marian Smoluchowski Medal is a Polish annual science award conferred by the Polish Physical Society (Polskie Towarzystwo Fizyczne, PTF) for contributions in the field of physics.
Description
The medal was established in 1965 and is the highest award presented by the Polish Physical Society. It was named in honour of physicist Marian Smoluchowski (1872 – 1917). It is awarded to scientists whose work significantly contributed to the advancement of one of the branches of physics irrespective of the scientific degree, place of work or nationality of the laureate. It can be given for a single published work or as a lifetime achievement award. It is conferred by the Awards Committee of the Polish Physical Society, currently, no more than once a year.
Three laureates of the medal have also received the Nobel Prize in Physics: Ben Roy Mottelson (1975), Subrahmanyan Chandrasekhar (1983) and Vitaly Ginzburg (2003).
Laureates
The list of scientists awarded with Marian Smoluchowski Medal:
Ryszard Horodecki (2023)
Iwo Białynicki-Birula (2021)
not awarded (2020)
Józef Spałek (2019)
not awarded (2018)
Jerzy Lukierski (2017)
Henryk Szymczak (2015)
not awarded (2014)
Jan Misiewicz (2013)
Douglas Cline (2012)
Krzysztof Pomorski (2011)
Tomasz Dietl (2010)
Wojciech H. Zurek (2009)
Józef Barnaś (2008)
Robert Gałązka (2007)
not awarded (2006)
Jan Żylicz (2005)
Andrzej Białas (2004)
Stefan Pokorski (2003)
David Shugar (2002)
Aleksander Wolszczan (2001)
Bohdan Paczyński (2000)
Andrzej Kajetan Wróblewski (1999)
Kacper Zalewski (1998)
Włodzimierz Zawadzki (1997)
not awarded (1996)
not awarded (1995)
Ryszard Sosnowski (1994)
Stanisław Kielich (1993)
Arnold Wolfendale (1992)
Jacek Prentki (1991)
Władysław Świątecki (1990)
Zdzisław Szymański (1989)
Andrzej Hrynkiewicz (1988)
Wojciech Królikowski (1987)
Andrzej Trautman (1986)
Joseph Henry Eberly (1985)
Vitaly Ginzburg (1984); 2003 Nobel Prize in Physics
Jan Rzewuski (1983)
Władysław Opęchowski (1982)
Adriano Gozzini (1981)
Ben R. Mottelson (1980); 1975 Nobel Prize in Physics
Włodzimierz Trzebiatowski (1979)
not awarded (1978)
Victor Frederick Weisskopf (1977)
Arkadiusz Piekara (1976)
Gerald Pearson (1975)
Georgy Flyorov (1974)
Subrahmanyan Chandrasekhar (1973), 1983 Nobel Prize in Physics
Leonard Sosnowski (1972)
not awarded (1971)
Jerzy Gierula (1970)
Marian Mięsowicz (1970)
Marian Danysz (1969)
Jerzy Pniewski (1969)
Aleksander Jabłoński (1968)
not awarded (1967)
not awarded (1966)
Wojciech Rubinowicz (1965)
See also
Prize of the Foundation for Polish Science
Timeline of Polish science and technology
References
Physics awards
Polish awards
Polish science and technology awards | Marian Smoluchowski Medal | [
"Technology"
] | 747 | [
"Science and technology awards",
"Physics awards"
] |
63,175,392 | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Calcium%20battery | Calcium (ion) batteries are energy storage and delivery technologies (i.e., electro–chemical energy storage) that employ calcium ions (cations), Ca2+, as the active charge carrier. Calcium (ion) batteries remain an active area of research, with studies and work persisting in the discovery and development of electrodes and electrolytes that enable stable, long-term battery operation. Calcium batteries are rapidly emerging as a recognized alternative to Li-ion technology due to their similar performance, significantly greater abundance, and lower cost.
History
Calcium batteries date to the 1960s, used as thermal batteries for military and space applications. The first example of an electrochemical cell was Ca//SOCl2 as a primary cell. Early examination of Ca2+ intercalation hosts proposed transition metal oxides and sulfides. The study of calcium batteries as well as calcium electro-chemistry continued. Research expanded owing to developments in effective Ca-metal redox activity, particularly at room temperature, which had been a longstanding challenge.
Comparison
Material properties
Calcium metal offers high conductivity and high melting temperature (842 °C) relative to other metals. The higher melting temperature can make calcium metal inherently safer in batteries. Calcium is environmentally benign, mitigating concerns over toxicity.
Resource and supply
Calcium batteries are one of many candidates to replace lithium-ion battery technology. It is a multivalent battery. Key advantages are lower cost, earth abundance (41,500 ppm), higher energy density, high capacity and high cell voltage, and potentially higher power density. Calcium is the fifth-most abundant mineral in the Earth's crust, the most abundant alkaline earth metal, and the third-most abundant metal after aluminum (Al) and iron (Fe). The United States is the largest producer (by annual production) of calcium (primarily limestone). Other major producers include Russia and China.
Electrochemistry
Calcium batteries possibly have higher cell voltages than magnesium batteries due to the 0.5 V lower standard reduction potential of the former. Ca2+ ions have the potential for faster reaction kinetics versus magnesium (Mg2+) owing to its less polarizing properties and charge density both in the electrolyte as well as in an intercalation cathode.
Capacity and energy density
Calcium metal anodes have a 2+ oxidation state which could provide greater energy density over monovalent systems (i.e., Li+ and Na+). Calcium has a standard reduction potential of 2.9 V, only 0.17 V greater than that of lithium metal. A calcium metal anode offers higher volumetric capacity and gravimetric capacities (2072 mAh.mL−1 and 1337 mAh.g−1, respectively) than commercial graphite anodes in Li-ion batteries (300–430 mAh mL−1 and 372 mAh g−1). A calcium sulfur (CaS) battery has theoretical energy densities of 3202 Wh/L and 1835 Wh/kg, versus 2800 Wh/L for Li//S.
Comparison to other battery systems
Calcium batteries offer promising performance, safety, and sustainability compared to other prevalent battery technologies, such as lithium, sodium, magnesium, aluminum, potassium, and zinc. Specific advantages of calcium include higher energy density, enhanced safety, greater abundance, and stability, reinforcing its potential as the leading choice for future battery applications.
Components
A calcium battery has yet to be commercialized. Efforts concentrate on developing effective anode and cathode materials, as well as stable electrolytes. Intensive focus has been placed on achieving reliable electrochemistry with a pure calcium metal anode seeking high operating voltages, capacities, and energy densities. However, carbon and metal oxide-based anodes, while featuring lower performance metrics, are also reliable. Cathode research has sought high Ca2+ migration kinetics, high capacity, as well as high operative voltages.
Electrolytes
Calcium salt component
Salts explored in liquid electrolytes include: calcium tetrafluoroborate (Ca(BF4)2, calcium borohydride (Ca(BH4)2, calcium bis(trifluoromethanesulfonimide) (Ca(TFSI)2), calcium perchlorate (Ca(ClO4)2), calcium hexafluorophosphate (Ca(PF6)2), and calcium nitrate (Ca(NO3)2). Calcium nitrate is commonly used in aqueous batteries. Early studies revealed that reversible Ca deposition using simple Ca salts is impossible at room temperature. A Ca salt using a bulky, low-coordinating tetra-hexafluoroisopropoxy borate anion [Ca(B(Ohfip)4)2] was independently examined by three research groups. It was shown to be active for Ca deposition at room temperature with Coulumbic efficiency up to 80% and anodic stability up to 4.1 V vs Ca. The [Ca(B(Ohfip)4)2] electrolyte remains the most active electrolyte, but is far below the standard for practical applications.
Liquid
Several electrolyte systems have been examined. Many candidates show low electrochemical stability. Redox reactions on calcium metal in several organic electrolytes avoid Ca deposition by using (Ca(ClO4)2) and Ca(BF4)2 in organic solvents. Water and alkyl carbonate, ionic liquids, mixed cation electrolytes with Li/Ca and Na/Ca (BH4− and PF6− anion), and K/Ca (PF6− anion) have been examined. Salt solvation studies of different solvents were conducted. Theoretical studies on both salts and aprotic solvents show favorable solvation/de-solvation properties.
Polymer
Polymer electrolytes have been examined as a way to combine the functions of battery separator and electrolyte. One of the first samples of a polymer electrolyte was PVA/PVP complexed with CaCl2. Subsequent studies demonstrated polymer electrolytes made from poly(ethylene glycol) diacrylate (PEDGA) and polytetrahydrofuran (PTHF) both with calcium nitrate (Ca(NO3)2), polyethylene oxide, single-ion conducting polymers based on PEG and PTHF backbones and TFSI anions, PEDGA-based gel polymer electrolytes, polyvinyl imidazole, PVDF gel electrolytes, using solvents such as alkyl carbonates and ionic liquids. Most recently, a poly(vinyl imidazole) electrolyte demonstrated one of the highest conductivities for Ca2+ to date.
Solid
Solid electrolytes (i.e., ceramics) have been proposed, but studies remain theoretical.
Reference Electrodes
Suitable reference electrodes are crucial for accurate and comparable electrochemical studies and performance metrics of various anode and cathode systems. Using calcium metal as a reference electrode presents challenges due to its instability, passivation concerns, and voltage drift. Alternatives include Cl/Cl+, activated carbon, and Ag2S electrodes.
One study introduced a silver(I) sulfide (Ag2S) reference electrode for calcium-ion battery research, based on a silver wire coated with silver(I) sulfide crystals. The standard reduction potential of Ag2S relative to the standard hydrogen electrode was determined to vary from −0.291 to −0.477 V, with a linear voltage drift behavior having slopes between −0.28 and −2.45 mV/h.
Anodes
Calcium anodes have focused on using metal anodes, metal oxides, carbons, and metals/semiconductors as alloying compounds.
Examples include vanadium oxide (V2O5), copper-calcium alloying, MgV2O5, graphite, metallic calcium, and silicon anodes. Recent work on plating/stripping calcium was done in ethylene carbonate/propylene carbonate (EC/PC) solutions at elevated temperatures. Calcium metal anodes showed practical plating at room temperature in electrolytes such as tetrahydrofuran (THF) and a binary mixture of ethylene carbonate and propylene carbonate (EC/PC). Aqueous batteries have used calcium vanadate. Graphene-like materials, such as hexa-peri-hexabenzocoronene nanographene, have been considered.
Cathodes
Work on calcium cathodes focused on the experimental and theoretical investigation of intercalation compounds as well as sulfur as a conversion cathode.
Significant progress has been made with employing generally good intercalation materials, as well as ceramics with crystal structures that provide low migration energy barriers for Ca2+ to move through the lattice. Calcium's divalency and large ionic radius necessitates intercalation hosts with relatively open crystal frameworks and milder crystal polarization for better diffusion kinetics. Layered materials, whereby Ca2+ is transported through the van der Waals gap, is another approach to enable faster diffusion.
Calcium metal oxides and sulfides are areas of study. Candidates include calcium manganese oxide, calcium cobalt oxide and titanium disulfide, hexacyanoferrates, or dual carrier batteries, and aqueous batteries. Theoretical work examined the potential of cathodes from different crystal structures such as perovskite (CaMO3), spinel (CaM2O4, post-spinel spinel (CaM2O4), other naturally occurring calcium compounds, metal selenides such as TiSe2, and other calcium lanthanide oxide phases.
Migration energy barriers have also been discussed.
Calcium–sulfur
A primary Ca–S battery was examined. Ca-S batteries using Li as a mediator to make it reversible were studied. The discovery of reliable electrolytes for plating/stripping calcium metal have aided in stable Ca//S battery cycling, however, poly-sulfide dissolution remains an issue.
Calcium–air
A calcium–air (Ca–O2) battery was examined. Unlike Li-O2 batteries, in which lithium can form a superoxide that undergoes easy redox activity, calcium oxidizes only to the chemical stable calcium oxide (CaO), hence suitable catalytic systems are required for reduction of CaO during battery charging. Reliable plating and stripping at the Ca anode is also critical.
In 2024, a team developed a calcium–oxygen (Ca–O2) battery that is rechargeable for 700 cycles at room temperature. This battery utilized a highly reversible two-electron redox reaction, forming calcium peroxide (CaO2) as the discharge product. A durable ionic liquid-based electrolyte facilitated Ca plating–stripping at the Ca metal anode and improved CaO2/O2 redox at the air cathode. The Ca–O2 battery was stable in air and can be made into flexible fibers. These fibers could be woven into textile batteries for next-generation wearable systems.
Calcium-Chlorine
One study introduced a rechargeable Ca/Cl2 battery utilizing a reversible cathode redox reaction between CaCl2 and Cl2, facilitated by lithium difluoro(oxalate)borate as an electrolyte mediator. The Ca/Cl2 battery achieved discharge voltages of 3V, a specific capacity of 1000 mAh.g−1, and a rate capability of 500 mA.g−1. It also demonstrates excellent capacity retention (96.5% after 30 days) and low-temperature capability (down to 0 °C).
Performance
Several calcium metal batteries with different cathodes have thus far been examined:
Ca//V2O5,
Ca//Ca4Fe9O17,
Ca//LiTiO2,
Ca/Carbon-Fiber,
Ca//TiS2,
Ca//FePO4,
Ca//Ca3Co2O6,
Ca//PAQ,
Ca//S.
C-rates range from 0.2 to >5 C. Capacities range from 50 to 250 mAh/g, with operating voltages between 1 and 4 V. Current densities are in the range of 20–500 mA/g, and energy densities of ~250 Wh/kg.
Applications
Owing in the potentially greater weight, calcium batteries have been proposed for use in stationary applications, such as grid storage.
Research
Several groups are dedicated to commercial-grade rechargeable calcium batteries. The include:
CARBAT (Europe)
Syracuse Center of Excellence (USA)
Joint Center for Energy Storage Research (USA).
Challenges
Calcium batteries show capacity fading and lower energy densities than Li-metal batteries. The solid electrolyte interface (SEI) shows slow migration of Ca2+ ions. Ca metal undergoes dendritic growth at high current rates. The form of the calcium deposits are critical for long-term battery operation. Calcium batteries that provide comparable energy densities of incumbent Li-ion and Li-metal batteries require a pure Ca metal anode. Calcium is significantly harder metal than lithium, complicating manufacture of calcium foils.
Calcium salts generally show strong coordination between the Ca2+ and the anion, consequently requiring strongly coordinating solvents, such as carbonates, in order to produce electrolytes with sufficient salt solubility. This results in slow kinetics. More weakly coordinating salts allow for weakly coordinating solvents to be employed, which shows significantly increased kinetics.
Intercalation hosts require open frameworks and simple migration pathways for ion transport.
References
Battery types
Electrochemistry
Calcium | Calcium battery | [
"Chemistry"
] | 2,835 | [
"Electrochemistry"
] |
63,175,915 | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Social%20narrative | A social narrative is an evidence-based learning tool designed for use with people with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) and other associated disabilities. Social narratives often use personalized stories to teach a skill, identify a situation, or tell a narrative; some examples of social narratives may cover topics such as getting along with others, interacting with others, or experiencing a new place or activity. It is referred to as a story or a written explanation that tells the learner not only what to do but also what the situation is, with the goal of addressing the challenge of learners finding social situations confusing. Social narratives have been found effective for learners from preschool to high school ages in several areas such as social, communication, joint attention, behavior, adaptive, play, and academic.
Concept
Social narrative is described as long story that could be employed as an antecedent intervention or not, for students that have behavioral challenges due to social and emotional development deficits. It depicts and explains social interactions, common behavioral expectations, and their respective social subtexts. According to the National Professional Development Center (NPDC) on ASD, in addition to teaching learners specific social behaviors and skills, it can also help them adapt their behaviors according to the social and physical cues of a situation and adjust to changes in routine.
A defining feature of the social narrative is that it is individualized and narrated from the child or the learner's perspective. The story focuses on relevant cues and provides the learners appropriate responses through examples. It is written by an educator according to the learner's instructional level and is often complemented by contents such as pictures and photographs that do not only confirm the information being conveyed but also promote self-awareness, self-calming, and self-management. For example, it can be in the form of a one-page symbolic depiction, a book with photographs, or a learning material (e.g. mobile app) that clearly depicts and explains relevant information.
Uses
Social narrative can be used to support the learner with ASD understand various social contexts and develop new social skills, such as responding to a peer, or initiating a conversation with a familiar or new person. It can be used by various professionals such as teachers (both general and special education teachers), therapists, and professionals. It can also be used and implemented by the parent and family members. Social narratives can be applied and utilized in a variety of settings, for example, in educational and therapy based settings. Social narratives can be used to address issues, such as conversational skills in learners with ASD.
Types
Social stories are considered a type of social narrative. In a particular story, the expectations – including those of others such as peers and teachers – are clearly and accurately described. Social stories, which are attributed to Carol Gray, is primarily used to describe a specific way of constructing a social narrative. This type of narrative follows a formula, which orients the story towards description instead of direction. Social scripts, on the other hand, describe specific comments and questions appropriate to given situations. It is written in scripted prompt format or videotaped statements or phrases that learners can use in social situations. The statements are simple such as: "Hi, can I sit here?", or "Can you help me?".
Both of these types of social narratives can be employed to instruct a learner on how to introduce themselves to others, ask for help, initiate conversations, and join a group of peers. Social scripts constitute another type of social narrative. These can be audio or written sentences or paragraphs that the learners can use in different settings and situations so that their ability to interact with others is enhanced.
Comic Strip Conversations, developed by Carol Gray, utilize drawings to illustrate what people say, do, and think in various situations. In a Comic Strip Conversation, the adult and the individual with ASD would briefly introduce the comic strip. Shortly afterward, either the adult or the individual with ASD can draw about the situation and present a perspective on what happened during the situation. It is important to note that a form of structure must be provided for the individual with ASD to understand the concept and skill being taught.
Power Cards are considered another type of social narrative. Power Cards are visual aids that capitalizes on an individual's interest. Power Cards can also be used to teach the learner how to appropriately engage in various social interactions, communicative behaviors, and daily routines. Although Power Cards are visual aids, they also vary in size. Power Cards are often written in first-person and describes how the child's identified hero can solve the presented problem.
Social Scripts are another type of social narrative. Social Scripts can be used to teach a learner the language to use in specific situations. The learner is given social scenarios in which questions, comments and statements that they can use when engaged in conversation with others. Social Scripts reduce the stress of social interactions. Social Scripts cannot be used in all social situations, as it has the appearance of the individual rehearsing.
Cartooning is a type of social narrative that uses cartoons to enhance the social understanding of the learner. Because visual symbols are helpful for making abstract concepts and events more meaningful, it is often used.
Social Autopsies, developed by Richard Lavoie, are used to help individuals understand the social errors or mistakes that have occurred. It aids in dissecting an error that occurs. This assists the learner in understanding the error, and clarifies the error that was made.
Technique
The social narrative is usually written in first-person and the perspective of the learner so that the story matches his experiences, feelings, and behavior. It is often developed by an expert (e.g. educator, therapist) and the patient since it integrates new social information relevant to the patient. There are no strict guidelines when writing social narratives but the process usually involve the following steps:
Identification of the social situation for intervention;
Definition of target behavior for data collection;
Collection of data;
Social narrative writing.
Some guidelines for social narrative development include the use of language understood by the learner. The narrative is also written according to his comprehension skills. There is also the preference for the "I" statements (although "you" statements can also be used if it is more effective) and the construction of sentences using present and future tenses. After reading the narrative, the learner is provided an opportunity to participate in the situation that was identified. Key concepts is reviewed with the learner. While reviewing the key concepts, the learner is assess for understanding, to see if they understood the concept. If so, they continue. If not, reinforcements and prompts will be utilized to help the learner understand the concept of the social narrative. Data is collected to determine if the learner is making progress toward the goal.
Goals and implications for use
The overall goals of social narratives is to teach appropriate behavior, make choices, playing appropriately with materials and peers, decreasing problematic behavior, understanding expectations, and increasing social interactions. Social narratives, when used, can provide a variety of positive effects such as initiating conversations with peers and adults, and enhancing self-confidence.
References
Learning disabilities
Learning methods
Psychology of learning
Social learning theory
Storytelling
Teaching
Treatment of autism | Social narrative | [
"Biology"
] | 1,467 | [
"Behavior",
"Social learning theory"
] |
63,176,208 | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pajam%C3%A4ki%20Solar%20System%20Scale%20Model | The Pajamäki Solar System Scale Model is a scale model of the Solar System built in Helsinki and partly in Espoo, Finland in 1992. Its scale is 1:1 000 000 000, i.e. one to one billion, so that 1 millimeter in the model corresponds to 1 000 kilometers in the actual Solar System. The coordinates given for the model are those for the Sun in Patterinmäki.
The model was designed by the amateur astronomer Leo Sulamaa, who has had his own observatory in Pajamäki.
The structure of the scale model
The center of the scale model, the Sun, is located at the top of the Patterinmäki in Pajamäki, at the top of a 20-meter pole. It is made of steel pipes, and its diameter is 1.4 meters. The planets are placed on concrete posts so that their distances to the sun are in scale. The sizes of the planets are also in scale: e.g. the size of Mercury is only 4.9 millimeters. There are explanatory texts on the model and the planets near the models in special tables. The texts are in Finnish, Swedish and English.
The diameter of the Earth is in reality 12 760 kilometers, but in the scale model it is only just a little over a centimeter. Due to vandalism, the Earth and the Moon in the scale model differ from the planets, they are presented as holes in a steel plate. The distance between the Earth and the Moon is also in scale. Although the dwarf planet Pluto lost its status as a planet in 2006, it is included in the scale model, together with its moon Charon. The moons of other planets are not represented in the scale model. Due to vandalism, Pluto and Charon are framed.
People walking from one object to another get a clear picture of the speed of light in the scale of the Solar System. In the model, the speed of light would be only 0,3 m/s or ca. 1.08 km/h. One light year in the same scale would be 9 460 km.
Locations
See also
Solar System models
Sources
The Solar System Scale Model in the Ursa website (including a map)
References
Sculptures in Finland
Solar System models
1992 sculptures
Tourist attractions in Helsinki
Pitäjänmäki
Outdoor sculptures in Helsinki | Pajamäki Solar System Scale Model | [
"Astronomy"
] | 480 | [
"Space art",
"Solar System models",
"Solar System"
] |
63,177,604 | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/David%20Tannor | David Joshua Tannor (; born 1958) is a theoretical chemist, who is the Hermann Mayer Professorial Chair in the department of chemical physics at the Weizmann Institute of Science.
Biography
Tannor has a BA from Columbia University (1978), and a PhD with Eric Heller from UCLA (1983). He did his post-doc work with Stuart Rice and David W. Oxtoby at the University of Chicago. He is a black belt in karate.
Tannor is a theoretical chemist. He studies the effects of quantum mechanics on how molecules move. He worked from 1986 to 1989 as an assistant professor at the Illinois Institute of Technology in Chicago, from 1989 to 1995 as an assistant and associate professor at the University of Notre Dame in South Bend, Indiana, from 1992 to 1993 as a visiting professor at Columbia University, and from 1995 to 2000 as an associate professor and since 2000 as a professor at the Weizmann Institute of Science in Rehovot, Israel.
He is the Hermann Mayer Professorial Chair in the department of chemical physics at the
Weizmann Institute of Science.
Tannor is the author of Introduction to Quantum Mechanics (2018). He has also published or co-published over 120 scientific articles and reviews.
References
External links
David Tannor (November 25, 2013). "Control of Multielectron Dynamics and High Harmonic Generation" (video).
David Tannor (January 26, 2016). "Quantum Transitions using Complex-Valued Classical Trajectories" (video).
Israeli male karateka
Illinois Institute of Technology faculty
Living people
Columbia College (New York) alumni
University of California, Los Angeles alumni
American physical chemists
Israeli physical chemists
Theoretical chemists
University of Notre Dame faculty
Academic staff of Weizmann Institute of Science
Columbia University faculty
1958 births
20th-century American chemists
21st-century American chemists
Quantum physicists
20th-century Israeli sportsmen | David Tannor | [
"Physics",
"Chemistry"
] | 382 | [
"Quantum chemistry",
"Physical chemists",
"Quantum physicists",
"Quantum mechanics",
"Theoretical chemistry",
"Theoretical chemists"
] |
63,178,003 | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Giuliana%20Davidoff | Giuliana P. Davidoff is an American mathematician specializing in number theory and expander graphs. She is the Robert L. Rooke Professor of Mathematics and the chair of mathematics and statistics at Mount Holyoke College.
Education and career
Davidoff is a graduate of Rollins College. She completed her Ph.D. in 1984 at New York University, with Peter Sarnak as her doctoral advisor; her dissertation was Statistical Properties of Certain Exponential Sums.
Books
Davidoff is a coauthor of:
Elementary Number Theory, Group Theory and Ramanujan Graphs (with Peter Sarnak and Alain Valette, 2003)
The Geometry of Numbers (with Carl D. Olds and Anneli Cahn Lax, 2001)
Laboratories in Mathematical Experimentation: A Bridge to Higher Mathematics (1997)
References
External links
Home page
Year of birth missing (living people)
Living people
20th-century American mathematicians
21st-century American mathematicians
21st-century American women mathematicians
American number theorists
Graph theorists
Rollins College alumni
New York University alumni
Mount Holyoke College faculty
20th-century American women | Giuliana Davidoff | [
"Mathematics"
] | 211 | [
"Mathematical relations",
"Graph theory",
"Graph theorists"
] |
63,179,431 | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Navacaprant | Navacaprant (developmental code names include BTRX-335140, BTRX-140, CYM-53093, NMRA-335140, and NMRA-140), is a selective κ-opioid receptor antagonist which is under development for the treatment of major depressive disorder. As of December 2023, navacaprant is in phase 3 clinical trials for this indication.
See also
κ-Opioid receptor § Antagonists
List of investigational antidepressants
References
External links
BTRX 335140 - AdisInsight
Amines
Experimental antidepressants
Fluoroarenes
Kappa-opioid receptor antagonists
Oxadiazoles
Piperidines
Quinolines
Synthetic opioids
Tetrahydropyrans | Navacaprant | [
"Chemistry"
] | 160 | [
"Amines",
"Bases (chemistry)",
"Functional groups"
] |
63,180,494 | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marie%20Curie%20Medal | The Marie Curie-Skłodowska Medal is a Polish annual science award conferred by the Polish Chemical Society (Polish: Polskie Towarzystwo Chemiczne, PTCHem) to scientists working permanently abroad for contributions in the field of chemistry.
Description
It was named in honour of physicist Marie Curie (1867–1934) and first awarded in 1996. The winner receives a bronze medal depicting Marie Curie and on the reverse the Latin inscription Quo Magis Veritas Propagatur as well as the PTCHem logo, year and the name of the laureate.
Four laureates of the medal have also been awarded the Nobel Prize in Chemistry: Roald Hoffmann (1981), Jean Marie Lehn (1987), Ada Yonath (2009) and Ben Feringa (2016).
Laureates
The winners of the award so far have been:
Notes
Sites of the work places of the Laureates at the time of the award.
See also
Prize of the Foundation for Polish Science
Marian Smoluchowski Medal
Kołos Medal
References
Chemistry awards
Polish awards
Polish science and technology awards | Marie Curie Medal | [
"Technology"
] | 226 | [
"Science and technology awards",
"Chemistry awards"
] |
63,180,522 | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Karl%20S%C3%B6llner | Karl Söllner (9 January 1903 – 14 June 1986) was an Austrian-American chemist, primarily active in the field of physical chemistry and biophysics.
Life
Söllner was the son of lawyer Anton Maria Söllner and his wife Julie ( Karplus). He grew up in Vienna and began studying chemistry and philosophy at the University of Vienna in 1921. From his third semester he was a student assistant (Demonstrator) at the university. He completed his dissertation with Alfons Klemenc. In 1928 he entered the service of the Kaiser Wilhelm Institute for Physical Chemistry and Electrochemistry in Berlin, where he worked as a scientific assistant alongside Herbert Freundlich. In May 1933, Söllner began a habilitation thesis in the field of osmosis which was reviewed by Fritz Haber, Max Bodenstein and Herbert Freundlich.
Unfortunately, in the same year the Nazi party seized power. According to the national socialist definition he was of Jewish heritage and was therefore forced him to leave his position at the institute in June 1933. He then emigrated to Great Britain, where he found a position in the chemistry department of University College London, where he worked from 1933 to 1937. He was also a visiting researcher and consultant at Imperial Chemical Industries.
In 1937 Söllner moved to the United States. There he took a position as a chemist with the Department of Agronomy at Cornell University in Ithaca with support from the “Emergency Committee in Aid of Displaced German Scholars“. In 1938 he moved to the Department of Physiological Chemistry at the University of Minnesota School of Medicine in Minneapolis. There he was initially employed as an Associate Chemist. He was promoted to "Regular Chemist" in 1939, Associate Professor in 1943 and Full Professor in 1947.
Söllner was labelled as an enemy of the state by Nazi authorities. In the spring of 1940, the Reich Security Main Office in Berlin put him on a special Great Britain wanted list, a list of people who, in the event of a successful invasion and occupation of the British Isles by the Wehrmacht, should be identified and arrested as a priority by the SS special forces that followed the occupation forces.
Later Söllner moved to the Institute of Health in Bethesda, Maryland where he worked in the laboratory of National Institute of Arthritis Metabolism and Digestive Diseases, initially at the rank of Principal Research Analyst, from 1948 as a senior physical biochemist and from 1965 as head of the section for electrochemistry and colloid chemistry. In 1973 he officially retired, but continued to work as a consultant and visiting researcher for the institute until 1975.
Söllner was a specialist in ultrasound for colloid systems. In this context, he focused his research on the study of membranes and their electrophysical properties and on "Studies of Dispersion of Solids, Coagulation, and Fog Formation". Söllner published about 120 scientific papers in specialist journals. He was also a member of the American Association for the Advancement of Science, the American Institute of Chemistry and the New York Academy of Sciences, the American Chemical Society, the Society of General Physiologists and the Electrochemical Society.
Family
Söllner married Herta (Helen) Rosenberg on July 23, 1934. Their daughter Barbara Sollner-Webb embarked on a scientific career.
Publications
Zur Kenntnis der thermischen Zersetzung der Salpetersäure, 1926.
Zur Erklärung der abnormen Osmose an nichtquellbaren Membranen, I.-III. Teil, 1933.
The Structure of the Colladion Membrane and Its Electrical Behavior, an Experimental Test of Some Aspects of the Teorell and Meyer-sievers Theories of Electrical Membrane Behavior, 1944.
References
Reinhard Rürup: Karl Söllner (Sollner). Kaiser-Wilhelm-Institut für physikalische Chemie und Elektrochemie, Berlin-Dahlem. In: Ders.: Schicksale und Karrieren. Gedenkbuch für die von den Nationalsozialisten aus der Kaiser-Wilhelm-Gesellschaft vertriebenen Forscherinnen und Forscher. 2008, S. 319f.
Allen G. Debus: World Who's who in Science: A Biographical Dictionary of Notable Scientists from Antiquity to the Present, 1968, S. 1577.
Notes
1903 births
1986 deaths
Austrian emigrants to the United Kingdom
British emigrants to the United States
University of Vienna alumni
Physical chemists
Austrian expatriates in Germany | Karl Söllner | [
"Chemistry"
] | 926 | [
"Physical chemists"
] |
63,180,590 | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Garden%20marguerite | Garden marguerites, also known as marguerite daisies, are cultivars of plants in the subtribe Glebionidinae of the family Asteraceae, the great majority being hybrids created in cultivation. One of the genera belonging to the subtribe, Argyranthemum, was introduced into cultivation from the Canary Islands in the 18th century, and modern cultivars are mostly sold and grown under the genus name Argyranthemum or the species name Argyranthemum frutescens, although many are actually intergeneric hybrids. The first such hybrids involved species now placed in the genus Glebionis, but other crosses within the subtribe are known. Breeding has aimed at introducing flower heads in varied colours and shapes while retaining the shrubby habit of Argyranthemum. Garden marguerites are used as summer bedding or grown in containers. Most are only half-hardy. They can be trained into shapes such as pyramids or grown as standards.
Description
Garden marguerites are derived from wild species in the family Asteraceae. They have the typical inflorescences of the family, in which what may appear to be a single flower is actually a composite flower head composed of many individual flowers or florets. Small tightly packed florets make up the central disc, which is surrounded by florets with longer petals (ligules), making up the rays of the complete flower head. In wild Argyranthemum species, which form the basis of garden marguerites, the flower heads have yellow centres and usually white rays, although A. maderense has pale yellow rays. Modern cultivars have much more varied flower colours and shapes. The central disc may remain yellow, be of the same colour as the ray florets, or be of a different colour. The central disc florets are enlarged in some cultivars. In fully double flower heads, the disk florets have longer petals like the ray florets. The cultivar 'Supa594' () has flower heads in which no central disc is visible, as all florets have ray-like petals.
Argyranthemum has a shrubby perennial habit. Cultivars may be derived from crosses with related annual species, such as Glebionis coronaria. Such crosses may produce either annual or perennial offspring, but breeders try to retain the Argyranthemum habit. Some cultivars, such as 'Sugar Button', are short-lived and are usually grown as annuals. Most are perennial, ranging in height from about for the cultivar 'Snow Storm' to about for the cultivar 'Starlight'.
Genera involved
The subtribe Glebionidinae consists of four genera, or three if Ismelia is included in Glebionis.
Argyranthemum Webb – about 23 species
Glebionis Cass. – 2 or 3 species
Heteranthemis Schott – 1 species, Heteranthemis viscidi-hirta
Ismelia Cass. – 1 species, Ismelia carinata, which may alternatively be included in Glebionis as Glebionis carinata
Hybrids between the genera are origin of many cultivars, although in some cases their parents are conjectural. Three main crosses have been documented:
×Argyrimelia J.M.H.Shaw = Argyranthemum × Ismelia
×Glebianthemum J.M.Watson & A.R.Flores = Argyranthemum × Glebionis
Glebionis × Ismelia
The hybrid between A. frutescens and G. coronaria, named ×Glebianthemum valinianum, was discovered in Chile where both parents were naturalized and grew together.
Origins and development
The genus Argyranthemum is native to Macaronesia (the Canary Islands, Madeira and the Savage Islands), where about 23 species are known, although some species have been introduced worldwide. Argyranthemum frutescens was listed as being in cultivation in the Chelsea Physic Garden in a publication dated to between 1710 and 1714, although it may have been introduced earlier, as there are reports of 1699 for the Oxford Botanic Garden. Cultivated Argyranthemum frutescens reached Japan from Europe in the 1860s, with over 100 cultivars known in Japan by 1912. In the UK, the National Plant Collection for this group contained over 100 cultivars in 1993.
It was discovered in Japan in particular that Argyranthemum crosses readily with species of Glebionis (once included in Chrysanthemum). Glebionis and the related Ismelia (sometimes included in Glebionis) are found in Europe and around the Mediterranean. Intergeneric hybrids, such as the cultivar 'Izu Yellow', were known by the 1960s. The purpose of making such crosses was to produce more varied flower colours and forms along with desirable plant growth habits. Colours such as orange and reddish brown, not seen in the parents, were obtained by crossing Argyranthemum cultivars with either Ismelia carinata or Glebionis coronaria.
Because modern cultivars are often the end product of many generations of multiple crosses, determining their origin and so tracing their development is difficult. Identification of the parents of cultivars has involved both morphological characters and, more recently, genetic markers. The scent of the crushed leaves of G. coronaria is distinctive; I. carinata has more finely dissected leaves than Argyranthemum. Genetic markers were able to distinguish the different intergeneric hybrids and showed that cultivars with similar characteristics shared parents.
Cultivars probably derived from crosses between Argyranthemum and Ismelia carinata (×Argyrimelia) include:
Many of the GranDaisy series, with cultivar names such as 'Bonmax 9163' or 'Bonmax 14143', and selling names such as or
The Queen Series, such as 'Canary Queen' – light yellow flowers; 'Carnival Queen' – yellow flowers; 'Furenka' – white flowers; 'Garnet Queen' – deep red flowers; 'Peach Queen' – orange and yellow flowers; 'Queenmais' – pink and yellow flowers; 'Ruby Queen' – red flowers
Some of the Aramis Series, such as 'Aramis Fire' and 'Bonmadcher' ()
Genetic markers suggested that some other cultivars have the same origin as the Queen Series: 'Faery White' – white flowers; 'Faery Light Pink' – pink rays.
Cultivars probably derived from crosses between Argyranthemum and Glebionis (×Glebianthemum) include:
'Chrysaster' – an early North American selection, possibly Argyranthemum frutescens × Glebionis coronaria = ×Glebianthemum valinianum
'Izu Yellow' – genetic markers support this being A. frutescens × G. coronaria
Others may belong here, such as 'Kibana Margarette'; 'Peach Cheeks' – dark centre, two tone yellow rays; 'Zairai Ki' – yellow rays
Cultivation
Garden marguerites can be used as bedding, in which case they may be treated as annuals, or grown in containers. In the UK climate, they are generally half-hardy, although they may survive a few degrees of frost in a sheltered position. It is recommended that young plants should not be planted out until all danger of frost has passed. Plants can be pruned to keep them in shape, and can be trained into pyramids or standards. Propagation is by cuttings, which root easily, or in some cases by seed.
Awards
Two naturally occurring taxa and the following cultivars have gained the Royal Horticultural Society's Award of Garden Merit:
Argyranthemum frutescens subsp. canariae – yellow centre, white rays
Argyranthemum maderense – yellow centre, lemon-yellow rays
'Argydowitis' () – centre yellow in bud, opening white with yellow tips, rays white
'Bonmadcher' () – centre starts orange-red-brown in bud and turns yellow as the florets open, rays cherry red with white bases, ageing to purple
'Chelsea Girl' – yellow centre, white rays; finely divided foliage; cultivar of Argyranthemum gracile
'Cornish Gold' – yellow centre, yellow rays
'Donington Hero' – yellow centre, white rays
'Jamaica Primrose' - yellow centre, primrose yellow rays
'Kleaf07028' () – yellow centre, white rays
'Kleaf10057' () – brown to yellow centre, pale yellow rays with blotches and speckles of red
'Levada Cream' – yellow centre, light yellow rays fading to cream
'Mary Cheek' – double, all light pink
'Petite Pink' – yellow centre, pink rays
'Qinta White' – anemone-centred, all white
'Royal Haze' – yellow centre, white rays; cultivar of Argyranthemum foeniculaceum
'Snow Storm' – yellow centre, white rays
'Starlight' – fully double, all white, outer ray florets narrowly tubular
'Sugar Button' – yellow centre, white rays
'Supa594' () – fully double, all white
'Supacher' () – double, all bright pink
'Supalem' () – centre yellow, rays pale lemon-yellow
'Vancouver' – anemone-centred, all pink
'Whiteknights' – yellow centre, white rays
References
Bibliography
Anthemideae
Hybrid plants | Garden marguerite | [
"Biology"
] | 2,021 | [
"Hybrid plants",
"Plants",
"Hybrid organisms"
] |
63,182,435 | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stannocene | Stannocene is an organometallic compound with the formula .
It is a metallocene that can be produced efficiently from cyclopentadienyl sodium and tin(II) chloride. Unlike in ferrocene the two cyclopentadienyl rings are not parallel.
References
Organotin compounds
Metallocenes
Tin(II) compounds
Cyclopentadienyl complexes | Stannocene | [
"Chemistry"
] | 81 | [
"Cyclopentadienyl complexes",
"Organic compounds",
"Organometallic chemistry",
"Organic compound stubs",
"Organic chemistry stubs"
] |
63,183,666 | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Timeline%20of%20Scottish%20nationalism | This is a timeline of events in the history of Scottish nationalism.
843
1603
1707
1820
1979
1997
1999
2014
References
Scottish nationalism
Chronology | Timeline of Scottish nationalism | [
"Physics"
] | 28 | [
"Spacetime",
"Chronology",
"Physical quantities",
"Time"
] |
63,185,727 | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Higbee%20cut | A Higbee cut is a specific cut added to a screw thread to produce a blunt start, instead of the sharp end of the unmodified screw thread. It is named for its inventor Clinton Higbee. The presence of a Higbee cut on both male and female threads eliminates the chance of cross threading. A blunt start thread possessing a Higbee cut is also known as a convoluted thread.
Common Uses
Fire service
The Higbee cut is commonly used on fire hose couplings' threads. The presence of the Higbee cut and the location of the start of the thread are often marked on couplings to assist with assembly.
Thread gauges
Gauging used to inspect machine threads often includes a Higbee cut.
History
Clinton Higbee invented and patented the blunt start thread in 1891.
References
Mechanical standards
Screws | Higbee cut | [
"Engineering"
] | 178 | [
"Mechanical standards",
"Mechanical engineering"
] |
63,186,408 | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Religious%20precinct | A religious or sacred precinct is the area around a religious site, such as a temple, that is dedicated to religious purposes. A religious precinct may be defined by a physical enclosure, although this is not always the case. Religious precincts are an aspect of the spatiality of religion.
Religious precincts in urban settings often serve a mixture of religious and non-religious purposes. In some cases, a religious precinct may take up a substantial part of a city: the sacred precinct in Tenochtitlan encompassed 78 buildings.
In polytheistic faiths, a religious precinct may encompass sites dedicated to multiple gods. The ancient Roman sacred precinct at Altbachtal encompassed more than 70 distinct temples.
See also
Churchyard
Fanum
Temenos
References
Sacral architecture | Religious precinct | [
"Engineering"
] | 152 | [
"Sacral architecture",
"Architecture"
] |
59,593,272 | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Leucocoprinus%20gongylophorus | Leucocoprinus gongylophorus is a fungus in the family Agaricaceae which is cultivated by certain leafcutter ants. Like other species of fungi cultivated by ants, L. gongylophorus produces gongylidia, nutrient-rich hyphal swellings upon which the ants feed. Production of mushrooms occurs only once ants abandon the nest. L. gongylophorus is farmed by leaf cutter ant species belonging to the genera Atta and Acromyrmex, amongst others.
Description
L. gongylophorus is completely dependent on ants for survival with workers feeding it cut plant matter and new queens carrying a piece of mycelium in their infrabuccal pocket (a specialised structure within the mouth) in order to found a new colony. For both its source of nutrition and mechanism of spreading it is reliant on the ants. The species has co-evolved with ants so thoroughly that it can no longer rely upon producing mushrooms to emit spores as a viable survival mechanism as it has lost the ability to produce sexual spores. The mutualistic relationship also includes a third species as Pseudonocardia bacteria coat the exoskeleton of the ants and produce antibiotics which protect the fungal garden from mycoparasitic microfungi like members of the Escovopsis genus. Without this antibiotic production the L. gongylophorus fungi on which the ants rely could be destroyed and take the whole nest with it. Leafcutter ant species may exhibit specially modified exoskeletons better capable of housing beneficial bacteria with which the fungal garden is inoculated as the ants tend to it. A fourth hypothesized beneficial symbiont exists in the form of Phialophora black yeast which grow on the cuticle of the ants and which may fulfill a beneficial saprophytic role. Including the parasitic Escovopsis microfungi or micromycetes this means a leafcutter ant colony may in fact be a symbiotic relationship between five species. The fungal lineage of L. gongylophorus may have been continually propagated for over 23 million years which helps explain why it is now entirely reliant on the ants.
L. gongylophorus produces a diverse array of enzymes to facilitate lignocellulose degradation in ant gardens. As leafcutter ants can have such a profound effect on their environment and account for about 25% of plant consumption in their forest ecosystems this means L. gongylophorus may be the primary driver of plant biomass degradation in this ecosystem. The sheer scale of the ants' farming can see 10-15% of leaves in a colony's foraging range being cut and fed to the fungi which results in significant carbon dioxide emissions from L. gongylophorus as this plant biomass is broken down. Nest openings can have CO2 emissions 100,000 times greater than the surrounding soils with nests and their surrounding soil emitting 15-60% more CO2 than soil without nests. Emissions were observable for more than two years after nests were abandoned with nests contributing an estimated total of 0.2-0.7% of the ecosystem's soil emissions. Due to the enhanced rate of breakdown of the plant biomass facilitated by the fungus compared to the slower natural degradation of leaves that fall on the surface, leafcutter ants and their symbiotic fungi partners may play a surprisingly significant role in the ecosystem's ability to sequester carbon.
This species has become so dependent on the ants to survive that the production of mature fruiting bodies is not often recorded. In the wild it is heavily suppressed by the ants due to their harvesting of the immature mushrooms. In Møller's 1893 study he described the mushrooms of Rozites gongylophorus growing from a nest removed from the wild as follows:
Cap: Up to 16cm in diameter. Stem and cap: Up to 24cm in height. Stem: Up to 4cm diameter at the base and 2cm at the annulus. Spore print: Tinted with a clear ochre colour (possibly due to discolouration with age since Leucoagaricus species typically have white spores).
In the 1977 publication Studies on Fungi Cultivated by Ants attempts were made to culture 37 fungi samples obtained from the nests of various fungus farming ants. This study succeeded in producing mushrooms on an oatmeal medium from samples acquired from the nests of Myrmicocrypta buenzlii, Mycetophylax conformis, Cyphomyrmex costatus and Apterostigma auriculatum which were described as appearing similar to Møller's observation. However whilst these lower attine ants do farm other Leucocoprinus species, they do not farm the highly specialised L. gongylophorus. The cultures taken from Atta and Acromyrmex nests either produced gongylidia or only mycelium.
Later studies have observed mushrooms from Atta and Acromyrmex nests growing in the lab or in wild nests during excavations.
Taxonomy
Originally classified as Rozites gongylophorus by the German botanist and mycologist Friedrich Alfred Gustav Jobst Møller in 1893 who described it as an ant fungus associated with Atta discigera (since reclassified as Acromyrmex disciger) leafcutter ants in Brazil.
It was reclassified as Leucocoprinus gongylophorus by French mycologist Roger Heim in 1957. Heim obtained samples of sterile ant fungi from French Guiana and Panama from Atta ant species which were compared with illustrations and descriptions of an ant fungus obtained from Cyphomyrmex costatus ants in Trinidad. Based on this study the fungus was transferred to the Leucocoprinus genus. It was later transferred to Leucoagaricus by the German mycologist Rolf Singer in 1986. More recent studies based upon DNA sequence data fail to differentiate the genera Leucoagaricus and Leucocoprinus. Consequently, the type of Leucoagaricus was transferred to Leucocoprinus and Leucoagaricus becomes a synonym of Leucocoprinus, the older of the two generic names. As a result the name Leucocoprinus gongylophorus becomes the correct name.
It was also classified as Pholiota gongylophora by Italian botanist and mycologist Pier Andrea Saccardo in 1895 and Attamyces bromatificus by German mycologist Hanns Kreisel in 1972 however these species were merged with L. gongylophorus. Attamyces was a monotypic genus described by Kreisel after he found the fungus fruiting on the nest of the fungus-growing ants Atta insularis in Cuba. The specific epithet bromatificus refers to bromatia, which are swollen tips on the hyphae that the ants use as food. Bromatia are also called gongylidia with 'bromatia' seldom used in modern descriptions so this word could now be considered archaic.
Etymology
Leucocoprinus gets its name from the Greek Leuco meaning white or bright and the Latin or Greek Coprinus refers to its look-a-like genus Coprinus. Gongylophorus derives from the Greek gongylo meaning rounded and Greek phorus meaning bearing or carrying.
Similar species Termitomyces is a genus of mushrooms also belonging to the order Agaricales which is cultivated by various species belonging to the subfamily of termites, macrotermitinae. Whilst not immediately related to species cultivated by leafcutter ants they are noteworthy as another insect-fungus partnership.Myrmecopterula is a genus of coral fungi belonging to the order Agaricales which is cultivated by Apterostigma'' ants.
See also
List of Leucoagaricus species
References
gongylophorus
Fungi described in 1893
Fungus species | Leucocoprinus gongylophorus | [
"Biology"
] | 1,644 | [
"Fungi",
"Fungus species"
] |
59,593,680 | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wankel%20Diesel%20engine | Wankel Diesel engine describes the idea of using the Diesel principle in a Wankel rotary engine. Several attempts to build such an engine have been made by different engineers and manufacturers in the 1960s and 1970s. Due to technical problems and the general disadvantages of the Wankel design, the Wankel Diesel engine never left the prototype stage, and designing a Wankel Diesel engine capable of running under its own power is thus considered unfeasible.
Design concept
A Wankel Diesel engine shares its basic design, a triangular-like rotor in an oval, epitrochoid-shaped housing, with a regular Wankel engine. The key difference is that it shares all of its operational characteristics with a Diesel engine. In addition to this, supercharging is required: A regular Diesel engine achieves compression ignition by a high compression ratio, which cannot be done in a Wankel engine due to the shape of the Wankel combustion chamber; supercharging ″artificially″ increases the compression ratio to ensure that compression ignition takes place. Several different approaches of designing a supercharger for a Wankel Diesel engine exist. Wankel designed an external supercharger, whereas Rolls-Royce added a secondary supercharging rotor of a bigger size, making the engine a two-stage rotary, which gave the housing an "8"-like appearance.
Reasons for designing a Wankel Diesel engine
Compared with a Diesel engine, a regular petrol engine has a lower thermal efficiency. However, in the 1960s, the petrol engine advantages of lower mass, fewer vibrations and less noise emissions, all of which are important for passenger cars, were still prevailing. Low mass and smooth engine operation are also characteristics of the Wankel engine – combining Wankel design with Diesel characteristics would result in an efficient engine with low mass and few vibrations. Making a Wankel engine that can burn Diesel engine fuel, but which does not use the Diesel principle, can be useful if Diesel engine fuel is less expensive than petrol. In a 1974 study conducted for the EPA, it was attempted to determine whether or not a Wankel Diesel engine has a better exhaust behaviour than a regular Otto cycle petrol engine.
Causes of infeasibility
The main cause of Wankel Diesel engine infeasibility is the shape of the combustion chamber, located in the rotary piston. It is elongated and convex, thus not allowing a high enough compression ratio (without too much heat loss), even in combination with a (solely crankshaft or exhaust gas driven) supercharger. This means that the engine is only functional if it is fed externally compressed air, as it requires more work to operate than it can produce. Also, designing a proper combustion chamber, correctly angled towards the injection nozzle to allow proper mixture formation, proved to be quite difficult; the EPA study proves that the Wankel Diesel engine's exhaust contains disproportionally high levels of carbon monoxide (CO) and hydrocarbons (HC), indicating incomplete combustion.
Prototype development
Diesel-Ring
The Diesel-Ring was a joint venture of the German Diesel engine manufacturers Daimler-Benz, MAN, Krupp and KHD. Development was ceased in 1969, because the shape of the Wankel engine combustion chamber was considered ineligible for the Diesel principle. The Diesel-Ring, attempts were made to modify the geometry of the epitrochoid and rotor in such a way that a higher compression ratio could be achieved. This was done without increasing the K-number and thus disproportionately increasing the overall volume of the engine. These attempts met with little success, as they resulted in vibrations of the apex seal due to excessive movement in the groove.
Rolls-Royce
Rolls-Royce began developing a lightweight military Wankel Diesel engine for the MoD in 1964. Fritz Feller was the leading engineer of the project. Soon, it became obvious that a regular Wankel engine would not be suitable for the high compression ratio needed for compression ignition, which led to the idea of using another rotary piston as a supercharger. Early tests were conducted with a modified NSU Wankel engine that was fed pre-heated compressed air to achieve compression ignition. This test engine displaced 0.25 litre and ran for 94 hours before it broke; the fuel consumption ranged from 0.84 lb/hp·h to 1.4 lb/hp·h (511 g/kW·h to 852 g/kW·h). The sealing material proved to be insufficient, leading to high sealing loss; new materials had to be engineered. Furthermore, designing a good combustion chamber, allowing good mixture of air and fuel, turned out to be considerably difficult and thus required a lot of development work. To avoid the problem of having a complicated combustion chamber in the rotor, a precombustion chamber was considered an option, but it was later abandoned, because making a housing with a proper precombustion chamber seemed unfeasible.
The first prototype, made of an NSU KKM 502 Wankel engine, was called R1 and featured a two-stage design with two rotors and an 8-shaped housing. It had a compression chamber volume of 1.126 litre and borrowed its 0.5 litre combustion chamber displacement from the KKM 502. In total, eight different evolutions of the R1 were made, named in alphabetical order, (R1A, R1B, R1C,...). The fifth evolution, which as called R1E, had an increased 1.265 litre compression chamber, but it retained the 0.5 litre combustion chamber. Its power output was about 40 kW; fuel consumption was approximately 220 g/kW·h. The R2 had a 3-rotor design did not get beyond the draft stage; R3 was the first version of a powerplant with a greater displacement, capable of developing more power. The first prototypes having the planned engine size, were called the R4 and R5. In the R5, the first rotor stage was only used for compressing the intake air, the exhaust gas was not used to power it. Instead, the exhaust gas was sent through an external exhaust gas turbine.
In early 1970, the prototype 2-R6 was completed. It is also a two-stage rotary engine, with the smaller combustion rotor on top of the bigger compression rotor. The rotors are connected with a gear ratio of 1 : 1 and rotate in the same direction. Unlike the R5 prototype, the 2-R6 uses the exhaust gas energy with its compression rotor instead of an external exhaust gas turbine. Torque is not taken off the combustion rotor, but the compression rotor instead. The engine has a displacement of 396 in3 (6.5 litre) and was supposed to have a power output of 350 hp (261 kW), but having a mass of only 929 lb (421 kg). At the time, this would have been 50% of the mass of a comparable piston Diesel engine with the same power output. Further plans included a more powerful 700 hp (522 kW) version of the engine in addition to the regular 350 hp variant. However, despite using special alloys, the engine mass was 1150 lb (522 kg) and the power output of 180 hp (134 kW) barely exceeded 50% of the projected 350 hp. All runs on the test bed required using externally produced compressed air, the engine never ran under its own power. It is said that due to financial problems, the Wankel Diesel engine project was cancelled in 1974. It was conjectured that the Yom Kippur War made the British Military lose the interest in a compact tank powerplant, resulting in governmental subsidies being cut. It is much more likely though that designing a working Wankel Diesel engine is simply not possible.
Felix Wankel
Wankel designed a Wankel Diesel engine with two clover-shaped housings and a compressor in between. Unlike in a regular Wankel engine, the rotary pistons are not shaped like a Reuleaux triangle, but like a bulgy quadrate. The compressor rotor has the shape of an ellipse. Despite the unusual design, this engine was functional under test conditions on a test bed. A second prototype with just one rotor for testing purposes was made. It had a displacement of 0.7 litre and passed a 20-hour test run where it produced a peak torque of 60 N·m.
Bibliography
Fritz Feller: The 2-stage rotary engine – A new concept in diesel power, Proceedings of the Institution of Mechanical Engineers, 1970–71, Vol. 185 13/71, p. 139–158
References
Pistonless rotary engine
British inventions
Rolls-Royce
Diesel engine technology | Wankel Diesel engine | [
"Technology"
] | 1,764 | [
"Engines",
"Pistonless rotary engine"
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59,594,023 | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/BAITSSS | BAITSSS (Backward-Averaged Iterative Two-Source Surface temperature and energy balance Solution) is biophysical Evapotranspiration (ET) computer model that determines water use, primarily in agriculture landscape, using remote sensing-based information. It was developed and refined by Ramesh Dhungel and the water resources group at University of Idaho's Kimberly Research and Extension Center since 2010. It has been used in different areas in the United States including Southern Idaho, Northern California, northwest Kansas, Texas, and Arizona.
History of development
BAITSSS originated from the research of Ramesh Dhungel, a graduate student at the University of Idaho, who joined a project called "Producing and integrating time series of gridded evapotranspiration for irrigation management, hydrology and remote sensing applications" under professor Richard G. Allen.
In 2012, the initial version of landscape model was developed using the Python IDLE environment using NARR weather data (~ 32 kilometers). Dhungel submitted his PhD dissertation in 2014 where the model was called BATANS (backward averaged two source accelerated numerical solution). The model was first published in Meteorological Applications journal in 2016 under the name BAITSSS
as a framework to interpolate ET between the satellite overpass when thermal based surface temperature is unavailable. The overall concept of backward averaging was introduced to expedite the convergence process of iteratively solved surface energy balance components which can be time-consuming and can frequently suffer non-convergence, especially in low wind speed.
In 2017, the landscape BAITSSS model was scripted in Python shell, together with GDAL and NumPy libraries using NLDAS weather data (~ 12.5 kilometers). The detailed independent model was evaluated against weighing lysimeter measured ET, infrared temperature (IRT) and net radiometer of drought-tolerant corn and sorghum at Conservation and Production Research Laboratory in Bushland, Texas by group of scientists from USDA-ARS and Kansas State University between 2017 and 2020. Some later development of BAITSSS includes physically based crop productivity components, i.e. biomass and crop yield computation.
Rationale
The majority of remote sensing based instantaneous ET models use evaporative fraction (EF) or reference ET fraction (ETF), similar to crop coefficients, for computing seasonal values, these models generally lack the soil water balance and Irrigation components in surface energy balance. Other limiting factors is the dependence on thermal-based radiometric surface temperature, which is not always available at required temporal resolution and frequently obscured by factors such as cloud cover. BAITSSS was developed to fill these gaps in remote sensing based models liberating the use of thermal-based radiometric surface temperature and to serve as a digital crop water tracker simulating high temporal (hourly or sub-hourly) and spatial resolution (30 meter) ET maps. BAITSSS utilizes remote sensing based canopy formation information, i.e. estimation of seasonal variation of vegetation indices and senescence.
Approach and model structure
Surface energy balance is one of the commonly utilized approaches to quantify ET (latent heat flux in terms of flux), where weather variables and vegetation Indices are the drivers of this process. BAITSSS adopts numerous equations to compute surface energy balance and resistances where primarily are from Javis, 1976, Choudhury and Monteith, 1988, and aerodynamic methods or flux-gradient relationship equations with stability functions associated with Monin–Obukhov similarity theory.
Underlying fundamental equations of surface energy balance
Latent heat flux (LE)
The aerodynamic or flux-gradient equations of latent heat flux in BAITSSS are shown below. is saturation vapor pressure at the canopy and is for soil, is ambient vapor pressure, r is bulk boundary layer resistance of vegetative elements in the canopy, r is aerodynamic resistance between zero plane displacement (d) + roughness length of momentum (z) and measurement height (z) of wind speed, r is the aerodynamic resistance between the substrate and canopy height (d +z), and r is soil surface resistance.
Sensible heat flux (H) and surface temperature calculation
The flux-gradient equations of sensible heat flux and surface temperature in BAITSSS are shown below.
Canopy resistance (r)
Typical Jarvis type-equation of r adopted in BAITSSS is shown below, R is the minimum value of r, LAI is leaf area index, f is fraction of canopy cover, weighting functions representing plant response to solar radiation (F), air temperature (F), vapor pressure deficit (F), and soil moisture (F) each varying between 0 and 1.
Equations of soil water balance and irrigation decision
Standard soil water balance equations for soil surface and the root zone are implemented in BAITSSS for each time step, where irrigation decisions are based on the soil moisture at the root zone.
Data
Input
ET models, in general, need information about vegetation (physical properties and vegetation indices) and environment condition (weather data) to compute water use. Primary weather data requirements in BAITSSS are solar irradiance (R), wind speed (u), air temperature (T), relative humidity (RH) or specific humidity (q), and precipitation (P). Vegetation indices requirements in BAITSSS are leaf area index (LAI) and fractional canopy cover (f), generally estimated from normalized difference vegetation index (NDVI). Automated BAITSSS can compute ET throughout United States using National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) weather data (i.e. hourly NLDAS: North American Land Data Assimilation system at 1/8 degree; ~ 12.5 kilometers), Vegetation indices those acquired by Landsat, and soil information from SSURGO.
Output
BAITSSS generates large numbers of variables (fluxes, resistances, and moisture) in gridded form in each time-step. The most commonly used outputs are evapotranspiration, evaporation, transpiration, soil moisture, irrigation amount, and surface temperature maps and time series analysis.
Model features
Agriculture system applications and recognition
BAITSSS was implemented to compute ET in southern Idaho for 2008, and in northern California for 2010. It was used to calculate corn and sorghum ET in Bushland, Texas for 2016, and multiple crops in northwest Kansas for 2013–2017. BAITSSS has been widely discussed among the peers around the world, including Bhattarai et al. in 2017 and Jones et al. in 2019. United States Senate Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition and Forestry listed BAITSSS in its climate change report. BAITSSS was also covered by articles in Open Access Government, Landsat science team, Grass & Grain magazine, National Information Management & Support System (NIMSS), terrestrial ecological models, key research contribution related to sensible heat flux estimation and irrigation decision in remote sensing based ET models.
In September 2019, the Northwest Kansas Groundwater Management District 4 (GMD 4) along with BAITSSS received national recognition from American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS). AAAS highlighted 18 communities across the U.S. that are responding to climate change including Sheridan County, Kansas to prolong the life of Ogallala Aquifer by minimizing water use where this aquifer is depleting rapidly due to extensive agricultural practices . AAAS discussed the development and use of intricate ET model BAITSSS and Dhungel's and other scientists efforts supporting effective use of water in Sheridan County, Kansas.
Furthermore, Upper Republican Regional Advisory Committee of Kansas (June 2019) and GMD 4 discussed possible benefit and utilization of BAITSSS for managing water use, educational purpose, and cost-share. A short story about Ogallala Aquifer Conservation effort from Kansas State University and GMD4 using ET model was published in Mother Earth News (April/May 2020), and Progressive Crop Consultant.
Example application
Groundwater and Irrigation
Dhungel et al., 2020, combined with field crop scientists, systems analysts, and district water managers, applied BAITSSS at the district water management level focusing on seasonal ET and annual groundwater withdrawal rates at Sheridan 6 (SD-6) Local Enhanced Management Plan (LEMA) for five years period (2013-2017) in northwest, Kansas, United States. BAITSSS simulated irrigation was compared to reported irrigation as well as to infer deficit irrigation within water right management units (WRMU). In Kansas, groundwater pumping records are legal documents and maintained by the Kansas Division of Water Resources. The in-season water supply was compared to BAITSSS simulated ET as well-watered crop water condition.
Evapotranspiration Hysterisis and Advection
A study related to ET uncertainty associated with ET hysteresis (Vapor pressure and net radiation) were conducted using lysimeter, Eddy covariance (EC), and BAITSSS model (point-scale) in an advective environment of Bushland, Texas. Results indicated that the pattern of hysteresis from BAITSSS closely followed the lysimeter and showed weak hysteresis related to net radiation when compared to EC. However, both lysimeter and BAITSSS showed strong hysteresis related to VPD when compared to EC.
Lettuce Evapotranspiration
A study related to lettuce evapotranspiration was conducted at Yuma, Arizona using BAITSSS between 2016 and 2020, where model simulated ET closely followed twelve eddy covariance sites
Challenges and limitations
Simulation of hourly ET at 30 m spatial resolution for seasonal time scale is computationally challenging and data-intensive. The low wind speed complicates the convergence of surface energy balance components as well. The peer group Pan et al. in 2017 and Dhungel et al., 2019 pointed out the possible difficulty of parameterization and validations of these kinds of resistance based models. The simulated irrigation may vary than that actually applied in field.
See also
METRIC, another model developed by University of Idaho that uses Landsat satellite data to compute and map evapotranspiration
SEBAL, uses the surface energy balance to estimate aspects of the hydrological cycle. SEBAL maps evapotranspiration, biomass growth, water deficit and soil moisture
References
External links
BAITSSS at Sites.google.com
Hydrology models
Irrigation
Computer-aided engineering software
Remote sensing
Water resources management
Numerical climate and weather models | BAITSSS | [
"Biology",
"Environmental_science"
] | 2,118 | [
"Hydrology",
"Environmental modelling",
"Hydrology models",
"Biological models"
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59,596,404 | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Summer%20storage%20tank | A summer storage tank is a type of structure to store water found in dry areas of India especially in Telangana and north Karnataka.
The storage tank will get water supply naturally by the flow of the river, or the tank will be pumped with water and maintained regularly. The maintenance like clean up, weeding and desilting will be carried out by either the local people, an NGO or the respective government.
References
Water supply | Summer storage tank | [
"Chemistry",
"Engineering",
"Environmental_science"
] | 86 | [
"Hydrology",
"Water supply",
"Environmental engineering"
] |
59,596,489 | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Deep%20carbon%20cycle | The deep carbon cycle (or slow carbon cycle) is geochemical cycle (movement) of carbon through the Earth's mantle and core.
It forms part of the carbon cycle and is intimately connected to the movement of carbon in the Earth's surface and atmosphere. By returning carbon to the deep Earth, it plays a critical role in maintaining the terrestrial conditions necessary for life to exist. Without it, carbon would accumulate in the atmosphere, reaching extremely high concentrations over long periods of time.
Because the deep Earth is inaccessible to drilling, not much is conclusively known about the role of carbon in it. Nonetheless, several pieces of evidence—many of which come from laboratory simulations of deep Earth conditions—have indicated mechanisms for the element's movement down into the lower mantle, as well as the forms that carbon takes at the extreme temperatures and pressures of this layer. Furthermore, techniques like seismology have led to greater understanding of the potential presence of carbon in the Earth's core. Studies of the composition of basaltic magma and the flux of carbon dioxide out of volcanoes reveals that the amount of carbon in the mantle is greater than that on the Earth's surface by a factor of one thousand.
Quantity of carbon
There are about 44,000 gigatonnes of carbon in the atmosphere and oceans. A gigatonne is one billion metric tonnes, equivalent to the mass of water in over 400,000 Olympic-size swimming pools. Large as this quantity is, it only amounts to a small fraction of one percent of Earth's carbon. Over 90% may reside in the core, most of the rest being in the crust and mantle.
In the photosphere of the Sun, carbon is the fourth most abundant element. The Earth likely started with a similar ratio but lost a lot of it to evaporation as it accreted. Even accounting for evaporation, however, the silicates making up the crust and mantle of the Earth have a carbon concentration that is five to ten times less than in CI chondrites, a form of meteor that is believed to represent the composition of the solar nebula before the planets formed. Some of this carbon may have ended up in the core. Depending on the model, carbon is predicted to contribute between 0.2 and 1 percent by weight in the core. Even at the lower concentration, this would account for half Earth's carbon.
Estimates of the carbon content in the upper mantle come from measurements of the chemistry of mid-ocean ridge basalts (MORBs). These must be corrected for degassing of carbon and other elements. Since the Earth formed, the upper mantle has lost 40–90% of its carbon by evaporation and transport to the core in iron compounds. The most rigorous estimate gives a carbon content of 30 parts per million (ppm). The lower mantle is expected to be much less depleted – about 350 ppm.
Lower mantle
Carbon principally enters the mantle in the form of carbonate-rich sediments on tectonic plates of ocean crust, which pull the carbon into the mantle upon undergoing subduction. Not much is known about carbon circulation in the mantle, especially in the deep Earth, but many studies have attempted to augment our understanding of the element's movement and forms within said region. For instance, a 2011 study demonstrated that carbon cycling extends all the way to the lower mantle. The study analysed rare, super-deep diamonds at a site in Juina, Brazil, determining that the bulk composition of some of the diamonds' inclusions matched the expected result of basalt melting and crystallisation under lower mantle temperatures and pressures. Thus, the investigation's findings indicate that pieces of basaltic oceanic lithosphere act as the principal transport mechanism for carbon to Earth's deep interior. These subducted carbonates can interact with lower mantle silicates and metals, eventually forming super-deep diamonds like the one found.
Carbonates descending to the lower mantle form other compounds besides diamonds. In 2011, carbonates were subjected to an environment similar to that of 1800 km deep into the Earth, well within the lower mantle. Doing so resulted in the formations of magnesite, siderite, and numerous varieties of graphite. Other experiments—as well as petrologic observations—support this claim, finding that magnesite is actually the most stable carbonate phase in the majority of the mantle. This is largely a result of its higher melting temperature. Consequently, scientists have concluded that carbonates undergo reduction as they descend into the mantle before being stabilised at depth by low oxygen fugacity environments. Magnesium, iron, and other metallic compounds act as buffers throughout the process. The presence of reduced, elemental forms of carbon like graphite would indicate that carbon compounds are reduced as they descend into the mantle.
Nonetheless, polymorphism alters carbonate compounds' stability at different depths within the Earth. To illustrate, laboratory simulations and density functional theory calculations suggest that tetrahedrally-coordinated carbonates are most stable at depths approaching the core–mantle boundary. A 2015 study indicates that the lower mantle's high pressures cause carbon bonds to transition from sp2 to sp3 hybridised orbitals, resulting in carbon tetrahedrally bonding to oxygen. CO3 trigonal groups cannot form polymerisable networks, while tetrahedral CO4 can, signifying an increase in carbon's coordination number, and therefore drastic changes in carbonate compounds' properties in the lower mantle. As an example, preliminary theoretical studies suggest that high pressures cause carbonate melt viscosity to increase; the melts' lower mobility as a result of the property changes described is evidence for large deposits of carbon deep into the mantle.
Accordingly, carbon can remain in the lower mantle for long periods of time, but large concentrations of carbon frequently find their way back to the lithosphere. This process, called carbon outgassing, is the result of carbonated mantle undergoing decompression melting, as well as mantle plumes carrying carbon compounds up towards the crust. Carbon is oxidised upon its ascent towards volcanic hotspots, where it is then released as CO2. This occurs so that the carbon atom matches the oxidation state of the basalts erupting in such areas.
Core
Although the presence of carbon in the Earth's core is well-constrained, recent studies suggest large inventories of carbon could be stored in this region. Shear (S) waves moving through the inner core travel at about fifty percent of the velocity expected for most iron-rich alloys. Considering the core's composition is widely believed to be an alloy of crystalline iron with a small amount of nickel, this seismographic anomaly points to another substance's existence within the region. One theory postulates that such a phenomenon is the result of various light elements, including carbon, in the core. In fact, studies have utilised diamond anvil cells to replicate the conditions in the Earth's core, the results of which indicate that iron carbide (Fe7C3) matches the inner core's sound and density velocities considering its temperature and pressure profile. Hence, the iron carbide model could serve as evidence that the core holds as much as 67% of the Earth's carbon. Furthermore, another study found that carbon dissolved in iron and formed a stable phase with the same Fe7C3 composition—albeit with a different structure than the one previously mentioned. Hence, although the amount of carbon potentially stored in the Earth's core is not known, recent research indicates that the presence of iron carbides could be consistent with geophysical observations.
Fluxes
See also
Deep Carbon Observatory
Geochemistry of carbon
References
Further reading
Carbon cycle
Geochemistry
Earth
Plate tectonics | Deep carbon cycle | [
"Chemistry"
] | 1,569 | [
"nan"
] |
59,597,756 | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Minimum%20relevant%20variables%20in%20linear%20system | Minimum relevant variables in linear system (Min-RVLS) is a problem in mathematical optimization. Given a linear program, it is required to find a feasible solution in which the number of non-zero variables is as small as possible.
The problem is known to be NP-hard and even hard to approximate.
Definition
A Min-RVLS problem is defined by:
A binary relation R, which is one of {=, ≥, >, ≠};
An m-by-n matrix A (where m is the number of constraints and n the number of variables);
An m-by-1 vector b.
The linear system is given by: A x R b. It is assumed to be feasible (i.e., satisfied by at least one x). Depending on R, there are four different variants of this system: A x = b, A x ≥ b, A x > b, A x ≠ b.
The goal is to find an n-by-1 vector x that satisfies the system A x R b, and subject to that, contains as few as possible nonzero elements.
Special case
The problem Min-RVLS[=] was presented by Garey and Johnson, who called it "minimum weight solution to linear equations". They proved it was NP-hard, but did not consider approximations.
Applications
The Min-RVLS problem is important in machine learning and linear discriminant analysis. Given a set of positive and negative examples, it is required to minimize the number of features that are required to correctly classify them. The problem is known as the minimum feature set problem. An algorithm that approximates Min-RVLS within a factor of could substantially reduce the number of training samples required to attain a given accuracy level.
The shortest codeword problem in coding theory is the same problem as Min-RVLS[=] when the coefficients are in GF(2).
Related problems
In minimum unsatisfied linear relations (Min-ULR), we are given a binary relation R and a linear system A x R b, which is now assumed to be infeasible. The goal is to find a vector x that violates as few relations as possible, while satisfying all the others.
Min-ULR[≠] is trivially solvable, since any system with real variables and a finite number of inequality constraints is feasible. As for the other three variants:
Min-ULR[=,>,≥] are NP-hard even with homogeneous systems and bipolar coefficients (coefficients in {1,-1}).
The NP-complete problem Minimum feedback arc set reduces to Min-ULR[≥], with exactly one 1 and one -1 in each constraint, and all right-hand sides equal to 1.
Min-ULR[=,>,≥] are polynomial if the number of variables n is constant: they can be solved polynomially using an algorithm of Greer in time .
Min-ULR[=,>,≥] are linear if the number of constraints m is constant, since all subsystems can be checked in time O(n).
Min-ULR[≥] is polynomial in some special case.
Min-ULR[=,>,≥] can be approximated within n + 1 in polynomial time.
Min-ULR[>,≥] are minimum-dominating-set-hard, even with homogeneous systems and ternary coefficients (in {−1,0,1}).
Min-ULR[=] cannot be approximated within a factor of , for any , unless NP is contained in DTIME().
In the complementary problem maximum feasible linear subsystem (Max-FLS), the goal is to find a maximum subset of the constraints that can be satisfied simultaneously.
Max-FLS[≠] can be solved in polynomial time.
Max-FLS[=] is NP-hard even with homogeneous systems and bipolar coefficients.
. With integer coefficients, it is hard to approximate within . With coefficients over GF[q], it is q-approximable.
Max-FLS[>] and Max-FLS[≥] are NP-hard even with homogeneous systems and bipolar coefficients. They are 2-approximable, but they cannot be approximated within any smaller constant factor.
Hardness of approximation
All four variants of Min-RVLS are hard to approximate. In particular all four variants cannot be approximated within a factor of , for any , unless NP is contained in DTIME(). The hardness is proved by reductions:
There is a reduction from Min-ULR[=] to Min-RVLS[=]. It also applies to Min-RVLS[≥] and Min-RVLS[>], since each equation can be replaced by two complementary inequalities.
There is a reduction from minimum-dominating-set to Min-RVLS[≠].
On the other hand, there is a reduction from Min-RVLS[=] to Min-ULR[=]. It also applies to Min-ULR[≥] and Min-ULR[>], since each equation can be replaced by two complementary inequalities.
Therefore, when R is in {=,>,≥}, Min-ULR and Min-RVLS are equivalent in terms of approximation hardness.
References
Linear programming
NP-hard problems
Approximation algorithms
Combinatorial optimization | Minimum relevant variables in linear system | [
"Mathematics"
] | 1,119 | [
"NP-hard problems",
"Approximation algorithms",
"Computational problems",
"Mathematical relations",
"Mathematical problems",
"Approximations"
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59,598,903 | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/PlaidML | PlaidML is a portable tensor compiler. Tensor compilers bridge the gap between the universal mathematical descriptions of deep learning operations, such as convolution, and the platform and chip-specific code needed to perform those operations with good performance. Internally, PlaidML makes use of the Tile eDSL to generate OpenCL, OpenGL, LLVM, or CUDA code. It enables deep learning on devices where the available computing hardware is either not well supported or the available software stack contains only proprietary components. For example, it does not require the usage of CUDA or cuDNN on Nvidia hardware, while achieving comparable performance.
PlaidML supports the machine learning libraries Keras, ONNX, and nGraph. However, Keras have dropped support of multiple backends and latest Keras version isn't compatible with PlaidML. An integration with Tensorflow-Keras is planned as a replacement for Keras.
History
In August 2018 Intel acquired Vertex.AI, a startup whose mission statement was “deep learning for every platform”. Intel released PlaidML as free software under to the terms of the Apache Licence (version 2.0) to improve compatibility with nGraph, TensorFlow, and other ecosystem software.
References
External links
Tensors
Compilers | PlaidML | [
"Engineering"
] | 257 | [
"Tensors"
] |
62,262,962 | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Xiaomi%20Mi%20CC9%20Pro | The Xiaomi Mi CC9 Pro (known as the Mi Note 10 or Mi Note 10 Pro globally) is an Android smartphone developed by Xiaomi. It is the world's first commercially available phone with a 108 MP primary camera.
Specifications
Design and Hardware
The Mi CC9 Pro uses an anodized aluminum frame with curved Gorilla Glass 5 on both the front and back. On the back, three of the lenses are housed in a protruding camera module with the fourth having a separate lens, while the lowermost is flush with the glass panel. Internally, the device uses the Snapdragon 730G processor with the Adreno 618 GPU. It is available with 128 or 256 GB of non-expandable UFS 2.1 internal storage, and 6 or 8 GB of RAM. A 6.47-inch (164mm) 1080p
curved AMOLED display is used with a 19.5:9 aspect ratio, with an optical fingerprint sensor under the screen. The loudspeaker is located on the bottom of the device along with the 3.5mm audio jack. The device is powered by a 5260mAh battery which can be recharged at up to 30W over USB-C, although wireless charging is not supported.
Camera
The rear of the device features a penta-camera setup with 10x hybrid zoom consisting of a 108 MP primary lens, a 20 MP ultrawide lens, a 12 MP telephoto lens with 2x optical zoom, a 5 MP telephoto lens with 5x optical zoom and a 2 MP dedicated macro lens. Photos taken with the 5 MP telephoto lens are upscaled to 8 MP. Autofocus is present on all cameras except the macro lens, and OIS is present on the primary and 5x zoom lenses. The macro lens is capable of focusing at 2–10 cm and is used for closeup photos, but the ultrawide lens is used for macro shots in videos. If the subject is closer than 2 cm, the phone will use both cameras. The CC9 Pro can record 4K video at 30fps, 1080p video at 30, 60, 120 or 240fps or ultra slow-motion 720p video at 960fps. Four LEDs are located to the right of the camera module for the flash, two of which are placed behind a diffuser. A 32 MP f/2.0 sensor is also used for the front camera, which can record 1080p video at 30fps.
Software
The Mi CC9 Pro runs on MIUI 12.5, which is based on Android 11.
Reception
Reviewing the global Mi Note 10, GSMArena gave it a 4.2/5, but had mixed feelings about the camera and chipset, noting that for the phone's price point a flagship processor would have made it more compelling. The camera was described as producing excellent daylight photos, yet lowlight photos were merely average and video recording was unimpressive. Overall, they concluded that while the device is not the best smartphone on the market, it is "certainly a great package worth recommending".
It received a camera score of 121 from DXOMARK, tying it with the Huawei Mate 30 Pro as the top-ranked phone on the site at the time, and also received a video score of 102, the highest score for videos.
References
Android (operating system) devices
Xiaomi smartphones
Phablets
Mobile phones introduced in 2019
Mobile phones with multiple rear cameras
Mobile phones with 4K video recording
Mobile phones with infrared transmitter
Discontinued smartphones | Xiaomi Mi CC9 Pro | [
"Technology"
] | 731 | [
"Crossover devices",
"Phablets"
] |
62,263,664 | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thomas%20Nail | Thomas Nail is a professor of Philosophy at The University of Denver.
Biography
Nail received a B.A in philosophy from the University of North Texas, and a Ph.D. from the University of Oregon. His dissertation was on the theme of political revolution in the work of French philosophers Gilles Deleuze and Félix Guattari and the Zapatista uprising in Chiapas, Mexico. This research was the foundation of his first book, Returning to Revolution: Deleuze, Guattari, and Zapatismo, published in 2012.
Philosophy
Nail has written on the philosophy of movement, which he defines as “the analysis of diverse phenomena across social, aesthetic, scientific, and ontological domains from the primary perspective of motion.” He argues that the philosophy of motion is a unique kind of philosophical methodology. It is related to process philosophy but is distinct from Whitehead's discontinuous "occasions" and from Bergson's vitalism. “The difference between simply describing the motion of things, which almost every philosopher and even layperson has done, and the philosophy of movement is the degree to which movement plays an analytically primary role in the description.”
From the perspective of movement, according to Nail, all seemingly discrete bodies are the result of moving flows of matter that continually fold themselves up in various patterns or what he calls “fields of motion.” Nail's philosophy of movement provides a conceptual framework for the study of these patterns of motion through history.
Nail, however, also claims his philosophy of movement is not a metaphysical theory of reality in itself. Instead, he describes it as a practical and historical methodology oriented by the unprecedented scale and scope of global mobility in the early 21st century. In particular, he names four major historical conditions that situate his thought: mass migration, digital media, quantum physics, and climate change. He therefore describes his philosophy as a “history of the present.”
Nail also describes his work as loosely part of the recent philosophical tradition of new materialism. The term “new materialism” has been applied to numerous and divergent philosophies including speculative realists, object-oriented ontologists, and neo-vitalists who all share in common some version of non-anthropocentric realism. However, Nail's work does not fit into any of these camps. His philosophy of movement instead offers a different kind of new materialism insofar as it focuses on the pedetic/indeterministic motion of matter and its various kinetic patterns. His philosophy is also unique among new materialists, excluding those within archaeology, because of its strongly historical methodology.
Works
Nail's published work is divided into two primary books series. The first series is composed of six “core” books, each written with a similar organization on five major areas of philosophy: ontology, politics, aesthetics, science, and nature. Each book provides a theory, history, and contemporary case study of the kinetic method. The purpose of each book is to redefine its subject area from a kinetic or process materialist perspective.
The Figure of the Migrant (2015) and Theory of the Border (2016) develop a theory and history of what he terms “kinopolitics” based on the study of patterns of social motion. Theory of the Image (2019) develops a “kinesthetics” of moving images in the arts. Theory of the Object (2021) develops a “kinemetrics” of moving objects in the sciences. Theory of the Earth (2021) develops a “geokinetics” of nature in motion, and Being and Motion (2018) develops an original historical ontology of motion.
The second series is composed of several books, each written on a major historical precursor to the philosophy motion. This includes Lucretius, Karl Marx, and Virginia Woolf. Each book offers a kinetic interpretation and close reading of one of these figures as philosophers who made motion their fundamental starting point. They include Lucretius I: An Ontology of Motion, 2018; Lucretius II: An Ethics of Motion, 2020; Lucretius III: A History of Motion, 2022; Marx in Motion: A New Materialist Marxism, 2020.
Criticism
On The Figure of the Migrant, Adriana Novoa has written that 'in regards to Mexico, Thomas writes under the assumption that all the migrants originating from this country have the same relationship with movement, but by failing to consider the existence of human diversity in movement, the book simplifies motivations and imposes a mechanistic social meaning. Thomas's theoretical effort does not help us to understand the inequality of humans and its connection with kinetic power. In modern Latin American nations, the dynamics of human movement were shaped, and continue to be shaped, by racial divisions, for example’. Andrew Dilts has written that the book 'gives us both a framework for understanding the movements of peoples...and yet at the same time by not prioritizing the action and self-understandings of those very people, it risks freezing them into the same stasis which the book seeks to resist'.
On Theory of the Border, Alex Sager has written that 'Nail does not offer a theory of the border, at least insofar as we understand theories as offering explanations or predictions. Rather, what he provides is a taxonomy of different types of border technologies that he derives from his understanding of different (mostly) European historical periods. His book gives little guidance for determining when these technologies will emerge, what will motivate them, who they will target and how they will combine. The book's neglect of agents that construct and contest borders is striking.' Avery Kolers has written that 'unfortunately, Nail's writing is less transparent than it could be; the sheer buildup of neologisms is only the beginning of it. More importantly, there are places where it is not fully clear that the analysis hangs together.'
Bibliography
Returning to Revolution: Deleuze, Guattari and Zapatismo (Edinburgh University Press, 2012, 2015), (hardcover), (paperback)
The Figure of the Migrant (Stanford University Press, 2015), (paperback), (hardcover)
Theory of the Border (Oxford University Press, 2016), (paperback), (hardcover)
Lucretius I: An Ontology of Motion (Edinburgh University Press, 2018), (paperback), (hardcover)
Being and Motion (Oxford University Press, 2018), (paperback), (hardcover)
Theory of the Image (Oxford University Press, 2019), (paperback), (hardcover)
Lucretius II: An Ethics of Motion (Edinburgh University Press, 2020), (paperback), (hardcover)
Marx in Motion: A New Materialist Marxism (Oxford University Press, 2020), (paperback), (hardcover)
Theory of the Earth (Stanford University Press, 2021), (paperback), (hardcover)
Theory of the Object (Edinburgh University Press, 2021), (paperback), (hardcover)
Lucretius III: A History of Motion (Edinburgh University Press, 2022), (paperback), (hardcover)
Matter and Motion: A Brief History of Kinetic Materialism (Edinburgh University Press, 2023)
See also
New materialisms
References
External links
personal blog
Thomas Nail at Academia.edu
1979 births
Living people
Continental philosophers
American political philosophers
Materialists
Ontologists
21st-century American philosophers
American philosophers of technology | Thomas Nail | [
"Physics"
] | 1,510 | [
"Materialism",
"Matter",
"Materialists"
] |
62,266,817 | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kilkenny%20cats | The Kilkenny cats are a fabled pair of cats from County Kilkenny (or Kilkenny city in particular) in Ireland, who fought each other so ferociously that only their tails remained at the end of the battle. Often the absurd implication is that they have eaten each other. In the nineteenth century the Kilkenny cats were a common simile for any conflict likely to ruin both combatants. Kilkenny cat is also used more generally for a fierce fighter or quarrelsome person. These senses are now rather dated. In the later twentieth century the motif was reclaimed by Kilkenny people as a positive symbol of tenacity and fighting spirit, and "the Cats" is the county nickname for the Kilkenny hurling team. The original story is attested from 1807 as a simple joke or Irish bull; some early versions are set elsewhere than Kilkenny. Nevertheless, theories have been offered seeking a historical basis for the story's setting.
Versions of the story
The earliest attested version of the story is from June 1807, in Anthologia, a collection of jokes and humorous pieces copied by "W.T." of Inner Temple from unnamed previous publications. Steven Connor characterises the story as an Irish bull. Under the heading "Kilkenny Cats" it runs:
In a company, consisting of naval officers, the discourse happened to turn on the ferocity of small animals; when an Irish gentleman present stated his opinion to be, that a Kilkenny cat, of all animals, was the most ferocious; and added, "I can prove my assertion, by a fact within my own knowledge:— I once," said he, "saw two of these animals fighting in a timber yard, and willing to see the result of a long battle, I drove them into a deep sawpit, and placing some boards over the mouth, left them to their amusement. Next morning I went to see the conclusion of the fight, and what d'ye think I saw?"– "One of the cats dead, probably," —replied one of the company.— "No by Ja—s! there was nothing left in the pit, but the two tails and a bit of flue!"
The tale was repeated verbatim the next month in The European Magazine'''s review of Anthologia, as well as The Sporting Magazine, also in London, and Walker's Hibernian Magazine in Dublin. It reappeared in 1812 in Thomas Tegg's The Spirit of Irish Wit, and in the 1813 supplement to William Barker Daniel's Rural Sports.
The following appears in Thomas Gilliland's The Trap, an 1808 satire on the theme of love:
When I was last at Kilkenny, said Teague, I saw two big ram-cats fight a duel for love, your honour; and they fought, and fought, till they ate each other up. Devil burn me, if I lie, your honour! I went after them into the gutter! "Tommy!" says I, "my dear Phely!" says I, but no Tommy or Phely was there: I found only the tips of their tails.
An 1811 joke book from Boston in the United States included:
On a gentleman's reading an account of a tiger fight in the East Indies, an Irishman present exclaimed: 'a tiger be hang'd! Why, sir, I once myself saw two Kilkenny cats fight till they devoured each other up, excepting the very tips of their two tails.'
Another version is alluded to in an 1816 critique of a pamphlet by Andrew O'Callaghan, master of Kilkenny College:
There is a story told in Kilkenny, that several cats had been locked up in a room, for a fortnight together, without food, and, upon opening the door, there was nothing found but the tail of one of them. Surely Mr. O'C. must have been dreaming of this native story, when he made his arguments thus to swallow themselves, after destroying each other—but the tail of one of them remains
Responding to the 1816 critique, Rowley Lascelles, an English antiquarian based in Ireland, denied the existence of such a story, which he saw as a slur on Kilkenny.
Although in 1835 John Neal called the story "one of the oldest and most undoubted Joe [Miller]s", the first edition of Joe Miller's Jests to include it was in 1836 (verbatim from Anthologia). Theodore Hook's 1837 novel Jack Brag jocularly sources the story to [Joe] Miller's History of Ireland.
Elsewhere than Kilkenny
An 1817 memoir of the Irish wit John Philpot Curran situates the story in Sligo rather than Kilkenny, as a tall tale told by Curran:
Passing his first summer at Cheltenham ... he had resort to a story to draw himself into notice. ... The conversation of the table turning altogether on the stupid, savage, and disgusting amusement of cock-fighting, he was determined to put an end to it, by the incredible story of the Sligo cats.
At [a cat-fight meeting in Sligo] three matches were fought on the first day ... and before the third of them was finished (on which bets ran very high), dinner was announced in the inn where the battle was fought. The company agreed ... to lock up the room, leaving the key in trust to Mr. Curran, who protested to God, he never was so shocked, that his head hung heavy on his shoulders, and his heart was sunk within him, on entering with the company into the room, and finding that the cats had actually eaten each other up, save some little bits of tails which were scattered round the room.
The Irish part of the company saw the drift, ridicule, and impossibility of the narrative, and laughed immoderately, while the English part yawned and laughed, seeing others laugh, and sought relief in each other's countenances.
In Real life in Ireland, an 1821 stage Irish novel by Pierce Egan, Captain Grammachree, a retired soldier, tells Brian Boru, a young country squire, of a cat-fight in the neighbourhood of Dublin:
'There was hundreds betted, but not a cross won or lost; for by Jasus! they left nothing on the ground but a bunch of hair and two tails!'
'What!' said Brian, 'then I suppose the cats ran away?'
'An Irish cat run away!' sneered Grammachree, 'no; never! by the powers of Moll Kelly! they eat one another up!'
An 1830 "dialogue on Popery" by one Jacob Stanley summarises "the Travellers tale of the Irish Cat fight", giving no specific location.
The battle of the cats of Ireland
S. Redmond in 1864 in Notes and Queries recounted a tale told to him "more than thirty years" earlier when he was "very young" by "a Kilkenny gentleman", about a battle "some forty years before" [i.e. about 1790] on "a plain near that ancient city":
One night, in the summer time, all the cats in the city and county of Kilkenny, were absent from their "local habitations;" and next morning, the plain alluded to (I regret I have not the name) was found covered with thousands of slain tabbies; and the report was, that almost all the cats in Ireland had joined in the contest; as many of the slain had collars on their necks, which showed that they had collected from all quarters of the island. The cause of the quarrel, however, was not stated; but it seemed to have been a sort of provincial faction fight between the cats of Ulster and Leinster—probably the quadrupeds took up the quarrels of their masters, as at that period there was very ill feeling between the people of both provinces.
Although Redmond states "This has nothing to do with the story of the two famous Kilkenny cats", the two have occasionally been linked subsequently. A similar story was told in Charles Henry Ross' 1867 Book of Cats, to which Kilkenny antiquarian John G. A. Prim responded that he had heard such a story told of many places in Ireland, but not of Kilkenny. In 1863, Once A Week had a story of a similar battle in Yorkshire. Folklorist John O'Hanlon in 1898 published a version from John Kearns of Irishtown, Dublin which situated the battle on Scald Hill in Sandymount, the future site of Star of the Sea Catholic Church, witnessed by curate Father Corrigan. In the 1930s, the Irish Folklore Commission noted a seanchaí from Rossinver, County Leitrim, tell of a cat battle in Locan Dhee near Kinlough on New Year's Day 1855.
Use as a simile
The story was sufficiently well known in the 19th century to be used frequently as a simile for "combatants who fight until they annihilate each other"; to "fight like [the] Kilkenny cats" means "to engage in a mutually destructive struggle". Early instances include: (from 1814) an account in Niles' Register of the loss of USS Wasp after sinking HMS Avon; (from 1816) the critique of Andrew O'Callaghan mentioned earlier; a letter from the 4th Duke of Buccleuch to Walter Scott comparing Lord Byron's poem "Darkness" to the story; and a riposte to disagreeing literary critics:
Indeed, so mortal is your reciprocal hostility, that your victims may, with Mercutio, form the reasonable expectation, that, being, 'two such, we shall have none shortly, for one will kill the other;' and like the celebrated Kilkenny cats, leave no other vestige to designate the tribe of ferae naturae to which you belong, than an odd tooth or a claw!
One context for the simile was advocating isolationism, allowing one's enemies to defeat each other, or a divide-and-conquer policy. A report in Niles' Register of Spanish church opposition to the 1817 tax reform of wished 'the fate of the "Kilkenny cats"' on "Ferdinand and his priests". Similarly Charles Napier in 1823 hoped "the French and Spaniards [would] war like Kilkenny cats"; likewise Figaro in London in 1832 urging British neutrality after the Ten Days' Campaign and Charles Darwin in 1833 in Buenos Aires during the Revolution of the Restorers. J. S. Pughe in a 1904 political cartoon in Puck depicted Japan and Russia as Kilkenny cats fighting the Russo-Japanese War in Manchuria. Similarly in 1941, after Germany invaded the Soviet Union, Clifford Berryman depicted Adolf Hitler and Joseph Stalin as "a modern version of the Kilkenny Cats". In The German Ideology, Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels accuse Bruno Bauer of fomenting antagonism between Max Stirner and Ludwig Feuerbach "as the two Kilkenny cats in Ireland".
Conversely, the fable serves as a cautionary tale for the moral "united we stand, divided we fall". It was invoked in 1827, in The Lancet during disputes around the Royal College of Physicians; and in The Literary Gazette of the rivalry between Drury Lane and Covent Garden theatres. It was a common metaphor before and during the American Civil War, a conflict seen as likely to destroy both sides; especially when criticising the war of attrition strategy of Ulysses S. Grant. Some extended the metaphor to say the North would win as having the longest tail; this was popularly reported in 1864 as a quip by Grant, but George Gordon Meade made the same comparison in an 1861 letter to his wife. Some Mormons viewed the Civil War as fulfilling a prophecy by founder Joseph Smith, who said after an 1843 attempt to arrest him, "The constitution of the United States declares that the privilege of the writ of habeas corpus shall not be denied. Deny me the writ of habeas corpus, and I will fight with gun, sword, cannon, whirlwind, and thunder, until they are used up like the Kilkenny cats." Donald Dewar, the then First Minister of Scotland, in 1999 denied media talk of a rift with John Reid, the Scottish Secretary, conceding, "I must confess the casual outsider who simply read the headlines might think it was a collection of Kilkenny cats fighting". In the Supreme Court of India in December 2018, K. K. Venugopal, the Attorney General, justified the government's suspension of Alok Verma and Rakesh Asthana from the Central Bureau of Investigation by saying, "The government was watching with amazement the director and his deputy fight like Kilkenny cats." Indian media explained the simile in their reports on the case.
It was invoked in 1837 for political gridlock in divided legislatures: by Thomas Corwin in the 24th Congress, and by Thomas Carlyle in The French Revolution: A History. James Grant (1837, 1843) and S. Gerlis (2001) draw analogy with litigants who are both ruined by legal costs. It was often used in accounts of factionalism within Irish nationalist politics, such as between the Repeal Association and Young Ireland in the 1840s, Isaac Butt against Joseph Biggar in the 1870s, or the Parnell split of the 1890s. Francis Jacox invoked the Kilkenny cats in 1865 when enumerating "Certain Eligible Cases of Mutual Extermination" in Bentley's Miscellany. Prosper Mérimée alluded to in 1860s correspondence, prompting a query to L'Intermédiaire des chercheurs et curieux in 1904, the answer to which was prefaced, "Those of us who ever had an English governess will recall the 'Kilkenny Cats'." In his diary in 1950, Ernest Bevin, the UK Foreign Secretary, described the UK's Cold-War security links to the US as being "tied to the tail of a Kilkenny cat".
A lone Kilkenny cat may be invoked to symbolise ferocity or vigour without the implication of mutual destruction. In an 1825 humorous verse, Anthony Bleecker, inquiring into the cause of death of a peaceable cat, asks: "Did some Kilkenny cat make thee a ghost?" John Galt in 1826 refers to "an enormous tiger almost as big as a Kilkenny cat". In an 1840 story by Edgar Allan Poe, "Sir Pathrick O'Grandison, Barronitt, of Connacht" says he was "mad as a Kilkenny cat" when a rival came to court his beloved. In George Lippard's 1843 satire of Philadelphia publishers, Irishman Phelix Phelligrim exclaims, when his associates are cursing and red-faced with anger, "Its in a fine humor ye are, gentleman! The Kilkenny cats was a mere circumstance to ye!" Leo Richard Ward in 1939 described someone as "contrary and mean as a Kilkenny cat". In 2009, a Children's Court magistrate in Sydney described a schoolgirl arrested for fighting as a "Kilkenny cat".
Reclaimed
Irish counties have nicknames, some long established and in general use, others invented by sports journalists covering inter-county Gaelic games. The Kilkenny county team, which has won more All-Ireland Senior Hurling Championships than any other county, has been called "the Cats" in newspapers since at least the 1980s.
In 1998 a man in Clark County, Washington, changed his surname from "Kenny" to "Kilkenny", reversing a change his great-grandfather had made to avoid the fighting stereotype associated with the name "Kilkenny" in the United States.
Origin theories
The simplest theory for the story is that it is merely an Irish joke or Irish bull, and that the selection of Kilkenny as opposed to somewhere else in Ireland is arbitrary, perhaps favoured by the alliteration of the phrase "Kilkenny cats". John G. A. Prim in Notes and Queries in 1850 conceded that this was the most commonly accepted theory ("This ludicrous anecdote has, no doubt, been generally looked upon as an absurdity of the Joe Miller class"). La Belle Assemblée in 1823 credited Curran (for Kilkenny rather than Sligo). As regards the age of the story, Prim in 1868 wrote:
Thirty years ago I made inquiries amongst the "oldest inhabitants" of my acquaintance then living, and their unanimous testimony was, that the story of the Kilkenny cats was in vogue as long as they could remember, and the recollections of some of them extended to nearly half a century before [1798].
Rowley Lascelles claimed the 1816 version of the story was "taken from another, a well-known one, which is shortly this. Into a kennel of hounds, a dog of another species, did, one night, accidentally make its way. In the morning nothing was found of him but his tail." In the Histoire Naturelle (1758), Buffon describes how twelve unfed captive field mice ate each other, the survivor having mutilated legs and tail.
Prim proposed that the cats were originally an allegory for continual jurisdictional disputes between the adjacent municipal corporations of Kilkenny (or Englishtown, or Hightown) and Irishtown (or Saint Canice, or Newcourt). Prim claimed that "mutual litigations, squabbles, assaults and batteries, with the accompanying imprisonments, fines and law costs", which brought both near to bankruptcy, lasted from 1377 to "the end of the seventeenth century". He claimed to have a paper on "the natural history of the Kilkenny cats" in preparation, and cited a Close Roll entry from the Irish Chancery for the 1377 date. (The entry notes that Alexander de Balscot, the bishop of Ossory and sovereign of Irishtown, objected to Kilkenny corporation levying octroi for murage on Irishtown market.) Prim's paper about the cats story was not published, though in one of 1870 he states, "Soon after [1658] the municipal body of Kilkenny became involved in an expensive lawsuit with the neighbouring Corporation of Irishtown, concerning questions of privilege and superior authority within the latter borough"; while in 1857 he wrote that John Hartstonge, as bishop of Ossory from 1693, and his brother Standish, as Recorder of Kilkenny from 1694, were on opposing sides of the dispute. C. A. Ward suggested in 1891 that Prim's explanation is "simply a tale invented after the fable relating to the cats had got into circulation". Prim's theory was bolstered in 1943 by publication, in a calendar of Ormond papers, of a 1596 arbitration between the corporations over markets, merchants' guilds, and musters. The New International Encyclopedia in 1903 claimed this allegory was a satire by Jonathan Swift, who attended Kilkenny College from 1673 to 1681. Henry Craik's 1894 biography suggests the alleged dispute between Englishtown and Irishtown was still in progress in Swift's time and was between Protestants and Catholics. In fact, Irishtown corporation was controlled by the Church of Ireland bishop of Ossory.
Thomas D'Arcy McGee in 1853 claimed the origin is a metaphor for feuding, not between Englishtown and Irishtown, but in the Confederation of Kilkenny between supporters and opponents of Ormonde's first peace in 1646. D. M. R. Esson in 1971 gave Ormonde's second peace in 1648 as the source.
Another theory was reported by "Juverna" in Notes and Queries in 1864, as having been heard "in Kilkenny, forty years ago, from a gentleman of unquestioned veracity". The story holds that a group of bored soldiers stationed in Kilkenny held fights between two cats tied together by their tails and suspended from a clothes line or crosspost. Their commander forbade the practice, but they carried on in secret. When the commander was heard approaching, a soldier hastily cut through the cats' tails, allowing them to escape. The commander asked about the hanging tail ends, and the soldier averred that the cats had eaten each other. In Juverna's version, the troops were Hessians after the Wexford Rebellion of 1798 or Emmet's Insurrection of 1803. A review in The Athenaeum of Ross' Book of Cats claims the soldiers were in the Williamite army of 1690. Prim agrees that the episode occurred with Hessians in 1798, but states that their sport was influenced by a story already proverbial. In other accounts, the soldiers were the regular garrison at Kilkenny Castle in Elizabethan times (1558–1603); or the Catholic Confederate army of the 1640s; or Cromwell's occupying force of the 1650s. John Baptist Crozier when Bishop of Ossory, Ferns and Leighlin endorsed the theory. Joseph O'Connor's 1951 memoir has Matt Purcell, a comrade of his father's in the 10th (North Lincoln) Regiment of Foot in the 1880s, claim the original Kilkenny cats were tied together by the Earl of Ormond's jester.
A 1324 witchcraft case in Kilkenny saw Dame Alice Kyteler flee and her servant Petronilla de Meath burnt at the stake after admitting relations with a demon which variously took the form of a dog, a cat, and an Aethiopian. This cat has occasionally been linked to the Kilkenny cats story. In 1857, John Thomas Gilbert made passing reference to "the Kilkenny cat of Dame Alice". Austin Clarke's 1963 poem "Beyond the Pale" recounts the story of "Dame Kyttler", continuing:
In 1986 Terence Sheehy suggested a link with the luchthigern, a beast mentioned in Broccán Craibdech's poem in the "Book of Leinster" as having been slain by Midgna's wife at a place named Derc-Ferna. Luchthigern is usually interpreted as "mouse lord" and Derc-Ferna as Dunmore Cave near Kilkenny city. Sheehy follows Praeger and P.W. Joyce in regarding the luchthigern as a huge cat; in contrast to Brian O'Looney ("some sort of monster") Thomas O'Neill Russell ("Can this word mean a great mouse?") and Dobbs ("a demon or a giant"). A Dictionary of Celtic Mythology says that luchtigern was "Mouse-lord of Kilkenny, slain by a huge cat, Banghaisgidheach"; this is apparently a misreading of Joyce, who describes Midgna's (human) wife as a "female champion".
In 1857, the editor of The Journal of the Kilkenny and South-East of Ireland Archaeological Society suggested that a heading "Grimalkin slain in Ireland" reported in a synopsis of the 1584 book Beware the Cat might be relevant; this was disproved by an 1868 reply in the successor journal explaining that the episode (a version of the folktale "The King of the Cats") is set in Bantry in County Wexford about "Patrik Agore", a kern of John Butler, son of Richard Butler, 1st Viscount Mountgarret, who sets out to kill Cahir mac Art Kavanagh.
Authorities which discuss various origin theories include Brewer's Dictionary of Phrase and Fable (the Prim and Juverna theories in early editions; the 19th edition follows Brewer's Dictionary of Irish Phrase and Fable in plumping for the Juverna theory); the Encyclopædia Britannica Eleventh Edition (Prim, Juverna and J. P. Curran); World Wide Words (Prim, Juverna, and Redmond's great battle); Charles Earle Funk (the same three, Prim's credited to Swift; "probably none of them is true"); Terence Dolan (Juverna); and Eric Partridge (Curran). Cashman and Gaffney's Irish Proverbs & Sayings recounts the Juverna theory as "probably just a tall tale". , the Oxford English Dictionary does not comment on any of the purported historical origins.
Folkloristics
Comparative mythology seeks to find parallels with folklore elsewhere. Angelo de Gubernatis wrote in 1872:
In a German belief noticed by , two cats that fight against each other are to a sick man an omen of approaching death. These two cats are probably another form of the children's game in Piedmont and Tuscany, called the game of souls, in which the devil and the angel come to dispute for the soul. Of the two cats, one is probably benignant and the other malignant; they represent perhaps night and twilight. An Irish legend tells us of a combat between cats, in which all the combatants perished, leaving only their tails upon the battlefield. (A similar tradition also exists in Piedmont, but is there, if I am not mistaken, referred to wolves.) Two cats that fight for a mouse, and allow it to escape, are also mentioned in Hindoo tradition.
Moncure Daniel Conway built on this in 1879:
De Gubernatis has a very curious speculation concerning the origin of our familiar fable the Kilkenny Cats, which he traces to the German superstition which dreads the combat between cats as presaging death to one who witnesses it; and this belief he finds reflected in the Tuscan child’s ‘game of souls,’ in which the devil and angel are supposed to contend for the soul. The author thinks this may be one outcome of the contest between Night and Twilight in Mythology; but, if the connection can be traced, it would probably prove to be derived from the struggle between the two angels of Death, one variation of which is associated with the legend of the strife for the body of Moses. The Book of Enoch says that Gabriel was sent, before the Flood, to excite the man-devouring giants to destroy one another. In an ancient Persian picture in my possession, animal monsters are shown devouring each other, while their proffered victim, like Daniel, is unharmed. The idea is a natural one, and hardly requires comparative tracing.
Carl Van Vechten in 1922 was sceptical:
Angelo de Gubernatis, too, is infected with this familiar and somewhat silly method of trying to explain all folk-stories symbolically. In "Zoological Mythology, or the Legends of Animals," he gives it as his belief that the celebrated fable of the Kilkenny Cats may mean the mythological contest between night and twilight. God pity these men!
"R.C." in 1874 suggested a comparison with an epigram by Palladas from the Greek Anthology:
A son and father started a competitive contest as to which could eat up all the property by spending most, and after devouring absolutely all the money they have at last each other to eat up.
Archer Taylor suggested the Kilkenny cats "may involve an old story with parallels in Icelandic saga"; in the Bandamanna saga, Ofeig says, "And with me it has fared after the fashion of wolves, who eat each other up until they come to the tail, not knowing till then what they are about".
The cat with two tails, a stonemason's carving associated with the Gobán Saor in Irish folklore, is sometimes conflated with the Kilkenny cats.
Steven Connor comments, "Because they involve bodily illogic ... in which a body is imagined as simultaneously present and absent, the cake both eaten and miraculously intact, the fact of death is often in play in Irish bulls".
In the 1930s the Irish Folklore Commission collected two origin stories:
From Mrs Maher, Tulla, Threecastles, County Kilkenny, aged 87:
One day a lady visitor came to Kilkenny Castle and brought with her three fat mice. The owner of the Castle never noticed anything until the place was full of mice. There were mice everywhere. They advertised for cats. Soon the castle was full of cats. The is how Kilkenny got the name "Kilkenny Cats".
From Edward Quinn, Barrettsgrange, County Tipperary:
In ancient times a team of Tipperary men visited Kilkenny to play a team of Kilkennymen at football. The Tipperarymen were winning, and advancing towards the Kilkenny–Tipperary border, when they were attacked by Kilkennymen and women, who fought like cats. The Tipperary followers retaliated, and picked up field stones and hurled them at their opponents, who had to retreat, the Tipperary team then being enabled to take the ball into their own territory.
Ever afterwards the term "stonethrowers" was applied to Tipperary and "Kilkenny cats" to Kilkenny.
Derivatives
Verse and song
Several poems have been written about the Kilkenny cats; the best known appeared in November 1867 in New York in The Galaxy, along with a grandiloquent literary commentary extolling it as "the Kilkenny epic" and comparing its "unknown author" to Homer:
This is often reduced to a limerick by omitting "excepting their tails and some scraps of their nails". With standardised spelling it has been included in 20th-century Mother Goose anthologies. The full version has been set to music by Beth Anderson and performed on her 2004 album Quilt Music by Keith Borden and H. Johannes Wallmann. It was also set by W. Otto Miessner for gradeschool music lessons, and arranged for six voices by Jean Berger as "There Were Two Cats at Kilkenny". James Barr Walker published an expanded version in 1871.
Ebenezer Mack's 1824 poem "The Cat-Fight" is a stage Irish mock-heroic dialogue in which Jemmy O'Kain tells Pat M'Hone or Mahone that none of the great battles from myth and history compare to the one he witnessed "in Kilkenny, down the mole" between "two Grimalkins", at the end of which "... not the tip end of a tail, / Was there / Left for a token."
In Cruikshank's Omnibus in 1841 was printed "The Terrific Legend Of The Kilkenny Cats" by "C.B."; a 24-line poem in which there are six tomcats, owned and underfed by a drunk woman named O'Flyn; they resolve to kill and eat her, then turn on each other. A musical setting by Barry Kay was recorded in 1951 by Benny Lee. The poem also appeared on Islands Of The Moon, a 1981 spoken word album of poetry for children by the Barrow Poets.
The 1893 collection Irish Songs and Ballads, with words by Alfred Perceval Graves and music by Charles Villiers Stanford, included "The Kilkenny Cats", in which the cats resort to cannibalism after "the Game Laws came in", stopping them from hunting wild animals. Allen Doone published an original song in 1916 called "The Kilkenny Cats" based on the Juverna story. Other poetic adaptations include "The Kilkenny Legend" (Harvey Austin Fuller, 1873); "The Kilkenny Cats" (Anne L. Huber, 1873); "The Kilkenny Cats" (Laurence Winfield Scott, 1880); "The Cats av Kilkenny" (Charles Anthony Doyle, 1911).
Other
The Cat of Kilkenny; or, The Forest of Blarney is a burlesque premiered at the Olympic Theatre in 1815.
"The Kilkenny Cats" are a pair of chess problems composed by Sam Loyd in 1888, where the pieces are configured in a cat shape; Loyd accompanied the problem with a story of quarreling professors.
Parker Brothers released "The Amusing Game of the Kilkenny Cats" in 1890 and "Rex and the Kilkenny Cats Game" in 1892.
"Mighty Mouse and the Kilkenny Cats" is a 1945 cartoon in which Mighty Mouse saves the mice of Manhattan from a gang of cats whose leader's name is Kilkenny.
The Kilkenny Beer Festival, sponsored by Smithwick's and held 1964–1974, included a cat show as one of the events.
Robert Nye's 1976 novel Falstaff adapts the Juverna story to its 15th-century setting. Frank Pickbone is fooled in an unnamed Irish village by the dangling tails, until the title character disabuses him.
"Wild Cats of Kilkenny" is an instrumental track on The Pogues' 1985 album Rum Sodomy & the Lash, in which "two themes meld for a time before dueling and coming apart; all amid a series of feline-esque shrieks".
The Kilkenny Cats alternative rock group feature in Athens, GA: Inside/Out, a 1987 documentary about the Athens music scene.
The Cat Laughs comedy festival has been held in Kilkenny annually since 1995. The "Laughing Cat" logo of a cat hanging from a rope by its tail reflects the Juverna origin story.
In 2007, a set of four Irish postage stamps on the topic of cats, commissioned by An Post from cartoonist Martyn Turner, included one of a "Kilkenny Cat", shown holding a hurley and wearing the Kilkenny county colours.
A short film titled Two Cats was made in Kilkenny in 2018. It is described as a "modern reworking of the story" and premiered at the Kerry Film Festival with the tagline "Each thought there was one cat too many..."
Millions of Cats is a children's picture book written and illustrated by Wanda Gág in 1928. In it, a great host of cats get into a fight about which of them is the prettiest, until only one kitten remains.
See also
Self-cannibalism
Ouroboros, an ancient symbol depicting a serpent or dragon eating its own tail
Strange loop
Mutual assured destruction
"The Battle of the Cats"; 1634 mock epic poem by Lope de Vega
"Famous battel of the catts, in the province of Ulster, June 25, 1668"; a political allegory attributed, "almost certainly" incorrectly, to Sir John Denham.
The Great Cat Massacre — by printers' apprentices in 1730s France
Spartoi, in Greek myth fought each other till all (or all but five) were killed
The Duel'', a Eugene Field poem about a similar fight between a gingham dog and a calico cat
References
Footnotes
Sources
Citations
External links
Fictional characters introduced in 1807
Fictional cats
Mythological cats
Cats in popular culture
Fiction about death games
Irish folklore
County Kilkenny
Kilkenny (city)
Kilkenny GAA
Metaphors
English etymology
Etymologies
Animal cannibalism
Anti-Irish sentiment
Tall tales
Cat folklore
Fictional duos | Kilkenny cats | [
"Biology"
] | 7,070 | [
"Animal cannibalism",
"Eating behaviors",
"Behavior",
"Ethology"
] |
62,267,959 | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Royole%20FlexPai | The Royole FlexPai is a phone made by the Chinese company Royole. It was the first commercially available foldable smartphone, with a 7.8 inch display that folds outwards. It was first announced at CES 2018 and it started shipping on December of the same year.
Specifications
The Royole FlexPai ships with Android 9.0 "Pie".
The foldable smartphone runs features a single folding AMOLED display, comes with a 4,000 mAh and with a 16MP and 20MP dual-camera on its inner bezel. Aside from that, the phone also comes with a dual-SIM card setup, and features a fingerprint sensor.
Legacy
On December 2, 2019, Escobar Inc released what it called the Escobar Fold 1 smartphone featuring a flexible screen, which ended up being a rebadged Royole FlexPai. Escobar Inc is tied to various scams involving selling smartphones and flamethrowers with Escobar Inc branding without delivering the products to customers.
It was succeeded by the Royole FlexPai 2.
See also
Samsung Galaxy Note series
Huawei Mate X
Motorola Razr (2020)
Comparison of smartphones
References
Mobile phones introduced in 2019
Smartphones
Android (operating system) devices
Mobile phones with multiple rear cameras
Foldable smartphones | Royole FlexPai | [
"Technology"
] | 269 | [
"Crossover devices",
"Foldable smartphones"
] |
62,268,816 | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gawri%20Wall | The Gawri Wall (, Persian: دیوار گَوری) was a defensive fortification built and in use between the 4th and 6th centuries during the rule of the Sasanians and Parthians. The structure's ruins, which run the length of around , are located in Sarpol-e Zahab County near the Iran–Iraq border.
2019 archaeological discovery
Though the site was known to the local population living in its vicinity, it was unknown to the archaeological community until its discovery was published in the journal Antiquity in August 2019. Locals have long referred to the fortification as the Gawri Wall.
See also
Great Wall of Gorgan
Wall of Tammisha
Khurasan Wall
Sasanian defense lines
Median Wall
References
Border barriers
Fortification lines
Walls
2nd-century fortifications
Sasanian defense lines
Military history of the Sasanian Empire
Gawri
Walls in Iran
Military history of the Parthian Empire
Fortifications in Iran | Gawri Wall | [
"Engineering"
] | 189 | [
"Border barriers",
"Separation barriers",
"Fortification lines",
"Sasanian defense lines"
] |
62,270,302 | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Midaflur | Midaflur (INN; EXP 338) is an extremely stable 3-imidazoline derivative with central skeletal muscle relaxant and sedative properties in humans and other species of mammals, exhibiting consistently high oral bioavailability and a long duration of action. While its pharmacodynamics remain poorly understood, midaflur resembles meprobamate and pentobarbital in terms of observed effects while being considerably more potent.
See also
Propofol
Pentobarbital
References
General anesthetics
Hypnotics
Sedatives
Trifluoromethyl compounds
Imidazolines | Midaflur | [
"Biology"
] | 129 | [
"Hypnotics",
"Behavior",
"Sleep"
] |
62,270,810 | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lu%20Shijia | Lu Shijia (; March 18, 1911 – August 29, 1986), also known as Hsiu-Chen Chang-Lu, was a Chinese physicist and aerospace engineer who helped create China's first high-speed wind tunnel. She founded and chaired the aerodynamics program at Beihang University, the first in the country.
Early life and education
She was born Lu Xiuzhen () in Suzhou (Soochow) on March 18, 1911, the final year of the Qing dynasty. Her ancestral home was Xiaoshan, Zhejiang. Soon after she was born, her grandfather , who served as Governor of Shanxi, and her father , were both killed by Yan Xishan during the Xinhai Revolution. Her superstitious mother blamed the baby for her father's death, and gave her away to be raised by a paternal uncle.
She attended the primary school and the High School Affiliated to Beijing Normal University, where Qian Xuesen and her future husband Zhang Wei were her classmates. Inspired by Marie Curie, she entered the Physics Department of Beijing Normal University as the only female student. After graduating in 1933, she taught at the Fifth Women's Normal School in Daming, Hebei, and Zhicheng Middle School in Beijing.
With financial help from her maternal uncle, the renowned doctor Shi Jinmo, Lu went to study in Germany in 1937. She studied at Göttingen University and received her Ph.D. in fluid mechanics in 1942. Her supervisor was Ludwig Prandtl, one of the founders of modern fluid mechanics. She was the only Chinese student and the only female graduate student of Prandtl.
Career
After the end of the Second World War, Lu returned to China in 1946. She taught at Tongji University, the Aeronautics Department of Peiyang University, and the Institute of Hydraulic Engineering of Tsinghua University. She joined the China Democratic League in 1951.
In 1952, Lu became a member of the preparatory committee for the establishment of the Beijing Institute of Aeronautics (now Beihang University). In 1962, she founded Beihang's aerodynamics program, the first in China, and served as its first chair. At Beihang she helped create China's first high-speed wind tunnel.
When the Chinese Academy of Sciences resumed its election for academicians in 1980 after the end of the Cultural Revolution, Lu was nominated twice, but she declined both times and insisted on giving the opportunity to a younger scientist.
She was a member of the first, second, and third National People's Congresses, the fifth and sixth CPPCC Standing Committees, the Standing Committee of the China Democratic League Central Committee, and the Executive Committee of the All-China Women's Federation. She also served as Vice Chair of the China Aerodynamics Research Association.
Personal life
In 1941, Lu married scientist Zhang Wei, her elementary school classmate, in Germany. Zhang was a member of both the Chinese Academy of Sciences and the Chinese Academy of Engineering, and served as Vice President of Tsinghua University. The couple had a son, Zhang Kecheng (), and a daughter, Zhang Kequn (). Kequn's son Gao Xiaosong is a renowned musician.
Death and legacy
Lu died in Beijing in August 1986, and her husband died in 2001. According to their will, their children mixed their ashes together and dispersed them in the lotus pond on the Tsinghua campus.
On the first anniversary of her death, Qian Xuesen presided over a scientific symposium held in her memory. On March 18, 2017, Lu's 106th birthday, Beihang University established the Lu Shijia Laboratory, the first university laboratory in China named after a female scientist.
References
1911 births
1986 deaths
Chinese women physicists
Scientists from Suzhou
Beijing Normal University alumni
Physicists from Jiangsu
Fluid dynamicists
Delegates to the 1st National People's Congress
Delegates to the 2nd National People's Congress
Delegates to the 3rd National People's Congress
Academic staff of Technische Universität Berlin
University of Göttingen alumni
Members of the Standing Committee of the 5th Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference
Members of the Standing Committee of the 6th Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference
Chinese expatriates in Germany
Academic staff of Tongji University
Academic staff of Tianjin University
Academic staff of Tsinghua University
Academic staff of Beihang University
Chinese aerospace engineers
Engineers from Jiangsu
Chinese women engineers | Lu Shijia | [
"Chemistry"
] | 888 | [
"Fluid dynamicists",
"Fluid dynamics"
] |
62,271,137 | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Phenylacetyl-CoA | Phenylacetyl-CoA (C29H42N7O17P3S) is a form of acetyl-CoA formed from the condensation of the thiol group from coenzyme A with the carboxyl group of phenylacetic acid.
Its molecular-weight is 885.7 g/mol. and IUPAC name is S-[2-[3-[[(2R)-4-[[[(2R,3S,4R,5R)-5-(6-aminopurin-9-yl)-4-hydroxy-3-phosphonooxyoxolan-2-yl]methoxy-hydroxyphosphoryl]oxy-hydroxyphosphoryl]oxy-2-hydroxy-3,3-dimethylbutanoyl]amino]propanoylamino]ethyl] 2-phenylethanethioate. It is formed via the actions of Phenylacetate—CoA ligase.
Phenylacetyl-CoA is often produced via the reduction of ATP to AMP and the conversion of phenylacetate and CoA to diphosphate and Phenylacetyl-CoA.
ATP + phenylacetate + CoA → AMP + diphosphate + phenylacetyl-CoA
This reaction is catalyzed by phenylacetate-CoA ligase.
Phenylacetyl-CoA combines with water and quinone to produce phenylglyoxylyl-CoA and quinol via a phenylacetyl-CoA dehydrogenase reaction acting as an oxidoreductase.
Phenylacetyl-CoA inhibits choline acetyltransferase acting as a neurotoxin. It competes with acetyl-CoA.
References
Glycolysis
Cholinergics
Thioesters of coenzyme A | Phenylacetyl-CoA | [
"Chemistry"
] | 424 | [
"Carbohydrate metabolism",
"Glycolysis"
] |
62,272,698 | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Everykey | Everykey designs and builds a patented universal smart key that can unlock devices and log into online accounts on those devices. The idea began as an entrepreneurship class project at Case Western Reserve University.
Crowdfunding Campaign
Everykey launched its Kickstarter campaign on October 29, 2014. Within 48 hours, the campaign had reached trending status and raised over $25,000 in pre-orders. The project quickly gained attention, and Everykey launched another crowdfunding campaign on Indiegogo with John McAfee on December 7, 2015. While some media outlets such as Wired and TechCrunch were excited about the traction, they also expressed concern over the security versus convenience factor of the product. Writers at Business Insider focused more on the vision of the company, exploring Everykey’s future plans and classroom origin story.
Products
The company's debut product was an electronic wristband designed to replace keys and passwords. Development of the prototype into a working product was funded by a Kickstarter campaign.
The current product, resembling a USB thumb drive that can be inserted into a wristband accessory, was funded by an Indiegogo crowdfunding campaign. The software enables Everykey to work with a variety of computer and mobile platforms. Everykey currently offers the hardware thumb-drive style product as well as a Key Ring Accessory, Band Accessory, Charging Cable, and Bluetooth Dongle.
Technology
Everykey is a Bluetooth device that can communicate securely with an unlimited number of other Bluetooth devices, simultaneously. The Everykey device employs a patented method including AES and RSA encryption to allow the user to unlock their devices and login to online accounts without having to type passwords. When the user leaves with Everykey, the app can lock everything back down and log out of online accounts. Everykey’s patented method allows it to perform unlocking and locking actions without plugging in the device.
Reception
Many were skeptical about Everykey’s legitimacy due to the company’s delayed shipment to early adopters. John McAfee’s involvement as the company’s brand ambassador was controversial, with some being concerned and others elated regarding his involvement. The company hosted an r/IAmA style open forum on Reddit so anyone could ask about topics ranging from security to late delivery.
Everykey has since addressed many of the initial concerns, and is now selling their products with retailers such as Best Buy, Newegg, and Office Depot.
Competitors
In the password managers market, Everykey competes with LastPass, 1Password and Dashlane.
In the hardware security key market, Everykey's competitors include Nymi and YubiKey.
Awards
Everykey has been recognized by many local and state organizations for the CEO’s flashy pitch style and grassroots backstory:
ProtoTech 1st Place
LaunchTown 1st Place
North Coast Opportunities Technologies Fund Award
FUND Conference 1st Place
Best Startup Culture in Ohio, Finalist
Morgenthaler-Pavey Startup Competition 1st Place
References
External links
Everykey Website
Password managers
Cryptographic software
Kickstarter-funded products
Indiegogo projects
Computer access control
Security technology
Security software
Advanced Encryption Standard | Everykey | [
"Mathematics",
"Engineering"
] | 631 | [
"Cybersecurity engineering",
"Cryptographic software",
"Computer access control",
"Mathematical software"
] |
62,274,280 | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blowout%20%28book%29 | Blowout: Corrupted Democracy, Rogue State Russia, and the Richest, Most Destructive Industry on Earth is a 2019 non-fiction book by Rachel Maddow. It is her second book and was published by Crown on October 1, 2019. It concerns corruption in the oil and gas industry and the Russian interference in the 2016 United States elections.
The book debuted at number one on The New York Times Best Seller list. The audiobook edition was awarded Best Spoken Word Album at the 63rd Annual Grammy Awards.
Publication
Blowout was first published in hardcover by Crown, an imprint of Random House, on October 1, 2019. The book was also published in paperback on October 15, 2019, by Random House Large Print.
The book debuted at number one on The New York Times Combined Print & E-Book Nonfiction best sellers list and Hardcover Nonfiction best sellers list for the October 20, 2019 issue of The New York Times Book Review.
Reception
Kirkus Reviews praised the book, calling it a "densely argued exercise in connecting dots."
Publishers Weekly gave the book a mixed review, writing, "the resulting hodgepodge doesn't always support her portrayal of oil and gas as a 'singularly destructive industry' that 'effectively owns' governments; her absorbing account of Putin's skullduggery is really about a vampiric government victimizing the oil industry (and includes an unconvincing link to Trump-Russia collusion theories). Maddow's absorbing but inconsistent exposé demonizes more than it analyzes."
Writing for The New York Times Book Review, journalist Fareed Zakaria gave the book a mixed review, praising its examination of the fossil fuel industry but criticizing it for not being "radical in its conclusions" and not providing "a path out of the darkness".
Carol Haggas of Booklist gave the book a rave review, writing, "Maddow brings her laser-like intuitiveness and keen and wily perception to Big Oil, that stalwart of global economics, and the shadowy nexus of commerce and politics."
Jill Dougherty, writing for The Washington Post, gave the book an unfavorable review, writing that it "reads like Maddow's MSNBC monologues, piling outrage on top of outrage, peppered with breathless asides warning of Armageddon."
David M. Shribman of The Boston Globe gave the book a positive review, writing, "Maddow builds a case of cross-cultural corruption that is marred only by the occasional informality of her prose and her sometimes-distracting wise-guy rhetoric."
In March 2021, the audiobook version of Blowout, recorded by Maddow, won the Grammy Award for Best Spoken Word Album at the 63rd Annual Grammy Awards (beating out recordings by Red Hot Chili Peppers bassist Flea, Ronan Farrow. Ken Jennings, and Meryl Streep).
See also
Business projects of Donald Trump in Russia
Links between Trump associates and Russian officials and spies
References
2019 non-fiction books
Books by Rachel Maddow
Crown Publishing Group books
Books about Russian interference in the 2016 United States elections
Books about politics of the United States
Books about petroleum
Books about petroleum politics
American political books
Grammy Award for Best Spoken Word Album | Blowout (book) | [
"Chemistry"
] | 660 | [
"Chemical engineering books",
"Books about petroleum"
] |
62,275,957 | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/OS%20virtualization%20and%20emulation%20on%20Android | Android devices have the ability to run virtual machines or emulate other operating systems. It does this either via desktop virtualization, platform virtualization, or emulation via compatibility layer.
Desktop virtualization
Desktop virtualization apps are the least resource and space intensive compared to other virtualization types, since the Operating System that is being displayed on the Android device is actually located on another computer on the local network or elsewhere like on the internet. Depending upon how the desktop virtualization app works, they use RDP or can use another protocol of their own. Most business oriented desktop virtualization apps require specific types of equipment or services in order for the app to fully function. For example, VMware Horizon Client requires specific VMware equipment for the app to work.
A major downside that desktop virtualization apps have compared to other types of virtualization or emulation technologies is that they require a network connection to the server as stated previously above.
Platform virtualization
Platform virtualization allows more leverage to the developer as anything that relates to the guest operating system only affects the guest operating system, and not the host operating system. Due to this it is possible for the guest operating system to be rooted, where as the host operating system remains unrooted. Due to the nature of platform virtualization and the fact that it can virtualize a rooted guest OS, it has a greater advantage over emulators as it can run applications or utilize packages that require access to the underlying system itself.
As with all platform virtualization software and applications, they take up a lot of resources of the host in order to do the virtualization.
Emulation
Types of emulations
Emulation of other operating systems
Emulation of other operating systems on Android require the usage of some form of compatibility layer, where the compatibility layer must utilize some form of technologies or APIs to run the OS inside of the app container. This does come with limitations as some emulators utilize PRoot which is a chroot like environment. Unlike terminal emulators that emulate the internal OS with/without any extension package support, it can install actual (for example) Ubuntu packages, as it does not rely too much on the Android system limitations. However, not all packages and applications can run.
Terminal emulation of internal operating system
Terminal emulation of the Android device itself is done via either an actual local loopback to the device, or an emulation that seems to be a local loopback. Most of these terminal emulations of the device itself utilize the native terminal Toybox toolchain's library and functions that come with every android device. However due to the fact that the majority of the functions that are readily available without utilizing a compatibility layer, means that Toybox functions can only be utilized. In order for a user to add any other functions or libraries would require the user to root their own device and add the functions or libraries manually. Some of these terminal emulators allow users to enter Toybox commands implicitly, where those that don't require the usage of "toybox COMMAND".
With enhancements via semi-emulation
Some terminal emulators like Termux allow users to add packages. This is done via semi-emulating a different environment via the usage of PRoot and/or Toybox in the back-end. With the semi-emulating, some predefined ported packages can be used and installed without the need of rooting the device, as they do not utilize Android system files, and reside and run in the apps' own data containers and directories. Because Toybox is used mostly in the back-end, it depends on how the app was developed, for Toybox to be accessed from the semi-emulated enhanced terminal.
Extensions
Many emulators of other OSes allow the use of extensions. Aside from the use of standard SSH, some emulators allow the use of technologies like VNC and XSDL. Via the use of these extensions, the user can have the emulated/virtualized OS running in a desktop-like environment.
Limitations
The majority of limitations are seen in emulation-based apps rather than the platform virtualization based apps, as the emulation apps must utilize a compatibility layer. Thus for libraries and packages to work as expected like in a real OS, the compatibility layer must work properly and must be able to provide accurate information. However, this requires that the compatibility layer or any predefined software it uses (ex. Docker) to have access to many types of system- and device-related information. This can either be done via Toybox or programing language libraries that Android apps can be made from (e.g., Java, C#). However, starting with Android 8, many new security restrictions have been placed on apps; due to these restrictions, some API libraries/classes are no longer available or have been replaced by more restrictive API libraries/classes.
One of the known limitations that was implemented is that apps can only natively access only their own sandbox root directory or sub-directories on an SD card. Apps wanting to access files or folders outside that on the SD card, are required to use Android's own system file selector. Due to this limitation, guest OSes running on, emulation, platform virtualization, or compatibility apps are no longer allowed to access files outside of their own SD card Sandbox.
The majority of these limitations can be bypassed by rooting the Android device. However, utilizing Linux via utilizing an emulator or virtualization app would be redundant at that point as one could turn the device itself into a Linux environment.
OS internal security enhancements
More modern versions of Android have been seen having more internal system security enhancements, such that some system folders and files are no longer accessible or even viewable for that directory's existence. Versions of Android before 9 allowed terminal apps to view Android's root "/" directory (although not allowing modifications or execution).
SELinux
Android utilizes SELinux; due to this, all system configuration files are not editable and some are not even readable. Thus, apps can only utilize Android API's to learn about the device's or system's configuration or settings. However, not all information is available to apps; due to this, many OS compatibility layers or emulation apps are not able to run every package or application.
Here are some known applications and packages that are unable to run:
Udisks2 requires udev which does not work well in most compatibility layer environments, as stated in the sub-sub-section below.
Snort
Open vSwitch
mininet (requires open vSwitch to run)
Here are some commands that do not work, due to SELinux:
ip link show
ADB, PRoot, $HOME and $PREFIX usage
Because all Android apps run in a non-privileged container space, the virtualization or emulation apps must utilize their own app space to do the virtualization or emulation. This can be done either by ADB, PRroot, or the usage of $HOME and $PREFIX, however majority of these three are utilized by emulation apps as platform virtualization apps usually use different methods. Each of these is used for a different purpose. ADB is used for the emulation of a terminal-like environment for the entire Android system, but usually as an unprivileged user. $HOME and $PREFIX can be using $HOME as "~" and $PREFIX for ".". However, $HOME can not be set outside of the "/data/apps data space" directory on the Android file system, nor can $PREFIX be moved to another place like the SD Card.
For emulators or compatibility layers to emulate or virtualize a Linux-based OS on Android, PRoot must be used. However, when PRoot is used, the environment inside of Proot can act like a Chroot environment, and/or a separate mounted environment. In this scenario (especially in the case of compatibility layer and emulator for Guest OSes), there are packages and applications that can not run as they were never designed to run inside a chroot like environment. Some of these are well known, prominent packages, applications, or commands, including the following:
Systemd
Libudev (Works alongside Systemd).
Init
Mutter (software) relies upon systemd
Alternatives
Due to the issue of SeLinux and PRoot, alternatives must be used and not all of the unusable packages or applications have alternatives. Being an alternative, they don't necessarily have all the functions of the original packages or applications. Some of these alternatives include:
Eudev
Elogind
Metacity (Predecessor of Mutter)
Android itself including a modified Linux kernel
Because Android utilizes a modified Linux kernel, not all configuration or system files exist or are the same in Android. Because of this, emulation apps either need to provide either their own version of the configuration or system files in the application's data space, use a pre-modified distribution of ported Linux libraries that do not require the usage of the missing configuration or system files, or not support the usage of those packages. Some well known configuration and system files that are not in Android include:
/etc/resolv.conf
See also
Comparison of OS emulation or virtualization apps on Android
Virtualization
References
Android (operating system) software
Virtualization software
Emulation software | OS virtualization and emulation on Android | [
"Technology"
] | 1,929 | [
"Emulation software",
"History of computing"
] |
62,276,942 | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Finish%20%28detergent%29 | Finish is the brand name of a range of dishwasher detergent and cleaning products sold by the consumer products manufacturer Reckitt. The tablets, based on the original product, contain surfactants which counteract water hardness and break down foods containing starches and proteins, and remove bleachable stains and produce enzymes and foams. The product is specially designed for dishwashers. Prior to 2009, the product was known as Electrasol in North America, and as Calgonit in some European countries.
History
In the early 1950s, the increased use of moulded plastic dinnerware posed a number of problems. The Finish brand was created in 1953 by the US company Economics Laboratory (now Ecolab). Taking advantage of research into the needs of the dairy and food industry, the company launched two new products for the household dishwashing machine in 1953: mass-market product Electrasol, and premium product Finish. Later, in 1969, they introduced the first biological powder.
J. A. Benckiser (later Reckitt Benckiser) acquired the Consumer Products division of Ecolab Inc. in 1987. In 1995, the first two-ply powder tablet was introduced, in 1999 the red Powerball capsule, in 2008, the Finish Quantum and the first three-chamber moulded capsule. Circa 2009, all Electrasol products were rebranded under Finish label.
See also
List of renamed products
References
External links
Detergents
Cleaning product brands
Cleaning product components
Cleaning products
American brands
Reckitt brands
Procter & Gamble brands
Products introduced in 1953 | Finish (detergent) | [
"Chemistry",
"Technology"
] | 320 | [
"Cleaning products",
"Components",
"Cleaning product components",
"Products of chemical industry"
] |
62,278,281 | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Louis%20Schwabe | Louis Schwabe (1798-1845) was a manufacturer of silk and artificial silk fabrics in Manchester. He was noted for his pioneering work in the use of spinnerets for the production of an artificial glass based yarn.
References
Textile engineering
Textile workers
People of the Industrial Revolution
1798 births
1845 deaths | Louis Schwabe | [
"Physics",
"Engineering"
] | 61 | [
"Applied and interdisciplinary physics",
"Textile engineering"
] |
62,278,303 | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gregory%20Beylkin | Gregory Beylkin (born 16 March 1953) is a Russian–American mathematician.
Education and career
He studied from 1970 to 1975 at the University of Leningrad, with Diploma in Mathematics in November 1975. From 1976 to 1979 he was a research scientist at the Research Institute of Ore Geophysics, Leningrad. From 1980 to 1982 he was a graduate student at New York University, where he received his PhD under the supervision of Peter Lax. From 1982 to 1983 Beylkin was an associate research scientist at the Courant Institute of Mathematical Sciences. From 1983 to 1991 he was a member of the professional staff of Schlumberger-Doll Research in Ridgefield, Connecticut. Since 1991 he has been a professor in the Department of Applied Mathematics at the University of Colorado Boulder. He was a visiting professor at Yale University, the University of Minnesota, and the Mittag-Leffler Institute and participated in 2012 and 2015 in the summer seminar on "Applied Harmonic Analysis and Sparse Approximation" at Oberwolfach. He is the author or co-author of over 100 articles in refereed journal and has served on several editorial boards.
Awards and honors
1998 — Invited Speaker of the International Congress of Mathematicians
2012 — Fellow of the American Mathematical Society
2016 — Fellow of the Society for Industrial and Applied Mathematics
Patents
See also
References
External links
1953 births
Living people
20th-century Russian mathematicians
21st-century Russian mathematicians
20th-century American mathematicians
21st-century American mathematicians
Applied mathematicians
Fellows of the American Mathematical Society
Fellows of the Society for Industrial and Applied Mathematics
Saint Petersburg State University alumni
Courant Institute of Mathematical Sciences alumni
University of Colorado Boulder alumni | Gregory Beylkin | [
"Mathematics"
] | 326 | [
"Applied mathematics",
"Applied mathematicians"
] |
62,278,799 | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Michel%20Pouchard | Michel Pouchard (born 23 January, 1938 in Avrillé-les-Ponceaux) is a French chemist specialising in the physico-chemistry of inorganic solids.
Biography
After studying at the David high school in Angers and at the faculties of science at University of Rennes and University of Bordeaux, Michel Pouchard specializes in the physico-chemistry of inorganic solids: oxides of transition metals, electronic properties (magnetism, insulation-to-metal transition) and electrochemistry (materials for energy, membranes, electrodes for SOFC fuel cells in particular), nanocrystalline silicon) and in the science of functional materials.
Trainee then research associate at the CNRS from 1960 to 1967 (director of the materials technology dissemination department at the CNRS from 1975 to 1984), he was a lecturer at the Faculty of Sciences, University of Bordeaux from 1967 to 1970, then professor at the University of Bordeaux I from 1970 to 1992 (professor emeritus from 2004). From 1992 to 2002, he was a professor at the Institut universitaire de France (of which he was a director from 1993 to 1997).
He was elected a member of the French Academy of sciences on 16 November 1992. He is also a member of the Academy of Technologies, the French Society of Chemistry, the Academia europaea (1998) and the Leopoldina Academy (Germany) (2000).
Publications
Michel Pouchard is the author of nearly 400 articles published in the best journals in solid-state chemistry and materials science and some fifteen patents.
Distinctions
Prices
Langevin Prize of the French Academy of sciences (1977)
Decorations
Chevalier of the Légion d'honneur.
Commandeur of the Ordre national du mérite. He was promoted to officier on May 15, 2017, and then obtained the rank of commandeur by decree on November 18, 2017.
Commandeur of the Ordre des Palmes académiques.
References
1938 births
People from Indre-et-Loire
20th-century French chemists
Members of the French Academy of Sciences
Members of Academia Europaea
French National Centre for Scientific Research scientists
University of Bordeaux alumni
Academic staff of the University of Bordeaux
Living people
21st-century French chemists
Recipients of the Legion of Honour
University of Rennes alumni
Inorganic chemists
Solid state chemists | Michel Pouchard | [
"Chemistry"
] | 464 | [
"Solid state chemists",
"Inorganic chemists"
] |
47,707,028 | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mycoplankton | Mycoplankton are saprotrophic members of the plankton communities of marine and freshwater ecosystems. They are composed of filamentous free-living fungi and yeasts that are associated with planktonic particles or phytoplankton. Similar to bacterioplankton, these aquatic fungi play a significant role in heterotrophicmineralization and nutrient cycling. Mycoplankton can be up to 20 mm in diameter and over 50 mm in length.
In a typical milliliter of seawater, there are approximately 103 to 104 fungal cells. This number is greater in coastal ecosystems and estuaries due to nutritional runoff from terrestrial communities. Aquatic fungi are found in a myriad of ecosystems, from mangroves, to wetlands, to the open ocean. The greatest diversity and number of species of mycoplankton is found in surface waters (< 1000 m), and the vertical profile depends on the abundance of phytoplankton. Furthermore, this difference in distribution may vary between seasons due to nutrient availability. Aquatic fungi survive in a constant oxygen deficient environment, and therefore depend on oxygen diffusion by turbulence and oxygen generated by photosynthetic organisms.
Classification
There is a large amount of diversity among aquatic fungi. These fungi may be classified using three groups:
Lower fungi – adapted to marine habitats (zoosporic fungi, including mastigomycetes: oomycetes & chytridiomycetes)
Higher fungi – filamentous, modified to planktonic lifestyle (hyphomycetes, ascomycetes, basidiomycetes)
Terrestrial fungi – contain appendages of marine fungi (trichomycetes)
The majority of mycoplankton species are higher fungi, found in the Ascomycota and Basidiomycota phyla.
Genome sequencing is a common way to assess and categorize aquatic fungi. Fungi are Eukaryotes, and as such it is often the 18s rDNA which is sequenced.
According to fossil records, fungi date back to the late Proterozoic era, 900-570 million years ago. It is hypothesized that mycoplankton evolved from terrestrial fungi, likely in the Paleozoic era (390 million years ago). The methods and pathways of terrestrial fungi's adaption to the marine environment are still under study.
Biogeochemical contributions
There are multiple biogeochemical cycles in the Earth's oceans in which Mycoplankton play a role. They are a part of the microbial loop and other forms of nutrient cycling, including the mycoplankton specific mycoflux and mycoloop.
Cycling of organic nutrients
Mycoplankton, like all fungi, play an essential roll in the degradation of detritus and organic matter from plants, as well as other larger organisms. By working with other microbial communities, mycoplankton efficiently convert particulate organic matter to dissolved organic matter as part of biogeochemical cycling. Mycoplankton and heterotrophic bacteria mediate carbon, nitrogen, oxygen, and other nutrient fluxes in marine ecosystems. The incorporation of dissolved organic carbon into microbe biomass is what is known as the microbial loop.
Mycoplankton are often found in higher abundances near the surface, as well as in shallow waters. This is indicative of a connection between mycoplankton and the upwelling of organic matter. Phytoplankton communities are also abundant in the euphotic zone, which provides further evidence for the role of Mycoplankton in consumption of organic matter.
Mycoloop and mycoflux
Mycoplankton are important in controlling phytoplankton and zooplankton populations. The mycoloop is very similar to the microbial loop, as the basis of both is for microbes to make material accessible to organisms that occupy higher trophic levels. Through the mycoloop phytoplankton are transformed such that they are able to be grazed upon by zooplankton. This function is performed by parasitic marine fungi (mycoplankton).
The mycoflux is understudied, but believed to be a part of carbon capture in aquatic habitats. Functionally, this process involves aquatic fungi breaking down organic matter.
Benthic shunt
Another process which mycoplankton take part in is known as the benthic shunt. This process takes place in the benthic zone, the sediments at the bottom of the water. The benthic shunt is typically referred to in relation to freshwater aquatic environments, but the concept is relevant and takes place in marine habitats as well. The benthic shunt is basically energy and nutrient flow as directed by lower trophic level organisms, such as mycoplankton.
Role in food webs
Due to their significant contributions to nutrient cycling, mycoplankton play a large role in regulation of food webs. Aquatic fungi such as mycoplankton degrade and convert organic matter into other forms. In a way, mycoplankton contributions to aquatic food webs are the biogeochemical services that they perform. The grazer food chain and the microbial food chain are inherently intertwined, as the dissolved organic carbon at the base of the microbial food chain originally comes from material excreted by grazers from the grazer food chain. Not only are the new forms of organic matter more palatable by macro plankton, but the process of conversion releases substrates which support bacterial growth. This in turn allows for the bacteria and macro plankton to support even higher trophic levels. This is a form of bottom-up control of aquatic food webs.
Communities
While mycoplankton are found in a variety of aquatic environments, their distribution, abundance, and diversity vary throughout these environments. There is typically a greater amount of diversity and a larger abundance of mycoplankton in coastal waters, due to the extra availability of nutrients. There also exists variation in community composition and diversity at different depths. The control factors for the distribution of mycoplankton is thought to be variable.
See also
Marine fungi
References
Aquatic ecology
Biological oceanography
Planktology
Oceanographical terminology | Mycoplankton | [
"Biology"
] | 1,321 | [
"Aquatic ecology",
"Ecosystems"
] |
47,707,744 | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shelby%20Gem%20Factory | The Shelby Gem Factory was the production facility of ICT Incorporated, a company in Shelby, Michigan, United States, that manufactured artificial gemstones through proprietary processes. ICT began operations in 1970 and closed in December 2019.
History
Larry Paul Kelley established ICT (International Crystal Technology) in 1970 with Craig Hardy and Tom VanBergen. Kelley had worked for Dow Chemical in Ludington and at a factory in Ann Arbor that produced laser crystals. The facility was sited in Shelby because the town had a new industrial park. By 2015, Kelley was ICT's sole owner.
The Shelby Gem Factory initially produced only synthetic ruby, with ruby lasers being the principal application, primarily sold to firms in California. However, laser technology was in its infancy, and the far greater profit potential of converting ruby rods into a variety of artificial gemstones of various colors led to a change in the factory's focus. Larry Kelley built on Soviet research into cubic zirconia and became its first commercial producer, having solved issues of temperature control that had impeded its production. For a time, cubic zirconia was a lucrative product line; Shelby opened factories outside the United States to keep up with demand. However, the value of cubic zirconia soon declined to the point that it was used as fill when the factory was expanded. In 1983, ICT opened a faceting factory in southern China to create gemstones for jewelry use from the crystals produced in Shelby; this closed in 1991, and separate companies in China and South Korea were contracted to continue faceting. The South Korean market represented up to 40 percent of the factory's sales until a precipitous decline caused by the 1997 Asian financial crisis. In 1994, the factory entered the business of recrystallizing rubies, buying low-grade gems from Myanmar to be melted down in the process.
A 50-seat theater ran a presentation for visitors, and jewelry was sold on site.
The factory closed in 2019 after Kelley was diagnosed in 2017 with Alzheimer's disease. Other issues that contributed to the closing were worldwide competition and online markets. Larry Kelley died on October 24, 2020.
Manufacturing
Some of the furnaces burned at . Factory tours were discontinued due to liability concerns attendant to the "very high temperatures and extremely bright light" and the unavailability of affordable insurance to cover the risk.
The gems were synthesized in a furnace. The Shelby Gem Factory's diamonds were simulants. The factory also manufactured simulated citrine and topaz, along with other birthstone substitutes.
See also
Czochralski method
Skull crucible
References
Further reading
External links
Shelby Gem Factory visit
ICT YouTube video on explanation of semiconductor invention for making solar cells
Defunct technology companies of the United States
American inventions
Economy of Michigan
Gemological laboratories
Oceana County, Michigan
Physical chemistry
Science and technology in Michigan
Solar cells
Synthetic minerals
1970 establishments in Michigan
2019 disestablishments in Michigan
Manufacturing companies based in Michigan | Shelby Gem Factory | [
"Physics",
"Chemistry"
] | 594 | [
"Applied and interdisciplinary physics",
"Synthetic materials",
"nan",
"Physical chemistry",
"Synthetic minerals"
] |
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