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64,549,902 | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Birth%20process | In probability theory, a birth process or a pure birth process is a special case of a continuous-time Markov process and a generalisation of a Poisson process. It defines a continuous process which takes values in the natural numbers and can only increase by one (a "birth") or remain unchanged. This is a type of birth–death process with no deaths. The rate at which births occur is given by an exponential random variable whose parameter depends only on the current value of the process
Definition
Birth rates definition
A birth process with birth rates and initial value is a minimal right-continuous process such that and the interarrival times are independent exponential random variables with parameter .
Infinitesimal definition
A birth process with rates and initial value is a process such that:
is independent of
(The third and fourth conditions use little o notation.)
These conditions ensure that the process starts at , is non-decreasing and has independent single births continuously at rate , when the process has value .
Continuous-time Markov chain definition
A birth process can be defined as a continuous-time Markov process (CTMC) with the non-zero Q-matrix entries and initial distribution (the random variable which takes value with probability 1).
Variations
Some authors require that a birth process start from 0 i.e. that , while others allow the initial value to be given by a probability distribution on the natural numbers. The state space can include infinity, in the case of an explosive birth process. The birth rates are also called intensities.
Properties
As for CTMCs, a birth process has the Markov property. The CTMC definitions for communicating classes, irreducibility and so on apply to birth processes. By the conditions for recurrence and transience of a birth–death process, any birth process is transient. The transition matrices of a birth process satisfy the Kolmogorov forward and backward equations.
The backwards equations are:
(for )
The forward equations are:
(for )
(for )
From the forward equations it follows that:
(for )
(for )
Unlike a Poisson process, a birth process may have infinitely many births in a finite amount of time. We define and say that a birth process explodes if is finite. If then the process is explosive with probability 1; otherwise, it is non-explosive with probability 1 ("honest").
Examples
A Poisson process is a birth process where the birth rates are constant i.e. for some .
Simple birth process
A simple birth process is a birth process with rates . It models a population in which each individual gives birth repeatedly and independently at rate . Udny Yule studied the processes, so they may be known as Yule processes.
The number of births in time from a simple birth process of population is given by:
In exact form, the number of births is the negative binomial distribution with parameters and . For the special case , this is the geometric distribution with success rate .
The expectation of the process grows exponentially; specifically, if then .
A simple birth process with immigration is a modification of this process with rates . This models a population with births by each population member in addition to a constant rate of immigration into the system.
Notes
References
Markov processes
Poisson point processes | Birth process | [
"Mathematics"
] | 659 | [
"Point processes",
"Point (geometry)",
"Poisson point processes"
] |
64,550,872 | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Katie%20Doores | Katherine Jane Doores is a British biochemist who is a senior lecturer in the School of Immunology & Microbial Sciences at King's College London. During the COVID-19 pandemic Doores studied the levels of antibodies in patients who had suffered from COVID-19.
Early life and education
Doores was born in the United Kingdom. In 2003, Doores received an MChem in chemistry from the University of Oxford. In 2008, Doores received a PhD in organic chemistry from the University of Oxford. Ben G. Davis was her advisor. In 2013, she completed post doctoral work in the Department of Immunology and Microbial Sciences at the Scripps Research Institute in La Jolla, California.
Research and career
When Doores was a graduate student at Oxford, she studied glycoimmunology in the laboratory of professor Davis. Glycoimmunology is an emerging research field which looks at how immune response is moderated by carbohydrates (glycans). At the Scripps Research Institute as part of her post doctoral work, she worked on the glycobiology on HIV and broadly-neutralizing antibodies. At Scripps, Doores worked alongside Dennis Burton, where she studied the "flower-like" envelope protein on HIV. These envelope protein penetrates host cells and create antibody-resistant glycans. By investigating this envelope protein, Doores looked to identify sites which are involved with viral function. By neutralising sites such as these (the high-mannose patch), Doores hoped to protect against HIV infection.
From 2013 to 2017, Doores was a lecturer in the Department of Infectious Diseases at King's College London. Doores was awarded a Medical Research Council fellowship to establish her own laboratory at King's College. She was made a European Molecular Biology Organization (EMBO) Young Investigator in 2017. In 2017, Doores became a senior lecturer in the Department of Infectious Diseases at King's College.
Many disease-causing pathogens are coated in carbohydrates. Moores investigates the behaviour of these carbohydrates in host–pathogen interactions. She hopes that by understanding the role of these carbohydrates it will be possible to develop novel therapeutic strategies and vaccinations. Alongside developing new medical therapies, Moores is interested in how the body responds to carbohydrate antigens in the form of antibody recognition. Her work has primarily focussed on the carbohydrate antigens on HIV-1. The envelope glycoprotein GP120 of HIV-1 is covered in N-linked-glycans. These glycans are the target of BNabs (broadly neutralizing HIV-1 antibodies), and Moores is studying how these antibodies evolve in vivo. This understanding will allow the develop of new vaccines that encourage the generation of antibodies that can protect against pathogenic bacteria.
During the COVID-19 pandemic Doores studied the levels of antibodies in patients who had suffered from COVID-19 in Guy's and St Thomas' NHS Foundation Trust. Her research showed that while 60% of COVID-19 patients elicited a strong antibody response, only 17% of them retained this potency three months later. In some cases, patients entirely lost their antibody response. These results implied that immunity to COVID-19 might be short lived, and that people may become reinfected during a second wave of infection.
Selected publications
References
External links
Katie Doores at King's College London
The Doores Lab
Living people
Year of birth missing (living people)
British women biochemists
Alumni of the University of Oxford
HIV vaccine research
Academics of King's College London
Scripps Research faculty
COVID-19 researchers | Katie Doores | [
"Chemistry"
] | 775 | [
"HIV vaccine research",
"Drug discovery"
] |
64,550,992 | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ryser%27s%20conjecture | In graph theory, Ryser's conjecture is a conjecture relating the maximum matching size and the minimum transversal size in hypergraphs.
This conjecture first appeared in 1971 in the Ph.D. thesis of J. R. Henderson, whose advisor was Herbert John Ryser.
Preliminaries
A matching in a hypergraph is a set of hyperedges such that each vertex appears in at most one of them. The largest size of a matching in a hypergraph H is denoted by .
A transversal (or vertex cover) in a hypergraph is a set of vertices such that each hyperedge contains at least one of them. The smallest size of a transversal in a hypergraph H is denoted by .
For every H, , since every cover must contain at least one point from each edge in any matching.
If H is r-uniform (each hyperedge has exactly r vertices), then , since the union of the edges from any maximal matching is a set of at most rv vertices that meets every edge.
The conjecture
Ryser's conjecture is that, if H is not only r-uniform but also r-partite (i.e., its vertices can be partitioned into r sets so that every edge contains exactly one element of each set), then:I.e., the multiplicative factor in the above inequality can be decreased by 1.
Extremal hypergraphs
An extremal hypergraph to Ryser's conjecture is a hypergraph in which the conjecture holds with equality, i.e., . The existence of such hypergraphs show that the factor r-1 is the smallest possible.
An example of an extremal hypergraph is the truncated projective plane - the projective plane of order r-1 in which one vertex and all lines containing it is removed. It is known to exist whenever r-1 is the power of a prime integer.
There are other families of such extremal hypergraphs.
Special cases
In the case r=2, the hypergraph becomes a bipartite graph, and the conjecture becomes . This is known to be true by Kőnig's theorem.
In the case r=3, the conjecture has been proved by Ron Aharoni. The proof uses the Aharoni-Haxell theorem for matching in hypergraphs.
In the cases r=4 and r=5, the following weaker version has been proved by Penny Haxell and Scott: there exists some ε > 0 such that.Moreover, in the cases r=4 and r=5, Ryser's conjecture has been proved by Tuza (1978) in the special case , i.e.:.
Fractional variants
A fractional matching in a hypergraph is an assignment of a weight to each hyperedge such that the sum of weights near each vertex is at most one. The largest size of a fractional matching in a hypergraph H is denoted by .
A fractional transversal in a hypergraph is an assignment of a weight to each vertex such that the sum of weights in each hyperedge is at least one. The smallest size of a fractional transversal in a hypergraph H is denoted by . Linear programming duality implies that .
Furedi has proved the following fractional version of Ryser's conjecture: If H is r-partite and r-regular (each vertex appears in exactly r hyperedges), then.Lovasz has shown that.
References
Graph theory
Hypergraphs | Ryser's conjecture | [
"Mathematics"
] | 714 | [
"Statements in graph theory",
"Mathematical relations",
"Graph theory"
] |
64,552,953 | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Railways%20in%20Sardinia | The railway network of Sardinia includes lines that develop for a total of about 1,038 km in length, of which 430 km with an ordinary gauge and about 608 km narrow gauge (950 mm), with an average density of 43 m of rail per km2, a figure that drops to 25 m/km2 considering only public transport lines.
Railway operations on the island are managed by two companies. The first, the Ferrovie dello Stato Italiane group, manages the 4 ordinary gauge railway lines that make up the main network of the island through the subsidiaries RFI and Trenitalia. The remaining 4 sections active in public transport, all narrow gauge, constitute the secondary network, extended by 169 km and entirely managed by ARST Sp A., a transport company wholly owned by the Autonomous Region of Sardinia. This company also controls 438 km of tourist lines, always narrow gauge, active especially in summer and at the request of groups of tourists.
The Sardinian railway network is present in all provinces, even if there are areas without railways. There are also several railways (all narrow gauge) which over the decades have been closed and dismantled.
History
The construction of Ferrovie Reali
Sardinia, immediately after the Unification of Italy, found itself to be the only territory in the Kingdom without a railway network for public transport: the only lines present were in fact private railways for industrial use. In this regard, the first railway ever to enter into operation on the island was the one between the mine of San Leone and the pier of La Maddalena near Capoterra, a line open to traffic in 1862 . The lack of a public railway network led island politicians several times to request government intervention to grant this service also to Sardinia.
After various doubts and objections from national politicians, in 1862 an Italian-English consortium, headed by cavalier Gaetano Semenza, obtained the concession for the construction of the network that would link Cagliari to Iglesias, Porto Torres and Terranova Pausania (in Olbia). The consortium formed the Royal Company of the Sardinian Railways in London, which between studies of the routes, problems of conventions with the State and of various kinds, opened the first stretch of railway (Cagliari- Villasor) in April 1871.
The construction of the planned lines, based on a project by the Welsh engineer Benjamin Piercy, ended in 1881, but in the meantime, for the traffic of passengers to the continent, it was decided to use the new maritime docking of Golfo Aranci instead of that of Terranova. The fact made it necessary to build an extension of the railway, which joined the two Gallura ports in 1883.
Sardinia finally had its own railways and, as of December 31, 1899, 30 steam locomotives, 106 carriages, 23 baggage and 436 wagons for freight service were operating on the Royal Railways.
The connection of peripheral areas
However, the layout of the Royal Railways network excluded various areas of the island from the possibility of using trains. In fact, many centers complained that they had been cut off from this very important progress in island transport because of the distance from the railway tracks. It was thus decided in 1885, with Law 3011 of March 22 of that year, to grant the possibility of building a secondary network that connected the more isolated centers with the main cities and with the network of the Royal Railways. Given the specific request for an economy construction, it was decided to use a 950 mm track gauge, which would also have helped the engineers in planning the routes in the inaccessible internal areas of Sardinia/
The following year the works were entrusted to the " Italian Society for the Secondary Railways of Sardinia " (SFSS), which, building at a fast pace, inaugurated its first lines after only 17 months. In fact, already on February 15, 1888 the SFSS opened the Cagliari-Isili and the line from Tempio Pausania to the SFSS station in Monti, which borders the homonymous port of the Royal Railways . By the end of the decade they were also inaugurated the dorsal Bosa - Macomer - Nuoro and Sassari-Alghero, while from Isili the railway was extended to arise .
Before the end of the century, the Mandas-Arbatax and its Gairo-Jerzu branch were also inaugurated, in addition another link connecting the main and secondary networks was opened to traffic, connecting the Tirso station of Macomer-Nuoro to the strategic Chilivani slipway . In all 590 km of railway track were built, and in many cases the works were completed well in advance, also thanks to the workers who came to build on average 300 meters of line per day. This figure is even more significant if we consider the morphology of the territories where the lines were made and the physical effort that the excavations and drilling in the rock required to the teams of workers.
However, the project was not without criticism from many users, who contested the excessive distance of most of the stations from their respective villages, which was linked to the exploitation of the internal forests of the island, whose valuable timber was transported by the new railway. Furthermore, the average speeds maintained by the SFSS trains, certainly not very high, created some discontent among the passengers.
In 1898, meanwhile, the extension of the ordinary gauge network grew by 6 km, those of the new portion of the railway track open between Iglesias and its hamlet Monteponi, strategically important for the transport of minerals that were extracted in this location and in the surrounding area.
From the beginning of the 20th century to WWII
Despite the complaints, both networks fully achieved the purpose for which they were born, that is to encourage the transport of people and goods between the various areas of Sardinia, until then only linked to animal traction vehicles. The importance of the railway for the island can be seen from the length of the trips, which were no longer measured in days, but in hours.
In any case, the areas isolated from the railway were still several, and in the years immediately preceding the First World War the regional authorities asked the various mayors for proposals and advice for new railway lines. Among the recommended railways, many were rejected due to lack of funds or uneconomicness. Other lines were planned, such as those of the Sulcis (whose connections at that time were ensured by car transport), but the war forced a postponement of the works, while some proposals for relations in the Sassari area were taken into consideration in the subsequent years.
In those years the only railways to see the light were Isili-Villacidro and its Villamar-Ales branch. The project for the construction of these lines was approved in 1912, and construction was entrusted to the " Society for the Complementary Railways of Sardinia " (FCS). The project also included the use of 5 km of the Isili-Sorgono line, in the stretch between Isili and the Sarcidano station (where the new railway actually started), which led to the common management of this portion of the line with the SFSS. The inauguration of the two lines dates back to June 21, 1915, and the first passengers on the trains were the soldiers leaving for the battlefields of the First World War.
Network extension
Over the years, the Sardinian railway network has remained largely unchanged as a route: not considering the closure of some sections, the only changes to the routes concerned mainly small / medium-sized variants and rectification works to speed up journeys. In any case, the total lack of electrification of the network and the tortuosity of the lines in certain areas mean that the average train speeds are rather low compared to the rest of Italy, which in some cases has compromised the competitiveness of the railway towards bus lines.
Commonly, the Sardinian network is divided into the main ordinary gauge network (that of the FS, managed through the subsidiary Rete Ferroviaria Italiana) and the secondary narrow gauge network (of the ARST).
Closed lines
Various lines closed after the Second World War and were subsequently dismantled, in almost all cases due to the choice of converting services to road transport, which was considered cheaper.
The grounds and infrastructure works (bridges, tunnels) are however still present, and in more than one case the proposal has been made to recover these routes as cycle paths.
References
Transport systems
Railway lines in Sardinia | Railways in Sardinia | [
"Physics",
"Technology"
] | 1,706 | [
"Physical systems",
"Transport",
"Transport systems"
] |
64,553,550 | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Industrial%202%20of%205 | Industrial 2 of 5. (also known as Standard 2 of 5) is a variable length, discrete, two width symbology. Industrial 2 of 5 is a subset of two-out-of-five codes.
Industrial 2 of 5 is one of the first 1D and oldest barcodes and can encode only digits (0-9). It was invented in 1971 by Identicon Corp. and Computer Identics Corp. At this time, it has only historical value because of low encoding density and restricted charset. Previously it was used for cardboard printing, photo developing envelopes, warehouse sorting systems and for management of physical distribution.
Industrial 2 of 5 has low encoding density because an information can be encoded only in black bars and white spaces are just ignored. Industrial 2 of 5 barcode may include an optional check digit. Most of barcode readers support this symbology.
Encoding
Industrial 2 of 5 can encode digits from 0 to 9. The digit can be encoded in 5 black bars on digit and white spaces are ignored. Any black bar can have two width: wide or narrow. Any white space can have any width by not more than narrow black bar.
Industrial 2 of 5 start/stop patterns and data patterns are split by white space. Industrial 2 of 5 could include optional checksum character which is added to the end of the barcode.
Industrial 2 of 5 features:
character set is a number (0-9);
encoding density low: barcode length on 50% longer than Interleaved 2 of 5 symbology and on 172% than Code 128;
variable length of symbol;
can include optional checking character.
Four bars in encoding scheme, except zero, have own weights which encode value of the symbol. Also, last black bar is used as parity bit to avoid single error. Symbol consists of five bars: two wide bars and three narrow bars. Value of the symbol is a sum of nonzero weights of first four bars.
As an example, we can see digit 3 is encoded. Weight 1 and 2 is not zero and parity bits is 0 means the count of bits is divisible on 2. The result: 1*1 + 1*2 + 0*4 + 0*7 = 3.
The same with digit 4: weight 4 is not zero and parity bit is 1, which means that count of bits is not divisible on 2. 0*1 + 0*2 + 1*4 + 0*7 = 4.
N - narrow black bar.
W - wide black bar.
S - white space between bars, in most cases must be same size as narrow black bar.
The barcode has the following physical structure:
1. Quiet zone 10X wide
2. Start character
3. Variable length digit characters, properly encoded
4. Optional check digit
5. Stop character
6. Quiet zone 10X wide
Checksum
Industrial 2 of 5 may include an optional check digit, which is calculated as other UPC checksums. This is not required as part of the specification, but check digit is added as last digit in the code to improve the accuracy of the symbology.
,
where is the most right data digit.
Example for the first 6 digits 423456:
Result: 4234562 barcode
IATA 2 of 5
IATA 2 of 5 (also known as Computer Identics 2 of 5, Airline 2 of 5) is a variable length, discrete, two width symbology, which is fully similar to Industrial 2 of 5 symbology except start/stop symbols. In this way it has all advantages and issues of Industrial 2 of 5 symbology.
N - narrow black bar.
W - wide black bar.
S - white space between bars, in most cases must be same size as narrow black bar.
IATA 2 of 5 was invented in 1974 by Computer Identics Corp. The barcode was used by International Air Transport Association (IATA) for managing air cargo.
IATA 2 of 5 version used by International Air Transport Association had fixed 17 digits length with 16 valuable package identification digit and 17-th check digit. Some readers currently still support this symbology
See also
Automated identification and data capture (AIDC)
Barcode
Code 2 of 5
International Air Transport Association
Inventory control system
References
External links
Free Industrial 2 of 5 and IATA 2 of 5 generator
Industrial 2 of 5 description
Industrial 2 of 5 Patent
IATA 2 of 5 description
IATA 2 of 5 Patent
Automatic identification and data capture
Barcodes
Encodings | Industrial 2 of 5 | [
"Technology"
] | 902 | [
"Data",
"Automatic identification and data capture"
] |
64,554,970 | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mathematical%20Models%20%28Fischer%29 | Mathematical Models: From the Collections of Universities and Museums – Photograph Volume and Commentary is a book on the physical models of concepts in mathematics that were constructed in the 19th century and early 20th century and kept as instructional aids at universities. It credits Gerd Fischer as editor, but its photographs of models are also by Fischer. It was originally published by Vieweg+Teubner Verlag for their bicentennial in 1986, both in German (titled Mathematische Modelle. Aus den Sammlungen von Universitäten und Museen. Mit 132 Fotografien. Bildband und Kommentarband) and (separately) in English translation, in each case as a two-volume set with one volume of photographs and a second volume of mathematical commentary. Springer Spektrum reprinted it in a second edition in 2017, as a single dual-language volume.
Topics
The work consists of 132 full-page photographs of mathematical models, divided into seven categories, and seven chapters of mathematical commentary written by experts in the topic area of each category.
These categories are:
Wire and thread models, of hypercubes of various dimensions, and of hyperboloids, cylinders, and related ruled surfaces, described as "elementary analytic geometry" and explained by Fischer himself.
Plaster and wood models of cubic and quartic algebraic surfaces, including Cayley's ruled cubic surface, the Clebsch surface, Fresnel's wave surface, the Kummer surface, and the Roman surface, with commentary by W. Barth and H. Knörrer.
Wire and plaster models illustrating the differential geometry and curvature of curves and surfaces, including surfaces of revolution, Dupin cyclides, helicoids, and minimal surfaces including the Enneper surface, with commentary by M. P. do Carmo, G. Fischer, U. Pinkall, H. and Reckziegel.
Surfaces of constant width including the surface of rotation of the Reuleaux triangle and the Meissner bodies, described by J. Böhm.
Uniform star polyhedra, described by E. Quaisser.
Models of the projective plane, including the Roman surface (again), the cross-cap, and Boy's surface, with commentary by U. Pinkall that includes its realization by Roger Apéry as a quartic surface (disproving a conjecture of Heinz Hopf).
Graphs of functions, both with real and complex variables, including the Peano surface, Riemann surfaces, exponential function and Weierstrass's elliptic functions, with commentary by J. Leiterer.
Audience and reception
This book can be viewed as a supplement to Mathematical Models by Martyn Cundy and A. P. Rollett (1950), on instructions for making mathematical models, which according to reviewer Tony Gardiner "should be in every classroom and on every lecturer's shelf" but in fact sold very slowly. Gardiner writes that the photographs may be useful in undergraduate mathematics lectures, while the commentary is best aimed at mathematics professionals in giving them an understanding of what each model depicts. Gardiner also suggests using the book as a source of inspiration for undergraduate research projects that use its models as starting points and build on the mathematics they depict. Although Gardiner finds the commentary at times overly telegraphic and difficult to understand, reviewer O. Giering, writing about the German-language version of the same commentary, calls it detailed, easy-to-read, and stimulating.
By the time of the publication of the second edition, in 2017, reviewer Hans-Peter Schröcker evaluates the visualizations in the book as "anachronistic", superseded by the ability to visualize the same phenomena more easily with modern computer graphics, and he writes that some of the commentary is also "slightly outdated". Nevertheless, he writes that the photos are "beautiful and aesthetically pleasing", writing approvingly that they use color sparingly and aim to let the models speak for themselves rather than dazzling with many color images. And despite the fading strength of its original purpose, he finds the book valuable both for its historical interest and for what it still has to say about visualizing mathematics in a way that is both beautiful and informative.
References
Mathematical tools
Mathematics books
1986 non-fiction books
2017 non-fiction books | Mathematical Models (Fischer) | [
"Mathematics",
"Technology"
] | 878 | [
"Applied mathematics",
"Mathematical tools",
"History of computing",
"nan"
] |
64,555,429 | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Perfect%20matching%20in%20high-degree%20hypergraphs | In graph theory, perfect matching in high-degree hypergraphs is a research avenue trying to find sufficient conditions for existence of a perfect matching in a hypergraph, based only on the degree of vertices or subsets of them.
Introduction
Degrees and matchings in graphs
In a simple graph , the degree of a vertex , often denoted by or , is the number of edges in adjacent to . The minimum degree of a graph, often denoted by or , is the minimum of over all vertices in .
A matching in a graph is a set of edges such that each vertex is adjacent to at most one edge; a perfect matching is a matching in which each vertex is adjacent to exactly one edge. A perfect matching does not always exist, and thus it is interesting to find sufficient conditions that guarantee its existence.
One such condition follows from Dirac's theorem on Hamiltonian cycles. It says that, if , then the graph admits a Hamiltonian cycle; this implies that it admits a perfect matching. The factor is tight, since the complete bipartite graph on vertices has degree but does not admit a perfect matching.
The results described below aim to extend these results from graphs to hypergraphs.
Degrees in hypergraphs
In a hypergraph , each edge of may contain more than two vertices of . The degree of a vertex in is, as before, the number of edges in that contain . But in a hypergraph we can also consider the degree of subsets of vertices: given a subset of , is the number of edges in that contain all vertices of . Thus, the degree of a hypergraph can be defined in different ways depending on the size of subsets whose degree is considered.
Formally, for every integer , is the minimum of over all subsets of that contain exactly vertices. Thus, corresponds to the definition of a degree of a simple graph, namely the smallest degree of a single vertex; is the smallest degree of a pair of vertices; etc.
A hypergraph is called -uniform if every hyperedge in contains exactly vertices of . In -uniform graphs, the relevant values of are . In a simple graph, .
Conditions on 1-vertex degree
Several authors proved sufficient conditions for the case , i.e., conditions on the smallest degree of a single vertex.
If is a 3-uniform hypergraph on vertices, is a multiple of 3, and then contains a perfect matching.
If is a 3-uniform hypergraph on vertices, is a multiple of 3, and then contains a perfect matching - a matching of size . This result is the best possible.
If is a 4-uniform hypergraph with on vertices, is a multiple of 4, and then contains a perfect matching - a matching of size . This result is the best possible.
If is -uniform, n is a multiple of , and then contains a matching of size at least . In particular, setting gives that, if then contains a perfect matching.
If is -uniform and -partite, each side contains exactly vertices, and then contains a matching of size at least . In particular, setting gives that if then contains a perfect matching.
For comparison, Dirac's theorem on Hamiltonian cycles says that, if is 2-uniform (i.e., a simple graph) and
then admits a perfect matching.
Conditions on (r-1)-tuple degree
Several authors proved sufficient conditions for the case , i.e., conditions on the smallest degree of sets of vertices, in -uniform hypergraphs with vertices.
In r-partite r-uniform hypergraphs
The following results relate to -partite hypergraphs that have exactly vertices on each side ( vertices overall):
If and , then has a perfect matching. This expression is smallest possible up to the lower-order term; in particular, is not sufficient.
If then admits a matching that covers all but at most vertices in each vertex class of . The factor is essentially the best possible.
Let be the sides of . If the degree of every -tuple in is strictly larger than , and the degree of every -tuple in is at least , then admits a perfect matching.
In general r-uniform hypergraphs
For every , when is large enough, if then is Hamiltonian, and thus contains a perfect matching.
If and is sufficiently large, then admits a perfect matching.
If then admits a matching that covers all but at most vertices.
When is divisible by and sufficiently large, the threshold is where is a constant depending on the parity of and (all expressions below are the best possible):
3 when is even and is odd;
when is odd and is odd;
when is odd and is even;
2 otherwise.
When is not divisible by , the sufficient degree is close to : if , then admits a perfect matching. The expression is almost the smallest possible: the smallest possible is .
Other conditions
There are some sufficient conditions for other values of :
For all , the threshold for is close to:
For all , the threshold for is at most:
If is -partite and each side contains exactly vertices, and then contains a matching covering all but vertices.
If is sufficiently large and divisible by , and then contains a matching covering all but vertices.
See also
Hall-type theorems for hypergraphs - lists other sufficient conditions for the existence of perfect matchings in hypergraphs, analogous to Hall's marriage theorem.
References
Hypergraphs
Matching (graph theory) | Perfect matching in high-degree hypergraphs | [
"Mathematics"
] | 1,097 | [
"Matching (graph theory)",
"Mathematical relations",
"Graph theory"
] |
64,555,681 | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Medicines%20Discovery%20Catapult | The Medicines Discovery Catapult (MDC) is the United Kingdom's catapult centre for medicine research and innovation, headquartered at Alderley Park in Cheshire.
History
The intention to form the company was announced by the Chancellor on 13 July 2015 with funding of £5m, on a visit to Cheshire. It would be part of the Northern Powerhouse initiative.
The Medicines Technologies Catapult was established in December 2015, funded by a £10m grant from Innovate UK and based at the Alderley Park science park in Cheshire. On 1 March 2016 its name changed to the Medicines Discovery Catapult. Further funding of approximately £10m per year was secured from Innovate UK for the years 2018 to 2023.
Precision Medicine Catapult
The PMC was based in Cambridge and had regional centres of excellence at Belfast, Glasgow, Cardiff, Oxford, Leeds and Manchester. It worked with precision medicine. It started from April 2015, and worked with regional parts of the Diagnostic Evidence Cooperative and Academic Health Science Networks (AHSN).
On 26 June 2017 it was announced that the PMC would close, with most of its functions transferred to the MDC. The Leeds site is now the Leeds Centre for Personalised Medicine and Health.
Activities
A not-for-profit company, the MDC works with a range of UK innovators to advance projects and products towards clinical impact. In 2019, the company stated that it worked in four sectors:
Predictive biological models of human disease, for new drug testing
Predictive computational techniques for drug discovery
Collaboration between health service providers and government bodies
Collaboration on drug discovery between research charities and industry.
In the same year, the number of staff increased from 40 to 75, and the company reported that its income comprised £8.5m from Innovate UK and £152,000 from collaborative research and development. After charging £7.1m to administrative expenses, the company reported a loss for the year of £16,000.
In 2020, the company was given the task of setting up one of the first PCR analysis centres for COVID-19 tests – known as Lighthouse labs – elsewhere at the Alderley Park site. By 2021, this centre employed over 700 staff and had a stated capacity of 80,000 test samples per day.
Key people
Dr Robin Brown has been the company's chairman since July 2018; he has a PhD in molecular biology and has worked in venture capital at Advent Healthcare. The company has no shareholders.
Previously, Professor Graham Boulnois was chairman from January 2016; he was head of research from 1992 to 2000 at Zeneca Pharmaceuticals in Cheshire, and Professor of Microbiology from 1984 to 1992 at the University of Leicester.
See also
Innovative Medicines Initiative, OpenPHACTS and European Lead Factory
References
External links
2015 establishments in the United Kingdom
Borough of Cheshire East
British medical research
Catapult centres
Government agencies established in 2015
Health in Cheshire
Medical and health organisations based in the United Kingdom
Medical research organizations
Medicinal chemistry
Organisations based in Cheshire
Pharmaceutical industry in the United Kingdom
Pharmacognosy
Pharmacy organisations in the United Kingdom
Science and technology in Cheshire | Medicines Discovery Catapult | [
"Chemistry",
"Biology"
] | 631 | [
"Pharmacology",
"Pharmacognosy",
"Medicinal chemistry stubs",
"Biochemistry stubs",
"nan",
"Medicinal chemistry",
"Biochemistry"
] |
64,555,797 | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/NGC%201662 | NGC 1662 (also known as Collinder 55) is a loosely bound open cluster located in the constellation Orion. It has an apparent magnitude of 7.6 and an approximate size of 20 arc-minutes. It is also known as the Klingon Battlecruiser Cluster by amateur astronomers. NGC 1662 was discovered by the German-British astronomer William Herschel in 1784. Although estimates of its age vary from 100 to 800 million years old, latest studies believe the cluster to be about 400 million years old.
Location
NGC 1662 lies 1.7º NE of the star Pi1 Orionis.
References
External links
CCD image of NGC 1662, Velimir Popov & Emil Ivanov, 2018
Open clusters
1662
Orion (constellation) | NGC 1662 | [
"Astronomy"
] | 148 | [
"Constellations",
"Orion (constellation)"
] |
64,555,856 | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Melotte%20186 | Melotte 186 (also known as Collinder 359) is a large, loosely bound open cluster located in the constellation Ophiuchus. It has an apparent magnitude of 3.0 and an approximate size of 240 arc-minutes.
History
Due to its enormous size, this cluster was never recognized as such before the 20th century. The British astronomer Philibert Jacques Melotte was the first to notice it, who described it in his 1915 catalogue of star clusters as a large group of stars scattered around the star 67 Ophiuchi. In 1931, it was re-observed by Swedish astronomer Per Collinder, who described it as a group of 15 stars devoid of appreciable concentration, providing measurements of its member stars.
Characteristics
Mel 186 is an object of considerable size both real and apparent, which corresponds to a low concentration of its member stars. Its distance is controversial and the various estimates depend mainly on which stars are considered effective members or not; several estimates that indicated it as located at 249 parsecs (812 light years) are contrasted with more recent estimates that place it at as many as 450 parsecs (1467 light years).
Age is also the subject of debate, with measurements showing significant differences also here on the basis of which stars are considered as members; initial estimates have indicated an age of 20-30 million years, while more recent studies fix its origin at 100 million years, on the basis of measurements of as many as 628 possible star members with a mass between 1.3 and 0.03 M ⊙ . According to various studies it emerges that the Mel 186 stars have the same proper motion, average age and average distance as those of the nearby cluster IC 4665, suggesting a possible interaction between the two objects in the early stages of their existence; on the other hand, Mel 186 can also be seen as a scattered stellar association rather than a real open cluster due to the considerable distance between its components.
Observing
Melotte 186 is located in the northeastern part of the constellation Ophiuchus, just west of the star Beta Ophiuchi. Due to its declination close to the celestial equator, the cluster can be observed from any latitude of Earth. The best time to observe the cluster is between June and October.
The cluster is composed of magnitude 4-5 stars scattered over a 240 arc-minute region of the night sky. Though the open cluster is visible to the naked eye, it does not contrast well against the night sky due to its sparse appearance. Through binoculars one can resolve several dozen more stars down to magnitude 8, which are mainly concentrated around the eastern side of the cluster. Due to its large size, telescopes do not afford an improved view of the cluster.
The brighter stars make up the "face" of the former constellation Taurus Poniatovii, due to their V-shaped formation which resembles the Hyades cluster.
See also
Melotte 20
References
Open clusters
Ophiuchus | Melotte 186 | [
"Astronomy"
] | 597 | [
"Ophiuchus",
"Constellations"
] |
64,556,269 | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/A.%20Charles%20Catania | Anthony Charles Catania (born June 22, 1936) is an American researcher in behavior analysis known for his theoretical, experimental, and applied work. He is an Emeritus professor of psychology at the University of Maryland, Baltimore County (UMBC), where he taught and conducted research for 35 years prior to his retirement in 2008. He received a B.A. (1957) and M.A. (1958) at Columbia University in Psychology. He received his Ph.D. in Psychology at Harvard University in 1961. He remained at Harvard to conduct research as a postdoctoral researcher in B. F. Skinner's laboratory. Prior to his career at UMBC, he held a faculty position for nearly a decade at New York University (NYU).
He studies the behavior of both human and nonhuman animals. He has written over 200 journal articles and book chapters, has edited or co-edited six books, and has written two textbooks on learning. Topics on which he has published include schedules of reinforcement, human verbal behavior, and the history of behavior analysis.
Related to his professional interests in learning and verbal behavior, since 2022 Catania has participated in a published series of one-on-one conversations with linguist and political activist Noam Chomsky. Topics discussed include the history of cognitive science and scientific and philosophical disputes concerning verbal behavior.
At UMBC, Catania founded the graduate-level (MA) program in Applied Behavior Analysis.
Catania was the chief editor at the Journal of the Experimental Analysis of Behavior (1966–69) and served as an associate editor at several journals, including Behavioral and Brain Sciences, Behaviorism, and the European Journal of Behavior Analysis. He served as President of the Maryland Association for Behavior Analysis. He twice served as President of the Society for the Experimental Analysis of Behavior (SEAB; from 1966-1967 and 1981–83) and as President of the Association for Behavior Analysis [now Association for Behavior Analysis International (ABAI)], from 1981 to 1984. He is a Fellow of Divisions 3, 6, 25, and 28 of the American Psychological Association (APA) and served as President of Division 25 from 1996 to 1998.
He resides in Columbia, Maryland.
References
1936 births
Living people
Behaviourist psychologists
New York University faculty
Harvard Graduate School of Arts and Sciences alumni
University of Maryland, Baltimore County faculty
Columbia College (New York) alumni
American academic journal editors
Scientists from New York City
20th-century American psychologists
21st-century American psychologists
Fellows of the American Psychological Association | A. Charles Catania | [
"Biology"
] | 506 | [
"Behaviourist psychologists",
"Behavior",
"Behaviorism"
] |
64,556,980 | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yau%20Usman%20Idris | Yau Usman Idris is a Nigerian nuclear physicist and the current director general (CEO) of the Nigerian Nuclear Regulatory Authority (NNRA). He was appointed by Muhammadu Buhari, President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.
Early life and education
Idris was born in Kauru, Local Government Area of Kaduna State. He obtained his B.Sc in physics at the University of Maiduguri in 1988, M.Sc. in physics at the University of Ibadan in 1992, and PhD in nuclear physics at Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria in 1998.
He also obtained a certificate in BPTC - reactor safety, nuclear technology from Korea Institute of Nuclear Safety, South Korea in 2013. Another certificate was also obtained from Argonne National Laboratory, Chicago, Illinois in nuclear power plant development in 2009.
Career
Idris worked in various places nationally and internationally in the field of nuclear and now is the director general of the Nigerian Nuclear Regulatory Authority (NNRA).
He was appointed as commissioner for Environment and Natural Resources by the Kaduna State Governor, Nasiru Ahmed El-rufai from August 2015 to February 2016.
He was then a lecturer researcher, Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria from 1999 to April 2004, and then lecturer researcher, Department of Physics, University of Maiduguri from 1989 to 1999.
Moreover, in the international responsibility of nuclear safety, he is a Vice Chairman of the Forum of Nuclear Regulatory Bodies in Africa (FNRA), African Regional Co-ordinator of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), Advisory Board Member of the African Nuclear Business Platform (AFNBP), and Co-ordinator of the Website of the Forum of Nuclear Regulatory Bodies in Africa (FNRBA).
Award and membership
He has received several awards such as international Leadership Gold Award for Excellent, Nigerian Self-service Gold Award (NISSGA) and Legends' Noble Award
Membership of professional association
He is the Secretary of the Forum of Nuclear Regulatory Body in Africa (FNRBA), Advisory Board Member for African Nuclear Business Platform ( AFNBP), Member Forum of Nuclear Regulatory Body in Africa (FNRBA), Nigerian Society for Radiation Protection (NSRP), Member Nigerian Institute of Physics (MNIP), and Member, Material Society of Nigeria (MMSN)
Personal life
He is married with children.
See also
Heat energy
Nuclear energy policy by country
Nuclear reactor
Nuclear weapon
Radiation
References
Year of birth missing (living people)
Living people
Ahmadu Bello University alumni
Nigerian physicists
Nuclear physicists
People from Kaduna State
University of Ibadan alumni
University of Maiduguri alumni | Yau Usman Idris | [
"Physics"
] | 542 | [
"Nuclear physicists",
"Nuclear physics"
] |
64,559,706 | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/NGC%202353 | NGC 2353 is a loosely bound open cluster located in the constellation Monoceros. It has an apparent magnitude of 7.1 and an approximate size of 20 arc-minutes. The cluster is dominated by the magnitude 6.0 star HIP 34999, which lies at the southern edge of the cluster.
The asterism NGC 2351 lies 19 arc-minutes southeast of NGC 2353.
References
Open clusters
2353
Monoceros | NGC 2353 | [
"Astronomy"
] | 91 | [
"Monoceros",
"Constellations"
] |
64,559,901 | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Micralign | The Perkin-Elmer Micralign was a family of aligners introduced in 1973. Micralign was the first projection aligner, a concept that dramatically improved semiconductor fabrication. According to the Chip History Center, it "literally made the modern IC industry".
The Micralign addressed a significant problem in the early integrated circuit (IC) industry, that the vast majority of ICs printed contained defects that rendered them useless. On average, about 1 in 10 complex ICs produced would be operational, a 10% yield. The Micralign improved this to over 50%, and as great as 70% in many applications. In doing so, the price of microprocessors and dynamic RAM products fell about 10 times between 1974 and 1978, by which time the Micralign had become practically universal in the high-end market.
Initially predicting to sell perhaps 50 units, Perkin-Elmer eventually sold about 2,000, making them the by far largest vendor in the semiconductor fabrication equipment space through the second half of the 1970s and early 1980s. Formed into the Microlithography Division, by 1980 its income was the largest of Perkin-Elmer's divisions and provided the majority of the company's profits.
The company was slow to respond to the challenge of the stepper, which replaced the projection aligners in most roles starting in the mid-1980s. Their move to extreme ultraviolet as a response failed, as the technology was not mature. Another attempt, buying a European stepper company, did nothing to reverse their fortunes. In 1990, Perkin-Elmer sold the division to Silicon Valley Group, which is today part of ASML Holding.
Background
Integrated circuits (ICs) are produced in a multi-step process known as photolithography. The process begins with thin disks of highly pure silicon being sawn from a crystalline cylinder known as a boule. After initial processing, these disks are known as wafers. The IC consists of one or more layers of lines and areas patterned onto the surface of the wafer.
The wafers are coated in a chemical known as photoresist. One layer of the ultimate chip design is printed on a "mask", similar to a stencil. The mask is placed over the wafer and an ultraviolet (UV) lamp, typically a mercury arc lamp, is shone on the mask. Depending on the process, areas of the photoresist that are exposed to the light either harden or soften, and then the softer areas are washed away using a solvent. The result is a duplication of the pattern from the mask onto the surface of the wafer. Chemical processing is then used on the pattern to give it the desired electrical qualities.
This entire process is repeated several times to build up the complete IC design. Each step uses a different design on a different mask. The features are measured in micrometres, so any previous design already deposited has to be precisely aligned with the new mask that will be applied. This is the purpose of the aligner, a task that was originally completed manually using a microscope.
There is a strong economic argument to use larger wafers, as more individual IC's can be patterned on the surface and produced in a single series of operations, thereby producing more chips during the same period of time. However, larger wafers give rise to significant optical issues; focussing the light over the area while maintaining very high uniformity was a major challenge. By the early 1970s, wafers had been about 2.5 inches in diameter for some time and were just moving to 3 inches, but existing optical systems were having problems with this size. Every time a new wafer size was introduced, the optical systems had to be redesigned from scratch.
Contact aligners
In the 1960s, the most common way to hold the mask during the exposure processes was to use a contact aligner. As the name implies, the purpose of this device was to precisely align the mask between each patterning step, and once aligned, hold the mask directly on the surface of the wafer. The reason for holding the mask on the wafer was that at the scale of the lines being drawn, diffraction of the light around the edges of the lines on the mask would blur the image if there was any distance between the mask and the wafer.
There were significant problems with the contact-mask concept. One of the most annoying was that any dust that reached the aligner's interior might stick to the mask and would be imaged on subsequent wafers as if it were part of the pattern. Equally annoying was that uncured photoresist would stick to the mask, and when the mask was lifted, it would pull off the top surface from the wafer, destroying that wafer and once again adding spurious images on the mask. Any one error might not be an issue because only the ICs in that location will be affected, but eventually, enough errors will be picked up that the mask is no longer useful.
As a result of issues like these, masks generally lasted only a dozen times before having to be replaced. To supply the required number of masks, copies of the original mask were repeatedly printed using conventional silver halide photography on photographic stock, which was then used in the machine. The thermal stability of these masks during exposure to bright light caused distortions, which were not a concern in the early days but became an issue as feature sizes continued to shrink. This forced a move from film to glass masks, further increasing costs.
Because any particular wafer could be damaged at any given masking step, the chance that any one wafer would make it through to production without damage was a function of the number of steps. This limited the complexity of the IC designs in spite of the designers being able to make use of many more layers. Microprocessors, in particular, were complex multi-layer designs that had extremely low yield, with perhaps 1 in 10 of the patterns on a wafer delivering a working chip.
Microprojector
The Micralign traces its history to a 1967 contract with the US Air Force for a higher-resolution aligner. At the time, the Air Force was one of the largest users of ICs, which were used in many of their missile systems, notably the Minuteman missile. The cost, and especially time to market, was a significant problem that the Air Force was interested in improving.
There was a second type of aligner in use, the proximity aligner. As the name implies, these held the mask in close proximity to the wafer rather than in direct contact. This improved the life of the mask and allowed a more complex design, but had the downside that diffraction effects limited its use to relatively large features compared to the contact aligners. More annoying was the fact that the mask had to be aligned in three axes to make it perfectly flat relative to the wafer, which was a very slow process, and had to hold the mask in such a way that it didn't sag.
The Air Force had worked with Perkin-Elmer for many years on reconnaissance optics, and the Air Force Materiel Command at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base offered them a contract to see whether they could improve the proximity masking system. The result was the Microprojector. The key to the design was a 16-element lens system that produced an extremely focused light source. The resulting system could produce 2.5 μm features, 100 millionths of an inch, equal to the best contact aligners.
Although the system was effective, meeting the goals set by the Air Force, it was not practical. With a large number of lenses, dispersion was a significant problem, which they addressed by filtering out everything but a single band of UV only 200-angstrom wide (the G-line), throwing away the majority of the light coming from the 1,000 W lamp. This made the exposure times even longer than existing proximity designs.
Another significant problem was that the filters removed the visible light as well as UV, which made it impossible for the operators to view the chips during the alignment process. To solve this problem, they added an image intensifier system that produced a visible image from the UV that could be used during alignment, but this added to the unit's cost.
New concept
Harold Hemstreet, manager of what was then the Electro-Optical Division, felt that Perkin-Elmer could improve on the Microprojector. He called on Abe Offner, the company's main optical designer, to come up with a solution. Offner decided to explore systems that would focus the light using mirrors instead of lenses, thus avoiding the problem of dispersion. Mirrors suffer from another problem, aberration, which makes it difficult to focus near the edges of the mirror. Combined with the desire to move to the larger 3-inch wafers, a mirror would be a difficult solution in spite of its advantages.
Offner's solution was to use only a small portion of the mirror system to image the mask, a section where the focus was guaranteed to be correct. This was along a thin ring running about halfway out from the center of the primary mirror. That meant only this sliver of the mask's image was properly focussed. This could be used if the resulting light was magnified to the size of the mask, but Rod Scott suggested that it instead be used by scanning the sliver of light across the mask.
Scanning requires the light to shine on the photoresist for the same time as it would for the entire wafer in a contact aligner, so this implied that a scanner would be much slower to operate, as it imaged only a small portion at a time. However, because the mirror was achromatic, the entire output of the lamp could be used, rather than just a small window of frequencies. In the end, the two effects offset each other, and the new system's imaging time was as good as contact systems.
John Bossung built a proof-of-concept system that copied a mask onto a photographic slide. This won another $100,000 contract from the Air Force to produce a working example.
Practical design
The $100,000 would not be enough to bring such a system to commercial production, so Hemstreet had to persuade management to fund development. At the time, another division was asking for funds to develop a laser letterpress, a high-speed currency printing system, and Hemstreet had to argue they should be funded instead of that project. When the board of directors asked about the potential market, he suggested that the company might sell 50 of the systems, which was laughed at as no one could imagine a requirement for 50 such machines. Nevertheless, Hemstreet managed to win approval for the project.
In May 1971 a production team was formed, led by Jere Buckley, a mechanical designer, and Dave Markle, an optical engineer. Offner's original design required the mask and wafer to be scanned horizontally in precisely the same motion as the mask passed over the active area of the mirror system. This appeared to be fantastically difficult to arrange with the required precision. They developed a new layout where both the mask and wafer were held on opposite ends of a C-shaped holder, at right angles to the main mirror. New mirrors reflected the light through right angles so vertical motion of the holder was translated into horizontal scanning over the main mirror, and a roof prism flipped the final image so that the mask and wafer did not produce mirror images. By making the C-shaped holder large enough, rotating the assembly produced a facsimile of horizontal scanning that was more than accurate enough for the desired resolution. A flexure bearing was used to provide super-smooth rotational motion. Perkin-Elmer boasted that one could throw a handful of sand into the mechanism and it would still work perfectly. There is no record of the scanner ever failing.
The basic mechanical design was completed by November 1971. The next step was to come up with a lamp that could efficiently light the curved section of the mirror. They called Ray Paquette at Advanced Radiation Corporation, and after working on it for about two hours he had produced a sample of a curved lamp. Offner then designed a new collimator that worked with the curved shape. Because almost all of the light from the lamp was being used, scanning took 10 to 12 seconds, a dramatic improvement over older systems. The next problem was how to align the mask, as the system focussed only UV light. This was solved by adding a dielectric coating that reflected the UV but not visible light. A separate lamp was used during the alignment process, with the light passing through the optics to the microscope that the operator used to align the mask.
The product was set to launch in the summer of 1973. In a pre-launch sales effort, the company ran a series of wafers for Texas Instruments, which they then used as their "golden wafers" to show to potential clients. They showed the wafers to Raytheon who rejected them, National Semiconductor who were impressed, and Fairchild Semiconductor who produced electron microscope images of the wafers which showed they had "horrible edges". By the time they returned to company headquarters in Norcross, Raytheon had indicated that the problem might not be with the aligner itself, but the photoresist layers. They sent one of their experienced operators to Perkin-Elmer and began sorting out the practical problems of fabrication that the company had not had to deal with previously.
Micralign 100
The first sale of what was now known as the Micralign 100 was in 1974 to Texas Instruments, which paid $98,000 for the machine, , about three times that of existing high-end contact aligners. Sales to Intel and Raytheon followed. Intel kept their system secret, and were able to introduce new products, notably memory devices, at prices no one else could touch. The secret finally leaked out when various Intel workers left the company.
The sales pitch to early customers was simple; they could use their existing glass master masks, or "reticles", without the need to print working masks at all. The masks would last 100,000 uses instead of 10. By the next year, the company was in full-out production and had a year-long backlog of orders. By 1976, they were selling 30 a month. The only issue found during initial use was that the longer exposures led to new issues with thermal expansion, which was cured by moving from conventional soda-lime glass to borosilicate glass for the masks.
The real advantage was not a reduction in mask costs, but improved yield. A 1975 report by a 3rd party research firm outlined the impressive advantages; because the contact problems with dirt and sticking emulsion were eliminated, yields had improved dramatically. For simple single-layer ICs like the 7400-series, yields improved from 75 percent with contact printing to 90 percent with the Micralign. Results were more dramatic for larger chips; a typical four-function calculator chip yielded 30 percent using contact printing, Micralign yielded 65 percent.
Microprocessors were only truly useful after the introduction of the Micralign. The Intel 8088 had yields of about 20% on older systems, improving to 60% on the Micralign. Other microprocessors were designed from the start specifically for fabrication on the Micralign. The Motorola 6800 was produced using contact aligners and sold for $295 in single units. Chuck Peddle found customers would not buy it at that cost and designed a low-cost replacement. When Motorola management refused to fund development, he left and moved to MOS Technology. Their MOS 6502 was designed specifically for the Micralign in mind, with a combination of high yield and smaller feature set allowing them to hit their design cost of $5 per unit. They introduced the 6502 only a year after the 6800, selling it for $25 in singles, and sold the subsequent 6507 with their RIOT support IC to Atari for a total of $12 per pair.
Later generations
Several improvements were introduced into the line to adapt to changes in the IC market. One of the first, on the Model 110, was the addition of an automated wafer loader, which allowed the operators to rapidly mask many wafers in a row.
The Model 111 was a single-wafer model that replaced the 100, and could be adapted for use with 2-, 2.5- or 3-inch wafers, and optionally 4×4-, 3.5×3.5- or 3×3-inch masks. The Model 120 was a 111 with automatic wafer loading. The 130 worked with 100 mm wafers and 5×5-inch masks on a single wafer system, and the 140 added wafer loading to the 130. Any existing model could be adapted to other wafer and mask sizes, or add wafer loading, through conversion kits.
The second-generation Micralign was introduced in 1979. This offered higher resolutions and the ability to work with larger wafers, but also cost much more at $250,000, . This higher price was offset by its ability to print more chips per wafer, due to the smaller feature sizes. 1981's Model 500 increased throughput to 100 wafers an hour, offsetting its $675,000 price, via improved throughput.
By the early 1980s, Perkin-Elmer was firmly in control of the majority of the aligner market, in spite of concerted efforts on the parts of many companies to enter the space. Between 1976 and 1980, overall company sales tripled to $966 million, , of which $104 million was from the Microlithography Division, making it the single largest division of the company, and by far the most profitable.
Exiting the market
While Perkin-Elmer was introducing the Micralign, several other companies were working on different solutions to the same basic problem of focussing a light across the ever-growing wafers. GCA, formerly Geophysical Corporation of America, had been working on a concept that focused on only a small part of the wafer at a time, magnifying the image of the mask about 10-to-1 so it could shine more light through a much larger mask and make up for the fact that it used only a single band of UV light. IBM had purchased one at about the same time the Micralign came to market, but gave up on the system and concluded it could never work.
By 1981, GCA had solved the problems in the stepper system. During that period, the chip industry had continually moved to denser features and more complex designs. The Micralign was running out of resolution, while the additional magnification in the GCA system allowed it to operate at finer feature sizes. With roughly the same speed that the Micralign ended sales of contact printers, GCA's stepper ended sales of the Micralign. Perkin-Elmer had simply not listened to its customers who were clamoring for higher resolution, and ignored the research and development of newer systems.
Instead of steppers, the Model 600 bet on Deep UV (note: correcting interview "EUV" blooper) (DUV) as a solution to the resolution problem. IBM used these to run a memory chip series, but no one else had an effective photoresist that worked in DUV, and few other customers purchased the system. Steppers were far slower than the Micralign and much more expensive, so sales started very slowly, but by the mid-1980s the stepper was rapidly taking over the market.
In an effort to stay in the market, in 1984 Perkin-Elmer purchased Censor, a stepper company from Liechtenstein. The product never made major inroads in the market, and in spite of GCA's bankruptcy in 1987, Perkin-Elmer decided to give up on the Microlithography Division and put it on the market in April 1989, along with their electron-beam lithography (EBL) division. The EBL work quickly sold, but the aligner division lingered. In 1990 it was purchased by the Silicon Valley Group (SVGL) in a multi-way deal involving IBM whose involvement was brokered by Nikon. SVGL was purchased by ASML Holding in 2001.
Notes
References
Citations
Bibliography
Lithography (microfabrication)
Machines | Micralign | [
"Physics",
"Materials_science",
"Technology",
"Engineering"
] | 4,190 | [
"Machines",
"Microtechnology",
"Physical systems",
"Mechanical engineering",
"Nanotechnology",
"Lithography (microfabrication)"
] |
57,970,616 | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Metarhizium%20rileyi | Metarhizium rileyi is a species of entomopathogenic fungus in the family Clavicipitaceae. This species is known to infect Lepidoptera, including economically important insects in the Noctuoidea and Bombycoidea; there is an extensive (pre 2014) literature on this fungus under its synonym Nomuraea rileyi.
Importance
In sericulture, the term "green muscardine" has been used for fungal infections of silkworms caused by M. rileyi.
M. rileyi has been considered as a potential mycoinsecticide for use against several noctuid insect pests. Blastospores of M. rileyi can be produced easily in liquid media: but conidia are preferred for practical field use. For laboratory purposes, these can be produced, expensively, on Sabouraud’s maltose agar supplemented with 1% yeast extract, but the use of grain substrates is preferred for mass production.
References
External links
Images at iNaturalist
Clavicipitaceae
Hypocreales genera
Biological pest control
Fungi described in 1883
Fungus species | Metarhizium rileyi | [
"Biology"
] | 232 | [
"Fungi",
"Fungus species"
] |
57,971,303 | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Server-side%20request%20forgery | Server-side request forgery (SSRF) is a type of computer security exploit where an attacker abuses the functionality of a server causing it to access or manipulate information in the realm of that server that would otherwise not be directly accessible to the attacker.
Similar to cross-site request forgery which utilizes a web client, for example, a web browser, within the domain as a proxy for attacks; an SSRF attack utilizes a vulnerable server within the domain as a proxy.
If a parameter of a URL is vulnerable to this attack, it is possible an attacker can devise ways to interact with the server directly (via localhost) or with the backend servers that are not accessible by the external users. An attacker can practically scan the entire network and retrieve sensitive information.
Types
Basic
In this type of attack the response is displayed to the attacker. The server fetches the URL requested by the attacker and sends the response back to the attacker.
Blind
In this type of attack the response is not sent back to the attacker. Therefore, the attacker has to devise ways to confirm this vulnerability.
References
Computer security exploits
Internet security
Deception
Security breaches | Server-side request forgery | [
"Technology"
] | 234 | [
"Computer security stubs",
"Computing stubs",
"Computer security exploits"
] |
57,971,393 | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Upper%20Mississippi%20water%20resource%20region | The Upper Mississippi water resource region is one of 21 major geographic areas, or regions, in the first level of classification used by the United States Geological Survey to divide and sub-divide the United States into successively smaller hydrologic units. These geographic areas contain either the drainage area of a major river, or the combined drainage areas of a series of rivers.
The Upper Mississippi region, which is listed with a 2-digit hydrologic unit code (HUC) of 07, has an approximate size of , and consists of 14 subregions, which are listed with the 4-digit HUCs 0701 through 0711. In a 1975 report, the region was described as "rich in water - surface water is plentiful, and ground water is a large, important, and manageable resource."
This region includes the drainage of the Mississippi River Basin above the confluence with the Ohio River, excluding the Missouri River Basin. Includes parts of Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, South Dakota, and Wisconsin.
List of water resource subregions
See also
List of rivers in the United States
Water resource region
References
Lists of drainage basins
Drainage basins
Watersheds of the United States
Regions of the United States
Resource
Water resource regions | Upper Mississippi water resource region | [
"Environmental_science"
] | 249 | [
"Hydrology",
"Drainage basins"
] |
57,974,713 | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vanesa%20Magar%20Brunner | Vanesa Magar (also known as Vanesa Magar Brunner) is a Franco-Mexican scientist who works at the Physical Oceanography Department, Ensenada Center for Scientific Research and Higher Education (CICESE) in Mexico, since 2014. She runs the Geophysical and Environmental Modelling Lab.. Her work focuses on wind energy and tidal energy.
Early life and education
Magar was born in 1971 to Roger Magar Vincent (1936- ) and Palmira Brunner Liebshard (1940-2018). She was educated at the Lycée Franco-Mexicain, the National Autonomous University of Mexico (UNAM), at Clare College and Wolfson College, Cambridge University, and at the EPCC, University of Edinburgh.
After taking her Baccalauréat in Physics, Mathematics and Technology (Bac E) at the Lycée Franco-Mexicain in Mexico City in 1989, Magar moved to France and started a General Academic Studies Degree (DEUG) in Physics, Maths, Chemistry, and Technology at the University of Nantes. But, after starting her second year at the University of Orléans, she decided to return to Mexico and started the Physics and Mathematics BSc degrees at the UNAM. While she was a student, Magar was selected by NASA to take part in a space life sciences training programme at Kennedy Space Center, to celebrate International Space Year in 1992. She graduated from UNAM in 1996.
In 1997, she obtained a certificate of Advanced Study in Mathematics from the Department of Applied Mathematics and Theoretical Physics (DAMTP), Cambridge University. She also did her PhD at the DAMTP, working on fluid dynamics with Tim Pedley. Together they studied the uptake of nutrients by swimming microorganisms. She graduated in 2001.
Professional Trajectory
Magar remained at the DAMTP between 2001 and 2002, for postdoctoral studies. She joined Bangor University in 2002, researching the transport of sediment above rippled beds. In 2005, she won a Research Councils UK Fellowship to work at the University of Plymouth., she was then appointed as lecturer in Coastal Engineering in 2010. In 2014, she moved to CICESE, where she was associate professor (2014-2021), then professor (since 2021) at the Physical Oceanography Department. .
Between 2023 and 2024 she was a visiting scholar at the EPCC, University of Edinburgh and at the Danish Technical University. Also in 2023, she started an (online, intermittent) MSc in High-Performance Computing and Data Science at EPCC, with the aim to focus on atmosphering modelling for wind energy and weather forecasting applications for the remainder of her scientific career.
She is the author of the book "Sediment Transport and Morphodynamics Modelling in Coasts and Shallow Environments", published by Taylor and Francis Press in 2020 (1st edition). She has authored and co-authored more than 50 publications and refereed abstracts.
Awards and honors
2023 - 2024: Visiting Scholar at EPCC, University of Edinburgh.
2012 - Fellow of the Software Sustainability Institute
2011 - Fellow of the Institute of Mathematics and its Applications (FIMA)
2008 - Fellow of The Higher Education Academy (FHEA)
2008 - Named a Chartered Mathematician by the Institute of Mathematics and Applications
References
1971 births
Living people
21st-century Mexican women scientists
Mexican women mathematicians
National Autonomous University of Mexico alumni
Alumni of the University of Cambridge
Women earth scientists
Physical oceanographers
Alumni of Clare College, Cambridge
Alumni of Wolfson College, Cambridge
Academics of the University of Plymouth
Women oceanographers
French oceanographers
Scientists from Mexico City
Women meteorologists
Mexican geophysicists
People from Ensenada, Baja California
People associated with wind power
Applied mathematicians
Mexican scientists
Alumni of Bangor University | Vanesa Magar Brunner | [
"Mathematics"
] | 759 | [
"Applied mathematics",
"Applied mathematicians"
] |
57,975,076 | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jean%20%C3%89calle | Jean Écalle (born 1947) is a French mathematician, specializing in dynamic systems, perturbation theory, and analysis.
Écalle received, in 1974 from the University of Paris-Saclay in Orsay, a doctorate under the supervision of Hubert Delange with Thèse d'État entitled La théorie des invariants holomorphes. He is a directeur de recherche (senior researcher) of the Centre national de la recherche scientifique (CNRS) and is a professor at the University of Paris-Saclay.
He developed a theory of so-called "resurgent functions", analytic functions with isolated singularities, which have a special algebra of derivatives (Alien calculus, Calcul différentiel étranger). "Resurgent functions" are divergent power series whose Borel transforms converge in a neighborhood of the origin and give rise, by means of analytic continuation, to (usually) multi-valued functions, but these multi-valued functions have merely isolated singularities without singularities that form cuts with dimension one or greater. Écalle's theory has important applications to solutions of generalizations of Abel's integral equation; the method of resurgent functions provides for such solutions a (Borel) resummation method for dealing with divergent series arising from semiclassical asymptotic developments in quantum theory.
He applied his theory to dynamic systems and to the interplay between diophantine small denominators and resonance involved in problems of germs of vector fields.
Independently of Yulij Ilyashenko he proved that the number of limit cycles of polynomial vector fields in the plane is finite, which Henri Dulac had already tried to prove in 1923. This result is related to Hilbert's sixteenth problem.
In 1988 Écalle was the inaugural recipient of the of the Académie des Sciences. He was in 1990 an Invited Speaker at International Congress of Mathematicians in Kyoto.
Selected publications
Les Fonctions Résurgentes , 3 volumes, pub. Math. Orsay, 1985 (downloadable pdf's available here)
Cinq applications des fonctions résurgentes , pub. Math. Orsay 1984
Singularities non abordables par la géométrie , Annales Inst. Fourier, 42, 1992, 73-164
"Six Lectures on Transseries, Analytical Functions and the Constructive Proof of Dulac's Conjecture", in D. Schlomiuk's Bifurcations and Periodic Orbits of Vector Fields, Kluwer 1993, 75-184
with B. Vallet: Correction and linearization of resonant vector fields or diffeomorphisms, Mathematische Zeitschrift 229, 1998, pp. 249–318
"A Tale of Three Structures: The Arithmetic of Multizetas, the Analysis of Singularities, the Lie Algebra ARI", in BLJ Braaksma, GK Immink, Marius van der Put, J. Top (eds.) Differential Equations and the Stokes Phenomenon, World Scientific 2002, pp. 89–146
Recent Advances in the Analysis of Divergence and Singularities, in C. Rousseau, Yu. Ilyashenko (Editor) Proceedings of the July 2002 Montreal Seminar on Bifurcation, Normal Forms and Finite Problems in Differential Equations, Kluwer 2004, pp. 87–187 abstract
Théorie des invariants holomorphes , Pub. Math. Orsay 1974
Introduction aux fonctions analysables et preuve constructive de la conjecture de Dulac , Paris: Hermann 1992
with Olivier Bouillot: "Invariants of identity-tangent diffeomorphisms: explicit formulae and effective computation." arXiv preprint arXiv:1404.1042 (2014).
References
External links
1950 births
Living people
University of Paris alumni
Academic staff of Paris-Saclay University
Dynamical systems theorists
20th-century French mathematicians
21st-century French mathematicians | Jean Écalle | [
"Mathematics"
] | 810 | [
"Dynamical systems theorists",
"Dynamical systems"
] |
57,975,652 | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History%20of%20beliefs%20about%20the%20human%20body | The human body has been subject of much debate. How people are defined, and what defined them – be it their anatomy or their energy or both – depends on culture and time. Culture not only defines how sex is perceived but also how gender is defined. Today gender, sex, and identity continue to be of much debate and change based on what place and people are being examined.
The early modern idea of the body was a cultural ideal, an understanding and approach to how the body works and what place that body has in the world. All cultural ideals of the body in the early modern period deal with deficiencies and disorders within a body, commonly told through a male ideal. Ideas of the body in the early modern period form the history of how bodies should be and how to correct the body when something has gone wrong. Therefore, early modern conceptions of the body were not biological as there was not a restrictive biological view of the human body as established by modern science.
Conceptions of the body are primarily either eastern, based in China and involving practices such as Traditional chinese medicine, or western, which follows the Greek traditions of science and is more closely related to modern science despite original anatomists and ideas of the body being just as unscientific as Chinese practices.
Historiography
In Western historical research, scholars began investigating the cultural history of the human body in detail in the 1980s. The movement is particularly associated with the historian of medicine Roy Porter, whose 1991 article 'History of the Body' was a seminal study. 1995 saw the foundation of the journal Body and Society, by which time the field of the history of the body was already extensive and diverse.
Porter pointed out that Western historiography had previously assumed mind–body dualism (i.e. that the body is fundamentally separate from the mind or soul) and therefore that the cultural history of bodies as material objects had been overlooked: 'given the abundance of evidence available, we remain remarkably ignorant about how individuals and social groups have experienced, controlled, and projected their embodied selves. How have people made sense of the mysterious link between "self" and its extensions? How have they managed the body as an intermediary between self and society?' He emphasised that the history of the body is important to understanding histories of coercion and control, sex and gender, and other important but culturally varied aspects of human experience.
Another prominent voice in the field at the same time was Caroline Walker Bynum, whose 1988 Holy Feast and Holy Fast became a landmark study. Both Bynum and Porter noted that during the 1980s Western history of the body research drew on post-structuralist thought, such as Michel Foucault's ideas of biopolitics and biopower, which emphasised that state power is not abstract, but exercised through and over human bodies. But both expressed a concern that research was focusing too much on discourse about bodies, rather than on material bodies themselves. Drawing on Mikhail Bakhtin's 1965 Rabelais and His World, they promoted a more materially orientated direction in the history of the body.
Another seminal study around the same time was Thomas Laqueur's 1990 Making Sex: Body and Gender from Greeks to Freud, which explored the social importance of different conceptions of the sexed body over time.
Ebers Papyrus
The Ebers Papyrus is an Egyptian medical text and is the oldest known record of the human body, dating back to 3000 BC. The Ebers Papyrus describes the body by physical examination and what can be felt. Clinical investigations such as the Pulse, percussion of the body, the recognition of diseased or disordered states.
“If thou examinst a swelling of the covering of his belly's horns above his pudenda (sex organs) then thou shalt place thy finger on it and examine his belly and knock on the fingers (percuss) if thou examinst his that has come out and has arisen by his cough. Then thou shalt say concerning it: it is a swelling of the covering of his belly. It is a disease which I will treat”.
The distinct medical tone focuses on what can be felt externally to infer the maladies of the body. The body was born in the correct state but could was fallible and fixable with the correct intervention and feeling and using the senses to identify what has gone wrong. The Ebers Papyrus refers to many god-like and spiritual infestations of the body that could not be explained at the time. Despite the explanations for maladies by spiritual rational, the interventions described to investigate and see the body were distinctly disconnected for the spirit or life force of the body and was principally about what could be seen or touched.
Descriptions of the exact placement of the heart within the body, the circulation of blood are in no doubt accurate as Egyptians practiced embalming their dead by removal of organs and placement of them in jars.
Medical Body in Ancient Greece
Greek philosophers separated the body and the energy of the body into separate but equal and interacting categories. Aristotle defined the energy which gives the body its movement as the soul. The soul and the body are therefore linked but can remain separate entities. This is in refutation of Dualists who view the body and mind as separate states and should be treated and examined differently and Materialists who view all parts of the body, even the soul as having a physical manifestation in the body. Aristotle finds the middle ground and accepts both of these views, that the soul has aspects that cannot be felt by normal methods, and physical manifestations that can be felt. "For even if one and being are spoken of in several ways, what is properly so spoken of is the actuality" — Aristotle in De AnimaAristotle forms the idea of Hylomorphism, that the soul and the body are not capable of being split apart without destroying both in the process. Despite this idea of the body and the soul Aristotle viewed disorder in what could be seen and felt. He was a proponent of the humoral theory that classified disorder as imbalances of the 4 fluids of the body. Aristotle was unable to dissect humans but did so to many animals and was an early founder of comparative anatomy. Aristotle did contend quasi spiritual manifestations of the body principally through sexual distinctions. He wrote that the sex of humans:
“is determined by the male principle already contained in the semen. If this is not strong enough, then the opposite must necessarily come into existence, and the opposite of man is woman.”
Aristotle clearly superimposed man as the more important figure in men and women but presents an almost Qi like representation of how sexes are defined. Aristotle presents it as a physical manifestation in semen, but in context to his descriptions of the soul and body it is not clear that he meant something physical.
European Judeo-Christian
European ideologies of the body define disorder as only things that can be touched or explored. If something could not be explored then intrusions into these areas were performed. Therefore, the body in Greek and European cultures is defined as being ailed by something physical, something that can be found and altered to produce order. Judeo-Christian ideologies have heavily influenced the definitions of the body and its disorders and therefore the male body is often explained in place of the female body.
The one-sex body model
A major intervention in the history of the body in the West was Thomas W. Laqueur's 1990 book Making Sex: Body and Gender from the Greeks to Freud. Laqueur argued that from the eighteenth century into the late twentieth, Western societies had generally thought of humans as having two fundamentally sexes, male and female. But Laqueur argued that from ancient times, the prevailing intellectual understanding of sex was that women were anatomically simply an inferior form of men. For example, Renaldus Columbus, writing about what he proposed as the discovery of the clitoris, stated that, "like a penis, "if you touch it, you will find it rendered a little harder and oblong to such a degree that it shows itself as a sort of male member." (There was much debate on the actual discovery of the clitoris between male European scientists and many claimed to have described it first: by dissecting the human body and writing down what was observed these European scientists could claim in their idea of the body that they had discovered or created new knowledge.) This one-sex model was seen as consistent, in Abrahamic thought, with the Genesis creation narrative, in which Eve is formed from Adam's rib.
Laqueur's argument has been enormously influential on the history of the body in the West, and applied by historians to a range of societies outside Laqueur's original scope, such as medieval Iceland. However, scholars specialising in pre-eighteenth-century history have often been critical of the idea that the one-sex body really was dominant in everyday life, or even in intellectual circles.
The Vitruvian Man
The Vitruvian Man is a drawing by Leonardo da Vinci that depicts the European ideal of a man. The figure is extremely muscular and focuses on the exterior of the body, what can be seen and felt. This was the standard of beauty of humans and continues to be the ideal body of European traditions. There is no Vitruvian women.
Medical body in East Asian medical literature
Eastern ideologies of the body explain what can be detected, not only felt and examined. This comes from the idea that there is not only what can be physically seen and touched but what cannot be. Energy or more aptly the means by which your body can manifest itself in the world cannot be seen but, was thought to be able to be detected. Definitions of the body and its disorders therefore focus on physical manifestations of energy through the body. This is mostly seen in Traditional Chinese medicine and has today been explained in physical ways by modern science. The ideal body of east Asian medical literature was not muscular and instead focused on key energy manifestations in the body for directed therapy.
Yellow Emperors body
The Yellow Emperor's Body is a term derived from the references to the Yellow Emperor within the Ancient Chinese book, the "book of change". The Term describes the references to both the physical body that can be touched, felt, and interact with the physical world, but also the sense of person and self that the body. The dualism of the body as both the physical self and the subjective consciousness is how Chinese defined the body. The Yellow Emperor's body is a metaphor to describe a body that focuses on the individual and not the general, focusing on disorder as not just a physical malady.
The yellow emperor is revered in China and was the founder of acupuncture. The yellow emperor is said to of derived his medical practices from a conversation with a community physician. The manuscript is recorded in the Yellow Emperors Inner Cannon, and it being recorded in this way represents the attention to the individuals perspective in creating therapies like acupuncture to treat body ailments.
The Inner Cannon was revised by natural Philosophers of the time and the approved version of the Han Court and became a foundational text for the ideals and perceptions of the human body. It focused on Qi, Yin and Yang balance, and Five phase theory to explain health can disease.
Qi
Referred to as the life force of the body, or the means by which the body is able to be animated. Qi is not limited to the physical but is intertwined with the cosmological. A tiny bit of qi, known as primordial qi is integrated in humans at birth. As one grows it is due to the primordial qi, as one fades it is because of the qi, and when one dies it is because their qi has been exhausted.
Yin and Yang
These are variations and representations of qi that define how a human exists in the world, a system of complementary opposites. Yin and Yang defined gender differences seen in the population. A baby born male simply had more Yang Qi energy where as a female has dominant Yin energy. Transgenderism, hermaphroditism and other variations of the body can be explained by the Yin and Yang Qi ideas of the body much better than the European counterparts.
Five Phases
Other types of change in the world were classified by Wood, Fire, Earth, Metal and Water. Applied to the body these 5 forces were the Liver, Heart, Spleen, Lung, and Kidney. These representations of the physical world in the body was understood dynamically and represents a deeper connection to the non animate objects and surroundings of a human. The body was not only physical sphere but a cosmological one interconnected to all physical and non physical quantities of life.
Disorders - Cheng Congzhou
The clinician and patient encounter is a spiritual connection. It is not just about what is done but what is said and how it is said, how information is revealed and what information is not. Cheng Congzhou a physician in 1581 was a local doctor in Yangshou and documented his patient encounters in detail. The importance of not only qi but blood is seen in his records: Fang Shunian's mother, the scholar's Honored Lady,4 was sixty three years old. Her constitution was naturally weak and emaciated. Her qi and Blood were both depleted. Normally all her six pulses were extremely "subtle" and "fine"; even when she caught cold they did not become very "big" or "pounding."The interactions of the physical body and the cosmological essence of a body was how disorders of the body was framed in this doctors account.
The corpse
The practices surrounding a corpse differ widely among cultures. Diogenes is famously said to have wanted his lifeless body to be thrown to the wolves so that his body can return to nature. Cultural practices that revere the dead across all cultures reveal that even in European cultures that attempt to adhere purely to what can be seen and touched, recognize that there is a more cosmic necessity to the body and connection to the physical and cosmological worlds.
References
Human Body Beliefs
Human Body Beliefs
Historiography | History of beliefs about the human body | [
"Technology"
] | 2,867 | [
"History of science",
"History of science and technology"
] |
57,976,171 | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chu%20%28Taoism%29 | Chu (, ) is a Daoist name used for various religious practices including communal chu (Kitchen) banquet rituals in Way of the Celestial Masters liturgy, the legendary xingchu (行廚, Mobile Kitchen) associated with Daoist xian ("transcendents; 'immortals'"), and wuchu (五廚, Five Kitchens) representing the wuzang (五臟, Five Viscera) in neidan meditation techniques.
Terminology
Chú ("kitchen; to cook; a cook") can be written with three Chinese characters 廚, 㕑, and 厨. The common traditional Chinese character 廚 combines the "house radical" 广 with a phonetic indicator shù 尌 (joining zhù 壴 "drum" and cùn 寸 "hand"); and the variant traditional character 㕑 has "cliff radical" 厂 instead of 广. The simplified Chinese character 厨 omits the 士 element in 壴, leading to a "graphic folk etymology" of "A 厂 'room' for cooking 豆 'beans' with your 寸 'hands'". The Chinese logograph 廚 was anciently used as a loan character for chú 櫥 (with the "wood radical" 木, "cabinet") or chú 幮 ("cloth radical" 巾, "a screen used for a temporary kitchen").
The Modern Standard Chinese lexicon uses chu in many compound words, for instance, chúfáng (廚房 with 房 "room", "kitchen"), chúshī (廚師 with 師 "master", "cook; chef"), chúdāo (廚刀 with 刀 "knife", "kitchen knife"), and páochú (庖廚 with 庖 "kitchen", meaning "kitchen").
In Daoist specialized vocabulary, chu names a Kitchen-feast communal meal, and sometimes has a technical meaning of "magic", "used to designate the magical recipes through which one becomes invisible". The extensive semantic field of chu can be summarized in some key Daoist expressions: ritual banquets, communion with divinities, granaries (zang 藏, a word that also denotes the viscera), visualization of the Five Viscera (wuzang 五臟, written with the "flesh radical" ⺼), and abstention from cereals (bigu), and other food proscriptions. According to Daoist classics, when bigu "grain avoidance" techniques were successful, xingchu (行廚, Mobile Kitchens or tianchu (天廚, Celestial Kitchens) were brought in gold and jade vessels by the yunü (玉女, Jade Women) and jintong (金僮, Golden Boys), associated with the legendary Jade Emperor.
Chinese Buddhist terminology applies chu (廚, cf. 櫥 "cabinet") "kitchen; kitchen cupboard" to denote the "cabinet for an image or relic of the Buddhas", translating Sanskrit bhakta-śālā "food-hall" or mahânasa "kitchen".
In Chinese astronomy, Tiānchú (天廚, Celestial Kitchen) is the name of an asterism in the constellation Draco, located next to Tiānbàng (天棓, Celestial Flail), and Nèichú (內廚, Inner Kitchen).
Translations
There is no standard English translation for either Daoist chu (廚, Kitchen) or xingchu (行廚, Mobile Kitchen). The former is rendered as:
"kitchen festival", "kitchen feast"
"Kitchens"
"kitchen banquets"
"cuisines"
"Kitchens"
"cuisines"
These Anglophone scholars render Chinese chu as either English kitchen ("a room for preparing food"), optionally clarified with K-, -festival or -feast, or cuisine ("a characteristic style of cooking, often associated with a place of origin"). The latter follows Francophone sinologists, for instance Henri Maspero and Christine Mollier, who accurately translated Chinese chu as French cuisine ("kitchen; cooking") and xingchu as cuisine de voyage ("travel kitchen"). Although English kitchen and French cuisine are doublets deriving from Latin cocīna ("cooking; kitchen"), they are false friends with significant semantic differences between English kitchen and cuisine. Chinese usually translates English kitchen as chúfáng (廚房, "kitchen") and cuisine as pēngrèn (烹飪, "art of cooking").
The term xingchu (行廚) has been translated as
"Traveling Canteen"
"mobile kitchen"
"perform the Kitchen"
"travelling kitchen-feast"
"traveling canteen'
"traveling kitchen"
"movable cuisines"
"Mobile Kitchens"
Joseph Needham calls Ware's "Traveling Canteen" a "bizarre translation". While Maspero uniquely interprets the xing (行) in xingchu as a verb ("to perform"), the other scholars read it as a modifier ("to go; to move") translated as traveling, mobile, or movable (cf. movable feast). The chu noun in xingchu is translated as English kitchen, cuisine, or canteen. However, the latter ambiguous word has several meanings besides canteen ("a cafeteria or snack bar provided by an organization"), canteen ("a small water bottle"), and British English canteen ("a case or box containing a cutlery set"). To further complicate translating xingchu, travelling canteen was the 18th-century equivalent of a picnic basket. In modern terms, the xingchu is comparable with a mobile kitchen, military field kitchen, food truck, or food cart.
Chu Kitchen feast
The chu (廚, Kitchen), also known as fushi (福食, "good luck meal"), was a religious banquet that usually involved preliminary fasting and purification before consuming a meal of vegetarian food and Chinese wine. The banquet was hosted by families on the occasion of births and deaths, prepared for a ritually-fixed number of parishioners, and accompanied by specific ritual gifts to the Daoist priest. Although the Kitchen Feast became a regular element of organized Daoist religious traditions, scholars do not know the date when it was introduced into the liturgy. One early textual record is the c. 499 Zhen'gao saying that Xu Mi (許谧, 303–376) offered a Kitchen meal to five persons .
These communal chu Kitchen banquets have a pre-Daoist antecedent in popular Chinese folk religion: the term chu was anciently used for the ceremonial meals organized by communities to honor the she (社, God of the Soil). Although orthodox Daoists criticized, and sometimes banned, these chuhui (廚會, "cuisine congregations") for making immoral animal sacrifices, they nevertheless perpetuated the custom by adapting and codifying it. Chu kitchen-feasts have many features in common with another Daoist ritual meal, the zhāi (齋, "fast; purification; retreat"), and the two are frequently treated as having the same functions. The 7th-century Daoist Zhaijielu (齋戒錄, Records of Fasting) suggested that zhai were anciently called shehui (社會, "festival gatherings of the soil god"—now the modern Chinese word for "society"), which was later changed into zhaihui (齋會).
The Way of the Celestial Masters religion, founded by Zhang Daoling in 142 CE, celebrated chu kitchen festivals at New Year and the annual sanhui (三會, Three Assemblies), which were major Daoist festivals held in the first, seventh, and tenth lunar months, when believers assembled at their local parish to report any births, deaths, or marriages, so that the population registers could be updated. Parishioners who had reason to celebrate on these occasions would host a chu feast for other members of the community in proportion to the significance of their auspicious event and their means. Accounts of these banquets "emphasize both the sharing of food and the affirmation of the unique, religious merit-based social order of the Daoist community".
The chu sacrament had three levels of banquets and ritual gifts, depending upon what the family was celebrating. For the birth of a boy, the shangchu (上廚, Superior Ceremony of the Kitchen) was a banquet offered to the priest and ten members of the parish, with gifts to the priest of a hundred sheets of paper, a pair of ink brushes, an inkstick, and an ink scraper. For the birth of a girl, it was the less expensive zhongchu (中廚, Middle Ceremony of the Kitchen) with a banquet for five parishioners, and the gifts, which the parents had to provide within one month following the birth, were a mat, a wastebasket, and a broom. For the death of a family member, the xiachu (下廚, Inferior Ceremony of the Kitchen), also called jiechu (解廚, Kitchen of Deliverance), is not described in Daoist texts, and we only know that the rival Buddhist polemicists claimed it was a "great orgy".
The anti-Daoist Erjiaolun (二教論, Essay on Two Religions) by the Buddhist monk Dao'an (312–385) said chu kitchen-feasts were intended to bring about jiěchú (解除, "liberation and elimination") from pollution and sins, which were connected with the soil god and tombs. The parallel passage in the 6th-century Bianhuolun (辯惑論, Essay on Debating Doubts) uses the homophonous graphic variant of jiěchú (解廚, "liberation kitchen"), thus connecting both chú "kitchen" and chú "liberation" to non-Daoist gods of the soil.
Daoist sources record that the people invited to a chu Kitchen feast would first observe a period of purification that included fasting and abstention from sex. Kitchen rituals lasted for one, three, or seven days. Participants consumed exclusively vegetarian food and moderate amounts of wine, which was considered as a mandatory element of the banquet. For the Superior Kitchens five sheng of wine (about a liter) per person was planned, for the Middle Kitchens, four sheng, and for the Inferior Kitchen three. The participants "must have departed a bit happy, but not drunk." The leftovers were given to other parishioners who could thereby share in the ritual.
Besides annual festivals on fixed dates like the Three Assemblies, chu Kitchen ceremonies were also performed in special circumstances, particularly when there was disease, sin, or death pollution. They were believed to have exorcistic and salvific powers and to confer good luck or merit upon the adepts. Kitchen ceremonies often involved Daoist ritual jiao (醮, "offerings") of cakes and pieces of fabric in order to obtain particular favors, such as petitions for recovery from illnesses, prayers for rain in time of drought, and thanksgivings for favors received. An altar was laid out in the open air, and the priest recited prayers.
Ge Hong's c. 318 Baopuzi (see below) mentions profligately expensive chu Kitchen Feasts in contrasting heterodox yaodao (妖道, "demonic cults"), which involved sacrificing animals to gods who enjoyed their blood, with the Lijia dao (李家道, Way of the Li Family). The context praises the contemporary charlatan healer Li Kuan (李寬) for not following the ancient tradition of animal sacrifice, while blaming him for extravagance.
The more than a hundred ways for dealing with demons [諸妖道百餘種] all call for slaying living creatures so that their blood may be drunk. Only the doctrine of the Lis [李家道] is slightly different. Yet, though it does no butchering, whenever its "good-luck food" is served [每供福食], it includes varieties of mixtures without limit. In planning the meal, one strives for sumptuousness, and the rarest things must be purchased. Several dozen may work in the kitchen [或數十人廚], and costs for food can run high indeed. In turn, these are not completely disinterested affairs, and they might well be classed with things to be forbidden.
Xingchu Mobile Kitchen traditions
In Daoist hagiographies and stories, the esoteric ability to summon a xingchu (行廚, Mobile Kitchen) was a standard trope for the powers of a xian transcendent. The xingchu, which Campany called a "curious business", was a sumptuous banquet of rare delicacies, exotic foods, and wines that could be instantly served up by spirits anywhere on command.
The tradition of xingchu "meditational cuisines" or "contemplative cuisines" seems to have developed in a parallel and complementary manner to the chu "communal cuisine liturgy". Xian transcendents were portrayed as eschewing what counted in China as ordinary foods, especially grains (see bigu), and instead eating superior, longevity-inducing substitutes such as sesame seeds and lingzhi mushrooms, typically found in distant and legendary places removed from the heartland of agriculture-based Chinese civilization. Transcendents were frequently depicted as winged beings able to fly long distances rapidly and summoning a xingchu banquet at will eliminated the need to travel across the world and heavens in order to obtain rare foodstuffs of immortality.
The Jin Dynasty Daoist scholar Ge Hong compiled the two primary sources of information about xingchu Mobile Kitchens, the Baopuzi and Shenxian zhuan. Ge portrayed adepts seeking xian-hood as avoiding ordinary food such as grains, instead eating "rare, exotic foodstuffs from the far reaches of the cosmos", marvelous products conveying the "numinous power" suggested by their peculiarity. "The ability to command at will a spirit-hosted serving of exotic food and drink in elegant vessels may seem trivial, but when one recalls that many Daoist scriptures prohibit the feasting on sacrificial meats and liquors enjoyed by the aristocracy, and that many adepts did their work on mountains and were isolated from agricultural communities and markets, the practice assumes a more serious aspect."
Baopuzi
The c. 318 CE "Inner Chapters" of the Baopuzi (Master Who Embraces Simplicity) have nine occurrences of the word xingchu (行廚, Mobile Kitchen). Seven of them are in contexts of alchemical medicines and elixirs, most of which have poisonous toxic heavy metal ingredients. The Baopuzi uses two related verbs for beckoning a Mobile Kitchen: zhì (至, "arrive at; reach; come") and zhì (致, "cause to arrive at; get to; come to"). The other two xingchu usages are in proper names of a Daoist amulet and book, the Xingchu fu (行廚符, Amulet of the Traveling Kitchen), and the Xingchu jing (行廚經, Scripture of the Traveling Kitchen). The Baopuzi also lists another book titled Riyue chushi jing (日月廚食經, Scripture of the Kitchen Meals of the Sun and the Moon).
Three of the seven Baopuzi elixirs are said to have dual purpose usages, long-term consumption is said to grant xian transcendence, including the ability to summon xingchu, and short-term consumption provides a panacea—specifically for eliminating the Three Corpses or Three Worms, demons that live within the human body and hasten their host's death, and the Nine Worms or Nine Vermin, broadly meaning internal worms and parasites. First, the Xian Menzi dan (羡門子丹, Master Xian Men's Elixir) is prepared from wine and cinnabar. "After it has been taken for one day the Three Worms and all illnesses are immediately purged from the patient. If taken for three years, it will confer geniehood and one is sure to be served by two fairies, who can be employed to summon the Traveling Canteen [可役使致行廚]." Second, a list of methods for eating and drinking realgar says, "In each case it confers Fullness of Life; all illnesses are banished; the Three Corpses drop from the body; scars disappear; gray hair tums black; and lost teeth are regenerated. After a thousand days, fairies [translating yunu 玉女 Jade Maiden] will come to serve you and you can use them to summon the Traveling Canteen [以致行廚]." Third, consuming pure, unadulterated lacquer will put a man in communication with the gods and let him Enjoy Fullness of Life. When eaten with pieces of crab in mica or jade water, "The Nine Insects will then drop from you, and the bad blood will leave you through nose-bleeds. After a year, the six-chia gods and the Traveling Canteen will come to you [一年六甲行廚至也]." This liujia (六甲, Six Jia Gods) and the liuyin (六陰, Six Yin) below refer to astrological Dunjia divination. An alternate translation is "the six jia and the traveling canteen will arrive".
The remaining four Baopuzi formulas are said to create stronger and more versatile elixirs. Fourth, the Jiuguang dan (九光丹, Ninefold Radiance Elixir) is made by processing certain unspecified ingredients with the wushi (五石, Five Minerals, see Cold-Food Powder), i.e., cinnabar, realgar, purified potassium alum, laminar malachite, and magnetite. Each mineral is put through five alchemical cycles and assumes five hues, so that altogether twenty-five hues result, each with specific powers, for example, the blue elixir will revive a recently deceased person. "If you wish to summon the Traveling Canteen [欲致行廚], smear your left hand with a solution of black elixir; whatever you ask for will be at your beck and call, and everything you mention will arrive without effort. You will be able to summon any thing or any creature in the world." Fifth, the Baopuzi quotes from Shennong sijing (神農四經, Shennong's Four Classics), "Medicines of the highest type put the human body at ease and protract life so that people ascend and become gods in heaven, soar up and down in the air, and have all the spirits at their service. Their bodies grow feathers and wings, and the Traveling Canteen comes whenever they wish [行廚立至]." Sixth, the method of Wu Chengzi (務成子) compounds alchemical gold from realgar, yellow sand, and mercury, and then forms it into small pills. Coating the pills with different substances will produce magical effects, for instance, if one is smeared with ram's blood and thrown into a stream, "the fish and the dragons will come out immediately, and it will be easy to catch them." And, "If it is coated with hare's blood and placed in a spot belonging to the Six Yin, the Traveling Canteen and the fairies will appear immediately and place themselves at your disposal [行廚玉女立至], to a total of sixty or seventy individuals." Seventh, Liu Gen (劉根, or Liu Jun'an 劉君安), who Ware wrongly identifies as the Daoist prince and author Liu An (劉安), learned the art of metamorphosis from an alchemical text attributed to the Mohist founder Mozi, the Mozi wuxing ji (墨子五行記, Master Mo's Records of the Five Phases), and successfully used its medicines and amulets, "By grasping a pole he becomes a tree. He plants something, and it immediately produces edible melons or fruit. He draws a line on the ground, and it becomes a river; he piles up dirt and it becomes a hill. He sits down and causes the Traveling Canteen to arrive [坐致行廚]."
Shenxian zhuan
The c. 318 Shenxian zhuan (Hagiographies of Divine Transcendents) uses xingchu (行廚, Mobile Kitchen) six times. The hagiography of Wang Yuan gives a detailed description of summoning a xingchu. Other adepts who are also said to have this ability include Li Gen, Liu Jing, Zuo Ci, Liu Zheng, and Taixuan nü.
First, the hagiography of Wang Yuan (王遠) and Magu (Cannabis Maiden) says Wang was a Confucianist scholar who quit his official post during the reign (146–168 CE) of Emperor Huan of Han and went into the mountains to study Daoist techniques. Wang achieved xian transcendence through shijie "liberation by means of a simulated corpse", described with the traditional cicada metaphor, his "body disappeared; yet the cap and garments were completely undisturbed, like a cicada shell." During his travels, Wang met the peasant Cai Jing (蔡經), whose physiognomy indicated he was destined to become a transcendent, so Wang took him on as a disciple, taught him the basic techniques, and left. Soon afterwards Cai also used alchemical shijie liberation, his body became extremely hot, and his flesh and bones melted away for three days. "Suddenly he had vanished. When his family looked inside the blanket, only his outer skin was left, intact from head to foot, like a cicada shell."
After Cai had been gone for "over a decade", he unexpectedly returned home, looking like a young man, announced to his family that Lord Wang would visit on the "seventh day of the seventh month" (later associated with the Cowherd and Weaver Girl lovers' festival), and ordered them to "prepare great quantities of food and drink to offer to his attendants." When Wang Yuan and his heavenly entourage arrived on the auspicious "double-seven" day, he invited his old friend Magu to join their celebration because it had been over five hundred years since she had been "in the human realm." When the Cannabis Maiden and her attendants arrived at Cai's household,
She appeared to be a handsome woman of eighteen or nineteen; her hair was done up, and several loose strands hung down to her waist. Her gown had a pattern of colors, but it was not woven; it shimmered, dazzling the eyes, and was indescribable – it was not of this world. She approached and bowed to Wang, who bade her rise. When they were both seated, they called for the travelling canteen [坐定召進行廚]. The servings were piled up on gold platters and in jade cups without limit. There were rare delicacies, many of them made from flowers and fruits, and their fragrance permeated the air inside [Cai's home] and out. When the meat was sliced and served, [in flavor] it resembled broiled mo and was announced as kirin meat.
Compare Maspero's translation, "everyone steps forth to 'perform the Kitchen'". Guo Pu's commentary to the Classic of Mountains and Seas described the mò (貘, giant panda) as "bear-like, black and white, and metal-eating"; and the mystical qilin beast is sometimes identified as a Chinese unicorn.
Wang Yuan then announced to the Cai family that he had brought some exceptional wine from the Tianchu (天廚, Heavenly Kitchen) asterism.
I wish to present you all with a gift of fine liquor. This liquor has just been produced by the celestial kitchens. Its flavor is quite strong, so it is unfit for drinking by ordinary people; in fact, in some cases it has been known to burn people's intestines. You should mix it with water, and you should not regard this as inappropriate." With that, he added a dou of water to a sheng of liquor, stirred it, and presented it to the members of Cai Jing's family. On drinking little more than a sheng of it each, they were all intoxicated. After a little while, the liquor was all gone.
In traditional Chinese units of measurement, a dǒu ( 斗) was approximately equivalent to 10 liters and a shēng 升) approximately 1 liter.
Second, the Shenxian zhuan narrative of Li Gen (李根) says he studied under Wu Dawen (吳大文) and obtained a method for producing alchemical gold and silver.
Li Gen could transform himself [into other forms] and could enter water and fire [without harm]. He could sit down and cause the traveling canteen to arrive, and with it could serve twenty guests [坐致行廚能供二十人]. All the dishes were finely prepared, and all of them contained strange and marvelous foods from the four directions, not things that were locally available.
Third, Liu Jing (劉京) was an official under Emperor Wen of Han (r. 180–157 BCE) who "abandoned the world and followed Lord Zhang 張君 of Handan to study the Way." By using methods for subsisting on "efflorescence of vermilion" pills [朱英丸] and "cloud-mother [mica]" pills, Liu "lived to be one hundred thirty years old. To look at him, one would judge him to be a person in his thirties." He could also foretell the auspiciousness of future events.
The Shangqing (Supreme Purity) tradition Han Wu Di neizhuan (漢武帝内傳, Esoteric Traditions of Han Emperor Wu), which was written between 370 and 500, has some later accretions that resemble Shenxian zhuan. The passage about Liu Jing says,
Later he served Ji Zixun [薊子訓, i.e., Ji Liao 薊遼] as his teacher. Zixun transmitted to him all the secret essentials of the Five Thearchs, Numinous Flight (lingfei, 靈飛), the six jia spirits, the Twelve Matters (shier shi 十二事), and the Perfected Forms of the Ten Continents of Divine Transcendents (shenxian shizhou zhenxiang 神仙十洲真形). Liu Jing practiced them all according to the instructions, and they were mightily efficacious. He could summon ghosts and spirits, immediately cause wind and rain to arise, cause the traveling canteen to arrive [名致行廚], and appear and disappear at will. He also knew the auspiciousness or inauspiciousness of people's future affairs and of particular days.
Fourth, the transcendent Zuo Ci (左慈) was a fangshi ("method master") famous for his abilities at divination, fenshen multilocation, and shapeshifting,
Seeing that the fortunes of the Han house were about to decline, he sighed and said, "As we move into this declining [astral] configuration, those who hold eminent offices are in peril, and those of lofty talent will die. Winning glory in this present age is not something to be coveted." So he studied arts of the Dao. He understood particularly well [how to summon] the six jia spirits, how to dispatch ghosts and other spirits, and how to sit down and call for the traveling canteen [坐致行廚].
Fifth, the Shenxian zhuan says that Liu Zheng (劉政) used the same alchemical text attributed to Mozi that the Baopuzi says was used by Liu Gen (劉根, or Liu Jun'an 劉君安.
Later he arranged [a copy of] Master Mo's Treatise on the Five Phases (Mozi wuxing ji 墨子五行記) and, [based on it], ingested "efflorescence of vermilion" pills. He lived for more than one hundred eighty years, and his complexion was that of a youth. He could transform himself into other shapes and conceal his form; multiply one person into a hundred or a hundred into a thousand or a thousand into ten thousand; conceal a military force of three brigades by forming them into a forest or into birds and beasts, so that they could easily take their opponents' weapons without their knowledge. Further, he was capable of planting fruits of all types and causing them immediately to flower and ripen so as to be ready to eat. He could sit down and cause the traveling canteen to arrive [生致行廚], setting out a complete meal for up to several hundred people. His mere whistling could create a wind to set dust swirling and blow stones about.
Transcendental whistling was an ancient Daoist yogic technique.
Sixth, the brief hagiography of the female transcendent Taixuan nü (太玄女, Woman of the Grand Mystery) says.
The Woman of the Grand Mystery was surnamed Zhuan 顓 and named He 和. While still young, she was bereaved of her husband, so she practiced the Way. Disciplining herself in the arts of the Jade Master, (Yuzi) she could sit down and cause the traveling canteen to arrive [坐致行廚], and there was no sort of transformation she could not accomplish.
In addition, the Shenxian zhuan hagiography for Mao Ying (茅盈) describes what sounds like a xingchu without using the name. After twenty years studying the Dao, Mao Ying returned home to his parents and announced that he had been commanded to enter heaven and become a transcendent. The people of his home village came to give him a going-away party, and Mao said,
"I am touched by your sincere willingness to send me off, and I deeply appreciate your intention. But please come empty-handed; you need not make any expenditure. I have a means whereby to provide a feast for us all." On the appointed day, the guests all arrived, and a great banquet was held. Awnings of blue brocade were spread out, and layers of white felt were spread out beneath them. Rare delicacies and strange fruits were piled up and arrayed. Female entertainers provided music; the sounds of metal and stone mingled together, and the din shook Heaven and Earth; it could be heard from several li away. Of the more than one thousand guests present that day, none failed to leave intoxicated and sated.
Mao Ying and his brothers Mao Gu (茅固) and Mao Zhong (茅衷) are considered of the founders of the Shangqing School of Daoism.
Shangqing Daoists took the stock literary phrase zuo zhi xingchu (坐致行廚)—used above in the Baopuzi for Liu Gen, "sits down and causes the Traveling Canteen to arrive", and in the Shenxian zhuan for Li Gen, Zuo Ci, and Taixuan nü, "sit down and cause the traveling canteen to arrive"—and actualized it as a visualization technique for "making the movable cuisines come [while] sitting [in meditation]". "This method, accessible only to the initiate who possessed the proper series of talismans (fu 符) and had mastered certain visualization techniques, conferred powers to become invisible, to cause thunder, and to call for rain." This form of sitting meditation was so popular during the Tang period that Chinese Esoteric Buddhism also adopted it.
Wuchu Five Kitchens meditation
Following upon the Celestial Masters liturgical Kitchen feasts and xian transcendents' Mobile Kitchens, the third stage of Daoist chu traditions was the Tang dynasty (618–907) wǔchú (五廚, Five Kitchens) contemplation technique, which recast the concept of ritual banquets in terms of psychophysiological neidan Internal Alchemy. In Chinese cosmological wuxing Five Phases correspondence theory, the wuchu Five Kitchens or wuzang (五臟, Five Viscera / Orbs) system includes not only the physiological internal organs (lungs, kidneys, liver, gallbladder, and spleen), but also the associated psychological range of mental and emotional states. The 735 Wuchu jing (五廚經, Scripture of the Five Kitchens), which poetically describes a visualization practice for circulating qi energies through the Five Viscera, was so popular that Tang Buddhists forged the esoteric Sānchú jīng (三廚經, Sutra of the Three Kitchens) based on the Daoist text.
There are two extant editions of Wuchu jing translated by Livia Kohn. First, the 763 Tang Daozang (Daoist Canon) edition titled Laozi shuo Wuchu jing zhu (老子說五廚經, Commentary to the Scripture of the Five Kitchens as Revealed by Laozi) contains a preface dated 735 and a commentary, both signed by Yin Yin (尹愔, d. 741). The reduplicatedly named Yin Yin was a prominent Daoist and Confucian scholar under Emperor Xuanzong of Tang (r. 712–756), and abbot of the Suming guan (肅明觀, Abbey of Reviving Light) temple in the capital Chang'an. The late Tang Celestial Master Zhao Xianfu (趙仙甫, fl. 732) also wrote a commentary. Second, the 1019 Yunji Qiqian (Seven Bamboo Tablets of the Cloudy Satchel) anthology edition titled Wuchu jing qifa (五廚經氣法, Energetic Methods of the Scripture of the Five Kitchens), also includes Yin's commentary, with slight variations, such as noting the text was presented to the emperor in 736. The qi "energetic" methods of the text are recommended by Sima Chengzhen (司馬承禎, 647–735) in his Fuqi jingyi lun (服氣精義論, Essay on the Essential Meaning of Breath Ingestion) text on physical self-cultivation. Although the presence of Yin's preface might suggest a Tang date for the Wuchu jing, the origins of this text may be much earlier. Ge Hong's c. 318 Baopuzi mentions a Xingchu jing (行廚經, Scripture of the Movable Kitchens) and a Riyue chushi jing (日月廚食經, Scripture of the Kitchen Meals for the Sun and the Moon), which could be the ancestors of the received texts.
The c. 905 Daojiao lingyan ji (道教靈驗記, Record of Daoist Miracles), written by the Daoist priest, author, and court official Du Guangting, says a Buddhist monk fraudulently transformed the Wuchu jing Scripture of the Five Kitchens into the Sanchu jing (三廚經, Sutra of the Three Kitchens). Du records that the Chinese Buddhist canon of the Tang period contained a text titled Fo shuo san tingchu jing (佛說三停廚經, Sutra of the Three Interrupted Kitchens, Preached by the Buddha). According to Du Guangting, the monk Xingduan (行端), who had "a presumptuous and fraudulent disposition", saw that the widely circulated Daoist Wuchu jing consisted of five stanzas (jì 偈, "gatha; poetic verse; versified utterance") of incantations (zhòu 咒, "mantra; religious incantation; mystical invocation"), rearranged them, and expanded the title into Fo shuo san tingchu jing (佛說三停廚經). "The five incantations he turned into 'five sutras spoken by Tathagata,' and at the end he added a hymn. The additional phrases amounted to no less than a page." Verellen suggests that the scripture, with its "Buddho-Daoist content and quasi-magical use", originated as a late Six Dynasties (220–589) Tantric zhoujing (咒經, "incantations scripture", cf. the Divine Incantations Scripture).
Du Guangting gives a lengthy narrative about the Daoist miracle involving supernatural retribution for Xingduan's forgery. One day after the monk had already given several copies of the altered scripture to others, a "divine being eight or nine feet tall" and holding a sword reprimands him for the counterfeiting and brandishes his sword to strike the monk. As Xingduan "wards off the blow with his hand, several fingers are lopped off", he begs for mercy, and the Daoist deity agrees to spare his life if he retrieves and destroys all the fakes. Xingduan and his companions search everywhere for the texts, but can only find half of them, the remainder having already been carried abroad by Buddhist monks. Xingduan prepares ten fresh copies of the original scripture, offers incense, repents, and burns the altered copies. Then the divine being reappears and announces: "Having vilified the sage's text, restitution won't save you—you do not deserve to escape death", the monk falls prostrate and dies on the spot.
In the present day, early copies of this apocryphal Buddhist sutra have been preserved. Four textual versions were discovered in the Chinese Dunhuang manuscripts, two versions, dated 1099 and 1270, are kept in the Japanese Mount Kōya manuscripts. In addition, the modern Japanese Taishō Tripiṭaka canon includes the text.
The highly abstract Wuchu jing mystical poem comprises five stanzas consisting of four five-character lines each. The Yunqi qiqian edition shows that the five stanzas were associated with the Five Directions of space: east (lines 1–4), south (lines 5–8), north (lines 9–12), west (lines 13–16), and center (lines 17–20). For example, the first four lines:
The content of the Wuchu jing guides adepts toward a detached mental state of non-thinking and equanimity. The Five Kitchens refer to neidan Internal Alchemy "qi-processing on a subtle-body level", and signify the energetic, transformative power of the Five Viscera. Yin Yin's introduction says,
As long as you dwell in the qi of universal oneness [一氣] and in the harmony of cosmic peace [泰和], the five organs [五臟] are abundant and full and the five spirits [五神] are still and upright. "When the five organs are abundant, all sensory experiences are satisfied; when the five spirits are still, all cravings and desires are eliminated. This scripture expounds on how the five organs taking in qi is like someone looking for food in a kitchen. Thus, its title: "Scripture of the Five Kitchens."
Commenting on Yin's interpretation, Du Guangting claims more explicitly that practicing this scripture will enable an adept to stop eating.
Techniques in the Wuchu jing (, Scripture of the Five Kitchens) mainly involve visualizing the Five Viscera of the body and chanting incantations. These methods supposedly allow the adept to obtain satisfaction and harmony, and, after some years of training, even transcendence. Despite this concern with the human body, the text strongly emphasizes mental restructuring over physical practices, saying that "accumulating cultivation will not get you to detachment" and that methods of ingestion are ultimately useless. However, reciting the scripture is beneficial, especially if combined with mental and ethical practices, so that "you will easily get the true essentials of cultivating the body-self and protecting life." More specifically, chanting the text one hundred times and practicing the harmonization of the five qi allows adepts to abstain from grain and eliminate hunger. Many present-day Daoists consider the Wuchu jing as a talismanic text to be chanted for protection.
References
Translation by Frank A. Kierman Jr. of .
Practices in Chinese folk religion
Taoist philosophy
Meditation
Ritual
Taoism in China
Taoist immortals
Taoist practices | Chu (Taoism) | [
"Biology"
] | 8,390 | [
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57,976,285 | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Belumosudil | Belumosudil, sold under the brand name Rezurock among others, is a medication used for the treatment of chronic graft versus host disease (cGvHD). It is in the class of drugs known as serine/threonine kinase inhibitors. Specifically, it is an inhibitor of Rho-associated coiled-coil kinase 2 (ROCK2; ROCK-II). ROCK2-mediated signaling pathways are major players in pro- and anti-inflammatory immune cell responses. A study in cultured human cells demonstrated that the drug also has effects on oxidative phosphorylation, WNT signaling, angiogenesis, and KRAS signaling.
The most common side effects include infection, tiredness or weakness, nausea, diarrhea, shortness of breath, cough, swelling, bleeding, stomach (abdominal) pain, muscle or bone pain, headache, and high blood pressure.
Belumosudil was approved for medical use in the United States in July 2021. The US Food and Drug Administration considers it to be a first-in-class medication.
Medical uses
Belumosudil is indicated for the treatment of people aged twelve years and older with chronic graft-versus-host disease (chronic GVHD) after failure of at least two prior lines of systemic therapy.
Chronic graft-versus-host disease is a complication that can occur after stem cell or bone marrow transplantation in which the transplanted donor cells attack the transplant recipient's body.
History
Originally developed by Surface Logix, Inc, belumosudil was later acquired by Kadmon Corporation. By July 2020, the drug completed Phase II clinical studies for cGvHD, IPF, and psoriasis.
Chronic graft-versus-host disease is a complication that can follow allogeneic stem cell or hematopoietic stem cell transplantation where the transplanted cells (graft) attack healthy cells (host). This causes inflammation and fibrosis in multiple tissues. Two cytokines controlled by the ROCK2 signaling pathway, IL-17 and IL-21, have a major role in the chronic graft-versus-host disease response. In a 2016 report using both mouse models and a limited human clinical trial ROCK2 inhibition with belumosudil targeted both the immunologic and fibrotic components of chronic graft-versus-host disease and reversed the symptoms of the disease.
In October 2017, belumosudil was granted orphan drug status in the United States for treatment of people with chronic graft-versus-host disease.
Efficacy of belumosudil was evaluated in clinical trial NCT03640481, a randomized, open-label, multicenter dose-ranging trial that included 65 patients with chronic graft-versus-host disease who were treated with belumosudil 200 mg taken orally once daily. A total of eighty-three (83) participants were evaluated for safety; therefore, the number of participants representing efficacy findings may differ from the number of participants representing safety findings due to different pools of study participants analyzed for efficacy and safety. The trial was conducted at 28 sites in the United States.
On 16 July 2021, the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved belumosudil for people aged twelve years and older with chronic graft-versus-host disease after failure of at least two prior lines of systemic therapy.
Research
Idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF) is a progressive fibrotic disease where the lining of the lungs become thickened and scarred. Increased ROCK activity has been found in the lungs of humans and animals with IPF. Treatment with belumosudil reduced lung fibrosis in a bleomycin mouse model study.
Psoriasis is an inflammatory skin condition where patients experiences eruptions and remissions of thickened, erythematous, and scaly patches of skin. Down-regulation of pro-inflammatory responses was observed with KD025 (belumosudil) treatment in Phase 2 clinical studies in patients with moderate to severe psoriasis.
References
Indazoles
Nanomaterials
Orphan drugs
Protein kinase inhibitors
Quinazolines | Belumosudil | [
"Materials_science"
] | 865 | [
"Nanotechnology",
"Nanomaterials"
] |
57,979,975 | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Abernethy%20and%20Co%20Stonemason%27s%20Lathe | The Abernethy and Co Stonemason's Lathe is a heritage-listed former stonemason's lathe on public display in Moruya, on the South Coast of New South Wales in Australia. It was built during 1881 by J. Abernethy & Co, . The property is owned by the Office of Environment and Heritage, an agency of the Government of New South Wales. It was added to the New South Wales State Heritage Register on 2 April 1999. It is currently maintained by the Moruya and District Historical Society, located at 85 Campbell Street, Moruya.
History
This twin bed lathe was made in 1881 at Aberdeen by J. Abernethy and Co. and brought to Sydney where it was used to turn columns for the Sydney GPO, The Queen Victoria Building and for the granite pedestal for the Queen Victoria statue in Queen's Square, Sydney. It was last in use at Loveridge and Hudson's Yard in Sydney in the 1960s.
It was given by Mr Ted Hudson to the Lachlan Vintage Village at Forbes and disposed at auction in May 1987. It was subsequently repurchased by the Heritage Council of NSW and ownership transferred to the Minister for Planning under the NSW Heritage Act 1977. The lathe was reassembled at the Lachlan Vintage Village, Forbes, following recognition of its significance. In 1999, the lathe was transferred to the State Heritage Register under the Act.
The Heritage Council resolved at its 4 November 2009 meeting to recommend that the Minister:
acting as a corporation sole under section 102 of the NSW Heritage Act 1977, transfers title of the Abernethy Stonemason's Lathe from the corporation sole to Eurobodalla Shire Council.
The Abernethy Stonemason's Lathe is the only moveable item of its type known to have survived in Australia. The item is currently owned and managed by the Minister for Planning under the Heritage Act 1977. Eurobodalla Shire Council has approached the Heritage Branch, NSW Department of Planning, to obtain the item for public display at Moruya. Council has also indicated its willingness to obtain legal title to the lathe in perpetuity, from the Minister for Planning, to assist their active care and long term management of the item. The Heritage Branch has identified this action as being beneficial to the long-term care, display and public enjoyment of the lathe.
Eurobodalla Shire Council has obtained planning permission to display the item in a public outdoor setting adjacent to the Moruya Historical Society building near Campbell Street, Moruya. Transfer of the item will require later Heritage Council approval under section 57 and/or section 60 of the Act. Under the Heritage Act, transfer of an item of environmental heritage from the control of the Minister and the corporation to another party requires the recommendation of the Heritage Council of NSW under section 116(2). The Heritage Council agreed to recommend the disposal of the item at its meeting of 4 November 2009. The Minister wrote to Eurobodalla Council in March 2010 to formally transfer title.
Records indicate that the lathe was last used at Loveridge & Hudson's Yard in Sydney in the 1960s. It is unclear whether the Lathe was ever situated near the main source of granite at Moruya, or whether it was always located in Sydney. The Moruya Antique Tractor and Machinery Association (MATMA) suggests that a collection of historic photographs show the Lathe situated at Louttit's quarry, Moruya, at one stage.
For many years the lathe was in limbo its last known use was at the stonemasonry firm of Loveridge and Hudson in Sydney during the 1960s.
Loveridge and Hudson was registered in 1882, just after the lathe's construction. Whether they ordered it or had it shipped it to Australia is unknown. The company records are now lost.
The lathe is however attributed to turning the stone columns for some of Sydney's most majestic buildings. The extension of the Sydney GPO in the 1880s, the Queen Victoria Building (1898), Circular Quay railway station (early 1900s), and the Martin Place Savings Bank (1925), amongst others. At this time, suggestions are that the lathe was based in Sydney.
It is unknown whether the lathe spent its entire working life in Sydney. There is some evidence that it had once been at Louttit's Quarry on the banks of the Moruya River. We do know that it turned Moruya granite and we know that by 1977 the Sydney company of Loveridge and Hudson had donated it to the then growing Lachlan Vintage Village in Forbes, an Old Sydney Town-type heritage village. The lathe was in Sydney at that time. Here its fortunes were a little more certain, until the village owners sold it to a local scrap metal business a decade later in 1987. Heritage enthusiasts including the Department of Public Works and the National Trust, lamented the lathe's loss.
Bob Carr, then Minister for Heritage, placed an Order over the historic monument that year under the Heritage Act. The Heritage Council under its then Chair Justice Hope stepped in and purchased it and it was given a stay of life in the Village grounds.
With Lachlan Vintage Village's verging on collapse, the lathe was once again in jeopardy. Calls to remove it were made from 1991. The relocation of the lathe to Moruya in May 2010 was made possible by the coming together of key community members and the local Council to rescue this important part of New South Wales' industrial heritage. Local groups recognised the importance of this item to the local area and were instrumental in starting the dialogue to get the lathe relocated.
The role of the Heritage Council has been instrumental in the preservation of the lathe, having saved it from scrapping in the 1980s and later recommending to the Minister that it be transferred to Eurobodalla for final display and protection.
Description
A lathe for turning large stone columns. Assembled from components of cast iron with milled gears and shafts mounted on a bed of approximately length with toothed rails for positioning the travelling end.
Condition
As at 9 September 2010, the lathe was substantially intact. Reassembled following confirmation of heritage status after initial dismantling. It is not presently in working order but weather protection had been provided by the Heritage Branch, NSW Department of Planning, when on display at Forbes's Lachlan Vintage Village. Relocated and reassembled in Moruya in May 2010 and undergoing conservation treatments.
Largely intact but not in working order. Reassembly may not have included functional connectors.
Modifications and dates
Reassembly completed in April 1993 by W. A. Knights Steel Fabricators & Erectors, Forbes. Moved to Forbes from the Sydney yard of Loveridge & Hudson, stonemasons.
Relocated from Forbes to Moruya in May 2010. Set up in new display venue adjacent to the Moruya Historical Society in Campbell Street, Moruya on land set aside by the Eurobodalla Shire Council for this purpose. Cover shed established around lathe. The Moruya Antique Tractor and Machinery Association Inc. reassembled the lathe and begun conservation treatments, including fish oil applications, on behalf of the present owner, Eurobodalla Shire Council.
Heritage listing
As at 17 August 2010, it was a rare surviving piece of Victorian machinery which was in use for nearly a century, this stonemason's lathe demonstrates changes in technology and in the taste for the use of stone elements in public buildings. It is associated with many significant public buildings in Sydney of the late Victorian period including Sydney General Post Office, the Queen Victoria Building and the pedestal for Queen Victoria's statue in Queen's Square. It is rare for its size and demonstrates aspects of late 19th century toolmaking technology.
Abernethy and Co Stonemason's Lathe 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.
Associated with construction of major public works in the late Victorian period in Sydney including the Sydney General Post Office, The Queen Victoria Building and the Pedestal for Queen Victoria's Statue in Queen's Square.
The place has a strong or special association with a particular community or cultural group in New South Wales for social, cultural or spiritual reasons.
Indicative of the fluctuating preference for stone elements in public buildings.
The place has potential to yield information that will contribute to an understanding of the cultural or natural history of New South Wales.
An example of 19th century technology which survived in use for its original specialised purpose for nearly a century.
The place possesses uncommon, rare or endangered aspects of the cultural or natural history of New South Wales.
A rare surviving Victorian stonemason's lathe, possibly unique outside Europe.
See also
References
Attribution
New South Wales State Heritage Register
Eurobodalla Shire
Stonemasonry tools
Industrial machinery
Lathes
Articles incorporating text from the New South Wales State Heritage Register | Abernethy and Co Stonemason's Lathe | [
"Engineering"
] | 1,852 | [
"Industrial machinery"
] |
57,980,271 | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ADRON-RM | ADRON-RM (Autonomous Detector of Radiation of Neutrons Onboard Rover at Mars) is a neutron spectrometer to search for subsurface water ice and hydrated minerals. This analyser is part of the science payload on board the European Space Agency Rosalind Franklin rover, tasked to search for biosignatures and biomarkers on Mars. The rover is planned to be launched not earlier than 2028 and land on Mars in 2029.
ADRON-RM is a near copy of ADRO-EM on the stationary ExoMars 2020 surface platform and the Dynamic Albedo of Neutrons (DAN) neutron detector on board NASA's Curiosity rover, all designed by Igor Mitrofanov from the Russian Space Research Institute (IKI).
Overview
ADRON-RM is a neutron spectrometer that will search for hydrogen in the form of bound water or water ice, and hydrogen-bearing compounds. It will be used in combination with WISDOM instrument (a ground-penetrating radar) to study the subsurface beneath the rover and to search for optimal sites for drilling and sample collection. It can also detect trace elements such as Gd and major elements that constitute soil, such as Cl, Fe, Ti. It will also monitor the neutron component of the radiation background on Mars' surface.
Development
The Principal Investigator is Igor Mitrofanov from the Russian Space Research Institute (IKI). The instrument is almost a reproduction of the Dynamic Albedo of Neutrons (DAN) neutron detector on board NASA's Curiosity rover also developed in Russia. Mitrofanov is also developing the active gamma and neutron spectrometer, ADRON-EM (Active Detection of Radiation of Nuclei-ExoMars) for the stationary Kazachok lander—the primary goal of which will be to measure water distribution in the Martian subsurface. Measurements by ADRON-RM and ADRON-EM will work in synergy with other ExoMars instruments.
ADRON-RM uses two 3He proportional counters with a cylindrical shape of about 25 mm in diameter and 55 mm in total length. Each counter is filled with 3He gas under 4 atmospheres of pressure. Each neutron detector will measure two 32-channel spectra. The data will be obtained as routine and passive measurements, which will not be saved but will be immediately transmitted from the instrument to the rover computer. This means that all ADRON-RM measurements will be performed only when the 'Rover Compute Element' is active (daytime).
ADRON-RM is installed inside the ExoMars rover body at the rear balcony. The height above the surface is 0.8 m (2.6 ft).
Objectives
The stated objectives of the ADRON-RM scientific investigation include:
Measurement of the distribution of bulk hydrogen content in the form of free or bound water.
Evaluation of the bulk composition of major soil neutron absorption elements (Cl, Fe, Ti S, etc.)
Monitoring of the neutron component of the natural radiation background and estimation of neutron radiation dose at the Martian surface from Galactic cosmic rays and solar particle events.
The potential to monitor seasonal changes of the neutron environment due to variations of atmospheric and subsurface properties.
See also
Astrobiology
Life on Mars
Water on Mars
References
ExoMars
Spacecraft instruments
Astrobiology
Space science experiments
Space program of Russia | ADRON-RM | [
"Astronomy",
"Biology"
] | 672 | [
"Origin of life",
"Speculative evolution",
"Astrobiology",
"Biological hypotheses",
"Astronomical sub-disciplines"
] |
57,981,357 | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eve%20Systems | Eve Systems GmbH (branded as Eve and formerly called Elgato Systems GmbH) is a German smart home and home automation producer founded on June 27, 2018.
The brand originally existed as a line of smart home products manufactured by Elgato Systems, a company best known for a line of video-recording and gaming products. The Elgato brand and gaming division of the company was sold to Corsair in June 2018, while the main company was renamed to Eve Systems retaining the Eve brand of smart home devices.
On June 12, 2023, ABB announced its acquisition of Eve Systems.
History
EyeTV
Elgato Systems introduced the EyeTV brand in November 2002.
The first device was a small USB-powered device that contained a cable tuner and hardware encoder in order to convert television video into an MPEG-1 format for watching on a computer. - it also had coaxial and RCA plugs to connect it with a VCR or camcorder. A 2002 article in Macworld said it was the "first step" in bridging computers and television, but at this point still had "some kinks".
The next device was the EyeTV 200 released in 2004. The EyeTV 200 allowed for digital remote control and converted programing into MPEG-2. The same year, Elgato released the Eye Home media server. By 2005, several other EyeTV products had been introduced, such as the EyeTV for DTT, the EyeTV EZ and the EyeTV Wonder.
In February 2016, Elgato sold EyeTV to Geniatech Europe GmbH, a wholly owned subsidiary of Shenzhen Geniatech Inc., Ltd.
Elgato Gaming
In 2012, the company introduced Game Capture HD, which connects to gaming consoles to record gameplay. It was created in response to gamers that were hacking EyeTV products for gameplay recording. In October 2014 Elgato released a new version called HD 60. It recorded in 60 frames per second and 1080p high definition video (compared to the previous Game Capture HD's 1080p30 or 720p60), whereas typical low-end video game recording devices capture in 720p and 30 frames per second.
In June 2018, the Elgato Gaming line of products and the Elgato brand were sold to Corsair, while the main company was renamed to Eve Systems retaining the Eve brand of smart home devices.
Eve
The Eve brand was introduced in 2014 when Elgato introduced a home monitoring system called Eve, which provides alerts to users regarding things like air pressure, temperature and water use. Elgato also developed light bulbs that can respond to programming on a mobile device and respond to commands over Bluetooth. In May 2018, Elgato introduced Eve Aqua, a smart water controller.
In late 2014, Elgato introduced the Smart Power battery backup for mobile devices. It communicates with the user's Bluetooth-enabled device to provide notifications and calendar reminders when it needs to be charged.
Eve Systems
When the Elgato Gaming brand was split from the company and sold to Corsair in June 2018, the company renamed itself from Elgato Systems to Eve Systems, retaining its Eve smart home brand.
Products
Smart key
Eve manufactures and markets a smart-key system. The system comes with a small 10-gram device that is placed on a key ring, in a purse, inside a car, or somewhere else. Then it communicates with an Elgato app on an iOS device. If it is set up for keys, the app will alert the user when they are 10 meters away from their keys, indicating that they may have forgotten them. It takes advantage of the "Smart Bluetooth" Apple implemented in iOS 7. A review in TheNextWeb said it was "money well spent" and worked "exactly as described", but that the beeping of the device could be louder and users will still need to supplement it with the Find my Phone app. A review in Macworld gave it 4 out of 5 stars.
Smart home
In September 2014, Elgato Systems announced a home monitoring system called Eve, which monitors a home's air pressure, water usage, temperature, air quality and other factors. It also introduced smart light bulbs, which communicate with iOS devices through Bluetooth and allow users to adjust home lighting from their mobile device. They are HomeKit-Enabled.
, the current series of smart home products includes:
Eve Flare – portable smart LED lamp
Eve Button – smart home remote
Eve Door & Window – door and window sensor
Eve Light Switch – smart wall switch
Eve Motion – motion sensor
Eve Room – indoor air quality, temperature, and humidity sensor
Eve Thermo – radiator valve
Eve Aqua – sprinkler controller
Eve Play - Audio Streaming Interface
Eve Energy - Smart plug
Eve Energy Strip - Connected Triple Outlet
Eve MotionBlinds - Upgrade Kit for Roller Blinds
Eve Weather - Connected Weather Station
Eve Light Strip - Smart LED Strip
Eve Water Guard - Connected Water Leak Detector
Eve Cam - Smart Indoor Camera
Eve Outdoor Cam - Secure Floodlight Camera
Eve Thermo Control - Temperature Sensor & Controller
Smart power
In late 2014, Elgato introduced the Smart Power battery backup for mobile devices. It communicates with the user's bluetooth-enabled device to provide notifications and calendar reminders when it needs to be charged.
In 2016, they released Eve Energy, a smart plug which provides power meter features through its mobile app.
References
External links
Home automation companies
Technology companies established in 2018
Internet of things companies
Information technology companies of Germany
Manufacturing companies based in Munich
2023 mergers and acquisitions | Eve Systems | [
"Technology"
] | 1,146 | [
"Home automation",
"Home automation companies"
] |
57,981,981 | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ANO5 | Anoctamin 5 (ANO5) is a protein that in humans is encoded by the ANO5 gene.
Function
The ANO5 gene provides instructions for making a protein called anoctamin-5. While the specific function of this protein is not well understood, it belongs to a family of proteins, called anoctamins, that act as chloride channels. Chloride channels, which transport negatively charged chlorine atoms (chloride ions) in and out of cells, play a key role in a cell's ability to generate and transmit electrical signals. Most anoctamin proteins function as chloride channels that are turned on (activated) in the presence of positively charged calcium atoms (calcium ions); these channels are known as calcium-activated chloride channels. The mechanism for this calcium activation is unclear. Anoctamin proteins are also involved in maintaining the membrane that surrounds cells and repairing the membrane if damaged.
The anoctamin-5 protein is most abundant in muscles used for movement (skeletal muscles). For the body to move normally, skeletal muscles must tense (contract) and relax in a coordinated way. The regulation of chloride flow within muscle cells plays a role in controlling muscle contraction and relaxation.
The anoctamin-5 protein is also found in other cells including heart (cardiac) muscle cells and bone cells. The anoctamin-5 protein may be important for the development of muscle and bone before birth.
Clinical significance
Mutations in the ANO5 gene are known to cause the following conditions:
Gnathodiaphyseal dysplasia (GDD), a rare skeletal syndrome.
Limb Girdle Muscular Dystrophy 2L (LGMD2L, Autosomal Recessive 12) and Miyoshi Muscular Dystrophy 3 (MMD3). These forms of muscular dystrophy are inherited in an autosomal recessive pattern. To be affected, a person must have mutations on both copies of the gene. Males and females are equally likely to be affected.
Typical Symptoms
GDD causes bone fragility, sclerosis of tubular bones, and cemento-osseous lesions of the jawbone. Patients also experience frequent bone fractures.
Clinically, LGMD2L and MMD3 were considered different diseases before ANO5 was identified as the responsible gene; LGMD was used to describe initial weakness in proximal muscles (hip and shoulder girdles) while MMD described initial weakness in the distal muscles of the lower limbs.
Other names for this gene
ANO5_HUMAN
anoctamin-5
GDD1
gnathodiaphyseal dysplasia 1 protein
integral membrane protein GDD1
LGMD2L
TMEM16E
transmembrane protein 16E
Chromosal location
Cytogenetic location: 11p14.3, which is the short (p) arm of chromosome 11 at position 14.3
Molecular location: base pairs 22,192,485 to 22,283,367 on chromosome 11 (Homo sapiens Annotation Release 109, GRCh38.p12) (NCBI)
Credit: Genome Decoration Page/NCBI
References
Further reading
External links
LGMD2L Foundation
Myonexus Therapeudics
Novel ANO5 KO mouse provides new insight into LGMD2L pathogenesis
wolframalpha ano5
Proteins | ANO5 | [
"Chemistry"
] | 702 | [
"Biomolecules by chemical classification",
"Proteins",
"Molecular biology"
] |
47,730,627 | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Comparison%20of%20large%20sloops | This article lists the largest active privately owned single-masted monohulls in excess of 130ft (39.6m) in overall sparred length.
Parameter list
Name: currently registered identification of the vessel
Year: year of launch of the vessel
Shipyard: signatory of the build contract responsible for the final fitout and the delivery of the vessel
Designer: naval architect responsible for drawing the lines plan and the sail plan of the vessel
LOA: overall sparred length in metres
LWL: load waterline length in metres
Beam: width of the vessel in metres
Draught: draught of the vessel in metres (minimum draft of lifting keels in parentheses)
Air draught: masthead height in metres
Sail Area: summed upwind surface area of mainsail and headsails in square metres
Displacement: displaced volume of water, upright, at rest, in metric tonnes
Hull material: build material of the hull
Propulsion: number of engines and their power in kilowatts
Fleet in navigation
See also
List of schooners
List of large sailing yachts
References
Superyacht Times - list of sailing yachts
Lists of individual sailing yachts
Sloops | Comparison of large sloops | [
"Technology"
] | 231 | [
"nan"
] |
47,730,815 | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Polypurine%20reverse-Hoogsteen%20hairpin | Polypurine reverse-Hoogsteen hairpins (PPRHs) are non-modified oligonucleotides containing two polypurine domains, in a mirror repeat fashion, linked by a pentathymidine stretch forming double-stranded DNA stem-loop molecules. The two polypurine domains interact by intramolecular reverse-Hoogsteen bonds allowing the formation of this specific hairpin structure.
Properties
PPRHs can bind to polypyrimidine stretches in either single- or double stranded DNA by Watson and Crick bonds establishing triple-stranded DNA structures. The formation of PPRHs triplexes takes place at physiological pH. PPRHs provoke a strand displacement. of the homopurine sequence of the target dsDNA, opening the two strands of the DNA. There are two types of PPRHs: i) Template-PPRHs that bind to the template strand of DNA, inhibiting transcription; and ii) Coding-PPRHs that bind to the coding strand of the DNA altering splicing. Both types of PPRHs decrease gene expression. PPRHs present high stability in serum and cells and show lack of immunogenicity not activating the innate inflammatory response. PPRHs do not have off-target effects and do not show hepatotoxicity or nephrotoxicity.
Applications
PPRHs could be used as gene silencing tools acting by different mechanisms than triplex forming oligonucleotides (TFOs), antisense oligonucleotides or siRNAs. Upon binding to their targets, PPRHs can decrease the mRNA and protein levels of the selected genes. Their action has been demonstrated in vitro for a number of genes involved in metabolism (DHFR), proliferation (mTOR), DNA topology (TOP1), lifespan and senescence (telomerase), apoptosis (survivin, BCL2), transcription factors and non-druggable targets (c-MYC and k-Ras) , proto-oncogenes (MDM2), replication stress (WEE1, CHK1) and Thymidilate synthase (TYMS) as part of a cancer gene therapy strategy. Their preclinical proof of principle has been proven in vivo using the antiapoptotic survivin gene. PPRHs have also been applied as tools in cancer immunotherapy by silencing CD47 in MCF7 breast cancer cells and SIRPα in macrophages, and the PD-1/PD-L1 pathway in human tumor cells. PPRHs can also be used as the capture probe in different devises to detect viral infection by forming a triplex with the RNA of the virus such as SARS-CoV-2 in a technology termed Triplex Enhanced Nucleic Acid Detection Assay (TENADA)
Design and improvements
PPRHs can be designed for virtually any gene in the genome by searching for polypirimidine stretches in the sequence of the desired gene. Optimal lengths for each domain of the PPRHs are within 20–30 nucleotides. The total length of a typical PPRH is 55 nucleotides considering two domains of 25 bases plus 5T for the linking loop. If purine interruptions are encountered (up to three) within the polypirimidine target, the highest affinity of PPRH binding is achieved by placing in the hairpin the complementary base (a pyrimidine) in front of the purines (Wild type-PPRH).
Wedge-PPRH
A further development consists in extending the 5' flank of the PPRH with a sequence complementary to the displaced polypurine strand of the target dsDNA which stabilizes the strand displacement, producing additional binding and functionality.
WEB tools
A triplex target DNA site (TTS), a stretch of DNA that is composed of polypurines, is able to form a triple-helix (triplex) structure in genomic DNA. Integrative WEB tools for identification and analysis of the triplex formation target DNA sequences, including PPRH sequences, associated with genes and regulatory elements (e.g., transcription factor binding sites, repeats, G-quadruplet motifs, SNPs, and non-protein coding regulatory DNA elements) in the human genome are publicly available (see External links).
These tools could be used to search biologically meaningful genome polypurine stretches, help to understand biological roles of the natural paired polypurine domains like PPRH and to optimize experimental design of anti-gene treatment.
References
External links
A Searching Tool to find Polypurine and Polypyrimidine stretches in DNA
Nucleic acids | Polypurine reverse-Hoogsteen hairpin | [
"Chemistry"
] | 975 | [
"Biomolecules by chemical classification",
"Nucleic acids"
] |
47,732,110 | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/WX%20Pyxidis | WX Pyxidis is a cataclysmic variable star system in the constellation Pyxis. Its X-ray emissions were discovered in 1984, after which a visual correlate was searched for. It is classed as an intermediate polar system, composed of a white dwarf and red dwarf with a calculated spectral type of M2V in close orbit around each other and the spin of the degenerate star is such that it does not present the same face to the other star. The degenerate star spins on its axis every 25 minutes. The stars are estimated to take 5.3 hours to orbit each other and the system is 1530 parsecs distant.
References
Pyxis
Pyxidis, WX
Intermediate polars | WX Pyxidis | [
"Astronomy"
] | 153 | [
"Pyxis",
"Constellations"
] |
47,732,302 | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vanadium%20phosphates | Vanadium phosphates are inorganic compounds with the formula VOxPO4 as well related hydrates with the formula VOxPO4(H2O)n. Some of these compounds are used commercially as catalysts for oxidation reactions.
Vanadium(V) phosphates
A common vanadium phosphate is VOPO4•2H2O.
Seven polymorphs are known for anhydrous VOPO4, denoted αI, αII, β, γ, δ, ω, and ε. These materials are composed of the vanadyl group (VO) and phosphate (PO43−). They are yellow, diamagnetic solids, although when contaminated with vanadium(IV) derivatives, samples exhibit EPR signals and have bluish cast. For these materials, vanadyl refers to both vanadium(V) oxo and vanadium(IV) oxo centers, although conventionally vanadyl is reserved for derivatives of VO2+.
Preparation, reactions, and applications of VOPO4•2H2O
Heating a suspension of vanadium pentoxide and phosphoric acid gives VOPO4•2H2O, isolated as a bright yellow solid. According to X-ray crystallography, the V(V) centers are octahedral, with long, weak bonds to aquo ligands.
Reduction of this compound with alcohols gives the vanadium(IV) phosphates.
These compounds are catalysts for the oxidation of butane to maleic anhydride. A key step in the activation of these catalysts is the conversion of VO(HPO4)•0.5H2O to the pyrophosphate (VO)2(P2O7). This material (CAS#58834-75-6) is called vanadyl pyrophosphate as well as vanadium oxide pyrophosphate.
Vanadium(IV) phosphates
Several vanadium(IV) phosphates are known. These materials are typically blue. In these species, the phosphate anion is singly or doubly protonated. Examples include the hydrogenphosphates, VOHPO4.4H2O and VO(HPO4).0.5H2O, as well as the dihydrogen phosphate VO(H2PO4)2.
Vanadium(III) phosphates
Vanadium(III) phosphates lacking the oxo ligand have the formula VPO4•H2O and VPO4•2H2O. The monohydrate is isostructural with MgSO4•H2O It adopts the structure of the corresponding hydrated aluminium phosphate. Oxidation of VPO4•H2O yields the two-electron electroactive material ε-VOPO4
Notes
References
Vanadium compounds
Catalysts
Phosphates | Vanadium phosphates | [
"Chemistry"
] | 603 | [
"Catalysis",
"Catalysts",
"Salts",
"Phosphates",
"Chemical kinetics"
] |
47,733,167 | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pyxis%20globular%20cluster | The Pyxis globular cluster is a globular cluster in the constellation Pyxis. It lies around 130,000 light-years distant from earth and around 133,000 light-years distant from the centre of the Milky Way—a distance not previously thought to contain globular clusters. It is around 13.3 ± 1.3 billion years old. Discovered in 1995 by astronomer Ronald Weinberger while he was looking for planetary nebulae, it is in the Galactic halo. Irwin and colleagues noted that it appears to lie on the same plane as the Large Magellanic Cloud and raised the possibility that it might be an escaped object from that galaxy.
References
Pyxis globular cluster
Pyxis | Pyxis globular cluster | [
"Astronomy"
] | 148 | [
"Pyxis",
"Constellations"
] |
47,733,699 | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Darolutamide | Darolutamide, sold under the brand name Nubeqa, is an antiandrogen medication which is used in the treatment of non-metastatic castration-resistant prostate cancer in men. It is specifically approved to treat non-metastatic castration-resistant prostate cancer (nmCRPC) in conjunction with surgical or medical castration. The medication is taken by mouth twice per day with food.
Side effects of darolutamide added to castration may include fatigue, asthenia, pain in the arms and legs, and rash. Darolutamide is a nonsteroidal antiandrogen (NSAA), and acts as a selective antagonist of the androgen receptor (AR). It has been referred to as a second- or third-generation NSAA.
Darolutamide was patented in 2011 and was approved for medical use in USA in July 2019, in the European Union in March 2020 in Australia in July 2020. and in Canada in 2020,
Medical uses
Darolutamide is approved for use concurrently with a gonadotropin-releasing hormone (GnRH) agonist or antagonist or bilateral orchiectomy in the treatment of non-metastatic castration-resistant prostate cancer (nmCRPC) in men. It is used at a dosage of 600 mg orally twice per day (1,200 mg/day total) with food. In individuals with severe renal impairment or moderate hepatic impairment, darolutamide is used at a dosage of 300 mg orally twice per day (600 mg/day total) with food. No dosage adjustment is needed for mild to moderate renal impairment or mild hepatic impairment, whereas appropriate dosage adjustment for end-stage kidney disease and severe hepatic impairment is unknown.
Two 2020 meta-analyses reported that enzalutamide and apalutamide seemed to be more effective than darolutamide in improving metastasis-free survival (MFS), however 2021 matched adjusted indirect comparison showed no significant differences between drugs in terms of MFS. According to 2021 meta-analysis darolutamide was ranked first in terms of improving overall survival (OS). Also, darolutamide showed significantly lower rate of grade 3-5 adverse events (AE) compared to both enzalutamide and apalutamide.
Available forms
Darolutamide is provided in the form of 300 mg oral film-coated tablets.
Contraindications
Darolutamide has no contraindications in men. However, the medication may have teratogenic effects in male fetuses due to its antiandrogenic effects and hence should not be used by women who are pregnant.
Side effects
The most common side effects of darolutamide in clinical trials (≥2% incidence) in castrated men included fatigue and asthenia (16% vs. 11% for placebo), pain in extremities (6% vs. 3% for placebo), and rash (3% vs. 1% for placebo). Darolutamide was also associated with higher incidences of ischemic heart disease (4.0% vs. 3.4% for placebo) and heart failure (2.1% vs. 0.9% for placebo). In terms of laboratory test abnormalities, darolutamide was associated with decreased neutrophil count (20% vs. 9% for placebo), increased aspartate aminotransferase (AST) (23% vs. 14% for placebo; Grade 3–4: 0.5% vs. 0.2% for placebo), and increased bilirubin (16% vs. 7% for placebo). In the clinical studies, 88% of patients treated with darolutamide were age 65 years or older.
No seizures have been observed with darolutamide in clinical trials. Darolutamide is an expected teratogen and has a theoretical risk of birth defects in male infants if taken by women during pregnancy. It may impair male fertility. When used as a monotherapy (i.e., without surgical or medical castration) in men, NSAAs are known to produce feminizing breast changes including breast tenderness and gynecomastia.
Overdose
Darolutamide has been studied at a dosage of up to 1,800 mg/day in clinical trials. There were no dose-limiting toxicities seen at this dosage. Due to its saturable absorption and lack of acute toxicity, overdose of darolutamide is not expected to result in systemic toxicity in people with intact hepatic and renal function. There is no specific antidote for overdose of darolutamide. In the event of darolutamide overdose, if there is no toxicity, treatment can be continued as normal. If there is suspicion of toxicity, general supportive measures should be undertaken until clinical toxicity has decreased or resolved and then treatment may be continued.
Interactions
Combined P-glycoprotein and strong or moderate CYP3A4 inducers such as rifampicin may decrease blood levels of darolutamide, while combined P-glycoprotein and strong CYP3A4 inhibitors such as itraconazole may increase blood levels of darolutamide. Darolutamide is an inhibitor of the breast cancer resistance protein (BCRP) transporter and can increase blood levels of substrates for BCRP protein, such as rosuvastatin, by approximately 5-fold.
Pharmacology
Pharmacodynamics
Darolutamide is a second- or third-generation nonsteroidal antiandrogen (NSAA). It acts as a selective competitive silent antagonist of the androgen receptor (AR), the biological target of androgens like testosterone and dihydrotestosterone (DHT). Its affinity (Ki) for the AR is 11 nM and its functional inhibition () of the AR is 26 nM. The major metabolite of darolutamide, ketodarolutamide, has similar antiandrogenic activity relative to darolutamide (Ki = 8 nM; IC50 = 38 nM). In addition to its actions as an AR antagonist, darolutamide has been found to act as a silent antagonist of the progesterone receptor (PR), with approximately 1% of the potency of its AR antagonism.
A dosage of darolutamide of 1,200 mg/day has been found to result in a mean decrease in prostate specific antigen (PSA) levels of more than 90% in men with prostate cancer. The addition of darolutamide to castration has been found to decrease PSA levels by more than 50% in about 50% of men at 200 mg/day, 69% of men at 400 mg/day, 83% of men at 1,200 mg/day, and 86% of men at 1,400 mg/day. In accordance with its antiandrogenic activity, darolutamide monotherapy (600mg b.i.d.) has been found to increase testosterone levels in men with prostate cancer by 43.3% on average (range 5.7 to 144.0%), from median 413ng/dL (range 209–1183ng/dL) at baseline to median 595ng/dL (range 260–1500ng/dL), after 24weeks of treatment. For comparison, testosterone levels increased by 114.3% with enzalutamide monotherapy and high-dose bicalutamide monotherapy increases testosterone levels by about 59 to 97% in men with prostate cancer. A phase 2 clinical trial directly comparing testosterone increases with darolutamide monotherapy versus enzalutamide monotherapy is underway as of January 2024.
Darolutamide shows some advantages in comparison to enzalutamide and apalutamide, two other second-generation NSAAs. It has been claimed to negligibly cross the blood–brain barrier, and hence is thought to have a reduced risk of seizures and other central side effects from off-target GABAA receptor inhibition. However, darolutamide monotherapy has subsequently been found to increase testosterone levels, a centrally mediated antiandrogenic action. Darolutamide has been found to block the activity of all tested/well-known mutant ARs in prostate cancer, including the recently identified clinically-relevant F876L mutation that produces resistance to enzalutamide and apalutamide. The medication shows higher affinity and inhibitory potency at the AR relative to enzalutamide and apalutamide in vitro (Ki = 11 nM relative to 86 nM for enzalutamide and 93 nM for apalutamide; = 26 nM relative to 219 nM for enzalutamide and 200 nM for apalutamide).
Darolutamide inhibits the organic anion transporting polypeptide (OATP) transporters OATP1B1 and OATP1B3 in vitro. It shows no inhibition or induction of cytochrome P450 enzymes (CYP1A2, 2A6, 2B6, 2C8, 2C9, 2C19, 2D6, 2E1, 3A4) at clinically relevant concentrations. Similarly, darolutamide shows no inhibition of a variety of other transporters (P-glycoprotein, MRP2, BSEP, OATs, OCTs, MATEs, OATP2B1, NTCP) at therapeutic concentrations.
Pharmacokinetics
Absorption
The absolute bioavailability of darolutamide with oral administration of a single 300-mg dose without food is approximately 30%. The bioavailability of darolutamide is increased by about 2- to 2.5-fold when administered with food, with a similar increase in exposure occurring for ketodarolutamide. Exposure to darolutamide and ketodarolutamide increases in a nearly linear or dose-proportional manner across a dose range of 100 to 700 mg (or about 0.17- to 1.17-fold the recommended 600-mg dosage). No further increase in exposure to darolutamide was observed at a dosage of darolutamide of 900 mg twice per day (or 1.5 times the recommended 600-mg dosage), indicating a saturation of absorption at doses above 700 mg. Following a single 600-mg dose of darolutamide, peak levels of darolutamide occur after approximately 4 hours. Steady-state levels of darolutamide occur after 2 to 5 days of continuous administration with food, during which time an approximate 2-fold accumulation in darolutamide levels occurs. At steady state with 600 mg/day darolutamide, mean levels of darolutamide are 4.79 μg/mL and area-under-the-curve levels of darolutamide over time 0 to 12 hours (AUC0–12) are 52.82 h•μg/mL. Total exposure to ketodarolutamide is approximately 1.7-fold that of darolutamide.
Distribution
The volume of distribution of darolutamide with intravenous administration is 119 L. The plasma protein binding of darolutamide is 92%, with 8% circulating freely, and of ketodarolutamide is 99.8%, with 0.2% circulating unbound. As such, free levels of darolutamide in the circulation are about 40-fold higher than those of ketodarolutamide. Both darolutamide and ketodarolutamide are bound mainly to albumin. Darolutamide and ketodarolutamide has been claimed to negligibly cross the blood–brain barrier both in mice and humans. However, a subsequent study of darolutamide monotherapy in men with prostate cancer found that it increased testosterone levels, a centrally mediated antiandrogenic action. Darolutamide is a known substrate of P-glycoprotein and the breast cancer resistance protein (BCRP). P-Glycoprotein is known to play a major role in excluding drugs from the brain due to efflux back across the blood–brain barrier.
Metabolism
Darolutamide is primarily metabolized into ketodarolutamide via dehydrogenation by CYP3A4 in the liver. The medication is also conjugated via glucuronidation by UGT1A9 and UGT1A1. The elimination half-life of darolutamide and ketodarolutamide has been reported to be approximately 20 hours. A clinical study found that the elimination half-lives of darolutamide and ketodarolutamide at steady-state were 15.8 hours and 10.0 hours, respectively, with these half-lives being independent of dosage across a dose range of darolutamide of 200 to 1,800 mg/day. The elimination half-life of darolutamide is far shorter than that of enzalutamide (e.g., 1.6 hours vs. 18.3 hours in mice). The clearance of darolutamide following intravenous administration is 116 mL/min.
Excretion
After a single oral dose of darolutamide, more than 95% of the dose is excreted in urine and feces within one week following administration. A total of 63.4% darolutamide-related material is recovered in urine (about 7% as unchanged darolutamide) and a total of 32.4% darolutamide-related material (about 30% as unchanged darolutamide) is recovered in feces.
Variability
No clinically significant differences in the pharmacokinetics of darolutamide have been observed in men with nmCRPC on the basis of age (48 to 95 years), race (white, Asian, black), mild-to-moderate renal impairment, or mild hepatic impairment. In non-nmCRPC individuals with severe renal impairment not on dialysis, exposure to darolutamide was increased by about 2.5-fold relative to healthy people. In non-nmCRPC individuals with moderate hepatic impairment, darolutamide exposure was increased by about 1.9-fold compared to healthy controls. The pharmacokinetics of darolutamide have not been assessed in end-stage kidney disease or severe hepatic impairment.
Chemistry
Darolutamide is a nonsteroidal compound and is structurally distinct from other marketed NSAAs, including enzalutamide and apalutamide.
History
Darolutamide was developed by Orion Corporation and Bayer HealthCare. Orion Corporation applied for a patent on darolutamide in October 2010, and this patent was published in May 2011. Darolutamide entered phase I clinical trials in April 2011, with the results of the first clinical study of darolutamide initially published in 2012. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved darolutamide in July 2019, under the agency's priority review designation.
Approval was based on ARAMIS, a multicenter, double-blind, placebo-controlled clinical trial in 1,509 patients with non-metastatic castration resistant prostate cancer. Patients were randomized (2:1) to receive either 600 mg darolutamide orally twice daily (n=955) or matching placebo (n=554). All patients received a gonadotropin-releasing hormone (GnRH) analog concurrently or had a previous bilateral orchiectomy. Twelve patients with previous seizure histories were treated on the darolutamide arm.
The primary endpoint was metastasis free survival (MFS), defined as the time from randomization to first evidence of distant metastasis or death from any cause within 33 weeks after the last evaluable scan, whichever occurred first. The median MFS was 40.4 months (95% CI: 34.3, not reached) for patients treated with darolutamide compared with 18.4 months (95% CI: 15.5, 22.3) for those receiving placebo (hazard ratio 0.41; 95% CI: 0.34, 0.50; p<0.0001).
Darolutamide was associated with greater benefits than placebo for all secondary end points, including overall survival (hazard ratio 0.69; 95% CI: 0.53-0.88; P=0.003), time to pain progression (median 40.3 months vs. 25.4 months; hazard ratio 0.65; 95% CI: 0.53-0.79; P<0.001), time to cytotoxic chemotherapy (hazard ratio 0.43; 95% CI: 0.31-0.60), and time to a symptomatic skeletal event (hazard ratio 0.43; 95% CI: 0.22-0.84).
Society and culture
Generic names
Darolutamide is the generic name of the medication and its and . It is also known by its developmental code names ODM-201 and BAY-1841788.
Brand names
Darolutamide is marketed under the brand name Nubeqa.
Availability
Darolutamide is available in the United States, Canada and the European Union.
Research
Darolutamide monotherapy is being studied in comparison to androgen deprivation therapy with GnRH agonist or antagonist monotherapy in men with treatment-naive prostate cancer. As of 2018, it is entering a phase II clinical trial for this indication. In 2020, completion of this study had been expected in 2021 or 2022.
Darolutamide is being studied for the treatment of breast cancer in women. As of November 2019, it is in phase II clinical trials for this indication.
References
External links
Antiprogestogens
Carboxamides
Chloroarenes
Hormonal antineoplastic drugs
Nitriles
Nonsteroidal antiandrogens
Peripherally selective drugs
Pyrazoles | Darolutamide | [
"Chemistry"
] | 3,779 | [
"Nitriles",
"Functional groups"
] |
47,734,015 | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Parakaryon | Parakaryon myojinensis, also known as the Myojin parakaryote, is a highly unusual species of single-celled organism known only from a single specimen, described in 2012. It has features of both prokaryotes and eukaryotes but is apparently distinct from either group, making it unique among organisms discovered thus far. It is the sole species in the genus Parakaryon.
Etymology
The generic name Parakaryon comes from Greek παρά (pará, "beside", "beyond", "near") and κάρυον (káryon, "nut", "kernel", "nucleus"), and reflects its distinction from eukaryotes and prokaryotes. The specific name myojinensis reflects the locality where the only sample was collected: from the bristle of a scale worm collected from hydrothermal vents at Myōjin Knoll (明神海丘, ), about deep in the Pacific Ocean, near Aogashima island, southeast of the Japanese archipelago. The authors explain the full binomial as "next to (eu)karyote from Myojin".
Structure
Parakaryon myojinensis has some structural features unique to eukaryotes, some features unique to prokaryotes, and some features different to both. The table below details these structures, with matching traits coloured beige.
Interpretations
Genuine species or artifact
Yamaguchi et al. proposed in their 2012 paper that there were three reasons why the specimen they named P. myojinensis was not simply a result of parasitic or predatory bacteria living within another prokaryote host, which they acknowledged is known from several examples:
"It is difficult to imagine that multiple bacteria of different species attacked a host at the same time." They referred to Figure 2d, showing the isolated forms of the inclusions, one large helix with three turns (volume 2.3 μm³) and two much smaller pieces (volumes 0.2 & 0.1 μm³).
"Secondly, because the cytoplasms of the host and the endosymbionts show orderly and electron-dense cellular structures, no digestion in either host or endosymbionts appears to have occurred."
"Lastly, if Parakaryon myojinensis originated due to a current interaction between predators and hosts, then there must be dense populations of predators and hosts, because predators need to find hosts quickly for survival once they are released from the previous host."
In 2016, Yamaguchi et al. detailed the discovery of helical bacteria on polychaetes collected from the same location, which they named "Myojin spiral bacteria". In 2020, Yamaguchi and two others published a new short paper on their studies of the microbiota of polychaetes from Myojin Knoll. The authors stated "Among them, we often observed bacteria that contained intracellular bacteria on ultrathin sections." They studied one such specimen and concluded that the "host" bacterium was dead and its cell wall broken. The smaller bacteria could have been feeding on the larger bacterium but they also suggest "The association of the bacteria with dead bacteria could also have been artificially caused by the centrifugation steps used for the preparation of specimens for electron microscopy." In this paper, all five mentions of P. myojinensis were as a valid taxon with no implication that it is an artifact.
Evolutionary significance
It is not clear whether P. myojinensis can or should be classified as an eukaryote or a prokaryote, the two categories to which all other cellular life belongs. Adding to the difficulties of classification, only one instance of this organism has been discovered to date, and so scientists have been unable to study it further. Its discoverers suggested that additional specimens would be needed for culturing and DNA sequencing to place the organism in a phylogenetic context.
British evolutionary biochemist Nick Lane hypothesized in a 2015 book that the existence of P. myojinensis could be the first known example of symbiogenesis outside eukaryotes, which could offer clues to the requirements for the development of complex life in general.
See also
Anatoma fujikurai, a species of sea snail discovered at the same location
References
Further reading
Species described in 2012
Incertae sedis
Monotypic genera
Biota of the Pacific Ocean
Japanese archipelago
Microorganisms
Marine organisms
Endosymbiotic events
Species known from a single specimen | Parakaryon | [
"Biology"
] | 927 | [
"Biota of the Pacific Ocean",
"Symbiosis",
"Endosymbiotic events",
"Species known from a single specimen",
"Taxonomy (biology)",
"Individual organisms",
"Incertae sedis",
"Microorganisms",
"Biota by sea or ocean"
] |
47,734,189 | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jan%20Jaworowski | Jan W. Jaworowski (March 2, 1928 in Augustów, Poland – April 10, 2013 in Bloomington, Indiana) was a Polish and American mathematician, topologist.
Biography
His father was Jan Leonard Jaworowski, and his mother—Helena (maiden name Heybowicz).
He graduated (got master's degree) from the mathematical department of the University of Warsaw. He got his Ph.D. from the Polish Academy of Sciences in 1955, in Algebraic topology, under Karol Borsuk. He generalized the Borsuk–Ulam theorem about antipodes.
He taught at University of Warsaw, University of Ljubljana, and for years at The Indiana University Bloomington. He published 64 papers and was a promoter of at least 11 doctoral theses.
He was a member of the Institute for Advanced Study during the 1960/61.
Jaworowski specialized in the transformation groups theory.
References
Polish mathematicians
20th-century American mathematicians
Topologists
1928 births
2013 deaths
People from Augustów | Jan Jaworowski | [
"Mathematics"
] | 202 | [
"Topologists",
"Topology"
] |
47,734,223 | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Apalutamide | Apalutamide, sold under the brand name Erleada among others, is a nonsteroidal antiandrogen (NSAA) medication used for the treatment of prostate cancer. It is an androgen receptor inhibitor. It is taken by mouth.
Side effects of apalutamide when added to castration include fatigue, nausea, abdominal pain, diarrhea, high blood pressure, rash, falls, bone fractures, and an underactive thyroid. Rarely, it can cause seizures. The medication has a high potential for drug interactions. Apalutamide is an antiandrogen, and acts as an antagonist of the androgen receptor, the biological target of androgens like testosterone and dihydrotestosterone. In doing so, it prevents the effects of these hormones in the prostate gland and elsewhere in the body.
Apalutamide was first described in 2007, and was approved for the treatment of prostate cancer in February 2018. It is the first medication to be approved specifically for the treatment of non-metastatic castration-resistant prostate cancer.
Medical uses
Apalutamide is indicated for the treatment of people with metastatic castration-sensitive prostate cancer and the treatment of people with non-metastatic castration-resistant prostate cancer.
Apalutamide is used in conjunction with castration, either via bilateral orchiectomy or gonadotropin-releasing hormone analogue (GnRH analogue) therapy, as a method of androgen deprivation therapy in the treatment of non-metastatic castration-resistant prostate cancer. It is also a promising potential treatment for metastatic castration-resistant prostate cancer (mCRPC), which the NSAA enzalutamide and the androgen synthesis inhibitor abiraterone acetate are used to treat.
Contraindications
Contraindications of apalutamide include pregnancy and a history of or susceptibility to seizures.
Side effects
Apalutamide has been found to be well tolerated in clinical trials, with the most common side effects reported when added to surgical or medical castration including fatigue, nausea, abdominal pain, and diarrhea. Other side effects have included rash, falls and bone fractures, and hypothyroidism, as well as seizures (in 0.2%), among others. Apalutamide is an expected teratogen and has a theoretical risk of birth defects in male infants if taken by women during pregnancy. It may impair male fertility. When used as a monotherapy (i.e., without surgical or medical castration) in men, NSAAs are known to produce additional, estrogenic side effects like breast tenderness, gynecomastia, and feminization in general by increasing estradiol levels. Similarly to the related second-generation NSAA enzalutamide but unlike first-generation NSAAs like flutamide and bicalutamide, elevated liver enzymes and hepatotoxicity have not been reported with apalutamide. Case reports of rare interstitial lung disease with apalutamide exist similarly to with first-generation NSAAs however.
Overdose
There is no known antidote for overdose of apalutamide. General supportive measures should be undertaken until clinical toxicity, if any, diminishes or resolves.
Interactions
Apalutamide has a high potential for drug interactions. In terms of effects of apalutamide on other drugs, the exposure of substrates of CYP3A4, CYP2C19, CYP2C9, UDP-glucuronosyltransferase, P-glycoprotein, ABCG2, or OATP1B1 may be reduced to varying extents. In terms of effects of other drugs on apalutamide, strong CYP2C8 or CYP3A4 inhibitors may increase levels of apalutamide or its major active metabolite N-desmethylapalutamide, while mild to moderate CYP2C8 or CYP3A4 inhibitors are not expected to affect their exposure.
Pharmacology
Pharmacodynamics
Antiandrogenic activity
Apalutamide acts as a selective competitive silent antagonist of the androgen receptor (AR), via the ligand-binding domain, and hence is an antiandrogen. It is similar both structurally and pharmacologically to the second-generation NSAA enzalutamide, but shows some advantages, including higher antiandrogenic activity as well as several-fold reduced central nervous system distribution. The latter difference may reduce its comparative risk of seizures and other central side effects. Apalutamide has 5- to 10-fold greater affinity for the AR than bicalutamide, a first-generation NSAA.
The acquired F876L mutation of the AR identified in advanced prostate cancer cells has been found to confer resistance to both enzalutamide and apalutamide. A newer NSAA, darolutamide, is not affected by this mutation, nor has it been found to be affected by any other tested/well-known AR mutations. Apalutamide may be effective in a subset of prostate cancer patients with acquired resistance to abiraterone acetate.
Other activities
Apalutamide shows potent induction potential of cytochrome P450 enzymes similarly to enzalutamide. It is a strong inducer of CYP3A4 and CYP2C19 and a weak inducer of CYP2C9, as well as an inducer of UDP-glucuronosyltransferase. In addition, apalutamide is an inducer of P-glycoprotein, ABCG2, and OATP1B1.
Apalutamide binds weakly to and inhibits the GABAA receptor in vitro similarly to enzalutamide ( = 3.0 and 2.7 μM, respectively), but due to its relatively lower central concentrations, may have a lower risk of seizures in comparison.
Apalutamide has been found to significantly and concentration-dependently increase QT interval.
Pharmacokinetics
The mean absolute oral bioavailability of apalutamide is 100%. Mean peak levels of apalutamide occur 2 hours following administration, with a range of 1 to 5 hours. Food delays the median time to peak levels of apalutamide by approximately 2 hours, with no significant changes in the peak levels themselves or in area-under-curve levels. Steady-state levels of apalutamide are achieved following 4 weeks of administration, with an approximate 5-fold accumulation. Peak concentrations for 160 mg/day apalutamide at steady-state are 6.0 μg/mL (12.5 μmol/L), relative to peak levels of 16.6 μg/mL (35.7 μmol/L) for 160 mg/day enzalutamide and mean (R)-bicalutamide levels of 21.6 μg/mL (50.2 μmol/L) for 150 mg/day bicalutamide. The mean volume of distribution of apalutamide at steady-state is approximately 276 L. The plasma protein binding of apalutamide is 96%, while that of its major metabolite N-desmethylapalutamide is 95%, both irrespective of concentration.
Apalutamide is metabolized in the liver by CYP2C8 and CYP3A4. A major active metabolite, N-desmethylapalutamide, is formed by these enzymes, with similar contribution of each of these enzymes to its formation at steady-state. Following a single oral dose of 200 mg apalutamide, apalutamide represented 45% and N-desmethylapalutamide 44% of total area-under-curve levels. The mean elimination half-life of apalutamide at steady-state is 3 to 4 days. Fluctuations in apalutamide exposure are low and levels are stable throughout the day, with mean peak-to-trough ratios of 1.63 for apalutamide and 1.27–1.3 for N-desmethylapalutamide. After a single dose of apalutamide, its clearance rate (CL/F) was 1.3 L/h, while its clearance rate increased to 2.0 L/h at steady-state. This change is considered to be likely due to CYP3A4 auto-induction. Approximately 65% of apalutamide is excreted in urine (1.2% as unchanged apalutamide and 2.7% as N-desmethylapalutamide) while 24% is excreted in feces (1.5% as unchanged apalutamide and 2% as N-desmethylapalutamide).
Chemistry
Apalutamide is a structural analogue of enzalutamide and RD-162. It is a pyridyl variant of RD-162. Enzalutamide and RD-162 were derived from the nonsteroidal androgen RU-59063, which itself was derived from the first-generation NSAA nilutamide and by extension from flutamide.
History
Apalutamide was originated by the University of California system and was developed primarily by Janssen Research & Development, a division of Johnson & Johnson. It was first described in the literature in a United States patent application that was published in November 2007 and in another that was submitted in July 2010. A March 2012 publication described the discovery and development of apalutamide. A phase I clinical trial of apalutamide was completed by March 2012, and the results of this study were published in 2013. Information on phase III clinical studies, including ATLAS, SPARTAN, and TITAN, was published between 2014 and 2016. Positive results for phase III trials were first described in 2017, and Janssen submitted a New Drug Application for apalutamide to the United States Food and Drug Administration on 11 October 2017. Apalutamide was approved by the Food and Drug Administration in the United States, under the brand name Erleada, for the treatment of non-metastatic castration-resistant prostate cancer in February 2018. It was subsequently approved in Canada, the European Union, and Australia.
Society and culture
Generic names
Apalutamide is the generic name of the medication and is its international nonproprietary name. It is also known by its developmental code names ARN-509 and JNJ-56021927.
Brand names
Apalutamide is marketed under the brand names Erleada and Erlyand.
Availability
Apalutamide is available in the United States, Canada, the European Union, and Australia.
References
Further reading
Benzamides
Cyclobutanes
CYP3A4 inducers
Fluoroarenes
GABAA receptor negative allosteric modulators
Hormonal antineoplastic drugs
Imidazolidines
Lactams
Nitriles
Nonsteroidal antiandrogens
Progonadotropins
Prostate cancer
Pyridines
Spiro compounds
Thioureas
Trifluoromethyl compounds | Apalutamide | [
"Chemistry"
] | 2,327 | [
"Organic compounds",
"Nitriles",
"Functional groups",
"Spiro compounds"
] |
47,734,407 | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hacienda%20El%20Tanque | The Hacienda El Tanque is an hacienda and historical alembic for the distillation of aguardiente and rum in the valley of Pedro González, Margarita Island, Venezuela. It was founded in 1880, and still conserves the covered alembic and the original architecture of the period. It's listed by the historian Luis Marcano Boada, chronicler of La Asuncion, as one of the 25 original distilleries of aguardiente in Margarita, which included the Distillery Altagracia, La Estancia, Cruz Grande, among others.
Location
The hacienda is located in a highly fertile and water-rich area of the island in the Valley of Pedro González, with a clear water spring that flows from the mountain range which includes to Cerro Tragaplata, and gives rise to crops of tomato margariteño and chili margariteño, which is currently being proposed as worthy of obtaining a denomination of origin.
Cultural tradition
Among others, the hacienda has been throughout the years a place of meeting for Venezuelan oriental musicians, especially in the 1990s. In it, several celebrations of galerones, velorios of Cruz de Mayo and homages to the Virgen del Valle (Virgin of the Valley), by recognised interpretes of the oriental Venezuelan music or 'música margariteña', such as one of the main composers and cuatristas of the folklore of Margarita, José Ramón Villaroel, "The Hurricane of the Caribbean".
See also
Margarita Island
Estado Nueva Esparta
References
Colonial Venezuela
Tanque
Rum produced in Venezuela
Distilleries | Hacienda El Tanque | [
"Chemistry"
] | 336 | [
"Distilleries",
"Distillation"
] |
47,735,035 | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/273P/Pons%E2%80%93Gambart | 273P/Pons–Gambart, also called Comet Pons-Gambart, is a periodic comet in a retrograde orbit first discovered on June 21, 1827 by Jean-Louis Pons and Jean-Félix Adolphe Gambart. It has a 186 year orbit and it fits the classical definition of a Halley-type comet (20 years < period < 200 years). Its last perihelion was in December 2012 and will next come to perihelion around August 2191.
The orbit was initially considered to be parabolic, but its orbit was recalculated in 1917 and it was found to be elliptical with an orbital period determined to be 64 years with 10 years uncertainly. The comet was considered lost until November 7, 2012, when amateur astronomer Rob Matson discovered a comet in images taken by SWAN instrument on board SOHO, and it was identified that the pre-recovery short-arc orbital calculations for Pons-Gambart were completely wrong because the comet only had a 1-month observation arc with poor data and that was the first perihelion after the 1827 apparition. It was last observed in April 2014 when it was from the Sun.
The original name when first discovered was C/1827 M1. Before the 2012 return, when Comet Pons–Gambart was speculated to have a roughly 60 year orbit it was suspected of possibly being comet C/1110 K1.
Of the numbered periodic comets only 153P/Ikeya-Zhang has a longer orbital period.
Comet Pons–Gambart has been suggested as the part body of the eta Eridaninds meteor shower, however comet C/1852 K1 (Chacornac) seems to be a better candidate.
See also
Marseilles Observatory
References
Periodic comets
273P
0273
273P
Recovered astronomical objects | 273P/Pons–Gambart | [
"Astronomy"
] | 375 | [
"Recovered astronomical objects",
"Astronomical objects",
"Astronomy stubs",
"Comet stubs"
] |
47,735,568 | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/92P/Sanguin | 92P/Sanguin, also called Sanguin's Comet or Comet Sanguin, is a Jupiter-family comet discovered on October 15, 1977, by Juan G. Sanguin at Leoncito Astronomical Complex. It completes a single rotation approximately every 6 days.
The nucleus of the comet has a radius of about 1.2 kilometers based on observations by Keck, assuming a geometric albedo of 0.04.
References
External links
Periodic comets
092P
0092
092P
19771015 | 92P/Sanguin | [
"Astronomy"
] | 104 | [
"Astronomy stubs",
"Comet stubs"
] |
47,736,005 | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Antinarcissism | Antinarcissism is a specific form of narcissistic character that, rather than aggrandising the ego, restricts its scope without diminishing the amount of self-investment involved. It is seen in the philosophy of Ubuntu and the works of figures such as Nelson Mandela, that do not advocate any form of supremacy or the elevation of self above the community.
Development
Antinarcissism was first introduced by Francis Pasche in 1964 within the theoretical debate that initially sought out to define narcissism and describe its role in psychic development. Pasche described the concept as a centrifugal investment, in which the subject tends to be divested of self, to give up their own substance and reserves of love, independent of any economic factors.
Christopher Bollas introduced the concept of antinarcissism to describe a self-limiting kind of narcissist who refuses to develop themselves or use their talents, so as to maintain their exaggerated sense of self-importance in defeat. "This anti-elaborative person 'stews in his own juice' and adamantly refuses to nurture himself". The antinarcissist may preserve a hostile, even sadistic, core behind a self-effacing facade of care and consideration for others.
André Green similarly wrote of antinarcissism as a negative narcissism that seeks self-destructively to abolish the ego in its "aspiration for nothingness". This is part of his notion of dual narcissism, which is likely to be mapped onto the irreducible dualism of life and death drives, opposing the concept of positive narcissism, which aims to reach unity, and negative narcissism, one that strives toward the zero level and aims at nothingness. Green's concept is akin to Francis Pasche's conception of antinarcissism, which is characterized by an object and a direction.
Other formulations
Fritz Wittels earlier described antinarcissism as the tendency of two lovers to lose themselves each in the other. He explained that the essence of love is identification and that each become conscious only in and through one another.
Hélène Cixous saw antinarcissism as the female internalisation of the male gaze – an alien standard to live up to – as opposed to developing their own selves. There is also a concept called Antinarcissistic Rhetoric, which pertains to the way women use rhetors to appropriate patriarchal discourses for the purpose of creating ethos with their audience.
See also
References
External links
Antinarcissism
Psychodynamics
Psychoanalytic terminology
Narcissism
1964 neologisms | Antinarcissism | [
"Biology"
] | 559 | [
"Behavior",
"Narcissism",
"Human behavior"
] |
47,737,070 | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List%20of%20condominiums%20in%20Canada | This is a list of articles of notable condominiums located in Canada.
Residential condominiums
Condo hotels
See also
List of condominiums in the United States
References
condominiums
condominiums | List of condominiums in Canada | [
"Engineering"
] | 41 | [
"Architecture lists",
"Architecture"
] |
47,737,366 | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ti-6Al-2Sn-4Zr-2Mo | Ti-6Al-2Sn-4Zr-2Mo (UNS designation R54620), also known as Ti 6-2-4-2, is a near alpha titanium alloy known for its high strength and excellent corrosion resistance. It is often used in the aerospace industry for creating high-temperature jet engines and the automotive industry to create high performance automotive valves.
Chemistry
Markets
Aerospace
Automobile
Applications
High-temp jet engines
Gas turbine compressor components (Blades, Discs, Spacers and Seals)
High performance automotive valves
Sheet metal parts in afterburners and hot airframe sections
Aircraft brake parts (e.g. Boeing 787)
Specifications
AMS: 4919, 4975, 4976, 4979, T 9047
MIL-T : 9046, 9047
MIL-F: 81556, 82142
Werkstoff: 3.7145
EN: 3.71450
GE: B50TF22, B50TF21, C50TF7, B50TF22
PWA: 1220
DIN: 3.7164
UNS: R54620
References
Titanium alloys | Ti-6Al-2Sn-4Zr-2Mo | [
"Chemistry"
] | 233 | [
"Titanium alloys",
"Alloys"
] |
47,738,151 | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nokia%206130 | The Nokia 6130 is a mobile phone released in 1998 by Nokia.
References
Mobile phones introduced in 1998
6130
Mobile phones with infrared transmitter | Nokia 6130 | [
"Technology"
] | 29 | [
"Mobile technology stubs",
"Mobile phone stubs"
] |
47,738,175 | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/VoteSpotter | VoteSpotter was a mobile app developed by Michigan-based free market think tank Mackinac Center for Public Policy to track votes by elected officials in the United States.
Development
VoteSpotter was developed by the Mackinac Center for Public Policy, a free market-oriented think tank based in Michigan. It was originally an extension of the organization's MichiganVotes.org website, but has since expanded to include other states.
Usage
The mobile app allows users to track votes by United States federal elected officials and state officials in select states. The app's state officials information originally focused on Michigan, but has since expanded to include additional states. Vote results can be found by entering an address and identifying which elected officials represent that address. Users can also indicate if they support a particular vote or not, and compare their answer with other app users.
References
IOS software
Android (operating system) software | VoteSpotter | [
"Technology"
] | 181 | [
"Mobile software stubs",
"Mobile technology stubs"
] |
47,738,265 | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nokia%203610 | The Nokia 3610 is a mobile phone by Nokia, announced in Q4 2001 and released in 2002.
References
Mobile phones introduced in 2002
3610 | Nokia 3610 | [
"Technology"
] | 31 | [
"Mobile technology stubs",
"Mobile phone stubs"
] |
47,738,279 | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nokia%202100 | The Nokia 2100 is a mobile phone announced in Nov 4, 2002, and released in Q1 2003.
It is a derivative of the more popular Nokia 1100 and serves as a spiritual successor to the Nokia 8210, sharing a similar button layout, firmware and small dimensions. It is rebranded as Nokia 3610 for some markets.
It also included some of the popular Nokia games available, which were Space Impact, Snake II and Link5. Space Impact most notably, included better graphics than the Nokia 3310 and others, but being rather slow and having bad framerate.
Despite having black and white display, and it having low resolution, Nokia 2100 included graphic redactor for images, which people could then save and send via MMS.
On the back it included a slot, in which people could insert a small photograph, or a very slim object, and see it through the plastic cover.
It was succeeded by the Nokia 3510.
References
Mobile phones introduced in 2003
2100 | Nokia 2100 | [
"Technology"
] | 200 | [
"Mobile technology stubs",
"Mobile phone stubs"
] |
47,738,287 | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nokia%208910i | The Nokia 8910i is a luxury mobile phone by Nokia announced on 4 November 2002 and released in early 2003. It had a metal titanium casing and a chromium-plated keypad. It was a minor improvement over the Nokia 8910, with a new colour screen (CSTN 4096 colours) and MMS capability. Both were succeeded by Nokia 8800.
It is Nokia's only feature phone to include both a buzzer and a color display.
References
Mobile phones introduced in 2003
8910i | Nokia 8910i | [
"Technology"
] | 109 | [
"Mobile technology stubs",
"Mobile phone stubs"
] |
47,738,897 | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/A-TEC%20Industries | A-TEC Industries AG was an international industrial holding company based in Vienna, Austria. It belonged to the Austrian industrialist Mirko Kovats. A-TEC was quoted on the Vienna stock exchange from the end of 2006 until February 2014. In 2007, the group of companies accounted for nearly 14.000 employees and had a turnover of more than 2 billion Euro. A-TEC was active in the areas of power plant construction, drive technology, industrial engineering and minerals & metals.
In October 2010, A-TEC went bankrupt and the company's assets were sold off by a trustee over the course of four years. The sell-off was completed by mid-2012. This was the third largest insolvency in Austria. The liquidation process began in October 2018.
History
A-TEC Industries AG has undergone several acquisitions since its founding in 2001, and its history is closely intertwined with that of its founder and director, Mirko Kovats. In 2004, the company changed its name from ATB Beteiligungs GmbH to A-Tec Industries GmbH, and the legal form was changed from a GmbH to an AG. An initial public offering (IPO) was completed in 2006 as part of a capital increase, and the shareholder structure as of December 31, 2006 was documented as follows:
55% M.U.S.T. Private Foundation
32% free float shares
7% J.E. Loidold private foundation
6% RPR private foundation
In 2007, Ronny Pecik sold his A-Tec shares, increasing the free shares to 33%.
Acquitions
Through A-Tec, Kovats frequently engaged in the takeover of economically troubled companies on advantageous terms, after which they underwent restructuring. Notable acquisitions include:
Drive technology Division
2001 ATB Group from the company of the Federal Republic of Austria for industrial policy measures ("ATB Gruppe von der Gesellschaft des Bundes Österreich für industriepolitische Maßnahmen (GBI)"). ATB is a manufacturer of electric motors specialising in motors for domestic and industrial usage. At the time of acquisition by GBI, ATB had approximately 1,200 employees and reported a consolidated revenue of approximately EUR 142 million. GBI sought a buyer with an industrial background and at the time, Kovats had an interest in the machine tool producer Emco.
2003 ATB Technologies GmbH, Austria
2004 ATB Morley Limited, UK – purchase price EUR 8.3 million.
2004 ATB Selni, France – purchase price EUR 3.2 million. Since the value of the assets less the liabilities of this company was higher than the purchase price, A-Tec recorded negative goodwill of EUR 433 thousand.
2005 ATB Sever, Serbia – purchase price EUR 4.1 million. After a tender, the A-Tec division ATB acquired the 63% shares in the electric motor manufacturer SEVER held by the Serbian state, the rest remained in free float. With the acquisition, ATB expanded its product portfolio to include motors of large sizes, standard motors and high-voltage motors. Sever had 2000 employees and achieved a turnover of 26 million euros. ATB agreed to assume 7 million euros of debt, finance a social plan and invest 16 million euros.
2005/2006 Lindeteves-Jacoberg, Singapore – purchase price EUR 21.8 million. ATB thereby acquired electric motor factories in the UK, Germany, Poland and China, as well as the Schorch, Brook Tamel Crompton and Western Electric brands. As noted in the prospectus, the Lindeteves Group had made a loss since 2003; the company was therefore in need of restructuring. A debt restructuring was carried out.
2007 David McClure, UK – purchase price EUR 0.8 million
2007 Laurence Scott, UK – purchase price EUR 4.7 million. Laurence Scott is a supplier of electric motors (sales EUR 19.4 million) specializing in the oil and gas industry. Due to cash flow problems, he found himself in bankruptcy proceedings in 2007 despite having enough orders. The takeover was carried out by the British ATB subsidiary Morley.
Plant Engineering Division
2002 Austrian Energy & Environment (AE&E) (Anlagenbau)
2003 Von Roll Inova-Gruppe, Switzerland
2004 Babcock Power Espana, Spain - purchase price EUR 3.7 million. The Spanish state holding company SEPI purchased the boiler-making company previously owned by Babcock Borsig, which employed 400 people at the Bilbao site. As the value of the assets minus liabilities was higher than the purchase price, A-Tec recorded negative goodwill of EUR 30.6 million. SEPI funded the cleanup with roughly EUR 110 million, of which EUR 12 million was generated in profit. A restructuring provision was also recognized in the 2004 financial statements, which totaled EUR 14.4 million for Babcock Espana.
2004 AE&E Chennai Works Ltd. and I.D.E.A. Private Ltd., India - purchase price EUR 6.3 million. The Babcock Borsig Group included two companies: Chennai Works, which specialized in boiler making, and I.D.E.A., which was focused on engineering.
2005 Alstom's boiler and power plant business in Asia and the Pacific region: this was merged into Austrian Energy & Environment (Australia) Pty.ltd - purchase price EUR 7.8 million. The French Alstom group was required to divest the Industrial Boilers and Plants division due to EU requirements, with AE&E taking over significant parts of the division. This included four locations across Europe and Australia, with Sydney (Australia) taken over in 2005 and the other locations in Cologne and Nuremberg (Germany) and Brno (Czech Republic) taken over in 2006. At the time, the division employed 450 people and had a sales volume of approximately EUR 400 million. Christian Schmidt, the CEO of AE&E at the time, saw the German locations as complementary to Von Roll's activities, while the Czech and Australian locations were complementary to AE&E Austria.
2006 Alstom business in Germany and the Czech Republic - this was incorporated into AE&E Inova (Germany) and AE&E CZ - purchase price EUR 1 million.
2007 Global Power Asia/AE&E Nanjing Boiler Co. – purchase price EUR 18.2 million.
2007 Lentjes GmbH, Germany from GEA – purchase price EUR 1.2 million. A-Tec acquired Lentjes for an amount of one euro, with additional costs associated with the purchase. Lentjes specializes in the construction of plants for energy production from fossil fuels, biomass, and waste. As part of the agreement, A-Tec was to increase its capital in the range of the low double-digit millions, while the seller was to take on the risks from largely finished projects. Following a detailed evaluation, the EU Commission gave its approval for the acquisition.
2008 KRB, Switzerland - purchase price EUR 2 million
2008 Mechanical Installations International, UK – purchase price EUR 8 million. A British company specialising in machinery and industrial plant installation, construction, maintenance and servicing, as well as pipe work and steel construction, had 110 employees and a turnover of EUR 21 million in 2007. This company was taken over due to existing orders from AE&E in the area of thermal waste treatment within the United Kingdom.
Machine Tool Division
2004 EMCO, Austria (machine tool construction). EMCO is a mechanical engineering company headquartered in Hallein, Austria, which in 2006 employed 870 people. In 1997 Mirko Kovats acquired a 50% stake in the company, undertaking a restructuring process and investing 120 million shillings (around 9 million euros) of his own money. By 2003, Kovats owned 100% of the company. In 2004, the private foundation M.U.S.T. acquired 25% of the company, and the majority of votes, for a cost of 20 million euros.
2006 remaining 75% of EMCO - purchase price EUR 70.3 million
2007 Dörries Scharmann Technologie, Germany - purchase price EUR 64.3 million. Dörries Scharmann is a manufacturer of specialised machine tools for automotive, mechanical, and aerospace engineering. AE&E Nanjing Boiler Co., a Chinese company, specialises in the production of industrial and waste heat boilers. With an annual turnover of US$20 million, the company has been identified as a cost-efficient production site by A-Tec.
Minerals & Metals Division
2004 Montanwerke Brixlegg, Austria (Minerals & Metals) – purchase price EUR 9.7 million. The entity is a copper recycling company with a history of more than 500 years.
2007 Gindre, France – purchase price EUR 29.5 million. Gindre, a French company located in Lyon, specializes in the production of semi-finished copper products and components for the electrical industry. Established in 2006, the company employed 450 people and generated a revenue of 300 million euros. Its operations spanned five countries, including France, Germany, Great Britain, Spain, and the United States. Through forward integration, Gindre's Minerals & Metals division was further expanded with the Kupferhütte Montanwerke Brixlegg.
Other
2008 Voitsberg steam power plant, Austria - purchase price EUR 35 million
In 2006, the Voitsberg lignite-fired power plant was decommissioned and placed up for auction. A-Tec emerged as the victor among the 49 initial bidders, proposing to repurpose the plant to utilize other energy sources in coordination with AE&E.
Failed Takeovers
In 2007, A-Tec sought to bolster the copper sector by acquiring the Belgian copper group Cumerio, in contrast to Norddeutsche Affinerie (NA). Although A-Tec also acquired a stake in NA, the German Federal Cartel Office (Bundeskartellamt) barred the takeover of NA, deeming it to create a dominant position in the oxygen-free continuous cast copper shapes market. This series of events was dubbed the "copper thriller" by the media. By early 2008, A-Tec had sold off its Cumerio shares and, by the summer, relinquished its stake in NA.
Later in the year, A-Tec's attempt to purchase Serbian copper smelter RTB Bor fell through due to the company's failure to pay the full purchase price in time. In the same year, A-Tec moved to acquire the Ugandan copper mine Kilembe, as well as a copper smelter in the country.
Financial market transactions
On November 2, 2005, A-Tec INDUSTRIES AG issued a bond (ISIN AT0000499272) in the amount of EUR 100 million with a 5.75% interest rate, payable upon maturity on November 2, 2010.
The A-Tec share (ISIN AT00000ATEC9) was listed on the Vienna Stock Exchange in December 2006, reaching its highest point of EUR 48 in the summer of 2007. By mid-July 2009, the share had dropped to a value of nearly EUR 9.
A convertible bond (ISIN AT0000A05CS2) with a volume of EUR 180 million was issued on May 3, 2007, with a coupon rate of 2.75%. The bond was due to be repaid in 2014 and included a conversion right, which was valid until April 18, 2014, allowing creditors to convert the bonds into shares at a conversion price of EUR 56.25 per share. In the second half of 2009, A-Tec bought back a portion of the bond, which reduced the outstanding volume to around 92 million euros.
On October 27, 2009, A-Tec Industries issued a convertible bond (ISIN AT0000A0F795) with a nominal value of EUR 110 million and an 8.75% interest rate, maturing in 2014. Creditors were granted the right to convert the bonds into shares of A-Tec stock at a conversion price of EUR 14.76 per share until October 7, 2014.
In June 2010, A-Tec attempted to issue another bond but failed, with no ad hoc announcement informing the public of the failure. As a result, in 2012, the Financial Market Authority fined both Mirko Kovats and Christian Schmidt a total of EUR 130,000.
On October 5, 2010, A-Tec made an ad hoc announcement disclosing major orders with a volume of approximately one billion. However, at the time of the announcement, it had already been reported to the Financial Market Authority that the financing for these orders had not been secured. As a result, in 2012, Mirko Kovats, Christian Schmid and Franz Fehringer were each fined an additional EUR 200,000.
References
Electrical equipment manufacturers
Energy companies of Austria
Industrial machine manufacturers
Companies based in Vienna
Austrian brands | A-TEC Industries | [
"Engineering"
] | 2,693 | [
"Industrial machine manufacturers",
"Electrical engineering organizations",
"Industrial machinery",
"Electrical equipment manufacturers"
] |
47,739,473 | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oryx%20%28journal%29 | Oryx—The International Journal of Conservation is a peer-reviewed academic journal of conservation science and practice, published bimonthly by Cambridge University Press on behalf of Fauna & Flora International.
The journal publishes material on biodiversity conservation, conservation policy and sustainable use, and the interaction of these subjects with social, economic and political issues. It is interdisciplinary and has a particular interest in material that has the potential to improve conservation management and practice, supports the publishing and communication aspirations of conservation researchers and practitioners worldwide and helps build capacity for conservation. Besides research Articles and Short Communications, Oryx regularly publishes Reviews, Forum Articles, Book Reviews and Letters, and every issue includes a selection of international conservation news.
The journal provides a free Writing for Conservation guide to help researchers communicate their message through well-crafted text and graphics.
The journal was established in 1904 as Journal of the Society for the Preservation of the Wild Fauna of the Empire, and is currently edited by Martin Fisher. The name changed to Journal of the Society for the Preservation of the Fauna of the Empire, and the publication acquired its current name in 1950.
External links
Environmental science journals
Quarterly journals
Cambridge University Press academic journals
Publications established in 1904 | Oryx (journal) | [
"Environmental_science"
] | 236 | [
"Environmental science journals",
"Environmental science journal stubs"
] |
47,740,110 | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bulk%20personal%20datasets | "Bulk personal datasets" is the UK government's euphemism for datasets containing personally identifiable information on a large number of individuals, as part of mass surveillance in the United Kingdom and on citizens around the world.
The term was first used publicly in March 2015 by the Intelligence and Security Committee of Parliament, and has been subject to significant controversy.
Other UK Government departments have programmes utilising bulk personal datasets, one of which is the care.data programme in the Department of Health and National Health Service. In health, bulk personal datasets are created as a by-product of providing direct care.
Controversy
The judicial body which oversees the intelligence services in the United Kingdom, the Investigatory Powers Tribunal, ruled that the legislative framework in the United Kingdom does not permit mass surveillance and that while GCHQ collects and analyses data in bulk, it does not practice mass surveillance. A special report published by the Intelligence and Security Committee of Parliament also came to this view, although it found past shortcomings in oversight and said the legal framework should be simplified to improve transparency. This view is supported by independent reports from the Interception of Communications Commissioner. However, notable campaign groups and broadsheet newspapers continue to express strong views to the contrary, while others have criticised these viewpoints in turn.
References
Mass surveillance
Privacy
Personal life
Data security | Bulk personal datasets | [
"Engineering"
] | 274 | [
"Cybersecurity engineering",
"Data security"
] |
47,741,368 | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tower%20of%20Elahbel | The Tower of Elahbel (also known as Tower 13 or Kubbet el 'Arus) was a four-storey sandstone tower tomb near the ancient city of Palmyra in Syria. The tower was one of several built outside the city walls of Palmyra, in an area known as the Valley of the Tombs. The tower was important in the history of textiles: fragments of very early Chinese silk yarns, dated to the 1st century AD, were discovered in the tombs at the tower. The tower was demolished using explosives by the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant in August 2015.
Description
The tower was one of several multiple-storey stone funerary buildings in a necropolis a few hundred metres outside the city walls of Palmyra, in an area in the hills to the south and west that became known as the Valley of the Tombs. It lies below the Umm al-Bilqis hill, about west of the similar Towers of Iamblichus (or Iamlichu, or Yemliko) from AD83. The tower was completed in AD103 by a Palmyrene aristocrat Marcus Ulpius Elahbelus and his three brothers, Manai, Shakaiei, and Malku; they were all sons of Wahballat, son of Manai Elahbel. It is thought that Marcus Ulpius Elahbelus became a Roman citizen in the reign of the Emperor Trajan, which is why he shares elements of Emperor's birth name (Marcus Ulpius Traianus). Elahbel was known from an inscription at the Temple of Nabu in Palmyra.
The Tower of Elahbel was a tower of four storeys, with an approximately square plan, constructed from large sandstone blocks. The ground storey was slightly larger, and stepped back to the upper floors. A single door in the south face of the ground floor led to the interior, with an inscription plaque and round headed niche (like a window or balcony) decorating the otherwise blank wall above. The chambers inside were decorated inside with Corinthian pilasters and a painted coffered ceiling. The tower was partially reconstructed after it was visited by Gertrude Bell in 1900, and visitors could climb an internal staircase to the upper tomb chamber, and then the roof. Inside, the tower was divided into loculi, separate compartments like pigeonholes or a columbarium used to store the sarcophagi of deceased wealthy Palmyrenes, with each cell sealed with a carved and painted image of the occupant.
Destruction
The site containing the ruins of the ancient Palmyra, including the tower, was captured by ISIL in May 2015. Some portable carvings from the tombs had previously been removed to safety. Others were already held by museums. After ISIL/ISIS destroyed parts of the temples of Baalshamin and Bel later in 2015, the Tower of Elahbel and several other less well preserved tower tombs were reportedly blown up in August 2015, including the Tower of Iamblichus.
Gallery
See also
Pillar tomb
References
Sources
Roman Palmyra: Identity, Community, and State Formation, Andrew M. Smith II, p. 93-95
Palmyra, Tower Tomb of Elahbel
Rome in the East: The Transformation of an Empire, Warwick Ball, p. 366
Buildings and structures demolished in 2015
Buildings and structures destroyed by ISIL
Buildings and structures in Palmyra
Monuments and memorials in Syria
Ruins in Syria
Tombs
Towers | Tower of Elahbel | [
"Engineering"
] | 702 | [
"Structural engineering",
"Towers"
] |
47,741,371 | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cometary%20knot | Cometary knots, also referred as globules, are structures observed in several nearby planetary nebulae (PNe), including the Helix Nebula (NGC 7293), the Ring Nebula (NGC 6720), the Dumbbell Nebula (NGC 6853), the Eskimo Nebula (NGC 2392), and the Retina Nebula (IC 4406). They are believed to be a common feature of the evolution of planetary nebulae, but can only be resolved in the nearest examples. They are generally larger than the size of the Solar System (i.e. the orbit of Pluto), with masses of around 0.00001 times the mass of the Sun, which is comparable to the mass of the Earth. There are about 40,000 cometary knots in the Helix Nebula.
At optical wavelengths, the knots are seen as "the ionized skin of a dense, dusty molecular globule" forming a crescent-shaped head that is ionized and illuminated by the central star, with a trailing spoke or tail. In molecular hydrogen and carbon monoxide data, the tails of cometary knots are observed to be highly molecular. The central globule is at least 1000 times denser than the surrounding material that streams past it. The appearance is analogous to the tail of a comet that faces away from its star, but comets are solid bodies and much smaller in overall size and mass.
Globules located far and close to the central star present different characteristics. On the near side of the Helix Nebula, the central dusty globule of each cometary knot appears dark against the background as it absorbs the [O III] 5007 Angstrom light emitted in the nebular envelope. Those on the far side do not obstruct this light source and so do not have this dark appearance. In addition, globules near the central star appear to have a distinct trailing tail, whereas those located farther do no exhibit such defined tails.
The origin of cometary knots in planetary nebulae is still unknown and subject to active research. It is unclear whether they were created during the Asymptotic Giant Branch (AGB) phase and somehow managed to survive the AGB-PN transition, or if they were created when the star has already become a planetary nebula. The latter case would imply that the conditions in the planetary nebula host would have, at a certain point, triggered the formation of molecular clumps in its nebular envelope. Therefore, understanding the formation and evolution of cometary knots would not only give an insight into the physical properties of the planetary nebula host, but would also help draw a more detailed picture of the stellar evolution of low to intermediate mass stars.
Relation to other photoevaporation flows
Cometary knots are one type of ionized photoevaporation flow, which is characteristically associated with planetary nebulae, but several other types of photoevaporation flows (proplyds, cometary globules, elephant trunks, and champagne flows) are known from H II regions such as the Orion Nebula. Cometary knots are described as more advection-dominated than the other varieties, which are recombination-dominated or dust-dominated. The distinction can be made in terms of the formula for the "dynamic ionization balance within a photoevaporation flow", F* ≈ μn0 + αn02h. Here F* is the "ionizing photon flux incident on the outside of the flow", μ is the "initial velocity of the flow", α is the "recombination coefficient", n0 is the "peak ionized density in the flow", and h, which is approximately 0.1 r0, is the "effective thickness of the flow". In advection-dominated flows, μn0 is greater than αn02h, and most of the incoming photons reach the ionization front and ionize fresh gas. In other flows, most photons fail to reach the ionization front, and instead balance recombinations in the flow.
Reports in more distant objects
Several structures have been described as cometary knots or cometary globules that surround R Coronae Borealis, which is a peculiar star described as potentially the result of a white dwarf merger or final helium shell flash that periodically dims due to a build-up of carbon dust surrounding it, acting as a 'natural coronograph'.
Three-dimensional modelling of NGC 6337, a planetary nebula with a close binary nucleus, suggests the presence of a "thick ring with radial filaments and knots." The cometary knots represent large density fluctuations in a slowly expanding toroid.
Gallery
References
Planetary nebulae
Stellar astronomy | Cometary knot | [
"Astronomy"
] | 973 | [
"Astronomical sub-disciplines",
"Stellar astronomy"
] |
47,741,708 | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trapped%20surface | Closed trapped surfaces are a concept used in black hole solutions of general relativity which describe the inner region of an event horizon. Roger Penrose defined the notion of closed trapped surfaces in 1965. A trapped surface is one where light is not moving away from the black hole. The boundary of the union of all trapped surfaces around a black hole is called an apparent horizon.
A related term trapped null surface is often used interchangeably. However, when discussing causal horizons, trapped null surfaces are defined as only null vector fields giving rise to null surfaces. But marginally trapped surfaces may be spacelike, timelike or null.
Definition
They are spacelike surfaces (topological spheres, tubes, etc.) with restricted bounds, their area tending to decrease locally along any possible future direction and with a dual definition with respect to the past. The trapped surface is a spacelike surface of co-dimension 2, in a Lorentzian spacetime. It follows that any normal vector can be expressed as a linear combination of two future directed null vectors, normalised by:
k+ · k− = −2
The k+ vector is directed “outwards” and k− “inwards”. The set of all such vectors engenders one outgoing and one ingoing null congruence. The surface is designated trapped if the cross sections of both congruences decrease in area as they exit the surface; and this is apparent in the mean curvature vector, which is:
Hɑ= −θ+k−ɑ − θ−k+ɑ
The surface is trapped if both the null expansions θ± are negative, signifying that the mean curvature vector is timelike and future directed. The surface is marginally trapped if the outer expansion θ+ = 0 and the inner expansion θ− ≤ 0.
Trapped null surface
A trapped null surface is a set of points defined in the context of general relativity as a closed surface on which outward-pointing light rays are actually converging (moving inwards).
Trapped null surfaces are used in the definition of the apparent horizon which typically surrounds a black hole.
Definition
We take a (compact, orientable, spacelike) surface, and find its outward pointing normal vectors. The basic picture to think of here is a ball with pins sticking out of it; the pins are the normal vectors.
Now we look at light rays that are directed outward, along these normal vectors. The rays will either be diverging (the usual case one would expect) or converging. Intuitively, if the light rays are converging, this means that the light is moving backwards inside of the ball. If all the rays around the entire surface are converging, we say that there is a trapped null surface.
More formally, if every null congruence orthogonal to a spacelike two-surface has negative expansion, then such surface is said to be trapped.
See also
Null hypersurface
Raychaudhuri equation
References
This is the gold standard in black holes because of its place in history. It is also quite thorough.
This book is somewhat more up-to-date.
Mathematical methods in general relativity
Black holes | Trapped surface | [
"Physics",
"Astronomy"
] | 635 | [
"Black holes",
"Physical phenomena",
"Physical quantities",
"Unsolved problems in physics",
"Astrophysics",
"Density",
"Stellar phenomena",
"Astronomical objects"
] |
47,742,270 | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/HD%20259431 | HD 259431 (MWC 147 or V700 Monocerotis) is a young stellar object in the constellation of Monoceros.
Location
HD 259431 lies in the northern portion of Monoceros, between Orion and Canis Minor, along with the spectacular Rosette Nebula and NGC 2264 region. It is half a degree from the faint IC 447 reflection nebula.
HD 259431 is seen against NGC 2247, a small reflection nebula and star-forming region. It has been considered to be the illuminating source for the nebula, although it is uncertain if they are at the same distance. The Hipparcos annual parallax gives a distance of 170 parsecs while NGC 2247 is thought to be at about 800 parsecs, although both distances are somewhat uncertain. Many of its properties have been calculated assuming a distance of 800 parsecs, which means they are also highly uncertain. Gaia Data Release 3 gives a statistically precise distance around 650 parsecs.
Properties
HD 259431 is classed as a Herbig Haro Be star and has been instrumental in helping astronomers understand the formation of stars. A large star, with a large surrounding dust cloud, MWC 147 has given astronomers a clear picture of the mechanics of the accretion processes that form stars.
Star MWC 147 was observed in the near and mid-infrared. The near-infrared studies showed dust matter at a temperature of several thousand kelvins in the innermost regions of the protoplanetary disk. In the mid-IR were lower temperatures. These observations showed that the disk around the star disk extends over 100 AU.
The resulting research model assumes that the star increasing in mass at a rate 7 solar masses per year, or the equivalent of about two Earth masses per year.
MWC has a mass of 6.6 and is younger than 500 000 years. This means that the life of this star is expected to be only about 35 million years.
The star is found in the night sky at RA 06 h 33 m 05.19 and Dec 10° 19' 19.9869". It has a temperature of 14 125 K and spectral type of B6ep. It is also known as 2MJ06330519 + 1019199, HD 259431, HIP 31235 and SAO 95823.
References
External links
It Takes A Very Large Telescope To See Inside MWC 147
Monoceros
Herbig Ae/Be stars
259431
BD+10 1172
031235
Monocerotis, V700
Orion variables | HD 259431 | [
"Astronomy"
] | 525 | [
"Monoceros",
"Constellations"
] |
53,423,378 | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wilse%20B.%20Webb | Wilse B. Webb (1920–2018) familiarly known as Bernie Webb, was an American psychologist and sleep researcher, long associated with the University of Florida.
Early life and education
Wilse B. Webb was born in October, 1920 in Yazoo City, Mississippi. He graduated from Louisiana State University. When WWII broke out, he was in graduate school at the University of Iowa, where he studied under Kurt Lewin and Carl Seashore. Shortly after Pearl Harbor, he left school to become a psychologist in the Army Air Force. While studying combat pilot efficiency, he flew in strike missions against Japan and China. He returned to Iowa after the war, where he became "a believer in Clark Hull and a disciple of Kenneth Spence". He completed his PhD in 1947.
Career
Early in his career, Webb held teaching positions at the University of Tennessee and Washington University in St. Louis, and was head of the U.S. Navy's Aviation Psychology Laboratory in Pensacola, Florida. In 1959, he moved to the University of Florida as chairman of the psychology department. He remained there for the rest of his career, serving into his 90s as a Graduate Research Professor of psychology.
His doctoral students at Florida included Peretz Lavie and Thomas Kilduff, among many others.
Wilse B. Webb was an Honorary Life Member of the Southern Society for Philosophy and Psychology, and was its president in 1960. He held many responsible positions in the American Psychological Association, including serving as a member of the Communications Committee with oversight on development of a National Information System for Psychology in the early 1970s. Webb died on January 15, 2018, aged 97.
Publications
Wilse B. Webb wrote or edited seven books and about 250 papers, mostly on the subject of sleep. His last known publication, at age 91, was a comment on the article Harnessing the Power of Wikipedia for Scientific Psychology. He said "I view this project [Wikipedia] as one of the most important in advancing the public knowledge of psychology that I have ever seen."
Books
Sleep: The Gentle Tyrant. Anker Publishing Co., 1992
Biological Rhythms, Sleep, and Performance. John Wiley & Sons, 1982
Sleep: An Experimental Approach. Prentice Hall, 1976
Sleep: An Active Process: Research and Commentary. Pearson Scott Foresman, 1973
Sleep Therapy: A Bibliography and Commentary. Charles C. Thomas, Ltd., 1966
Selected articles
This is a list of Wilse Webb's 20 most recent articles. More can be found on his page at ResearchGate.
"Opinion Polls and Science". in Sleep 33(7):865-6 · July 2010
"The first night effect: An EEG study". in Psychophysiology 2(3):263 - 266 · January 2007
"The different prevention science". in American Psychologist 52(10):1141 · October 1997
"Sleep as a biological rhythm: A historical view". in Sleep · March 1994
"Human Subjects Review Boards: A Modest Proposal". in American Psychologist 42(5):516-517 · May 1987
"Enhanced slow sleep in extended sleep". in Electroencephalography and Clinical Neurophysiology 64(1):27-30 · August 1986
"A Further Analysis of Age and Sleep Deprivation Effects". in Psychophysiology 22(2):156 - 161 · March 1985
"Experiments on extended performance: Repetition, age, and limited sleep periods". in Behavior Research Methods 17(1):27-36 · January 1985
"Age, Sleep Deprivation, and Performance". in Psychophysiology 19(3):272 - 276 · May 1982
"A historical footnote on sex differences research". in American Psychologist 37(3):338-338 · March 1982
"My Problems with Human Subjects". in Teaching of Psychology 8(2):113-114 · April 1981
"An Essay on Consciousness". in Teaching of Psychology 8(1):15-19 · February 1981
"Sleep and Sleeplessness in Advanced Age, Vol. 5". Advances in Sleep Research. in PsycCRITIQUES 26(10) · January 1981
"In pursuit of the shiftworker: A discussion of methodologies". in Behavior Research Methods 11(1):24-25 · January 1979
"The Reliability of Arousal Threshold During Sleep". in Psychophysiology 15(5):412 - 416 · September 1978
"The research-academic psychologist". in American Psychologist 32(10):894-895 · October 1977
"Temporal Distribution and Ontogenetic Development of EEG Activity During Sleep". in Psychophysiology 14(3):315 - 321 · May 1977
"Progress in psychology: 1903-1907". in American Psychologist 29(12):897-902 · December 1974
"The displacement of stages 4 and REM sleep with a full night of sleep". in Psychophysiology 5(2):142-148 · September 1968
"Sleep cycle reversal". in Psychophysiology 5:216 · January 1968
References
1920 births
2018 deaths
20th-century American psychologists
Sleep researchers
University of Florida faculty
People from Yazoo City, Mississippi
Louisiana State University alumni
University of Iowa alumni
United States Army Air Forces personnel of World War II
University of Tennessee faculty
Washington University in St. Louis faculty | Wilse B. Webb | [
"Biology"
] | 1,087 | [
"Sleep researchers",
"Behavior",
"Sleep"
] |
53,423,998 | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Elizabeth%20A.%20H.%20Hall | Elizabeth Anne Howlett Hall CBE, CChem, FRSC is a British Professor of Analytical Biotechnology at the Institute of Biotechnology, Department of Chemical Engineering and Biotechnology at the University of Cambridge.
In 2015 Hall was the recipient of a CBE for her services to Higher Education and to Sport for the Disabled.
Hall has been a Tutor for undergraduate and graduate students at Queens' College, Cambridge since 1988. She was the first female professor of Queens' College. In 2013, Hall was appointed Vice-President of Queens' College. Hall has been a member of St John's College, Cambridge since 1987. She became a Liveryman of the Worshipful Company of Instrument Makers in 2020 and became a Freeman of the City of London in 2019. She was awarded DSc honoris causa from the University of Chichester in 2018, in recognition of contribution to science, widening participation in sport and disability – and as a role model for women in science and engineering.
Education
Hall's high school education was at Stratford House School in Bickley, Kent where she was Head Girl from 1970 to 1971. Hall graduated from Queen Mary College, University of London with a BSc in Chemistry in 1974. She went on to earn a PhD from the Faculty of Science at the University of London in 1977. In 1988, she was awarded an MA from the University of Cambridge.
Career
After earning her PhD, Hall spent two years as a postdoctoral fellow at the Laboratoire d'Electrochimie in Clermont, France (1977–1978) and the Institut für Organische Chemie, Johannes Gutenberg Universität, in Mainz, Germany (1978–1980). From 1980 to 1981 she worked as a Senior Analyst for Bernard Dyer and Partners in London, England. Later that year, Hall was recruited by the Nuffield Department of Anaesthetics, University of Oxford to work on blood and anaesthetic gas sensors.
In 1985 Hall relocated to the University of Cambridge where, from 1985 to 1999, she was a 'New Blood' Lecturer in Biosensors. From 1988 to 2004 she was a Lecturer in Natural Sciences at Queens' College Cambridge. From 1999 to 2003 she was a Reader in Analytical Science in the Institute of Biotechnology, University of Cambridge.
Since 2003 Hall has served as the Professor of Cambridge Analytical Biotechnology. In 2008 she co-founded CamBridgeSens, a strategic vision to bridge sensor research activities across the University of Cambridge. From 2010 - 2018 Hall served as the Deputy Head (Research) at the department of Chemical engineering and Biotechnology.; she was Head of Department from 2018 - 2020.
Research
Hall's research "is focused on understanding how biology can be interfaced with electronic, mechanical and optical systems to achieve 'measurement' and diagnosis. This links transduction technologies (electrochemistry, optics, ultrasound) with synthetic biology and nanomaterials to achieve sensors and diagnostic systems. The research bridges theoretical methods and modelling with lab-based experimental science." Hall is particularly interested in biosensors and the idea of 'the measured self', as well as other measure environment from the molecular level to a whole system (living or abiotic). She has a special interest in diagnostics for low and middle income countries.
Hall (2016) writes:
[The use of biosensors] might involve connecting electrochemistry with an engineered enzyme and some neat signal processing to make glucose monitoring easier and cheaper for diabetics; it could be that we are using synthetic biology to design and produce new silk-like materials that change colour when they encounter bacteria; we might be taking inspiration from biology to modify electrodes so that they can respond to our personal environment: the room we are in, our breath, our activities. Sometimes, we find that we can use our knowledge to make hybrid systems: for example, ultrasound contrast agents can be turned into drug delivery vehicles, so that we can try and combine measurement with treatment.
According to the Royal Society of Chemistry journal Analyst, Hall's book Biosensors (published by Open University and Wiley) "was the first text book on biosensors to be targeted towards a treatment of an understanding of the underlying principles and has been the supporting text for undergraduates and graduates for many university courses." Hall conceived, designed and directed the Interdisciplanary Euro-collaboration in Molecular Sensor Technology programme. The programme brought together collaborators in engineering, physical, biological science, medicine and environmental science, to achieve advances in molecular sensor technology.
Awards and honours
The Queen's Birthday Honours List for services to Higher Education and Sport for the Disabled, 2015
Recipient of the Oxburgh Medal for outstanding contribution to measurement, instrumentation and control in the field of environmental science and engineering, Institute of Measurement and Control, 2020
SNU-Dongjin Distinguished Lectureship 2019
Recipient of the Alec Hough-Grassby Memorial Award, Institute of Measurement and Control, 2009
Queen Victoria Eugenia Anglo-Hispanic Chair in Chemistry, 2006
Recipient of the Gold Medal from the Royal Society of Chemistry for innovation and leadership in Analytical Science, 2005
Recipient of the Pilkington Teaching Prize, which recognises outstanding teaching in the University of Cambridge, 2001
Organisations
Senior MRC Research Fellow at Nuffield Department of Anaesthetics, University of Oxford, 1981–1985
Awarded the status of Chartered Chemist (CChem) and became a member of the Royal Society of Chemistry (MRSC) in 1983.
Member of the Institute of Physics and Engineering in Medicine (IPEM) since 1984
Elected a Fellow of the Royal Society of Chemistry (FRSC); 2005
Vice-President of Analytical Division of Royal Society of Chemistry (RSC), 2006 – 2008
Chairman of Editorial Board of the journal Analyst, 2006 – 2010
Served on the National Institute for Health & Clinical Excellence (NICE) Diagnostics Advisory Committee, 2010 – 2013
Personal life
Hall is one of three siblings. In June 2013, Hall married Dr John Robert Saffell at Queens' College. Hall is an avid athlete who has competed in the Merlin Rocket Nationals. She also enjoys rowing, lacrosse and netball. From 1992 to 2018, Hall has served as the Chairman of Disability Snowsport UK (DSUK, with subsidiary British Parasnowsport), a charity originally providing winter-sport holidays for people with Cerebral Palsy. In 1995 Hall wrote and delivered a business plan to underpin the development of the sport nationally for people with all disabilities and to create a grass-roots to elite sport programme. The plan included building a centre on Cairngorm that was integrated in the Cairngorm Mountain Centre development opened in 2000. British Parasnowsport were responsible for identifying potential Para-olympians and were successful in achieving podium medal status in Söchi and PyeongChang, bringing home Team GB's first Alpine gold medals. She is President of DSUK since 2019.
References
Living people
Biotechnologists
Professors of the University of Cambridge
Commanders of the Order of the British Empire
Alumni of Queen Mary University of London
Alumni of St John's College, Cambridge
Fellows of Queens' College, Cambridge
Fellows of the Royal Society of Chemistry
Year of birth missing (living people)
Women biotechnologists
British women scientists | Elizabeth A. H. Hall | [
"Biology"
] | 1,450 | [
"Biotechnologists",
"Women biotechnologists"
] |
53,425,564 | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Distamycin | Distamycin is a polyamide-antibiotic, which acts as a minor groove binder, binding to the small furrow of the double helix.
Properties
Distamycin is a pyrrole-amidine antibiotic and analogous to netropsin and the class of lexitropsins. As opposed to netropsin, distamycin contains three N-methyl-pyrrole units. It is harvested from Streptomyces netropsis that also produces netropsin. Distamycin prefers AT-rich DNA-sequences and tetrades of [TGGGGT]4. Distamycin inhibits the transcription and increases the activity of the topoisomerase II.
Derivates from distamycin are used as alkylating antineoplastic agents to combat tumours. Derivates with fluorophores are used as fluorescent tags for double-stranded DNA.
The compound is hygroscopic, and sensible to light, freeze and hydrolysis. Its molar attenuation coefficient is 37,000 M−1 cm−1 at a wavelength of 303 nm.
See also
Lexitropsin
Netropsin
Hoechst 33258
DAPI
References
Peptides
Antibiotics
DNA-binding substances
Imidazoles
Pyrroles
Amines | Distamycin | [
"Chemistry",
"Biology"
] | 271 | [
"Genetics techniques",
"Biomolecules by chemical classification",
"Biotechnology products",
"Functional groups",
"Antibiotics",
"DNA-binding substances",
"Molecular biology",
"Amines",
"Biocides",
"Bases (chemistry)",
"Peptides"
] |
53,427,212 | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ormdl%20sphingolipid%20biosynthesis%20regulator%203 | ORMDL sphingolipid biosynthesis regulator 3 is a protein that in humans is encoded by the ORMDL3 gene. Variants affecting the expression of this gene are associated with asthma in childhood. Transgenic mice which overexpress human ORMDL3 have increased levels of IgE. This correlated with increased numbers of macrophages, neutrophils, eosinophils, CD4+ and enhanced Th2 cytokine levels in the lung tissue.
Localisation
The ORMDL family, whose name stands for ORM1 (Saccharomyces cerevisiae)–like genes, consists of three members (ORMDL1-3) which are localised in the membrane of the endoplasmic reticulum (ER). All three human ORMDL genes encode 153 amino acid products. The genes ORMDL1, ORMDL2 and ORMDL3 are located on human chromosomes 2q32, 12q13.2 and 17q21, respectively.
Function
ORMDL3 negatively regulates de novo sphingolipid synthesis through interaction with serine palmitoyltransferase (SPT), but it may be present in relative excess of SPT physiologically, as ORMDL3 overexpression does not significantly reduce cellular sphingolipid biosynthesis. ORMDL3 also has a role in regulating Ca2+ levels in the endoplasmic reticulum. The ER is very important for generation, signaling function and storage of intracellular Ca2+. There are channels, which control the exit of Ca2+ from the ER into the cytoplasm and also pumps (sarco-endoplasmic reticulum Ca2+ ATPase or SERCA) which return Ca2+ back to the ER. Dysregulation of Ca2+ has the key role in several pathological conditions like dysfunction of SERCA, asthma, and Alzheimer's.
Clinical significance
Mutations in ORMDL3 are associated with inflammatory diseases like Crohn's disease, type 1 diabetes, and rheumatoid arthritis.
References
Further reading
Immunology
Inflammations
Protein families | Ormdl sphingolipid biosynthesis regulator 3 | [
"Biology"
] | 454 | [
"Immunology",
"Protein families",
"Protein classification"
] |
53,430,229 | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Die%20Grundlagen%20der%20Einsteinschen%20Relativit%C3%A4ts-Theorie | Die Grundlagen der Einsteinschen Relativitäts-Theorie (English: The Fundamentals of the Einsteinian Relativity Theory) is a 1922 German partly animated documentary film created with the goal of bringing Einstein's theory of relativity to the broad public. It premiered on 2 April 1922 at the Frankfurt Fair.
With more than 80,000 individual images, it is not only the first great science film, it is also the film with the longest trick sequences. The film's running time was between two and three hours, depending on the length of the commentaries made by the scientific presenter. While the original version of the film is lost, part of the film (around 20 minutes) was used to create Max Fleischer's film The Einstein Theory of Relativity from 1923.
References
1922 films
1922 animated short films
1922 documentary films
German animated short films
German animated documentary films
Films of the Weimar Republic
1920s German-language films
Lost German films
Theory of relativity
German silent feature films
Lost animated films
German black-and-white films
1922 lost films
1920s educational films
1920s German films | Die Grundlagen der Einsteinschen Relativitäts-Theorie | [
"Physics"
] | 218 | [
"Theory of relativity"
] |
53,431,143 | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/A2744%20YD4 | A2744_YD4 is a very distant young galaxy. This galaxy has first been identified as a possible distant galaxy in 2015 using the Hubble Space Telescope. This detection was made possible because this galaxy lies behind the massive galaxy cluster Abell 2744. In 2017, ALMA observed it and detected a small quantity of dust (the most distant stardust to date) and the first signature of Oxygen emitting light only 600 million years after the Big Bang.
References
Sculptor (constellation) | A2744 YD4 | [
"Astronomy"
] | 99 | [
"Galaxy stubs",
"Astronomy stubs",
"Constellations",
"Sculptor (constellation)"
] |
77,645,677 | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ORG-24598 | ORG-24598 is a selective inhibitor of the type 1 glycine transporter.
Potential uses
Alcohol use disorder
A test in rats has showed that combining varenicline, bupropion, and an indirect glycine agonist (such as ORG-24598) could be beneficial for treatment of alcohol use disorder.
Schizophrenia
Studies have shown that glycine re-uptake inhibitors selective for the type 1 transporter may be useful for the treatment of certain schizophrenia symptoms.
References
Tertiary amines
Amino acids
Trifluoromethyl compounds
Phenol ethers
Glycine reuptake inhibitors | ORG-24598 | [
"Chemistry"
] | 127 | [
"Amino acids",
"Biomolecules by chemical classification"
] |
77,646,195 | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Famiraprinium | Famiraprinium (also known as SR-95103) is a GABAA receptor antagonist used in scientific research.
It antagonizes certain GABAA receptors with an inhibition constant of 2.2 μM.
Effects
Like other GABA antagonists, it triggers epilepsy-like symptoms. These effects can be antagonized by GABAA agonists like muscimol, proving it is an antagonist.
References
Pyridazines
Carboxylic acids
Phenyl compounds
GABAA receptor antagonists
Convulsants | Famiraprinium | [
"Chemistry"
] | 119 | [
"Carboxylic acids",
"Functional groups"
] |
77,646,504 | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aaron%20J.%20Ihde | Aaron John Ihde (December 31, 1909, Neenah, Wisconsin – February 23, 2000, Sarasota, Florida) was an American food chemist and historian of chemistry.
Early life and education
Aaron J. Ihde's parents were dairy farmers and immigrants to the United States. He studied chemistry at the University of Wisconsin–Madison, where he graduated with a bachelor's degree in 1931. He then worked as a chemist at the Blue Valley Creamery Company in Chicago. In early 1938, he returned to the University of Wisconsin–Madison and studied food chemistry and biochemistry, receiving in 1941 his doctorate under Henry August Schuette (1885–1978).
Career
Schuette also awakened Ihde's interest in the history of chemistry. After teaching for the academic year 1941–1942 at Butler University in Indianapolis, Ihde was from 1942 to 1945 an instructor of chemistry at the University of Wisconsin, where he was hired as a tenure-track assistant professor in 1945. He was eventually promoted to full professor and retired as professor emeritus in 1980. At the beginning of his career at UW Madison, he taught the introductory chemistry courses, but also revived in 1946 the course on the history of chemistry which was taught by Louis Kahlenberg until 1940. From 1947 until his retirement in 1980, Ihde taught an interdisciplinary course on "The Physical Universe". For the academic year 1951–1952 he gave lectures at Havard University on the history of science at as a Carnegie Intern in General Education. At Harvard he came into contact with James B. Conant, George Sarton, Thomas S. Kuhn, Gerald Holton and I. Bernard Cohen. In addition to his chemistry professorship, Ihde received in 1957 a joint appointment as professor in UW Madison's department of the history of science, which he helped to develop since the 1940s. Henry Guerlac, Robert C. Stauffer (1913–1992), and Marshall Clagett were founders of UW Madison's history of science department, which was enhanced by the university's purchase of several book collections, including Denis Duveen's extensive book collection on the early history of chemistry. Ihde published on Paracelsus, Robert Boyle, Amadeo Avogadro, Michael Faraday, Robert Bunsen, and Adolf von Baeyer, on the history of chemistry in the United States, and on the history of pure food laws. Ihde was concerned about purity and safety of foods and pharmaceuticals. From 1955 to 1968, he was a member of the Wisconsin Food Standards Advisory Committee and chaired the committee for two years. In the early 1960s Ihde and other UW Madison professors, including Grant Cottam (1918–2009), James F. Crow, Arthur D. Hasler, Hugh Iltis, Karl Francis Schmidt (1922–2016), and Van Rensselaer Potter, advocated publicity for Rachel Carson’s Silent Spring and investigation of possible harmful effects of pesticides.
His 1964 book The Development of Modern Chemistry was a standard work in the US for several decades. For many years, beginning in 1969, he was the editor of the newsletter Badger Chemist, as successor to Emory D. Fisher (1908–1969).
Awards and honors
From 1962 to 1964 Ihde chaired the Division of History of the American Chemical Society (ACS). In 1963 he was elected a Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science. In 1968 Ihde received the Dexter Award of the Division of History of the ACS. In 1978 the University of Wisconsin honored him with the Chancellor's Award for Distinguished Teaching. In 1983 the ACS published a festschrift in his honor. In 2001 the first part of an issue of the Bulletin for the History of Chemistry was dedicated as a memorial to him.
Family
In 1933 Aaron J. Ihde married Olive Tipler. He was predeceased by his wife and survived by their son and daughter and several grandchildren.
Selected publications
as editor with William Franklin Kieffer: (articles reprinted from the Journal of Chemical Education)
References
External links
1909 births
2000 deaths
20th-century American chemists
American food chemists
Historians of chemistry
University of Wisconsin–Madison alumni
University of Wisconsin–Madison faculty
Fellows of the American Association for the Advancement of Science
People from Neenah, Wisconsin | Aaron J. Ihde | [
"Chemistry"
] | 882 | [
"Food chemists",
"American food chemists"
] |
77,646,553 | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Emanuela%20Galliani%20%28astronomer%29 | Emanuela Galliani is an Italian amateur astronomer credited by the Minor Planet Center with the discovery of asteroid (23571) Zuaboni on 1 January 1995 in collaboration with her husband Marco Cavagna (1958–2005) working at the Sormano Astronomical Observatory located north of Milan, Italy. According to the Small-Body Database, the asteroid was named for a mutual friend. "Patrizia Zuaboni (b. 1958), an affectionate friend of both discoverers, contributed to the idea that they should get married."
References
Year of birth missing (living people)
Place of birth missing (living people)
Italian astronomers
Amateur astronomers
Women astronomers
Italian women scientists
20th-century Italian astronomers
20th-century Italian women scientists
Living people | Emanuela Galliani (astronomer) | [
"Astronomy"
] | 152 | [
"Astronomers",
"Amateur astronomers"
] |
77,648,312 | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scolecobasidium%20ailanthi | Scolecobasidium ailanthi is a species of fungus in the genus Scolecobasidium.
Description
This fungus is characterized by a grayish black color, and spread out microscopic fronds. Its spores are sometimes split looking like seeds under a microscope.
References
Dothideomycetes
Fungus species | Scolecobasidium ailanthi | [
"Biology"
] | 64 | [
"Fungi",
"Fungus species"
] |
77,649,474 | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/VU-0152100 | VU-0152100 is a positive modulator of the M4 receptor, one of the muscarinic acetylcholine receptors.
Treatment of stimulant addiction
In mice, VU-0152100 is able to decrease self-administration of cocaine, this is thought to come from the M4 receptor's action on D1 containing dopaminergic neurons. It is also able to almost completely inhibit the hyperactivity caused by cocaine. Another study has shown that this drug is able to reverse hyperlocomotion induced by amphetamine, in an anti-psychotic-like manner. This data suggests that it could potentially be developed as a treatment for stimulant abuse.
See also
VU-0152099
References
M4 receptor positive allosteric modulators
Thienopyridines | VU-0152100 | [
"Chemistry"
] | 173 | [
"Organic compounds",
"Organic compound stubs",
"Organic chemistry stubs"
] |
77,649,546 | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Exidia%20nothofagi | Exidia nothofagi is a species of fungus in the family Auriculariaceae. Basidiocarps (fruit bodies) are gelatinous, pallid, minute and pustular at first then coalescing and becoming irregularly effused. It grows on dead branches of southern beech and is known from New Zealand.
Taxonomy
The species was first described in 1969 from New Zealand by mycologist R.F.R. McNabb who placed it in his new genus Pseudostypella based on its minute, gregarious fruit bodies which he considered unlike those of more typical Exidia species. It was transferred to Exidia by J.A. Cooper in 2023.
Description
The basidiocarps of E. nothofagi are gelatinous, pustular, and densely gregarious, with individual fruit bodies up to 1 mm across, coalescing to form effused, irregular pale whitish yellow to pinkish grey masses up to 15 cm across.
Microscopic characters
The translucent hyphae are thin-walled and form clamp connections. Basidia are elliptical and consist of four longitudinally septate cells. Basidiospores are allantoid (sausage shaped), 12 to 16 by 4.5 to 5.5 μm, with thin, smooth walls.
Distribution and habitat
Exidia nothofagi was originally described from New Zealand where it has subsequently been recollected. It has been found on dead wood of Nothofagus species (southern beech) and may be restricted to this host genus.
References
Fungi described in 1969
Fungi of New Zealand
Auriculariales
Fungus species
Endemic biota of New Zealand | Exidia nothofagi | [
"Biology"
] | 343 | [
"Fungi",
"Fungus species"
] |
77,650,067 | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Phyllobacterium%20salinisoli | Phyllobacterium salinisoli is a species of bacteria in the genus Phyllobacterium endemic to the Canary Islands.
Discovery
This species was first/is found on the root nodules of Lotus lancerottensis, and is likely in symbiosis with the plant.
Description
the cells of this species are rod shaped. Colonies are pale white. The bacteria takes 3 days to grow when incubated.
References
Phyllobacteriaceae
Biota of the Canary Islands | Phyllobacterium salinisoli | [
"Biology"
] | 104 | [
"Bacteria stubs",
"Bacteria"
] |
77,650,360 | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Neural%20differential%20equation | In machine learning, a neural differential equation is a differential equation whose right-hand side is parametrized by the weights θ of a neural network. In particular, a neural ordinary differential equation (neural ODE) is an ordinary differential equation of the form
In classical neural networks, layers are arranged in a sequence indexed by natural numbers. In neural ODEs, however, layers form a continuous family indexed by positive real numbers. Specifically, the function maps each positive index t to a real value, representing the state of the neural network at that layer.
Neural ODEs can be understood as continuous-time control systems, where their ability to interpolate data can be interpreted in terms of controllability.
Connection with residual neural networks
Neural ODEs can be interpreted as a residual neural network with a continuum of layers rather than a discrete number of layers. Applying the Euler method with a unit time step to a neural ODE yields the forward propagation equation of a residual neural network:
with ℓ being the ℓ-th layer of this residual neural network. While the forward propagation of a residual neural network is done by applying a sequence of transformations starting at the input layer, the forward propagation computation of a neural ODE is done by solving a differential equation. More precisely, the output associated to the input of the neural ODE is obtained by solving the initial value problem
and assigning the value to .
Universal differential equations
In physics-informed contexts where additional information is known, neural ODEs can be combined with an existing first-principles model to build a physics-informed neural network model called universal differential equations (UDE). For instance, an UDE version of the Lotka-Volterra model can be written as
where the terms and are correction terms parametrized by neural networks.
References
See also
Physics-informed neural networks
External links
Steve Brunton lecture on neural ODEs
Differential equations | Neural differential equation | [
"Mathematics"
] | 377 | [
"Mathematical objects",
"Differential equations",
"Equations"
] |
77,650,496 | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/RDS03-94 | RDS03-94, or RDS3-094, is an atypical dopamine reuptake inhibitor that was derived from the wakefulness-promoting agent modafinil.
It has substantially higher affinity and potency in terms of dopamine transporter (DAT) inhibition than modafinil (Ki = 39.4nM vs. 8,160nM) whilst retaining the atypical DAT blocker profile of modafinil. However, RDS03-94 also has high affinity for the sigma σ1 receptor (Ki = 2.19nM).
RDS03-94 shows some reversal of tetrabenazine-induced motivational deficits in animals and hence may have the capacity to produce pro-motivational effects. However, it appears to be less effective than certain other related agents, like JJC8-088.
RDS03-94 is under development for the treatment of psychostimulant use disorder. The drug was first described in the scientific literature in 2020.
See also
List of modafinil analogues and derivatives
References
4-Fluorophenyl compounds
Enantiopure drugs
Experimental drugs
Piperazines
Pro-motivational agents
Secondary alcohols
Sigma receptor ligands
Stimulants
Thioethers
Modafinil analogues | RDS03-94 | [
"Chemistry"
] | 279 | [
"Stereochemistry",
"Enantiopure drugs"
] |
77,651,409 | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/High-pressure%20torsion | High-pressure torsion (HPT) is a severe plastic deformation technique used to refine the microstructure of materials by applying both high pressure and torsional strain. HPT involves compressing a material between two anvils while simultaneously rotating one of the anvils, inducing shear deformation. HPT is widely used in materials science to create ultrafine-grained and nanostructured metallic and non-metallic materials, control phase transformations, synthesize new materials or investigate mechanisms underlying some natural phenomena. This process leads to significant grain refinement, resulting in materials with enhanced mechanical properties such as increased tensile strength and hardness. It was introduced in 1935 by P.W. Bridgman, who developed early methods to apply extreme strain under high pressures in material processing.
HPT also has applications in producing metals with enhanced superplasticity, improving the toughness of alloys, and creating materials with unique properties like high wear resistance. Researchers use HPT to study fundamental aspects of deformation and phase transition under extreme conditions. Additionally, HPT is being explored for potential applications in the energy field. Progress in HPT science and technology opens new possibilities in the development of advanced materials with superior properties.
References
Metallurgy
Industrial processes | High-pressure torsion | [
"Chemistry",
"Materials_science",
"Engineering"
] | 254 | [
"Metallurgy",
"Materials science stubs",
"Materials science",
"nan"
] |
77,652,378 | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jay%20Lepreau | Jay Lepreau was an American computer scientist and a research professor at the University of Utah. He is best known as the creator of Emulab, a network emulation testbed and as the creator and first program chair of the OSDI conference.
Career
Jay Lepreau was born on March 27, 1952, to Frank J. Lepreau Jr. and Miriam Barwood. He spent his childhood both in Massachusetts and in Central Haiti, where his father was treating patients at the Hospital Albert Schweitzer. In 1980, he joined the University of Utah as an undergraduate student and started working as a programmer. He graduated in 1983 and became the manager of the systems programming group. He helped introduce Utah to UNIX, and by 1987 was the acting head of the Computer Science Department's computing facility, where he and his group worked on systems software such as the GNU compiler tools and the Mach operating system. In 1990, Lepreau became the assistant director of the department's Center for Software Science, where his work shifted from engineering to research. In 1994, he founded the OSDI conference and served as its first program chair; in 1995, he renamed his group as the Flux Operating Systems Project. He was promoted to Research Assistant Professor in 1997, to Research Associate Professor in 2000, and to research professor in 2004.
In the late 1990s, Lepreau's group started developing the network testbed that would eventually become Emulab. It was initially meant for the group's internal use, but was made available to other researchers in 2000. It eventually acquired thousands of users around the world, and supported thousands of experiments every year.
Lepreau died in September 2008 due to complications of cancer. To honor his contributions to computer systems, the University of Utah established a new faculty position, the Jay Lepreau Professorship of Computer Science. Also, the Best Paper award at OSDI is named after him.
References
American computer scientists
Computer scientists
Computer systems researchers
University of Utah people
University of Utah alumni
University of Utah faculty
1952 births
2008 deaths | Jay Lepreau | [
"Technology"
] | 415 | [
"Computer science",
"Computer scientists"
] |
77,652,894 | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Crystallography%20on%20stamps | The depiction of crystallography on stamps began in 1939 with the issue of a Danzig stamp commemorating Wilhelm Röntgen who discovered X-rays. Crystallographic stamps contribute to crystallography education and to the public understanding of science.
Crystallography on stamps was promoted as part of the International Year of Crystallography in 2014.
Scope
A crystallography stamp has one or more of the following characteristics:
It depicts a crystallographer, or a polymath who did significant work in the crystallography field
It depicts a crystallographic concept, such as quasicrystals, or a crystallographic object, such as a crystal prepared for X-ray diffraction
It depicts a crystallographic symbol or formula such as Bragg's law
It commemorates a crystallographic event, such as an international congress, or an international year in the crystallographic field
The following types of material are excluded (although they may also be collected by crystallography stamp enthusiasts):
Postal stationery, e.g. a postcard depicting a crystallographer with a non-crystallographic stamp affixed
Cinderella, local, private or personal issues, i.e. unofficial stamps
Non-postal stamps, e.g. revenue stamps
Stamps issued by non-existing/unrecognized countries and/or in excess of actual postal requirements
Examples
Crystallographers
Stamps depicting individual crystallographers are sometimes issued by countries to commemorate the birth or death anniversaries of their significant national crystallographers, For example, on August 6, 1996, the British postal service (Royal Mail) issued a stamp honouring Dorothy Hodgkin, a pioneer of protein crystallography (Great Britain's first female Nobel laureate, in 1964, in Chemistry). Some countries have also issued stamps depicting internationally famous scientists associated with crystallography. For example, up to 2023, 55 stamps from 40 countries have been issued commemorating Wilhelm Röntgen the discoverer of X-rays.
A number of crystallographers have been awarded the Nobel Prize and have subsequently appeared on stamps. The following Nobel prize-winning crystallographers (or their work) have been depicted on stamps: Charles Glover Barkla, Paul D. Boyer, Lawrence Bragg, William Henry Bragg, Georges Charpak, Emmanuelle Charpentier, Francis Crick, Robert Curl, Clinton Davisson, Peter Debye, Johann Deisenhofer, Louis de Broglie, Jennifer Doudna, Ben Feringa, Andre Geim, Herbert A. Hauptman, Dorothy Hodgkin, Jerome Karle, Martin Karplus, Aaron Klug, Brian Kobilka, Harry Kroto, Robert Lefkowitz, Michael Levitt, Hartmut Michel, Konstantin Novoselov, Ardem Patapoutian, Linus Pauling, Max Perutz, Venki Ramakrishnan. Wilhelm Röntgen, Jean-Pierre Sauvage, Dan Shechtman, Richard Smalley, Thomas A. Steitz, Fraser Stoddart, George Paget Thomson, Max von Laue, Arieh Warshel, James Watson, Maurice Wilkins, Ada Yonath.
Crystallographic concepts and objects
Stamps depicting a crystallographic concept or object are sometimes combined with a portrait of the crystallographer responsible for inventing the concept or object. Examples of crystallographic concepts and objects are shown in the gallery above: a 1958 Belgian stamp illustrating body-centred cubic structure, a 1963 Canadian stamp illustrating mining for minerals, and a 1978 Soviet stamp depicting crystallogenesis and commemorating Soviet-Polish cooperation in space flight.
Crystals and crystallographic symbols
Stamps depicting crystals or crystallographic symbols are shown in the gallery above: a 1968 Soviet stamp depicting a geologist and garnet crystals, a 1968 Soviet stamp depicting a Rhenium dimeric anion with a quadruple Re-Re bond (Re2Cl82-), and a 2006 Romanian stamp illustrating amethyst crystals.
International Year of Crystallography
The International Year of Crystallography (IYCr) took place in 2014. To promote crystallography the following countries issued stamps to commemorate the IYCr: Austria (personalised), Belgium, India, Israel, Liechtenstein, Mexico, Moldova (personalised), North Korea, Poland, Portugal, South Korea, Slovakia, Slovenia and Switzerland.
Publications
No book has yet been published exclusively in the area of crystallographic stamps, however much crystallographic material is included in the book A philatelic ramble through chemistry by Edgar Heilbronner and Foil Miller.
Daniel Rabinovich is the current leading writer in the field having published articles on the International Year of Crystallography, and 35 articles covering chemistry, crystallography and physics philatelic subjects in the journal Chemistry International from 2007 to 2013.
The Chemistry and Physics on Stamps Study Unit (CPOSSU) of the American Topical Association has published a members' journal Philatelia Chimica et Physica since 1979 and a number of articles cover crystallographic topics.
Listings of new issues of crystallographic stamps are included in the monthly Scott Stamp magazine and in Linn's Stamp News; they are also available online from October 2010 to date in the Science & Technology section.
References
Stamp collecting
Philately
Topical postage stamps
Crystallography | Crystallography on stamps | [
"Physics",
"Chemistry",
"Materials_science",
"Engineering"
] | 1,100 | [
"Crystallography",
"Condensed matter physics",
"Materials science"
] |
77,652,924 | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ADL-5859 | ADL-5859, also known as compound 20, is an opioid drug that is selective for the δ-opioid receptor, it is being investigated as an alternative to traditional opioids in pain management.
Mechanism of action
Like all opioid drugs, ADL-5859 activates opioid receptors, but where as traditional opioids (such as oxycodone) activate the three main receptors (mu, delta, and kappa), ADL-5859 appears to be selective and only activates the delta receptor. with a Ki of 20 nM
Therapeutic potential
Like other opioids, it has potential in pain management; however, by being selective for the delta receptor, multiple undesirable side effects of traditional opioids are not present, such as respiratory depression, sedation, and euphoria.
ADL-5859 was also found to be orally active, which makes it easier to administer.
Multiple tests have shown its efficacy as an analgesic. It also did not seem to be a convulsant, unlike some other delta agonist opioids.
References
Synthetic opioids
Delta-opioid receptor agonists
Analgesics
Chromanes
Piperidines
Spiro compounds
Benzamides
Diethylamino compounds | ADL-5859 | [
"Chemistry"
] | 268 | [
"Organic compounds",
"Spiro compounds"
] |
77,654,076 | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gamal%20Refai-Ahmed | Gamal Refai-Ahmed is an Egyptian-Canadian-American engineer and technical executive known for his substantial contributions to thermal management, silicon architecture, and advanced packaging technologies. His work has had a significant impact on high-performance computing (HPC), artificial intelligence (AI), and microelectromechanical systems (MEMS). Refai Ahmed currently resides in the United States.
Early life and education
Refai Ahmed was born in Alexandria, Egypt. He completed his bachelor's degree in mechanical engineering from Alexandria University's Faculty of Engineering in 1985. He furthered his education in Canada, where he obtained a master's degree from the University of Waterloo in 1990, followed by a Ph.D. in mechanical engineering from the same institution in 1994. His doctoral research focused on the thermal management of electronics packaging.
Career
Refai Ahmed's career spans over three decades, during which he has held senior technical positions at several leading technology companies, including AMD, GE, Cisco, and Nortel.
Nortel (1996–1999): He served as a senior member of the scientific staff, focusing on thermal tools and modeling for power supplies.
Cisco Systems Canada (2000–2001): Refai Ahmed was a thermal technical leader, developing thermal architectures for new routers and optical shelves.
Advanced Micro Devices (2006–2011): In his role as a fellow and thermal domain expert, he defined technology directions for the Platform Products Group and developed thermal management architectures for graphics, multimedia, mobile, and digital TV applications.
PreQual Technologies Corp (2011–2013): He served as chief scientist and founder, defining technology directions for platform development and spearheading innovations in LED printing and green energy systems.
GE Global Research Center (2013–2014): As a senior technology architect, Refai Ahmed led the development of thermal management technology for GE's Intelligent Platform Controlling Systems and Healthcare Mobile Systems.
AMD and Xilinx (2015-Present): Refai Ahmed serves as a senior fellow and chief architect at AMD. He has played a pivotal role in developing advanced silicon power thermo-mechanical architectures, enhancing thermal management and packaging technologies for Xilinx products across telecom, data centers, and automotive sectors.
Honors and recognitions
Refai Ahmed has received numerous awards and honors throughout his distinguished career:
2004: Elected as a Fellow of ASME, acknowledging his contributions to mechanical engineering and thermal management.
2010: Received the Calvin W. Rice Lecture from the American Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME).
2010: Elected as a Fellow of the Canadian Academy of Engineering (CAE).
2014: Received the IEEE Canada R.H. Tanner Industrial Leadership Silver Medal Award.
2017: Named Innovation Leader of the Year by the Integrated Electronics Engineering Center (IEEC) at Binghamton State University.
2019: Awarded the Presidential Medal from Binghamton University of New York for Innovation Leadership and Academic Contributions.
2020: Elected as a Fellow of the Engineering Institute of Canada (EIC).
2020: Elevated to IEEE Fellow, recognizing his contributions to electronic packaging.
2024: Elected as a Member of the National Academy of Engineering (NAE).
2024: Recipient of Alumni Achievement Medal for Professional Achievement from Faculty of Engineering, University of Waterloo.
Publications and Patents
Dr. Refai Ahmed has published extensively on topics related to thermal management, packaging technology, and high-performance computing. His recent publications have appeared in IEEE, ASME, and other leading journals. He holds over 160 patents in semiconductor packaging, thermal management solutions, and electronic cooling technologies.
Professional Affiliations
Dr. Refai Ahmed is actively involved in professional societies and committees. He has served on the IEEE Fellow Committee, the Executive Member of the High-Density Packaging (HIR) Technical Working Group, and the Advisory Board of the NSF E2S Center. Additionally, he has been an associate editor for several journals, including the *Journal of Thermal Science and Engineering Applications* and the *Journal of Electronics Packaging*.
References
1963 births
Living people
American people of Egyptian descent
Canadian people of Egyptian descent
People from Alexandria
Electrical engineers | Gamal Refai-Ahmed | [
"Engineering"
] | 833 | [
"Electrical engineering",
"Electrical engineers"
] |
77,655,555 | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paleobiota%20of%20the%20Green%20River%20Formation | The Green River Formation is a geological formation located in the Intermountain West of the United States, in the states of Colorado, Utah, and Wyoming. It comprises sediments deposited during the Early Eocene in a series of large freshwater lakes: Lake Gosiute, Lake Uinta, and Fossil Lake (the last containing Fossil Butte National Monument). It preserves a high diversity of freshwater fish, birds, reptiles, and mammals, with some sections of the formation (including Fossil Lake and the Parachute Creek member of Lake Uinta) qualifying as Konservat-Lagerstätten due to their extremely well-preserved fossils.
Cartilaginous fish
Bony fish
Primarily based on Grande (2001), with changes where necessary:
Acipenseriformes
Lepisosteiformes
Amiiformes
Hiodontiformes
Osteoglossiformes
Ellimmichthyiformes
Clupeiformes
Gonorynchiformes
Cypriniformes
Siluriformes
Salmoniformes
Percopsiformes
Carangiformes
Acanthuriformes
Incertae sedis
Amphibians
Frogs
Salamanders
Reptiles
Squamates
Crocodilians
Turtles
Birds
Lithornithiformes
Anseriformes
Galliformes
Coliiformes
Leptosomiformes
Coraciiformes
Piciformes
Strisores
Musophagiformes
Mirandornithes
Suliformes
Pelecaniformes
Charadriiformes
Gruiformes
Eufalconimorphae
Neoaves incertae sedis
Two other genera, "Eoeurypyga" (a stem-sunbittern) and "Wyomingcypselus" (an early apodiform) are mentioned only in a 2002 dissertation, and are presently nomina nuda.
Avian ichnofossils
Mammals
Partially based on Grande (1984). Aside from the few well-preserved mammals found in Fossil Lake, a majority of Green River mammals are based on isolated bones and teeth:
Metatheria
Cimolesta
Chiroptera
Eulipotyphla
Pan-Carnivora
Paraxonia
Pan-Perissodactyla
Apatotheria
Rodentia
Primatomorpha
Arthropoda
Arachnida
Acariformes
Araneae
Parasitiformes
Scorpiones
Crustacea
Branchiopoda
Decapods
Ostracoda
Myriapoda
Insecta
Coleoptera
Adephaga
Elateriformia
Polyphaga - Bostrichiformia
Polyphaga - Cucujiformia
Polyphaga - Scarabaeiformia
Polyphaga - Staphyliniformia
Dictyoptera
Diptera
Hemiptera
Hymenoptera
Lepidoptera
Mantodea
Megaloptera
Neuroptera
Raphidioptera
Odonata
Primarily based on Bechly et al (2020):
Orthoptera
Psocodea
Strepsiptera
Thysanoptera
Trichoptera
Mollusks
Based on Grande (1984):
Bivalvia
Gastropoda
Fungi
Unicellular microbiota
Cyanobacteria
Algae
Charophytes
Euglenozoans
Amoebozoans
Cercozoans
Plants
Liverworts
Lycophytes
Ferns
Cycadalean palynomorphs
Conifers
Conifer palynomorphs
Gnetalean palynomorphs
Magnoliids
Magnoliid palynomorphs
Monocots
Monocot palynomorphs
Ceratophyllales
Eudicots
Basal Eudicots
Superasterids
Superrosids
Eudicot palynomorphs
Angiosperms of uncertain affiliation
Plants of uncertain affiliation
References
Green River Formation
Green River
Eocene United States
Fossils of the United States | Paleobiota of the Green River Formation | [
"Biology"
] | 768 | [
"Cenozoic paleobiotas",
"Prehistoric biotas"
] |
77,655,599 | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/NGC%203362 | NGC 3362 is a intermediate spiral galaxy in the constellation of Leo. Its velocity with respect to the cosmic microwave background is 8676 ± 25 km/s, which corresponds to a Hubble distance of 127.97 ± 8.97 Mpc (∼417 million light-years). However, three non redshift measurements give a distance of 95.8 ± 3.984 Mpc (~312 million light-years). The galaxy was discovered by German astronomer Albert Marth on 22 March 1865.
The SIMBAD database lists NGC 3362 as a Seyfert II Galaxy, i.e. it has a quasar-like nuclei with very high surface brightnesses whose spectra reveal strong, high-ionisation emission lines, but unlike quasars, the host galaxy is clearly detectable.
The galaxies NGC 3362 and UGC 5892 are in the same region of the celestial sphere and about the same distance from the Milky Way. According to Abraham Mahtessian, they form a pair of galaxies.
Supernovae
Three supernovae have been observed in NGC 3362:
SN 2001Y (type II-P, mag. 18.1) was discovered by LOTOSS (Lick Observatory and Tenagra Observatory Supernova Searches) on 3 March 2001.
SN 2010ct (Type II, mag. 19.2) was discovered by the Lick Observatory Supernova Search (LOSS) on 15 May 2010.
SN 2019cda (type Ic, mag. 18.1) was discovered by the Italian Supernovae Search Project (ISSP) on 24 March 2019.
Supermassive Black Hole
According to the authors of a paper published in 2002, the mass of the central black hole of NGC 3362 is 5.89 x 10^6
.
See also
List of NGC objects (3001–4000)
References
External links
3362
032078
+01-28-005
05857
Leo (constellation)
18650322
Discoveries by Albert Marth
Intermediate spiral galaxies
Seyfert galaxies | NGC 3362 | [
"Astronomy"
] | 419 | [
"Leo (constellation)",
"Constellations"
] |
77,655,768 | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Orbiting%20Astronomical%20Observatory%203 | Copernicus or OAO-3 (Orbiting Astronomical Observatory 3), also mentioned as Orbiting Astronomical Observatory-C, was a space telescope intended for ultraviolet and X-ray observation. After its launch, it was named Copernicus to mark the 500th anniversary of the birth of Nicolaus Copernicus in 1473.
Part of the Orbiting Astronomical Observatory program, it was a collaborative effort between NASA and the UK's Science Research Council (currently known as the Science and Engineering Research Council).
Copernicus collected high-resolution spectra of hundreds of stars, galaxies and planets, remaining in service until February 1981.
History
The OAO-3 satellite, weighing 2,150 kg, was launched on August 21, 1972, by an Atlas SLV-3C from Launch Complex 36, Cape Canaveral, Florida.
The mission used a new inertial reference unit that was developed by the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.
Between 1972 and February 1981, it returned high-resolution spectra of 551 stars along with extensive X-ray observations. Among the significant discoveries made by Copernicus were the discovery of several long-period pulsars such as X Persei that had rotation times of many minutes instead of the more typical second or less, and confirmation that most of the hydrogen in interstellar gas clouds existed in molecular form.
Instrumentation
Copernicus carried two instruments:
an X-ray detector built by University College London's Mullard Space Science Laboratory;
an 80 cm UV telescope built by Princeton University under the supervision of Lyman Spitzer.
See also
Orbiting Astronomical Observatory
Orbiting Solar Observatory
References
Ultraviolet telescopes
X-ray telescopes
Orbiting Astronomical Observatory | Orbiting Astronomical Observatory 3 | [
"Astronomy"
] | 333 | [
"Space telescopes",
"Orbiting Astronomical Observatory"
] |
56,234,193 | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ulocladium%20botrytis | Ulocladium botrytis is an anamorphic filamentous fungus belonging to the phylum Ascomycota. Commonly found in soil and damp indoor environments, U.botrytis is a hyphomycetous mould found in many regions of the world. It is also occasionally misidentified as a species of the genera Alternaria or Pithomyces due to morphological similarities. Ulocladium botrytis is rarely pathogenic to humans but is associated with human allergic responses and is used in allergy tests. Ulocladium botrytis has been implicated in some cases of human fungal nail infection. The fungus was first discovered in 1851 by German mycologist Carl Gottlieb Traugott Preuss.
History and taxonomy
The genus Ulocladium was first discovered in 1851 by German mycologist, Preuss, in a small batch of his specimens. An abundant hyphomycetous growth of Ulocladium was found on a thin sliver of wood and was drawn and labeled by Preuss as Ulocladium botrytis in his manuscript. This sample was later acquired by the Botanisches Museum in Berlin. At the time, the name of the genus and the species type was published as a nomen nudum due to insufficient description. Furthermore, certain taxa of Ulocladium greatly resemble Alternaria species, resulting in occasional misidentifications. During the late 1900s, a mycologist named Curran described Alternaria maritima as a species new to Ireland. However, Curran's new claim was questioned when another mycologist, Kohlmeyer, initiated a movement to verify the classification of this fungus. After much study, it was found that Alternaria maritima was in fact Ulocladium botrytis. Although Ulocladium is now a genus of its own, it was once included in the genus Alternaria. Several recent DNA-based phylogenetic studies have presented convincing data which places Ulocladium species within the genus Alternaria; however, Ulocladium species do not produce certain compounds and metabolites produced by Alternaria species. Some modern sources believe that Ulocladium botrytis should be considered conspecific with Ulocladium atrum.
Growth and morphology
Ulocladium botrytis is a hyphomycetous mould that favors growth in damp indoor environments. Although it mainly uses nitrogen, other nutrient sources have been tested to determine that U. botrytis growth rate is dependent on the type of media provided. Ulocladium botrytis colonies are commonly velvety in texture and grow in an assortment of colors ranging from dark blackish brown to black. The hyphae are 3-4 μm in diameter and yellow to golden brown in colour with a smooth or slightly rough texture. Conidiophores are short and either erect and ascending, or contorted into various shapes. In addition, they are often bifurcated near the apex at sharp angles. Ulocladium botrytis conidiophores are typically light golden brown in color and smooth, with a length of up to 100 μm and a thickness of around 3-5 μm. The conidia themselves are typically ellipsoidal or obovoid in shape; spheroidal conidia are uncommon in this species. They are golden brown in color and frequently have a minute hilum and a warty, verrucose exterior ornamentation. Ulocladium botrytis conidia typically have three transverse septa and longitudinal septum, but these septa rarely overlap to form a cross. This species never forms conidial chains and the conidia never have a beak.
Physiology
Ulocladium botrytis is an anamorphic fungus, thus it undergoes asexual reproduction. Although it is an asexual fungus, U. botrytis possesses the mating type locus, which consists of two dissimilar DNA sequences termed MAT1-1-1 and MAT1-2-1. These U. botrytis MAT genes are essential for controlling colony size and asexual traits such as conidial size and number in U.botrytis. The U. botrytis MAT genes have lost the ability to regulate sexual reproduction in U. botrytis; however, they have the ability to partially induce sexual reproduction in Cochliobolus heterostrophus, a heterothallic species, upon heterologous complementation.
Ulocladium botrytis has cellulolytic ability and contains a cellulose-degrading enzyme complex that can degrade recalcitrant plant litter under alkaline conditions, a trait that is uncommon in other cellulolytic systems. This fungus' ability to hydrolyze cellulose in the solid form is best at a pH of 6.0, as this pH allows maximal growth of U. botrytis under alkaline conditions. In contrast, its ability to hydrolyze liquid cellulose under alkaline conditions is best at a pH of 8.0. Additionally, a new tyrosine kinase (p56tck) inhibitor called ulocladol, with the molecular formula C16H14O7, was found in ethyl acetate extract from U. botrytis. Ulocladium botrytis also synthesizes extracellular keratinases and can grow in the presence of keratin. Moreover, this fungus can produce carboxymethyl cellulase and protease on Eichhornia crassipes wastes.
As a fungus, Ulocladium botrytis produces a diverse collection of chemical compounds and metabolites. It produces mixtures of volatile organic compounds that include terpenes, alcohols, ketones, and nitrogen-containing compounds. Furthermore, U. botrytis aids in decreasing aldehyde levels. Dodecane and 9,10,12,13-tetrahydroxyheneicosanoic acid were also found as metabolites of U. botrytis. Another U. botrytis metabolite is 1-hydroxy-6-methyl-8-(hydroxymethyl)xanthone, which has antimicrobial effects indicating its identification as an antifungal metabolite. Importantly, a major protein allergen of Alternaria alternata, termed Alt a 1, and an allergen homologous to it is expressed in the excretory-secretory materials of U. botrytis.
Habitat and ecology
The distribution of Ulocladium botrytis is fairly broad, wherein it has been found worldwide in areas of Europe, North America, Egypt, India, Pakistan, and Kuwait. It is often isolated from soil, where it is a common contaminant; however, U. botrytis also grows on rotten wood, paper, and other textiles or on dead herbaceous plants. It also heavily favors growth in damp indoor environments. This fungus has been found growing on deciduous alder trees (Alnus) which belong to the birch family Betulaceae. Trees in this family include the American green alder and the mountain alder. U. botrytis can also be found growing on the evergreen coniferous tree genus Pseudotsuga of the family Pinaceae; different trees include the Douglas fir and the big-cone spruce. In addition, this fungus can grow on the flowering plant genus Sphaeralcea of the mallow family Malvaceae; plants include the desert hollyhock and the prairie mallow. A previously conducted study also isolated a unique strain of Ulocladium botrytis, strain number 193A4, from the marine sponge Callyspongia vaginalis. Another independent study found seed-borne Ulocladium botrytis from pearl millet (Pennisetum typhoides).
Relationships with other organisms coexisting in the same ecosystem has served to be beneficial for some organisms and this applies to U. botrytis. Ulocladium botrytis is capable of surviving in xerophilic ecosystems and alkaline-calcareous soils, both extreme habitats, when associating with the tree species Scutia buxifolia. The U. botrytis strain associated with this environment is called LPSC 813 and has great cellulolytic ability. Ulocladium. botrytis has potential, albeit limited, to be used as a biocontrol agent against the parasitic herbaceous plant genus Orobanche that affect the yield of certain crops like tomatoes. Ulocladium botrytis is also capable of in vitro antagonism of root-disease pathogens such as Heterobasidion annosum, Phellinus weirii, and Armillaria ostoyae. Apart from U. botrytis, other Ulocladium species such as U. atrum and U. oudemansii also present biocontrol potential.
Impact on human health
Ulocladium botrytis is currently regarded as a source of home allergen sensitization and is used in skin-prick tests that test for mould allergens and work-related allergens. This is due to the production and detection of Alt a 1, the major allergen produced by Alternaria alternata, in U.botrytis. In addition, U. botrytis also releases another allergen, homologous to Alt a 1, that possesses the capacity to cause allergic responses in humans. The allergic symptoms caused by U. botrytis are compatible with rhinitis and asthma; however, U. botrytis was also found in patients of allergic fungal sinusitis. Importantly, Ulocladium botrytis is rarely pathogenic to humans but has been found to be associated with cases of onychomycosis, a fungal infection of the nail.
References
Ulocladium
Cereal diseases
Fungal plant pathogens and diseases
Fungi described in 1851
Fungus species | Ulocladium botrytis | [
"Biology"
] | 2,083 | [
"Fungi",
"Fungus species"
] |
56,234,464 | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Moored%20training%20ship |
A moored training ship (MTS) is a United States Navy nuclear powered submarine that has been converted to a training ship for the Nuclear Power Training Unit (NPTU) at Naval Support Activity Charleston in South Carolina. The Navy uses decommissioned nuclear submarines and converts them to MTSs to train personnel in the operation and maintenance of submarines and their nuclear reactors. The first moored training ship was a fleet ballistic missile submarine, redesignated as (MTS-635) in 1989, followed a year later by , a ballistic missile submarine, redesignated as (MTS-626). Conversion of these two boats took place at the Charleston Naval Shipyard and modifications included special mooring arrangements with a mechanism to absorb power generated by the main propulsion shaft.
The Navy added two more moored training ships to this facility, and , a pair of attack submarines. The conversions for these two took place at the Norfolk Naval Shipyard and then were towed to NPTU Charleston. La Jolla became inactive in early 2015 and began the 32 month conversion to a training ship. Changes include having the hull cut into three sections, with the center section being recycled and the other two joined with three new sections, manufactured by Electric Boat, extending the overall length by 23 m (76 ft). The project was expected to be completed by the end of 2018. San Francisco arrived at Norfolk to begin her conversion in January 2018. La Jolla arrived at NPTU Charleston in 2019 and San Francisco arrived in 2021.
With the addition of La Jolla and San Francisco, the Navy retired Sam Rayburn and Daniel Webster. Sam Rayburn was towed to Norfolk Naval Shipyard in 2021 to be inactivated, and Daniel Webster will also be inactivated at Norfolk, sometime later.
Moored training ships
See also
United States Navy Nuclear Propulsion
Nuclear marine propulsion
United States naval reactors
List of United States Naval reactors
Hulk (ship type)
References
External links
United States Navy
Nuclear technology
Nuclear organizations
United States Navy schools and training
Education in Goose Creek, South Carolina | Moored training ship | [
"Physics",
"Engineering"
] | 399 | [
"Nuclear technology",
"Nuclear organizations",
"Energy organizations",
"Nuclear physics"
] |
56,234,594 | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vanadium%28II%29%20sulfate | Vanadium(II) sulfate describes a family of inorganic compounds with the formula VSO4(H2O)x where 0 ≤ x ≤ 7. The hexahydrate is most commonly encountered. It is a violet solid that dissolves in water to give air-sensitive solutions of the aquo complex. The salt is isomorphous with [Mg(H2O)6]SO4. Compared to the V–O bond length of 191 pm in [V(H2O)6]3+, the V–O distance is 212 pm in the [V(H2O)6]SO4. This nearly 10% elongation reflects the effect of the lower charge, hence weakened electrostatic attraction.
The heptahydrate has also been crystallized. The compound is prepared by electrolytic reduction of vanadyl sulfate in sulfuric acid. The crystals also feature [V(H2O)6]2+ centers but with an extra water of crystallization. The salt is isomorphous with ferrous sulfate heptahydrate. A related salt is vanadous ammonium sulfate, (NH4)2V(SO4)2·6H2O, a Tutton's salt isomorphous with ferrous ammonium sulfate.
References
Vanadium(II) compounds
Sulfates | Vanadium(II) sulfate | [
"Chemistry"
] | 288 | [
"Salts",
"Inorganic compounds",
"Sulfates",
"Inorganic compound stubs"
] |
56,235,559 | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Link%20Motion | Link Motion is an automotive software and hardware company developing embedded automotive systems that have been used in the Lamborghini Huracán. Their main product is the Motion T carputer which can implement a connected vehicle gateway as a separate unit or as a part of the cockpit solution (eCockpit). The Motion T carputer runs on NXP's i.MX8 multi-OS platform, supports four in-car HD displays and hosts connectivity features on Microsoft’s connected vehicle platform, a set of services built on the Microsoft Azure cloud, such as over-the-air software and firmware updates, telemetry and diagnostics data and secure remote access.
How it works
Link Motion is a next generation on-board unit hardware and open source powered secure software platform that enables integration of features for connected and smart cars. Link Motion uses Linux and Qt to implement several previously discrete ECU with one computer and relies on ARM TrustZone and virtualization to protect critical system functions from vulnerabilities. An AUTOSAR based operating system in the heart of the carputer is responsible for controlling safety-critical functions and vehicle communication on the controller-area network (CAN bus). It supports central unit, instrument cluster and head-up displays, rear-view cameras, CANopen protocol and it offers connectivity through cellular, vehicle-to-everything (V2X), WiFi and Bluetooth connections as well as location services using GPS, GLONASS and BeiDou. Data is shared and stored in the cloud, and a platform that supports both custom connected car services and others such as Apple CarPlay, Baidu Carlife or Android Auto. Vehicle data can be captured with on-board diagnostics (OBD) which is available using standard OBD-II PIDs.
New Development
Link Motion will further enhance its carputer into a “CarBrain”, using artificial intelligence (AI) and blockchain applications to make vehicles a more intelligent part of the traffic ecosystem. They have also integrated Keystone into the platform which is Irdeto’s new smartphone-based vehicle access solution that allows vehicle owners to create and control policies around multi-user vehicle access, settings and usage including ECU-side functionality and cloud services, as well as a complete back-end management system with analytics.
History
Founded in 2001 to develop embedded Linux systems the company was originally called Nomovok. That led to developing mobile operating systems for Nokia and others.
In 2006 they started working on automotive software and embedded automotive systems. Then in 2014 the company was re-branded to Link Motion.
In October 2014, Tieto, Link Motion and Nomovok announced their collaboration on Link Motion.
In January 2015, Link Motion and MTA SpA announced their collaboration on Link Motion.
In March 2015, Link Motion and Red Bend announced strategic cooperation for an over-the-air (OTA) software update solution for Link Motion.
In the summer of 2015 NQ Mobile took a controlling stake in Link Motion.
In August 2016, Link Motion announced it will use Qt technology for the development of the user interface.
In September 2016, Link Motion became a member of the Linux Foundation and Automotive Grade Linux
(AGL).
In November 2016, Finland's first autonomous passenger car is pilot licensed. Named Marilyn the car is being developed in the VTT Technical Research Centre of Finland.
In January 2017, Link Motion implemented Cloakware for Automotive by Irdeto into Link Motion’s connected carputer, Motion T.
In May 2017, Finland's first autonomous passenger car is allowed to drive in city traffic.
In November 2017, Link Motion joined the IETA3 APPSTACLE project which aims to include an open and secure car-to-cloud and cloud-to-car platform that interconnects a wide range of cars and transport vehicles to the cloud via open in-car and Internet connection, taking advantage of 5G opportunities.
In December 2017, a partnership with Chery was announced to develop a connected car platform.
In January 2018, Link Motion was selected as the platform vendor for pure electric buses in the city of Qingdao for public transportation vehicles by extending their existing passenger car platform.
In March 2018, Link Motion announced integration of Keystone into the Link Motion CarBrain platform.
See also
Carputer
Vehicular communication systems
References
External links
Advanced driver assistance systems
Vehicle technology
In-car entertainment
Software companies of Finland
Companies established in 2001
Companies based in Tampere | Link Motion | [
"Engineering"
] | 906 | [
"Vehicle technology",
"Mechanical engineering by discipline"
] |
56,237,156 | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Branchwork | Branchwork or branch tracery (, Dutch: Lofwerk of Loofwerk) is a type of architectural ornament often used in late Gothic architecture and the Northern Renaissance, consisting of knobbly, intertwined and leafless branches. Branchwork was particularly widespread in Central European art between 1480 and 1520 and can be found in all media. The intellectual origin of branchwork lies in theories in Renaissance humanism about the origins of architecture in natural forms and barely-treated natural materials.
In artistic terms it often follows scrolling patterns that had long been used with thinner stem and tendril plant forms. The development of the representation of thicker tree branches had a long history in the crosses in representations of the Crucifixion of Jesus, and the popular subject of the Tree of Jesse.
Origins and meanings
Traditionally branchwork was conceived as a typical ornament of late Gothic art in the lands north of the Alps. Only recently has the connection between the vegetal architectural forms in branchwork and theories of early Renaissance humanism about the origins of architecture been recognized.
Parallel to the increased appearance of branchwork in art from the last third of the 15th century, there is evidence in the treatise literature of an architectural theoretical background to this form of design that recalls Vitruvius's concept of the "Primitive Hut". In his De architectura Vitruvius creates a model for the emergence of architecture from nature, according to which the first people would have built their dwellings from vertical forks of branches with branches laid over them. Filarete also takes up this idea in his book Trattato di architettura, in which he explains the origin of the arch as the first doorway. In the early 16th century similar explanations can be found in the writings of Raphael, among others.
The derivation of the Gothic ogival arch from branches tied together from trees found another historical basis in De Germania by the Roman author Tacitus (c. 98 AD) which was rediscovered in the early 15th century by humanist scholars. Tacitus reports that the Germans worshipped their gods in the forests. The particularities of Gothic architecture north of the Alps – pointed arch vaults in analogy to the canopy of leaves of the Germanic groves – are interpreted by early German humanists as their own national antiquity. Cardinal Francesco Todeschini-Piccolomini (1439–1503), who was in possession of the copy of Germania of his uncle, Pope Pius II, played a decisive role in the reception of Tacitus by German scholars. Several copies of this found their way across the Alps via Regensburg.
Use
In Central European art of the 15th and 16th centuries, architectural elements were often replaced by branches. In stone sculpture, the juxtaposition of architectural and natural elements, such as branches, takes on a further level. First a wooden branch is imitated in stone, which then replaces a component.
A very early example of this new approach to architecture is the vault in the west choir of Eichstätt Cathedral (dated 1471), where the architectural ribs are presented in the shape of a round staff of branches. Here Wilhelm von Reichenau, humanist and bishop of Eichstätt, can be identified as a source of ideas and intellectual background. Wilhelm had studied together with Johannes Pirckheimer, the father of Willibald Pirckheimer, at the University of Padua and represents a typical early representative of early Humanism in Germany with Italian roots. In Johannes Pirckheimer's library there was also a copy of the Germania, which he probably had acquired during his studies in the 1460s.
In Eichstätt, with the so-called "beautiful column" (Schöne Säule) of 1489 in the Mortuarium of the cathedral, there is a further, later example of the use of branchwork. At the same time, this pillar with a twisted shaft is an early example of the revival of Romanesque forms and stylistic features in the 15th century architecture. This style of an Romanesque Renaissance, understood as specifically northern Alpine antiquity, was first used in Early Netherlandish painting for depicting ancient buildings and was also received as an inspiration for new architectural motifs in Germany from around 1460 onwards.
An example of the interlinking of architectural and vegetable form is Tilman Riemenschneider's Heilig-Blut-Altar (St. James's Church, Rothenburg ob der Tauber, 1501/05). Here, the canopies are formed by intertwined branches, which in turn are crowned by an architectural finial. This artistic approach deliberately broke with the expected order and with the comprehensibility of the architectural system.
Similarly, the monumental north portal of the Benedictine monastery church in Chemnitz, which was built in 1525 by the wood carver and stone sculpture Franz Maidburg, combines pre-Gothic (Romanesque) forms like rounded arches with branchwork. Both the style and the figurative program with the founders of the 12th century emperor Lothair II refer here to the distant foundation of the monastery and emphasize the age and venerability of the complex.
Also Bramante's tree pillars in the cloister of Sant'Ambrogio in Milan are such an implementation of the architectural theoretical discourse.
Gallery
See also
Gothic boxwood miniature
Tracery
References
Literature
Ethan Matt Kavaler: On Vegetal Imagery in Renaissance Gothic. In: Monique Chatenet, Krista De Jonge, Ethan Matt Kavaler, Norbert Nussbaum (Hrsg.): Le Gothique de la Renaissance, actes des quatrième Rencontres d'architecture européenne, Paris, 12–16 juin 2007. (= De Architectura. 13). Paris 2011, pp. 298–312.
Stephan Hoppe: Northern Gothic, Italian Renaissance and beyond. Toward a 'thick' description of style. In: Monique Chatenet, Krista De Jonge, Ethan Matt Kavaler, Norbert Nussbaum (Hrsg.): Le Gothique de la Renaissance. Actes des quatrième Rencontres d'architecture européenne, Paris, 12 – 16 juin 2007. Paris 2011, pp. 47–64. online version
Étienne Hamon: Le naturalisme dans l'architecture française autour de 1500. In: Monique Chatenet, Krista De Jonge, Ethan Matt Kavaler, Norbert Nussbaum (Hrsg.): Le Gothique de la Renaissance, actes des quatrième Rencontres d'architecture européenne, Paris, 12–16 juin 2007. (= De Architectura. 13). Paris 2011, pp. 329–343.
Hubertus Günther: Das Astwerk und die Theorie der Renaissance von der Entstehung der Architektur. In: Michèle-Caroline Heck, Fréderique Lemerle, Yves Pauwels (Hrsg.): Théorie des arts et création artistique dans l’Europe du Nord du XVIe au début du XVIII siècle, Villeneuve d’Ascq (Lille). 2002, pp. 13–32. online version
Hanns Hubach: Johann von Dalberg und das naturalistische Astwerk in der zeitgenössischen Skulptur in Worms, Heidelberg und Ladenburg. In: Gerold Bönnen, Burkard Keilmann (Hrsg.): Der Wormser Bischof Johann von Dalberg (1482–1503) und seine Zeit. (= Quellen und Abhandlungen zur mittelrheinischen Kirchengeschichte. Band 117). Mainz 2005, pp. 207–232. Online-Version auf ART-dok
Hartmut Krohm: Der „Modellcharakter“ der Kupferstiche mit dem Bischofsstab und Weihrauchfaß. In: Albert Châtelet (Hg.): Le beau Martin. Etudes et mises au point. Colmar 1994, pp. 185–207.
Paul Crossley: The Return to the Forest: Natural Architecture and the German Past in the Age of Dürer. In: Thomas W. Gaehtgens (Hrsg.): Künstlerischer Austausch, Akten des 28. Internationalen Kongresses für Kunstgeschichte. Band 2, Berlin 1993, pp. 71–80.
Walter Paatz: Das Aufkommen des Astwerkbaldachins in der deutschen spätgotischen Skulptur und Erhard Reuwichs Titelholzschnitt in Breidenbachs „Peregrinationes in terram sanctam“. In: Siegfried Joost (Hrsg.): Bibliotheca docet. Festgabe für Carl Wehmer. Amsterdam 1963, pp. 355–368.
Renaissance humanism
Renaissance architecture
Ornaments (architecture)
Architectural elements
Northern Renaissance | Branchwork | [
"Technology",
"Engineering"
] | 1,851 | [
"Building engineering",
"Architectural elements",
"Components",
"Architecture"
] |
56,237,288 | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sub-probability%20measure | In the mathematical theory of probability and measure, a sub-probability measure is a measure that is closely related to probability measures. While probability measures always assign the value 1 to the underlying set, sub-probability measures assign a value lesser than or equal to 1 to the underlying set.
Definition
Let be a measure on the measurable space .
Then is called a sub-probability measure if .
Properties
In measure theory, the following implications hold between measures:
So every probability measure is a sub-probability measure, but the converse is not true. Also every sub-probability measure is a finite measure and a σ-finite measure, but the converse is again not true.
See also
Helly's selection theorem
Helly–Bray theorem
References
Probability theory
Measures (measure theory) | Sub-probability measure | [
"Physics",
"Mathematics"
] | 155 | [
"Measures (measure theory)",
"Quantity",
"Physical quantities",
"Size"
] |
56,239,144 | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pimax | Pimax Innovation Inc. is a technology company specializing in virtual reality hardware products.
Pimax Technology was founded in November 2015. In 2016 its first product, the Pimax 4K virtual reality headset, was released, becoming the first commercially available headset with a combined (left + right eye) 4K. resolution. The Pimax 4K virtual reality headset was recognized as the best VR product in Asia at CES 2016. In 2017, they ran a crowdfunding campaign on Kickstarter for the Pimax 8K headset, raising approximately $4.2 million, which held the Guinness World Record for the most successful crowdfunded VR project. On the 19th of December 2017, Pimax announced they had closed a $15 million series A funding round.
On 8 January 2020, Pimax’s flagship headset the world’s first dual native 4K consumer VR headset Vision 8K X, featuring high resolution and ultra-wide field of view, 200°(D)/170°(H)/115°(V), was selected as Top Tech of CES: AR/VR by Digital Trends. On the 18th of October 2020, Pimax received $20M (USD) series B funding round, announced at World Conference on VR Industry (WCVRI) 2020.
Products
Pimax Technology Portfolio
Pimax Technology LTD portfolio includes 15 patents, 6 trademarks and 9 software work certificates. In addition to the team's technical precipitation in the field of virtual reality and augmented reality technology and algorithm research for more than 10 years, it has maintained the leading position of VR headset with the highest resolution in the world for a long time.
Product comparison
Kickstarter era
Pimax 4K
Released in 2016, the Pimax 4K was Pimax's first foray into the VR scene. It boasts a resolution of 1920×2160 per eye, for a combined total of 3840×2160 (thus the "4K" designation though not full stereo 4K) running at a refresh rate of 60Hz.
Pimax 8K
The Pimax 8K is a virtual reality head-mounted display. It features two 4K displays, one for each eye, with an advertised field of view of 200 degrees. However, the Pimax 8K does not use the most common 8K resolution standard 8K UHD which contains four times as many pixels as 4K UHD. Since the Pimax 8K contains two 4K UHD displays, it only has half the number of pixels as that of 8K UHD. In addition, due to bandwidth limitations in the connection cable, the headset's input is limited to 2560×1440 for each of the displays. This is then upscaled in the device to the displays' actual resolution.
The company has announced that they are partnering with third parties to develop expansion modules for the headset. The expansion modules announced include features like inside-out tracking, eye tracking, wireless transmission, and scent.
At CES2019 in January 2019, Pimax disclosed strategic partnerships respectively with Leap Motion and 7INVENSUN on the development of hand motion tracking module and eye tracking module.
Leap Motion was acquired by UltraHaptics in May 2019 and a new company called Ultraleap was established. On the 26th of February, Pimax signed an agreement to offer Ultraleap hand tracking for its whole VR headset range with specifications including a stereoscopic IR camera that creates an interaction zone of up to range, extending from the device in a 160×160° field of view (approximately 74 cubic feet or 2.1 cubic meters of interactive space).
The headset uses the SteamVR positional tracking system (previously called "Lighthouse") initially developed for the HTC Vive by Valve. This means that existing Vive base stations and controllers are compatible with the Pimax headset, removing the need for existing Vive users to set up an additional tracking system or buy new controllers.
The headset is compatible with SteamVR and Oculus software, making it compatible with a wide range of already existing VR content. It is not a native SteamVR headset, and it requires "PiTool" software to be installed along with it. The project remains in the top 5 list of technology projects to this day and received the Guinness World Record for the most successful Speden-funded VR project.
The headset was initially planned to start shipping in January 2018, but was repeatedly delayed due to design tweaks and manufacturing refinements. As of July 2019 all backers with verified addresses had received their Pimax 8K and 5K+ headsets.
Commercial products
Pimax 5K PLUS
The Pimax 5K PLUS is based on similar hardware to the Pimax 8K, but features a lower resolution, at 2560×1440 displays per eye instead of 4K. Since this resolution is accepted as input, the headset eliminates the need for upscaling. Early previews of the devices noted that the 5K PLUS featured a sharper image, while the 8K had a significantly reduced screen-door effect. Launched alongside the 8K, the 5K PLUS units began shipping in large numbers sooner; as of February 2019, a majority of backers had received their headsets, while leaving hundreds of Kickstarter backers waiting for their 8K unit.
Pimax 5K XR
5K XR is a virtual reality headset that is compatible with most VR software titles for Windows-based PC's. The headset has a resolution of 2560×1440 per eye or a total resolution of 5120×1440. The differentiating factor between the Pimax XR headset and the Pimax 5K PLUS is the XR utilizes OLED screens rather than LCD screens. The term "XR" stands for eXtended Range for the added dynamic color range and the near absolute blacks that are possible for OLED type screens.
Pimax 5K SUPER
The 5K SUPER has a standard refresh rate hitting 160 Hz and includes an experimental 180 Hz mode with user selectable refresh rates, fields of view, and 2560×1440 resolution.
Pimax Vision 8K X
The Pimax Vision 8K X is a variant of the Pimax 8K that solves the cable bandwidth limitation by using the highest data transmission mode with HBC with Displayport 1.4a, thus allowing native 4K resolution per eye, without the visual compromise from upscaling a 5K signal. The total native resolution of a Pimax Vision 8K X is 7680×2160, which should help reduce the screen-door effect.
VISION 8KX offers a Dual Engine Mode, which can lower the render resolution to 2,560* 1,440 per display and then upscale that to 4K.
Pimax showcased its VISION 8K X at CES2020 as their flagship model and it was selected as the Top Tech of CES2020: AR/VR by Digital Trends after hands-on review at CES2020; “The Pimax has something most headsets lack; a real sense of peripheral vision.”
Right after CES2020, the Pimax team went on to meetups in Orlando, Florida.
Pimax announced it had shipped all address verified 8KX orders on Sept. 30th, 2020.
Pimax Vision 8K PLUS
The Pimax Vision 8K PLUS is a headset similar to the Vision 8K X, but it takes a 1440p input which it upscales to the 4K panels.
Pimax Artisan
On December 16, 2019, Pimax published a teaser image of an unannounced headset called Artisan, touting 120 Hz refresh, 140º FOV, and 3200×1440 resolution, with its price only specified as "X49.00".
During CES 2020, Pimax announced that the price of the Artisan will start at $449 for the base model. The device began shipping in April, 2020.
Pimax Portal
The Portal is a portable handheld gaming console that can slot into a VR headset. The Pimax Portal was announced on November 10, 2022, and launched on Kickstarter with 605 backers backing the campaign. The Portal was also shown at CES2023 with media labelling it the "Nintendo Switch of VR headsets".
Pimax Reality 12k QLED
The Pimax Reality 12k QLED is an unreleased next-generation virtual reality headset announced by Pimax on October 25, 2021. The headset is a hybrid standalone and can operate with or without a PC. It is expected to have 6144×3456 px displays and support a 200hz refresh rate and a 200-degree field of view. The headset will not require base stations but an optional faceplate that allows base station operation was announced. It includes an integrated WiFi 6E wireless radio and can attach an optional WiGig 60Ghz adapter. The device includes a Tobii eye tracking module with motorized IPD adjustment, interchangeable optical lenses, foveated rendering, and headset passthrough. It was expected to be released during Q4 of 2022 at an MSRP of $2399, but remains unreleased as of February 2024. A version with a lower-resolution 6K display was released in May 2023 as the Pimax Crystal, and a trade-in program was announced in September 2023. At CES 2024, Pimax held a private demo of an engineering verification prototype.
Pimax Crystal
The Pimax Crystal is a 6K virtual reality headset announced by Pimax on May 31, 2022 and released in May 2023. The headset is similar to the unreleased Pimax 12K QLED headset and is hybrid standalone that can operate with or without a PC. The announced specifications are 2880×2880 px displays with up to 160Hz refresh rate, up to a 140 degree diagonal field of view at a pixel density of 42ppd. The panels are QLED type and the lenses are interchangeable optical aspheric glass. The headset was announced to use inside-out tracking and optional lighthouse tracking. The headset has integrated Wi-Fi 6E wireless and an optional 60Ghz WiGig adapter. The headset also integrates eye tracking with a motorized automatic IPD adjustment capability. The Crystal headset was expected to have an MSRP of $1,899 but the final price was $1599.
Pimax Crystal Super
A 8K version with two 3840×3480 px displays, a choice of QLED panel (with 912-zone local dimming) or micro-OLED display panel in interchangeable optical modules, and reduced weight to due to elimitation of an embedded Snapdragon XR2 processor for the standalone mode; introduced in April 2024. In November2024, previously announced MSRP of $1799 was reduced to $1695.
Pimax Crystal Light
A lighter version of the Pimax Crystal without battery, eye tracking nor standalone mode, and a choice of standard QLED display or QLED with local-dimming in the backlight; introduced in April 2024.
References
Virtual reality companies
Display technology
Companies of China
Electronics companies established in 2015
Software companies established in 2015
Technology companies established in 2015
Chinese companies established in 2015
2015 establishments in China | Pimax | [
"Engineering"
] | 2,330 | [
"Electronic engineering",
"Display technology"
] |
56,240,950 | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/PyCBC | PyCBC is an open source software package primarily written in the Python programming language which is designed for use in gravitational-wave astronomy and gravitational-wave data analysis. PyCBC contains modules for signal processing, FFT, matched filtering, gravitational waveform generation, among other tasks common in gravitational-wave data analysis.
The software is developed by the gravitational-wave community alongside LIGO and Virgo scientists to analyze gravitational-wave data, search for gravitational-waves, and to measure the properties of astrophysical sources. It has been used to analyze gravitational-wave data from the LIGO and Virgo observatories to detect gravitational-waves from the mergers of neutron stars and black holes and determine their statistical significance. PyCBC based analyses can integrate with the Open Science Grid for large scale computing resources. Software based on PyCBC has been used to rapidly analyze gravitational-wave data for astronomical follow-up.
See also
List of numerical analysis software
LIGO Scientific Collaboration
European Gravitational Observatory
References
External links
GitHub repository
Physics software
Astronomy software
Free and open-source software
Astronomy
Software using the GNU General Public License
Free software programmed in Python | PyCBC | [
"Physics",
"Astronomy"
] | 235 | [
"Works about astronomy",
"Astronomy software",
"Physics software",
"Computational physics"
] |
56,241,369 | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kepler-13 | Kepler-13 or KOI-13 is a stellar triple star system consisting of Kepler-13A, around which an orbiting hot Jupiter exoplanet was discovered with the Kepler space telescope in 2011, and Kepler-13B a common proper motion companion star which has an additional star orbiting it.
Stellar system
The multiple nature of the system was discovered in 1904 by Robert Grant Aitken at Lick Observatory. He measured a separation between the A and B components of approximately one arc second and position angle of 281.3° with the 36" James Lick telescope. The position of the two visual components of the system relative to each other has remained constant since 1904. Radial velocity measurements taken with the SOPHIE échelle spectrograph at the Haute-Provence Observatory revealed an additional companion orbiting Kepler-13B. This companion has a mass of between 0.4 and 1 times that of the Sun and orbits with a period of 65.831 days with an eccentricity of 0.52
Planetary system
Kepler-13 was identified as one of 1235 planetary candidates with transit-like signatures in the first four months of Kepler data. It was confirmed as a planet by measuring the Doppler beaming effect on the Kepler light curve. The planet that has been confirmed, having a radius of between , is also one of the largest known exoplanets.
The planet is likely to be tidally locked to the parent star. In 2015, the planetary nightside temperature was estimated to be equal to 2394 K.
The study in 2012, utilizing a Rossiter–McLaughlin effect, have determined the planetary orbit is mildly misaligned with the equatorial plane of the star, misalignment equal to 24°.
The planetary transits are changing in duration over time which is likely caused by the interaction of the planet with its host star.
In 2017, Hubble observations by a team of astronomers led by Thomas Beatty revealed that titanium monoxide molecules in the dayside might be carried to the nightside of the planet, where they form clouds and precipitate.
References
Planetary systems with one confirmed planet
Planetary transit variables
13
J19075308+4652061
Lyra
Durchmusterung objects | Kepler-13 | [
"Astronomy"
] | 447 | [
"Lyra",
"Constellations"
] |
56,241,808 | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/NGC%20515 | NGC 515, also occasionally referred to as PGC 5201 or UGC 956, is a lenticular galaxy located approximately 228 million light-years from the Solar System in the constellation Pisces. It was discovered on 13 September 1784 by astronomer William Herschel.
Observation history
Herschel discovered the object along with NGC 517 using Beta Andromedae as a reference star. He described his discovery as "two, both stellar", indicating his misidentification of the object as a star. The position noted for NGC 515 is just 35 seconds east of UGC 956, thus the two entries are generally thought to be the same object. The object was also observed by John Herschel, son of William Herschel and later catalogued by John Louis Emil Dreyer in the New General Catalogue, where the galaxy was described as "pretty faint, very small, round, northwestern of 2" with the other one being NGC 517.
Description
The galaxy has an apparent visual magnitude of 13.1 and can be classified as type S0 using the Hubble Sequence. The object's distance of roughly 230 million light-years from the Solar System can be estimated using its redshift and Hubble's law.
See also
Lenticular galaxy
List of NGC objects (1–1000)
Pisces (constellation)
References
External links
SEDS
Lenticular galaxies
Pisces (constellation)
0515
5201
00956
Astronomical objects discovered in 1784
Discoveries by William Herschel | NGC 515 | [
"Astronomy"
] | 303 | [
"Pisces (constellation)",
"Constellations"
] |
56,242,204 | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Coarctate%20reaction | In organic chemistry, a coarctate reaction is a concerted reaction whose transition state involves two rings, in which at least one atom undergoes the simultaneous making and breaking of two bonds. It is an uncommon reaction topology, compared with linear topology and pericyclic topology (itself subdivided into Hückel and Möbius topologies). The name is derived .
Transition state topologies
Reactions of linear topology are the most common, and consist of all transformations whose transition states are acyclic, including addition, elimination, substitution, and (some types of) fragmentation reactions. By contrast, in pericyclic reactions, the atoms under chemical change form a single closed cycle, and include reactions like the Diels–Alder reaction and Cope rearrangement, among many others.
In contrast to these types of reactions, a coarctate reaction is characterized by a doubly cyclic transition state, in which at least one atom undergoes the simultaneous making and breaking of two bonds. Thus, the topology of the transition state of a coarctate reaction is a constricted cycle that meets with itself (resembling a figure eight) while the topology of pericyclic and linear reactions are a circle (or Möbius strip) and line segment, respectively. The concept was first proposed by Rainer Herges.
Examples
The most well-known example of a coarctate transition state is that of the epoxidation of an olefin by dimethyldioxirane. In this transition state, the oxygen atom transferred to the olefin forms a cycle with the acetone leaving group and a cycle with the olefin undergoing epoxidation. Another well-studied reaction is the fragmentation of spirocyclic ozonides into formaldehyde, CO2, and an olefin.
Selection rules, resembling the Woodward-Hoffmann rules, have been proposed to explain patterns in reaction activation energy related to transition state topology or orbital symmetry.
References
Organic reactions | Coarctate reaction | [
"Chemistry"
] | 400 | [
"Organic reactions"
] |
56,242,537 | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Titanyl%20sulfate | Titanyl sulfate is the inorganic compound with the formula TiOSO4. It is a white solid that forms by treatment of titanium dioxide with fuming sulfuric acid. It hydrolyzes to a gel of hydrated titanium dioxide. The structure consists of dense polymeric network with tetrahedral sulfur and octahedral titanium centers. The six ligands attached to titanium are derived from four different sulfate moieties and a bridging oxide. A monohydrate is also known, being prepared similarly to the anhydrous material. In the hydrate, one Ti–OS bond is replaced by Ti–OH2.
References
Titanium compounds
Sulfates | Titanyl sulfate | [
"Chemistry"
] | 135 | [
"Salts",
"Inorganic compounds",
"Sulfates",
"Inorganic compound stubs"
] |
63,201,494 | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Geopolymer%20bonded%20wood%20composite | Geopolymer bonded wood composite (GWC) are similar and a green alternatives to cement bonded wood composites. These products are composed of geopolymer binder, wood fibers/ wood particles. Depending on the wood and geopolymer ratio in the material, the properties of the wood-geopolymer composite material vary.
Function
The main functions of wood in the composite material are weight reduction, reduction of thermal conductivity and the fixture function whereas the main functions of geopolymer are bonding of wood particles, improvement of fire resistance, providing mechanical strength, improvement of humidity resistance and protection against fungal and insect damages.
They serve similar functions and purposes like all other mineral bonded wood composites. The fact that the binder agent (geopolymer) are mostly produced from industrial residue and waste puts these materials at a greater advantage over other mineral bonded wood composites. However, most of the works under this topic remains at the research and development phase. Some of the core difficulties in production and commercialization of standardize product is the variation in the sources of the aluminosilicate binder and the cost involve in activating the binder. Currently, metakaolin binder remains as the one key source to produce or bind these products with huge variations in other sources of the binder such as slag, fly ash etc.
Uses
The inherent properties and the incorporation of wood fiber and particles in this composite, has made it possible to produce GWC building materials that are light weight and has a variety of uses due to its heat storage capacity, for example in areas of thermal insulation, fire and noise protection. The wood-geopolymer composite material in the building walls can serve as a microclimate regulator absorbing the moisture when the air humidity is high and returning the moisture when there is a low air humidity period, thus improving the hygrothermal comfort in the building.
Commercialization
Currently, there is no commercialization of these products. More research is still ongoing on these composite materials as to ascertain the properties and how best to utilize these materials.
References
External links
Geopolymers
Composite materials
Engineered wood | Geopolymer bonded wood composite | [
"Physics",
"Chemistry"
] | 438 | [
"Materials",
"Composite materials",
"Geopolymers",
"Matter"
] |
63,201,912 | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oskar%20Painter | Oskar Painter is a Canadian born (1972) experimental physicist who works on nanoscale optics, nanomechanical devices, and superconducting qubits. He is the John G. Braun Professor of Applied Physics and Professor of Physics at Caltech. Since 2019, he is also Head of Quantum Hardware at Amazon Web Services (AWS).
Painter received his PhD from Caltech in 2001 under the supervision of Prof. Axel Scherer. After graduation, Painter helped found Xponent Photonics along with Pete Sercel and Caltech colleagues Kerry Vahala and Amnon Yariv. Painter joined the Caltech faculty in 2002, as an assistant professor of Applied Physics. In 2012, he became Director at the Max Planck Institute for the Science of Light and was awarded a Humboldt Professorship in 2013. In 2014, he returned to Caltech. Painter has also served as the co-director of the Kavli Nanoscience Institute and co-PI of the Institute of Quantum Information and Matter during his time at Caltech.
Painter's research has covered many topics, including photonic crystals and silicon photonics, to solid-state cavity quantum electrodynamics and quantum optomechanics. More recently, he has shifted his research towards superconducting quantum circuits, with a particular emphasis on hybrid circuit architectures involving the integration of optical and nanomechanical devices.
Publications
References
External links
Lab Website
Year of birth missing (living people)
Living people
California Institute of Technology faculty
Quantum physicists | Oskar Painter | [
"Physics"
] | 308 | [
"Quantum physicists",
"Quantum mechanics"
] |
63,202,035 | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cosmology%20%28book%29 | Cosmology (2008) is a textbook about cosmology by American physicist Steven Weinberg. The textbook is intended for final-year physics undergraduates or first-year graduate students. The book is a successor to Weinberg's 1972 textbook Gravitation and Cosmology.
Summary
Chapters
1. The Expansion of the Universe
2. The Cosmic Microwave Radiation Background
3. The Early Universe
4. Inflation
5. General Theory of Cosmological Fluctuations
6. Evolution of Cosmological Fluctuations
7. Anisotropies in the Microwave Sky
8. The Growth of Structure
9. Gravitational Lensing
10. Fluctuations from Inflation
References
External links
2008 non-fiction books
American non-fiction books
Books by Steven Weinberg
Cosmology books
English-language non-fiction books
Oxford University Press books
Physics textbooks | Cosmology (book) | [
"Astronomy"
] | 162 | [
"Astronomy book stubs",
"Astronomy stubs"
] |
63,202,083 | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List%20of%20nautical%20units%20of%20measurement | Nautical units of measurement in current or historical use include:
See also
Ship measurements
Glossary of nautical terms (disambiguation)
References
nautical units
nautical units | List of nautical units of measurement | [
"Mathematics"
] | 34 | [
"Quantity",
"Lists of units of measurement",
"Units of measurement"
] |
63,202,233 | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Genome-wide%20CRISPR-Cas9%20knockout%20screens | Genome-wide CRISPR-Cas9 knockout screens aim to elucidate the relationship between genotype and phenotype by ablating gene expression on a genome-wide scale and studying the resulting phenotypic alterations. The approach utilises the CRISPR-Cas9 gene editing system, coupled with libraries of single guide RNAs (sgRNAs), which are designed to target every gene in the genome. Over recent years, the genome-wide CRISPR screen has emerged as a powerful tool for performing large-scale loss-of-function screens, with low noise, high knockout efficiency and minimal off-target effects.
History
Early studies in Caenorhabditis elegans and Drosophila melanogaster saw large-scale, systematic loss of function (LOF) screens performed through saturation mutagenesis, demonstrating the potential of this approach to characterise genetic pathways and identify genes with unique and essential functions. The saturation mutagenesis technique was later applied in other organisms, for example zebrafish and mice.
Targeted approaches for gene knockdown emerged in the 1980s with techniques such as homologous recombination, trans-cleaving ribozymes, and antisense technologies.
By the year 2000, RNA interference (RNAi) technology had emerged as a fast, simple, and inexpensive technique for targeted gene knockdown, and was routinely being used to study in vivo gene function in C. elegans. Indeed, in the span of only a few years following its discovery by Fire et al. (1998), almost all of the ~19,000 genes in C. elegans had been analysed using RNAi-based knockdown.
The production of RNAi libraries facilitated the application of this technology on a genome-wide scale, and RNAi-based methods became the predominant approach for genome-wide knockdown screens.
Nevertheless, RNAi-based approaches to genome-wide knockdown screens have their limitations. For one, the high off-target effects cause issues with false-positive observations. Additionally, because RNAi reduces gene expression at the post-transcriptional level by targeting RNA, RNAi-based screens only result in partial and short-term suppression of genes. Whilst partial knockdown may be desirable in certain situations, a technology with improved targeting efficiency and fewer off-target effects was needed.
Since initial identification as a prokaryotic adaptive immune system, the bacterial type II clustered regularly interspaced short palindrome repeats (CRISPR)/Cas9 system has become a simple and efficient tool for generating targeted LOF mutations. It has been successfully applied to edit human genomes, and has started to displace RNAi as the dominant tool in mammalian studies. In the context of genome-wide knockout screens, recent studies have demonstrated that CRISPR/Cas9 screens are able to achieve highly efficient and complete protein depletion, and overcome the off-target issues seen with RNAi screens. In summary, the recent emergence of CRISPR-Cas9 has dramatically increased our ability to perform large-scale LOF screens. The versatility and programmability of Cas9, coupled with the low noise, high knockout efficiency and minimal off-target effects, have made CRISPR the platform of choice for many researchers engaging in gene targeting and editing.
Methods
CRISPR/Cas9 Loss of function
The clustered regularly interspaced short palindrome repeats (CRISPR)/Cas9 system is a gene-editing technology that can introduce double-strand breaks (DSBs) at a target genomic locus. By using a single guide RNA (sgRNA), the endonuclease Cas9 can be delivered to a specific DNA sequence where it cleaves the nucleotide chain. The specificity of the sgRNA is determined by a 20-nt sequence, homologous to the genomic locus of interest, and the binding to Cas9 is mediated by a constant scaffold region of the sgRNA. The desired target site must be immediately followed (5’ to 3’) by a conserved 3 nucleotide protospacer adjacent motif (PAM). In order to repair the DSBs, the cell may use the highly error prone non-homologous end joining, or homologous recombination. By designing suitable sgRNAs, planned insertions or deletions can be introduced into the genome. In the context of genome-wide LOF screens, the aim is to cause gene disruption and knockout.
sgRNA libraries
Constructing a Library
To perform CRISPR knockouts on a genome-wide scale, collections of sgRNAs known as sgRNA libraries, or CRISPR knockout libraries, must be generated. The first step in creating a sgRNA library is to identify genomic regions of interest based on known sgRNA targeting rules. For example, sgRNAs are most efficient when targeting the coding regions of genes and not the 5’ and 3’ UTRs. Conserved exons present as attractive targets, and position relative to the transcription start site should be considered. Secondly, all the possible PAM sites are identified and selected for. On- and off-target activity should be analysed, as should GC content, and homopolymer stretches should be avoided. The most commonly used Cas9 endonuclease, derived from Streptococcus pyogenes, recognises a PAM sequence of NGG.
Furthermore, specific nucleotides appear to be favoured at specific locations. Guanine is strongly favoured over cytosine on position 20 right next to the PAM motif, and on position 16 cytosine is preferred over guanine. For the variable nucleotide in the NGG PAM motif, it has been shown that cytosine is preferred and thymine disfavoured. With such criteria taken into account, the sgRNA library is computationally designed around the selected PAM sites.
Multiple sgRNAs (at least 4–6) should be created against every single gene to limit false-positive detection, and negative control sgRNAs with no known targets should be included. The sgRNAs are then created by in situ synthesis, amplified by PCR, and cloned into a vector delivery system.
Existing libraries
Developing a new sgRNA library is a laborious and time-consuming process. In practice, researchers may select an existing library depending on their experimental purpose and cell lines of interest.
As of February 2020, the most widely used resources for genome-wide CRISPR knockout screens have been the two Genome-Scale CRISPR Knock-Out (GeCKO) libraries created by the Zhang lab. Available through Addgene, these lentiviral libraries respectively target human and mouse exons, and both are available as a one-vector system (where the sgRNAs and Cas9 are present on the same plasmid) or as a two-vector system (where the sgRNAs and Cas9 are present on separate plasmids). Each library is delivered as two half-libraries, allowing researchers to screen with 3 or 6 sgRNAs/gene.
Aside from GeCKO, a number of other CRISPR libraries have been generated and made available through Addgene. The Sabatini & Lander labs currently have 7 separate human and mouse libraries, including targeted sublibraries for distinct subpools such as kinases and ribosomal genes (Addgene #51043–51048). Further, improvements to the specificity of sgRNAs have resulted in ‘second generation’ libraries, such as the Brie (Addgene #73632) and Brunello (Addgene #73178) libraries generated by the Doench and Root labs, and the Toronto knockout (TKO) library (Addgene #1000000069) generated by the Moffat lab.
Lentiviral vectors
Targeted gene knockout using CRISPR/Cas9 requires the use of a delivery system to introduce the sgRNA and Cas9 into the cell. Although a number of different delivery systems are potentially available for CRISPR, genome-wide loss-of-function screens are predominantly carried out using third generation lentiviral vectors. These lentiviral vectors are able to efficiently transduce a broad range of cell types and stably integrate into the genome of dividing and non-dividing cells.
Third generation lentiviral particles are produced by co-transfecting 293T human embryonic kidney (HEK) cells with:
two packaging plasmids, one encoding Rev and the other Gag and Pol;
an interchangeable envelope plasmid that encodes for an envelope glycoprotein of another virus (most commonly the G protein of vesicular stomatitis virus (VSV-G));
one or two (depending on the applied library) transfer plasmids, encoding for Cas9 and sgRNA, as well as selection markers.
The lentiviral particle-containing supernatant is harvested, concentrated and subsequently used to infect the target cells. The exact protocol for lentiviral production will vary depending on the research aim and applied library. If a two vector-system is used, for example, cells are sequentially transduced with Cas9 and sgRNA in a two-step procedure. Although more complex, this has the advantage of a higher titre for the sgRNA library virus.
Phenotypic selection
In general, there are two different formats of genome-wide CRISPR knockout screens: arrayed and pooled. In an arrayed screen, each well contains a specific and known sgRNA targeting a specific gene. Since the sgRNA responsible for each phenotype is known based on well location, phenotypes can be identified and analysed without requiring genetic sequencing. This format allows for the measurement of more specific cellular phenotypes, perhaps by fluorescence or luminescence, and allows researchers to use more library types and delivery methods. For large-scale LOF screens, however, arrayed formats are considered low-efficiency, and expensive in terms of financial and material resources because cell populations have to be isolated and cultured individually.
In a pooled screen, cells grown in a single vessel are transduced in bulk with viral vectors collectively containing the entire sgRNA library. To ensure that the amount of cells infected by more than one sgRNA-containing particle is limited, a low multiplicity of infection (MOI) (typically 0.3-0.6) is used. Evidence so far has suggested that each sgRNA should be represented in a minimum of 200 cells. Transduced cells will be selected for, followed by positive or negative selection for the phenotype of interest, and genetic sequencing will be necessary to identify the integrated sgRNAs.
Next-generation sequencing & hit analysis
Following phenotypic selection, genomic DNA is extracted from the selected clones, alongside a control cell population. In the most common protocols for genome-wide knockouts, a 'Next-generation sequencing (NGS) library' is created by a two step polymerase chain reaction (PCR). The first step amplifies the sgRNA region, using primers specific to the lentiviral integration sequence, and the second step adds Illumina i5 and i7 sequences. NGS of the PCR products allows the recovered sgRNAs to be identified, and a quantification step can be used to determine the relative abundance of each sgRNA.
The final step in the screen is to computationally evaluate the significantly enriched or depleted sgRNAs, trace them back to their corresponding genes, and in turn determine which genes and pathways could be responsible for the observed phenotype. Several algorithms are currently available for this purpose, with the most popular being the Model-based Analysis of Genome-wide CRISPR/Cas9 Knockout (MAGeCK) method. Developed specifically for CRISPR/Cas9 knockout screens in 2014, MAGeCK demonstrated better performance compared with alternative algorithms at the time, and has since demonstrated robust results and high sensitivity across different experimental conditions. As of 2015, the MAGeCK algorithm has been extended to introduce quality control measurements, and account for the previously overlooked sgRNA knockout efficiency. A web-based visualisation tool (VISPR) was also integrated, allowing users to interactively explore the results, analysis, and quality controls.
Applications
Cellular signaling mechanisms
Over recent years, the genome-wide CRISPR screen has emerged as a powerful tool for studying the intricate networks of cellular signaling. Cellular signaling is essential for a number of fundamental biological processes, including cell growth, proliferation, differentiation, and apoptosis.
One practical example is the identification of genes required for proliferative signaling in cancer cells. Cells are transduced with a CRISPR sgRNA library, and studied for growth over time. By comparing sgRNA abundance in selected cells to a control, one can identify which sgRNAs become depleted and in turn which genes may be responsible for the proliferation defect. Such screens have been used to identify cancer-essential genes in acute myeloid leukemia and neuroblastoma, and to describe tumor-specific differences between cancer cell lines.
Identifying synthetic lethal partners
Targeted cancer therapies are designed to target the specific genes, proteins, or environments contributing to tumor cell growth or survival. After a period of prolonged treatment with these therapies, however, tumor cells may develop resistance. Although the mechanisms behind cancer drug resistance are poorly understood, potential causes include: target alteration, drug degradation, apoptosis escape, and epigenetic alterations. Resistance is well-recognised and poses a serious problem in cancer management.
To overcome this problem, a synthetic lethal partner can be identified. Genome-wide LOF screens using CRISPR-Cas9 can be used to screen for synthetic lethal partners. For this, a wild-type cell line and a tumor cell line containing the resistance-causing mutation are transduced with a CRISPR sgRNA library. The two cell lines are cultivated, and any under-represented or dead cells are analyzed to identify potential synthetic lethal partner genes. A recent study by Hinze et al. (2019) used this method to identify a synthetic lethal interaction between the chemotherapy drug asparaginase and two genes in the Wnt signalling pathway NKD2 and LGR6.
Host dependency factors for viral infection
Due to their small genomes and limited number of encoded proteins, viruses exploit host proteins for entry, replication, and transmission. Identification of such host proteins, also termed host dependency factors (HDFs), is particularly important for identifying therapeutic targets. Over recent years, many groups have successfully used genome-wide CRISPR/Cas9 as a screening strategy for HDFs in viral infections.
One example is provided by Marceau et al. (2017), who aimed to dissect the host factors associated with dengue and hepatitis C (HCV) infection (two viruses in family Flaviviridae). ELAVL1, an RNA-binding protein encoded by the ELAVL1 gene, was found to be a critical receptor for HCV entry, and a remarkable divergence in host dependency factors was demonstrated between the two flaviviridae.
Further applications
Additional reported applications of genome-wide CRISPR screens include the study of: mitochondrial metabolism, bacterial toxin resistance, genetic drivers of metastasis, cancer drug resistance, West Nile virus-induced cell death, and immune cell gene networks.
Limitations
This section will specifically address genome-wide CRISPR screens. For a review of CRISPR limitations see Lino et al. (2018)
The sgRNA library
Genome-wide CRISPR screens will ultimately be limited by the properties of the chosen sgRNA library. Each library will contain a different set of sgRNAs, and average coverage per gene may vary. Currently available libraries tend to be biased towards sgRNAs targeting early (5’) protein-coding exons, rather than those targeting the more functional protein domains. This problem was highlighted by Hinze et al. (2019), who noted that genes associated with asparaginase sensitivity failed to score in their genome-wide screen of asparaginase-resistant leukemia cells.
If an appropriate library is not available, creating and amplifying a new sgRNA library is a lengthy process which may take many months. Potential challenges include: (i) effective sgRNA design; (ii) ensuring comprehensive sgRNA coverage throughout the genome; (iii) lentiviral vector backbone design; (iv) producing sufficient amounts of high-quality lentivirus; (v) overcoming low transformation efficiency; (vi) proper scaling of the bacterial culture.
Maintaining cellular sgRNA coverage
One of the largest hurdles for genome-wide CRISPR screening is ensuring adequate coverage of the sgRNA library across the cell population. Evidence so far has suggested that each sgRNA should be represented and maintained in a minimum of 200-300 cells.
Considering that the standard protocol uses a multiplicity of infection of ~0.3, and a transduction efficiency of 30-40% the number of cells required to produce and maintain suitable coverage becomes very large. By way of example, the most popular human sgRNA library is the GeCKO v2 library created by the Zhang lab; it contains 123,411 sgRNAs. Studies using this library commonly transduce more than 1x108 cells
As CRISPR continues to exhibit low noise and minimal off-target effects, an alternative strategy is to reduce the number of sgRNAs per gene for a primary screen. Less stringent cut-offs are used for hit selection, and additional sgRNAs are later used in a more specific secondary screen. This approach is demonstrated by Doench et al. (2016), who found that >92% of genes recovered using the standard protocol were also recovered using fewer sgRNAs per gene. They suggest that this strategy could be useful in studies where scale-up is prohibitively costly.
Lentiviral limitations
Lentiviral vectors have certain general limitations. For one, it is impossible to control where the viral genome integrates into the host genome, and this may affect important functions of the cell. Vannucci et al. provide an excellent review of viral vectors along with their general advantages and disadvantages. In the specific context of genome-wide CRISPR screens, producing and transducing the lentiviral particles is relatively laborious and time-consuming, taking about two weeks in total. Additionally, because the DNA integrates into the host genome, lentiviral delivery leads to long-term expression of Cas9, potentially leading to off-target effects.
Arrayed vs pooled screens
In an arrayed screen, each well contains a specific and known sgRNA targeting a specific gene. Arrayed screens therefore allow for detailed profiling of a single cell, but are limited by high costs and the labour required to isolate and culture the high number of individual cell populations. Conventional pooled CRISPR screens are relatively simple and cost effective to perform, but are limited to the study of the entire cell population. This means that rare phenotypes may be more difficult to identify, and only crude phenotypes can be selected for e.g. cell survival, proliferation, or reporter gene expression.
Culture media
The choice of culture medium might affect the physiological relevance of findings from cell culture experiments due to the differences in the nutrient composition and concentrations. A systematic bias in generated datasets was recently shown for CRISPR and RNAi gene silencing screens (especially for metabolic genes), and for metabolic profiling of cancer cell lines. For example, a stronger dependence on ASNS (asparagine synthetase) was found in cell lines cultured in DMEM, which lacks asparagine, compared to cell lines cultured in RPMI or F12 (containing asparagine). Avoiding such bias might be achieved by using a uniform media for all screened cell lines, and ideally, using a growth medium that better represents the physiological levels of nutrients. Recently, such media types, as Plasmax and Human Plasma Like Medium (HPLM), were developed.
Future Directions
CRISPR + single cell RNA-seq
Emerging technologies are aiming to combine pooled CRISPR screens with the detailed resolution of massively parallel single-cell RNA-sequencing (RNA-seq). Studies utilising “CRISP-seq”, “CROP-seq”, and “PERTURB-seq” have demonstrated rich genomic readouts, accurately identifying gene expression signatures for individual gene knockouts in a complex pool of cells. These methods have the added benefit of producing transcriptional profiles of the sgRNA-induced cells.
References
Genetics
Genome editing
Molecular biology | Genome-wide CRISPR-Cas9 knockout screens | [
"Chemistry",
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"Biology"
] | 4,233 | [
"Genetics techniques",
"Genome editing",
"Genetic engineering",
"Molecular biology",
"Biochemistry"
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63,204,044 | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Clerodendrum%20golden%20mosaic%20China%20virus | Clerodendrum golden mosaic China virus (ClGMCNV) is a bipartite Begomovirus isolated from flowering plants in the Clerodendrum genus. The virus causes yellow mosaic disease in various plant species, including Nicotiana, Petunia, Solanum, and Capsicum species. It is associated with a mosaic disease known as 'Dancing Flame'.
References
Viral plant pathogens and diseases
Begomovirus | Clerodendrum golden mosaic China virus | [
"Biology"
] | 89 | [
"Virus stubs",
"Viruses"
] |
63,204,538 | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hans%20R.%20Griem | Hans Rudolf Griem (October 7, 1928 – October 2, 2019) was a German-American physicist who specialized in experimental plasma physics and spectroscopy.
Early life and career
Griem received his doctorate from the University of Kiel in 1954 and in the same year accepted a Fulbright Fellowship at the University of Maryland to work on the physics of the upper atmosphere. He then returned to the University of Kiel for a two-year appointment dealing with high temperature physics. In 1957, he began working at the University of Maryland, first as an assistant professor in plasma physics before becoming an associate professor in 1961 and then full professor in 1963. He retired as professor emeritus in 1994.
From 1976 to 1994, Griem was a consultant at Los Alamos National Laboratory.
Honors and awards
In 1967, Griem was elected a fellow of the American Physical Society. In 1991, he received the James Clerk Maxwell Prize for Plasma Physics for "his numerous contributions to experimental plasma physics and spectroscopy, particularly in the area of improved diagnostic methods for high temperature plasmas, and for his books on plasma spectroscopy and spectral line broadening in plasmas that have become standard references in the field".
Griem also received a Guggenheim Fellowship, a Humboldt Award and the William F. Meggers Award of the Optical Society.
Books
References
1928 births
2019 deaths
Experimental physicists
20th-century American physicists
20th-century German physicists
Fellows of the American Physical Society
Plasma physicists | Hans R. Griem | [
"Physics"
] | 292 | [
"Plasma physicists",
"Experimental physics",
"Experimental physicists",
"Plasma physics"
] |
63,205,057 | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Psycho%20%28automaton%29 | Psycho was an automaton created by John Nevil Maskelyne with the assistance of John Algernon Clarke and first shown to audiences at The Egyptian Hall, London, in January 1875.
Psycho, fashioned to look like a miniature Indian man, sat cross-legged on a wooden chest. The chest sat on a clear glass cylinder. Under his hand was a rack for thirteen playing cards. The wooden chest he sat on, would be opened and shown that it was much too small to conceal a person.
Psycho would play a game of Whist by moving his hand along the rack of cards in front of him, lifting a card and handing it to Maskelyne.
It was much debated in the press about whether it was a pure mechanical invention or not. Psycho gave his last performance in 1910 and it was then donated to the London Museum by the Maskelyne family in 1934.
In 1878, Harry Kellar visited England and had a copy Maskelyne's whist-playing automaton made by Alfred La Mare. Other unauthorized copies of Psycho were made for the likes of Dr Cramer, Ludwig Haselmayer, Charles Arbre and Mr Everett. In 1919 Kellar gave his "Psycho" to Houdini. When Houdini died, Bess Houdini passed the Psycho to Joseph Dunninger who then passed it to Henry Muller. John Gaughan purchased this version of Psycho from Muller and restored it to full working order. This now resides in his private museum in Los Angeles.
A third known surviving example of Psycho which was made by Hamley's in 1882 was restored by Scott Penrose and is performed occasionally.
References
1875 works
Automata (mechanical) | Psycho (automaton) | [
"Engineering"
] | 345 | [
"Automata (mechanical)",
"Automation"
] |
63,205,892 | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Respiratory%20syncytial%20virus%20vaccine | A respiratory syncytial virus vaccine, or RSV vaccine, is a vaccine that protects against respiratory syncytial virus. RSV affects an estimated 64 million people and causes 160,000 deaths worldwide each year.
The RSV vaccines Arexvy (GSK), Abrysvo (Pfizer), and Mresvia (Moderna) are approved for medical use in the United States. Arexvy is approved for medical use in the United States, in the European Union, and in Canada for people aged 60 years of age and older. Arexvy is approved in the US for people aged 50–59 years of age who are at increased risk. In June 2024, the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) updated its recommendation for the use of respiratory syncytial virus vaccine in people aged 60 years of age and older. The CDC recommends that people who have not received the respiratory syncytial virus vaccine and are aged 75 years of age and older receive the respiratory syncytial virus vaccine; and that people who have not received the respiratory syncytial virus vaccine and are aged 60–74 years of age who are at increased risk of severe respiratory syncytial virus, meaning they have certain chronic medical conditions, such as lung or heart disease, or they live in nursing homes, receive the respiratory syncytial virus vaccine.
A 2013 study led to the approval of RSV vaccines. Work on RSV vaccines also supported the rapid development of COVID-19 vaccines.
Medical uses
Respiratory syncytial virus vaccine is indicated for active immunization for the prevention of lower respiratory tract disease caused by respiratory syncytial virus in people 60 years of age and older.
Abrysvo is indicated for active immunization for the prevention of lower respiratory tract disease caused by RSV in people 60 years of age and older, high-risk individuals aged 18 through 59 and pregnant individuals at 32 through 36 weeks gestational age to prevent severe disease in their infants from birth through six months of age. Abrysvo is approved for use in pregnant women at 24 through 36 weeks and older adults in the European Union. and between 28 through 36 weeks and older adults in the United Kingdom.
Infant-specific issues include the immature infant immune system and the presence of maternal antibodies, which make infantile immunization difficult.
History
Development
Attempts to develop an RSV vaccine began in the 1960s with an unsuccessful inactivated vaccine developed by exposing the RSV virus to formalin (formalin-inactivated RSV (FI-RSV)). This vaccine induced vaccine-associated enhanced respiratory disease, in which children who had not previously been exposed to RSV and were subsequently vaccinated would develop severe RSV disease if exposed to the virus itself, including fever, wheezing, and bronchopneumonia. Some eighty percent of such children (vs. 5% of virus-exposed controls) were hospitalized, and two children died of lethal lung inflammation during the first natural RSV infection after vaccination of RSV-naive infants. This disaster slowed vaccine development for many years.
A 1998 paper reported that research had advanced greatly over the previous ten years. A 2019 paper similarly claimed that research toward developing a vaccine had advanced greatly over the prior 10 years, with more than 30 candidates in some stage of development. The same study predicted that a vaccine would be available within ten years. Candidates included particle-based vaccines, attenuated vaccines, mRNA vaccines, protein subunit vaccines, and vector-based vaccines.
A 2013 study detailed the crystal structure of the RSV fusion (F) protein and how its stability could be improved. This provided the basis for finding the most effective F protein constructs, which are used in RSV vaccines. To develop its vaccine, Pfizer engineered 400 different F protein constructs to identify the most immunogenic, and constructed a bivalent RSV prefusion F investigational vaccine.
In February 2023, results of a phase III study of around 25,000 participants age 60+ were published. One dose of the Arexvy vaccine provided 94% efficacy against severe RSV pneumonia and 72% efficacy against RSV acute respiratory infection. An advisory panel to the FDA recommended approval of the vaccine in February 2023.
In April 2023, the Committee for Medicinal Products for Human Use of the European Medicines Agency (EMA) recommended to grant a marketing authorization for Arexvy for the prevention of RSV lower respiratory tract disease in people 60 years of age or older after review under the EMA's accelerated assessment program.
In May 2023, Arexvy was approved for people aged 60 years of age and older, making it the first FDA-approved RSV vaccine.
In May 2023, the FDA's expert panel unanimously recommended Abrysvo for approval in pregnant women. The panel was split on the safety of the vaccine in respect of preterm births.
In June 2023, Arexvy was approved for medical use in the European Union.
The mRNA vaccine Mresvia was approved for medical use in the United States in May 2024.
In June 2024, the FDA approved Arexvy for use in people aged 50 to 59 years of age who are at an increased risk of RSV-caused lower respiratory tract disease. The approval is based on data from a phase III study (NCT05590403), which showed that immune responses were non-inferior in people aged 50–59 years of age at increased risk for RSV disease compared to people aged 60 years of age and older.
In October 2024, the FDA approved Abrysvo for the prevention of lower respiratory tract disease caused by respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) in individuals 18 through 59 years of age who are at increased risk for lower respiratory tract disease caused by RSV. Since 2023, Abrysvo has been approved for the prevention of lower respiratory tract disease caused by RSV in individuals 60 years of age and older and for use in pregnant individuals at 32 through 36 weeks gestational age for the prevention of lower respiratory tract disease and severe lower respiratory tract disease caused by RSV in infants from birth through six months of age. Abrysvo is manufactured by Pfizer.
Mresvia was approved for medical use in the European Union in August 2024.
Clinical trials
, phase III trials by multiple companies are ongoing to test RSV vaccines for people aged 60 years of age and older. These include vaccines by GSK, Pfizer, Johnson & Johnson, Moderna, and Bavarian Nordic. , other vaccines were in development, including vaccines for pregnant women to immunize their fetuses by passing maternal antibodies to them, and vaccines for children.
GSK
In November 2020, GSK's vaccine, GSK3888550A, entered phase III trials for pregnant women. The vaccine's antigen is a stabilized version of the RSV F protein, which was developed using structure-based vaccine design. This trial was terminated in February 2022, on the advice of an external Data Monitoring Committee, because of an excess of premature births in the trial arm.
The FDA analyzed data from an ongoing, randomized, placebo-controlled clinical study conducted in the US and internationally in individuals 60 years of age and older. The main clinical study was designed to assess the safety and effectiveness of a single dose administered to individuals 60 years of age and older. Participants agreed to remain in the study through three RSV seasons to assess the duration of effectiveness and the safety and effectiveness of repeat vaccination. Data from the first RSV season of the study were available for the FDA's analysis. In this study, approximately 12,500 participants received vaccine and 12,500 participants received a placebo. The vaccine reduced the risk of developing RSV-associated lower respiratory tract disease by 82.6% and reduced the risk of developing severe RSV-associated lower respiratory tract disease by 94.1%. The FDA granted the application priority review designation and granted approval of Arexvy to GlaxoSmithKline Biologicals.
In October 2022, GSK started a phase III, observer-blind, randomized, placebo-controlled study to evaluate the safety of the vaccine in people 50–59 years of age compared to people 60 years of age and older. The vaccine elicited an immune response in people aged 50 to 59 years of age at increased risk for RSV disease due to select underlying medical conditions that was non-inferior to that observed in people aged 60 years of age and older, meeting the trial's primary co-endpoint.
Pfizer
RSVpreF (Abrysvo) is a bivalent recombinant protein subunit vaccine which consists of equal amounts of stabilized prefusion F antigens from the two major RSV subgroups: RSV A and RSV B.
In April 2023, Pfizer published their interim results of their phase III study of a RSV vaccine for adults age 60 and older in over 34,000 participants. One dose of the vaccine was 67% efficacious in preventing infections with at least two symptoms and it was 86% effective against more severe disease, in people with three related symptoms. The vaccine's protection was consistent across different subgroups, and was 62% effective in preventing acute respiratory illness caused by RSV infection.
In April 2023, Pfizer published interim results of their double blind phase III study in about 3,600 pregnant women, with another 3,600 women receiving a placebo. One dose of the vaccine provided 81% efficacy in preventing severe infection within three months after birth and 69% in six months after birth. The most common side effects were pain at the injection site, headache, muscle pain and nausea.
In a subgroup of pregnant individuals who were 32 through 36 weeks gestational age, of whom about 1,500 received Abrysvo and 1,500 received placebo, Abrysvo reduced the risk of lower respiratory tract disease by 34.7%, and reduced the risk of severe lower respiratory tract disease by 91.1% within 90 days after birth when compared to placebo. Within 180 days after birth, Abrysvo reduced the risk of lower respiratory tract disease by 57.3% and by 76.5% for severe lower respiratory tract disease, when compared to placebo. In a second study, about 100 pregnant individuals received Abrysvo and approximately 100 pregnant women received placebo.
Moderna
Mresvia is an mRNA vaccine that was studied in clincal trial NCT05127434. It was approved for medical use in the United States in May 2024.
Society and culture
Legal status
In June 2024, the Committee for Medicinal Products for Human Use of the European Medicines Agency adopted a positive opinion, recommending the granting of a marketing authorization for the medicinal product Mresvia, intended for the prevention of lower respiratory tract disease caused by respiratory syncytial virus. The applicant for this medicinal product is Moderna Biotech Spain S.L. Mresvia was approved for medical use in the European Union in August 2024.
References
External links
Clinical trials
Drugs developed by GSK plc
Drugs developed by Pfizer
Subunit vaccines
Vaccines
vaccine, Respiratory syncytial virus | Respiratory syncytial virus vaccine | [
"Biology"
] | 2,288 | [
"Vaccination",
"Vaccines"
] |
63,206,368 | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Area%20of%20Special%20Conservation%20Interest | An Area of Special Conservation Interest (ASCI) is a protected area in Europe or North Africa, part of the Emerald network established by the countries who have signed the Berne Convention on the Conservation of European Wildlife and Natural Habitats.
The purpose of the ASCIs is to conserve and protect habitats and species defined in the convention.
Emerald Network
The Emerald Network is an ecological network of Areas of Special Conservation Interest.
The Council of Europe launched the network when it adopted Recommendation No. 16 (1989) of the Standing Committee to the Bern Convention.
The European Union's Natura 2000 network covers the portion of the Emerald network within the EU.
The network also include conservation units in non-community European states such as Andorra, Belarus, Georgia, the Republic of Moldova, Norway, Switzerland and Ukraine, and in several African states.
In the United Kingdom, Special Areas of Conservation and Special Protection Areas are Areas of Special Conservation Interest.
The African signatories to the Bern Convention include Burkina Faso, Morocco, Tunisia and Senegal.
Criteria
An ASCI should meet one or more of the following criteria as defined at UNEP-WCMC 2014, Biodiversity A-Z website: www.biodversitya-z.org, UNEP-WCMC, Cambridge, UK:
Contributes substantially to the survival of threatened species, endemic species, or any species listed in Appendices I and II of the Bern convention;
Supports significant numbers of species in an area of high species diversity or supports important populations of one or more species;
Contains an important and/or representative sample of endangered habitat types;
Contains an outstanding example of a particular habitat type or a mosaic of different habitat types;
Represents an important area for one or more migratory species;
Otherwise contributes substantially to the achievement of the objectives of the convention.
Notes
Sources
Biogeography
Environment of Europe
Protected areas of Europe
Protected areas of Africa | Area of Special Conservation Interest | [
"Biology"
] | 377 | [
"Biogeography"
] |
63,206,537 | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Malbranchea%20cinnamomea | Malbranchea cinnamomea is a thermophilic fungus belonging to the order Onygenales. This ascomycete fungi is often isolated from higher-temperature environments. It is naturally found in composting soil and can degrade plant biomass.
M. cinnamonea has biochemical relevance, as it produces a quinone antibiotic (6-(1-acetylethyl)-2-methoxy-2,5-cyclohexadiene-1,4-dione) named malbranicin, as well as thermostable enzymes, such as alpha-glucosidases, xylanases, alpha-amylases, and glucanases.
The genome of M. cinnamomea was published in 2017 by Zoraide Granchi and coworkers from the OPTIBIOCAT project. The genome contains 24.96 million bases. The OPTIBIOCAT consortium estimates that there are 9,437 protein-coding genes. The sequencing was performed in Leiden, The Netherlands
References
Onygenales
Fungus species | Malbranchea cinnamomea | [
"Biology"
] | 231 | [
"Fungi",
"Fungus species"
] |
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