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63,253,896 | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tliltocatl%20alvarezi | Tliltocatl alvarezi is a possible species of spider in the family Theraphosidae (tarantulas). The World Spider Catalog regards it as a nomen dubium (dubious name). The original description, in the genus Citharacanthus as C. alvarezi, was based on a specimen said to be a female, but this is now regarded as a juvenile male. It was transferred to Tliltocatl in 2020.
References
Theraphosidae
Spiders described in 2013
Nomina dubia | Tliltocatl alvarezi | [
"Biology"
] | 110 | [
"Biological hypotheses",
"Nomina dubia",
"Controversial taxa"
] |
63,256,201 | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vaxart | Vaxart, Inc. is an American biotechnology company focused on the discovery, development, and commercialization of oral recombinant vaccines administered using temperature-stable tablets that can be stored and shipped without refrigeration, eliminating the need for needle injection. Its development programs for oral vaccine delivery (Vector-Adjuvant-Antigen Standardized Technology known as VAAST) include prophylactic, enteric-coated tablet vaccines for inhibiting norovirus, seasonal influenza, respiratory syncytial virus, and human papillomavirus. It was founded in 2004 by Sean Tucker. Originally incorporated as West Coast Biologicals, Inc. in California in 2004, the company later changed its name to Vaxart, Inc. in July 2007, after reincorporating in Delaware. A significant development in the company's history was the reverse merger with Aviragen Therapeutics, Inc. on February 13, 2018, which led to Vaxart becoming a wholly-owned subsidiary of Aviragen. Post-merger, the company continued as Vaxart, Inc.
Vaxart's development portfolio includes a range of oral vaccines targeting infectious diseases such as norovirus, COVID-19, and seasonal influenza, as well as therapeutic vaccines like those targeting HPV. The company has achieved significant milestones in its vaccine development, including completing Phase 1 trials for its COVID-19 vaccine candidate and embarking on Phase 2 studies. Vaxart’s vaccines are designed to elicit not only systemic immune responses but also mucosal and T cell responses, which may enhance protection against specific diseases and offer potential benefits for certain cancers and chronic viral infections. The tablet form of these vaccines represents a significant advancement in vaccine administration, potentially improving patient acceptance and resolving distribution challenges.
Technology
The Vaxart technology is based on the potential to prevent or inhibit infectious diseases by using orally-delivered vaccines by tablets, eliminating intramuscular injection concerns which may involve pain, fear of needles, cross-contamination, dosing inconsistencies, and higher cost for large-scale immunizations. As a proof of concept for oral vaccination efficacy, an oral vaccine against polio was proved to be safe and effective, and is in common use in many countries.
Vaxart uses enteric-coated tablets to protect the active vaccine from acidic degradation in the stomach, delivering the vaccine into the small intestine where it can engage the immune system to stimulate systemic and mucosal immune responses against a virus.
Vaxart uses a specific virus called adenovirus type 5 (Ad5) as a delivery biological "vector" to carry genes coding for the antigen to generate a protective immune response. The Ad5 vector delivers the antigen to the epithelial cells lining the mucosa of the small intestine where it stimulates the immune system to respond against the vaccine antigen, creating a systemic immune response against a virus.
In addition to its focus on infectious diseases, Vaxart has expanded its vaccine development efforts to include therapeutic vaccines for chronic viral infections and cancer. These efforts are anchored in the company's innovative technology that enables the creation of tablet-based vaccines, which can generate broad and durable immune responses, including systemic, mucosal, and T-cell responses. This comprehensive immune activation is particularly critical in the context of chronic viral infections and cancer, where both systemic and localized immune responses play a pivotal role in effective treatment.
Vaccine development
Influenza Vaccine
The lead vaccine candidate by Vaxart is an influenza oral tablet vaccine, which showed safety and neutralizing antibody responses to influenza virus in a 2015 Phase I clinical trial. A 2016-17 Phase II trial of the Vaxart oral flu vaccine, VXA-A1.1, showed that the vaccine was well-tolerated and provided immunity against virus shedding, outperforming the effectiveness of an established intramuscular vaccine. In 2018, Vaxart completed a Phase II challenge study, in which the Vaxart influenza tablet vaccine demonstrated a 39 percent reduction in clinical disease relative to placebo, compared to a 27 percent reduction by the injectable flu vaccine, Fluzone.
COVID-19 vaccine
In January 2020, Vaxart announced they were intending to develop a tablet vaccine intended to prevent COVID-19. It faced competition from other vaccine makers, such as Novavax, Inovio Pharmaceuticals, and Moderna. By February 2020, Vaxart had begun the program. In April 2020, the company reported positive immune responses in laboratory animals from tests conducted with its COVID-19 vaccine candidate, suggesting potential effectiveness in its approach to vaccination.
In January 2024, Vaxart received a grant from the United States Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority (BARDA). The grant, amounting to $9.27 million, is allocated for the preparation of a large-scale Phase 2b clinical trial involving 10,000 participants. This trial is designed to evaluate the efficacy of Vaxart's innovative oral pill XBB COVID-19 vaccine candidate in comparison to an approved mRNA vaccine. The funding is part of Project NextGen, a substantial $5 billion initiative by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) focusing on the development of new, innovative vaccines and therapeutics that provide broader and more durable protection against COVID-19. The oral vaccine platform developed by Vaxart is noted for its potential advantages, including generating mucosal immunity and offering a cross-reactive response to various COVID-19 variants.
Norovirus vaccine
Vaxart has been progressing in the development of an oral tablet vaccine for Norovirus, the leading cause of acute gastroenteritis globally. Norovirus significantly impacts all age groups, particularly young children and the elderly, causing millions of cases annually with substantial healthcare and economic burdens.
Its vaccine candidate is a bivalent oral tablet targeting major norovirus genogroups GI and GII. The tablet form is specifically crafted to generate antibodies in the intestine, the primary site of norovirus infection.
In December 2022, Vaxart received significant funding and support from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundationfor a study focusing on breastfeeding mothers and their infants. This study aligns with Vaxart’s broader norovirus vaccine program goals, targeting critical and at-risk populations globally.
In 2023, Vaxart initiated a Phase 1 trial (VXA-NVV-108) focused on lactating mothers, aiming to evaluate the vaccine's ability to induce breast milk antibodies and their transfer to infants. Furthermore, in July 2023, Vaxart announced positive topline data from a dose-ranging Phase 2 clinical trial of its bivalent norovirus vaccine candidate. The study met all primary endpoints, showing the vaccine was well-tolerated with robust immunogenicity.
Additionally, in September 2023, Vaxart announced top-line data from its Phase 2 challenge study of the monovalent norovirus vaccine candidate. This study met 5 of its 6 primary endpoints, demonstrating a statistically significant reduction in norovirus infection rate and a substantial reduction in viral shedding, while maintaining a well-tolerated safety profile.
Investment
In 2019, several hedge funds invested in Vaxart, with the largest investment coming from Armistice Capital which acquired 25.2 million shares.
See also
Coronavirus disease 2019
COVID-19 pandemic
Severe acute respiratory syndrome–related coronavirus
Vaccine
Respiratory disease
2009 flu pandemic vaccine
References
Companies listed on the Nasdaq
Companies based in San Francisco
Biotechnology companies of the United States
Pharmaceutical companies established in 1982
Life sciences industry
Specialty drugs
Biotechnology companies established in 1982
Vaccine producers
COVID-19 vaccine producers
Medical research | Vaxart | [
"Biology"
] | 1,578 | [
"Specialty drugs",
"Life sciences industry"
] |
63,256,637 | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/LoTr%205 | LoTr 5 is a large, faint planetary nebula in the constellation of Coma Berenices. In 2018, its parallax was measured by Gaia, giving a distance of about .
As of 2018, LoTr 5 has the highest galactic latitude of any known planetary nebula, being only 1.5 degrees away from the galactic north pole. Scientists noted this because if the distance of the nebula were found to be greater than a few hundred parsecs, then the gas from the nebula would be expanding into the galactic halo, where there is little interaction with the interstellar medium.
Nomenclature
The nebula is most commonly referred to as LoTr 5, short for Longmore-Tritton 5. It was discovered in 1980 by A. J. Longmore and S. B. Tritton, who found the nebula on photographic plates taken at the UK Schmidt Telescope.
The central star has a number of different names. It is often referred to by its Henry Draper Catalogue designation HD 112313, or by its variable star designation IN Comae Berenices. The General Catalogue of Variable Stars describes it as R:/PN, meaning it is likely a close binary star system with reflection of starlight being the cause of variation, as well as being part of the nucleus of a planetary nebula.
Structure
LoTr 5 is one of the largest planetary nebulae known, with a radius of . It mostly emits light at a wavelength of 500.7 nm, corresponding to a doubly ionized oxygen line.
LoTr 5 is not spherical, but is instead a bipolar nebula. Many bipolar and non-spherical nebulae are known to exist, but it is the processes that cause planetary nebulae to get their shapes are not clear, and have been the subject of much debate. However, the "binary hypothesis" posits that binary stars are more likely to produce non-spherical nebulae. For LoTr 5, the binary system likely played a role in shaping the nebula.
A modelling of LoTr 5 shows that it is composed of two round lobes, making a peanut shape. The semimajor and semiminor axes are about 390 arcsec and 100 arcsec, respectively. The position angle of the long axis is 55°. The long axis is tilted 17° away from the line of sight, so there is considerable overlap between the farther northeastern lobe and the closer southwestern lobe. The nebula is not perfectly symmetrical: there appears to be a "hole" east of the nucleus, while the western side has an "arc" of emission.
Binary system
The central system at LoTr 5 has been known to be binary since 1983. At the center there is an evolved G-type star (IN Comae Berenices) that is often classified as a giant star or a subgiant, as well as a hot O-type subdwarf or white dwarf that is responsible for ionizing the nebula. The subdwarf is one of the hottest stars known, with an effective temperature of about K.
The two stars orbit each very slowly; in fact, with an orbital period of , this is one of the longest periods for a binary system within a planetary nebula. The orbit is also moderately eccentric, at 0.249 ± 0.018. For a long time the hierarchical structure of the system has not been clear. Earlier studies came up with inner orbits around IN Comae Berenices with periods of 1.95 days or 1.75 days, and/or suggesting a third star orbiting the central G-type star. The central stars' orbit appears to have a discrepancy with the nebula's "waist" such that the nebula's inclination of 17° may be too low. It is also possible, but more unlikely that the stellar orbits are not coplanar with the nebula's "waist", or that there is an undiscovered object in a close orbit with the degenerate star.
IN Comae Berenices is known to be a variable star, with its brightness varying on a cycle that is about 5.9 days long. This corresponds to the rotation period of the star, and the variability is attributed to starspots, making it an RS Canum Venaticorum variable. With Doppler imaging, the starspots were found to be lying at middle latitudes (40–50°), covering 22% of the star's surface, and about 600 K cooler than the rest of the star's surface. Its spectrum shows it to be rich in barium and other s-process elements, making it a barium star.
IN Comae Berenices emits X-rays. These X-rays likely come from the star's corona, and are associated with the star's rapid rotation.
In terms of structure, LoTr 5 is very similar to Abell 35, another planetary nebula. Both are large and faint planetary nebulae with a binary nucleus, consisting of a rapidly rotating G-type star that is a rotational variable.
References
External links
Planetary nebulae
Binary stars
G-type giants
O-type subdwarfs
Coma Berenices
Spectroscopic binaries
RS Canum Venaticorum variables
Comae Berenices, IN | LoTr 5 | [
"Astronomy"
] | 1,067 | [
"Coma Berenices",
"Constellations"
] |
63,257,483 | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Extreme%20tribology | Extreme tribology refers to tribological situations under extreme operating conditions which can be related to high loads and/or temperatures, or severe environments. Also, they may be related to high transitory contact conditions, or to situations with near-impossible monitoring and maintenance opportunities. In general, extreme conditions can typically be categorized as involving abnormally high or excessive exposure to e.g. cold, heat, pressure, vacuum, voltage, corrosive chemicals, vibration, or dust. The extreme conditions should include any device or system requiring a lubricant operating under any of the following conditions:
Beyond the original machinery design specifications.
Beyond the original machinery ambient parameters.
Application in an environmentally sensitive location.
Beyond the original lubricant design specification.
Operation in such extreme conditions is a great challenge for tribologists to develop tribosystems that could meet these extreme requirements. Often, only multifunctional materials fulfill such requirements.
Challenges in tribology
The progression of the humanity suggested new technologies, devices, materials and surface treatments which required novel lubricants and lubrication systems. Likewise, the development of high-speed trains, aircraft, space stations, computer hard discs, artificial implants, and bio-medical and many other engineering systems, have only been possible through the advances in tribology. Challenges in tribology including sustainability, climate change and gradual degradation of the environment require new solutions and innovative approaches.
Tribology at extreme temperatures
In many tribological applications, the system components are exposed to extreme temperatures (very high or ultra-low temperatures). Examples of such applications can be found in the aerospace, mining, power generation, metalworking industries, and steel plants.
In tribology, an application can be considered to operate at elevated temperatures when the use of conventional lubricants, i.e. oils and greases is no longer effective due to their rapid decomposition at around 300 °C. Smart lubricating materials and multifunctional lubricating materials are developed as new class materials with increased safety, long-term durability and as less amount of repairing costs as possible. Such materials are designed to be self-diagnostic, self-repairing, and self-adjusting. These materials include structural/lubricating integrated material, anti-radiation lubricating material, conductive or insulation lubricating material, etc.
At low temperatures and in cryogenic environments, liquid lubricants can solidify or become highly viscous and not be effective. On the other end, solid lubricants have usually been found to be better than liquid lubricants or greases. The most common solid lubricants for cryogenic temperature are polytetrafluoroethylene, polycarbonate, tungsten disulphide (WS2), and molybdenum disulphide (MoS2). In addition, ice could be a possible lubricant for deformation in cryogenic environments which provides a method of self-lubrication in the sense that no active mechanism is needed to supply a lubricant.
Tribology at micro/nano-scale
The fundamental difference that distinguishes micro/nano tribology from classical macro tribology is that micro/nano tribology considers the friction and wear of two objects in relative sliding whose dimensions range from micro-scales down to molecular and atomic scales. MEMS refer to micro-electromechanical systems that have a characteristic length of 100 nm to 1 mm, while NEMS are the nano-electromechanical systems that have a characteristic length of less than 100 nm. There are great challenges in the development of a fundamental understanding of tribology, surface contamination and environment in MEMS/NEMS. One of these challenges in such extreme tribological situations is the adhesion force which can be up to a million times greater than the force of gravity. This is due to the fact that the adhesion force decreases linearly with size, whereas the gravitational force decreases with the size cubed. Low surface energy, hydrophobic coatings applied to oxide surfaces are promising for minimizing adhesion and static-charge accumulation.
Tribology under vacuum conditions
Under vacuum environment, it is a problem to achieve acceptable endurance of tribological components due to the fact that the lubricant may either freeze, evaporate or decompose and hence become ineffective. Tribological properties of materials exhibit different characteristics at the space vacuum as compared to the atmospheric pressure. Adhesive and fatigue wear are the two important types of wear encountered in a vacuum environment. Vacuum not only radically affects the wear behavior of metals and alloys in contact, but also has a pronounced influence on nonmetals as well. Different new kinds of materials are developed for potentially operating in vacuum environments. For instance, and alloys have excellent anti-wear properties in all the vacuum conditions. Types of solid lubricants used in space applications:
Soft metal films: gold, silver, lead, indium, and barium.
Lamellar solids: molybdenum disulfide, tungsten disulfide, cadmium iodide, lead iodide, molybdenum diselenide, intercalated graphite, fluorinated graphite, and phthalocyanines.
Polymers: polytetrafluoroethylene, polyimides, fluorinated ethylene-propylene, ultra-high-molecular-weight polyethylene UHMWPE, polyether ether ketone, polyacetal, and epoxy resins.
Other low shear strength materials: fluorides of calcium, lithium, barium, and rare earths; sulfides of bismuth and cadmium; and oxides of lead, cadmium, cobalt, and zinc.
The most common way to utilize a solid lubricant is to apply it to a metal surface as a film or surface coating of a thin layer of soft film, typically molybdenum disulphide, artificially deposited on the surfaces. Coatings of solid lubricant are built up atom by atom yielding a mechanically strong surface layer with a long service life and the minimum quantity of solid lubricant.
Geotribology
The term "geotribology" was first stated by Harmen Blok with no significant discussion. Later, geotribology framework was employed to analyze the flow mechanics of granular sand. Even though tribological concepts can be utilized to many geosciences phenomena, the two research communities are separated. In earth science, many tribological concepts were applied successively, particularly in rock friction analyses. The asperity-asperity contact mechanism was applied to rock friction experiments that led to the rate-state friction law that prevails in earthquake analyses.
Tribology in high dust and dirty areas
High dust areas and dirt environments can weigh profoundly on a lubricant due to the high risk of particle contamination. These contaminants readily form a grinding paste, causing failure of tribosystems and subsequently damaging of equipment. This type of contamination most frequently takes place when airborne or stagnant particles gain access to the lubrication system through open ports and hatches, especially in systems with negative pressure. Half of a bearing loss of usefulness can be attributed to wear. This wear, which occurs through surface abrasion, fatigue and adhesion, is often the result of particle contamination.
Tribology in radiation environments
In radiation environments, liquid lubricants can decompose. Suitable solid lubricants can extend the operation of systems beyond 106 rads while maintaining relatively low coefficients of friction.
Tribology for limited weight applications
In weight-limited spacecraft and rovers, solid lubrication has the advantage of weighing substantially less than liquid lubrication. The elimination (or limited use) of liquid lubricants and their replacement by solid lubricants would reduce spacecraft weight and, therefore, have a dramatic impact on mission extent and craft maneuverability.
References
External links
https://ntrs.nasa.gov/archive/nasa/casi.ntrs.nasa.gov/20000057374.pdf
https://link.springer.com/referencework/10.1007/978-0-387-92897-5
Tribology | Extreme tribology | [
"Chemistry",
"Materials_science",
"Engineering"
] | 1,724 | [
"Tribology",
"Mechanical engineering",
"Surface science",
"Materials science"
] |
63,258,143 | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Goteo | Goteo is a crowdfunding site which focuses on projects which, apart from giving individual rewards, also generate a collective return through promoting the commons, open source code and/or free knowledge. It allows contributions in the form of monetary donations or in the form of tasks collaborating with the projects. The platform started in 2011, and is run by the Barcelona-based non-profit Goteo Foundation. According to its site statistics, as of 2023, it has raised $17 million, with a rate of project success of 83% (90% in recent years), and a community of 185.000 users. It claims it was the first free/open source crowdfunding platform, and it tags itself as "the open source crowdfunding platform".
History
The website started in 2011 as an initiative of Platoniq, a non-profit focused on civic participation and social innovation since 2001. In 2012, Platoniq creates the Goteo Foundation to manage the platform, and open sources the platform source code under an AGPLv3 license.
From 2014 to 2017, it received active support from the European Cultural Foundation, organizing Goteo workshops internationally. In 2014, it won the European Democratic Citizenship Award as "NGO of the Year" by the European Civic Forum. The same year, it also won the distinction award Prix Ars Electronica in the Digital Communities category.
Since 2018, it started partnering with funder organizations which have their own "channels" in the platform, including the participatory political party Ahora Madrid, the Barcelona city council, Fiare ethical bank, and the University of Málaga. In the past, it also reached partnerships with cultural portal Europeana, the International University of Andalucía, the regional governments of Extremadura and Basque Country, and the city councils of Zaragoza and Gipuzkoa.
Features
Goteo claims its main distinctive features as a crowdfunding platform, in comparison with other larger ones like Kickstarter, are the following:
Its requirements of openness for the projects, which need to contribute to free culture or the commons in some way.
It enables participants to contribute as volunteers for the projects, and not just with money. According to its statistics, more than 4,000 people volunteered from 2011 to 2020.
It is supported solely by a non-profit foundation, the Spanish Goteo Foundation, enabling tax deduction of the donations.
Its code is free/open source and it has an open API. This enabled other platforms to fork and use their code freely, and the emergence of several apps using their API. In the same line, it provides open data about some behaviours and statistics of the platform activity regarding projects and donations, as well as in relation to Sustainable Development Goals.
It claims to have its own methodology, maximizing transparency, legal guarantees, and good practices before and after the campaigns. They also use agile methodologies to organize workshops and trainings to help people optimize crowdfunding campaigns.
It enables other sources of income for projects: it partners with public and private institutions that do match funding and it enables successful projects to carry out a second campaign round for an "optimal" amount.
Projects
The platform supports a broad diversity of projects, as long as they respect their openness requirements. According to its statistics, the largest categories of projects are social (20%), cultural (15%), education (15%) and environmental (13%). Other projects include technological (10%), entrepreneurship (9%), communication (8%) and scientific (7%).
The top 10 funded projects all received 60-100K€, and covered different types of journalism (investigative, feminist, political, fact-checking), migrant-made clothing, a documentary, a reforestation effort, and a children magazine, a primary school. Other smaller funding projects have received press attention, such as those for art experimentation, local cinema, food delivery co-ops, pollution-free schools, programming education, or an anti-eviction platform.
International recognition
The platform was highlighted by Nesta, and The Guardian included it in its "10 social innovators to watch". It was selected by Crowdsourcing Week in its 2019 "Top 15 Crowdfunding Platforms in Europe". It was mentioned as a salient example of platform cooperative by the Transnational Institute, and as an example of "quiet activism" by news sites Phys.org and The Conversation. Goteo belongs to the European Crowdfunding Network, which highlighted it as one of its three case studies of civic crowdfunding experiences. The OECD highlighted it in its analysis of civic crowdfunding. It has appeared in several research articles around crowdfunding, both in reviews of the field or as a case-study.
Its source code was forked and deployed in Japan, rebranded as the platform Local Good Yokohama, supported by the City Council of Yokohama and Accenture. This platform has received widespread attention in Japanese media.
See also
Crowdfunding
Spacehive
Ioby
References
External links
Official website
Financial services companies established in 2012
Crowdfunding platforms
Internet properties established in 2012
2012 establishments in Spain
Non-profit organisations based in Spain
Organizations established in 2012
Non-profit technology
Foundations based in Spain | Goteo | [
"Technology"
] | 1,066 | [
"Information technology",
"Non-profit technology"
] |
63,258,258 | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Malpelo%20Ridge | The Malpelo Ridge () is an elevated part of Nazca plate off the Pacific coast of Colombia. It is a faulted chain of volcanic rock of tholeiitic composition. The Malpelo Ridge may have originated simultaneously as Carnegie Ridge, and thus represent an old continuation of Cocos Ridge. It is thought to have acquired it present position due to tectonic movements along the Panama fracture zone.
References
Geology of Colombia
Underwater ridges of the Pacific Ocean
Oceanography
Hotspot tracks | Malpelo Ridge | [
"Physics",
"Environmental_science"
] | 101 | [
"Oceanography",
"Hydrology",
"Applied and interdisciplinary physics"
] |
63,259,360 | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Perceptics | Perceptics LLC is a developer and manufacturer of automated license plate recognition (LPR) equipment based in Farragut, Tennessee, founded in approximately 1978. John Dalton is the CEO. A large hack of their data exposed their operations, as well as the locations of installations.
Their technology is used by the U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) at 43 border crossings, both to Mexico and Canada, as part of a partnership with Unisys Federal Systems. Perceptics is the exclusive license plate recognition provider for CBP. Perceptics operated as a subcontractor to Unisys for the license plate reader contract, worth $229 million over several years. As of 2019, Perceptics has worked on CBP contracts for "nearly 30 years". They also provide "under-vehicle surveillance systems", and have contracts with the Drug Enforcement Administration checkpoints, the Canada Border Services Agency, United Arab Emirates, and Saudi Arabia's Special Forces, and the Jordanian army.
Perceptics was previously a subsidiary of Northrop Grumman. They have been filling CBP contracts since 1982 and license plate readers since 1997. In 2002 the equipment cost was approximately $90,000 per lane.
Perceptics also discussed promoting their license plate reading technology for use on a congestion pricing scheme to MTA in New York City in a presentation titled "Smart Imaging Solutions for New York City Congestion Pricing". They demoed the technology to MTA's Bridges and Tunnels division. The Perceptics system provides much more capabilities than license plate reading, such as "Vehicle Occupancy Imaging System", which can identify drivers and passengers, as well as tracking car locations and driver behavior as a profile. Perceptics and Unisys were also involved in a CBP trial project called the "Vehicle Face System", involving facial recognition of car occupants.
Perceptics used Amazon Rekognition as of August 2018.
Canadian operations
Data from the hack revealed the Canada Border Services Agency had at least two dozen installations, as widespread as the Sumas–Huntingdon Border Crossing in British Columbia, to the Fort Fairfield–Andover Border Crossing in New Brunswick, worth $21 million CND in contracts. Traffic weigh stations in Canada, run by International Road Dynamics, also use Perceptics. Halifax Harbour Bridges trialed the technology. The Buffalo and Fort Erie Public Bridge Authority as purchased Perceptics cameras, they are administered by the US CBP. Canada Revenue Agency had contracts with the company until 2014.
Data breach
On May 13, 2019, Perceptics discovered they were hacked. They notified the FBI within 24 hours, and they notified Unisys on May 17. The hack was revealed by The Register on May 23. The CBP learned of the data breach on May 31, over three weeks after the discovery of the hack. CBP acknowledged a breach on that date but didn't reveal the contractor involved, but the Microsoft Word document title pointed to Perceptics. CBP also stated CBP said "as of today, none of the image data has been identified on the dark web or internet."
Identifiable information such as faces were stolen. Somewhere under 100,000 images were taken, which were part of a 45-day dataset from one port of entry. The data was transferred off of the CBP's systems to Perceptics's systems, a violation of CBP policy. The Register showed that data was available on Tor, and included images, HR records, databases, DHS manuals, signed NDAs, and business plans. Distributed Denial of Secrets mirrored the data to the open web, making it more easily accessible. Later, The Register identified images taken at border crossings at Santa Teresa, New Mexico, and Columbus, New Mexico, and Hidalgo, Texas.
Perceptics demoed the technology for the Pennsylvania Turnpike, and 50 gigabytes of photos over two months in 2017 were identified in the hack and published on Vice News's Motherboard.
CBP suspended the contract, citing "conduct indicating a lack of business honesty or integrity". Suspensions are a rare action. In September 2019, Perceptics and CBP signed an agreement, where CBP stated the collection of data was "completely unacceptable" but not unethical or illegal, and Perceptics agreeing to security reforms and monitoring.
A hacker claimed to have access to Perceptics's systems for four months and demanded a ransom. The data was made publicly available by Distributed Denial of Secrets.
The breach led to scrutiny from Sen. Rick Scott, Sen. Edward J. Markey, Sen. Ron Wyden, Rep. Bennie Thompson, and privacy advocates.
Lobbying
Perceptics engaged lobbyists such as Lucia Alonzo of Ferox Strategies to lobby on their behalf, and the hack of Perceptics showed this influence. Cristina Antelo at Podesta Group also lobbied Democrats on their behalf, joining Ferox Strategies after Podesta Group closed.
In emails to Perceptics, Alonzo confirmed that both top alternatives in a 2018 immigration reform bill included provisions with $125 million for "LPR modernization" and $175 million for a border cargo LPR project in Laredo, Texas, presumably benefitting Perceptics as the exclusive provider of LPR equipment to the CBP. The text of the provisions in both alternatives was nearly identical.
Alonzo also supplied talking points to Tennessee's Republican Chuck Fleischmann to use in a session with the head of CBP. After the exchange, Alonzo emailed Perceptics, confirming Fleischmann "asked about CBP's plan to modernize its LPRs as we asked his office to do".
Later, Texas Sen. John Cornyn, included the same Laredo border cargo LPR project and "LPR modernization" projects and figures in two late-2017 Senate immigration bills. Alonzo suggested that Perceptics CEO John Dalton donate money to Cornyn, and Antelo was previously on Cornyn's staff.
In 2014 and 2015, Podesta Group emails said the Podesta staff would "preemptively meet if necessary to ensure LPRs do not get drawn further into the privacy conversation" and about building a "possible coalition against LPR bans". In 2018, Antelo, at Podesta, described meetings with California Democratic congressman Peter Aguilar, Colorado Democratic Sen. Michael Bennet, New Jersey Democratic Sen. Bob Menendez.
In February 2020, connections to conservative Texas Democratic Rep. Henry Cuellar were published, tracing his involvement with Perceptics back to at last 2009, through Antelo and Podesta Group. He was described as "our Cuellar firepower" and by Perceptics CEO Dalton as a "friendly congressman". Cuellar was involved in the same "talking points" event as Fleischmann, and Cuellar asked other talking points recommended by Perceptics and lobbyists, with Alonzo emailing a report about Cuellar asking "about pilots going on at Laredo that sound a lot like Perceptics’".
Perceptics and Podesta Group lobbied against competitor Axiompass in 2012, as presentations and reports indicated. A 2014 Podesta Group report identified dozens of PACs connected to politicians to make donations to.
See also
Vigilant Technology
References
External links
Surveillance
Video
Data collection
Companies based in Knoxville, Tennessee
Data breaches in the United States
Distributed Denial of Secrets
Politics of the United States
International relations
Hacking in the 2020s | Perceptics | [
"Technology"
] | 1,564 | [
"Data collection",
"Data"
] |
63,259,392 | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pattern-Oriented%20Software%20Architecture | Pattern-Oriented Software Architecture is a series of software engineering books describing software design patterns.
Reception
David E. DeLano of C++ Report praised the first volume, writing, "Overall this text is good and I recommend it as an addition to any collection of books on patterns." He said "some of the language and grammar usage feels awkward to the reader" and some of the book has "stiffness and flow problems". Ian Graham reviewed the first volume in the Journal of Object-Oriented Programming. DBMS columnist David S. Linthicum found the first volume to be "the best book on patterns for application architects", while Bin Yang of JavaWorld thought it had "many interesting architecture and design patterns".
ACCU writer Ian Glassborow reviewed the second volume, writing, "This book is one of the more important contributions to the literature on 'patterns' and deserves to become a standard text on its specified area of interest." The Software Engineering Institute author Paul Clemente found the first two volumes to be "the best-known catalog of architectural patterns". Regarding the third volume, D. Murali recommended that software engineers should follow the "eager acquisition" pattern.
POSA1
Architectural patterns
Layers
Pipes and filters
Blackboard
Broker
Model–View–Controller
Presentation–Abstraction–Control
Design patterns
Whole–Part
Master–Slave
Proxy
Command Processor
View Handler
Forwarder-Receiver
Client–Dispatcher–Server
Publisher–subscriber
POSA2
Service access and configuration patterns
Wrapper Facade
Component Configurator
Interceptor
Extension interface
Event handling patterns
Reactor
Proactor
Asynchronous Completion Token
Acceptor-Connector
Synchronization patterns
Scoped Locking
Strategized Locking
Thread-Safe Interface
Double-checked locking
Concurrency patterns
Active object
Monitor Object
Half-Sync/Half-Async
Leader/Followers
Thread-Specific Storage
POSA3
Resource acquisition
Lookup
Lazy acquisition
Eager acquisition
Resource lifecycle
Caching
Pooling
Coordinator
Resource Lifecycle Manager
Resource release
Leasing
Evictor
POSA4
Software architecture
Domain model
Layers
Model–View–Controller
Presentation–Abstraction–Control
Microkernel
Reflection
Pipes and filters
Shared repository
Blackboard
Domain object
Distribution Infrastructure
Message Channel
Message endpoint
Message translator
Message route
Publisher–subscriber
Broker
Client proxy
Requestor
Invoker
Client request handler
server request handler
Adaptation and execution
Bridge
Object Adapter
Chain of responsitiblity
Interpreter
Interceptor
Visitor
Decorator
Execute-Around Object
Template method
Strategy
Null Object
Wrapper Facade
Declarative component configuration
Resource management
Container
Component Configurator
Object manager
Lookup
Virtual Proxy
Lifecycle callback
Task coordinator
Resource pool
Resource cache
Lazy Acquisition
Eager Acquisition
Partial Acquisition
Activator
Evictor
Leasing
Automated Garbage Collection
Counting Handle
Abstract Factory
Builder
Factory method
Disposal Method
Database access
Database Access Layer
Data mapper
Row Data Gateway
Table Data Gateway
Active Record
POSA5
Patterns referenced in volume 5:
Abstract Factory
Acceptor-Connector
Active Object
Adapted Iterator
Adapter
Align Architecture and Organization (see Conway's Law)
Application Controller
Architect Also Implements
Architecture Follows Organization
Asynchronous Completion Token (ACT)
Automated Garbage Collection
Batch Iterator
Batch Method
Blackboard
Bridge
Broker
Build Prototypes
Builder
Bureaucracy
Business Delegate
Cantrip
Chain of Responsibility
Class Adapter
CLI Server
Client Proxy
Collections for States
Combined Method
Command
Command Processor
Command Sequence (see Composite Command)
Community of Trust
Compiler
Completion Headroom
Component Configurator
Composite
Composite Command
Composite-Strategy-Observer (see Model-View-Controller (MVC))
Context Object
Conway's Law
Cooperate, Don’t Control
CORBA-CGI Gateway
Data Access Object (DAO)
Data is the Next Intel Inside
Data Transfer Object (DTO)
Decorator
Disposal Method
Distributed Callback
Domain Appropriate Devices
Domain Model
Domain Object
Domain Store
Don't Flip the Bozo Bit
Dynamic Invocation Interface (DII)
ed
Encapsulated Context (see Context Object)
Engage Customers
Enumeration Method
Explicit Interface
External Iterator
Facade
Factory Method
Few Panes Per Window
Filter
Firewall Proxy
Flat and Narrow Tree
Forwarder-Receiver
Front Controller
Half-Sync/Half-Asynchronous
Harnessing Collective Intelligence
Immutable Value
Information Just In Time
Interceptor
Internal Iterator (see Enumeration Method)
Interpreter
Invisible Hardware
Involve Everyone
Iterator
Layers
Leader/Followers
Leveraging the Long Tail
Macro Command (see Composite Command)
Manager (see Object Manager)
Mediator
Memento
Message
Methods for States
Mock Object
Model-View-Controller (MVC)
Monitor Object
Mutable Companion
Network Effects by Default
Nouns and Verbs
Null Object
Object Adapter
Object Manager
Objects for States
Observer
Organization Follows Architecture
Page Controller
Perpetual Beta
Pipes and Filters
Pluggable Adapter
Pluggable Factory
Polyvalent-Program
Presentation-Abstraction-Control (PAC)
Proactor
Prototype
Prototype-Abstract Factory (see Pluggable Factory)
Proxy
Publisher-Subscriber
Reactor
Reflection
Remote Proxy (see Client Proxy)
Resource Lifecycle Manager (see Object Manager)
Roguelike
Separated Engine and Interface
Short Menus
Singleton
Sink
Smart Pointer
Software Above the Level of a Single Device
Some Rights Reserved
Source
Stable Intermediate Forms
Standard Panes
State (see Objects for States)
Strategized Locking
Strategy
Template Method
Template View
The Long Tail (see Leveraging the Long Tail)
The Perpetual Beta (see Perpetual Beta)
Transfer Object (see Data Transfer Object)
Transform View
Two-Way Adapter
Users Add Value (see Harnessing Collective Intelligence)
View Handler
Visitor
Window Per Task
Wrapped Class Adapter
Wrapper (see Adapter and Decorator)
Wrapper Facade
References
1996 non-fiction books
2000 non-fiction books
2004 non-fiction books
2007 non-fiction books
Software development books
Software design patterns | Pattern-Oriented Software Architecture | [
"Technology"
] | 1,128 | [
"Computer book stubs",
"Computing stubs",
"Software stubs"
] |
63,259,937 | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Virus%20Research | Virus Research is a peer-reviewed scientific journal which focuses on fundamental research in all aspects of virology. The journal was established in 1984 by Brian Mahy and Richard Compans.
Abstracting and indexing
The journal is abstracted and indexed in:
According to the Journal Citation Reports, the journal has a 2018 impact factor of 2.736. In 2021, the impact factor was updated to 6.286.
References
Virology journals
Hybrid open access journals | Virus Research | [
"Biology"
] | 96 | [
"Virus stubs",
"Viruses"
] |
63,261,108 | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Algebra%20and%20Tiling | Algebra and Tiling: Homomorphisms in the Service of Geometry is a mathematics textbook on the use of group theory to answer questions about tessellations and higher dimensional honeycombs, partitions of the Euclidean plane or higher-dimensional spaces into congruent tiles. It was written by Sherman K. Stein and Sándor Szabó, and published by the Mathematical Association of America as volume 25 of their Carus Mathematical Monographs series in 1994. It won the 1998 Beckenbach Book Prize, and was reprinted in paperback in 2008.
Topics
The seven chapters of the book are largely self-contained, and consider different problems combining tessellations and algebra. Throughout the book, the history of the subject as well as the state of the art is discussed, and there are many illustrations.
The first chapter concerns a conjecture of Hermann Minkowski that, in any lattice tiling of a Euclidean space by unit hypercubes (a tiling in which a lattice of translational symmetries takes any hypercube to any other hypercube) some two cubes must meet face-to-face. This result was resolved positively by Hajós's theorem in group theory, but a generalization of this question to non-lattice tilings (Keller's conjecture) was disproved shortly before the publication of the book, in part by using similar group-theoretic methods.
Following this, three chapters concern lattice tilings by polycubes. The question here is to determine, from the shape of the polycube, whether all cubes in the tiling meet face-to-face or, equivalently, whether the lattice of symmetries must be a subgroup of the integer lattice. After a chapter on the general version of this problem, two chapters consider special classes of cross and "semicross"-shaped polycubes, both with regard to tiling and then, when these shapes do not tile, with regard to how densely they can be packed. In three dimensions, this is the notorious tripod packing problem.
Chapter five considers Monsky's theorem on the impossibility of partitioning a square into an odd number of equal-area triangles, and its proof using the 2-adic valuation, and chapter six applies Galois theory to more general problems of tiling polygons by congruent triangles, such as the impossibility of tiling a square with 30-60-90 right triangles.
The final chapter returns to the topic of the first, with material on László Rédei's generalization of Hajós's theorem. Appendices cover background material on lattice theory, exact sequences, free abelian groups, and the theory of cyclotomic polynomials.
Audience and reception
Algebra and Tiling can be read by undergraduate or graduate mathematics students who have some background in abstract algebra, and provides a source of applications for this topic. It can be used as a textbook, with exercises scattered throughout its chapters.
Reviewer William J. Walton writes that "The student or mathematician whose area of interest is algebra should enjoy this text". In 1998, the Mathematical Association of America gave it their Beckenbach Book Prize as one of the best of their book publications. The award citation called it "a simultaneously erudite and inviting ex- position of this substantial and timeless area of mathematics".
References
Further reading
Tessellation
Mathematics textbooks
1994 non-fiction books
Mathematical Association of America books | Algebra and Tiling | [
"Physics",
"Mathematics"
] | 695 | [
"Tessellation",
"Planes (geometry)",
"Euclidean plane geometry",
"Symmetry"
] |
63,261,187 | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Peter%20P.%20Chen%20Award | Peter P. Chen Award is an annually presented award to honor one individual for their contributions to the field of conceptual modeling. Named after the computer scientist Peter Chen, the award was started in 2008 by the publisher Elsevier as a means of celebrating the 25th anniversary of the journal Data & Knowledge Engineering. It is presented at the Entity Relationship (ER) International Conference on Conceptual Modeling. Winners are given a plaque, a cash prize, and are invited to give a keynote speech.
There are five criteria for selecting the winner; research, how the nominee has contributed to advance the field of conceptual modeling; service, organizational contributions for related meetings, conferences, and editorial boards; education, mentoring of doctoral students in the field; contribution to practice, contributions to technology transfer, commercialization, and industrial projects; and international reputation. The selection committee is composed of the Steering Committee chair, two Program Committee members that have been appointed by the Steering Committee chair, and recipients of the last two years.
Laureates
References
Awards established in 2008
Science and technology awards | Peter P. Chen Award | [
"Technology"
] | 208 | [
"Science and technology awards"
] |
63,261,781 | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Finite%20game | A finite game (sometimes called a founded game or a well-founded game) is a two-player game which is assured to end after a finite number of moves. Finite games may have an infinite number of possibilities or even an unbounded number of moves, so long as they are guaranteed to end in a finite number of turns.
Formal definition
William Zwicker defined a game, G, to be totally finite if it met the following five conditions:
Two players, I and II, move alternately, I going first. Each has complete knowledge of the other's moves.
There is no chance involved.
There are no ties (when a play of G is complete, there is one winner).
Every play ends after finitely many moves.
At any point in a play of G, there are but finitely many legal possibilities for the next move.
Examples
Tic Tac Toe
Chess
Checkers
Poker
The game where player one chooses any number and immediately wins (this is an example of a finite game with infinite possibilities)
The game where player one names any number N, then N moves pass with nothing happening before player one wins (this is an example of a finite game with an unbounded number of moves)
Supergame
A supergame is a variant of the finite game invented by William Zwicker. Zwicker defined a supergame to have the following rules:
"On the first move, I name any totally finite game G (called the subgame). The players then proceed to play G, with II playing the role of I while G is being played. The winner of the play of the subgame is declared to be the winner of the play of the supergame."
Zwicker notes that a supergame satisfies properties 1-4 of a totally finite game, but not property 5. He defines games of this type to be somewhat finite.
Hypergame paradox
A hypergame has the same rules as a super game except that I may name any somewhat finite game on the first move. The hypergame is closely related to the "hypergame paradox" a self-referential, set-theoretic paradox like Russell's paradox and Cantor's paradox.
The hypergame paradox arises from trying to answer the question "Is a hypergame somewhat finite?" The paradox, as Zwicker note, satisfies conditions 1- 4 making it somewhat finite in the same way a supergame was. However, if hypergame is a somewhat finite game, then play can proceed infinitely with both players choosing hypergame as their subgame forever. This infinite would appear to violate property 4, making the hypergame not somewhat finite. Thus, the paradox.
References
Logic
Game theory game classes | Finite game | [
"Mathematics"
] | 551 | [
"Game theory game classes",
"Game theory"
] |
63,262,069 | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Metal%20cluster%20compound | Metal cluster compounds are a molecular ion or neutral compound composed of three or more metals and featuring significant metal-metal interactions.
Transition metal carbonyl clusters
The development of metal carbonyl clusters such as Ni(CO)4 and Fe(CO)5 led quickly to the isolation of Fe2(CO)9 and Fe3(CO)12. Rundle and Dahl discovered that Mn2(CO)10 featured an "unsupported" Mn-Mn bond, thereby verifying the ability of metals to bond to one another in molecules. In the 1970s, Paolo Chini demonstrated that very large clusters could be prepared from the platinum metals, one example being [Rh13(CO)24H3]2−. This area of cluster chemistry has benefited from single-crystal X-ray diffraction.
Many metal carbonyl clusters contain ligands aside from CO. For example, the CO ligand can be replaced with myriad alternatives such as phosphines, isocyanides, alkenes, hydride, etc. Some carbonyl clusters contain two or more metals. Others contain carbon vertices. One example is the methylidyne-tricobalt cluster [Co3(CH)(CO)9]. The above-mentioned cluster serves as an example of an overall zero-charged (neutral) cluster. In addition, cationic (positively charged) rather than neutral organometallic trimolybdenum or tritungsten clusters are also known. The first representative of these ionic organometallic clusters is [Mo3(CCH3)2(O2CCH3)6(H2O)3]2+.
Transition metal halide clusters
The halides of low-valent early metals often are clusters with extensive M-M bonding. The situation contrasts with the higher halides of these metals and virtually all halides of the late transition metals, where metal-halide bonding is replete.
Transition metal halide clusters are prevalent for the heavier metals: Zr, Hf, Nb, Ta, Mo, W, and Re. For the earliest metals Zr and Hf, interstitial carbide ligands are also common. One example is Zr6CCl12. One structure type features six terminal halides and 12 edge-bridging halides. This motif is exemplified by tungsten(III) chloride, [Ta6Cl18]4−, Another common structure has six terminal halides and 8 bridging halides, e.g. Mo6Cl142−.
Many of the early metal clusters can only be prepared when they incorporate interstitial atoms.
In terms of history, Linus Pauling showed that "MoCl2" consisted of Mo6 octahedra. F. Albert Cotton established that "ReCl3" in fact features subunits of the cluster Re3Cl9, which could be converted to a host of adducts without breaking the Re-Re bonds. Because this compound is diamagnetic and not paramagnetic the rhenium bonds are double bonds and not single bonds. In the solid state further bridging occurs between neighbours and when this compound is dissolved in hydrochloric acid a Re3Cl123− complex forms. An example of a tetranuclear complex is hexadecamethoxytetratungsten W4(OCH3)12 with tungsten single bonds. A related group of clusters with the general formula MxMo6X8 such as PbMo6S8. These sulfido clusters are called Chevrel phases.
Fe-S clusters in biology
In the 1970s, ferredoxin was demonstrated to contain Fe4S4 clusters and later nitrogenase was shown to contain a distinctive MoFe7S9 active site. The Fe-S clusters mainly serve as redox cofactors, but some have a catalytic function. In the area of bioinorganic chemistry, a variety of Fe-S clusters have also been identified that have CO as ligands.
FeMoco, the active site of most nitrogenases, features a Fe7MoS9C cluster.
Zintl clusters
Zintl compounds feature naked anionic clusters that are generated by reduction of heavy main group p elements, mostly metals or semimetals, with alkali metals, often as a solution in anhydrous liquid ammonia or ethylenediamine. Examples of Zintl anions are [Bi3]3−, [Sn9]4−, [Pb9]4−, and [Sb7]3−. Although these species are called "naked clusters," they are usually strongly associated with alkali metal cations. Some examples have been isolated using cryptate complexes of the alkali metal cation, e.g., [Pb10]2− anion, which features a capped square antiprismatic shape. According to Wade's rules (2n+2) the number of cluster electrons is 22 and therefore a closo cluster. The compound is prepared from oxidation of K4Pb9 by Au+ in PPh3AuCl (by reaction of tetrachloroauric acid and triphenylphosphine) in ethylene diamine with 2.2.2-crypt. This type of cluster was already known as is the endohedral Ni@Pb102− (the cage contains one nickel atom). The icosahedral tin cluster Sn122− or stannaspherene anion is another closed shell structure observed (but not isolated) with photoelectron spectroscopy. With an internal diameter of 6.1 Ångstrom, it is of comparable size to fullerene and should be capable of containing small atoms in the same manner as endohedral fullerenes, and indeed exists a Sn12 cluster that contains an Ir atom: [Ir@Sn12]3−.
Metalloid clusters
Elementoid clusters are ligand-stabilized clusters of metal compounds that possess more direct element-element than element-ligand contacts. Examples of structurally characterized clusters feature ligand stabilized cores of Al77, Ga84, and Pd145.
Intermetalloid clusters
These clusters consist of at least two different (semi)metallic elements, and possess more direct metal-metal than metal-ligand contacts. The suffix "oid" designate that such clusters possess at a molecular scale, atom arrangements that appear in bulk intermetallic compounds with high coordination numbers of the atoms, such as for example in Laves phase and Hume-Rothery phases. Ligand-free intermetalloid clusters include also endohedrally filled Zintl clusters. A synonym for ligand-stabilized intermetalloid clusters is "molecular alloy". The clusters appear as discrete units in intermetallic compounds separated from each other by electropositive atoms such as [Sn@Cu12@Sn20]12−, as soluble ions [As@Ni12@As20]3− or as ligand-stabilized molecules such as [Mo(ZnCH3)9(ZnCp*)3].
References
Cluster chemistry | Metal cluster compound | [
"Chemistry"
] | 1,476 | [
"Cluster chemistry",
"Organometallic chemistry"
] |
63,263,526 | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Crash%20program | A crash program is a plan of action entailing rapid, intensive resource allocation to solve a pressing problem. Rapidity may eliminate investigation and planning essential to efficient use of resources when goals are perceived as more important than those resources.
Deadlines
Time limits differentiate crash programs from normal procedures. Time reduction often results from unexpected circumstances. These time limits may originate from predictable events like weather cycles or financial deadlines, or they may be arbitrarily established as lifesaving measures in situations involving famine, disease, or military vulnerabilities. Schedule compression occurs when deadlines appropriate for expected conditions are shortened while the program is in progress.
Methods
Fast-tracking involves working simultaneously on activities that would have been performed sequentially under normal circumstances. Project crashing occurs when additional resources are required to meet the established deadline. Project crashing increases the cost of the goal. Crash analysis compares the costs of shortened deadlines.
Examples
First transcontinental railroad
Liberty ship
Operation Bumblebee
Space Race
COVID-19 vaccine
Manhattan Project
References
Planning
Schedule (project management) | Crash program | [
"Physics"
] | 212 | [
"Spacetime",
"Physical quantities",
"Time",
"Schedule (project management)"
] |
54,743,542 | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Navigation%20and%20Bombing%20System | The Navigation and Bombing System, or NBS, was a navigation system used in the Royal Air Force's V-bomber fleet. Primary among its parts was the Navigation and Bombing Computer (NBC), a complex electromechanical computer that combined the functions of dead reckoning navigation calculation with a bombsight calculator to provide outputs that guided the aircraft and automatically dropped the bombs with accuracy on the order of a few hundred metres on missions over thousands of kilometres.
Inputs to the NBS system included late models of the H2S radar, the True Airspeed Unit, a gyrocompass and the Green Satin radar. A Mk 6 radar altimeter was used for accurate height measurement but was not connected to the NBC. These inputs were used to set the Ground Speed Unit, which carried out the navigation calculations, which in turn fed the autopilot system. The NBC did not feed the T4 bombsight computer for visual sighting.
References
Mechanical computers
Aerial bombing | Navigation and Bombing System | [
"Physics",
"Technology"
] | 198 | [
"Physical systems",
"Machines",
"Mechanical computers"
] |
54,744,160 | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/IC%202395 | IC 2395 is an open cluster in the constellation Vela.
Observation history
It is possible that entry III.3 of the catalogue of Nicolas Louis de Lacaille, often listed as missing, is IC 2395. According to Lacaille's entry, the object consists of a "Star of 6th magnitude, connected to another more southern one by a nebulous trace", and gives the coordinates RA=08:42.2, Dec=-48:04. These coordinates are 2' west and 1' south of the location of van den Bergh-Hagen 47 according to Sky Catalogue 2000.0, which is within the cluster's diameter. Lacaille observed it on February 17, 1752.
The cluster was discovered independently in 1908 by Solon Irving Bailey. Sidney van den Bergh and Gretchen Luft Hagen catalogued also this cluster in 1975. The coordinates of vdBH 47 are in fair agreement with the coordinates of IC 2395, although because Lund placed IC 2395 in an inaccurate position, Sky Catalogue 2000.0, Deep Sky Field Guide and the first edition of Uranometria list two different clusters. The fact that they are the same cluster is also supported by Clariá et al. who estimated its angular diameter at 19 arcminutes.
Characteristics
IC 2395 is an open cluster of poor to moderate richness. 45 stars located within the central part of the cluster are considered to be possible members. The radius core radius of the cluster is 0.53 parsecs (1.6 light years), while the tidal radius is 4.5 - 7.9 parsecs (15 - 26 light years) and represents the average outer limit of IC 2395, beyond which a star is unlikely to remain gravitationally bound to the cluster core. IC 2395 is a young stellar cluster being between 6 and 18 million years old. Based on its young age and distance, it is possible that IC 2395 is part of the Vela OB1C stellar association.
The brightest member of the cluster has mag 5.53, and its bluest main sequence star is of spectral type B5. One of the members of the cluster is a candidate Be star. One member, HD 74339 (mag. 9.3, spectral type B2/3 II/III), is a beta Cephei variable.
References
External links
2395
Vela (constellation)
Open clusters | IC 2395 | [
"Astronomy"
] | 494 | [
"Vela (constellation)",
"Constellations"
] |
54,744,859 | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Acidophiline | Acidophiline (Russian: ацидофилин) is a type of drinkable yogurt, with Lactobacillus acidophilus as the starter culture. Kefir yeast is also added sometimes. It has antibacterial properties and is used in the former Soviet Bloc countries to treat intestinal diseases such as colitis and enterocolitis. The sweetened acidophiline was widely produced in the USSR, among other fermented milk drinks, such as kefir and ryazhenka.
References
Fermented dairy products
Fermented drinks
Milk-based drinks
Sour foods
Russian drinks
Russian dairy products | Acidophiline | [
"Biology"
] | 139 | [
"Fermented drinks",
"Biotechnology products"
] |
54,745,612 | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The%20Monarch%20Initiative | The Monarch Initiative is a large scale bioinformatics web resource focused on leveraging existing biomedical knowledge to connect genotypes with phenotypes in an effort to aid research that combats genetic diseases.
Monarch does this by integrating multi-species genotype, phenotype, genetic variant and disease knowledge from various existing biomedical data resources into a centralized and structured database. While this integration process has been traditionally done manually by basic researchers and clinicians on a case-by-case basis, The Monarch Initiative provides an aggregated and structured collection of data and tools that make biomedical knowledge exploration more efficient and effective.
Mondo ontology
Mondo ontology is product of the Monarch Initiative and provides harmonized disease content for diseases and disorders, both rare and common. The rare disease subset has been published with >10.5 rare diseases, and is maintained by the community.
References
External links
Mouse Genome Informatics
Zebrafish Information Network
WormBase database of nematode biology
FlyBase
International Mouse Phenotyping Consortium
Mouse Phenome Database
Online Mendelian Inheritance in Animals
ClinVar
Mendelian Inheritance in Man
ORPHANET
Protein ANalysis THrough Evolutionary Relationships Classification System
Coriell Institute for Medical Research
Comparative Toxicogenomics Database
Human Phenotype Ontology
Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes
MyGene.info
National Center for Biotechnology Information
BioGRID
GWAS Catalog
AnimalQTLdb
Ensembl database of automatically annotated genomic data
Gene Ontology Database
Gene Reviews
HUGO Gene Nomenclature Committee
Mutant Mouse Resource and Research Centers
Reactome - a curated knowledgebase of biological pathways
Undiagnosed Diseases Program (UDP)
STRING
Biological databases
Ontology (information science) | The Monarch Initiative | [
"Biology"
] | 338 | [
"Bioinformatics",
"Biological databases"
] |
54,745,718 | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cold%20camera%20photography | Cold camera photography is a technique used by astrophotographers to reduce the electronic noise that accumulates during long exposures with the electronic sensors in DSLRs and dedicated CMOS or CCD astro-cameras. Cooling is usually accomplished with a Peltier thermo-electric cooler. By cooling the camera's sensor one can take longer shots without the worry of the chip heating up, thereby reducing thermal, shot and read noise.
For astrophotography in the near infra-red, such as with the James Webb Space Telescope, cameras are cooled to cryogenic temperatures in order to eliminate thermal noise sources. Cryogenic cameras for infra-red imaging are used on Earth for many purposes. (Cameras that are designed to operate in cryogenic environments are also referred to as cryogenic cameras.)
For traditional film cameras, cooling is required to reduce the Reciprocity Effect (or Reciprocity Failure), in which the effective film "ASA" sensitivity decreases with time in long exposures. That reciprocity is different for each color in the emulsion, and so it also leads to color-shift in the final image. Cooling of chemical emulsion film is usually achieved by using a cold camera that is dedicated to cooled astrophotography. Cooling in this case is usually achieved by contacting dry ice to a platen that is in turn contacted to the film. This technique was popularized by renowned astrophotographer Jack B. Newton, and even earlier, Evered Kreimer used his own design to obtain the images in the Messier Album that he co-authored with John Malias.
Commercial Cold Cameras
Many amateur and professional astronomers have had to design and make their own cold cameras for cooled traditional film astrophotography. as none were commercially available until the early to mid 1970's. One of the impediments is that the cooled film emulsion quickly becomes coated with a layer of ice.
Williams / Celestron Cold Camera
Bill Williams solved this in the early 1970s by contacting the emulsion to a thick (about 2 inches thick, or 5 cm) plug of plastic, usually acrylic. The natural thermal insulating property of the plastic meant that the front surface, exposed to the humidity in the air, would not become cold enough to ice-over during the course of the long exposure. Williams showed this camera at the Stellafane Convention in Springfield, VT, Celestron International soon licensed his patent and produced them commercially for several years.
While the Williams cold camera solved the problem of condensation on the cooled emulsion, it required difficult handling of a cut piece of film, usually from a 35mm roll, in the dark and in the field, to position it between the plastic plug and the cooling plate. Also, the thick plug itself introduced optical aberrations, especially with the fast optical systems used in astrophotography. And any scratches in the surface, especially the one in contact with the emulsion, directly contributed to the image (although replacement plugs could be purchased).
Guerra Instruments Cryogenic Camera
The first ad for the Guerra Instruments Cryogenic Camera appeared in Sky & Telescope in 1974. Guerra Instruments was a small business in Ludlow, Massachusetts, started by John Guerra in his parents' basement (who also helped with correspondence and provided patent drawings), with co-amateur astronomer Charles "Chuck" Miller. Guerra Instruments operated from 1974 to about 1978, as Guerra joined Polaroid's Optical Engineering Dept. (Cambridge, Mass.) in late 1976.
Guerra's main innovation was to eliminate the need for the thick plastic plug by placing the film in a sealed chamber that contained a desiccant. The use of a desiccant to prevent icing in modern cooled CMOS and CCD cameras is now ubiquitous, but in 1974 it was a patented innovation.
From Guerra's patent: "A Cryogenic Camera in which an aluminum refrigeration chamber filled with dry ice or liquid nitrogen makes contact with the back of a metallic film-holder upon closing the hinged back of the camera, to which the refrigeration chamber is bolted. The film-holder is positioned within the camera body so as to form a small volume in front of the film. This volume contains a silica gel desiccant packet that absorbs moisture in this volume, which is sealed upon closing the aforementioned hinged back. Thus frosting of the film and of the Plexiglas window that seals the camera aperture is prevented. The presence of this volume allows integration of an off-axis guide system within the camera, the guide system consisting of a flip-up mirror, rheostat controlled illuminated crosshairs, and a focusing eyepiece. The crosshairs illumination is provided by a red light emitting diode powered by two penlight cells contained within the volume."
Additional dry desiccant packets, hand-sewn by Grace Guerra and Cristina Guerra, were easily carried into the field and "swapped out" of the chamber for the next exposure. The use of standard sheet film holders, with their integral dark slides, meant that multiple holders could be loaded with film in the dark at home and carried into the field, for easy loading of a new emulsion. Special adapters were provided to facilitate loading of cut 35mm film into these holders.
Most were operated with dry ice. But the camera could also use liquid nitrogen supplied in the field with a Dewar flask. With that refrigerant, the dry nitrogen bleed-off was vented into the film chamber for enhanced protection from humidity.
While most of the cameras were 2.25" x 3.25" format with a 1.25" O.D. nosepiece, some were made with 2.0" nosepieces and even larger. A few large format 4"x 5" cameras were also produced.
In addition to the integral off-axis flip mirror guiding system, the red-LED variable-illumination reticle, and the focusing eyepiece, the Guerra Cryogenic Camera included a focusing film holder that included both a ground-glass screen and a Foucault knife-edge focuser. And the cameras were each shipped with a custom zippered case, designed and hand-sewn by Suzanne Gaudette (later Guerra), in black and white Naugahyde with a plush red felt lining.
All told, over 60 cameras were produced by hand and sold to customers around the world: England, W. Germany, Japan, Mexico, Canada, and throughout the United States. The first was purchased by Alfred State College in New York. Sonoma College in CA still lists a Guerra Cryogenic Camera in their equipment inventory.
Newton Cold Cameras
Beginning around 1992, Jack Newton produced hand-made cold cameras that, like the Williams Cold Camera, used a thick optical plug. However, in a major improvement, his camera could use roll film 35mm canisters, rather than having to cut pieces. Production began some time after the Williams cameras were no longer available from Celestron International.
The following descriptive is an excerpt from a Sky & Telescope Test Report authored by Johnny Horne, himself an amateur astrophotographer of Jack Newton's standing: ."The plastic camera body has a metal "cold" plate that contacts the back of the film. After a pair of standard 35-mm film cassettes are placed in the camera, the film is advanced with a knob that turns only in the correct direction. Since a roll can be easily changed even though it isn't completely used, you can preload cassettes with various emulsions for use during the night. Mounted on the back of the film holder is the dry-ice chamber with its screw-on cap and spring-loaded plunger for pressing the dry ice against the cold plate. The chamber holds about three tablespoonfuls of granular dry ice, which lasted about 40 minutes on a night when the air temperature was about 60|degrees~ Fahrenheit. The film remains quite cold for several minutes after the ice has completely sublimated."
Cooled Digital Imaging: the end for cold emulsion cameras
Conventional chemical emulsion film for astrophotography, whether cooled or not, has for the most part come to an end. The discovery of gas-hyper-sensitization of the emulsion in the 1990s largely made cooling the film obsolete. "Hypering" the film was much easier to do, and the film could then be used in conventional cameras, and with results equal to or better than those obtained with cold cameras.
The final blow was brought by the advent of large-format CCD and CMOS digital imagers. Even uncooled, these devices obtain images equal to the best obtained with cold cameras and emulsion film. With cooling to control read-out and other sources of electronic noise, the image results are professional observatory quality, even with modest back-yard amateur telescopes.
And while even the cooling is done electronically, with Peltier devices, and some of the dewing/icing is controlled with dew-zapping heaters, many devices still rely on internal silica-gel desiccant packets to remove moisture.....just as the old Guerra Cryogenic Cameras did.
.
References
Astrophotography
Astronomical imaging
Space art
Photographic techniques | Cold camera photography | [
"Astronomy"
] | 1,905 | [
"Space art",
"Outer space"
] |
54,747,427 | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/WASP-121 | WASP-121, also known as CD-38 3220 and formally named Dilmun, is a magnitude 10.4 star located approximately away in the constellation Puppis. WASP-121 has a mass and radius similar to the Sun's. It hosts one known exoplanet.
The star, although metal-rich in terms of overall contents of heavy elements, is depleted of carbon. The carbon to oxygen molar ratio of 0.23 for WASP-121 is well below the solar ratio of 0.55.
Nomenclature
The designation WASP-121 indicates that this was the 121st star found to have a planet by the Wide Angle Search for Planets.
In August 2022, this planetary system was included among 20 systems to be named by the third NameExoWorlds project. The approved names, proposed by a team from Bahrain, were announced in June 2023. WASP-121 is named Dilmun after the ancient civilization, and its planet is named Tylos after the ancient Greek name for Bahrain.
Planetary system
In 2015, the exoplanet WASP-121b was discovered orbiting WASP-121 by the transit method. WASP-121b is a hot Jupiter with a mass about 1.18 times that of Jupiter and a radius about 1.81 times that of Jupiter. The exoplanet orbits WASP-121, its host star, every 1.27 days. Hot water molecules have been found in the stratosphere of WASP-121b (i.e., the atmospheric layer in which temperatures increase as the altitude increases).
Gallery
See also
List of exoplanet firsts
List of exoplanets discovered in 2015
SuperWASP
WASP-33b
References
External links
SuperWASP Wide Angle Search for Planets: The Planets, SuperWASP
Puppis
Planetary systems with one confirmed planet
Planetary transit variables
F-type main-sequence stars
J07102406-3905506
CD-38 3220
0495
121
Dilmun | WASP-121 | [
"Astronomy"
] | 403 | [
"Puppis",
"Astronomy organizations",
"Constellations",
"Wide Angle Search for Planets"
] |
54,747,507 | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Philco%20computers | Philco was one of the pioneers of transistorized computers, also known as second generation computers. After the company developed the surface barrier transistor, which was much faster than previous point-contact types, it was awarded contracts for military and government computers. Commercialized derivatives of some of these designs became successful business and scientific computers. The TRANSAC (Transistor Automatic Computer) Model S-1000 was released as a scientific computer. The TRANSAC S-2000 mainframe computer system was first produced in 1958, and a family of compatible machines, with increasing performance, was released over the next several years.
However, the mainframe computer market was dominated by IBM. Other companies could not deploy resources for development, customer support and marketing on the scale that IBM could afford, making competition in this segment difficult after the introduction of the IBM 360 family. Philco went bankrupt and was purchased in 1961 by Ford Motor Company, but the computer division carried on until the Philco division of Ford exited the computer business in 1963. The Ford company maintained one Philco mainframe in use until 1981.
The surface-barrier transistor
The surface-barrier transistor developed by Philco in 1953 had a much higher frequency response than the original point-contact transistors. The transistor was made of a thin crystal of germanium, which was electrolytically etched with pits on either side forming a very thin base region, on the order of 5 micrometers. Philco's process for etching was United States patent number 2,885,571. Philco surface-barrier transistors were used in TX-0, and in early models of what would become the DEC PDP product line. Although relatively fast, the small size of the devices limited their power to circuits operating at a few tens of milliwatts.
Military and government
Between 1955 and 1957, Philco built transistor computers for use in aircraft, models C-1000, C-1100, and C-1102, intended for airborne real-time applications. By 1957, the C-1102 had been used by a civilian sector customer.
The BASICPAC AN/TYK 6V (first delivery in 1961), COMPAC AN/TYK 4V (not completed), and LOGICPAC systems were built for the US Army as transportable computer systems for use with their Fieldata concept of integrated information management.
BASICPAC was a transistorized computer with up to 28,672 words of 38-bit core memory (including sign and parity), available in several configurations from a minimum system, to a truck-borne mobile version, to a fully expanded system. Basic clock periods was 1 microsecond (which gives a clock rate of 1 MHz), with 12 microsecond memory access and a fixed-point multiplication taking 242 microseconds. Input/output was by paper tape reader and punch, or through a teletypewriter. With additional hardware, magnetic tape storage was also available, with up to seven I/O devices. The instruction set had 31 basic operation codes and nine opcodes for I/O
CXPQ
Philco was contracted by the US Navy to build the CXPQ computer. One model was completed and installed at the David Taylor Model Basin. This design was later adapted to become the commercial TRANSAC S-2000. Only one CXPQ was built.
The CXPQ is a 48-bit transistorized computer.
SOLO
In 1955, the National Security Agency through the US Navy contracted with Philco to produce a computer suitable for use as a workstation, with an architecture based on the vacuum-tube computer system called Atlas II already in use at the NSA, and similar to the commercial UNIVAC 1103. At the time, Philco was the largest producer of surface barrier transistors, which were the only type available with the speed and quantities required for a computer. The SOLO prototype was delivered in 1958, but required extensive debugging at NSA. Difficulties were encountered with core memory and power supplies. SOLO used paper tape and teleprinter machines for input and output. SOLO cost about $1 million US, and contained 8,000 transistors. While the system was extensively used for training, testing, research and development, no additional units were ordered. SOLO was removed from active service in 1963. The design of the SOLO became commercialized as Philco's TRANSAC Model S-1000.
Commercial
S-1000
The TRANSAC S-1000 was a scientific computer with a 36-bit word length and 4096 words of core memory. It was packaged in a container about the size of a large office desk, and used only 1.2 kilowatts, much less than vacuum-tube-based computers of similar capacity.
In a 1961 survey, about 15 S-1000 computer installations had been identified.
It weighed about .
S-2000
The TRANSAC S-2000 was a large mainframe system intended for both business and scientific work. It had a 48-bit word length and supported calculations in fixed point, floating point and binary-coded decimal formats. The original S-2000 "TRANSAC" (Transistor Automatic Computer) released in 1958 was later designated Model 210; it was used internally at Philco. Similar to the Control Data Corporation Model 1604, it was a 48-bit fully transistorized computer. Three succeeding models were released in the series, all compatible with the software of the original model. The Model 211 was introduced in 1960, using micro-alloy diffused field-effect transistors, requiring significant redesign of circuits compared to the original.
The TRANSAC S-2000/Philco 210/211 weighed about .
By 1964, eighteen Model 210, eighteen Model 211 and seven Model 212 systems had been sold.
After Philco was purchased by Ford Motor Company, the Model 212 was introduced in 1962 and released in 1963. It had 65,535 words of 48-bit memory. Initially made with 6-microsecond core memory, it had better performance than the IBM 7094 transistor computer. It was later upgraded in 1964 to 2-microsecond core memory, which gave the machine floating-point performance greater than the IBM 7030 Stretch computer. A Model 213 was announced in 1964 but never built. By that time competition from IBM had made the Philco computer operations no longer profitable for Ford, and the division was closed down.
The Model 212 could carry out a floating-point multiplication in 22 microseconds. Each word contained two 24-bit instructions with 16 bits of address information and eight bits for the opcode. There were 225 different valid opcodes in the Model 212; invalid opcodes were detected and halted the machine. The CPU had an accumulator register of 48 bits, three general-purpose registers of 24 bits, and 32 index registers of 15 bits. Main memory size ranged from 4K words to 64K words. Only the first model had a magnetic drum memory; later editions used tape drives.
The Model 212 weighed about .
Software for the S-2000 initially consisted of TAC (Translator-Assember-Compiler), and ALTAC, a FORTRAN II-like language with some differences from the IBM 704 FORTRAN implementation. A COBOL compiler was also available, targeted at business applications.
The Philco 2400 was the input/output system for the S-2000. Operations such as reading cards or printing were carried out through magnetic tapes, thereby offloading the S-2000 from relatively slow input/output processing. The 2400 had a 24-bit word length and could be supplied with 4K to 32K characters (1K to 8K words) of core memory, rated at 3-microsecond cycle time. The instruction set was aimed at character I/O use.
The idea of base registers, implemented in Philco computers, influenced the design of IBM/360.
The last Philco TRANSAC S-2000 Model 212 was taken out of service in December 1981, after 19 years service at Ford.
References
External links
The last S-2000 retirement at Ford, 1981
36-bit computers
48-bit computers
History of computer companies
Military computers
Cryptography | Philco computers | [
"Mathematics",
"Technology",
"Engineering"
] | 1,682 | [
"Cybersecurity engineering",
"History of computer companies",
"Cryptography",
"Applied mathematics",
"History of computing"
] |
54,747,586 | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Abuse%20during%20childbirth | Abuse during childbirth (obstetric violence or disrespectful care) is generally defined as interactions or conditions deemed humiliating or undignified by local consensus and interactions or conditions experienced as or intended to be humiliating or undignifying. Bowser and Hill's 2010 landscape analysis defined seven categories of abusive or disrespectful care, including physical abuse, non-consented clinical care, non-confidential care, non-dignified care, discrimination, abandonment, and detention in health facilities.
This treatment is regarded as a form of violence against women and a violation of women's rights. It is a recurring issue in facilities around the globe per World Health Organization studies, and can have serious consequences for mother and child. Namely, abuse during childbirth may prevent women from seeking pre-natal care and using other health care services in the future. Adolescents, women who are unmarried, women of low socioeconomic status, migrant women, women infected with HIV, and ethnic minority women are at a greater risk of experiencing obstetric violence.
Definition and forms of abuse
The World Health Organization notes that abuse during childbirth has yet to be conclusively defined or measured in a scientific way. However, abuse during childbirth is generally defined as neglectful, physical abusive, and/or disrespectful treatment from healthcare professionals towards patients in childbirth. Such mistreatment is regarded as a violation of the woman's human rights.
Abuse during childbirth can occur over a wide spectrum and may be seen in the forms of non-confidential care, non-dignified care, discrimination, overt physical abuse, non-consented care, abandonment of care, and/or detention in facilities.
Epidemiology and consequences
Investigations into the prevalence of abusive practices in childbirth have been conducted by the World Health Organization. Their studies demonstrate that women giving birth in medical facilities experience disrespectful, abusive, and/or neglectful treatment frequently and globally.
A 2020 study centered in Ghana, Guinea, Myanmar, and Nigeria found that more than 40% of observed women and 35% of surveyed women experienced mistreatment while in childbirth. Furthermore, adolescents, migrant women, women infected with HIV, and ethnic minority women were deemed more likely than others to experience abuse during childbirth.
Women in childbirth are very vulnerable and often cannot protect themselves against mistreatment, so the consequences of obstetric violence can be serious for both the mother and the child. The abusive relationship that forms between a woman and her healthcare providers as a result of abuse during childbirth often leads to the woman developing a general mistrust in healthcare services. Furthermore, consequences can be extended to include a reluctance to seek pre-natal care, medical assistance during childbirth, and other health care services in the future.
Geography
North and South America
Some sources refer to North American obstetricians and gynecologists, especially between the 1950s and 1980s, practicing what was called the husband's stitch, which involves placing extra stitches in the woman's vagina after the episiotomy or the natural tearing that occurs during childbirth. This procedure was supposedly performed to increase the husband's future sexual pleasure and often caused long-term pain and discomfort for the woman. There is no proof that such a practice was widespread in North America, but mentions of it frequently appear in studies about episiotomy in certain American countries such as Brazil.
There has been a more recent highlight on North American doctors' treatment of pregnant women. The growing idea is that there has been a "redressing" of obstetric violence and that women's right to choice has been compromised in some situations. In instances where the lives of the woman and the fetus are endangered, the woman has the right to refuse care through procedures such as caesarean section, episiotomy, or vacuum-assisted delivery. Women are often coerced into having these invasive procedures, despite the fact that such coercion has been found to cause long-lasting damage with many women comparing the experience to rape.
The term "obstetric violence" is particularly used in Latin American countries, where the law prohibits such mistreatment. These laws exist in several Latin American countries, including Argentina, Puerto Rico and Venezuela.
Research into obstetric violence at two public hospitals in Mexico analyzing the birthing experiences for one month of 2012 found that physical abuse, verbal abuse, and discrimination occurred openly throughout the facilities. Women receiving government assisted insurance were subjected to the most discrimination from the healthcare professionals.
Africa
Tanzania is an African country with a history of abuse during childbirth. In 2011, Shannon McMahon and others explored whether or not the supposed interventions to decrease the prevalence of abuse during childbirth had been effective. When interviewing women, they initially referred to their experiences as neutral or better. However, after being shown the different aspects of abuse, an overwhelming majority of the women actually reported experiencing abuse during childbirth. In 2013–2014, Hannah Ratcliffe and others formed a study to explore possible interventions to improve the experiences of women in childbirth. They implemented an "open birth day" that facilitated communication between patients and providers and educated them on the procedures surrounding birth. The team also implemented a "respectful maternity care workshop" meant to create conversation surrounding respect between health care staff and patients. What they found was that this approach was successful in helping reconstruct systems without costing much. There was an increase of 60% in satisfaction with women's delivery experience. During the same time period as Ratcliffe's study, Stephanie Kujawaki and others did a comparative study of births with and without interventions. The baseline for the study was conducted in 2011–2012 and the final half of the study was conducted in 2015. What they found is that there was a 66% reduction in abuse and disrespect during childbirth after interventions. This study shows that community and health system reforms can help change and reshape norms in which women are mistreated during childbirth.
Asia
In 2014–2015, Shreeporna Bhattacharya and T.K. Sundari Ravindran set out to quantitatively determine the prevalence of abuse during childbirth in the Varanasi district of northern India through the use of a questionnaire. Two rural blocks in the Varanasi district with high rates of institutional deliveries were the focus of the study, with subjects selected randomly from the women who lived in the area. Bhattacharya and Ravindran report that the frequency at which abusive behavior occurred was 28.8%, with "abusive behavior" acting as a general term. The two most common forms of abuse were non-dignified care (19.3%) and physical abuse (13.4%). Furthermore, 8.5% of patients reported being neglected or abandoned, 5.6% experienced non-confidential care, and 4.9% faced humiliation due to a lack of cleanliness. The authors also note that 90.5% of subjects were met with inappropriate demands for money. In terms of correlation, there was no significant link between socio-economic status and abuse, though women who faced complications during labor were four times as likely to experience abuse in the facilities.
Fatima Alzyoud and colleagues studied abuse during childbirth in Jordan, specifically in the forms of neglect and verbal abuse. Four government-run Maternal and Child Health Centers were used as the locations of the study, with the subjects being 390 Jordanian women aged 18–45. The Childbirth Verbal Abuse and Neglect Scale (CVANS) found that 32.2% of the subjects experienced neglect and 37.7% faced verbal abuse during their last childbirth. Furthermore, there was a negative correlation between age and neglect/verbal abuse.
Intersectionality of obstetric violence
Race/ethnicity
While global maternal health research and advocacy has brought recent awareness to obstetric violence, historians have noted historical examples. In the United States of America, historians attest that it began during slavery, where enslaved women were physically exploited and experimented on by Antebellum physicians looking to advance the fields of obstetrics and gynaecology. Later, historians confirm that this took the form of forced sterilizations of black and other women of color as part of the eugenics movement. Mississippi appendectomies refer to the experience of forced and coerced sterilization of Black women between 1920 and 1980. Coined by activist Fannie Lou Hamer, Mississippi appendectomies involved Black and other women of color being sterilized without informed consent, knowledge and without valid medical reason. Hamer recalls having received a hysterectomy, without consent, during a surgery to remove a uterine fibroid, rendering her infertile. Researchers confirm that hysterectomies and tubal ligations were given to poor black women by medical residents allowed to "practice" surgical skills.
Scholars show that some of these historical forms of disrespectful care have persisted into the 21st century. Black mothers of all socioeconomic statuses, including Serena Williams, have detailed experiences of being ignored or dismissed while reporting signs of complications or expressing concerns during their pregnancies. A study conducted on maternal and infant health inequalities in California, found that racial inequality in maternal and infant outcomes persists within the wealthiest 20% of families. The study concluded that Black mothers and infants were two times as likely to die than white mothers and infants within this tax bracket. The researchers also found that the rates of maternal mortality among the richest Black women were just as high among the lowest-income white women. Another study noted that women of color experience mistreatment more frequently than other races, with rates of mistreatment consistently higher for them when compared to white counterparts. Research from the New York State Department of Health and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention found that black women are three to four times more likely than white women to die from pregnancy related complications, where more than 60% of these deaths are preventable if given appropriate and respectful care.
Though studies have found that the impacts of obstetric violence are disproportionately distributed, they also show it is not limited to black women alone. A study conducted during the 1970s found that an estimated one-quarter of Indigenous American women of childbearing age were sterilized in Indian Health Service hospitals.
See also
Angel of mercy (criminology)–includes both homicide by health care workers and also harm caused to the patient with the attempt of making the health care worker look like a hero
Birth injury
Birth trauma (physical)
Childbirth-related post-traumatic stress disorder
Psychiatric disorders of childbirth
Roses Revolution
Symphysiotomy, described as an international medical scandal
Transgender Pregnancy
References
Using Wikipedia for Research
Abuse
Feminism and society
Gender-related violence
Midwifery
Violence against women
Violence against women in Africa
Women's health
Women's rights
World Health Organization
Social problems in medicine | Abuse during childbirth | [
"Biology"
] | 2,209 | [
"Abuse",
"Behavior",
"Aggression",
"Human behavior"
] |
54,748,286 | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dan%20Archdeacon | Dan Steven Archdeacon (1954–2015) was an American graph theorist specializing in topological graph theory, who served for many years as a professor of mathematics and statistics at the University of Vermont.
Archdeacon was born on May 11, 1954, in Dayton, Ohio, and grew up in Centerville, Ohio.
He did his undergraduate studies at Earlham College, graduating in 1975.
He completed his Ph.D. in 1980 from Ohio State University, under the supervision of Henry Hatfield Glover, with a dissertation proving an analogue of Kuratowski's theorem for the projective plane. He took a position at the University of Vermont in 1982, joining fellow graph theorist and Ohio State graduate Jeff Dinitz, after previously working as an instructor at the University of Kansas.
He died of cancer on February 18, 2015, in Burlington, Vermont.
In 2003–2004, the University of Vermont named him as University Scholar.
A special issue of the Australasian Journal of Combinatorics was published in his honor in 2017.
References
External links
1954 births
2015 deaths
People from Dayton, Ohio
20th-century American mathematicians
21st-century American mathematicians
Graph theorists
Earlham College alumni
Ohio State University Graduate School alumni
University of Kansas faculty
University of Vermont faculty
Mathematicians from Ohio
Deaths from cancer in Vermont | Dan Archdeacon | [
"Mathematics"
] | 253 | [
"Mathematical relations",
"Graph theory",
"Graph theorists"
] |
54,748,520 | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/NGC%204477 | NGC 4477 is a barred lenticular galaxy located about 55 million light-years away in the constellation of Coma Berenices. NGC 4477 is classified as a type 2 Seyfert galaxy. The galaxy was discovered by astronomer William Herschel on April 8, 1784. NGC 4477 is a member of Markarian's Chain which forms part of the larger Virgo Cluster.
Physical characteristics
NGC 4477 has a very well-defined bar which is imbedded within an extensive lens-like envelope. It has a fairly sharp edge and is slightly enhanced near the rim, and is classified as a ring-like feature. Surrounding the ring, two broad, diffuse incomplete arcs appear to bracket the galaxy around the bar. It is suggested that NGC 4477 has a highly evolved double ring morphology. Also, both ring features are exceedingly washed out.
See also
List of NGC objects (4001–5000)
NGC 1291
NGC 6782
Gallery
References
External links
Barred lenticular galaxies
Seyfert galaxies
Coma Berenices
Virgo Cluster
4477
41260
7638
Astronomical objects discovered in 1784 | NGC 4477 | [
"Astronomy"
] | 230 | [
"Coma Berenices",
"Constellations"
] |
54,749,846 | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Journal%20of%20Food%20Science%20and%20Technology | The Journal of Food Science and Technology is a bimonthly peer-reviewed scientific journal covering food science and food technology. It was established in 1964 and is published by Springer Science+Business Media on behalf of the Association of Food Scientists and Technologists of India, of which it is the official journal. The editor-in-chief is N. Bhaskar (Central Food Technological Research Institute). According to the Journal Citation Reports, the journal has a 2021 impact factor of 3.117 .
References
External links
Nutrition and dietetics journals
Biotechnology journals
Springer Science+Business Media academic journals
English-language journals
Academic journals established in 1964
Bimonthly journals | Journal of Food Science and Technology | [
"Biology"
] | 132 | [
"Biotechnology literature",
"Biotechnology journals"
] |
54,750,175 | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hygrocybe%20bolensis | Hygrocybe bolensis is a mushroom of the waxcap genus Hygrocybe. Generally found growing in soil in moist, shady conditions. It was described in 2000 by the mycologist Anthony M. Young.
References
Fungi described in 2000
Fungi of Australia
bolensis
Fungus species | Hygrocybe bolensis | [
"Biology"
] | 65 | [
"Fungi",
"Fungus species"
] |
54,752,614 | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Biotremology | Biotremology is the study of production, dispersion and reception of mechanical vibrations by organisms, and their effect on behavior. This involves neurophysiological and anatomical basis of vibration production and detection, and relation of vibrations to the medium they disperse through. Vibrations can represent either signals used in vibrational (seismic) communication or inadvertent cues used, for example, in locating prey (in some cases even both). In almost all known cases, they are transmitted as surface waves along the boundary of a medium, i.e. Rayleigh waves or bending waves. While most attention is directed towards the role of vibrations in animal behavior, plants actively respond to sounds and vibrations as well, so this subject is shared with plant bioacoustics. Other groups of organisms (such as nematodes) are also postulated to either actively produce or at least use vibrations to sense their environment, but those are currently far less studied.
Traditionally regarded part of bioacoustics, the discipline has recently begun to actively diverge on its own, because of the many peculiarities of the studied modality compared with sound. Vibrational communication has been recognized as evolutionarily older than sound and much more prevalent, at least among arthropods, although the two modalities are closely related and sometimes overlap. While many experimental approaches are shared between the two disciplines, scientists in the field of biotremology often use special equipment, such as laser vibrometers, for detecting faint vibrational emissions by animals and electromagnetic transducers in contact with the substrate for artificial playback experiments.
History
People have observed vibrational communication by animals for hundreds of years, although the idea that vibrations may convey information dates to the middle of the 20th century. Swedish entomologist Frej Ossiannilsson pioneered the field in 1949 by suggesting vibrations transmitted through plants play a role in insect communication. His work demonstrating this suggestion was not heeded by contemporaries because many zoologists believed that such small animals are physically incapable of conveying information through solid substrates. Only with the advent of accessible signal processing technology decades later did the work by other pioneering individuals and groups, such as the Slovenian zoologist Matija Gogala, establish the basis of biotremology. It remains a relatively understudied discipline, at least compared to bioacoustics, partly because most of animal-produced signals are undetectable to non-augmented human senses.
Nevertheless, several instances of practical utilization of the knowledge obtained are already in use or are being actively developed, such as mating disruption using vibrational noise for non-chemical pest control and detection of concealed arthropod pests (such as wood-boring insects).
References
External links
1st International Symposium on Biotremology that was held on 5-7 July 2016 in San Michele all'Adige, Italy
Zoosemiotics | Biotremology | [
"Biology"
] | 582 | [
"Ethology",
"Behavior",
"Zoosemiotics"
] |
54,754,211 | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/%CE%9Ecc%2B%2B | {{DISPLAYTITLE:Ξcc++}}{{PAGENAME:Ξcc++}}
The Xi double-charm baryon, denoted as , is a Xi baryon composed of two charm quarks and one up quark.
Its discovery by the LHCb Collaboration was announced on 6 July 2017 in Venice, Italy, at the European Physical Society Conference on High Energy Physics. is the first baryon discovered with two heavy quarks (charm and/or bottom) and a light quark. Its mass is 3621 MeV, nearly four times that of the proton.
It was identified when it disintegrated into a baryon and three lighter mesons, K, π and π.
See also
List of baryons
References
Bibliography
Baryons | Ξcc++ | [
"Physics"
] | 163 | [
"Particle physics stubs",
"Particle physics"
] |
54,754,983 | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Potassium%20azodicarboxylate | Potassium azodicarboxylate is a chemical compound with the formula C2K2N2O4. This chemical is used as a precursor to diimide. It can be synthesized by the reaction of potassium hydroxide with azodicarbonamide and it reacts with carboxylic acids to form diimide.
References
Potassium compounds
Azo compounds
Reagents for organic chemistry | Potassium azodicarboxylate | [
"Chemistry"
] | 82 | [
"Reagents for organic chemistry"
] |
54,755,318 | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hydrogenobacter | Hydrogenobacter is a genus of bacteria, one of the few in the phylum Aquificota. Type species is H. thermophilus. This genus belongs to Bacteria as opposed to the other inhabitants of extreme environments, the Archaea.
Phylogeny
The currently accepted taxonomy is based on the List of Prokaryotic names with Standing in Nomenclature (LPSN) and National Center for Biotechnology Information (NCBI)
See also
List of bacterial orders
List of bacteria genera
References
Bacteria genera
Aquificota
Thermophiles | Hydrogenobacter | [
"Biology"
] | 118 | [
"Bacteria stubs",
"Bacteria"
] |
54,755,886 | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anova%20Culinary | Anova Culinary, officially known as Anova Applied Electronics, Inc., is a company headquartered in San Francisco that specializes in smart kitchen appliances designed for home cooking. Their product range includes devices such as sous-vide cookers, combination ovens, and vacuum sealers. In 2014, Anova introduced the Anova Precision Cooker, the first sous-vide cooking device with Bluetooth connectivity, followed by a Wi-Fi-enabled version in 2015.
On February 6, 2017, Anova was acquired by Electrolux, a home appliance company, for a total of US$250 million. This acquisition marked the first instance of a multimillion-dollar purchase of a smart kitchen brand.
History
Anova Culinary was established in 2013 by Stephen Svajian, Jeff Wu, and Natalie Vaughn. The company originated as a manufacturer of temperature control products for scientific laboratories across the globe.
In 2010, Wu developed an initial proof of concept for an affordable sous vide device for home use. He subsequently joined forces with Stephen Svajian, the founder and CEO of the marketing agency Get Fresh Inc., which ultimately led to the creation of Anova Culinary. Their inaugural product, the Anova One, was shipped in 2013.
Overview
In 2013, Anova Culinary unveiled the Anova One, the initial sous-vide cooker designed for home use. This device was an immersion circulator that could be attached to an existing pot, circulating and heating water for cooking.
The introduction of the Anova Precision Cooker followed in 2014, marking the first connected sous-vide device. It featured a wand-like immersion circulator that could be attached to a pot or container, ensuring precise temperature control for cooking food at specific times and temperatures. With Bluetooth capability, users could control the device through the company's app on their mobile devices.
The Anova Precision Cooker Nano enables Bluetooth-enabled communication across multiple devices through the Anova Culinary App. This allowed users to synchronize cooking cycles for multiple dishes using Anova products. It offered the same temperature control as other models, with basic controls accessible directly on the device for those who preferred not to use the app.
The Anova Precision Oven, a countertop combi oven, was designed to function independently as sous vide solution or in conjunction with existing Precision Cooker products. It combined steam and convection cooking methods.
The Anova Culinary App serves as the companion app for the Precision Cooker and is available for Android and iOS devices. It provides access to recipes and allows users to control temperature settings.
Acquisitions
Get Fresh, Inc.
In 2015, Anova Culinary purchased marketing agency Get Fresh, Inc. for a total of US$9.2 million.
Electrolux
On February 6, 2017, Electrolux announced its acquisition of Anova Culinary for a total of US$250 million. The acquisition involved an initial cash payment of $115 million, with an additional $135 million allocated for adjustments and the fulfillment of specific financial targets.
Under the agreement, the Anova brand remains intact and retains its own distinct identity, with Stephan Svajian continuing as CEO. Anova Culinary operates as a subsidiary within the broader Electrolux organization. Electrolux is said to be establishing a "smart home solutions center" in San Francisco to focus on developing connected products in various categories, as reported by Business Insider.
Partnerships
During the 2017 International Home and Housewares Show, Anova revealed a collaboration with Stasher, a manufacturer of silicone bags, to offer reusable and resealable bags specifically designed for sous vide cooking. Additionally, on July 25, 2017, Anova announced a partnership with Field Company, which involved a special release of a limited batch of the Field cast iron skillet before its wider availability to the general public.
References
Electrolux
American companies established in 2013
Companies based in San Francisco
Home automation companies
Kickstarter-funded products
2017 mergers and acquisitions | Anova Culinary | [
"Technology"
] | 801 | [
"Home automation",
"Home automation companies"
] |
54,756,691 | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rowe%20Customusic | Rowe Customusic is a background music system from the 1960s and 1970s. Up to six Fidelipac type C endless-loop magnetic tape cartridges can be loaded in the player, allowing up to 60 hours of playback. The case is wide, high, and deep. Like the 3M Cantata 700, the player moves the tape head between cartridges and, as in other Fidelipac players, between the four tracks on a cartridge. The current cartridge number is indicated on a seven-segment display. Automatic track advancement was triggered by a conductive tape strip on the splice of the tape loop, or manually by pressing a button. Another switch located next to the power switch disables cartridge changeover, replaying only the current cartridge.
References
External links
bigdmc1: Rowe muzak player, YouTube 13 May 2010
(German) AMI - Rowe/AMI Musikboxen und Fernwähler im Archiv von Jukebox-World – Background Music System HA 600 & HA 900 (1960), retrieved 7 December 2016
ROWE/AMI Background Music Systems 1959–1976 at the Jukebox-World
ROWE/AMI Background Music Systems HA600, HA900, CPC-60-1, CPC-75 , CPC-10-1 from 1960 till 1976 in the Jukebox-World at Archive.is
Pictures, ©2014 Customusic, a division of MKW Associates, Inc.
Easy listening music
Industrial music services
Tape recording | Rowe Customusic | [
"Technology"
] | 295 | [
"Recording devices",
"Tape recording"
] |
54,762,521 | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Host-directed%20therapeutics | Host-directed therapeutics, also called host targeted therapeutics, act via a host-mediated response to pathogens rather than acting directly on the pathogen, like traditional antibiotics. They can change the local environment in which the pathogen exists to make it less favorable for the pathogen to live and/or grow. With these therapies, pathogen killing, e.g.bactericidal effects, will likely only occur when it is co-delivered with a traditional agent that acts directly on the pathogen, such as an antibiotic, antifungal, or antiparasitic agent. Several antiviral agents are host-directed therapeutics, and simply slow the virus progression rather than kill the virus. Host-directed therapeutics may limit pathogen proliferation, e.g., have bacteriostatic effects. Certain agents also have the ability to reduce bacterial load by enhancing host cell responses even in the absence of traditional antimicrobial agents.
Types
Immunomodulatory
Intracellular pathogens often reside in immune cells like macrophages. These pathogens can be obligate or facultative intracellular pathogens. Changing the innate immune response of these host-cells can alter the pathogen's ability to live inside the cell. Many of these immunomodulatory host-directed therapies are adjuvants or pathogen-associated molecular patterns. They can include Toll-like receptors (TLRs), NOD-like receptors (NLRs), C-type lectin receptors (CLRs), mannose receptor (MR), dendritic cell-specific intracellular adhesion molecule 3 (ICAM3)-grabbing nonintegrin (DC-SIGN), complement receptors, Fc receptors, and DNA sensors (e.g., STING). Epithelial cells also host pathogens, like Salmonella enterica. These immunomodulatory agents can also alter the epithelial cell environments, since they also have a role in innate signalling.
Enhanced host cell function
Autophagy modulators are one type of method to enhance host cell functions. Pathogens like Mycobacterium tuberculosis (MTB), will be degraded in the autophagosome during an effective host response that will clear the bacteria. Because bacteria and other pathogens like MTB can take over cellular responses like autophagy, they can increase their survival in the body. By reactivating effective autophagy processes the pathogen could be cleared. Examples of this has been shown with MTB, and Listeria monocytogenes. OSU-03012 is thought to modulate autophagy in its effect on Salmonella enterica, and Francisella tularensis.
Pathology modification
Modifying lung and macrophage pathology has been shown to have a role in the host-directed therapies for MTB.
References
Cell biology
Cellular processes
Connective tissue cells
Human cells
Immune system
Immunology
Lymphatic system
Medicinal chemistry
Programmed cell death | Host-directed therapeutics | [
"Chemistry",
"Biology"
] | 615 | [
"Cell biology",
"Immune system",
"Signal transduction",
"Senescence",
"Organ systems",
"Immunology",
"Cellular processes",
"nan",
"Medicinal chemistry",
"Biochemistry",
"Programmed cell death"
] |
51,976,868 | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ecozone | An ecozone may refer to:
Biogeographic realm, the broadest biogeographic division of Earth's land surface (referred to as ecozone by BBC)
Biome, a large collection of flora and fauna occupying a major habitat
Bioregion, an ecologically and geographically defined area that is smaller than a biogeographical realm, but larger than an ecoregion
Ecoregion, an ecologically and geographically defined area that is smaller than a bioregion
Ecozone (Canada), one of 15 first-level ecological land classifications in Canada
Biogeography | Ecozone | [
"Biology"
] | 114 | [
"Biogeography"
] |
51,980,541 | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lima%20bean%20agar | Lima bean agar (LBA) is an agar medium which is used to cultivate the spores of Phytophthora sojae. Phytophthora sojae causes soybean blight (Phytophthora root rot of soybeans). Soybean blight can affect the output and quality of soybeans seriously. The spore of Phytophthora sojae is difficult to culture in potato dextrose agar; it is generally cultured by lima bean agar and carrot agar. Lima bean agar can cultivate, separate, reproduce and conserve many types of Phytophthora sojae spores, but it is not suitable for cultivating the pathogen of potato late blight.
References
Cell culture media
Microbiological media | Lima bean agar | [
"Biology"
] | 167 | [
"Microbiological media",
"Microbiology equipment"
] |
51,980,719 | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pinus%20abies | Pinus abies is a taxonomic synonym that may refer to:
Pinus abies = Picea abies
Pinus abies , nom. illeg. = Abies alba
Pinus abies var. laxa Münchh. = Picea glauca
References | Pinus abies | [
"Biology"
] | 58 | [
"Set index articles on plants",
"Set index articles on organisms",
"Plants"
] |
51,983,350 | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/WiFi%20Master%20Key | WiFi Master (formerly WiFi Master Key) is a peer-to-peer Wi-Fi sharing mobile application software for free Wi-Fi access developed by LinkSure Network. It uses cloud computing, big data and principles of the sharing economy. The company's founder and CEO, Chen Danian, was previously CEO and co-founder of Shanda.
WiFi Master was first released in 2012, and by 2016 had become the world’s largest Wi-Fi sharing app, with over 900 million users and 520 million monthly active users.
In terms of combined iOS and Android app downloads, WiFi Master is ranked 5th in the world, after WhatsApp, Instagram, Facebook and Facebook Messenger. WiFi Master is the 3rd largest software app in China after WeChat and Tencent QQ.
History
WiFi Master was created by Chen Danian in hopes of 'bridging the digital divide and to help people achieve self-actualization by granting them access to free Internet'.
Chen Danian shared in an interview with Forbes that 'he was born into poverty in rural China, and using the Internet, he realized that it was a tool to change destinies and pursue happiness by exploring opportunities'.
In September 2012, WiFi Master was first launched in China.
In 2015, its operating company, LinkSure closed its A round funding of USD $52 million, and became a unicorn company in the mobile internet industry. In May 2015, LinkSure bought the domain name wifi.com and established a branch in Singapore to expand its overseas services. WiFi Master was launched worldwide, rapidly gaining popularity in Southeast Asia.
In 2016, WiFi Master became the world’s largest WiFi sharing community, providing over 4 billion daily average connections with a successful connection rate of over 80% worldwide. WiFi Master is available in 223 countries, and is the top Tools app on the Google Play Store in 49 countries.
In 2019, WiFi Master Key rebranded as WiFi Master.
Features
WiFi Search
The application's core function, Wifi Search, allows for users to find and connect to available nearby Wi-Fi hotspots.
WiFi Security Matrix
WiFi Master introduced an all-round WiFi Security Matrix for heightened security during the connection.
Before connection
WiFi Master designed a Cloud Security Detection System (Chinese: 安全云感知系统) to help users detect possible Wi-Fi security risks in advance based on big data tracking. The system also applies machine learning algorithms in real-time to track predicted 'risky' Wi-Fi hotspots.
During connection
WiFi Master developed a Security Tunnel Protection System (Chinese: 安全隧道保护系统) to provide users with fundamental protection during each Wi-Fi connection. The system uses encrypted hierarchical transmission, malicious attack real-time monitoring, and attack interception to encrypt users’ information.
After connection
Since September 2015, WiFi Master’s users in China have been insured by WiFi Security Insurance (WiFi安全险), launched by LinkSure in partnership with ZhongAn Insurance (), in the event of a network security issue.
Discover News Feed
WiFi Master features a news feed in the app for users to browse content upon getting connected online.
WiFi tools
In-built tools like WiFi speed tests and WiFi signal tests are also included in the app.
WiFi Map
In 2016, WiFi Master introduced a WiFi Map function in the app for users to find open hotspots.
Awards
WiFi Master won the “Product with the Most Growth” at the 2017 iResearch Awards in June 2017.
References
Wi-Fi
Android (operating system) software
IOS software
Cross-platform software | WiFi Master Key | [
"Technology"
] | 759 | [
"Wireless networking",
"Wi-Fi"
] |
51,983,374 | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List%20of%20steroidal%20antiandrogens | This is a list of steroidal antiandrogens.
Progesterone derivatives
11α-Hydroxyprogesterone = 11α-hydroxyprogesterone
Chlormadinone acetate = 17α-acetoxy-6-chloro-δ6-progesterone
Clometerone (L-38000) = 6α-chloro-16α-methylprogesterone
Cyproterone (SH-80881) = 1,2α-methylene-6-chloro-δ6-17α-hydroxyprogesterone
Cyproterone acetate = 1,2α-methylene-6-chloro-δ6-17α-acetoxyprogesterone
Edogestrone (PH-218) = 17α-acetoxy-3,3-ethylenedioxy-6-methylpregn-5-en-20-one
Medrogestone = 6,17α-dimethyl-δ6-progesterone
Megestrol acetate = 17α-acetoxy-δ6-6-methylprogesterone
Nomegestrol acetate = 17α-acetoxy-δ6-6-methyl-19-norprogesterone
Osaterone acetate (TZP-4238) = 17α-acetoxy-6-chloro-2-oxa-δ6-progesterone
Testosterone derivatives
Abiraterone (CB-7598) = 17-(3-pyridinyl)androsta-5,16-dien-3β-ol
Abiraterone acetate = 17-(3-pyridinyl)androsta-5,16-dien-3β-ol acetate
Benorterone (SKF-7690, FC-612) = 17α-methyl-B-nortestosterone
BOMT (Ro 7-2340) = 6α-bromo-4-oxa-17α-methyl-4,5α-dihydrotestosterone
Delanterone (GBR-21162) = 17β-dehydroxy-1α-methyl-δ16-testosterone
Dienogest = 17α-cyanomethyl-19-nor-δ9(10)-testosterone
Epitestosterone = 17α-epitestosterone
Galeterone (TOK-001, VN/124-1) = 17-(1H-benzimidazol-1-yl)androsta-5,16-dien-3β-ol
Metogest (SC-14207) = 16,16-dimethyl-19-nortestosterone
Mifepristone = 11β-[p-(dimethylamino)phenyl]-17-(1-propynyl)-δ9-19-nortestosterone
Oxendolone (TSAA-291) = 16β-ethyl-19-nortestosterone
Rosterolone (SH-434, 17α-propylmesterolone) = 1α-methyl-17α-propyl-4,5α-dihydrotestosterone
Topterone (WIN-17665) = 17α-propyltestosterone
Trimethyltrienolone (R-2956, RU-2956) = 2α,2β,17α-trimethyl-19-nor-δ9,11-testosterone
Zanoterone (WIN-49596) = (5α,17α)-1'-(methylsulfonyl)-1'-H-pregn-20-yno[3,2-c]pyrazol-17-ol
Spirolactone derivatives
SC-5233 (spirolactone) = 17α-(2-carboxyethyl)testosterone γ-lactone
SC-8109 = 19-norspirolactone
Canrenone (aldadiene) = Δ6-spirolactone
Dicirenone (SC-26304) = 7α-carboxyisopropylspirolactone
Drospirenone = 6β,7β:15β,16β-dimethylenespirolactone
Mespirenone (ZK-94679) = Δ1-7α-acetylthio-15β,16β-methylenespirolactone
Mexrenone (ZK-32055, SC-25152) = 7α-(methoxycarbonyl)spirolactone
Prorenone (SC-23133) = 6α,7α-methylenespirolactone
Spironolactone = 7α-acetylthiospirolactone
Spirorenone (ZK-35973) = Δ1-6β,7β:15β,16β-dimethylenespirolactone
Spiroxasone = 7α-acetylthiospirolactone with the ketone group removed from the C17α spirolactone ring
Cortisol derivatives
9,11-Dehydrocortexolone 17α-butyrate (CB-03-04) = 17α-(butyryloxy)-9,11-didehydrodeoxycorticosterone
Clascoterone (CB-03-01; cortexolone 17α-propionate, 11-deoxycortisol 17α-propionate) = 17α-(propionyloxy)deoxycorticosterone
Others
Guggulsterone = pregna-4,17-diene-3,16-dione
Nordinone = 11α-hydroxy-17,17-dimethyl-18-norandrosta-4,13-dien-3-one
See also
List of steroids
Antiandrogens
Steroids
Steroidal antiandrogens | List of steroidal antiandrogens | [
"Chemistry"
] | 1,311 | [
"nan"
] |
51,984,515 | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mid%20Atlantic%20water%20resource%20region | The Mid Atlantic 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 Mid Atlantic region, which is listed with a 2-digit hydrologic unit code (HUC) of 02, has an approximate size of , and consists of 8 subregions, which are listed with the 4-digit HUCs 0201 through 0208.
This region includes the drainage within the United States that ultimately discharges into: (a) the Atlantic Ocean within and between the states of New York and Virginia; (b) Long Island Sound south of the New York-Connecticut State Line; and (c) the Riviere Richelieu, a tributary of the St. Lawrence River. It includes all of Delaware and New Jersey and
the District of Columbia, and parts of Connecticut, Maryland, Massachusetts, New York, Pennsylvania, Vermont, Virginia, and West Virginia.
Listing of water resource subregions
See also
List of rivers in the United States
Water resource region
External links
References
Lists of drainage basins
Drainage basins
Watersheds of the United States
Regions of the United States
Resource
Water resource regions | Mid Atlantic water resource region | [
"Environmental_science"
] | 274 | [
"Hydrology",
"Drainage basins"
] |
51,986,159 | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Friedmann%E2%80%93Einstein%20universe | The Friedmann–Einstein universe is a model of the universe published by Albert Einstein in 1931. The model is of historic significance as the first scientific publication in which Einstein embraced the possibility of a cosmos of time-varying radius.
Description
Interpreting Edwin Hubble's discovery of a linear relation between the redshifts of the galaxies and their radial distance as evidence for an expanding universe, Einstein abandoned his earlier static model of the universe and embraced the dynamic cosmology of Alexander Friedmann. Removing the cosmological constant term from the Friedmann equations on the grounds that it was both unsatisfactory and unnecessary, Einstein arrived at a model of a universe that expands and then contracts, a model that was later denoted the Friedmann–Einstein model of the universe.
In the model, Einstein derived simple expressions relating the density of matter, the radius of the universe and the timespan of the expansion to the Hubble constant. With the use of the contemporaneous value of 500 km·s−1Mpc−1 for the Hubble constant, he calculated values of 10−26 cm−3, 108 light-years and 1010 years for the density of matter, the radius of the universe and the timespan of the expansion respectively. It has recently been shown that these calculations contain a slight systematic error.
Einstein's blackboard
In May 1931, Einstein chose the Friedmann–Einstein universe as the topic of his 2nd Rhodes lecture at Oxford University. A blackboard used by Einstein during the lecture, now known as Einstein's Blackboard, has been preserved at the Museum of the History of Science, Oxford. It has been suggested that the source of the numerical errors in the Friedmann–Einstein model can be discerned on Einstein's blackboard.
See also
Einstein–de Sitter universe
References
Friedmann-Einstein Universe | Friedmann–Einstein universe | [
"Physics"
] | 372 | [
"Theoretical physics",
"Theoretical physics stubs"
] |
51,986,826 | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Metal%20zipper | A metal zipper is a zipper with its binding edges consisting of individual pieces of metal that are molded into shape and set at regular intervals on the zipper tape. Metal zippers are mainly made of brass, nickel and aluminium, and given their durability, they are mostly used in jeans, work-wear, heavy luggage and heavy-duty garments that must withstand high strength and tough washing. The metal zipper is the oldest type of workable zipper, having been invented by Gideon Sundback as an improvement of Whitcomb Judson's "Clasp Locker" that majorly consisted of a hook-and-eye shoe fastener.
Description
A metal zipper consists of two rows of protruding teeth made of metal. The metal teeth may be made of Brass, Aluminium or Nickel, and they are designed to interlock like clasped hands, linking the rows, thus creating a "Continuous Clothing Closure" as Elias Howe would have referred to it. For this to be possible, the metal zipper is usually fitted with a slider, often made of metal. The slider is operated by hand, and depending on the direction of its movement, the two rows of protruding metal teeth will either be interlocked or separated. This allows for full of partial fastening of the zipper depending on the user's preference.
Metal zippers are most effective when used on heavy weight or thick materials such as denim and leather among other heavy-duty fabrics. These zippers are commonly found in denim trousers and jackets, leather outfits, shoes and heavy luggage and bags. Metal zippers are present in a wide variety of designs depending on their desired use, including open-ended, two way open-ended and two way closed-ended designs among others. These designs can be achieved by sewing one end of the zipper, sewing both of its ends together or allowing both of its ends to fall apart respectively.
Unlike plastic zippers, metal zippers are stronger and more durable. Though, they also fail at some point and this may render the garment or bag unusable. Most metal zippers fail when the insertion pin tears loose from the tape, when one or multiple metal teeth fall off the tape or when the slider jams or breaks off. For the zipper to be usable again, it should be replaced or repaired.
Types
Metal zippers are found in various types as listed below.
Closed-end metal zipper.
Open-end metal zipper.
Two way open-end metal zipper.
Two way closed-end metal zipper.
Reversible slider.
Air and water tight metal zipper.
Double side teeth metal zipper.
History
The first attempt at making a zipper was in 1851, when Elias Howe was working on the "Automatic Continuous Clothing Closure". His creation resembled a drawstring and didn't really qualify to be an automatic zipper, but it was a great start for the zipper market.
In 1893, Whitcomb Judson came up with an improvement of Howe's prototype which was basically a hook-and-eye shoe fastener. Even though his invention wasn't a practical zipper per se, Judson is still referred to as the father/inventor of the zipper.
1917 saw the invention of the first practical zipper by Gideon Sundback, originally referred to as the "Separable Fastener”. This is actually the first metal zipper that was made and it consisted of scoops of a special Y-shaped wire that were punched, nibbed and clamped onto a cloth tape to produce two facing rows that created a continuous zipper chain.
1923 saw Sundback's Separable Fastener's first use on a rubber boots. It then started being referred to as the "Zipper" from the "zip" sound produced when this device is used. Its use then moved to tobacco pouches, and in 1925, it was used on leather jackets. Ever since, the metal zipper has transitioned into denim trousers, children’s clothing, luggage, shoes, leather goods and other objects that require easier fastening.
Components
A metal zipper functions just like any other zipper, with a number of similar components. The components of a metal zipper include:
Zipper teeth
Also known as the chain, it includes the two continuous rows of metal teeth protrusions that are meshed together to close the zipper or separate it. The zipper teeth or chain is measured in terms of chain width gauge size. The bigger the gauge number, the wider the chain width.
Slider
This refers to the device that is pulled up or down to open or close the zipper. It is what clasps the zipper teeth or separates them depending on the direction of movement. Attached to it is the pull tab, the extension that is held when moving the zipper up or down. Some sliders come with a zip-lock feature in that, when the pull tab is lowered, it locks the slider in place and when raised, it unlocks it.
Tape
This refers to the strips of fabric to which the zipper teeth are attached. There are usually two strips of tape, with the sides with zipper teeth attached facing each other, and the other sides sewed to the outfit, luggage, shoes or other fabrics. The tape should have top and bottom extensions that extend beyond the teeth for easier sewing at the ends of the zipper.
Top stop and bottom stop
These are metal devices that are affixed at the top and bottom ends of the zipper respectively, to prevent the slider from coming out of the zipper chain. The bottom stop also prevents the already interlocked zipper teeth from separating into half.
Insertion pin and retainer box
These are found exclusively on separating zippers. The pin box or retainer box aligns the insertion pin and the rest of the separating zipper to begin clasping of the zipper teeth. The insertion pin is the metallic end of the zipper that it placed into the retainer box to allow the joining of the two halves of the zipper.
Manufacturers
The first manufacturer of the metal zipper was B. F. Goodrich Company in 1923. Since then, there have been a number of key players in the metal zipper manufacture industry, with the following being the most consistent and most respectable producers around the world.
Yoshida Kogyo Kabushikikaisha (YKK) (Japan)
Talon Zipper (USA)
Tex Corp (India)
Cremalleras Rubi (Europe)
References
Textile closures
Fasteners
American inventions
1913 introductions | Metal zipper | [
"Engineering"
] | 1,291 | [
"Construction",
"Fasteners"
] |
51,986,887 | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Coil%20zipper | Coil zipper—also known as nylon coil zipper—is a type of zipper whose teeth/elements are made from coiled monofilament that is traditionally nylon. The coil zipper was first invented in 1940, however not commonly used until the 1960's.
The coil is sewn to a zipper tape to make the final product. The final zipper product is completed when the nylon coiled teeth are sewn onto the zipper tape. Nylon coil zippers have a continuous coil chain made from nylon. When this coil is positioned on the back of the zipper and not in the front, this kind of zipper is called invisible zipper.
Design
Nylon zippers are highly flexible and are available in a wide range of sizes. The high compatibility of the coil zippers is the main attribute for their huge number of applications in fashion wear, canvas goods, and bags. These types of zippers are also the top choice for the outdoor and luggage industries. Nylon coil zippers are most commonly found in tents, suitcases, backpacks, and other camping apparels.
Though nylon coil zippers are a popular choice for a large number of applications, the use of nylon is now being replaced with polyester. Polyester coil zippers are also becoming widespread. They are made in various gauge sizes and colors. This makes them well-suited to several use cases.
Benefits
Coil zippers offer higher horizontal strength. Coil zippers are also easier to repair; an out-of-alignment tooth can be realigned simply by zipping and unzipping past it. Another advantage of nylon zippers is its two-way functionality. The sliders can be fixed in either direction of the zipper chain and they will still function smoothly. Nylon is lightweight, heat resistant and rustproof, making nylon coil zippers durable and reliable.
Manufacturing
The main elements required in the manufacturing process of coil zipper are a stringer, slider, and a tab. The stringer consists of a tape and teeth assembly. The tab is used to pull the slider up and down which opens and closes the zipper.
Applications
Sports/Outdoor Apparel Sports and outdoor apparel need a sturdy zipper that can withstand harsh use. Coil zippers are strong and therefore are commonly used for these kinds of outdoor apparel.
Fashion/Apparel Like all zippers, coil zippers are often used in general apparel. Zippers are often required in different designs or vibrant colors to match the garments. Coil zippers are easily produced in various colors and sizes and thus they are often used fashionable garments.
Footwear Shoes and boots that use zippers in their design need a zipper which is smooth in its operation and has high strength. Coil zippers use nylon that provides enough strength to these zippers that they function well even in high-end boots and shoes.
Outdoor Gear Outdoor gear such as camping equipment and backpacks often need to be robust or cover a longer length. Nylon coil zippers have high strength all across their length. They can be used in all the items which need long zippers.
References
Textile closures
Fasteners
American inventions
1913 introductions | Coil zipper | [
"Engineering"
] | 618 | [
"Construction",
"Fasteners"
] |
51,987,413 | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Craspedoporus%20elegans | Craspedoporus elegans is an extinct marine species of diatom from a deposit from Oamaru, Otago, New Zealand.
References
Bacillariophyceae
Enigmatic algae taxa
Enigmatic bikont taxa
Fossil algae
Biota of New Zealand
Fossils of New Zealand
Fossil taxa described in 1886 | Craspedoporus elegans | [
"Biology"
] | 64 | [
"Biota by country",
"Fossil algae",
"Algae",
"Biota of New Zealand"
] |
51,988,423 | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Incarvillateine | Incarvillateine is a complex monoterpene alkaloid that is a derivative of α-truxillic acid. It can be isolated from the plant genus Incarvillea.
Biological activity
Opioidergic
Incarvillateine isolated from Incarvillea sinensis has demonstrated significant analgesic activity when compared to the opiate alkaloid morphine.
Incarvillateine's pain-killing effect was partially blocked by administration of naloxone, norbinaltorphimine and beta-funaltrexamine, which are receptor antagonists with varying selectivity for mu and kappa opioid receptors. Naltrindole, a delta opioid receptor antagonist, did not counteract the analgesic activity of incarvillateine.
These findings indicate that incarvillateine may possess opioidergic receptor activity, but it is worthy to note that some studies indicate that naloxone was ineffective at countering incarvillateine's analgesic activity.
Adenosinergic
Incarvillateine's antinociceptive effect was blocked by the administration of adenosine receptor antagonists such as theophylline. This suggests that incarvillateine's main mechanism of action is mediated through the adenosine receptor.
References
Terpeno-phenolic compounds
Alkaloids
Carboxylate esters
Opioids
Adenosine receptor agonists
Monoterpenes
Cyclobutanes
Cyclopentanes
Methoxy compounds | Incarvillateine | [
"Chemistry"
] | 320 | [
"Organic compounds",
"Biomolecules by chemical classification",
"Natural products",
"Alkaloids"
] |
51,988,929 | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arithmetices%20principia%2C%20nova%20methodo%20exposita | The 1889 treatise Arithmetices principia, nova methodo exposita (The principles of arithmetic, presented by a new method) by Giuseppe Peano is widely considered to be a seminal document in mathematical logic and set theory, introducing what is now the standard axiomatization of the natural numbers, and known as the Peano axioms, as well as some pervasive notations, such as the symbols for the basic set operations ∈, ⊂, ∩, ∪, and A−B.
The treatise is written in Latin, which was already somewhat unusual at the time of publication, Latin having fallen out of favour as the lingua franca of scholarly communications by the end of the 19th century. The use of Latin in spite of this reflected Peano's belief in the universal importance of the work – which is now generally regarded as his most important contribution to arithmetic – and in that of universal communication. Peano later published works both in Latin and in his own artificial language, Latino sine flexione, which is a grammatically simplified version of Latin.
Peano also continued to publish mathematical notations in a series from 1895 to 1908 collectively known as Formulario mathematico.
References
External links
English translation (with original Latin): https://github.com/mdnahas/Peano_Book/blob/master/Peano.pdf
Original treatise (in Latin, scanned) at Internet Archive: https://archive.org/details/arithmeticespri00peangoog
Arithmetic
Books about mathematics
1889 non-fiction books
19th-century books in Latin | Arithmetices principia, nova methodo exposita | [
"Mathematics"
] | 331 | [
"Arithmetic",
"Number theory"
] |
51,989,620 | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/E%20band%20%28NATO%29 | The NATO E band is a designation given to the radio frequencies from 2000 to 3000 MHz (equivalent to wavelengths between 15 and 10 cm) during the cold war period. Since 1992, detailed frequency allocations, allotment and assignments are in line with the NATO Joint Civil/Military Frequency Agreement (NJFA). However, in order to generically identify military radio spectrum requirements, e.g. for crisis management planning, training, electronic warfare activities, radar or in military operations, the NATO band system is often used.
References
Radio spectrum
Military equipment of NATO | E band (NATO) | [
"Physics"
] | 114 | [
"Radio spectrum",
"Spectrum (physical sciences)",
"Electromagnetic spectrum"
] |
51,989,621 | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/E%20band%20%28waveguide%29 | The waveguide E band is the range of radio frequencies from 60 GHz to 90 GHz in the electromagnetic spectrum, corresponding to the recommended frequency band of operation of WR12 waveguides. These frequencies are equivalent to wave lengths between 5 mm and 3.333 mm. The E band is in the EHF range of the radio spectrum.
Atmospheric effects
At these high frequencies, the short wavelengths give the radiation a very directional quality, similar to visible light. Many molecules possess rotational and vibrational states excited by very specific wavelengths in this band, thus the atmospheric gases such as oxygen, water vapor, carbon dioxide and nitrogen can absorb, and be excited causing variable beam attenuation effects dependent on meteorological and atmospheric conditions.
Applications
In October 2003, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) ruled that spectrum at 71 to 76 GHz, 81 to 86 GHz and 92 to 95 GHz was available for high-density fixed wireless services in the United States.
The Radio Regulations of the International Telecommunication Union allow amateur radio and amateur satellite operations in the frequency range 76.000 GHz to 81.000 GHz, which is known as the 4-millimeter band.
In June 2020, SpaceX applied for use of the E-Band in the Starlink Gen2 constellation. Generation 2 Starlink Gen2 satellites will include 71 - 79 GHz and 81 - 86 GHz operational frequencies. This was approved by the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) on March 8th, 2024.
References
Radio spectrum | E band (waveguide) | [
"Physics"
] | 292 | [
"Radio spectrum",
"Spectrum (physical sciences)",
"Electromagnetic spectrum"
] |
51,990,283 | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/F%20band%20%28waveguide%29 | The waveguide F band is the range of radio frequencies from 90 GHz to 140 GHz in the electromagnetic spectrum, corresponding to the recommended frequency band of operation of WR8 waveguides. These frequencies are equivalent to wave lengths between 3.33 mm and 2.14 mm. The E band is in the EHF range of the radio spectrum.
References
Radio spectrum | F band (waveguide) | [
"Physics"
] | 74 | [
"Radio spectrum",
"Spectrum (physical sciences)",
"Electromagnetic spectrum"
] |
51,990,390 | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/G%20band%20%28NATO%29 | The NATO G band is the obsolete designation given to the radio frequencies from 4 000 to 6 000 MHz (equivalent to wavelengths between 7.5 and 5 cm) during the Cold War period. Since 1992 frequency allocations, allotment and assignments are in line to NATO Joint Civil/Military Frequency Agreement (NJFA).
However, in order to identify military radio spectrum requirements, e.g. for crises management planning, training, Electronic warfare activities, or in military operations, this system is still in use.
References
Radio spectrum | G band (NATO) | [
"Physics"
] | 108 | [
"Radio spectrum",
"Spectrum (physical sciences)",
"Electromagnetic spectrum"
] |
51,990,624 | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/H%20band%20%28infrared%29 | In infrared astronomy, the H band refers to an atmospheric transmission window centred on 1.65 micrometres with a Full width at half maximum of 0.35 micrometres (in the near-infrared).
Save for a limited amount of absorption by water vapor, Earth's atmosphere is highly translucent at the wavelengths covered by the H band. The window is also notably less likely to be contaminated by infrared excess than other bands.
The band is useful for a range of infrared observations including the imaging of sunspots, spectroscopic investigation of late-type stars, and imaging planetary phenomena such as extraterrestrial vortices or volcanic activity in the solar system. In addition stellar atmospheres are highly transparent in the H band and stellar light in the window originates from deeper in the stellar atmosphere than any other band. It also includes within it access to several sets of spectral lines including for carbon monoxide and cyanide.
References
Electromagnetic spectrum
Infrared imaging | H band (infrared) | [
"Physics",
"Astronomy"
] | 195 | [
"Astronomy stubs",
"Spectrum (physical sciences)",
"Electromagnetic spectrum"
] |
51,990,628 | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/H%20band%20%28NATO%29 | The NATO H band is the obsolete designation given to the radio frequencies from 6,000 to 8,000 MHz (equivalent to wavelengths between 5 and 3.75 cm) during the Cold War period. Since 1992, frequencies have been allocated, allotted, and assigned in accordance with the NATO Joint Civil/Military Frequency Agreement (NJFA).
However, in order to identify military radio spectrum requirements (e.g., for crisis management planning, training, electronic warfare activities, or military operations), this system is still in use.
References
Radio spectrum
Microwave bands | H band (NATO) | [
"Physics"
] | 114 | [
"Radio spectrum",
"Spectrum (physical sciences)",
"Electromagnetic spectrum"
] |
51,991,053 | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/J%20band%20%28JRC%29 | In the United Kingdom, the term J Band is used by the Joint Radio Company to refer to their VHF communications band at 139.5–140.5 and 148–149 MHz used by fuel and power industries.
References
Radio spectrum | J band (JRC) | [
"Physics"
] | 48 | [
"Radio spectrum",
"Spectrum (physical sciences)",
"Electromagnetic spectrum"
] |
51,991,055 | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/J%20band%20%28NATO%29 | The NATO J band is the designation given to the radio frequencies from 10 to 20 GHz (equivalent to wavelengths between 3 and 1.5 cm). Since 1992 frequency allocations, allotment and assignments are in line to NATO Joint Civil/Military Frequency Agreement (NJFA).
However, in order to identify military radio spectrum requirements, e.g. for crises management planning, training, Electronic warfare activities, or in military operations, this system is still in use.
References
Radio spectrum | J band (NATO) | [
"Physics"
] | 100 | [
"Radio spectrum",
"Spectrum (physical sciences)",
"Electromagnetic spectrum"
] |
51,991,437 | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Envy-free%20item%20allocation | Envy-free (EF) item allocation is a fair item allocation problem, in which the fairness criterion is envy-freeness - each agent should receive a bundle that they believe to be at least as good as the bundle of any other agent.
Since the items are indivisible, an EF assignment may not exist. The simplest case is when there is a single item and at least two agents: if the item is assigned to one agent, the other will envy.
One way to attain fairness is to use monetary transfers. When monetary transfers are not allowed or not desired, there are allocation algorithms providing various kinds of relaxations.
Finding an envy-free allocation whenever it exists
Preference-orderings on bundles: envy-freeness
The undercut procedure finds a complete EF allocation for two agents, if-and-only-if such allocation exists. It requires the agents to rank bundles of items, but it does not require cardinal utility information. It works whenever the agents' preference relations are strictly monotone, but does not need to assume that they are responsive preferences. In the worst case, the agents may have to rank all possible bundles, so the run-time might be exponential in the number of items.
Preference-orderings on items: necessary/possible envy-freeness
It is usually easier for people to rank individual items than to rank bundles. Assuming all agents have responsive preferences, it is possible to lift the item-ranking to a partial bundle-ranking. For example, if the item-ranking is w>x>y>z, then responsiveness implies that {w,x}>{y,z} and {w,y}>{x,z}, but does not imply anything about the relation between {w,z} and {x,y}, between {x} and {y,z}, etc. Given an item-ranking:
An allocation is necessarily envy-free (NEF) if it is envy-free according to all responsive bundle-rankings consistent with the item-ranking;
An allocation is possibly envy-free (PEF) if for each agent i, there is at least one responsive bundle-ranking consistent with i's item-ranking, by which i does not envy;
An allocation is weakly possibly envy-free (WPEF) if for each pair of agents i,j, there is at least one responsive bundle-ranking consistent with i's item-ranking, by which i does not envy j;
An allocation is necessarily Pareto-optimal (NPE) if it is Pareto-optimal according to all responsive bundle-rankings consistent with the item-ranking (see Ordinal Pareto efficiency);
An allocation is possibly Pareto-optimal (PPE) if it is Pareto-optimal according to at least one responsive bundle-ranking consistent with the item-ranking.
The following results are known:
Bouveret, Endriss and Lang assume that all agents have strict preferences. They study the algorithmic questions of finding a NEF/PEF allocation with an additional efficiency condition, particularly, completeness or NPE or PPE. In general, PEF is easy while NEF is hard: checking whether a NEF allocation exists is NP-complete, while checking existence of WPEF can be done in polynomial time.
Aziz, Gaspers, Mackenzie and Walsh study the more general setting in which agents may have weak preferences (with indifferences). In this setting, checking existence of WPEF is NP-complete. Deciding whether a PEF allocation exists is in P for strict preferences or for n=2, but it is NP-complete in general. It is an open question whether, when the number of agents is constant, deciding the existence of NEF allocation is in P.
Cardinal utilities
The empty allocation is always EF. But if we want some efficiency in addition to EF, then the decision problem becomes computationally hard:
Deciding whether an EF and complete allocation exists is NP complete. This is true even when there are only two agents, and even when their utilities are additive and identical, since in this case finding an EF allocation is equivalent to solving the partition problem.
Deciding whether a fair allocation exists requires exponential communication (in the number of goods) when there are more than two agents. When there are two agents, the communication complexity depends on specific combinations of parameters.
Deciding whether an EF and Pareto efficient allocation exists is above NP: it is -complete even with dichotomous utilities and even with additive utilities. ( is the class of problems that can be solved in nondeterministic time given an oracle that can solve any problem in NP).
The decision problem may become tractable when some parameters of the problem are considered fixed small constants:
Considering the number of objects m as a parameter, the existence of a PE+EF allocation can be decided in time for additive or dichotomous utilities. When the utilities are binary and/or identical, the runtime drops to . Here, the notation hides expressions that are polynomial in the other parameters (e.g. number of agents).
Considering the number of agents n as a parameter, the existence of a PE+EF allocation remains hard. With dichotomous utilities, it is NP-hard even for n=2. However, it is now in NP, and can be solved efficiently with an NP oracle (e.g. a SAT solver). With agents, it can be done with such oracles, and at least oracles are needed unless P=NP. With additive utilities, it is NP-hard even for n=2. Moreover, it is W[1]-complete w.r.t. the number of agents even if all utilities are identical and encoded in unary.
Considering both the number of agents n and the largest utility V as parameters, the existence of a PE+EF allocation can be decided in time for additive utilities using dynamic programming.
Considering both the number of agents n and the number of utility levels z as parameters, the existence of a PE+EF allocation for identical additive utilities can be decided using an integer linear program with variables; Lenstra's algorithm allows solving such ILP in time
Finding an allocation with a bounded level of envy
Many procedures find an allocation that is "almost" envy-free, i.e., the level of envy is bounded. There are various notions of "almost" envy-freeness:
EF1 - envy-free up to at most one item
An allocation is called EF1 if for every two agents A and B, if we remove at most one item from the bundle of B, then A does not envy B. An EF1 allocation always exists and can be found efficiently by various procedures, particularly:
When all agents have weakly additive utilities, the round-robin protocol finds a complete EF1 allocation. Weak additivity is required since each agent should be able to pick, in each situation, a "best item".
In the more general case, when all agents have monotonically increasing utilities, the envy-graph procedure finds a complete EF1 allocation. The only requirement is that the agents can rank bundles of items. If the agents' valuations are represented by a cardinal utility function, then the EF1 guarantee has an additional interpretation: the numeric envy-level of each agent is at most the maximal-marginal-utility - the largest marginal utility of a single item for that agent.
When agents have arbitrary utilities (not necessarily additive or monotone), the A-CEEI mechanism returns a partial EF1 allocation. The only requirement is that the agents can rank bundles of items. A small number of items might remain unallocated, and a small number of items may have to be added. The allocation is Pareto-efficient with respect to the allocated items.
The Maximum Nash Welfare algorithm selects a complete allocation that maximizes the product of utilities. It requires each agent to provide a numeric valuation of each item, and assumes that the agents' utilities are additive. The resulting allocation is both EF1 and Pareto-efficient.
Various other algorithms return EF1 allocations that are also Pareto-efficient; see Efficient approximately fair item allocation.
For two agents with arbitrary monotone valuations, or three agents with additive valuations, an EF1 allocation can be computed using a number of queries logarithmic in the number of items.
For two agents with arbitrary utility functions (not necessarily monotone), an EF1 allocation can be found in polynomial time.
For at most 4 agents with arbitrary monotone valuations, or n agents with identical monotone valuations, there always exists an EF1 allocation that is also connected (when items are pre-ordered on a line, such as houses in a street). The proof uses an algorithm similar to the Simmons–Su protocols. When there are n > 4 agents, it is not known whether a connected EF1 allocation exists, but a connected EF2 allocation always exists.
EFx - envy-free up to at most any item
An allocation is called EFx if for every two agents A and B, if we remove any item from the bundle of B, then A does not envy B. EFx is strictly stronger than EF1: EF1 lets us eliminate envy by removing the item most valuable (for A) from B's bundle; EFx requires that we eliminate envy by removing the item least valuable (for A). An EFx allocation is known to exist in some special cases:
When there are two agents, or when there are n agents with identical valuations. In this case, the leximin-optimal allocation is EFx and Pareto-optimal. However, it requires exponentially many queries to compute.
When there are n agents with additive valuations, but there are at most two different values for goods. In this case, any max-Nash-welfare allocation is EFx. Moreover, there is an efficient algorithm for calculating an EFx allocation (though not necessarily max-Nash-welfare).
When there are n agents with additive valuations, but there are at most two different kinds of valuations.
When there are three agents with additive valuations. In this case, a polynomial-time algorithm exists.
Some approximations are known:
A 1/2-approximate EFx allocation (that also satisfies a different approximate-fairness notion called Maximin Aware) can be found in polynomial time.
A 0.618-approximate EFx allocation (that is also EF1 and approximates other fairness notions called groupwise maximin share and pairwise maximin share) can be found in polynomial time.
There always exists a partial EFx allocation, where the Nash welfare is at least half of the maximum possible Nash welfare. In other words, after donating some items to a charity, the remaining items can be allocated in an EFx way. This bound is the best possible. In large markets, where the valuations of an agent for every item is relatively small, the algorithm attains EFx with almost optimal Nash welfare. It is sufficient to donate n-1 items, and no agent envies the set of donated items.
It is an open question whether an EFx allocation exists in general. The smallest open case is 4 agents with additive valuations.
In contrast to EF1, which requires a number of queries logarithmic in the number of items, computing an EFx allocation may require a linear number of queries even when there are two agents with identical additive valuations.
Another difference between EF1 and EFx is that the number of EFX allocations can be as few as 2 (for any number of items), while the number of EF1 allocations is always exponential in the number of items.
EFm - approximate envy-free for a mixture of divisible and indivisible items
Some division scenarios involve both divisible and indivisible items, such as divisible lands and indivisible houses. An allocation is called EFm if for every two agents A and B:
If B's bundle contains some divisible goods, then A does not envy B (as in an EF allocation).
If B's bundle contains only indivisible goods, then A does not envy B after removing at most one item from B's bundle (as in an EF1 allocation).
An EFm allocation exists for any number of agents. However, finding it requires an oracle for exact division of a cake. Without this oracle, an EFm allocation can be computed in polynomial time in two special cases: two agents with general additive valuations, or any number of agents with piecewise-linear valuations.
In contrast to EF1, which is compatible with Pareto-optimality, EFm may be incompatible with it.
Minimizing the envy
Rather than using a worst-case bound on the amount of envy, one can try to minimize the amount of envy in each particular instance. See envy minimization for details and references.
Finding a partial EF allocation
The AL procedure finds an EF allocation for two agents. It may discard some of the items, but, the final allocation is Pareto efficient in the following sense: no other EF allocation is better for one and weakly better for the other. The AL procedure only requires the agents to rank individual items. It assumes that the agents have responsive preferences and returns an allocation that is necessarily envy-free (NEF).
The Adjusted winner procedure returns a complete and efficient EF allocation for two agents, but it might have to cut a single item (alternatively, one item remains in shared ownership). It requires the agents to report a numeric value for each item, and assumes that they have additive utilities.
When each agent may get at most a single item, and the valuations are binary (each agent either likes or dislikes each item), there is a polynomial-time algorithm that finds an envy-free matching of maximum cardinality.
Existence of EF allocations with random valuations
If the agents have additive utility functions that are drawn from probability distributions satisfying some independence criteria, and the number of items is sufficiently large relative to the number of agents, then an EF allocation exists with high probability. Particularly:
If the number of items is sufficiently large: , then w.h.p. an EF allocation exists (the probability goes to 1 as m goes to infinity) and can be found by the round-robin protocol.
If , then w.h.p. an EF allocation exists and can be found by maximizing the social welfare. This bound is also tight due to connections to the coupon collector's problem.
If and m is divisible by n, then w.h.p. an EF allocation exists and can be found by a matching-based algorithm.
On the other hand, if the number of items is not sufficiently large, then, with high probability, an EF allocation does not exist.
If the number of items is not sufficiently large, i.e., , then w.h.p. an EF allocation does not exist.
If and m is not "almost divisible" by n, then w.h.p. an EF allocation does not exist.
Envy-freeness vs. other fairness criteria
Every EF allocation is min-max-fair. This follows directly from the ordinal definitions and does not depend on additivity.
If all agents have additive utility functions, then an EF allocation is also proportional and max-min-fair. Otherwise, an EF allocation may be not proportional and even not max-min-fair.
Every allocation of a competitive equilibrium from equal incomes is also envy-free. This is true regardless of additivity.
Every Nash-optimal allocation (allocation that maximizes the product of utilities) is EF1.
Group-envy-freeness is a strengthening of envy-freeness, which is applicable to both divisible and indivisible objects.
See Fair item allocation for details and references.
Summary table
Below, the following shorthands are used:
= the number of agents participating in the division;
= the number of items to divide;
EF = envy-free, EF1 = envy-free except-1-item (weaker than EF), MEF1 = marginal-envy-free except-1-item (weaker than EF1).
PE = Pareto-efficient.
References
Fair item allocation
NP-complete problems | Envy-free item allocation | [
"Mathematics"
] | 3,431 | [
"NP-complete problems",
"Mathematical problems",
"Computational problems"
] |
51,992,248 | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/FESOM | FESOM (Finite-Element/volumE Sea ice-Ocean Model) is a
multi-resolution ocean general circulation model that solves the equations
of motion describing the ocean and sea ice using finite-element and
finite-volume methods on unstructured computational grids. The model
is developed and supported by researchers at the Alfred Wegener
Institute, Helmholtz Centre for Polar and Marine Research (AWI), in Bremerhaven,
Germany.
Overview
FESOM implements the idea of using meshes with variable resolution
to simulate the circulation of the global ocean with regional focus. Because
of the broad range of scales characterizing the ocean circulation, downscaling
is commonly needed to describe processes on regional scales. FESOM allows global
multi-resolution cross-scale simulations without traditional nesting.
The dynamical core of the new version (FESOM2) switches from the finite-element
method used in the original version of FESOM to the finite-volume method for the sake of better computational efficiency. Both versions include the Finite-Element Sea Ice Model (FESIM). FESOM is also used as the ocean component of the AWI-CM, the coupled atmosphere-ocean climate model developed at AWI.
History
The prototype version of FESOM appeared in 2004 due to work of Sergey Danilov,
Gennady Kivman and Jens Schröter. Ralph Timmermann extended it to a full global ocean – sea ice configuration in 2009. Qiang Wang rewrote its numerical algorithm and parameterizations from 2008 through 2014, which led to essentially improved numerical and physical performance. The last release of FESOM with the finite-element dynamical core is FESOM1.4 (Wang et al., 2014).
The release of AWI-CM using FESOM is by Sidorenko et al. in 2015.
References
External links
FESOM1.4 source code
FESOM2 source code
FESOM website
Numerical climate and weather models
Oceanographical terminology
Physical oceanography | FESOM | [
"Physics"
] | 402 | [
"Applied and interdisciplinary physics",
"Physical oceanography"
] |
51,992,495 | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Asgardia | Asgardia, also known as the Space Kingdom of Asgardia and Asgardia the Space Nation, is a "virtual nation" formed by a group of people who have launched a satellite into Earth orbit. They refer to themselves as "Asgardians" and they have given their satellite the name . They have declared sovereignty over the space occupied by and contained within Asgardia -1. The Asgardians have adopted a constitution and they intend to access outer space free of the control of existing nations and establish a permanent settlement on the Moon by 2043.
Igor Ashurbeyli, the founder of the Asgardia Independent Research Center, proposed the establishment of Asgardia on 12 October 2016. The Constitution of the Space Kingdom of Asgardia was adopted on 18 June 2017 and it became effective on 9 September 2017. Asgardia's administrative center is located in Vienna, Austria.
The Cygnus spacecraft that carried Asgardia-1 into space released Asgardia-1 and two other satellites on 12 November 2017. The Space Kingdom of Asgardia has claimed that it is now "the first nation to have all of its territory in space." Legal scholars doubt that Asgardia-1 can be regarded as a sovereign territory and Asgardia has not yet attained the goal of being recognised as a nation state.
Etymology
Asgardia is taken from the name of one of the Nine Worlds in the Norse religion: Asgard (). Home to the Æsir tribe of gods, Asgard is derived from Old Norse áss, god and garðr, enclosure; from Indo-European roots ansu- spirit, demon (see cognate ahura; also asura) and gher- grasp, enclose (see cognates garden and yard), essentially meaning "garden of gods."
History
Asgardia Independent Research Center
The Asgardia Independent Research Center (AIRC), formerly the Aerospace International Research Center, was founded by Igor Ashurbeyli in 2013. In 2014, the AIRC began the publication of an international space journal, ROOM, of which Ashurbeyli is the editor-in-chief. On February 5, 2016, Ashurbeyli was awarded the UNESCO Medal for contributions to the development of nanoscience and nanotechnologies during a ceremony held at UNESCO headquarters, Paris. AIRC AAS is the only institute in Austria whose activity is fully dedicated to the research of the Solar System, extraterrestrial life and the Earth using space technology and satellite techniques.
Since 2013, the AIRC staff constructed, developed and prepared for launch over 30 instruments and participated in the experiments in 15 space missions, for example: ESA's mission Mars Express, Rosetta (mission to a comet), Venus Express, BepiColombo (mission to Mercury) and CNES' DEMETER and TARANIS missions. AIRC has also collaborated with NASA for the IBEX mission. In 2015, the AIRC established a close collaboration with Asgardia.
Founding
On 12 October 2016, Ashurbeyli announced in a press conference in Paris, France, "the birth of the new space nation Asgardia."
The ultimate aim of the project is to create a new nation that allows access to outer space free of the control of existing nations. The current space law framework, the Outer Space Treaty requires governments to authorise and supervise all space activities, including the activities of non-governmental entities such as commercial and non-profit organisations; by attempting to create a nation, those behind Asgardia hope to avoid the tight restrictions that the current system imposes.
It officially calls itself the "Space Kingdom of Asgardia." "Asgardia" was chosen as a reference to Asgard, one of the nine worlds of Norse mythology; the world that was inhabited by the gods.
People were invited to register for citizenship in 2016, with the aim of Asgardia then applying to the United Nations for recognition as a nation state. In less than two days, there were over 100,000 applications; within three weeks, there were 500,000. After tougher verification requirements were introduced, this declined, and stood at around 210,000 in June, 2017. There is no intention to actually move these members into space. Asgardia intends to apply for membership of the UN.
The Constitution of the Space Kingdom of Asgardia was adopted on 18 June 2017 and it became effective on 9 September 2017.
The Cygnus spacecraft that carried Asgardia-1 into space released Asgardia-1 and two other satellites on 12 November 2017. The Space Kingdom of Asgardia has claimed that it is now "the first nation to have all of its territory in space." Legal scholars doubt that Asgardia-1 can be regarded as a sovereign territory and Asgardia has not yet attained the goal of being recognised as a nation-state.
As of March 2019, Asgardia says that it has more than 290,000 citizens and more than 1,040,000 followers around the world.
Governance
The Constitution of Asgardia divides Governance of Asgardia into three branches: (1) a legislative branch named the "Parliament," (2) an executive branch named the "Government," and (3) a judicial branch named the "Court."
Parliament
The Parliament is composed of 150 nonpartisan members and each member is referred to as a "Member of Parliament" (MP). The Members of Parliament elect one Member to the office of "Chairman of the Parliament." The Members of Parliament also appoint the "Chairman of the Government." The Parliament has 12 permanent committees; the Chairman of Parliament of Asgardia is Mr. Lembit Öpik.
Executive branch
The Head of Nation is the most senior official of the executive branch (i.e., the Government). The Head of Nation is elected to a 5-year term of office. The Head of Nation may dissolve the Parliament and may then order the holding of parliamentary elections. The Head of Nation may initiate legislative proposals and may veto acts adopted by the Parliament. The Head of Nation may issue decrees that must be obeyed by governmental bodies and by the citizens of Asgardia. The Head of Nation is Igor Ashurbeyli.
The Chairman of the Government supervises 12 Ministers. Each Minister supervises the operation of one Government Ministry. Each of the permanent committees of Parliament monitors the operation of one Government Ministry. The Parliament may invite Ministers to attend meetings of the Parliament.
Judicial branch
The judicial branch includes a "Supreme Justice," who supervises the operation of four judicial panels: (1) a "constitutional" panel, (2) a "civil" panel, (3) an "administrative" panel, and (4) a "criminal" panel. The Supreme Justice is appointed by the "Head of Nation." The "Justices" who serve on the judicial panels are appointed by the Parliament.
Asgardia's Supreme Justice is Zhao Yun. Zhao, head of the Department of Law at The University of Hong Kong, was appointed as Asgardia's Supreme Justice on 24 June 2018 during the first parliamentary session in Vienna, where he was introduced to the elected Members of Parliament.
Mayoral elections
The mayoral elections took place in the period between 1 August – 9 September 2018. Based on the results of the first stage of mayoral elections of Asgardia, offices were taken by mayors of 44 cities from 12 October 2018. The Head of Nation delegated to continue elections of the mayors of Asgardia until the Parliament passes the Bill "On Mayors of Asgardia" from 12 October 2018. Until the Parliament has passed the Bill "On Mayors of Asgardia," elected mayors will report to the Head of the Nation of Asgardia.
Key people
Head of Nation — Igor Ashurbeyli
The Chairman of Parliament — Lembit Öpik
Head of the Government — Lena De Winne
Supreme Justice — Zhao Yun
Space activity
Asgardia intends to launch a series of satellites into Earth orbit. Its first satellite was successfully launched by Orbital ATK on 12 November 2017 as part of an International Space Station resupply mission. It was a two-unit CubeSat measuring at a weight of , manufactured and deployed into orbit by NanoRacks, and has been named . The overall goal of the mission was to demonstrate the long-term storage of data on a solid-state storage device operating in low Earth orbit. The spacecraft had a 512 gigabyte solid-state storage device. The data stored in this device was to be periodically checked for data integrity and function. Before the launch, the data storage device was loaded with things like family photos supplied by the first 1,500,000 members of Asgardia. After the spacecraft reached orbit, data could be uploaded or downloaded using the Globalstar satellite network.
was boosted to space and then deployed by US companies on a NASA-funded mission so the satellite falls under US jurisdiction. Asgardia intends to partner with a non-signatory to the Outer Space Treaty (OST), perhaps an African state such as Ethiopia or Kenya, in the hopes of circumventing the OST's restriction on nation-states claiming territory in outer space. The satellite was expected to have a lifetime of 5 years before its orbit decays and it burns up on reentry. On 12 September 2022, Asgardia-1 reentered the atmosphere.
A continuously updated map that shows the location of in its orbit was hosted by NearSpace Launch, Inc. (NORAD satellite identification number 43049) is also being tracked by Satflare.
Often described as a billionaire, Ashurbeyli has said that he is currently solely responsible for funding Asgardia, and that members will not be funding the planned first satellite launch. Although the cost has not been made publicly available, NanoRacks have said that similar projects cost $700,000. The project intends to move to crowdfunding to finance itself. Sa'id Mosteshar, of the London Institute of Space Policy and Law, says this suggests that Asgardia lacks a credible business plan. A company, Asgardia AG, has been incorporated, and members can buy shares in it. Asgardia wants to enable its founders' companies to use Asgardia's satellite network for their own services and business activities. These are to be settled via the crypto currency Solar and the reserve currency Lunar.
Eventually, Asgardia hopes to have a colony in orbit. This will be expensive: the International Space Station cost $100bn to build, and flights to it cost over $40m per launch. Asgardia has been compared to the troubled Mars One project, which aims to establish a permanent colony on Mars, although Asgardia's organisers point out that setting up a small nation in orbit will be a lot easier than colonising distant Mars. Other proposed goals for the future include shielding the Earth from asteroids and coronal mass ejections, and a Moon base.
Legal status
Historical
There has been at least one previous attempt to set up an independent nation in space. The Nation of Celestial Space, also known as Celestia, was formed in 1949 by James Mangan and claimed all of space. He banned atmospheric nuclear testing and issued protests to the major powers at their encroachment on his territory, but was ignored by both the powers and the UN. However, modern communications mean that Asgardia has a better ability to organise its claim and perhaps raise funds for the satellite that would give it a physical presence in outer space.
Recognition and territorial claims
Both UN General Assembly Resolution 1962 (XVIII) and the Outer Space Treaty (OST) of 1967 have established all of outer space as an international commons by describing it as the "province of all mankind" and, as a fundamental principle of space law, declaring that space, including Moon and other astronomical objects, is not subject to any national sovereignty claim. Article VI of the Outer Space Treaty vests the responsibility for activities in space to States Parties, regardless of whether they are carried out by governments or non-governmental entities. Article VIII stipulates that the State Party to the Treaty that launches a space object shall retain jurisdiction and control over that object.
According to Sa'id Mosteshar of the London Institute of Space Policy and Law: "The Outer Space Treaty... accepted by everybody says very clearly that no part of outer space can be appropriated by any state." Without self-governing territory in space where citizens are present, Mosteshar suggested that the prospect any country would recognise Asgardia was slim.
Ram Jakhu, the director of McGill University's Institute of Air and Space Law, and Asgardia's legal expert, believes that Asgardia will be able to fulfil three of the four elements that the UN requires when considering if an entity is a state: citizens; a government; and territory, being an inhabited spacecraft. In that situation, Jakhu considers that fulfilling the fourth element, gaining recognition by the UN member states, will be achievable, and Asgardia will then be able to apply for UN membership. The Security Council would then have to assess the application, as well as obtain approval from two-thirds of the members of the General Assembly.
Joanne Gabrynowicz, an expert in space law and a professor at the Beijing Institute of Technology's School of Law, believes that Asgardia will have trouble attaining recognition as a nation. She says there are a "number of entities on Earth whose status as an independent nation have been a matter of dispute for a long time. It is reasonable to expect that the status an unpopulated object that is not on Earth will be disputed."
Christopher Newman, an expert in space law at the UK's University of Sunderland, highlights that Asgardia is trying to achieve a "complete re-visitation of the current space-law framework," anticipating that the project will face significant obstacles with getting UN recognition and dealing with liability issues. The Outer Space Treaty requires the country that sends a mission into space to be responsible for the mission, including any damage it might cause.
Data security
As Asgardia is involved in the storing of private data, there could be legal and ethical issues. For the moment, as the Asgardian satellite is being deployed to orbit by US companies, it will fall under US jurisdiction and data stored on the satellite will be subject to US privacy laws.
Economy
The ideological component of Asgardia's economy is based on two pillars. The first: In Asgardia, citizens must become owners of the monetary system. The government is simply a middleman, broker and guarantor of monetary transactions. The second: In Asgardia, every citizen must be a participant in the distribution of the Nation's profit.
'Residents' are required to pay a 100 euro or 110 US dollar fee.
Legal currency
The Head of Nation charged his Administration to hold a contest on the main national Earth currencies in order to determine the initial rate of Solar, the cryptocurrency that will be used for Asgardians. He also charged the Government to introduce a Bill on the National Currency of Asgardia to Parliament.
The second Digital Parliamentary Session (the third Parliamentary session) of Asgardia, which took place on 10–12 January 2019, approved the Act of National Currency and Basic Principles of Economic and Financial System of Asgardia. Parliament voted in favour of tasking the Government with drafting legislation regarding the economic system and the national currency of Asgardia by the next Parliamentary session.
The financial component of Asgardia's economy is based upon its two national currencies. First, the Solar currency. Because the sun shines for all on Earth, the Solar is to become a universal payment currency converted on the exchanges into not just hard currencies that exist in earthly nations, but also into legitimate cryptocurrencies.
Second, the Lunar, which will be an exclusive currency just for the citizens of Asgardia. The Lunar will be an internal financial and monetary asset that confirms the citizenship of Asgardia. As any asset, it is subject to exchanges, sales, loans, gifting, inheritance and more. It is also listed on the exchanges.
In January 2019 Asgardia by voting chose the basket of currencies. Using the results of this voting, the Ministry of Finance and its counterpart, the parliamentary Finance Committee, will analyse and examine how the Solar may be freely exchanged against those currencies in open markets and at what future exchange rates.
The following 12 currencies have been selected: US Dollar; Euro; British Pound; Japanese Yen; Canadian Dollar; Swiss Franc; Hong Kong Dollar; Mexican Peso; Australian Dollar; Singapore Dollar; Norwegian Krone; Swedish Krona.
Economic forum
On 26–28 October 2018, the First Economic Forum of Asgardia was held in Nice, France. The Forum was attended by representatives from the professional community, including economists, finance professionals, specialists in the areas of development of currency systems, cryptocurrencies and investment tools from Austria, Belgium, Denmark, India, Germany, the Netherlands, Russia, South Africa, Turkey, United States, UK and other countries.
The speakers presented projects of the models of Asgardia's financial system and its economy, monetary system models, and as well issues of creating a balanced financial and economic system of Asgardia. The Memorandum with a general overview and outlines the next steps of developing Asgardia's economic system was adopted on the Forum.
Among other things, it was decided to make Asgardia's presentation of model with two currencies at the World Economic Forum in Davos in January 2019 and for development of draft legislation on the national currencies of Asgardia for introduction to the Parliament of Asgardia.
On 22–25 January 2019, the Asgardian delegation attended the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland. The Asgardian representatives participated at two sessions—economic and cultural at the Caspian Week Conference 2019. The Caspian Week Conference is a meeting of global leaders, visionaries and experts within the Davos Forum. The Conference was held for the third time since the year 2017.
References
External links
Space advocacy organizations
Space colonization
Organizations established in 2016
2017 in outer space | Asgardia | [
"Astronomy"
] | 3,747 | [
"Space advocacy organizations",
"Astronomy organizations"
] |
51,992,722 | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Peggy%20Hodges | Peggy Lilian Hodges (11 June 1921 – 21 November 2008) was a British engineer who worked on guided missile technology at GEC Marconi.
Early life and education
Hodges was born in Lewisham, south east London on 11 June 1921 before moving to Westcliff-on-Sea where she was educated at Westcliff High School for Girls. Hodges read Natural Sciences at Girton College, Cambridge and graduated with an Honours degree in 1942.
Engineering career
After graduation Hodges began her career at Standard Telephone and Cables (STC) as a Junior Radio Engineer in the Radio Division, where she worked on airborne communications and the ILS blind beacon landing equipment.
In 1950 Hodges joined the GEC Applied Electronics Laboratories at Stanmore, Middlesex, where she worked as a microwave and systems engineer, working on guided weapons. Hodges became Systems Manager and then Project Manager of the Guided Weapons Project (Sea Dart Guidance) in the Guided Weapons Division. Among other projects, Hodges worked in the Underwater Weapons Division on trials planning and analysis for air-launched guided torpedoes, and later worked on simulation, identifying problems affecting guided weapons systems. She was finally appointed Simulation Manager.
Retirement and later work
After her retirement in 1981, Hodges returned to professional work as a general systems consultant in the Guided Weapons Division of Marconi Space and Defence Systems (MSDS), Stanmore. Hodges was President of the Caroline Haslett Trust, which encourages young women to enter the engineering profession, and a member and supporter of Soroptimist International.
Work for the Women's Engineering Society
Hodges was an active member of the Women's Engineering Society (WES), which she joined in 1960. She held various offices including Member of Council and Careers Officer, and was President of WES from 1971 to 1973. She succeeded May Maple in the role and was in turn succeeded by Gwendolen 'Bunty' Howard. Hodges gave the WES Verena Holmes Lecture entitled ‘Control – Feedback completes the circle’.
Awards and recognition
In 1969 Hodges was elected a Fellow of the Royal Aeronautical Society, one of three women Fellows at the time, and was also a member of the Astronautics and Guided Flight Committee. She was a Fellow of the Institute of Mathematics and its Applications (IMA) and a member of its council from 1971 to 1973. Between 1971 and 1975 Hodges was a member of the Engineering Design Advisory Committee (EDAC) and a member of the Science Research Council Control and Instrumentation Sub-Committee between 1980 and 1982. She was elected an Honorary Fellow of the IEEIE (now part of the Institution of Engineering and Technology) in 1994.
Hodges won the Whitney Straight Award in 1970 for outstanding achievement in aviation which was presented by Prince Charles and in the same year appeared in a TV film ‘Made In Britain’ concerned with a “Woman in a Man’s World”. She was awarded an OBE in the 1972 Birthday Honours for her contribution to guided weapons technology.
Hodges' personal papers are deposited in the IET Archives.
Legacy
A legacy in Hodges will enabled the establishment of the Peggy Hodges Prize, which was awarded to the highest performing female student in second year exams at the University of Hertfordshire's MEng/BEng degree.
References
External links
Online catalogue, IET Archives
1921 births
2008 deaths
Officers of the Order of the British Empire
People educated at Westcliff High School for Girls
Alumni of Girton College, Cambridge
Scientists from London
British women engineers
20th-century British women engineers
Fellows of the Royal Aeronautical Society
Presidents of the Women's Engineering Society
Women's Engineering Society
Systems engineers | Peggy Hodges | [
"Engineering"
] | 710 | [
"Systems engineers",
"Systems engineering"
] |
62,350,220 | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Margaret%20Illukol | Margaret Rose Illukol (1954(?) – 2015) was a nurse known for surviving a disfiguring hyena attack as a girl in Uganda. After being brought to Australia for medical treatment, she wrote a book about her experiences. Her bequest was used to start a scholarship fund.
Biography
Early life in Africa
Born in Karimojong, Uganda, Margaret Illukol was attacked by a hyena in 1963, when she was eight years old. She was carried 160 km by her tribe to the nearest hospital. Maggots infected the wound, helping with the initial healing process. Surgeries followed at the Mulago Hospital in Kampala, where her education and Christian baptism took place.
Immigration to Newcastle, Australia
It was recognised that further reconstructive surgeries could not be carried out in Kampala, leading to Dr Arnold Biase, her surgery coordinator, asking for support through the Rotary International Magazine. Margaret, with the aid of the International Rotary Club, ended up in Newcastle, NSW, Australia in 1975.
Education and career
Margaret received encouragement and support from the Mulago hospital staff to complete her primary and secondary school education with the Rotary Club of Kampala paying for her education. She completed her High School Certificate at St Joseph's College, Lochinvar in 1978. In 1983, she graduated from a nursing program at Gosford Hospital. She started her career as a registered nurse in the orthopedics department at the Royal Newcastle Hospital in 1984, where she had previously stayed as a patient many times.
Margaret was also an author. In 1990, she published a memoir of her ordeals, Child of the Karimojong. She was inspired by the book 'Joni' by Joni Eareckson, which she read during one of her operations at the Royal Newcastle Hospital.
In 1996 Margaret graduated from the University of Newcastle with a Bachelor of Nursing. This same year she also became an Australian citizen. Margaret continued her nursing career and in 2006 she moved from the Royal Newcastle Hospital to John Hunter Hospital, where she continued working in the orthopedics department until her death in 2015.
Death and afterward
Margaret died 15 Feb 2015, after an accident at her home. According to Margaret's friends, she was self-conscious about her appearance after having 75 facial operations and never married. Having no family, she left her entire estate to the Rotary International District 9670. Rotary used her bequest to establish the Margaret Illukol Health Scholarships at the University of Newcastle for health students.
Published works
1990: Child of the Karimojong. South Melbourne: Macmillan
References
External links
Archival information Margaret Illukol from Living Histories @ UON
Hunter Living Histories blog post on Margaret Illukol
Child of the Karimojong by Margaret Illukol
1954 births
2015 deaths
Australian women nurses
Australian nurses
Animal attack victims
Animal attacks
Newcastle, New South Wales | Margaret Illukol | [
"Biology"
] | 584 | [
"Animal attacks",
"Ethology",
"Behavior",
"Aggression"
] |
62,352,542 | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mosh%C3%A9%20Yaniv | Moshe Yaniv, born in 1938 in Hadera, Israel, is a French-Israeli molecular biologist who has studied the structure and functions of oncogenic DNA viruses as well as the general mechanisms for regulating gene expression in higher organisms and their deregulation during tumor pathologies and development. He is a member of the French Academy of sciences and Professor Emeritus at the Institut Pasteur.
Biography
After secondary school in Hadera, Moshe Yaniv studied chemistry at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem (1956-1961) and obtained a "Master of Sciences" in organic chemistry. He joined Professor François Gros' laboratory at the Institute of Physico-chemical Biology to prepare a state thesis in science (1969) on the mechanisms of protein synthesis and the structure of tRNAs.
During his thesis he spent six months in Frederick Sanger's laboratory at the Laboratory of Molecular Biology in Cambridge England, to establish the sequence of several tRNAs and contributed to the establishment of the three-dimensional structure of the tRNA.
At the end of his thesis he then joined Professor Paul Berg's laboratory at Stanford University in California for a postdoctoral fellowship continuing his work on the structure and functions of tRNAs.
Back in France in 1972, he joined the Institut Pasteur as team leader and then as head of the Oncogenic Virus Unit (1975). In 1966, he was appointed Head of Research at the CNRS, in 1972 he became Director of Research and Professor at the Institut Pasteur in 1986.
During his career at the Institut Pasteur, he headed the Molecular Biology Department (1986-1988) and the Biotechnology Department (1992-1994).
Scientific work
From 1972, Moshé Yaniv decided to focus his research on the biology of oncogenic DNA viruses such as Polyome, SV40 and later on papilloma viruses in collaboration with Professor Gérard Orth. It highlights the chromatin structure of the viral genome and the absence of nucleosomes (histone octamers) on the sequences of expression regulation of viral and cellular genes. He identified cellular transcription factors responsible for the expression of viral genes and their functions in regulating cell growth and oncogenic transformation. His team established the sequence of the first human Papillomavirus and identified the different genes of the virus.
His work on gene expression regulation has led him to focus on the role of transcription factors and chromatin remodeling complexes in controlling the development and organogenesis of the liver, pancreas and kidney and to generate mouse models for the study of human metabolic diseases such as diabetes, polycystosis and cancers.
Distinctions
Yaniv is the author of more than 300 publications in the most prestigious biology journals such as Cell, Nature, PNAS, EMBO Journal etc.
Moshé Yaniv was elected a member of EMBO (European Molecular Biology Organization) in 1978 and chaired its board in 1996. Member of Academia Europaea in 1992, member of the French Academy of sciences, 1995, foreign member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, 2001 and of the European Academy of Cancer Sciences (2008).
He received a number of prestigious awards and was made a Chevalier of the Légion d'Honneur in 1999.
References
1938 births
Living people
Research directors of the French National Centre for Scientific Research
French people of Israeli descent
Hebrew University of Jerusalem alumni
Members of the French Academy of Sciences
Molecular biologists
Pasteur Institute
People from Hadera | Moshé Yaniv | [
"Chemistry"
] | 689 | [
"Molecular biologists",
"Biochemists",
"Molecular biology"
] |
62,358,280 | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cartan%E2%80%93Hadamard%20conjecture | In mathematics, the Cartan–Hadamard conjecture is a fundamental problem in Riemannian geometry and Geometric measure theory which states that the classical isoperimetric inequality may be generalized to spaces of nonpositive sectional curvature, known as Cartan–Hadamard manifolds. The conjecture, which is named after French mathematicians Élie Cartan and Jacques Hadamard, may be traced back to work of André Weil in 1926.
History
The conjecture, in all dimensions, was first stated explicitly in 1976 by Thierry Aubin, and a few years later by Misha Gromov, Yuri Burago and
Viktor Zalgaller. In dimension 2 this fact had already been established in 1926 by André Weil and rediscovered in 1933 by Beckenbach and Rado. In dimensions 3 and 4 the conjecture was proved by Bruce Kleiner in 1992, and Chris Croke in 1984 respectively.
According to Marcel Berger, Weil, who was a student of Hadamard at the time, was prompted to work on this problem due to "a question asked during or after a Hadamard seminar at the Collège de France" by the probability theorist Paul Lévy.
Weil's proof relies on conformal maps and harmonic analysis, Croke's proof is based on an inequality of Santaló in integral geometry, while Kleiner adopts a variational approach which reduces the problem to an estimate for total curvature. Mohammad Ghomi and Joel Spruck have shown that Kleiner's approach will work in all dimensions where the total curvature inequality holds.
Generalized form
The conjecture has a more general form, sometimes called the "generalized Cartan–Hadamard conjecture" which states that if the curvature of the ambient Cartan–Hadamard manifold M is bounded above by a nonpositive constant k, then the least perimeter enclosures in M, for any given volume, cannot have smaller perimeter than a sphere enclosing the same volume
in the model space of constant curvature k.
The generalized conjecture has been established only in dimension 2 by Gerrit Bol, and dimension 3 by Kleiner. The generalized conjecture also holds for regions of small volume in all dimensions, as proved by Frank Morgan and David Johnson.
Applications
Immediate applications of the conjecture include extensions of the Sobolev inequality and Rayleigh–Faber–Krahn inequality to spaces of nonpositive curvature.
References
Riemannian geometry
Measure theory
Conjectures | Cartan–Hadamard conjecture | [
"Mathematics"
] | 493 | [
"Unsolved problems in mathematics",
"Mathematical problems",
"Conjectures"
] |
62,359,279 | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Organix%20Inc | Organix Inc is a US fine chemicals company specialising in chemical synthesis of analytical standards and custom synthesis of finished compounds and intermediates.
Chemistry
Organix carries out research and development of novel molecules used in a variety of pharmaceutical research applications. Some notable compounds include;
O-526
O-774
O-806
O-823
O-1057
O-1072 (Tropoxane)
O-1125
O-1238
O-1269
O-1270
O-1399
O-1602
O-1656
O-1660
O-1812
O-1871
O-1918
O-2050
O-2113
O-2172
O-2371
O-2372
O-2387
O-2390
O-2394
O-2545
O-2694
O-4210
O-4310
Life sciences industry | Organix Inc | [
"Biology"
] | 173 | [
"Life sciences industry"
] |
62,361,848 | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sodium%20phenylacetate/sodium%20benzoate | Sodium phenylacetate/sodium benzoate, sold under the brand name Ammonul among others, is a fixed-dose combination medication used to treat high blood ammonia. It is a combination of sodium phenylacetate and sodium benzoate.
References
Combination drugs
Organic sodium salts | Sodium phenylacetate/sodium benzoate | [
"Chemistry"
] | 62 | [
"Organic sodium salts",
"Salts"
] |
67,565,525 | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List%20of%20brown%20seaweeds%20of%20South%20Africa | This is a list of brown seaweeds recorded from the oceans bordering South Africa.
This list comprises locally used common names, scientific names with author citation and recorded ranges. Ranges specified may not be the entire known range for the species, but should include the known range within the waters surrounding the Republic of South Africa.
List ordering and taxonomy complies where possible with the current usage in Algaebase, and may differ from the cited source, as listed citations are primarily for range or existence of records for the region.
Sub-taxa within any given taxon are arranged alphabetically as a general rule.
Details of each species may be available through the relevant internal links. Synonyms may be listed where useful.
Division: Heterokonta — Class: Phaeophyceae — Brown seaweeds
Order: Cutleriales
Family Cutleriaceae
Aglaozonia sp. (Muizenberg, False Bay. Brandfontein. Bird Island, eastern Cape)
Order: Desmarestiales
Family Desmarestiaceae
Acid weed Desmarestia firma (C.Agardh) Skottsberg in Nordenskjöld 1907, syn. Sporochnus herbaceus var. firma C.Agardh 1824, (Möwe Bay, Namibia to Betty's Bay. Doubtful record for Cape Agulhas)
Order: Dictyotales
Family Dictyotaceae
Canistrocarpus cervicornis (Kützing) De Paula & De Clerck in De Clerck et al. 2006, syn. Dictyota cervicornis Kützing 1859, (Mission Rocks northwards into Mozambique)
Dictyopteris delicatula J.V.Lamouroux 1809, syn. Neurocarpus delicatulus (J.V.Lamouroux) Kuntze, Haliseris delicatula (J.V.Lamouroux) C.Agardh 1820. (Isipingo northwards)
Smooth-tongued dictyopteris Dictyopteris ligulata (Suhr) O.C.Schmidt 1938, syn. Haliseris ligulata Suhr 1834, (Black Rock (Umpangazi?), Natal to Koppie Allen, De Hoop Nature Reserve. Rare on west coast, only collected from Brandfontein)
Dictyopteris macrocarpa (Areschoug) O.C.Schmidt 1938, syn. Haliseris macrocarpa Areschoug 1847, Neurocarpus macrocarpus (Areschoug) Kuntze 1891, (Port Alfred northwards to Mozambique)
Dictyota ciliolata Sonder ex Kützing 1859, (Mabibi northwards into Mozambique)
Dictyota dichotoma (Hudson) J.V.Lamouroux 1809, syn. Ulva dichotoma Hudson 1762, Zonaria dichotoma (Hudson) C.Agardh 1817, Fucus dichotomus (Hudson) Bertolini 1819, Haliseris dichotoma (Hudson) Sprengel 1827, Dichophyllium dichotomum (Hudson) Kützing 1843,(Langebaan and False Bay to Natal. D. dichotoma var. intricata (C.Agardh) Greville 1830, common at Kalk Bay and Dalebrook, and occurring more or less throughout the range of the species)
Dictyota friabilis Setchell 1926, (Northern KwaZulu-Natal)
Dictyota humifusa Hörnig, Schnetter & Coppejans in Hörnig et al. 1992, (Isipingo northwards into Mozambique)
Dictyota liturata J.Agardh 1848, (Kommetjie on Cape Peninsula to Umhlali in KwaZulu-Natal)
Spotted dictyota Dictyota naevosa (Suhr) Montagne 1840, syn. Zonaria naevosa Suhr 1834, Cutleria naevosa (Suhr) Hering ex Krauss 1846, (Die Walle to Umhlali, KwaZulu-Natal)(Cape Peninsula eatward into KwaZulu-Natal as far as Mission Rocks)
Distromium skottsbergii Levring 1940, (Protea banks in southern KwaZulu-Natal)
Multi-fanned zonaria Exallosorus harveyanus (Pappe ex Kützing) J.A.Phillips, 1997. Syn. Zonaria harveyana (Pappe ex Kützing) Areschoug 1851, (Platbank, False Bay to KwaZulu-Natal as far north as Park Rynie. Endemic)
Lobophora variegata (J.V.Lamouroux) Womersley ex E.C.Oliveira 1977, syn. Dictyota variegata J.V.Lamouroux 1809, Zonaria variegata (J.V.Lamouroux) C.Agardh 1817, Gymnosorus variegatus (J.V.Lamouroux) J.Agardh 1894, Pocockiella variegata (J.V.Lamouroux) Papenfuss 1943, (East London eastward into Mozambique)
Padina boryana Thivy in W.R. Taylor 1966, (The Haven about 150km west of Port St. Johns eastward into Mozambique)
Rugulopteryx suhrii (Kützing) De Clerck & Coppejans in De Clerck et al. 2006, syn. Dictyota marginata Areschoug 1851, Dictyota suhrii G.Murray 1888, Stoechospermum suhrii Kützing 1859, (Algoa Bay eatwards into KwaZulu-Natal as far north as Isipingo)
Spatoglossum asperum J.Agardh 1894, (Isipingo northward)
Stoechospermum polypodioides (J.V.Lamouroux) J.Agardh 1848, syn. Dictyota polypodioides J.V.Lamouroux 1809, (Mapelane near St. Lucia northward into Mozambique)
Stypopodium multipartitum (Suhr) P.C.Silva in P.C.Silva, Basson & Moe 1996, syn. Zonaria multipartita Suhr 1834, Cutleria multipartita (Suhr) Hering 1846, Orthosorus multipartitus (Suhr) Trevisan 1849, Spatoglossum multipartitum (Suhr) Kützing 1849, (Arniston eastward into Mozambique)
Articulated zonaria Zonaria subarticulata (J.V.Lamouroux) Papenfuss 1944, Dictyota subarticulata J.V.Lamouroux 1809, Padina interrupta (Lamouroux) Bory de Saint-Vincent 1827, Phycopteris interrupta (Lamouroux) Kützing 1849, Orthosorus interruptus (Lamouroux) Trevisan 1849, (False Bay eastward to Mozambique)
Order: Ectocarpales
Family: Acinetosporaceae
Acinetospora crinita (Carmichael) Sauvageau 1899, syn. Acinetospora pusilla var. crinita (Carmichael) Batters, Ectocarpus crinitus Carmichael 1833, (False Bay, Eastern Cape)
Feldmannia irregularis (Kützing) G.Hamel 1939, syn. Ectocarpus irregularis Kützing 1845, Giffordia irregularis (Kützing) Joly 1965, Hincksia irregularis (Kützing) Amsler 1991, (Cape Peninsula, Langebaan lagoon and Eastern Cape)
Hincksia granulosa (Smith) P.C.Silva in P.C.Silva, E.G.Meñez & R.L.Moe 1987, Conferva granulosa Smith 1811, Ectocarpus granulosus (Smith) C.Agardh 1828, Giffordia granulosa (Smith) G.Hamel 1939, (Muizenberg and Oudekraal, also Namibia)
Family Chordariaceae
Asperococcus compressus A.W.Griffiths ex W.J.Hooker 1833, (Table Bay)
Brown brains Leathesia marina (Lyngbye) Decaisne 1842, syn. Chaetophora marina Lyngbye 1819, Leathesia difformis (Linnaeus) J.E. Areschoug 1847, (All South African coasts: common on west coast, intermittent in eastern Cape and KwaZulu-Natal)
Myriocladia capensis J. Agardh 1848, (Port Nolloth to De Hoop Nature Reserve, endemic)
Myriogloea abbreviata Kylin 1940, (Sea Point to Port Nolloth, endemic)
Myriogloea papenfussii Kylin 1940, (False Bay to Melkbosstrand, endemic)
Myrionema cf. magnusii (Sauvageau) Loiseaux 1967, syn. Ascocyclus magnusii Sauvageau 1927, (Glencairn)
Papenfussiella gracilis Kylin 1940, (Platboombaai to Swakopmund, Namibia. Endemic to southern Africa)
Streblonema codii vel. aff. Barton 1896, (Betty's Bay)
Streblonema cf. nemastomae Baardseth 1941, (Port Nolloth, Hondeklipbaai)
Streblonema transfixum Setchell & Gardner 1922b, (Port Nolloth and Hondeklip Bay)
Zeacarpa leiomorpha Anderson, Simons & Bolton 1988, (Yzerfontein to Dalebrook, Probably more widespread)
Family Chordariopsidaceae
Cape cord weed Chordariopsis capensis (C.Agardh) Kylin 1940, syn. Chordaria flagelliformis var. capensis C.Agardh 1824, (Cape Frio, Namibia to at least Arniston)
Family Ectocarpaceae
Ectocarpus acutus Setchell & Gardner 1922c, (Olifantsbos to Hondeklipbaai)
Ectocarpus fasciculatus Harvey 1841, (Melkbosstrand to De Hoop)
Ectocarpus siliculosus (Dillwyn) Lyngbye 1819, syn. Conferva siliculosa Dillwyn 1809, Ceramium siliculosum (Dillwyn) C.Agardh 1811, Ectocarpus confervoides f. siliculosus (Dillwyn) Kjellman 1872, Ectocarpus confervoides var. siliculosus (Dillwyn) Farlow 1881, (Port Nolloth to Eastern Cape)
Family: Pylaiellaceae
Bachelotia antillarum (Grunow) Gerloff 1959, syn. Ectocarpus antillarum Grunow 1867, Pylaiella antillarum (Grunow) De Toni 1895, (False Bay to KwaZulu-Natal)
Family Scytosiphonaceae
Chnoospora minima (Hering) Papenfuss 1956, syn. Fucus minimus Hering 1841, (Dwesa (about 80 km west of Poert St. Johns) eastward into Mozambique)
Oyster thief Colpomenia sinuosa (Mertens ex Roth) Derbès & Solier in Castagne 1851, syn. Ulva sinuosa Mertens ex Roth 1806, Encoelium sinuosum (Mertens ex Roth) C.Agardh 1820, Stilophora sinuosa (Mertens ex Roth) C.Agardh 1827, Asperococcus sinuosus (Mertens ex Roth) Bory de Saint-Vincent 1832, Asperococcus sinuosus (C.Agardh) Zanardini 1841, Hydroclathrus sinuosus (Mertens ex Roth) Zanardini 1843, (Throughout South Africa)
Compsonema cf. sessile Setchell & Gardner 1922a, (Oudekraal)
Endarachne Endarachne binghamiae J.Agardh 1896' (False Bay eastwards to KwaZulu-Natal as far as Port Edward)
Hydroclathrus clathratus (C.Agardh) M.A.Howe in N.L.Britton & C.F.Millspaugh 1920, syn. Encoelium clathratum C.Agardh 1823, Stilophora clathrata (C.Agardh) C.Agardh 1827, Asperococcus clathratus (C.Agardh) J.Agardh 1848, (Northern KwaZulu-Natal from Sodwana northward)
Starred cushion Iyengaria stellata (Børgesen) Børgesen 1939, syn. Rosenvingea stellata Børgesen 1928, Colpomenia stellata (Børgesen) Børgesen 1930, (Southern Cape Peninsula to KwaZulu-Natal)
Petalonia fascia (O.F.Müller) Kuntze 1898, syn. Fucus fascia O.F.Müller 1778, Laminaria fascia (O.F.Müller) C.Agardh 1817, Ulva fascia (O.F.Müller) Lyngbye 1819, Ilea fascia (O.F.Müller) Fries 1835, Phyllitis fascia (O.F.Müller) Kützing 1843, Saccharina fascia (O.F.Müller) Kuntze 1891, (Yzerfontein to Soetwater)
Scytosiphon lomentaria (Lyngbye) Link 1833, Chorda lomentaria Lyngbye 1819, Scytosiphon filum var. lomentarius (Lyngbye) C.Agardh 1820, Fucus lomentarius (Lyngbye) Sommerfelt 1826, Scytosiphon simplicissimus (Clemente) Cremades 1990, Ulva simplicissima Clemente 1807, (Simon's Town to Lüderitz)
Sausage skins Scytosiphon simplicissimus (Clemente) Cremades in Cremades et Perez-Cirera 1990, syn. Ulva simplicissima Clemente 1807, (Simon's Town in False Bay to Lüderitz in Namibia)
Order: Fucales
Family Bifurcariopsidaceae
Upright wrack Bifurcariopsis capensis (Areschoug) Papenfuss 1940a, syn. Fucodium capense Areschoug 1854, (Cape Infanta to Groen River)
Family Sargassaceae
Long-leafed sargassum Anthophycus longifolius (Turner) Kützing, 1849 syn. Fucus longifolius Turner 1809, Sargassum longifolium (Turner) C.Agardh 1820, Carpophyllum longifolium (Turner) De Toni 1895, (Platboombaai eastwards as far as Uvongo in southern KwaZulu-Natal)
Constricted axils Axillariella constricta (J.Agardh) P.C.Silva 1959b, syn. Fucodium constrictum J.Agardh 1848, Ascophyllum constricta (J.Agardh) Kuntze 1891, Ascophylla constricta (Kützing) Kuntze 1891, (Cape Peninsula to Cape Columbine)
Hanging wrack Brassicophycus brassicaeformis (Kützing) Draisma, Ballesteros, F.Rousseau & T.Thibaut 2010, syn. Pycnophycus brassicaeformis Kützing 1860, Bifurcaria brassicaeformis (Kützing) E.S.Barton 1893, (Cape Agulhas to Sea Point)
Cystophora fibrosa Simons, 1970, (De Walle to Koppie Allen, and Platboom)
Hormophysa cuneiformis (J.F.Gmelin) P.C.Silva in P.C. Silva, Meñez & Moe 1987, syn. Fucus cuneiformis J.F.Gmelin 1792, (Rabbit Rock in northern KwaZulu-Natal northwards)
Polycladia myrica (S.G.Gmelin) Draima, Ballesteros, F.Rousseau & T.Thibaut 2010, syn. Fucus myrica S.G.Gemlin 1768, Cystoseira myrica (S.G.Gmelin) C.Agardh 1820, (as C.myrica, Mission Rocks in KwaZulu-Natal northwards into Mozambique)
Sargassum aquifolium (Turner) C.Agardh 1820, syn. Fucus aquifolius Turner 1807, Sargassum crassifolium J.Agardh 1848, (Sodwana northwards)
Sargassum elegans Suhr, 1840, (False Bay to Mozambique. Endemic to southern Africa)
Sargassum incisifolium (Turner) C.Agardh 1820, syn. Fucus incisifolius Turner 1811, Sargassum heterophyllum (Turner) C.Agardh, 1820, (False Bay eastward into Mozambique. Restricted to Southern Africa and Madagascar)
Turbinaria ornata (Turner) J.Agardh 1848, syn. Fucus turbinatus var. ornata Turner 1807, Sargassum turbinatum var. ornatum (Turner) C.Agardh 1821, (Common from Sodwana Bay northwards but extending south as far as Durban)
Order: Laminariales
Family Laminariaceae
Split-fan kelp Laminaria pallida Greville in J. Agardh 1848, Hafgygia pallida (Greville) Areschchoug 1883, Saccharina pallida (Greville) Kuntze 1891, (Danger Point to Cape Nolloth, as the schinzii form to at least Rocky Point in northern Namibia)
Bladder kelp Macrocystis angustifolia Bory de Saint-Vincent 1826, (Occasional in drift in False Bay. Attached from Cape Point to Paternoster)
Family Lessoniaceae
Sea bamboo Ecklonia maxima (Osbeck) Papenfuss 1940b, syn. Fucus maximus Osbeck 1757, (Papenkuilsfontein 10 km west of Cape Agulhas to north of Lüderitz, Namibia)
Spined kelp Ecklonia radiata (C.Agardh) J.Agardh 1848, Laminaria radiata C.Agardh 1817, Capea radiata (C.Agardh) Endlicher 1843, (Forms with long stipes and rugose blades in False Bay, Spinose forms common at Die Dam, Otherwise species common from Koppie Allen to Southern Natal. Longer stiped smooth bladed form as far east as parts of Zululand)(Deep water populations extend to Sodwana Bay at depths up to 60m)
Order: Ralfsiales
Family Neoralfsiaceae
Neoralfsia expansa (J.Agardh) P.-E.Lim & H.Kawai ex Kraft 2009, syn. Myrionema expansum J.Agardh 1847, Ralfsia expansa (J.Agardh) J.Agardh 1848, (unclear distribution)
Family Ralfsiaceae
Ralfsia Ralfsia verrucosa (Areschoug) J.Agardh 1848, syn. Cruoria verrucosa Areschoug 1843, (Common on all west coast shores and probably throughout the Agulhas marine province)
Order: Scytothamnales
Family Splachnidiaceae
Dead man's fingers Splachnidium rugosum (Linnaeus) Greville 1830, (Dominant in mid-shore throughout west coast, Lüderitz, Namibia to eastern Cape)
Order: Sphacelariales
Family Sphacelariaceae
Sphacelaria brachygonia Montagne 1843, (St. James and Strandfontein, False Bay, More frequent on south coast as far as Transkei)
Sphacelaria rigidula Kützing 1843, (Kalk Bay in False Bay to at least Transkei)
Family Stypocaulaceae
Phloiocaulon squamulosum (Suhr) Geyler 1866, (Betty's Bay to East London. Endemic)
Stypocaulon funiculare (Montagne) Kützing 1849, (Port Nolloth to Cape Agulhas and Tsitsikamma)
Order: Sporochnales
Family Sporochnaceae
Carpomitra costata (Stackhouse) Batters 1902, (Algoa Bay. Vulcan Rock, Hout Bay)
Sporochnus pedunculatus (Hudson) C. Agardh 1820, (Strandfontein)
See also
Geographical position of places mentioned in species ranges
Algoa Bay, Eastern Cape,
Aliwal shoal, KwaZulu-Natal,
Arniston (Waenhuiskrans), Western Cape,
Betty's Bay, Western Cape,
Bhanga Neck, KwaZulu-Natal,
Bird Island, Eastern Cape,
Blaauwberg, Western Cape,
Black Rock, Northern KwaZulu-Natal,
Brandfontein, Western Cape,
Buffelsbaai (Cape Peninsula), Western Cape,
Buffelsbaai (west coast), Western Cape,
Buffelsbaai (south coast), Western Cape,
Cape Agulhas, Western Cape,
Cape Columbine, Western Cape,
Cape Frio, Namibia,
Cape of Good Hope, Western Cape, (sometimes used historically to refer to the Cape Province, or South Africa)
Cape Peninsula, Western Cape
Cape Hangklip, Western Cape,
Cape Infanta, Western Cape,
Clovelly, False Bay, Western Cape,
Dalebrook, False Bay, Western Cape,
Danger Point, Western Cape,
De Hoop, Western Cape, (just west of Cape Infanta)
De Walle, (Die Walle), (Just west of Agulhas) °'S °'E
Die Dam (Quoin Point), Western Cape,
Doring Bay (Doringbaai), Western Cape,
Durban, KwaZulu-Natal,
Dwesa, Eastern Cape,
East London, Eastern Cape,
False Bay, Western Cape,
Glencairn, False Bay, Western Cape,
Groenrivier (Groen River),
Groot Bergrivier estuary (Berg River, Velddrif), Western Cape,
Haga Haga, Eastern Cape (N of E.London)
The Haven, Eastern Cape, 150 km west of Port St. Johns,
Hermanus, Western Cape,
Hluleka, Eastern Cape,
Hondeklipbaai, Northern Cape,
Hout Bay, Cape Peninsula, Western Cape,
Isipingo, KwaZulu-Natal,
Island Rock, KwaZulu-Natal,
Kalk Bay, False Bay, Western Cape,
Kei River, Eastern Cape,
Kenton-on-Sea, Eastern Cape,
Keurboomstrand, Plettenberg Bay, Western Cape,
Knysna, Western Cape,
Kommetjie, Western Cape,
Koppie Alleen, De Hoop, Western Cape, °'S °'E
Kosi Bay, Kwa-Zulu-Natal,
Kowie River, Eastern Cape,
Kraalbaai, Langebaan lagoon, Western Cape,
Lala Nek, KwaZulu-Natal,
Lamberts Bay, Western Cape,
Leadsman shoal, KwaZulu-Natal,
Langebaan Lagoon, Western Cape,
Llandudno, Cape Peninsula, Western Cape,
Lüderitz, Namibia,
Mabibi, Kwa-Zulu-Natal,
Mapelane, Maphelana, KwaZulu-Natal, near St. Lucia,
Melkbosstrand, Western Cape,
Mission Rocks, KwaZulu-Natal,
Mkambati, KwaZulu-Natal,
Morgan's Bay, Eastern Cape, (Near Kei mouth)
Möwe Bay, Namibia, (Möwe Point lighthouse)
Mtwalume river, KwaZulu-Natal, °'S °'E
Noordhoek, Cape Peninsula, Western Cape,
Muizenberg, False Bay, Western Cape,
Oatlands Point, False Bay, Western Cape,
Oudekraal, Cape Peninsula, Western Cape,
Olifantsbos, Cape Peninsula, Western Cape,
Palm Beach, South Africa,
Park Rynie, KwaZulu-Natal,
Paternoster, Western Cape,
Papenkuilsfontein, Western Cape, 10 km west of Agulhas °'S °'E
Pearly Beach, Western Cape,
Platbank, Cape Peninsula, Western Cape,
Platboombaai,
Plettenberg Bay, Western Cape,
Ponta do Ouro, Mozambique border,
Port Alfred, Eastern Cape,
Port Edward, KwaZulu-Natal
Port Elizabeth, Eastern Cape,
Port Nolloth, Northern Cape,
Port St. Johns, KwaZulu-Natal,
Postberg, Western Cape,
Protea Banks, KwaZulu-Natal,
Rabbit Rock, KwaZulu-Natal, °'S °'E
Robberg, Western Cape,
Rocky Point, Namibia, °'S °'E
Saldanha Bay, Western Cape,
Saxon Reef, KwaZulu-Natal, (near Mozambique border), °'S °'E
Scarborough, Cape Peninsula, Western Cape,
Scottburgh, KwaZulu-Natal,
Sea Point, Cape Peninsula, Western Cape,
Shelly Beach, KwaZulu-Natal, KwaZulu-Natal,
Simon's Town, Western Cape,
Smitswinkel Bay, False Bay, Western Cape,
Sodwana Bay, KwaZulu-Natal,
Soetwater, °'S °'E
Stilbaai (Still Bay), Western Cape,
St Helena Bay, Western Cape,
St. James, False Bay, Western Cape,
St Lucia, KwaZulu-Natal,
Strand, Western Cape,
Strandfontein, False Bay, Western Cape,
Strandfontein, Western Cape,
Swakopmund, Namibia,
Swartklip, False Bay, Western Cape,
Swartkops River,
Table Bay, Western Cape,
Three Anchor Bay, Cape Peninsula, Western Cape,
Three Sisters (Eastern Cape), Riet River, 10 km west of Port Alfred, Eastern Cape, °'S °'E
Trafalgar, KwaZulu-Natal,
Tsitsikamma, Eastern Cape,
Umhlali, KwaZulu-Natal, (mHlali river mouth)
Umpangazi, KwaZulu-Natal, (Cape Vidal?)
Uvongo, KwaZulu-Natal,
Waterloo Bay, Eastern Cape,
Yzerfontein, Western Cape,
References
South Africa
South African biodiversity lists
Marine biota of South Africa | List of brown seaweeds of South Africa | [
"Biology"
] | 5,720 | [
"Seaweeds",
"Algae"
] |
67,566,501 | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Institute%20of%20Applied%20Astronomy | The Institute of Applied Astronomy of the Russian Academy of Sciences (name in Russian: Институт прикладной астрономии — official name in Russian: Федеральное государственное бюджетное учреждение науки Институт прикладной астрономии Российской академии наук (Federal State Budgetary Institution of Science Institute of Applied Astronomy of the Russian Academy of Sciences) — abbreviated name in Russian: ИПА РАН — abbreviated name in English: IAA RAS) is one of the world's largest astronomical institutes, known for research in ephemeris astronomy, classical and relativistic celestial mechanics, radio astronomy and radio interferometry, space geodesy, fundamental coordinate-time support, and development of new methods in astrometry and geodynamics.
Directors
1988–2011 Andrey Mikhailovich Finkelstein
2011–2017 Alexander Vasilievich Ipatov
2017–present Dmitry Viktorovich Ivanov
History
The institute was formed on November 13, 1987 by the order number 941 of the Presidium of the USSR Academy of Sciences.
In 2012 the type and full name of the institute was changed to Федеральное государственное бюджетное учреждение науки Институт прикладной астрономии Российской академии наук (Federal State Budgetary Institution of Science Institute of Applied Astronomy of the Russian Academy of Sciences), by resolution number 262, dated December 13, 2011, of the Presidium of the Russian Academy of Sciences. The abbreviated name remained the same.
Main directions of scientific activity
Research in the field of astronomy, ephemeris astronomy and space geodesy.
Research in the field of terrestrial radio interferometry with very long baselines and radio astronomy.
Research in the field of classical and relativistic celestial mechanics.
Research in the field of fundamental coordinate-time support.
Construction of fundamental reference systems and determination of the parameters of the Earth's rotation.
Research in the field of radio astronomy and geodetic instrumentation.
Publication of astronomical and specialized yearbooks, ephemeris of minor planets and other official coordinate-time publications.
Operation and modernization of software systems for the radio interferometric network "Kvasar-KVO".
Departments of the Institute
Department of Radio Astronomy Equipment
Laboratory of antennas and antenna measurements
Laboratory of radio astronomy receiving devices
Signal conversion and registration laboratory
Laboratory of time and frequency
Correlation processing laboratory
Laboratory of Information and Computing Systems
Department of Radio Astronomy Observations
Radio astronomy observatory "Svetloe" (Priozersky District)
Radio astronomy observatory "Zelenchukskaya" (Zelenchuksky District)
Radio astronomy observatory "Badary" (Irkutsk Oblast)
Department of centralized operation of observatories
Department of Fundamental and Applied Astronomy
Laboratory of Ephemeris Astronomy
Laboratory of Astronomical Yearbooks
Laboratory of Space Geodesy and Earth Rotation
Laboratory of Small Bodies of the Solar System
Group of relativistic celestial mechanics
Prototype production
Design and Technology Group
Branch of the Department of Radiophysics of СПбПУ (SPbPU, Peter the Great St. Petersburg Polytechnic University)
Base Department of Radio Astronomy of СПбГЭТУ "ЛЭТИ" ("LETI", Saint Petersburg Electrotechnical University)
Publishing activity
IAA RAS publishes Russian and international astronomical yearbooks and almanacs containing ephemerides of the Sun, Moon, planets, minor planets, and stars, calculated with maximum accuracy in accordance with the standards approved by the International Astronomical Union.
Observations
The Institute of Applied Astronomy of the Russian Academy of Sciences conducts radio interferometric and radio astronomical observations at radio astronomy observatories of the Kvazar-KVO network under international and Russian programs.
Location
The divisions of the Institute of Applied Astronomy of the Russian Academy of Sciences are located in four constituent entities of the Russian Federation: (St. Petersburg, Leningrad Oblast, Karachay-Cherkess Republic, Republic of Buryatia).
191187, St. Petersburg, Kutuzova, Embankment 10
197110, St. Petersburg, Zhdanovskaya street, 8
"Svetloe" radioastronomical observatory
Longitude: 29°46'53" E
Latitude: 60°31'57" N
Address: 188833, Leningradskaya Oblast, Priozerskiy district, village Svetloe
“Zelenchukskaya” radioastronomical observatory
Longitude: 41°33'54" E
Latitude: 43°47'18" N
Address: 357140, Karachaevo-Circassian Republic, Zelenchukskiy district
“Badary” radioastronomical observatory
Longitude: 102°14'06" E
Latitude: 51°46'11" N
Address: 671021, Buryatiya Republic, Tunkinskiy district, urochishche Badary
References
Astrophysics research institutes
Astronomical observatories in Russia
Radio astronomy
Institutes of the Russian Academy of Sciences
Research institutes in the Soviet Union
Astronomy in the Soviet Union
Research institutes established in 1987
1987 establishments in the Soviet Union | Institute of Applied Astronomy | [
"Physics",
"Astronomy"
] | 1,182 | [
"Radio astronomy",
"Astronomical sub-disciplines",
"Astrophysics research institutes",
"Astrophysics"
] |
67,567,062 | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Neocalyptrella | Neocalyptrella is a genus of diatoms belonging to the family Rhizosoleniaceae.
Species:
Neocalyptrella robusta (G.Norman ex Ralfs) Hernández-Becerril & Castillo
References
Diatoms
Diatom genera | Neocalyptrella | [
"Biology"
] | 57 | [
"Diatoms",
"Algae"
] |
67,567,167 | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ochroconis | Ochroconis is a genus of fungi belonging to the family Sympoventuriaceae.
The genus has cosmopolitan distribution.
Species
Species:
Ochroconis ailanthi
Ochroconis aquatica
Ochroconis atlantica
Ochroconis constricta
References
Dothideomycetes
Dothideomycetes genera | Ochroconis | [
"Biology"
] | 69 | [
"Fungus stubs",
"Fungi"
] |
67,568,244 | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Digital%20self-determination | Digital self-determination is a multidisciplinary concept derived from the legal concept of self-determination and applied to the digital sphere, to address the unique challenges to individual and collective agency and autonomy arising with increasing digitalization of many aspects of society and daily life.
Origins
There is no philosophically or legally agreed-upon concept of digital self-determination yet. Broadly speaking, the term describes the attempt to comprehensively project the pattern of human self-determination (as first explored in disciplines like philosophy and psychology, and in the law) into the digital age.
The concept has been included in an official document for the first time by ARCEP, the French Telecoms Regulator, in a section of its 2021 Report on the State of the Internet, exploring the work on "Network Self-determination" conducted by Professor Luca Belli.
Self-determination
Philosophy
The concept of self-determination relates to concepts of subjectivity, dignity, and autonomy in classic central-European philosophy and derived from Immanuel Kant's conception of freedom. Self-determination presupposes that human beings are entities capable of reason and responsibility for their own rationally chosen and justified actions (autonomy), and ought to be treated accordingly. In formulating his categorical imperative (kategorischer Imperativ), Kant suggested that humans, as a condition of their autonomy, must never be treated as a means to an end but as an end in itself. The pattern of self-determination similarly aims at enabling autonomous human beings to create, choose and pursue their own identity, action, and life choices without undue interference.
Psychology
In psychology, the concept of self-determination is closely related to self-regulation and intrinsic motivation, i.e., engaging in a behavior or activity because it is inherently rewarding to do so, as opposed to being driven by external motivations or pressures, like monetary incentives, status, or fear. In this context, self-determination and intrinsic motivation are linked to feeling in control of one's choices and behavior and are considered necessary for psychological well-being. Self-determination theory (SDT), first introduced by psychologists Richard Ryan and Eduard Deci in the 1980s, and further developed through the 1990s and 2000s, has been largely influential in shaping the concept of self-determination in the field of psychology. Ryan and Deci's SDT proposed that individuals' motivated behavior is characterized by three basic and universal needs: autonomy, competence, and relatedness. Autonomy refers here to the need to feel free to decide one's course of action. Competence refers to the need to have the capacity and skills to undertake and complete motivated behavior in an effective manner. Finally, relatedness refers to the need to experience warm and caring social relationships and feel connected to others. According to SDT, all three needs must be fulfilled for optimal functioning and psychological well-being. However, other psychologists like Barry Schwartz have argued that if self-determination is taken to extremes, freedom of choice can turn into the "tyranny of choice". In this view, having too much autonomy and too many choices over our course of action can be perceived as overwhelming, make our decisions more difficult, and ultimately lead to psychological distress rather than wellbeing.
Law
Human rights
In international law, the right of a people to self-determination is commonly recognized as a ius cogens rule. Here, self-determination denotes that a people, based on respect for the principle of equal rights and fair equality of opportunity, have the right to freely choose their sovereignty, international political status, economic, social, and cultural development with no interference. In the framework of the United Nations, fundamental rights like self-determination are mainly defined in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, and the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights.
Informational self-determination in German law
The concept of informational self-determination (informational Selbstbestimmung), considered as a modern fundamental right which protects against unjustified data processing, has featured prominently in the German Federal Constitutional Court's (Bundesverfassungsgericht) jurisprudence and might be the most direct precursor and inspiration to the concept of digital self-determination.
In 1983, the Bundesverfassungsgericht ruled that "in the context of modern data processing, the general right of personality under Article 2.1 in conjunction with Article 1.1 of the Basic Law encompasses the protection of the individual against unlimited collection, storage, use and sharing of personal data. The fundamental right guarantees the authority conferred on the individual to, in principle, decide themselves on the disclosure and use of their personal data." (Volkszählungsurteil, headnote 1).
Philosophically, the right to informational self-determination is deeply rooted in the Bundesverfassungsgericht's understanding of inviolable Human Dignity (Article 1 of the Grundgesetz) as a prohibition of human objectification (in German: Objektformel; see for example n°33 of BVerfGE 27, 1 - Mikrozensus). This understanding refers back to the late 18th-century German philosophy of Enlightenment. The Volkszählungsurteil was inspired by the concern that modern data processing technology could lead to a "registration and cataloging of one's personality in a manner that is incompatible with human dignity" (Volkszählungsurteil, headnote 4). In this view, human beings, due to their inviolable dignity, may never be treated like depersonalized and objectified resources that can be harvested for data. Instead humans, due to their capacity for autonomy, are self-determined agents possessing a significant degree of control over their informational images.
Self-determination in the digital sphere
The increasing digitization of most aspects of society poses new challenges for the concept and realization of self-determination. While the digital sphere has ushered in innovation and opened up new opportunities for self-expression and communication for individuals across the globe, its reach and benefits have not been evenly distributed, oftentimes deepening existing inequalities and power structures, commonly referred to as a digital divide. Moreover, the digital transformation has enabled, oftentimes unbeknownst to individuals, the mass collection, analysis, and harvesting of personal data by private companies and governments to infer individuals' information and preferences (e.g., by tracking browsing and shopping history), influence opinions and behavior (e.g., through filter bubbles and targeted advertisements), and/or to make decisions about them (e.g., approving or not a loan or employment application), thus posing new threats to individuals' privacy and autonomy.
Although the definition of digital self-determination is still evolving, the term has been used to address humans' capacity (or lack thereof) to exercise self-determination in their existence in and usage of digital media, spaces, networks, and technologies, with the protection of the potential for human flourishing in the digital world as one of the chief concerns.
Starting in the 2010s, a few multidisciplinary and cross-sectoral initiatives around the world have been working on developing a theoretical framework for the concept of digital self-determination.
In 2015, the Cologne Center for Ethics, Rights, Economics, and Social Sciences of Health, housed at the University of Cologne (CERES), conducted a study to help define digital self-determination and develop metrics to measure its fulfillment. Their study report defines digital self-determination as "the concrete development of a human personality or the possibility of realizing one's own plans of action and decisions to act, insofar as this relates to the conscious use of digital media or is (co-)dependent on the existence or functioning of digital media".
In 2017, Professor Luca Belli presented at the United Nations Internet Governance Forum the concept of Network Self-determination as the "right to freely associate in order to define, in a democratic fashion, the design, development and management of network infrastructure as a common good, so that all individuals can freely seek, impart and receive information and innovation." Arguing that the right to network self-determination finds its basis in the fundamental right to self-determination of peoples as well as in the right to informational self-determination, Belli posits that network self-determination plays a pivotal role allowing individuals to associate and join efforts to bridge digital divides in a bottom-up fashion, freely developing common infrastructure. The concept gained traction at the Latin American level, starting to form a core element of research and policy proposals dedicated to community networks.
In 2018, the Swiss government launched a Digital Self-Determination network in response to the action plan for the Federal Council's 'Digital Switzerland' strategy, including representatives from the Swiss Federal Administration, academia, civil society, and the private sector. The work of this network conceptualizes digital self-determination as "a way of enhancing trust into digital transformation while allowing all actors of society to benefit from the potential of the data economy". This work proposes that the core principles of digital self-determination are transparency and trust, control and self-determined data sharing, user-oriented data spaces, and decentralized data spaces that operate in proximity to citizens' needs. The work of the network aims "to create an international network that represents the basic principles of digital self-determination and on this basis will elaborate best practices, standards, and agreements to develop international data spaces".
In 2021, the French Telecoms Regulator (ARCEP) referred to the concept of Digital Self-determination in its official annual report dedicated to "The State of the Internet", drawing on the IGF output document report on "The Value of Internet Openness in Times of Crisis".
In 2021, the Centre of AI & Data Governance at Singapore Management University launched a major research project focusing on the concept of digital self-determination, in collaboration with the Swiss government and other research partners. Their theoretical framework focuses on data governance and privacy, and proposes that the core components of digital self-determination are the empowerment of data subjects to oversee their sense of self in the digital sphere, their ability to govern their data, consent as a cornerstone of privacy and data protection, protection against data malfeasance, and accuracy and authenticity of the data collected. This proposed framework also emphasizes that digital self-determination refers to both individuals and collectives and that the concept should be understood in the context of "rights dependent on duties" and in parallel to concepts of a social or relational self, social responsibility, and digital solidarity (see below: 3.1. Addressing the multilevel 'self' in digital self-determination)
In 2021, the Digital Asia Hub in collaboration with the Berkman Klein Center at Harvard University and the Global Network of Internet & Society Centers, conducted a research sprint to explore the concept of digital self-determination from different perspectives and across cultural contexts. This initiative approached digital self-determination "as an enabler of - or at least contributor - to the exercise of autonomy and agency in the face of shrinking choices", to address questions of control, power, and equity "in a world that is increasingly constructed, mediated, and at times even dominated by digital technologies and digital media, including the underlying infrastructures."
In addition to the work of governments and research centers, civil society members have also advocated for digital self-determination. For example, Ferdinand von Schirach, a legal attorney and widely-read German writer of fictional legal short stories and novels, has launched an initiative entitled "JEDER MENSCH", which translates to "Every human". In "JEDER MENSCH", von Schirach calls for the addition of six new fundamental rights to the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union. Article 2 of this proposal is entitled "right to digital self-determination", and proposed that "Everyone has the right to digital self-determination. Excessive profiling or the manipulation of people is forbidden."
In October 2021, an International Network on Digital Self-Determination was created with the intention of "bringing together diverse perspectives from different fields around the world to study and design ways to engage in trustworthy data spaces and ensure human centric approaches." The network is composed of experts from the Directorate of International Law of the Swiss Federal Department of Foreign Affairs; the Centre for Artificial Intelligence and Data Governance at Singapore Management University; the Berkman Klein Center at Harvard University; the Global Tech Policy Practice at the TUM School of Social Sciences and Technology and The GovLab at New York University.
Practical elements
Different sectors of society, ranging from legislators and policy-makers, to public organizations and scholars, to activists and members of the civil society, have called for digital infrastructure, tools and systems that protect and promote individuals' self-determination, including equal and free access, human-centered design, better privacy protections and control over data. These elements are closely connected and complement one another. For example, equal access to digital infrastructure can enable the representation of diverse viewpoints and participatory governance in the digital sphere, and decentralized systems might be necessary to ensure individuals' control over their data.
Access to digital infrastructure and tools
Bridging the various forms of existing digital divides and providing equitable and fair access to digital technologies and the internet has been proposed as crucial to ensure that all individuals are able to benefit from the digital age, including access to information, services, and advancement opportunities.
In this sense, the concept of Digital Self-determination overlaps with the concept of "Network Self-determination" as it emphases that groups of unconnected and scarcely connected individuals can regain control over digital infrastructures, by building them and shaping the governance framework that will organise them as a common good. As such, Belli stresses that network self-determination leads to several positive externalities for the affected communities, preserving the Internet as an open, distributed, interoperable and generative network of networks.
Digital literacy
Digital literacy and media literacy have been proposed as necessary for individuals to acquire the knowledge and skills to use digital tools as well as to critically assess the content they encounter online, create their own content, and understand the features and implications of the digital technology used on them as well as the technology they consciously and willingly engage with. In addition to basic digital navigation skills and critical consumption of information, definitions of digital literacy have been extended to include an awareness of existing alternatives to the digital platforms and services used, understanding how personal data is handled, awareness of rights and existing legal protections, and of measures to independently protect one's security and privacy online (e.g., the adoption of obfuscation techniques as a way of evading and protesting digital surveillance).
Representation of diverse realities and viewpoints
Internet activist Eli Pariser coined the term filter bubble to refer to the reduced availability of divergent opinions and realities that we encounter online as a consequence of personalization algorithms like personalized search and recommendation systems. Filter bubbles have been suggested to facilitate a warped understanding of others' points of view and the world. Ensuring a wide representation of diverse realities on digital platforms could be a way of increasing exposure to conflicting viewpoints and avoiding intellectual isolation into informational bubbles.
Human-centered design of user interfaces and experiences
Scholars have coined the term attention economy to refer to the treatment of human attention as a scarce commodity in the context of ever-increasing amounts of information and products. In this view, the increasing competition for users' limited attention, especially when relying on advertising revenue models, creates a pressing goal for digital platforms to get as many people as possible to spend as much time and attention as possible using their product or service. In their quest for users' scarce attention, these platforms would be incentivized to exploit users' cognitive and emotional weaknesses, for example via constant notifications, dark patterns, forced multitasking, social comparison, and incendiary content. Advocates of human-centered design in technology (or humane technology) propose that technology should refrain from such 'brain-hacking' practices, and instead should support users' agency over their time and attention as well as their overall wellbeing.
Data governance
Scholar Shoshana Zuboff popularized the term surveillance capitalism to refer to the private sector's commodification of users' personal data for profit (e.g. via targeted advertising), leading to increased vulnerability to surveillance and exploitation. Surveillance capitalism relies on centralized data management models wherein private companies retain ownership and control over the users' data. To guard against the challenges to individuals' privacy and self-determination, various alternative data governance models have been recently proposed around the world, including trusts, commons, cooperative, collaboratives, fiduciaries, and "pods". These models have some overlap and share a common mission to give more control to individuals over their data and thus address the current power imbalances between data holders and data subjects.
Current issues
Addressing the multilevel 'self' in digital self-determination
Digital self-determination for individuals
An individual's exercising of self-agency can be intimately connected to the digital environments one is embedded in, which can shape one's choice architecture, access to information and opportunities as well as exposure to harm and exploitation, thereby affecting the person's capacity to freely and autonomously conduct his or her life. A variety of digital technologies and their underlying infrastructure, regardless of their relatively visible or indirect human interfaces, could contribute to conditions that empower or disempower an individual's self-determination in the spheres of socio-economic participation, representation of cultural identity and political expression.
The extent of technologically-mediated spheres where such influence could take place over an individual's self-determined choices has been the focus of growing contemporary debates across diverse geographies. One of the debates concerns whether an individual's privacy, as a form of control over one's information, may or may not be sufficiently protected from exploitative data harvesting and micro-targeting that can exert undue behavioural influence over the individual as part of a targeted group. Developments in this area vary greatly across countries and regions where there are different privacy frameworks and big data policies, such as the European Union's General Data Protection Regulation and China's Social Credit System, which approach personal data distinctly.
Other debates range from whether individual agency in decision-making can be undermined by predictive algorithms; whether an individual labor, particularly in the Global South, may encounter new employment opportunities as well as unique vulnerabilities in the digital economy; whether an individual's self-expression may be unduly and discriminately policed by surveillance technologies deployed in smart cities, particularly those integrating facial recognition and emotion recognition capabilities which run on biometric data, as a form of digital panopticon; and whether an individual's access to diverse information may be affected by the digital divide and dominance of centralized online platforms, potentially limiting one's capacity to imagine his or her identity and make informed decisions.
Digital self-determination for children
Digital media and technology afford children the opportunity to engage in various activities that support their development, learning, and pleasure time. Such activities include play, interactions with others, sharing and creating content, and experimenting with varied forms of identities afforded by mediums they engage with . At the same time, despite digital media affordances, children are users who are under 18 years old, which can have unintended consequences on how children consume content, be vulnerable, and ways interactions with technology impact the child's emotional, behavioral, and cognitive development. Therefore, calls within digital literacy and children technology interaction research assert that ethical design of technology is essential for designing equitable environments for children. Work in digital media and learning acknowledges the affordances of technology for creating expansive ways for learning and development for children, at the same time, pays attention to that children should learn critical digital literacies that enables them to communicate, evaluate, and construct knowledge within digital media. Additionally, ethical consideration should be taken into account to support children's self-determination. For instance within this body of work, there is an attention to involving children in the decision making process of technology design as an ethical methodological approach in engaging the design of technology for children. In other words, involving children within the design process of technologies and thinking about ethical dimensions of children interactions enables a shift of the notion of vulnerability is shifted towards supporting children to enact their self-determination and positioning them as active creators of their own digital futures.
Beyond ethical considerations, children's involvement in digital technologies and digital market practices has also an important relevance with their privacy and data protection rights. Use of predictive analytics and tracking software systems can impact children's digital and real life choices by exploiting massive profiling practices. In fact, due to the ubiquitous use of these algorithmic systems at both state and private sector level, children's privacy can easily be violated and they can be personally identifiable in the digital sphere.
Article 12 of the UN CRC implies a responsibility to states that children should have the right to form and express their own views "freely, without any pressure". In the literal analysis, pressure refers to any kind of manipulation, oppression or exploitation. States parties should recognize that all children regardless of age are capable of forming and expressing their own autonomous opinions. Also, it is stated by the Committee that children should have the right to be heard even if they don't have a comprehensive understanding of the subject matter affecting them. Moreover, Article 3 of the UNCRC states that the best interest of the child shall be embedded in private and governmental decision making processes and shall be a primary consideration in relation to the services and procedures which involve children. Anchoring these responsibilities to private and public digital practices and as it is highlighted in the General Comment No. 25 of the Committee on the Rights of the Child, children are at great risk in the digital domain regarding their vulnerable and evolving identity. It turns out that with the proliferation of mass surveillance and predictive analytics, new disputes are on the way for states to protect children's very innate rights. To this end, recent class actions and regulation efforts Tech firms can be promising examples in the context of pushing the private sector to adopt more privacy-preserving practices on children which can provide a golden shield for their autonomy.
In this incautiously regulated atmosphere, it has become easier to make profit with the help of behavioral advertising against children. Not having appropriate consent- inform/ parental consent practices, it is so easy to manipulate and exploit very intrinsic vulnerabilities of children and nudge them to choose specific products and applications. Regarding this, article 8 of the GDPR provides a set of age limits on the processing of personal data of children related to the information society services(ISS). Pursuant to Article 8, in conditions where children are at least 16 years old, the child can give consent to the lawful processing of personal data restricted with the purpose of processing (Art(6)(1)(a). For children under 16 years old, it is lawful only and to the extent of the consent which is given by the holder of the parental responsibility to the child. This age limit of 16 can be lower to the age of 13 by the Member States. In addition to this, it is emphasized that data controllers should take necessary measurements in relation to the protection of children's data. Supporting these, Recital 38 states that children merit specific protection on the use, collection and processing of their data taking into consideration that children are less aware of the impacts, consequences and safeguards with respect to processing of their personal data. The GDPR also refers to the children in Articles 40 and 57; Recitals 58 and 75.
Beyond the GDPR, one of the structured regulations is the UK's Information Commissioner's Office (ICO) Children Code (formally Age Appropriate Design Code) which is passed in September 2020. The Children Code sets forth the age limit as 18 with regard to ability to give free while implying the responsibility to the providers of online services such as apps, games, connected devices and toys and new services. What differs The Children Code from the EU regulations is that it applies to all information society services which are likely to be accessed by children. This means, even if the service is not directly aimed at children, the parties that offer those services must comply with The Children Code. The ICO's Children Code is also infused with the notion of the best interest of the child that is laid out in the UNCRC. Having a broad scope, the ICO lists a set of guiding points for organizations to support the notion of the best interest of the child such as recognizing that children has an evolving capacity to form their own views and giving due weight to those views, protecting their needs of the developing their own ideas and identity, their right to assembly and play. The Code also extends the protection of the personal data of children with a set of key standards such as data minimisation, data protection impact assessments, age appropriate design, privacy by default and transparency.
Geopolitical and cultural power dynamics in the digital world
Digital Colonialism
The politics of the empire are already permeating the shared histories. Unequal social relations between colonizing and colonized peoples materialized through exploitation, segregation, epistemic violence, and so on. Throughout the world, these discourses of colonialism dominated peoples' perceptions and cultures. Post-colonial critics contended how colonized peoples could attain cultural, economical, and social agency against the oppressive structures and representation imposed on their lives and societies.
However, through temporality, the preface "post" implies the historical period of colonization has ended, and the colonized subjects are now free of its discourses. Scholars have focalized on the continuity of colonialism even if it has historically ended. The neo-colonial structures and discourses are already part of the different "postcolonial" cultures. The postcolonial era in which colonized countries have gained independence and autonomy has been a means for the populace to regain their own self-determination and freedom. Yet, the neo-colonial structures that are still rampant in the postcolonial societies. Although the nation-state might forward the idea of autonomy and self-determination, new forms of colonialism are always emerging. This dialectic between colonialism and self-determination encompasses a range of fields, changing in form, focus, and scope over time. It is reflected in the complex political and policy relationships between "postcolonial" peoples and the state, especially since most states are replicating the legal and political systems of their former colonizer.
History articulates that state policy in fields as diverse as health, education, housing, public works, employment, and justice had, and continue to have, negative effects on indigenous peoples after independence. This negative effect is shared throughout the former colonized peoples. Alongside these political tensions, economic interests have manipulated legal and governance frameworks to extract value and resources from former colonized territories, often without adequate compensation or consultation to impacted individuals and communities. Accordingly, Digital Colonialism emerges as a dominant discourse in the digital sphere.
Digital colonialism is a structural form of domination exercised through the centralized ownership and control of the three core pillars of the digital ecosystem: software, hardware, and network connectivity. The control over the latter three gives giant corporations an immense political, economic, and social power over not only individuals, but even nation-states. Assimilation into the tech products, models, and ideologies of foreign powers constitutes a colonization of the internet age.
Today, a new form of corporate colonization is taking place. Instead of the conquest of land, Big Tech corporations are colonizing digital technology. The following functions are dominated by a handful of multinational companies: search engines (Google); web browsers (Google Chrome); smartphone and tablet operating systems (Google Android, Apple iOS); desktop and laptop operating systems (Microsoft Windows); office software (Microsoft Office, Google Docs); cloud infrastructure and services (Amazon, Microsoft, Google, IBM); social networking platforms (Facebook, Twitter); transportation (Uber, Lyft); business networking (Microsoft LinkedIn); streaming video (Google YouTube, Netflix, Hulu); and online advertising (Google, Facebook) – among others. These include the five wealthiest corporations in the world, with a combined market cap exceeding $3 trillion. If any nation-state integrates these Big Tech products into their society, these multinational corporations will obtain enormous power over their economy and create technological dependencies that will lead to perpetual resource extraction. This resembles the Colonial period in which the colonies were made to be dependent on the colonizer's economy for further exploitation.
Under digital colonialism, digital infrastructure in the Global South are engineered for the Big tech companies' needs, enabling economic and cultural domination while imposing privatized forms of governance. To accomplish this task, major corporations design digital technology to ensure their own dominance over critical functions in the tech ecosystem. This allows them to accumulate profits from revenues derived from rent; to exercise control over the flow of information, social activities, and a plethora of other political, social, economic, and military functions which use their technologies.
Digital colonialism depends on code. In Code: And Other Laws of Cyberspace, Lawrence Lessig famously argued that computer code shapes the rules, norms, and behaviors of computer-mediated experiences. As a result, "code is law" in the sense that it has the power to usurp legal, institutional, and social norms impacting the political, economic, and cultural domains of society. This critical insight has been applied in fields like copyright, free speech regulation, Internet governance, blockchain, privacy, and even torts. This is similar to architecture in physical space during colonialism. Building and infrastructures were built to reinforce the dominance and reach of colonialism.
"Postcolonial" peoples, then, face multiple digital limitations in their access and use of the networked digital infrastructures. The latter threatens to reflect and restructure existing relations of social inequality grounded in colonialism and continuing processes of neo-colonialism. Indigenous peoples are acutely aware of this potential, and so are working with various partners to decolonize the digital sphere. They are undertaking a variety of projects that represent their diverse and localized experiences, alongside a common desire for self-determination. Rural and remote indigenous communities face persistent access problems to the digital associated with the historic and ongoing effects of colonialism. Remote indigenous communities are becoming 'offline by design' because their going online has been challenged. Indigenous peoples are asserting their digital self-determination by using these platforms to build online communities, express virtual identities, and represent their culture virtually. Hence, they are no longer static as offline, but becoming 'networked individualism'. Their engagement with the digital sphere resists the imposed representations of their identities and deterritorializes conceptions of virtual communities. Accordingly, the former colonized peoples are always engaged in the process of decolonizing the latent neo-/colonial discourses which are dominating the internet.
Digital Apartheid
Digital apartheid has also been a key concept in debates around digital self-determination. For authors such as Christian Fuchs, digital apartheid means that "certain groups and regions of the world are systematically excluded from cyberspace and the benefits that it can create."
Brown and Czerniewicz (2010), drawing on a research project interrogating the access of higher education students in South Africa to Information and Communications Technology (ICT), highlight that while age or generational aspects have been a characteristic of digital divides, now the latter are rather a question of access and opportunity, claiming that in the present day "digital apartheid is alive and well."
Borrowing from Graham (2011), and extending to the representation of conditions surrounding higher education in post-apartheid South Africa, Ashton et al. (2018) highlight the concept of digital apartheid as a multidimensional process with three dimensions - a material dimension (including access to infrastructure, device, cellular coverage, electricity), a skills dimension (including education legacy regarding computer training, social capital with regard to the family/community computer skills), and a virtual dimension (including language, culture and contextual relevance). The authors argue that "The virtual dimension emerges from the intentional act of 'digital redlining' which takes on a number of forms. It may be under the guise of protecting an organisation from spam and illicit, harmful cyber-attacks, but has the secondary outcome of blocking or filtering out communities who only have access through cheaper portals." It also includes the influence of the Westernised, English internet that further influences content visibility. The skills dimension emerges from an understanding where ICT lessons were not a part of the curriculum until recently and therefore the skill development remained underexposed and restricted. The authors refer to the material dimension as the most cited concern regarding introducing technology as part of the curriculum, arguing that "the lack of power infrastructure in lower socio-economic areas and exorbitant data costs, impact some students' ability to access their learning resources."
Since 2019, this concept signifying advantages to some and dispossession of some others has also been used to characterize internet shutdowns and communications blockades in Jammu and Kashmir. The region, contested and claimed by both India and Pakistan in its entirety and a site of an active armed conflict, witnessed the Indian State imposing a total communication blackout and internet shutdown in Jammu and Kashmir on the intervening night of 4 and 5 August 2019 as part of its unilateral measures to remove the semi-autonomous nature of the disputed territory of Jammu and Kashmir. Low speed 2G internet was restored in January 2020 while high speed 4G internet was restored in February 2021. A 2019 report notes that between 2012 and 2019, there have been 180 internet shutdowns in the region. India also topped the list of 29 countries that had disrupted access to the internet for the people in the year 2020. The report by Access Now highlighted, "India had instituted what had become a perpetual, punitive shutdown in Jammu and Kashmir beginning in August 2019. Residents in these states had previously experienced frequent periodic shutdowns, and in 2020 they were deprived of reliable, secure, open, and accessible internet on an ongoing basis." In placing these frequent shutdowns in the context of the ongoing conflict in Kashmir, the report Kashmir's Internet Siege (2020) by the Jammu Kashmir Coalition of Civil Society argues that with the frequent internet shutdowns, the Indian government has been enacting in these regions a "digital apartheid," "a form of systemic and pervasive discriminatory treatment and collective punishment." According to the report, "frequent and prolonged internet shutdowns enact a profound digital apartheid by systematically and structurally depriving the people of Kashmir of the means to participate in a highly networked and digitised world."
This systematic censorship and deprivation not only resulted in excluding the people, collectively, from participating in cyberspace, but as was evident, it crippled IT companies and startups in Kashmir. It was noted to have affected at least a thousand employees working in this sector just in the third month of the world's longest internet shutdown that began on the intervening night of 4 and 5 August 2019 across Jammu and Kashmir. In a statement, UN Special Rapporteurs referred to the communication blackout as a collective punishment without any pretext of precipitating offence. "The shutdown of the internet and telecommunication networks, without justification from the Government, are inconsistent with the fundamental norms of necessity and proportionality," the experts said. A news report quoting the story of an entrepreneur who had been doing well with a startup noted that the "Internet is the oxygen for start-ups. The Centre pulled that plug on August 5. The virtual world was our space for growth. Now that's gone. All employees and producers have been rendered jobless [..] I have to work by hook or by crook to meet the damage inflicted by loss of customers, undelivered orders and accumulated goods after the non-availability of Internet." In June 2020, it was reported for the first time how non-local companies were able to bag a majority of contracts online for mining of mineral blocks, as locals were left at a disadvantage due to the ban on high speed internet.
The effect of this digital apartheid was also witnessed during the lockdown induced by the Covid-19 pandemic leaving the healthcare infrastructure crippled as doctors complained about not being able to access information or attend trainings on coronavirus owing to the restricted internet. The president of the Doctors Association noted that the awareness drives that were carried out elsewhere about the virus were impossible to run in Kashmir. "We want to educate people through videos, which is not possible at 2G speed. We are handicapped in the absence of high speed internet." Health experts and the locals warned that the internet blackout was hampering the fight against coronavirus in the region. The internet shutdown also affected education across all levels in the region. News reports noted how Kashmiri education was left behind even as life elsewhere was moving online in dealing with the stay-at-home guidelines during the pandemic. A news report after a year of the communication blackout and subsequent restriction on high-speed internet highlighted that it had "ravaged health, education, entrepreneurship" in the region.
Regulating for digital self-determination
The legal landscape
Promoting concepts and rights which are closely related to digital self-determination is a common goal behind regulatory initiatives in various legal systems. Stemming from the conceptual framework of human rights, and a well-established notion of informational self-determination, digital self-determination gradually comes to play an increasingly important role as a concept that encompasses values and virtues which remain highly relevant in the context of the global network society, such as autonomy, dignity, and freedom.
The importance of embedding the fundamental values into the legislative frameworks regulating the digital sphere has been stressed numerous times by scholars, public authorities, and representatives of various organizations.
The EU's legal policy, while not explicitly referencing a right to digital self-determination, pursues closely related objectives. One of the overarching premises of the European Digital Strategy is to encourage the development of trustworthy technology that "works for the people". It aims at advancing, among other things, "human-centered digital public services and administration", as well as "ethical principles for human-centered algorithms".
The EU has outlined these policy goals in several regulatory agendas including i.a. the EU Commission Digital Strategy, the European Data Strategy, and the EU's White Paper on Artificial Intelligence. Subsequently, the EU has pursued the abovementioned objectives through the adoption or proposal of several legal instruments including:
The General Data Protection Regulation, aimed at laying down "rules relating to the protection of natural persons with regard to the processing of personal data and rules relating to the free movement of personal data", protecting "fundamental rights and freedoms of natural persons and in particular their right to the protection of personal data" and guaranteeing "the free movement of personal data within the Union". The main provisions relating to the concept of digital self-determination include principles of data processing (e.g. fairness, transparency, and accountability), grounds for legitimate data processing (notably consent and legitimate interests), rights of data subjects (e.g. the right to be informed, right to be forgotten, right to object), right to data portability, obligations associated with privacy-by-design and privacy-by-default, rights and obligations concerning algorithmic data processing (notably profiling and automated decision-making), and obligations concerning data transfers outside the European Economic Area.
The ePrivacy Regulation, a legislative proposal aimed at regulating the issues concerning electronic communications within the EU, including confidentiality of communications, privacy controls through electronic consent and browsers, and cookies.
The Digital Services Act, a legislative proposal aimed at harmonizing rules regarding digital intermediary services, most notably illegal content, transparent advertising, disinformation on social media platforms, and content recommending systems, while preserving freedom of expression. The DSA is one of two proposals of the Digital Services Act package.
The Digital Markets Act, a legislative proposal aimed at regulating the performance of the large online platforms acting as "gatekeepers" in the European Single Market, thus guaranteeing fair competition and "leveling the playing field". The DMA is one of two proposals of the Digital Services Act package.
The Regulation on Artificial Intelligence, a legislative proposal aimed at providing developers, deployers, and users with clear requirements and obligations regarding specific uses of AI. The draft regulation introduces i.a. a catalog of prohibited AI practices that distort the behavior of the individual in a manner that can lead to physical or mental harm.
The Data Governance Act and the Open Data Directive, legislative proposals aimed at creating trustworthy data-sharing systems which will empower the EU citizens to decide about sharing their data across sectors and the Member States, while increasing the annual economic value of data sharing in the EU and creating social and economic benefits.
The Copyright Directive, aiming to protect intellectual property and, consequently, intellectual work. However, it contains a difficult and controversial balance with another aspect of self-determination, which is freedom of speech (especially Article 17).
The Audiovisual Media Services Directive, regulating the freedom of information in the domain of Audiovisual Media Services as well as the liability of the platforms.
The U.S. has yet to introduce a comprehensive information privacy law; legislation pertaining to data and digital rights currently exists at both the state and federal level and is often sector-specific. In the United States, The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) is tasked with overseeing the protection of consumers' digital privacy and security, outlining fair information practice principles for the governance of online spaces.
Federal legislation includes the Children's Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA) which regulates the collection of personally identifiable information from children under the age of thirteen online. The Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) includes federal standards for protecting the privacy and security of personal health data stored electronically. The Family Educational and Rights Privacy Act (FERPA) governs access to and the disclosure of student educational records. While state legislation varies in the strength of their protections, the California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA) of 2018 provides California consumers with the right to access data, know and delete personal information collected
by businesses, opt-out of the sale of this information, and the right to non-discrimination for exercising these rights.
Ethical and rights-based principles for AI
Artificial intelligence and digital self-determination
The proliferation of artificial intelligence (AI), as not a single technology but rather a set of technologies, is increasingly shaping the technologically-mediated spaces for individuals and communities to conduct their lives. From algorithmic recommendation in e-commerce and social media platforms, smart surveillance in policing, to automated resources allocation in public services, the extent of possible AI applications that can influence an individual's autonomy is continuously contested, considering the widespread datafication of people's lives across the socio-economic and political spheres today.
For example, machine learning, a subfield of artificial intelligence, "allows us to extract information from data and discover new patterns, and is able to turn seemingly innocuous data into sensitive, personal data", meaning an individual's privacy and anonymity may be prone to vulnerabilities outside of the original data domain, such as having their social media data harvested for computational propaganda in the election based on micro-targeting.
Another sphere where AI systems can affect the exercising of self-determination is when the datasets on which algorithms are trained mirror the existing structures of inequality, thereby reinforcing structural discrimination that limits certain groups' access to fair treatment and opportunities. In the United States, an AI recruiting tool used by Amazon has shown to discriminate against female job applicants, while an AI-based modelling tool used by the Department of Human Services in Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, to flag potential child abuse has shown to disproportionately profile the poor and racial minority, raising questions about how predictive variables in algorithms could often be "abstractions" that "reflect priorities and preoccupations".
Current landscape of AI principles relevant to digital self-determination
How states attempt to govern the AI industry can shape how AI applications are developed, tested and operated and in what ethical frameworks relevant to many forms of human interests, thereby affecting the degree of digital self-determination exercised by individuals and communities.
In recent years, there has been a proliferation of high-level principles and guidelines documents, providing suggestions for public-sector policies and private-sector code of conduct in a non-binding manner. Compared to the binding laws enacted by states, the landscape of AI ethics principles paints a more diverse picture, with governmental and nongovernmental organisations including private companies, academic institutions and civic society actively developing the ecosystem. A 2020 report by the United Nations identified "over 160 organizational, national and international sets of AI ethics and governance principles worldwide, although there is no common platform to bring these separate initiatives together".
Common themes of AI principles have been emerging as research efforts develop, with many closely linked to the various conditions of digital self-determination, such as control over one's data, protection from biased treatment, and equal access to the benefits offered by AI. A 2020 publication by the Berkman Klein Center for Internet and Society at Harvard University studied thirty-six "especially visible or influential" AI principles documents authored by government and non-governmental actors from multiple geographical regions, and identified eight key themes:
Privacy
Accountability
Safety and Security
Transparency and Explainability
Fairness and Non-discrimination
Human Control of Technology
Professional Responsibility
Promotion of Human Values
However, the report also notes "a wide and thorny gap between the articulation of these high-level concepts and their actual achievement in the real world".
Examples of intergovernmental and governmental AI principles
Currently, few AI governance principles are internationally recognised. The "OECD Principles on AI", adopted by OECD Member States and nine other non-OECD countries in May 2019, integrates elements relevant to digital self-determination such as "inclusive growth", "well-being", "human-centered values and fairness", while emphasizing an individual's ability to appeal and "challenge the outcome of AI system" and the adherence of AI development to "internationally recognized labour rights".
On a national level, numerous state AI policies make reference to AI ethics principles, though in an irregular fashion. Such references can be standalone documents. For example, Japan's government established its "Social Principles of Human-Centric AI", which is closely linked to its "AI strategy 2019: AI for Everyone: People, Industries, Regions and Governments", and a separate set of AI Utilization Guidelines that encourage voluntary adherence and emphasize that AI shall be used to "expand human abilities and creativity", shall not "infringe on a person's individual freedom, dignity or equality", and adheres to the "principle of human dignity and individual autonomy".
AI principles can also be incorporated into a national AI strategy, which primarily focuses on policy instruments advancing AI, such as investment in STEM education and public-private partnerships. For example, India's AI strategy, "National Strategy for Artificial Intelligence" published in June 2018, identifies key areas of high national priority for AI development (healthcare, agriculture, education, urban-/smart-city infrastructure, transportation and mobility), with ethical topics such as privacy and fairness integrated as a forward-looking section.
Opportunities and challenges for AI principles to address self-determination
Non-binding AI principles suggested by actors inside or outside the government might sometimes be further concretized into specific policy or regulation. In 2020, the United Kingdom's government's advisory body on the responsible use of AI, the Centre for Data Ethics and Innovation, proposed specific measures for government, regulators and industry to tackle algorithmic bias in the sectors of financial services, local government, policing and recruitment, with each area relevant to how individuals conduct their ways of life and access socio-economic opportunities without being subjected to unfair treatment.
Cultural and geographical representation has been highlighted as a challenge in ensuring the burgeoning AI norms sufficiently consider unique opportunities and risks faced by the global population, who exercise their autonomy and freedom in vastly different political regimes with varying degrees of rule of law. In 2020, a report published by the Council of Europe reviewed 116 AI principles documents and found that "these soft law documents are being primarily developed in Europe, North America and Asia", while "the global south is currently underrepresented in the landscape of organisations proposing AI ethics guidelines".
See also
Data sovereignty
Digital citizenship
Digital Identity
Digital rights
Digital integrity
Digital self defence
Informational self determination
Self-determination
Self representation
Self-sovereign identity
Surveillance capitalism
Technological sovereignty
References
Identity management
Digital technology
Human rights
E-government
Federated identity | Digital self-determination | [
"Technology"
] | 9,996 | [
"Information and communications technology",
"Digital technology"
] |
67,568,246 | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Twister%20OS | Twister OS (Twister for short) is a 32-bit Operating System created by Pi Labs for the Raspberry Pi single board computer originally, with a x86_64 PC version released a few months later. Twister is meant to be a general-purpose OS that is familiar or nostalgic to users. Twister is based on Raspberry Pi OS Lite and uses the XFCE desktop environment. Twister OS also has a version called "Twister OS Armbian" designed for ARM SBCs with the RK3399 CPU. There are four versions of the operating system, TwisterOS Full (for the Raspberry Pi 4), Twister OS Lite (a stripped-down version with only themes), Twister UI (For x86_64 PCs running Linux Mint or Xubuntu) and Twisters OS Armbian (for RK3399 CPUs) .
Features
TwisterOS has 7 main desktop themes, 5 out of those have dark modes. Twister OS has its own theme called "Twister OS theme". The Twister 95, XP, 7, 10, and 11 themes are similar to the themes on the Windows 95, XP, 7, 10 and 11 operating systems. iTwister and iTwister Sur desktop themes are similar to the themes on macOS.
Box86 is an emulator used to run x86 software and games on ARM systems.
Wine is a compatibility layer that lets the user to run Windows applications on non-Windows systems.
CommanderPi is a system monitoring and configuration tool designed to check system information and overclock the CPU.
Other Twister versions
Twister OS Lite
Twister OS Lite is for the Raspberry Pi as well. The Lite version only comes with the themes in Twister OS, as well as Box86 and Wine.
Twister UI
Twister UI is very similar to Twister OS, the only difference is that Twister UI is used for non-single board computers. Twister UI is designed to be installed by running a setup script on an already running installation of Linux Mint (XFCE) or Xubuntu.
Twister OS Armbian
Twister OS Armbian is a version of Twister OS that can run on SBCs with RK3399 CPUs, like the Rock Pi 4B. Twister OS Armbian also comes preinstalled on emmc chips inside the Rock Pi 4 Plus models. Twister OS Armbian is based on the Armbian Linux operating system.
References
Computers
Linux | Twister OS | [
"Technology"
] | 524 | [
"Computers"
] |
67,568,559 | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marsh%20organ | The marsh organ is a collection of plastic pipes attached to a wooden framework that is placed in marshes to measure the effects of inundation time and flood frequency on the productivity of marsh vegetation. The information is used for scientific research purposes.
The marsh organ was developed by James Morris from the University of South Carolina with support from the National Science Foundation and NOAA's National Centers for Coastal Ocean Science. Their objective was to quantify short-term and long-term effects of sea level rise on coastal processes such as plant productivity, decomposition of organic matter in soil, sedimentation that contribute to the structuring of wetland stability.
Climate change
The marsh organ is used to determine how well various coastal processes will respond to sea level rise. Climate change impacts such as accelerated sea level rise causes coastal marshes to experience higher water levels than normal, which leads to higher salinity inland, sediment and elevation loss, and change to the plant community structure.
These consequences will affect stress-gradients that are imposed on coastal vegetation, but the tolerances of these plant species and the trade-offs they may experience are unclear. This device is a way to directly manipulate what marsh vegetation may experience in the future and provide better insight into the restoration efforts needed to prevent detrimental consequences to coastal marshes.
Design
The marsh organ is a structure with rows of pipes at different vertical elevations. These pipes are filled with mud and marsh plant species are planted into each pipe. The various vertical levels represent varying water-level "elevation" that the marsh plants would experience. As the tides ebb and flow, the pipes are exposed to rising and falling water levels. Scientists can adjust various factors, such as the total elevation of the setup, flooding duration, added nutrients and much more.
Over time, scientists can gather information such as total plant biomass accumulation, total organic matter, peat formation, decomposition rates, and sedimentation. The data can be used to forecast the future health of the marsh being studied, and to infer how the marsh will respond to sea level rise in the future.
Species-specific effects
With many different marsh organ study designs and approaches, researchers have found that marsh plants may respond to future sea level rise differently, therefore it is entirely species-specific.
Researchers studying marsh plant responses in Northeast Pacific tidal marshes utilized a marsh organ and found that species typically found in the high marsh (flooded only during high tide or extreme weather events) like Salicornia pacifica and Juncus balticus were sensitive to increased flooding. Other species such as Bolboschoenus maritimus and Carex lyngbyei were abundant in marshes at or above the elevation corresponding with their maximum productivity. Another group using the marsh organ also found that increased inundation reduced biomass for species commonly found at higher marsh elevations. The presence of neighbors reduced total biomass even more.
A group of researchers used a marsh organ to evaluate the effects of an invasive grass to the native plant communities of an estuary in China. They found that the invasive grass survived well in optimal elevations, and not very well in extreme high and low elevations. When mixed with native species, the invasive grass suppressed the native biomass by 90% at intermediate elevation where biomass was typically the greatest. Another group who used the marsh organ in the Pacific Northwest of North America to study its role in field testing seed recruitment niches found that species common to the area like S. tabernaemontani exhibited nearly significant higher germination rates around the average tidal height, while the species Carex lyngbyei survived significantly better around the highest tidal height. Both species also showed sensitivity to competitors, with S. tabernaemontani being the only species to germinate in the presence of competition.
External stressors
Along with the stress of rising sea levels, marsh vegetation is also influenced by many outside sources such as storms, drought, nutrient enrichment, and elevation change with subsidence. The responses of marsh plants to these stressors have been tracked in various studies using the marsh organ.
A group using the marsh organ to study Spartina alterniflora, an abundant low marsh (typically flooded throughout the day) grass found that storm and drought stressors led to significantly less above-ground biomass and below-ground biomass than those planted in ambient rain conditions. Plants flooded at high inundations additionally had finer roots and shoots resulting in a plant that is structurally weaker.
Nutrient addition has the potential to aid in the growth of many plant species, but excess nutrients can have the reverse affect and be detrimental to the success of many marsh plants. In one marsh organ study, researchers found a positive relationship where added nitrogen enhanced plant growth at sea levels where plants are most stressed by flooding, and the effects were larger in combination with elevated carbon dioxide. However, they noted that chronic nitrogen addition from pollution reduces the availability of propagules (a bud of a new plant) of flood-tolerant species which would shift species dominance making marshes more susceptible to collapse. This trade-off has also been found in marsh organ studies where nutrient addition has to potential to increase primary productivity, but can adversely impact organic matter accumulation and peat formation.
Marsh plants can be sensitive to elevation change accompanying sea level rise due to the altering of their desired habitats. Using the marsh organ setup, researchers discovered that for marsh elevations higher than optimum expected at low sea level rise rates, acceleration in the rate of sea level rise will enhance root growth, organic accretion and wetland stability altogether. But, for sub-optimum marsh elevations expected at rapid sea level rise rates with low sediment supply, increases in water level will lead to reduced root growth and a decrease in the rate of elevation gain. This could lead to a rapidly deteriorating marsh. Coinciding with elevation, a group of researchers utilizing the marsh organ found that soil subsided less in planted treatments than unplanted control treatments suggested that plants potentially help alleviate the loss of marsh elevation due to sea level rise
Researchers have also found that water level variability in a specified time period affects the growth of coastal marshes, with emphasis on anomalies in sea level. These consist of slow changes that do not affect sediment transport, but do affect marsh flooding and vegetation growth.
References
Marshes
Ecology
Climate change | Marsh organ | [
"Biology"
] | 1,257 | [
"Ecology"
] |
67,570,112 | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Qatar-8 | Qatar-8 is a faint solar analog located in the northern circumpolar constellation Ursa Major. With an apparent magnitude of 11.71, it is impossible to detect with the naked eye, but can be located with a powerful telescope. Qatar-8 is currently away from the Solar System, but is drifting further away, with a radial velocity of 5.06 km/s.
Properties
Qatar-8 is a relatively old star, with an age of 8.3 billion years. At this rate, it is on the final stages of the main sequence. It has a similar effective temperature to the Sun at 5,738 K. Despite that, it has a 69% greater luminosity than the Sun. Qatar-8 has a radius 31.5% greater than the Sun, and has a similar metallicity to the Sun despite its age.
Planetary system
In 2019, the Qatar Exoplanet Survey (QES) discovered planets around Qatar-9, itself, and Qatar-10. However, Qatar-8b is a puffy Hot Saturn unlike the other planets discovered.
Since Qatar-8b is a puffy planet, it only has 37.1% the mass of Jupiter. Due to that, it puffs up to a radius that is 28.5% larger than the latter's. It also has an effective temperature of 1,457 K. Qatar-8b is ten times closer to its star than Mercury is to the Sun, which corresponds to a typical four-day orbit.
Companion
Qatar-8 was suspected to have a stellar companion, which makes it a binary star. However, a study in 2020 after analysis of many other stars show no stellar companion at all.
References
Ursa Major
G-type main-sequence stars | Qatar-8 | [
"Astronomy"
] | 360 | [
"Ursa Major",
"Constellations"
] |
67,570,696 | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Parsons%20problem | Parsons problems are a form of an objective assessment in which respondents are asked to choose from a selection of code fragments, some subset of which comprise the problem solution. The Parsons problem format is used in the learning and teaching of computer programming.
Dale Parsons and Patricia Haden of Otago Polytechnic developed Parsons's Programming Puzzles to aid the mastery of basic syntactic and logical constructs of computer programming languages, in particular Turbo Pascal, although any programming language may be used. Parsons' programming puzzles became known as Parsons puzzles and then Parsons problems. Parsons problems have become popular as they are easier to grade than written code while capturing the students problem solving ability shown in a code creation process.
Structure
Parsons problems consist of a partially completed solution and a selection of lines of code that some of which, when arranged appropriately, correctly complete the solution. There is great flexibility in how Parsons problems can be designed, including the types of code fragments from which to select, and how much structure of the solution is provided in the question. Easier Parsons problems provide the complete block structure of the solution included in the question, and the provided lines of code simply need to be reordered and inserted into that structure.
In the Parsons problem exam question, the first example shown, there are 6 pairs of statements, one mark is deducted for each incorrectly chosen line from the pairs, two marks are deducted if more than 2 lines are out of place, and one mark is deducted if up to two things are out of place. One mark is deducted if opening and closing braces are incorrectly used, or are not include where necessary.
Variants
Two-dimensional
The two-dimensional variants require the student to also correctly indent the code instead of merely re-ordering the provided lines of code.
Faded
In the faded variants, the lines of code may additionally contain blanks that the student needs to fill in.
Advantages
The advantages of Parsons problems include:
being a complement or alternative to traditional programming exercises like code-tracing and code-writing
the design of Parsons problems is flexible
there are many variants that are continuously refined to better address student needs
However, the effectiveness of Parsons problems, both as a question type and as a learning tool in CS education, remains uncertain due to a lack of replicated research in the field.
Automation
Parsons problems can be automated.
References
External links
Faded Parsons Problems
js-parsons - a JavaScript library for Parsons Problems
Computer science education | Parsons problem | [
"Technology"
] | 487 | [
"Computer science education",
"Computer science"
] |
67,572,411 | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Timeline%20of%20aging%20research | This timeline lists notable events in the history of research into senescence or biological aging, including the research and development of life extension methods, brain aging delay methods and rejuvenation.
People have long been interested in making their lives longer and healthier. The most anсient Egyptian, Indian and Chinese books contain reasoning about aging. Ancient Egyptians used garlic in large quantities to extend their lifespan. Hippocrates (), in his Aphorisms, and Aristotle (384–322 BCE), in On youth and old age, expressed their opinions about reasons for old age and gave advice about lifestyle. Medieval Persian physician Ibn Sina ( – 1037), known in the West as Avicenna, summarized the achievements of earlier generations about this issue.
Background
Descriptions of rejuvenation and immortality remedies are often found in the writings of alchemists. But all those remedies did not allow even alchemists themselves to live longer than a hundred years.
Though the average lifespan of people through the past millennia increased significantly, maximum lifespan almost did not change - even in ancient times there were fairly well and unbiasedly documented cases when some people lived for more than a hundred years (for example, Terentia who lived 103 or 104 years). While among the billions of people of the modern world, there is only one case of life over 120 years (Jeanne Calment, 122 years). The super-long lives of people that are mentioned in ancient books, apparently, are highly exaggerated, since archaeological data show that even the oldest of the ancient people lived no more than modern supercentenarians. In some cases the exaggeration, possibly, is not intentional but occurs due to errors in translation between languages and synchronization of chronological systems. The species limit of human life is estimated by scientists at 125–127 years, and even in the most ideal conditions a person will not live longer due to aging of the body.
Some scientists believe that, even if medicine learns how to treat all major diseases, that will increase the average lifespan of people in developed countries by only about 10 years. For example, biogerontologist Leonard Hayflick stated that the natural average lifespan for humans is 92 years. Meanwhile, the life expectancy for Japanese already now is more than 84 years, and for Monaco it is reported to be more than 89 years. It may not be possible to achieve further increases without development of new biomedical technologies and approaches. Searches of various equivalents of the elixir of youth happened yet in ancient times: people hoped to find a miraculous remedy in faraway territories, tried to use magic and alchemy. Scientific and technological attempts began at the end of the 19th century. For their intended purpose, all of them turned out to be inefficient at best, sometimes led to premature death, but they had many useful and sometimes unexpected consequences.
Timeline
Ancient
350 BCE — The Greek philosopher Aristotle, arguably the first philosopher to make a serious attempt to scientifically explain aging, proposes his thesis on aging. He suggests that aging is a process by which human and animal bodies, which are naturally hot and wet, gradually become dry and cold, and theorizes that more moisture delays aging.
259–210 BCE — years of life of the Chinese emperor Qin Shi Huang, who united China under his rule. All his life he persistently searched for an elixir of youth and died trying, presumably taking "pills of immortality", containing mercury.
156–87 BCE — years of life of the Chinese emperor Wu of Han, who persistently tried to find a way to achieve immortality, mainly by means of magic. He used services of various magicians. But Wu of Han was not a naive person – he thoroughly rechecked their abilities and if he identified the person as a quack, he executed him.
63 BC–14 CE — years of life of Caesar Augustus, the first Roman emperor, who is considered one of the most effective leaders of the Ancient Rome. For him an eternal youth was an obsession. In particular, contrary to the Roman tradition to create statues as realistic as possible, he always ordered to portray himself young. There are many of his "youthful" statues but researchers still do not know how he looked in old age.
3rd–17th century — the period of alchemy. There are several directions in alchemy, and it was distributed over a huge territory. But almost everywhere, in one form or another, there was the concept of a "philosopher's stone" – some substance that is able to turn other metals into gold, and when taken internally in small doses, heal all diseases, rejuvenate an old body and even give biological immortality. Alternatively, there were attempts to prepare "pills of immortality". During centuries alchemy gradually transformed to chemistry, in parallel giving birth to many adjacent sciences or enriching them. It is worth noticing the direction of iatrochemistry – a rational direction of alchemy with the main goal of preparing medicinal products. The pioneers of iatrochemistry were Paracelsus (1493–1541), Jan Baptist van Helmont (1580–1644) and Franciscus Sylvius (1614–1672). The converging field of alchemy was transformed into pharmacy.
1513 — searching for the Fountain of Youth is in popular culture thought to be one of the purposes of the expedition of the Spanish conquistador Juan Ponce de León, which lead to the discovery of Florida – however, there is no contemporary evidence of this, and this purpose is considered a myth by historians.
1550 — a Venetian nobleman Luigi Cornaro published the book The Art of Living Long, describing the style of life for the achievement of longevity. The book was translated into many languages. The English version of the book till the 19th century went through more than 50 editions. The main idea of the book: in order to live many years, you need to live in moderation, eat simply and little. In his youth Cornaro led a free and immoderate life, as a result by the age of 35 he had many health problems. But by changing his lifestyle he was able to live to 98 (1467–1566). (Though it is possible that he exaggerated his age by about 17 years to give his recommendations more weight.)
19th century to WWII
From the end of the 19th century, systematic scientific and technical studies began on the processes of slowing down aging and possible rejuvenation. The period of world history between the two world wars is a very complicated, difficult and ambiguous time of world history. In many spheres of life, there were ideas that were radical-bold, but not always intelligent, ethical and moral from the point of view of modern knowledge, foundations and norms. This also affected the aging research, the spirit of which corresponded to the spirit of that time: attempting bold experiments, often on people, intensively implementing in practice treatments that we may now consider ridiculous. Those attempts had both bad and good consequences. But those researches were already scientific. As it often happens in science, it is often difficult to establish priority considering, who was the first person beginning to use one or another approach. Usually the first experiments are done by enthusiasts and have doubtful positive effects. Some researchers work in parallel. Then at some moment the persons emerge who developed the approaches and made them public.
1825 The first publication of the Gompertz–Makeham law of mortality that in the simplest form is: p = a + bx. According to the law, the probability of death p is defined as the sum of age-independent component a and the component depending on age bx which with age increases exponentially. If we place organisms in an absolutely protected environment and in this way make the first component negligible, the probability of death will be completely defined by the second component which actually describes the probability to die from aging.
1860s Alfred Russel Wallace writes down what is probably the first evolutionary theory of aging. In notes written sometime between 1865 and 1870, he proposed a wear and tear theory of aging, suggesting that older animals which continue to consume resources, competing with their offspring in an environment with limited food, were disfavored by natural selection. Therefore, he suggested that aging was an evolved trait which allowed an organism's descendants to thrive.
1882 August Weismann puts forward the wear and tear theory of aging independently of Wallace.
1889 Rejuvenation experiment conducted on himself by the French doctor Charles-Édouard Brown-Séquard. He made himself a few subcutaneous injections from the testicles of young dogs and guinea pigs and claimed that the injections were accompanied by significant and long pain, but then he observed an improvement of the physical condition of the organism and increase of mental activity. Experiments of other scientists, at first, produced the same results but later it became clear that the period of reinforced activity is followed by a period of decline. At the moment of the experiment Charles-Édouard Brown-Séquard was 72 years old. After the experiment he claimed he felt as if he became younger by 30 years. However, 5 years later he died. But other doctors picked up this method and it created the foundation for the development of hormone replacement therapy.
1903 Ilya Mechnikov coined the term "gerontology". The term originates from the Greek γέρων, geron, "old man" and -λογία, -logia, "study of". From 1897 to 1916 Mechnikov conducted many studies on the effect of acidified dairy products (especially Bulgarian yogurt and bacteria used for its production) on longevity and quality of life in old age. He developed the concept of probiotic diet that promotes long healthy life. In 1908 Mechnikov received the Nobel Prize for his work on immunology (adjacent area of his research). Adhering to his diet, Mechnikov lived a very long life compared to his short-lived relatives.
1914 Dr. Frank Lydston from Chicago performed human testis transplants on several patients, including himself, and said that there were some rejuvenating consequences (such as returning his gray hair to its original color and improving of sexual performance). These works remained little known. The work of Leo L. Stanley, that he began to do since 1919, received much more prominence .
1915–1917 Experiments to find out the effects of food restriction on the life duration of rats, conducted by Thomas Osborne. Apparently, these were the first systematic experiments in this direction. These experiments remained little known. The method was popularized by Clive McCay in 1934–1935 .
1910s–1930s Austrian physiologist Eugen Steinach was trying to achieve rejuvenation effects by means of different surgical operations such as partial vasectomy for men, ligation of fallopian tubes for women, transplantation of testicles, etc. And although later these operations were found to be ineffective, they allowed the researchers to recognize the role of the sexual glands and sexual hormones in the formation of the first and secondary sex characteristics, enriched physiology, laid the foundation for the science of sexology, formed the basis for sex reassignment surgeries. From 1921 to 1938, Eugen Steinach was nominated for the Nobel Prize many times (according to various sources, from 6 to 11 times), but never received it.
1910s–1930s Numerous experiments for obtaining rejuvenating effects by means of transplantation of organs and tissues. Among the most notable researchers who worked in this direction, there were Alexis Carrel (who developed the technology of anastomosis of blood vessels and advanced asepsis, a Nobel laureate of 1912), Mathieu Jaboulay, Emerich Ullmann, Jacques Loeb, John Northrop, Porfiry Bakhmetiev. And although such interventions were later found to be ineffective for their intended purposes, those works led to the creation of tissue engineering, techniques for cardiopulmonary bypass and dialysis, established the foundation for the technologies for storing organs extracted from a person outside the body (which now are used, for example, during organ donation), the emergence of cryobiology.
1920s–1930s In medical practice, sex gland transplants were introduced to obtain rejuvenating effects. (Though separate experiments in this direction were done even earlier, even in antiquity.) The earlier mentioned operations of Dr. Frank Lydston in 1914 remained almost unnoticed. But the works of Leo Leonidas Stanley quickly received widespread scientific notice. Stanley was a physician at a prison in California and began to do these operations since 1919, using glands of executed criminals. In the following years, such operations were done by dozens of physicians (including Eugen Steinach) but they became most famous due to the activity of the French surgeon of Russian extraction Serge/Samuel Voronoff. It was believed that transplantation of sex glands provides more durable effects than injection of a suspension of ground glands. In case of transplantation from human to human, the glands of executed criminals were usually used. But due to a shortage of materials, the sex glands of young healthy monkeys were widely used, which were specially grown for this purpose (usually thin sections of the glands were implanted). In some cases soon after the operation, there were indeed noticeable positive changes in appearance and behavior (with a rapid senility of the body soon following). There were many messages about wonderful results of the operations that, apparently, were false advertising of unscrupulous doctors. But numerous failures became apparent, for which the method was sharply criticized and banned. Serge Voronoff and some other doctors, who claimed producing wonderful results after the operations, got bad reputation. However, despite the failure in the main direction, the conducted research led to the emergence of allotransplantation and xenotransplantation directions in surgery, brought significant knowledge about the effect of sex hormones on the body, stimulated their study. It may be just a coincidence but in 1929–33 several varieties of estrogen were discovered, and testosterone was isolated in 1935. Also these experiments formed the basis for several works of public culture (for example, Heart of a Dog by Mikhail Bulgakov, The Adventure of the Creeping Man from the series about Sherlock Holmes, a song Monkey-Doodle-Doo of Irving Berlin).
1926–1928 Experiments on rejuvenation by blood transfusion, conducted by Alexander Bogdanov in the world's first Institute for Blood Transfusion especially created for that purpose. Bogdanov himself died during one of the experiments, because at that time little was known about the factors of blood compatibility of different people. The institute, having undergone several renames, exists and is still actively working. The second head of the institute was Alexander Bogomolets .
1930s Beginning of attempts of rejuvenation by methods of cell injections. A special role belongs here to the Swiss physician Paul Niehans – he was not the first but he was the one who developed this approach the most. Among his patients there were many famous people (including Winston Churchill, Charles de Gaulle, Pope Pius XII). So, in 1952, about 3000 injections of about 10 cm3 of cell suspension were reported. As a consequence, cell therapy and regenerative medicine were formed. Since the 1960s, attempts have been made to inject not only whole cells but also their constituent parts (such as isolated DNA and RNA). But usage of embryonic drugs sometimes caused serious complications, so the American association of physicians recognized the method of cell therapy as dangerous.
1930 The first world's journal about aging and longevity. It was established in Japan and has the name Acta Gerontologica Japonica (Yokufuen Chosa Kenkyu Kiyo).
1933 The first institute in the world dedicated to study of aging. It was created in Kishinev (at that time inside the Kingdom of Romania) by Dimu Kotsovsky. Initially the institute was maintained by his own means, and was subsequently recognized by the Romanian government. The name is = = Institute for The Study and Combat of Aging.
1934 The first widely known scientific publication on the impact of dietary restriction on life expectancy, authored by Clive McCay. McCay's group carried out intensive research in this direction in 1930–43, soon other scientists began to do related research. The effect of increasing life expectancy by starvation is usually observed in rats and mice, whose development until puberty is very labile (growth retardation and puberty, decreased metabolism and body temperature). In larger animals, such as rabbits, dogs and monkeys, the effect is less pronounced. The impact of fasting on human life expectancy still remains a question where not everything is clear and is unambiguous.
1936 The first European (and Western) journal about aging and longevity. It was published in Kishinev by Dimu Kotsovsky. During the first year of existence it was called Monatsberichte, then got the name = "Problems of Aging: Journal for the International Study and Combat of Aging". The journal published materials mostly in the German language, less in French and English.
1937 A Ukrainian Soviet pathophysiologist Alexander Bogomolets created antireticular cytotoxic serum in the hope to extend life of people to 150 years. Although the drug did not achieve its main goal, it has become widely used for the treatment of a number of diseases, especially infectious diseases and fractures. The serum of Bogomolets was actively used in Soviet hospitals during WWII. For his work, Alexander Bogomolets received in 1941 the Stalin Prize, which for Soviet scientists of those years was even more important than the Nobel Prize.
1938 The first specialized society dedicated to the study of aging. It was formed in Germany, Leipzig and was named the German Society for Aging Research (, soon renamed to Deutsche Gesellschaft für Alternsforschung). The founder is . He also established the specialized journal Zeitschrift für Altersforschung – it is already the third such journal in the world after the previously mentioned Japanese and Romanian journals.
1938 The world's first scientific conference on aging and longevity in 1938 in Kiev, that was convened by Alexander Bogomolets.
1939 In the United Kingdom, the British Society for Research on Ageing is formed. The founder is Vladimir Korenchevsky who emigrated there from the former Russian Empire.
After WWII
After World War II, research tools and technologies of another level appeared. Thanks to these technologies, it became understandable what really occurs inside cells and between them (for example, the model of the DNA double helix was created in 1953). At the same time, changed ethical norms did not allow cardinal experiments to be performed on humans, as had been possible in previous decades. Consequently, the influence of different factors could be estimated only indirectly.
1945 In the US, the Gerontological Society of America is formed. The founder is Edmund Vincent Cowdry.
1950 Largely thanks to the collaborative efforts of Korenchevsky and Cowdry, the International Association of Gerontology is formed, later renamed to the International Association of Gerontology and Geriatrics (IAGG). The organization was registered in Belgium, and that is where its first conference took place. Slowly, gradually, the ideas began to spread that the problems of aging cannot be solved within the framework and efforts of one nation – therefore the international interaction is necessary.
1952 Peter Medawar proposed the mutation accumulation theory to explain how the aging process could have evolved.
1954 Vladimir Dilman formulated the hypothesis of aging that at first become known only in the USSR, as the elevation hypothesis. In 1968 it took the form and became known as the neuroendocrine theory of aging.
1956 Denham Harman proposed the free-radical theory of aging and demonstrated that free radical reactions contribute to the degradation of biological systems. The theory is based on the ideas of Rebeca Gerschman and her colleagues put forward in 1945.
1957 George Williams proposed the antagonistic pleiotropy hypothesis for the explanation of the emergence of aging.
1958 Physicist Gioacchino Failla proposed the hypothesis that aging is caused by the accumulation of DNA damage. The next year the hypothesis was developed by the physicist Leo Szilard, resulting in a number of related theories under the general name DNA damage theory of aging.
1961 Discovery by Leonard Hayflick of the limit of divisions for somatic cells, named the Hayflick limit. Hayflick found that normal human cells, extracted from fetus, are able to divide only about 50 times, after that they enter a senescence phase.
1969 Immunological theory of aging proposed by Roy Walford.
1974 Formation of the National Institute on Aging (NIA) – the aging of the population began to be perceived as a problem deserving state attention (and not as a problem of separate scientific societies). Since 1984, the NIA has begun to contribute in every way to the work of the National Archive of Computerized Data on Aging (NACDA).
1977 To explain aging, Thomas Kirkwood proposed the disposable soma theory. According to the theory, the organism has only a limited amount of resources that it has to allocate between different purposes (such as growth, reproduction, repair of damage). Aging occurs due to the limitation of resources that the body can afford to spend on repair.
1985 The discovery of telomerase, a ribonucleoprotein that is able to restore shortened telomeres. The discovery was made by Elizabeth Blackburn and Carol Greider. This research is based on the theoretical works of Alexey Olovnikov. The study of telomeres and telomerase required many more years and the work of many scientists around the world. For this work, in 2009, Elizabeth Blackburn, Carol Greider and Jack Szostak received the Nobel prize, in the same year Alexey Olovnikov was awarded the Demidov Prize.
1986 Reliability theory of aging and longevity proposed by Leonid Gavrilov and Natalia Gavrilova. At first it was published only in the USSR. In English language the theory was published five years later, in 1991.
1990 Formation of the Gerontology Research Group (GRG) which searches for supercentenarians around the world and verifies their age. Whenever possible, the organization tries to collect data on why these people live significantly longer than the average person. The organization regularly publishes a list of the oldest verified living supercentenarians.
1992 National Archive of Computerized Data on Aging (NACDA) published in the Internet the first 28 datasets related to aging. Gradually the number of published datasets has grown to over 1600 and continues to grow. These datasets are available to any researcher around the world at no charge, so they can search in them for new patterns. The site also provides some tools to facilitate analysis.
1993 Cynthia Kenyon and Ramon Tabtiang doubled the lifespan of C. elegans nematodes by partially disabling a gene, with the nematodes remaining relatively healthy for significantly longer. The discovery was a revolutionary breakthrough in aging research, demonstrating that the aging process could be controlled in the laboratory, and sparked more research into the molecular biology of aging.
1995 Method for detection of senescent cells using a cytochemical assay.
1997 The absolute record for the duration of human life. The French woman Jeanne Calment lived 122 years and 164 days (the record is still held).
1998 A record for the duration of life among males. The Danish-American Christian Mortensen lived 115 years and 252 days.
1998 Scientists managed to extend, in a laboratory environment, the life of normal human cells beyond the Hayflick limit using telomerase.
1999 Establishment of the Buck Institute for Research on Aging – the first institute originally established primarily to study intervention into the aging process.
1999 Sierra Sciences, a biotechnology company focused on aging research with the goal of curing human aging, was founded by William H. Andrews.
21st century
The research activity has increased. There is a shift of focus of the scientific community from the passive study of aging and theorizing to research aimed at intervening in the aging process to extend the lives of organisms beyond their genetic limits. Scientific-commercial companies appear, which aim to create practical technologies for measuring the biological age of a person (in contrast to chronological age) and extend the life of people to a greater extend than the healthy lifestyle and preventive medicine can provide. In society and media there are discussions not only about whether a significant prolongation of life is physically possible, but also whether it is appropriate, about the possibility of officially classifying aging as a disease, and about the possibility of mass testing on human volunteers.
2003 First evidence that aging of nematodes is regulated via TOR signaling.
2003 The Methuselah Foundation is organized by Aubrey de Grey and David Gobel to create life extension technologies based on the Strategies for engineered negligible senescence (SENS) approaches and supporting related research in other organizations.
2003 Andrzej Bartke created a mouse that lived 1,819 days (8 days short of 5 years), while the maximum lifespan for this species is 1,030–1,070 days. By human standards, such longevity is equivalent to about 180 years.
2004 First evidence that aging of nematodes is regulated by AMP-Kinase.
2004 Aubrey de Grey coined the term "longevity escape velocity" (LEV). Though the concept per se has been present in the life extension community since at least the 1970s (for example, Robert Wilson, essay Next Stop, Immortality, 1978).
2004 As a result of the use of anti-aging therapy, a team of scientists led by Stephen Spindler managed to extend the life of a group of already adult mice to an average of 3.5 years. For this achievement, the first Methuselah Mouse Rejuvenation 'M Prize' was awarded.
2004 Creation of the first curated database of genes related to human ageing: GenAge.
2006 Creation of induced stem cells (iSC) from somatic cells by the simultaneous action of several factors. First produced by the Japanese scientist Shinya Yamanaka. In 2012, Shinya Yamanaka and John Gurdon received the Nobel Prize for their work on reprogramming mature cells into pluripotent cells.
2007 Extension of mouse lifespan via deletion of insulin receptor in the brain.
2007 The book Ending Aging written by Aubrey de Grey and his research assistant Michael Rae.
2007 First evidence that a pharmacological agent (namely, metformin) at a certain dosage is capable to increase the lifespan of mice.
2008 Foundation of the Max Planck Institute for Biology of Ageing.
2008 (approximately) It was observed that different variants of FOXO3 gene are associated with human longevity. Since then, research has been conducted to better understand its functions and the mechanism of action.
2009 Association of genetic variants in insulin/IGF1 signaling with human longevity.
2009 A second pharmacological agent (namely, rapamycin) was shown to be capable to increase the lifespan of mice. For this discovery Davе Sharp receive a special prize from the Methuselah Foundation.
2009 The SENS Research Foundation, a research institute dedicated to studying the aging process and ways to reverse it based on the strategies for engineered negligible senescence approach, was established by Aubrey de Grey.
2010s first half The appearance of small political parties in different countries that make the promotion of anti-aging technologies part of their political platforms (for example, Science Party of Australia, U.S. Transhumanist Party, Party for Rejuvenation Research).
2010 Harvard University scientists at the Dana–Farber Cancer Institute partially reversed age-related degeneration in mice by engineering an improved telomerase gene.
2012 It was discovered that protein Sirtuin 6 (SIRT6) regulates the lifespan of male mice (but not female mice).
2013 The pan-tissue Epigenetic clock is a molecular biomarker by Steve Horvath that facilitates the measurement of the age of all human tissues based on cytosine methylation.
2013 The scientific journal Cell published the article "The Hallmarks of Aging", that was translated to several languages and determined the directions of many studies.
2013 A record for the duration of life among males. Japanese Jiroemon Kimura lived 116 years and 54 days (that is 167 days longer than the previous record).
2013 It was discovered that brain-specific overexpression of Sirtuin 1 (SIRT1) is also capable to extend lifespan and delay aging in mice.
2013 Google and other investors created the company Calico to combat aging and related diseases. Investors provided Calico with more than a billion dollars of funding. Arthur Levinson became CEO of the company and one of its investors.
2014 First evidence that pharmacological activation of SIRT1 extends lifespan in mice and improves their health.
2014 Establishment of the Dog Aging Project at the University of Washington, a decade-long study of aging in dogs which includes clinical trials of rapamycin in some of them to test its effects on lifespan, with the project's ultimate goal being to translate the results into further understanding aging in humans and ways to target it.
2010s second half The emergence of official discussions about the possibility of recognizing aging as a disease.
2016 It was found that the replenishment of NAD+ in the organism of mice through precursor molecules improves the functioning of mitochondria and stem cells, and also leads to an increase in their lifespan. One of these NAD+ precursor molecules is NMN.
2016 Demonstration that a combination of longevity associated drugs can additively extend lifespan, at least in mice.
2016 As part of the implementation of the SENS programs, researchers managed to make two mitochondrial genes, ATP8 and ATP6, stably express from the cell nucleus in the cell culture.
2016 Scientists show that expressing Yamanaka reprogramming factors in mice with premature aging can extend their lifespan by about 20%.
2017 The discovery that a naturally occurring polymorphism in human signaling pathways is in some cases associated with health and longevity. It was also detected that, the same as in mice, this association can depend on the sex (it can be observed for one sex but not for another). This indicates that by correctly influencing these pathways, it is theoretically possible to alter lifespan and healthspan in humans.
2017 AgeX Therapeutics, a biotechnology company focused on medical therapeutics related to longevity, was founded.
2018 The Nobel Prize for cancer research was awarded to James Allison and Tasuku Honjo. (The main cause of cancer is the accumulation of errors in DNA. So the topic of cancer research is closely related to research on aging.)
2018 The World Health Organization included in the international classification of diseases ICD-11 a special additional code XT9T, signaling the relationship of a disease with age. Due to this, after the final approval of the ICD-11 in May 2019, aging began to be officially recognized as a fundamental factor that increases the risk of diseases, the severity of their course and the difficulty of treatment.
2019
The lifespan of Caenorhabditis elegans (free-living nematodes) was increased by 5–6 times (by 400–500%) using simultaneous impact in IIS and TOR pathways. This is equivalent to how a human would live 400–500 years.
Scientists at the Mayo Clinic report the first successful use of senolytics, a new class of drug with potential anti-aging benefits, to remove senescent cells from human patients with a kidney disease.
By combining doses of lithium, trametinib and rapamycin into a single treatment, researchers extend the lifespan of fruit flies (Drosophila) by 48%.
Researchers at Harvard Medical School identify a link between neural activity and human longevity. Neural excitation is linked to shorter life, while suppression of overactivity appears to extend lifespan.
Scientists in Japan use single-cell RNA analysis to find that supercentenarians have an excess of cytotoxic CD4 T-cells, a type of immune cell.
2020
Scientists report, using public biological data on 1.75 m people with known lifespans overall, to have identified 10 genomic loci which appear to intrinsically influence healthspan, lifespan, and longevity – of which half have not been reported previously at genome-wide significance and most being associated with cardiovascular disease – as well as haem metabolism as a promising candidate for further research within the field.
Scientists report that after mice exercise their livers secrete the protein GPLD1, which is also elevated in elderly humans who exercise regularly, that this is associated with improved cognitive function in aged mice and that increasing the amount of GPLD1 produced by the mouse liver in old mice could yield many benefits of regular exercise for their brains – such as increased BDNF-levels, neurogenesis, and improved cognitive functioning in tests.
Scientists report that yeast cells of the same genetic material and within the same environment age in two distinct ways, describe a biomolecular mechanism that can determine which process dominates during aging and genetically engineer a novel aging route with substantially extended lifespan.
Reprogramming progress
Scientists show that expression of nuclear reprogramming factors can lead to rapid and broad amelioration of cellular aging.
A study shows that reprogramming induced with the OSK-genes can restore youthful epigenetic patterns as well as revert age-related vision loss.
2021
Researchers report that myeloid cells are drivers of a maladaptive inflammation element of brain-ageing in mice and that this can be reversed or prevented via inhibition of their EP2 signalling.
A randomized clinical trial demonstrates that a combination therapy of a short (two months) intervention of diet, phytonutrient and probiotics supplementation, exercise, relaxation and further lifestyle changes can lead to substantial decrease of the Horvath DNAmAge Epigenetic clock epigenetic aging biomarker in healthy adults and that such may therefore be, measurable, DNA methylome rejuvenation guidance.
Scientists report alternative approach to senolytics for removing senescent cells: invariant NKT (iNKT) cells.
Scientists demonstrate a tool to calculate a person's inflammatory age (iAge) based on patterns of systemic age-related inflammation and identify cytokine CXCL9 as a key suppression target.
A study indicates gut microbiomes with large amounts of microbes capable of generating unique secondary bile acids are a key element of centenarians' longevity.
Scientists identify genetic determinants of ovarian ageing and possible effects of extending fertility in women.
Scientists show that transplantation of fecal microbiota from young donor mice into aged recipient mice substantially rejuvenates the brains of the latter, complementing similar results of a 2020 study.
A study highlight the importance of extending healthspans, not just lifespans and especially as life expectancy rises and demographics shift. Biological aging or the healthspan-lifespan gap (LHG) comes with a great cost burden to society, including potentially rising health care costs (also depending on types and costs of treatments). Scientists have noted that "[c]hronic diseases of aging are increasing and are inflicting untold costs on human quality of life". Further reasons to prioritize healthspans as much as lifespans include global quality of life or wellbeing.
A scientific review concludes that accumulating data suggests dietary restriction (DR) – mainly intermittent fasting and caloric restriction – results in many of the same beneficial changes in adult humans as in studied organisms, potentially increasing health- and lifespan. A review published a few days later provides an overview of DR as an intervention and develops a framework for a proposed field of "precision nutrigeroscience". A study published a few days later identifies circadian-regulated autophagy as a critical contributor to intermittent time-restricted fasting-mediated lifespan extension in Drosophila and suggests that only certain forms of and/or combinations with intermittent fasting – intervals during which no food but only e.g. water and tea/coffee are ingested – may be effective beyond the benefits of healthy body weight.
Scientists show that and how the flavonoid Procyanidin C1 of the antioxidant grape seed extract increases the health- and lifespan of mice.
A vaccine to remove senescent cells, a key driver of the aging process, is demonstrated in mice by researchers from Japan.
The American biotechnology company Altos Labs, which focuses on life extension research, is founded.
2022
A study integrates meta-analyses and data in a tool that shows populations' relative general life extension potentials of different food groups according to this available data, mostly consisting of observational studies.
Results from the first controlled trial of caloric restriction in healthy non-obese humans, CALERIE, are published, confirming benefits and identifying a key protein that could be harnessed to extend health in humans, PLA2G7.
A comprehensive review reaffirms likely beneficial health effects with links to health/life extension of cycles of caloric restriction and intermittent fasting as well as reducing meat consumption in humans. It identifies issues with contemporary nutrition research approaches, proposing a multi-pillar approach, and summarizes findings towards constructing – multi-system-considering and at least age-personalized dynamic – refined longevity diets and proposes inclusion of such in standard preventive healthcare.
A study demonstrates that a 30% caloric restriction extended life spans of male C57BL/6J mice by 10% but when combined with daily intermittent fasting and eating during the most active time of the day it extended life span by 35%.
A study shows that 50+ aged users of the dietary program SNAP "had about 2 fewer years of cognitive aging over a 10-year period compared with non-users" despite it having nearly no conditions for the sustainability and healthiness of the food products purchased with the coupons (or coupon-credits).
A cohort study indicates dietary intakes of total flavonols – and at least kaempferol- and quercetin-containing foods in specific – may substantially decrease decline in multiple cognitive abilities with older age, showing a difference of "0.4 units per decade" between 5 mg and 15 mg intakes.
A paywalled study reports higher percentage of daily energy consumption of ultra-processed foods, such as white bread or instant noodles, was associated with faster cognitive decline in aging. Differences can be as large or larger than a 28% faster rate of global cognitive decline.
Researchers report that the widely used supplements glycine and NAC when combined as "GlyNAC", which previously showed various beneficial effects in humans i.a. in a small trial by the authors, can extend lifespan by 24% in mice when taken at old age.
Biomedical gerontologists demonstrate a mechanism of anti-aging senolytics, in particular of Dasatinib plus Quercetin (D+Q) – an increase of α-Klotho as shown in mice, human cells and in a human trial.
A study reports that in model animals, treatment with rapamycin – which typically has negative side-effects – for a limited timespan extended lifespan as much as life-long administration started at the same age and that it was most effective during early adulthood.
A new cellular rejuvenation therapy of bursts of iPSC reprogramming is reported, which can reverse aspects of aging in mice, without causing cancer or other health problems.
Scientists reversed aging in human skin cells for over 30 years by partially reprogramming them with the Yamanaka factors, working better than previous reprogramming methods.
Bioresearchers demonstrate an in vitro method () for rejuvenation (including the transcriptome and epigenome) reprogramming in which fibroblast skin cells temporarily lose their cell identity.
Scientists report the key molecular mechanisms of rejuvenation they found in a comparison of the newly presented genomes of the biologically immortal T. dohrnii and a similar but non-rejuvenating jellyfish, involving e.g. DNA replication and repair, and stem cell renewal.
A first spatiotemporal map reveals key insights about axolotl brain regeneration. Axolotls retain regenerative capacity in their aging throughout their lives. It is thought that by "understanding the mechanisms of regeneration, we eventually will be able to enhance our intrinsic regenerative abilities in order to slow and even reverse the damage of aging."
Scientists report leprosy-causing bacteria viably regenerate and rejuvenate the liver in its armadillos hosts, which may enable novel human therapies.
A study shows that infusing the nourishing cerebrospinal fluid from around brain cells of young mice into aged brains rejuvenates aspects of the brain, identifying FGF17 as a key target for potential therapeutics such as of anti-aging.
A study shows the clonal diversity of stem cells that produce blood cells gets drastically reduced around age 70 , substantiating a novel theory of ageing which could enable healthy aging.
A study shows that blood cells' with age, reportedly affecting at least 40% of 70 years-old men to some degree, contributes to fibrosis, heart risks, and mortality in a causal way.
Researchers describe a way by which the aging of select immune system T cells can be prevented or is slowed down, with relevance to life extension and making vaccines more durable.
The discovery of "super neurons" in the entorhinal cortex of people over age 80 who show exceptional episodic memory is reported.
Scientists report that some apparently senescent cells – which are targeted by anti-aging senolytics – are required for regeneration, and suggest tailoring senolytics to precisely target harmful senescent cells while leaving the ones involved in regeneration intact.
A study indicates that aging shifts activity toward short genes or shorter transcript length and that this can be countered by interventions.
Scientists report that sphingolipids accumulate in muscle during aging whose genetic inhibition or ceramide-blockers such as myriocin could counteract, reducing associated muscle loss.
By stimulating (or charging) genetically engineered roundworm mitochondria with light, researchers show that halting the decline in mitochondrial membrane potential can slow aging.
It was proposed to expand the list of the nine hallmarks of aging with five more.
Saudi Arabia has started a not-for-profit organization called "the Hevolution Foundation" with budget $1 billion per year for developing anti-aging technology.
2023
A study reports results of the first longevity caloric restriction (CR) trial, CALERIE, finding that two years of CR slowed the pace of aging as measured by one of three aging clocks (modest DunedinPACE effects).
Development and application of aging clocks and combination therapies
A study reports the development of deep learning software using anatomic magnetic resonance images to estimate brain age with the highest accuracy for AI so far, including detecting early signs of Alzheimer's disease and varying neuroanatomical patterns of neurological aging.
A study shows DNA methylation aging clocks could be useful indicators of health while social factors – such as health behaviors and poverty – are at least as good predictors and e.g. can better predict cognitive functioning. Around February, Bryan Johnson's Project Blueprint for one of the first comprehensive, possibly largely public, self-experimentations of a comprehensive combination therapy informed by the large scientific corpus on the topic and organ measurements to maximally reverse biological age and (epigenetic) aging markers achieves substantial media attention, with such activities previously largely reserved to biohackers without resources and means to evaluate effects.
The pan-mammalian epigenetic clock is a molecular biomarker designed to measure the age of all mammalian tissues and species using cytosine methylation in highly conserved DNA regions.
A study indicates chest radiographs evaluated using AI could be a performant biomarker for aging clocks.
A study using plasma proteomics aging clocks suggests nearly 20% of the population may show strongly accelerated age in one of 11 major organs, which it links to higher mortality risk.
In January, a team led by David Sinclair shows in a 13-year-long international study how DNA breaks or epigenetic damage are a major driver of epigenetic change, and how the loss of epigenetic information is a cause of aging in mammals. It concluded that the loss of epigenetic information can drive aging independently of changes to the genetic code, suggesting that epigenetic change is a primary driver of aging in mammals. Using a treatment based on Yamanaka factors, they demonstrate an ability to drive aging in both the forward and reverse directions in mice.
In a preprint, another team of researchers of the biotechnology company Rejuvenate Bio also reports the use of Yamanaka-reprogramming to modestly extend the lives of elderly mice. However, if it was also applicable to humans, risks may include the formation of cancer.
In July, the David Sinclair team at Harvard Medical School release a study that claims to have discovered the first known chemical approach to reprogram cells to a younger state by delivering the Yamanaka factors directly, whereas previously this had only been achievable via gene therapy.
A study indicates factors contributing to the longevity of long-living organisms can be transferred between species, particularly from naked mole-rats .
First senolytics discovered using artificial intelligence: Teams from the University of Edinburgh and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology independently report the discovery of senolytics using artificial intelligence for screening large chemical libraries. The works reported compounds of comparable efficacy and increased potency than other known senolytics.
A study identifies low levels of taurine, which declines with age, as a driver of the aging process and suggests that taurine supplements may increase lifespan.
Ora Biomedical announces the "million molecule challenge", an effort to assess 1 million potential longevity interventions within five years using artificial intelligence.
A study suggests chemical alternatives to age reversal via Yamanaka factors gene therapy are feasible via early in vitro fibroblasts data. These results have not yet been validated in an animal and via more reliable "improvements in age-related health metrics or lifespan".
Subcutaneous administration of longevity factor α-klotho enhanced cognition in old rhesus macaques.
In a paywalled review, the authors of a heavily cited paper on the hallmarks of aging update the set of proposed hallmarks after a decade. A review with overlapping authors merge or link various hallmarks of cancer with those of aging.
A study concludes that retroviruses in the human genomes can become awakened from dormant states and, in senescent cells and aged tissue, contribute to aging which can be blocked by neutralizing antibodies, resulting in improved function.
A study by Columbia University researchers suggests hypermetabolism in cells due to impaired mitochondria is a driver of aging.
A previously unknown cell mechanism involved in aging is discovered, which explains how cells 'remember' their identity when they divide – the cells' so-called epigenetic memory.
A team of scientists from New York University identifies a potential cause of greying hair with age as the failure of melanocyte stem cells to mature with age. The study was carried out using mice, which have identical cells for their fur. According to the research team, the results could provide a basis for reversing the hair greying process.
A study affirms and explains why a moderate decrease in body temperature extends lifespan.
By publishing virome-related results, researchers close a major gap in the acceleratingly accumulating research into microbiome characteristics for life extension.
Scientists at the University of Colorado report what they believe to be the primary mechanism behind cognitive decline in aging, the mis-regulation of the brain protein CaMKII.
Three studies indicate platelets, including or especially FF4, are exerkines with health- and life-extension-potential that rejuvenate aging brains of mice.
2024
Researchers demonstrate antibody-mediated depletion of myeloid-biased hematopoietic stem cells against immune system aging with mice.
An experiment by researchers at Imperial College London, the MRC London Institute of Medical Sciences, and Duke–NUS Medical School found that reduction in levels of the protein interleukin 11, which increases in the body with age and in excess is responsible for increased inflammation, reversed some aspects of aging in mice. The experiment, which involved genetically engineering some mice to block the production of the protein and allowing others to reach middle age before giving them a drug to eliminate it from their bodies, increased their lifespans by 20–25% and reversed numerous effects of aging.
Precious3GPT, an artificial intelligence model designed to assist in aging research and drug discovery, is launched.
A study by scientists at Stanford University found that rather than being a solely gradual and linear process, aging accelerates dramatically at two points in a human lifetime. The study, which tracked thousands of different molecules in 108 people aged between 25 and 75, found that age-related changes rise substantially in two waves, with the first occurring at around age 44 and the second at around age 60.
Researchers at the IRB Barcelona demonstrated that senescent cells release mt-dsRNA into the cytosol driving the SASP via RIGI/MDA5/MAVS/MFN1, and in turn are hypersensitive to mt-dsRNA-driven inflammation due to reduced levels of PNPT1/ADAR1. Moreover, senescent cells within fibrotic and aged tissues also present increased dsRNA foci, and inhibition of mitochondrial RNA polymerase reduces systemic inflammation associated to senescence.
See also
Longevity escape velocity
Life extension
Rejuvenation
Biogerontology
Fields not included
Research domains related or part of senescence research currently not fully included in the timeline:
Senolytic
Establishments of new research-conducting organizations, especially companies (see template at the bottom)
Research into centenarians
Ageing research projects and prizes
Excluded fields of research
Notable events in these fields of research that relate to life extension and healthspan are currently deliberately not included in this timeline
History of nutritional science – progress in general health- and lifespan-related nutritional science
List of causes of death by rate – such as R&D on the reduction of environmental toxins
Years of potential life lost (YPLL) and Loss of life expectancy (LLE)
General medicine and preventive healthcare and interventions against any specific aging-related disease
Progress in tools and knowledge that can be used for anti-aging purposes such as CRISPR gene editing
General regeneration in humans, organ printing and xenotransplantation progress
Research about sustained brain health in general
Maintaining health – conventional ways of maintaining and protecting health for life extension
Health effects of exercise
Neurobiological effects of physical exercise
Public health / health policy including environmental policy and consumer protection
References
Further reading
External links
— history of aging research
Senescence
Aging research
Aging
Life extension | Timeline of aging research | [
"Chemistry",
"Biology"
] | 10,508 | [
"Senescence",
"Metabolism",
"Cellular processes"
] |
67,572,697 | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anke%20Weidenkaff | Anke Weidenkaff (December 27, 1966 in Hanover, Germany) is a German-Swiss chemist and materials scientist. Since 2018, she has been head of the Materials & Resources Group at the Faculty of Materials Science at Technical University Darmstadt and director of the Fraunhofer Research Institution for Materials Recycling and Resource Strategies (IWKS) in Hanau (Hesse) and Alzenau (Bavaria).
Life
Weidenkaff was born in Hanover, Germany, and studied chemistry at the University of Hamburg. She received her PhD in 2000 from ETH Zurich in the Department of Chemistry. In 2006, she received the Venia Legendi for Solid State Chemistry and Materials Science from the University of Augsburg and became section head at the Swiss Federal Laboratories for Materials Science and Technology (Empa) and associated professor at the University of Bern. From 2013 to 2018, she was director of the Institute of Materials Science at the University of Stuttgart, where she chaired the Department of Chemical Materials Synthesis.. Since October 1, 2018, Weidenkaff has been director of Fraunhofer Research Institution for Materials Recycling and Resource Strategies. Weidenkaff is also a professor at Technical University Darmstadt in the field of material science and resource management.
From 2016 to 2019, she was president of the European Thermoelectric Society (ETS), of which she had been a board member since 2007. She is an elected member of the European Materials Research Society's (E-MRS) Executive Committee and was chair of the 2019 E-MRS Spring Meeting.
Since 2020, Anke Weidenkaff has been a member of the German Advisory Council on Global Change (WBGU)
Anke Weidenkaff was elected as a member to the German National Academy of Sciences Leopoldina and the German Academy of Science and Engineering in 2023.
Research
Weidenkaff's main areas of research and expertise are materials science and resource strategies, including the development, synthesis chemistry, and characterization of substitute materials for energy conversion and storage. Building on scientific knowledge of solid-state chemistry, her current work focuses on materials science and specifically the development of regenerative, sustainable materials and next-generation process technologies for fast and efficiently closed materials cycles. Anke Weidenkaff and her team are currently working on technologies for the production of (green) hydrogen including photoelectrochemical water splitting, the production of carbon nanotubes using microwave plasma synthesis for carbon storage, and sustainable perovskite materials. She is also involved in the development of thermoelectrics, electroceramics and ceramic membranes. Together with the Energy Materials Department of Fraunhofer IWKS, she conducts research on sustainable materials and recycling technologies for batteries and fuel cells. Another focus of her work is "Green ICT", the development of sustainable materials and processes for information and communication technology.
International recognition and activities
2008: Visiting professor, Case Western Reserve University (CWRU) and visiting scientist NASA Glenn Research Centre, Cleveland, USA
2011: Kavli Foundation Lectureship Award
2012 - 2013: Editor in Chief and Member of the Editorial Board of “Energy Quarterly”; Member of the Advisory Board of the MRS Book Series on Energy and Sustainability
2015 - 2017: Member of the Board of Directors, Materials Research Society (MRS)
2016 - 2019: President of the European Thermoelectric Society (ETS)
since 2020: Member of the German Advisory Council on Global Change (WBGU)
2022: Karl W. Böer Renewable Energy Mid-Career Award
since 2023: Member of the German National Academy of Sciences Leopoldina
since 2023: Member of the Acatech, the German National Academy of Science and Engineering.
References
External links
Women chemists
Materials scientists and engineers
Fraunhofer Society
Academic staff of Technische Universität Darmstadt
Members of the German National Academy of Sciences Leopoldina
1966 births
Living people
University of Hamburg alumni
ETH Zurich alumni | Anke Weidenkaff | [
"Materials_science",
"Engineering"
] | 800 | [
"Materials scientists and engineers",
"Materials science"
] |
67,573,786 | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Podman | In computing, Podman (pod manager) is an open source Open Container Initiative (OCI)-compliant container management tool from Red Hat used for handling containers, images, volumes, and pods on the Linux operating system, with support for macOS and Microsoft Windows via a virtual machine. Based on the libpod library, it offers APIs for the lifecycle management of containers, pods, images, and volumes. The API is identical to the Docker API. Podman Desktop provides an alternative to Docker Desktop.
Security
Podman lets containers run without root privileges (rootless), meaning they can be created, run, and managed by regular users without administrator rights.
See also
List of Linux containers
References
Further reading
Containerization software
Software using the Apache license | Podman | [
"Technology"
] | 156 | [
"Computing stubs",
"Software stubs"
] |
67,574,291 | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kovalevskaya%20Prize | Kovalevskaya Prize () is a national scientific prize awarded by Russian Academy of Sciences for outstanding achievements in mathematics since 1997 in honor of Sofya Kovalevskaya.
Kovalevskaya Prize winners
O. A. Ladyzhenskaya, 1992
N. M. Ivochkina, 1997
V. V. Kozlov, 1999
G. A. Seregin, 2003
S. V. Manakov and V. V. Sokolov, 2007
A. B. Bogatyrev, 2009
A. V. Borisov and I. S. Mamaev, 2012
A. I. Bufetov, 2015
I. A. Taimanov, 2018
References
Mathematics awards
Awards of the Russian Academy of Sciences | Kovalevskaya Prize | [
"Technology"
] | 151 | [
"Science and technology awards",
"Science award stubs",
"Mathematics awards"
] |
67,575,629 | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/British%20high-tech%20architecture | British high-tech architecture is a form of high-tech architecture, also known as structural expressionism, a type of late modern architectural style that emerged in the 1970s, incorporating elements of high tech industry and technology into building design. High-tech architecture grew from the modernist style, using new advances in technology and building materials.
Clarification
British high-tech architecture is a term applied principally to the work of a group of London-based architects, British High-Tech Architects, who, by following the teachings of the Architectural Association's futuristic programmes, created an architectural style best characterised by cultural and design ideals of: component-based, light weight, easily transportable, factory-finished using standardised interchangeable highly engineered parts, fun, popular and spontaneous Pop-up buildings.
Within the Architectural Association were a number of overlapping spheres of influence – the most notable being Archigram, a loosely arranged group including Peter Cook (responsible for Plug-in City and Instant City), Mike Webb (Sin Centre) and Ron Herron (Walking City). Alongside Archigram were the mechanistic schemes of Cedric Price, who, with engineer Frank Newby, designed a number of unbuilt projects, most notably Fun Palace, a community theatre to the brief of Joan Littlewood, and Potteries Think-belt, a scheme which would re-use decommissioned railway routes to create a university on wheels. Price also promoted the idea of architecture having a fourth dimension: Time. In addition to the aforementioned was the Independent Group (art movement), which influenced the British side of the pop art movement, through architectural luminaries Peter Smithson a Head of the Architectural Association and Colin St John Wilson.
The British high-tech movement remained in the ascendency from the 1960s until 1984, when an intervention by HRH Charles Prince of Wales over a competition-winning design by ABK Architects (previously Ahrends, Burton and Koralek) for an extension to the National Gallery in London signalled an end to High Tech architecture in the UK. More, from that date, the group of leading proponents of British High Tech architecture distanced themselves from the High Tech style to endear themselves to sponsors. By such action, they would continue to design buildings of national and international significance. In satisfying the demands of conservative clients, planners, conservationists and funding organisations, the essence of High Tech was lost.
This article, British high-tech architecture, traces the development of technological advances and industrial innovations that went hand-in-hand with the emergence of the High Tech style, and without which British high-tech architecture would have remained where it started – as the pop art imagery of Archigram, the most influential of the Architectural Association visionary groups.
Background
The history of light-weight, mass-produced, component-based dry construction, which, as a means of assembly differentiates system building from traditional building methods, dates back to the 19th C. It started in the UK with Sir Joseph Paxton's newly created building methods at Chatsworth House's conservatory completed in 1840, and later at The Great Exhibition of 1851, when he used steam-powered woodworking machines to manufacture batches of identical components. At the same time (1829), Henry Robinson Palmer patented corrugated iron, using his invention to construct a shed roof for the London Dock Company the following year.
Progress continued in another industry entirely, the lattice framed trusses required for airships developed by Barnes Wallis at Howden, Yorkshire during his work in the 1920s on the R100 Airship resulted in the development of light weight tubes made from spiral-wound duralumin strip in a helical fashion.
Later, solutions to housing shortage and replacement of other war-decimated facilities required fresh thinking about factory rather than site based building, such as the post-war building of Arcon prefabs in the United Kingdom in large numbers, and of system-built schools such as Consortium of Local Authorities Special Programme CLASP, filtered through to building design in the form of High Tech System Building. Generally, it has been an engineering innovation that has given rise to architectural opportunity.
Between 1961 and 1967 in California, the SCSD (School Construction Systems Development ) project offered architects and educationalists more options than had been available previously - providing greater column-free floor space by using longer spans, and flexible room layouts below. A deep structural zone into which power, H&V, lighting and concertina partition tracks could be accommodated reduced the need for the rigid restrictive planning grids that had hampered the earlier systems.
Further innovations: space frame roof structures derived from WWII aircraft hangar roofs, Rectangular Hollow Section (RHS) (to include Square Hollow Section) steel, known in the US as Hollow Structural Section (HSS) developed in the UK by Stewarts & Lloyds Ltd in the late 1950s and early 1960s, and advances in 'Patent Glazing' during the same period of time, which allowed greater freedom in both wall and roof glazing – presented architects and their clients with near-unlimited flexibility in a building's planning, layout of accommodation and use patterns.
The trend for light weight dry construction also had its roots in military fast-response use, when administration, storage or workshop buildings might be required at short notice. The Nissen hut from WWI, and later the Quonset hut (a derivative of the Nissen design) developed during WWII were both produced in large quantities. However, notwithstanding its origins for military use, light weight design principles were seized upon by American architect and philosopher Richard Buckminster Fuller, who advocated the use of slender or tensile structural components as they would be less wasteful of Earth's scarce resources than would be their bulkier traditional counterparts. His message became something of a creed for the generation of High tech architects. Fuller's designs used well-engineered batch produced components in designs for his renowned Geodesic Domes, although the term 'geodesic' is attributed to Barnes Wallis in his fuselage design for the WWII Lancaster bomber aircraft. German-born Konrad Wachsmann also taught the principles of this type of component-based building design at USC School of Architecture-SAFA.
Proponents of British high-tech architecture
Most architects associated with British high-tech emerged from the Architectural Association; others worked in London at the offices of those that had. Some, like-minded, had come through the offices of modernists such as Ove Arup and Felix Samuely, who believed in 'total design' an earlier term for 'multi-disciplinary' design. In addition, a small group of sympathetic structural engineers, including Frank Newby, Anthony Hunt, Ted Happold, Mark Whitby and Peter Rice, became essential to the development of the movement. As a result of the symbiotic association between architects and engineers, a freedom of design evolved away from the constraints of the everyday. Aside from the architectural and engineering impetus, there was a wider cultural involvement as the principal proponents shared friendships centred upon art, writing and industrial design. Most operated as freelancers working in small studio home offices which became their calling-cards identifying with the High Tech style.
Michael Aukett (1938-2020)
Reyner Banham (1922-1988) Writer and critic
John Batchelor (illustrator) (1936–2019) Technical Illustrator – aircraft and other – Subjects include work by Foster
Misha Black (1910–1977) Contributor to patronage of 1951 Festival of Britain and to Design Research Unit (DRU)
Hugh Broughton (architect) (b. 1965) Formed Hugh Broughton Architects in 1995
Cuno Brullmann (b. 1945) Worked in association with Piano + Rogers and Ove Arup and Partners
Marcus Brumwell (1901–1977), a founder of Design Research Unit (DRU)
Richard Buckminster Fuller (1895–1983)
Hugh Casson (1910–1999) Director of Architecture for the 1951 Festival of Britain
Warren Chalk (1927–1988) Founding member of Archigram
Peter Cook (architect) (b. 1936) founding member of Archigram
Dennis Crompton (b. 1935) founding member and archivist of Archigram
Charles and Ray Eames (1907–1978, 1912–1988)
Ezra Ehrenkrantz (1932–2001) architect of the SCSD (School Construction Systems Development) project
Norman Foster (b. 1935) co-founder (1963) of Team 4
Wendy Foster (1937–1989) co-founder (1963) of Team 4
David Greene (architect) (b. 1937) Founding member of Archigram
Nicholas Grimshaw (b. 1939) Grimshaw Architects founded in 1980
Fritz Haller USM Modular Furniture
Ted Happold (1930–1996) Founded Buro Happold in 1976
Ron Herron (1930–1994) Founding member of Archigram
Andrew Holmes (b. 1947)
Michael Hopkins (architect) (b. 1935) Former partner at Foster Associates, set up Michael Hopkins Architects in 1976
Patty Hopkins (b. 1942) Cofounder of Michael Hopkins Architects in 1976, completed Hopkins House, Hampstead in the same year
Richard Horden (1944–2018)
John Howard (architect)
Anthony Hunt (b. 1932) Formed Anthony Hunt Associates in 1962
Ben Johnson (artist) (b. 1946) Subjects include architectural works by Foster and Rogers
Jan Kaplický (1937–2009) Drawings of Neo futuristic Architecture
Ian Liddell (b. 1938)
Syd Mead (1933–2019) Artist specialising in Neo futuristic imagery – subjects include concept work for1982 movie Blade Runner
Max Mengeringenhausen, Founder (1948) of Mero Structures now named Mero-Schmidlin
John Miller (b. c1930) Formed partnership with Alan Colquhoun in 1961
Hidalgo Moya (1920–1994) Formed partnership with Philip Powell (architect) in 1948
Edric Neel (1914–1952) Through Arcon sought better links between architects and industry
Brendan Neiland (artist) (b. 1941) Subjects include architectural works by Grimshaw and Rogers
Frank Newby (1926–2001)
Constant Nieuwenhuys (1920–2005)
David Nixon (architect) (b. 1947) Future Systems 1979 founded by Kaplický and Nixon while working at Foster Associates
Frei Otto (1925-2015)
Renzo Piano (b.1937) Formed partnership Piano + Rogers in 1971
Jean Prouvé (1901-1984)
Cedric Price (1934–2003) "Unconventional and visionary architect best-known for buildings which never saw the light of day"
Peter Rice (1935–1992) Joined Ove Arup & Partners in 1956
Ian Ritchie (architect) (b. 1947) Worked for Foster Associates and with Hopkins/Hunt on SSSALU (short span structures in aluminium)
Richard Rogers (1933–2021) Co-founder (1963) of Team 4 Partnership with Piano before founding Richard Rogers
Su Rogers (b. 1939) Co-founder (1963) of Team 4 Partner in Miller & Colquhoun Architects later John Miller & Partners
Walter Segal (1907–1985) Pioneer of self-build housing to the Segal self-build method
Rod Sheard (b. 1951) In 1998 Sheard's firm LOBB Sports Architecture (formerly Howard V Lobb & Partners) merged with HOK Sport.
Alison and Peter Smithson (1928-1993) and (1923-2003) Pioneers of Industrial Aesthetic
Basil Spence (1907-1976) Designer of bolt-together pavilion for Festival of Britain
Colin Stansfield Smith (1932-2013) Hampshire County Architect and Patron
Ralph Tubbs (1912–1996) Designer of bolt-together pavilion for Festival of Britain
Konrad Wachsmann (1901–1980)
Derek Walker (1929–2015) Architect and Patron for Milton Keynes Development Corporation
Michael Webb (architect) (b. 1937) Co-founder of Archigram
Mark Whitby (b. 1950) Worked, early in his career, for Anthony Hunt Associates and Buro Happold
John Winter (architect) (1930–2012) Writer and critic
Georgina Wolton (−2021)
Noteworthy architectural practices
Powell & Moya (architectural practice formed 1948)
Howard V Lobb & Partners (architectural practice formed 1950) merged with HOK (firm) (architectural practice founded 1955) renamed Populous (architectural practice renamed 2009)
Building Design Partnership (BDP) (architectural practice founded 1961)
Williamson Faulkner Brown (architectural practice) now named FaulknerBrowns Architects (architectural practice from 2013)
Gillinson Barnett & Partners (architectural practice formed 1970) now named Barnett & Partners (architectural practice)
Contemporary imagery
In the austere post World War II Britain, illustrations associated with the comic-book heroes, science fiction writing, aircraft and aerospace industries and military hardware such as the Bailey Bridge provided inspirational imagery for the British High Tech architects.
Furthermore, in 1951, the Festival of Britain intended to lift the spirits of the nation following the austerity of WWII, brought together under the architectural Directorship of Hugh Casson a group of leading architects and engineers to create a series of mainly temporary exhibition buildings located primarily on South Bank area of London.
Most of all in 1969, Apollo 11 and its Lunar Module pointed the way towards light weight exoskeletal transient structures free from conventional building limitations. Science Fiction images from Paolo Soleri, Georgii Krutikov, Buckminster Fuller, Robert McCall, Syd Mead, and, of significance, British author Arthur C. Clarke, (who in 1948 wrote the short story, first published in 1951, "Sentinel of Eternity", which was used as a starting point for the 1968 novel and film 2001: A Space Odyssey), provided a rich source of inspiration for the High Tech movement.
High Tech Buildings for leisure
Wide span column-free dome, cuboid and pyramid-shaped building envelopes provided flexibility for internal layout and use patterns. Dutch architect Constant Nieuwenhuys in New Babylon, his long work including drawings and writings of 1959–1974 (not yet called High Tech), foresaw a fictitious world in which the pursuit of pleasure and play, rather than work, had become the mainstay of everyday life for the élite of society.
UK Local Authorities in the 1970s, both at seaside locations and as a part of urban regeneration initiatives, sought to recreate the fun attractions of sun-bathing and swimming in artificially-created waves. Out-of-London UK architects Gillinson Barnett & Partners (Leeds), and Williamson Faulkner Brown Architects (Newcastle upon Tyne) were leaders in this form of design with schemes including Summerland in the Isle of Man (destroyed by fire two years after opening), Sun Centre Rhyl North Wales (now demolished), Oasis Leisure Centre Swindon, and Bletchley Leisure Centre in Milton Keynes (now demolished). Only the Oasis Leisure Centre remains as an example of this building type, although it is itself presently under threat of demolition.
Industrial aesthetic (US also esthetic)
Factory-finished components, brought to site and bolted together, provided uniformity in appearance and standardisation which would allow components to be replaced or reconfigured. Typical of this design trend was the use of a Braithwaite water tank by the Smithsons in their designs for Hunstanton Secondary Modern School in Norfolk UK.
Industrialisation
Industrial components, batch-produced in factories using newly invented materials or new manufacturing processes allowed the construction/assembly of High Tech buildings to move forward.
Technology transfer
Using 'component-based, light weight, factory-finished using standardised interchangeable highly engineered parts' as a template for High Tech Building, in due course technologies developed in allied industries such as boatbuilding, vehicle manufacture or cold storage were transferred to British High Tech architecture.
Selected works and projects
Use of computer-aided design
The use of computer-aided design (CAD) for 3D modelling, and therefore as a basic tool for architectural design, emerged during the 1990s Prior to that date, CAD had been used to a limited extent in structural analysis and as a means of managing and recording traditional drawings. 1983 saw the first 2D Autocad software designed for PC use. Earlier (c1975), "the architects (Gillinson Barnett & Partners) had to devise a computer programme to deal with the large number of components (in the Oasis Leisure Centre Dome roof, Swindon), and the ‘frame analysis’ was reportedly handled by a NASA computer at Houston". In c.1984, Ove Arup and Partners produced computer-generated 3D modelling of the Schlumberger Gould Research Centre, Cambridge, roof membrane.
With the widespread advance of IT, (the use of computers to store or retrieve data) CAD quickly became the essential tool of architectural and engineering design. Anthony Hunt is on record as saying: "... that it was only possible to design and construct the huge biodomes of the Eden Project... because of advances made in computer modelling techniques".
Equality of opportunity
In the Sex Discrimination Act 1975, which led the way to establishment of the Equal Opportunities Commission (United Kingdom), parity between men and women in pay and opportunity became enshrined in law. This coincided with a group of women such as Alison Smithson, Wendy Foster, Su Rogers, Georgina Wolton and Patty Hopkins establishing themselves as equals in what had been up until then a predominately male-oriented profession.
The post mid 1980s reversion to technological modernism
The mid 1980s saw not only the damning "is like a monstrous carbuncle on the face of a much-loved and elegant friend" speech by HRH Charles Prince of Wales, but also the death of several key proponents of British High Tech architecture – among which were Buckminster Fuller (1983), Jean Prouvé (1984), Walter Segal (1985) and Reyner Banham (1988), each of whom were significant for their teachings as well as for their building designs.
Use of high-tech methodology for sports stadia
Following the Taylor Report, a Home Office report, the result of a public inquiry into "The Hillsborough Stadium Disaster 15 April 1989", recommendations were such that a new generation of all-seater football stadia became the norm for top division football clubs in the UK. Architects the Lobb Partnership (formerly Howard V Lobb & Partners) in conjunction with The Sports Council promoted designs for "A Stadium for the Nineties" giving rise to a new generation of UK football grounds, the first of which was Kirklees Stadium Huddersfield. Rod Sheard, Principal of Lobb Partnership (later known as Lobb Sports Architecture) designed a series of sports venues using High Tech methodology such as retractable roofs and flamboyant exposed steel structures.
Sustainability
As an adjunct to Richard Buckminster Fuller's question "How much does your building weigh?", that expressed his philosophy of light weight building which in turn reduced wastefulness and therefore conserved Earth's precious resources, he backed up this concept with his Dymaxion Map launched as "World Game: a unique experiment to develop a computer coordinated model of planet earth to research world resources and develop ways of running the future for the benefit of mankind".
The Legacy of British High Tech
In both the worlds of science fiction, space travel and in areas of extreme climatic conditions on Earth, the imagery of British High Tech architecture endures in real projects as well as those imagined. A series of buildings and design competition entries for the Halley Research Station at Halley Bay, Antarctica and Ski Haus by Richard Horden/Anthony Hunt derive solutions for extremes of climate from High Tech imagery. David Nixon promotes similar interests "Design, Construction and Operation of Buildings and Habitats in Extreme Environments" and in "a book entitled 'Architecture of the International Space Station' – the first book to examine the Station from an architectural viewpoint" Hugh Broughton, one of the world's leading designers of polar research facilities including Halley VI, takes the High Tech concept further with designs for 'Building a Martian House' – an exhibition in Bristol led by local artists Ella Good and Nicki Kent.
In 2015 Foster + Partners were shortlisted finalists for the 3D Printed Habitat Challenge, organized by America Makes and NASA – submitting designs for a Mars settlement. Concept art for The Martian (2015) Steve Burg supposes accommodation modules on supporting legs (stilts) reminiscent of their light weight component-based bolt-together counterparts of the 1970s and 1980s such as the Rogers' Zip-Up House designed between 1967 and 1969 for The House of Today competition, and the aforementioned Hugh Broughton polar research station designs.
Archigram were awarded RIBA Royal Gold Medal in 2002. Other recipients of this prestigious award relevant to this article are (in reverse date order): Sir Nicholas Grimshaw (2019), Frei Otto (2005), Michael and Patricia Hopkins (1994), Peter Rice (1992), Colin Stansfield Smith (1991), Renzo Piano (1989), Sir Richard Rogers (1985), Sir Norman Foster (1983), Charles and Ray Eames (1979), Powell and Moya (1974) and Buckminster Fuller (1968), demonstrating that the legacy of Proponents of British high-tech architecture has remained at the forefront of architectural pioneering work well into the twenty-first century.
References
High-tech architecture
Prefabricated buildings | British high-tech architecture | [
"Engineering"
] | 4,321 | [
"Building engineering",
"Prefabricated buildings"
] |
67,575,873 | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arachnopeziza%20estonica | Arachnopeziza estonica is a species of fungus belonging to the family Arachnopezizaceae.
The species was found in 2020 in Estonia.
References
Helotiales
Environment of Estonia
Fungus species | Arachnopeziza estonica | [
"Biology"
] | 47 | [
"Fungi",
"Fungus species"
] |
67,577,114 | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Traverse%20%28fortification%29 | A traverse, in military fortification, is a mass of earth or other material employed to protect troops against enfilade. It is constructed at right angles to the parapet manned by the defenders, and is continued sufficiently far to the rear to give the protection required by the circumstances, which, moreover, determine its height. A traverse is sometimes utilized as a casemate. Ordinary field works, not less than those of more solid construction, require traversing, though if the trenches, instead of being continuous, are broken into short lengths, they are traversed by the unbroken earth intervening between each length.
References
Military terminology
Military engineering | Traverse (fortification) | [
"Engineering"
] | 126 | [
"Construction",
"Military engineering"
] |
67,577,711 | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rhabdosphaeraceae | Rhabdosphaeraceae is a family of algae belonging to the order Syracosphaerales.
Genera
The following is a list of Rhabdosphaeraceae genera:
Acanthoica Lohmann, 1903
Algirosphaera Schlauder, 1945
Amitha Shafik, 1989
Anacanthoica G. Deflandre, 1952
Anthosphaera
Blackites W.W. Hay & K.M. Towe, 1962
Cepekiella P.H. Roth, 1970
Cruxia O. Varol, 1989
Cyrtosphaera A. Kleijne, 1992
Discosphaera Haeckel, 1894
Discoturbella P.H. Roth, 1970
Naninfula K. Perch-Nielsen, 1968
Notiocyrtolithus Shafik, 1989
Ommatolithus Shafik, 1989
Palusphaera Lecal, 1966
Pseudorhabdosphaera Lecel & Bernheim, 1960
Pseudotriquetrorhabdulus S.W. Wise, 1976
Rhabdolithes O. Schmidt, 1870
Solisphaera J. Bollmann, M.Y. Cortés, A. Kleijne, J.B. Østerogaard, & J.R. Young, 2006
References
Algae
Haptophyte families | Rhabdosphaeraceae | [
"Biology"
] | 274 | [
"Algae"
] |
67,578,063 | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Achnanthaceae | Achnanthaceae is a family of algae belonging to the order Achnanthales.
Genera:
Achnanthes Bory, 1822
Amphicocconeis M.De Stephano & D.Marino, 2002
Diatomella
Haloroundia C.A.Düaz & N.I.Maidana, 2006
Platebaikalia Kulikovskiy, Glushchenko, Genkal & Kociolek, 2020
Platessa H.Lange-Bertalot, 2004
References
Algae | Achnanthaceae | [
"Biology"
] | 107 | [
"Algae"
] |
70,482,831 | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Schl%C3%BCter%20Profi%20Trac%205000%20TVL | The Schlüter Profi Trac 5000 TVL is an agricultural tractor made by Anton Schlüter München. It is their biggest, and most powerful tractor.
Although it was presented to the public at the 55th DLG fair in 1978 as a series-production model, only one unit was ever built. Schlüter had planned to sell Profi Trac 5000 TVL tractors to former Yugoslavia, but due to political changes, no tractors were ever sold there. Instead, Schlüter used the Profi Trac 5000 TVL as a demonstrator throughout the 1980s. Eventually, after Schlüter was dissolved, the tractor was sold.
Technical description
The Profi Trac 5000 TVL is a tractor exclusively designed for pulling trailers or farm implements that do not require PTO power. It has four same-size wheels, permanent all-wheel drive, and a single ladder frame (i. e. it is not an articulated tractor).
Axles and wheels
Both the front and the rear unsprung ZF APL 8 L beam axles are technically designed as front axles (so-called fork axles), and thus both allow individual steering. The Profi Trac 5000 TVL has three steering modes – "conventional" steering (only the front axle is used as a steering axle), opposed four-wheel steering, and same-direction four-wheel steering. On all wheels, the tractor has hydraulic disc brakes, and 20.8 by 38 inch tyres; the Profi Trac 5000 TVL can also be equipped with twin tyres, as seen in the infobox picture.
Engine
Schlüter chose to equip the Profi Trac 5000 TVL with an MAN D 2542 MTE industrial V12 diesel engine. This water-cooled engine displaces , features MAN's M-System direct-injection system, and is fitted with a twin-turbo forced induction setup. From the factory, the engine has a DIN-70020-rated power of at 2300/min, but for the Profi Trac 5000 TVL, the injection pump was slightly detuned to reduce the DIN-70020-rated power to at 2200/min. The BMEP is , and the rated fuel consumption is .
Transmission
The Profi Trac 5000 TVL is fitted with a manual ZF 4 S-150 GPA synchromesh gearbox. It has nine gears, of which eight are forward gears, and of which one is a reverse gear. The reverse gear is necessary, because the tractor has no reverse gearbox or splitter gearbox (thus, the Profi Trac 5000 TVL has no PTO). Schlüter employed a shifting concept with traction interruption instead of power shifting, which means that, the torque transmission from the engine to the wheels has to be interrupted for shifting gears. The Profi Trac 5000 TVL has a ZF WSK 400 clutch unit that contains both a hydraulic torque converter, and a dry clutch. The hydraulic torque converter increases both the torque and reduces the wear on the clutch – it is only used for setting off in first gear, after which it is locked up; shifting gears requires normal clutch operating. The system allows using the engine braking torque.
References
Tractors | Schlüter Profi Trac 5000 TVL | [
"Engineering"
] | 668 | [
"Engineering vehicles",
"Tractors"
] |
70,482,935 | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rhizocarpic%20acid | Rhizocarpic acid is an organic compound with the molecular formula C28H23NO6 which has been isolated from the lichen Rhizocarpon geographicum and other lichens.
References
Further reading
Lichen products
Fungal pigments
Amides
Furanones
Methyl esters | Rhizocarpic acid | [
"Chemistry"
] | 60 | [
"Functional groups",
"Amides",
"Natural products",
"Lichen products"
] |
70,485,327 | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lichen%20product | Lichen products, also known as lichen substances, are organic compounds produced by a lichen. Specifically, they are secondary metabolites. Lichen products are represented in several different chemical classes, including terpenoids, orcinol derivatives, chromones, xanthones, depsides, and depsidones. Over 800 lichen products of known chemical structure have been reported in the scientific literature, and most of these compounds are exclusively found in lichens. Examples of lichen products include usnic acid (a dibenzofuran), atranorin (a depside), lichexanthone (a xanthone), salazinic acid (a depsidone), and isolichenan, an α-glucan. Many lichen products have biological activity, and research into these effects is ongoing.
Biosynthesis
Most lichen products are biochemically synthesized via the acetyl-polymalonyl pathway (also known as polyketide pathway), while only a few originate from the mevalonate and shikimate biosynthetic pathways.
Occurrence
Lichen products accumulate on the outer walls of the fungal hyphae, and are quite stable. Crystal deposits can be visualised using scanning electron microscopy. For this reason, even very old herbarium specimens can be analysed. The amount of lichen products in lichen (as a percentage of dry weight) is typically between 0.1%–10%, although in some instances it may be as high as 30%. They are usually found in the medulla, or less commonly, the cortex.
In 1907, Wilhelm Zopf identified and classified about 150 lichen products. Seventy years later, this number had risen to 300, and by 1995, 850 lichen products were known; as of 2021, more than 1000 have been identified. Analytical methods were developed in the 1970s using thin-layer chromatography for the routine identification of lichen products. More recently, published techniques demonstrate ways to more efficiently harvest secondary metabolites from lichen samples.
Use in taxonomy
Lichen products play a crucial role in differentiating lichenised fungi, particularly in groups where morphological characteristics are less distinct. This approach is notably applied in the genus Lepraria, which lacks sexual reproduction and ascomata (fruiting bodies), typically key features for species identification. Similarly, in genera with more complex structures like the crustose genus Ochrolechia, and the fruticose Cladonia, the presence, absence, or substitution of specific lichen products is frequently used to distinguish species, especially when these variations align with differences in geographical distribution.
References
Cited literature
Lichenology | Lichen product | [
"Chemistry",
"Biology"
] | 558 | [
"Lichenology",
"Natural products",
"Lichen products"
] |
70,485,853 | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/NGC%203599 | NGC 3599 is a lenticular galaxy located in the constellation Leo. It was discovered by William Herschel on March 14, 1784. The galaxy is located at a distance of from the Sun. NGC 3599 is a member of the Leo II group of galaxies in the Virgocentric flow.
The morphological classification of NGC 3599 is SA0:, which indicates this is a lenticular galaxy but with some uncertainty in the classification. There is a weak ring structure from the nucleus, and a small bar about in length. The galaxy is inclined at an angle of 28° to the plane of the sky, so it is being viewed from nearly face-on. The nucleus is compact and not associated with any non-thermal activity. Although not optically active, NGC 3599 is classified as a Seyfert 2 or a LINER-type galaxy. The mass of the central black hole is estimated at .
In 2003, a sudden rise in X-ray emission from NGC 3599 was observed by the XMM-Newton space observatory. Follow-up observations showed a rapid decay in flux during the following years. This was originally suggested as a candidate tidal disruption event but it may instead have been caused by thermal instability of the accretion disk orbiting a black hole.
References
External links
3599
Unbarred lenticular galaxies
Galaxies discovered in 1784
Leo (constellation) | NGC 3599 | [
"Astronomy"
] | 282 | [
"Leo (constellation)",
"Constellations"
] |
70,486,495 | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/%28Cycloheptatrienyl%29%28cyclopentadienyl%29titanium | (Cycloheptatrienyl)(cyclopentadienyl)titanium is an organotitanium compound with the formula Ti(C7H7)(C5H5). It is a blue, diamagnetic, sublimable solid that is sensitive toward air. The structure has been confirmed by X-ray crystallography. This sandwich complex features cyclopentadienyl and cycloheptatrienyl ligands bound to titanium. The Ti-C distances are all within a narrow range near 2.35 Å.
The complex can be prepared by the reaction of titanocene dichloride, butyllithium, and cycloheptatriene.
See also
(Cycloheptatrienyl)(cyclopentadienyl)vanadium
References
Organotitanium compounds
Cyclopentadienyl complexes
Cycloheptatrienyl complexes
Sandwich compounds | (Cycloheptatrienyl)(cyclopentadienyl)titanium | [
"Chemistry"
] | 194 | [
"Organometallic chemistry",
"Cyclopentadienyl complexes",
"Sandwich compounds"
] |
70,487,365 | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Elena%20Becker-Barroso | Elena Becker-Barroso is a Spanish molecular biologist and the editor in chief of Lancet Neurology.
Education
Becker-Barroso obtained a bachelor's degree in life sciences from the University of Exeter in 1997 and has a PhD in molecular biology from the University of Salamanca.
She undertook postdoctoral research at the Skirball Institute of Biomolecular Medicine at New York University, and has a diploma in science communication from Birkbeck University.
Career
Becker-Barroso joined in the editorial department of Lancet Neurology in 2005 before becoming the editor-in-chief of in 2012.
Selected publications
Becker-Barroso, E. (2009, January 1). For neurologists in Cuba, hope is not embargoed. LANCET NEUROLOGY, 8(12), 1088–1089.
Awards
Becker-Barroso has an honorary degree from the University of Exeter.
References
External links
Living people
Academic journal editors
Spanish molecular biologists
Alumni of the University of Exeter
New York University alumni
Year of birth missing (living people)
Spanish women scientists | Elena Becker-Barroso | [
"Chemistry"
] | 218 | [
"Molecular biology stubs",
"Molecular biology"
] |
70,489,150 | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/%28Cycloheptatrienyl%29%28cyclopentadienyl%29vanadium | (Cycloheptatrienyl)(cyclopentadienyl)vanadium is an organovanadium compound with the formula V(C5H5)(C7H7). It is a purple, paramagnetic, sublimable solid that is sensitive toward air. The structure has been confirmed by X-ray crystallography. This sandwich complex features cyclopentadienyl and cycloheptatrienyl ligands bound to vanadium. It was first prepared by heating a mixture of cycloheptatriene and cyclopentadienylvanadium tetracarbonyl. Many derivatives of trovacene are prepared by lithiation of the cyclopentadienyl ring.
See also
(Cycloheptatrienyl)(cyclopentadienyl)titanium
References
Organovanadium compounds
Cyclopentadienyl complexes
Cycloheptatrienyl complexes
Sandwich compounds | (Cycloheptatrienyl)(cyclopentadienyl)vanadium | [
"Chemistry"
] | 200 | [
"Organometallic chemistry",
"Cyclopentadienyl complexes",
"Sandwich compounds"
] |
70,489,438 | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Redmi%20K50 | The Redmi K50 is a line of Android-based smartphones manufactured by Xiaomi and marketed under its Redmi sub-brand. The lineup includes the base Redmi K50 model, the more advanced Redmi K50 Pro, the gaming-focused Redmi K50G (also known as Redmi K50 Gaming), and the lite Redmi K50i model. The Redmi K50G was launched globally as the Poco F4 GT.
Gallery
References
Mobile phones introduced in 2022
Phablets
Mobile phones with multiple rear cameras
Mobile phones with 4K video recording
K50 | Redmi K50 | [
"Technology"
] | 124 | [
"Crossover devices",
"Mobile technology stubs",
"Phablets",
"Mobile phone stubs"
] |
70,490,281 | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Moldable%20wood | Moldable wood is a strong and flexible cellulose-based material. Moldable wood can be folded into different shapes without breaking or snapping. The patented synthesis is based on the deconstruction and softening of the wood's lignin, then re-swelling the material in a rapid "water-shock" process that produces a wrinkled cell wall structure. The result of this unique structure is a flexible wood material that can be molded or folded, with the final shape locked in plate by simple air-drying. This discovery broadens the potential applications of wood as a sustainable structural material. This research, which was a collaborative effort between the University of Maryland, Yale University, Ohio State University, USDA Forest Service, University of Bristol, University of North Texas, ETH Zurich, and the Center for Materials Innovation, was published on the cover of Science in October 2021.
References
Materials science
Solid mechanics
Fracture mechanics | Moldable wood | [
"Physics",
"Materials_science",
"Engineering"
] | 187 | [
"Structural engineering",
"Materials science stubs",
"Solid mechanics",
"Applied and interdisciplinary physics",
"Fracture mechanics",
"Materials science",
"Mechanics",
"nan",
"Materials degradation"
] |
70,491,126 | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thomas%20Malin%20Rodgers | Thomas Malin Rodgers (August 1, 1943 — April 12, 2012) was an Atlanta-based businessman and puzzle collector who is remembered as the originator of the Gathering 4 Gardner (G4G) educational foundation, first conceived in 1992. He co-founded G4G with magician and toy inventor Mark Setteducati and UC Berkeley professor Elwyn Berlekamp. Over the past three decades it hosted 14 biennial conferences for aficionados of the recreational mathematician and Scientific American columnist and writer Martin Gardner. Rodgers also edited 6 volumes of Martin Gardner tribute books, published by AK Peters. Rodgers' personal physical puzzle collection was legendary.
Gathering 4 Gardner
Through his monthly Mathematical Games column and his extensive correspondence, Gardner had created a large network of fans and had achieved an almost cult-like status. Rodgers knew many of the other people in the ever expanding Gardner circle and a decade after Gardner stopped writing his column, Rodgers decided that a conference in his honor was merited. He managed to convince the usually shy Gardner to attend and then used Gardner's own voluminous and meticulous files to assemble a list of invitees. They called it The Gathering 4 Gardner, which was subsequently shortened to G4G. Gardner attended the first G4G in 1993 and the second, dubbed G4G2, in 1996. Since then, there has been a gathering every two years up to G4G13 in 2018, and then G4G14 in 2022, delayed because of the Covid pandemic. For the first two decades G4G was sustained mostly by Rodgers with "seemingly unfettered access to his personal time and resources."
By the time of G4G7 in 2006, the conference was attracting a wide assortment of people, including Mathematician Daina Taimina, gaming hobbyist Lou Zocchi, puzzle designer Wei-Hwa Huang, magic square expert Lee Sallows, puzzle historian David Singmaster, computer scientist and origamist Ron Resch, and spidron inventor Dániel Erdély—in addition to establishment mathematicians John H. Conway and Roger Penrose. Rogers himself was involved in each gathering up to 2012. But he was mortally ill, and G4G10 was to be his last gathering. As tradition demanded, for one day he hosted the attendees at his lavish home and Japanese gardens in north Atlanta, which was filled with his huge puzzle collection. He died just nine days later.
Subsequent G4Gs have attracted an ever increasing array of recreational mathematicians, magicians, puzzle designers, pseudoscience skeptics, jugglers, artists, game designers, origamists, toy inventors, computer scientists, philosophers, and cognitive psychologists.
Legacy
Part of Martin Gardner's genius was that he attracted a circle of collaborators whose synergy dramatically deepened the knowledge of the subjects that Gardner was writing about. Rodgers, like his mentor, carried on this tradition by founding the gathering. Neil Calkin of Clemson University in a tribute to Rodgers says:
Tom's contribution to the life of the mind has been that of a catalyst: to bring together hundreds of incredible people, to give them a forum to meet, to communicate, and to interact with amazing individuals from different disciplines, to form connections, and to inspire. In 2010, I described one day at the G4G9 as the best day I've had in my life so far.
Books
Rodgers frequently collaborated with other members of the Gardner circle to edit tribute books about him.
1999 – The Mathemagician and Pied Puzzler: A Collection in Tribute to Martin Gardner, edited by Elwyn Berlekamp & Tom Rodgers (AK Peters),
2001 – Puzzlers' Tribute: A Feast for the Mind, edited by David Wolfe & Tom Rodgers (AK Peters),
2004 – Tribute to a Mathemagician, edited by Barry Cipra, Erik Demaine, Martin Demaine & Tom Rodgers (AK Peters),
2008 – A Lifetime of Puzzles: A Collection of Puzzles in Honor of Martin Gardner's 90th Birthday, edited by Erik Demaine, Martin Demaine & Tom Rodgers (AK Peters),
2009 – Homage to a Pied Puzzler, edited by Ed Pegg Jr., Alan Schoen & Tom Rodgers (AK Peters),
2009 – Mathematical Wizardry for a Gardner, edited by Ed Pegg Jr., Alan Schoen & Tom Rodgers (AK Peters),
References
1943 births
2012 deaths
Recreational mathematicians
Puzzle designers
Mathematics popularizers | Thomas Malin Rodgers | [
"Mathematics"
] | 914 | [
"Recreational mathematics",
"Recreational mathematicians"
] |
70,491,172 | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Parmelia%20isidiiveteris | Parmelia isidiiveteris is a fossilised species of foliose lichen in the family Parmeliaceae. It was found in Dominican amber and described as a new species in 2000. It was tentatively placed in the genus Parmelia although its true generic placement is difficult to determine with only a single specimen available for analysis.
Taxonomy
The fossil was discovered in Dominican amber and formally described as a new species in 2000 by George Poinar Jr., Eric Peterson, and Jamie Platt. The holotype specimen (Poinar AF9-17B) is kept at the University of Oregon.
Because of its resemblance to modern-day members of Parmelia, the fossil lichen has been placed provisionally in that genus, although the authors acknowledge that without sacrificing more of the single available specimen for analysis, it is impossible to assert this definitively. Although the authors noted "striking resemblance" to some members of Hypotrachyna, they chose to tentatively group the fossil taxon in Parmelia because of the mostly simple (i.e., unbranched) rhizines, a trait characteristic of that genus. Some later authors have opined, however, that this taxon, and another fossil lichen described concurrently, Parmelia ambra, do not belong to the genus concept of the Parmelia as presently circumscribed, although there is agreement that the Parmeliaceae is the appropriate family.
Based on what types of organisms are used for dating, Dominican amber dates from 15–20 million years ago (based on foraminifera fossils), to 30–45 million years (based on coccolith fossils). Because lichens are scarce in the fossil record, specimens like this are often used as calibration points for molecular clock analyses to improve understanding of lichen evolution.
Description
The fossil lichen has a thallus comprising dichotomously branched lobes with a smooth, slightly convex. The lobes measure 1.0–1.35 mm wide at the internode. The upper thallus surface is shiny and greenish in colour, lacking pseudocyphellae (tiny pores). Isidia are unevenly scattered on the thallus surface. The underside of the thallus is black with dark rhizines measuring 0.3–0.7 mm long. Neither apothecia nor pycnidia are apparent on the fossil. The isidia are 300–500 μm high and 40–50 μm in diameter, and leave pits on the surface of the cortex where they have been broken off. The specimen also has light-coloured squamules (scales) similar to those found in genus Cladonia.
References
isidiiveteris
Lichen species
Lichens described in 2000
Lichens of the Caribbean
Prehistoric fungi
Taxa named by George Poinar Jr.
Fossil taxa described in 2000
Dominican amber | Parmelia isidiiveteris | [
"Biology"
] | 596 | [
"Fungi",
"Prehistoric fungi"
] |
70,491,447 | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/HD1 | HD1 is a proposed high-redshift galaxy, which is considered (as of April 2022) to be one of the earliest and most distant known galaxies yet identified in the observable universe. The galaxy, with an estimated redshift of approximately z = 13.27, is seen as it was about 324 million years after the Big Bang, which was according to scientists around 13.787 billion years ago. It has a light-travel distance (lookback time) of 13.463 billion light-years from Earth, and, due to the expansion of the universe, a present proper distance of 33.288 billion light-years.
According to the last spectroscopic studies (cf. https://arxiv.org/abs/2406.18352, 2024), the new redshift of HD1 is z = 4.0.
Discovery
The discovery of the proposed high-redshift galaxy HD1 (RA:10:01:51.31 DEC:+02:32:50.0) in the Sextans constellation, along with another high-redshift galaxy, HD2 (RA:02:18:52.44 DEC:-05:08:36.1) in the Cetus constellation, was reported by astronomers at the University of Tokyo on 7 April 2022. These two galaxies were found in two patches of sky surveyed by the Cosmic Evolution Survey and by the Subaru Telescope in the Subaru/XMM-Newton Deep Survey Field respectively. They were found by looking for objects that are much brighter in the so-called K band of infrared than in the H band (around 1.6 microns), which could indicate a Lyman-break galaxy red-shifted by a factor of around 13. For this reason they were named "HD 1" and "HD 2" (for "H band dropout", not to be confused with stars HD 1 and HD 2 in the Henry Draper Catalog.
Physical properties
HD1 is one of the earliest and most distant known galaxies yet identified in the observable universe, having a spectroscopic redshift of , meaning that the light from the galaxy travelled for 13.5 billion years on its way to Earth, which due to the expansion of the universe, corresponds to a proper distance of approximately . The observed position of HD1 was determined to be about 330 million years after the Big Bang. Another similar high-redshift galaxy, HD2, was determined to be nearly as far away as HD1.
HD1's unusually high brightness has been an open question for its discoverers; it has a significantly more luminous ultraviolet emission than similar galaxies at its redshift range. Possible explanations have been proposed, one being that it is an active Lyman-break galaxy, or a rather extreme starburst galaxy producing stars at a rate far higher than any previously observed. It is also considered that it may have a significant population of Population III stars that are far more massive and luminous than present-day stars. Another scenario is that it may be a quasar hosting a supermassive black hole; such a scenario would put constraints on models of black hole growth in such an early stage of the universe. A resolution to the true nature of the galaxy would likely await confirmations from the James Webb Space Telescope.
The previous farthest known galaxy, GN-z11, discovered in 2015, had a redshift of 11, suggesting that the observed position of the galaxy is about 420 million years after the Big Bang.
Future considerations
According to the discoverers of HD1 and HD2, "If spectroscopically confirmed, these two sources [ie, HD1 and HD2] will represent a remarkable laboratory to study the Universe at previously inaccessible redshifts." The researchers expect even further clarification of the astronomical objects, including better identifying the objects as galaxies, or, possibly as quasars or black holes, when carefully examined by the James Webb Space Telescope, Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope, and GREX-PLUS space missions. HD1, on close examination, may also reveal the first visible Population III stars, due to its very early age. In addition, the researchers claim that the use of the new upcoming space telescopes could help discover over 10,000 galaxies at this early epoch of the Universe.
See also
CEERS-93316
Earliest galaxies
GLASS-z12
List of galaxies
List of the most distant astronomical objects
References
External links
Astronomical objects discovered in 2022
Galaxies
Cetus
Sextans
Galaxies discovered in 2022 | HD1 | [
"Astronomy"
] | 934 | [
"Sextans",
"Cetus",
"Constellations"
] |
70,493,648 | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Melatonin%20as%20a%20medication%20and%20supplement | Melatonin is a naturally occurring hormone produced in the brain that is also used as a dietary supplement and medication. As a hormone, melatonin is released by the pineal gland and is involved in sleep–wake cycles. As a supplement, it is often used for the attempted short-term treatment of disrupted sleep patterns, such as from jet lag or shift work, and is typically taken orally. There is evidence of its benefit for this use, but is not strong. A 2017 review found that sleep onset occurred six minutes faster with use on average, but found no change in total time asleep.
Side effects from melatonin supplements are minimal at low doses for short durations (the studies reported about equally for both melatonin and placebo). Side effects of melatonin are rare but may occur in 1 to 10 patients in 1,000. They may include somnolence, headaches, nausea, diarrhea, abnormal dreams, irritability, restlessness, insomnia, anxiety, migraine, lethargy, hyperactivity, dizziness, hypertension, abdominal pain, heartburn, mouth ulcers, dry mouth, hyperbilirubinaemia, dermatitis, night sweats, pruritus, rash, dry skin, pain in the extremities, symptoms of menopause, chest pain, glycosuria (sugar in the urine), proteinuria (protein in the urine), abnormal liver function tests, weight gain, mood swings, aggression, and grogginess after awakening. Its use is not recommended during pregnancy or breastfeeding or for those with liver disease.
Melatonin acts as an agonist of the melatonin MT1 and MT2 receptors, the biological targets of endogenous melatonin. It is thought to activate these receptors in the suprachiasmatic nucleus of the hypothalamus in the brain to regulate the circadian clock and sleep–wake cycles. Immediate-release melatonin has a short elimination half-life of about 20 to 50minutes. Prolonged-release melatonin used as a medication has a half-life of 3.5 to 4hours.
Melatonin was discovered in 1958. It is sold over-the-counter in Canada and the United States; in the United Kingdom, it is a prescription-only medication. In Australia and the European Union, it is indicated for difficulty sleeping in people over the age of 54. In the European Union, it is indicated for the treatment of insomnia in children and adolescents. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) treats melatonin as a dietary supplement and, as such, has not approved it for any medical uses. It was approved for medical use in the European Union in 2007. Besides melatonin, certain synthetic melatonin receptor agonists like ramelteon, tasimelteon, and agomelatine are also used in medicine. In 2022, it was the 217th most commonly prescribed medication in the United States, with more than 1million prescriptions.
Medical uses
Insomnia
There is no good evidence that melatonin helps treat insomnia and its attempted use for this purpose is recommended against by the American Academy of Sleep Medicine.
A prolonged-release form of melatonin is approved for use as a medication in Europe for the treatment of insomnia in certain people.
Circadian rhythm sleep disorders
Melatonin may be useful in the treatment of delayed sleep phase syndrome.
Melatonin is known to reduce jet lag, especially in eastward travel. However, if it is not taken at the correct time, it can instead delay adaptation.
Melatonin appears to have limited use against the sleep problems of people who work shift work. Tentative evidence suggests that it increases the length of time people are able to sleep.
REM sleep behavior disorder
Melatonin is a safer alternative than clonazepam in the treatment of REM sleep behavior disorder – a condition associated with the synucleinopathies like Parkinson's disease and dementia with Lewy bodies. However, clonazepam may be more effective. In any case, the quality of evidence for both treatments is very low and it is unclear whether either is definitely effective.
Dementia
A 2020 Cochrane review found no evidence that melatonin helped sleep problems in people with moderate to severe dementia due to Alzheimer's disease. A 2019 review found that while melatonin may improve sleep in minimal cognitive impairment, after the onset of Alzheimer's disease it has little to no effect. Melatonin may, however, help with sundowning (increased confusion and restlessness at night) in people with dementia.
Available forms
A prolonged-release 2mg oral formulation of melatonin sold under the brand name Circadin is approved for use in the European Union in the short-term treatment of insomnia in people age 55 and older.
Melatonin is also available as an over-the-counter dietary supplement in many countries. It is available in both immediate-release and less commonly prolonged-release forms. The compound is available in supplements at doses ranging from 0.3mg to 10mg or more. It is also possible to buy raw melatonin powder by the weight. Immediate-release formulations of melatonin cause blood levels of melatonin to reach their peak in about an hour. The hormone may be administered orally, as capsules, gummies, tablets, oral films, or liquids. It is also available for use sublingually, or as transdermal patches. Several inhalation-based melatonin products with a wide range of doses are being sold but the safety remains to be evaluated.
The American Academy of Sleep Medicine (AASM) said that the melatonin content in unregulated (without a USP verified mark) supplements can diverge widely from the claimed amount; a study found that the melatonin content ranged from one half to four times the stated dose.
Contraindications
Contraindications of melatonin include hypersensitivity reactions among others. It is not recommended in people with autoimmune diseases due to lack of data in these individuals. Prolonged-release pharmaceutical melatonin (Circadin) contains lactose and should not be used in people with the lactase deficiency or glucose–galactose malabsorption. Use of melatonin is also not recommend in women who are pregnant or breastfeeding or in people with liver disease.
Adverse effects
Melatonin appears to cause very few side effects as tested in the short term, up to three months, at low doses. Two systematic reviews found no adverse effects of exogenous melatonin in several clinical trials, and comparative trials found the adverse effects headaches, dizziness, nausea, and drowsiness were reported about equally for both melatonin and placebo. Prolonged-release melatonin is safe with long-term use of up to 12 months. Although not recommended for long-term use beyond this, low-dose melatonin is generally safer, and a better alternative, than many prescription and over-the-counter sleep aids if a sleeping medication must be used for an extended period of time. Low doses of melatonin are usually sufficient to produce a hypnotic effect in most people. Higher doses do not appear to result in a stronger effect but instead appear to cause drowsiness for a longer period of time.
There is emerging evidence that the timing of taking exogenous melatonin in relation to food is also an important factor. Specifically, taking exogenous melatonin shortly after a meal is correlated with impaired glucose tolerance. Therefore, Rubio-Sastre and colleagues recommend waiting at least 2 hours after the last meal before taking a melatonin supplement.
Melatonin can cause nausea, next-day grogginess, and irritability. In autoimmune disorders, evidence is conflicting whether melatonin supplementation may ameliorate or exacerbate symptoms due to immunomodulation.
Melatonin can lower follicle-stimulating hormone levels. Melatonin's effects on human reproduction remain unclear.
Some supplemental melatonin users report an increase in vivid dreaming. Extremely high doses of melatonin increased REM sleep time and dream activity in people both with and without narcolepsy.
Increased use of melatonin in the 21st century has significantly increased reports of melatonin overdose, calls to poison control centers, and related emergency department visits for children. The number of children who unintentionally ingested melatonin supplements in the US has increased 530% from 2012 to 2021. Over 4,000 reported ingestions required a hospital stay, and 287 children required intensive care. The American Academy of Sleep Medicine says there is little evidence that melatonin supplementation is effective in treating insomnia in healthy children.
Overdose
Melatonin appears to be relatively safe in overdose. It has been administered at daily doses of up to 300mg without causing clinically significant adverse reactions in the literature. The most commonly reported adverse effect of melatonin overdose is somnolence. Upon melatonin overdose, drowsiness may be expected and the compound should be cleared within 12hours. No special treatment is needed for melatonin overdose.
Interactions
Melatonin is metabolized mainly by CYP1A enzymes. As such, inhibitors and inducers of CYP1A enzymes, such as CYP1A2, can modify melatonin metabolism and exposure. As an example, the CYP1A2 and CYP2C19 inhibitor fluvoxamine increases melatonin peak levels by 12-fold and overall exposure by 17-fold and this combination should be avoided. CYP1A2 inducers like cigarette smoking, carbamazepine, and rifampicin may reduce melatonin exposure due to induction of CYP1A2.
In those taking warfarin, some evidence suggests there may exist a potentiating interaction, increasing the anticoagulant effect of warfarin and the risk of bleeding.
Pharmacology
Pharmacodynamics
Melatonin acts as an agonist of the melatonin MT1 and MT2 receptors, the biological targets of endogenous melatonin. Endogenous melatonin is normally secreted from the pineal gland of the brain. Melatonin is thought to activate melatonin receptors in the suprachiasmatic nucleus of the hypothalamus to regulate the circadian clock and sleep–wake cycles. When used several hours before sleep according to the phase response curve for melatonin in humans, small amounts (0.3 mg) of melatonin shift the circadian clock earlier, thus promoting earlier sleep onset and morning awakening.
Pharmacokinetics
Absorption
The bioavailability of melatonin is between 2.5 and 50%. Melatonin is rapidly absorbed and distributed, reaching peak plasma concentrations after 60minutes of administration, and is then eliminated. Usual doses of exogenous melatonin of 1 to 12mg produce melatonin concentrations 10 to 100times higher than endogenous peak levels.
Distribution
The plasma protein binding of melatonin is approximately 60%. It is mainly bound to albumin, α1-acid glycoprotein, and high-density lipoprotein.
The membrane transport proteins that move melatonin across a membrane include, but are not limited to, glucose transporters, including GLUT1, and the proton-driven oligopeptide transporters PEPT1 and PEPT2.
Metabolism
Melatonin is metabolized in the liver by cytochrome P450 enzyme CYP1A2 to 6-hydroxymelatonin. Metabolites are conjugated with sulfuric acid or glucuronic acid for excretion in the urine. Some of the metabolites formed via the reaction of melatonin with a free radical include cyclic 3-hydroxymelatonin, N1-acetyl-N2-formyl-5-methoxykynuramine (AFMK), and N1-acetyl-5-methoxykynuramine (AMK).
Elimination
In humans, 90% of orally administered exogenous melatonin is cleared in a single passage through the liver, a small amount is excreted in urine, and a small amount is found in saliva. Melatonin is excreted in the urine 2 to 5% as the unchanged drug.
Melatonin has an elimination half-life of about 20 to 60 minutes. The half-life of prolonged-release melatonin (Circadin) is 3.5 to 4hours.
Chemistry
Melatonin, also known as N-acetyl-5-methoxytryptamine, is a substituted tryptamine and a derivative of serotonin (5-hydroxytryptamine). It is structurally related to N-acetylserotonin (normelatonin; N-acetyl-5-hydroxytryptamine), which is the chemical intermediate between serotonin and melatonin in the body. Synthetic melatonin receptor agonists used in medicine like ramelteon, tasimelteon, agomelatine, and piromelatine (still in clinical trials) are analogues of melatonin.
History
The first patent for its use in circadian rhythm disorders was granted in 1987 to Roger V Short and Stuart Armstrong at Monash University, and the first patent for its use as a low-dose sleep aid was granted to Richard Wurtman at MIT in 1995. Around the same time, the hormone got a lot of press as a possible treatment for many illnesses. The New England Journal of Medicine editorialized in 2000: "With these recent careful and precise observations in blind persons, the true potential of melatonin is becoming evident, and the importance of the timing of treatment is becoming clear."
It was approved for medical use in the European Union in 2007.
Society and culture
Melatonin is categorized by the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) as a dietary supplement, and is sold over-the-counter in both the US and Canada. FDA regulations applying to medications are not applicable to melatonin, though the FDA has found false claims that it cures cancer. As melatonin may cause harm in combination with certain medications or in the case of certain disorders, a doctor or pharmacist should be consulted before making a decision to take melatonin. In many countries, melatonin is recognized as a neurohormone and it cannot be sold over-the-counter. According to Harriet Hall caution is advisable, since quality control is a documented problem. 71% of products did not contain within 10% of the labelled amount of melatonin, with variations ranging from -83% to +478%, lot-to-lot variability was as high as 465%, and the discrepancies were not correlated to any manufacturer or product type. To make matters worse, 8 out of 31 products were contaminated with the neurotransmitter serotonin.
Formerly, melatonin was derived from animal pineal tissue, such as bovine. It is now synthetic, which limits the risk of contamination or the means of transmitting infectious material.
Melatonin is the most popular over-the-counter sleep remedy in the United States, resulting in sales in excess of US$400 million during 2017. In 2022, it was the 217th most commonly prescribed medication in the United States, with more than 1million prescriptions.
Beverages and snacks containing melatonin were being sold in grocery stores, convenience stores, and clubs in May 2011. The FDA considered whether these food products could continue to be sold with the label "dietary supplements". On 13 January 2010, it issued a Warning Letter to Innovative Beverage, creators of several beverages marketed as drinks, stating that melatonin, while legal as a dietary supplement, was not approved as a food additive. Bebida Beverage Company received a warning letter in 2015 for selling a melatonin-containing beverage.
Research
Some research supports an antidepressant and anxiolytic effect of melatonin. It has also been used to aid in the treatment of manic episodes in bipolar disorder, although evidence for its effectiveness is still inconsistent.
Other studies have shown that melatonin may help reduce some types of headaches, epigastric pain and heartburn. There have also been studies trying to prove the effectiveness of melatonin in relation to epilepsy, dysmenorrhea, delirium, and tinnitus, but little to no beneficial role has been found. Melatonin has also been tested as a treatment for cancer, but the National Cancer Institute found insufficient evidence for it. However, further research found it to slightly improve survival of patients and to alleviate chemotherapy-related side effects.
Both animal and human studies have shown melatonin to protect against radiation-induced cellular damage. Melatonin and its metabolites protect organisms from oxidative stress by scavenging reactive oxygen species which are generated during exposure. Nearly 70% of biological damage caused by ionizing radiation is estimated to be attributable to the creation of free radicals, especially the hydroxyl radical that attacks DNA, proteins, and cellular membranes. Melatonin has been described as a broadly protective, readily available, and orally self-administered antioxidant that is without known major side effects.
References
Acetamides
Antidepressants
Antioxidants
Aromatase inhibitors
Circadian rhythm
Drugs acting on the nervous system
Melatonin receptor agonists
Methoxy compounds
Mexamines
Orphan drugs
Treatment of bipolar disorder
Tryptamine alkaloids
Wikipedia medicine articles ready to translate | Melatonin as a medication and supplement | [
"Chemistry",
"Biology"
] | 3,709 | [
"Tryptamine alkaloids",
"Behavior",
"Drug discovery",
"Melatonin receptor agonists",
"Alkaloids by chemical classification",
"Circadian rhythm",
"Sleep"
] |
70,493,982 | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Radial%20flux%20motor | A radial flux motor generates flux perpendicular to the axis of rotation. By contrast, an axial flux motor generates flux parallel to the axis.
Design
The features of a radial flux motor are placed on the sides. The copper windings are wrapped around slots.
A traditional radial flux BLDC motor places a rotor made of permanent magnets inside the stator. The stator contains support known as a yoke, which is outfitted with "teeth", individually wrapped with electromagnetic coils. The teeth function as alternating magnetic poles. The rotor’s magnetic poles interact with the alternating magnetic flux of the teeth, producing torque.
The use of grain-oriented steel in radial flux motors is challenging due to the curving geometry of the magnetic flux path.
Permanent magnet motors
Radial flux motors typically use less permanent magnet material, at the cost of lower torque density.
Torque, speed, power
Torque, speed, and power are related by:
where P is mechanical power, T is torque, in Newton-metres, and ω is speed in radians/second.
Thermal management
While permanent magnent radial flux motors offer considerably higher power than induction motors, they produce more heat, which must therefore be removed. This occurs either via conduction or air/water cooling, depending on application requirements.
References
External links
Electric motors | Radial flux motor | [
"Technology",
"Engineering"
] | 263 | [
"Electrical engineering",
"Engines",
"Electric motors"
] |
47,782,660 | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/OREDA | The Offshore and Onshore Reliability Data (OREDA) project was established in 1981 in cooperation with the Norwegian Petroleum Directorate (now Petroleum Safety Authority Norway). It is "one of the main reliability data sources for the oil and gas industry" and considered "a unique data source on failure rates, failure mode distribution and repair times for equipment used in the offshore industr[y]. OREDA's original objective was the collection of petroleum industry safety equipment reliability data. The current organization, as a cooperating group of several petroleum and natural gas companies, was established in 1983, and at the same time the scope of OREDA was extended to cover reliability data from a wide range of equipment used in oil and gas exploration and production (E&P). OREDA primarily covers offshore, subsea and topside equipment, but does also include some onshore E&P, and some downstream equipment as well.
The main objective of the OREDA project is to contribute to an improved safety and cost-effectiveness in design and operation of oil and gas E&P facilities, through collection and analysis of maintenance and operational data, establishment of a high quality reliability database, and exchange of reliability, availability, maintenance and safety (RAMS) technology among the participating companies.
History
Work on the OREDA project proceeds in phases spanning 2–3 years. Handbooks summarizing the data collected and other work completed are issued regularly.
Phase I (1983–1985)The primary activity during this phase was the collection and compilation of offshore drilling installations, and the publication of these data in the first OREDA Handbook. This demonstrated the ability of the eight petroleum industry companies involved in the project to cooperate on safety issues. While data in this initial phase included a wide range of equipment types, the level of detail was not as complete as in later phases of the project. Data collected in this phase are published in the OREDA Handbook (1984 edition); Phase I data are not, however, included in the OREDA database.
Phase II (1987–1990)To improve data quality, the project's scope was altered to include collection of production-critical equipment data only. Data began to be stored in a Windows OS database. The development of a tailor-made data collection and analysis program, the OREDA software, was begun. Data collected in this phase are published in the OREDA Handbook (1992 edition), which also contains re-published data collected in phase I.
Phase III (1990–1992)The number of equipment categories included was increased, and more data on maintenance programs were collected. Data quality was improved following established "Guidelines for Data Collection" and via improved quality control. The user interface of the OREDA software was improved, and programming changes allowed it to be used as a broader-purpose tool for data collection. Data collected in this phase are published in the OREDA Handbook (1997 edition).
Phase IV (1993–1996)New software for data collection and analysis was developed, plus specific software and procedures for automatic data import and conversion. Data collected were mainly for the same equipment classes as in phase III, and the data collection was — to a greater extent than previously — carried out by the companies themselves. Data on planned maintenance were also included. Data collected in this phase are published in the OREDA Handbook (2002 edition).
Phase V (1997–2000)New classes of equipment were added to the project, coinciding with a greater emphasis on the collection of subsea data. Development of a new ISO standard, "Petroleum and natural gas industries — Collection and exchange of reliability and maintenance data for equipment" was begun; ISO standard 14224 was issued in July 1999. Data collected in this phase are published in the OREDA Handbook (2002 edition).
Phase VI (2000–2001)Data collection on subsea equipment and new equipment classes were prioritised. A forum for co-operation between major subsea equipment manufacturers was formed. Data collected in this phase are published in the OREDA Handbook (2009 edition).
Phase VII (2002–2003)Priority continued to be given to subsea equipment data collection. A revision of ISO 14224 was begun, with contribution from members of the OREDA project. Data collected in this phase are published in the OREDA Handbook (2009 edition).
Phase VIII (2004–2005)Phase VIII mainly continued the goals and activities of phase VII. OREDA members participated in the revision of ISO 14224, issued in December 2006. Data collected in this phase are published in the OREDA Handbook (2015 edition).
Phase IX (2006–2008)OREDA software and taxonomy were made consistent with ISO 14224. There was a continued focus on including worldwide safety data. In observance of OREDA's 25-year anniversary, a seminar was conducted. Data collected in this phase are published in the OREDA Handbook (2015 edition).
Phase X (2009–2011)The 5th OREDA Handbook (2009 edition) was released; new safety analysis software was developed; initial steps to SIL (safety integrity level) data based on OREDA were taken; and GDF Suez and Petrobras became associated members.
Phase XI (2012–2014)New data collection software was developed; the 6th OREDA Handbook (2015 edition) was planned; a quality assurance review of the database was conducted; a new logo was designed, as were new looks for both the Handbook and the website.
Phase XII (2015–2017)The OREDA project is in its 12th phase as of 2015. During this phase, the 6th OREDA Handbook (2015 edition) was published. A new webshop for the project has been established in collaboration with the European Safety Reliability & Data Association (ESReDA).
Phase XIII (2018-)From 2018 the OREDA project will enter its 13th phase. Digitalization and efficiency improvements is part of the industry and there is a need for OREDA data as a decision support tool and as support for equipment in operation. Cost effective solutions is a focus area in the industry and in line with this trend the OREDA project will provide more efficient procedures and digitalized solutions.
Participants
At times companies have left or joined the project, sometimes as the result of name changes or mergers. The following table lists which companies have contributed data to the OREDA project in phases VIII, IX and XII.
Organization
The OREDA project's Steering Committee consists of one member and one deputy member from each of the participating companies. From these members, a chairperson is elected, and appoints a Project Manager to coordinate activities approved by the steering committee. The Project Manager is also responsible for data quality assurance. Det Norske Veritas (DNV, now called DNV GL), an international certification body and classification society, served as Project Manager during phases I and II and SINTEF (Stiftelsen for INdustriell og TEknisk Forskning; "Foundation for Scientific and Industrial Research" in English) during phases III–IX, after which DNV GL again took over Project Manager duties. The OREDA Handbook releases have been prepared as separate projects, but in consultation with the OREDA Steering Committee; the current version, 2015's 6th Edition, was prepared by SINTEF and NTNU (Norges Teknisk-Naturvitenskapelige Universitet; "Norwegian University of Science and Technology" in English), and is marketed by DNV GL.
Need
Before the OREDA project began collecting data, "no authenticated source of failure information existed for offshore installations," and risk assessments had to be made using "generic data from onshore petroleum plants and data from other industries."
Data
By 1996, OREDA had collated data about 24,000 pieces of equipment in use in offshore installations, and documented 33,000 equipment failures.
The severity of failures documented in the database are categorized as either critical, degradation, incipient, or unknown severity.
The database contains data from almost 300 installations, over 15,000 pieces of equipment, nearly 40,000 failure records, and close to 75,000 maintenance records. Access to this data, and to the search and analysis functions of the OREDA software, is restricted to the OREDA member companies, though contractors working with member companies may be granted temporary access.
Database structure
Data are entered by installation and by owner. Each piece of equipment (e.g. a gas turbine) constitutes a single database inventory record, which includes a technical description of the equipment, and of its environmental and operating conditions, along with all associated failure events. Every failure event is given a set of data including failure cause, date, effect, and mode. Corrective and preventive maintenance data are also included.
Software
The OREDA software handles data acquisition, analysis and collation. Features include advanced data search, automated data transfer, quality checking, reliability analyses, a tailor-made module for subsea data which includes an event-logging tool, and the option to configure user-defined applications. It can also be used to collect internal company data.
The most current version of the software, released in concert with the 6th edition of the OREDA Handbook, contains an expanded set of equipment classes, including common subsea components, subsea control systems, subsea power cables, subsea pumps, and subsea vessels.
Impact
Use of the OREDA database has "led to significant savings in the development and operation of platforms."
OREDA's example has inspired the creation of similar inter-company cooperation projects in related fields, such as the SPARTA (System Performance, Availability and Reliability Trend Analysis) database created by the wind farm industry in the UK.
References
Energy economics
International energy organizations
Organizations established in 1981
Petroleum politics | OREDA | [
"Chemistry",
"Engineering",
"Environmental_science"
] | 1,979 | [
"Petroleum politics",
"Energy economics",
"Petroleum",
"International energy organizations",
"Environmental social science",
"Energy organizations"
] |
47,785,331 | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/II-VI%20semiconductor%20compound | II-VI semiconductor compounds are compounds composed of a metal from either group 2 or 12 of the periodic table (the alkaline earth metals and group 12 elements, formerly called groups IIA and IIB) and a nonmetal from group 16 (the chalcogens, formerly called group VI).
These semiconductors crystallize either in the zincblende lattice structure or the wurtzite crystal structure.
They generally exhibit large band gaps, making them popular for short wavelength applications in optoelectronics.
Fabrication
II-VI semiconductor compounds are produced with epitaxy methods, like most semiconductor compounds. The substrate plays an important role for all fabrication methods. Best growth results are obtained by substrates made from the same compound (homoepitaxy), but substrates of other semiconductors are often used to reduce the fabrication cost (a method called heteroepitaxy). In particular, III-V semiconductor compounds like gallium arsenide are frequently used as cheap substrates, resulting in stronger tensions between substrate and growth layer and (generally) lower optoelectronic properties.
Properties
Especially wide bandgap II-VI semiconductor compounds are expected to be very good candidates for high performance applications, such as light emitting diodes and laser diodes for blue and ultraviolet applications. Due to problems with conductivity, the application of these materials is still questionable. The best example is zinc oxide, which shows excellent optical characteristics, though it remains problematic to create sufficient charge carrier densities via doping in zinc oxide.
Ternary compounds are one option to vary the band gap of semiconductors almost continuously over a wide energy range. This method is highly dependent on the materials as well as the growth techniques. In particular, materials with very different lattice constants or different crystal phases (wurtzite or zincblende in this case) are difficult to combine. Tensions and impurities due to low crystal quality result in low optoelectronic properties. One example of the basic possibilities achievable with three different compounds is shown in the diagram with zinc oxide (ZnO), cadmium oxide (CdO) and magnesium oxide (MgO). Basically it is possible to gain any band gap between those of the three materials. Consequently, it is possible to choose very specifically the wavelength of photons emitted by laser diodes or light emitting diodes.
See also
Wide-bandgap semiconductor
List of semiconductor materials
References
External links
https://www2.warwick.ac.uk/fac/sci/physics/current/postgraduate/regs/mpags/ex5/intro/groupii-vi/ | II-VI semiconductor compound | [
"Chemistry"
] | 540 | [
"Semiconductor materials",
"II-VI semiconductors",
"Inorganic compounds"
] |
47,786,948 | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Appreciative%20inquiry%20in%20education | Appreciative Inquiry (AI) is an approach that believes improvement is more engaging when the focus is made on the strengths rather than the weaknesses. People tend to respond to positive statements but react to negative statements that concern them. Children are more sensitive to their self-worth and thrive on what makes them feel good, what makes them feel accepted, included and recognized. AI is a powerful tool that can be used in the field of Education to enable children discover what is good about them and dream of what they can do with this realization. People can be affected by the uses of AI.
Overview
Appreciative Inquiry is the cooperative search for the best in people their organizations, and the world around them. It involves systematic discovery of what gives a system 'life' when it is most effective and capable in economic, ecological, and human terms. AI involves the art and practice of asking questions that strengthen a system's capacity to heighten positive potential. It mobilizes inquiry through crafting an "unconditional positive question' often involving hundreds or sometimes thousands of people."
Application
Applied in the education sector, AI is a cooperative search for the best in children, their school, their teachers, their classmates, their parents and this discovery influences and helps shape their image of the future. It all begins with a story which the appreciative inquirer tells about him/herself and this story is only about where the child has experienced the best of what he could e.g. in reading, writing, passing tests and exams. With this flow of energy from past experience, the child is poised for a similar experience in the future and so nurtures all that give energy and brings joy of performance, acceptance and readiness to move ahead. AI starts with a statement of purpose or object of inquiry and which then takes the inquirer through the five steps (known as the 5Ds of AI) and graphically illustrated as follows:
Refer the picture in
Appreciative Inquiry in the education sector can amplify the motivation of the students and help them become most alive and effective. AI brings about social change in the pupil as the emphasis is on what is good and the belief that people nurture what they appreciate, than what they are not happy about. The system of education can be based on the five principles of AI that will enable the child discover through her/his own story, what is good about him/her and dream of how he/she can capitalize on this story of goodness to do more of such things that he/she appreciates about himself, about his environment, about his world.
Principles
A quick look at the principles will enable the understanding of why AI is suitable for our education system:
i. Constructionist Principle – argues that the language and metaphors we use don't just describe reality (the world), they actually create 'our 'reality (the world). It means that great care is taken in the choice of words that we use as it will influence the kind of future we create. The language of the teacher influences what the child considers as his/her reality and this influences his self-perception and hence his self-worth which is very important for what he/she becomes in future.
ii. Principle of Simultaneity – change begins from the moment we ask a question about a thing. The heart of AI is an unconditional positive question. For example, – what was the best thing that has happened to you in the last week?
iii. The Poetic Principle - as the topic of inquiry is on what is good about the individual or the environment, this helps open a new chapter in the life of the child. Stories reveal qualities which had not been previously realized and appreciated.
iv. The Anticipatory Principle – we grow into the images we create, hence, when the child is made to see himself as good, his imagination about his future will always be good enough and as magnet this imagined future will always pull the child towards this goal.
v. The Positive Principle – feelings of hope, inspiration, caring, sense of purpose, joy and creating something meaningful or being part of something good are among what we define as positive. It is therefore, important that the questions asked to the child are affirmative and positive.
It allows a student to be potentially free from any kind of bondage or control. AI gives an opportunity for the students to showcase their innovative side rather than just rote memory. This in turn makes them autonomous learners. The students are able to understand their strengths every time their potentials are amplified. Use of this in the educational sector would bring about a sea of difference as there would be more room for amplifying the existing positive energy. Even the basic assumptions of AI which includes the assumption that 'in every human situation, there is something that works" is a clear indication that no child is incapable of producing a result that would even surprise the child him/herself. All that the child needs are such questions that would enable him/her tap into the core of his/her being.
The system of education which relies on an average test or examination grades label children who do not meet the marks as 'failed'. AI in education enables the child to identify the subjects where he/she is very satisfied with the performance, and through story, the child discovers what he/she did differently and how to tap this aspect for more satisfaction. This is why AI is also referred as 'locating the energy for change'. It is a search for what is good through stories and what needs to be done through dreams. AI brings a dream to reality because, motivation for the future depends on the images of success of the past.
Educational reform movement
One of the strands of educational reform movements in the last two decades has been the call for greater collaborative efforts, both among educators as well as with parents, students and the surrounding community. Educational researcher Hargreaves (1994) referred to collaboration as an 'articulating and integrating principle' (p. 245) for school improvement, providing a way for teachers to learn from each other, gain moral support, coordinate action, and reflect on their classroom practices, their values, and the meaning of their work .
These concerns point to the need for a change process that has a positive focus, is essentially self-organizing, encourages deep reflection, and avoids the pitfalls of manipulation by school administrators. This analysis points to a consideration of appreciative inquiry, a strengths-based process that builds on 'the best of what is' in an organization.
References
Educational practices
Developmental psychology | Appreciative inquiry in education | [
"Biology"
] | 1,332 | [
"Behavioural sciences",
"Behavior",
"Developmental psychology"
] |
47,786,981 | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Women%20in%20NASA | The role of women in and affiliated with NASA has varied over time. As early as 1922 women were working as physicists and in other technical positions.[1] Throughout the 1930s to the present, more women joined the NASA teams not only at Langley Memorial, but at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory, the Glenn Research Center, and other numerous NASA sites throughout the United States.[2] As the space program has grown, women have advanced into many roles, including astronauts.
History
1920s
As early as 1922 women like Pearl I. Young were working as physicists and other technical positions. Young was the second female physicist working for the federal government at the National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics (NACA), at Langley Memorial Aeronautical Laboratory building 1202 in Langley, Virginia.
1960s
Women first worked in support as administrators, secretaries, doctors, psychologists, and later engineers. In the 1960s, NASA started recruiting women and minorities for the space program. By the end of the 1960s, NASA had employed thousands of women. Some of the women like Mary Shep Burton, Gloria B. Martinez (the first Spanish woman hired), Cathy Osgood, and Shirley Hunt worked in the computer division while Sue Erwin, Lois Ransdell, and Maureen Bowen worked as secretaries for various members of the Mission and Flight Control teams. Dana Ulery was the first woman engineer to be hired at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) of NASA. Although she was only considered as a junior engineer, for more than seven years, no woman engineer got into JPL besides Ulery. Another woman, Donna Shirley, worked in JPL as a mission engineer in the 1960s. Also, Dr. Carolyn Huntoon, a woman, was a pioneer in researching astronaut metabolisms and other body systems. Margaret Hamilton was the guidance computer lead programmer for the Apollo program. Judy Sullivan was the lead biomedical engineer for the Apollo 11 mission.
Although woman had a difficult time establishing themselves within the organization, NASA did have some women who charted unknown territory throughout the time period. For example, Katherine Johnson was one of the most prolific figures in NASA history. Johnson worked through the ranks as a black woman and made it as one of the top and most respected engineers on the Apollo mission. This was seen as a major step for blacks and women throughout NASA and the general public for others to look up to. Along with Katherine Johnson, who ended up playing a pivotal role as a computer for NASA, Dorothy Vaughan and Mary Jackson helped calculate integral equations and mathematical calculations to recheck and assure that the launching of spacecraft was calculated correctly. Overall, these figures stood as pioneers to the growing commonality of women working for NASA.
However, not everyone was accepting of this phenomenon. In 1962, George Low, NASA's Chief of Manned Spaceflight, fought against women by telling the congress that working with women would delay his work. Meanwhile, in the same year, John F. Kennedy signed the President's Commission on the Status of Women to encourage gender equality in the workforce. This eventually led to James Webb, a NASA administrator, creating an agency-wide policy directive stating that NASA provides equal opportunities for all kinds of people willing to work with NASA. Despite this, no women were selected to join the astronaut corps in 1963/65/66/67.
1970s
The 1970s was a stepping stone that lead women a step closer to becoming astronauts. At the same time, the military began accepting women for pilot training that eventually led to women astronauts. In 1977, the recruitment of NASA skyrocketed because of Nichelle Nichols's help. Part of the advantage Nichols had in the recruitment was that her role as Lieutenant Uhura on Star Trek inspired young girls to become astronauts at NASA when they grow up. One of these girls was Dr. Mae Jemison, the first black woman astronaut in 1992. Another important character in the 1970s was Dr. Carolyn Huntoon who turned down being an astronaut to serve on the astronaut selection committee. NASA sent Huntoon around the United States to encourage women to apply as astronauts or to get into the STEM field. In 1979, Kathryn Sullivan flew a NASA WB-57F reconnaissance aircraft to 63,300 feet altitude breaking an unofficial altitude record for American women.
1980s
On June 18, 1983, Sally Ride made history as the first American woman astronaut to go into space. About more than a year later, Judith Resnik took the Space Shuttle Discovery into space and became the second American woman in space. In 1988, Ellen Ochoa joined NASA and became the first Hispanic woman astronaut. Ochoa took on multiple missions that included Space shuttles Discovery, Atlantis, four flights, and almost 1,000 hours in space. In 1985, Shannon Lucid took on her first flight and by the end of her career she had spent 188 days in space. Lucid set an American record, for both men and women, with the most number of days in space until 2002.
1990s
By the 1990s, NASA was doing a lot of research in women's bodies and the effects of space to their bodies. Carolyn Huntoon gave a speech in 1994 at the 2nd Annual Women's Health and Space Luncheon by giving light to the unrecognized work of NASA. On February 3, 1995, history was made when Colonel Eileen Collins became the first woman to pilot an US spacecraft. Meanwhile, Shannon Lucid, a board engineer, took on five missions in space and worked as chief scientist for NASA in Washington, DC.
2000s
Starting year 2000, the number of women in NASA's planetary missions started to increase. Women were most given roles as Co-Investigators and Participating Scientists. From below 10% of women selected until the 1990s, this percentage started to increase in the 2000s up to around 30% of women, particularly, the women being given the role as Co-Investigators. Pamela Melroy, for example, took on several missions to the International Space Station on the shuttles Discovery and Atlantis. Not only was Melroy an astronaut but she was also a veteran military pilot who has more than 5,000 hours of flight time. In 2007, Peggy Whitson became the first woman to command the International Space Station. Aside from commanding, Whitson conducted dozens of tests in space that furthered space technologies that are still being used today.
In the same year, Barbara Morgan became the first teacher in space; however, it was argued that Christa McAuliffe was announced in 1985 as the first teacher in space, and Barbara Morgan was only an alternate or secondary candidate. In 1986, Christa McAuliffe died in Challenger accident and Morgan was unable to go to space until 2007.
2010s
Sunita Williams is known for holding many records for women, including 322 total days in space, spent over 50 hours walking in space and being the second women to command the ISS.
Women in space program
The unofficial program of Mercury 13 was considered as the start of inclusion of women in U.S space programs, wherein the first seven astronauts chosen for this project were all white men. Randy Lovelace and Don Flickinger, who were involved in the selection process, considered including women for this project. Lovelace thought that women can also do major tasks in space just like men. Through this, Lovelace and Flickinger met Jerrie Cobb, a woman, in 1960, who played a major role in recruiting and testing women.
Women in Space Program (December 20, 1959) was the “revived” version of the Women in Space Earliest program that was cancelled in November 1959. Similar to the program for men, this required candidate testings. However, the parameters for these tests were varied to accommodate women. In the screening phase, for example, men were required to be degree-holder jet pilots, went to military test pilot school, and with experience of minimum 1,500 hours of flying time. Since women were deprived from some of these opportunities, screenings shifted to women with commercial pilot licenses, especially that women served as instructors during this time. Cobb, who underwent the testing first, became the leader of the FLATs (Fellow Lady Astronaut Trainees) with 12 other women, which made 13 women in total (hence, the media named it Mercury 13). Even though Cobb was assigned as a NASA consultant and continued doing the testings, women were still not trained to be astronauts.
During the examinations for women, some scientists thought that women showed advantages for being sent to space rather than men. For example, internal organs of women were assumed to be more suitable in radiation and vibrations. Due to the relatively smaller size of women, spacecraft and flights would be less expensive if women were to use spacecraft. However, testing for women were cancelled after it was discovered that NASA did not issue an official request for such action. Lovelace decided to not continue the program and ended up in an uncomfortable situation at NASA. Meanwhile, Jerrie Cobb, who assumed leadership and facilitated the testings for women, was removed from her position at NASA.
Today in NASA
Since the first astronaut, Sally Ride, there have been 43 American women who have gone to space by the year 2012. Outside of the U.S. there have only been 12 other women astronauts that have been in space. As of 2009, about 10 percent of astronauts in NASA are women.
Major events
1959: Brigadier General Don Flickinger, a member of the NASA Special Advisory Committee on Life Sciences, along with Dr. W. Randolph “Randy” Lovelace II, inaugurated the Woman in Space Earliest (WISE) program
1960: Dr. Nancy Grace Roman became the first woman to hold an executive position at NASA
1961: Jerrie Cobb was appointed as a NASA administration consultant
1961: John F. Kennedy stated in the American Girl magazine that both sexes are needed in America's space program
1963: Soviet cosmonaut Valentina Tereshkova became the first woman to be in space
1978: Anna Fisher, Shannon W. Lucid, Judith A. Resnik, Sally K. Ride, Margaret R. Seddon, and Kathryn D. Sullivan chosen to become astronauts
1983 (June 18): Sally Ride became the first US woman to fly to space
1984: Kathryn Dwyer Sullivan became the first US woman to walk in space
1986 (January): Judith A. Resnik and payload specialist, Sharon Christa McAuliffe, died in the Challenger accident.
1992 (September 11): Mae Jemison became first black woman in space
1993: Ellen Ochoa became the first Hispanic woman in space
1994: Carolyn Huntoon became the first woman center director at NASA (at Johnson Space Center)
1996: Shannon Lucid became the first woman to receive the Congressional Space Medal of Honor
1999 (July 20): Eileen Collins became the first US woman to command a spacecraft
2005: Shana Dale became the first woman Deputy Administrator of NASA
2007: Peggy Whitson became the first woman to command the International Space Station
Active Women Astronauts
Serena M. Auñón-Chancellor, MD
Tracy Caldwell Dyson, PhD
Jeanette J. Epps, PhD
Christina Hammock Koch
Nicole Mann, LtCol, U.S. Marine Corps
Megan McArthur, PhD
Anne C. McClain, Lt Col, U.S. Army
Jessica U. Meir, PhD
Kathleen Rubins, PhD
Shannon Walker, PhD
Stephanie D. Wilson
Sunita L. Williams, Captain, U.S. Navy, Ret.
See also
NASA
Women's history
References
External links
"The Women of NASA". National Women's History Museum.
"Women @ NASA" NASA
NASA
Women in science and technology
NASA
People by government agency | Women in NASA | [
"Technology"
] | 2,330 | [
"Women in science and technology"
] |
47,787,685 | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Physical%20biochemistry | Physical biochemistry is a branch of biochemistry that deals with the theory, techniques, and methodology used to study the physical chemistry of biomolecules.
It also deals with the mathematical approaches for the analysis of biochemical reaction and the modelling of biological systems. It provides insight into the structure of macromolecules, and how chemical structure influences the physical properties of a biological substance.
It involves the use of physics, physical chemistry principles, and methodology to study biological systems. It employs various physical chemistry techniques such as chromatography, spectroscopy, Electrophoresis, X-ray crystallography, electron microscopy, and hydrodynamics.
See also
Physical chemistry
References
Biochemistry
Mathematical and theoretical biology
Physical chemistry | Physical biochemistry | [
"Physics",
"Chemistry",
"Mathematics",
"Biology"
] | 145 | [
"Applied and interdisciplinary physics",
"Mathematical and theoretical biology",
"Applied mathematics",
"Biotechnology stubs",
"Biochemistry stubs",
"nan",
"Biochemistry",
"Physical chemistry"
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47,787,704 | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sam%20Karunaratne | Samarajeewa "Sam" Karunaratne, FIET, FIEE, FIESL (born in 1937) is an emeritus professor of engineering and a leading Sri Lankan academic who is the founding chancellor and president of the Sri Lanka Institute of Information Technology and the former vice-chancellor of the University of Moratuwa. He has held a number of other appointments in the field of higher education in Sri Lanka, including senior professor of electrical engineering and dean of the Faculty of Engineering and Architecture, president of the Institution of Engineers, Sri Lanka. Karunaratne is a pioneer in the development of the use of computers in the field of engineering and played an important role in the development of information technology education and industry in Sri Lanka.
Early life and education
Karunaratne was born as Samarajeewa Karunaratne to a family of land proprietors, Mr. and Mrs. T. Karunaratne in Makoora, Kegalle. He had his early education at Bandaranaike Maha Vidyalaya, Hettimulla and received his secondary education at St. Mary's College, Kegalle. He then went on to do his higher studies at the University of Ceylon, where he gained a first class honours degree in electrical engineering. He then achieved his MSc degree in engineering from the University of Glasgow and a diploma in electrical engineering from the University of London.
He is a chartered engineer of both Sri Lanka and the United Kingdom, a fellow of the British Institution of Engineering and Technology (IET), fellow of the Institution of Engineers, Sri Lanka (FIESL), a fellow of the Institution of Electrical Engineers, London (FIEE), and a fellow of the National Academy of Sciences Sri Lanka.
Career
Karunaratne took part in many major construction projects in Sri Lanka, pioneering the use of computer aided designing.
An electrical engineer by profession, he took up to university teaching and was a lecturer in electrical engineering at the University of Ceylon, Peradeniya before moving to the University of Moratuwa as a professor of electrical engineering in July 1969, where he held the chair from then until his retirement 9 October 2002. He has been the teacher of over 500 electrical engineers who hold high positions in Sri Lanka and internationally.
He has been in universities in Sri Lanka and abroad since he joined the university as an undergraduate in 1956, except for a two-year period when he was with the State Engineering Corporation. During his time at the State Engineering Corporation, from 1967 to 1968, he was in charge of the country's first digital computer installation and he computerised the design of civil engineering structures, including the Kalutara Cetiya (Kalutara Degoba), a thick shell design that is the world's only hollow Buddhist shrine. He was responsible for the computerisation of the GCE Ordinary-Level and Advanced-Level examination processing in 1968, with over 350,000 candidates.
As the head of the Department of Electrical Engineering, he spearheaded the establishment of the Department of Computer Engineering. He then became the dean of the Faculty of Engineering, and later the vice-chancellor of the University of Moratuwa. He is considered to be the chief contributor towards the development of the Department of Electrical Engineering to its present status, and has been the teacher of over 500 electrical engineers who hold high positions in Sri Lanka and abroad. These are some of the many notable reasons why he has been awarded the degree of Doctor of Science from the University of Moratuwa.
He has served many institutions as a member of the Governing Board, including the National Engineering Research and Development Centre (NERD); the Natural Resources, Energy and Science Authority of Sri Lanka (NARESA); the Post-Graduate Institute of Management; the Institution of Engineers, Sri Lanka (IESL); the University of Moratuwa, Sri Lanka; the Arthur C. Clarke Centre for Modern Technologies (ACCMT); and the Sri Lanka Broadcasting Corporation (SLBC). He is the recipient of several scholarships and fellowships [Commonwealth Scholarship, Fulbright Scholarship, Commonwealth Fellowship, I.A.E.A Fellowship, Commonwealth Travelling Fellowship, UNESCO Fellowship].
Karunaratne was the President of the Institution of Engineers Sri Lanka. He was also the Director of the Arthur C. Clarke Centre for Modern Technologies, and was a member of the Board of Governors of the United Nations Centre for Space Science and Technology Education Asia-Pacific established in Dehradun, India. His research is mainly in electrical power systems and digital control system, and he has published several papers on these subject. He is a chartered engineer and a Fellow of the Institution of Electrical Engineers, London (FIEE), a Fellow of the Institution of Engineers Sri Lanka (FIESL), and a Fellow of the National Academy of Sciences.
He is the founding President of the Sri Lanka Institute of Information Technology, a leading research and higher education institute in the field of Information Technology, and currently also holds the position of Chancellor and executive head of this institute. He is also a member of the board of directors at the Institute of Technological Studies, Colombo.
Personal life
Karunaratne married Kusuma Ediriweera Jayasooriya in July 1967, who became a renowned professor and Dean of the Faculty of Graduate Studies, University of Colombo. She is a pioneer in the field of Sinhalese Studies and the first female Dean in Sri Lanka.
They have two sons, Savant Kaushalya and Passant Vatsalya, both electrical engineers specialising in Image processing, Graphics, and Video Processing. The elder, Savant Karunaratne has a PhD in Electrical and Computer Engineering from the University of Sydney, Australia. The younger, Passant Karunaratne has a PhD in electrical engineering and computer science from Northwestern University, in Evanston, Illinois, and is a Principal Research Engineer in the United States.
Awards
Karunaratne is the recipient of several scholarships and fellowships, including the Commonwealth Scholarship, the Fulbright Scholarship, the Commonwealth Fellowship, the International Atomic Energy Agency Fellowship, the Commonwealth Travelling Fellowship, and the UNESCO Fellowship.
In 2006 Karunaratne was awarded an honorary Doctorate from the University of Moratuwa.
See also
Sri Lanka Institute of Information Technology
References
2. Professor Karunaratne's webpage on Department of Electrical Engineering, University of Moratuwa
External links
Official website of University of Moratuwa
Sri Lankan academic administrators
Sri Lankan electrical engineers
Sri Lankan computer scientists
Alumni of the University of Ceylon (Peradeniya)
Alumni of the University of London
Alumni of the University of Glasgow
University of California, Berkeley alumni
People associated with the Sri Lanka Institute of Information Technology
Fellows of the Institution of Engineering and Technology
Living people
1937 births
Sinhalese people
Sri Lankan academics | Sam Karunaratne | [
"Engineering"
] | 1,374 | [
"Institution of Engineering and Technology",
"Fellows of the Institution of Engineering and Technology"
] |
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