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58,355,871 | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vladimir%20Petukhov | Vladimir Arkadyevich Petukhov (; December 16, 1949 – June 26, 1998) was a Russian politician who served as mayor of Nefteyugansk from 1996 until his assassination in 1998. According to the investigative committee of the Russian Federation, he was killed by order of the first vice-president of the oil company Yukos, Leonid Nevzlin, due to conflict due over the failure of Yukos to pay taxes to the local budget. The Moscow City Court found that the organizer of the crime was the security officer of Yukos Alexey Pichugin.
Biography
Early years
Vladimir Arkadyevich Petukhov was born in the town of Kotlas, Arkhangelsk Oblast. In 1969 he graduated from Ukhta Mining and Oil Technical College. During his studies in 1968, he passed the production practice as an assistant driller in the Ukhta drilling office. After graduating from the technical school he served in the army. After serving in the army he worked as a driller in the Perm Oblast, as an assistant to a drilling master in the Khabarovsk Krai, as a drilling master in Primorsky Krai.
Since 1978 he worked in Nefteyugansk. He began working as a driller in the Nefteyugansk Department of Enhanced Oil Recovery and Well Workover, then he held the positions of a master, a technologist, a chief of the department of oil and gas production and technology, and preparation of oil and gas transport. In 1981 he graduated in absentia from the Tyumen State Oil and Gas University with a degree in Technology and Integrated Mechanization of Oil and Gas Field Development, having obtained the qualification of a mining engineer.
In 1982–1987 he worked in the apparatus of Yuganskneftegaz as chief engineer of the central research laboratory, head of the production department for chemicalization. In 1990, he headed a research and development enterprise, which was engaged in the repair of oil wells and enhanced oil recovery layers.
Political career
In 1994 he was elected to City Duma of the first convocation of Nefteyugansk. October 27, 1996 was elected mayor of Nefteyugansk.
On the territory of Nefteyugansk there was a subsidiary of Yukos, Yuganskneftegaz. In May 1998, Petukhov accused Yukos of the fact that the company does not pay taxes to the local budget, which is why employees do not receive a salary.
Petukhov went on a hunger strike with demands: to initiate a criminal case in connection with the failure of Yukos to pay taxes in large amounts in 1996–1998, to remove the chief of the tax inspectorate of Nefteyugansk and the head of the tax inspection of the Khanty-Mansi Autonomous Okrug, to pay back the accumulated arrears in the amount of 1.2 trillion non-denominated rubles, stop interfering in the activities of local authorities of Nefteyugansk by Yukos.
Petukhov's hunger strike lasted a week and ended after the promise of the Governor of the Khanty-Mansi Autonomous Okrug Alexander Filipenko to check the information and take action.
Death
A few days after the end of the hunger strike, on the morning of June 26, 1998, on his way to work, Petukhov was shot near the city administration building. He was pronounced dead at the scene. His guard was also wounded in the shooting. The murder occurred on the birthday of Mikhail Khodorkovsky, which many observers saw as a gift for the Russian businessman's birthday.
Aftermath
Farida Islamova, the wife of Petukhov, a few days after the murder of her husband sent a statement to President Boris Yeltsin, where she said that a reason for the murder could have been the mayor's attempt to verify the activities of Yukos Oil Company caused by tax arrears.
After Petukhov's assassination in Nefteyugansk, rallies took place, where Yukos was accused of murder, residents blocked roads and demanded an investigation of the crime. Windows were also broken in the office of the local unit of Yukos.
References
External links
Вспоминая о Ходорковском, забываем о жертвах // Nezavisimaya Gazeta
Москвичи почтили память мэра Петухова
Всё, что нужно знать об убийстве мэра Нефтеюганска Владимира Петухова
Открытие выставки «Я любил этот город»
Владимир Петухов. Трагическая судьба мэра Нефтеюганска.
1949 births
1998 deaths
People from Kotlas
Mayors of places in Russia
Petroleum engineers
Assassinated Russian politicians
Yukos
20th-century Russian politicians
Politicians assassinated in 1998
Asian politicians assassinated in the 1990s
European politicians assassinated in the 1990s | Vladimir Petukhov | [
"Engineering"
] | 1,123 | [
"Petroleum engineers",
"Petroleum engineering"
] |
58,355,930 | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/NGC%206061 | NGC 6061 is a lenticular galaxy with radio activity located about 490 million light-years away in the constellation Hercules. The galaxy is classified as a head-tail radio galaxy and was discovered by astronomer Lewis Swift on June 8, 1886. NGC 6061 is a member of the Hercules Cluster.
See also
List of NGC objects (6001–7000)
References
External links
6061
57137
Hercules (constellation)
Hercules Cluster
Astronomical objects discovered in 1886
Lenticular galaxies
Radio galaxies
10199 | NGC 6061 | [
"Astronomy"
] | 104 | [
"Hercules (constellation)",
"Constellations"
] |
58,361,818 | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List%20of%20American%20Physical%20Society%20prizes%20and%20awards | The American Physical Society gives out a number of awards for research excellence and conduct; topics include outstanding leadership, computational physics, lasers, mathematics, and more.
Prizes
David Adler Lectureship Award in the Field of Materials Physics
The David Adler Lectureship Award in the Field of Materials Physics is a prize that has been awarded annually by the American Physical Society since 1988. The recipient is chosen for being "an outstanding contributor to the field of materials physics, who is noted for the quality of his/her research, review articles and lecturing." The prize is named after physicist David Adler with contributions to the endowment by friends of David Adler and Energy Conversion Devices, Inc. The winner receives a $5,000 honorarium.
Will Allis Prize for the Study of Ionized Gases
Will Allis Prize for the Study of Ionized Gases is awarded biannually "for outstanding contributions to understanding the physics of partially ionized plasmas and gases" in honour of Will Allis. The $10000 prize was founded in 1989 by contributions from AT&T, General Electric, GTE, International Business Machines, and Xerox Corporations.
Early Career Award for Soft Matter Research
This award recognizes outstanding and sustained contributions by an early-career researcher to the soft matter field.
LeRoy Apker Award
The LeRoy Apker Award was established in 1978 to recognize outstanding achievements in physics by undergraduate students. Two awards are presented each year, one to a student from a Ph.D. granting institution, and one to a student from a non-Ph.D. granting institution.
APS Medal for Exceptional Achievement in Research
The APS Medal for Exceptional Achievement in Research was established in 2016 to recognize contributions of the highest level that advance our knowledge and understanding of the physical universe. The medal carries with it a prize of $50,000 and is the largest APS prize to recognize the achievement of researchers from across all fields of physics. It is funded by a generous donation from Jay Jones, entrepreneur. Recipients to date are Edward Witten (2016), Daniel Kleppner (2017), Eugene Parker (2018), Bertrand Halperin (2019), Myriam Sarachik (2020), Gordon Baym (2021), Elliott H. Lieb (2022), Sidney R. Nagel (2023), Stuart Parkin (2024) and Paul Corkum (2025).
Hans A. Bethe Prize
The Hans Bethe Prize is presented annually to recognize outstanding work in theory, experiment or observation in the areas of astrophysics, nuclear physics, nuclear astrophysics, or closely related fields. The prize was first awarded in 1998.
Tom W. Bonner Prize in Nuclear Physics
The Tom W. Bonner Prize in Nuclear Physics is an annual prize awarded by the Division of Nuclear Physics to recognize outstanding experimental research in nuclear physics. It was established in 1964.
Edward A. Bouchet Award
The Edward A. Bouchet Award was established in 1994 by the APS Committee on Minorities in physics to recognize and honor distinguished underrepresented minority physics researchers who have made significant contributions to physics research. This lectureship provides funding for Award recipients to conduct visits to institutions where the impact on minority students is significant, to deliver technical or topical lectures, and in some cases, to conduct informal discussions with faculty and students.
Herbert P. Broida Prize
The Herbert P. Broida Prize, established in 1979, is awarded every two years for outstanding experimental advances in the fields of atomic and molecular spectroscopy or chemical physics.
Oliver E. Buckley Condensed Matter Physics Prize
The Oliver E. Buckley Condensed Matter Prize is an annual prize with an award of $20,000 for "outstanding theoretical or experimental contributions to condensed matter physics". The prize is named after Oliver Ellsworth Buckley, a former president of AT&T Bell Laboratories, which endowed the prize in 1952.
Joseph A. Burton Forum Award
The Joseph A. Burton Forum Award was established in 1974 to recognize outstanding contributions to the public understanding or resolution of issues involving the interface of physics and society.
Stanley Corrsin Award
Stanley Corrsin Award is a $5000 prize given since 2011 "to recognize and encourage a particularly influential contribution to fundamental fluid dynamics."
Davisson–Germer Prize in Atomic or Surface Physics
The Davisson–Germer Prize in Atomic or Surface Physics is an annual prize for "outstanding work in atomic physics or surface physics". The prize is named after Clinton Davisson and Lester Germer, who first measured electron diffraction.
John Dawson Award for Excellence in Plasma Physics Research
The John Dawson Award for Excellence in Plasma Physics Research, established in 1981 but named after John M. Dawson in 2007, is an annual award that recognizes "a particular recent outstanding achievement in plasma physics research". The award carries a prize of $5000 divided among the year's recipients and an allowance for registration and travel to the APS Division of Plasma Physics Annual Meeting.
Max Delbruck Prize in Biological Physics
The Max Delbruck Prize recognizes and encourage outstanding achievement in biological physics research, and is one of the most prestigious international prizes in biological physics. It is awarded annually with a prize of $10000.
John H. Dillon Medal
The John H. Dillon Medal is an annual medal with an award of $2,000 for "outstanding accomplishment and unusual promise in research in polymer physics".
Mildred Dresselhaus Prize in Nanoscience or Nanomaterials
Mildred Dresselhaus Prize in Nanoscience or Nanomaterials was first awarded in 2023. It honours the legacy of Mildred Dresselhaus, and is awarded for an "outstanding scientist in the areas of nanoscience or nanomaterials". The first recipient of the price was Eva Andrei.
George E. Duvall Shock Compression Science Award
George E. Duvall Shock Compression Science Award was established in 1987 "to recognize contributions to understanding condensed matter and non-linear physics through shock compression." It is awarded biannually.
Einstein Prize
The Einstein Prize was established in 1999 to recognize outstanding accomplishments in the field of gravitational physics. It is awarded in odd-numbered years.
Prize for a Faculty Member for Research in an Undergraduate Institution
Prize for a Faculty Member for Research in an Undergraduate Institution is awarded annually since 1986 to a "physicist whose research in an undergraduate setting has achieved wide recognition and contributed significantly to physics and who has contributed substantially to the professional development of undergraduate physics students".
Herman Feshbach Prize in Theoretical Nuclear Physics
The Herman Feshbach Prize in Theoretical Nuclear Physics was inaugurated in 2014 and is awarded annually to recognize and promote outstanding achievements in theoretical nuclear physics.
Fluid Dynamics Prize
The Fluid Dynamics Prize is a prize that has been awarded annually by the society since 1979. The recipient is chosen for "outstanding achievement in fluid dynamics research". As of 2007 the prize is valued at $10,000. In 2004, the Otto Laporte Award, another APS award on fluid dynamics, was merged into the Fluid Dynamics Prize.
Maria Goeppert-Mayer Award
The Maria Goeppert-Mayer Award recognizes and enhances outstanding achievements by women physicists in the early years of their careers and provides opportunities for them to present these achievements to others through public lectures.
Dannie Heineman Prize for Mathematical Physics
The Dannie Heineman Prize for Mathematical Physics is awarded annually since 1959 to recognize outstanding publications in the field of mathematical physics.
DPF Instrumentation Award
The Division of Particles and Fields Instrumentation Award was established in 2015 and is "bestowed annually to honor exceptional contributions to instrumentation advancing the field of particle physics through the invention, refinement, or application of instrumentation and detectors". Inaugural recipients were David Nygren and Veljko Radeka.
Richard A. Isaacson Award in Gravitational-Wave Science
Richard A. Isaacson Award in Gravitational-Wave Science is an annual award of $5000. It recognizes contributions in gravitational-wave physics and astrophysics, and technologies which enable them. It was first awarded in 2019.
Frank Isakson Prize for Optical Effects in Solids
The Frank Isakson Prize was established in 1979 to recognize outstanding optical research that leads to breakthroughs in the condensed matter sciences. The prize is awarded in even-numbered years.
Leo P. Kadanoff Prize
The Leo P. Kadanoff Prize, established in 2018, is awarded annually to recognize outstanding theoretical, experimental, or computational research in statistical and nonlinear physics.
Joseph F. Keithley Award For Advances in Measurement Science
The Joseph F. Keithley Award For Advances in Measurement Science recognizes physicists who have furthered the development of measurement techniques or equipment for the physics community that provides better measurements. Starting in 1998, the annual award consists of a $5,000 award and certificate.
Lev D. Landau and Lyman Spitzer Jr. Award
Lev D. Landau and Lyman Spitzer Jr. Award for Outstanding Contributions to Plasma Physics is "given to an individual or group of researchers for outstanding contributions in plasma physics and for advancing the collaboration between Europe and the United States of America." The $4000 prize is funded equally by the Plasma Physics Divisions of American Physical Society and European Physical Society.
Rolf Landauer and Charles H. Bennett Award in Quantum Computing
Rolf Landauer and Charles H. Bennett Award in Quantum Computing recognizes contributions in quantum information science. It was established in 2015.
Irving Langmuir Prize in Chemical Physics
The Irving Langmuir Prize in Chemical Physics is awarded annually to US residents, in even years by the American Chemical Society and in odd years by the American Physical Society. The award was established in 1931 to recognize and encourage outstanding interdisciplinary research in chemistry and physics, in the spirit of Nobel Prize-winning chemist Irving Langmuir.
Julius Edgar Lilienfeld Prize
APS has awarded the Julius Edgar Lilienfeld Prize annually since 1989, excepting 2002. The purpose of the prize is to recognize outstanding contributions to physics. Among the recipients are Michael Berry, Alan Guth, Stephen Hawking, and Frank Wilczek.
James Clerk Maxwell Prize
The James Clerk Maxwell Prize for Plasma Physics was established in 1975 by the Maxwell Technologies, Inc., in honor of the Scottish physicist, James Clerk Maxwell. The prize recognizes outstanding contributions to the field of plasma physics. The prize consists of $10,000 and a certificate citing the contributions made by the recipient. The prize is presented annually.
James C. McGroddy Prize for New Materials
The James C. McGroddy Prize for New Materials has been awarded annually since 1975 for "outstanding achievement in the science and application of new materials". Initially known as the International Prize for New Materials, the prize has been named for physicist James C. McGroddy since 1999.
Lars Onsager Prize in Statistical Physics
The Lars Onsager Prize recognizes outstanding research in theoretical statistical physics including the quantum fluids. The prize consists of $10,000 as well as a certificate citing the contribution made by the recipient. It is presented annually, beginning in 1997. The prize was endowed in 1993 by Drs. Russell and Marian Donnelly in memory of Lars Onsager and his passion for analytical results.
Abraham Pais Prize for History of Physics
The Abraham Pais Prize for History of Physics is given jointly by the American Physical Society and the American Institute of Physics for "outstanding scholarly achievements in the history of physics". The prize, named after physicist and historian Abraham Pais, has been awarded annually since 2005.
George E. Pake Prize
The George E. Pake Prize was established in 1983 to recognize outstanding work by physicists combining original research accomplishments with leadership in the management of research or development in industry. The prize is presented biennially in even-numbered years.
Panofsky Prize in Experimental Particle Physics
The Panofsky Prize is an annual prize, established in 1985, given to recognize and encourage outstanding achievements in experimental particle physics.
Francis M. Pipkin Award
The Francis M. Pipkin Award is a biennial prize established in 1997 to recognize the research achievements by an early-career physicist in precision measurement and fundamental physical constants and to encourage the dissemination of the research.
Earle K. Plyler Prize for Molecular Spectroscopy & Dynamics
The Earle K. Plyler Prize for Molecular Spectroscopy was established in 1976 and is awarded annually to recognize notable contributions to the field of molecular spectroscopy and dynamics.
Polymer Physics Prize
The Polymer Physics Prize is awarded annually since 1962 for outstanding achievements in polymer physics research.
I. I. Rabi Prize in Atomic, Molecular, and Optical Physics
The I. I. Rabi Prize in Atomic, Molecular, and Optical Physics was established in 1989 and is awarded biennially to recognize outstanding research by an early-career physicist in atomic, molecular, and optical physics.
Aneesur Rahman Prize for Computational Physics
The Aneesur Rahman Prize for Computational Physics was established in 1992 with support from IBM Corporation. It recognizes outstanding work in computational physics. It is awarded annually with a value of $5000 and is open to scientists of all nationalities. The winner delivers the Rahman lecture.
Norman F. Ramsey Prize
The Norman F. Ramsey Prize in Atomic, Molecular and Optical Physics, and in Precision Tests of Fundamental Laws and Symmetries recognizes achievements in the two fields of Norman Ramsey: AMO physics and in precisions tests of fundamental laws and symmetries. It was established in 2017.
Andrei Sakharov Prize
The Andrei Sakharov Prize was established to recognize "outstanding leadership and/or achievements of scientists in upholding human rights." The prize is named in recognition of the courageous and effective work of the Soviet nuclear physicist Andrei Sakharov on behalf of human rights, to the detriment of his own scientific career and despite the loss of his own personal freedom.
J. J. Sakurai Prize
The J. J. Sakurai Prize for Theoretical Particle Physics is presented by the American Physical Society at its annual April Meeting, and honors outstanding achievement in particle physics theory. The prize, considered one of the most prestigious in physics, consists of a monetary award, a certificate citing the contributions recognized by the award, and a travel allowance for the recipient to attend the presentation. The award is endowed by the family and friends of particle physicist J. J. Sakurai. The prize has been awarded annually since 1985.
Arthur L. Schawlow Prize in Laser Science
The Arthur L. Schawlow Prize in Laser Science is an annual award established in 1991 to recognize outstanding contributions to basic research which uses lasers to advance the knowledge of the fundamental physical properties of materials and their interaction with light.
Leo Szilard Lectureship Award
The Leo Szilard Lectureship Award was established in 1974 in commemoration of physicist Leo Szilard. It is presented annually for outstanding accomplishments by international physicists to promote the use of physics for the benefit of society.
George E. Valley, Jr. Prize
George E. Valley, Jr. Prize was established in 2000 to "recognize an early-career individual for an outstanding scientific contribution to physics that is deemed to have significant potential for a dramatic impact on the field."
John Wheatley Award
Established in 1991 "to honor and recognize the dedication of physicists who have made contributions to the development of physics in countries of the third world" with the support of the Forum on International Physics.
Robert R. Wilson Prize
The Robert R. Wilson Prize for Achievement in the Physics of Particle Accelerators was established in 1987 "to recognize and encourage outstanding achievement in the physics of particle accelerators. The prize consists of $10,000, an allowance for travel to the meeting at which the prize is awarded and a certificate citing the contributions made by the recipient. It is presented annually." The prize is named after Robert R. Wilson, the first director of Fermilab.
See also
List of physics awards
References
External links
Prizes and awards
American Physical Society
American P
American Physical Society prizes and awards | List of American Physical Society prizes and awards | [
"Technology"
] | 3,178 | [
"Science and technology awards",
"Lists of science and technology awards"
] |
58,362,519 | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alexander%20Boyd%20Stewart | Prof Alexander Boyd Stewart CBE FRSE FRIC (1904–1981) was a 20th century Scottish organic chemist and agriculturalist. He was President of the British Society of Soil Science.
Life
He was born on 3 November 1904 at Tarland in Aberdeenshire, the son of Donald Stewart, a farmer. He was educated at Robert Gordon's College in Aberdeen. He then studied science at Aberdeen University graduating MA in 1925 and BSc in 1928. He then continued as a postgraduate, gaining his doctorate (PhD) in 1932. He immediately obtained a post as Head of the Soil Fertility Department at the Macaulay Institute. Remaining at the institute he became its deputy director in 1954.
In 1955 he was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society of Edinburgh. His proposers were Donald McArthur, David Cuthbertson, A. T. Phillipson, Thomas Phemister, James Robert Matthews and Murray Macgregor.
In 1958 he left to become Professor of Agriculture at Aberdeen University. He was created a Commander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE) in 1962. He returned to the Macaulay Institute in 1964 as its director.
He retired in 1968 and died at his home, 3 Woodburn Place (a 1980s bungalow) in Aberdeen on 27 February 1981.
Family
In 1939 he married Alice F. Bowman.
Publications
Soil Fertility Investigations in India (1946)
Agriculture in the University of Aberdeen (1959)
References
1904 births
1981 deaths
British organic chemists
People from Tarland
People educated at Robert Gordon's College
Scottish agriculturalists
Alumni of the University of Aberdeen
Academics of the University of Aberdeen
Commanders of the Order of the British Empire
Fellows of the Royal Society of Edinburgh | Alexander Boyd Stewart | [
"Chemistry"
] | 333 | [
"Organic chemists",
"British organic chemists"
] |
58,362,772 | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/17%CE%B1-Bromoprogesterone | 17α-Bromoprogesterone (17α-BP) is a progestin which was first described in 1957 and was never marketed. It is about twice as potent as progesterone in terms of progestogenic activity in animal bioassays. 17α-BP is a parent compound of haloprogesterone (6α-fluoro-17α-bromoprogesterone) and 6α-methyl-17α-bromoprogesterone.
See also
17α-Hydroxyprogesterone
17α-Methylprogesterone
19-Norprogesterone
References
Abandoned drugs
Organobromides
Diketones
Pregnanes
Progestogens | 17α-Bromoprogesterone | [
"Chemistry"
] | 148 | [
"Drug safety",
"Abandoned drugs"
] |
58,363,872 | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ignacio%20Echeverr%C3%ADa | Don Ignacio Echeverría Miralles de Imperial, OMC, GM (25 May 1978 – 3 June 2017) was a Spanish lawyer and banker. He fought off two of the three terrorists in the 2017 London Bridge attack, before being killed by the terrorists.
Biography
Ignacio Echeverría, called Abo, was the third of five children. He was the son of Joaquín Echeverría Alonso, an Asturian engineer, and Ana Miralles de Imperial Hornedo, a lawyer.
Even though he was born in the Hospital General of Ferrol, La Coruña (Spain),<ref name="dddeee">{{cite web|first1=Ana María|last1=Ortiz|first2=Luis F.|last2=Durán|url=http://www.elmundo.es/madrid/2017/06/08/5938602746163ff8768b4606.html|title=Así era Ignacio Echeverría: 'el héroe del monopatín'''|date=8 June 2017 |trans-title=Thus it was Ignacio Echeverría: 'the Skateboarding Hero'|language=es|access-date=31 August 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180718065233/http://www.elmundo.es/madrid/2017/06/08/5938602746163ff8768b4606.html|archive-date=2018-07-18|url-status=live}}</ref> he was entered in the Civil Register of As Pontes de García Rodríguez, a town situated in the northwest of the province. He lived there until the age of 9, when the family moved to Las Rozas de Madrid. Echeverría grew up in a Catholic home, and was a member of a local group of Catholic Action in Las Rozas. He was fluent in English, French and German, and graduated in law from two universities, the Complutense University and the Sorbonne. He was also fond of skateboarding, surfing, golf and squash.
After working in several banks and being unemployed, he decided to move to London, where he secured a position as a money laundering prevention analyst with HSBC.
Attack and burial
At around 10pm on Saturday 3 June 2017, Echeverría, carrying his skateboard on his back, was skateboarding with friends in London. Near Borough Market, they saw a man attacking a police officer lying on the ground. When the man left the body of the officer and began to assault a woman (a French citizen who survived the incident due to Echeverría's actions) Echeverría used his skateboard to strike the attacker, diverting his attention long enough for several people to move to safety. He subsequently attacked a second terrorist who was also attacking a police officer. He was then stabbed twice in the back by two attackers, causing his death.
After the attack, several of his relatives left messages on social networks asking for help to locate his body. His sister and niece toured London hospitals looking for him without success. The Spanish Consulate and the Spanish Embassy provided help and support to his sister and family during the search process. The Minister of Foreign Affairs of Spain, Alfonso Dastis, expressed his bewilderment at the disappearance of Echeverría. His father reported that HSBC employed a former police private investigator to help find him.
On Wednesday 7 June, British authorities confirmed to his family that Echeverría had been among the eight victims of the attack. The family identified him the next day and began the process of repatriation. On 10 June his body was transferred to Spain by military airplane and was received with honours by Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy and María Dolores de Cospedal, Minister of Defence, at Torrejón Air Base (Madrid). The body lay in repose in the cemetery of Las Rozas de Madrid, with the Order of Civil Merit Grand Cross which he had been posthumously awarded placed on the coffin. On Sunday 11 June, a funeral mass was held in Corpus Christi Parish of Las Rozas conducted by Archbishop of Madrid Carlos Osoro Sierra, who had previously officiated a mass to mark the coffin's arrival in Spain.
Reactions
The Town Council of Las Rozas de Madrid, where the Echeverría family lived, declared a two-day official mourning period and a rally in memory of Echeverría which was attended by more than 1,000 people, as well as naming the skate park where Echeverría used to practise after him. The Town Council of As Pontes de García Rodríguez convened a demonstration of mourning. The news of his death and the circumstances surrounding it saw significant coverage in both national and international press, with media dubbing him the Skateboard Hero.
The Bar Association of Madrid expressed dismay for the murder of a former member and announcing its intention to participate in all tributes in his memory. Spanish singer Joaquín Sabina dedicated a song to him in a concert that was held after the attack in Úbeda (province of Jaén) as well as mentioning him at a concert in London. The Spanish Skating Federation awarded him its order of merit and medal. Senior members of the Catholic Church in Spain also praised his example and asked for members to pray for him, including Cardinal-Archbishop of Madrid, who conducted his funeral, and Luis Ángel de las Heras CMF, the Bishop of Ferrol, his hometown.
On 14 June, the Workers' Commissions Trade Union representatives in Endesa issued a statement lamenting the murder of Echeverría and expressing their solidarity with his father, a retired worker of the company. The City Council of Alicante agreed to give his name to the San Juan Beach skate park. Spanish boxer Kerman Lejarraga dedicated his victory in New York to Ignacio Echeverría. He said "this victory is especially dedicated to Ignacio Echeverría, who died a hero".
During the Spanish state visit to the United Kingdom in July 2017, Felipe VI mentioned his act of heroism at the reception in the Spanish Embassy as well as in his speeches to both houses of Parliament and at the state banquet in the presence of Queen Elizabeth II. A tribute was held in Comillas (Cantabria), where Echeverría spent the summer with his family, on 10 August 2017. Dozens of people attended and a sports area with a skate park was dedicated to him. During the military parade of the national day of Spain on 12 October 2017, devoted for the first time to victims of terrorism, Echeverría received a tribute along with the victims of the Barcelona attacks. His mother accompanied King Felipe during the floral offering with the ambassadors of the countries that had suffered casualties in these attacks and presidents of the Association of Victims of Terrorism and the Foundation of Victims of Terrorism.
On 11 October 2018, Echeverría's parents, alongside Constable Charles Guenigault and Constable Wayne Marques, received the George Medal from the Queen at Buckingham Palace. Constable Leon McLeod was awarded the Queen's Gallantry Medal at the same investiture ceremony. These four appointments were approved on 19 July 2018 for "confronting armed terrorists to protect others at London Bridge".
Beatification
Five years after Echeverría's death at the London Bridge attack, the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Madrid has joined forces with his family in an effort to have him recognised as a saint. Preliminary steps for his beatification are underway led by the Auxiliary Bishop Juan Antonio Martínez Camino.
Honours
Spanish orders and medals
Grand Cross of the Order of Civil Merit (10 June 2017)
Grand Cross of the Royal Order for Civil Recognition of the Victims of Terrorism (18 May 2018)
Silver Medal of the Order of Police Merit (17 July 2017)
Gold Medal of the Community of Madrid (2 May 2019)
Medal of Honour of Las Rozas de Madrid, 1st recipient (29 September 2017)
Foreign
:
Posthumous George Medal (19 July 2018) Which was presented personally by Elizabeth II to Echeverría's parents in a ceremony at Buckingham Palace.
High Commendation of the Metropolitan Police Service, the British Transport Police and the City of London Police, Tri-Force Commendation 1st recipient (4 December 2017)
Other distinctions
The Order of Merit and Medal, Spanish Royal Federation of Skating (9 June 2017)
Gold Medal of Dignity and Justice Association, Madrid (21 June 2017)
Gold Medal of Honour of the Chamber of Commerce of Madrid (19 July 2017)
The Collective of Victims of Terrorism - COVITE International Award, San Sebastián (28 October 2017)
The IMF International Business School Award for a Better World, Madrid (2 June 2018)
The Police Public Bravery Awards, United Kingdom (30 October 2018)
Honorific eponyms:
The secondary school in las Rozas where he studied has been renamed in his tribute (27 June 2017)
Ignacio Echeverría Sports Area in Comillas, Cantabria (10 August 2017)
Ignacio Echeverría Park in As Pontes de García Rodríguez, La Coruña (4 November 2017)
Ignacio Echeverría Skateparks in Albal (Valencia), Alcorcón (Madrid), Alicante, Alpedrete (Madrid), Boadilla del Monte (Madrid), Fuengirola (Málaga), Fuenlabrada (Madrid), Logroño, Navalcarnero (Madrid) projected, Torre del Mar and Las Rozas de Madrid projected''.
See also
References
1978 births
2017 deaths
People from Ferrol, Spain
Spanish Roman Catholics
Spanish people murdered abroad
Terrorism deaths in England
People murdered in London
Spanish terrorism victims
Complutense University of Madrid alumni
University of Paris alumni
Grand Cross of the Order of Civil Merit
Recipients of the George Medal
21st-century Spanish lawyers
21st-century venerated Christians
Spanish Servants of God
Spanish skateboarders
HSBC people
Spanish expatriates in the United Kingdom
Spanish expatriates in France
People from As Pontes de García Rodríguez
Deaths by stabbing in London | Ignacio Echeverría | [
"Biology"
] | 2,084 | [
"Behavior",
"Altruism",
"Human behavior",
"People who have sacrificed their lives to save others"
] |
78,029,222 | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alissa%20Park | Ah-Hyung (Alissa) Park (born 1973) is a chemical engineer and an expert on atmospheric carbon dioxide removal. Originally from South Korea, and educated in Canada and the US, she works in the US as the Ronald and Valerie Sugar Dean of the UCLA Henry Samueli School of Engineering and Applied Science.
Education and career
Park is originally from Seoul, where her parents were an architectural engineer and an artist; she was born in 1973. She studied chemical and biological engineering at the University of British Columbia in Canada, earning bachelor's and master's degrees there in 1998 and 2000, and completed a Ph.D. in chemical engineering in 2005 at the Ohio State University. Her dissertation, Carbon dioxide sequestration: Chemical and physical activation of aqueous carbonation of Mg-bearing minerals and pH swing process, was supervised by Liang-Shih-Fan.
In 2007, she became Lenfest Junior Professor in Applied Climate Science and the associate director of the Lenfest Center for Sustainable Energy at Columbia University, in the Department of Earth and Environmental Engineering. She became full professor, director of the center, and chair of the department before moving in 2023 to her present position as dean of engineering at the University of California, Los Angeles.
Recognition
Park is a fellow of the American Chemical Society, American Institute of Chemical Engineers (AIChE), Royal Society of Chemistry, Canadian Institute for Advanced Research, and American Association for the Advancement of Science.
She is the 2022 recipient of the AIChE Shell Thomas Baron Award in Fluid-Particle Systems.
References
External links
1973 births
Living people
South Korean engineers
South Korean women engineers
American chemical engineers
American women engineers
Women chemical engineers
University of British Columbia alumni
Ohio State University alumni
Columbia University faculty
UCLA Henry Samueli School of Engineering and Applied Science faculty
Fellows of the American Chemical Society
Fellows of the American Institute of Chemical Engineers
Fellows of the Royal Society of Chemistry
Fellows of the American Association for the Advancement of Science | Alissa Park | [
"Chemistry"
] | 392 | [
"Women chemical engineers",
"Chemical engineers"
] |
78,029,987 | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marburg%20vaccine | A Marburg vaccine would protect against Marburg virus disease (MVD). There are currently no Food and Drug Administration-approved vaccines for the prevention of MVD. Many candidate vaccines have been developed and tested in various animal models. There is not yet an approved vaccine, because of economic factors in vaccine development, and because filoviruses killed few before the 2010s.
The most promising candidate vaccines are DNA vaccines or based on Venezuelan equine encephalitis virus replicons, vesicular stomatitis Indiana virus (VSIV) or filovirus-like particles (VLPs) as all of these candidates could protect nonhuman primates from marburgvirus-induced disease. DNA vaccines have entered clinical trials.
History
The first clinical study testing the efficacy of a Marburg virus vaccine was conducted in 2014. The study tested a DNA vaccine and concluded that individuals inoculated with the vaccine exhibited some level of antibodies. However, these vaccines were not expected to provide definitive immunity. Several animal models have shown to be effective in the research of Marburg virus, such as hamsters, mice, and non-human primates (NHPs). Mice are useful in the initial phases of vaccine development as they are ample models for mammalian disease, but their immune systems are still different enough from humans to warrant trials with other mammals. Of these models, the infection in macaques seems to be the most similar to the effects in humans. A variety of other vaccines have been considered. Virus replicon particles (VRPs) were shown to be effective in guinea pigs, but lost efficacy once tested on NHPs. Additionally, an inactivated virus vaccine proved ineffective. DNA vaccines showed some efficacy in NHPs, but all inoculated individuals showed signs of infection.
Because Marburg virus and Ebola virus belong to the same family, Filoviridae, some scientists have attempted to create a single-injection vaccine for both viruses. This would both make the vaccine more practical and lower the cost for developing countries. Using a single-injection vaccine has shown to not cause any adverse reactogenicity, which the possible immune response to vaccination, in comparison to two separate vaccinations.
There is a candidate vaccine against the Marburg virus called rVSV-MARV. It was developed alongside vaccines for closely-related Ebolaviruses by the Canadian government in the early 2000s, twenty years before the outbreak. Production and testing of rVSV-MARV is blocked by legal monopolies held by the Merck Group. Merck acquired rights to all the closely-related candidate vaccines in 2014, but declined to work on most of them, including the Marburg vaccine, for economic reasons. While Merck returned the rights to the abandoned vaccines to the Public Health Agency of Canada, the vital rVSV vaccine production techniques which Merck had gained (while bringing the closely-related rVSV-ZEBOV vaccine into commercial use in 2019, with GAVI funding) remain Merck's, and cannot be used by anyone else wishing to develop a rVSV vaccine.
As of June 23, 2022, researchers working with the Public Health Agency of Canada conducted a study which showed promising results of a recombinant vesicular stomatitis virus (rVSV) vaccine in guinea pigs, entitled PHV01. According to the study, inoculation with the vaccine approximately one month prior to infection with the virus provided a high level of protection.
Even though there is much experimental research on Marburg virus, there is still no prominent vaccine. Human vaccination trials are either ultimately unsuccessful or are missing data specifically regarding Marburg virus. Due to the cost needed to handle Marburg virus at qualified facilities, the relatively few number of fatalities, and lack of commercial interest, the possibility of a vaccine has simply not come to fruition (see also economics of vaccines).
See also
Rwanda Marburg virus disease outbreak
References
Marburg virus disease
Hemorrhagic fevers
Vaccines | Marburg vaccine | [
"Biology"
] | 820 | [
"Vaccination",
"Vaccines"
] |
78,030,232 | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mangisi | Mangisi is a traditional sweet-sour beverage made through the natural fermentation of millet mash and is native to Zimbabwe. The preparation of mangisi varies across different regions of Zimbabwe. In one common method, finger millet is malted and then milled into flour, which is mixed with water. This mixture is gradually heated for about 80 minutes, almost reaching boiling point. The product, known as masvusvu (mash), is then cooled, diluted, and strained. It is left to stand for several hours, allowing spontaneous fermentation to occur, resulting in the final beverage, mangisi. The microorganisms responsible for fermentation are believed to originate from the utensils and the fermentation vessel, as well as from the malt flour that withstands the cooking process.
References
Fermented drinks | Mangisi | [
"Biology"
] | 178 | [
"Fermented drinks",
"Biotechnology products"
] |
78,030,572 | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Opus%20figlinum | Opus figlinum or opus figulinum, literally "pottery", is a type of masonry construction used in Roman architecture. It is a pavement formed of squares of pottery or terracotta, set flat and on edge alternately.
Description
Pavements in opus figlinum are usually made up of rectangular ceramic pottery or brick fragments of the same size, placed in groups of three. The orientation of adjacent groups is alternately vertical and horizontal; thus, the juxtaposition creates the visual impression of a braid pattern. The fragments are fixed to the subfloor with mortar. The stone fragments used are very small: about 2.5 x 2.5 x 2 cm.
References
Building stone
Pavements
Architectural elements
Ancient Roman construction techniques | Opus figlinum | [
"Technology",
"Engineering"
] | 149 | [
"Building engineering",
"Architectural elements",
"Components",
"Architecture"
] |
78,031,574 | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ESO%20148-2 | ESO 148-2 known as ESO 148-IG002 and IRAS 23128-5919, is a galaxy merger located in the constellation of Tucana. It is located 642 million light years from Earth and is classified a Wolf-Rayet galaxy as well as an ultraluminous infrared galaxy.
Characteristics
A late-stage merger involving two colliding disk galaxies, ESO 148-2 has a distorted main body structure that is similar to the Antennae galaxies. Its appearance takes a form of an owl taking flight with curved large tidal tails representing as wings, made from both stars and gas. The black hole in ESO 148-2 has an estimated mass of 4.4 x 107 Mʘ.
ESO 148-2 is also a bright galaxy with a star formation rate of 149 Mʘ yr−1 and an infrared luminosity of LFIR =1011.71 Lʘ. This infrared luminosity is interpreted as radiation emitting from dust emissions via intense heating of its star formation regions. In the regions of the galaxy, there are type N Wolf-Rayet stars emitting N III λ4641 and He II λ4686 emission, making them the brightest subtype. The H II regions of ESO 148-2 are dominated by star formation with an estimated metallicity rate of 9.09 ± 0.03. Furthermore it has a point-like source, with both of the thermal and de-absorbed power law components in its spectrum having a luminosity of ~ 1.5 x 1041 and ~ 2.7 x 1042 erg s−1 respectively.
ESO 148-2 has two nuclei with a projected separation of ~ 4.5 arcsec. The nuclei in ESO 148-2 are found close to each other. Each of them have different properties. The northern nucleus contains a velocity dispersion value agreeing with star formation and emission line ratios in alignment of both LINERS and H II regions. The southern nucleus on the other hand, is three times more luminous at 24 μm and harbors an active galactic nucleus detected by both infrared and X-rays with an absorption-corrected luminosity of logL2-10 = 42.38+0.24-0.28. In the supermassive black hole of the southern nucleus, new stars are born through powerful galactic outflows.
According to Johnson UBVJHKL and spectroscopy photometry, as well as CCD-imaging, the central region of ESO 148-2 exhibits firm emission lines with a full width at half maximum of 600 kilometers per seconds (km/s). These emission lines are found blueshifted by 320 km/s to the absorption spectrum.
References
148-2
Galaxy mergers
Tucana
Luminous infrared galaxies
070861
23128-5919
Starburst galaxies
Seyfert galaxies | ESO 148-2 | [
"Astronomy"
] | 582 | [
"Tucana",
"Constellations"
] |
78,031,979 | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Road%20salt | Road salt (also known as de-icing salt or snow salt) is a salt used mainly as an anti-slip agent in winter road conditions, but also to prevent dust and snow build-up on roads. Various kinds of salts are used as road salt, but calcium chloride and sodium chloride (rock salt) are among the most common. The more expensive magnesium chloride is generally considered safer, but is not as widely used because of its cost and effect on structural integrity. When used in its solid form, road salt is often pre-wet to accelerate the ice-melting process.
Spreading
Road salt and brine are generally spread using a winter service vehicle called a salt spreader. Salt spreaders are typically added to trucks, loaders, or in the case of brine, tankers. The salt is stored in the large hopper on the rear of the vehicle, with a wire mesh over the top to prevent foreign objects from entering the spreading mechanism and hence becoming jammed. The salt is generally spread across the roadway by an impeller, attached by a hydraulic drive system to a small onboard engine. However, until the 1970s, it was often spread manually either by workers shoveling salt from trucks or by smaller wheelbarrow-like vehicles, the latter still being used today for personal use. Some older spreading mechanisms still require it to be manually loaded into the impeller from the hopper.
Mechanics
Salt for use of melting ice and snow works through a phenomenon called freezing-point depression, the lowering of a substances freezing point after the addition of solutes. When road salt is added to roads, aside from providing better friction for vehicles on the road, it also dissolves in the water of the ice, resulting in a lower freezing point. As long as the temperature is above this freezing point, this in turn results in the ice melting. Because of this, ordinary rock salt is only effective down to a range of . At colder temperatures, it can have the opposite effect. Road salt is sometimes used even in colder conditions, if milder weather is expected. In very cold and dry weather, the road surface becomes rough and the need for de-icing is reduced. However, during extreme cold and rain, the roads can become extremely difficult to pass and, in some cases, roads may need to be closed to traffic.
Types of salt
Sodium chloride
Sodium chloride is by far the most common kind of road salt. This is mainly due to its widespread use and low cost, and thanks to its large industrial infrastructure, it is used in many industrial and consumer applications. While it is common and inexpensive, its effective temperature range usually does not fall below , and under these temperatures, it is often counter-productive. When used in large quantities, it can also disrupt local ecosystems by heightening the salinity of bodies of water and the soil. Further, rock salt's abrasive nature erodes concrete or asphalt if used heavily.
Calcium chloride
Calcium chloride is less common compared to sodium chloride. While it is slightly more expensive, it can cover a far larger area and melts ice almost three times quicker. It has recently started rising in popularity since it is not as environmentally damaging as sodium chloride, and also because of its heightened effectiveness at clearing ice.
Magnesium chloride
Magnesium chloride is more expensive by far than the road salts in common use today. It has a very low environmental impact, and is quite effective at clearing ice. However, it has been discovered that magnesium chloride causes far more damage to concrete surfaces compared to the other salts, and its use as a de-icing chemical has largely been discontinued. It is still widespread as a highly effective dust clearer in warmer weather.
Enviromental impact
The widespread use of road salt has significant environmental and infrastructural repercussions. While effective and relatively inexpensive, this practice incurs hidden costs because of its corrosive nature, leading to approximately $5 billion in annual repairs across the United States, according to the country's Environmental Protection Agency.
One of the primary environmental concerns is the contamination of water sources. Road salt can infiltrate surface and ground water, elevating sodium and chloride levels in drinking water reservoirs and wells; one teaspoon of road salt can permanently pollute five gallons of water. Elevated sodium levels pose health risks for individuals with hypertension, and high chloride concentrations are toxic to aquatic life.
The accumulation of salt in roadside soils adversely affects vegetation by increasing soil salinity, which can hinder plant growth and lead to the death of sensitive species. This degradation of plant life not only disrupts local ecosystems but also contributes to soil erosion. Additionally, wildlife attracted to the salt (such as deer and moose) can be endangered, as they may ingest harmful amounts or be drawn to roadways, increasing the likelihood of vehicle collisions. The term "Salt Belt" refers to regions with heavy road salt usage, predominantly in the northeastern United States. In these areas, the cumulative effects of salt application are more pronounced, leading to higher concentrations of salt in the environment and exacerbating the associated negative impacts.
Alternatives to traditional road salt are being explored to mitigate its environmental and infrastructural damage. While magnesium chloride and calcium chloride are considered less harmful to the environment, they are more expensive and may require higher application rates. Other strategies that help reduce salt usage and discharge into waterways include spraying road surfaces with brine in anticipation of snowfall, as well as mixing salt with other substances such as sand to improve traction, blue dyes to aid in identification of salted areas, and biodegradables like beet juice, pickle juice, and molasses. Innovative solutions, such as porous pavements, have also been developed to reduce ice accumulation and minimize the need for de-icing agents.
See also
Deicing
References
Road safety
Salts | Road salt | [
"Chemistry"
] | 1,186 | [
"Salts"
] |
78,033,398 | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thiers%20ramparts | The Thiers ramparts are fortifications erected between the 11th and 16th centuries to protect the town of Thiers in the Puy-de-Dôme department, France.
Since the 11th century, the town has undergone a process of concentric expansion around the ramparts of the lord's castle and the Saint-Genès church. As new villages were established near the city walls, the fortified town underwent at least five periods of expansion. The least well-maintained sections of the walls were demolished in the late 18th century, with the majority of urban redevelopment in the 19th century resulting in the destruction of several segments of the northern wall and the repurposing of the eastern wall. By the nineteenth century, only the eastern section of the fortifications remained intact, primarily serving as a retaining wall for the sloping terrain of the town.
The entire structure of the town's ramparts has been designated a notable heritage site and is overseen by the local (PSMV).
History
First Enclosure
In the 11th century, the initial fortification was constructed, encompassing both the feudal castle and the Saint-Genès church. Two Romanesque gates were built in this initial wall, allowing passage to the path that led to the town. During the 15th century, it was designated as the "wall of the Palace of Chastel." The primary thoroughfare of this inaugural district of the city is named in commemoration of this structure; it is currently known as the "Rue du Palais," although it should be referred to as the "Rue du Palais du Chastel."
The configuration of the streets and squares within the wall does not appear to have been planned according to a strict and pre-established scheme. The initial path remained in the same location; even the construction of the first wall did not result in a significant alteration to the general direction of the path, which entered the enclosure through the "Porte de la Bout" (demolished at the end of the 19th century) at the top of the current rue du Palais and exited by the "Square Tower of the Chancellery" in front of the current . The gate, now backfilled and walled up, can still be seen above the Place du Pirou. The space between the Chastel Palace and the church has always remained open. From the outset, this space was used as a public gathering place in times of peace, but it also served as a refuge for local farmers bringing their herds to safety in times of insecurity. In the 15th century, it was transformed into a cemetery.
Second enclosure
At the beginning of the 13th century, the town experienced a period of expansion to the north, resulting in the construction of a new wall surrounding the existing houses. This new neighborhood was served by a significant freshwater spring, later channeled into the Pirou fountain, located close to the initial wall. The primary thoroughfare of this urban expansion is Rue du Bourg. Two further principal thoroughfares were subsequently constructed: the Rue du Pourcharesse (subsequently renamed Rue Lasteyras) and the Rue du Transvaal (subsequently renamed Rue du Bourg). During this period, the appellations assigned to streets in the city frequently derived from geographical sources, either denoting the location of the street or the neighborhood it served. In Thiers, it is uncommon for a street to retain the same designation since the fifteenth century.
Third enclosure
In the fourteenth century, a new neighborhood was forming in the relatively protected angle to the east by the "wall of the Palace of Chastel" and to the north by the "wall of the Palace of Bourg." To protect this expansion, a new wall was constructed, known as the "new wall of the city of Thiart," which constitutes the city's third wall.
Upon the erection of a new wall, new houses were constructed on either side of the now disused old wall. Initially, a "relay" was left along the old wall. The configuration of the houses resulted in the formation of a new street on either side, situated parallel to the original wall. Furthermore, the wall could serve as the foundation for the facades of houses. At this juncture, the new street followed the remains of the old wall, as evidenced by the second and third walls. The layout of the streets in Thiers remained profoundly shaped by the fortifications, which held unparalleled importance in the city's urban planning. These defensive structures were constructed under the existing space to be protected, optimizing the utilization of the terrain. Religious considerations and military necessities directed the city's development, and although this is now largely overlooked, it is still discernible in the city's topography, which can be characterized as picturesque.
Fourth enclosure
In the fifteenth century, the city's expansion was such that a fourth wall was constructed, encompassing the previous three. This final wall, covering a significantly larger area than the preceding ones, was promptly designated the "city wall." The wall's construction was initiated by Louis II of Bourbon around 1400. At that time, the city was experiencing the final in a series of devastating wars, later known as the Hundred Years' War.
Fifth enclosure
In the sixteenth century, the lordship initiated the construction of a final defensive wall to safeguard the recently developed residential areas on the eastern mountainside, close to the Durolle River and the Vallée des Usines. Despite its relatively modest dimensions, this wall represented the closest defensive structure to the aforementioned locations.
Other defensive elements
The city's walls and gates were reinforced with protective elements from their construction. These included embrasures, called bouches à feu in the region, which allowed archers or gunners to fire. As Michel Combronde notes in Représentation graphique de la porte Neufve au début du XVe siècle, many loopholes were also in the city's towers and walls.
The work of historian André Kristos draws attention to several examples of what are known as brayettes. It would appear that these are false braies, a term that was used in the 15th century to describe such structures. They constitute an embankment or retaining wall that encircles a fortified camp. In the context of premodern fortification, this ante-chamber was situated between the moat and the primary defensive wall of a fortress. The brayette was positioned lower than the main wall to defend it from the moat. Two brayettes were discovered in Thiers. The first, called the "brayette du Chastel," surrounded and protected the Chapter Tower of the first wall, and the second, the "brayette du Bourg," situated further north, protected the Montauld Tower of the second wall.
Final reinforcements and partial dismantling
The Wars of Religion commenced in 1562 in France. The inhabitants of Thiers were particularly susceptible to the influence of the "new ideas" due to their openness to external influences, particularly those emanating from the Lyon basin. As early as 1551, Antoine Chabrol, a cutler from Thiers, elected to flee to Switzerland. He was among the initial cohort of Protestant migrants seeking asylum in the country between 1549 and 1556. In the subsequent years, numerous individuals from Thiers migrated to Geneva. The city promptly augmented its fortifications to deter an incursion by the Huguenots, who increasingly threatened the city. Nevertheless, in 1568, they managed to gain entry and wreaked havoc on a portion of it.
From the 17th century onwards, Thiers experienced urban expansion as a consequence of significant economic growth driven by the flourishing in the region. As the population increased, the city undertook various improvements to facilitate movement within the city walls, such as constructing the Saint-Genès pedestrian route (see below). At the end of the 18th century, the city planned the destruction of part of the walls to prevent the collapse of poorly maintained sections and to widen traffic routes. Other parts of the walls were also destroyed to create streets in their place, such as Rue Grenette and Rue Pasteur.
In the nineteenth century, the northern section of the fourth wall was almost entirely demolished to facilitate the construction of new thoroughfares, including the roads, rue Victor-Hugo, and rue Prosper-Marilhat. Consequently, establishing Imperial Road No. 89 – subsequently designated as National Road 89 in 1824 – necessitated the destruction of five defensive towers and two gates.
Despite the partial destruction of Thiers' walls, the majority of these fortifications and their associated towers remain intact to this day. The towers are currently utilized for residential purposes, as evidenced by the Pignat Tower. The walls, meanwhile, serve two distinct functions. Primarily, they support the underlying land on which the city is constructed. Secondly, they offer a foundation for buildings erected directly on the wall.
Protection and enhancement of heritage
In 1820, a section of the fourth wall was rebuilt, predominantly comprising the structures that supported the city's eastern land holdings.
The urban wall of Thiers is notable for its high degree of preservation, with nearly two-thirds of its original structure remaining intact. Despite the destruction of several segments during the 19th century, the wall remains one of the most well-preserved examples in the Auvergne region. From the Vallée des Usines to the east and the Limagne plain to the west, the city of Thiers is visible as it is built on a rocky spur surrounded by a belt of walls. This is particularly evident on rue Anna-Chabrol and rue des Murailles, which retain the entirety of the walls that support them.
The entire city's walls are classified as a and managed by the (PSMV). This program contributes to protecting and enhancing the city's historical heritage, of which the walls are a part. However, only a segment of the walls is classified as a historic monument, given that part of the urban fabric rests on the walls.
The Thiers tourist office regularly organizes tours of the medieval city. This tour, entitled "Thiers, the Medieval", provides an insight into the diversity and richness of the upper city's heritage. The tour route encompasses streets where the walls are well preserved, affording the tourist guide the opportunity to provide a concise historical overview of the city's walls and their evolution.
Detailed map
Remaining elements
The following elements are described in a clockwise direction, commencing with the Square Tower of the Chancellery, situated to the north of the initial enclosure. Not all of the walls belong to the city of Thiers and are therefore inaccessible during guided tours or at the discretion of the public. Furthermore, the walls are not fully visible from traffic routes. It is also notable that many elements are integrated into the urban landscape.
First enclosure
A significant proportion of the original structure has been lost or obscured, with only a limited area remaining accessible today. The following table provides an overview of the current status of the surviving elements, along with their accessibility in 2018.
Square Tower of the Chancellery
The Chancellery Tower, constructed as early as the 11th century, represents the northern exit of the "murailhe de palais du Chastel." The building's name has its origins in the 15th century. It is now highly visible from Rue du Pirou and the beginning of Place du Palais, also known as Place Saint-Genès. The shape of the entrance is highlighted by the stones that reinforce the contours of the main door. It is currently the oldest inhabited house in the entire town.
Pedde Saint-Genès
In Thiers, a "pedde" is a passageway that traverses a street or alley at varying elevations. The Pedde Saint-Genès was originally a gateway of the initial enclosure, though it was constructed with openings around the 17th century to facilitate commerce between the original village and the subsequent expansions of the town to the east. Presently, this pedde persists between Rue Mancel-Chabot and Place du Palais.
Clock Tower
Following a renovation project completed in 2017, the tower is now more visible from Place du Pirou as a result of the raised roof. The lower part of the tower is constructed from granite stones, while the upper part is topped with a brown wooden structure with small openings closed by wooden shutters painted red.
Second enclosure
Charnier Gate and Pedde du Coin des Hasards
The structure comprises a gate and a covered passageway connecting two buildings situated above an alleyway. This architectural ensemble is emblematic of a "pedde" in Thiers, and it is designated as Charnier Gate, which was originally part of the Maistre Raymond Tower. The structure is attached to the north side of the Maistre Raymond Tower (13th century) and the south side of a former entrance to the seigneurial castle of Thiers. The pedde has four floors, with the smallest floor situated at the lowest level and the largest at the top (fourth floor). As is the case with numerous half-timbered houses, the pedde's floors are constructed with corbel arches.
Maistre Raymond Tower
Following extensive renovations in the early 21st century, the Maistre Raymond Tower is now largely visible from the small square it overlooks. It comprises four upper floors constructed on a ground floor that is fully accessible to the public via a large porch supported by a stone vault.
Pignat Tower
The Pignat Tower is the most imposing of the second enclosure due to its diameter, which exceeds 10 metres, a relatively large diameter in comparison to the other towers. In 2018, the tower was renovated, and its original colour (faded red) was replaced with white, which makes the tower more visible from the street.
Third enclosure
The third enclosure is the smallest in the city in terms of the area it protects. It comprises a tower, situated at the corner of Rue du Docteur Lachamp and Rue de la Faye, which has three floors. It is the smallest of the towers, with a diameter of just over 3 meters, and contains a staircase allowing residents of the outer districts to enter the fortified town.
Fourth enclosure
Malorie Tower
Malorie Tower is in the lowest altitude among other towers situated at a higher elevation. It is also one of the most well-preserved, exhibiting preserved arrow slits close to the ground on the right side. Additionally, the tower marks the entrance to an underground passageway connecting the summit of Rue Rouget-de-l'Isle to the Chastel Palace, an early 11th-century structure. This entrance is currently visible from the street, although it is enclosed by a fence.
Saint-Jean Gate
The gate was annexed in the 16th century to the and can still be observed from the bottom of Place Saint-Jean. A suggestion of a vault is visible between the church and the remainder of the wall. Two unaltered rectangular windows remain in the continuation of the gate: one on the side of Rue des Murailles and the other in a building attached to the church. These apertures served as vents for the discharge of flammable liquids, thereby repelling enemies approaching the gate.
Fifth Enclosure
Saint-Jean Church
The church, originally constructed in the Romanesque style, was destroyed and subsequently rebuilt in the 15th century in the Gothic style. However, it was then incorporated into the fortifications in the following century, forming part of the comprehensive closure of the final enclosure. The dual purpose of the church is still evident at the rear of the choir, where the walls are reinforced.
Disappeared elements
First enclosure
Second enclosure
Third enclosure
Fourth enclosure
In the arts
The medieval town's ramparts, particularly the eastern and southern walls, are regarded as a symbol by travelers and artists. They are situated in an atypical landscape, which is regularly painted, drawn, and photographed, especially for illustrating tourist guides and as subjects of postcards. This landscape is formed by the ramparts, the landscaped gardens of the Old Hospital in the foreground, and the old town and Saint-Genès Church in the background.
In 1861, during her travels through the town, the French writer George Sand composed a novel about the work of the Thiers cutlers. She referred to the town's ramparts as a writing surface where a certain Audebert had inscribed "words in charcoal." In 2017, the painter Monik Durand-Pradat created a series of paintings depicting various neighborhoods within the town. These included representations of still-visible parts of the ramparts, such as the Maistre Raymond Tower and the . In the same year, Anthony Mage created a painting of the town from the perspective of Margerides Rock. The ramparts along Rue des Murailles are a prominent feature of this work. Hubert Jaqueton described the town of Thiers as follows: "From the summit of Grun de la Pierre-qui-danse, tourists can survey the entire townscape. They can also observe the towers that once protected the castle's enclosure and the enormous keep with its broken crenellations."
Notes
References
Sources
Other references
Bibliography
External links
Fortifications
Puy-de-Dôme
Auvergne
Churches in Puy-de-Dôme | Thiers ramparts | [
"Engineering"
] | 3,483 | [
"Fortifications",
"Military engineering"
] |
78,033,856 | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hubertina%20D.%20Hogan | Hubertina Dorothy Clayton Hogan (December 25, 1924 – April 14, 2017) was an American textile chemist, employed for most of her career in the United States Army's Combat Capabilities Development Command laboratories in Natick, Massachusetts.
Early life and education
Hubertina "Tina" Clayton was from Trenton, New Jersey, the daughter of Joseph Aloysius Clayton and Elsie Papendick Clayton (later Dietrich). Her father was a World War I veteran. She was named for her paternal grandmother, Hubertina Brandt Clayton, who lived with her family. She graduated from Trenton Cathedral High School in Trenton in 1943, and from Seton Hill University in 1947. She pursued further studies in biochemistry at the University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia, and in textile chemistry at Lowell Technological Institute. Her master's thesis was titled "The relationship between hydrogen ion concentration and a water-oil repellent fluorochemical finish" (1973).
Career
From 1952 into the 1970s, Hogan was a research chemist at the Army's Clothing, Equipment, and Materials Engineering Laboratory in Natick, Massachusetts. Her research involved textiles and their properties of repelling or absorbing environmental hazards in combat settings. She "developed the analytical method for determining chrome content of feathers and down." She was a member of the American Leather Chemists Association beginning in 1955.
Publications
Professional publications by Hogan included articles in Textile Research Journal, Journal of the American Leather Chemists Association, and Analytical Chemistry.
"A Rapid Sole Leather Tannage with Aldehydes" (1958, with Ludwig Seligsberger and C.W. Mann)
"The Actions of Acrylonitrile and Acrylamide upon Collagen" (1958, with L. Seligsberger)
"Observations on the Tanning Action of Synthetic Polyphenols" (1963, with L. Seligsberger)
"Determination of bis (2-chloroethyl) sulfide in a Dawson apparatus by gas chromatography" (1972, with R. L. Erickson, R. N. MacNair and R. H. Brown)
Feasibility Study to Determine the Fluorine Content in Quarpel-treated Fabrics by Analysis with a 14 MeV Neutron Activation Source (1972, with Forest C. Burns and Gil M. Dias)
"Sorptive Textile Systems Containing Activated Carbon Fibers" (1974, with Gilbert N. Arons, Richard N. MacNair, and Laurance G. Coffin)
Personal life
Clayton married John Daniel Hogan in 1967, in Massachusetts; her husband died in 1973. She lived with her mother in Jobstown, New Jersey in the 1980s. She died in Cumming, Georgia, in 2017, aged 92 years.
References
1924 births
2017 deaths
People from Trenton, New Jersey
American women scientists
Seton Hill University alumni
Lowell Technological Institute alumni
Textile chemistry | Hubertina D. Hogan | [
"Chemistry"
] | 575 | [
"nan"
] |
78,034,325 | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Type%20VIII%20secretion%20system | A Type VIII secretion system is a type of secretion system found within the inner and outer membranes of gram-negative bacteria. This system is also referred to as the curli biogenesis pathway or the extracellular nucleation-precipitation pathway. It is associated with the formation of biofilms and infecting hosts. Curli formation is especially efficient at evading the host's immune system due to the subunits being able to quickly assemble in a single process and not having intermediates. This system is associated with curli-specific genes and utilizes multiple proteins in its process to form curli fibers. These proteins include CsgA CsgB, CsgC, CsgD, CsgE, CsgF, and CsgG. Type VIII secretion system facilitates the assembly and translocation of curli fibers.
Curli fibers and their virulence
Curli fibers are made through the curli biogenesis system, also known as the type VIII secretion system, and are essentially long, linear structures made from proteins that are secreted to the outside of the cell into its surrounding environment. They are made mostly by gram-negative bacteria and, upon secretion, they form compact clusters around the outside of the cell. The main function of the curli fibers involves their interactions with biofilms. In pathogenic bacteria, curlis can contribute to virulence by helping in cell invasion and activating the innate immune response.
Knowing how curli fibers are made, and how the type VIII secretion system works, can help develop an inhibitor to stop or reduce the production of these curli fibers and overall reduce the virulence of the bacteria that produce them. Understanding these mechanisms can also play a big role in creating treatments for infections that are associated with biofilms.
Curli development and control
Curli biogenesis is an adaptable process that uses a direct route and can transform from an intrinsically disordered complex system to a simple amyloid state. The proteins in this system are encoded by two separate operons. One operon codes for CsgA, CsgB, and CsgC, whereas the other codes for CsgD, CsgE, CsgF, and CsgG. The two major subunits involved in this process are CsgA and CsgB, with CsgA being the most important to the system. CsgA and CsgB are responsible for the system's control and extension of fibers. CsgA can transition from a disorder to an ordered amyloid state while the CsgB functions as a nucleator to help promote the polymerization of CsgA. Then, CsgC is introduced as a chaperone and works to keep CsgA from reaching the amyloid state prematurely. The process by which CsgC prevents this is still misunderstood, but the positive charge beta-strand is most theorized. CsgG is part of a secretion channel that facilitates the translocation of CsgA to the periplasm. CsgE functions as a specificity binder to help guide CsgA to the CsgG secretion channel so that CsgA will be the correct conformation for polymerization. Throughout this process, CsgF interacts with CsgA and CsgB to help enhance the assembly of CsgA and coordinate the nucleating activity of CsgB. CsgD functions as a transcriptional regulator that influences the expression of CsgA and CsgB through environmental factors.
The resulting structure is made up of alternating CsgA and CsgB subunits with CsgF unit at the base and the entirety of the structure will be on the outside of the bacterial cell.
Secretion mechanisms
The secretion of the assembled units requires energy. Energy within a bacterial cell is typically supplied by ATP or GTP, proton motive force, or other membrane potentials. However, with type VIII secretions systems, it is unlikely that energy is derived from one of these typical methods due to its location on the outer membrane of gram-negative bacteria. The CsgG protein complex is the channel used to allow the assembled CsgA, CsgB, and CsgF subunits to move through the membrane to the outside of the cell where they remain in close proximity to the CsgG protein. It is thought that the energy released from the subunits folding and unfolding as well as the potential from the movement of the subunits across the membrane gives the necessary energy for secretion. While the type VIII secretion pathway is most desirable, some bacterial species may use the functional amyloid pathway, or Fap, to form a biofilm so it can attach to surfaces.
References
Secretion
Cell biology | Type VIII secretion system | [
"Biology"
] | 929 | [
"Cell biology"
] |
78,035,228 | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mary%20Jane%20Phillips | Mary Jane Phillips (1931–2024) was a Canadian chemical engineer specializing in the catalysis of hydrocarbons, the first female faculty member in chemical engineering at the University of Toronto.
Life
Phillips was born in Toronto on 15 September 1931. She earned a bachelor's degree in chemical engineering at the University of Toronto in 1953. After a 1954 master's degree from Bryn Mawr College, and two years of industry work for DuPont, she went to Johns Hopkins University for doctoral study in chemistry and completed her Ph.D. there in 1960.
She was a postdoctoral researcher, first at Canada's Department of Energy, Mines and Resources (now part of Natural Resources Canada) and then in Ireland at Queen's University Belfast. Returning to Canada, she became a lecturer in chemical engineering at the University of Toronto in 1964, the department's first female faculty member. She became an assistant professor in 1972, and was tenured as an associate professor in 1977. She was promoted to full professor in 1989. She retired as professor emerita in 1997.
At Toronto, Phillips developed a course in engineering ethics, and worked to support women in engineering. Phillips became president of the Association of Professional Engineers of Ontario for 1993–1994.
She died on 18 March 2024.
Recognition
Phillips was elected as a Fellow of the Chemical Institute of Canada in 1990. She became a Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science, in the 2008 class of fellows, "for distinguished service to the engineering profession, and for her role as a pioneering woman in the profession and as a mentor to female engineers".
References
1931 births
2024 deaths
Engineers from Toronto
Canadian chemical engineers
Canadian women engineers
Women chemical engineers
University of Toronto alumni
Bryn Mawr College alumni
Johns Hopkins University alumni
Academic staff of the University of Toronto | Mary Jane Phillips | [
"Chemistry"
] | 364 | [
"Women chemical engineers",
"Chemical engineers"
] |
78,035,813 | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nemo%20Power%20Tools | Nemo Power Tools is the first manufacturer of a full line of power tools that are pressurized to work under water for boating, scuba and other deep sea activities. The company also uses the same technology to manufacture a clean room drill, the GRABO lifter and a special-ops line of underwater tools. The company was founded by Nimo Rotem and Oleg Zhukov.
History
Nemo Power Tools was started in 2010 when founder Nimo Rotem was approached by the Israeli military about creating an underwater drill for them. At the time he wasn't even a certified diver and had to acquire his Padi Open Water certification as part of the development process. In 2013, Nimo and Oleg decided to expand the market for their tools to the commercial market.
Rotem built the first tool from scratch, featuring a durable die-cast aluminum body, powered by two 18-volt Li-ion batteries. It also includes a keyless metal chuck and a rotating seal, similar to those found in boat drive shafts. The initial drill was designed to go to work at a depth of up to 165 feet, making it the perfect tool for divers, boat repairs and scientific researchers.
A freshwater version that can operate in chlorine water was later developed, as well as a special ops line of hammer drill, with salt-water-resistant paint, no logos, that can operate in a depth of up to 328’. A similarly performing angle grinder was also developed under the special ops performance standards.
The company has continued to expand its underwater line of products to include a variety of drills, grinders, saws and a hull cleaner. The company also produces a 15,000 lumens underwater floodlight for working underwater.
Do to their unique ability to work in marine environments, their tools have been seen on a number of TV shows including being heavily featured by Dustin Hurt on the Discovery Channel's Gold Rush: White Water.
Clean Room Drill
Using technology from their underwater tools, Nemo Power Tools created a clean room drill which seals the internal compartment and works with no internal ventilation, making the drill viable in clean room environments such as medical labs, pharmaceutical companies, and industrial manufacturing.
Manufactured with a sealed design and construction, the drill/driver generates minimal airborne particles. An independent third-party laboratory performed an airborne particle count statistical analysis, which confirmed that the Nemo Clean Room Drill satisfies the particulate requirements for an ISO Class 7 clean room at 0.5, 1.0, and 5.0 micrometers under operational conditions. This conclusion is based on the data collected and statistical analysis calculations in accordance with ISO 14644-1.
GRABO
After working on a number of tools for the Nemo line of power tools, in 2019 Nemo and Oleg began playing with some of the technology they had developed and created the GRABO using sealing and fabrication methods from the marine industry.
The GRABO is a portable, battery-operated vacuum lifter designed to handle a wide range of materials, including tiles, metal, pavers, glass, and plywood and drywall sheet goods. Its dual-seal system is effective even on uneven surfaces like textured glass, riven tiles, and rough paving, as well as on dusty or wet areas. What sets it apart is its ability to grip textured materials as well as porous materials, such as plasterboard, plywood, and certain porous stones, by continuously running its vacuum motor to offset air loss through the material. The GRABO can lift up to 375 lbs.
In 2024, the company entered into a licensing partnership with Stanley Black & Decker to create and distribute the DeWalt GRABO.
References
Links
Grabo
American brands
Material handling
Woodworking hand-held power tools
Power tool manufacturers
Manufacturing companies based in Nevada
Las Vegas
Tool manufacturing companies of the United States | Nemo Power Tools | [
"Physics"
] | 776 | [
"Materials",
"Material handling",
"Matter"
] |
78,037,702 | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pyridoxiphen | Pyridoxiphen, also known as amphetamine–pyridoxine condensation product or as pyridoxylamphetamine, is a drug of the substituted amphetamine family which was developed in the Soviet Union in the 1960s. It is the condensation product of amphetamine (phenamine) and pyridoxine (vitamin B6). It was developed for potential treatment of central nervous system conditions. The drug has sympatholytic and hypotensive effects in animals. It is highly ionic and may not be able to cross the blood–brain barrier.
See also
Phenatine (N-nicotinoylamphetamine; amphetamine–niacin condensation product)
List of Russian drugs
References
Abandoned drugs
Antihypertensive agents
Drugs in the Soviet Union
Pyridines
Russian drugs
Russian inventions
Substituted amphetamines | Pyridoxiphen | [
"Chemistry"
] | 190 | [
"Drug safety",
"Abandoned drugs"
] |
78,038,285 | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cryogenic%20Observatory%20for%20Signatures%20Seen%20in%20Next-Generation%20Underground%20Searches | The Cryogenic Observatory for SIgnatures seen in Next-generation Underground Searches (COSINUS) is a scientific collaboration aimed at developing cryogenic detectors for the direct detection of dark matter, particularly in relation to results observed by other experiments like DAMA/LIBRA. The goal of COSINUS is to confirm or refute these results by using different detection techniques while maintaining high sensitivity to dark matter interactions.
The participating institutes in the COSINUS collaboration include the Max Planck Institute for Physics (Germany), the Gran Sasso Science Institute (Italy), the Helsinki Institute of Physics (Finland), the Institute of High Energy Physics (Austria), the Technical University of Vienna (Austria), the University of L'Aquila (Italy), the Istituto Nazionale di Fisica Nucleare (Italy), and the Shanghai Institute of Ceramics, Chinese Academy of Sciences (China). The experiment is conducted in the underground laboratory of the Gran Sasso National Laboratory (LNGS) in Italy, which provides the necessary shielding from cosmic radiation and environmental interference for the detection of rare dark matter interactions.
Similar to CRESST, COSINUS utilizes cryogenic detectors that operate at temperatures of a few millikelvin to achieve high energy resolution. The detectors are designed to measure both phonon (heat) and photon (light) signals, using scintillating sodium iodide (NaI) crystals, to discriminate between dark matter signals and background noise.
COSINUS was inaugurated in Spring 2024 and will start recording data in early 2025.
References
External links
COSINUS Official Website
Gran Sasso National Laboratory
Experiments for dark matter search
Astronomical observatories
Dark matter | Cryogenic Observatory for Signatures Seen in Next-Generation Underground Searches | [
"Physics",
"Astronomy"
] | 346 | [
"Dark matter",
"Unsolved problems in astronomy",
"Astronomical observatories",
"Concepts in astronomy",
"Unsolved problems in physics",
"Astronomy organizations",
"Experiments for dark matter search",
"Exotic matter",
"Physics beyond the Standard Model",
"Matter"
] |
66,350,944 | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maxwell%E2%80%93Fricke%20equation | The Maxwell–Fricke equation relates the resistivity of blood to hematocrit. This relationship has been shown to hold for humans, and a variety on non-human warm-blooded species, including canines.
Equation
The Maxwell–Fricke equation is written as:
where ρ is the resistivity of blood, ρ1 is the resistivity of plasma, ρ2 is the resistivity of blood cells and φ is the hematocrit.
References
Mathematics in medicine | Maxwell–Fricke equation | [
"Mathematics"
] | 99 | [
"Applied mathematics",
"Mathematics in medicine",
"Applied mathematics stubs"
] |
66,351,666 | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Samsung%20Galaxy%20S21 | The Samsung Galaxy S21 is a series of high-end Android-based smartphones developed, marketed, and manufactured by Samsung Electronics as part of its Galaxy S series. They collectively serve as the successor to the Samsung Galaxy S20 series. The first three smartphones were unveiled at Samsung's Galaxy Unpacked event on 14 January 2021, while the Fan Edition model was unveiled at Samsung's CES on 3 January 2022.
The S21 series consists of the base Galaxy S21 model, the larger Galaxy S21+ model, the high-end Galaxy S21 Ultra model, and the mid-range Galaxy S21 FE model. Key upgrades over the previous models, in addition to improved specifications, a display with a 120 Hz adaptive refresh rate, an improved camera system supporting 8K video recording (7680×4320) for the first three models, and a super-resolution zoom of 30–100x, for the ultra model.
The first three phones were released in the United States and Europe on 29 January 2021, while the Fan Edition was released globally on 7 January 2022. The Galaxy S21 FE, S21, S21+, and S21 Ultra launch prices started at $699.99, $799.99, $999.99, and $1079.99, respectively.
The Galaxy S21 was succeeded by the Galaxy S22, which was announced on 9 February 2022.
History
S21, S21+, and S21 Ultra
The lineup of the first three devices was unveiled at Samsung's Galaxy Unpacked event on 14 January 2021. The three devices served as the successors of the 2020 models. All devices' design scheme has changed drastically, redesigning the massive rear-camera module for a slimmer camera module incorporated with the buttons and a uniform appearance for the S21, S21+, and S21 Ultra. The base model possesses a (plastic) polycarbonate back, the only model of the three devices to attain the change. The base model attains similar specifications to the S20. The S21+ retains the specifications and design of the regular S21, in contrast to minor differences. It serves as the successor to the S20+. The S21 Ultra serves as the high-end model of the S21 series, integrated as the professional version of the lineup, and successor to the S20 Ultra. The phone became the first of the S-Series lineup to have S-Pen support, with limited functionality. The S21 series discontinued sales once the Galaxy S22 were released. The phones were released on 29 January 2021.
S21 FE
The "Fan Edition" follow-up was unveiled at Samsung's CES 2022 event on 3 January 2022. The S21 FE serves as the successor to the S20 FE, a series of mid-range variants of their corresponding Galaxy S lineup upon launch. The Fan Edition maintains the majority of the specifications and design of the S21, with slight discrepancies to meet its lower price value. The phone was originally planned to be released in October 2021 but was delayed due to the 2020–present global chip shortage. The S21 FE was released on 11 January 2022. Its battery had 4500mAh (25W wired and 15W wireless). It was also equipped with a 6.4" 1080x2340 display which included under display fingerprint.
Lineup
The lineup comprises four devices, with the Galaxy S21 initially being the least expensive with a smaller screen size and a polycarbonate (plastic) back, which then is undercut later on by the Galaxy S21 FE with the same material minus the camera bump being also polycarbonate than metal. In contrast to the Galaxy S20+, the Galaxy S21+ is very similar to the S21 spec-wise, with the exception of a larger display, higher battery capacity, and glass back instead of plastic. The Galaxy S21 Ultra has an even larger screen size, battery, and a host of other improvements over the other models, including a more advanced camera setup highlighted by its 108 MP main sensor with laser auto-focus and a higher resolution 1440p display. The S21 Ultra is also the first phone in the Galaxy S series to support the S Pen, albeit sold separately and with limited functionality.
Design
The Galaxy S21 series has a design similar to its predecessor, with an Infinity-O display containing a circular cutout in the top center for the front selfie camera. The S21 and S21 FE's back panel is reinforced poly-carbonate (plastic) similar to the S20 FE and Note 20 while the S21+ and S21 Ultra use Gorilla Glass Victus. The rear camera array has been integrated into the phone body except for the S21 FE which is made out of reinforced poly-carbonate integrated instead on the back cover and has a metallic surround; the S21 Ultra has a carbon fiber camera surround for exclusive colors.
Specifications
Hardware
Chipsets (SoC)
The S21 line comprises four models with various hardware specifications. International and Korean models of the S21 utilize the Exynos 2100 SoC, while the U.S., Canadian, Chinese, Taiwanese, Hong Kong and Japanese models utilize the Qualcomm Snapdragon 888. The U.S., Canadian, Chinese, and international (European) models of the S21 FE use the Snapdragon 888, while Korean, Indian, Brazilian and Australian markets use Exynos 2100.
Display
The S21 series features "Dynamic AMOLED 2X" displays with HDR10+ support and "dynamic tone mapping" technology. All models except the S21 FE utilize a second-generation ultrasonic in-screen fingerprint sensor with the latter opting for an optical in-screen system instead. The S21 Ultra is also now able to use 120 Hz at 1440p unlike its predecessor (which was limited to 120 Hz at only 1080p).
Storage
The S21 and S21+ offer 8 GB of RAM with 128 GB and 256 GB options for internal storage. The S21 Ultra has 12 GB of RAM with 128 GB and 256 GB options as well as a 16 GB option with 512 GB of internal storage. The S21 FE offers 6 GB and 8 GB of RAM with 128 GB and 256 GB options for internal storage. All four models lack a microSD card slot, which was present in the S20 series.
Batteries
The S21, S21 FE, S21+, and S21 Ultra contain non-removable 4000 mAh, 4,500 mAh, 4800 mAh, and 5000 mAh batteries respectively. All four models support wired charging over USB-C at up to 25W (using USB Power Delivery) as well as Qi inductive charging up to 15W. The phones also can charge other Qi-compatible devices from the S21's battery power, which is branded as "Wireless PowerShare," at up to 4.5W.
Connectivity
All four phones support 5G SA/NSA networks, The Galaxy S21, S21+, and S21 FE support Wi-Fi 6 and Bluetooth 5.0, while the Galaxy S21 Ultra supports Wi-Fi 6E and Bluetooth 5.2. The S21+ and S21 Ultra models also support Ultra Wideband (UWB) for short-range communications similar to NFC (not to be confused with 5G mmWave, which is marketed as Ultra Wideband by Verizon). Samsung uses this technology for their new "SmartThings Find" feature and the Samsung Galaxy SmartTag+.
Cameras
The S21 and S21+ have similar camera setups to their predecessors but benefit from improved software and image processing. Both have a 12 MP wide sensor, a 64 MP telephoto sensor with 3x hybrid zoom, and a 12 MP ultrawide sensor. The S21 FE also has a similar camera setup to its predecessor but benefits from improved software and image processing. It has a 12 MP wide sensor, an 8 MP telephoto sensor with 3x optical zoom, and a 12 MP ultrawide sensor. The S21 Ultra has a new HM3 108 MP sensor with several enhancements over the previous HM1 108 MP sensor, including 12-bit HDR. It also has two 10 MP telephoto sensors with 3x and 10x optical zoom and a 12 MP ultrawide sensor. The front-facing camera uses a 10 MP sensor on the S21 and S21+, 32 MP sensor on the S21 FE, and a 40 MP sensor on the S21 Ultra. 4K@60 recording is supported on the ultrawide camera on the S21, S21+, and S21 FE and all cameras on the S21 Ultra. All cameras are Samsung except 12MP Ultra Wide on S21 Ultra and 10MP front on S21 and S21+, which are both made by Sony, and the 8MP Telephoto on the S21 FE which is made by SK Hynix.
The Galaxy S21 series can record HDR10+ video and support HEIF.
Moon photo controversy
Users discovered that the Scene Optimizer included with Samsung Galaxy S21 and later phones use artificial intelligence to identify the Moon and add details that the camera is not capable of capturing, based on a library of existing moon photos. However, this was disputed by Samsung, claiming that they have an AI enhancement algorithm that adds detail to the moon photos.
Supported video modes
The Samsung Galaxy S21 series supports the following video modes:
8K@24fps (not on FE model)
4K@30/60fps
1080p@30/60/240fps
720p@960fps (480fps is interpolated to 960fps on the S21 Ultra)
Still frames extracted from high-resolution footage can act as standalone photographs.
Software
The first three S21 phones were released with Android 11 (One UI 3.1) and Google Mobile Services, with Samsung's One UI software. While the S21 FE was supposed to be released with the same Android version and One UI skin, due to it being delayed all devices are now updated with Android 12 (One UI 4.0) instead. They all use Samsung Knox for enhanced device factory reset protection (FRP) security, and a separate version exist for enterprise use. Samsung has promised 4 years of major Android OS updates and an extra year of security updates for a total of 5 years worth of updates.
The first three S21 series smartphones were updated to Android 12 and One UI 4 on 15 November 2021. Samsung added a "repair mode" to its Galaxy S21 on 28 July 2022, hiding users' data when they entrust an ailing device to a technician.
The One UI 5 update based on Android 13 began rolling out to S21 devices on 7 November 2022. As of July 2024, the S21 devices had received the One UI 6 update based on Android 14.
Reception
The Verge'''s review, by Dieter Bohn, praised the S21 Ultra's punchy display, fast performance, long-lasting battery life and the general improvements to the camera system, likening the latter to that of the iPhone 12 Pro Max's; however, Bohn did note that the phone's glass back is slightly more susceptible to minor scratches. Android Authority'''s review by David Imel noted the Samsung's Galaxy S21 Ultra "is a powerhouse smartphone" and that "the camera system in Samsung Galaxy S21 Ultra is one of the best you can get on Android". Matt Sweder at Techradar gave a positive review noting its "mesmerizing design" calling it "Samsung’s best-looking phone ever" and how "phenomenally powerful" the camera is, but also went on to criticize the price and lack of microSD card slot, and questioning the stylus support, which is a separate purchase, with nowhere to put the S Pen on the phone itself.
Criticism has been aimed at the lack of a charger and memory card-expandable storage, the latter of which existed on the preceding Galaxy S20. In 2018, Samsung made fun of iPhone's lack of the same features and an audio connector port in a series of commercials for the Galaxy S9 named "Ingenious", where unhappy iPhone customers confront an Apple Store employee over the lack of functionality that the Galaxy S9 was equipped with, a feature which has since been removed from all Galaxy phones.
Following Apple, Samsung decided not to include a wall charger or earphones when selling the Galaxy S21 series of smartphones, the reasoning being that "Samsung believes the removal of earphones and charger plugs from our in-box device packaging can help address the growing e-waste problem and unnecessary duplication of these items". However, reaching the highest charging rate possibly requires a new charger with separate packaging and shipping with a standalone environmental footprint.
See also
List of longest smartphone telephoto lenses
References
Android (operating system) devices
Samsung Galaxy
Samsung smartphones
Discontinued Samsung Galaxy smartphones
Discontinued flagship smartphones
Mobile phones introduced in 2021
Mobile phones with multiple rear cameras
Mobile phones with 8K video recording | Samsung Galaxy S21 | [
"Technology"
] | 2,711 | [
"Discontinued flagship smartphones",
"Flagship smartphones"
] |
66,353,367 | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fruit%20flies%20in%20space | On a July 9, 1946, suborbital V-2 rocket flight, fruit flies became the first living and sentient organisms to go to space, and on February 20, 1947, fruit flies safely returned from a suborbital space flight, which paved the way for human exploration. Years before sending mammals into space, such as the 1949 flight of the rhesus monkey Albert II, the Soviet space dogs, or humans, scientists studied Drosophila melanogaster (the common fruit fly) and its reactions to both radiation and space flight to understand the possible effects of space and a zero-gravity environment on humans. Starting in the 1910s, researchers conducted experiments on fruit flies because humans and fruit flies share many genes.
At the height of the Cold War and the Space Race, flies were sent on missions to space with great frequency, allowing scientists to study the nature of living and breeding in space. Scientists and researchers from the Soviet Union and the United States both used fruit flies for their research and missions. These flies were used to further the understanding of the effects of weightlessness on the cardiovascular system, the immune system, and the genes of astronauts.
Background
Even after the Space Race was completed, advancements in space travel continued. Researchers continue to study the ability of life to survive in the harsh atmosphere of space, promote commercial development, expand and advance knowledge, and prepare future generations for exploration. Throughout time, Animals in space have ensured suitable conditions for human exploration. Larger animals including dogs, monkeys, cats, mice, tortoises and others, have been vital to many excursions, as have insects.
The fruit fly has frequently been utilized for space travel, due to its comparable genetics to that of humans. The short gestation period and quick maturing process allows their continued use. Additionally, a female fruit fly can lay one hundred eggs daily, and each egg requires less than ten days to fully mature. Since three-quarters of its genome compares to other organisms, fruit flies frequently proceed with humans in space travel because their entire genetic makeup, including the sex chromosomes, have been sequenced by scientists.
History
Pre-1930
Scientists began using fruit flies for research as early as 1907. The first fruit fly research was performed by Thomas Hunt Morgan. He exposed flies to radiation and realized that they were a medical miracle, in the sense that they provided test results that are very often mirrored across many other species of animals. He studied fifteen different types of fruit flies, including the fruit fly most widely known, the Drosophila melanogaster. He established the "fly room" at the University of Columbia, dedicated and reserved to all the research being conducted on flies.
1930s
In the 1930s, Dobzhanksy used research from Charles Darwin. Rather than focusing on the idea of survival of the fittest, Dobzhanksy focused on gene pools. Even though fruit flies are very small, they had the largest chromosomes that scientists had yet observed, making his research groundbreaking. In 1933, Thomas Hunt Morgan won a Nobel Prize for his research in medicine using flies. In 1935, Albert William Stevens and Orvil Arson Anderson ascended to 72,395 feet in a special balloon aircraft, and they carried fruit flies on their flight with them.
1946 and 1947, first spaceflights carrying Earthlings
On July 9 1946, the first fruit flies reached space but were not recovered.
On February 20, 1947, the United States sent a V-2 rocket containing fruit flies into space to study the effects of radiation on living organisms and to see if the radiation from space would be a potential problem for future astronauts. The flight was launched from White Sands Missile Range in New Mexico and lasted a total of three minutes. All the flies returned to Earth untouched by radiation. These flies paved the way for space-bound monkeys in 1949, dogs in 1957, and eventually humans in 1961.
1950s
In February 1953, the United States launched several unmanned balloons containing fruit flies in various experiments. Most of the flies died or were never recovered, but twelve flies survived one flight on February 26, 1953. In February 1956, an unmanned balloon carrying mice, guinea pigs, a fungus sample, and some fruit flies reached an altitude of 115,000 feet. The mission proved successful: all the animals were recovered alive. In July 1958, the United States Navy launched Malcolm David Ross, Morton Lee Lewis, and fruit flies in a manned high-altitude balloon to 82,000 feet. This was the first flight that reached the stratosphere, where the cabin of the balloon mimicked the pressurized conditions found at a sea-level environment.
1960s
In 1961, the first humans were sent to space. In 1968, scientists found that fruit fly larvae exposed to both radiation and space flight had a higher rate of premature death compared to fruit flies that were only exposed to radiation or fruit flies that only went to space. The same study showed that the flies exposed to both radiation and space flight also experienced accelerated aging and genetic mutations. A different 1968 study with the same general premise of exposing fruit flies to both pre-flight radiation and space flight showed that flies exposed to both had significant damage to their sperm, as opposed to flies exposed to only one or the other.
1970s
A 1978 publication included several key findings that were critical for scientists studying fruit flies sent into space. First, fruit flies who were born and spent their first few days in space had a shorter lifespan than Earth-bound flies. Second, the development process of flies born in space and living flies sent to space was regular. Third, the wings of flies that were sent to space were either physically damaged (most likely due to the nature of the takeoff and landing of the Space Shuttle and not because of the micro-gravitational environment) or genetically damaged, since flies born in space did not produce as much glycogen in their wings, thus inhibiting their ability to fly.
1980s
In 1981, Soviet scientists concluded that flies which were exposed to radiation before they were sent into orbit were far more likely to have offspring that exhibited genetic mutations than fruit flies that were only exposed to radiation or fruit flies that were only sent to space.
1990s
In 1997, researchers sent fruit flies into space for eight days and mated them with earthbound fruit flies upon their return. They then produced male fruit flies that were three times as likely to carry lethal mutations on the Y-chromosome. These researchers suggested that the mutations were a result of the radiation found in space.
2000s
A 2006 study found that fruit flies born in space were more vulnerable and susceptible to illness, and had a far weaker immune system compared to fruit flies born on Earth. This study confirmed to scientists that any plans for the Moon or Mars colonization would need to include countermeasures to boost astronauts' immune systems against infections like sepsis.
2010s
In 2012, Dr. Richard Hill used a powerful magnet that simulated a zero-gravity experience to study the effect on fruit flies. Hill found that the flies' speed increased and that instead of floating, the flies moved in a motion similar to walking. The effect of weightlessness on fruit flies that Dr. Hill studied can give researchers valuable insights to the effects of weightlessness on humans since humans and fruit flies have very similar genes. In 2015, scientists from the Sanford Burnham Prebys Medical Discovery Institute found that fruit flies sent to space experienced changes in their genes that controlled their hearts and other cardiovascular structures. In 2017, the same scientists sent 30 live fruit flies with 2,000 fruit fly eggs to further research on the effects of zero-gravity on the heart and cardiovascular system. They found that the hearts of fruit flies that lived in space for several weeks were anatomically different from the hearts of earthbound fruit flies. From this study, scientists concluded that plans for Moon or Mars colonization would also have to include specific plans to protect astronauts' hearts.
2020s and ongoing
With the technological advancements that exist today, space-like conditions can be replicated on Earth. This allows research to continue regarding the supposed effects of space travel on organisms and their body systems, without the costly nature of space expeditions. While technology advances, the fruit fly is continually used in preliminary research regarding space travel and organisms. Based on past research stating the dangerous consequences of space travel on blood flow and heart health, current research is being conducted. With time, research specialists hope to find results to combat these negative side effects and promote safe space travel.
See also
Zond 5, 1968 USSR Moon mission which carried fruit fly eggs
Animals in space
Bibliography
Animals in space
Drosophila melanogaster | Fruit flies in space | [
"Chemistry",
"Biology"
] | 1,727 | [
"Animal testing",
"Space-flown life",
"Animals in space"
] |
66,357,207 | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/LY-88329 | LY-88329 is an opioid receptor ligand related to medicines such as pethidine. It has high affinity to the μ-opioid receptor, but unlike structurally related drugs such as 3-methylfentanyl and OPPPP, LY-88329 is a potent opioid antagonist. In animal studies it blocks the effects of morphine and has anorectic action.
See also
Alvimopan
References
Mu-opioid receptor antagonists
3-Hydroxyphenyl compounds
4-Phenylpiperidines | LY-88329 | [
"Chemistry"
] | 117 | [
"Pharmacology",
"Pharmacology stubs",
"Medicinal chemistry stubs"
] |
66,358,956 | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gmelin-Beilstein%20Medal | The Gmelin-Beilstein Medal is a prize of the German Chemical Society for scientists and scholars who have made an outstanding contribution to the history of chemistry, chemistry literature or chemical information. It is awarded with a silver medal and 7,500 euros in prize money and was first awarded in 1954 and donated by Hoechst AG. It is named after Leopold Gmelin and Friedrich Konrad Beilstein, who were known for their colossal handbooks.
Awarded
1954 Paul Walden, Maximilian Pflücke
1956 Friedrich Richter
1958 Wilhelm Foerst
1962 Erich Pietsch
1965 Jean Baptiste Gillis
1966 Eduard Kreuzhage
1973 Werner Schultheis
1976 Hans Rudolf Christen
1977 Günter Kresze
1980 Margot Becke-Goehring
1981 Fred A. Tate
1983 Robert Fugmann, Ernst Meyer
1987 Jürgen Schaafhausen
1988 Gerd M. Ahrenholz
1990 Christian Weiske
1991 Johann Gasteiger
1995 Christoph Meinel
2000 Peter Gölitz
2002 Ursula Schoch-Grübler
2005 Ute Deichmann
2007 Olga Kennard
2010 Jürgen Gmehling
2012 Engelbert Zaß
2014 Henning Hopf
2016 Joe P. Richmond
2018 René Deplanque
2020 Guillermo Restrepo
External links
References
Chemistry awards
Awards established in 1954
German awards
1954 establishments in Germany | Gmelin-Beilstein Medal | [
"Technology"
] | 260 | [
"Science and technology awards",
"Chemistry awards"
] |
66,361,714 | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Genea%20harknessii | Genea harknessii, commonly known as the dark geode truffle, is a species of fungus in the genus Genea. The species was described by Helen Gilkey in 1916. The mature fruit has a convoluted, brain-like appearance and often is no larger than an adult's thumbnail. The exterior is dark brown (to nearly black) with a hollow interior. The flesh between the dark interior and exterior 'skin' is white to pale grey.
G. harknessii grows underground in forests, especially white oak forests, but also in coniferous forests.
References
Pyronemataceae
Fungus species | Genea harknessii | [
"Biology"
] | 132 | [
"Fungus stubs",
"Fungi",
"Fungus species"
] |
70,772,200 | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Space%20program%20of%20Turkey | The space program of Turkey is the space policy implemented by Turkey to further its interests in aerospace. Turkey first began developing its space program in 1993, and it has been under the authority of the Turkish Space Agency since 2018. Turkey has launched several satellites, and its current objective is to send a lander to the Moon by 2026.
History
The space program of Turkey developed as part of the Turkish Science and Technology Policy under the authority of the Scientific and Technological Research Council of Turkey in 1993, which designated space technology as one of the primary fields of technology. Prior to that, Turkey became one of the founding members of EUMETSAT as early as 1984. The Turkish Air Force was tasked with making recommendations on a national space agency in 2001. Turkey signed a cooperation agreement with ESA in 2004. In 2018, Turkish Space Agency was founded by Presidential decree. The stated objectives of the Turkish Space Agency include development and resource independence through space technology. The Turkish Space Agency also seeks to develop the space program to increase Turkey's influence and recognition on the world stage. Agency currently has agreements with Ukraine, Hungary and Kazakhstan's space programs, and claims to conduct extensive nation-wide assessments regarding membership to ESA since 2020.
In 2021, President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan announced a 10-year plan for Turkey's space program. The primary objective of this plan is to achieve a Moon landing through international cooperation in 2023 to mark Turkey's centennial, followed by an independent Moon landing in 2028. Other objectives include development of new space technologies, establishment of a spaceport, the formation of a Space Technology Department, and sending a Turkish citizen to space on a scientific mission. As part of the Axiom Mission 3, Turkey's first astronaut Alper Gezeravcı was launched from the Florida of the United States on January 19, 2024. Gezeravcı, who spent 14 days in space, performed 13 scientific experiments prepared by academic and research institutions in Turkey on the International Space Station and returned to Turkey on February 12, 2024.
Satellites
The state owned satellite communications company Türksat began launching a series of Türksat satellites in 1994. The TÜBİTAK Space Technologies Research Institute is responsible for research and development relating to space technology. It has developed multiple Earth observation satellites, including BILSAT-1 in 2003 and RASAT in 2011. Turkey has also developed the Göktürk series of satellites for military use. Other satellite-related projects being developed by the space program of Turkey include the Regional Positioning and Timing System and the Space Launch System.
See also
Science and technology in Turkey
References
Science and technology in Turkey
Space program of Turkey
Space programs by country | Space program of Turkey | [
"Engineering"
] | 541 | [
"Space programs",
"Space programs by country"
] |
70,774,718 | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Erysiphe%20azerbaijanica | Erysiphe azerbaijanica is a species of powdery mildew in the family Erysiphaceae. It is found in Azerbaijan, where it grows on the leaves of sweet chestnut trees.
Taxonomy
The fungus was formally described as a new species in 2018 by Lamiya Abasova, Dilzara Aghayeva, and Susumu Takamatsu. The type specimen was collected near Baş Küngüt village (Shaki District), where it was found growing on sweet chestnut (Castanea sativa). Molecular phylogenetic analysis showed that the species forms its own clade in the Microsphaera lineage of genus Erysiphe. The species epithet refers to the country of the type locality.
Description
The fungus forms thin, white irregular patches on both sides of the leaves of its host. Foot cells are cylindrical and straight, typically measuring 31–53 by 5–7 μm. The conidia are mostly cylindrical and oblong with dimensions of 33–48 by 14–16 μm; they have a length/width ratio of 2–3.6. Erysiphe alphitoides, E. castaneae, and E. castaneigena are somewhat similar in morphology, but can be distinguished by the dimensions and form of their conidia and foot cells.
References
azerbaijanica
Fungi described in 2018
Fungi of Europe
Fungus species | Erysiphe azerbaijanica | [
"Biology"
] | 276 | [
"Fungi",
"Fungus species"
] |
70,775,810 | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Susan%20Lea%20%28scientist%29 | Susan Mary Lea (born 1969) is a British biologist who serves as chief of the center for structural biology at the National Cancer Institute. Her research investigates host-pathogen interactions and biomolecular pathways. She was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society in 2022.
Early life and education
Lea was educated at Oxford High School and New College, Oxford where she received a Bachelor of Arts degree in Physiological Sciences in 1990. Lea was a graduate researcher in the laboratory of molecular biophysics at the University of Oxford, where she worked under the supervision of David Stuart. During her doctoral research she made use of X-ray crystallography to better understand foot-and-mouth disease.
Research and career
After her DPhil, she was awarded a Dorothy Hodgkin fellowship and started her independent research group in the department of biochemistry. Her research looked to understand the structure-property relationships of human enteroviruses and their receptors. Lea moved to the Sir William Dunn School of Pathology at Oxford, where she was appointed lecturer in 1999, with a tutorial fellowship at Brasenose College, Oxford, and chair of microbiology in 2016, with a professorial fellowship at Wadham College, Oxford. In 2021, Lea moved to the National Institutes of Health, and was appointed Chief of the Center for Structural Biology at the National Cancer Institute.
Lea makes use of structural information from cryogenic electron microscopy and x-ray crystallography to understand biomolecules and medical pathways. She is particularly interested in molecular complexes that can cross the cellular membrane. She studies the serum resident protein cascades that are involved in immune responses. Lea has studied the interactions that define bacterial meningitis and dysentery. She determined the molecular architecture of the flagellum.
Awards and honours
Elected member of the European Molecular Biology Organization (EMBO)
Elected Fellow of the Academy of Medical Sciences
Elected Fellow of the American Society for Microbiology
Elected Fellow of the Royal Society
Selected publications
Her publications include:
Refinement of severely incomplete structures with maximum likelihood in BUSTER-TNT
Structure of a major immunogenic site on foot-and-mouth disease virus
The structure and function of a foot-and-mouth disease virus-oligosaccharide receptor complex
References
Living people
Alumni of the University of Oxford
British women scientists
20th-century British scientists
21st-century British scientists
National Institutes of Health people
Fellows of the Royal Society
Fellows of the Academy of Medical Sciences (United Kingdom)
Fellows of the American Academy of Microbiology
People educated at Oxford High School, England
X-ray crystallography
Structural biologists
Members of the European Molecular Biology Organization
1969 births | Susan Lea (scientist) | [
"Chemistry",
"Materials_science"
] | 530 | [
"Crystallography",
"X-ray crystallography",
"Structural biologists",
"Structural biology"
] |
70,778,108 | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Two-domain%20system | The two-domain system is a biological classification by which all organisms in the tree of life are classified into two domains, Bacteria and Archaea.
It emerged from development of knowledge of archaea diversity and challenges the widely accepted three-domain system that classifies life into Bacteria, Archaea, and Eukarya. It was preceded by the eocyte hypothesis of James A. Lake in the 1980s, which was largely superseded by the three-domain system, due to evidence at the time. Better understanding of archaea, especially of their roles in the origin of eukaryotes through symbiogenesis with bacteria, led to the revival of the eocyte hypothesis in the 2000s. The two-domain system became more widely accepted after the discovery of a large group (superphylum) of Archaea called Asgard in 2017, which evidence suggests to be the evolutionary root of eukaryotes, thereby making eukaryotes members of the domain Archaea.
While the features of Asgard archaea do not completely rule out the three-domain system, the notion that eukaryotes originated within Archaea has been strengthened by genetic and proteomic studies. Under the three-domain system, Eukarya is mainly distinguished by the presence of "eukaryotic signature proteins" that are not found in Archaea and Bacteria. However, Asgard archaea contain genes that code for multiple such proteins.
Background
Classification of life into two main divisions is not a new concept, with the first such proposal by French biologist Édouard Chatton in 1938. Chatton distinguished organisms into:
Procaryotes (including bacteria)
Eucaryotes (including protozoans)
These were later named empires, and Chatton's classification as the two-empire system. Chatton used the name Eucaryotes only for protozoans, excluded other eukaryotes, and published in limited circulation so that his work was not recognised. His classification was rediscovered by Canadian bacteriologist Roger Yates Stanier of the University of California in Berkeley in 1961 while at the Pasteur Institute in Paris. The next year, Stanier and his colleague Cornelis Bernardus van Niel published in Archiv für Mikrobiologie (now Archives of Microbiology) Chatton's classification with Eucaryotes eloborated to include higher algae, protozoans, fungi, plants and animals. It became a popular system of classification, as John O. Corliss wrote in 1986: "[The] Chatton-Stanier concept of a kingdom (better, superkingdom) Prokaryota for bacteria (in the broadest sense) and a second superkingdom Eukaryota for all other organisms has been widely accepted with enthusiasm."
In 1977, Carl Woese and George E. Fox classified prokaryotes into two groups (kingdoms), Archaebacteria (for methanogens, the first known archaea) and Eubacteria, based on their 16S ribosomal RNA (16S rRNA) genes. In 1984, James A. Lake, Michael W. Clark, Eric Henderson, and Melanie Oakes of the University of California, Los Angeles described what was known as "a group of sulfur-dependent bacteria" as a new group of organisms called eocytes (for "dawn cells") and created a new kingdom Eocyta. With it they proposed the existence of four kingdoms, based on the structure and composition of the ribosomal subunits, namely Archaebacteria, Eubacteria, Eukaryote and Eocyta Lake further analysed the rRNA sequences of the four groups and suggested that eukaryotes originated from eocytes, and not archaebacteria, as was generally assumed. This was the basis of the eocyte hypothesis. In 1988, he proposed the division of all life forms into two taxonomic groups:
Karyotes (that include eukaryotes and proto-eukaryotic organisms such as eocytes)
Parkaryotes (that consist of eubacteria and archaea such as halobacteria and methanogens
In 1990, Woese, Otto Kandler and Mark Wheelis showed that archaea are distinct group of organisms and that eocytes (renamed Crenarchaeota as a phylum of Archaea but corrected as Thermoproteota in 2021) are Archaea. They introduced the major division of life into the three-domain system comprising domain Eucarya, domain Bacteria and domain Archaea. With a number of revisions of details and discoveries of several new archaea lineages, Woese's classification gradually gained acceptance as "arguably the best-developed and most widely-accepted scientific hypotheses [with the five-kingdom classification] regarding the evolutionary history of life."
The three-domain concept did not, however, resolve the issues with the relationship between Archaea and eukaryotes. As Ford Doolittle, then at the Dalhousie University, put it in 2020: "[The] three-domain tree wrongly represents evolutionary relationships, presenting a misleading view about how eukaryotes evolved from prokaryotes. The three-domain tree does recognize a specific archaeal–eukaryotic affinity, but it would have the latter arising independently, not from within, the former."
Concept
The two-domain system relies mainly on two key concepts that define eukaryotes as members of the domain Archaea and not as a separate domain: eukaryotes originated within Archaea, and Asgards represent the origin of eukaryotes.
Eukaryotes evolved from archaea
The three-domain system presumes that eukaryotes are more closely related to archaea than to Bacteria and are sister group to Archaea, thus, it treats them as separate domain. As more new archaea were discovered in the early 2000s, this distinction became doubtful as eukaryotes became deeply nested within Archaea. The origin of eukaryotes from Archaea, meaning the two are of the same larger group, came to be supported by studies based on ribosome protein sequencing and phylogenetic analyses in 2004. Phylogenomic analysis of about 6000 gene sets from 185 bacterial, archaeal and eukaryotic genomes in 2007 also suggested origin of eukaryotes from Euryarchaeota (specifically the Thermoplasmatales).
In 2008, researchers from Natural History Museum, London and Newcastle University reported a comprehensive analysis of 53 genes from archaea, bacteria and eukaryotes that included essential components of the nucleic acid replication, transcription, and translation machineries. The conclusion was that eukaryotes evolved from archaea, specifically Crenarchaeota (eocytes) and the results "favor a topology that supports the eocyte hypothesis rather than archaebacterial monophyly and the 3-domains tree of life." A study around the same time also found several genes common to eukaryotes and Crenarchaeota. These accumulating evidences support the two-domain system.
In 2019, research led by Gergely J. Szöllősi assistant professor at ELTE has also concluded that two domains are the correct system. The studies conducted used simulations of more than 3,000 gene families. The study concluded that eukaryotes probably evolved from a bacterium entering an Asgard host (probably from the phylum Heimdallarchaeota).
One of the distinctions of the domain Eukarya in the three-domain system is that eukaryotes have unique proteins such as actin (cytoskeletal microfilament involved in cell motility), tubulin (component of the large cytoskeleton, microtubule) and the ubiquitin system (protein degradation and recycling) that are not found in prokaryotes. However, these so-called "eukaryotic signature proteins" are encoded in genomes of TACK (comprising the phyla Thaumarchaeota, Aigarchaeota, Crenarchaeota and Korarchaeota) archaea, but not encoded in other archaea genomes. The first eukaryotic proteins identified in Crenarchaeota were actin and actin-related proteins (Arp) 2 and 3, perhaps explaining the origin of eukaryotes by symbiogenic phagocytosis, in which an ancient archaeal host had an actin based mechanism by which to envelop other cells, like protomitochondrial bacteria.
Tubulin-like proteins named artubulins are found in the genomes of several ammonium-oxidising Thaumarchaeota. Endosomal sorting complexes, required for transport (ESCRT III), involved in eukaryotic cell division, are found in all TACK groups. The ESCRT-III-like proteins constitute the primary cell division system in these archaea. Genes encoding the ubiquitin system are known from multiple genomes of Aigarchaeota. Ubiquitin-related protein called Urm1 is also present in Crenarchaeota. DNA replication system (GINS proteins) in Crenarchaeota and Halobacteria are similar to the CMG (CDC45, MCM, GINS) complex of eukaryotes. The presence of these eukaryotic proteins in Archaea indicates their direct relationship and that eukaryotes emerged from Archaea.
Asgards are the last eukaryotic common ancestor
The discovery of Asgard, described as "eukaryote-like archaea", in 2012 and the following phylogenetic analyses have strengthened the two-domain view of life. Asgard Archaea called Lokiarchaeota contain even more eukaryotic protein-genes than the TACK group. Initial genetic analysis and later reanalysis showed that out of over 31 selected eukaryotic genes in the archaea, 75% of them directly support eukaryote-archaea grouping, meaning a single domain of Archaea including eukaryotes; although the findings did not completely rule out the three-domain system.
As more Asgard groups were subsequently discovered including Thorarchaeota, Odinarchaeota and Heimdallarchaeota, their relationships with eukaryotes became better established. Phylogenetic analyses using ribosomal RNA genes indicated that eukaryotes stemmed from Asgards, and that Heimdallarchaeota are the closest relatives of eukaryotes. Eukaryotic origin from Heimdallarchaeota is also supported by phylogenomic study in 2020. A new group of Asgard found in 2021 (provisionally named Wukongarchaeota) also indicated a deep root for eukaryotic origin. A report in 2022 of another Asgard, named Njordarchaeota, indicates that Heimdallarchaeota-Wukongarchaeota branch is possibly the origin group for eukaryotes.
The Asgards contain at least 80 genes for eukaryotic signature proteins. In addition to actin, tubulin, ubiquitin and ESCRT proteins found in TACK archaea, Asgards contain functional genes for several other eukaryotic proteins such as profilins, ubiquitin system (E1-like, E2-like and small-RING finger (srfp) proteins), membrane-trafficking systems (such as Sec23/24 and TRAPP domains), a variety of small GTPases (including Gtr/Rag family GTPase orthologues), and gelsolins. Although this information do not completely resolve the three-domain and two-domain controversies, they are generally considered to favour the two-domain system.
Classification
The two-domain system defines classification of all known cellular life forms into two domains: Bacteria and Archaea. It overrides the domain Eukaryota recognised in the three-domain classification as one of the main domains. In contrast to the eocyte hypothesis, which proposed two major groups of life (similar to domains) and posited that Archaea could be divided to both bacterial and eukaryotic groups, it merged Archaea and eukaryotes into a single domain, Bacteria entirely in a separate domain.
Domain Bacteria
It consists of all bacteria, which are prokaryotes (lacking nucleus), thus, Domain Bacteria is made up solely of prokaryotic organisms. Some examples are:
Cyanobacteria – photosynthesising bacteria related to the plastids of eukaryotes.
Spirochaetota – Gram-negative bacteria involved in human diseases like syphilis and lyme disease.
Actinomycetota – Gram-positive bacteria including Streptomyces species from which several antibiotics are derived including streptomycin, neomycin, bottromycins and chloramphenicol.
Domain Archaea
It comprises both prokaryotic and eukaryotic organisms.
Archaea
Archaea are prokaryotic organisms, some examples are:
All methanogens – which produce the gas methane.
Most halophiles – which live in very salty water.
Most thermoacidophiles – which live in acidic high-temperature water.
Eukarya
Eukaryotes have a nucleus in their cells, and include:
Protists – many unicellular eukaryotes including malarial parasites, amoeba, and diatoms.
Kingdom Fungi – eukaryotes such as mushroom, yeast, and mould; all fungi.
Kingdom Plantae – all plants.
Kingdom Animalia – all animals.
References
Biological classification
High-level systems of taxonomy
Domains (biology) | Two-domain system | [
"Biology"
] | 2,858 | [
"nan"
] |
70,778,159 | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bowdeniella | Bowdeniella is a monotypic genus of bacteria from the family of Actinomycetaceae. This genus only contains one species, Bowdeniella nasicola, which was isolated from a human nose.
References
Actinomycetales
Monotypic bacteria genera
Bacteria described in 2003 | Bowdeniella | [
"Biology"
] | 62 | [
"Bacteria stubs",
"Bacteria"
] |
70,778,173 | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Buchananella | Buchananella hordeovulneris is a species of bacteria from the family Actinomycetaceae. It is the only species in the genus Buchananella .
References
Actinomycetales
Monotypic bacteria genera
Bacteria described in 1984 | Buchananella | [
"Biology"
] | 50 | [
"Bacteria stubs",
"Bacteria"
] |
70,778,194 | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flaviflexus | Flaviflexus is a genus of bacteria from the family Actinomycetaceae. Species of Flaviflexus have antimicrobial activity.
References
Actinomycetales
Bacteria genera
Taxa described in 2013 | Flaviflexus | [
"Biology"
] | 49 | [
"Bacteria stubs",
"Bacteria"
] |
70,780,040 | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Symmetron | The symmetron is a hypothesized elementary particle that mediates a fifth force in particle physics. It emerged as one potential solution to the symmetron field, a hypothesizedscalar field.
See also
List of hypothetical particles
References
Hypothetical elementary particles
Bosons
Subatomic particles with spin 0
Force carriers | Symmetron | [
"Physics"
] | 69 | [
"Physical phenomena",
"Force carriers",
"Unsolved problems in physics",
"Bosons",
"Subatomic particles",
"Particle physics",
"Particle physics stubs",
"Fundamental interactions",
"Hypothetical elementary particles",
"Physics beyond the Standard Model",
"Matter"
] |
70,780,393 | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Three%20Women%20%28TV%20series%29 | Three Women is an American television limited series based on the 2019 book of the same name by Lisa Taddeo. The series was initially set to premiere on Showtime, but on January 30, 2023, Deadline reported that Showtime had decided not to air the completed series. Starz picked up the series a week later. All 10 episodes of season one premiered on February 16, 2024, in Australia on Stan. In May 2024, Starz announced that the show would premiere on September 13, 2024, with a weekly release.
Premise
A writer convinces three women, all of whom are on a course to radically change their lives, to tell her their stories.
Cast and characters
Main
Shailene Woodley as Gia
DeWanda Wise as Sloane
Betty Gilpin as Lina
Gabrielle Creevy as Maggie
Blair Underwood as Richard
John Patrick Amedori as Jack
Recurring
Ravi Patel as Dr. Henry
Austin Stowell as Aidan
Lola Kirke as Lily
Jason Ralph as Aaron Knodel
Blair Redford as Will
Fred Savage as Rody
Jess Gabor as Billie
Brían F. O'Byrne as Mark Wilkin
Heather Goldenhersh as Arlene Wilkin
Zane Pais as David Wilkin
Tony D. Head as Stephen
Episodes
Production
Development
In July 2019, Showtime acquired rights to Three Women by Lisa Taddeo, with Taddeo attached to write and executive produce. On January 30, 2023, Deadline reported that Showtime had decided not to air the completed series, amid a reorganization at parent company Paramount Global and a review of Showtime's programming slate, but was being shopped to other services. The series was later picked up by Starz in early February 2023. The series premiered on September 13, 2024.
Casting
In July 2021, Shailene Woodley and DeWanda Wise joined the cast of the series. In September 2021, Betty Gilpin joined the cast in a series regular capacity, with Ravi Patel joining in recurring capacity. In October 2021, Blair Underwood and Gabrielle Creevy joined the cast in series regular capacity, with Austin Stowell and Lola Kirke joining in recurring capacity. In November 2021, Jason Ralph, Blair Redford and Jess Gabor joined in recurring roles. In December 2021, John Patrick Amedori joined the cast in a series regular capacity. In February 2022, Brían F. O'Byrne and Heather Goldenhersh joined the cast in recurring capacity.
Filming
Principal photography began by October 2021, taking place in Long Island, New York. In November 2021, scenes were shot in Schenectady, New York.
Reception
On the review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, 33% of 15 critics' reviews are positive, with an average rating of 6.2/10. The website's critics consensus reads, "Betty Gilpin shines in this otherwise disappointingly didactic series, where the diverging story stands never cohere into a satisfying whole." Metacritic, which uses a weighted average, assigned a score of 52 out of 100, based on 11 critics, indicating "mixed or average" reviews. Kylie Northover from The Sydney Morning Herald wrote: "This was never going to be an easy book to adapt, and [the show] feels bloated at 10 episodes, but Maggie and Lina’s stories are compelling; Sloane and her husband (Blair Underwood) are the least relatable, a lot larger than life than they were portrayed in the book."
Accolades
References
External links
American English-language television shows
Television shows based on non-fiction books
Works about sex
2024 American television series debuts
Starz original programming | Three Women (TV series) | [
"Biology"
] | 722 | [
"Works about sex",
"Behavior",
"Sexuality"
] |
70,780,754 | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Diffusive%E2%80%93thermal%20instability | Diffusive–thermal instability or thermo–diffusive instability is an intrinsic flame instability that occurs both in premixed flames and in diffusion flames and arises because of the difference in the diffusion coefficient values for the fuel and heat transport, characterized by non-unity values of Lewis numbers. The instability mechanism that arises here is the same as in Turing instability explaining chemical morphogenesis, although the mechanism was first discovered in the context of combustion by Yakov Zeldovich in 1944 to explain the cellular structures appearing in lean hydrogen flames. Quantitative stability theory for premixed flames were developed by Gregory Sivashinsky (1977), Guy Joulin and Paul Clavin (1979) and for diffusion flames by Jong S. Kim and Forman A. Williams (1996,1997).
Dispersion relation for premixed flames
To neglect the influences by hydrodynamic instabilities such as Darrieus–Landau instability, Rayleigh–Taylor instability etc., the analysis usually neglects effects due to the thermal expansion of the gas mixture by assuming a constant density model. Such an approximation is referred to as diffusive-thermal approximation or thermo-diffusive approximation which was first introduced by Grigory Barenblatt, Yakov Zeldovich and A. G. Istratov in 1962. With a one-step chemistry model and assuming the perturbations to a steady planar flame in the form , where is the transverse coordinate system perpendicular to flame, is the time, is the perturbation wavevector and is the temporal growth rate of the disturbance, the dispersion relation for one-reactant flames is given implicitly by
where , , is the Lewis number of the fuel and is the Zeldovich number. This relation provides in general three roots for in which the one with maximum would determine the stability character. The stability margins are given by the following equations
describing two curves in the vs. plane. The first curve is associated with condition , whereas on the second curve The first curve separates the region of stable mode from the region corresponding to cellular instability, whereas the second condition indicates the presence of traveling and/or pulsating instability.
See also
Turing pattern
Darrieus–Landau instability
Kuramoto–Sivashinsky equation
Clavin–Garcia equation
Double diffusive convection
References
Fluid dynamics
Combustion
Fluid dynamic instabilities | Diffusive–thermal instability | [
"Chemistry",
"Engineering"
] | 494 | [
"Fluid dynamic instabilities",
"Chemical engineering",
"Combustion",
"Piping",
"Fluid dynamics"
] |
70,780,822 | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/F-11%2C461 | F-11,461 is a drug that acts as an agonist of the 5-HT1A receptor (Ki = 1.36 nM) that has been used as a radioligand in PET studies. It possesses modest affinity for the 5-HT7 (Ki = 9.1 nM) and D4 (Ki = 8.5 nM) receptors, although the interaction of F-11,461 with these receptors is not detectable with PET due to their relative scarcity in the brain.
See also
Befiradol
8-OH-DPAT
References
Serotonin receptor agonists
PET radiotracers
Naphthalenes
Piperazines
Triazines
Methoxy compounds | F-11,461 | [
"Chemistry"
] | 148 | [
"Chemicals in medicine",
"Medicinal radiochemistry",
"PET radiotracers"
] |
70,783,303 | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tebideutorexant | Tebideutorexant (developmental code names JNJ-61393215, JNJ-3215) is an orexin antagonist medication which is under development for the treatment of depression and anxiety disorders. It is an orally active compound and acts as a selective antagonist of the orexin OX1 receptor (1-SORA). Preliminary clinical findings suggest that tebideutorexant may have anti-panic effects in humans. As of June 2023, tebideutorexant is in phase 2 clinical trials for the treatment of major depressive disorder while no further development has been reported for treatment of panic disorder and other anxiety disorders. The drug was originated and developed by Janssen Pharmaceuticals.
See also
List of investigational antidepressants § Orexin receptor antagonists
List of investigational anxiolytics
References
Deuterated compounds
Experimental antidepressants
Experimental anxiolytics
Fluoroarenes
Heterocyclic compounds with 2 rings
Ketones
Orexin antagonists
Pyridines
Pyrimidines
Trifluoromethyl compounds | Tebideutorexant | [
"Chemistry"
] | 224 | [
"Ketones",
"Functional groups"
] |
70,783,603 | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flying%20Balloon%20Girl | Flying Balloon Girl, also known as Balloon Debate, is a 2005 stencil mural in the West Bank by the graffiti artist Banksy, depicting a young girl holding a bunch of seven balloons floating above the 8 meter-high wall built around the Palestinian enclave near the Qalandia checkpoint.
It represents perhaps the first piece of West Bank Wall graffiti art to have received international acclaim, serving as a form of "transnational and experiential empathy". In its original context, the artwork is thought to refer to the Palestinian right to freedom of movement and possibly to the Palestinian right of return.
It has been described as: "poignantly simple", with its message "as basic as the artwork: through magic realism and notions of childhood innocence, the young girl embodies a dreamy, supernatural hope as the balloons lift her up from her stark surroundings." As such its message has become universal, as John Lennon, associate professor of English at the University of South Florida, describes:
As an image alone, though, there is of course no connection between this girl and the Palestinian desire to return. Instead, Flying Balloon Girl represents a universal desire to magically escape life's difficulties. A decade after Banksy placed the stencil on the Separation Wall, his image has become not a statement on Palestinian rights but a familiar image of the Banksy brand.
See also
List of works by Banksy
2005 in art
References
2000s murals
2005 paintings
Balloons
Children in art
Works by Banksy | Flying Balloon Girl | [
"Chemistry"
] | 304 | [
"Balloons",
"Fluid dynamics"
] |
70,784,214 | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Loss%20of%20load | Loss of load in an electrical grid is a term used to describe the situation when the available generation capacity is less than the system load. Multiple probabilistic reliability indices for the generation systems are using loss of load in their definitions, with the more popular being Loss of Load Probability (LOLP) that characterizes a probability of a loss of load occurring within a year. Loss of load events are calculated before the mitigating actions (purchasing electricity from other systems, load shedding) are taken, so a loss of load does not necessarily cause a blackout.
Loss-of-load-based reliability indices
Multiple reliability indices for the electrical generation are based on the loss of load being observed/calculated over a long interval (one or multiple years) in relatively small increments (an hour or a day). The total number of increments inside the long interval is designated as (e.g., for a yearlong interval if the increment is a day, if the increment is an hour):
Loss of load probability (LOLP) is a probability of an occurrence of an increment with a loss of load condition. LOLP can also be considered as a probability of involuntary load shedding;
Loss of load expectation (LOLE) is the total duration of increments when the loss of load is expected to occur, . Frequently LOLE is specified in days, if the increment is an hour, not a day, a term loss of load hours (LOLH) is sometimes used. Since LOLE uses the daily peak value for the whole day, LOLH (that uses different peak values for each hour) cannot be obtained by simply multiplying LOLE by 24; although in practice the relationship is close to linear, the coefficients vary from network to network;
Loss of load events (LOLEV) a.k.a. loss of load frequency (LOLF) is the number of loss of load events within the interval (an event can occupy several contiguous increments);
Loss of load duration (LOLD) characterizes the average duration of a loss of load event:
One-day-in-ten-years criterion
A typically accepted design goal for is 0.1 day per year ("one-day-in-ten-years criterion" a.k.a. "1 in 10"), corresponding to . In the US, the threshold is set by the regional entities, like Northeast Power Coordinating Council:
See also
Value of lost load
References
Sources
Electrical engineering
Reliability indices | Loss of load | [
"Engineering"
] | 519 | [
"Electrical engineering"
] |
70,784,332 | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Triangle%20of%20partition%20numbers | In the number theory of integer partitions, the numbers denote both the number of partitions of into exactly parts (that is, sums of positive integers that add to ), and the number of partitions of into parts of maximum size exactly . These two types of partition are in bijection with each other, by a diagonal reflection of their Young diagrams. Their numbers can be arranged into a triangle, the triangle of partition numbers, in which the th row gives the partition numbers :
Recurrence relation
Analogously to Pascal's triangle, these numbers may be calculated using the recurrence relation
As base cases, , and any value on the right hand side of the recurrence that would be outside the triangle can be taken as zero. This equation can be explained by noting that each partition of into pieces, counted by , can be formed either by adding a piece of size one to a partition of into pieces, counted by , or by increasing by one each piece in a partition of into pieces, counted by .
Row sums and diagonals
In the triangle of partition numbers, the sum of the numbers in the th row is the partition number . These numbers form the sequence
omitting the initial value of the partition numbers.
Each diagonal from upper left to lower right is eventually constant, with the constant parts of these diagonals extending approximately from halfway across each row to its end. The values of these constants are the partition numbers 1, 1, 2, 3, 5, 7, ... again.
References
Triangles of numbers
Integer partitions | Triangle of partition numbers | [
"Mathematics"
] | 314 | [
"Integer partitions",
"Triangles of numbers",
"Number theory",
"Combinatorics"
] |
70,784,361 | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Broadcast%20lens | Broadcast lens in television industry are lenses used for broadcasting in television studio or on the location/field. Main manufacturers of broadcast lenses are Canon and Fujifilm's Fujinon brand. Broadcast lenses can be box-shaped, which are heavier and for use in limited range or classically shaped, lighter and for portable use.
Types
Lens are generally classified into three types:
Studio zoom lenses, used mainly in the television broadcasting studio.
Field zoom lenses, used for relay broadcasting of sports and other type of live events.
Electronic news-gathering/Electronic field production (ENG/EFP) lenses, used for production of news and on-location events.
Features
Typically broadcast lenses have:
Less focus breathing
Variable focal lengths (18–35 mm)
Zoom which maintains focus as the focal length changes (parfocal lens)
Aspherical lens with fast and large lens aperture
Servomotor control of zoom, focus and aperture via remote control handles
Built-in image stabilization
Multi-group zoom lens system
See also
Cine lens
Zoom lens
Telephoto lens
Wide-angle lens
Camera lens
References
Television terminology
Broadcast engineering | Broadcast lens | [
"Engineering"
] | 223 | [
"Broadcast engineering",
"Electronic engineering"
] |
67,871,308 | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Type%202%20inflammation | Type 2 inflammation is a pattern of immune response. Its physiological function is to defend the body against helminths, but a dysregulation of the type 2 inflammatory response has been implicated in the pathophysiology of several diseases.
Molecular biology
IL-25, IL-33, and TSLP are alarmins released from damaged epithelial cells. These cytokines mediate the activation of type 2 T helper cells (Th2 cells), type 2 innate lymphoid cells (ILC2 cells), and dendritic cells. Th2 cells and ILC2 cells secrete IL-4, IL-5 and IL-13.
IL-4 further drives CD4+ T cell differentiation towards the Th2 subtype and induces isotype switching to IgE in B cells. IL-4 and IL-13 stimulate trafficking of eosinophils to the site of inflammation, while IL-5 promotes both eosinophil trafficking and production.
Dysregulation in human disease
Type 2 inflammation has been implicated in several chronic diseases:
Asthma
Atopic dermatitis
Chronic sinusitis with nasal polyps
Eosinophilic esophagitis
Bullous pemphigoid
Persons with one type 2 inflammatory disease are more likely to have other type 2 inflammatory diseases.
Pharmacological targets
Several medicines have been developed that target mediators of type 2 inflammation:
IL-4-specific blockers:
Altrakincept
Pascolizumab
IL-5-specific blockers:
Benralizumab
Mepolizumab
Reslizumab
IL-13-specific blockers:
Lebrikizumab
Tralokinumab
Dual IL-4 and IL-13 blockers:
Dupilumab
IgE-blockers:
Ligelizumab
Omalizumab
References
Immunology
Asthma
Atopic dermatitis | Type 2 inflammation | [
"Biology"
] | 394 | [
"Immunology"
] |
67,871,416 | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Neodymium%28II%29%20chloride | Neodymium(II) chloride or neodymium dichloride is a chemical compound of neodymium and chlorine with the formula NdCl2.
Preparation
Neodymium(II) chloride can be prepared by reducing neodymium(III) chloride with lithium metal/naphthalene or lithium chloride in THF.
Reduction of neodymium(III) chloride with neodymium metal at temperatures above 650 °C also yields neodymium(II) chloride:
2 NdCl3 + Nd → 3 NdCl2
Structure
Neodymium(II) chloride adopts the PbCl2 (cotunnite) structure. Each Nd2+ ion is coordinated by nine Cl− ions in a tricapped trigonal prismatic arrangement. Seven of the Nd-Cl distances are in the range 2.95-3.14 Å while two are longer at 3.45 Å.
References
Chlorides
Neodymium(II) compounds
Lanthanide halides | Neodymium(II) chloride | [
"Chemistry"
] | 207 | [
"Salts",
"Chlorides",
"Inorganic compounds",
"Inorganic compound stubs"
] |
67,871,989 | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flag%20flying%20day | A flag flying day is a day, decreed officially or by tradition, that the national flag should be hoisted by every official agency in the country. Private citizens and corporations also encouraged to fly the flag rather than leaving the flag staff empty or flying family or corporate flags. Flag flying days may also be observed for some provincial flags.
Flag flying days are different from Flag Day holidays that celebrate the flag itself and are usually held just one day per year. Flag flying days normally occur multiple times each year to celebrate national holidays or other occasions.
For flag flying days in various countries, see:
Flag-flying days in Estonia
Flag-flying days in Finland
Flag-flying days in Germany
Flag-flying days in Lithuania
Flag-flying days in Mexico
Flag-flying days in the Netherlands
Flag-flying days in Norway
Flag-flying days in Sweden
Flag-flying days in the United Kingdom
Flag-flying days in the United States
See also
Dance of Flags, Israeli celebration
Flag Day
References
Flags
Flag flying days
Flag practices
Observances | Flag flying day | [
"Mathematics"
] | 203 | [
"Symbols",
"Flags"
] |
67,872,447 | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rhodium%28III%29%20hydroxide | Rhodium(III) hydroxide is a chemical compound with the formula Rh(OH)3.
Various compounds of rhodium(III) with hydroxide ligands are known.
Some double hydroxides called rhodium(III) hydrogarnets are known to exist. They include BaNaRh(OH)6, Ca3Rh2(OH)12, Sr3Rh2(OH)12. and Ba3[Rh(OH)6]2 ⋅ H2O.
Ga[Rh(OH)6(Mo6O18)](H2O)16 is a complex molybdate hydroxide.
References
Rhodium(III) compounds
Hydroxides | Rhodium(III) hydroxide | [
"Chemistry"
] | 148 | [
"Inorganic compounds",
"Bases (chemistry)",
"Hydroxides",
"Inorganic compound stubs"
] |
67,873,986 | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Father%20No%C3%ABl | Nicolas Noël (1712-1781) was a Benedictine monk, instrument and telescope maker at the workshop of l'abbaye de Saint-Germain des Prés. He became custodian of Louis XV's telescopes in 1759, having presented an eight foot (focal length) telescope to the king, under the sponsorship of the duc de Chaulnes, on December 14, 1756. Between 1759 and 1774 Dom Noël assembled a collection of his own instruments and those acquired from others in buildings erected for the purpose adjacent to the Château de la Muette. Noêl's position was later held by Abbé Rochon. In 1772 Noël made a 22-inch diameter 24-foot focus Gregorian, which at the time was the largest telescope in the world. The speculum mirror was re-polished by Carochez in 1787. It was installed in Paris at the Hôtel de la Muette (also known as the Cabinet de Passy). The "Grand Telescope of Passy" was too large and cumbersome to serve as an effective scientific instrument, and after being re-mirrored in 1800 was dismantled in 1841.
References
Benedictine monks
1712 births
1781 deaths
Telescope manufacturers | Father Noël | [
"Astronomy"
] | 236 | [
"Telescope manufacturers",
"People associated with astronomy"
] |
67,879,419 | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Smoke%20taint | Smoke taint is a broad term for a set of smoke imparted compounds found in affected wines, constituting a wine fault. Increasing incidences of smoke tainted wines are an important issue, given the recent occurrences of wildfires or bushfires in wine grape producing regions during the growing seasons. Examples of wildfires resulting in smoke tainted wines include the fires in South Africa in late 2017, October 2017 Northern California wildfires, the 2019–20 Australian bushfire season, and the 2020 Glass Fire in Northern California.
Whenever ambient smoke comes into contact with developing grapes on vines for a period of time, there is a risk that the grapes will carry smoke taint and impart this in wine made from them. The risk is higher with red wines, because their fermentation process includes the grape skins.
Causes
Smoke taint occurs when developing grapes are exposed to the smoke from wildfires. There are a number of factors that will determine the level of impact the smoke will have on the berries, including the state of berry development during the episode, the grape variety, the type and concentration of smoke and the duration of exposure.
Wildfires in forested areas tend to burn a lot of wood, releasing volatile phenols into the atmosphere. When these are absorbed by developing grapes in nearby vineyards, they can bind to grape sugars within the grapes. These bound phenols, known as glycosides, are likely to be odorless and tasteless until the bond with the sugar is broken during winemaking processes or aging. When the volatile phenols become unbound, the characteristic "smoky" flavor is likely to become detectable. This bond can also become undone upon tasting, when an affected wine comes in contact with enzyme-containing saliva. Thus, smoke taint can exist masked in wine for a period of time before it becomes apparent.
Sensory compounds and impacts
The major volatile compounds responsible for smoke taint include guaiacol and methylguaiacol. Others include ortho-, meta- and para-cresol as well as syringol and methylsyringol. There are a number of enological laboratories around the world that can analyze for the presence of these compounds and help potentially affected wineries interpret the results.
Similar to cork taint, a wine can suffer from a minor, barely detectable case of smoke taint or it can be so obvious as to render the wine undrinkable. Descriptors for the smell and taste of a smoke tainted wine include smoky, wood smoke, chargrill, smoked meats, bacon and ashtray. The taste tends to be persistent, lingering long after the wine has been spat out or swallowed. Some smoke-taint compounds can be very similar to oak-aging compounds, especially if a wine has been aged in oak with a high level of toast. There is some anecdotal evidence that smoke taint can also impact the texture of wine, resulting in what some describe as a "hard" finish.
Treatments
Berries, grape juice and wine can be tested for the presence of volatile phenols indicating smoke taint, the primary markers being guaiacol and 4-methylguaiacol. If found, there are measures that can be taken to minimize, remove/reduce or counterbalance the impact of smoke taint at various stages of the winemaking process. Common treatments include minimizing skin contact and maceration, adding enological tannins and/or oak chips to contribute to structure and counterbalance the impact of smoke taint, and the use of fining and/or filtration to remove/reduce some of the smoke compounds.
References
Wine chemistry
Oenology | Smoke taint | [
"Chemistry"
] | 743 | [
"Wine chemistry",
"Alcohol chemistry"
] |
67,879,453 | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Permute%20instruction | Permute (and Shuffle) instructions, part of bit manipulation as well as vector processing, copy unaltered contents from a source array to a destination array, where the indices are specified by a second source array. The size (bitwidth) of the source elements is not restricted but remains the same as the destination size.
There exists two important permute variants, known as gather and scatter, respectively. The gather variant is as follows:
for i = 0 to length-1
dest[i] = src[indices[i]]
where the scatter variant is:
for i = 0 to length-1
dest[indices[i]] = src[i]
Note that unlike in memory-based gather-scatter all three of dest, src, and indices are registers (or parts of registers in the case of bit-level permute), not memory locations.
The scatter variant can be seen to "scatter" the source elements across (into) to the destination, where the "gather" variant is gathering data from the indexed source elements.
Given that the indices may be repeated in both variants, the resultant output is not a strict mathematical permutation because duplicates can occur in the output.
A special case of permute is also used in GPU "swizzling" (again, not strictly a permutation) which performs on-the-fly reordering of subvector data so as to align or duplicate elements with the appropriate SIMD lane.
Occurrences of permute instructions
Permute instructions occur in both scalar processors as well as vector processing engines as well as GPUs. In vector instruction sets they are typically named "Register Gather/Scatter" operations such as in RISC-V vectors, and take Vectors as input for both source elements and source array, and output another Vector.
In scalar instruction sets the scalar registers are broken down into smaller sections (unpacked, SIMD style) where the fragments are then used as array sources. The (small, partial) results are then concatenated (packed) back into the scalar register as the result.
Some ISAs, particularly for cryptographic applications, even have bit-level permute operations, such as
bdep (bit deposit) in RISC-V bitmanip; in the Power ISA it is known as and has been included for several decades, and is still in the Power ISA v.3.0 B spec.
Also in some non-vector ISAs, due to there sometimes being insufficient space in the one source input register to specify the permutation source array in full (particularly if the operation involves bit-level permutation), will include partial reordering instructions. Examples include VSHUFF32x4 from AVX-512.
Permute operations in different forms are surprisingly common, occurring in AltiVec, Power ISA, PowerPC G4, AVX-512, SVE2, vector processors, and GPUs. They are sufficiently important that LLVM added the intrinsic and GCC added the intrinsic. GCC's intrinsic matches the functionality of OpenCL's shuffle intrinsics. Note that all of these, mathematically, are not permutations because duplicates can occur in the output.
See also
References
External links
Unofficial convenient list of AVX-512 shuffle instructions
Official Intel AVX-512 ISA Manual
ARM NEON tutorial on data rearrangement
Binary arithmetic
Computer arithmetic | Permute instruction | [
"Mathematics"
] | 712 | [
"Computer arithmetic",
"Arithmetic",
"Binary arithmetic"
] |
67,881,654 | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sclerococcum%20serusiauxii | Sclerococcum serusiauxii is a species of lichenicolous fungus in the family Dactylosporaceae. It was described as a new species in 1993 by Montserrat Boqueras and Paul Diederich. The type was collected in Col de la Pierre St Martin (Spanish Pyrenees in Navarre), at an altitude of . Here, the fungus was growing on the lichen Parmelina pastillifera, which itself was growing on Pinus uncinata. The specific epithet honours Belgian lichenologist Emmanuël Sérusiaux, who collected the type specimen in 1989. S. serusiauxii has also been recorded from Montenegro.
In addition to Parmelina pastillifer, it has also been recorded on Parmelina tiliacea. The fungus forms convex dark brown to black sporodochia that typically measure 60–180 by 60–100 μm. The mycelia of the fungus is embedded in the thallus of the host. The presence of the fungus does not cause damage to the host lichen.
References
Lecanorales
Fungi described in 1993
Fungi of Europe
Lichenicolous fungi
Taxa named by Paul Diederich
Fungus species | Sclerococcum serusiauxii | [
"Biology"
] | 244 | [
"Fungi",
"Fungus species"
] |
67,882,316 | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John%20Rognes%20%28mathematician%29 | John Rognes (born 28 April 1966 in Oslo) is a Norwegian mathematician. He is a professor at the Department of Mathematics at the University of Oslo.
Rognes mathematical talent was visible from a young age; in 1984 he won a bronze medal at the International Mathematical Olympiad in Prague.
As a 19-year-old, he received his master's degree. He then went to Princeton University, where he received a PhD as a 24-year-old with the dissertation "The Rank Filtration in Algebraic K-theory".
In 1994, Rognes became an associate professor at Oslo, and in 1998 he was promoted to the rank of professor. He became Norway's youngest professor of mathematics. Rognes' research is about topological mathematics and algebraic K-theory. In 2004, he became one of the 26 who received a five-year scholarship as a Young Outstanding Researcher from the Research Council of Norway. From 2010 to 2014 was the editor of Acta Mathematica. In 2014, he was invited to speak at the International Congress of Mathematicians (ICM) in Seoul. From 2014 to 2018, he was chair of the Abel Committee.
Selected publications
External links
at the University of Oslo
References
Norwegian mathematicians
Living people
Topologists
1966 births | John Rognes (mathematician) | [
"Mathematics"
] | 256 | [
"Topologists",
"Topology"
] |
67,883,508 | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chenggong%20Coastal%20Defense%20Tunnel | The Chenggong Coastal Defense Tunnel () is a tunnel in Jinhu, Kinmen County, Taiwan.
Geology
The tunnel was dug through granite layers of rock and concrete.
Architecture
The tunnel is equipped with various military equipment, including command post, pillbox, barracks, toilets and kitchen. It spans over a length of 560 meters. It is divided into section, which are the section towards the sea and section leads to the village office.
See also
List of tourist attractions in Taiwan
References
Jinhu Township
Military history of Taiwan
Tunnels in Kinmen County
Tunnel warfare | Chenggong Coastal Defense Tunnel | [
"Engineering"
] | 112 | [
"Military engineering",
"Tunnel warfare"
] |
67,883,638 | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Qionglin%20Tunnel | The Qionglin Tunnel () is a tunnel in Jinhu, Kinmen County, Taiwan.
History
The tunnel was constructed in 1976.
Architecture
The tunnel spans over a total length of 1,355 meters, making it the largest defense tunnel in Kinmen. It has a total 12 entrances and exits which are connected to critical facilities around the village.
See also
List of tourist attractions in Taiwan
References
1976 establishments in Taiwan
Jinhu Township
Military history of Taiwan
Military installations established in 1976
Tunnels in Kinmen County
Tunnel warfare | Qionglin Tunnel | [
"Engineering"
] | 104 | [
"Military engineering",
"Tunnel warfare"
] |
67,884,397 | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ruthenium-iridium%20nanosized%20coral | Ruthenium-iridium nanosized corals (RuIr-NC) are electrodes consisting of nanosized anisotropic ruthenium-iridium sheets for efficient electrolysis of water in acid discovered in the Kyoto University.
The RuIr-NC were discovered unintentionally at the Kyoto University, but then investigated and refined for the purpose of efficient electrolysis of water in acid and found to have very promising qualities in terms of performance and durability.
As of 2021 the researchers at Kyoto University report their RuIr-NC are composed of 94% ruthenium and 6% iridium with the exposed hexagonal atomic arrangement corresponding to a hexagonal closed-packed (HCP) crystalline lattice plane crystal structure. The nanosheets take the form of 3 nm thick sheets with a mean diameter of 57 ± 7 nm. The researchers found them suitable for use as both oxygen evolution reaction (OER) and hydrogen evolution reaction (HER) electrodes.
Their water splitting cell using RuIr-NC as both OER and HER electrodes is able to achieve 10 mA cm−2geo at 1.485 V for 120 h without noticeable degradation. They report that, of the electrodes they evaluated for water electrolysis in acid, the RuIr-NC shows the highest intrinsic activity and stability.
The RuIr-NC is obtained by adding a mixture of RuCl3·nH2O and H2IrCl6 aqueous solutions to triethylene glycol solution containing polyvinylpyrrolidone at 230 °C.
The research team at Kyoto University published their work in February 2021 and presented it at the Chemical Society of Japan 101. General Meeting in March 2021.
References
Electrochemistry
Electrodes
Hydrogen production
Kyoto University | Ruthenium-iridium nanosized coral | [
"Chemistry"
] | 364 | [
"Physical chemistry stubs",
"Electrochemistry",
"Electrodes",
"Electrochemistry stubs"
] |
65,045,843 | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List%20of%20countries%20by%20thorium%20resources | Thorium resources are the estimated mineral reserves of thorium on Earth. Thorium is a future potential source of low-carbon energy. Thorium has been demonstrated to perform as a nuclear fuel in several reactor designs. It is present with a higher abundance than uranium in the crust of the earth. Thorium resources have not been estimated and assessed with a higher level of confidence, as in the case of uranium. Approximately 6 million tonnes of thorium have been estimated globally based on currently limited exploration and mainly on historical data.
Thorium resources are found widely in over 35 countries all over the world. As there is currently negligible commercial use of thorium, the resources should be considered potentially viable according to the United Nations Framework Classification for Resources. Figures are given in metric tonnes of thorium metal.
See also
Thorium
Occurrence of thorium
List of countries by uranium reserves
Thorium fuel cycle
Thorium-based nuclear power
Thorium Energy Alliance
Nuclear power
References
Sources
Nuclear fuels
Nuclear technology
Thorium | List of countries by thorium resources | [
"Physics"
] | 200 | [
"Nuclear technology",
"Nuclear physics"
] |
65,046,596 | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2020%20South%20West%20Aviation%20Antonov%20An-26%20crash | On 22 August 2020, a South West Aviation An-26 turboprop aircraft crashed upon taking off from Juba Airport in Juba, South Sudan, for a domestic cargo charter flight to Aweil and to Wau, South Sudan.
Background
South West Aviation Co. Ltd. founded in 2017, is a passenger and cargo airline based in Juba, South Sudan. The airline was responsible for the fatal crash of an L-410 Turbolet in Juba in 2018. In the aftermath of that accident, President Salva Kiir banned aircraft greater than 20 years of age from operating passenger flights.
Accident
The Antonov An-26 freighter registration EX-126 (MSN 11508) performing a charter flight from Juba to Wau with six passengers and three crew lost height shortly after departure from Juba and impacted a farm about from the runway. Eyewitnesses report that the aircraft suddenly lost power and crashed in the Hai Referendum residential area. Weather is not believed to be a factor. Eight people in the aircraft (three South Sudanese and five Russians) were killed. There was one reported survivor who was taken to a hospital in critical condition. According to South Sudanese Transport Minister Madut Biar Yol there were five crew members, all Russian nationals.
According to early reports, the plane crashed into a residential area. It burned as residents approached it.
Some reports indicated the aircraft was on a charter flight for the World Food Programme (WFP) when it crashed, but the WFP denied having any connection to the flight, saying that the aircraft had been chartered by Galaxy Star International, a local company that provides services to the WFP and other UN agencies.
Investigation
South Sudan's Aircraft Accident Incident Investigation Department (AAIID) was unable to establish the cause of the crash, but determined that the flight violated regulations, as the plane lacked a valid airworthiness certificate and South West Aviation did not hold an air operator's certificate.
Reactions
South Sudanese president Salva Kiir called upon the Ministry of Transportation to "adhere to international standards" when assessing the airworthiness of aircraft adding "I know that it is hard to cope with the tragedy of this nature, but let us work hard to find the cause of this accident and use the lessons learned from it to prevent the occurrence of similar tragedies in the future".
See also
2015 Juba An-12 crash
2019 Busy Bee Congo crash
2020 Chuhuiv An-26 crash
Other crashes in residential areas
El Al Flight 1862
Pakistan International Airlines Flight 8303
External links
2020 in South Sudan
August 2020 events in South Sudan
Aviation accidents and incidents in 2020
Aviation accidents and incidents in South Sudan
History of Juba
2020 disasters in Africa
Accidents and incidents involving the Antonov An-26
Aviation accidents and incidents caused by engine failure | 2020 South West Aviation Antonov An-26 crash | [
"Technology"
] | 563 | [
"Aviation accidents and incidents caused by engine failure",
"Engines"
] |
65,046,667 | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jeevamrutha | Jeevamrutha is a natural liquid fertilizer. It is made by mixing water, dung (in the form of manure) and urine from cows with some mud from the same area as the manure will be applied in later. Food is then added to speed the growth of microbes: jaggery or flour can be used.
Jeevamrutha has been used by Indian farmers for centuries, falling out of use for some time before being revived in the 2000s.
Urine-based biopesticides
Urine-based biopesticides are a crude form of alcohol-based disinfectants widely used in killing some viruses/bacteria/germs in households, etc. Ethanol alcohol is generated from the cellulose and hemicellulose material present in the plant leaves by fermentation. Pretreatment of organic material with Urea or ammonia present (2 to 2.5% by wt) in the cattle or human urine, degenerates the fibrous lignin material present in the organic matter and facilitates the fermentation yeast to access/consume the cellulose and hemicellulose content in the plant-based organic matter. This pretreatment process is called slow Ammonia Fibre explosion. Generally, ethanol alcohol is produced from grains/fruits which are rich in starch/sucrose by yeast fermentation. With urine/ammonia pretreatment, cellulose and hemicellulose can also be converted into useful alcohols (ethanol and methanol) which can be used in pest control, disinfectants and for use as automobile fuel by blending with petrol after separating pure alcohol from fermented brew. Producing alcohol/biofuels from cellulose and hemicellulose is called second-generation biofuels. The alcohol content of the biopesticide can be enhanced by freezing the liquid, the solidified ice is removed and the remaining liquid is stored in sealed containers for a longer duration. The frozen ice can be used for room cooling.
Preparation
Any fresh leaves (preferably tender succulent plants, leaves, and shoots) are crushed into a paste and fresh urine is added in a 1:3 ratio (leaves:urine by weight). Urine with biomass is allowed to react slowly for 2 days until the active bubbling ceases. Wood-decay fungus is also added to the extent locally available to enhance alcohol yield. The treated urine with biomass loses its pungent smell as ammonia is absorbed by the biomass. Prepared baker's yeast preferably recombinant bakers yeast culture, by soaking dry yeast (1 to 2 gms) in sugar/jaggery mixed in water (100 ml for 10 liters of bio-pesticide) earlier, is added to the organic mixture. The mixture is allowed to ferment for two weeks duration and the solid sludge is separated and squeezed. Creatinine present in urine inhibits bacterial growth but permits yeast or fungus growth. The separated sludge can be used as organic fertilizer as it is rich in nitrogen. The filtered liquid is used as a biopesticide to kill the eggs, larvae, and adult pests on the crops and trees. The prepared bio-pesticide will have around 10% alcohol by volume containing ethanol and methanol. The biopesticide is not edible and contains toxic methanol. It acts as poison if consumed by humans. The bio-pesticide can be stored for more than a year in a sealed container. The biopesticide does not have any pungent smell, unlike stored urine.
Aloe vera, cactus pear, madar, fresh tomato crop waste, fresh brinjal crop waste, creepers and their leaves, Money plant, Water hyacinth, Pink Morning glory, water reeds, Prosopis juliflora leaves, congress grass, Cyperus rotundus, non-edible tubers, banana leaves, trunk & tubers, leaves and shoots of lotus, lantana camara, and waste vegetables are the few forms of green biomass which can be used for making bio-pesticide.
Effectiveness
As this biopesticide contains nearly 10% alcohols, while spraying on the crops, prior testing on few plants is to be done to observe any damaging effects such as leaf burning, drooping, wilting, etc. Accordingly, the concentration of the alcohol in the bio-pesticide shall be diluted by adding water. Alcohol-based pesticides do not leave any residue on the plants or soil and it gets washed off readily with rain/water. Bio-pesticide is also naturally degradable once its pest control purpose is achieved. When alcohol comes in touch with the eggs, larvae, insects, etc., it reacts with the skin and damages the tissue of the insects. Also, methanol present in the biopesticide acts as poison when consumed along with the plant mass by the insects. This biopesticide is effective on leaf-eating insects, sap-sucking insects, fungus, etc.
Advantages
It can be made at a negligible cost with the plant leaves and urine available locally. Has no side effects on the soil and the produce. Farmers can also earn extra income by installing small production units to produce crude ethanol/methanol which would be sold to the nearby refining units to produce quality methanol/ethanol for blending in petrol/diesel.
Bio-urinals can be used in commercial complexes, residential apartments, etc. by installing urine-based biopesticide units. These units drastically cut the water consumption and load on the sewage system of cities and towns.
See also
Cow urine
Urease
References
Fertilizers
Agriculture in India
Biotechnology
Biological pest control
Organic farming in Asia | Jeevamrutha | [
"Chemistry"
] | 1,183 | [
"Fertilizers",
"Soil chemistry"
] |
65,047,424 | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Textile-reinforced%20mortar | Textile-reinforced mortars (TRM) (also known as fabric-reinforced cementitious mortars (FRCM) are composite materials used in structural strengthening of existing buildings, most notably in seismic retrofitting. The material consists of bidirectional orthogonal textiles made from knitted, woven or simply stitched rovings of high-strength fibres (e.g. carbon, glass, aramid, basalt, or PBO), embedded in inorganic matrices (most commonly cement-based mortars). The textiles can also be made from natural fibres, e.g. hemp or flax. When combining plant fibers with mortars, one must pay attention to potential hydrolysis of hemicelluloses and lignin .
Compared to other composite materials used in seismic retrofitting such as fibre-reinforced polymers (FRP), the fibre sheets are replaced by open-grid textiles and the epoxy resin is replaced by mortar. The synergy between the materials is mainly achieved due to a mechanical interlock forming between the textile layers and the mortar. A benefit of TRMs is their compatibility with typical construction materials such as concrete and masonry, and their improved fire resistance and resistance at high temperatures.
TRM has been proven effective for strengthening both concrete and masonry structures, including the strengthening of masonry-infilled reinforced concrete structures. In combination with advanced thermal retrofitting materials or systems, TRM may offer avenues for the combined seismic and energy retrofitting of building envelopes
See also
Textile-reinforced concrete
References
Composite materials
Textiles | Textile-reinforced mortar | [
"Physics"
] | 320 | [
"Materials",
"Composite materials",
"Matter"
] |
65,049,395 | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Intracellular%20bacteria |
Lead
Intracellular bacteria are bacteria that have the capability to enter and survive within the cells of the host organism. These bacteria include many different pathogens that live in the cytoplasm and nuclei of the host cell's they inhabit. Two examples of intracellular pathogenic bacteria are Mycobacterium tuberculosis and also Toxoplasma gondii. There are two types of intracellular bacteria: facultative intracellular bacteria, which can grow extracellularly or intracellularly, and obligate intracellular bacteria, which can grow only intracellularly.
Body
Facultative Intracellular Bacteria
Examples of facultative intracellular bacteria include members of the genera Brucella, Legionella, Listeria, and Mycobacterium. These bacteria invade the human body and replicate inside the cells, evading the immune system and causing disease by disrupting the human's cells normal function. Diseases caused by facultative intracellular bacteria include Listeriosis (Listeria monocytogenes), Typhoid Fever (Salmonella typhi), Legionnaires' disease (Legionella pneumophila), and Salmonellosis (Salmonella enterica) to name a few. While they can invade the human body, they are also capable of living extracellularly. These bacteria can replicate within the environment, sustain their metabolic state, and survive harsh conditions by using mechanisms such as a bacterium-containing vacuole, lysosome resistance, and entering a survival state called persistence.
Obligate Intracellular Bacteria
Examples of obligate intracellular bacteria include members of the order Rickettsiales and members of the genus Mycoplasma. These bacteria need the human host to be able to reproduce and when they have invaded the body, they cause disease. Unlike facultative intracellular bacteria that can grow within or outside of a host's body, obligate bacteria cannot survive without host cells. These bacteria cannot reproduce outside of the host cell because they lack the metabolic processes and enzymes needed to reproduce, which the host cell gives them. Diseases caused by obligate intracellular bacteria include Chlamydia (Chlamydia trachomatis), Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever (Rickettsia rickettsii), and Tuberculosis (Mycobacterium tuberculosis) to name a few.
Infectious Pathways
Hosts usually come into contact with the bacteria through the skin, but there are chances of contracting the bacteria from a bite, such as that of ticks, mites, and/or mosquitoes (Rickettsia rickettsii). Listeria monocytogenes is found in soil, water, and also decaying animals and plants. It is generally transmitted through food being processed or handled in areas contaminated with L. monocygotenes. Legionella pneumoniae are found in aquatic conditions, such as artificial water systems, like that of hot tubs and showers. Salmonella typhi and Salmonella enterica are both transmitted orally through feces or through food and/or water that has the bacteria. Chlamydia trachomatis is spread by having unprotected sex. Mycobacterium tuberculosis is spread through the air when being near anyone with tuberculosis.
See also
Endosymbiont
References
Bacteria
Microbiology
Cells | Intracellular bacteria | [
"Chemistry",
"Biology"
] | 683 | [
"Bacteria stubs",
"Prokaryotes",
"Microbiology",
"Bacteria",
"Microscopy",
"Microorganisms"
] |
65,051,238 | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Continuous%20spin%20particle | In theoretical physics, a continuous spin particle (CSP), sometimes called an infinite spin particle, is a massless particle never observed before in nature. This particle is one of Poincaré group's massless representations which, along with ordinary massless particles, was classified by Eugene Wigner in 1939. Historically, a compatible theory that could describe this elementary particle was unknown; however, 75 years after Wigner's classification, the first local action principle for bosonic continuous spin particles was introduced in 2014, and the first local action principle for fermionic continuous spin particles was suggested in 2015. It has been illustrated that this particle can interact with matter in flat spacetime. Supersymmetric continuous spin gauge theory has been studied in three and four spacetime dimensions.
In condensed matter systems, CSPs can be understood as massless generalizations of the anyon.
References
Hypothetical particles | Continuous spin particle | [
"Physics"
] | 182 | [
"Hypothetical particles",
"Unsolved problems in physics",
"Subatomic particles",
"Particle physics",
"Particle physics stubs",
"Physics beyond the Standard Model",
"Matter"
] |
65,051,261 | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Winterline | Winterline or winter line is the term used to describe the false horizon that is formed at dusk and is visible from certain mountainous parts of the world. The reason for its formation is not clear, but it has been reported that "experts" believe it occurs due to refraction of light when the dust particles, moisture, and smog, rising from the plains below, meet the cooler mountain air, and a 'second horizon' is formed. It is visible from many places throughout the Himalayas and is very prominent from Mizoram, and Mussoorie and Nahan, Himachal Pradesh in India between October and February, and the local Mussoorie Winterline Carnival is named after the phenomenon. Apart from India, winterline occurs in the Swiss Alps.
Gallery
References
Geography of Uttarakhand
Meteorological phenomena
Atmospheric thermodynamics
Atmospheric circulation
Mussoorie
Geography of Dehradun | Winterline | [
"Physics"
] | 182 | [
"Meteorological phenomena",
"Physical phenomena",
"Earth phenomena"
] |
65,053,053 | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maksim%20Vu%C4%8Dini%C4%87 | Maksim Vučinić (; born 11 July 1994) is a Montenegrin electrical engineer and politician, who is currently a Member of the Parliament of Montenegro, where he chairs the Parliamentary Commission for Monitoring the Privatisation Process. He is the president of the minor left-populist and socially conservative Workers' Party, since 2019.
Biography
Early life and entering politics
After graduating from the Faculty of Electrical Engineering at the University of Montenegro, he decided to enter politics in the mid-2010s, joining the right-wing New Serb Democracy (NSD) and the opposition Democratic Front (DF) alliance, in which he served as a member of local board in his hometown Nikšić.
At that time, his father Janko Vučinić was an independent MP within the parliamentary club of the DF. In 2015, Janko Vučinić founded the socialist and left-populist Workers' Party (RP), continuing his activity within a coalition with the DF. In March 2019, Workers' Party left the coalition with Democratic Front.
Leader of the Workers' Party
In December 2019 he succeeded his father as the president of the Worker's Party, after his sudden death in October. After he took the lead in the RP, the party increasingly employed a more significant cultural and socially conservative discourse, supporting 2019-2020 Clerical protests in Montenegro and Serbian Orthodox Church rights in Montenegro, due to the 2020 Montenegrin political crisis, and an open conflict between the Serbian Orthodox Church in Montenegro and the DPS-led Government of Montenegro, following the adoption of the disputed law on the status of religious communities in the country. Vučinič claims that if workers in the private sector are exposed to exploitation and exploitation to the maximum of psychophysical possibilities, no less exposed to pressure are also workers in the public sector, by "party soldiers". He also criticized Montenegrin government for legalizing same-sex civil partnerships by saying that this decision is a continuation of the "path of hell". His party will participate in the 2020 Montenegrin Parliamentary elections as a part of the Democratic Front-led For the Future of Montenegro coalition, Maksim Vučinić hold the twenty-seventh place on common electoral list. Vučinić was elected to Parliament after For the Future of Montenegro gained 27 seats. As the youngest MP, he was assisting Miodrag Lekić, the oldest member of parliament who acts as the speaker for the first session of the parliament.
In September 2023, he was appointed president of the board of directors of EPCG Željezara Nikšić.
References
Politicians from Nikšić
Serbs of Montenegro
New Serb Democracy politicians
Electrical engineers
University of Montenegro Faculty of Electrical Engineering alumni
1994 births
Living people | Maksim Vučinić | [
"Engineering"
] | 546 | [
"Electrical engineering",
"Electrical engineers"
] |
65,053,190 | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Conservation%20Letters | Conservation Letters is a bimonthly peer-reviewed open access scientific journal of the Society for Conservation Biology published by Wiley-Blackwell. It was established in 2008 and covers research on all aspects of conservation biology. The editor-in-chief is Graeme Cumming.
Abstracting and indexing
The journal is abstracted and indexed in:
Biological Abstracts
BIOSIS Previews
CAB Abstracts
Current Contents/Agriculture, Biology & Environmental Sciences
EBSCO databases
Science Citation Index Expanded
Scopus
Veterinary Science Database
The Zoological Record
According to the Journal Citation Reports, the journal has a 2020 impact factor of 8.105.
References
External links
Wiley-Blackwell academic journals
Academic journals established in 2008
Bimonthly journals
Creative Commons Attribution-licensed journals
English-language journals
Ecology journals | Conservation Letters | [
"Environmental_science"
] | 151 | [
"Environmental science journals",
"Ecology journals"
] |
65,054,096 | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/David%20Horn%20%28Israeli%20physicist%29 | David Horn (Hebrew: דוד הורן; born: 10 September 1937) is a Professor (Emeritus) of Physics in the School of Physics and Astronomy at Tel Aviv University (TAU), Israel. He has served as Vice-Rector of TAU, Chairman of the School of Physics and Astronomy and as Dean of the Faculty of Exact Sciences in TAU. He is a fellow of the American Physical Society, nominated for "contributions to theoretical particle physics, including the seminal work on finite energy sum rules, research of the phenomenology of hadronic processes, and investigation of Hamiltonian lattice theories".
Early life and education
David Horn was born and educated in Haifa. He graduated from the Reali School in 1955. He began his academic studies in Physics at the Technion in Haifa in 1957, and received his B.Sc. (Summa Cum Laude) in 1961, and M.Sc. in 1962. He continued his Ph.D. studies at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem until 1965. His thesis on "Some Aspects of the Structure of Weak Interactions" was supervised by Prof. Yuval Ne'eman.
Career
Horn joined the newly founded Tel Aviv University as an assistant in 1962. He became a lecturer in 1965, a senior lecturer in 1967 and an associate professor in 1968. He was promoted to full professor of Physics in 1972. In 1974 he became the incumbent of the Edouard and Francoise Jaupart Chair of Theoretical Physics of Particles and Fields, a position he held until 2007. Horn has supervised 43 graduate students at TAU and authored over 240 scientific publications. He retired as a professor emeritus in 2005, and continues to be an active researcher.
Horn spent a significant part of his career holding visiting academic positions at other universities and research institutes, including: Postdoctoral Fellow at Argonne National Lab, ILL, Research Fellow and three times Visiting Associate at California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, CA, Visitor at CERN in Geneva, Visiting Professor at Cornell University, NY, Member of the Institute for Advanced Study, Princeton, NJ, Visiting Professor at SLAC in Stanford University, CA, and Visiting Professor at Kyoto University, Japan.
Beginning from 1980, Horn held official positions at Tel Aviv University, starting with tenure as Vice-Rector (1980-1983), a position he left for research at SLAC. After returning he was nominated Chairman of the Department of High Energy Physics (1984-1986), followed by tenures as Chairman of the School of Physics and Astronomy (1986-9), Dean of the Raymond and Beverly Sackler Faculty of Exact Sciences (1990-1995), and first Director of the Adams Super Center for Brain Studies (1993-2000).
Horn has also held national and international professional positions. He was Chairman of the Israel Commission for High Energy Physics (1983-2003), and, in this capacity, served as an Israeli observer of the council of CERN (1991-2003).
He served as member of the Israel Council for Higher Education (1987-1991), member of the Executive Committee of the European Physical Society (1989-1992) and member of the European Strategy Forum on Research Infrastructures (2005-2017). He chaired the Israeli Committee of Research Infrastructures (2012-2016), issuing roadmaps for scientific RI in 2013 and 2016.
Research
Horn's research work focused on theory and phenomenology of High Energy Physics until 1990. He then shifted his interests to Neural Computation and Machine Learning and, since 2005, he has also published in Bioinformatics.
Together with Richard Dolen and Christoph Schmid he discovered the Finite Energy Sum Rules in 1967. It was a realization of the bootstrap approach to hadronic structure, and became known as the Dolen-Horn-Schmid Duality.
Together with Richard Silver he investigated a model of coherent production of pions at high energy hadron collisions in 1971,
and together with Jeffrey Mandula he undertook the investigation of mesons with constituent gluons in 1978.
Moving to lattice gauge theories in 1979, he discovered, together with Shimon Yankielowic and Marvin Weinstein, a non-confining phase in Z(N) theories for large N.
In 1981 he demonstrated the existence of finite matrix models with link gauge fields, nowadays known as quantum link models.
In 1984 Horn and Weinstein developed the t-expansion methodology.
Horn's contributions to neural modeling include a novel mechanism for memory maintenance via neuronal regulation in 1998, developed with Nir Levy and Eytan Ruppin
and unsupervised learning of natural languages in 2005, a joint work with Zach Solan, Eytan Ruppin and Shimon Edelman, introducing novel algorithms for motif and grammar extraction from text. Horn has contributed to algorithms of clustering, an important topic in Machine Learning, by developing Support Vector Clustering (SVC) in 2001, together with Asa Ben Hur, Hava Siegelmann and Vladimir Vapnik. This was followed shortly thereafter by a joint work with Assaf Gottlieb on Quantum Clustering (QC).
His contributions to Bioinformatics include motif descriptions of function and structure of proteins, as well as motif studies of genomic structures. Together with Erez Persi he studied compositional order of proteomes, and repeat instability of genomes, as evolution markers of organisms and of cancer (a joint work with Persi and others).
Honors
Horn is a Fellow of the American Physical Society (1985) and a Fellow of the Israel Physical Society (2018).
Publications
Selected articles
R. Dolen, D. Horn and C. Schmid; Prediction of Regge-parameters of rho poles from low-energy pi-N scattering data Phys. Rev. Lett. 19 (1967) 402–407. Finite-Energy Sum Rules and Their Application to pi-N Charge Exchange Phys. Rev. 166 (1968) 1768–1781.
D. Horn and R. Silver: Coherent production of pions, Annals Phys. 66 (1971) 509-541
T. Banks, D. Horn and H. Neuberger: Bosonization of the SU(N) Thirring Models, Nucl. Phys. B108, 119 (1976).
D. Horn and J. Mandula: Model of Mesons with Constituent Gluons, Phys. Rev. D17, 898 (1978).
D. Horn, M. Weinstein and S. Yankielowicz: Hamiltonian Approach to Z(N) Lattice Gauge Theories, Phys. Rev. D19, 3715 (1979).
D. Horn: Finite Matrix Models with Continuous Local Gauge Invariance, Phys. Lett. 100B, 149-151 (1981).
T. Banks, Y. Dothan and D. Horn: Geometric Fermions, Phys. Lett. 117B, 413 (1982).
D. Horn and M. Weinstein: The t expansion: A nonperturbative analytic tool for Hamiltonian systems. Phys. Rev. D 30, 1256-1270 (1984).
Ury Naftaly, Nathan Intrator and David Horn: Optimal Ensemble Averaging of Neural Networks. Network, Computation in Neural Systems, 8, 283-296 (1997).
David Horn, Nir Levy, Eytan Ruppin: Memory Maintenance via Neuronal Regulation, Neural Computation, 10, 1-18 (1998).
Asa Ben-Hur, David Horn, Hava Siegelmann and Vladimir Vapnik: Support Vector Clustering. Journal of Machine Learning Research 2, 125-137 (2001).
David Horn and Assaf Gottlieb: Algorithm for data clustering in pattern recognition problems based on quantum mechanics, Phys. Rev. Lett. 88 (2002) 18702
Zach Solan, David Horn, Eytan Ruppin and Shimon Edelman: Unsupervised learning of natural languages, Proc. Natl. Acad. Sc. 102 (2005) 11629–11634.
Vered Kunik, Yasmine Meroz, Zach Solan, Ben Sandbank, Uri Weingart, Eytan Ruppin and David Horn: Functional representation of enzymes by specific peptides. PLOS Computational Biology 2007, 3(8):e167.
Benny Chor, David Horn, Yaron Levy, Nick Goldman and Tim Massingham: Genomic DNA k-mer spectra: models and modalities. Genome Biology 2009, 10(10):R108
Erez Persi and David Horn. Systematic Analysis of Compositional Order of Proteins Reveals New Characteristics of Biological Functions and a Universal Correlate of Macroevolution. PLoS Comput Biol 9 (2013): e1003346.
David Horn. Taxa counting using Specific Peptides of Aminoacyl tRNA Synthetases Encyclopedia of Metagenomics, Springer, 2013.
Sagi Shporer, Benny Chor, Saharon Rosset, David Horn. Inversion symmetry of DNA k-mer counts: validity and deviations. BMC Genomics 2016, 17:696
Erez Persi, Davide Prandi, Yuri I. Wolf, Yair Pozniak, Christopher Barbieri, Paola Gasperini, Himisha Beltran, Bishoy M. Faltas, Mark A. Rubin, Tamar Geiger, Eugene V. Koonin, Francesca Demichelis, David Horn. Proteomic and Genomic Signatures of Repeat Instability in Cancer and Adjacent Normal Tissues. PNAS 116, 34, 2019 - 08790
Book
David Horn and Fredrick Zachariasen: Hadron Physics at Very High Energies. Benjamin 1973.
Patents
Method and Apparatus for Quantum Clustering. USA Patent No. 7,653,646 B2.
Method for discovering relationships in data by dynamic quantum clustering USA Patent No 8874412 and USA Patent No. 9,646,074.
Personal life
Horn was married to Nira Fuss since 1963 until her death in 2019. He is a father of three, Yuval, Tamar, and Oded, and grandfather of nine. He lives in Tel Aviv, Israel.
References
External links
David Horn, Tel Aviv university
Challenges of Science and Technology in the 21st Century - Interdisciplinary TAU Symposium in honor of David Horn on his 80th birthday, YouTube
Israeli physicists
Artificial intelligence researchers
Living people
Academic staff of Tel Aviv University
Technion – Israel Institute of Technology alumni
1937 births
Machine learning researchers
Israeli bioinformaticians
Particle physicists
Hebrew University of Jerusalem alumni
Fellows of the American Physical Society
People associated with CERN | David Horn (Israeli physicist) | [
"Physics"
] | 2,196 | [
"Particle physicists",
"Particle physics"
] |
65,054,681 | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/General%20Toll%20Switching%20Plan | The General Toll Switching Plan was a systematic nationwide effort by the American Telephone and Telegraph Company (AT&T) of organizing the telephone toll circuits and cable routes of the nation, and of streamlining the operating principles and technical infrastructure for connecting long-distance telephone calls in North America. This involved the design of a hierarchical system of toll-switching centers, a process that had found substantial maturity by 1929. The switching plan was principally operated by the Long Lines division of the Bell System in cooperation with independent telephone companies under the decree of the Kingsbury Commitment, reached with the United States government in 1913. The General Toll Switching Plan was a system manually operated by long-distance telephone operators. It was the forerunner of an automated system called Nationwide Operator Toll Dialing that was begun in 1943, which eventually led to Direct Distance Dialing (DDD) within the framework of the North American Numbering Plan decades later.
Long-distance telephone service
In the same manner that early telephone users developed an increasing desire to talk to each other, and expected the service to reach farther out and increase the number of participating private and business customers locally, so did users in different towns and cities desire to call each other. However, the state of the technology initially had limitation in distance. Telephone companies developed on a local basis, usually one company for each community. As the technology of telephones and of line construction improved, logistical problems stood in the way of rapid expansion. Solutions had to be found for organizational structure, management, business relationships, collaboration, to operate telephone services between or across multiple communities.
Theodore Newton Vail, General Manager of the American Bell Telephone Company, created the vision for this endeavor. The first long-distance experiment was the Boston–New York telephone line. Vail suggested that a company separate from the four or five affected local telephone companies should be responsible for the construction and operation of the line. Approved in 1880, he directed American Bell Telephone to incorporate a new entity in New York, the Inter-State Telephone Company for the construction of the first section starting in Boston, with the grant of a license by American Bell. An additional company was formed in Connecticut to complete the line to New York. The Boston–New York toll line opened in 1884,
Building additional long-distance lines would require enormous amounts of financing. However, the Massachusetts legislature rejected an application to increase the corporate capitalization of American Bell. With the experience of incorporating Inter-State Telephone in New York, the company formed a new subsidiary in New York City, the American Telephone and Telegraph Company, on March 3, 1885, with Theodore Vail as its first president. The new company had the mandate to construct and operate long-distance telephone lines, and would negotiate and facilitate inter-connections to local telephones companies under the umbrella of the Bell System. This original purpose of the business would later be delegated to a division called Long Lines. By 1892, the company's long-distance network reached Chicago,<ref>Bruce, Robert V. Bell: Alexander Bell and the Conquest of Solitude, Cornell University Press, Ithaca, New York (1990)</ref> but the New York–Chicago line did not become commercially successful until after 1900, and the invention of the loading coil.
Universal service
In 1907, Theodore Vail became president of the American Telephone and Telegraph Company for the second time, having left the company previously in 1887. Immediately, he steered the company into a new direction. He refined a vision of service, shaped new goals for supporting technological progress, and reorganized the company to facilitate his ideas. He envisioned universal telephone service as a public utility, and the future of the American telephone industry as a unified system of companies under the lead of American Telephone and Telegraph.
Such a nationwide network required technical standards that were understood and accepted by all cooperating participants in the industry. The Western Electric Company, the Bell System's sole and dedicated manufacturing unit, which was previously not permitted by company policy to sell outside the Bell System, was now directed to advertise and sell its products to the general market, so that independent operators could buy compatible apparatus. Vail organized a distinct research division within Western Electric, the later Bell Laboratories, to focus on basic research and development to solve the problems encountered in improving the technology of telephony. These efforts and this vision were communicated to the public by marketing campaigns under the slogan .
Kingsbury Commitment
In 1913, AT&T settled pending anti-trust challenges in the Kingsbury Commitment. On December 19, 1913, in a letter by Nathan C. Kingsbury to the U.S. Attorney General, AT&T conceded to restrictions in the acquisition of independent companies, and agreed to the divestiture of Western Union. AT&T's telephone operations thereby essentially became a government-sanctioned natural monopoly, because an essential feature of this commitment was that independent telephony operators were permitted to "secure for their subscribers toll service over the lines of the companies in the Bell System." removing the barriers to a nationwide telephone system that would have no competitors.
Local toll networks
While the Bell System had a specialized division, Long Lines, to interconnect the local telephone networks of its Associated Companies, no such unifying driving force existed in the independent telephone industry. Telephone companies negotiated interconnection with neighboring businesses and built localized toll networks that addressed the regional needs of their customers. The interconnection agreements with the Bell System provided access beyond these networks.
Long-haul and transcontinental transmission
Long-distance toll lines for transmission of telephone calls were almost entirely open-wire pair installations early in the 20th century. By 1911, the Long Lines network had reached from New York as far west as Denver, using loading coil circuits, but this distance was the limit for communication without amplification. The research efforts at Western Electric, committed to by Vail in c. 1909, into the principles of the electron tube recently invented by Lee de Forest, the Audion, and its efficient manufacture made it possible to build signal repeaters that extended the transmission distance of toll lines. In 1914, AT&T succeeded in the first transcontinental transmission line spanning between the Atlantic Ocean and the Pacific Ocean. This connected a large customer base in the far west beyond the Rocky Mountains to the AT&T Long Lines network.
Open wire, while marginally increasing in installations in the 1920s, was increasingly supplemented with cable routes, experiencing dramatic growth, but also with carrier transmission, a new development which multiplexed multiple communication channels, at times 200 or 300 circuits, on the same physical cable medium.
By 1925, the extent and quality of transmission lines in the nation was good enough, so that telephone subscribers could place telephone calls to almost anywhere in the continental United States. However, set-up times for calls were typically still long, and callers often had to hang up after ordering a call with an operator, who called them back when the circuit was established. In 1925, the average time to establish connections was still over seven minutes, but this improved to about two and one half minutes by 1929.
The extensions of the nationwide interconnections led to rapid increase in traffic. In 1915, less than a quarter billion toll messages had been carried in the Bell System. Over the next fifteen years, this more than quadrupled to over one trillion. A increasing fraction of this traffic was for the long-haul routes in the network, between the largest cities in the nation and via the transcontinental routes. As a consequence, the build-out of long-haul plant was emphasized in investments, resulting in better quality circuits for long-haul transmissions.
Due to the investments in the plant, the average speed of establishing connections was steadily decreasing throughout the 1920s, AT&T was able to effect several rate cuts in long-distance service in just a few years. However, the growth also caused major construction problems in the layout of the cable plant. By 1930, the long-haul business was handled by about 2,500 toll centers, out of 6,400 central offices in the United States and eastern Canada.
The long-haul build-out in the United States was paralleled by the construction of the Trans-Canada Telephone System, having been planned immediately after the formation of the Telephone Association of Canada in 1921.
A systematic approach was needed to limit the number of intermediate toll offices that relayed the calls across the country, to further reduce set-up time, and to establish technical parameters for interchange points to assure a certain level of circuit quality. In 1929, the results of this research outlined a new fundamental layout of the toll plant (circuit) and the routing of toll calls. This first continental toll switching system became known as the General Toll Switching Plan''.
Hierarchical interconnections
During the growth of telephone service since the first installations of telephone exchanges and the development of advanced manual and automatic switching systems, approximately 2,500 switching systems had been established in the nation that had trunks for connecting to other communities. The systems were designated as toll centers to which all local calls were routed that had to be connected to another toll center closer to the destination of each long distance call.
The technological improvements since the transcontinental transmission line of 1914 required a new methodology and plan of managing the traffic. The purpose of this plan was to provide systematically a basic layout of the plant compatible with the highest practicable standards of service achievable within given economic goals. The layout of cabling and major toll centers needed optimization in the number of switching steps required along a given route to connect any two telephones on the continent.
The General Toll Switching Plan organized these local toll centers into geographical groups associated with region within which all toll centers forwarded calls to destinations outside their territory to a Primary Outlet. The Primary Outlet was responsible for establishing an optimal route either to another Primary Outlet or to a Regional Center. Regional Centers were toll-switches responsible for a yet larger geographic region each. The Regional Centers were strategically located across the nation and each maintained cable routes to all other Regional Centers. In addition, they connected to some Primary Outlets in other regions as well, as traffic demanded, or for alternate routing in case of congestion or technical failures.
See also
Original North American area codes
Routing in the PSTN
Transmission line
References
Bell System
Public sphere
Telecommunications systems
Telephony | General Toll Switching Plan | [
"Technology"
] | 2,085 | [
"Telecommunications systems"
] |
65,055,311 | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eugene%20Thomas%20Allen | Eugene Thomas Allen (2 April 1864 – 17 July 1964) was an American pioneer of geochemistry who worked at the Geophysical Laboratory of the Carnegie Institution.
Allen was born to Frederick and Harriet Augusta (born Thomas) in Athol, Massachusetts. He received an AB from Amherst College 1887 and studied chemistry at Johns Hopkins University, receiving a PhD in 1892. He taught chemistry at the University of Colorado (1892–1893) and at the Missouri School of Mines (1895–1901). From 1879 he collaborated with G.F. Becker and Carl Barus at the newly founded US Geological Survey to study the chemistry of rocks. In 1906 he moved to the Geophysical Laboratory of the Carnegie Institution of Washington established in the previous year with Arthur Louis Day as director.
Allen worked on silicate minerals which included experimental synthetic approaches in petrological studies. In 1925 Allen and Day worked on geysers and hot springs of Yellowstone.
Allen married Harriet Doughty at Arlington in 1896. He was a member of the Cosmos Club.
References
External links
Steam wells and other thermal activity at "The Geysers", California (1927)
Diopside and its relations to calcium and magnesium metasilicates (1909)
The isomorphism and thermal properties of the feldspars (1905)
American geochemists
1864 births
People from Athol, Massachusetts
1964 deaths
20th-century American chemists
American men centenarians
Missouri University of Science and Technology faculty | Eugene Thomas Allen | [
"Chemistry"
] | 292 | [
"Geochemists",
"American geochemists"
] |
65,055,832 | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Leapfrog%20development | Leapfrog development occurs when developers skip over land to obtain cheaper land further away from cities, thus, leaving huge areas empty between the city and the new development. It can be seen when it comes to the development or urbanization of more rural areas.
Mechanism
Leapfrog development can occur for numerous reasons. Often, developers are more likely to hold onto land closer to cities and instead develop less valuable land further from urban centers. Moreover, some developers prefer to build in large open areas as it can be easier and less restricted than building in cities. Other reasons for leapfrog development include household preferences, available amenities, minimized commutation costs and the costs and regulations involved in construction.
Common issues
Leapfrog developments can have several common problems, including vacant land left between cities and developments, inefficient land distribution, increased pollution due to an increase in traffic and congestion, and the extension of amenities that can be costly.
Infill housing programs
When leapfrogging occurs, infill development often follows. The eventual development of the vacant land between the city and the leapfrog development is called infill. As infill development increases, leapfrog development will eventually slow over time.
Leapfrog development in Phoenix, Arizona
There are plenty of leapfrog developments outside of the urban center of Phoenix, Arizona, making it an excellent subject to examine the effects of such developments. Additionally, western cities are typically less built-up and enclosed versus northeastern and midwestern cities, making leapfrog developments and their effects more noticeable. Starting in the 1940s, developers in Arizona began to develop communities a considerable distance away from Phoenix as the land prices were very low. These communities are categorized as leapfrog developments as a substantial amount of land was “skipped” over.
Common issues in Phoenix
Phoenix's earlier planned communities provided amenities, but that did not prevent problems from arising later. For instance, developers planned on bringing businesses, jobs, libraries, and other amenities to these communities but could not meet the growing demand. Due to the limited employment opportunities within these communities, people living in these developments had to commute, which created concerns about an increase in pollution. Additionally, it was found to be expensive to extend gas, sewage, and water lines from the city and its neighboring areas to the new distant communities.
Arizona government response
Arizona Groundwater Management Act
In 1980, the state and local governments in Arizona passed the Arizona Groundwater Management Act, making leapfrogging in more remote Arizona areas more difficult. Under this act, developments were required to show they had access to a one-hundred-year supply of water that would not contribute to the depletion of groundwater. Effectively, this meant that developers had to rely heavily on municipal water-lines, making it far more costly for them to expand in areas distant from existing municipalities.
Development impact fees
The cost of extending infrastructure can be exorbitant, so many places like Phoenix issued development impact fees. Developers would subject to these fees if they built new communities distant from the city. The additional expense discouraged leapfrog developments and removed at least part of the hefty financial burden the city bore by extending infrastructure for these developments.
Developers and those opposed to the development impact fees argued that these fees would hurt the home buyers by increasing the cost of properties. Additionally, they argued that the fees could hurt lower-income families due to rising rents and delays in the construction of new affordable housing units. Another concern was that impact fees would cause people, businesses, and the associated tax revenue to move to areas without development impact fees.
However, results of an Arizona task force show that the impact fees would not have a significant effect on homeowners. Impact fees were unlikely to drastically increase home prices, "with a $3,000 fee the increase in the monthly mortgage payment for a 30-year level payments loan at 10 percent would be $52.70." The only instance in which homeowners and low-income families would be negatively affected would be a situation in which the impact fees increased drastically. but this scenario is judged as unlikely to occur.
Phoenix decided to suspend these development impact fees in a section of the city due to fear that several commercial developments would leave and opt to develop elsewhere.
Phoenix's infill housing program
Phoenix's Infill Housing Program started in 1995. The program used incentives to encourage building developments or homes on land between leapfrog developments and the city that had been "skipped" over. These incentives included eliminating some or all of the cost of fees for permits, zoning, and water, as well as a potentially expedited development process. Phoenix's mayor stated that the Infill Housing Program seems to be successful, but progress is slow.
Phoenix's infill housing program may be working slowly because infill developments transpire more slowly than other types of developments. A study of leapfrog developments in Maryland found that infill developments occur at an annual rate of about one percent, meaning that the skipped over land is developed at about one percent per year.
References
Urban planning | Leapfrog development | [
"Engineering"
] | 1,034 | [
"Urban planning",
"Architecture"
] |
65,056,057 | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gennady%20Ermak | Gennady Ermak (born 1963) is a scientist and writer. He conducted research in several fields of molecular biology: neurodegeneration, cancer, dermatology, and genetics of plants. His work is cited by over 4000 other scientific publications. He is co-author of over 50 scholarly articles and several books.
He was born in the former USSR, where he acquired PhD in biology. Since then he worked at Swiss Federal Institute of Technology in Zurich, Switzerland (1991–1992), Institute of Genetics and Cytology in Minsk, Belarus (1992–1994), Albany Medical Center in Albany, NY, US (1994–1996), and The University of Southern California in Los Angeles, California (1996–2012).
After finishing his research career as professor at the University of Southern California in 2012, he became a writer. He is the author of the books Emerging Medical Technologies, Plant-based, Meat-Based and Between and Communism: The Great Misunderstanding (two editions), which was named the best book in the world history for 2016 by the National Association of Book Entrepreneurs.
References
1963 births
Living people
Molecular biologists
Soviet biologists
Historians of communism
Academic staff of ETH Zurich
University of Southern California faculty | Gennady Ermak | [
"Chemistry"
] | 250 | [
"Biochemists",
"Molecular biology",
"Molecular biologists"
] |
65,056,373 | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cantilevered%20stairs | Cantilevered stairs, or floating stairs, are a type of staircase.
A cantilever is a beam, which is anchored at only one end. Thus cantilevered stairs have a "floating" appearance, and they may be composed of different materials, such as wood, glass, stone, or stainless steel.
History
In "I quattro libri dell'architettura", Andrea Palladio commended staircases that are "void in the middle, because they can have the light from above" and because it is visible whether someone is already ascending or descending the stairs.
Inigo Jones and Nicholas Stone used the technique in the Tulip Staircase at Queen's House. Such stairs became common in the 18th and 19th centuries in Scotland, where they were known as "pencheck" stairs, used in Edinburgh townhouses and tenements, as well as in stately homes by Robert Adam.
References
External links and references
On installation of cantilever stairs
International codes, relating to their construction
Statistics on cantilever stairs
What are floating stairs?
Stairs
Stairways
Pedestrian infrastructure | Cantilevered stairs | [
"Engineering"
] | 223 | [
"Architecture stubs",
"Architecture"
] |
65,056,740 | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joaquim%20Cardozo | Joaquim Maria Moreira Cardozo (August 26, 1897 – November 4, 1978), known as Joaquim Cardozo, was a Brazilian structural engineer, poet, short story writer, playwright, university professor, translator, editor of art and architecture magazines, designer, illustrator, caricaturist, and art critic. He was a polyglot, knowing about fifteen languages.
Cardozo moved to Rio de Janeiro in 1940 and worked with the architect Oscar Niemeyer on some of his major works, including on the Pampulha Modern Ensemble which is now a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Other works include the Monument to the Dead of World War II. Niemeyer described Cardozo as "the most cultured Brazilian there was".
Among his most famous poems is the 1924 Recife morto.
Biography
Poet
His first poems date back to 1924, however the first book Poems only appeared in 1947 due to the pure insistence of his friends. Joaquim Cardozo, who had a prodigious memory, knew all his poems by heart and did not modify them, not even a single comma, when he recited them publicly at different periods.I'm not really a poet. My life is full of gaps in poetry. — Joaquim CardozoHe lived with modernist poets, such as Manuel Bandeira and João Cabral de Melo Neto, having published several books between 1946 and 1975, using as themes mainly his native Recife and the Brazilian Northeast. He was also a translator and art critic. He held Chair 39 at the Academia Pernambucana de Letras. Elected on February 18, 1975, he took office on September 6, 1977, one year before his death.
In total, eleven books authored by him were published, of which the inaugural Poems stand out, which had a preface by the poet Carlos Drummond de Andrade, one of his greatest admirers, as well as two of his theatrical works, O Coronel de Macambira and De uma Noite de Festa, and his Complete Poems. A Lit Book and Nine Dark Songs was his last book, published posthumously. His work in the press includes time at Diario de Pernambuco as a cartoonist, and stints as collaborator and director of Revista do Norte, Revista do Patrimônio Histórico and the magazines Para Todos and Módulo.
Engineer
I do not visualize any incompatibility between poetry and architecture. The structures planned by modern architects are true poetry. To work to carry out these projects is to realize a poetry. — Joaquim CardozoSpecializing in structural calculations, he was notable for his collaboration with architect Oscar Niemeyer in the construction of Brasília and the Pampulha Modern Ensemble. His calculation assumptions allowed challenging works in the federal capital such as the Palácio do Planalto, the Palácio da Alvorada and the Metropolitan Cathedral to barely touch the ground, with delicate bases, a feat considered even more impressive taking into account the resistance of concrete at the time, five times smaller than today.
After completing secondary school at Ginásio Pernambucano, Joaquim Cardozo began studying at the School of Engineering of Pernambuco in 1915. He graduated fifteen years later due to his father's death and economic difficulties, during which time he served in the military and worked as a surveyor. In the year he was to complete his engineering course, he became a draftsman for irrigation projects and the drilling of tubular wells for the Government of Pernambuco, alongside German engineer Von Tilling. After Von Tilling's death, still a student, Joaquim Cardozo was put in charge of the irrigation project for one of the islands of the São Francisco River. Subsequently, he performed the calculations for the vertical parabolic curves of the first bus station with concrete paving in the Northeast, in Recife.
From 1931, after graduating, he worked at the State Department of Roads and Public Works as a road engineer. In 1934, Joaquim Cardozo joined architect Luiz Nunes's team, specially hired to organize the Directorate of Architecture and Construction, the first governmental institution in Brazil created for this purpose. He was also a professor at the School of Engineering and one of the founders of the School of Fine Arts of Pernambuco. A pioneer of modern architecture, Cardozo renewed the structural design of reinforced concrete and calculation methods, contributing to the evolution of civil engineering. He taught until 1939, the year he faced repressive measures from the Estado Novo regime for his criticisms of government procedures in architecture and engineering. He then moved to Rio de Janeiro, where he partnered with Oscar Niemeyer.
The most significant architectural works based on Cardozo's structural calculations include the Cathedral of Brasilia, the National Congress, the Palácio do Planalto, the Supreme Federal Court Palace, the Palácio da Alvorada, the Itamaraty Palace, and the Church of Church of Saint Francis of Assisi. In Recife, notable works include the Luiz Nunes Pavilion, currently the headquarters of the IAB (formerly the Institute of Death Verification of the old School of Medicine), and the Olinda Water Tower, dated 1936, which are among the earliest examples of modern Brazilian architecture.
Architectural theorist
The walls of buildings are the paper on which the pages of history were inscribed, on which messages for the future are still inscribed. And writing these messages is up to the architect. — Joaquim CardozoCardozo's involvement with architecture was not limited to his role as a structural engineer of buildings designed by Oscar Niemeyer, Luiz Nunes and other architects. Cardozo, who became the chair of "Theory and Philosophy of Architecture" at the former Pernambuco School of Fine Arts, left writings that, although extremely summarized, contain significant ideas for the construction of an architectural theory.
Personal life
Seen as a discreet and egoless man, Joaquim Cardozo had no children and died unmarried, which made it difficult to spread his work.
Works in collaboration with Niemeyer
References
1897 births
1978 deaths
Brazilian poets
Structural engineers
20th-century Brazilian engineers
People from Recife | Joaquim Cardozo | [
"Engineering"
] | 1,289 | [
"Structural engineering",
"Structural engineers"
] |
65,056,762 | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Environmental%20history%20of%20Latin%20America | The environmental history of Latin America has become the focus of a number of scholars, starting in the later years of the twentieth century. But historians earlier than that recognized that the environment played a major role in the region's history. Environmental history more generally has developed as a specialized, yet broad and diverse field. According to one assessment of the field, scholars have mainly been concerned with "three categories of research: colonialism, capitalism, and conservation" and the analysis focuses on narratives of environmental decline. There are several currents within the field. One examines humans within particular ecosystems; another concerns humans’ cultural relationship with nature; and environmental politics and policy. General topics that scholars examine are forestry and deforestation; rural landscapes, especially agro-export industries and ranching; conservation of the environment through protected zones, such as parks and preserves; water issues including irrigation, drought, flooding and its control through dams, urban water supply, use, and waste water. The field often classifies research by geographically, temporally, and thematically. Much of the environmental history of Latin America focuses on the nineteenth and twentieth centuries, but there is a growing body of research on the first three centuries (1500-1800) of European impact. As the field established itself as a more defined academic pursuit, the journal Environmental History was founded in 1996, as a joint venture of the Forest History Society and the American Society for Environmental History (ASEH). The Latin American and Caribbean Society for Environmental History (SOLCHA) formed in 2004. Standard reference works for Latin American now include a section on environmental history.
Early scholarship
Works by geographers and other scholars began focusing on humans and the environmental context, especially Carl O. Sauer at University of California, Berkeley. Other early scholars examining humans and nature interactions, such as William Denevan, Julian Steward, Eric Wolf, and Claude Lévi-Strauss. In terms of impact, however, Alfred W. Crosby's The Columbian Exchange (1972) was a major work, one of the first to deal with profound environmental changes touched off by European settlement in the New World. It examines a range of impacts of Europeans on Latin America, especial Page information ly during the period of European Contact, including epidemic disease and the importation of Old World animals and plants and the development of large-scale ranching and agriculture. He further developed the argument in Ecological Imperialism (2004). Archeologists such as Richard MacNeish conducted fieldwork uncovering the origins of agriculture in Mesoamerica and in the Andes, giving a long timeline for the human-wrought changes in the environment before the arrival of the Europeans. William Denevan specifically argued against the "pristine myth" of lack of human impact on the environment prior to 1492.
Indigenous land use before European contact
Environmental historians have been criticized for what is called “recentism,” that is examining twentieth-century environmental issues. Works by archeologists and historians focusing on the colonial era in Latin America (1492-1825), which were not called “environmental history” at the time, are a rejoinder to that criticism. Human activity shaped the environment of Latin America long before the arrival of Europeans in the late 1400s. In central Mexico and the highland Andes, settled indigenous civilizations were created because indigenous groups could produce agricultural surpluses of native carbohydrates, maize and potatoes. These surpluses allowed for social differentiation and hierarchy, large settlements with monumental architecture, and political states that could demand labor and tribute from growing populations. There was significant altering of the natural landscape in order to create more arable and productive land. Agriculture in Mesoamerica (the region of central and southern Mexico and Central America), was characterized by intensive agricultural methods to boost their food production and give them a competitive advantage over less skillful peoples. These intensive agricultural methods included canals, terracing, raised fields, ridged fields, chinampas, the use of human feces as fertilizer, seasonal swamps or bajos, using muck from the bajos to create fertile fields, dikes, dams, irrigation, water reservoirs, several types of water storage systems, hydraulic systems, swamp reclamation, swidden systems, and other agricultural techniques that have not yet been fully understood. Maize was the center of the indigenous diet. Environmental factors are now considered crucial in the “collapse” when monumental architecture ceased to be erected in the southern Maya region. Deforestation was caused by human activity. Drought might have been a factor arising from the deforestation. By the time Spaniards began exploring Central America in the early sixteenth century, there were 600 years of jungle growth and only ruins of the monumental structures, but the human populations persisted in smaller numbers and scattered settlements, practicing subsistence agriculture. These decreased Maya populations proved more resistant to European conquest and consolidation than their conquest of the Aztec Empire. The Maya people did not disappear, but adapted often more sustainably to nature. In the Andes, terracing of steep hillsides brought land into cultivation, with potatoes being the main source of carbohydrates. Llamas and alpacas were domesticated. While llamas could carry burdens of up to 50 kilos, they were not harnessed for agricultural work. Both were sources of dietary protein. In areas not suitable to sedentary agriculture, there were usually small bands of people, often extended kin groups, who pursued hunting and gathering on a gendered basis. There were no domesticated large animals suitable for domestication that could be used as beasts of burden or transportation. When the Spaniards introduced horses in desert and semiarid regions, they were acquired by many indigenous groups, transforming their ways of life.
Environmental transformations, ca. 1500-1825
Indigenous peoples had shaped the environment and utilized its resources, but Europeans even more significantly changed the environment with large-scale resource extraction, especially mining, as well as the transformation of agriculture to cultivation of crops to feed urban populations and the introduction of livestock, used for food, leather, wool, and tallow. Deforestation increased at a rapid pace and water resources were appropriated by Europeans.
Disease and demographic collapse
With the deliberate importation of Old World plants and animals and the unintentional spread of diseases brought by the Europeans (smallpox, measles, and others) changed the natural environment in many parts of Latin America. European diseases devastated indigenous populations. The demographic catastrophe of natives on islands first settled by the Europeans prompted their exploration of others in the Caribbean and slave raiding, with consequences for the overall demography of the Caribbean. Then as Europeans explored and settled further, the demographic catastrophe was further replicated in the sixteenth century. Recently, scientists have been considering whether the population loss had an impact on carbon dioxide levels, which might well have led to the "Little Ice Age."
Commodities and the environment in the early colonial era
Placer mining of gold in the Caribbean did not have a major impact on the natural environment, but it did have a devastating impact on the indigenous populations. Europeans sought indigenous labor for placer mining to the exclusion of other activities, including tending crops. The Europeans initiated slave raiding elsewhere in the Caribbean. Venezuela and the islands of Cubagua and Margarita Island was found to have rich deposits of pearl oysters. Natives of the region had long harvested them, and traded them with Europeans. The Europeans’ demand for pearls increased and the careful and selective indigenous methods gave way to Spaniards’ wholesale destruction of the oyster beds with dredges. The Spanish crown intervened to try to prevent further destruction, banning dredges and attempting to keep the oyster fisheries sustainable. Unknown to them was the environmental conditions that pearl oysters needed for produce their treasure – proper salinity and temperature of the water and the optimal type of sea bottom. But the unsophisticated harvesting of pearls clearly destroyed the oyster beds’ sustainability.
The search for a high value export product also resulted in Spaniards introducing cane sugar cultivation and the importation of African slaves as the main labor force. African slaves were forcibly brought in the early the 1500s and sugar plantations were established on the island of Hispaniola (now divided between Haiti and the Dominican Republic). The Spanish and Portuguese had established sugar plantations in the Atlantic islands off the African coast, in Madeira, São Tomé, and the Canary Islands. Cane sugar cultivation often necessitated clearing land, but more destructive to forests was the need for wood to fuel the boiling down of cane juice to form moist, but solid sugar suitable for shipping. The cutting of trees was initiated on the island of Hispaniola and later other islands as well. Deforestation had an environmental impact with the expansion of sugar cultivation. Not only were trees felled and areas burned to create fields, but the woodlands beyond the fields were the source for wood for processing raw cane juice into refined sugar that could be exported. Since sugar cane must be processed immediately upon its cutting, the sugar refineries (Portuguese:engenhos, Spanish: trapiches or ingenios) had to be located close to the fields, since cane juice leaked out of cut cane almost immediately. The exhaustion of soils and destruction of forests was not sustainable, but Europeans saw land as being an abundant resource, and therefore not worth conserving. In the Caribbean islands, the limits of wide spread deforestation and soil exhaustion were obvious. Many did not take the long view, since Europeans often moved to what they hoped were more promising regions. This happened in the early Caribbean once the Europeans conquered Aztec and Inca empires. Cane sugar became the main export product from Portuguese Brazil and on Caribbean islands that other European powers seized from Spain.
Silver mining and mercury
The hopes that Europeans had of finding easily exploitable sources of precious metals were dashed in the Spanish occupation in the Caribbean. Placer gold mining using forced indigenous labor did yield relatively small amounts of gold and did not have a huge deleterious environmental impact to the landscape, but the cost to the indigenous populations was considerable. Overwork contributed to their rapid demise.
Starting the 1540s, silver became the major precious metal exploited by Spanish mining entrepreneurs under crown license. There were several mining sites in northern New Spain, particularly Guanajuato and Zacatecas, both outside the zone of dense indigenous settlement. In the highland Andes, there a single mountain, the Cerro Rico, in Potosí, Upper Peru (now Bolivia) was rich with veins of silver. In both Mexico and Peru, deep shaft mining required large numbers of laborers, but the footprint on the environment was not primarily caused by the mines themselves. Processing the pure silver from silver ore required considerable environmental costs. Around mining sites, there was massive deforestation, since early processing was by heating ore separating out molten silver. The early silver boom ended, in good part because the fuel to process the ore was exhausted through deforestation. In both Mexico and Peru, the introduction of mercury amalgam to process ore resulted in the revival of mining and more insidious and long-term environmental impacts.
Mercury mined in Almadén, Spain and shipped to Mexico in leather bags and transported to mining sites by mule. Like silver, mercury was a crown monopoly, so that the crown expected to reap maximum wealth from this resource. Costs of mining, transatlantic transportation, and the overland transport added to the costs to mining entrepreneurs. High costs for mercury often resulted in the abandonment of mining sites, since it had an impact on profitability. In the eighteenth century, the Spanish crown calculated that lowering the cost of mercury to miners in Mexico would result in higher silver output. The respite of the environment of Northern Mexico from mercury poisoning ended and the eighteenth century saw a boom in silver production. In Peru, there was a local source of mercury, the Huancavelica mine, making production costs cheaper, but with a far higher cost to the human and natural environment in the region. The toxicity of mercury was known at the time, although the science of it was not. When mercury was discovered in significant amounts at Huancavelica, Peru's silver mining industry could regain its previous levels of output. Forced indigenous labor was directed toward mining mercury, which the indigenous rightly considered a death sentence. Spanish officials also knew the impact on human populations, but did not modify their forced labor policies, since they rightly identified mercury as the key to continued silver production and wealth of the Spanish Empire.
The environmental degradation was significant. Deep shaft mining of mercury put miners in direct contact with the element and they were its first victims. However, since the mercury was volatilized in silver ore processing and only partially recaptured, its impact on larger human and animal populations was more widespread since it can be absorbed by breathing. Mercury made its way in to the watershed as well, poisoning water supplies. The toxic impact results in nerve damage, inducing muscle deterioration and mental disorders, infertility, birth defects, asthma, and chronic fatigue, to name just a few. Huancavelica produced approximately 68,000 metric tons of mercury, which went into the air and water of Potosí.
Water issues
Ethnic conflicts
As European populations increased in areas with existing indigenous settlement and agriculture, conflicts over access to water increased. In colonial Puebla, Mexico, European elites increasingly appropriated water indigenous communities needed for their agriculture, with deleterious results to those communities.
Urban flooding
In general, the presence or absence of sufficient water was a major determinant of where human settlement would occur in the pre-industrial Latin America. Large-scale irrigation projects were not undertaken in the colonial era. However, the major hydraulic project to drain the central lake system in the Basin of Mexico, known as the Desagüe, was undertaken to try to control flooding in the vice-regal capital of Mexico City. Tens of thousands of indigenous men were compelled to work on the project, which diverted their labor from agricultural enterprises. Although the project absorbed massive amounts of forced human labor, it was not until the late nineteenth century when the drainage project was completed.
Aqueducts
Aqueducts were constructed to supply urban centers with drinking water. Before the Spanish conquest in 1521, the Aztecs had constructed an aqueduct from a spring at Chapultepec (“hill of the grasshopper”) to Tenochitlan to provide freshwater to the urban population of nearly 100,000. It had dual pipes so that maintenance of the aqueduct would not cut off the Aztec capital's water supply. The aqueduct was constructed using wood, carved stone, and compacted soil, with portions made of hollowed logs, allowing canoes to travel underneath. During the Spanish conquest of the Aztec empire, Hernán Cortés realized the importance of the Chapultepec aqueduct to the Aztecs and cut the water supply to Tenochtitlan. In the colonial period, the Chapultepec aqueduct continued to function, with 904 arches and an open air path for drinking water. In the late nineteenth century, there were major public hydraulic works undertaken to create a network of piped fresh water to Mexico City, since scientific ideas had identified water as a vector for disease. Shortly after the Spanish conquest, the aqueduct of Acámbaro was constructed in Guanajuato. The Zacatecas aqueduct was constructed to supply drinking water to the major mining center. A Roman-style aqueduct of Queretaro was completed in 1738 to provide drinking water to the provincial capital of Querétaro. It was privately funded by Don Juan Antonio de Urrutia y Arana, Marques de la Villa del Villar del Aguila. It functioned into the twentieth century to supply drinking water to the city and continues to supply water to the city's water fountains. Other colonial-era aqueducts are the Morelia aqueduct; the Saucillo aqueduct in Huichapan, Hidalgo state; the Chihuahua aqueduct; the Guadalupe aqueduct in the Villa de Guadalupe, in northern Mexico City; another constructed near the capital was the Santa Fe aqueduct; and also the Tepozotlan aqueduct. Although many aqueducts were built in the colonial era, there have been no studies of their impact on their local watersheds.
Agriculture and ranching
Much of the environmental literature on the post-1492 expansion of agriculture and ranching of cattle and sheep falls into the category of environmental degradation or destruction, what environmental scholars call “declension.” An early study of the introduction of sheep into Mexico found that the environmental impact of sheep grazing in colonial Mexico is the subject of a study of the Mezquital Valley, which went from a thriving area of traditional peasant agriculture to one devoted sheep grazing. Sheep were one of the animals introduced to Spanish America with important consequences for the environment. Since sheep graze vegetation to the ground, plants often do not grow back. Wool was a major economic resource for the domestic cloth market in Mexico, so sheep ranching expanded during the colonial era, in many cases leaving ecological destruction. Antedating Melville's study on a particular place in colonial Mexico is a study by the transfer of cattle and sheep to New Spain, as well as a subsequent study. Research by Ligia Herrera in Panama indicates that tropical rainforest transformed into pastures from 1950 to 1990 exceeded the total amount lost from 1500-1950.
Spanish crown and conservation
The Spanish crown was concerned with conservation of resources it deemed vital, asserting right of eminent domain over territory it conquered On the island of Cuba, the crown attempted to regulate the cutting of trees needed for ship building and repairs, especially masts. Although sugar was a valuable and expanding agro-export crop, the crown kept its expansion in check for much of the colonial era because of deforestation.
In colonial Mexico, the crown set up an official body, the Council of Forests, to conserve them from destruction from unregulated cutting. The main fuel in the colonial era was wood, often transformed to charcoal. There was an increasing demand from mining regions as well as cities and towns, so that as trees were cut down entirely rather than cut allowing them to regrow, forest resources further from these sites were vulnerable to deforestation. The crown saw deforestation as a threat to silver mining, the motor of the empire's economy, so that establishing regulations was a matter for the state.
Commodity boom and environmental impact, 1825-present
With Spanish American and Brazilian independence from Spain and Portugal in the early nineteenth century, independent nation-states initiated a new era of resource utilization, which transformed Latin America, a "second conquest." The Spanish Empire and the Portuguese Empire had kept other powers at bay, but now many new sovereign states sought financial benefit from private enterprise, foreign and domestic, in exploiting the environment.
Nitrates
For Peru, huge deposits of bird guano on the Chincha islands off its coast provided revenue for the Peruvian state, facilitating its post-independence consolidation. Guano was a valuable commodity, which prompted Peruvian government monopoly control. Rich in nitrates for fertilizer and saltpeter for gunpowder, guano was mined and shipped directly from the mine sites. The deposits were huge, accumulated from bird droppings over a long time period. The local environmental impact is difficult to assess, since the islands were not occupied by humans. To exploit this valuable resource was easy, since it only required shovels and conscript labor. Once humans started mining the guano, the birds could not produce enough guano to replenish it, so it was not a sustainable export industry. Spain sought to regain control over this valuable commodity in their former empire, fomenting the Chincha Islands War. Chile sought nitrate deposits outside its own territory, and declared war on Peru and Bolivia, the War of the Pacific.
Sugar and deforestation
Europeans had overseen the development of cane sugar cultivation since the 1520s, using African slave labor. Demand for sugar continued to climb. Brazil's coastal forests were systematically destroyed to expand the amount of land for sugar cultivation. Warren Dean's 1997 book With Broadax and Firebrand: The Destruction of the Brazilian Atlantic Forest was written as an environmental history of Brazil. Expansion of sugar cultivation on the island of Cuba followed the Haitian Revolution, which saw the destruction of sugar plantations of France's former colony of Saint-Domingue on Hispaniola. Cuban sugar cultivation on a massive scale saw crown protection of forests give way from pressure of sugar planters.
Coffee
As Brazil lost market share of sugar production, it expanded into another agro-export product, coffee. Coffee grows best on uplands, so that deforestation in Brazil proceeded there. There were multiple sites of coffee cultivation in Brazil, in the Paraiba River Valley; São Paulo Colombia also became a major coffee producer. Coffee in Costa Rica could not easily reach European markets, since the country's main port was on the Pacific coast. The Costa Rican government contracted with Minor Cooper Keith to build a railway to the Gulf Coast port of Limón. Keith turned land he got in compensation for building the railway to banana cultivation, which became the country's major industry. The prerequisite for both industries was clearing of forests to make way for plantation agriculture.
Rubber
Trees (Hevea brasiliensis) producing natural latex grew wild in Amazonia, but rubber did not become a major export product until industrialization created a demand for rubber tires for vehicles. Starting around 1850, trees growing in the wild were tapped for their rubber in a highly exploitative form of labor. Trees were deliberately cut and the latex sap was collected in buckets tended regularly by poorly paid laborers. Although exploitative of labor, the industry was a form of resource extraction that did not result in deforestation or destruction of the trees, which could tolerate the latex tapping. The maintenance of the forest was required to keep the industry viable. It did produce wealth in Brazil for those who controlled the industry, with territories with trees divided into private domains, (seringais). Exploitation of the jungle had previously stayed close to rivers, but the rubber trees inland gave owners incentives to penetrate further. A major industry developed that linked wild trees, to exploited labor, to owners of tracts of land, to local commercial agents, to Brazilian companies dealing in trade with foreign companies, to international shipping companies. Brazil was eventually displaced as the world's major source of rubber following the 1876 theft by a Briton, Henry Wickham, who smuggled 70,000 Amazonian rubber tree seeds from Brazil and delivered them to the royal botanical gardens at Kew, England. Some 2,500 germinated and were then sent to British colonies in India, British Ceylon (Sri Lanka), and British Malaya, among others, where extensive plantations were established. Malaya (now Peninsular Malaysia) was later to become the biggest producer of rubber. Brazil's rubber boom came to an end, but the conservation of the forests that kept the industry viable meant that Brazil's Amazonian rain forest kept its original density until deforestation was initiated in the 1970s.
Bananas
Bananas are a tropical plant that has become a major export crop from tropical regions of Central and South America at the end of the nineteenth century. Bananas are relatively easy to grow in the tropics where there is sufficient water, but it could not become a major export crop until it could be brought to market quickly and sold cheaply to consumers. It first developed as an industry at the end of the nineteenth century in Costa Rica by American entrepreneur Minor Cooper Keith. Keith was contracted by the Costa Rican government to build a railway to the Gulf Coast port of Costa Rica so that the country's main export crop at the time, coffee, could more quickly reach Europe, its main market. The east coast of Costa Rica was thickly forested, so that building a railway was not easy. Keith received land along the railway in partial compensation, which when cleared he turned into extensive banana cultivation of the Gros Michel (“Big Mike”) (Musa acuminate) variety in monoculture. The railway transported green bananas to the coast, which were loaded onto refrigerated ships he owned, and upon the bananas’ offloading in New Orleans, the railway network used refrigerated railway cars to distribute the bananas to local grocery stores. Disaster struck the industry with the outbreak of Panama disease, a fungus affecting banana plants that was resistant to fungicides. Banana plantations were abandoned in areas affected by the fungus, and new areas brought under cultivation once tropical jungles were destroyed.
Cattle ranching
Brazil expanded and transformed cattle ranching, starting at the turn of the twentieth century. Traditional cattle ranching counted on extensive pasturage and few human interventions, so that cattle were feral and bred without animal husbandry. The importation from South Asia of zebu, a resilient cattle breed suited for the tropics, was a significant investment, not just for the animals themselves, but for the development of a managed cattle industry in a part of Minas Gerais.
See also
Agroecology in Latin America
Forests of Mexico
Deforestation in Brazil
Latin American economy
List of environmental issues
References
Further reading
General
Boyer, Christopher R., ed. (2012) A Land Between Waters: Environmental Histories of Modern Mexico. Tucson: University of Arizona Press 2012.
Carey Mark. "Latin American Environmental History: Current Trends, Interdisciplinary Insights, and Future Directions." Environmental History, April 2009, Vol. 14, No. 2 (APRIL 2009), pp. 221–252.
Carruthers, David V., ed. (2008) Environmental Justice in Latin America: Problems, Promise and Practice. MIT Press.
Crosby, Alfred W. (1972) The Columbian Exchange: Biological and Cultural Consequences of 1492. Greenwood Publishing Co.
Crosby, Alfred W. (1986) Ecological Imperialism: The Biological Expansion of Europe, 900-1900. Cambridge University Press.
Davis, M. (2001) Late Victorian Holocausts: El Niño Famines and the Making of the Third World. Verso.
Faber, Daniel. (1993) Environment Under Fire: Imperialism and the Ecological Crisis in Latin America. New York: Monthly Review Press.
Gade, D. (1999) Nature and Culture in the Andes. University of Wisconsin Press.
Grove, Richard H. (1995). Green Imperialism: Colonial Expansion, Tropical Island Edens, and the Origins of Environmentalism, 1600-1800. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Leal, Claudia, José Augusto Pádua, and John Soluri (eds.), “New Environmental Histories of Latin America and the Caribbean,” RCC Perspectives 2013, no. 7. doi.org/10.5282/rcc/5921.
Martínez-Alier, Joan. (2002) The Environmentalism of the Poor: A Study of Ecological Conflicts and Valuation. Cheltenham UK: Edward Elgar.
McNeill, J.R. (1999). "Ecology, Epidemics, and Empires: Environmental Change and the Geopolitics of Tropical America, 1600-1825." Environment and History 5 (1999): 175–84.
McNeill, J.R. (2000) Something New Under the Sun: An Environmental History of the Twentieth-Century World. WW Norton
Miller, Shawn William. (2007). An Environmental History of Latin America. Cambridge University Press.
Ouweneel, Arij. (1996) Shadows over Anáhuac: An Ecological Interpretation of Crisis and Development in Central Mexico, 1730-1800. University of New Mexico Press.
Roberts, J. T. and N.D. Thanos. (2003) Trouble in Paradise: Globalization and Environmental Crises in Latin America. Routledge.
Sedrez, Lise. (2011) “Environmental History of Modern Latin America” in A Companion to Latin American History, ed. Thomas H. Holloway. Wiley-Blackwell.
Soluri, John, Claudia Leal, and José Augusto Pádua, eds. (2019). A Living Past: Environmental Histories of Modern Latin America, eds. Soluri, John, Claudia Leal, and José Augusto Pádua. New York: Berghahn.
Sutter, Paul (2003) "What Can U.S. Environmental Historians Learn from Non-U.S. Environmental Historiography?" Environmental History 8, no.1 (Jan. 2003): 109-129
Wakild, Emily (2011) “Environment and Environmentalism” in A Companion to Mexican History and Culture, William H. Beezley, ed. Wiley Blackwell.
Mining and other resource extraction
Bakewell, Peter J. (1971) Silver Mining and Society in Colonial Mexico: Zacatecas, 1546–1700. Cambridge University Press.
Bakewell, Peter J. (1984) Miners of the Red Mountain: Indian Labor at Potosí, 1545-1650. University of New Mexico Press.
Cushman, Gregory T. Guano and the Opening of the Pacific World: A Global Ecological History. New York: Cambridge University Press 2014.
Gootenberg, Paul.(1989) Between Silver and Guano: Commercial Policy and the State in Postindependence Peru. Princeton University Press.
Robins, Nicholas A. (2011) Mercury, Mining, and Empire: The Human and Ecological Cost of Colonial Silver Mining in the Andes. University of Indiana Press.
Santiago, Myrna. (2006) The Ecology of Oil: Environment, Labor, and the Mexican Revolution, 1900-1938. Cambridge University Press.
West, Robert. The Mining Community of Northern New Spain: The Parral Mining District. Berkeley and Los Angeles: University of California Press, 1949.
Water issues
Buckley, Eve. Technocrats and the Politics of Drought and Development in Twentieth-Century Brazil. Chapel Hill: University of North Carolina Press 2017.
Candiani, Vera. 2012. "The desagüe reconsidered: Environmental dimensions of class conflict in colonial Mexico." Hispanic American Historical Review 92.1 pp. 5-:
Candiani, Vera. Dreaming of a Dry Land: Environmental Transformation in Colonial Mexico City. Stanford: Stanford University Press 2014.
Tortolero Villaseñor, Alejandro. (2004) "Transforming the Central Mexican Waterscape: Lake Drainage and Its Consequences during the Porfiriato," in Territories, Commodities and Knowledges: Latin American Environmental Histories in the Nineteenth and Twentieth Centuries, ed. Christian Brannstrom (Washington, DC: Brookings Institution Press, pp. 121–147.
Wolfe, Mikael D. Watering the Revolution: An Environmental and Technological History of Agrarian Reform in Mexico. Durham: Duke University Press 2017.
Amazonia
Brannstrom, Christian. "Was Brazilian Industrialisation Fuelled by Wood? Evaluating the Wood Hypothesis, 1900-1960." Environment and History, Vol. 11, No. 4 (November 2005), pp. 395–430 Stable URL: https://www.jstor.org/stable/20723552
Bunker, S.G. (1985) Underdeveloping the Amazon: Extraction, Unequal Exchange, and the Failure of the Modern State. University of Illinois Press.
Cleary, David. (2000) "Towards an Environmental History of the Amazon: From Pre-history to the Nineteenth Century." Latin American Research Review 36:2, 64-96/
Dean, Warren. (1997) Brazil and the Struggle for Rubber: A Study in Environmental History. Cambridge University Press.
Hecht, Susanna and Alexander Cockburn (1990). The Fate of the Forest: Developers, Destroyers, and Defenders of the Amazon. New York: Harper Perennial.
Hochstetler, K. and M. Keck (2007) Greening Brazil: Environmental Activism in State and Society. Duke University Press.
Radding, Cynthia. (2005) Landscapes of Power and Identity: Comparative Histories in the Sonoran Desert and the Forests of Amazonia. Duke University Press.
Revkin, A. (1990) The Burning Season: The Murder of Chico Mendes and the Fight for the Amazon Rain Forest. Houghton Mifflin.
Weinstein, Barbara (1983) The Amazon Rubber Boom 1850–1920 Stanford University Press.
Conservation
Boyer, Christopher. (2015) Political Landscapes: Forests, Conservation, and Community in Mexico. Duke University Press.
Bray, David B., et al. (2005) Community Forests of Mexico: Managing for Sustainable Landscapes. University of Texas Press.
Cushman, Gregory Todd. (2005) "The Most Valuable Birds in the World: International Conservation Science and the Revival of Peru's Guano Industry, 1909-1965." Environmental History 10:3 477–509.
Evans, S. (1999) The Green Republic: A Conservation History of Costa Rica. University of Texas Press.
Keck, Margaret. (1995) "Parks, People, and Power: The Shifting Terrain of Environmentalism." NACLA Report on the Americas 28:5 (March/April 1995), 36–41.
Miller, Shawn William. 2000. Fruitless Trees: Portuguese Conservation and Brazil's Colonial Timber. Stanford University Press.
Simonian, Lane. (1995) Defending the Land of the Jaguar: A History of Conservationism in Mexico. University of Texas Press.
Steen, Harold K and Richard P. Tucker, eds. (1992) Changing Tropical Forests: Historical Perspectives on Today's Challenges in Central and South America. Durham NC: Forest History Society.
Wakild, Emily (2011) An Unexpected Environment: National Park Creation, Resource Custodianship, and the Mexican Revolution. University of Arizona Press.
Forests, agriculture, and ranching
Bell, Stephen. Campanha gaúcha: A Brazilian Ranching System, 1850-1920. (Stanford University Press 1998).
Cotter, Joseph. (2003) Troubled Harvest: Agronomy and Revolution in Mexico, 1880-2002. Westport CT: Praeger.
Díaz-Briquets, Sergio and Jorge Pérez-López, Conquering Nature: The Environmental Legacy of Socialism in Cuba, (Pittsburgh University Press 2001).
Dean, Warren. (1995) With Broadax and Firebrand: The Destruction of the Brazilian Atlantic Forest. Berkeley: University of California Press.
Funes Monzote, Reinaldo. From Rainforest to Cane Field in Cuba, An Environmental History Since 1492. (University of North Carolina Press, 2008
Grandin, Greg. Fordlandia: The Rise and Fall of Henry Ford's Forgotten Jungle City. Picador Press 2010.
Melville, Elinor G.K. (1994) A Plague of Sheep: Environmental Consequences of the Conquest of Mexico. Cambridge University Press.
Rosset, P. and S. Cunningham. (1994) The Greening of Cuba: Organic Farming Offers Hope in the Midst of Crisis. Institute for Food and Development Policy, Oakland CA.
Scobie, James. (1964) Revolution on the Pampas: A Social History of Argentine Wheat, 1860-1910. University of Texas Press.
Soluri, John (2005) Banana Cultures: Agriculture, Consumption, and Environmental Change in Honduras and the United States. University of Texas Press.
Sonnenfeld, David A. (1992) "Mexico's 'Green Revolution.' 1940-1980: Towards an Environmental History. Environmental Review 16:4: 29–52.
Super, John C. (1988) Food, Conquest, and Colonialization in Sixteenth-Century Spanish America. University of New Mexico Press.
Topik, Steve and Alan Wells. (1997) The Second Conquest of Latin America: Coffee, Henequen, and Oil during the Export Boom, 1850-1920. University of Texas Press.
Wilcox, Robert W. "Zebu's Elbows: Cattle Breeding and the Environment in Central Brazil, 1890-1960" in Territories, commodities, and knowledges: Latin American Environmental History in the Nineteenth and Twentieth Centuries, Ed. Christian Brannstrom. London: Institute for the Study of the Americas 2004, pp. 218–246.
Woolley, Christopher. "The Forests Cannot be Commons": Spanish Law, Environmental Change, and New Spain's Council on Forests. The Americas 77(1)January 2020, pp. 41–71.
Climate change
Carey, Mark. In the Shadow of Melting Glaciers: Climate Change and Andean Society. New York: Oxford University Press 2010.
Medicine and public health
Eric D. Carter, Enemy in the Blood: Malaria, Environment, and Development in Argentina, (Tuscaloosa: University of Alabama Press, 2012)
McNeill, J.R. Mosquito Empires: Ecology and War in the Greater Caribbean, 1620-1914. New York: Cambridge University Press 2010.
External links
/ Reframing History: Bananas National Public Radio accessed 8-29-2020
Environmental social science
Landscape design history
Latin American history | Environmental history of Latin America | [
"Environmental_science"
] | 7,424 | [
"Environmental social science"
] |
65,057,421 | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tesco%20blackmail%20plot | The Tesco blackmail plot was an extortion attempt against the British supermarket chain Tesco and which led to the largest blackmail investigation in the UK.
Nigel Wright, 45, from Lincolnshire was sentenced at the Central Criminal Court of England and Wales for blackmail after he plotted to extort £1.4 million from the supermarket company.
Threats
A series of letters and emails were sent to Tesco, threatening to contaminate baby food with salmonella, white powder and knives. They demanded £1.4 million in bitcoin and used aliases such as "Guy Brush" and "The Dairy Pirates". They claimed to be from a group of farmers angry at the low price of milk.
Contaminated food found
In Lockerbie Morven Smith had already fed a few spoonfuls of Heinz sweet and sour chicken to her ten month old baby when she found a metal fragment in the bowl and removed it. This was in December 2019.
In Rochdale Harpreet Kaur-Singh had binned a jar of Heinz Sunday chicken dinner and a jar of cheesy pasta stars after discovering metal while feeding her nine month old daughter.
Impact
Tesco was forced to issue a product recall of 42,000 jars after the contaminated jars were found in Lockerbie and Rochdale.
Investigation
The investigation started in Humberside where the first letters were received before being passed to Bedfordshire, Cambridgeshire and Hertfordshire Major Crime Units to investigate with the help of the National Crime Agency. It was the largest blackmail investigation in the UK, at times involving more than 100 officers with 30 officers watching CCTV around the clock.
The Food Standards Agency, Food Standards Scotland, Public Health England, Public Health Scotland and Police Scotland were also involved.
Nigel Wright was spotted on CCTV from a Tesco in Lockerbie putting a tampered jar of baby food on a shelf before buying a bottle of wine, flowers for his wife and more baby food.
Arrest
On 25 February 2020 Nigel Wright was arrested at his family home outside Market Rasen in Lincolnshire. Police found photos of contaminated baby food on his laptop with jars identical to those found in Rochdale. They also found draft blackmail notes on his laptop.
Suspect
Nigel Wright was a sheep farmer and had been the youngest ever chairman of the Great Grimsby Conservative association at the age of 29. He had won an election to the Freshney Ward of North East Lincolnshire Council in 2003. In 2010 he joined UKIP.
Trial
Wright admitted to planting a tampered jar in Lockerbie but denied planting them in Rochdale. He claimed he was forced to do it because his family were threatened by Travellers.
Both Morven Smith and Harpreet Kaur-Singh testified about the metal they had found in their children's food.
Julian Christopher QC, the prosecutor, said "The truth is you were not in fear at all. You were carrying on your life normally while hoping to make yourself rich by threatening Tesco in this way while endangering the life of others in the process.".
Conviction
Nigel Wright was convicted of three charges of blackmail, two charges of contaminating food and a further charge of blackmail for demanding £150,000 worth of bitcoin from a driver with whom he had a road-rage altercation.
Bill Jephson, the assistant chief constable in charge of the investigation for Hertfordshire police described it as "most serious and most challenging” product contamination case ever dealt with in the UK".
Lucy Thompson, the deputy senior investigating officer said that there was no evidence to support Wright's claims that Travellers had threatened Wright and his family to force him to carry out the plot.
Sentencing
Sentencing was scheduled for 28 September 2020. Mr Justice Warby also asked for psychiatric reports on Wright to be prepared and warned Wright to be prepared for a "lengthy custodial sentence".
In October 2020 Nigel Wright was sentenced to 14 years: 11 years for the plot against Tesco and 3 years to run consecutively for the road rage blackmail conviction. Detective Inspector Lucy Thompson said "Wright is a dangerous offender who gave no thought to the babies he could have harmed during his callous pursuit of money."
See also
2007 Tesco blackmail campaign
Tesco bomb campaign
Pedigree Chum dog food and Heinz extortion campaign
References
2018 crimes in the United Kingdom
2019 crimes in the United Kingdom
2020 crimes in the United Kingdom
Extortion
Attacks on supermarkets
2010s in the United Kingdom
2020s in the United Kingdom
Adulteration
Tesco
Extortion attempts against Tesco | Tesco blackmail plot | [
"Chemistry"
] | 897 | [
"Adulteration",
"Drug safety"
] |
65,057,766 | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/NGC%20676 | NGC 676 is a lenticular Seyfert 2 galaxy in the constellation Pisces. Its velocity with respect to the cosmic microwave background is 1217 ± 20km/s, which corresponds to a Hubble distance of . In addition, two non redshift measurements give a distance of . The galaxy was discovered by German-British astronomer William Herschel on 30 September 1786.
NGC 676 can be seen near the star α Piscium. Located close to the celestial equator, it is visible from both hemispheres. BD +04 0244, a star with a visual magnitude of 10.44, is superposed 5.1 arc seconds south-southwest of the nucleus. It is one of the 621 galaxies described in Marat Arakelian's catalog of high-surface-brightness galaxies.
Image Gallery
See also
Spiral galaxy
List of NGC objects (1–1000)
References
External links
Students for the Exploration and Development of Space - NGC 676
Telescopius - NGC 676
SkyMap.org - NGC 676
NGC 676 on SIMBAD
NGC 0676
NGC 0676
0676
006656
17860930
Discoveries by William Herschel
01270
+01-05-034
Seyfert galaxies | NGC 676 | [
"Astronomy"
] | 260 | [
"Pisces (constellation)",
"Constellations"
] |
65,058,711 | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anne%20M.%20Mayes | Anne Marie Mayes (August 30, 1964 – January 25, 2011) was an American material science and engineer and a Toyota professor at Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), and MacVicar faculty fellow until 2006. She was the first woman to be promoted from assistant professor to tenured professor in the Department of Materials Science and Engineering at MIT. Mayes focused her research on lithium polymer batteries and the role of polymers in environmental issues. The Anne M. Mayes '86 Fellowship for graduate students at MIT is named in her honor.
Early life and education
Mayes was born in Aurora, Illinois to parents Leon S. Mayes and Sybil J. Mayes (née Knaus).
Mayes graduated Mustang High School in Mustang, Oklahoma in 1982. After graduation, Mayes went on to study and earn a Bachelor of Science in Materials Science and Engineering from Massachusetts Institute of Technology(MIT) in 1986. She obtained her Ph.D. in Materials Science and Engineering from Northwestern University in 1991. At Northwestern University, Mayes was advised by Monica Olvera de la Cruz. Her Ph.D. research focused phase diagram of block copolymers. After completing her Ph.D., Mayes worked two years as visiting scientist at IBM's Alameda Research Center with Thomas P. Russell.
Career and research
In 1993 Mayes joined MIT as an assistant professor in the Department of Materials Science and Engineering. In 1997 she became the first female professor to receive tenure in the Department of Materials Science and Engineering at MIT.
Mayes research led to breakthroughs in many topics, including the development of polymeric electrolytes for lithium-ion batteries, cell-signaling biomaterials, membranes for water purification, block copolymer films for nanolithography, and weak polyelectrolyte multilayer assemblies. One of her major development was “baroplastics,” a plastic that becomes soft under pressure, which allowed for recycling with less energy and without degradation.
In 2006 Mayes retired early from MIT due to illness and helped create the Anne M. Mayes '86 Fellowship for graduate students with her remaining discretionary funds.
Overall, Mayes supervised sixteen Ph.D. candidates, seven M.S. degrees, and a host of undergraduate researchers. Mayes had 13 patents, over 100 publications. Beyond research, she was dedicated to her students in the classroom, for this she was named a MacVicar faculty fellow in "recognition of her outstanding teaching innovations" and other teaching awards.
Awards and honors
2007 Carl S. Marvel Creative Polymer Chemistry Award
2004 Neutron Scattering Society of America Exceptional Service Award
2003 Fellow of the American Physical Society
2003-2006 Toyota Chair, MIT
2003 OMNOVA Solutions Signature University Award for Outstanding Research in Polymers
2002 Materials Research Society Woody Award
2001-2006 MIT MacVicar Faculty Fellow
1999 John H. Dillon Medal of the American Physical Society
1998 Materials Research Society Outstanding Young Investigator Award
Personal life
In 1994 Mayes was diagnosed with breast cancer. When three surgeries and intense chemotherapy failed, she underwent a clinical trial that eradicated the cancer in 1997 but left her immune system compromised.
Mayes married Glenn Mailand in 2004. After Mayes retired from MIT in 2006, she moved back to her hometown of Mustang, Oklahoma. Mayes died on January 25, 2011, after a battle with pulmonary fibrosis resulting from her cancer treatment.
References
External links
Audio interview
1964 births
2011 deaths
American materials scientists
MIT School of Engineering alumni
Northwestern University alumni
MIT School of Engineering faculty
Scientists from Oklahoma
Fellows of the American Physical Society
Women materials scientists and engineers | Anne M. Mayes | [
"Materials_science",
"Technology"
] | 723 | [
"Women materials scientists and engineers",
"Materials scientists and engineers",
"Women in science and technology"
] |
65,058,773 | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cardinal%20and%20Ordinal%20Numbers | Cardinal and Ordinal Numbers is a book on transfinite numbers, by Polish mathematician Wacław Sierpiński. It was published in 1958 by Państwowe Wydawnictwo Naukowe, as volume 34 of the series Monografie Matematyczne of the Institute of Mathematics of the Polish Academy of Sciences. Sierpiński wrote on the same topic earlier, in his 1928 book Leçons sur les nombres transfinis, but his 1958 book on the topic was completely rewritten and significantly longer. A second edition of Cardinal and Ordinal Numbers was published in 1965.
Topics
After five introductory chapters on naive set theory and set-theoretic notation, and a sixth chapter on the axiom of choice, the book has four chapters on cardinal numbers, their arithmetic, and series and products of cardinal numbers, comprising approximately 50 pages. Following this, four longer chapters (totalling roughly 180 pages) cover orderings of sets, order types, well-orders, ordinal numbers, ordinal arithmetic, and the Burali-Forti paradox according to which the collection of all ordinal numbers cannot be a set. Three final chapters concern aleph numbers and the continuum hypothesis, statements equivalent to the axiom of choice, and consequences of the axiom of choice.
The second edition makes only minor changes to the first except for adding footnotes concerning two later developments in the area: the proof by Paul Cohen of the independence of the continuum hypothesis, and the construction by Robert M. Solovay of the Solovay model in which all sets of real numbers are Lebesgue measurable.
Audience and reception
Sierpiński was known for his significant contributions to the theory of transfinite numbers;, reviewer Reuben Goodstein calls his book "a goldmine of results", and similarly Leonard Gillman writes that it is highly valuable "as a compendium of interesting mathematical information, presented with care and clarity". Both Gillman and John C. Oxtoby call the writing style "leisurely" and "unhurried", and although Gillman criticizes the translation from an earlier Polish-language manuscript into English as unpolished, and points to several errors in the bibliography, he does not find the writing in the text of the book to be problematic.
In the 1970 text General Topology by Stephen Willard, Willard lists this book as one of five "standard references" on set theory.
References
Further reading
Cardinal numbers
Ordinal numbers
Mathematics books
1958 non-fiction books | Cardinal and Ordinal Numbers | [
"Mathematics"
] | 523 | [
"Ordinal numbers",
"Cardinal numbers",
"Mathematical objects",
"Infinity",
"Order theory",
"Numbers"
] |
73,675,759 | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stephen%20Webb%20%28scientist%29 | Stephen Webb (born February 25, 1963) is a physicist and author of numerous popular science and math books, as well as academic publications. Webb was educated at Bristol University (BSc (Hons) Physics – First Class) and, as a graduate student, attended Manchester University (PhD – Theoretical Particle Physics). Webb is currently on the academic staff at the University of Portsmouth, and is a presenter of numerous science-related non-academic talks and academic lectures. In 2018, Webb was a featured science speaker at the annual TED conference.
Webb has worked at the University of Cardiff (Physics Department; 1993–95), University of Sheffield (Math & Statistics; 1995–98), University of Loughborough (Math & Sciences; 1998–99), Northumbria University (Information Sciences; 1999–2000), The Open University (2000–2006) and the University of Portsmouth (2006–current). In addition, Webb has been a Member of the Institute of Physics (M. Inst. P.), Chartered Physicist (C. Phys.), Senior Fellow of the Higher Education Academy (SFHEA), a Member of international editorial board (Springer S&F Series), Member of the UK SETI Research Network, and a Project lead for the UK Advance HE Collaborative Award in Teaching Excellence (CATE 2022).
Publications
Note: Listings of many more books and publications by Stephen Webb are on GoodReads, Webb's WebSite and elsewhere.
Authored books
Edited books
See also
References
External links
Stephen Webb on Mastodon and
Stephen Webb (video; 13:09): Where Are All The Aliens? (TED talk – 2018) (transcript)
(TED Talk – 2018)
Astrobiology
Interstellar messages
Living people
Search for extraterrestrial intelligence
1963 births
Academics of the University of Sheffield | Stephen Webb (scientist) | [
"Astronomy",
"Biology"
] | 369 | [
"Astronomical hypotheses",
"Origin of life",
"Speculative evolution",
"Astrobiology",
"Fermi paradox",
"Biological hypotheses",
"Astronomical sub-disciplines"
] |
73,676,635 | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Qualitative%20geography | Qualitative geography is a subfield and methodological approach to geography focusing on nominal data, descriptive information, and the subjective and interpretive aspects of how humans experience and perceive the world. Often, it is concerned with understanding the lived experiences of individuals and groups and the social, cultural, and political contexts in which those experiences occur. Thus, qualitative geography is traditionally placed under the branch of human geography; however, technical geographers are increasingly directing their methods toward interpreting, visualizing, and understanding qualitative datasets, and physical geographers employ nominal qualitative data as well as quanitative. Furthermore, there is increased interest in applying approaches and methods that are generally viewed as more qualitative in nature to physical geography, such as in critical physical geography. While qualitative geography is often viewed as the opposite of quantitative geography, the two sets of techniques are increasingly used to complement each other. Qualitative research can be employed in the scientific process to start the observation process, determine variables to include in research, validate results, and contextualize the results of quantitative research through mixed-methods approaches.
Approaches
Several scientific fields/subfields created or modified and applied specific concepts, theories, methods, principles/laws, techniques/technologies, etc. so to propose specific interdisciplinary approaches for addressing qualitative research-questions of geography. Qualitative geography is the interdisciplinary field of geography gathering these proposed interdisciplinary-approaches from:
Behavioral geography
Cognitive geography
Critical geography
Cultural geography
Emotional geography
Feminist geography
Geosophy
Marxist geography
Social geography
Ethnography
Culture theory
Time geography
Concept of place
Geography considers place as one of its most significant and complicated concepts, and describing a place is something that qualitative methods are absolutely necessary to accomplish. When referring to human geography, place is a combination of the geographical coordinates of a location, the activities that take place there (past, present, and future), and the interpretations that human individuals and groups assigned to that space. This can be highly intricate because people may have different uses and perceptions of the exact location at different times. Moreover, places are not isolated entities and have complex spatial connections, as geography is interested in how an area is positioned relative to all other locations. Therefore, geography includes all spatial phenomena at a particular site, the various meanings and uses attributed to it, and how it affects and is affected by all other locations on the planet. While quantitative methods can describe spatial coordinates, the concept of place is, in many ways, non-quantifiable. Thus, while quantitative methods are incredibly useful in an understanding of space, qualitative methods are essential.
Methods
Qualitative geography is descriptive rather than numerical or statistical in nature. Qualitative geography involves methods such as ethnography, interviews, and participant observation to gather data and make sense of the complexity and diversity of human geography. It emphasizes the importance of subjectivity, reflexivity, and interpretation in research. Qualitative geography aims to produce rich, detailed accounts of the social and cultural landscapes in which people live. Qualitative research is often exploratory and descriptive, emphasizing the importance of subjectivity, reflexivity, and interpretation. While qualitative methods are often viewed as opposite to quantitative methods, there is an increased emphasis in geography on mixed methods approaches that employ both. Increasingly, technical geographers are exploring GIS methods applied to qualitative datasets.
Qualitative cartography
Qualitative cartography employs many of the same software and techniques as quantitative. It may be employed to inform on map practices, or to visualize perspectives and ideas that are not strictly quantitative in nature. Examples of common qualitative information mapped include Chorochromatic map of nominal data, such as land use and land cover. In such cases, literature suggests using hue, rather than saturation, for displaying qualitative map topics.
Qualitative cartography can be used as art to communicate concepts not necessarily tied to spatial coordinates or to demonstrate the impacts, limitations, and implications of cartography on diverse groups of people.
Qualitative methods are employed by geographers seeking to improve cartographic practices by understanding how subjective cartographic choices impact how data is understood by users.
Ethnography
Ethnographical research techniques are used by human geographers. In cultural geography, there is a tradition of employing qualitative research techniques, also used in anthropology and sociology. Participant observation and in-depth interviews provide human geographers with qualitative data.
Interviews
Geographers can employ interviews to gather data and insights from individuals or groups about their experiences, perceptions, and opinions related to geographic phenomena. Interviews can be conducted in various formats, including face-to-face, telephone, online, or written. To employ interviews in research, geographers typically follow a structured or semi-structured format with questions or topics to guide the conversation. These questions elicit specific information about the research topic while allowing participants to share their personal experiences and insights. Geographers also often use open-ended questions to encourage participants to provide more detailed and nuanced responses.
Geopoetics
Geopoetics is a discipline that combines geography and poetry to explore, contextualize, and communicate geographic concepts, research, and phenomena. Geopoetics can be viewed as a methodology in itself, but is increasingly used as a mixed methods tool to explain the implications of quantitative geographic research and phenomena. Topics addressed by geopoetics often include impacts of the anthropocene, such as climate change and environmental exploitation.
Criticisms
One of the primary criticisms of qualitative geography is its lack of generalizability. The findings of qualitative geography research are often based on small sample sizes, specific cases, or small-scale phenomena, making it challenging to generalize the results to larger populations or areas or capture larger patterns and trends. The data often rely on the research participants' unique circumstances and experiences, making qualitative research studies challenging to replicate. This makes strictly controlling variables, systematic data collection, and analysis procedures challenging. Finally, qualitative geographic research often relies heavily on the researcher's subjective interpretation of the data, which can introduce potential bias into the study. The researcher's background, experiences, and assumptions can influence their interpretation of the data. Ultimately, these factors of qualitative geographic lead some critics to argue that qualitative research lacks the rigor and objectivity of quantitative analysis. This can limit the applicability of the study to other researchers and policymakers.
Influential geographers
Carl O. Sauer (1889–1975) – cultural geographer.
David Harvey (born 1935) – Marxist geographer and author of theories on spatial and urban geography, winner of the Vautrin Lud Prize.
Doreen Massey (1944–2016) – scholar in the space and places of globalization and its pluralities; winner of the Vautrin Lud Prize.
Edward Soja (1940–2015) – worked on regional development, planning, and governance and coined the terms Synekism and Postmetropolis; winner of the Vautrin Lud Prize.
Eric Magrane – Influential geographer in the geographic subfield of geopoetics.
Mei-Po Kwan (born 1962) - geographer that coined the Uncertain geographic context problem and the neighborhood effect averaging problem.
Nigel Thrift (born 1949) – originator of non-representational theory.
Paul Vidal de La Blache (1845–1918) – founder of the French school of geopolitics, wrote the principles of human geography.
Walter Christaller (1893–1969) – human geographer and inventor of Central place theory.
Yi-Fu Tuan (1930–2022) – Chinese-American scholar credited with starting Humanistic Geography as a discipline.
Publications
Main category: Geography Journals
Annals of the American Association of Geographers
Antipode
Concepts and Techniques in Modern Geography
Dialogues in Human Geography
Geographia Technica
Geographical Review
Geographical Bulletin
GeoHumanities
Journal of Rural Studies
Journal of Maps
National Geographic
Progress in Human Geography
See also
Arbia's law of geography
Collaborative mapping
Concepts and Techniques in Modern Geography
Counter-mapping
Geographic information systems in geospatial intelligence
GIS and public health
GIS Day
GIS in archaeology
Historical GIS
Map communication model
Methodological dualism
Online qualitative research
Participatory GIS
Qualitative psychological research
Quantitative history
Scientific Geography Series
Tobler's first law of geography
Tobler's second law of geography
Traditional knowledge GIS
References
Human geography
Technical geography
Qualitative research | Qualitative geography | [
"Environmental_science"
] | 1,738 | [
"Environmental social science",
"Human geography"
] |
73,677,112 | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Orange%20Bud | Orange Bud is a 100% skunky cannabis strain. Growing with hard and thick tops, as well as orange pistils (hence its name), it has a THC level of 16.5%. It can be grown indoor or outdoors; the climate of Southern Europe is amenable to cultivation. The strain has been known since at least 2001. It has a citrus flavor that can be used to enhance cooking with cannabis.
References
Sources
Cannabis strains | Orange Bud | [
"Biology"
] | 95 | [
"Cannabis strains",
"Biopiracy"
] |
73,677,675 | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Combined%20photothermal%20and%20photodynamic%20therapy | Photodynamic/photothermal combination therapy involves the usage of a chemical compound or nanomaterial that, when irradiated at a certain wavelength, converts light energy into reactive oxygen species (ROS) and heat. This has shown to be highly effective in the treatment of skin infections, showing increased wound healing rates and a lower impact on human cell viability than photodynamic (PD) or photothermal (PT) therapies. The compounds involved often employ additional mechanisms of action or side effect reduction mechanisms, further increasing their efficacy.
Phototherapies are minimally invasive, with the primary toxicity issues surrounding phototoxicity and the nonspecific ROS and heat mechanisms of action affecting healthy human cells (albeit in lower amounts than the target cells). In skin wound infections, multiple phototherapeutic approaches have observed increased rates of wound closure over nontreated controls. This is typically due to an upregulation of vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) and hypoxia-inducible factor (HIF). Phototherapies are also active against both gram-positive and gram-negative bacteria, with photodynamic therapy having some exceptions.
To apply this technique, a photosensitizer is localized to the wound or tumor site, either topically or intravenously. Once localized, the target area is exposed to a laser of a selected wavelength and intensity for a predetermined irradiation time. The wavelength, localization technique, laser intensity, and irradiation period are determined based on the individual phototherapeutic agent, as these factors can vary greatly from compound to compound. Topical applications may be through the incorporation of the phototherapeutic agent with a hydrogel that will slowly leech the compound into the wound, allowing for a more controlled production of ROS and/or heat.
Phototherapy Types
Photodynamic Therapy
Photosensitizers and approved treatments
A photosensitizer is a chemical compound or nanomaterial capable of capturing light energy and using this energy to generate ROS. Currently, there are 6 photosensitizers that are clinically-approved or undergoing clinical trials for the treatment of cancers and 1 approved for the treatment of eye disorders and diseases. Photodynamic therapy (PDT) is also often used for acne treatment as well as various dermatological conditions such as psoriasis, atopic dermatitis, and vitiligo. It is highly unlikely that bacteria would gain resistance to a photosensitizer or PDT treatment, as the photosensitizers can generate ROS within or outside of the target cell, both of which damage the membrane
Mechanism of action
A photosensitizer generates ROS through one of two processes. Type I involves a redox reaction that results in the creation of superoxides (O2•−), hydroxyl radicals (OH•), and radical peroxides, whereas Type II generates singlet oxygen directly through an electron transfer from the photosensitizer. These ROS go on to nonspecifically damage a variety of cellular components, including proteins, DNA, and lipids as they seek to remove the radical.
Limitations
Due to the necessity of oxygen for PDT, these treatments do not work as well in hypoxic environments, including in developed tumors and some deep wounds. Dental infections tend to also respond better to photothermal therapy than photodynamic therapy, though both have a strong effect. The efficacy of PDT for antimicrobial usage is limited by the properties of the membrane of the target cell such as the electrical gradient (membrane potential) and lipid composition. Whereas high cell death is observed for Escherichia coli and Staphylococcus aureus, other bacterial species such as Klebsiella pneumoniae and Acinetobacter baumannii tend to see very low impact from PDT due to these factors. This limits potential as a broadband antibiotic, but may also allow for specificity in targeting the pathogenic cells over human and skin microbiome cells.
Photothermal Therapy
Indocyanine green is an FDA-approved photothermal agent that is primarily used in imaging techniques, but also displays anticancer and antimicrobial activity through photothermal therapy (PTT) treatments. Photothermal agents are active against diseased cells by accumulating in or around target cells, then converting light energy directly to heat, killing the target through heat-related damage.
PTT has a low level of selectivity beyond the accumulation stage, in which it tends to preferentially accumulate within diseased and bacterial cells. This increases broadband antibiotic activity and decreases the likelihood of resistance development, but also raises the impact on human cells. Human cells experience irreversible damage in the range of 46-60 °C, which is below temperatures reached by some photothermal agents during photothermal therapy. Human cell viability may be maintained through low temperature PTT (≤ 45 °C), which is typically only possible in combination with an additional antibiotic or photodynamic activity.
Combination Therapy - Antibacterial
Photodynamic/photothermal combination therapy combines the mechanisms of ROS production and heat generation into one treatment for a heightened effect on the target bacterial cells. In many cases, this can be done with a single compound or nanomaterial (phototherapeutic agent) and wavelength.
Advantages over monotherapy
Increased antibiotic efficacy
Due to the presence of both ROS and excess heat, target cells are less able to resist each effect. Increased heat corresponds to heightened cell membrane permeability, allowing the generation of ROS within the target cell. This also removes/reduces the selectivity observed for PDT, as it is able to enter the cell unhindered.
Lower side effects
Both photosensitizers and photothermal agents have some degree of selectivity for target cells over healthy human cells, but in utilizing both of these mechanisms this selectivity is bolstered. Increased antibiotic efficacy indicates a lower likelihood of requiring follow-up treatments, so the damage is minimal. In addition, some of these combination phototherapeutic agents have antioxidant/reactive oxygen scavenging properties, reducing the amount of collateral damage sustained by the surrounding human cells.
Incorporation of tertiary mechanisms
Many phototherapeutic agents that display both PD and PT activity come with added effects, such as antibiotic metal ions, physical antibiotic mechanisms, or peroxidase-like activity. These added effects further increase antibiotic activity, often demonstrating broadband activity with 99% cell death or above regardless of strain or drug resistance.
References
Light therapy
Medical physics
Medical treatments | Combined photothermal and photodynamic therapy | [
"Physics"
] | 1,370 | [
"Applied and interdisciplinary physics",
"Medical physics"
] |
73,680,971 | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Heng%20Xu | Heng Xu is a professor specializing in corporate social responsibility regarding big data, artificial intelligence, and machine learning. She is a professor in the Department of Information Technology and Analytics and the Director of Kogod Cybersecurity Governance Center at the Kogod School of Business of American University.
Life
Xu earned a B.B.A. in Information Systems from the Shandong University School of Management in 2001. In 2006, she completed a Ph.D. in Information Systems from the National University of Singapore School of Computing. While completing her doctoral studies, Xu studied fashion designing, enrolling part-time at the Nanyang Academy of Fine Arts.
Xu joined the College of Information Sciences and Technology at the Pennsylvania State University as an assistant professor in 2006. She became director of its privacy analytics lab in 2007. From 2012 to June 2018, she was an associate professor with tenure. In this role, she researched the social and technical aspects of information privacy. From August 2013 to August 2016, Xu was a program director in the directorate for social, behavioral, and economic sciences at the National Science Foundation. In that role, she oversaw secure and trustworthy cyberspace (SaTC), critical technics, and technologies for advancing big data science and engineering.
In July 2018, Xu joined the Kogod School of Business at American University as a professor of information technology and analytics. She is the director of the Kogod cybersecurity governance center and co-director of the robust analytics lab. She researches corporate social responsibility with big data and artificial intelligence, fairness in machine learning, and cybersecurity management.
References
Living people
Year of birth missing (living people)
Place of birth missing (living people)
Shandong University alumni
National University of Singapore alumni
Nanyang Academy of Fine Arts alumni
Pennsylvania State University faculty
American University faculty
Chinese expatriate academics in the United States
United States National Science Foundation officials
21st-century Chinese women scientists
People in information technology
Chinese women computer scientists
Information scientists
People associated with computer security | Heng Xu | [
"Technology"
] | 406 | [
"People in information technology",
"Information technology"
] |
73,682,080 | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/General%20equation%20of%20heat%20transfer | In fluid dynamics, the general equation of heat transfer is a nonlinear partial differential equation describing specific entropy production in a Newtonian fluid subject to thermal conduction and viscous forces:where is the specific entropy, is the fluid's density, is the fluid's temperature, is the material derivative, is the thermal conductivity, is the dynamic viscosity, is the second Lamé parameter, is the flow velocity, is the del operator used to characterize the gradient and divergence, and is the Kronecker delta.
If the flow velocity is negligible, the general equation of heat transfer reduces to the standard heat equation. It may also be extended to rotating, stratified flows, such as those encountered in geophysical fluid dynamics.
Derivation
Extension of the ideal fluid energy equation
For a viscous, Newtonian fluid, the governing equations for mass conservation and momentum conservation are the continuity equation and the Navier-Stokes equations:where is the pressure and is the viscous stress tensor, with the components of the viscous stress tensor given by:The energy of a unit volume of the fluid is the sum of the kinetic energy and the internal energy , where is the specific internal energy. In an ideal fluid, as described by the Euler equations, the conservation of energy is defined by the equation:where is the specific enthalpy. However, for conservation of energy to hold in a viscous fluid subject to thermal conduction, the energy flux due to advection must be supplemented by a heat flux given by Fourier's law and a flux due to internal friction . Then the general equation for conservation of energy is:
Equation for entropy production
Note that the thermodynamic relations for the internal energy and enthalpy are given by:We may also obtain an equation for the kinetic energy by taking the dot product of the Navier-Stokes equation with the flow velocity to yield:The second term on the righthand side may be expanded to read:With the aid of the thermodynamic relation for enthalpy and the last result, we may then put the kinetic energy equation into the form:Now expanding the time derivative of the total energy, we have:Then by expanding each of these terms, we find that:And collecting terms, we are left with:Now adding the divergence of the heat flux due to thermal conduction to each side, we have that:However, we know that by the conservation of energy on the lefthand side is equal to zero, leaving us with:The product of the viscous stress tensor and the velocity gradient can be expanded as:Thus leading to the final form of the equation for specific entropy production:In the case where thermal conduction and viscous forces are absent, the equation for entropy production collapses to - showing that ideal fluid flow is isentropic.
Application
This equation is derived in Section 49, at the opening of the chapter on "Thermal Conduction in Fluids" in the sixth volume of L.D. Landau and E.M. Lifshitz's Course of Theoretical Physics. It might be used to measure the heat transfer and air flow in a domestic refrigerator, to do a harmonic analysis of regenerators, or to understand the physics of glaciers.
See also
Dissipation
Heat transfer
Turbulent kinetic energy
References
Further reading
Partial differential equations
Heat transfer
Heat conduction
Equations of fluid dynamics | General equation of heat transfer | [
"Physics",
"Chemistry"
] | 686 | [
"Transport phenomena",
"Physical phenomena",
"Heat transfer",
"Equations of fluid dynamics",
"Equations of physics",
"Thermodynamics",
"Heat conduction",
"Fluid dynamics"
] |
73,682,940 | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Data-driven%20model | Data-driven models are a class of computational models that primarily rely on historical data collected throughout a system's or process' lifetime to establish relationships between input, internal, and output variables. Commonly found in numerous articles and publications, data-driven models have evolved from earlier statistical models, overcoming limitations posed by strict assumptions about probability distributions. These models have gained prominence across various fields, particularly in the era of big data, artificial intelligence, and machine learning, where they offer valuable insights and predictions based on the available data.
Background
These models have evolved from earlier statistical models, which were based on certain assumptions about probability distributions that often proved to be overly restrictive. The emergence of data-driven models in the 1950s and 1960s coincided with the development of digital computers, advancements in artificial intelligence research, and the introduction of new approaches in non-behavioural modelling, such as pattern recognition and automatic classification.
Key Concepts
Data-driven models encompass a wide range of techniques and methodologies that aim to intelligently process and analyse large datasets. Examples include fuzzy logic, fuzzy and rough sets for handling uncertainty, neural networks for approximating functions, global optimization and evolutionary computing, statistical learning theory, and Bayesian methods. These models have found applications in various fields, including economics, customer relations management, financial services, medicine, and the military, among others.
Machine learning, a subfield of artificial intelligence, is closely related to data-driven modelling as it also focuses on using historical data to create models that can make predictions and identify patterns. In fact, many data-driven models incorporate machine learning techniques, such as regression, classification, and clustering algorithms, to process and analyse data.
In recent years, the concept of data-driven models has gained considerable attention in the field of water resources, with numerous applications, academic courses, and scientific publications using the term as a generalization for models that rely on data rather than physics. This classification has been featured in various publications and has even spurred the development of hybrid models in the past decade. Hybrid models attempt to quantify the degree of physically based information used in hydrological models and determine whether the process of building the model is primarily driven by physics or purely data-based. As a result, data-driven models have become an essential topic of discussion and exploration within water resources management and research.
The term "data-driven modelling" (DDM) refers to the overarching paradigm of using historical data in conjunction with advanced computational techniques, including machine learning and artificial intelligence, to create models that can reveal underlying trends, patterns, and, in some cases, make predictions Data-driven models can be built with or without detailed knowledge of the underlying processes governing the system behavior, which makes them particularly useful when such knowledge is missing or fragmented.
References
Models of computation
Machine learning
Data analysis
Statistical models | Data-driven model | [
"Engineering"
] | 573 | [
"Artificial intelligence engineering",
"Machine learning"
] |
73,683,525 | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Louxin%20Zhang | Louxin Zhang is a Canadian computational biologist. He is currently a professor in the Department of Mathematics at the National University of Singapore. He is recognized for his contributions to combinatorial semigroup theory in mathematics. In addition, he is recognized for his work on the mathematical understanding of phylogenetic trees and networks, as well as the analysis of spaced seeds for sequence comparison in bioinformatics.
Early life
Louxin Zhang grew up in Luoyang, Henan, China. He graduated from Lanzhou University with an undergraduate degree in mathematics and a master's degree in mathematics. Then he proceeded to Canada to pursue a doctorate in computer science at the University of Waterloo, where he earned his Ph.D. in Computer Science with a thesis entitled "Emulations and Embeddings of Meshes of Trees and Hypercubes of Cliques.
Career
After postdoctoral research in the laboratory of Ming Li, Zhang began his independent research career in 1996 at the Institute of Systems Sciences (currently the Institute for Infocomm Research), where he was awarded a three-year Lee Kuan Yew Postdoctoral Fellowship in 1997. He introduced the string rewriting technique to investigate the word problem and the conjugacy problem in special monoids. He discovered an elegant relationship between gene loss, gene duplication, and incomplete lineage sorting costs. Along with his colleagues, he developed the tree component decomposition method for studying phylogenetic networks. The technique yields a solution to an open problem regarding tree containment, the exact and asymptotic counting of the so-called tree-child networks, and a scalable method for inferring the minimum phylogeny. He also contributed to the theoretical knowledge of spaced seeds for sequence comparison and reconstruction of ancestral genome sequences.
Publications
Zhang L. 1991. Conjugacy in special monoids. Journal of Algebra 143: 487-497.
Ma B, Li M, Zhang L. From gene trees to species trees. SIAM Journal on Computing 30:729-752.
Choi KP, Zeng F, Zhang L. Good spaced seeds for homology search. Bioinformatics 20:1053-1059.
References
Computational biologists
Applied mathematicians
National University of Singapore
People from Luoyang
Year of birth missing (living people)
Living people | Louxin Zhang | [
"Mathematics"
] | 463 | [
"Applied mathematics",
"Applied mathematicians"
] |
73,685,481 | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Serinol | Serinol is the organic compound with the formula . A colorless solid, it is classified both as an amino alcohol and as a diol. It is structurally related to glycerol. Its name reflects the compound's relationship to the amino acid serine, from which it can be produced by hydrogenation. Other amino alcohols derived from amino acids: alaninol, leucinol, tyrosinol.
Biosynthetically, it is derived from dihydroxyacetone phosphate. It can be prepared in several steps starting with the condensation of nitromethane with two equivalents of formaldehyde.
An N,O-protected form of serinol can be produced from serine.
References
Diols
Amino alcohols | Serinol | [
"Chemistry"
] | 159 | [
"Organic compounds",
"Amino alcohols"
] |
73,686,297 | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cryptomyces%20maximus | Cryptomyces maximus (commonly known as willow blister) is a species of fungus within the genus Cryptomyces.
Cryptomyces maximus is the only species listed on The world's 100 most threatened species as being native to the British Isles.
Climate
Cryptotomyces maximus is a species of fungus comes from willow species as discovered in Finland in 1913. It prefers to live in damp and humid environments such as swamps. They can be found in a variety of different climates also so it is not just bound to one. They prefer both alpine and mountainous areas, along with the lowlands of Germany and the UK.
References
Further reading
Leotiomycetes
Fungus species | Cryptomyces maximus | [
"Biology"
] | 136 | [
"Fungi",
"Fungus species"
] |
73,686,382 | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Weather%20whiplash | Weather whiplash is the phenomenon of rapid swings between extremes in weather, which some scientists argue is caused by climate change.
Occurrence
“Weather whiplash” was coined by climate-science-communicator Paul Beckwith in 2017 in his oft-stated phrase "weather wilding, weirding and whiplashing", but in 2023, Vox'''s Benji Jones wrote that the phrase had been in use for ten years or more. In a 2021 study in the International Journal of Climatology'', Cameron C. Lee characterized it as then gaining prominence in both academia and the press. As of 2019, there was no formal scientific definition for weather whiplash.
Weather whiplash was observed amid the 2022 European heat waves, which parched France in one of its worst ever recorded droughts and caused the driest July for decades in England, then broke with heavy rain and flooding, and rains the same summer during the Southwestern North American megadrought. In late 2022 and early 2023, the phenomenon again struck North America as record cold around Christmas receded into record heat in January, which in early February became even more extreme cold across the Northeastern United States. In the US state of California weather events swung from an extreme drought to flooding caused by atmospheric rivers.
Weather whiplash can also bring false springs, or winter warm spells that conceal a freeze following them, and freak snowstorms early in the season; both can disrupt agriculture and the electrical grid.
A study in 2018 found a likelihood both extremes of precipitation would increase in California, increasing the chances of very wet years following very dry years and vice versa.
Proposed links to climate change
The polar vortex drives fluctuations in winter temperatures in the middle latitudes. Climatologist Judah Cohen and others proposed climate change in the Arctic was causing the vortex to waver, bringing cold air south to the Midwestern United States, which was then replaced by warm tropical air. They said this would increase the frequency of such whiplash in the future. Cohen acknowledged this remained a minority viewpoint as of 2023.
References
Weather events | Weather whiplash | [
"Physics"
] | 424 | [
"Weather",
"Physical phenomena",
"Weather events"
] |
73,686,929 | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flash%20drought | A flash drought is a type of drought characterized by its rapid onset, intensification, and severity over a relatively short timescale, usually within a few days or weeks. This concept has evolved during the last decade as researchers have become more interested in understanding and mitigating its impacts. Flash droughts differ from other drought categories such as meteorological, hydrological, agricultural, ecological, and socioeconomic droughts, in that they develop and intensify more quickly, posing unique challenges for monitoring, prediction, and mitigation.
History
Flash droughts have gained increasing attention from researchers and policymakers due to their significant impacts on agriculture and water resources. The term "flash drought" was coined to describe the rapid onset and intensification of drought conditions, which set it apart from other, more conventional drought types that develop over longer periods. Early research focused on understanding the unique characteristics and drivers of flash droughts, while more recent studies have explored their impacts on agriculture, ecosystems, and water resources.
Remote Sensing
Remote sensing data, such as satellite-derived measurements of soil moisture, evapotranspiration, and vegetation indices, can provide valuable information on the development and progression of flash droughts. Remote sensing data can be used to assess the rapid response of ecosystems to flash droughts by analysing multiple ecological metrics derived from satellite observations. These metrics, such as gross primary productivity (GPP), net primary productivity (NPP), and leaf area index (LAI), can provide insights into the reactions of ecosystems to flash droughts from both vegetation physiological and structural perspectives.
Impacts
Drier air caused by flash droughts can increase the risk of heat waves, increasing human and animal mortality. It can also increase the amount of dead and dried vegetation, raising the risk of wildfire; the 2023 Canadian wildfires were partially driven by flash droughts in Canada's east.
References
Droughts
Climate change and agriculture
Hydrology
Meteorological phenomena
Water and the environment
Remote sensing | Flash drought | [
"Physics",
"Chemistry",
"Engineering",
"Environmental_science"
] | 403 | [
"Physical phenomena",
"Earth phenomena",
"Hydrology",
"Meteorological phenomena",
"Environmental engineering"
] |
73,687,434 | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hydrography%20of%20the%20Biella%20region | The hydrography of the Biella region, that is, the distribution of surface water in the province of Biella, Italy, falls almost entirely in the two basins of the Cervo and Sessera rivers, both tributaries of the Sesia. Some areas of the southwestern Biella region, on the other hand, are tributaries of the Dora Baltea; the largest natural body of water in the province, Lake Viverone, is also located in this area. In addition to the natural bodies of water, there are several irrigation canals in the plains built mainly to support rice cultivation and some reservoirs built in the foothills. In addition to irrigation, surface water is also used in the Biella area to serve the region's numerous industries and for potable water use, because the area is densely inhabited and groundwater capture is insufficient. Hydroelectric use, on the other hand, is very limited and is substantially confined to the Sessera Valley. The streams of the Biella region can be subject to ruinous floods as well, which have caused numerous damage to property and people over time.
Paleogeography
Before the formation of the ridge and more generally of the Ivrea Morainic Amphitheatre, deposited at the outlet of the Aosta Valley during the last glaciations, the hydrographic network of the area that today constitutes the Province of Biella must have been completely different from the present one.
Paleogeographical research (in particular by geologists Francesco Carraro and Franco Gianotti) in fact shows how in ancient times the Cervo, after leaving the alpine valley of the same name, headed decisively southward to flow into the Dora Baltea roughly where Verrone stands today. Instead, the ancient course of the Dora was shifted markedly further northeast than it is today. In this reconstruction, the Oropa and Elvo also probably went directly into the Dora, running parallel to the Cervo for a long stretch of plain.
The small basin of the Viona would also have been a first-order tributary of the Dora Baltea but its course, instead of diverting eastward, would instead have taken it to join the Dora not too far from Ivrea.
Nevertheless, the deposition of the enormous moraine apparatus of the Serra and of sedimentary beds to the east of it changed this configuration and gradually diverted the course of the Cervo eastward, eventually leading it to flow into the Sesia. Sediments transported by the Balteo Glacier also barred the way towards the Dora to the current right tributaries of the Cervo itself, thus also conveying their waters towards the Sesia basin. This complex realignment of the hydrographic network left as a remnant many of the sedimentary deposits that can be found up to an altitude of 800 m a.s.l. at the foot of the Biellese mountains as well as the Baragge, which would represent what remains of the lowland areas present in that ancient past.
The deep incision in the rocky substrate produced by the ancient course of the Cervo River and preserved below the present sedimentary blanket is of considerable importance today because of the aquifers it contains, which can potentially be exploited for potable water use.
Streams
Among the main streams in the province of Biella, 14 belong to the Cervo basin while only 2 flow into the Sessera. Their hierarchy can be highlighted with a tree view, where streams are shown as secondary branches of a tree whose stem represents the main stream. For example, the Chiebbia is a tributary of the Quargnasca, which in turn flows into the Strona di Mosso, a tributary of the Cervo.
The following list in parentheses indicates whether the stream flows into its main watercourse from the right (r) or left (l), and what its length is in km.
Sessera Basin
Sessera (l; 35,46 km)
Ponzone (r; 10,00 km)
Strona di Postua (l; 14,13 km)
Cervo Basin
Cervo (l; 65,48 km)
Oropa (r; 13,49 km)
Strona di Mosso (l; 26,81 km)
Quargnasca (r; 12,54 km)
Chiebbia (r; 12,11 km)
Ostola (l; 23,51 km)
Bisingana (r; 14,70 km)
Guarabione (r; 20,47 km)
Rovasenda (r; 37,83 km)
Marchiazza (r; 34,67 km)
Elvo (l; 58,46 km)
Ingagna (r; 18,50 km)
Viona (r; 16,50 km)
Oremo (l; 16,21 km)
Olobbia (r; 15,22 km)
Hydrological regime
The streams in the Biellese area almost all have a typically pre-Alpine regime with autumn and spring floods and marked summer and winter low flows. The water supply provided by melting winter snow accumulation (often abundant in the upper Cervo or Sessera valleys) is exhausted relatively quickly during the spring due to the lower elevation reached by the Biellese Alps compared to the other Piedmont mountain ranges. In the event of heavy rainfall, the streams in the area are subject to massive floods that in the past have caused very serious damage to people and buildings.
The water regime of the lowland section of these streams is then altered, both quantitatively and as a distribution of flow rates over time, by the withdrawal operated by irrigation canals and the return of residual water from irrigation, particularly those served by spring and summer flooding of rice fields.
Flood events
Precipitation data for the Biella area show that the prevailing rainfall regime is of alpine type exposed to the plains, in which rainfall is more abundant than in the inner parts of the Alpine chain. In the Sesia and Cervo basins, the highest average annual rainfall in the Po Valley region (even more than 2,000 mm/year) and the highest rainfall intensities are reached. All this leads to the formation of floods with flow rates that can also become massive due to the low permeability of the soils located at the head of the valleys.
Sometimes these flood waves lead to the overflow of streams resulting in the flooding of surrounding areas. Among many such events, the most catastrophic one in the last 100 years occurred in 1968; the most extensive damage was located on the Strona riverbank in Mosso. On Saturday, November 2, 1968, 180.6 mm of rain fell in Trivero, and the following day as much as 305.6 mm. The impact on the territory of these values, already very high in themselves, was then aggravated by the fact that the rain, instead of being evenly distributed over the two days, was concentrated in the night between Saturday and Sunday. In Valstrona alone, the flood caused 58 deaths and more than 100 injuries. Hundreds of homes were totally destroyed or severely damaged, and the same fate was suffered by numerous industrial plants. As a result, many companies had to resort to lay-offs, which came to affect some 13,000 workers.
Even outside the Strona Valley, the flooding torrents swept away bridges and roads and flooded vast expanses of territory; landslides and mudslides involved much of the Biella region and in particular the Sessera basin. Here, near the village of Ponzone (Trivero), a huge landslide poured over the local factories a large part of a hillside (Il Trucco), and carnage was avoided only because the factories were closed due to the public holiday.
The following table shows the flow rates of some of the waterways measured on November 2, 1968, flow rates that for the gauging stations listed in 2002 still represented the highest figure in the available time series.
The 1968 event was not an isolated one, and numerous other flood waves have caused flood events in the Biella area over time. Among the most notable ones in the last century are:
May 1923: a flood of the Cervo River caused severe damage in Piedicavallo and Rosazza;
November 1951: widespread flooding throughout the Biella area and particularly in the Cervo Valley;
October and November 1976: numerous disruptions caused in particular by the flooding of Olobbia, Elvo, Oremo and Quargnasca;
September 1981: flooding in the upper Cervo Valley with damage caused mostly by the minor hydrographic network;
April 1986: a large landslide blocked the former SS 232 near Valle Mosso;
September 1993: after 36 hours of bad weather, a flood of the Cervo River caused the bypass bridge to collapse. There were no casualties thanks to a roadman who noticed the impending disaster and had the bridge closed half an hour before the collapse.
June 2002: heavy rainfall caused landslides and overflowing in the western Biella basins; the most serious damage occurred in the upper Cervo valley, while in the Oropa basin a landslide destroyed a long section of the access road to the Rosazza Tunnel.
October 2020: the flood event mainly affected the Strona di Mosso Valley and Sessera Valley, with very heavy damage especially to the road system.
Lakes
In the hilly and mountainous part of the Biellese region there are numerous lakes, generally of small to medium size with the exception of Lake Viverone. The latter, with a surface area of almost 6 km2, is in fact the third largest lake in Piedmont and is an important tourist hub with numerous accommodation and recreational facilities located on its shores. The lake is located on the border with the Province of Turin (in fact, about 1/6 of its surface area falls within the municipality of Azeglio); a public boat line connects the main towns along the coast.
Lakes in the Biella region can be grouped according to the event responsible for their formation into lakes of glacial origin, intermorainic lakes and artificial lakes. For the lakes in each of these groups, the elevation of the body of water, the outfall (where it is present and is sufficiently significant), and, when available, the area of the lake are given in parentheses; the three lists are not exhaustive and do not include many small lakes of exclusively local importance.
Lakes of glacial origin
They are located in the mountainous belt of the province and occupy the small basins left by the cirque glaciers present in the Biellese Alps during the glacial episodes of the Middle and Upper Pleistocene. These are small lakes located at altitudes above 1,800 m above sea level, often the destination of hiking routes.
The main lakes of this type are:
Lago della Vecchia (1858 m, Cervo,[11] 0.06 km²)
Mucrone Lake (1894 m, Oropa,[11] 0.02 km²)
Sessera or Monte Bo lakes (1956 m, Sessera)
Lago della Lace (1920 m, Rio della Lace - Elvo)
Lake Pasci or Mombarone (2058 m, Viona)
Intermorainic lakes
They are located in depressions included between the moraine ridges abandoned during the episodes of advance and retreat of the huge glacier that in the Pleistocene ran through the valley of the Dora Baltea. They are sometimes devoid of an outfall and, when it exists, it is activated only in case of exceptional floods. Remains pertaining to pile-dwelling villages dating back to prehistoric times have been found around these lakes. In particular, the remains of a Bronze Age village and two ancient monoxyle pirogues, i.e., built from a single tree trunk, have been found near Lake Bertignano; the boats are preserved in the Museum of Antiquities in Turin. Investigations by the Piedmont Archaeological Superintendency have also identified the presence of important prehistoric sites on the shores of Lake Viverone.
Such bodies of water present in the Biella region are:
Lake Viverone (230 m,[11] 5.72 km²)
Lake Bertignano (377 m,[11] 0.09 km²)
Lake Prè (690 m,)
Lake Bosi or Roppolo (375 m)
Artificial lakes
They are formed by dams that bar a watercourse; most of these reservoirs were created in the hillside to store the water needed to irrigate the rice fields in the plains below during the summer. However, the water from some of these reservoirs today has a mixed use and is also used for drinking, energy or industrial purposes. In particular, the Ponte Vittorio reservoir, whose construction dates back to 1953, was created to serve the numerous industrial users in the Strona di Mosso Valley.
The main artificial reservoirs in the province are:
Lake Ingagna or Mongrando (365 m, Ingagna, 0.42 km²)
Lago delle Piane or Masserano (325 m, Ostola,[11] 0.43 km²)
Lake of Ponte Vittorio or Camandona (692 m, Strona di Mosso, 0.04 km²)
Lake Ravasanella (325 m, Riale Ravasanella - Rovasenda, 0.31 km²)
Lago delle Mischie or delle Miste (904 m, Sessera, 0.13 km²)
Canals
The Biella plain is crossed by numerous irrigation ditches and canals, such as the ditch of Buronzo, which originates from a branch on the hydrographic left of the Cervo near Castelletto Cervo and returns to it further downstream, now in the province of Vercelli. These canals were generally built to serve rice-growing, which is mainly concentrated in the southeastern part of the province. The area on the hydrographic right of the Cervo is served by various canals including the Roggia Massa di Serravalle, which originates in Cerrione from the Elvo and, after crossing the municipality of Salussola, flows into the Roggia Marchesa. The latter originates instead from the Cervo, flowing into the stream itself further downstream, not far from Villanova Biellese. The Roggia Madama and Roggia Molinara also depart from the Cerrione area, which then descend into the plain below, dispersing into numerous minor branches. Finally, in the southern area of Biella, the Vanoni Canal passes through, an important derivation of the Depretis Canal completed in 1958 to distribute water from the Dora Baltea in the lower part of the rice-growing district.
In some cases it is difficult to distinguish between a natural watercourse and a canal as is the case, for example, with the Roggia Drumma and Ottina, which collect water from the Candelo and Benna moorlands and then flow down to the Cervo in a semi-natural pattern. For centuries through this system of canals there has been a transfer to the Biellese and Vercellese areas of water resources from the Dora Baltea, the flow of which remains substantial even during the summer thanks to the contribution provided by the snowfields and glaciers of the Valdaostan Alps.
Various artificial canals are also present in the hilly area of the province, although with much smaller flows and dimensions than those in the plain. Among these, the Roggia del Piano and the Roggia del Piazzo, two mixed-use derivations of the Oropa Stream that served the city of Biella, have had considerable historical-urban importance in the past. The Roggia del Piazzo in particular is one of the oldest public works in the Biella area; in fact, it was born together with the district of the same name around 1160 and the cost of its construction was shared between Bishop Uguccione and the city of Biella.
In addition to the canals built for irrigation purposes, there are a number of derivations for hydroelectric purposes in Biella, concentrated particularly in the Sessera Valley and feeding small power plants that serve local industrial plants.
Watersheds
The Biellese territory is almost entirely included in the two basins of the Cervo and the Sessera, both tributaries on the orographic right of the Sesia River. The most downstream part of both basins falls within the province of Vercelli, however, and the confluence of many of its main tributaries into the Cervo also occurs in the Vercelli plain. Some areas of southwestern Biella, however, encroach into the Dora Baltea basin; this occurs in the Serra area and in the plains around Cavaglià.
The following table shows a series of data on the watersheds of Biella's main streams, taken from the Water Protection Plan adopted by the Piedmont Region.
While the average flow rate expressed in m3/s measures the total amount of water leaving the basin on average in the unit of time, the one expressed in liters/s-km2 measures the surface runoff water that is produced by each km2 of the same catchment, again in the unit of time. The latter figure is greater in mountain basins (e.g., those of Oropa or Strona di Postua) than in hill basins (e.g., Olobbia) due to a number of factors including greater land gradients that favor runoff at the expense of water infiltration into the soil and lower evapotranspiration losses due to vegetation. For much the same reasons, higher runoff coefficients are also found in mountainous areas which, among other things, have higher annual water inflows (here expressed in mm) in this part of Piedmont.
Solid transport
Solid transport is the ability of a watercourse to transport solid materials downstream. This transport can occur by various modes among which, in the climatic situation of the Biella region, suspension in water and rolling/dragging near the bottom largely predominate. In order to arrive at a quantitative estimate of the solid transport of a watercourse, it is necessary to know both the average amount of sediment produced by the upland portion of the basin of the watercourse itself and the solid transport capacity of the river channel.
The former depends on the lithological and tectonic characteristics of the area under consideration (rock erodibility, slope gradient, presence of structural fractures, etc.) as well as the local climate and, in particular, the amount and type of atmospheric precipitation.
For the Elvo and Cervo mountain basins, which together cover an area of 426 km2, the average annual precipitation is 1,580 mm and the amount of sediment produced has been estimated at 35,600 m3 annually, or 0.08 mm/year of specific erosion. This figure is rather low when compared with the average value of specific erosion in the entire Po mountain basin (28,440 km2), which is estimated at 1.2 mm/year. The amount of sediment originating from the Biella mountain basins is also evidently medium-low when compared with their surface area: compared with a territorial extension of the area considered that represents 4.94% of the Po Valley mountain area, the sediment produced by it is only 3.21% of the total.
On the other hand, as far as estimating the solid transport capacity of river courses is concerned, it is necessary to consider not only the magnitude and duration of the watercourse's flow rates, but also the physical characteristics of its riverbed (slope, width, roughness, tortuosity, grain size of materials).
The following table provides an estimate of the annual solid transport capacity of the two main streams in Biella and, for comparison, shows the same data referring to the Sesia River.
From the comparison of the amount of sediment produced by a basin and the solid transport capacity of the river channel, rough predictions can be made about the prevalence of either deposition of transported materials or erosion, with the consequent deepening of the riverbed, abandonment of secondary branches, and a decrease in the rambling range of the watercourse. From the available data, it appears that the overall situation on the Elvo is fairly close to the equilibrium point, and that instead along the Cervo River channel erosion tends to predominate over deposition.
Uses of water
Industry and hydropower
In the past, water availability favored the concentration of the textile industry near Biella's streams. Notable examples of industrial archaeology, such as the Biella factories located near the confluence of Cervo and Oropa or the Wheel Factory on the banks of the Ponzone Creek, remain as evidence of this historical phase.
Water withdrawals for industrial use are still numerous, and tend to be concentrated in the hilly stretches and at the outlet on the plain of river courses, such as in the middle Strona valley of Mosso or in the lower Cervo Valley.
The discontinuity of the flows of Biella's streams, on the other hand, confines the hydroelectric use of its waters to limited mountainous areas such as the Sessera Valley; derivations are generally operated by private utilities that use the energy produced for the operation of their industrial plants.
Irrigation
To alleviate at least part of the summer water shortage, a number of dams were built in the second half of the twentieth century that retain water from spring rainfall in a series of artificial lakes. These are then gradually restored over the summer, allowing irrigation of the underlying rice-growing area.
The main provider of this type of service is the Consorzio di Bonifica della Baraggia (Ovest Sesia).
Potable water
The two main users of Biella's water for potable water purposes are CORDAR spa Biella Servizi, the company that manages, among other things, Biella's water supply, and Servizio Idrico Integrato S.p.a. (SII), which manages the water services of several municipalities in Vercelli and Biella including Borgosesia. They are joined by two other managers of integrated water services of supra-municipal importance, CORDAR Valsesia spa and Comuni Riuniti spa. In some municipalities, the presence of these utilities coexists with that of locally important aqueducts operated directly by local citizens; about ten municipalities lack an integrated water service for now. While the water supply of CORDAR spa Biella Servizi relies mainly on springs and wells a good part of the drinking water put on the network by Servizio Idrico Integrato S.p.a. comes instead from two artificial lakes, Lago delle Piane and Ingagna Lake. Some of this water, however, is not used directly by SII but is sold to CORDAR spa Biella Servizi.
Also in the context of water use for human consumption, two important plants for collecting and bottling mineral water are worth mentioning, both located on the southern slopes of the Colma di Mombarone. These are Fonte Caudana, located in the municipality of Donato and operated by Alpe Guizza S.p.a. (a brand of Acqua Minerale San Benedetto S.p.a.) and Acqua Lauretana. This second mineral water, which qualifies as the lightest in Europe, is instead collected and bottled in the municipality of Graglia by Società Lauretana S.p.a.
Other uses
The streams draining the Bessa area are known, as are other Piedmontese watercourses such as the Orco, for the presence of bits of gold in the bed sands. Gold panning had in antiquity a very notable economic importance and led to the grandiose mining work put in place by the ancient Romans on the Bessa plateau, whose gold sediments were washed down thanks to the detour of the waters of the nearby streams Viona and Olobbia. These streams are still known among avid gold prospectors for the presence of flecks of metal in their alluvial deposits, so much so that in August 2009 the municipality of Zubiena hosted the World Gold Prospecting Championships.
The waters of Lake Viverone and those of the mountain section of some streams including the Cervo and Sessera are used during the summer for bathing.
The streams in the Biellese region are not navigable by motor boats; however, it should be mentioned that there is a public lake transport line on Lake Viverone. During periods when the flow is sufficiently high, however, it is possible to go down some streams by canoe or rafting, including the Sessera, the Strona di Postua, and the Cervo.
Many Biella streams, including lowland ones, are also valued fishing grounds.
Environmental status
Water quality monitoring in Biella is based on a network of 24 sampling stations (in 2006) managed by ARPA-Piemonte. The environmental status of streams in the Biellese region is generally satisfactory in the upland section but worsens considerably in the more anthropized hillside areas due to emissions from civil and industrial sources. The impact of pollutant factors tends to be more severe in streams with low flows and poor self-depurative capacity. Even in the lowlands, due to water shortages caused by withdrawal for agricultural use and the presence of pesticide residues, the environmental status of Biella's streams generally remains unsatisfactory.
Out of the total of 24 points surveyed in 2006, 4 were in S.A.C.A. class 4 (POOR) and only one was in class 5 (VERY POOR). The situation of Lake Viverone is also rather problematic mainly due to its slow water exchange. The lake became almost completely swimmable again in 2008 after several years during which this use had been prohibited due to pollution. For the time being, water quality remains rather poor, although a cleanup project currently being implemented could lead to a gradual improvement in quality.
The main sewage treatment plant in the Biella area is the one operated by CORDAR spa Biella Servizi and is located near Cossato in Spolina. This plant has a capacity of 520,000 population equivalent (p.e.); in contrast, none of the many other sewage treatment plants in the Biellese area exceeds the capacity of 100,000 p.e..
See also
Province of Biella
Biellese Alps
Hydrography
Drainage basin
Ivrea Morainic Amphitheatre
Notes
References
Bibliography
Rivers of the Province of Biella
Biella
Hydrography | Hydrography of the Biella region | [
"Environmental_science"
] | 5,429 | [
"Hydrography",
"Hydrology"
] |
73,688,310 | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Weinstein%27s%20neighbourhood%20theorem | In symplectic geometry, a branch of mathematics, Weinstein's neighbourhood theorem refers to a few distinct but related theorems, involving the neighbourhoods of submanifolds in symplectic manifolds and generalising the classical Darboux's theorem. They were proved by Alan Weinstein in 1971.
Darboux-Moser-Weinstein theorem
This statement is a direct generalisation of Darboux's theorem, which is recovered by taking a point as .Let be a smooth manifold of dimension , and and two symplectic forms on . Consider a compact submanifold such that . Then there exist
two open neighbourhoods and of in ;
a diffeomorphism ;
such that and .Its proof employs Moser's trick.
Generalisation: equivariant Darboux theorem
The statement (and the proof) of Darboux-Moser-Weinstein theorem can be generalised in presence of a symplectic action of a Lie group.Let be a smooth manifold of dimension , and and two symplectic forms on . Let also be a compact Lie group acting on and leaving both and invariant. Consider a compact and -invariant submanifold such that . Then there exist
two open -invariant neighbourhoods and of in ;
a -equivariant diffeomorphism ;
such that and .In particular, taking again as a point, one obtains an equivariant version of the classical Darboux theorem.
Weinstein's Lagrangian neighbourhood theorem
Let be a smooth manifold of dimension , and and two symplectic forms on . Consider a compact submanifold of dimension which is a Lagrangian submanifold of both and , i.e. . Then there exist
two open neighbourhoods and of in ;
a diffeomorphism ;
such that and .This statement is proved using the Darboux-Moser-Weinstein theorem, taking a Lagrangian submanifold, together with a version of the Whitney Extension Theorem for smooth manifolds.
Generalisation: Coisotropic Embedding Theorem
Weinstein's result can be generalised by weakening the assumption that is Lagrangian.Let be a smooth manifold of dimension , and and two symplectic forms on . Consider a compact submanifold of dimension which is a coisotropic submanifold of both and , and such that . Then there exist
two open neighbourhoods and of in ;
a diffeomorphism ;
such that and .
Weinstein's tubular neighbourhood theorem
While Darboux's theorem identifies locally a symplectic manifold with , Weinstein's theorem identifies locally a Lagrangian with the zero section of . More preciselyLet be a symplectic manifold and a Lagrangian submanifold. Then there exist
an open neighbourhood of in ;
an open neighbourhood of the zero section in the cotangent bundle ;
a symplectomorphism ;
such that sends to .
Proof
This statement relies on the Weinstein's Lagrangian neighbourhood theorem, as well as on the standard tubular neighbourhood theorem.
References
Symplectic geometry
Theorems in differential geometry | Weinstein's neighbourhood theorem | [
"Mathematics"
] | 646 | [
"Theorems in differential geometry",
"Theorems in geometry"
] |
73,689,995 | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Code%20page%201058 | Code page 1058, HP PC-8DN, is a character encoding specified by IBM. It is a close derivation of Code page 865.
Codepage layout
Characters are shown with their equivalent Unicode codes.
References
1058 | Code page 1058 | [
"Technology"
] | 48 | [
"Computing stubs"
] |
73,690,255 | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pocket%20prairie | A pocket prairie is a small, artificially created, self-sustaining area of land where forbs and plants predominate. Oftentimes these plants are native. Pocket prairies are typically found in urban and suburban areas where there exists a lack of vegetation and wildlife (e.g. vacant lots, backyards, green spaces). These parcels of land serve as a habitat for nearby bird, insect, and mammal species.
Benefits
Pocket Prairies provide the benefits of:
Improves bee populations
Increases the number of native plants
Improve soil health
Filter runoff water
Habitat for nearby species
Aesthetic and spiritual values
The Cleveland Pocket Prairie Project
As a result of economic and population decline, thousands of vacant lots are dispersed in Cleveland, Ohio. From the abundance of these lots came The Cleveland Pocket Prairie Project, an Ohio State University-led project which aims to repurpose 64 vacant lots with 8 distinct plant communities referred to as "pocket prairies". The project employs 8 different treatment methods to create plant communities, two of which use existing vegetation while the rest introduce plant mixes. This project took place in eight Cleveland neighborhoods: Glenville, Slavic Village, Buckeye, Central, Tremont/Clark Fulton, Buckeye, Fairfax, and Hough.
References
Prairies
Ecology | Pocket prairie | [
"Biology"
] | 253 | [
"Ecology"
] |
73,693,565 | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Barrage%20%28military%20science%29 | Barrage is a military term covering a wide range of structures, devices, or measures for destroying something to constrain or impede the movement of troops and forces.
Military barrages may be set up on land, in the water, or in the air to damage enemy forces, to impede their movement, to delay or restrain their actions, or to force them to move in a favorable direction for friendly troops.
Barrages can be erected both in advance and during combat; they can be created in the support zone, on the approaches to defensive lines, in front of their front edge and in the depth of tactical and operational defense zones. Construction of barrages is subject to the intended plan of the battle (operation) and is closely coordinated with the fire system and strikes of the means of fire, taking into account the maneuvering of their forces.
For all barrages reporting documentation is drawn up in the prescribed form; during the change of troops the erected barrages are handed over by act with the reporting documents attached to it.
History
It is established that various types of non-explosive barriers were used for military purposes at the dawn of human civilization. As a rule, they included earthen ramparts, stone walls, wooden palisades, ditches, wolf pits, forest barriers and abatis, abatis lines and others. For example, in the defensive constructions of Kievan Rus' the height of earthen shafts reached 19.7–26.2 feet (6–8 meters) and 52.5–55.8 (16–17 meters) in width. In the system of fortifications of ancient Novgorod in 12th century there were two lines of barrages at once. To defend the state borders, powerful systems of fortifications (abatis lines), combining fortifications and barrages, were arranged.
Beginning in the 18th century, propellant (fougasse) began to be used in the construction of obstacles, and from the second half of the 19th century – high explosives. In 1769 at Khotyn Russian mine-sinkers for the first time used floating mine-explosive means. A little later, in 1776 similar devices were used during the American Revolutionary War. Alexander Suvorov's troops achieved high skill, using barriers against the Turks at Girsov and on the approaches to Kherson in 1787. Mikhail Kutuzov used the construction of barriers in the Battle of Borodino and in the Battle of Tarutino in 1812. During the siege of Sevastopol in 1854–1855 Russian sappers first used galvanic and percussion-fire mines, as well as – shell and stone fougasses. During the Russo-Turkish War in 1877–1878 Russian military engineers continued to develop the practice of using stone fougasses and mine underwater barrages. In 1848 they developed the then advanced designs of guided antipersonnel mines and fougasses; in 1894 Russian designers created the first non-recoverable antipersonnel mine, and around the same time the Sushinsky shrapnel shell fougasse appeared.
In 1904 during the siege of Port Arthur Russian troops were the first to use anti-personnel mines and explosive charges remotely initiated electrically. As a rule, in those days, the front lines of Russian explosive barrages consisted of self-acting mines, about 656 feet 2 inches (200 meters) behind them were exposed fougasses controlled by wire. It was also the first time in the world when electric wire barrages were used in combat situations: Lieutenant N. V. Krotkov (1875–1942) proposed to install the so-called electric fences – smooth wire fixed on wooden stakes with porcelain insulators through which high voltage electric current was passed. During an assault on Mount High on a position equipped by them on the night of Nov. 26, 1904 on the wire killed by Russian data, up to 150 Japanese soldiers.
During World War I the first designs of anti-tank mines were immediately developed as armored weapons and vehicles appeared on the battlefield. The tactic of creating continuous strips of wire barriers became widespread; on the Eastern front, in addition to them, antipersonnel mines and object delayed-action mines were especially widely used. To strengthen the fortresses (Ivangorod, Osowiec, Brest-Litovsk, Novogeorgievsk, etc.) water barrages in the form of flooding and swamping of the area were used. Long water barrages were also created on the tributaries of the Pripyat River. In 1916, to protect London, Venice and Paris, anti-aircraft barrages were organized with the help of aerostats. During the war Russian military engineers – Dragomirov, Gritskevich, Revensky – proposed a number of original designs of various mines, which were used in barrage systems of different purposes.
In the 1920s and 1930s an intensive development of a coherent theoretical basis for the use of barrages on the scale of battle or operation began in Soviet Union. Soviet military theorists Mikhail Vorobyov and Dmitry Karbyshev made a significant contribution to its development.
Before the World War II the construction of complex barrage systems was given great importance and as part of the construction of various defensive lines (e.g. Siegfried Line in Germany, Maginot Line in France, Mannerheim Line in Finland) combined barrage systems were prepared, in which along with minefields used metal and reinforced concrete Dragon's teeths, granite tetrahedrons, anti-tank ditches, scarps and counterscarps, etc.
The experience of World War II greatly enriched the practice of barrage systems, which on land were used in all types of combat operations. In addition, barriers were actively used in the organization of air defense and coastal defense systems. On mines, which were widely used by the Soviet partisans, the Nazi troops and their allies suffered huge losses (see article Soviet partisans). During the Battle of Moscow the Soviets first resorted to the tactic of mobile mining, which was later successfully used many times to counteract Wehrmacht armored wedges. Since 1943 Soviet mobile barrage units officially became an element of combat order and operational structure of troops. Air barriers were used in the air defense systems of Leningrad, Moscow and other industrial centers.
In the post-war period the functional role of barrages in combined arms combat and operations continued to increase. The theoretical basis for the use of military barrages was improved under the influence of the rapid development of means to overcome obstacles and barrages. In armed forces of a number of states on the armament were adopted complexes of remote mining the terrain and water areas by means of aviation technology, rocket arms, artillery and multiple rocket launchers. Since the 1980s the tendency to combine remotely installed mine barrages with complexes of reconnaissance-signaling sensors has been revealed.
Classification
Barrage systems are commonly classified in a number of different ways. Some types of barrages can be false, in which case they tend to mimic combat barrages and are used in conjunction with real ones.
By scale of application:
Tactical, which are created by troops and engineer units attached to them in the divisional defense zone according to the plans of formations; they include anti-tank and anti-personnel minefields, non-explosive barriers, nodes of tactical barriers, artificial structures prepared for destruction and sections of transport routes; the build-up and strengthening of tactical barriers can be carried out by mobile barrage squads (MBS);
Operational, which are erected according to the plan of the command of the front or army to ensure the fulfillment of tasks in the most important directions, determining the stability of the defense as a whole; as a rule, they include road barrages on major highways (circuitous and frontal), transport hubs, stripes and areas of barrage, mine lines, flood zones and important objects prepared for destruction; operational obstacles are created by the engineering forces of the front or army, in some cases involving forces of division; Operational barrages are created by the engineering armies of the front or the army, in some cases involving the forces of divisions, their increase can be organized by MBSs and reserves of the army, the front or the main command in the theater, as well as – by remote mining the area by air and artillery.
By location:
Land (anti-tank, anti-personnel, mixed, anti-vehicle, anti-submersible and water barriers);
Naval (mines, nets, booms or combined);
Airborne (anti-submarine and anti-rotary mines, cable and net obstacles raised by barrage balloons, etc.).
By nature of impact:
Explosive (mine-explosive, nuclear-explosive, etc.);
Electrified (high tension wire, mesh, or cable barrages);
Non-explosive made of improvised and construction materials (earth, wood, snow, concrete, metal, etc.) or of industrially produced structural elements (barbed wire, bollards, anti-tank hedgehog, nets, etc.);
Combined (various combinations of explosive, non-explosive and electrified).
By purpose:
Cut-offs are created in the defense zones of troops to slow or stop the enemy offensive or to force him to change direction of movement,
Disturbing are created without a scheme and, as a rule, in a closed way to restrain enemy actions, slow down his pace of movement and stop him from using certain territories in his interests,
Security mines are created without a scheme in an open way from a limited number of anti-tank mines for the purpose of direct protection of troops to strengthen the terrain in front of their positions and between them.
Characteristics
Each individual barrage on the ground is characterized by its depth, length and time of delay of the enemy in overcoming it. Mine-explosive obstacles are in addition characterized by the number of mines laid and the probability of hitting enemy manpower and equipment on them. Another important parameter is the density of roadblocks, which is determined by the degree to which the terrain is saturated with roadblocks and they cover positions, lines, directions and belts of operations of the troops. The density of barricades is defined as the ratio of the total length of barricades set up to the front width of the line, line or direction to be covered. The densities of non-explosive and explosive mine obstacles, as well as the densities of anti-tank and anti-personnel mine obstacles, are determined separately.
The combat effectiveness of an erected system of barrages is assessed by the number of defeated enemy manpower and equipment at mine-blast barriers, as well as by reducing the rate of his offensive through the use of all types of barriers in the aggregate. It is believed that the maximum efficiency is achieved by suddenness, massiveness and echelon of obstacles on the directions of enemy troops.
Barrages can be set up in the first and second degrees of readiness; the degree of readiness of barrages and the procedure for their transfer from one state to another is determined by the commander of the regiment or division on whose section they are set up.
First degree – full operational readiness: in minefields, guided mines are placed in the combat position, unguided mines are finally set and equipped, warning signs and fencing from minefields are removed, demolition charges, object and anti-vehicle mines are set and camouflaged, detonators are inserted in charges, and their mechanisms are initiated; in combined barriers the set mine explosive elements are equipped and detonated, passages and passages through them are mined.
Second degree of readiness: anti-vehicle and object mines are set and camouflaged, but their fuses have not been placed in the firing position, demolition stations are fully equipped, explosive charges in the objects to be destroyed are prepared for their rapid placement in the firing position, their charges and explosive nets are set, detonators are connected to explosive nets, but not inserted in the charges, unguided mines in minefields are equipped and set, but the fields themselves are fenced and guarded, guided mines are kept in a safe condition; non-explosive barriers are prepared, but the passages and passages through them are not destroyed or mined.
Gallery
Notes
Bibliography
Варенышев Б. В. Преодоление инженерных заграждений и препятствий. — М., 1976. — Стб. 53.
Варенышев Б. В. Будущему воину об инженерном деле. — М.: ДОСААФ, 1972.
Гутенко П. Д., Матин Г. А. Минное оружие. — М., 1988. — 95 с.
Карбышев Д. М. Раздел 3. Инженерные заграждения // Избранные научные труды. — М., 1962. — 704 с.
Колибернов Е. С., Корнев В. И., Сосков А. А. Справочник офицера инженерных войск / Под ред. С. Х. Аганова. — М. : Воениздат, 1989. — С. 248–332. — 432 с. : ил. — ББК 68.516. — .
Самойлов Р., Опилат В. Заграждения на водных преградах по взглядам специалистов НАТО (рус.) // Зарубежное военное обозрение : журнал. — 1977. — No. 4. — С. 94–98. — ISSN 0134-921X.
Сидоров В. Применение инженерных заграждений в армейских оборонительных операциях // Военно-исторический журнал : журнал. — September 1979. (т. 239, No. 09). — С. 69.
Суша В. А. Шеховцев Н. П. Сетевой способ построения инженерных заграждений (рус.) // Армейский сборник : журнал. — May 2014. (т. 239, No. 5). — С. 19–23.
Geneste, Marc E. Barbed Wire and Boomerangs. // Military Review. — February 1963. — Vol. 43 – No. 2.
External links
Веремеев Ю. Инженерные войска. Information site army.armor.kiev.ua.
Инженерные заграждения . Information page goup32441.narod.ru.
Родионов А. Н. Раздел 2. Инженерная подготовка. Пособие по огневой и инженерной подготовке, подготовке по связи. Information site ebooks.grsu.by.
Engineering barrages
Military terminology | Barrage (military science) | [
"Engineering"
] | 3,406 | [
"Military engineering",
"Engineering barrages"
] |
72,260,094 | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cypress%20Lake%20%28Saskatchewan%29 | Cypress Lake is an interbasin transfer reservoir in the Canadian province of Saskatchewan on the southern slopes of the Cypress Hills in the Rural Municipality of Reno No. 51. The reservoir was created by the damming of the east and west sides of a much smaller Cypress Lake in the late 1930s. There is a provincial recreation site on the southern shore and a wildlife refuge on Heglund Island in the lake. Access to the lake is from Township Road 60 off of Highway 21.
Cypress Lake is the source of the Frenchman River and, being an interbasin reservoir, it supplies water to both the Frenchman River and Battle Creek watersheds. Frenchman River begins at Dam One on the eastern end of the lake while an outlet canal from Dam Two on the western end supplies water to Battle Creek.
Irrigation project
The building of the two dams of Cypress Lake were part of a larger project to bring stability to the water levels of Battle Creek as during the summer months, Battle Creek would often run dry. In 1936, near the headwaters of Battle Creek in the Cypress Hills, a dam was built along Adams Creek – a tributary of Battle Creek – that created Adams Lake (). During the dry months, water could be released from Adams Lake to help prevent Battle Creek from dying up, which allowed for irrigation throughout the growing season. With plans originally conceived in 1908, Cypress Lake was also turned into a reservoir in the late 1930s.
In 1937, contracts were handed out to several different companies to build various parts of the reservoir project at Cypress Lake, such as the building of Dam One at the east end of the lake, Dam Two at the west end, supply canals, outlet canals, the concrete structure, and the gravel facing for the earthen dams. Water for Cypress lake is supplied by diverting water from Belanger, Battle, and Sucker Creeks. Like Adams Lake, water from Cypress Lake is stored and then released during the dry season.
Cypress Lake Recreation Site
Cypress Lake Recreation Site () is a provincial recreation site on the southern shore of Cypress Lake. It is a small, free campground with lake access and a boat launch.
Heglund Island Wildlife Refuge
Heglund Island Wildlife Refuge () is a Saskatchewan wildlife refuge on Heglund Island in Cypress Lake.
Fish species
Fish commonly found in the lake include walleye and northern pike.
See also
List of lakes of Saskatchewan
List of protected areas of Saskatchewan
Tourism in Saskatchewan
References
Lakes of Saskatchewan
Reno No. 51, Saskatchewan
Dams in Saskatchewan
Interbasin transfer | Cypress Lake (Saskatchewan) | [
"Environmental_science"
] | 501 | [
"Hydrology",
"Interbasin transfer"
] |
72,260,202 | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mahesha%20Thakura | Mahesha Thakura was the ruler of Mithila in the 16th century. He made his capital at Bhaur which is in the northwest of Sarisab-Pahi and Rajgram. He was also wrote some treatises and commentaries on astronomy and Indian philosophy. He was gifted the Kingdom of Mithila for his scholarly wisdom by the Mughal emperor. He established the Khandwala dynasty in Mithila, later known as Raj Darbhanga, in 1527.
Early life
Mahesha Thakura was the middle son of Rajpandita Chandrapati Thakura. His mother name was Dhira. Chandrapati Thakura was Rajpandita (Royal Priest) in Akbar empire. He belonged to Shandilya Gotra in Maithil Brahmin. His mool was Kharaure Bhaur. Chandrapati Thakura was living in Garh Mandla which is presently in Madhya Pradesh.
Life at Garha Mandla
Mahesha Thakura was a priest at the court of Dalapatishah in Garha Mandla. He was a priest even during the time of Rani Durgavati. Since he was the scholar of philosophy as well as Karmakanda, he used to narrate the Puranas to the queen Rani Durgavati every day. It is said that during the reign of Rani Durgavati, Mahesha Thakura left Garha Mandla and went to Mithila to establish his kingdom in the region. This kingdom was later called as Darbhanga Raj.
Throne in Mithila
It is said that the Mughal emperor Akbar was very influenced by the wisdom of Raghunandana Dasa and gifted him the throne of Mithila. Raghunandan Dasa, in turn, gifted the throne of Mithila to his teacher Mahesha Thakura as Gurudakshina.
Some scholars claim that Mahesha Thakura's father Chandrapati Thakura was the priest at the court of the Mughal emperor Akbar and the emperor asked Chandrapati Thakura to advise any name of his son for the caretaker of Mithila. Then Chandrapati Thakura advised Akbar his middle son Mahesha Thakura as the caretaker of Mithila. It said that the Mughal emperor Akbar was also very influenced with the wisdom of Mahesha Thakura so he granted the throne of Mithila to Mahesha Thakura as the caretaker. Mahesha Thakura then became the ruler of Mithila and established Khadwala Dynasty in Mithila on the day of Ramnavami.
Legacy
Mahesha Thakura established the Khandwala Dynasty, which continued for nearly 400 years ( from 16th century CE to 20th century CE ) in the Mithila region till the independence of India. He is well known for the institution of Dhaut Pariksha at his court to examine the scholarship of the scholars in his kingdom.
Scholarly works
Apart from being the ruler of the Mithila region, Mahesha Thakura was also a renowned scholar of Sanskrit literature, Indian philosophy and astronomy. He was the author several treatises and commentaries. He wrote a commentary Aloka Pradipa on the Nyaya Aloka commentary text of the 15th century eminent Naiyayika Pakshadhara Mishra. Similarly he also wrote a commentary text Darpan on the Tattavachintamani text of the Naiyayika Gangesha Upadhyaya.
Mahesha Thakura also wrote the texts Dayasara and Tethitattava Chintamani. He wrote an astronomical text known as Atīcārādinirṇayaḥ.
References
Astronomers
Mithila
1558 deaths
Indian royalty | Mahesha Thakura | [
"Astronomy"
] | 738 | [
"Astronomers",
"People associated with astronomy"
] |
72,260,604 | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/F%C3%A9lix%20Malu%20wa%20Kalenga | Félix Malu wa Kalenga (September 22, 1936 — April 22, 2011) was a Congolese emeritus professor of Nuclear Physics and a scientist. He was a founding member of the Third World Academy of Science (TWAS). He was a professor at Lovanium University and a Dean of the Polytechnic Faculty of the University of Kinshasa. He was also a commissioner of the general commission for atomic energy (CGEA) in the DRC and a director general of the regional center for nuclear studies in Kinshasa.
Early life and education
Malu was born on September 22, 1936, in Boma, Congo. He obtained his Bsc Electrical and Electronics from Lovanium University in 1962. He obtained his MSc in the University of California, Berkeley, US, in 1963 and 1969, he bagged his doctorate degree in applied sciences at the Catholic University of Louvain.
Career
Academic career
He was a professor at the Faculty of Applied Sciences at the University of Kinshasa, Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC); he became the dean of the institution in 1970 and in 2000 he became an emeritus professor.
Scientific career
Malu wa Kalenga led construction of the Triga Mark II reactor at the Regional Center for Nuclear Studies in Kinshasa. From 1965 to 2000 he was a Commissioner at the General Commission for Atomic Energy (CGEA) in the DRC and a Director General of the Kinshasa Regional Center for Nuclear Studies.
Fellowship and membership
He was a founding member of the World Academy of Sciences (TWAS), a member of the board of governors of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), Vienna. A board member of the United Nations University, in Tokyo and he was also a member of the OAU Scientific Council, a member of the advisory scientific council of the Theoretical Physics Agency of Trieste, Italy, a member of the scientific advisory board of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), Vienna, and a member of the Vatican Pontifical Academy of Sciences for Applied Physics.
Death
Malu wa Kalenga died on April 22, 2011.
References
1936 births
2011 deaths
TWAS fellows
Founder fellows of the African Academy of Sciences
Democratic Republic of the Congo scientists
Nuclear physicists
20th-century physicists
21st-century physicists
People from Kongo Central
Lovanium University alumni
University of California, Berkeley alumni
Université catholique de Louvain alumni | Félix Malu wa Kalenga | [
"Physics"
] | 488 | [
"Nuclear physicists",
"Nuclear physics"
] |
72,260,943 | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Iota2%20Librae | {{DISPLAYTITLE:Iota2 Librae}}
Iota2 Librae is a faint, sixth-magnitude star situated in the zodiacal constellation Libra. It has a stellar spectrum of A2V. This indicate that it is in the main sequence. Parallax measurements imply a distance of from Earth. At this distance, interstellar extinction caused by interveining gas and dust makes Iota2 Librae 0.44 magnitudes fainter as seen from Earth. The star is currently drifting closer at 7.61 km/s.
This A-type star has 84% more mass and 2.3 times the radius of the Sun. It is about 360 million years old, is 20 times more energetic and 48% hotter than the Sun, its surface has an effective temperature of 8,526 K. It is also known by its Flamsteed designation 25 Librae, Iota2 Librae is the Bayer designation, with the corresponding Greek letter being shared with another star, Iota1 Librae. Other designations, like HD 134967 or HR 5656, are catalogue entries.
References
Libra (constellation)
A-type main-sequence stars
Bright Star Catalogue objects
Henry Draper Catalogue objects
Hipparcos objects
2MASS objects
TIC objects
Durchmusterung objects
Bayer objects
Flamsteed objects | Iota2 Librae | [
"Astronomy"
] | 280 | [
"Libra (constellation)",
"Constellations"
] |
72,261,250 | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/40%20Leonis%20Minoris | 40 Leonis Minoris (40 LMi) is a white hued star located in the northern constellation Leo Minor. It is rarely called 14 H. Leonis Minoris, which is the designation given by Polis astronomer Johann Hevelius.
It has an apparent magnitude of 5.51, making it faintly visible to the naked eye. The object is located relatively close at a distance of 154 light years based on Gaia DR3 parallax measurements but is receding with a somewhat constrained heliocentric radial velocity of . At 40 LMi's current distance, its brightness is diminished by only 0.02 magnitudes due to interstellar dust.
40 LMi is a chemically peculiar A-type main-sequence star with a stellar classification of A4 Vn. This indicates that it is an A4 dwarf with nebulous absorption lines due to rapid rotation. It has 1.69 times the mass of the Sun and 1.54 times its girth. It radiates 14.3 times the luminosity of the Sun from its photosphere at an effective temperature of . The star is estimated to be 207 million years old, having completed 54.6% of its main sequence lifetime. 40 LMi is slightly metal deficient and spins rapidly with a projected rotational velocity of .
This star was part of a 2005 survey regarding proper motions from the Hipparcos satellite. Its proper motion varied, indicating that an unseen companion may cause it. This led to Peter P. Eggleton and Andrei Tokovinin classifying it as an astrometric binary. There also 3 optical companions located near 40 LMi. Their relative positions and brightness are listed below.
References
A-type main-sequence stars
Am stars
Astrometric binaries
Leo Minor
Leonis Minoris, 40
BD+27 01927
092769
052422
4189 | 40 Leonis Minoris | [
"Astronomy"
] | 381 | [
"Leo Minor",
"Constellations"
] |
72,261,704 | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Transition%20metal%20sulfoxide%20complex | A transition metal sulfoxide complex is a coordination complex containing one or more sulfoxide ligands. The inventory is large.
Scope of sulfoxide ligands
The most common sulfoxide ligand is dimethyl sulfoxide (dmso). Many sulfoxides are known because an enormous range of organic substituents are possible. When the two substituents differ, the ligand is chiral. Chiral sulfoxides are configurationally stable. One example is methyl phenyl sulfoxide.
Structures
Sulfoxides can bind to metals by the oxygen atom or by sulfur. This dichotomy is called linkage isomerism. O-bonded sulfoxide ligands are far more common, especially for 1st row metals. S-bonded sulfoxides are only found for soft metal centers, such as Ru(II). Complexes with both O- and S-bonded sulfoxide ligands are known. In some cases, sulfoxides are bridging ligands, with S bonded to one metal and O bonded to the other.
Synthesis and reactions
Being a polar solvent with a high dielectric constants, dmso dissolves many metal salts to give the corresponding complexes. Other ligand-solvent combinations include acetonitrile and water, which respectively form metal-acetonitrile complexes and metal aquo complexes. Treatment of thioether complexes with peroxide reagents gives sulfoxide complex. In rare cases, sulfoxide complexes are prepared by S-alkylation of sulfenito complexes.
Metal thioether complexes are susceptible to sulfoxidation with dimethyldioxirane.
Reactions
Being weakly basic, sulfoxide ligands are generally labile, i.e. they are rapidly displaced by other more basic ligands.
O-bonded sulfoxide ligands are susceptible to oxidation at sulfur. In this way, the weakly bonded ligand is converted into a leaving group, such as dimethylsulfone. Since dmso is susceptible to deprotonation by strong base, cationic dmso complexes might be expected to undergo H-D exchange under basic conditions. Such behavior is not observed even for the trication .
Several metal sulfoxide complexes have been investigated as catalysts. The molybdoenzyme DMSO reductase catalyzes the reduction of dmso to dimethyl sulfide.
Examples
Several homoleptic octahedral complexes of sulfoxides have been characterized by X-ray crystallography. These include the complexes for M = Cr(III), Mn(II), Fe(II), Fe(III), Co(II), Co(III), Ni(II), Cu(II), Zn(II), Cd(II), and Hg(II). All such derivatives feature O-bonded sulfoxides. The tricationic complex in features one S-bonded and five O-bonded sulfoxide ligands. The complex is square planar, in contrast to the derivative with dmso ligands. The square planar d8 complex features a pairs of S- and O-bonded sulfoxide ligands.
References
Coordination complexes | Transition metal sulfoxide complex | [
"Chemistry"
] | 679 | [
"Coordination chemistry",
"Coordination complexes"
] |
72,262,256 | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Penetration%20enhancer | Penetration enhancers (also called chemical penetration enhancers, absorption enhancers or sorption promotors) are chemical compounds that can facilitate the penetration of active pharmaceutical ingredients (API) into or through the poorly permeable biological membranes. These compounds are used in some pharmaceutical formulations to enhance the penetration of APIs in transdermal drug delivery and transmucosal drug delivery (for example, ocular, nasal, oral and buccal). They typically penetrate into the biological membranes and reversibly decrease their barrier properties.
Transdermal drug delivery
Human skin is a very impermeable membrane that protects the body from ingress of harmful substances and prevents water loss from underlying organs. However, this seriously limits the use of skin as a site for drug administration. One of the approaches to facilitate transdermal drug delivery is the use of penetration enhancers. Many different compounds have been explored as potential penetration enhancers to facilitate transdermal drug delivery. These include dimethylsulphoxide, azones (such as laurocapram), pyrrolidones (for example 2-pyrrolidone), alcohols (ethanol and decanol), glycols (for example propylene glycol), surfactants, urea, various hydrocarbons and terpenes. Different potential skin site and modes of action were identified for penetration enhancement through the skin. In some cases, penetration enhancers may disrupt the packing motif of the intercellular lipid matrix or keratin domains. In other cases, drug penetration to the skin is facilitated because the penetration enhancer saturates the tissue and becomes a better system to dissolve the molecules of API.
Ocular drug delivery
Topical administration to the eye is usually characterised by very poor drug bioavailability due to several natural defence mechanisms, including nasolacrymal drainage, blinking, and poor permeability of the cornea. Enhancement of the corneal permeability to drug molecules is one of the strategies to improve the efficiency of topical drug delivery to the eye. Several classes of compounds have been researched as potential penetration enhancers through ocular membranes. These include chelating agents, cyclodextrins, surfactants, bile acids and salts, and crown ethers. There are also reports on the use of cell penetrating peptides and chitosan as penetration enhancers in ocular drug delivery. The most commonly used penetration enhancers in ocular formulations are benzalkonium chloride and ethylenediamine tetraacetate (EDTA). Benzalkonium chloride is often used as an antimicrobial preservative in eye drops and EDTA is used as a chelating agent.
Nasal drug delivery
Cyclodextrins, chitosan, some surfactants, bile acids and salts, sodium tauro-24,25-dihydro-fusidate, and phospholipids were reported as penetration enhancers in nasal drug delivery both for humans and equines. Chitosan is one of the most widely researched penetration enhancers in nasal drug delivery and it enhances the penetration of drugs by opening the tight junctions in the cell membranes.
Oral drug delivery
Penetration enhancers have been applied to improve the absorption of poorly permeable, hydrophilic drugs or macromolecules. Permeation enhancers that have been used successfully for oral drug development include medium-chain fatty acids like caprylic acid or caprate, or its amino acid ester like Salcaprozate sodium (SNAC). The above-mentioned permeation/penetration enhancers have a surfactant-like activity where they perturb the intestinal epithelium, promoting transcellular or paracellular absorption.
References
Pharmacology | Penetration enhancer | [
"Chemistry"
] | 782 | [
"Pharmacology",
"Medicinal chemistry"
] |
72,262,712 | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Psychological%20impact%20of%20discrimination%20on%20health | The psychological impact of discrimination on health refers to the cognitive pathways through which discrimination impacts mental and physical health in members of marginalized, subordinate, and low-status groups (e.g. racial and sexual minorities). Research on the relation between discrimination and health became a topic of interest in the 1990s, when researchers proposed that persisting racial/ethnic disparities in health outcomes could potentially be explained by racial/ethnic differences in experiences with discrimination. Although the bulk of the research tend to focus on the interactions between interpersonal discrimination and health, researchers studying discrimination and health in the United States have proposed that institutional discrimination and cultural racism also give rise to conditions that contribute to persisting racial and economic health disparities.
A stress and coping framework is often applied to investigate how discrimination influences health outcomes in racial, gender, and sexual minorities, as well as on immigrants and indigenous populations. Findings indicate that experiences of discrimination tend to translate into worse physical and mental health and lead to increased participation in unhealthy behaviors. Evidence of the inverse link between discrimination and health has been consistent across multiple population groups and various cultural and national contexts.
From discrimination to health: two pathways
Stress response
Research conceptualizes instances of discrimination as situations which are likely to cause stress and have downstream consequences on mental and physical health, as well as health behaviors. In experimental studies, stress in response to discrimination has been measured using a range of both psychological (e.g. perceived stress) and physiological (e.g. cardiovascular reactivity) measures, and evidence indicates that this heightened stress response is associated with poorer mental and physical health and impaired decision-making when it comes to health-related behaviors such as substance use or visits to the emergency department.
Some researchers also argue that everyday experiences with discrimination can cause chronic and cumulative stress that contributes to the "wear and tear" of the body. Instances of discrimination also tend to be ambiguous and unpredictable, which research linking stress and health indicate could be particularly harmful. Evidence from this line of research shows that anticipating discrimination, experiencing stress as a result of hypervigilance and worry, and ruminating over the experience of discrimination can aggravate and prolong the adverse impacts of discrimination on health.
The impact of discrimination-related stress can also be longitudinal, as shown by a study on Black adolescents that found perceived discrimination between age 16-18 to predict stress hormone levels, blood pressure, inflammation, and BMI at age 20.
Health behaviors
Discrimination also impacts health by inducing negative emotions and lowering self-control, which in turn increases participation in unhealthy behaviors such as smoking, alcohol and substance use, reduced physical activity, and overeating. Research also finds evidence that discrimination lowers participation in preventative care behaviors, such as cancer screening, diabetes management, and condom use, that could help maintain good health. A meta-analysis of 138 studies shows consistent evidence of the relationship between discrimination and health behaviors.
Interpersonal discrimination
Measurement
Studies assessing the link between interpersonal discrimination and health have been both experimental and observational in nature. Experiments investigating the link between discrimination and health have manipulated perceptions of discrimination in a number of ways, including exposing participants to racist film clips, asking them to write about their prior experiences with discrimination, and providing them with articles detailing discrimination against their ingroup. Observational studies make use of large datasets such as the National Survey of Black Americans and the New Zealand Health Survey to make deductions about the relationship between discrimination and health.
In most cases, perceived discrimination is measured by asking participants to self-report on the frequency with which they experience discrimination daily (chronic); the number of times that they've been the target of severe discrimination (acute); the amount of discrimination experience over their lifetime (lifetime); or whether they had recently experienced discrimination (recent). Several scales have been developed to capture different types of discrimination, with over 90% of scales designed by researchers in the U.S. Racism, for example, is most often measured using the Perceived Racism Scale, the Schedule of Racists Events, the Index of Race Related Stress, and the Racism and Life Experiences Scale.
Across all studies, we find the strongest and most consistent evidence for the negative impact of discrimination on mental health and health-related behaviors, but a meta-analysis of 134 samples also shows evidence of an inverse link between discrimination and physical health. Comparisons between the impact of chronic, lifetime, and recent experiences of discrimination on mental health shows recent discrimination to have a stronger negative impact than lifetime discrimination; differences in impact based on type of discrimination measured were absent for physical health.
Mental health
A meta-analysis of over 300 articles published between 1983 and 2013 finds evidence of a strong association between discrimination and poor mental health. Specifically, perceived discrimination has been linked to a range of mental health outcomes including depression, anxiety, posttraumatic stress disorder, psychological distress, positive and negative affect, and general well-being. Beyond contributing to distress and well-being, self-reported discrimination has also been linked to DSM-5 (Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders) psychological disorders such as psychosis, paranoia, and eating disorders. Some studies suggest that the relationship between perceived discrimination and clinical mental illness becomes stronger as perceptions of discrimination and instances of experienced discrimination increases. In a 2009 meta-analysis, the impacts of discrimination and mental health were found to be a general phenomenon, such that targets of discrimination experience poorer mental health irrespective of their ethnicity or gender. However, a more recent meta-analysis, whose samples were primarily U.S. based, finds evidence of a moderating effect of ethnicity, such that the link between discrimination and mental health appears to be stronger in Asian Americans and Latino Americans, as compared to Black Americans.
Physical health
Multiple meta-analyses reveal that perceived discrimination is associated with a range of negative physical health outcomes such as heart disease, obesity, hypertension, ambulatory blood pressure, breast cancer, diabetes, and respiratory problems. Perceived discrimination also shows association with indicators of forthcoming health problems, such as increased allostatic load, shorter telomere length, inflammation, cortisol dysregulation, and coronary artery calcification. Some studies indicate that perceived discrimination could contribute to increased cardiovascular risk as a result of experiencing higher systolic and diastolic blood pressure during the day and higher ambulatory blood pressure at night in response to discrimination. Although the association between discrimination and blood pressure has been found in multiple studies, a 2012 analysis of 22 studies by Couto and colleagues only found evidence of this link in 30% of the analyzed studies.
Institutional racism in the United States
Institutional (or structural) racism refers to the policies and practices embedded in the legal, economic, social, and political systems of society that creates differential access to resources, opportunities, and services based on race. In the U.S., connections between institutional racism and health have been investigated through epidemiological studies that examine the link between institutional racism– in the form of residential segregation and environmental racism– and health-related outcomes.
Residential segregation
Segregation in the U.S. was made possible through federal policies and government-supported private policies, such as redlining, zoning, and restrictive covenants, which sought to prevent Black-White cohabitation in the same neighborhoods. Despite the fact that residential segregation was made illegal in 1968 through the Fair Housing Act, White Americans still tend to live in separate neighborhoods from people of color, with Black Americans experiencing the highest rate of segregation as compared to Hispanics and Asian Americans. The historical segregation of Black Americans has been identified as a fundamental contributor to persisting Black-White disparities in adverse birth outcomes, health behaviors, and chronic diseases such as asthma, diabetes, and hypertension. Thus the bulk of the research linking structural racism to health tends to focus on identifying the multiple mechanisms through which segregation impact Black American's health.
Segregation contributes to health disparities by creating physical and social conditions that increase exposure to environmental pollutants, contribute to the prevalence of chronic and acute psychosocial stressors, and make it harder for residents to practice healthy behaviors. For example, Landrine and Corral (2009) identified three potential pathways through which racial segregation contributes to disparities: Black neighborhoods, relative to White neighborhoods, are equipped with inferior healthcare facilities and less competent physicians; exposed to higher levels of pollution and toxins in the environment; and provided greater access to fast foods but lower access to recreational facilities and supermarkets. Other researchers argue that segregation leads to the creation of neighborhoods with high levels of poverty and lower quality education that receive less government support. As such, segregation is a critical determinant of socioeconomic status, which in turn is a strong predictor of health outcomes.
Multiple review papers and meta-analyses reveal that segregation is associated with poorer overall health. More specifically, residents of segregated neighborhoods have been found to be at increased risk for tuberculosis, intentional harm, and later-stage breast and lung cancer diagnosis. Segregation has also been associated with nefarious health consequences for Black women, such as increased risk for obesity, low birth weight, preterm birth, and stillbirths.
Environmental racism
There is extant research showing that people of color, low-income communities, ethnic minorities, and indigenous populations are more likely to be exposed to pollution, toxins, and chemicals as a result of their proximity to industrial and military activity and consumer practices. For example, research conducted in Warren Country, NC shows that 75% of their hazardous waste landfills are located in Black communities, despite the fact that Black Americans only make up 20% of the county's population. This pattern is present in most parts of the U.S., such that 40% of the country's landfills are located in Black communities. A 1987 survey of the country's landfills shows that 53% of the Hispanic population also lived in communities with one or more uncontrolled toxic-waste sites. Communities of color not only live close to landfills, but they are also more likely than their white counterparts to live near medical waste incinerators, diesel bus depots, and Superfund sites. Research shows that living in proximity with sources of air, water, and soil pollution is associated with asthma, eczema, cancer, chemical poisoning, heart disease, and neurological disorders in Black Americans.
Black communities have also been exposed to lead, DDT, and a handful of other noxious chemicals as a result of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's failure to enforce safety regulations (for examples, see Flint Michigan Water Crisis; Altgeld Gardens Homes; Dickinson County, TN toxic wells; North Birmingham, AL coke plants). Lead contamination is known to be particularly harmful to children and pregnant women as it can lead to anemia, kidney failure, brain damage, fetal death, and premature delivery. A 1984 study by the Illinois Public Health Sector also found that exposure to toxins at the Altgeld Gardens Home led to higher rates of prostate, bladder, and lung cancer, as well as higher rates of child brain tumors, asthma, ringworm, and congenital anomaly.
Impact of discrimination on various social groups
U.S. racial minorities
Racial minorities in the U.S. include Black Americans, Asian Americans, Latino Americans, and Native Americans. Members belonging to these racial minority groups often face discrimination in daily interactions and situations, such as when applying for a job or getting pulled over by the police. These repeated experiences with discrimination has been shown to lead to heightened stress responses in racial minorities, which translates to poorer mental and physical health, and increased participation in harmful health-behaviors.
Black Americans
Black Americans report experiencing the most discrimination out of all racial/ethnic groups in the U.S. They also tend to fare worse, compared to other racial/ethnic groups, when it comes to physical illnesses such as heart disease and cancer incidence. Black Americans report experiencing discrimination in a range of situations (e.g. healthcare visits, job applications and interviews, interactions with the police) and through microaggressions and racial slurs. Perceptions of racial discrimination has been linked with psychological distress, hypertension, depression, harmful health behaviors (e.g. alcohol abuse), and a range of chronic illnesses in Black Americans. A meta-analyses of 19 studies published between 2003 and 2013 on the link between perceived discrimination and the health of Black women finds that perceptions of discrimination is associated with preterm birth and low birth weight.
See section on institutional racism in the United States for additional health consequences of discrimination on Black Americans.
Asian Americans
In a 2007 survey of over 2000 Asian Americans, 56% of the respondents reported experiencing discrimination because of their race, skin color, or nationality. A meta-analysis of 14 studies published between 1980 and 2011 shows that perceptions of discrimination are associated with depressive symptoms, cardiovascular disease, respiratory problems, obesity, and diabetes in Asian Americans. A review of 62 studies also found that Asian Americans who report experiencing discrimination tend to suffer from poor mental and physical health and participate in harmful health behaviors.
Latino Americans
Latinos living in the U.S. report experiencing discrimination because of their language, accent, skin color, facial feature and appearance. There does not seem to be a meta-analysis of studies investigating the connection between discrimination and health, but a review of 33 studies on the topic reveals that perceived discrimination is associated to poorer mental health and health-related decisions in Latinos residing in the U.S. However, the review did not find evidence of a robust relationship between perceived discrimination and physical health.
Research shows that Latino college students are more likely to be accused of theft, cheating, or breaking the law, which causes them to experience more stress. Perceived racial discrimination in those instances have been associated with poorer mental health, including experiencing psychological distress, suicidal ideations, anxiety, and depression.
Native Americans
The colonization of the United States constituted systemic efforts to destroy Native American culture and societies, including religious persecution, the implementation of boarding schools that sought to eradicate their languages and customs, and the mass adoption of Native children by non-Native families. These experiences of discrimination, unique to indigenous populations, are thought to be transmitted generationally and influence health outcomes in individuals with Native American ancestry. Thus, perceptions of discrimination in Native Americans tend to be measured in terms of historical trauma, which is the extent to which Indigenous people experience discrimination as a result of the collective history of violence perpetrated against Native Americans during the colonization process. Historical trauma is measured using the Historical Loss Scale, which captures the frequency at which indigenous individuals think about the loss of, for example, their land, language, and culture; and it is usually followed by the Historical Loss Associated Symptoms Scale, which captures how indigenous individuals feel about these losses. Studies examining the relationship between historical trauma and health in Native Americans find that perceptions of discrimination are associated with increased participation in unhealthy behaviors (e.g. alcohol abuse), a range of chronic diseases, PTSD, and psychological distress. Studies investigating the relationship in Indigenous adolescents finds that perceptions of discrimination is associated with early substance use, suicidal ideation, anger, and aggression.
Sexual minorities (LGBTQIA+)
LGBTQ+ individuals tend to be victims of bullying, harassment, and family rejection. Bullying and harassment in school on the basis of sexual orientation has been linked to negative mental health (increased depression and lower self-esteem) and education-related outcomes (increased school absences and lower performance). Family rejection has also been linked to poorer mental health outcomes, including increases in depression and suicidal attempts, and negative health behaviors, such as substance use and risky sex behavior. Some researchers also argue that the higher prevalence of clinical mental disorders in the LGBTQ population can be understood as a consequence of the discrimination experienced in their daily environments and interactions.
LGBTQ people of color tend to be targets of both racism and heterosexism, which independently predicts depression, but associations between discrimination and suicidal ideation has only been found in relation to heterosexism. This population report experiencing discrimination during job searches and interactions with the police.
Societal rejection of the LGBTQ community also tend to manifest in the form of internalized homophobia, which arises in LGBTQ individuals as a result of socialization into the belief that homosexuality is immoral and wrong. Multiple meta-analyses find that internalized homophobia is associated with demoralization, guilt, suicidal ideation and attempts, sexual identity development, self-esteem, depression, psychological distress, physical health, adherence to traditional gender roles, issues with sexual intimacy, and difficulties coming out. Although stigma and discrimination also show association with the aforementioned psychological and psychosocial issues, internalized homophobia has been found to be the most reliable predictor of mental and physical health issues in LGBTQ communities.
Research on the impact of sexual assault on health in women populations find that targets of sexual harassment experience a range of mental health outcomes– including depression, anxiety, fear, guilt, shame, anger, and PTSD– and physical health problems such as headaches, digestive system issues, and sleep disorders. Research relating assault to health in women populations offers a glimpse as to the potential impact of assault on sexual minorities, who are more likely to be victims of physical and sexual assault relative to non-sexual minorities.
Elderly population
Discrimination against the elderly population has been document in healthcare and employment settings, where elderly individuals tend to devalued and the targets of ageist stereotypes. For example, doctors tend to prescribe milder treatments for elderly individuals whom they are likely to perceive as physically and psychologically frail. Elderly populations in the UK also experience discrimination in the form of neglect and financial exploitation. A meta-analysis of U.S.- and UK-based studies on the impact of ageism found associations with poorer mental health, well-being, physical and cognitive functioning, and survival chances. Research also finds that exposure to ageist stereotypes reduces memory performance, self-efficacy, and willingness to live and increases cardiovascular reactivity.
Coping mechanisms
Research identifies a few potential moderators of the impact of discrimination on health such as strength of ethnic identity, social network, and coping strategies.
Social network
Research shows that having a social network to rely on during difficult times could translate to increased accessibility to resources such as health care, medicine, and high-nutrient food. The benefits of having a social network is exemplified through research showing that having conversations about discrimination experiences with closed ones is associated with decreased likelihood of risky sex behavior in gay Latino men. Seeking social support following discrimination experiences has also been associated with lower levels of depressions. However, a meta-analysis of 15 studies on the potential for social support to reduce the influence of discrimination on mental health, physical health, and detrimental health behaviors reveals that social support does not necessarily moderate the relationship between discrimination and health.
Racial/ethnic identity
Social identity theory suggests that individuals are social beings who derive benefits from group identification and belonging, which could act as a buffer against the discrimination. Evidence of the potential for racial/ethnic identification to moderate the relationship between discrimination and health comes from research on large samples of Latino and Filipino American samples, in which it was found that the relationship between discrimination and mental health was weaker for individuals higher in racial/ethnic identification.
On the other hand, self-categorization theory indicates that higher levels of identification may lead to increased awareness and anticipation of discrimination, which consequently elicit negative emotions. Research in support of this relationship was found in samples of Asian American college students who report lower levels of positive emotions after being asked to imagine an incident of racial discrimination. A meta-analysis of 51 studies and a review of the literature investigating the potential moderating effect of racial/ethnic identity reveals that the association between discrimination and physical health is weaker in individuals who are committed to their racial/ethnic identity. They also find that, in individuals who are still exploring their racial/ethnic identity, associations between discrimination and poorer mental health and risky health behaviors was stronger.
Coping strategies
Responses to discrimination can vary from anger suppression, avoidance, and confrontation to advocacy, seeking social support, and making changes to the self. Research sorts coping strategies into two categories: problem-focused coping, which are strategies that take a direct approach to tackling the experience of discrimination (e.g. cognitive reframing or support seeking), and emotion-focused coping, which are strategies that seek to reduce psychological distress experienced from discrimination (e.g. avoidance or distraction). The literature on coping strategies indicates that individuals usually use a combination of both problem-focused and emotion-focused strategies, but that problem-focused coping tends to be more effective and adaptive.
Studies exploring the moderating effects of problem- and emotion-focused coping strategies on the relationship between discrimination and health finds mixed evidence. Research on samples of Mexican adolescents and Asian international students indicate that problem-focused coping weakens the relationship between discrimination and self-esteem while emotion-focused coping strengthens the association between discrimination and depression. Similarly, research on Black Americans finds emotion-focused coping, in the form of anger suppression, to be associated with elevated blood pressure levels in Black Americans. However, research on samples of African American college students, Mexican adolescents, and Southeast Asians finds the reverse association: emotion-focused coping was found to weaken the negative impact of discrimination on self-esteem and life-satisfaction in African Americans, on mental health and health-behaviors in Mexican youths, and on depression in Southeast Asians.
Coping strategies can also be adaptive (e.g. positive reframing, acceptance, planning) or maladaptive (e.g. denial, self-blame, distraction). In a population of college students, research finds that adaptive coping is associated with decreased tendency to overeat in response to discrimination experiences while maladaptive coping is associated with an increased tendency to overeat. Research also finds evidence of the benefits of adaptive coping strategies in a sample of Black female college students in which they found active coping to be associated with lower systolic and diastolic blood pressure. A meta-analysis of 9 studies investigating the relationship between coping strategies and health suggests that problem-focused and adaptive coping strategies are more likely to buffer the impact of discrimination on health than emotion-focused and maladaptive strategies.
References
Discrimination
Health psychology
Medical sociology
Social problems in medicine | Psychological impact of discrimination on health | [
"Biology"
] | 4,520 | [
"Behavior",
"Aggression",
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72,263,956 | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Troubled%20teen%20industry | The troubled teen industry (also known as TTI) is a broad range of youth residential programs aimed at struggling teenagers. The term encompasses various facilities and programs, including youth residential treatment centers, wilderness programs, boot camps, and therapeutic boarding schools.
These programs claim to rehabilitate and teach troubled teenagers through various practices. Troubled teen facilities are privately run, and the troubled teen industry constitutes a multi-billion dollar industry. They accept young people who are considered to have struggles with learning disabilities, emotional regulation, mental illness, and substance abuse. Young people may be labeled as "troubled teens", delinquents, or other language on their websites and other advertising materials. Sometimes, these therapies are used as a punishment for contravening family expectations. For example, one person was placed in a troubled teen program because her mother found her choice in boyfriends unacceptable.
The troubled teen industry has encountered many scandals due to child abuse, institutional corruption, and deaths, and is highly controversial. Many critics of these facilities point to a lack of local, state, and federal laws in the United States and elsewhere governing them. Some countries, such as Bermuda, have been known to send teenagers to programs located in the United States. In addition to their controversial therapeutic practices, many former residents report being forcibly transported to troubled teen facilities by teen escort companies, a practice dubbed "gooning".
History
The troubled teen industry has a precursor in the drug rehabilitation program called Synanon, founded in 1958 by Charles Dederich. By the late 1970s, Synanon had developed into a cult and adopted a resolution proclaiming the Synanon Religion, with Dederich as the highest spiritual authority, allowing the organization to qualify as tax-exempt under US law. Synanon rejected the use of medication for drug rehabilitation, and instead relied on the "Synanon Game", group sessions of attack therapy where members were encouraged to criticize and humiliate each other. Synanon popularized "tough love" attack therapy as a treatment for addiction, and the idea that confrontation and verbal condemnation could cure adolescent misbehavior. Synanon disbanded in 1991, after its tax-exempt status was revoked by the IRS and it was bankrupted by having to pay US$17 million in back taxes.
Synanon's techniques were highly influential and inspired human potential self-help organizations such as Erhard Seminars Training (est) and Lifespring.
Synanon-style therapy was also used in Straight, Incorporated and The Seed, two drug rehabilitation programs for youth.
Former Synanon member Mel Wasserman founded CEDU Educational Services in 1967, a company which operated within the troubled teens industry. CEDU owned several for-profit therapeutic boarding schools, group homes, and behavior modification programs. The techniques used by CEDU schools were derived from Synanon's; for example, long, confrontational large-group sessions called "Propheets" took cues from the Synanon Game. CEDU went out of business in 2005, amid lawsuits and state regulatory crackdowns.
Joseph "Joe" Ricci, a dropout from a direct Synanon-descendent program, founded a therapeutic boarding school called Élan School in 1970. Élan closed down in 2011 amid persistent allegations of abuse.
Synanon's techniques also inspired the World Wide Association of Specialty Programs (WWASP), an umbrella organization of facilities meant for rehabilitating troubled teenagers. WWASP is no longer in business, due to widespread allegations of physical and psychological abuse. Many WWASP programs were shut down by the Costa Rican, Jamaican, and Mexican governments after investigations into allegations of abuse.
Practices
Troubled teen programs have been criticized for failing to offer evidence-based therapies such as cognitive behavioral therapy or trauma- and violence-informed care. Many or most troubled teen programs share a common lineage descending from Synanon, and use some form of "the game," a group attack therapy session. Additionally, some TTI programs use a form of primal therapy, a discredited form of therapy which involves reenacting traumatic and painful moments such as rape.
Many practices used in troubled teen programs, especially punishments, have been singled out as constituting child abuse or neglect. These include but are not limited to: restricting communication with family and peers; use of physical and chemical restraint (i.e., in the form of sedative drugs); use of seclusion as punishment; gay conversion therapy; excessive use of strip search and cavity search; denial of sleep and nutrition; aversion therapy; etc.
In 2007, the Government Accountability Office published a study verifying thousands of reports of abuse and death in TTI facilities dating back to 1990. The National Disability Rights Network published a report in 2021 reporting common issues at troubled teen facilities including the aforementioned forms of abuse as well as chronic staffing shortages, deprivation of education, and unhygienic and unsafe facility conditions.
Transportation
Many troubled teen institutions offer youth transportation through teen escort companies, in which minors are transported to their facilities against their will. Parents who sign their children up for troubled teen camps will sign over temporary custody to the teen escort company. This transportation is a service offered in the United States and elsewhere, and is a practice that has been criticized on ethical and legal grounds as being akin to kidnapping. Some of the subjects report not realizing they were transported with permission of their parents until days afterward. Clients have reported being ambushed in their own beds at home, or tricked into believing they are going elsewhere. Those who have been in the troubled teen industry call this process "gooning". There have been incidents where transportation staff have impersonated government officials. Former clients of troubled teen programs have made efforts to pursue legal recourse through civil lawsuits targeting both parents and the companies associated with these programs.
Controversies
False imprisonment
19-year-old Fred Collins Jr. found himself falsely imprisoned by Straight Inc., after initially visiting a family member who was enrolled in the program by his parents. Upon arrival, he was kept in a windowless room for six-and-a-half hours, and the staff refused to let him leave until he agreed to enroll into the program. At one New Mexico program, Tierra Blanca Ranch, the authorities found that the adolescent clients had been shackled and handcuffed.
Forced labor
Numerous troubled teen programs have been reported to engage in the practice of compelled labor, wherein program participants are required to perform physically demanding tasks such as wood chopping and horse manure shoveling.
Kidnapping
Elizabeth Zasso was an emancipated minor living in the state of New York who was illegally kidnapped by a teen escort company hired by her parents and taken to the state Utah where she was enrolled in a wilderness therapy program called the Challenger Foundation. It was ruled that the Challenger Foundation had violated her constitutional rights.
Stress positions
In certain instances, troubled teen programs have employed a torture technique known as "stress positions" as a form of discipline against their clients.
Strip searches
Many troubled teen programs conduct forced strip searches against the will of adolescent clients.
Solitary confinement
Some troubled teen programs, including the well-known Provo Canyon School, have faced allegations of employing solitary confinement as a disciplinary measure. Solitary confinement is a controversial practice that involves isolating individuals from social contact and is the subject of extensive debate regarding its ethical and psychological implications. Additionally, the now-defunct program known as Tranquility Bay, located in Jamaica, has also been reported to have utilized solitary confinement as part of its disciplinary methods. This practice has garnered considerable attention and criticism from various quarters.
Psychological abuse
Numerous reports have surfaced, documenting instances of psychological abuse inflicted upon clients within troubled teen programs. One particularly disturbing example of such abuse involves mock executions, wherein students were coerced into digging their own graves as part of a psychologically distressing exercise. These allegations highlight the gravity of ethical concerns within these programs and have sparked significant scrutiny and criticism from various outlets.
Regulatory laws
The Stop Child Abuse in Residential Programs for Teens Act was first introduced on June 28, 2007, by Congressman George Miller. The act passed the House of Representatives on June 25, 2008, but failed to progress further in the legislative process and was not enacted into law.
Utah, California, Oregon, Montana, and Missouri have all enacted laws aimed at increasing oversight of troubled teen facilities. Utah's law was proposed in 2021 after noted celebrity Paris Hilton came out with her story about her experience at Provo Canyon School. Hilton's testimony triggered a state investigation into the facility, and she later advocated for the law when it was in the process of being passed.
In the United States Congress, bills were proposed to regulate troubled teen facilities every year from 2007 to 2018.
On April 4, 2023 the Stop Institutionalized Child Abuse Act was introduced to the House of Representatives and Sente., it has been passed by the Senate. It was signed into law by President Biden on December 24, 2024.
Legal history
On June 27, 1990, Kristen Chase died from heatstroke whilst enrolled at the Challenger Foundation, a Wilderness Therapy program located in Kane County, Utah. The county's district attorney charged the owner of the program, Steve Cartisano, with nine counts of child abuse and one count of negligent homicide. Lance Jagger was also charged with negligent homicide and child abuse, but the charges were dropped after he agreed to testify against Cartisano. A jury acquitted Steve Cartisano on all charges.
On January 15, 1995, Aaron Bacon died from acute peritonitis while attending the North Star Wilderness Program in Utah. Nine staff members, including company co-founder Lance Jagger, were charged with abuse and neglect. Lance Jagger, William Henry, and Georgette Costigan pleaded guilty to negligent homicide. Craig Fisher was found guilty of third-degree felony abuse or neglect of a disabled child.
On March 2, 1998, Nicholaus Contreraz died from complications due to an infection. Among his symptoms were chronic urinary and fecal incontinence, for which staff would force him to eat meals on the toilet and sleep in his soiled underwear as punishment. The autopsy revealed Contreraz had died from empyema with a partial collapse of his left lung. He had also contracted strep and staph infections with pneumonia and chronic bronchitis, and the coroner also discovered 71 cuts and bruises. During the investigation by the Pinal County Sheriff's Office, it was found that Nicholaus had been cleared for physical training activities by staff. The Federal Bureau of Investigation opened an investigation into civil rights violations at the location on a broader scale. The California Social Services Department investigation found widespread excessive use of physical restraint and hands-on confrontations by staff members.
Trails Carolina homicide investigation
On the morning of February 3, 2024, a 12-year-old boy died after one night at Trails Carolina wilderness program. The Transylvania County Sheriff's Office launched an investigation in the death of the boy. On February 6, the investigators executed a search warrant on Trails Carolina. Trails Carolina refused to co-operate with the investigation. on the February 13, 2024 North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services told Trails Carolina it was to stop new admissions during the investigation. Later on February 18, 2024. All children were removed from Trails Carolina. On May 17, 2024 the North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services permanently revoked Trails Carolina's license. On June 25, 2024 the medical examiner's report was released. The cause of death was determined to be asphyxia, and it was ruled as a homicide.
Timeline
1967: CEDU High School is founded by Mel Wasserman, a former Synanon member, in Running Springs, California.
May 30, 1970: The Élan School is founded by Joe Ricci, a former resident of Daytop Village, in Naples, Maine.
February 16, 1982: Nancy Reagan visits Straight, Inc. in Florida.
December 27, 1982: Philip Williams Jr. dies in Elan School boxing ring.
May 26, 1983: A federal jury awards a Straight, Inc. Patient $220,000 after finding said patient to have been falsely imprisoned by the foundation.
November 11, 1985: Princess Diana and Nancy Reagan visit Straight, Inc.
1987: Scientology's troubled teen program Mace-Kingsley Ranch School opens in California.
January 15, 1995: Aaron Bacon dies from acute peritonitis while attending the North Star Wilderness Program in Utah.
December 21, 1996: Craig Fisher is sentenced over his role in Aaron Bacon's death.
1998: Robert Lichfield creates the World Wide Association of Specialty Programs and Schools.
1999: National Association of Therapeutic Schools and Programs is founded.
February 2001: 14-year-old Ryan Lewis dies by suicide while enrolled at Alldredge Academy in West Virginia.
July 2001: 14-year-old Tony Haynes is forced to eat dirt and dies at a desert boot camp for teenagers.
July 15, 2002: Ian August dies from heat exhaustion while attending the Skyline Journey Wilderness Program in Utah. The Utah Department of Human Service revoked Skyline Journey's state license on the 25 October 2002.
December 25, 2002: 17-year-old Kiley Jaquays falls to her death while visiting the Bloomington Caves in Utah with her residential treatment center, Integrity House.
May 23, 2003: Costa Rican government officials shut down the Academy at Dundee Ranch, a behavior modification program run by the US-based company World Wide Association of Specialty Programs and Schools.
February 8, 2004: 16-year-old Daniel Yuen goes missing from CEDU High School in California.
October 2004: Karlye Newman dies by suicide at Spring Creek Lodge Academy.
2006: Yang Yongxin establishes an "Internet-addiction camp" inside the Fourth Hospital of Linyi in China and begins practicing electroconvulsive therapy.
August 28, 2009: Sergey Blashchishen dies from heat exhaustion during a hike whilst attending Sage Walk, a wilderness therapy program operated by Aspen Education Group.
February 8, 2013: The hacking collective group Anonymous launches #OpTTIabuse, a campaign against the troubled teen industry.
November 2015: Ten teenagers are arrested after a riot at Copper Hills Youth Center in Utah.
February 2017: 16-year-old Ben Jackson dies by suicide at Montana Academy.
July 10, 2019: Red Rock Canyon School in Utah closes after a riot breaks out in April 2019.
April 2020: 16-year-old Cornelius Fredericks dies while being restrained at youth program in Michigan.
October 9, 2020: American socialite Paris Hilton and other former residents of Provo Canyon School lead a silent protest against the school in Provo, Utah.
January 16, 2022: A 14-year-old girl dies from medical concerns at Maple Lake Academy, a residential treatment center in Utah.
August 31, 2022: Agape Baptist Academy is served an indictment for transporting a California teenager and violating a protection order.
January 11, 2023: Agape Baptist Academy announces plans for permanent closure.
February 15, 2024: Open Sky Wilderness closes after years of controversy surrounding the effectiveness of wilderness therapy programs.
August 22, 2024: Evoke Therapy, a wilderness program located out of Santa Clara, UT, announces their intention to close down after over 20 years of operations.
Media
Children of Darkness, a 1983 documentary on the Élan School
Not My Kid, a 1985 TV movie based on the Straight, Inc. program
Locked in Paradise, a television program on the troubled teen program called Tranquility Bay, aired in December 2004.
Boot Camp, a 2008 film based on the WWASP program Paradise Cove, located in Samoa.
Kidnapped for Christ, a documentary released in 2014 about a Christian behavior modification program.
The Last Stop, a documentary on the Élan School released in 2017.
This Is Paris, a documentary on Paris Hilton's experience in various troubled-teen programs, released in 2020.
Hell Camp: Teen Nightmare, a documentary released in December 2023. It is about a wilderness therapy program called the Challenger Foundation in Utah, and covers the controversial conditions of the program as well as the death of Kristen Chase.
Joe versus Elan School, an autobiographical, web-based graphic novel.
The Program: Cons, Cults, and Kidnapping is a 2024 American true-crime documentary series, directed by Katherine Kubler. It follows Kubler and former classmates of hers from the Academy at Ivy Ridge, a behavior modification facility that was marketed as a boarding school, as they reflect on the abusive conditions they experienced in the program and the lasting trauma.
"The Sunshine Place," The Second Season of the Sunshine place the podcast covers the stories of Students placed within Straight Inc.
References
Further reading
Strangeways, Sam. (11 December 2019) "Sending troubled children to US cost $33m"
Juvenile delinquency
Human rights abuses
Conversion therapy
Religion and mental health
Youth rights
Behavior modification | Troubled teen industry | [
"Biology"
] | 3,444 | [
"Behavior modification",
"Human behavior",
"Behavior",
"Behaviorism"
] |
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